#celestial hills

[lunarcovehq]

Daphne Bishop is a human that currently resides in Celestial Hills and has been a Lunar Cove resident for one day, searching for her undead sister who doesn't want to be found.

ITS THE END OF THE WORLD

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis Female, She/Her

DATE OF BIRTH: October 25, 1994

OCCUPATION: Unemployed model

FACECLAIM: Phoebe Tonkin

AS WE KNOW IT, AND I FEEL FINE

SPECIES: Human

COALITION POSITION: Nonmember

WELCOME TO LUNAR COVE, DAPHNE BISHOP

Trigger Warnings: Bad Parenting, Death, Murder, Violence, Divorce, Sexism

“At least she is pretty.” The phrase was so common that Daphne had internalized long before she understood how a backhanded compliment could sting. She was a dreamer as a young girl, a bright fire of passion and hope born with a silver spoon to eat her bladed compliments off of and cashmere to wrap her soft heart in until time would harden the softest parts of her. Daphne learned early that life took without permission and that the bright sunshine of those around her would create a shadow in where she could take her beauty and all her developing sharp edges that were considered less than beautiful and find comfort. Despite being told she had a sharp tongue and that her wit was unsavory Daphne was able to adapt and easily maneuvered her way through a variety of different groups.She was a social chameleon wearing whatever personality suited her at the time. However, rumors did spread- she was passionate, and had a strong sense of what she viewed a justice. In the socially acceptable circles of the opulent elite this fire was seen as defiant behavior, unsavory the sort of girl who could rock the boat  In some ways Daphne wanted to change the world for the better, she thought she could make an impact. The rumors were wild- The eldest Bishop girl stole a racehorse set for termination. What happened to that senator? His affair was exposed and his wife left him- how’d anyone find out? The Bishop girl leaked some blurry camera photos. How gauche does she not know her place in this world? Sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong, meddling in things that have nothing to do with her? She’ll never learn. Maybe so, but they could never prove she did anything she was accused of which was how it was meant to be. 

Maybe it was the family money, maybe it was her ability to charm nearly anyone, or that she was just pretty to look at with her round expressive eyes and coquettish pout, but Daphne was able to maneuver around the rumors only catching fall out behind closed doors. She spent her time crafting her skills- her beauty. She knew she was never going to get scholarships based on her grades and if she wanted to get the hell out of Darien was going to have to take this pretty girl schtich as far as it would. A beauty pageant queen smiling on stage, performing talents like ballet, flower arranging, poetry, and one unfortunate baton twirling incident that in hindsight could have gone far worse. She was a natural, played a crowd like an instrument, and made a name for herself in the community as the Beauty Queen was impossible to beat. On her way to Miss Teen USA Daphne had amassed several titles that came with their varied awards. She was looking towards her exit as it neared. 

However, things went terribly amiss when she was banned from further participation after she and another contestant had got into a fight when she overheard the girl spreading a particularly nasty rumor and bragging about stealing her crown. Daphne said she could have it but she’d be accepting it with a black eye. When Daphne didn’t take the stage rumors ran wild- drug problem, teen pregnancy, illiteracy! She burdened them all and took the disappointment from her parents without much fight but all the while she was looking for an escape route. Daphne barely graduated high school and with no plans for college, she was sure she would be stuck in Darien forever. Working the same jobs as her parents, walking the same path where she was simply unwanted. 

However, a few weeks into eighteen her ticket out showed up with a smile and charm and Daphne let him whisk her away. He put a ring on her finger and the two eloped in Vegas. She liked him, he was fun- maybe that was good enough. She was thankful he got her out of Darien, but in the end, he had a gambling problem and Daphne was never contented with accepting less than she deserved. At barely nineteen she left the man who had gotten her out of Gritch-hiked to Los Angeles where she took a job waitressing at a celebrity hot spot bar where she was scouted with beer spilled on her shirt and her hair piled in an unbrushed knot on the top of her head. Daphne took the offer; after all at least she was pretty. 

Modeling opened so many doors and came with a host of problems. Living with a bunch of girls all vying for the same big break was a different kind of hell that tested her patience daily. Daphne stayed out as much as she could surfing from lover to lover finding something to love about each of them. Maybe if she had worked a little harder she would have found success sooner but Daphne had too much fun stepping into a scene once close to her. Backstage at concerts, after parties with actors and other people, she likely would have never met waitressing, or if she had they wouldn’t have taken her seriously. 

It was then at twenty-one Daphne met her second husband, a Hollywood photographer who made her his muse and pushed her into Stardom. She was suddenly flown to Fashion Week Paris and was not long after gracing the cover of Vogue. However, her crumbling second marriage was even more fuel for the fire under her name as her photographer husband seemed to struggle with jealousy and it wasn’t long until they were divorced and Daphne was playing muse to fashion house Iris Van Herpen.  She loved this world, she loved the other models, the artsy types and dreamers who introduced her to a world she devoured piece by piece. 

Life was charmed and she felt like she belonged and by the time she was twenty-five years old Daphne had thought she found her place in the world. She belonged in this eclectic and fast-moving world, thrived in it, and couldn’t imagine anything better. Until she met her third husband and perhaps the only one she ever loved more than she loved herself. A man from a family with massive generational wealth and heavy political ties he was a caliber above everyone else she had ever dated and as a result, she was seen as not good enough for him. The relationship was quite the scandal- no more scandalous than their wedding that was featured in Vogue magazine. An intimate that was by far the dreamiest thing Daphne had ever been a part of- her vows were a poem she wrote and read for him, meaning every word. She didn’t let the gossip stop her from loving her husband. They seemed the odd pair, her eclectic taste and unpredictable antics compared to his grace and opulent charm didn’t sound like it would work, but they were madly in love. Burning bright and hot. However, that was the thing about fiery relationships they tend to burn out faster than the rest. 

The marriage hit rocky times when a fellow model found herself involved in shady situations and rather than minding her business Daphne inserted herself searching for justice and in turn putting herself in compromised situations. A habit she had gotten herself into and did not seem to sway away from despite how it worried her husband. She wanted to assure him, bring him peace but there was so much injustice in the world she had made her own, voices smothered out and Daphne had quickly made a reputation for herself as a woman who blazed trails and shook things up unapologetically. Things were tough, but when Daphne was given the gut-wrenching news that her little sister had been likely murdered her entire life fell apart. The answers she got were not enough, something was not right. There was no body and if there was no body Daphne could not believe it. Month by month things unraveled and the rumors of divorce became more and more prevalent as Daphne became more distant and consumed by her sister’s death. The marriage was over the day she left the signed papers bedside and left the city behind to chase down answers to what had happened to her sister. The police knew nothing so Daphne hired a private detective and before she knew it she was renting a place in a town she never would have considered before her sister’s death. 

[the-daily-male]

Today's daily male is Gyorik (York) Rogdul from Drawtectives!

[helshollowhalls]

They've grown so much!

Also Jancy has gotten like 50 new wrinkles because she had to deal with these three idiots but we still love her <3

[southernfriedamy]

One reason Aziraphale loves the Earth is because he is so connected to physical human senses.

He loves to taste...

He loves to touch (especially Crowley)...

He loves to look at beautiful things (especially Crowley) ...

He loves to listen to music ...

and he has even been observed to enjoy nice smells...

Heaven has none of that.

Everything is white. There's nothing to look at.

Everything is pristine and sterile. There's nothing to touch or smell.

Angels don't consume food or drink, and the only sound available (other than the bickering of angels) is either Celestial Harmonies or The Sound of Music.

Our angel is going to be miserable.

[captnbas]

the green comet • c/2022 e3 ‘ztf’

[somniumuse]

{ @lunarcovestarters / to all vampires } 1:27am on a Friday, at Clan HQ

"I just hope it’s enough to buy a miracle, that’s all," Arturo said to the vampires that were sitting near. He likes to hang out in the lounge with his fellow vampire denizens at least once a week. He was the Deputy after all, he had to make himself visible to all--but life with the mundane could drain the psyche. Plus, here they had better blood options (more fresh as least). Since the turn of the last century, Arturo hasn't drank straight from source; that act could gives him a touch of the ripper. However, being a Clan Member entitles him to as close as he wants without losing control.

"I never thought I'd see the day were I was more worried about holiday ribbons than I was today. I thought being Deputy would be romántico--not just paperwork..."

[celestialsigilism]

Silent Hill texture inspired Chaos Star medallion ☆

IG @ zurastral ♡

[saint-bree]

Added new things to the website shop!. Celestial Priestess is now available to order and Magimi has been restocked. You can also find little pixel art sticker packs!

[batllethinker]

Kinktober day 15

Angel corruption

When Wanda had been assigned to corrupt her human she hadn't expected the opposition she got or the angel attached to her so ofcourse she had gotten a little sidetracked.

Natasha had grown attached to Maria, the human was so sweet and her job was to protect the mortal from all bad, and that bad just happened to be Wanda, the demon she despised the most, the one she couldn't resist.

The two of them had a rough history to say that least, the power couple of heaven you could say, well until Wanda joined the revolution and she was banished.

The demon was Satan's right hand, the first one to be banished but she enjoyed her time on earth, enjoyed corrupting the souls of the innocent but she just happened to enjoy Maria abit more, mostly to get under Natasha's skin.

Maria had been perfectly conditioned to be Wanda's pet, always waiting on her knees for the demon late at night, her guardian angel lost in the back of her mind.

"Mommy!" The human practically jumped in her spot when Wanda appeared, almost a shadow in the dark room as she loomed closer, hand caressing Maria's cheek, eyes glowing red as she watched the mortal squirm.

"Hello my sweet girl, been good for me?" Maria nodded eagerly, wide eyes looking up at her demon as she leaned into the touch.

"Yes mommy, I missed you" she pouted slightly, hand coming to grip Wanda's other hand, desperate for her touch.

"Want your reward?" The demon had been away longer than she wanted to, she had left her pet all alone, there wasn't any chance of her being taken from her but she really didn't like leaving her alone.

"Please, mommy" Wanda nodded, eyes landing on the bite mark on Maria's shoulder, her own personal mark.

"On your hands and knees" The human was quick to get in position, her master following to get behind her, hand running down the spine of her back as her strap ran through her folds.

"Always so wet for mommy" Wanda was practically talking to herself and Maria knew not to answer, instead whining, hips rutting back against the demon.

Wanda easily slipped into her, hands tightly gripping her hips and the back of her head, pushing her down into the bed.

The demon's pace was punishing, rocking the bedframe with every thrust of her hips, Maria's loud moans and whimpers filling the room as she was fucked deeper into the bed.

Maria was too far gone to notice the shift in air or the sudden light filling the room but the demon was far too aware, a smirk plastered on her face as she met Natasha's eyes.

Wanda didn't say anything, instead fucking her pet even harder, hand coming down to slap her ass. Smirking in satisfaction when Maria moaned even louder, hips becoming desperate in their movement.

Natasha was blushing bright red, flustered out of her mind as she looked away from the scene, her body felt like it was on fire, it felt wrong and she didn't know what to do.

Wanda leaned forward and wrapped her hand around her mortal's throat and forced her head up.

"Look who's here, baby" Maria opened her eyes, a gasp leaving her when she saw her angel in the corner of her room, bright green eyes meeting hers.

"Nat?" Natasha's eyes widened, thighs clenching together, it felt wrong to be there, it felt wrong to see her favorite human sin.

Wanda let the two have their moment, amused by how enamored Natasha was with her human.

"I-I'm sorry Maria" The angel pouted, it was clear that she was disappointed in her inability to protect Maria.

Wanda laughed before pushing her human's head back down, hips continuing their punishing pace.

"That's enough." Maria whined, barely minding her guardian angel as she was brought to the edge, hips rutting back against Wanda.

"That's it, cum for your mommy" she came with a loud moan, back arching as Wanda fucked her through it, the demon's eyes never leaving Natasha.

Wanda placed a kiss on the back of her neck as she pulled out, ignoring the whine leaving her human.

"Go to sleep, mommy has some business to attend to" Maria nodded sleepily, easily falling asleep and leaving the two celestials in their world.

Wanda was suddenly backing the angel up against a wall, a devilish smirk on her face as she trapped Natasha, the dripping strap still on her and body gloriously naked, clothes were for mortals anyway.

"Did you enjoy the show?" The angel bit her lip to stop herself from throwing herself against Wanda just to feel her or say something she would regret.

"I, I need to go.." Wanda rolled her eyes, laughing quietly as she looked her up and down, eyes only darkening.

"God, I've missed this body" the demon trailed one of her hands along her body before squeezing her breast, long nails scratching her skin.

"It's been eons, don't tell me you haven't missed me" Natasha gasped, back arching into the touch, eyes momentarily falling onto her human, regret filling her.

"Keep your eyes on me, I know you can be good for me" Wanda pushed her knee in between her legs, laughing quietly when she was met with nothing but slick.

Natasha turned her gaze to the demon and was met with nothing but darkness and red, Wanda was the embodiment of sin, peccatum, even in heaven she was never the one to follow the word's of god, Natasha would resent her for it but she could never stop loving her.

The blonde moaned when Wanda's knee was pressed harder against her, Natasha's hips bucking against her as her head fell onto the demon's shoulder.

"Cum for me, come on angel" Natasha nodded eagerly, hips moving harder against her knee, body shaking as she came with a loud moan.

"That's my good girl, how I've missed you" the angel whimpered, pressing soft kisses to her demon's shoulder before leaning back against the wall.

"I missed you too, so much" Wanda grinned at her, fangs on full display but still managing to look as soft as a demon can.

[thatdeardelight]

(R): Magic Bus

Explore the a magic bus that takes passengers to a magic tea town under a magic sky.

I hate buses. I try to avoid them as far as practicable. But sadly, they still remain one of the most reliable, cheap, and practicable ways to travel. We still can’t fly to places; we still don’t have the wings or the will – this is one of my top complaints with the human body. I recently went on a backpacking trip across Kerala and there is so much to talk about it (quick review: beautiful,…

[lunarcovehq]

J. Royce Van Doren III is a witch that currently resides in Celestial Hills and has been a Lunar Cove resident for 36 years, cause every little thing he does is magic.

ITS THE END OF THE WORLD

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis Male, He/Him

DATE OF BIRTH: November 4, 1987

OCCUPATION: Owner of Art In Motion

FACECLAIM: Luke Mitchell

AS WE KNOW IT, AND I FEEL FINE

SPECIES: Witch

INHERENT ABILITIES: Telepathy, Electrokinesis, Duplication

COVEN POSITION: Advisor

COVEN ABILITY: Omnilingual

WELCOME TO LUNAR COVE, ROYCE VAN DOREN III

Trigger Warnings: Divorce, Death, light mentions of Memory Loss, Misogyny

On a faraway coast, at a luxurious resort, sat a tall and effortlessly handsome man. Wealth and opulence shown from head to toe, a sly fox like grin curling at his lips. Everyone around him buzzed about their lives – some on glamorous vacations such as him, others trying to live their normal rhythmic lives among the new and varied faces week by week. Their minds were loud and delicious, full of the secrets they would never breathe out loud, private as they come. Private that is, except to him. It was that uncanny ability to hear, to know the true nature of someone before their mouths opened through the bold whispers of their mind, that allowed Royce to excel in whatever enterprise he set out to master. Whether here on this shiny coast where the water was more pure than anywhere on this miserable planet, or back home in the sheltered supernatural community he vied to be away from as often as possible, Royce had sworn he would use his every advantage to climb that limitless ladder of success deep into the clouds, so that absolutely no one had the audacity to look down on him. After all, he was born to be something great - He just needed to find that once in a lifetime sliver of something to get him there. 

J. Royce Van Doren III was the only child born to the illustrious J. Royce Van Doren II (better known as ‘JR’) and his second wife, Milicent Van Doren. JR didn’t shy from jumping from spouse to spouse, having a long list of parameters a woman needed to meet in order for things to ‘stick’. For his first wife ‘irreconcilable differences’ meant he just didn’t like her personality much, but for Milicent it was a little more out of their hands. Dying during childbirth was hardly a fault of her own, though JR’s parents did mumble how the “weak womb breeds weaker children”. Royce being the only child out of that marriage was soothed if only by the fact he was born a boy – the Van Dorens’ antiquated beliefs that wealth and family prestige should only be passed down from male heir to male heir having remained prominent since they struck it big in the Railroad and Oil during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. For new money now turned old, certain traditions just wouldn’t die even with the generations that passed. JR’s next and (for now) current wife, Blythe Van Doren came so shortly after that Royce would consider her his mother, having raised him in that charming mansion, Verdant Vale Hall, in Celestial Hills alongside the two younger sisters she so graciously ‘gifted’ him several years later. It was okay to have daughters second or third, as there was a brilliant young boy already to shoulder the massive weight of family responsibility. 

Royce was always meant to be something grand, that’s what JR would say. For that reason alone, he was offered the finest that could be offered to a young man. JR sent his son off to the best boarding school in Vermont, opting out of the public education Lunar Cove offered, made sure his son had the best tutors and advantages so he could graduate with high honors and get into first-rate higher education facilities. Whip smart, charismatic, and armed with an attractive spot in Oxford University’s Men’s Boat Club, Royce received that desired high quality education and enjoyed a few years across the pond away from his father’s watchful eye, evading his colleagues (more like spies) who were under pressure to make sure the first choices of his early adulthood would align right with JR’s well laid out plans. Again, a Van Doren boy held the brunt of expectation in his family, and in Royce’s case he was expected to follow a carefully curated plan. Do well at school, come back with a lucrative degree, and he would be given access to a seemingly limitless inheritance which would allow him a leg up in whatever career he wanted. Nepotism at its finest. He’d nearly blown it all when he came back from Oxford, a college graduate with an Economics and Management degree and a woman on his arm. A human woman. 

While away, Royce undoubtedly worked hard to gain some level of prestige at school, followed every expectation and the carefully laid out plan from his family to the tee. But they never really dictated what he should do in his social life. Sharing living spaces with a few fellow witches trying to make it big (secretly) in a human world, Royce did his best to stick largely to his community where he could find it, to keep his head low and not attract much attention beyond academics and in a rowing shell. But there were just one too many pretty faces at Oxford. In small and inconsequential ways he would take advantage of his natural born gifts to allure and attract the right people – a small spark of his electrokinesis here and there with a well timed, “Looks like there are some sparks between us,” worked miracles on humans who didn’t know that tiny spark was manipulated by him, or the leg up on dates when he could read their mind and surprise them with that worthwhile gift or fancy restaurant they’d been thinking about for days. Tacky to some, but Royce always thought you had to use what you had to get through relationships and life. Sometimes it was as simple as a wager — “If I can guess the exact number on your mind,” then he got whatever he wanted. People thought he was so clever, so lucky, never mind that he could always read what was on their mind. Make your own luck, that’s what his father always told him, and that matched with his other charms somehow got Royce in and out of trouble quicker than one could blink.

In the case of this woman, it was a whole lot more than tricks and self made luck that got him anywhere. Intrigued by her sharp wit and silent grace, he found himself stumbling head over heels for a woman who didn’t belong in his world. One who didn’t fall for any of his silly little tricks and lines, who made Royce work for it. And Royce had never really had to work for anything in his life. It made him want her more – an unattainable something that was always out of reach. She forced him to be honest and vulnerable, more so than he’d been with anyone in his life, and when the veneer and gilded pompous rich boy armor fell away, she got to see parts of Royce he didn’t know he had. Sweet and soft parts, a kind and warm heart hidden beneath the crooked smiles and sarcasm that hid any sort of genuine anything. She found his sensitive side, found the part of him that loved and cared so much for the people in his life he was willing to do whatever he needed to make them happy and be whatever they wanted him to be. Found out he wasn’t as wily or cowardly as he portrayed, that he was deeply intuitive and could be foolishly brave when the moment called for it. He began to even see himself as more than just another vehicle for success in his family – Royce began to see himself as a regular person, began to accept the flaws and unique qualities in himself. He came back from the UK a changed man, a more humble and warm person. And his family hated it. They hated her – a human girl who had no inkling of the supernatural world prior to meeting and developing a relationship with the prodigal son. It took a lot of explaining on his part, but luckily she trusted him enough to let him prove whatever strangeness there was to his ‘all American family and community’ to her once they were safely inside of Lunar Cove and didn’t freak out (at least too much) at the reality of their world. Much like his other ‘strange, irregular’ habits, she took to him being a witch with grace and an open mindedness which could rival any. And he loved her all the more for it.

Now with access to that seemingly endless wealth afforded to him by birth alone, Royce would commit what would be considered the second biggest crime since coming home with a human for a wife. When JR asked Royce what his next big step would be, he shocked his father, and the rest of the living Van Dorens, with news that he would use a portion of his inheritance to purchase the local art museum. His wife, having been an accomplished painter, would need a place to display her works, and Royce decided this would be his exciting first enterprise. To his family, it was like burning money. Sure there was a level of pretentious prestige that could come with owning an art gallery – only the upper crust could afford the overpriced derivative nonsense that came in and out of Art In Motion at times – but it was hardly what they wanted from J. Royce Van Doren III. Not for his first business, anyway. What happened to the plan to merge magic and modern technology to create a never before seen magical tech conglomerate? What happened to actual innovative thought and theory, guiding another Van Doren into the future and cementing their position of wealth and status? No, instead he wanted to own an art gallery to display his wife and other emerging artist’s work, fusing magic and masterpieces into a fully immersive and interactive experience. He hired the best of the best – those with animation as an inherent ability, others with technological manipulation, fae and their illusion magic, whatever ability could be used to create intricate scenarios for guests, and then whoever had the eye and knack for fine art – in order to reinvent the posh art gallery into something more magical. His opening exhibit was “Enter The Mundane”, a magical twist on a human woman’s art portfolio. It was met with mixed reactions, the archaic high brow society not exactly open to it, but ushered in an exciting refreshing look at the art world which attracted a young audience to a gallery opened by the bourgeoisie. It made his family recoil, which Royce found deliciously worth the mixed reception.

For the most part life seemed to continue in a charming haze. The young married Van Dorens enjoyed a surprise success from their interactive art exhibits, and word of futuristic design and technological innovation being used at the small art gallery in Lunar Cove had begun to make its way to other circles. Never one to stay in his boring hometown much, Royce liked to travel, for business and pleasure. The only downside was his wife couldn’t always come along. Not without that pesky issue of memory loss when a human crossed the border. At first she wasn’t quite pleased with being stuck behind, but at least Royce provided an ivory tower as her domestic prison. Verdant Vale Hall wasn’t his yet, but a fancy townhome in Celestial Hills was all his and it made for a nice place to call home. And she did have all the time in the world to create and collaborate with actual magical people for the next fantastical exhibit they could put on, so she kept relatively busy. On the occasion, she would venture with her husband on trips to Vermont, New York City, Massachusetts and wherever his fancy money and Old American Rich Name would take them, but not too far so their soon after return and the influx of magical memories were not too jarring for her. But the trips became fewer in between when they revolved more around business than pleasure.

As fun as the art gallery was, Royce couldn’t be content with dipping his toes into just one pool — he needed more, he needed the prestige that came with more. That’s when the investments happened, when he began gaining more off the backs of others’ successes. The stock game could be tricky, they could be all consuming, and becoming a key player could make someone irritably ugly. Royce could be a fiend, an absolute shark, where money and business were concerned. He’d come back from trips to the big city either elated beyond belief with another notch of success to boast on his fine braided (and designer, naturally) leather belt, or in utter despair and a mercurial mood, weighed down by a business plan gone sour or a poor investment with shoddy return. This was an unattractive Royce, a bitter one whose ambitions and desires seemed unattainable despite all the resources at his disposal. This was the Royce bred by his family to desire power above all else. It always took a lot for him to come back from this, back to the secret dreamer who just wanted to create a cool and expressive place to share art in this small supernatural world. When he could get back to that, back to the shared goals between him and his spouse, only then did things truly seem to go well. Every business decision became a smart one, investing in things that could keep their fortune stable while using funds to grow the gallery and its faculties. Soon he began giving back, back to the community that, for better or worse, raised him and he even offered his limitless resources to the coven he belonged to. Not in some bid to gain any power within — this was charity, a pure gesture at its finest. At least, as pure a gesture as an arrogant rich man could make. It was a decade of wholesome good works and great success and growth. 

Then things took a turn for the worst.

Life in Lunar Cove was generally idyllic, made perfect and safe for this secret supernatural community. There really wasn’t much to complain about, or fear, especially for Royce. But it was always when life was at its finest that things seemed to go so incredibly wrong. When the deaths started occurring, and the Council was being picked off one by one, nobody really knew what to think of it. It had been so long since peace was struck in Lunar Cove, where the horrors of their world existed so primarily beyond their borders, that it was hard to grasp it when such atrocities happened within town. Royce could remember so clearly his family’s reaction to the news; the death of their own witch leaders. “A tragic, awful thing,” Blythe would say delicately behind a perfumed handkerchief. “Whatever are we to do now?” JR’s eyes were gleaming with something awfully frightening to Royce, shaken to his core whenever he caught his father’s gaze. It wasn’t until the men were alone to their whiskey, a drink to the great lives lost, that he voiced the thought that lay heavy between them. “You have to step up. You have to put in your name to lead them.”

The Trials were a memory which Royce tried to leave behind, but still laid out fresh. Many young, ambitious witches stepped up to the plate. Most of them wanted it, wanted the coveted title of Supreme more than anything in the world. Royce had practically everything in the world, and this was one of the few things he had no desire to possess. He already had so much responsibility— the last thing he wanted was to be keeper of the Lunar Cove coven. When the ancestors didn’t pick him, his was a face of pure relief, unlike the shameful visages of those that failed alongside him. The only thing that caught him off guard about the whole thing was who was chosen at the end of it. The Reeds were an interesting family all together, and Poppy Reed was barely his junior. He supposed he knew her and her family in the casual way that neighbors involved in a witch coven would — by name and whatever bits of reputation was hushed around. She seemed an odd choice, as his father so angrily declared time and time again at family supper. The implication that his own family seemed so against the ancestors’ choice only made him all the more supportive. So when he was asked to step in as advisor, despite clearly not wanting anything to do with coven leadership, Royce accepted the post with such a sort of blasé indifference, one that hid a deep desire to see what could be done under this new brazen leadership. The beginning of this new chapter was only dampened by one other thing: his human wife, in the midst of all this chaos.

This sort of danger didn’t bode well for the supernatural, but it could be worse for a human woman. One who, at the core of it, had barely anything to do with this world. Before Royce accepted the position of Coven Advisor, his wife wanted to leave town. To go back to England where her family was. “It could be safe there. You don’t know if it’s really all that better staying here.” It was safer there — for her, anyway. It was hardly the place for Royce. The supernatural world was growing smaller and smaller, centering in on Lunar Cove. And he had accepted a position that would keep him there for the long run. This bred a whole new kind of difficulty, long and tumultuous fights that didn’t end well for either party. And the more wounded he was, the further Royce pulled away. He focused more on work, more on the coven, more on his home being threatened. He drew farther and farther away, he almost missed it when she stopped wearing her wedding band. If it wasn’t for that one final fight, the night before a charge for a one way ticket showed up on their shared bank account, then he might have missed her leaving all together. But it happened, and he lived with the whiplash of her swift departure even to this day. It just wasn’t working, and how could it? A human with no ties to this special haven and a witch who signed his soul to it — despite how beautiful the last decade was, they just couldn’t swing it. When she placed his dead mother’s ring in his hand and turned away, Royce felt the sting of unshed tears. But he wouldn’t show it. They made a clean break, a prenup having protected their individual interests. All he still had of her were paintings owned by the gallery which she hadn’t had an interest in keeping anyway, and the memories she promptly lost. Back home in England, she’d remember him as the American cad she lost a decade to. In Lunar Cove, Royce decided to become just that.

In the time since then, Royce has left the art gallery mostly in the hands of employees, filled with almost too much shame and hurt to spend much time inside of it. He’s traveled a lot, whenever he can, for business and most certainly for pleasure. So his first marriage failed, big whoop — his dad married thrice. He’d recover and he acted like he'd done just that. Charming and unapologetically cocky, he migrated from bed to bed as often as he did from country to country, leaving a trail of either heartbreak or vehement anger in his wake. If it weren’t for a duty to his coven, and to the family that expected him to rise to greatness and maintain their status quo, perhaps Royce would have disappeared to a distant coast and lost himself in the ecstasy of foreign lands and secretive thoughts. But he comes back as often as he must, to take his place as an advisor and to flaunt an obscene amount of wealth and an even more ridiculous playboy persona around the small town he scorns and yet cherishes as his one true home. As the threat grows bigger, and seemingly more closer to home, Royce finds himself coming to an enigmatic cross roads — whether to rise to the potential his one great love had seen in him and prepare to stand up and fight when the time calls for it, or to turn tail and run away at the first sign of trouble on Lunar Cove’s horizon. Admittedly he’s teetered towards the latter, and that may just be what his fellow townspeople expect from him, but Royce is learning quickly that he can defy all expectations. And maybe proving them all wrong is exactly what he wants to do. 

[emperorundying]

The Locked Tomb Dashboard Simulator

💎 saintofawe ☑️ Follow

It always astounds me how dreadfully boring pre-resurrection media sounds.

💎 saintofawe ☑️ Follow

"And then he loved him but only in the Spanish dub" why is the dub only kind of span.

#our dear necrolord is reminiscing about his 'Favorite Johnlocks' again #duplicitous sluts please interact #i need a fucking break

( 17,928 notes )

🦷 gleam_of_a_jewel Follow

"Don't transvestigate religious figures" Cyrus the First had a pussy and I will die on this hill.

#gem.txt #before tower dickrider anons infiltrate my asks #my great great aunt was a distant relative of his cavalier #also i'm right

( 2,897 notes )

💉 se7en Follow

for important necromantic research 😇

🧠 scapulascissors Follow

half these people have not been heard from in thousands of years i don't know whether those dicks are really at their peaks anymore

👾 nyecromansea Follow

Where's my "Anyone-But-Two-Pump-Chump-Gaius" option?

🧟 graveyardshift Follow

LET ME PICK JOY'S FLESHMAGIC FOOTLONG YOU ABSOLUTE COWARD.

#they HATE to see a girlboss win #miss second saint to serve the emperor undying please girl just one chance #yes she's missing yes it's because she's in my bed every night #what about it

( 911 notes )

💀 towerofficial ☑️

In response to any concerns about a contagious black goop spreading to The Houses, The Tower would like to emphasize that this is not currently something anyone in The Houses should worry about. It is under control, and remember that tomorrow is Resurrection Day!

👤 necrodykez-deactivated-1678946

K

👤 resurrectionbeastmode-deactivated-1678579

U

👤 edenite-ally-deactivated-1678613

N

👤 mogaius-deactivated-1678948

G

👤 cavgenderrr-deactivated-1675827

P

👤 kinkayquinque-deactivated-1683648

O

👤 r1bc4g3-deactivated-1683645

W

👤 cavcocks420-deactivated-1689265

P

👤 isaac-in-the-bathroom-deactivated-1694730

E

👤 girlboy-of-the-sharpest-edge-deactivated-1672894

N

👤 blasphemiec-deactivated-1691082

I

💀 towerofficial ☑️

S. Time is a flat fucking circle.

( 872,910 notes )

🫀 chussy Follow

anyone else feel like the anti-nine-houses rhetoric on this site has skyrocketed since the princes were crowned? i don't want to say it's lesbophobia but.....

👤 antizombieactivism-deactivated-1947582

Are you fucking serious???? Not everything is about sexuality holy shit can you think critically for two seconds, The N*crolord literally has been fucking over planets for millennia.

🫀 chussy Follow

that legit does not account for the rise.... idk im just saying

#tell me you hate butches without telling me you hate butches #embarrassing!!!

( 72 notes )

☠️ is-the-emperor-undying-dead-yet Follow

still no

( 2,155 notes )

[worstsequence]

irreparable damage has been done to my kpop releases of 2022 ranking in that i like the ones i associate with eddie more then the songs that are good

[thecozymystic]

[shiningstages]

I thought about kisses and then my heart went doki~

[on-my-vigilante-sht]

Follow Me

Luke Castellan x daughterofares!Reader

Summary: Luke's girlfriend is excited to finally become a year-round camper so she can spend it with him. But Luke has other plans for them.

Warning: Major spoilers if you haven't finished the first book(/season depending on when you read this), canon-level violence, weapons, injuries, angst

Word Count: 5.5K

Masterlist

A/N I haven't watched the show because I don't have Disney+ so I'm working from (memory of) the books. No characters are specifically book or show so descriptions are left vague. Imagine whatever you want.

I stumbled my way up Half-Blood Hill, determined to get to Thalia’s tree. This was my last year being a summer camper. After I graduated high school I’d decided to become a year round camper seeing as the real world was getting more and more dangerous for me. And I'd be damned if I let myself be killed right before I was in the safety of camp for good.

I was in so much pain, there was blood pouring out of my abdomen caused by the crocotta’s razor sharp claws slicing at me. My short break gave it enough time to catch up to me so rather than continuing to flee, I was forced to turn and face it. I pulled out my father’s gift to me, a sword made of celestial bronze that grew from a steel knife that could harm mortals. When he claimed and gifted it to me I found the steel useless. Why would I ever need to harm a mortal? The reasoning behind the dual blade still eluded me. The only reason I could think of was just that Ares had a penchant for violence.

As the crocotta bounded closer to me, all I could do was stand and wait for it to get within range. But upon reaching me, it just swiped the sword from my grasp, pouncing on me. I felt a tear slip down my face as I realized I’d failed to reach safety one final time. As it growled in my face and opened its jaw, I sent a silent prayer to my father and a goodbye to Luke. But before it’s jaws could clamp down on me, the weight lifted and a shimmery cloud of ichor rained down on me.

As the golden dust settled, I could see my boyfriend’s face above mine, standing over me, clutching his dagger. “Luke,” I practically sobbed in relief.

“Oh my gods,” he exclaimed, kneeling down next to me. His hands went to my stomach, pressing against the open wound, trying to stop the bleeding. “Can you walk?” he asked, fear in his eyes.

“Yeah,” I nodded, letting him take my hand as he stood. Truthfully I probably couldn’t really walk but it was either walk 10 feet to the tree or lie here waiting for someone else to help Luke carry me in and potentially getting attacked by another monster.

I let out a groan as Luke slung my arm over his shoulder, pulling me up from the ground. “C’mon,” he urged, “just get to the tree and then we’ll get some more people to help you.” I nodded, not bothering with a verbal agreement as I let my boyfriend practically carry me just past Thalia’s tree. “There we go,” he said gently as he eased me to the ground.

“Go. Go get Lee or Michael,” I urged him as he kneeled by my side again.

“No,” Luke immediately shot down. “I’m not leaving you like this and so close to the edge of the barrier.” I glanced to my left. We were about three feet from the edge of the camp’s protective barrier. “Help!” I heard him yell towards camp.

“What? Do you think I'm accidentally gonna roll down the hill?” I tried to joke. But my chuckle made my wounds hurt even more.

Seeing my pain made Luke even more unamused. Soon enough a few other campers ran up to us, having heard Luke’s call.

“Y/N, oh my god.”

“What happened?”

“Another one?!”

I heard the various reactions from other campers. Another one? What did they mean another one? But I didn’t dwell on my questions for long because Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew were running towards me. A few of my siblings followed them carrying a stretcher. As the Apollo boys started to try to stop the bleeding, I was moved onto the stretcher. But the pain of being lifted was so bad I blacked out.

~

When I came to in the sickroom of the Big House all I could feel was pain. I let out a soft groan, snapping Luke to attention. He was slumped over on my bedside, seemingly sleeping. He immediately grabbed a piece of ambrosia off the nightstand next to the cot, bringing it to my lips. I immediately rejected it, not feeling like eating anything.

“C’mon, it’s ambrosia. It’ll make you feel better,” Luke pleaded. Reluctantly I let him coax the food into my mouth and ate it. The comforting taste of my mother’s chocolate cake filled my mouth. Despite the fact that it tasted good, it felt heavy in my stomach and I pushed the food away. “You gotta eat more than that,” he tried again.

“Let’s start with water or nectar,” I suggested, my throat sore.

Luke looked at the floor angrily. He sighed. “We’re out of nectar for a while. Ambrosia is all we have.”

“What?” I asked in shock, sitting up in surprise. Luke was quick to coax me back down.

“Grover and the kid he was helping got attacked by the Minotaur on their way here. Just like the crocotta attacked you.”

“Oh my god,” I murmured. “Is that why someone said ‘Another one?’ as they were bringing me here?”

He nodded once again. “His name was Percy. He showed up the night before you did.” He suddenly stopped talking. Like he had something more to say. I urged him to continue and he did so reluctantly. “Poseidon claimed him the second night he was awake… and now he’s on a quest.”

I looked at him sympathetically. I knew all about Luke’s anger about going unclaimed for so long. And then when he finally was claimed and had trained to be a great hero, all Hermes could give him to do was steal some golden apples. But after countless rants about this I knew he wouldn’t want sympathy. “You said he’s on a quest already? How long have I been out?”

“A couple days. Chiron and Lee kicked me out for a while.”

“What’d you do?”

“Well, we already need new practice dummies for combat training,” he admitted sheepishly. I laughed and fortunately Luke did too.

By now, Chiron had sensed I was awake and entering the sickroom. As he ducked his way through the door he shrunk down back into his wheelchair so as to not overwhelm me. “I’m glad to see you’re awake. You gave us quite a scare for a few days,” he smiled.

“So I've heard.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Like my guts were ripped out by a crocotta,” I answered.

“Well the ambrosia should help the pain and scarring. Lee stopped the bleeding and stitched you up but he said you’d be out for a few days.”

“Can you get her some nectar?” Luke interrupted. “She’s not exactly in a place to be eating solid foods.”

“Mr. D is trying to get into contact with Apollo. Apparently he’s concerned that Dionysus is overindulging.”

“That’s crap!” Luke suddenly burst out.

“Luke!” Chiron immediately cut him off. “I know you’re concerned for Ms. L/N, here but the food of the gods is in of itself a privilege.” He then turned his attention back to me. “I’m sorry you’re not feeling well but ambrosia will have to do until we’re able to get more nectar.”

“Thanks, Chiron,” I tried to dismiss him, giving him a tight lipped smile. Sensing my disappointment he took his leave, wheeling out of the room.

Luke was back by my bedside with more pieces of ambrosia that I reluctantly took.

~

Thanks to the godly food I was up and walking within two days much to cabin 5’s relief. So many of my younger siblings were saying that Clarisse had been a terror in my absence. Something about a bathroom exploding and then she apparently tried to electrocute the new camper. I made a note to talk to her later but for now I was focused on getting my cabin back in order. They responded best to authority and a routine so I quickly had them out in training, telling them that I wouldn’t tolerate us losing capture the flag again.

We made our way down to the arena for sword fighting lessons. Luke and I were both instructors seeing as we were the oldest two campers and the best with blades. Our childhood competitiveness had eventually grown into love but for a while, we hated each other. We used to spend hours trying to get the upper hand over one another.

But now that we were dating, the younger campers always tried to goad us into sparring with one another. We always said that we’d save our sparring match for our own training or a reward for the others doing well but usually a few teasing comments had our swords pointed at one another.

I was correcting a Hermes camper’s form when he asked me to try fighting Luke. “Not today,” I laughed.

“Why? Is it because you’re scared?” he asked, knowing exactly what he was doing.

“No,” I corrected him. “It’s because once we fight, none of you will care about what we teach you.”

“Sound like you’re scared,” the boy just repeated.

I just rolled my eyes, prepared to dismiss him when Luke’s voice interrupted. “Yeah, Y/N. It sounds like you’re scared.” I rolled my eyes again as he approached. “I wouldn’t want to fight the capture the flag champion either.”

“You only won because I was recovering from being chased across the country by a monster. Just wait until the next game, I’ll show you how Cabin 5 does it.” That elicited a few cries of encouragement from my cabin, eager to win their flag back.

“You need a bit more time to train, I get it,” he mockingly offered. A few of his siblings joined in on the taunting with their exaggerated reactions.

“I don’t need time. I’d just rather not cut you up this early into the summer,” I smiled. A few ‘ooh’s came from our audience.

Luke bristled a little at that. “C’mon,” he gestured to the arena, “let’s settle this once and for all.”

I picked up one of the practice swords that resembled the size and weight of my real sword, stepping into the middle of the arena. “You say that every time.” Luke smiled, taking his spot in front of me with his practice sword as the other campers backed up.

I barely gave him a chance to settle before I was moving. I had the advantage of my father’s knack for fighting and aggression but I wasn’t as strong as Luke. Unfortunately, he knew all my moves and tricks so he was able to block me. But that also meant I knew all of his moves and tricks because I could anticipate his subsequent moves.

We continued on, trying to outmaneuver each other. He kept forcing me out of range, protecting his body, whilst I tried to find an opening to get close to him. The other campers had been within the walls of the arena but we moved around so much they were forced to jump out.

The only reason we stopped was because our little “lesson” had gone on too long and Chiron was wondering where his students were. Neither of us noticed him until he yelled our names. “Y/N L/N! Luke Castellan! What are you doing?” We both immediately stopped, facing the centaur like guilty children.

“We were just introducing them to technique,” Luke offered. I could tell Chiron saw right through his excuse but it was good enough reasoning.

“You both know you’re supposed to hold off on sparring one another. Children,” he turned to the other campers, “what did your instructors teach you?”

“Stance!”

“What to do if your opponent has a longer sword!”

Those were the answers our siblings offered but one Aphrodite camper’s answer ruined the whole thing. “How to waste time.” Luke and I both sent her stares.

Fortunately Chiron didn’t take it too seriously. “Save the sparring for your own sessions,” he warned us. “Everyone move on to your next activities. I’m sure your instructors are waiting.”

As everyone else filed off, Luke and I looked at each other. “You’re disgusting,” I laughed, observing his sweaty shirt.

He looked baffled at that. “Wow. I was gonna ask if you’re okay but clearly you don’t value me that much,” he answered in mocking offense.

“No, no, no,” I corrected through laughs, going to him. But as soon as he tried to hug me, I pulled away with a wrinkled nose. Seeing my disgust, he forcefully hugged me, drowning me in his B.O. When I finally wrestled my way out of his arms I was disgusting. “Ugh we both need showers.”

He smiled. “I’ll see you at dinner,” he promised. He stepped closer to me, kissing me quickly before heading off towards the showers. I watched him leave for a moment before heading to my cabin.

Later that night at dinner, I was talking to my cabin-mates when Luke came over, crouching by me. “Hey,” he smiled up at me as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

“Hi,” I laughed. “What are you doing here?”

“Being a good boyfriend. I’m just giving you a heads up that our spar from earlier isn’t over yet.”

“What?”

Chiron stood up and so did Luke. “Gotta go, bye,” he said, pressing a kiss to my temple before scurrying off.

Bewildered, I looked up at Chiron. “We have a special activity tonight per the request of the reigning capture the flag champions. We’ll be playing again tonight seeing as some claimed our last games were unfair due to a missing counselor.” Cabin 5 erupted into cheers, eager to win the flag back. “Luke Castellan and Y/N L/N are captains. Same rules as the prior games.”

Not willing to let my cabin lose again, I jumped into action. “Cabin 5, armor on, get to the creek in 5!” They all quickly scrambled off. Our allies for this game, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Demeter, and Hephaestus followed their lead.

I followed after them to get my armor as well and soon enough I was stood by the creek, discussing strategy with my teammates. Once our discussion time drew to a close, I faced my opposing captain. “You’re going down, feather feet,” I sneered.

“We’ll see, hot head,” Luke taunted.

I laughed. “Oh yeah, one more thing,” I told my teammates. “Bring me Luke’s sword and helmet.”

“In your dreams,” he taunted back. He looked at his team. “Bring me Y/N.”

“Okay,” Chiron interrupted us. “Before we begin I think we need a reminder that killing is not permitted. Are we clear?” A few unenthusiastic agreements came from the crowd. Nodding, Chiron blew into the horn, signaling that the games had begun. Some of my campers who hadn’t already been stationed bolted into the trees, doubling back so they could hopefully sneak through Hermes’ cabin’s defenses. The others stayed with me to defend the most obvious point.

One Hermes kid immediately jumped at me but I slashed him in the chest, (his armor protected him so he just got the wind knocked out of him) knocking him back into the water.

He got back up, running at one of my campers but he was immediately disarmed and taken prisoner. By the time I looked back, the other campers and Luke were gone. I realized with a frustrated scream that this kid was a distraction. “Find them!” I yelled at the others.

“Their territory or ours?” I observed the 5 campers in front of me. “You three, stay on our side. Fan across the creek, look for signs they crossed into our territory. The rest of you, we’re gonna either hunt them down in their territory or take their flag.”

My group leapt over the creek, running into the forest.

As we searched, we picked up a few of our own teammates, running through the woods and strangely finding no opposing campers. We continued on nonetheless until Athena and Apollo campers all of a sudden started darting through the trees.

Eventually they stopped moving enough for us to have a proper fight. I faced Malcom Pace, easily disarming him. But suddenly his older brothers were on me. As I was busy fighting twins, Leo and Cato, another one of the boys found an opening. Quinn wrapped his arms around me, a dagger at my throat. “Drop the sword,” they told me.

Seeing as I wasn’t getting out of this but my teammates were gone while many of the Athena and Apollo campers were still here, I dropped the sword. Most of my campers got away and were likely hunting down the flag.

Before they could decide where to stash their prisoner, the horn blew again, signaling the end of the games. But as I tried to leave, the others stopped me. “Woah, Luke said he wanted you so we’re taking you.”

I rolled my eyes, letting them lead me to the creek. “Yeah, well when my cabin gives me his stuff and the flag, you can apologize to me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Quinn dismissed. “You’re just mad I beat you.”

“You only ‘beat me’ because there were three of you. And you guys still lost the rest of my team.”

“We still got you!” Leo taunted in a sing-songy voice. By now we had reached the creek and I saw Clarisse holding the flag, a helmet, and a sword. Luke was kneeled beside her looking humiliated, clearly a captive.

Both sides let us go and I went to Clarisse. “Your spoils,” she presented me the flag, helmet, and sword. I smiled, wrapping the flag around her shoulders and taking Luke’s stuff.

“Thank you!” I said emphatically, pointing a look of victory at Luke.

He just shook his head, standing up. As he approached me I figured he was grabbing his belongings but instead he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me in for a kiss. When he pulled away he explained. “You’re my spoil.”

~

Camp life continued on as normal for a while. I finally met the newest hero who had returned Zeus’ masterbolt— he did not like my father. He seemed surprised that Luke and I were dating and I learned that Luke had become a sort of mentor to Percy over the days that I had been asleep. That also surprised me, given how resentful Luke had seemed towards him when I first woke up. Regardless, everything seemed normal as we continued our routines throughout the summer until I was woken up one night.

“Y/N,” a voice whispered, shaking me. “Y/N.” I reluctantly opened my eyes, finding one of my younger brothers, Aiden, shaking me. “Luke’s asking for you.”

“What?” I asked, sitting up.

“Luke wants to talk to you. He gave me a coke if I woke you up.” The boy excitedly held up a shiny red can as if to persuade me to go.

I rubbed his messy hair as I sat up. “Don’t let Clarisse see that,” I advised, throwing on a hoodie. He nodded, going back to his bunk as I headed outside. “Luke!” I whispered into the night upon exiting the cabin. I didn’t notice him sneaking up towards me until his hands were around my waist. “Luke!” I exclaimed in surprise.

He quickly hushed me. “Do you want the harpies to find us?”

“Well we wouldn’t have to worry about that if you weren’t trying to talk to me in the middle of the night. What’s wrong?” I asked, knowing it’d be serious. He let his playful facade drop as he urged me to follow him, taking my hand. I went with him, silently trusting him until I realized we were heading to the woods. I stopped, letting my hand fall out of his grasp. “What? Are you gonna kill me in there?” I laughed shallowly, trying to lighten the mood and quell the alarms in my brain.

Luke returned my shallow laugh, clearly nervous. “Of course not. Look, I have to talk to you. It’s serious.” I could see the genuineness in his expression so I let him retake my hand. “I’d never hurt you,” he promised. So I followed him further into the woods until he deemed us far enough. “The nymphs may hear us but it’s kind of impossible to avoid them,” he chuckled.

“Hear what?” I asked.

He took a breath, seemingly composing himself. “You know how I went on that quest? For my dad?”

“Yeah. What? You want to go out into the world again?” I asked, a little relieved.

“Sort of,” he offered. “But on that ‘quest,’” he mocked the word, “I realized something: the gods are useless.”

“Luke!” I immediately reprimanded him.

“No,” he cut me off. “You don’t have to pretend like not fawning over the gods is a crime. We shouldn’t be blindly worshipping them. Y/N,” his hands were clasping my shoulders as if begging me to believe him, “your father waited for the last day of summer your first year to claim you. Why? Just to mess with you? Because he just couldn’t be bothered to do it until he remembered at the last second? That’s messed up. The gods aren’t fit to rule. The West is going to hades. My quest? To repeat Heracles’ quest? All the gods know how to do is repeat the past. Their glory days.”

“Luke, you’re scaring me.” I was practically begging him to stop talking so we could go back to the way it was. This was the first year I’d be staying year round. We were supposed to be celebrating Christmas together for the first time in a few months. Yet here he was, spouting off heresy.

“Open your eyes,” he insisted. “The gods are poisoning the world and they’ve been using us as pawns to do it. The only way to fix it is to destroy it and start over with something more honest.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been having dreams sent by the Titan Lord.”

A shiver ran down my spine and I stepped out of his grasp. “No,” I heard myself whisper. “Luke, he’s using you. You remember what Chiron taught us. We are not better off, no one was better off when the Titans ruled. We didn’t even have fire. He will kill all the humans. He’ll kill us.”

“Not if we join him willingly,” Luke promised, trying to take my hand again but I pulled away. “He said when I bring down the gods he’ll reward me. He’ll make me immortal. He promised you’d become like me too.” He quickly grasped my wrist tight enough so I couldn’t escape, pulling me closer. “We can rule together, forever.” He was pleading with me to take his offer, his hands finding a stray lock of hair to tuck behind my ear.

“Luke… this isn’t- you can’t…” I was at a loss for words.

“Please, Y/N,” his voice was cracking.

“I can’t. I’m sorry. This isn’t right. This is dangerous, can’t you see that?”

“This isn’t me just trying to get back at my dad. I’ve thought about this.” He stiffened, still tightly grasping my wrist. “Y/N, I need you with me.”

“Then don’t go,” I begged him. “I won’t even tell anyone. We can just go back to how things were.”

“No, we can’t,” he shook his head. “Because you’re gonna try to help me by telling Chiron and he’s gonna turn me in.”

“No he won’t! Luke, he trained you. He’ll want to help you.”

“Camp isn’t safe for us anymore. We have to go.”

This was the first time I actually started fearing for my safety. I tried to pull out of his grasp but he held firm. “Go where?”

“Our Titan Lord got us a ship. We’ll be safe there until I get my next orders. The monsters on it won’t harm us.”

“What?!” With a hard wrench I pulled my wrist out of his grasp. I immediately started running, hoping a nymph would find me before a monster did but Luke was on me in seconds. He knocked me to the ground and after a little struggling he had me pinned. “Luke, please don’t do this,” I begged as I saw him reach into his pocket. When I saw the milk of the poppy I began to thrash underneath him but I couldn’t manage to throw him off of me. He forced my mouth open, dropping the liquid onto my tongue and forcing me to swallow. Before I blacked out, I could vaguely hear him speak.

“You’ll be okay in a few days and then we can talk.” A few days???

~~

The next morning Luke was woken by frantic cries of his girlfriend’s name heard throughout camp. He immediately rushed out of bed, putting on a concerned boyfriend facade. Finding one of his brothers, he asked what was going on. “What? Did you just wake up?” Luke nodded frantically. “Oh, I’m sorry man. Uh, Y/N wasn’t in bed this morning. No one can find her. One of her little brothers said you asked to talk to her last night.”

“Yeah to talk about potentially allying for capture the flag but she went right back in,” he insisted frantically. He ran a hand through his hair, acting stressed. He kind of whished he’d be gone by now but he needed to get rid of Percy before he could go.

He ran out of the cabin, immediately going up to Cabin 5. Clarisse spotted him, her expression becoming sour. “What’d you do Castellan? Aiden said you wanted to talk to her last night.”

“Yeah, we were talking about capture the flag but she went right back in 10 minutes later. You sleep 20 feet from her, where’s my girlfriend?” he challenged. Clarisse sent him a scowl but otherwise stormed off, the other Cabin 5 campers following her with similar expressions.

“Luke, I'm so sorry,” a young voice called. He turned, finding Annabeth running towards him. As she hugged him, Luke couldn’t help but think about how much he’d miss her. She was too smart for her own good but he still couldn’t help but think of the seven year old he had found hiding from monsters. “She could just be out somewhere?” she offered, trying to console him.

“I hope so,” he smiled down at her. He then spotted Mr. D and ran over to him. “Mr. D, can you find where she is?”

The god gave him a tired expression. “I’m not omniscient in this state. All I know is she’s not in camp.”

“Well can’t you get a god who is? Surely her father wants to know where she is,” he insisted. But Ares had plenty of demigod children and most of them went missing in action or died tragic deaths. Y/N would be just another hero child that fought in his name.

“Lord Ares has other concerns,” Mr. D at least tried to soften the blow. “If she hasn’t returned by the end of the summer then we must assume she is dead. Even if she left of her own volition.”

“But summer is ends tomorrow. You can’t do this. She could still be out there. She could need our help. Let me go out and search,” he pleaded. By now, Chiron, Clarisse, and a few others had joined them.

“No one is leaving,” Chiron declared. “I’m not letting anyone else go missing. Luke, I understand your concern but her blade was found in Cabin 5. If she’s not in camp she is likely already dead.”

“No,” Luke insisted, putting on the performance of a lifetime, “you’re wrong.”

After nearly two whole days of searching camp and the closest borders, (that was the furthest Chiron would let anyone go) Y/N L/N was declared dead. Her siblings reluctantly built a funeral pyre, decorating it with some of her things. Luke did his best to look devastated and it seemed to be working because no one looked at him twice other than to offer their sympathies. That at least made it easy to lure Percy off into the woods just before he left.

~~

When I woke up I was in a strange room. It looked like a hotel room except for the fact that the floor to ceiling windows showed that I was on the ocean. That triggered all the memories of Luke. A sense of hopelessness came over me and I was immediately breaking down in sobs. I didn’t want to believe that he had joined Kronos and turned his back on everything he knew or that he was determined to drag me with him.

Once I finally managed to compose myself I went to the door, hoping to find a radio so someone could get me. Or maybe even find Luke so I could talk him into letting me go. But once I opened the door I was met with the massive jaws of a hellhound. I immediately shut the door and locked it.

Still feeling unsafe I went to grab the dresser to block the door but either it was too heavy or bolted down. I tried the desk next resulting in nothing. I was running out of time as the monster was probably just trying to process what it saw. Soon it’d smell me and start trying to break down the door. So I resorted to the chair, dragging it across the floor and jamming it under the door handle. I then went to the massive windows, realizing there was a hidden door. I wrenched it open, stepping out into the fresh air. I looked around, seeing no land I’d be able to swim to. But just as I was considering my chances, I noticed the body of a massive whale-like creature. I was willing to bet that whales weren’t just swimming around a cruise ship, this was a cetus.

Seeing as I had nowhere else to go, I went back into the room. I went to the attached bathroom, searching for something to defend myself. There wasn’t really anything in there except bar soap and toilet paper. Luke must have removed everything, even the towels, so I couldn’t hurt him or anyone else. Frustrated, I went to the closet, finding it completely empty. Not even a hangar to pull apart and stab someone with. So I reluctantly grabbed the soap seeing as it was literally the only thing remotely resembling a weapon, and sat on the bed, watching the door.

I don’t know how long I sat there but eventually I heard the door shake, like something was trying to get in. As I was preparing to clobber the monster with my bar of soap, a voice I recognized called through the door. “C’mon, Y/N! Open the door,” Luke said. I didn’t dare move. I didn’t want to see him. “Open the door or I break it down!” he demanded.

It was either open the door or have absolutely no protection from the monsters so I reluctantly got up. “Okay, okay!” I answered. “Just give me a second.” I climbed off the bed, removing the chair. I only twisted the handle, letting the door open slightly before going back to the bed to put some distance between us.

As Luke was locking the door again, I took my chance. Jumping, I tried to bring the bar of soap down on him but he turned, grabbing my wrist. “Come on, you had to have known that wouldn’t work,” he smiled.

I only gave him a burning stare. “It was worth a shot,” I said, trying to pull my hand away. But his grip held fast, not letting me pull away.

“So I guess you still hate me?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “You kidnapped me and are now holding me hostage on a monster infested ship.”

“You’ll understand soon enough,” he dismissed, once again brushing a piece of hair behind my ear. “Then we’ll be together forever.”

Masterlist