#i can finally officially put my book back on my shelf lmao

[the-pjo-analyst]

The Lightning Thief Summary

Here I was thinking I'd finish editing this today and still have plenty of time before the show airs and then they release the episodes early sjkdfhsdkfh

Anyway over a year later and it's done! Thank you for everyone who's been patient with my posts despite taking so long to finish. I'll put a pause on my book analyses so I can focus on reading the Trials of Apollo (I never finished the series,,,,,) so I can finally read all the new content we got this year! Maybe I'll make live posts as I read 👀 I kinda want to make posts about the tv show when it airs too.... we'll see :D

Until then, here's a summary of the first book:

Themes

The concept of home In terms of a physical place, Camp Half-Blood is the biggest example of this, as a sanctuary for demigods who struggle to survive and fit in in the regular world. I find it interesting how in every book something threatens the existence of CHB as a safe place. In this case it's something small, the hellhound that Luke brought in. Luke even says he did it so Chiron would believe camp wasn't safe and send Percy off on a quest. Each threat progressively gets worse, which forces the demigods to go on quests to either directly or indirectly save/help their home. There's also people as a place to call home, like how Sally is to Percy. Funny enough the motif of demigods going on quests to protect their home also applies to here because Percy doesn't accept his quest to save CHB, he does it to save his mom, the only person at that point he felt at home with. Because brain is hardwired to think about percabeth all the time I'll put this out in the open: Percy and Annabeth stand on opposite ends of the "what is home" spectrum at the beginning, Percy's being a person and Annabeth's being a place, and then they kinda switch with Percy finding a home at CHB and Annabeth learning to call her mortal family home. But haha psyche it's actually them growing to call each other home. Like when Percy is on the fence whether to stay at camp for the year or not, a major reason he decides against it is bc Annabeth won't be there. And then Annabeth would never have considered living with her dad again is Percy didn't encourage her.

Supporting others and having support from loved ones This pops up a lot in the book and it's an important driving force for a lot of the characters: Percy having a loving mother, the trio having each other's backs throughout their quest, the trio supporting each other's goals, even Poseidon watching over Percy. When they're at their lowest, when they think about giving up, they all had someone who picked them back up, someone who eased the pain a little, and that helped them keep going and lift them up. On the topic of Percy vs Luke, this is a major point that distinguishes the two as heroes. Percy has a support system that he can fall back to when he makes mistakes or bad things happen to him while Luke doesn't, not really. Although it's hard to tell from Percy's pov whether Luke had any close friends or not, it doesn't seem like he had anyone to confide in (at least after Thalia). He's left to stew in his negative emotions, another reason why he was so easy to be manipulated.

Identity Maybe too early to really talk about this, but the first book introduces this idea of how characters identify themselves, and especially who they identify with. Demigods being categorized demigods by their godly parent and also them choosing whether to identify by that or not. On the flip side, demigods feeling lost or not seen when they either aren't claimed or don't have a cabin to truly call theirs. There's also Annabeth who practically grew up in this system and internalized it, and came to find there's more to the world than just who your godly parent is. And Percy on the opposite side again lmao, who considers himself Sally Jackson's son first and foremost, and then learns to accept Poseidon in his life in whatever form it entails.

Worship of the gods and broken systems Probably the most important theme to the plot line of the series. I talked a lot about this in terms of Percy vs Luke for my ch 21 and 22 posts, essentially how demigods' over-reliance on the gods breeds a flawed and defective system. A subtheme for this is the gods and responsibility: who gets blamed for the actions of the gods? are the gods obligated to claim and acknowledge their children? I think what makes Percy the perfect Child of the Prophecy is that he has never relied on the gods as omniscient and almighty beings to give him what he needs, he instead relies on his own power, and that allows him to work with the gods to create change in future books. He never had a moment where he worshiped the gods and also never had a moment of disillusionment bc he was immediately thrust into a situation that revealed out broken the system was as soon as he was brought into the world of immortals. He sees the gods and their world as they are, both the good and the bad.

Characters

Percy: I'll just summarize his core qualities since I talk too much about this kid 😂: Percy is strong-minded and doesn’t back down easily, he has high integrity, he’s incredibly loyal to his friends and stands up for them, he heavily relies on his instincts and is impulsive, he's also very street-smart! he's impertinent lol and doesn't take well to authority if he feels it isn’t deserving or fair, he loves loves loves his mom, he always fights to protect, he has an incredibly low self-esteem and desires others to see beyond the trouble that follows him, he doesn't like "bothering" people with his problems. His sass and spite probably formed as a defense mechanism against his low self-esteem and the abusive environment he grew up in. It's interesting reading the book while fully looking at Percy's characteristics in terms of how growing up with Gabe affected him. For example, if he had a stable home, would his self esteem be as low as it is?

This pops up at the end and becomes hugely important in the later books, but Percy tends to take on responsibilities way too personally and they tend to become fixations. After Luke's betrayal, Percy is like I have to go find him and I can't just sit around while Luke is planning to destroy the world. He's like,,,, proactive to a fault.

Traits he probably gets as a child of Poseidon bc I love discussions that try to pinpoint this: the inability regulate strong emotions, like his temper; his brooding expression that gives him the air of a troublemaker and loose canon; his difficultly in following the rules; obv his love of beaches too.

Annabeth: As I've said before, Annabeth makes a good foil for Percy as the logical and book-smart person to Percy's heavy emotions and instincts. She's introduced as someone who's opposing to Percy in almost every way: someone who's entire world is her godly parent and the immortal world, who relies on her brain first before anything else, who's a bit manipulative, who's very confident in her abilities. But they also have some similarities: where Annabeth has faced lots of abandonment and Percy has faced a lot of rejection, and from these experiences they both have come to desire acknowledgement of their worth and the good in them. And they come to find these things in each other. It's also important to note how they learn from one another on their quest, like Percy starting to form strategies in his battles and Annabeth finding that the immortal world isn't everything.

Annabeth's aspirations and fatal flaw are very much tied together, since she's learned growing up that she can only rely on herself to do things right, plus having incredible pride as a child of Athena, led to her developing hubris. And it goes hand-in-hand with her desire for something permanent since she's never had something stable prior to arriving at camp. Her dream to be an architect allows her to both create something that will last eternity and make her stamp on the world.

Grover: The growth for Grover is a little less prominent compared to Percy and Annabeth. He's introduced as being meek with low-confidence but he has Big Dreams for that Tiny Body. It's really because he has Percy and Annabeth that he's able to grow and gain more confidence in himself, without them his aspirations would just be a pipe dream (I'm sorry I made an accidental pun lol). Grover rises to the occasion because he has people who believe in him and frequently tell him so and he also wants to meet those expectations. And that support takes physical form at the end of the book, both with Grover gaining his searcher license and him getting a growth spurt. You can see with your eyes how much he's matured, filling into the shoes of the person he wants to be in a literal sense.

Luke: Whereas Annabeth is different from Percy in every way but the ones that really matter, Luke is similar to Percy in every aspect except ones that really matter. He's a very caring and supportive person, so much so that he takes Percy under his wing when no one else does when Percy arrives at camp. He sees a broken system in the immortal world and wants something better for demigods. And yet he's also incredibly selfish, he leans more into putting himself and his desires first before anything else. He had relied too much on the gods to fix and provide everything and becomes bitter when that doesn't happen. Despite being a source of support for others, he doesn't have that for himself. And because of these differences, Luke is way more susceptible to Kronos' influence than Percy is. Kronos can offer glory and power and self gratification, and where Percy would refuse because it goes against his morals and who he is (someone who thinks about others before himself), Luke is more likely to be swayed.

Honestly Luke seems like a "what if" in comparison to Percy. What if Percy lost his mom? What if he was left at camp when he was younger? What if Percy never found a support system? All the examples I'm thinking of boil down to Percy having a parental figure that guides him and teaches him important lessons, while Luke doesn't lmao.

There's two sides in Luke, love vs anger, kindness vs selfishness, gods vs titans, celestial bronze vs steel, and this conflict appears frequently throughout the series. I want to see what moments this conflict shows itself in the later books!

Other things to keep in mind for the series when I continue reading and other notes:

Does Percy have claustrophobia? Or does it only show up at St Louis lol

The parallels between Percy and Luke

Ways Percy and Annabeth get closer and learn from one another

[B2 Summary]

[dickspeightjrs]

Nut Up, Novak (au / 1.7k words)

Prompt 13 from my ‘30 Destiel Prompts’ for @caslikescoffeeandfreckles

ao3 link

Castiel hummed to himself. He felt like a bumbly bee, happily buzzing around the kitchen. He was packing up a lunch to have on a picnic date with Dean. 

The thing between them was still a little new. They’d only been on a handful of dates since they’d met at the library where Castiel worked. 

Castiel had been stacking and rearranging the shelves when this man had come sauntering up to him loudly asking about a book he needed. 

After telling him, politely, to lower his voice because the green-eyed man was getting glares from the college students trying to cram for finals, Castiel took him to the correct area that he needed in order to find the book he was looking for.

“Thanks, man, you’re a life-saver.” He said. “My nerd-ass brother needs it for his final but he’s deep in study mode.”

“You’re most welcome.” Castiel assured, with his customer service smile tacked onto his face. 

The man hesitated for a moment, raking his eyes up Castiel’s body, taking in the slacks and sweater vest Castiel was wearing. “How do you remember where all the books are in this place?”

Castiel shrugged, trying not to feel self conscious at the stranger’s examining gaze. “I’ve read a few from each section, which helps a little, I suppose. I also happen to enjoy my job.” 

“Wow,” he said, “you must be super smart.” He grinned a lop-sided smile. 

Castiel blushed. “Well, I don’t know about that. But thank you.”

The lop-sided smile on the man’s face turned into a cheeky grin. “So,” he said, leaning his shoulder against the bookshelf he’d just picked up a book from, “how about we get together one day soon and you tell me some of the stuff that’s in your big brain?”

Castiel’s face couldn’t get any more red. Was this, frankly beautiful, man asking him out? It couldn’t be. They’d barely known each other for even a few minutes but Castiel could tell this man wasn’t the kind of guy that was normally into him. 

Castiel’s tie and sweater vest certainly weren’t the typical match for the ripped jeans and henley that this wonderful man was wearing. 

“What d’ya say?” The man asked when Castiel still hadn’t given an answer. He seemed a little cocky to Castiel but, instead of being put off by it, Castiel just thought it was a little goofy and endearing. 

“I think I’d like that.” Castiel smiled. 

“Good.” The man pushed himself off the shelf he’d been leaning against, and pulled his wallet out of his jeans pocket. He produced a card and passed it over to Castiel. 

‘Dean Winchester. 

Singer Salvage & Autos

TEL: 07593123344’

Dean. It was suddenly the best name Castiel had heard (or seen, he supposed). 

“Text me.”

*  *  * 

Since then, Castiel discovered that Dean was much more than the cocky ‘bad boy’ vibe he’d tried to give off. 

For example, Dean cared a lot about his brother, Sam. He talked for most of their first date about Sam being the most hard working kid, and how he’d got into Stanford on a full ride. 

After about an hour, Dean had stopped for a second and cringed. “I’ve been talking about my dork of a little brother for our entire date, haven’t I?”

Castiel had chuckled and nodded but was quick to assure Dean that it was nice to hear about someone Dean cared so deeply for. He only hoped that one day Dean could care that much for him too. 

Now, Castiel was preparing for their third date. He’d planned a picnic to have on the grassy expanse overlooking the river on the edge of town. 

He was hoping that today would be the day that he’d finally work up the nerve to ask Dean to officially be his boyfriend. 

Putting the finishing touches to the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Castiel licked the remaining peanut butter off the knife. If he wasn’t saving room for when he ate with Dean later, he’d finish off the jar. 

Peanut butter was a gift from the Gods as far as Castiel was concerned. 

Noticing the time on the clock, Castiel rushed to pack the remaining parts of the picnic into the basket and leave out the door. 

*  *  *

Later, at the river, Castiel arrived first and set everything up in anticipation for Dean’s arrival. 

Looking at the spread of food laid out on the blanket, Castiel couldn’t help but feel proud of what he’d put together. He just hoped Dean would like it. 

The nerves began to set in and spotting Dean across the way, walking towards him, only made it worse. 

Dean looked good today. His dark blue jeans and khaki henley hugged him in all the right places. And it sent Castiel’s heart racing. How was he meant to pluck up the courage to ask Dean to be his boyfriend now? 

“Hey, Cas.” Dean waved, as he approached. 

“Hello, Dean.” Castiel replied, patting the spot on the blanket next to him, inviting Dean to sit down with him. 

“Oh man,” Dean said, taking in all the elements of the picnic in front of him, “did you do all this?”

“Yea,” Castiel couldn’t help but blush, “I thought it would be nice for our third date. I hope that’s okay?” 

Dean nodded with an excited smile on his face. “Yeah, dude, this looks awesome!”

“Thank you, Dean.”

Dean grinned from ear to ear. 

Gosh, Castiel thought, Dean truly was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. 

He couldn’t wait any longer. 

“Dean?” Castiel asked, making eye contact with the other man. 

“Yeah, Cas?”

“Um, I was wondering, considering we’ve been on a few dates now, and I really enjoy spending time with you, and you’re very kind and caring and-”

“Cas, you’re rambling. What do you want to ask me?” Dean teased, a knowing grin on his face. If Castiel wasn’t so nervous he’d tell Dean off for winding him up. 

“Sorry. I just wanted to ask if you’d be my boyfriend? Officially?” Castiel immediately closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see Dean’s reaction. 

A hand came to rest on Castiel’s cheek. 

“Castiel, look at me.” Dean whispered. 

Castiel fluttered his eyes open to find Dean’s green ones intimately close. 

“I would love to be your boyfriend.”

A huge smile spread across Castiel’s face. He was so happy. He’d never expected it to lead to this when he’d helped a slightly cocky guy look for a book but he would never change a thing. 

“Can I ask you a question now?” Dean smiled. 

“Of course, Dean. Anything.” 

“Can we eat some of your food now?” Dean gave Cas a cheeky grin. 

Castiel chuckled and nodded, moving to take the food out of the packaging he’d wrapped it in. Dean’s eyes lit up when Castiel took a pie out of the basket. Already, Castiel knew that he’d do anything to keep that look of happiness on Dean’s face. 

Dean’s happy smile stayed on his face as he reached over to pick up a sandwich from the pile Castiel had carefully constructed. 

But the smile quickly turned sour when he brought the sandwich to his mouth. Castiel frowned when Dean sniffed at it instead of taking a bite. 

Just as Castiel was about to get really offended, Dean spoke up. 

“Uh, Cas?” He asked. “What’s in these sandwiches?”

“Just peanut butter and jelly. They’re my favourite. I ate some earlier though so it’s okay, there's nothing wrong with them.” Castiel explained. 

“No, no Cas. It’s not that, it’s just,” Dean awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck, placing the sandwich delicately back on the pile, “I have a nut allergy. That sandwich could literally kill me.” 

The blood drained from Castiel’s face. Dean had only just agreed to be his boyfriend and now Cas was trying to kill him! God, Dean would probably never want to see him again, let alone date him after this. 

“Oh my god, Dean! I’m so sorry! I had no idea. I didn’t even think. Oh god. I could have killed you.” Castiel frantically apologised, breaths coming fast and deep. 

“Woah, dude.” Dean raised his hands in a calming gesture. “It’s okay. It’s an honest mistake. You couldn’t have known.” 

Castiel could hear Dean’s words but his body wasn’t watching up. Deep breaths kept being drawn into his body. 

“Cas,” Dean gathered Castiel’s hands in his, “focus on your breathing and listen to me. It’s okay. I hadn’t told you yet. I’m fine. You’re fine. We’re okay.”

Castiel finally snapped back, his eyes focused on Dean’s. They then moved down to look at his hands enclosed by Dean’s.

Dean noticed Castiel calm and leant down to place a soft kiss on their joined hands. “Are you back with me?”

Castiel nodded. He didn’t trust his voice to speak. 

“It’s not something I usually tell people right away,” Dean explained, softly. “I dunno, I guess I feel embarrassed by it. It’s kinda nerdy. I tend to just avoid things where I don’t know that the food situation will be, y’know?” 

Hearing Dean speak badly of himself made Castiel find his voice. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You can’t help it.” 

Dean shrugged. “I just feel bad. You went to all this effort for me and I can’t eat it.” 

Castiel shook his head. “It’s okay, Dean. We still have the pie. I got an apple one because I remember you mentioning that it’s your favourite?”

Dean blushed. “You remembered that?” Castiel nodded. 

The two men looked softly at each other for a moment. Dean looked into Castiel’s eyes like he was searching for something. After a couple of moments, he must have found what he was looking for because he opened his mouth to speak. 

“Cas, how long ago did you have some of that peanut butter?” Dean whispered, moving his hand to cup Castiel’s cheek. 

Castiel frowned. “A few hours ago. Why?”

“I just wanted to check it was safe for me to do this.”

And with that Dean leaned forward to press a soft kiss to Castiel’s lips. Once Castiel got with the program, he opened his mouth to allow Dean to deepen the kiss. 

*  *  * 

Eventually, when Dean and Castiel moved in together, Castiel had to give up his favourite food. 

But he’d found that the taste of peanut butter wasn’t his favourite anymore. Instead, it was the taste of Dean every time they kissed. 

Now that was the true gift from the Gods. 

-

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it Lexi!

Fun fact: I have a severe peanut allergy so I really enjoyed writing this one lmao. And much like in the fic, everyone else is always more concerned about me dying from it than I am haha

If you liked what you saw, REBLOG! and consider reserving a prompt from my ‘30 Destiel Prompts’ challenge, or just send me your own prompt you’d like me to fill!

-

TAGS: @eccentriccas @starrynightdeancas @credentiast @imbiowaresbitch @starclaire @cockleslovesdestiel @bend-me-shape-me @destielfactory @dea-stiel @wendeano @wingsandimpalas @aggressivedean @flowersforcas @chill-legilimens @pancakesofthelord @saltnhalo @caslikescoffeeandfreckles @assbuttboyfriends @jhoomwrites @breathingdestiel @simplymisha @thekingslover @aelysianmuse

(once again tagging my faves, let me you if you’d like to be removed from future fics - or added if you’re not already there! we don’t have to be mutuals)

[keichanz]

Possession

Okay so I stayed up super late last night to try and get this out, but I couldn’t do it because i was so tired lol and now I’m kicking myself because I could have posted the first half of it because honestly the last five pages aren't even that relevant but eh whatever. 

This came out a lot longer than I anticipated, but only because I wanted to have the argument between Inuyasha and Izayoi resolved and that will be posted later today, but not as an official Spooktober prompt. It’ll be more like a bonus chapter. 

and once more, the prompt has nothing at all to do with anything spooky or Halloween related lmao oh well there's no rules saying that is has to XD

Spooktober Day 25: Possession

Izayoi stared at the festive and brightly decorated door of her locker, feeling oddly detached as she took in all the well wishes and brief, personal messages from her friends. As was a custom whenever someone in their tightly knit group of friends had a birthday, they always arrived early to decorate their locker with homemade cards, cut out stars, dollar store cheap decorations and silly little messages.

Rin’s was, of course, front and center, her handwriting big, bold, and loud, just like the girl herself was. Kohaku’s messy scrawl was just beneath hers, and she’d spotted a few other birthday wishes from people she knew of, but didn’t talk to that much, probably just sparing a second to write down a quick happy b-day as they passed by.

Seeing Kohaku’s had made her think that maybe someone else had taken the time to write something too, but upon realizing that his name was missing from all the rest, the disappointment had been swift and stinging.

Thinking on it now, however, Izayoi grudgingly admitted that it made sense; being two grades above her, Raiden was in a different part of the school where his own classes were located. She hadn’t seen him all day and didn’t know if he was even here today and if he was, certainly he had no reason to venture this far out of his way just to write a silly little message for a silly little girl with a not so little crush on her birthday.

And why would he, Izayoi thought bitterly, features twisting into a pout as she put in the combination and roughly yanked open her locker door. Probably wants nothing to do with me now, the girl with the crazy overprotective jerkface of a father. Not after Friday.

She knew it wasn’t the end of the world or anything. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that. She was young, blah blah blah.

Didn’t stop it from hurting, though.

Sighing, Izayoi carelessly tossed her bag on top of her texts and her eyes landed on the sleek device sitting quietly on the top shelf. She hesitated for a fleeting moment – it was lunch period so she was allowed to have it – then gave in and reached up to grab it. It was cool against her skin as she brought it down and her face was reflected in the dark, smooth glass of the screen.

Despite her current mood she had to smile a little. She’d found the cell phone in her backpack that morning when exchanging her books for first period and she’d been so surprised she’d nearly dropped it. The note taped to the box it was in had nearly made her cry on the spot, and thinking of it now Izayoi once more felt her throat tighten and her eyes to feel hot.

The note had simply said “Happy birthday, babygirl. Love, Mom and Dad” and it had been in her dad’s handwriting.

She still hadn’t spoken to him since their argument Friday. All weekend she’d actively avoided him and though it was clear her mom disapproved, she hadn’t stopped her either, and Izayoi was grateful. She was still angry, still hurt from what he’d said and done and she wasn’t ready to talk to him yet.

Surprisingly her mom wasn’t trying to play mediator like she usually did, and even more surprisingly, her dad hadn’t tried to approach and talk things over. He was giving her the space she wanted, respecting her silent wish to leave her be until she was ready.

The fact that he was letting her come to him made her feel a guilty, and that just made her feel even worse, and round and round the vicious cycle went.

God. Here it finally was, her thirteen birthday, making her an official teenager, and here she was, absolutely and completely miserable.

Izayoi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and once she felt like she wasn’t about to break apart, she tucked the phone away in the back pocket of her jeans and swung the door to her locker closed.

“Hey, pretty puppy.”

The breath left her lungs in a deep, aggravated sigh and she grumbled, “Leave me alone, Daisuke. I’m in no mood to deal with you right now.” Or ever.

“C’mon,” he crooned and swiftly stepped in front of her when she moved to walk away. “You’re not still mad about what happened, are you? It was an accident.”

Izayoi snorted. “Maybe on your end,” she mumbled under her breath, not really caring if he heard her. Because breaking his nose had definitely not been an accident.

“Look, it’s your birthday, right? So lemme make it up to you. Let’s do something after school, my treat.” He grinned charmingly down at her, probably thinking it was actually going to be that easy.

“No thanks,” Izayoi said and moved to step around him. “Rin and the girls already promised to take me out and I’m doing something with my family afterward.”

Lies, but he didn’t need to know that. Or at least the first part was; she was pretty sure her parents wanted her home at some point so they could have a small celebration with family, cake, and ice cream and embarrass her by singing “happy birthday” horribly off key. And normally that would have appealed to her, but right now all it did was remind her of the plans she used to have today, and her chest ached.

“So they can come with us,” Daisuke said with a shrug, frowning when she went to step around him. Once more he intercepted her, using his longer legs to his advantage. “The more the merrier, right?”

Izayoi set her jaw and pegged him with a peeved glare.

“No,” she said firmly and again went to brush past him, their less than stimulating conversation over as far as she was concerned.

Daisuke darted a hand out and caught her arm, preventing her from leaving.

“Alright, I get it,” he said, ignoring her annoyed growl as she yanked at her arm. He held fast and continued with a smirk, “My pretty puppy’s playing hard to get. Fine, if you won’t go out with me tonight, then go with me to your parents’ Halloween party.”

He paused, and then frowned. “Wait, you can still go with me even though you live there, right—”

“I’m not your anything, Daisuke,” Izayoi hissed, ears pinned against her head and amber eyes snapping fire at him. “Let me go. Now.”

“We can meet somewhere and go together,” he said, completely ignoring her. “It’ll be like a real date.”

Amber eyes narrowed as she said through gritted teeth, “You want me to break your nose again?”

Daisuke blinked and frowned, however he did loosen his hold enough for her to jerk her arm free.

Glowering at him, her patience for his idiocy worn out, she snapped, “I’m not going with you to the party. I’m already going with somebody else.”

As soon as the words left her mouth Izayoi wanted to take them back. Oh, why did I say that? It’s not true. At least, not any more.

Aaaaaaand she wanted to cry again. Great.

Daisuke blinked and he proved that he was capable of feeling more than just arrogance as confusion crossed his features.

“Wait, you are? With who?”

Izayoi merely crossed her arms and looked away. She would have left already, but she knew he would just stop her again so there was no point.

Daisuke’s face darkened and he scowled a little, jealousy flashing in midnight eyes.

“Who the hell is it?” he demanded in a low, dangerous voice, not wanting to believe someone had gotten to his pretty puppy before he did. She was supposed to be with him, dammit!

Izayoi cut her eyes to his briefly and muttered, “None of your business.”

He growled and stepped forward. “Dammit, who—”

“She’s going with me, dickless,” a voice interrupted from behind her and as Daisuke whipped his head up to level a glare at the intruder, Izayoi fought against the urge to weep in relief because one, he had perfect timing, and two, he still wanted to go with her to the party. A part of her also wanted to laugh because he’d called Daisuke dickless, but that was easily suppressed.

Daisuke scoffed and with his attention on the other demon he didn’t notice Izayoi take a step back to put some distance between them.

“You can’t be serious,” the wolf said with a derisive snort and crossed his arms, lifting his chin haughtily as he stared down his nose at the dark-haired dog demon. “It’s you?”

Standing just a few feet away with his arms crossed and an unreadable look on his face, Raiden regarded Daisuke mutely for another minute before crossing the distance between them. With Izayoi’s back facing him he couldn’t see her face but he didn’t need to; her scent told him everything he needed to know.

He purposely positioned himself in front of her and crossed his arms again, unaffected by the snarl Daisuke was currently aiming at him.

“I’m completely serious,” Raiden finally answered and he heard Izayoi inhale sharply behind him. “I’m her date, she’s not available, so you can go now. I can take it from here.”

Then he actually smirked and Izayoi bit back a snicker.

Daisuke snorted again and mirrored the dog demon’s pose, crossing his arms and giving him a once over, his expression suggestion that he was not impressed.

“Please,” he scoffed. “Inuyasha Taisho would chew you up and spit you out barely breathing if a pathetic weakling like you ever came near his precious daughter.” Then he returned the smirk and added, “And you’d go running with your tail between your legs so you can lick your wounded ego.”

Raiden merely cocked a brow and drawled, “And yet, here I am.”

Izayoi slapped hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh.

That particular implication wiped the smirk right off of his face and Daisuke scared incredulously at him before narrowing his eyes in disbelief.

“You mean you actually faced off against her old man and came back in one piece?” he asked, the idea clearly ludicrous to him.

Raiden stared at him before slowly looking down at himself, as if to check that he was, indeed, all there.

“Seems like it,” he said and this time had to grin when Izayoi failed that time in smothering her laugh.

Daisuke scowled, not amused by his show of nonchalance and cockiness. He’d had enough of this wise guy and his holier than thou attitude and it was time to end this pointless conversation.

“Listen here, smartass—”

“No, you listen,” Raiden interrupted and Izayoi watched in fascination as his face twisted into scowl, something she’d never seen on him before. “I’ve seen the way you act toward her, like she’s some kind of possession, a thing to claim, and I’m sick of it. She’s not your ‘pretty puppy’ or your anything; she’s Izayoi, she’s cute, funny, smart, and she’s my date, so do both of us a favor and back off, Matsuno.  Your advances are clearly unwanted, and maybe you’re too dense to understand that, but I’m more than happy to demonstrate in a much more physical way if you continue to bother her. And by physical I mean my fist to your face, just in case you need that clarification.”

Daisuke surprisingly had nothing to say to that, his face flushed in anger, jaw clenched, and blue eyes swimming with all the loathing he had for the dog demon in front of him. Raiden was unmoved, staring steadily back at him, an unmovable object against an unstoppable force.

Gritting his teeth, the wolf shifted his gaze to the hanyou standing silently behind his advisory, seeking some kind of sing that the dog was wrong, but Izayoi wasn’t even looking at him. Her golden gaze was trained solely on the damned dog and he could have sworn there were goddamn hearts in her eyes.

He blinked and his shoulders slumped in defeat. Well. That was his answer, wasn’t it.

Straightening his back and turning his eyes back toward Raiden, Daisuke set his jaw, glared into eyes that were the weirdest freaking shade of blue-green he’d ever seen, then with a barely perceptible nod, he turned and wordlessly stalked away.

The second he rounded the corner and disappeared from sight, Raiden exhaled loudly and turned around to face the pretty silver-haired hanyou he was starting to develop some serious feelings for. Feelings that he maybe, sort of, wanted to explore, but first he had to get passed the fair lady’s guard and protector.

Easier said than done, as he’d found out first hand, but he was sure as hell going to try.

Realizing that he may have overstepped his boundaries a bit, Raiden grimaced and cautiously peeked at her face. He was met with the smiling countenance of said fair lady, her pretty golden eyes soft, and slowly he relaxed.

“Hi,” he said lamely. You know, like a dumbass.

Her smile widened. “Hi,” she breathed, eyes suspiciously bright. “Thank you. For saying all that. You didn’t have to, and...” she trailed off, shrugging and shifted her gaze to the side, her face flushed.

Raiden frowned. “I did have to,” he said firmly. “Otherwise I don’t think he would have ever left you alone. I’m sorry, I...probably shouldn’t have said some of it—”

“Did you mean it?” she asked him, voice serious, eyes searching his own.

He didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

Her smile was bright and beautiful and, yep he was a goner. Shit.

“Then don’t be sorry. I’m not.”

His eyes widened.

...Oh.

Oh.

Ridiculously Raiden felt his face heat and he coughed into his hand, looking away briefly to regain his bearings.

“Jeez, woman, warn a guy,” he grumbled and was rewarded with her soft giggle. Sneaking a glance, he saw her looking away too, but she was still smiling with a soft blush on her cheeks, and oddly that helped to regain his scattered nerves and he sighed before reaching into his pack pocket to pull out his reason for seeking her out.

“I wanted to give you this,” he stated, holding it out and Izayoi blinked in surprise, her smile never fading as she reached out and took it. “I waited for you at the cafeteria but when you didn’t show, I got worried. Now I’m glad I went looking for you.”

Izayoi turned her smile on him. “Me, too,” she whispered, her gratitude obvious in her eyes and voice.

With a small grin Raiden watched her open the simple card he’d gotten her and had to admit, he was very satisfied with the way her flush deepened and her smile became positively radiant. It wasn’t much, but he’d thought of her when he saw them, and knew he had to get them.

The card read, “Happy birthday, buttercup. —Rai” and tucked inside was an artificial stem of golden buttercup blossoms.

It was so simple, a little cheesy, and Izayoi absolutely adored it.

“I love it,” she said honestly, lifting her golden gaze to meet his own blue-green depths. “Thank you so much, Raiden. It...it means a lot.”

Raiden grinned and innocently turned his head, lifting a hand to not so subtly scratch his cheek as he rolled his eyes heavenward, waiting.

Izayoi immediately caught on and laughing, strangely not at all shy or embarrassed, she stepped in close and leaned up to brush a kiss across his cheek. When she leaned back he was as smug as can be with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face and once more she had to laugh. What a goober!

“Score,” he said proudly, taking the fake flower from her hand and carefully tucking it behind her ear.

The soft flesh flicked against his fingers and he had the insane urge to grab the appendage to see how soft it really was, but he refrained and dropped his hand, admiring the splash of golden color amidst the sterling silver of her hair.

When he flicked his gaze back to her face, he was amused to see that it had gone red again and her bright amber eyes were wide as she gazed at him. Her fingers brushed the delicate faux petals and her pleasure from the simple act was obvious in her brilliant smile.

Raiden was momentarily struck stupid but got ahold of himself quickly and stepped back to give her some space. He tried not to read too much into the flash of disappointment he saw on her face before it disappeared.

“So, uh,” he said, clearing his throat. “We’re still on, right? For the party I mean.” He gave an easy smile and shoved his hands into his pockets, his posture relaxed.

The happiest she’d been all day, Izayoi eagerly nodded, relieved that he still wanted to go with her.

“Definitely!” she answered and then suddenly remembered the phone in her back pocket and with a little sound of exclamation, Izayoi reached back to fish it out and proudly present it to him.

“And look!” she gushed, grinning as she woke up the screen. “Birthday present from my parents. I found it this morning in my bag, those sneaks.”

Raiden positively lit up and he took it from her, unlocking the screen and nodding in approval.

“Wicked,” he praised, going into her message app. “I’m sending myself a message so I can have your number.” He paused and glanced at her. “If...that’s okay—”

“Yes!” Izayoi immediately answered, then blushed at her enthusiasm and cleared her throat. “Um, yeah. That’s fine.” She smiled and tried to act cool.

He grinned, secretly pleased and shot himself a quick text with the peace sign emoji. He politely didn’t mention the heart eyes emoji next to his contact info as he handed the mobile back, trying not to smirk proudly.

Izayoi secured her new phone back into her pocket and beamed at him, clasping her hands behind her back.

“So we’re still going to the store after school, right? I’ve been browsing the website and I think I have a few ideas,” she stated, bounding a little on the balls of her feet in excitement. She suddenly couldn’t wait for Halloween!

The grimace that crossed Raiden’s face, however, was not encouraging and Izayoi blinked, her brow furrowing slightly. His next words had a ball of dread forming in her stomach and her ears wilted atop her head.

“Listen, buttercup,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking to the side. “I don’t think that’d be such a good idea after...well. You know.” He shrugged and dared a peek at her face. Her completely dejected expression threw him for a loop and his eyes widened in horror.

“Oh,” she whispered, biting down on her lip and blinking rapidly to stave off the tears. She’d thought...did he change his mind? Did he not really...want to be with her...?

“Wait,” Raiden said suddenly, urgently, and his hands landed on her shoulders, prompting to her lift her wide-eyed gaze. “Hear me out, okay?”

Swallowing thickly, Izayoi nodded, desperately hoping she was wrong.

Squeezing her shoulders, Raiden began, “Rin told me about the blow out you had with your dad after I left Friday and I feel...well, I feel pretty damn horrible about it.”

Izayoi winced and looked to the side. With a wry smile, he continued, “It’s my fault you got into an argument, and I wouldn’t feel right whiling you away to look at costumes while you guys are at such odds with each other. I think you should go home and talk this out with him, buttercup. I don’t want to be the cause of a rift between you two. Family is important, and if we...well.”

He cleared his throat and flushed slightly. “If things...uh, go any further and your dad doesn’t trust me, I don’t want you to have to choose between them or me. Because it should always be them, buttercup. So before we go gallivanting off into the sunset”—he was rewarded with a watery giggle at that and he grinned—“I need you to make up with your old man so you can stop him from ‘chewing me up and spitting me out’ when I come face to face with him again. I sorta like all my limbs attached to my body, you know.”

Izayoi released another wispy laugh and wiped at her eyes, heaving a sigh. He was right. Of course he was right. And anyway it wasn’t like she didn’t want to make up with her dad. It had been eating at her all day and the phone was a burning reminder of it. She needed to stop being a baby and make things right. He’d already demonstrated that he wasn’t going to start anything, so it had to be her, didn’t it? Just like she wanted.

Izayoi released another wispy laugh and wiped at her eyes, heaving a sigh. He was right. Of course he was right. And anyway it wasn’t like she didn’t want to make up with her dad. It had been eating at her all day and the phone was a burning reminder of it. She needed to stop being a baby and make things right. He’d already demonstrated that he wasn’t going to start anything, so it had to be her, didn’t it? Just like she wanted.

Ugh. Easier said than done.

“Okay,” Izayoi agreed at length, nodding and offering a small but genuine smile. “I will. But...tomorrow, though?”

Golden eyes, like rich honey, pleaded with him and damn, how could he possibly say no to that?

Expression softening, Raiden grinned and couldn’t stop himself from gently tugging on a lock of sterling hair.

“Tomorrow,” he promised. “And I’m already looking forward to it.”

Izayoi’s smile was genuine, her eyes were soft, and her voice was fond as she replied, “Me too.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Raiden dropped his hand only to wrap his arm around her shoulders and steered her down the hallway. Izayoi blushed but leaned into him. Damn, she was cute.

“So,” he said conversationally as he lead her toward the cafeteria. He glanced down at her with a cheeky grin and asked, “Did you really break his nose?”

“Ohmigawd,” Izayoi groaned as she buried her face in her hands while Raiden, the brat, threw his head back and cackled gleefully.

[donnieluvsthings]

also idk how far along u are with the skysie oneshot but im lowkey curious what u do have thus far may i see 🥺👉👈 - boop (no pressure though ofc ofc ofc)

OH yes sure i am admittedly...not as far as i should be seeing as its been literal months but i will put it under the cut for u lmao 😎 also i kinda just am winging it so sorry if it doesnt line up with shadowstruck canon akgjskf

It’s just supposed to be a normal battle.

No, not even a battle, just a small fight! A skirmish, if Sam wants to get fancy.

Ky is headed towards a small town a few hours away to do Prince Things that Sam isn’t entirely clear on, and as his primary bodyguard, Sam is tagging along. Ky had rolled his eyes when the Queen said he should bring a guard, but he grinned when he saw Sam waiting by their horses, so Sam figures he’s secretly okay with it.

They talk as they travel, discussing everything and nothing at the same time. The energy that seems to linger under all of their conversations is especially prominent now, away from the kingdom, alone. Or at least, Sam thinks so. It’s also entirely likely that he’s just reading too far into things and all the tension is just stemming from his awkwardness.

He almost sighs in relief when they’re ambushed by a group of bandits, because he really doesn’t want to go down that thought spiral right now.

It isn’t as if these bandits pose much of a threat, anyway. They’re wielding probably-stolen swords so horribly that even Ky should be able to defeat them easily. Sam says as much out loud and gets a scoff in reply before Ky leaps off his horse and draws his sword in mid-air.

“Showoff,” Sam snickers as he slides off his own horse, and Ky grins, tossing his sword between his hands a few times before fumbling with it and scrambling to regain a good grip without stabbing himself in the foot.

“I meant to do that,” he says, all fake-confidence, and Sam just laughs again. The bandits have finally seemed to realize they’re facing trained swordsmen, but as they try to flee Sam just waves a hand and spreads their energy throughout the surrounding open air; they don’t quite collapse, but Sam can tell he’s exhausted them, at the very least.

“They don’t have powers,” he reports. Sure, it makes his own powers pretty useless, but at least he won’t have to strain himself. His brief dispersion was enough for Ky to quickly knock them out and trap them in a cage of dirt and stone.

“Teamwork!” Ky cheers, smiling over at Sam, and Sam’s heart does not flutter. Nope.

Sam turns away to hide his definitely-not-infatuated expression, beginning to collect the loot that the bandits had scattered around in their attempted escape. He hears Ky hum curiously and glances up to see him moving towards some sphere-shaped thing that almost seems to hover in the middle of the road.

“What is that?” Sam calls, and Ky shrugs.

“I dunno. It looks like it could be power related.” Ky reaches out to grab it.

“Don’t touch it!” Sam shrieks, but Ky is already holding the sphere in his hands. “Ky, we don’t know what it does, you can’t just go around touching random magic stuff—“

“I’m fine, Sam,” Ky interrupts, trying to spin the sphere on the tip of his index finger. “See?”

Sam pinches the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in fond exasperation. “Okay, but it’s still a mysterious object that might have magic.”

There’s a light thump in response.

“Oh,” he hears Ky mumble, “you were right.” Sam’s eyes fly open just in time to see Ky’s knees buckle, the sphere at his feet. Sam darts forward to catch him before he can hit the ground, and is relieved to find that he’s still breathing, just unconscious.

Unconscious after touching an unknown magical object that does who-knows-what and what if he doesn’t wake up?

“Oh my Nja,” Sam says, staring at the prince in his arms. “Oh my Nja. Ky?”

He gently lays Ky on his back, hands fluttering around uselessly because what can he do? There was some weird object and now Ky is unconscious and Sam is supposed to protect him, how did he let this happen?

“Okay, okay,” Sam says to himself, focusing on his own voice to distract himself from his rising panic. “This is fine, it’s fine, everything’s okay!”

(It is definitely not fine.)

He gathers Ky back into his arms to push the prince up onto Sam’s horse. Thank Calli for trained royal steeds, because if the horses had run away Sam doesn’t know what he’d do. He ignores the bandits, whose earth prison had crumbled as soon as Ky passed out, instead grabbing the sphere (with gloves on, because he’s not an idiot, Ky) and throwing it in his bag. Surely there’s a book or something at the castle that has a solution, right?

Sam has to hope so. The horses take off towards the castle, and Sam feels his heart pounding in time with the hooves.

~•~

“It’s not your fault,” the Queen says to him later, after they’ve arrived back in the kingdom and the situation has been explained. Ky is lying on a bed in the medical wing, and if not for the doctors rushing all around him, he would just look like he’s sleeping.

Sam wonders if his guilt is really that obvious because this is totally his fault. He doesn’t say that to the Queen, of course, instead smiling weakly and then slipping out of the medical center with a glance over his shoulder. He doesn’t really want to leave Ky at all, but he has a feeling even the royally trained doctors don’t know what they’re dealing with. To the library it is.

He begins methodically pulling sections of books off the shelf and skims through them quickly, finding no images that match the mysterious orb, not even a mention of weird objects that make you pass out. Then again, maybe he’s looking in the wrong place completely, because if he hasn’t made it clear, he has absolutely no idea what he’s even looking for.

There’s a book on official royal Artifacts, on various powers, on the different deities; Sam brings a huge pile of books over to a table to look through them, but he finds nothing. He really hopes this isn’t some evil curse with some evil guy in a tower who needs to be defeated.

The door creaks open some time later, and Sam couldn’t say how long he’s been there. At least two hours, surely. He glances up to see Sophia entering the library and freezes.

It’s not that he’s afraid of the princess, but he completely failed to protect her brother from a little ball while she managed to maintain a clone of herself for weeks, so yeah, maybe he is a little afraid of her, actually.

“Your Highness,” Sam says quickly, ducking his head in respect, “I am so sorry about Ky—“

“Sam, it’s okay,” she interrupts. “It wasn’t your fault. He’s the one who touched the weird magical item. Also, please never call me ‘Your Highness’ ever again.”

With a quiet laugh, Sam raises his head, watching as Sophia approaches out of the corner of his eye.

“Do you have it?” she asks, sitting down next to him.

“Have what?”

Sophia raises an eyebrow. “The thing that knocked my brother out indefinitely?”

“Oh,” Sam says, though it comes out as more of an embarrassed squeak. “Uh, it’s in my bag, let me just—“

He slips on his gloves and pulls out the orb that he’d shoved out of sight after staring at it for far too long.

“Huh,” Sophia says, pursing her lips. “Well, it sure is ancient.”

“You know what it is?” Sam says, sitting up straight in his seat. The princess reaches out and takes the orb from Sam, just holding it in her hands for a moment.

Holding it with no gloves.

“Wait, no!” Sam exclaims, standing up to snatch it away from her. His heart pounds in his chest when she takes a few steps away, still not releasing the orb. “Sophia—“

“Look. I’m fine.”

Sam pauses, staring at her for a moment. It wasn’t instantaneous with Ky, either, but it definitely hadn’t taken this long.

“You’re...fine,” he says slowly. “How? What is it?”

Sophia smiles and it’s almost awkward. “Well, it’s less of a curse and more of an...enchantment. This thing—well, I thought it was a myth, but I guess anything can be real when people can move the earth and manipulate light itself.”

Sam blinks.

“The orb isn’t evil,” Sophia says. “It wasn’t created with malicious intent. Actually, it was created because some person was tired of their friends dancing around their love for each other, so they made something that would force them to acknowledge their feelings.”

“You’re kidding,” Sam says. “It’s a magic love ball?”

“A magic love ball that only works when two people with feelings for each other are present.”

Sam takes a moment to think about that.

“No, I don’t—“ he starts, but Sophia just raises an eyebrow at him. “Listen, I don’t like Ky. Not that I dislike him, I mean I don’t—love him, or have a crush on him, or whatever! And he definitely doesn’t like—love—me, that would be ridiculous—“

“Sam,” the princess says gently. “You’re not really that blind, right?”

“Gee, thanks,” he mumbles, directing his eyes at the ground.

“You must see the way he looks at you—“

“Sophia, we couldn’t,” Sam protests weakly. “He’s—a prince, and I haven’t even been a royal guard for very long—“

“There’s no rules against a prince and a guard dating,” Sophia says.

“We couldn’t,” Sam says again, because what is he supposed to do if they can? Tell Ky? Ask him out? Sam has no idea how to do any of that, and whatever the orb’s origins might imply about Ky feeling the same, Sam is not risking this friendship over some magic ball.

“Okay,” Sophia relents. “Fine. But the only way to break it is to kiss him.”

“Ha ha, very funny.”

“It isn’t a joke, unfortunately.”

Sam looks up and just stares at Sophia. “What.”

“Listen, it was a very long time ago—“

“There are literally so many other ways to show affection for someone—“

“It’s not like I made the orb, okay—“

“I am not kissing him while he’s unconscious!” Sam practically shrieks, running a hand through his hair.

“Okay, okay, it’s alright!” Sophia says, finally placing the orb down on the table, but it doesn’t make Sam relax in the slightest. “It’s—maybe there’s another way. I’ll look into it, okay?”

“Okay,” Sam murmurs, dropping into his seat and wrapping his arms around himself.

Maybe an evil curse with some bad guy to fight would’ve been better, after all.