#now we need BLACK ATHENA

[gyrabanias]

the one w the mirror black psyche lock reminds me of a fic I read where nick used the magatama on himself like that and it's such a FUN idea

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Costume Meta 7x04

How we all doing?? have we managed to find some semblance of equilibrium in this new world where we have canon bi buck?? I’m not sure I’ll ever know how to exist in this world but that’s fine with me! I’m still here writing my silly costume metas and having a blast in this bright new world!

No Hen this week as we never see her out of uniform!

The rest is below the cut because you would all hate me if i clogged your feeds with this beast (shes 7k)- you have been warned!!

Actually going to start this week with a uniform out of work section!

Because three times in this episode, we had one of the firefam wearing an element of their uniform out of work and its actually pretty key!

We have Bobby in his LAFD polo when he informs Athena that Harry is wanted for assault and he fled the state.

Then we have Chim at the basketball game in his LAFD hoodie

And finally Buck at the airfield on his tour with Tommy.

All three are playing into the idea of protecting ones self by being in an official capacity in some way. Firefighters (like all first responders) are of course there to 'protect and serve' the community.

Bobby delivers the news to Athena about Harry - he's in uniform because he can inhabit a small aspect of his captain mentality - makes it easier to deliver the news and also gives him the distance to play the 'don't shoot the messenger' card if necessary.

Chimney has to step into paramedic mode at the end of the scene. The LAFD hoodie separates him from everyone else at the court and foreshadows that he will have to 'go to work' its also about chimney being there as the colleague not the almost brother in-law of Buck. An important distinction - it protects Chim from being seen to favour anyone (specifically from Buck. (Buck is angry and not being rational so Chimney has protection from Bucks potential anger for helping Eddie - Buck is already feeling awful by that point so the protection isn't needed but it provides cover if it were) and allows him to go into first responder mode. (this is so badly worded but I'm sure you get what I mean!!)

Buck is at the airfield under the guise of wanting to find out more about becoming an air support firefighter - its the cover under which he is operating to try and befriend Tommy. The jacket also provides him protection from Eddie when he shows up and finds out Buck is not coming to Vegas with him and Tommy.

Bobby

Just the one costume for Bobby this week - a maroon tee that her's wearing to sleep in. we see him in this colour a lot - its a bit of a staple colour for him and I've spoken a lot about maroon tees and shirts representing parental roles in relation to the various children of the 118. Its no different here -we can see from Bobbys face he isn't buying what Harry is saying and the parental concern we see evidenced here plays out with him calling Michael and finding out what is really going on.

Athena

Athena wears a lot of black this week, which is fairly typical from her, although we are in a much more overall muted palette than usual and its missing the jewel tones we're used to seeing her increasingly wear. its a bit of a signal of returning to normality now they're back from the cruise disaster.

She starts off in black and pink pyjamas but I'm going to talk about those at the end in the pink section so we're skipping ahead to this ruffle smocked cream blouse and her gorgons head necklace is back. the ruffling is an nod to her feathers being ruffled when Bobby tells her about Harry and his arrest warrant, and the white with the black trousers is about things being black and white - for Athena as a cop things do tend to be black and white when it comes to the law - of course Athena has always been one to work within the law to bend the rules but in this moment things are black and white.

Then we have her all in black with a red longline cardigan which has a open weave that give the appearance of mesh or a cage. The show has been using Red since day one which makes sense as it is a first responder show and you literally cannot escape it when the fire trucks are red! But they have always been pretty careful about when they use bright red in the costuming meaning its appearance with such regularity this season so far is pretty telling. Its an advance warning of incoming danger/trouble/strife, but it is rarely worn by the one who is directly in danger - they will be involved, but not the centre of it. The best example of this is Bucks bright red broadcloth shirt when Christopher calls him because Eddie is smashing up his bedroom.

Here we have it on Athena in the scene when things are about to properly kick into action with Harrys story. Athena is literally a red net about to ensnare Harry. its the one time in this episode we see Athena in a bold bright colour - something that generally is attached to her being happy or having fun, but not here.

The denim sleeveless shirt/jacket when Athena goes to the hospital to visit the lady who shot her son (does she have a name - I cant remember!) and later to talk to Harry about the reality of his altercation, is quite bulky and blocky. It's far less fitted, structured or flowy that we are used to seeing on Athena. To me this is about playing into her struggles to tread the line between mother and cop - that neither role fits right. That denim is also a fabric associated with labour, it suggests Athena is working hard to figure it out.

Then we get this all black outfit when she takes Harry to the station - it is such a simple yet effective bit of costuming, especially with the silver zips and buckles- it blends her in with the police officers in the station so she can hover the line between mom and cop - and makes it look like an arresting officer bringing in a suspect.

Harry

New Harry comes with a new style!!

I actually can't wait to see how they dress him over the rest of the season because there was a definite colour theme at play here this week with all the beiges, greens and redish browns which is very not how younger Harry dressed (he was much more bright colours).

Not going to lie - my hatred for the copaganda and the fact I've been in Bi Buck land since the episode aired has made it hard to focus on Harrys outfits in greater detail, but I do have a few thoughts!

This first shirt is a map print, maps denote journey's andHarry is on a literal and metophorical journey - the literal being the one he made form Florida to LA. The metaphorical one is all about his journey to become a man, and learning to take responsibility for his actions, so this shirt is essentially setting out his arc for the season - Makes me feel like the storylines with harry we're going to see are going to be about the community service he has to undertake and him figuring things out and growing up a bit in relation to that.

Then next up we have this cream hoodie with an brownish beige pocket. the thing I found interesting about this choice was the fact that Harry played himself off as innocent. lawyers usually instruct their clients to wear white shirts to court, and to avoid loud patterns. The white is because i suggests purity or innocence, and the loud patterns should be avoided because it suggests you're trying to employ subterfuge (that you're lying). So Harry wearing a block of cream is a play on this idea. We see him in the map shirt before - when he is employing subterfuge about his reasons for visiting, and now this cream is him trying to suggest his innocence to his mother - the use of cream rather than white is telling us that he isn't as innocent as he is making out!

Finally we have check theory (my most beloved) in play. harry returns to wearing patterns - this one check and in greens and browns. there is an element of military to the green shades, its a coloour we've seen used on Eddie to show his military background, but it is also a colour frequently worn by Athena - usually when she is fighting for her family in some way. Here it feels like a refelction of that, with the added aspect of green being a colour of growth. Harry shows contrition and is willing to take his punishement, showing his growth, but also showing his understanding of fighting for his family - and Athenas willingness to do the same. its showing us tht he is his mothers son. And of course the check is the pointer towards the fact he is in trouble - that his earlier protestations of innocence were false!

Then we move on the he Buckley-Hans

Chimney

Only the one for Chimney this week, it's a very short scene where he is completely oblivious to the tone of the conversation. He's dressed completely in greys and is by all accounts neutrally costumed. this is intentional - he's not the focus of this scene and when we think that so much of this episode is shown from Bucks pov, the use of neutral grey makes sense - Buck is projecting on to chimney in this scene. Buck himself is speaking his jealousy and fear, while what Chimney says is actually the little voice inside his head that isn't in fact jealous of Tommy, but is impressed by him

Maddie

Again only two costumes for Maddie this week and one of them is her dispatch outfit, but I'm including it because of its place with a mini colour theme for this episode, which both of her outfits play into.

I spoke about the use of red in Athenas section and its representing danger, and it is in play for both of Maddie's outfits, the wearer changes though. In the first scene, Maddie is in blue - dark blue. a tee with 'The Great School' and bobcat logo on the front. I love this, the bobcat is a symbol of inner strength and resilience in the face of adversity, while Maddie is a great source of learning for Buck - he essentially raised him and has been a sounding board for him since she returned to his life. Maddie is the next level wise older sister, her point of view is important to Buck and is grounding for him. She had got him to back down from his spiral over Eddie and Chris, until Chimney came in (and like I said above, that was Bucks inner voice, not really Chimney)

Then we have her dispatch uniform and its red. This is a clever play actually, it allows the costume team to put Maddie into red, a colour we don't really see on her outside of work (a deliberate choice as it helps distinguish work from non work to the audience). Just like Buck was the angry one in the other Buckley siblings scene, her Maddie is the one who is angry (with good reason) and we again get Buck recieving education at he hands of Maddie - in her place of work where she is a lifeline to people and where she holds authority. Buck needed her in a lifeline capacity in this moment and he got it, despite her anger. She gave him the advice and help he needed.

Eddie

Eddie my man looking suave and confident - this Eddie is Bucks version of Eddie so of course he looks cool, well dressed and in a green and black combo. In nearly every scene where Eddie nad Buck have a deep meaningful conversation - one that gets through to Buck on a higher level - that works on Bucks abandonment complex, Eddie is dressed in a black shirt and khaki green trousers (the only exception is the will reveal when he's in navy blue but that is to play in the yellow blue colour theming and its a close to black as they could have a blue!), this outfit is an inverse though, which is actually really clever. Eddie (Bucks version) here is playing into Bucks fear of abandonment - Bucks version of Eddie has spent so long building him up and chipping away at that fear that to invert that colour theme and have green on top and black trousers is a fun way of inverting that chipping away at Bucks fear - this is putting another brick in that abandonment wall

The black tank top!! Its back and everybody cheered! Ok so I wrote this meta about when the show puts Eddie into a black tank top and how it means he's in an emotionally vulnerable place and once more, the theory plays out. Obviously Eddie gets physically injured, but his face when he looks at Buck after he's gone down shows him emotionally vulnerable. Yes there is a little bit of anger and a lot of pain in the look he gives him, but there is also understanding and a little guilt too.

It's the moment Eddie realises that he has unintentionally sidelined his best friend, and the effect that has had on Buck and his abandonment issues. This is Eddie showing his truly deep understanding of Buck and how Buck ticks (and because this is also from Bucks pov, its also showing us Buck understanding that Eddie understands how Buck ticks) we get all of this proven when Tommy comes over to Bucks later and clearly states that Eddie is feeling bad about the whole situation.

It is also worth noting that When Buck has seen Eddie at the gym or being sporty in some way Eddie has either been in uniform or in a black singlet and that he always looks super competent (even if he is working through things when he is in the black singlet). From my perspective, this is an interesting choice to play into because it suggests Buck recognises Eddies emotional maturity over him, even when he's not in a great place (we can discount fight club Eddie becasue Buck didn't actually see him there), its clearly something Buck admires and places as central to how he sees Eddie.

Tommy

Tommys costuming is chefs kiss perfection to me. The wardrobe department have literally dressed him as Eddie and I am living for it.

Its a way to emphasise that Tommy and Eddie are super similar. this serves two purposes - it builds a visual connection for the audience - we don't need to be shown Tommy in the army or fighting/ training in Muay Thai etc, we can mentally make a connection to the ones we've seen of Eddies in the past and accept the information as fact. obviously not all people who join the army or undertake MMA are going to dress the same, but this is television where visual information is valuable real estate, so playing into tropes and stereotypes is a key piece of arsenal.

The other thing about it is the specific Eddies its calling back to - fight club Eddie and to a lesser extent, post breakdown Eddie when he's back in therapy and unrepressing himself.

Tommys basketball outfit is really about making him stand out from everyone else - it makes him seem to appear more because the blue shorts and the light coloured top will catch your eye, even if he's not the focus of the camera at that moment. This is all about the fact that this is Bucks perspective on things - he is seeing Tommy everywhere and feeling like he's taking over/ taking away Eddie and so we the audience feel that same thing in a visual way. The thing the blue shorts do is visually connect Tommy to buck in the next scene we see Buck in - when he is talking to Maddie at dispatch - the blues are similar enough for us to subconsciously connect back to that scene and link Buck and Tommy together rather than Buck to Eddie - who Buck is dressed more similarly too in the basketball scene.

It doesn't hurt that the blue shorts also play into yellow blue theory - especially against the sunsets yellow hues in a scene that is playing homage to a famously queer coded scene from Top gun.

Then there is this outfit from Bucks loft. again is very similar to an Eddie outfit - its the same style of shirt we often see Eddie wearing especially in seasons 4 and 5.

Tommys jeans have always been reminiscent of Eddies Jeans (I mean I know they are jeans, but I promise the significance will become clear when I get to Buck!)

Even Tommys watch is similar to Eddies Christopher watch (every other watch in the show worn by the men is all black - black strap black face and mount only the Christopher watch is different) in that it has a different coloured strap to the watch face and its mount.

The other thing I want to mention quick, is the progression of Tommys costumes in relation to them being similar to Eddies. By this I mean the first non uniform costume we see Tommy in is very stage 2 Eddie, while the one below is very much more stage 3 Eddie.

I also really like the use of a purple/red/black shot tee for this scene as well. If you watch the scene through, the way its lit changes its colour as different sections of the scene unfold. The red tones are there early on, during the apology and conversation around Eddie being allowed to have more than one friend and Christophers adoration of Buck. it gives it that air of danger lurking, because Tommy isn't sure how things are going to play out. and plays into the red/blue theme we saw with Buck and Maddie in this episode - just on a much lower level.

Then it turns this purplish shade as we move into the initial stages of flirting - from the moment Buck moves around the counter to put himself in the same space as Tommy. It gives things an air of mystery, but purple can also be a colour of enlightenment - both elements are in play here and I love they were able to do this with this shirt.

The shirt turns black at the moment Tommy says 'my attention' - the moment he essentially hold all the cards on making a move - he is the one with the power here (as the already queer person in the room) and black is a power colour, so its the perfect choice for the moment he makes his move.

Buck

Buck my beloved bi disaster. His costumes were doing some pretty impressive storytelling this episode!

We start off at the air field - I spoke at the start about this LAFD jacket and the theme of protection, but I also have other things to say about it and the rest of the costume. We don't generally see Buck out of work wearing uniform (we actually don't see many of the firefam in uniform out of work tbh) so when we do its going to have meaning. T

he thing with the bomber jacket being the choice (they could've made it a hoodie which we've seen him wear out of work more!) is that on one level plays into its name and the fact that its being worn at an airfield, while on another level it low key plays into the Buck cheating arc. which is actually fun - the idea that he's 'cheating' on the 118 by claiming he's thinking about his career options and also cheating on Eddie by trying to befriend Tommy (because at this point that is all it is its only once Eddie appears that things change).

The trousers are also important. I know I've said before about how trousers are less important than tops because they are less likely to get screen time. We not here - here they are really important, but only with the context of the rest of the episode.

These are the short in the leg dark trousers we've come to know and love on Buck - he's been solidly wearing them since season 2 and what we have seen him wearing so far in season 7 so no surprises to see them here. But this is the last time we see them and its super important and telling.

We also have Bucks white trainers - the ones that he wears when he moves forward on his journey - we see him in them the entire time this episode.

Buck and Maddie this episode have a red v blue thing going on in their scenes together. In this one Buck is in red and Maddie in blue. I spoke about the red for danger theme they seem to be using this season for the red clothes above in Athenas section and it applies here - Buck in red is foreshadowing the danger/strife that the basketball game presents as that is what he is talking about and what he is most upset about over Tommy and Eddies friendship.

It's a slightly burnt out red in comparison to Bobbys red shirt from the cruise, Athenas red cardigan, or even the red he wore when Eddie had his breakdown. Its not a full high alert colour, its a more muted and restrained colour - suggesting the danger is going to be less of a big thing, that it's just a part of it rather than the main big thing

We can also see that Buck is now wearing more traditional stonewash jeans - this is the first time we're seeing them on him since Eddies arrival at the fire house. I'll explain them in more detail in Bucks last outfit of the episode, but I needed to point their presence out here.

Basketball Buck in his white shirt and dark blue marl cut off tee - its very Buck posturing at the firehouse gym and its meant to be. Its a direct reference to the last time Buck showed any jealousy towards Eddie. The shorts are different this time in that they're white/light grey rather than black, but I think this is done for two reasons - it creates a pairing with Eddie - they are dressed similarly with dark tops and lighter grey shorts, but on opposite teams/sides.

It also makes him stand out from everyone else at the game - excepting Tommy (and a random guy in a red top with white shorts that I'm living for. When Red = foreshadowing as I've talked about above, this guys actions on the court are precursors of what is about to happen - we see him bump into Tommy - a couple of moments later and Buck does the same thing, then just before Eddie gets taken out by Buck, he gets breezed past by Eddie stumbles and starts limping. Its fun and clever and not something many people will pick up on - its a bit like the role of the bullet in Hamilton!)

Bucks bright blue chunky corduroy shirt with white tee underneath. I already spoke about the visual connection between Tommy from the basketball game and this shirt. It also fits into the red and blue theme I spoke about above - this time Buck is the one in blue and with the combination of Buck in his danger incoming white shirt and Maddie being in red it signals exactly what this scene is going to be about.

The danger, in my opinion, is Maddies wrath at Buck getting physical with Eddie. Its a perfectly valid and important response from her and plays into the growth we get from Buck in this episode that is not connected to his bi awakening - the recognition and acceptance of his bad behaviour in a far more mature way than we saw from s3 Buck.

The chunky corduroy give the shirt vertical stripes and we all know how I feel about Buck and vertical stripes at this point - I wrote about them a lot in my seasons 5 and 6 metas and the blue and white nature of bucks outfit plays into the theming that was at play in early season 6 - where Buck was free from Taylor and resisting buying a couch because he was looking for the right couch etc. (and playing house husband to Eddie nad feeding them!!!)

Here in this episode we kind of have Buck going through a similar process - free from the shackles of death and trying to figure things out - who he is and what he wants, he's still on that hamster wheel in many ways at this point in the episode but he is about to jump off it.

This is the key to happiness and Lev's advice and the year of yes scene 2.0 - the same shade of blue are at play here. Lev figuring it out ('I get it now') just as he's dying and Buck then trying to figure out what Lev had figured out and essentially failing before he died only to now get it and free himself is a blue thread we've been following through season 6 up to bucks death, then the use of this shade of blue in Bucks costumes tailed off - we saw it reappear a couple of times after the lightening strike - specifically around Natalia and his continues flirtation with death - almost like his hovering around death was him trying to grasp what Lev had figured out.

Then the blue had been gone again only for it to reappear here in this episode in a scene that precedes Bucks bi awakening and his comments about being free and 'yeah that works' with their double meanings that play in the same way as lev's 'I think i get it now' just without death coming immediately after. It's a scene when he starts to get an inkling on what his jealousy is actually about. (The fact we know he's going to be back in this bright blue in the next episode in a scene with Eddie - that is very likely a coming out scene also plays into this idea.)

And the stone wash jeans are once more there for all to see!

Then we get this dark navy blue shirt with silvery white dots and yet again those stone wash jeans.

Ok lets talk about the jeans! The fact that we haven't seen Buck wearing stone wash jeans, which if you watch the opening couple of seconds of the dispatch scene, you will see are proper normal length on him and not ankle swingers like we've got used to seeing him in for the last few seasons!

The thing with him suddenly wearing these stonewash jeans is all about imitation - imitation of Tommy (and by extension, imitation of Eddie even though we don't see Eddie in stonewash denim in this episode) because you know that old adage of dressing like the person you want to be , or the idea that you subconsciously start dressing like the person you have a crush one?? Well yeah - Buck has all these new feelings that he doesn't know what to do with, but Tommy is cool and Tommy dresses like Eddie and Eddie seems to like Tommy better than Buck now so maybe if Buck starts dressing a bit like Tommy he'lI get Eddies attention back. So he's pulled out the stone wash jeans so that he's dressed a bit more like Tommy, but he's also dressing a bit like his crush that he doesn't yet realise is a crush.

The other small thing that I think is a nice nod - So Like I said earlier, the last time we see the jeans is in 2x01 - Eddies introduction to the firehouse. This is the moment (on screen at least for us as viewers) that Buck ceases to be the probie - that baton is passed to Eddie, so its almost like a symbol of him graduating and maturing in some way. then we get the jeans back for Bucks bi awakening - we see them the entire time he's navigating all these new feelings he has - he's never been with a man, so he's like a probie again.

The thing is, that the jeans appear to be gone for his date with Tommy (makes sense - he's on a date so he's got to look good for his man!) , and from what I can tell from the (super dark even when brightened) stills from the Buck Eddie loft scene, it would appear they are gone for that scene too. We've had bts of Oliver in the jeans again, so I don't think they're gone completely, but that makes sense, he's still a baby queer after all, still navigating his way through things.

On to the shirt! I wrote a whole meta about this shirt (and the jeans actually!) when we first got this still - you can read it here and I'm still a little awestruck at how close to the mark I got!

What I want to add to what I said, now I have context is that the two previous times we've seen blue shirts with dots are played upon in this scene - the lawsuit is the obvious one and the parallel is showing Bucks growth - he got jealous and worried about being replaced and ended up lashing out and suing everyone, now he got jealous and thought he was being replaced, but as soon as he lashes out, he realises he is in the wrong and verbally acknowledges it.

The diner with Maddie scene is a bit more tricky to parse out, but for me, it ties to Doug - Maddie is quick to call Buck out when he confesses to Eddies injury not being an accident, because of her experiences at the hands of Doug. In the diner scene she is determined to go back to her apartment and her life in the aftermath of killing him - she wants life to go back to normal. In the loft scene Buck is trying to achieve that end too - he's in a new world where Tommy exists as part of his life now (as Eddies friend initially) and he wants to clear the air and move forward - so he's still a part of Eddies life.

I also want to talk about the contrast between this scene and the one where Taylor turns up at his door after the shooting and the difference between being chased and doing the chasing. Its spots v stripes!

Buck is in a similar shirt - short sleeved button up in a dark shade (black) - this one with vertical stripes for the Taylor scene and he thinks he's being chased for the first (ish) time (Abby sort of chased him but he is the one who pushed for it to be a relationship when I think she just wanted a bit of fun and a hook up! so I'm not sure if it actually counts or not). Thing is Taylor only chases him after they've already kissed and when he's then made it clear thats what needs to happen. (as an aside - Natalia does pursue Buck - not romantically, but because he has died - and she is the one wearing vertical stripes

While in this scene he doesn't have to say anything, yes he flirts, but he isn't explicit about what hewants - Tommy is the one who makes the decision to go for it, and so when he genuinely gets pursued, he is wearing dots

Chased verse's doing the chasing - dots v stripes

Then we have the Pink.

Pink is back in full force in 7x04 with it popping up regularly throughout the episode.

I didn't include Athenas pink dressing gown or Bucks pink shorts in their sections because I actually wanted to talk about them here. The context the scenes they were in gave me the information I needed to figure out what I think the purpose of all the pink we've been seeing is.

Lets start with a quick recap of all the pink from the 3 previous episodes then we'll look at the pink from this episode as well as the fact I've already spotted some for 7x05 from the trailer

7x01

Athena's pale pink top in therapy with Frank

Sue at dispatch in a pink cardigan

Christophers pencil is pink when he's sat at his desk - when he reads the letter from Shannon

Marisol in her bright pink strappy top

Lola's Manzanillo outfit is bright pink and white

Norman has pink flowers on his Hawaiian shirt and he later wears a bright pink polo shirt when he's pretending Lola is still with him.

7x02

the woman who is teaching her daughter to drive

the pink roses on Hen's jacket (which I know I said play into the theme of family bonds etc but the pink has a second meaning)

7x03

The cruise ship family nearly all wear pink at various points (grandma and mom are the exceptions)

and now 7x04

We have Ashley C in hot pink at the Bachelor mansion

Athena in her dusty pink ddressing gown (and pyjama pants

The woman who shot her son is in pink

And then there are Bucks pink shorts!

All of these scenes with the pink are scenes about either naivety and or innocence

The pink on Athena is about her being naive about her relationship with Bobby - not recognising that she is nothing to fear about them spending time together.

Sues pink cardigan. Sue's line is about the civilians at risk from the fighter jet - she is representing their innocence

Christophers pink pencil - in that scene his behaviour might be naive (he's a child so of course it is) but it comes from a place of complicated feelings as he does begin to mature - he was the innocent party in the loss of Shannon and he is the one left to suffer.

Lola is naive on the ship about having an affair and thinking she could get away with it and that it wouldn't hurt Norman. She’s also innocent in the plot regarding the bitcoin (or whatever it was)

Norman is also both naive and innocent - not recognising the fact his wife is cheating, for selling up their entire life and he is innocent in the bitcoin plot.

The mother and daughter were innocent in the car crash.

the pink flowers on Hens jacket hint at her being innocent of any wrong doing (from a departmental perspective) at the car accident.

The cruise family are innocent - just in the wrong place at rhetorical wrong time and they are a representation of all the innocent people on the boat who end up in danger on that ship.

I think the Marisol top is an interesting one - it plays into Chris being naïve thinking he can date multiple girls without them finding out. But I also think it’s foreshadowing her naivety in general - I think we might either see her immaturity in some way (perhaps on a date with Eddie) which will prove terminal for her relationship with Eddie. Now we know about this date scene coming up this is possible but it could also end up being about the fact that she is likely going to be an innocent party caught in the crossfire of Eddie unrepressing himself (much in the same way Ana was back in s4/5.

Ashely C's pink dress is a representation of the innocence of trying to find love.

Athena's pink dressing gown is about her innocently and blindly/ naively being excited about Harrys return home to her.

The lady who shot her son is innocent in that her actions were brought about by something out of her control and so she can't truly be held responsible for them.

Then Bucks pink shorts are about his queer innocence and naivety about his feelings the fact that we see them in a scene where Tommy isn’t present, a scene that is meant to inform the audience that his behaviours is all about Eddie and not Tommy - that he’s naively not grasping that part of this internal confusion that he's experiencing.

To add to all of this, we have Marisol carrying a pink bag in the teaser for next week, to me if pink theory is correct then this is playing into the idea that Marisol is naively dating Eddie and that she's going to be an innocent caught up in whatever goes down in that scene (part of this arc) the use of lighter pink here specifically on a handbag is giving me babyish vibes as well (its screaming little girl playing at dress up!). As a quick aside - I am very amused that shes been dressed in a basic black top - she looks like wait staff!

And of course there is Eddies pink ensemble that is connected to either Chims bachelor party or the Madney Wedding. I have no idea what is going to happen in this scene(s) but whatever does go down - place your bets on Eddie being innocent (and or naive!) in whatever goes on - itll be fun to see if I'm right! 🤓

Right 7k later and that is me done for this meta!!! I am handing out the tea, coffee, cake and biscuits (all dietary requirements catered for!)🫖☕️🧁🍩🍪- you've earnt them if you've made it to the end of this monster! Hope you enjoyed reading. i'm off to revel in Bi Buck some more - I can't believe its happened I'm overcome!!! 🩷💜💙

Tagged peeps as always are below!

@theladyyavilee @mistmarauder @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @bewilderedbuckley @spotsandsocks @bewitchedbewilderedbisexual @rogerzsteven @wanderingwomanwondering @oneawkwardcookie @leothill @copyninjabuckley @shammers86 @crazyfangirlallert @missmagooglie @katyobsesses @radiation-run @gayandbifiremenofmine @bi-moonlight @crazyaboutotps @princesschez75 @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @sherlocking-out-loud @tommykinarddd @satashiiwrites @lover-of-mine

(if the tags don't work its because people have changed their url (very valid of you!) and I didn't know, so let me know if you want tagging in future in the comments so I can catch the new urls!

[sunnitheapollokid]

hi! i’m praying your reqs are open lmao,, can I please request for a percy’s sister!reader x leo where it’s a whole enemies to best friends to lovers and percabeth were just secretly shipping us from the start 🥹

🪼┊ ༉‧₊˚✧ 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃, 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋

↳ leo valdez x daughter of poseidon oneshot ೃ࿔₊

☀️ sunni’s notes : THANK UUUU FOR REQUESTING!! (i loved ur leo angst blurb even though it did hurt me like LORDDD) i will never get tired of writing for this trope 🤞🤞 its just TEWWW good!! SORRY IM TAKING SO LONG WITH THESE REQUESTS I SWEAR IM NOT THIS UNRELIABLE. this one’s pretty long but, this was way too fun to write so i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i loved reading it 💛 anyhoo, sunkisses!! happy reading!!

ೃ࿔₊

WOULD A BOY LIKE YOU LIKE A GIRL LIKE ME!

(name) (last name) hated the way leo was so self-centered. how he was charismatic, and managed to be good at mechanics and ladies alike. she hated the smirk he always had on his face, and how he couldn’t fix his greasy hair or atleast wipe his dirty tank.

COULD SOMEONE LIKE YOU LIKE SOMEONE LIKE ME!

leo valdez hated the way (name) was always swaying her hips like that as she walked. how she was beautiful, and managed to be so, sweet even when the other person happened to be a bitch. he hated the way her hair was always perfect after swimming, but can’t manage to atleast make eye contact with him.

ೃ࿔₊

ANNABETH WATCHED (name) argue with leo for the fifth time in the past week. she sighed, “what are they arguing about now??” percy strode his way beside his daughter of athena girlfriend.

“your sister looked at leo the wrong way and leo started burning her shoelaces.” percy glanced down at the black and burnt ends of (name)’s shoelaces, a chuckle escaping his lips.

“for the last time— i didn’t give you a stank eye!” (name) grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, upset. leo looked right through her, his brown eyes narrowing at her upset expression. “so stop burning my shoelaces!! i still need them. god.” (name) had made her final point before walking away from the son of hepheastus.

percy walked beside leo, pinching the side of his stomach, “the hell do you think your doing?” percy asked. leo yelped at the pinch, and as well as percy’s appearance. percy had that shit-eating grin that he gave his sister’s pursuers. “don’t give me that look perce, she was totally looking at me weird.”

“awww!” annabeth coo’d, “they remind me of us seaweed brain.” she kissed percy’s cheek. leo’s cheeks flared up a tint of pink, “okay first— where’d you come from?” he pointed to percy. “and second of all, we do not remind you of.. — you, i don’t know whatever, it’s too early for this.” leo rambled, feeling the heat in his ears escalate.

annabeth raised both her brows, “you’re mad at her for looking at you?” she asked him, “isn’t that what you want?” percy continued her sentance.

leo grumbled again, running his fingers through his hair, “ay.. mierda.” he mumbled. “ahhh..” percy sang. “you have a crush on my sister valdez.”

“NO I DONT.”

“… but if i said yes, are you going to kill me?”

“probably.”

annabeth nudged percy hard on the stomach. percy winced in pain, “god she’s got an arm.” the son of poseidon hugged his stomach in pain. “what he means is you should atleast try and show that you’re interested in her. all you’ve ever done is burn her shoelaces, her jacket, and the drawing she was working on the other day!”

annabeth exclaimed, percy in the background groaning in pain. “oh stop being a baby, percy.”

leo sighed, “actually i almost burnt her hair the other day— which.. will be a story.. for another time..” percy’s eyes widened. “is that why she smelt like burnt popcorn the other day?! leo—“ he snarled, annabeth stopping him before he could kill the poor guy.

“be. nice.” annabeth shot at leo before walking away with percy to go engross in something else. “but he was— i’m gonna—“ leo could hear from the short ditsance of the couple.

ೃ࿔₊

IT WAS UNEXPECTED. (name) walked back to cabin three with a light in her chest. “PERCY!” she barged inside. percy jumped, “(nickname), i’m taking a nap here.” she threw a pillow in his face, “hey!”

“leo got me shoelaces to replace the burnt ones and apologized for the other things he’s burnt. THAT’S SO WEIRD?” she whisper-yelled in her brother’s face as she sat on the edge of his bunk. percy rubbed his eyes, the bed head very visible the strands of his jet black hair out and about. “how’s that weird? the guy’s just trying to be nicer. about time.”

(name) agreed, it shouldn’t be weird. but it was just so sudden. then she thought about him, his smile, maybe it wasn’t always a mischievous one. and his tank? no lie, he did look really attractive in it. his smile.. wait didn’t she just think of it?

“(name) you’re as red as frank when he found out about sex.”

she threw another pillow at percy’s face.

ೃ࿔₊

THE SEVEN, (and some added guests) made their way to camp’s lake to go canoing. “alright! so,” annabeth made her way to the front of the group. “me and perce, obviously. frank and hazel. jason and pipes. nico and will. reyna and rachel. (name) and leo. any questions?”

“I DO!”

“I DO!”

leo and (name) turned to each other with their hands both raised. “i don’t wanna go canoing with him!” she shot. leo scrunched his brows. “i’m not that bad! i already apologized for all the stuff i’ve burnt!”

“oh yeah, WITH A FROWNED FACE!”

“okay, enough! we can’t have you guys switch, just, manage and don’t try to drown each other?”

leo and (name) hopped in their canoe last, while the others rushed to go look around. “hey, i’m suppose to be in the back. the leader’s in the back.” (name) shot again, “oh yeah? and who made you leader?” leo put his foot in the back seat. (name) snarled, putting her own foot in the back.

“me. daughter of poseidon.” leo chuckled with a smug smile, “that was cringe.” (name) hit him on the head with her oar.

leo let her be leader.

ೃ࿔₊

AFTER A BIT, (name) had grown tired and leo offered to paddle on his own. weird. instead, she played with the water with her fingers and listened to the birds in the forest. leo watched her, his lips curving into a small smile.

“you’ve been canoing yeah?” leo asked. “sure. percy’s usually always the one paddling though, since he’s faster.” the curly-head latino nodded, listening to her words slip out like honey. wait what?

he flushed at the thought, shaking it away as he paddled and looked away from her in attempts to help him calm down.

their canoe was nudged, slightly moving. “what was that?” leo breathed, hugging his oar. (name) furrowed her brows at him, “what was what?” the canoe was nudged by something underneath again. “that!” in a panicked voice, leo sat by (name) and gripped her arm. “leo the canoe! it’s gonna lose—“

the canoe tipped over to the back flipping them underwater. the two held their breath, while (name) held leo’s waist as she brought them up to the surface. leo couldn’t swim, it was obvious by the way he was coughing and struggling to catch his breath.

“it’s just an otter!” (name) sang with a smile, the baby brown creature swimming away. “it’s adorable!” she coo’d. leo had his arm around (name)’s neck as he clutched his chest, continuing to pant. (name) kept her arms around his waist, “god you look terrible.”

his hair and ‘chb’ shitt damp, leo shot her a glare. “this is unfair.” he looked at her very dry hair and very dry shirt. she kicked underwater to keep them afloat, a giggle escaping her lips.

their laughs harmonized as they stayed in the water.

the two became inseperable since then. they were an unstoppable duo, fireboy and watergirl. they called them. they landed a lot of pranks around camp, usually did duties together, and even after percy offered (name) to go together to sally’s place after the end of summer, she insisted she’d stay with leo.

ೃ࿔₊ end of summer.

“hey watergirl, canoing?” leo walked inside cabin three with an oar in his hand. “HELL YEAH!!” camp half-blood was pretty empty, with only about ten other campers around to stay all-year round because of non-existent homes they couldn’t go to.

and since it was almost fall, you could smell the crisp of autumn air and the breeze that constantly pinched your skin. leo and (name) hopped into their canoe and began their paddling, “(name)?” leo hummed as (name) played with the water, just like last time. “yeah?” she giggled.

leo melted into her smile, “i have something for you.” (name)’s eyes gleamed. leo always made her things, but for some reason, this felt extra special. leo clicked his tongue, almost sort of in animal call and an otter swam closer to them.

(name)’s lips parted as the cuddly otter held out a silver heart locket in it’s hands. “take it watergirl, come on.” leo motioned his head to the otter. (name) had her jaw dropped, taking the locket and opening it. — a picture of them inside.

“(name), i’ve liked you forever now, and .. sorry.” he trembled a smile. (name) lifted her head look at him in the eye, “oh my gods leo. i, i love it.” she beamed, (name) made her way towards him. “(name)! you’re gonna tip the canoe!” leo laughed. “i don’t care!” she laughed with him, kissing him as she kneeled in-between his legs.

closing their eyes and feeling the moment, it was too late to realize that their canoe was tipping, and they had been flipped once again.

(name) brought leo again, up to the surface, and since (name) had been giving him lessons, he wasn’t too winded from the previous canoe-flipping sitch. they laughed together again, and this time,

(name) had chosen to get her hair and shirt damp. “you can say you got me flipped, watergirl.”

“cringe.”

“hey! it was cute! c’mon!!”

[sycamorelibrary754]

Come Home To Me

Summary: After returning home to the Avengers Compound from separate solo missions, Wanda learns the meaning behind one of your tattoos is more than what it seems.

Pairings: Wanda Maximoff x Avenger!Reader.

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1k

Warnings: None

A/N: Behold, my first attempt at writing a fic. I'm pleased with the end result, so I'm being brave & posting it. Shoutout to @yelenasdiary for encouraging me to give it a go. 💜

The morning light shone through the window of Wanda’s bedroom as both of you cuddled up under the covers. You silently thanked Tony for installing black-out curtains in the compound bedrooms as Wanda’s red magic trailed ever so slowly around the fabric, bringing much-needed darkness to the room.

You had both returned from solo no-contact missions the night before. Usually, you did your best to keep in touch when both of you were on separate missions, even if it was only an emoji to let the other know that you were there. Without that contact, you both felt like ships lost at sea with nothing to anchor you. 

Wanda was the first to arrive home. After her debriefing with Fury, she was determined to stay awake for your impending arrival. 

Walking past Wanda on the way to her room, Natasha gave Wanda a knowing smirk. “No training tomorrow.” Not even stopping to engage in conversation. 

Wanda turned as the Black Widow kept walking past her toward the compound kitchen, “Why?” 

“You know why,” Nat called out in response without even turning around. 

Upon arriving in her room, Wanda changed into her favorite pajamas and turned on her favorite episode of the Dick Van Dyke show. One she had seen more times than she could count, but it was always her comfort show. Even more so when you were away.

An hour later, your Quinjet softly touched down on compound grounds. You tiredly made your way to your debriefing, the Med Bay for a few minor stitches in your leg, and your room for a quick shower. By the time you finally make it to Wanda’s room, the only sound you hear as you slowly push open the door is the laugh track of your girlfriend’s favorite show. The glow from the television perfectly illuminating her sleeping form under the covers. You carefully made your way to your side of the bed and curled up next to Wanda. Her eyes slowly opened to see your exhausted face smiling back at her.  

“Hi, sweetheart,” you said.

“You’re finally home” Wanda whispered.

“So are you.” You replied as you gently caressing your hand across her cheek. 

It had been so long without her touch that you almost forgotten what it felt like to not sleep alone. You came together for a gentle kiss that lingered on for what seemed like forever. Not in desperation, but in contentment, as you were finally whole again. 

“Go back to sleep, love. It's so late.” You say, as you turn off her television and readjust the covers over both of you. 

“We have the day off tomorrow...” Wanda mumbled. Her Sokovian accent slipping ever so softly into her speech. Her weariness finally catching up with her now that you were home and safe in her arms. You fall asleep with hands and hearts intertwined. 

You lay in bed as Wanda traces the outlines of the tattoos that cover your right arm. She had always found them fascinating. 

“What does the owl mean?” Her voice broke through the thickened silence.

“What?” You glance over, as her green eyes connect with yours.

“The owl tattoo on your forearm.” Wanda reiterated.

“Oh. Well, the owl is the companion to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. It was seen as a symbol of protection in Ancient Greece. If an owl flew over Greek soldiers before a battle, they took it as a sign of victory.”

Wanda nods as you look down at the tattoo on your arm, brushing your fingers lightly over the ink. 

“There is another reason….” You say so softly that Wanda almost misses it. “When I’m on a mission without you, it reminds me that I will always find my way back to you. I’ll be victorious and I’ll come home to you, no matter where I am.”

Wanda takes your face in her hands. Her magic trails around your head and gently calms the inner recesses of your mind. Her eyes meet yours in gentle reassurance. She can hear your thoughts questioning whether that was too much to share. 

“I love you with all my heart. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“I love you too,” you reply.

A couple weeks later, Wanda suits up for a mission with Nat and Bucky. They were to infiltrate an underground Hydra facility that had recently started experimenting again with what Tony and Bruce believed to be new technology. Nothing Wanda hadn’t seen before, but still unsettling. Memories forever fresh of her time in Hydra facilities with Pietro. The only sound able to permeate her memories is the sound of Nat announcing that you’re roughly an hour out from your target and Bucky regaling them both with another story of his exploits in 1940s Brooklyn with Steve. 

Missing you, Wanda absentmindedly reaches into the front pocket of her suit and feels the creases a folded-up note against her fingertips. Removing it slowly, she recognizes your chicken scratch handwriting that you absolutely despise, but that she finds adorable. 

Come home to me, Wanda. 

Forever my love,

y/n

Wanda opens the small black box accompanying the note to reveal an ornate silver owl ring. Edgy, yet elegant. With tears gathering her eyes, she quietly slips the ring onto her right ring finger. It slides into place smoothly, as if it was always meant for her. A spot it never left from that moment on. No matter the mission, no matter the circumstance. You had your owl and she had hers.

It may look like a simple piece of jewelry to the rest of the team. Nat often catches Wanda staring at the ring during briefings, especially if you aren't there. And Yelena still doesn't understand why she couldn't borrow it for a date night with Kate. To your little witch, it is more than a ring. It’s a comforting reminder of the love you both share. An unspoken promise to always find your way back home to one another. 

[starrynightmovietheatre]

Elise now presents:

We should just kiss like real people do

Starring: Jason Grace x daughter of Athena!reader

Soundtrack: Like real people do - Hozier, Sweet Creature - Harry Styles, All my love - Noah Kahan

Enjoy the movie! 🎬

You’ve heard of golden retriever and black cat how about owl x eagle??

This mf shocks you if you overwork yourself

Legit sits at your desk and pokes you every now and then until you get the hint

Watches you design/write/whatever your area of STEM is and asks questions every now and then

No but back to golden x black cat

You’re kinda both black cat but he’s def more golden when you get into the relationship

You need a new pencil? He has one right here

Your rubber is dead? He has one right here

You need a ruler/set square? He has on-

YOU GET THE POINT

He is Mary poppins just for your things

Doesn’t know how to feel about your mother cause you sometimes have good stories and sometimes have the most horrible stories about her

Loves staying in your cabin

(He thinks the Zeus cabin is haunted)

((He can hear voices in the walls))

(((I def didn’t steal the idea from @hopelesslyromanticshark no way)))

ANYWAY

Loves how quiet your cabin is as well

Is semi-willing to take care of spiders for you

Refuses to release them but def will smack it with a shoe

This definitely doesn’t cause almost all the Athena kids to find him when they see a spider

Definitely not

Who told you that

Anywho

Takes you flying for Funsies

If your scared he holds you all tight with his arms around your waist and-

Someone shut me up

You spar so much and while you plan your moves he’s just going for it

He’s been around Percy and Leo too much

All Roman training out the window the minute he goes into Bunker 9/Cabin 3

He’s just a kid

Also to be a disabled Jason truther for a minute

He always gets you to wrap his knee for him cause you just do it in the perfect way

You do it anyway cause you know he won’t do it himself

You constantly have a knee support/KT-Tape in a bag, pockets, bedside table, bathroom, anywhere.

Now that I’m done my small rant

If you’re injured this man will drop anything to make sure your ok

Paper cut? He’s checking your ok, pressing a kiss to it and letting go on with your life

You get hurt during capture the flag? He’s checking your ok, not leaving your side while your in the infirmary even if you insist your fine, pressing a kiss to it

GOOD GODS HES SOOOOO

Anyway, in summary he’s just perfect and you guys go together so well 🫶

Director’s note: FIRST POST OF THE NEW BLOG 🫶 I love writing for characters I have made basically me and pair them with me 🤭 ew that sounds weird anyway, the Athena reader will almost always be related to STEM I will not be stopped or shut up, it’s impossible.

[kekaki-cupcakes]

hello, are you still doing requests?

if so, could i have some sibling headcanons of nico with a hades kiddo that's really peppy and into colorful things and people find it hard to believe they're siblings at first because their personalities are polar opposites of each other?

thankyou!

Heya, I'm still doing requests but I have so many so it might take a while to get an answer, feel free to request something else though! This kind of went off track but oh well <3

Don't take it to heart---Nico/opposite aesthetics sibling!reader

»»————-　★　————-««

-The minute you skipped up to the porch of the Hades Cabin with your stripey rainbow leg warmers and a tote bag with a stupid pun about a show with something called ‘carebears’, Nico winced.

-He’d need sunglasses if he had to keep looking at you, but he didn’t really want to borrow the big yellow star ones on the end of your nose, so maybe that was a bad idea. Your first interaction went a bit like this:

You: “Heya, you're the emo kid, right? I’m new! So, where’s our cabin?” 

Nico: “Uh… you're supposed to go that way.”

You: “No, that’s the Iris cabin, at least that’s what Chiron said. I’m your new sibling, by the way. Chiron said we have one in Rome too! 

Nico: I- well, yes, I- we do.

You: Are they as grumpy looking as you?

-Needless to say you got off to a great start. Nico proceeded to dump your bags on one of the beds, which has a zebra print doona matching one of your headbands, and then left immediately. You shrugged it off, obviously, and started stacking your things on the coffin shaped bookshelves. You ignored the candle that was supposed to smell like ‘the souls of the damned’, and put your own flowery one next to it. 

-You found out you loved arts and crafts, where you made friendship bracelets with Lacy, as well as pegasi riding. You saw Nico once, and he waved awkwardly, but went back to the small child he was glaring at quickly. You quickly became attached to a creamy coloured mare called macaroni as well, but Butch wouldn’t let her sleep in your cabin. He did take a friendship bracelet, though. And he let you weave daisy chains into macaroni’s mane and tail, so you liked him. 

-You had brought a musty old record player with you after finding out that there was no wifi, but you had to pause ‘Washing Machine Heart’ [by Mitski, of course] when Nico came trudging into the now bright cabin. You’d opened all the curtains and taken the spiders that fell from them outside, dumping them in the bushes behind the Athena cabin. 

-Nico stared at the squishmellows on your bed and then the dreamcatcher by one of the windows, and the row of brightly coloured converse with striped laces lined up by his three different pairs of black Doc Martens. 

-He shrugged his jacket off and went straight into the bathroom, leaving a little trail of muddy footsteps along the heart shaped rug you’d put down.

-He was just adjusting to a roommate, you told yourself. It wasn’t anything to do with you personally. You hadn’t done anything wrong, maybe you should just give him a bit of space. That was a good idea. Leave him alone for a bit until he was used to you, and don’t take it to heart. 

»»————-　★　————-««

-You took it to heart.

»»————-　★　————-««

-Months had passed, and you were thankful for the Ipad Piper [she was so nice, and she let you borrow her Olivia Rodrigo records] lent you so you could facetime the family and friends you had left behind occasionally. They had seemed to adjust to you not being there anymore, now that you knew you were a child of Hades, the outside world was too dangerous to risk. You tried not to take that to heart either.

-Macaroni was getting used to the beaded bridle you’d made her, but you were still training her to get used to flying around while you used your new weapons.

-Nyssa had helped you make them, able to actually craft a design after glancing at you scribbled drawing with glitter gel pens that you really had worked hard on. Now you had a sparkly belt with three attachments, that you could click in your spray cans too. The cans were filled with different coloured paint, only the base liquid was melted down celestial bronze flakes, so when you fought a monster, which you were still learning to do, it would seep into their eyes and turn them blind, or crack through their skin and dissolve them. You loved the spray cans.

-Drew had warmed up to you as well, and you were even invited to Barbie premier night in Cabin ten. You got to wear your sparkly leg warmers and the cropped leather jacket in a light shade of pink.

-You were making your way to the arts and crafts center with a box of clay and little paint brushes in your arms to run the pottery class [you’d been elected as head of arts and crafts pretty quickly, shared with Elsa, one of the Athena kids who specialize in weaving and sewed the cutest pajama pants] when you bumped into Nico.

-Literally. 

-The box may have been a few heads taller than you, so it wasn’t really your fault, but Nico still snapped at you. 

-You gathered up the little tubs of paint from the grass and apologized quickly, your chest tight with anxiety. You hurried away after that, ignoring your brother as he tried to explain he hadn’t realized it was you when he hissed curse words Drew had started teaching Harley and Lacy. 

-The class went well, the scrunchies Elsa was making her girlfriend for her birthday went along well, and a few more kids than usual showed up, taking lumps of clay from the tray and working it into figures on their tables. You were making beads that you’d string onto a bracelet for Nyssa, because she always broke the plastic ones with hammers and drills accidentally.

-You thought back to your interaction with Nico and regretted it dearly. Maybe if you’d just heard him out or even apologized and blamed yourself, he might’ve come to your class to see your works, or sat with you at dinner, or even just waved from across the infirmary when you went to get panadol for your headaches. 

-You knew you got them from straining your eyes to read and draw in the dim cabin, but whenever you opened the curtains or switched on your blue lamp with a cloudy pattern that you hadn’t got to use yet, Nico cleared out completely. 

-It wasn’t your fault, you reminded yourself, you were just… too different.

-People started filing out after putting their creations to the side, you complimented each of their idea’s even though you felt like getting some Ben and Jerry’s from the camp shop and curling up in bed to watch ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ again. 

-The beads for Nyssa were nearly done, so you went to find a container to pop them in.

-When you got back, they had been ground into the bench until the delicate tracing of different things Nyssa likes were just shapeless brown blobs. An Ares kid, Grey, was standing with their arms crossed and a smirk on their face, which was mostly obscured by a nose that had been broken too many times.

-You stared down at the squashed clay and felt your eyes prickle with tears.

-Grey jeered at you, calling you things you’d rather not hear again, because they only made the tears fall. You rubbed your nose and smoothed the front of your tye-dyed camp shirt flat. Grey called after you, something about being a ‘rainbow prissy’. You stumbled out of the center.

-Nico wasn’t in your cabin when you slammed the door behind you, thankfully, and you hopped into bed, kicking your yellow converse off and pulling the doona over your head so you didn’t have to look at the skull filled walls around you.

-It was so dark, it was so dark and shadowy and there were bones you were too scared to ask about their origins lining the mirror in the bathroom you kept seeing things behind you in. Your crocheted blanket that used to sit across the black doona cover had been folded up a while ago and placed back in your suitcase, along with a few of the more multicolored posters and the fruity scented candles that seemed to annoy your half brother. 

-You rubbed your eyes with your sleeves and held your hand over your mouth so Nico wouldn’t hear crying when he would eventually come back a few hours later, late enough that you could pretend to be asleep. 

»»————-　★　————-««

-The infirmary was busy with bleeding and laughing demigods when you wandered in looking for some panadol. Your headache was making it hard to think straight, but whenever you cried too much you got one, so you knew what to do by now. 

-Will waved from over from where he was pulling a ruler, a stapler, and a glue stick out of the stomach of an Iris kid who was giggling the entire time, coughing up glitter. He grimaced when a chunk of glue hit his face. You waved back and turned the corner, heading to the rooms at the back where Austin would be. He usually had the panadol. 

-Someone groaned in the corner, and you spotted Grey. 

-They looked like a soggy bag of a human, their mauled nose the only definable shape. You couldn’t pull your eyes away from the grotesque demigod blob.

-Austin shuffled up behind you with a grimace, passing over a few pills and a glass of water without looking away. You gulped them down quickly as Grey let out another moan and rolled a bit on their hospital bed. Austin told you that he’d been spotted on the floor of the Arts and crafts center. 

-Apparently, every few minutes one of his bones would disappear.

-It was only a few fingers at the start, then most of his ribs couldn’t be found and there was something wrong with his mouth, which Austin found out meant his jaw had decided to not be there. 

-A screechy sound came from the front of the infirmary, and you both looked to the door, which Clarrise was dragging Nico through, holding him up by the back of his jacket. He pummeled at the chunky daughter of Ares, but couldn’t get out of her grip. Clarrise glared around at the staring demigods and snarled, “why is this little shit de-boning Grey?”

-You didn’t know who yelled ‘that’s what she said’ from across the room.

-”Because they deserve it.” Nico hissed a bit like a cat, glaring up at Clarisse with narrowed brown eyes underneath his floppy hair.  

-Will ran up to the pair, brushing glitter off his gloved hands onto his scrubs instead. He folded his arms and stared Clarrise down until she finally let go of Nico, who dropped to the ground and then sprung back up, wrinkling his nose at the daughter of Ares, who just stuck her tongue back out at him. 

-Will pinched his nose, “Clarisse, more people come in here because of you then Nico, so you don’t get to talk. Nico, just fix them, they’re too annoying to be kept in here.”

-”But people deserved to be punched by me,” Clarrise argued with a scoff.

-”And Grey deserves to lose their bones!” Nico shot back, glaring up at Clarisse and balling his fists, “they stepped on my siblings clay stuff!”

»»————-　★　————-««

-You yawned and stretched your arms out above your head, then blinked up at the roof with bleary eyes. The skulls were gone, now it was just black concrete. You rolled over a moment later and stuffed your head back into your pillow, pulling your crocheted blanket back over your head.

-There was a ‘shing’ sound as curtains were yanked open, and you just sunk further into your comfy bed, ignoring the bright beams of early morning sunshine that streamed in and lit up the dark cabin. It made the rainbow rug in the center of the cabin even brighter, and you groaned loudly in protest. “Whaddaya even doing up so early? Go back to bed you vampire!”

-”It’s only six am?”

-”You’re more of a psychopath then I thought before,” you muttered, but made sure you were loud enough that your brother could hear you as he padded round the cabin getting changed and ready for his much too early start to the day. 

-Nico huffed and the bathroom door shut as he completely ignored the hairbrush you’d given him to passive aggressively deal with his scruffy black hair. “Leo forgot the code to the safe in the big house that he changed when he was hiding those icey poles from Piper.”

-”And how are you supposed to help him remember?”

-Nico’s boots were loud on the floorboards as he trotted over. He kissed you on the forehead gently, “oh I’m not, I’m gonna go watch him suffer the consequences with Jason.”

»»————-　★　————-««

[tawaifeddiediaz]

9-1-1 + having each other’s backs

(for @oliverstaark​ @olliverstark​ and the rest of the psc911 besties ♥)

[Image ID: ten gifs of various characters from 9-1-1> Gifs 1 and 10 are in color, while the rest are in black and white. The subtitle text is in different colors for different characters.:

GIF 1: Eddie telling Buck, "you can have my back any day." in 2.01.

GIF 2: Buck telling Abby, "I got your back, you know that." in 1.10, smiling at her.

GIF 3: Shannon and Eddie in the middle of their argument in 2.07. Shannon tells Eddie that, "I needed someone to have my back.". The shot shifts to Eddie, who says, "I always had your back."

GIF 4: Officers from the LAFD talking to Hen in the office in 2.09, telling her that multiple people have complained about the captain's conduct, and have complimented her skills. The text reads, "[...let's just say more than a few of your firefighters have your back.]" while Hen looks on in disbelief.

GIF 5: Buck dressing Chase Mackey down about the lawsuit in 3.04, telling him, "Those city employees, those firefighters that you can't wait to smear, are heroes, so you wanna know who's got my back? They do."

GIF 6: Athena telling May, "But just say the word. You know I always got your back." as May complains about Claudette to her in 5.05.

GIF 7: Eddie, hurt and angry, turning to lash out at Bobby, "You know, when the brass was coming for you, when they were trying to fire you, I had your back. I supported you, and now you're trying to turn on me?" during their argument in 5.11.

GIF 8: Hen smiling with relief at Chim in the hospital after Jonah kidnapped them in 5.17, saying, "I knew you'd have my back, and there'd be no stopping you."

GIF 9: Ravi telling the firetruck, "I think it's sweet that Karen was defending you. I mean, isn't that what we all want in a partner? Knowing that they have your back?" in 5.18.

GIF 10: A continuation of GIF 1. Buck smiling widely at Eddie as he tilts his head, stumbling over his words as he says, "Yeah. Or, you know, you could...you could have mine."

/end ID]

[stuffforme2]

Okay listen I lvoe the pjo books and series with all ym heart but.. everyone talks about them like they're perfect WHICH THEYRE NOT any problems are kinda brushed under the rug and I find thst kinda werid? Like you'll see other books and TV shows get dragged and canceled for the stuff in Riordan books and yet pjo doesn't?? So.. uhhHHHH yeah that's jsut something I noticed.

The weird relationshipd ynamics. Rick is like allergic to someone bring okay with being single or jsut aromantic like you can say Reyna but her having a crush kn Jason?? Yes she rejected Apollo but her relationship with Jason deterioted brcuz she had a 'crush' on the guy and that doesn't really amke sense to me (I can go into so much detail kn this)

AND LEO AND CALYPSO OMFG that is a toxic relationship. The age gap. The way calypso treats Leo. The fact Leo SHOULD NOT be with someone like this man hasn't dealt with his attachment and Abandonment issues like st all?!

The literal only black character in the pjo books being beckendorf.. then he dies. Then the Korean/Asian (I'm not sure sorry) character dies, Ethan. And like I understand Percy is hinted st being Hispanic (have seen many ppl talk about this dont mnow if it's common knowldhe) but it's never confirmed or added??? I know Rick fixes it later but it's still weird to me lmaoo

Rick unable to keep consistent personality. Woobigying Nico OH MY GOD NICO HE BECOMES GAY AND THSTS WHDT EVERYONE FUCKING FOCUSES ON AND HE SHOULD'VE NEVER GOTTEN WITH WILL ATLWAST NOT THAT QUICK it's not healthy. Their relationship was rushed and didn't make sense I felt like people only like ot becuz it's a gay relationship??

And oh mygods— Samirah. I am not Muslim and I am not an expert on the Nuslim religion but there is so much shitbthatbeas wrong in thst book that I even knew was incorrect and jsut weird to happen?! The AMOUNT OF TIMES HER HIJAB CAME OFF and I'm also like "yaayyyy representation" but it could've been as easy as one Google search. one.

Jason. Jason as a whole. He had the most potential out of ANYONE and personally I think he had more potential then Percy like his story is so INTERESTING and then.. Rick knocked him iut with a brick multiple times, didn't work kn his sotry or trauma at all, then KILLED HIM. Same with Ethan. I am so Vitter about these two.. HELL EVEN LEO AND FRANK.

Also the way he made Annabeth first quest (first quest SHE IS LEADING AND IS HER PROHECY) all about Percy. I was reading it and I was like "bitxh— this is Annabeth Quest?!" LIKE he it pissed me off that Annabeth was swept to rhe side as Percy's lvoe interest giving her knly enough personality and stary to make her jnteredting enough to eb loved but never delving jntk it into Mark kf Athena and even at Mark of Athena it all rounded back tk her and Percy's relationship LIKE JESUS CHRIST DO THESE MFERS PASS THE BELLDAN TEST?!

The low key incest at the beginning ricj writing that all the demigods had the same impish features at rhe start and then.. jsut.. CHSNGING IT?!

Not letting a virgin goddess who has no history of having children have.. children.. NOW you may be wondering 'but then how would we get Annabeth?'— JUST GiVE ATHENA HER FAVOURITE CHOSEN PPL LIKE SHE DID WITH ODYSSEUS let her stay childless. Jsut let her choose some children she'd like as hers wonce they're Bron and she then blesses them as her heroes, that's how she treats them any way and it also gets rid of the incest?!

Also the fact it's implied that Annabeth is only smart becuz she's a child of Athena.. Rick made a virgin goddess technically have children so he can have a smart women character and that's just.. EuGGHHhHHh JUST LET HER BE SMART IT NOT THAT HARD "Oh, no, I'm not smart because Athena chose me.. Athena chose me because I was already smart" Smacks you with common fucking sense.

Also Annabeth ALWAYS needing to eb saves and its always done by a man. OMFG AND GROVES GF DHE HAS NO PERSONALITY OUTSIDE OF BEING SOEM GUSY GF EVEN THOUGH HES GONE FOR MKNTHS AND BAREKY CONTAXTS HER?!

The whole apheodite cabin. The whole aphrodite cabin. The whole aphrodite cabin.

The fact it's clear Rick doesn't think girly girls cant be strong or into fighting or able to wield a fuckign weapon. The way he makes nearly every girly girl into a total mean bitch or ruins their characters.

[candycorncrave]

So. Let's talk about Penacony and birds.

-Spoilers for the 2.1 quest (and possibly some of 2.2 if my theories and findings are correct)

Hey all! I'm not too good at starting these essay type things, so we're just gonna dive right in. Disclaimer, these are all just theories complied from random (not very in depth) research I did, and my own thoughts, so take it all with a grain of salt. I just wanted to put this out here for funsies!

With that out of the way, let's dive in!

From very early on into the Penacony quests, there was something that just kept nagging at me. Robin's name, (mixed with the fact that shes a singer.) The family's crest being a Nightingale. Aventurine's design very clearly representing a peacock. Ratio's owls.

There were just too many bird references for this all to be a coincidence, so I decided to do some research on bird symbolism and meaning.

And here are some very interesting things I found!

Now a lot of this is quite clear cut, so I won't go into alot of explanation, but I do find the "rebirth" part quite interesting, especially since it is hinted during the 2.1 quest that she came back from "death".

Let's start with Robin, since she's one of the more obvious ones: "Above all, the robin red-breast is a symbol of spring song and good fortune. Additionally, it also symbolises passion, a new beginning, and re-birth. Therefore, if the bird flies into your life you will be blessed with happiness and joy. Subsequently, most of the symbolism of robins is centred on their spiritual meaning which is believed to be a symbol of divine sacrifice." In native American culture, Robins also have strong ties with family and "heart centered connections."

Next up are Owls: Now this one is also pretty obvious. Dr Ratio's design has very heavy Greek inspiration, and owls in Greek mythology are very clearly tied with Athena, knowledge, and wisdom.

The thing I found interesting about this was all over Sunday's mansion, there are owls decorating a lot of the furniture. Could this have been foreshadowing for his "betrayal" and assisting Sunday? I'm not sure. In my opinion, that seems like quite a length to go to mislead players- especially since it's such a niche detail that most people probably won't think twice about. Maybe it will have more meaning in 2.2. Guess we'll wait and see!

3rd, Another obvious one, Black Swan: They symbolize the opposite of what the white swan does, naturally, so death, danger, destruction, suffering, chaos, mystery, etc.

Even more than that though, "The black swan theory of events is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight."

Another one I don't feel the need to dig that deep into. It all pretty much checks out with what we've seen of her character and the events of the story so far. Black Swan is a scary lady....

4th, Let's talk about Peacocks: Now we all know peacocks are commonly associated with general wealth, pride, and flamboyance. I thought that was all there really was to it being such a big contributor to Aventurine's design. But I decided to dig a little deeper and. Oh boy.

Peacocks can also symbolize both death, and life. Now at face value this is quite contrasting, but when you apply it to Adventurine's character- it makes quite a lot of sense. A single coin flip between life and death that keeps landing face up, and yet, it's a gamble he never hesitates to make. Moreso, peacocks can symbolize the freedom and liberation of the soul. (OUCH)

And Let's finish off the doozy. Nightingales: The symbol of the family and the bird constantly following Sunday around and watching everything the entire quest without a sound.

"Nightingales are symbolic of beauty, melody, creativity, purity, and the expression of oneself freely. They are also symbolic of darkness, mysticism, spiritual awakening, and renewal."

Now I found that the latter is often meant when you see a nightingale in your dreams. It is also mentioned if they do not speak back to you in a dream you will soon be betrayed.

,,,, How intriguing.

Also intriguing, Bloodhounds are very well known to be hunting dogs, and birds are prey for dogs.

And speaking of prey,,, are fish not considered birds' prey? And Sparkle, who we see fish around every time she shows up, was the "victim" in Black Swan's quest.

Anyways. I could be grasping at straws with that last part, but I do feel there is alot of stuff going on here with animal symbolism, especially more to dig into with Gallagher and Sparkle. It's all very intriguing

If you read all this here's a cookie! 🍪 Thanks for your time :) I hope you enjoyed the ramblings of a madman. Please feel free to add anything or comment your thoughts! I'd love to discuss

[xstarsmvxz]

𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐌𝐁 ❀

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 .𝟎𝟎𝟎 - 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

𝐞𝟒𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭! 𝐨𝐜

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 ➬ Miles morales, a star student at Brooklyn Visions Academy finds himself infatuated with a certain red headed girl he’s never even spoken to (yet), causing him to have a mental battle whether he should talk to the schools best guitarist and registered ‘cool girl’ and risk embarrassing himself or just absolutely keep to himself and live a regret filled life. Unfortunately for him- the universe decided not to be on his side.

Athena Blake, the schools so called ‘cool girl’ and best guitarist notices a boy she recognises from her calculus and advanced English class staring at her a lot. At first the red headed beauty finds it cute and mostly jokingly makes fun of him for it, rarely sending small smirks and head tilts his way, sometimes having brief conversations. However, when she notices him beginning to always loom around her and seemingly follow her around, she decides to ask him about it.

𝐜𝐰 ➬ one way pining (for now..), Athena being a flirt, light swearing, Miles is lowkey a dork, ooc, he and uncle Aaron are still the prowler!!

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 ➬ 2.1k

The walls and hardwood floors of the dimly lit theatre room are basically vibrating as the strumming of guitars and booming sound of drums being played can be heard, playing along to the song ‘I hate myself for loving you’ by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

People passing the doors of the large theatre stop in their tracks to take a peek or turn their heads towards the noise, some bobbing their heads to the music as others roll their eyes and continue walking to whatever class they have next.

Inside of the theatre room is a small band, two guitarists and one drummer. The three friends are on the stage, a red light illuminating their figures as they play through the loud speakers, grateful that they all have free period.

The lead guitarist, a girl with cherry dyed red hair and popping green eyes finishes the song off, her fingers aching as she throws her head back and strums the final cords.

The girl turns around to face her two friends Ivory and Thomas with a beaming smile on her face, her cherry flavoured lipgloss shining from the light on the stage. Her red hair messily frames her face as she goes to speak but is interrupted by the schools choir teacher followed by a few students walking into the theatre as the door clicks.

The band silently pack up their things, leaving the schools drums on stage as the girl puts her red and black guitar back in its case, placing it in the back rooms before smiling at the choir teacher as the trio walk out of the door.

The door closes with a loud click as the three friends strut down the hallway, squinting their eyes as they try to stop the burning sensation from the schools extremely bright lights.

Ivory turns to her friends, talking about how the choir kids are always interrupting them and cutting their playing time short. Ivory had jet black hair and deep brown eyes, she had dark skin which Athena thought went extremely well with her gold jewellery. She was the bass guitarist of their band.

Thomas immediately agrees with his friend, rolling his eyes as he exaggerates how annoying they are and how bad their singing actually is. Thomas was your basic white boy, except he was very very gay. He had light brown fluffy hair and pretty hazel eyes. He was the bands drummer.

“Speaking of singers, we seriously need one guys, I mean think of how much better our band would be!” Athena speaks up, turning around to face her friends as she walks backwards, her beat up red converse tapping as she walks along the tiled floor.

“She has a point. How many bands don’t have at least four people?” Ivory agrees, tilting her head to face Thomas as she takes her grape flavoured lollipop out of her mouth.

Thomas just stared at her blankly as he thought about his friends thoughts. “Exactly.” Ivory says, putting her lollipop back into her mouth as she tucks her free hand into the pocket of her black zip up hoodie.

Athena let’s out a stifled laugh as she turns back around to walk properly- only to bump into somebody. “Oh! I’m sorry!” She apologises, her face flushed with embarrassment, “I wasn’t really focusing on where I was walking..” she trails off as she picks up the papers that she had caused the boy to drop.

The red headed girl passes the paper back to the boy with an awkward smile, watching as the boy just stares at her with surprise. “You alright there?” She questions, her brows furrowed as she tucks some of her messied hair behind her ear.

“Oh I- um.. yeah, I’m alright” The boy replies, snatching the paper out of the girls hand and muttering a small thank you before he hurries off, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Athena and her two friends watch as the boy speeds off, Ivory and Thomas giggle a bit as they watch the boy however, Athena just stares with furrowed brows, whispering something to herself “weird…”

The trio shrug it off and continue to walk towards their next class, hoping to get there early instead of late like usual. Thomas has social studies so he departs from his friends first, giving the girls a small smile and wave before walking into the already student filled classroom.

“Hey Athena! Hi Ivory!” Comes a voice from beside them, her voice sweet and chirpy. The two friends turn to face the girl, already knowing who it was just from the sound of her voice. “Hey Valentina.” Athena says with a soft smile as Ivory just waves.

Valentina was a kind and lovely girl, she was also well known around the school so she got invited to many social gatherings and parties, that’s kind of how Athena and her friends met the schools sweetheart.

Athena and Ivory continue their walk, walking down some stairs before Athena reaches her calculus class. The girl rolls her eyes at a small joke that ivory made before pushing the doors to her classroom open.

Heads turn as they watch the girl walk through the door, some people giving her smiles and waves as others continue to mind their business. Athena sits at her assigned desk, next to one of Valentina’s friends.

Her name was Isla and her and Athena had become good friends since meeting each other in class. “Hi Athena..” The blonde girl says, smiling at the red headed girl as she does small sketches in her book.

“Hey girl, do you know why literally nobody is here today?” Athena asks as she scans the classroom, placing her books down on the table. Isla shrugs, flipping her book to a fresh page as the teacher walks in before whispering to Athena, “I heard that nobody was going to come today because of the prowler’s attack last night..”

The red haired girl turns to face her friend with a puzzled face. “Why? It’s not like the prowler is going to attack the school, especially in broad daylight.” Athena states, opening her book and grabbing a pen to copy off of the board.

Isla just lets out a small “hm” as she begins to copy the work down, listening to the teachers lecture. The teachers monotone voice in soon silenced as the door opens with a squeak, the hinges practically begging to be replaced.

The boy from earlier walks in, his books in hand as he walks towards a table at the back, awkwardly sitting down with a quiet sigh. Athena stares at the boy as she can hear the teacher let out a groan at the boys tardiness before continuing his lecture. “Hey Isla..” the red haired girl whispers, “what’s that guy’s name?”

Isla turns to face the boy who is now also rushing to copy what’s written on the board. “Him? That’s Miles Morales, he’s super smart.” The blonde girl mumbles before gurning back around to face the board.

“Miles Morales..” Athena mutters to herself, tilting her head before she zones back into what the teacher is saying, her pen gliding along her paper as she continues to write.

❀

Miles Morales. That name has been running through the red haired girls head all day. I mean- he’s cute, shy, but very odd, not at all somebody Athena could see herself with.

The red haired girl now sat in AP English, unbothered to listen to the teachers lecture as she zones out on the boy siting in front of her, staring at his two neat braids at the back of his head. The boy must’ve felt her green eyes burning through him as he slowly turns around, looking at her over his shoulder.

They make eye contact for a solid three seconds before Athena realises that she’s been staring. The girl quickly picks her pencil back up and continues to write, her face flushed red with embarrassment.

Miles does the exact same, flustered and surprised that the girl was even staring at him in the first place. He had been watching her for weeks, well not watching watching her, just noticing her. Noticing that she dyes to roots of her hair red again every few weeks, noticing that she reapplies her cherry flavoured lipgloss on every hour or so, noticing that she wears the same necklace everyday- the silver one with the pretty red star in the middle.

Miles thought she was beautiful, from her looks to her personality. Everybody knew her and spoke of her, his friends would tell him how fun and nice she really is once you get to know her, they would tell him to just shoot his shot and talk to her because it’s not like she would laugh at him for it, or tell everyone.. would she?

Miles had many questions in his mind as he thought about the girl, not even realising that the bell had rung minutes ago until the teacher repeated his name for the third time, telling him that the lesson had ended as she wonders how the dazed boy hadn’t heard her.

The boy carry’s his belongings as he rushes out of the door, his brows furrowed as he hurriedly walks down the hall, wanting to get home as soon as possible to prevent anymore embarrassment for himself.

His wishes are soon cut short as well as his walking as his shoulder bumps into the back of somebody. Athena Blake. The boy lets out a quiet groan, just how unlucky was he today?

The red haired girl turns to face him with furrowed brows until she catches sight of his pretty braids, realising who had just bumped into her. “You sure you’re not doing it on purpose?” She chuckles as she turns to fully face the boy, forgetting about the conversation that she was having with Ivory and Valentina.

“W- what?” Miles’ nervous voice comes out as he awkwardly and apologetically smiles. “Bumping into me, are you sure you’re not doing it on purpose?” The girl repeats, her guitar slung over her back as her hands are occupied with a small knitted handbag and her phone.

“No, no! I didn’t mean to- I didn’t mean to bump into you earlier either.. I.. I just wasn’t-“ The flustered boys speaking was cut short as Athena lets out a loud, obnoxious laugh, causing the few people in the near empty hallway to stare.

“I’m just fucking with you, we’re cool.” The girl says, widely smiling at miles, putting her pretty little tooth gem on display. “Oh.. we’ll still I’m sorry, my bad.” Miles awkwardly apologises with a small smile on his face.

Why was he so nervous around her? He was never nervous. Not even around other girls, not even when talking with strangers and definitely not when he was getting chased by the police as the prowler.

Valentina taps the red haired girls shoulder with a smile on her face as Athena turns around to face her brunette friend. Valentina and Ivory inform Athena that they’re all about to leave to hangout at her house, laughing at her interaction with the boy that they had most definitely been listening to.

Athena puts her phone in the pocket if her hoodie, grasping her knitted bag tighter as she follows her friends out, not before turning her head to face the boy with a smile on her face, “see ya around, Miles..”

The boy just stares at her as she walks, watching the was her hips sway and her plump thighs rub against each other as she lightly jogs to catch up with her friends. He was shocked that she knew his name, knowing damn well that he had never told her.

For the rest of the day Athena’s sweet voice echoed through Miles’ head, even as he showered, even as he ate dinner with his uncle and mom, even as he blared music through his ears, music that reminded him of her. The same sentence would never leave his head,“see ya round, Miles..”

He was done for, completely infatuated with the girl and he knew it, as much as he would deny it to this friends, he knew deep down that they all knew as well. Cute scenarios played in his head from the second he fell asleep to the second he woke up, when those scenarios were replaced by her sweet voice once again.

❀

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐌.𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

[happyk44]

Zeus being like "we need to kill our living children because prophecy" and Hades is just "fuck you" and defies Nico and Bianca instead. Bianca is seething when she sees little Percy, Annabeth, and Grover sneak into the Underworld. She's spent way too much time with Zagreus.

But Nico is curious. He thinks the little heroes are cute. Watches them succeed to get around Cerberus. Watches one of them suddenly flying towards the pit. The other two are panicking.

Poor kids, he thinks, and he touches down in front of them. Catches the satyr with one hand. He yanks away, determined to get to the pit but Nico is an unmoving as a dead man. Just stuck to the ground and peeling off his wild shoes with ease. The satyr is lowered gently to the ground. Nico melts the shoes into shadows.

"You look hungry," he says.

They all stare at him. Then scamper into a little clustered triad. The girl nudges the boy and he huffs before clearing his throat.

"Um, Lord Hades-"

Nico's lip twitches. "I am not my father, little demigod. Do you wish to speak with him?" The boy's soul is untamed waves and a hurricane. "Ah. My cousin." He pauses. Gives it a think. "Perseus, right?"

The kid goes a little pink around his cheeks. Flushes down to throat and up through his ears. "Uh, yeah. Um. It's Percy." He blinks. Clears his throat. "Percy Jackson."

Nico thinks about it. "I think I'll just say Perseus, if you don't mind. I quite like it as a name. Strong. Heroic."

"Yeah, sure," Percy says quickly. His soul is a sea of panic. Tinged red around its edges. Tastes syrupy sweet at the back of Nico's throat. "You- I-"

The girl saves him. "We would like to seek an audience with Lord Hades. If we can." After a beat, she tacks on a tinny, "Please."

"Annabeth Chase," Nico says. She stiffens, eyes going big. "Athena's child." He glances over to the satyr. "Grover Underwood. Cute name. Fits you." Grover stammers before thanking him quietly. "My sister is with my father now. I'll see if I can steer her away. She's not always the best company to have when speaking with Papa. Especially with what is going on now."

The kids twitch and he stifles the urge to giggle.

The ground melts beneath them. They gasp aloud as earth turns to obsidian tile. His room is clean and tidy. Filled to the brim with silly junk throughout history. Trinkets and toys he's picked up from his travels too.

"You can wait here," he says. And he disappears without another word.

It takes longer than it should, to steer Bianca out of the way. Hades is no help. Bemused all the while. Nico tries to get him to take a nicer stance, but he's stubborn. Normally so is Nico, but he can't imagine the trio in his bedroom are taking his absence easily, so he caves and let's his father being as intimidating as he wants.

Personally, Nico can't see it. His father is his father. Whether he's twenty-feet tall with black eyes and a crown of nightmares, or six foot six with warm hands and smiles.

"Be nice, Papa," he says as he guides the children into the throne room.

Hades grunts and glares down at his nephew. Nico sighs and stands in the back. They are children. Perhaps if they were older he'd care less. But he remembers what it is to be twelve years old and staring at a god that wished you were dead an unbreathing.

It is haunting and hurting.

They speak and it's confusing. The children are lost with every word his father speaks. His father is getting more and more annoyed with every word they speak.

No one is lying, but no one has the reality of the situation at hand. Nico strides forwards, out of the shadows. Hades's eyes are angry, but he quiets. He does not like to shout in front of Nico. Not when the anger rockets back at Nico's soul like a mirror and leaves him winded. The trio goes silent.

He slides his hands through the flimsy material of the backpack. Electricity crackles at his skin. He flinches and steps back.

Percy is confused. His soul is a crashing thing, drowning his mind in panic untold. Annabeth is horrified. Her soul is sputtering. There is no logic to this. No facts to back up what she has discovered. She is unsure, for the first time in her life. Grover is on the verge of fainting.

"He didn't know," Nico says. "None of them did."

Hades scoffs, but let's Nico flip through the pages of their souls like a history book. Ares and the backpack. But that is not possible. He cannot touch his father's bolt, or Hades's helm. Not without permission and certainly not with his own bare hands. Further back, there is a face. Scarred and angry. He is giving Percy the shoes.

Grover takes them when his back is turned.

Smart creature, Nico thinks.

He lets goes and the trio breathes.

"There is a boy," he says. "I'll need to look at him, but I feel he has orchestrated this mess."

Hades's lips curl. He is unhappy. He wanted to blast his nephew to pieces and lock the others up for their troubles in bringing him along.

"You have got to stop talking to Bianca," Nico huffs. "Give me a day. I will head to camp-"

"No," Hades says.

Everything topples downhill. The Furies descend. Skeletons take charge. Shadows whip and hiss like volatile snakes.

Nico blinks and they are gone. Sunny grass, untouched by darkness. There's the crashing of the waves behind him. The kids are gasping. Nico steadies their ever-changing souls, collisions of nauseous colours.

"My mom," Percy gasps. His voice is on the edge of tears.

Nico stares at him. Then presses a cold hand to his shoulder. "She will be fine. My father knows what it is to have a mother lost to their child. She is a guest, although unwilling. No harm shall come to her."

"How-" Annabeth presses small hands to her face. "The bolt- how-"

"Luke Castellan," Nico says. "Is he a kind boy?"

Annabeth twitches, stares up at him, frustrated, confused. Grover answers in her stead. "He's a good person."

"Hmm." Nico turns to see his cousin waiting for them on the sand. "Even good people can be turned to do terrible things. Many people do terrible things in the name of good."

Percys soul gardens when he catches sight of their shared cousin. Ares's demeanour does nothing for Nico. But it fills the crevices of Percy's misery with boiling rage. Nico squeezes along his shoulder. Mats his soul with a softening quell.

"Breathe," he says. Ares approaches. Too calm. Too steady. The people around him scatter with every step. "Ares, you are an idiot." Dreams are awash in his soul. He is faintly pressed behind a matte wall. He laughs, carefree, amused. But behind that wall, his truer self is screaming. "I much prefer it when my sisters bully you. Rather than whoever is doing so now. Did you not notice the memories in your head turned awry?"

He scoffs. They banter. Nico lets Percy, angry and distressed at being played with, take the fight. He remembers the ways he wished his father would let him knock their family down a peg. When his siblings were blasted apart miles away in another state. His mother electrocuted and turned to ash in front of his very eyes.

As Ares lay panting on the sand, Nico takes a hold of his soul and clears the wall away.

"Next time stay vigilant. What would your mother think of you working with her father in this way?" He flicks the other god's forehead and watches him rocket down into the earth. The kids stare at him. Awed. Confused. Percy is wet and breathing hard, pink around his ears.

"You should return the bolt," Nico says. The wind sweeps. "In the meantime, this prophecy has waited far too long to pass." He sighs. "It should've been me. Or my sister. Someone long before your time, Perseus."

Nico pats his head and he squeaks. It's adorable.

"I will assist where I can," he says. He presses a token into Percy's hand. The other two jolt as similiar beads tuck into the flat of their palms. "Just give me a call."

The earth gives out beneath their feet and they disappear into sand and darkness. Nico runs his wrists over one another and glances up to the mortals pooling around the beach. Police officers looking mystified at the sudden absence of the two players in their so-called gun fight.

He will string a tale into their cores, a belief so certain no one can dash it away. And then he will retire to his father's side just as he did when he was ten years old, the stains of his mother's death lingering on his skin.

Certainly the three of them will make use of his tokens in due time. He will wait for them to do so.

And then he will help.

[thestrangerblog]

Hair care

Author's note: Here comes my first Percabeth fanfic, a fluffy little showverse story, because I haven't read the books yet. I think Annabeth needs a little pampering and Percy is there to do it.

I'm white, so forgive me if I got the hair care for black girls wrong, all I know about that is from Youtube Videos.

Hair Care

Percy had just taken a much needed shower after returning to camp from his quest to find the lightning bolt. He was on his way back to the Poseidon cabin when he ran into Annabeth who was on her way to the camp showers. Percy stopped in his tracks and couldn’t help but stare.

Annabeth had unbraided her hair which totally changed her appearance. Her hair was all over her head in a wild mess. To him it looked like a halo or a gigantic crown.

“Shut your mouth, seaweed-brain or you’ll start drooling when you’re awake, too.”

Only now did Percy realize that he had been staring open-mouthed at Annabeth. He took her advice and quickly shut his mouth, only to open it again a moment later to say something.

“You look... different.”

“I unbraided my hair so I can wash it,” Annabeth said with an eye-roll.

“I didn’t realize your hair looks like this naturally.”

Percy felt really dumb, but that wasn’t unusual in Annabeth’ company.

“What, messy and filthy?” she asked aggressively.

“No! No, that’s not... I swear I didn’t mean that!” Percy stuttered, slightly panicked. “There’s just... so much of it. It looks fluffy.”

“Fluffy?” Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow. “What am I, a rabbit?”

But she sounded amused, not angry, so Percy assumed he hadn’t offended her.

Percy laughed. “No, you don’t give rabbit vibes. I think you’d be something more impressive. And smarter of course. An owl maybe, with being Athena’s daughter and all.”

“And you’d be a monkey. One of those tiny ones, maybe a lemur. Loud, annoying, silly, but somehow you not only get away with it, but people even bring you treats,” Annabeth said.

“I don’t know if this was an insult or a compliment.”

“A bit of both, I guess.”

Percy didn’t know what else to say, but also didn’t want to just go away. During the last week he and Annabeth had nearly always been together and he had a feeling that he would feel lonely without her in the big, empty Poseidon cabin.

“Speaking of treats. I still have some of the candies my mother gave me before I left for camp. She works at a candy shop and gets to take home free samples sometimes. Want to come over and share them with me after your shower? Maybe we could borrow a laptop from someone and watch a movie.”

Percy saw Annabeth visibly hesitating.

“I’d really like that, but it’ll take a while for me to be done in the showers and I’m pretty tired. I guess I would just fall asleep 5 minutes into the movie.”

Percy was surprised at that. He had only taken 10 minutes in the shower even though he needed to wash off a week’s dirt. He hadn’t thought Annabeth was the high maintenance type of girl who took forever in the bathroom. Considering that Percy had had enough near death experiences over the past week he decided not to voice his thoughts. But apparently that wasn’t necessary. Either his facial expression had given him away or Annabeth could read his mind.

The girl rolled her eyes. “My hair needs a lot more work to not look like a mess then yours, seaweed-brain. Getting the tangles out takes forever and needs more than just shampoo.”

“Oh.”

Should he have known that? Was it dumb or insensitive of him not to know that?

“I could help,” he offered spontaneously. “With the hair, not with the shower!” he quickly clarified, blushing.

After everything Annabeth had done for him he really wanted to give something back. And he was somehow fascinated with the way her hair looked unbraided and really wanted to know how it felt to touch it.

“You want to come with me into the girls restrooms?” she asked.

“No, you could just come to my cabin after your shower.”

“Do you have a sink in your cabin?” Annabeth asked.

Now it was Percy’s turn to give Annabeth an eye-roll, a deeply satisfying experience.

“I’m the son of Poseidon, wise-girl. I don’t need a sink, I can just get a bucket of water and make the water move like with a shower-head.”

“Really?” Annabeth asked, sounding impressed. She was impressed by him!

Percy shrugged. “I practiced a little when I was alone in the cabin and couldn’t sleep.”

“Okay, I’ll humor you and let you give me a demonstration. But no sea water. That will only make it worse.”

Percy got the bucket he had for his water experiments from his cabin and filled it with warm water in the boys shower. Annabeth arrived at his cabin only a few minutes later. She had changed her clothes, but her hair was dry, meaning she apparently hadn’t started with whatever washing routine she had.

“Okay, I have the water and I know how to use shampoo, but apart from that I’m pretty lost, so I’ll need a bit of help,” Percy admitted.

Annabeth nodded. She had lived in a cabin with siblings of both sexes and from different ethnicities for five years now (apparently her mother didn’t have a type), so she knew that hair care was much easier for white kids, especially for boys.

“Okay, so, my hair needs a lot of moisture. I actually start with a conditioner and a lot of water and then slowly detangle my hair, first with my fingers, then with a tangle teaser brush. Then I use shampoo, then conditioner again and in the end I put oil in my hair and leave it in.”

Percy nodded. “Doesn’t sound too difficult.

Annabeth laughed. “You won’t repeat that after you have started getting the tangles out.”

“Okay, I thought you could just sit in a chair, I stand behind you and put the water bucket next to us.”

“Sounds good to me,” Annabeth said.

Annabeth sat down and Percy stood behind the chair and let the water come out of the basket in a little fountain that went to Annabeth head and then back into the basket and up again in a circuit.

Annabeth looked impressed. “You really have practiced a lot.”

Percy shrugged. “Not really. It didn’t take long for me to get it right. Anything with water comes naturally to me. Would you like a blanket or something for your neck to be more comfortable?”

Annabeth looked surprised to be asked that, but nodded. “That would be nice, thank you.”

Percy rolled the blanket from his bed and put it at the back of the chair so Annabeth could lean back comfortably. He gently put his hands on her hair and guided it to get it soaked with water. It really was fluffy. When Annabeth’ hair was thoroughly wet which took surprisingly long Percy took the conditioner Annabeth had brought with her and gently started untangling Annabeth hair. She had been right, it really wasn’t that easy to detangle the thick strands, but Percy didn’t mind. He started at the neck and gently untangled Annabeth’ hair strand for strand. Then he carefully brushed her hair out. Then he put shampoo in his hands and gently lathered Annabeth’ hair with it. Now he could easily get through her locks with his fingers. He made sure that the shampoo got everywhere, gently massaging Annabeth scalp while foaming the shampoo. Annabeth had closed her eyes during the detangling and was now leaning back in the chair to give Percy better access. Her face didn’t have her usual cool and aloof expression, she looked emotional and to Percy’s surprise a tear escaped her. Annabeth had apparently noticed that, too and tensed. Percy, who had gotten good at fast reactions, let a bit of water run down Annabeth’ cheeks.

“Sorry,” Percy mumbled, making it look like an accident.

“It’s okay,” Annabeth said and relaxed again, now that she didn’t have to worry about controlling her reactions to the tender care anymore.

Now it was Percy who had to control himself when he realized how foreign tenderness must be to Annabeth. He took a deep breath to control his sudden anger at Annabeth’ family and concentrated on the task at hand. In this moment he swore to himself to give Annabeth as much affection as possible whenever he got a chance.

Percy washed away the shampoo with water before stopping his make-shift fountain and then put conditioner in Annabeth hair again, spreading it thoroughly. Then he applied the oil and rubbed Annabeth’ hair with the towel until it wasn’t dripping anymore.

Annabeth stood up and faced Percy, looking insecure and almost shy, what was so strange for her.

“Thank you, Percy.”

Percy smiled. “You’re welcome. If you want to, I can always do your hair when we are at camp. You can teach me how to braid, if you want.”

“You’d do that?” Annabeth asked, surprised,

Percy nodded and hoped that it didn’t look too eager. He really loved going through Annabeth hair with his fingers and he enjoyed being able to spend time alone with her.

“Yes, I’d like that.”

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1 REACTION

Dearly beloved, we’re gathered here today to discuss the latest episode of 9-1-1. This reaction is for the season 7, sixth episode “There Goes the Groom” which originally aired May 2, 2024. The episode was written by Tim Minear and Nicole Barraza Kiem and directed by John J. Gray. Just a word of warning, this reaction will contain spoilers. You have been warned …

“He’s Tubbs, I’m Tubbs and this isn’t my puke, I don’t think.” – Eddie Diaz to Maddie Buckley

We start things off at a gorgeous venue where Maddie and Chimney’s wedding is to take place. We see Bobby and Athena looking restless and John and Anne Lee sitting with Jee-Yun. We then see Maddie freaking out because the boys (Chimney, Buck, and Eddie) are 30 minutes late. Phillip Buckley (played by Gregory Harrison) tries calling Buck’s phone but keeps getting his voicemail. Hen rushes in to tell Maddie that Buck’s car has arrived. When Maddie asks if Chimney is in his tux, Hen tells her she didn’t get a good look. Buck and Eddie arrive looking like they’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards. Eddie’s covered in someone else’s puke (gross!!!) and inexplicably missing his shirt. This season is all about giving us what we need and what we need is Ryan Guzman shirtless. Maddie asks them about Chimney. Buck tells her that it’s complicated. 

Cue title card.

We get a flashback to the bachelor party Buck organized for Chimney. It should be pointed out that Chimney doesn’t want a bachelor party, something he’s intimated to Buck numerous times. I must say, the venue Buck chose to host the festivities was really cool-looking. There were all these neon signs on the walls and twinkly lights galore. It reminded me of a space where you’d play laser tag. Buck and Eddie are dressed in matching pastel Miami Vice-esque suits and Buck is being very fussy about everything. Tommy (played by Lou Ferrigno Jr.) arrives dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans and Buck nags him about not sticking to the 80’s theme. I’m gonna assume that Tommy is in his late-30’s and therefore Buck should be lucky he even came in the first place because the thought of leaving my house on a weeknight to go to a bachelor party does not sound the least bit appealing. Eddie offers Tommy a drink and he tells him he’s on standby which for all you kiddies out there who don’t know how jobs work, standby means that you’re technically not scheduled for the shift, but you have to be ready in case you get called in to work.  

“You put that back, right now.” – Evan “Buck” Buckley to Ravi Panikkar

Tommy does give us a hint about Chimney’s nickname when he reminds Eddie that he knew Chimney before he was Chimney. I love the whole mythos surrounding the name and I hope by the end of the series we finally get an explanation. I also like how sassy Tommy is in this scene. Hen, Karen, and Ravi arrive but our guest of honor is missing. While Buck calls Chimney’s cell, everyone else looks bored out of their mind. Buck asks Hen to call Chimney since he’s more likely to answer her call, but she declines. She reminds Buck that Chimney told him he didn’t want a bachelor party, but Buck tells her he didn’t. We then get a small scene where Chimney doesn’t mince words when he tells Buck he does not want a bachelor party. It should be noted that Eddie is present for the exchange and yet he is the one to suggest to Buck that they dress as Crockett and Tubbs from Miami Vice. Now, this is my one pet peeve about Eddie. He always indulges Buck and then kind of absolves himself of responsibility when things go awry. 

Back in the not-so-distant future, people start to leave. Buck begs Hen and Karen to stay but they tell him they have to get home to Denny and Mara. Ravi is the next to leave followed by Tommy who gets a text to report to work. Buck is so disappointed to see him go, and I love how he tells Tommy to be safe before he leaves. Eddie is the only one left and when a group of young women wander into their party space, they decide to salvage the rest of the night by turning up with a bunch of strangers. Now, prior to the episode airing, Tim Minear announced that a previously advertised scene involving Buck and Eddie singing karaoke was cut due to the episode being too long. This led to more than a few irate fans, mostly Buddie shippers, sending a barrage of tweets and comments to the series co-creator voicing their frustration with the decision to remove the scene. Some even accused the writers of queer baiting which is really dumb when you consider that one of the characters is actually queer so what baiting is even involved. I get being upset because your favorite pairing on the show is not being featured as prominently as you would like but I find it absurd that someone would then go to Beyonce’s internet to harass the writers and the cast about said decision. I find it disgusting and I wish a certain ship would realize that certain writers would take them more seriously if they weren’t acting like a bunch of coked up baboons. But I digress.

Buck and Eddie wake up the next morning in a completely trashed hotel room. The place is wrecked. Seriously, who is going to pay for all the damages? I’m honestly surprised by both of their behavior. Especially Eddie’s. He’s usually the more level-headed of the two but it’s odd to see him exhibiting such frat boy behavior. Perhaps he needed to blow of some steam. Anywho, they go to check on Chimney but only find his tux. Oh dear!

Buck and Eddie wake up the morning in a completely trashed hotel room. Seriously, who is going to have to pay for all the damages? I’m extremely surprised by Eddie’s behavior. 

“I am 9-1-1.” – Maddie Buckley to Margaret Buckley

Back in the present, Maddie tries calling Chimney herself. When he doesn’t pick up, Hen asks if she has him on Find My Friend, a feature that will send current or last location to anyone you choose to share it with. She sees that Chimney is on Century Park East but wonders why he’s there.

We next see a guy named Jeff (played by Khorri Ellis) knocking on the driver’s side window of Chimney’s vehicle. Chimney is inside looking a little worse for wear. He’s sweaty and bleary-eyed. He looks like he has the flu. He also seems out of it. Chimney rolls down the window and Jeff asks him if he’s okay. He tells Jeff that he feels like he should be somewhere. Jeff asks him his name and Chimney says his name is Howard. Chimney says he needs to leave but Jeff, rightfully, tells him he is no condition to be driving. He offers to drive Chimney where he needs to go and when Chimney steps outside the vehicle, Jeff gets in, chucks Chimney’s cell out the window, and drives off leaving Chimney stranded. 

FOUR DAYS AGO

“I promise to never put her in a position where she feels she needs to stab me to death.” – Howard “Chimney” Han to John and Anne Lee

We see Chimney with John and Anne Lee (played by Kelvin Han Yee and Freda Foh Shen) practicing Jesa, a Korean ceremony in which one pays tribute to a loved one on the anniversary of their death. I love any time we get to see Chimney with the Lees because while he has been able to make amends with his father, John and Anne Lee are his real parents and Kevin Lee, their son, is his brother. Chimney and the Lees have dinner together and Anne asks Chimney if he is excited about the wedding. When Chimney goes to respond, his hand starts shaking and he drops his food. John jokingly asks if he’s nervous, but Chimney assures him that he doesn’t have the jitters. He is, however, feeling jittery and tells them he has a headache he can’t seem to shake. Anne offers him aspirin, but Chimney tells her that he will be fine after he says, “I do”. 

John asks him about what happened to him and Maddie’s plan to have a simple ceremony at their home. Chimney tells him that the plan has changed. Phillip and Maddie Buckley are flying out for the wedding and have offered to foot the bill for the venue since they were not at Maddie’s first wedding. Anne says they waited to attend the right wedding. Chimney makes a dark joke about Maddie having to kill her first husband Doug and the Lees laugh. Chimney says he looking forward to having a traditional wedding; however, there is one tradition he is not looking forward to and that’s having a bachelor party. 

Back in the present, Chimney sees his phone lying in the middle of a busy road. We see him walk into traffic to retrieve it and he almost gets hit by a bus. The driver opens the door and Chimney boards the bus. When she pulls off, the wheels of the bus crush Chimney’s phone. 

We head over to the wedding venue where everyone except for Chimney is gathered. It was so fun seeing all of the main and secondary cast in the same scene together in their formal wear. Athena gets a call from Officer Williams (played by Chris Wu) who has located Chimney’s phone but neither Chimney nor his car is with it. Athena asks him to put out a BOLO for Chimney and his car. Maddie asks Officer Williams if there are any traffic cameras nearby and he says there are a few. 

Maddie, Hen, and Josh go to the dispatch center. Maddie says she will check the Century Park East traffic cam footage to see if she can find Chimney and Josh will check the call logs to see if there have been any calls from that vicinity in the last 12 hours.  Sue sees them and asks if this is a runaway bride situation. Hen tells her they are looking for a runaway groom. 

Back on the bus, Chimney is clearly not in his right mind because he is hallucinating Doug Kendall (played by Brian Hallisay). Doug sits next to him, and Chimney asks if he knows him. Doug says that Chimney may forget everything else, but he could never forget him. Doug is wearing a Santa hat and has a gift he says is from the both of them to Maddie. He opens the bag and pulls out of knife which he uses to stab Chimney in the side. Even though I knew that Doug wasn’t real, that didn’t make this scene any less troubling to watch. Doug twists the blade and disappears leaving a confused Chimney alone on the bus. 

“Maybe I got too caught up in the dream wedding. I was so excited about marrying him.” – Maddie Buckley to Hen Wilson

Meanwhile, reviews the camera footage and sees Chimney walking into traffic. She sees him almost get hit by a bus and then board said bus. Josh says the bus is a metro bus and asks if there’s any way they can see the bus ID number. Maddie writes down the number and gives it to Sue who tells her she will call the MTA. We then see Chimney get dropped off in an unfamiliar part of town. We switch back to dispatch where Maddie and Hen are reviewing the footage from inside the bus. I love seeing these two work together because out of all of our characters, these two love Chimney the most. Maddie notices that Chimney’s talking to himself, and Hen thinks he may be hallucinating. Maddie wonders if this is some sort of delayed reaction to his brain injury from back in season one or if he’s having some sort of breakdown. Hen reminds Maddie that when Chimney gets stressed, he deflects. Maddie wonders if Chimney marrying her is the thing that’s stressing him out, but Hen quickly lets her know that marrying her is the one thing he wasn’t stressed about. She tells Maddie that the only thing she’s sure of at the moment is that Chimney can’t wait to marry her. 

Josh returns and tells them that he talked to the bus driver who says that Chimney seemed a little out of it but otherwise normal. The bus driver also said that Chimney kept talking about being late for work. Hen points out that the bus Chimney was on wouldn’t go anywhere near the firehouse and wonders where he could have been dropped off at. Speaking of Chimney, we see him standing out in front of a building. He talks to a man named Carl (played by Exie Booker) and asks him about Skinny Bob’s K-Town Karaoke. For those of you who recall the episode “Chimney Begins” that is the name of the bar where Chimney used to work prior to joining the 118. Carl tells Chimney the bar burned down which we saw in the very same episode. Chimney has flashes of the night the bar burned down but he can’t quite piece together the memory. The make matters worse, he starts to see Doug again only this time his future wife’s dead husband is covered in blood. Chimney freaks out and runs away.

“”We’re gonna find him, Maddie.” – Athena Grant to Maddie Buckley

Athena checks in with Maddie and Hen and tells them she talked to Carl who says that Chimney looked agitated and feverish. Carl also told Athena that Chimney thought that the bakery where Carl works was a karaoke bar. Athena tells them that she has some officers searching the area and she and Bobby plan to stick around just in case Chimney comes back. She assures Maddie that they will find Chimney. Josh reminds them that Chimney’s bachelor party was at a bachelor party; however, Maddie points out that the bachelor party was the night before. Sue asks if it is possible Chimney doesn’t know what day it is. Hen chimes in and says she’s not sure if he even knows what year it is. She pulls up an article from 2005 on her phone which shows that Chimney saved a lot of people by getting them out of the karaoke bar when it caught on fire. Maddie wonders if he’s forgotten 20 years of his life and Hen says he might not be the only one.

TWO WEEKS AGO

“You don’t have to worry about this. It’s all taken care of.” – Evan Buckley to Maddie Buckley

We get another flashback scene, this one involving the 118 responding to an emergency where Thom DeSalvo (played by Brandon Bales) is trapped inside an air duct. Buck broaches the topic of Chimney’s bachelor party and the latter volunteers himself to go into the air duct while the rest go inside the room directly beneath where Thom is trapped. Chimney locates Thom and checks his vitals. Thom tells him that his heart is racing, and he has chest pains. He then sneezes directly into Chimney’s face. Chimney tells Thom to relax but he says he cannot relax because he just saw his fiancée having sex with another man. I kind of felt bad for Thom because he is truly heartbroken although if I were his friend, I wouldn’t have advised that he go spy on them. Meanwhile, Bobby, Hen, Eddie, and Buck are able to knock out a portion of the ceiling and lower Thom down. As he is loaded into an ambulance, Hen talks to the woman Thom said was his fiancée and discovers that she is, in fact, not his fiancée. She says that Thom is her ex-husband and that they’ve been divorced for 17 months. 

Back in the present, Buck brings Maddie a change of clothes and Eddie brings food. Buck notices that Hen is on the phone, and he asks Maddie who she is speaking with. Maddie tells him that Hen is checking on the patient Thom from their emergency two weeks ago.  Eddie is surprised the guy is still in the hospital since he wasn’t even hurt. Maddie tells them that Hen thinks that Chimney is exhibiting the same behaviors as Thom. Hen announces that Thom had viral encephalitis that he picked up while in Central America. Buck points out that Chimney was in close quarters with Thom. Eddie suggests they all get checked to see if they have it. Hen points out that Chimney was the only one who had direct exposure to Thom. Josh asks her what the prognosis is and Hen says that if Chimney were in a hospital it would be good but every minute that passes without treatment, the swelling in his brain gets worse. If Chimney does not get medical attention ASAP, he is going to suffer permanent brain damage and most likely die. Maddie asks her about Thom Desalvo’s status and Hen tells her that he died earlier that morning.

“He may not remember who he is but he is who he is.” – Athena Grant to Bobby Nash, Evan “Buck” Buckley, and Eddie Diaz

We see Chimney wandering the streets of Koreatown in a state of delirium. He nearly gets hit by a car and the driver, who is either under the influence or experiencing a medical emergency, plows into a farmers’ market, hurting a lot of people in the process. The paramedic switch is flipped in Chimney, and he springs into action. He tells a woman to call 9-1-1 and tends to the driver who is having a seizure. It’s amazing that Chimney is able to stay focused to help everyone, even while in the midst of his own medical emergency. This scene reminds me of when Mateo on Lone Star jumped into action during the dust storm back in season two.

Athena, Bobby, Buck, and Eddie arrive on the scene of the accident and Bobby reports that a man fitting Chimney’s description was on the scene triaging the area. Eddie thinks this means that Chimney knows who he is but Bobby quickly adds that Chimney told one of the witnesses he works at a karaoke bar. Athena sees this as a good sign regardless because Chimney is tapping into something that is so natural to him which is helping others. Bobby says that Chimney was last seen 30 minutes ago so he suggests that they canvass the area to look for him. Athena says she will get the police involved in the search as well. 

Buck strikes off on his own to look for Chimney and he does end up at the spot where Chimney is at; unfortunately, Chimney is passed out, so he does not hear Buck calling for him. Chimney receives another visit from Doug who tries to convince him that Maddie left him. Chimney remembers the video Maddie left him before she left for Boston. Doug tells Chimney he is sick in the head and that he screwed around with a married woman. Chimney then sees himself lying on the ground after he got stabbed by Doug back in season two. Doug tells him to stop fighting and to go to sleep. Chimney eventually passes out and sees a white light.

“Howie, you got to get up, man.” – Kevin Lee to Howard “Chimney” Han

Now this is the part where I started to tear up in the episode. A man dressed in turnout gear steps out of the light and Chimney sees that it’s Kevin Lee (played by James Chen). It is in this moment I realized that we never saw Chimney grieve his fallen brother. Chimney starts to cry upon seeing Kevin. Kevin tells him to get up and Chimney says he is so tired and that his head is hurting. He wants to rest but Kevin says he cannot. He tells Chimney he is sick and needs medical attention. Chimney touches Kevin’s face and tells him he misses him and that he’s glad he’s okay. Kevin tells Chimney that he will be okay, but he needs to get up. He drags Chimney to his feet and tells him that Doug was never there. Chimney says that Kevin is there, and Kevin says that Chimney invited him. Kevin tells him all he needs to do is get home. 

“We always find our way back to each other somehow.” – Maddie Buckley to Howard “Chimney” Han

Chimney ends up at the Lees house asking for Kevin Lee. Anne tells him that Kevin is dead. Chimney starts crying again and finally collapses onto the floor. He wakes up in the hospital where Maddie is at his bedside. She asks him if he knows where he is at and he shakes his head. She asks him if he knows who he is and he apologizes for missing their wedding. Maddie starts crying and now I’m crying, too. Maddie is happy he remembers. Jee-Yun runs into the room with Phillip Buckley close on her heels. Chimney tells Maddie he was trying to get back to her and Jee-Yun the whole time. Chimney asks Maddie if she will marry him, and she says she will the minute they get out of the hospital. He asks her when that will be, and she says the doctors say it will be three weeks. Chimney tells her he doesn’t want to wait that long. He doesn’t want to wait another minute.

We next see Maddie back in her wedding dress. I must say, the viewers give Phillip and Margaret Buckley a hard time based on their previous relationships with Maddie and Buck, but I have to say it was so nice seeing the Buckley family together and on the same page. Back in Chimney’s room, John and Anne Lee are helping him into get into his tuxedo jacket. John tells Chimney that Kevin is smiling right now, and Chimney agrees. Okay, cue more tears. While Jennifer Love Hewitt sings a cover of “Islands in the Stream” which is the song Maddie and Chimney sang karaoke to, we see Maddie being walked down the hospital corridor by Phillip while flower girl Jee-Yun walks ahead of them. Phillip leads Maddie into Chimney’s room and Bobby officiates their wedding which feels so appropriate. They exchange vows and rings and finally kiss in front of their family and friends. I loved the moment when Bobby is talking about the significance of the rings, and he looks over at Athena. It’s just a reminder of how perfect the couples on this show are.

“Thanks, Tommy. It looks like you were … busy.” – Howard “Chimney” Han to Tommy Kinard

Buck gets a text and leaves the room while everyone is applauding Chimney and Maddie’s union. He makes it to the emergency room just in time to see Tommy walk through the sliding doors. Tommy is covered in soot and ash and immediately apologizes for being late. He tells Buck that the fire he just fought was a beast. Buck calls him a beast and kisses him. Now this kiss was an upgrade from the kiss two episodes ago which is already a great kiss. It was a great first kiss. With this kiss, the passion was turned all the way up to an 11. Seriously, these two have such amazing chemistry and I love how things are gradually escalating. I do love that Buck is the one who initiates the kiss because it shows that he is all in on their romance. 

Buck and Tommy head back to Chimney’s room aka the wedding and Tommy immediately apologizes for missing the wedding. He congratulates Chimney and Maddie and Chimney thanks him. There’s this amazing moment when Chimney puts two and two together and realizes that Buck and Tommy are together. He is immediately accepting as I knew he would be and Hen whispers to Karen that it’s about damn time and of course Hen already knew because Hen is very perceptive. We get other reactions as well. Eddie looks both proud and happy for his best friend and Margaret gives her husband Phillip a look that says, does that mean what I think it means and Phillip looks content. As I mentioned before, the Buckleys get a bad rep by the fans but I am choosing to see this as a good sign of things to come. 

We end the episode with Maddie and Chimney. She asks him how he is feeling, and he tells her he is feeling right at home. She jokes and asks if that’s because every significant moment of their lives happens in a hospital. He tells her that he feels at home because they are together. He looks around the room and says it’s not the most romantic place for their honeymoon. Maddie says there’s worst and at the same time they say upside down cruise ships. Ha! Maddie looks at her ring and says she can’t believe they are married. She says it’s the wedding of her dreams and Chimney says it’s a day he’ll never forget. Chimney asks Maddie if Buck and Tommy were a thing before his amnesia and she says yes. He says that means his memory is back. In the last moment of the episode. Chimney asks Maddie about the meaning behind his name and then it fades to black. I guess we will have to wait to find out how Chimney got his infamous nickname.

So, that’s our episode and what an amazing episode it was. Looking back at the promo for “There Goes the Groom”, Tim Minear and Company really had me convinced that we were getting an homage to The Hangover. I was not expecting this episode to be as heartbreaking and heartwarming as it was. Shout out to Kenneth Choi who deserves his flowers. He not only delivered some of the most powerful moments of the episode, looking back, Kenneth has been constantly delivering since season one. The scene where he talks to Kevin shattered my heart into pieces only to superglue it back. Chimney is usually the comic relief of the show and it’s often been said that comedians are some of the most unhappy people on the planet. Who knew he was holding onto so much grief. In many ways this episode reminds me of last season’s “In Another Life” where Buck learns just how valuable he is to those around him. Chimney has a similar journey in this episode and thankfully he’s walking away from this horrific ordeal knowing just how loved he is by his family, his friends, and most importantly his wife. 

The Madney wedding wasn’t what I was expecting but it was better than anything I could’ve ever imagined. One thing I think the writers did well with this wedding that I wished they did with TK and Carlos’ wedding over on Lone Star is the joy aspect. Everyone in that hospital room was filled with love and happiness despite everything that had transpired. I love how once a season we get these moments where the cast is all together, celebrating, and it’s the rare occasion we get to see the actors come through their characters. This is a cast that loves each other and it’s so apparent. It’s one of the many reasons I love this show. But, I digress. Maddie and Chimney’s wedding was absolutely beautiful and had we not gone through all the drama and tragedy, we would’ve missed out on Bobby being the officiant. It makes total sense that our fearless leader would be the one to marry Chimney and Maddie. I look forward to what happens next for Chimney and Maddie. These two have endured so much trauma and heartache and I pray the writers leave them alone for awhile. 

Lastly, I have to talk about the moment that has set both Twitter and Tumblr ablaze albeit for different reasons. Many have doubted and still doubt the legitimacy of Buck and Tommy’s burgeoning relationship, but I think this episode made it abundantly clear these two are here to stay at least for the rest of this season. I don’t know what plans Tim Minear has for these two characters but I love the slow burn of it all. Sometimes I’ll be sitting, doing nothing, and it’ll dawn on me that Evan “Buck” Buckley is bisexual, and he is dating a kind, patient, and extremely hot firefighter named Tommy Kinard. And maybe it’s my imagination but this is the happiest Buck has ever looked. The smile he gives after he comes back to Chimney’s room with Tommy is something I will rewatch this episode over and over again just to see again. Oliver and Lou’s chemistry is off the charts and that shouldn’t suggest that there’s anything wrong with Oliver and Ryan’s chemistry. I think Oliver has chemistry with everyone he appears on screen with. And, as the mostly one-sided war rages on between Buddie shippers and BuckTommy/Tevan/Kinley shippers, I think at the end of the day, the most important thing to remember is that Buck is bisexual, he is (mostly) out, and he is happy. We have seen this man endure emotional and physical turmoil since episode one. I’m happy that he gets to be happy and that’s what matters. I cannot wait to see what happens next. Until next time …

[igncrxntripley]

deal with a demon pt. 3

synopsis: two men betrayed by the judgement day have a heart to heart, and y/n officially begins training with finn even though the wounds of wrestlemania are still fresh for everyone. 

a/n: let this hold you over while i work through the last few requests this week and come off of a super busy week of classes

mentions: SFW, minor descriptions of violence, fem!reader, slight emotional manipulation

taglist: @thesithdiaries @cassiesgreta @roseheartsworld @theworldofotps @babybatlover @ripleyswhore​ @auburnwrites​ @obl1vionblackhart​ @emogoblin-666​ @hereliespumpkin​ @blxxdshxteyes​ @neptune-lover​ @bunnysmyname​ @i-have-issues-lol​ @ares-athena​ @thatonepansexual2000​ @witcherfromwallachia​ 

houston, tx. august 1st, 2022. 

"it is time to kill what i have created.” edge vowed, staring straight into the camera. it had been two months since the judgement day betrayed him, and now he was back to get his revenge. “finn, damian, rhea. i am going to end judgement day.” he said, dropping the mic to the mat and letting the crowd react with claps and cheers. his message couldn’t have been any clearer; he started this mess, and he was going to end it before it got out of control. what edge didn’t expect, was how quick the three-person group at the time was in pressing each and every one of his buttons. 

the unmistakable music of the judgement day hit as edge stood alone in the ring. he head quickly turned to the top of the ramp, where damian and finn stood with microphones in their hands and sick smirks on their faces. “edge, come on now.” damian began, the crowd greeting them with boos. “that was cute, actually, for you to make that little speech and pretend like it was going to intimidate us.” 

finn nodded in agreement; he was already laughing and chuckling at how foolish he believed the hall of famer was being. “hilarious, truly.” he said in agreement. “you know, from the sounds of it you believe it’s going to be...easy. it’s going to be a walk in the park to end what you started, right?” he smirked. “best believe, edge; we aren’t going down without a fight. and the three of us will make your life an absolute living hell.” edge could be seen from the ring, frustration and anger all over his face as he watched the two men closely. he hadn’t reached for the microphone he’d just dropped, ready to put up a fight if he needed to. but little did he realize, the judgement day wasn’t coming out to fight. 

damian put his hand on finn’s shoulder and smiled in solidarity with one of his partners. “speaking of which, rhea has something for you.” their heads turned to the entrance, while edge’s face filled with rage; his nostrils flared as rhea made her way out to stand with the boys...but was dragging something behind her. 

y/n. an unconscious, limp y/n with bruises and scratches on her arms and face. what the audience hadn’t seen, was rhea taking the piss out on the rated r superstar’s daughter while the boys had their fun tormenting him. hit after hit, kick after kick...she caught y/n off guard while she waited for her dad backstage, and she had officially become nothing but a toy the judgement day was dangle above edge’s head. 

rhea dropped y/n off in front of the boys, the three of them standing by her and laughing as they watched the lone man in the ring. edge crawled through the ropes and ran up the ramp, the judgement day retreating backstage and your dad not even bothering to chase after them. he knelt next to her body, a groan leaving her lips as he pulled his daughter closer. “y/n?” he asked in panic as he took in y/n’s bruised face. “hey baby, you’re okay.” edge brushed some hair from her face as officials ran out to the ramp to help. 

her eyes, one of them already turning into a swollen black eye, opened and made eye contact with the man above her - her role model, the one who inspired her to become a professional wrestler. “dad...i...” he quickly shushed her, the rage flowing through his body like lava but doing his best to remain calm for his daughter. 

“i know, kiddo. i’m sorry.” in that moment, your dad knew he needed to keep his promise. he was going to end the judgement day, at whatever cost. not only because of what they did to him, but now because of what they did to the people he loved. 

--- ---

edge couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed; a match that he could’ve won, something he’d been preparing weeks and months for, and he lost. why did he lose? not because of something he did; no, it was because someone he loved turned their back on him. again. and you of all people were the last he’d expected to do this to him. he could handle the betrayal of the judgement day, he could handle his disciples exiling him from something he created in order to help the new generation of talent - but his daughter? one of the loves of his life? the thought alone was bewildering. 

as he sat in his thoughts and began to strip himself of the in-ring persona that was edge, unwrapping the tape from his wrists, he looked up at a knock on the slightly open door. edge was expecting beth, who’d offered to give him some alone time so he could calm down. but instead he was met with the face of an old friend who recognized this betrayal all too well. someone who was still dealing with the heartbreak and hurt of his own child stabbing him in the back. 

“hey..” rey said softly, sitting down next to edge and putting a hand on his back. when he’d watched everything from backstage and saw you - someone he’d known since you were born, someone he considered a niece - do this to her father, he knew he needed to talk to your dad. “i’m sorry, man”

your dad shook his head and tossed the used tape into his bag, his elbows resting on his knees and gently shaking his head. “i can’t believe it, man.” he said softly. “after everything they’ve done to us, and they still got to her.” he ran a hand through his sweaty hair and looked at rey. “how can four people who want nothing but to cause chaos and pain get to someone who has her whole career ahead of her? who doesn’t need them to be the next best thing in this business...what could she want with them?”

rey shook his head and looked at edge with sympathy. “i’ll never know.” he said softly. two men, both betrayed by their children because of the judgement day, having the same conversation. two men, who still hadn’t processed their own betrayals that had happened months apart. it was unbelievable to both of them. “i still can’t believe what they’ve done to dominik. and now y/n...i wish i could say i couldn’t imagine how you feel.” he said sadly. 

edge shook his head again and held rey’s shoulder as well. “i know, it’s okay.” he said. “i don’t want to give up on her...i know the old y/n is still in there somewhere. i just need to get through to her somehow.”

--- ---

it had been almost a week after wrestlemania; everyone needed a couple of days to digest what had happened. not only did you need time to distance yourself from your family and others in your original circle, but finn needed time to heal some pretty nasty injuries from the match. as soon as everyone had their time to recover, the real work began.

finn wanted to start training you, building up your already diverse set of skills in the ring so that you could be more dangerous than you ever had. you thought your dad had already done a good job, but now it was time for finn to only elevate what you’d already been given.

standing alone in the gym was an oddly calming feeling. normally you’d be there, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people around you who’d stare and watch like a hawk; those same people who didn’t know you as y/n, but knew you as edge’s daughter. many of them had known you since you were in diapers cheering your dad on from the crowd or backstage as they helped babysit you. that wasn’t going to be the case any longer, though. you were ready to start over. they were going to find out who y/n was, and what you were truly capable of. 

you cherished these moments alone, standing in front of a punching bag as you adjusted your gloves. the music playing over the speakers only boosted the adrenaline pumping through your veins, and you began to work drills with the bag just as your parents had done with you since you began your career.

--- ---

right. right, left. right, left, kick.

“come on, y/n.” your dad coached from the side, watching your small frame hit the punching bag with as much force as you could manage. you were fresh out of school and taking the idea of professional wrestling seriously for the first time in your life. sure you’d always appreciated it because you watched your dad and beth do it your entire life, but this was the beginning of your own journey. and you still had a lot left to learn. “the longer you hesitate to make a hit, the more opportunity an opponent has to get right back at you.” he told you. “be smarter, kiddo.”

you blinked the sweat from your eyelashes as you listened to your dad. with his direction, you started trying to hit harder and faster than you were before. even though you were trying your best, it didn’t feel like it was good enough.

with one last kick and a frustrated groan, you walked away from the bag and started to pace. your hands, hidden beneath an old pair of beth’s boxing gloves, rested on your hips as you tried to get your mind together. “i can’t do it.” you mumbled to yourself. “it’s no use, dad. i can’t do it.”

“yes you can.” your dad said quickly, standing with his arms crossed as he watched you. while your dad was normally loving and was the best dad you could ask for, training with him brought out a seriousness that you didn’t see often. edge didn’t play when it came to training for the ring, and he made that clear with you from the moment you discussed professional wrestling as a possibility for you. “give yourself a chance, kiddo. it’s only been a few weeks.”

you took a deep breath. “but this is supposed to be the easy stuff, and i still can’t figure it the fuck out.” you groaned again and sat on the apron of the practice ring, taking the gloves off in frustration. your dad began the walk over to you, but you couldn’t even look up at him; you were ready for him to tell you just how disappointed he was, or to get back up and get back to work. but instead, edge sat next to you on the apron and wrapped a gentle arm around your shoulder. the sweat on your forehead rolled down into your eyelashes, and you wiped them with frustration as your dad pulled your closer. 

“it’s not that you can’t figure it out.” he told you softly. “you’re still learning. you’re finding your own way to make it all make sense; that’s not a bad thing, baby.” your dad gently rubbed your arm as your leaned against his shoulder. “you really think i caught on that easily? or mom? or anyone else? we’re doing this on your time, y/n. and i’ll be there every step of the way.” in that moment, you believed your dad. you knew he was being sincere, and he sealed his words with the best hug and a kiss a father could give their child in a moment of encouragement just like he always did. 

where did everything go wrong?

--- ---

that was one of the last times you remembered your dad being so...comforting. so gentle when it came to your in-ring career and preparation. you couldn’t remember the last time you had a moment like that with him, where his arms wrapped around you in comfort instead of show; where he told you it was okay to do things in your own time, not comparing you to the men and women you grew up around when he’d take you to work. instead, he built you up only to drop you like a toy he was done playing with. he became focused on himself and his own career, and now you were paying the price for it. 

it hadn’t even registered that tears were streaming down your cheeks as you continued the drills. they mixed with the droplets of sweat running down your face, and the soft cries mixed with your heavy breathing prevented you from even hearing someone enter through the door behind you. 

when finn entered the room, he smirked to himself as he watched you attack the bag with purpose. he already knew how talented you were, and he’d been excited to build upon the great foundation of skills edge had already developed with you. not only that, but it was just another poke at the man who originally built the judgement day and made it his mission to end the group. 

that smirk on the irishman’s face quickly disappeared though when he heard the gentle sobs leaving your lips. finn let the door close behind him, and the noise made you turn around in shock at the fact that he was there already. you quickly sobered up and wiped your face, discreetly taking some tears with it, but the knowing look on his face said it all as he paused the music on the speaker. “what’s wrong?” he asked. 

you shook your head; it wasn’t finn’s business what you were dealing with or thinking about. he was your training partner (barely), not your therapist. “i don’t want to talk about it.” you mumbled and slipped the gloves off of your hand. “it’s fine. let’s just get this over with.”

finn was stubborn though, and you were going to learn that the hard way. he dropped his bag off and stood in front of you with his arms crossed; you’d never admit it, but he reminded you of your father for a split second. “clearly it’s not, because i walked in here and heard you crying.” his tone was gentle, even though he looked intimidating. “i get that you might not want to talk about it, but if there’s something i need to know then i want to hear it so i can help you.”

you hesitated talking to finn at first. you’d just met him - like, really met him...but you’d also just betrayed your dad for him. you turned your back on people you loved because he promised you something your family couldn’t get to you. but he was right; he needed to know what you were feeling so he could respond in the best way possible. so you sat down on the ground, finn following you and doing the same across from you, and you fidgeted with the chipped nail polish on your fingernails. “i’m just thinking too much, that’s all.” you said softly. 

your new training partner watched you carefully; what you didn’t see, was the way his heart throbbed in his chest at seeing you in pain. “thinking about what?” finn didn’t know if you’d answer, but it was worth a try. 

“about my dad.” you shrugged, deciding to start trusting finn a little more than what you had originally planned. “about where...where i went wrong. why he gave up.” 

finn bit his lip and leaned in a little, wanting nothing more than to wipe the stray tear from your cheek. but he behaved and held himself back. “you didn’t do anything wrong.” he said softly. “he’s wrong; he was more focused on himself, his own comeback, his own career. your dad had every chance to take a step back and let you have your moment, but he couldn’t. just like he did with rhea and damian.” 

the judgement day alone was a sore subject and something you weren’t sure if you were ready to unpack, so you pushed that aside for now. “i want to believe you but it’s really hard.” you admitted. your eyes met finn’s, and for the first time in a long time he gave you a gentle smile that didn’t feel...predatory. he was being genuine. and instead of your stomach turning, you felt...butterflies? is this what butterflies feels like?

“you don’t have to believe me yet.” finn said softly, resting a gentle hand on your knee. “but just let me do what i need to do, and i promise you’ll get what you deserve. recognition, and a belt around your waist.” 

with a small nod and a smile of your own, you put your own trust in finn. whether or not it was a mistake, you didn’t know. but you could be patient. 

[aryxchse]

three virgin goddesses and their childrens.

including ;; artemis, hestia and hera

a/n: let's just say that these goddesses give birth like athena, without losing their virginity but still having kids. also i know hera isn't virgin and just not fools around with mortals, but i like to put her in this chategory. and this was in my drafts for so long omg

— HESTIA

hello my dear mom friends, how are you?? who takes care of you even though you take care of everyone?? you guys are probably the calmest people i've ever met but god when you guys are angry... it's scary... you guys are the reason why fire can also be beautiful, not just destructive. you make the best meals ever and it feels so cozy to be around you <3 you are the shoulder people usually cry on and you want a big happy family of your own. you guys don't like fights, instead you like to chill around. probably a cat or a bird person. and also passive-aggressive.

- ARTEMIS

oh my dear aroace's. stop hating and judging a book by it's cover. we know you have your own parties at home with your 5 animals. these fellas are the only ones that you could really trust, i understand you pal! now that we say trust, how is your trust issues going?? stop hating on your little sibling who's not disciplined. they're growing up. also drink water, you can't always count on coffee for your mental health. you guys are probably spending too much time on the library, and adore your girl friends. you guys are feminists and most likely to grow up with action movies. how's your obsession on natasha romanoff going? just a guess, doesn't have to be true. you guys have my heart and i would be more than glad to have you as my scary dog privilage.

- HERA

my old money slytherin babies. you guys are totally fan of gossip girl or mean girl and you grew up leading your friends into playing the thing you love. you were always the hot mom in those plays, weren't you? you guys make the best desserts. older daughter or the only child that needed to put up with your mom's troubles? yeah same. you secretly adore man validation but die rather than admitting it. because you're also a queen and don't need man. you adored your father until you get to know him better. if it isn't perfect enough, you don't want it. probably loved hot chocalate when you were little, the one's your daddy bought. but you can drink black coffee now, sure.

[123ghj37hyf6dg]

My Pretty Girl, My Hero. 

Summary: The prince of the underworld comes across a new soul who’s sacrifice in the mortal realm left her with the ability to grant boons of ghostly assistance.

A/N: Hi! Unbetad. New fan of the Hades game here. Thanks for bearing with me and my sparse writing lol. Part one is mostly story building and getting to know the reader!

Part 1 ||

Elysium will always be beautiful. No matter how much time passes or how many heroes come to rest here, there will always be peace and serenity. Although death is the only way of entry, there is no greater honor than to die a hero and earn your place here...is what everyone is told. Sometimes you become a minor god! Others you quietly slip away to live the rest of your life out as a humble soul who has earned their rest.

Ruins overgrown with nature and beautiful fountains provide such beautiful scenery. Butterflies flutter about and calm breezes bring a false sense of familiarity to the mortal world. It brings no real comfort to the prince of the underworld. Not when the taste of the real surface drives his whole being into escaping the clutches of his father. Does the change of scenery excite those around him or give him a moment to rest? Sure. But he knows that there’s more. Sure it was good enough for the souls locked into this plane of the underworld, but not him.

With battered breath and bleeding gums, Zagreus trudges through the different levels flowing through Elysium. He hadn’t reached the stadium yet. “A punch to the face sure takes it out of you doesn’t it?” He found comfort in his dialog as the young god finished off his previous battle. Red and green eyes scanned the grass and dirt for the familiar shine of a boon. What would the prince get this time? Athena? Ares? He hopped Ares seeing Aphrodite gifted him his first boon in the run. They sure knew how to pack a punch together.

“Oh? Looks like we have a new contender.”

Instead of the glaring boon of the god of war or the alluring pink of the god of love, Zagreus spots a female sitting amongst some rubble. A long and chipped sword rested perfectly between her hands as a shield resides on her forearm. Her hands were wrapped in bandages though there were no wounds to treat. A bronze band rests on her forehead with the symbol of two bandaged hands clasping in prayer, almost as though they were praying for help. It seems like she hasn’t noticed the prince yet, the later needing to clear his throat to catch her attention. “Young hero. I mean not to be rude, but your presence here is new. I am Prince Zagreus and I would like to offer my hand out to you in greeting.” Zagreus’ voice didn’t startle the other, her attention now on the male god. It was the fact that he had introduced himself to be the supposed son of Hades, the notorious prince who attempted escape after escape to reach the surface. Ever since y/n had arrived, whispers and retellings of the prince’s previous attempts were shared around. This would be the first time she’s seen him in person.

“My prince, it is but an honor to be in your presence. Please, do not mind me. I am but put here to rest and keep peace. I am at your service if need be.” Politely declining his hand, y/n merely leans down to her knee with a small bow to her head. She knew his words to be true, his signature eyes and wild black hair were enough proof to her.

“Please, no need to be so formal. I promise I’m nothing like my father.” Although Zagreus knew of formalities, he always found them awkward or unnecessary when it was directed to him. He however was more than happy to display them himself. “As for service, I don’t believe there is much you can do..though I do appreciate it. However, I would like to offer you something instead.” Ruffling through his supplies, he pulls out a beautifully decorated golden bottle of Nectar. “I’ve come across heroes like you, and I know that your presence here means you are more than worthy of your title. Please, take this as a welcoming gift.” y/n stood up, sword still in hand as if it were glued there with widened ayes full of curiosity and doubt. “Your highness, although your generosity is appreciated I’m not sure I can offer you much in return-”

“Nonsense. Here. Take it.” His pinkish grey skinned hands gently pressed the bottle of deliciousness into her only open one. Even if this gift was somewhat intended to see what abilities and intentions this new hero had, he was not any way lessened by gifting such a prize. He could work on his bond with Demeter next time.

Y/n on the other hand blinked repeatedly at the action, almost gawking between the prince and the gift. “I...thank you. This gift and kindness will not be forgotten.” Taking a closer look at the bottle, her thumb rubbed up against the cool touch of the glass bottle. Her (h/c) hair just slipping past her headband before she places the bottle behind her to tuck the strands away behind.

It was Zagreus’ turn to blink away. Such a small act from the hero tickled his mind. ‘How pretty’ he easily thinks. “Like I said, don’t worry about it- oh. I haven’t gotten your name yet. How rude of me. I can’t address you properly if I don’t know your name hero.” As quickly as y/n admired the gift, she turned back to properly greet the prince once more. “That is my fault, I had failed to give you my name. I am y/n.” Her voice was quite, but held a soft note that sung in his ears.

‘Y/n? Not quite familiar...if I don’t make it out of the run I might as well give her name a look up. I’m sure it’ll be written out somewhere is that mess of a library.’

“Perfect. Thank you y/n for your time. May you enjoy your gift. I’m sure you’re aware of my current goal. My next stop is the stadium.” Even if time was infinite for him, Zagreus wanted to waste none of it. Not when he felt a small sense of dread that if he didn’t finish this quick enough he’d lessen his chance of success.

“But of course. I wish you luck.” Why did hearing those words from her invigorate him just the tiniest bit? Maybe it was because he knew the hero was free and not compelled to say such things? Who knows. It was still nice to hear.

“Who knows, maybe I’ll see you again if I fall short on my journey.”

“If you do my prince, I will be here waiting with a gift I hope you will find worthy of your time.”

With a quick goodbye, the prince parted ways with the hero and mentally prepared to face his next challenge. Theseus and Asterius.

As quickly as Zagreus had said goodbye, he struggled and eventually succumbed to death at the hands of the unpleasant hero and Minotaur. If anything, he felt more guilt killing Asterius than what he thought was the overly zealous Theseus. “Damn, long range really sneaks up and chips at your health. I’ll have to ask Achilles what he thinks about the fight.” Shaking his head like a dog would after a bath, blood red water from the River Styx flew from his mane before he pattered through the halls of his home. He greeted its staff, ignored his father, then finally discussed his last attempt with his mentor.

“Y/n? I believe she’s after my time I’m afraid. Though her symbol seems familiar. I’m sure you could look her up seeing your father knows of every soul under his domain.” The blond and old humbled hero could only scratch his chin in thought, eventually bowing when it was time to end their training session. “Please be mindful, your fathers patience grows thinner with every attempt at escape.” Is all Zagreus hears before the door to his bedroom is shut.

—

Y/n L/n. Eldest daughter of her noble family. She took the place of where an eldest son should go. She trained in combat while studying like a woman of her status should. She was beat and ridiculed for how she tried to maintain her position as heir to the head of her home and people. When time came, she was a fair and just leader. She developed a council to create fair judgement and leadership among the people. She developed strategies to protect her vulnerable people from the sea, creating underground tunnels to provide quick escape to the mountains if need be. She gave up her title to live closer to her people, to personally train their soldiers and practice her faith away from scrutinizing eyes. Y/n lead rebellions that reclaimed stolen land and farming. She nurtured the flame of passion in peoples hearts to take back their honor and history.

Judgement came for her and her people. Her family is murdered with her home taken over by foreign military. They kill and eradicate history and the new government that started to grow. Quietly y/n and her people would leave marks and fight in the night. Motivate each other to not lose faith for the gods always have a plan. Quietly did she help her priestess and her people’s children escape with the elders to preserve their history. Loudly at sunrise did she challenge the oppressors screaming “I am your nightmare! I am the living blood you thought you sliced away in the night like cowards! Face me! Face my people and die a worthy death for you no longer have the right to be given peace.”

Seven days and seven nights did her and her people fight. They knew they would never be able to return home. So slowly did they burn their farms down, slowly did they destroy their home and slaughter their animals. Slowly did they isolate the enemy until they were as weak and famished as their hungriest and sickest soldier. Y/n and her people prayed to the gods for forgiveness and guidance on their last night. They knew death was coming, the prayer was for hope that they could bring the enemy down with them.

With careful plans and feigning defeat, she let the enemy believe that her people’s end was near. She exposed the tunnels as a way of her people planning to escape yet again. This time however, they would be the death of her, her loyal soldiers and the rest of the barbarians who took her life away.

They chased her soldiers through the tunnels, getting lost at all the turns. She isolates their leader and kills him in the darkness. Their death shall have no glory and no revenge. Y/n lays the body down and offers a prayer for them to rest, even if it’s in a place of torture.

Her final call, y/n and her soldiers collapse the tunnels and light them aflame. Everyone screams in agony together arm in arm. In the end, everyone is a soldier in the war of life. To be a hero and a leader is a life of sacrifice.

—

Just like how the hero said she would wait, she was there. Zagreus was careful in preserving his health to face the stadium with better success and eventually hope to be presentable enough to see y/n. Her life story played through the princes mind over and over again like a child who hears their favorite tale for the first time. He discussed her sacrifices to his mentor and Achilles could not only relate but even empathize with how she could have felt.

“An honor to see you again Prince Zagreus. May your journey this time be filled with satisfaction and success.” Her melodic voice floated through his ears, his heart thumping as quickly as he turned to face the female again. “The same to you y/n. I hope your time here has treated you well.”

“Your father has monsters assigned to fight you to prevent you from reaching the surface.I protect the shades from unwanted circumstances. Please be careful and mindful of your people.”

“I’ll do my best to be better of it, thank you for your work and service even after death. Your soul should rest yet you still sacrifice yourself to this day.” Y/n advice made sense seeing how she cared for her people even during her death.

The hero stays silent, finally facing Zagreus before she steps up to stand in front of him. “Death no longer has a hold on me your highness, only fate.” Her palm lays stretched out between them with a glowing bronze boon. It’s symbol matching the one on her forehead.

With a silent thanks, he accepts the boon and feels his body shiver with new energy as it’s unlike the ones he’s accepted before. When the black haired god faces the stadium again, he fights and remembers what his mentor teaches him. He calls upon the powers the Olympian gods bestow him. He defeats Asterius again until all that left between him and the gate out is Theseus.

As if Zagreus can feel y/n‘s hands on his own with her lips touching the shell of his ear to whisper a hymn, he summons her boon and flashes of bronze spectral soldiers surround him and wait for his command. They follow his steps and fight Theseus as if they had all trained together their whole life. When the hero falls and the stadium erupts with cheer, he watches in slight horror as all the soldiers scream and burn away to nothing. He quickly follows with his own grunt of agony as his health diminishes by small amount with his skin feeling like he took a swim in the lava pits. The Hero’s Boon of Burning Sacrifice.

Leaving the arena leaves Zagreus amazed and conflicted. To bestow a god a boon so powerful yet dangerous leaves little to the thought and imagination. What other abilities does someone who was previously human hold?

Instead of searching out his usual boons and gods, he looks for Y/n’s. He learns how he can manipulate the soldiers to either grow in numbers or strengthen the few. No matter what route he took with the boon, they all ended in fiery agony before disappearing into the depths of the godly plains. Maybe he tries combinations over and over again to see if anything changes...it doesn’t. ‘Something about not death..but fate having a hold on her. How tragic.’ His thoughts wander.

Even with this new boon he eventually succumbs to death again. Instead of grunts of annoyance and a quick retreat from the river, Zagreus almost trudges his way out letting the red liquid soak through his hair longer than usual. Why did this mortal hero plague his thoughts? Sure she was pretty, but pretty isn’t enough. There’s more, and he wants to know it. He was to analyze it and rip it apart with his bare hands.

“What am I to do with you pretty girl.” Zagreus mumbles to himself as he locked himself into his room again.

Time is strange in the underworld, but it would have felt like what one would think is months before the young god sees y/n face to face again....this time for different reasons.

—

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to comment! （＾ν＾）