#nymph wants to get real sleep

[initialchains]

would you? | luke castellan.

pairing: luke castellan x fem!reader

summary: luke slowly starts to lose himself but that won’t stop you from reminding him of what truly matters.

wc: 2.6k

warnings: some manipulating and gaslighting if you squint and probably spoilers for the first book but they’re not explicitly mentioned.

a/n: HAPPY HOLIDAYS !! here’s luke as a gift <33 i’ve never written for luke before but he’s my favorite pjo character bc hes such an interesting and complex character aghh. sorry if this isnt as fluffy as you would all want, i promise i’m working on some real luke fluff.

The rays of the rising sun made the lake look far more beautiful than it always does. Sure, you were used to the warm tones that always engulfed Camp Half-Blood and it’s not like the weather ever really changed, at least not unless the gods willed it to, but the colors of the sun reflecting on the lake, the low hum of the wood nymphs singing, and the distant sounds of laughter coming from campers playing volleyball were strangely comforting. 

Well, as comforting as it can be when you’re trying to find some quiet in the neverending fight that was the demigod life. It gets tiring, it always does. The fighting, the studying, the adoration of gods who didn’t even bother to give their children a sign of them caring. It was all so exhausting. 

But there was peace in this small moment. You were sat in front of the lake, your legs crossed as you closed your eyes, trying to enjoy the tranquility of it all. The calm moment didn’t dare to stop your hand from finding a home in the clay beads of your camp necklace and twirling them around, a seemingly normal act to anyone who saw you, that actually was a sign of you being aware of your surroundings, a small sign of the fear you carried around, a fear that had you always prepared to draw your sword in any given moment. Not ever fully in peace. Not unless Luke was there. 

“So you decided to start your morning without me? Ouch,” You turned your head at the sound of your boyfriend’s voice, “A knock on my cabin’s door would’ve been enough, you know?”.

“Yeah? And risk waking the million campers that sleep in there? No, thank you. I would like to stay alive for a few more years, please.” You replied with a small smile, looking up to meet Luke’s eyes, his scar being more prominent in the morning, a red color adorning the edges of it.  

He snorted a laugh and rolled his eyes before taking a seat next to you. He was silent for a moment until he muttered softly, “This is a nice view.”

“Oh, definitely. The lake always looks beautiful when the sun hits it the right way. I need to give the Apollo cabin their congratulations and some flowers for having a talented father.” You answered, your hand moving away from your necklace to hold Luke’s.

“Of course, you make my pick-up line about the gods. Can you give me a win over here? I’m trying my best.” He said with a smirk before pressing a kiss to the back of your hand. It was a strange sort of thing he always did, even before you two started dating, he’d always find an excuse to hold your hand and give it a quick kiss. 

“I wasn’t going to let you get away with using a corny pick-up line on me, Castellan. At least be original with it.” A giggle escaped your lips, “Also, everything is about the gods, I thought you’d be used to it by this point.”

His face fell for a fleeting second, but he was quick to mask it with a small smile. “Right, everything always is about the gods.” Luke’s eyes moved away from your face, nervously glancing at the lake after his statement. 

You frowned when you heard the tone he used, he sounded almost.. bitter? You couldn’t even explain it. Luke had been acting weird ever since the camp came back from their annual visit to Mount Olympus on the winter solstice. At first, you thought it had something to do with Hermes being a total dick and ignoring him the entire night, not even bothering to give his son a pat on the back or a nod. But you’ve known Luke long enough to know he was past caring about what his father did, he was indifferent to what Hermes did–to what any of the gods did. 

The two of you were silent, sitting side by side in front of the lake in deep thought. He was thinking about gods know what, and you were busy trying to understand what was going on inside his mind. You decided to break the silence first, “You okay?”.

“I’m fine, baby. Don’t worry about it.” 

He was quick to answer. It was almost as if he had rehearsed it and had it scripted beforehand. It was almost as if someone else had told him what to answer. As if he was under someone else's guidance. Under someone else's control. 

“Are you sure? Because it feels like you’re.. I don't know, keeping something from me?” 

“I’m not keeping anything from you. I’m not keeping a single thing.”

“Right. Sorry for asking.”

Luke closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. He ran a hand through his hair and took some deep breaths, his chest moving up and down in a nonexistent rhythm, it was urgent and angry. He took a few more breaths, trying to calm himself before finally meeting your eyes again. 

“I’ve told you countless times to never apologize to me if you haven’t done anything wrong,” He reminded you of the conversation you’ve had millions of times, “Don’t ever apologize to me if you haven’t physically hurt me or something, alright? You’re fine. We’re fine.” 

He continued, “I’d trust you with my life given the chance. I’m not keeping anything from you, angel. You have to trust me.” 

“I do.” 

You didn’t see your boyfriend at all the following days. He always brushed you off by being busy with training or helping Annabeth plan for this week’s capture the flag. You weren’t the only one to notice his slight change of temper and personality, some campers from the Hermes cabin noticed it too. 

He kept pushing harder on his siblings, always insisting on them doing better. He was more violent than usual during capture the flag, not thinking about it twice before proving why he is the most talented swordsman in the last 300 years.

There was also this one time he volunteered to spar with a new camper.. it didn’t go well. He kept doing new maneuvers and techniques most campers didn’t even recognize, refusing to go easy on the poor thirteen year old girl. When you asked him about it, confused at the way he went too hard on the newbie, he answered with a dry “Where’s the glory in that? She needs to be prepared for what’s about to come.” It sounded as if he knew some kind of danger was approaching. As if it was a matter of life and death for the camper to learn how to fight against him.

You decided it was enough when you saw him skipping his daily chat with Annabeth, deciding he would rather sit by himself on the steps of the Big House for a little while. 

The walk from your cabin to the Big House was filled with self-doubt and twirling the beads of your necklace, you were nervous to face your boyfriend, which was stupid because he was the last person you’d ever expect to feel nervous with. When you arrived to the steps of the Big House and saw him sitting there, your mind went completely blank. 

You sat next to him and asked the first thing that came to your mind, “Would you rather fight 3000 ant-sized chimeras or a chimera-sized ant?”. 

An amused laugh bubbled up from Luke’s chest before he turned his head to face you, a smile taking over his handsome face. “I’ll take the 3000 chimeras, no doubt.” 

You smiled back at him, ready to ask him the question you spent the last thirty minutes planning, but before you could open your mouth he said, “Would you rather not be able to consume ambrosia and nectar for the rest of your life or.. see Mr. D without a shirt?”

You threw your head back with laughter, your face going red thanks to the lack of air in your lungs due to the laughs coming out of you, “I’d rather bleed to death without ambrosia than see Mr. D with a shirt.”

“Ditto.”

You decided to indulge in this back-and-forth game, after all, you hadn’t been able to have a real conversation with your boyfriend in days... you’ll take what you can get, “Would you rather not be able to leave camp ever again or turn against the gods?” 

“It would be boring to spend the rest of my life capturing a flag and growing strawberries… so I guess my answer is pretty obvious.” He answered while fidgeting with his fingers.

“You’d choose to turn against the gods?”

“Yup.”

“Huh, I guess capture the flag would be pretty hard when you’re pushing 90.”

Luke was silent, running his eyes through your face before asking, “Would you?”

“Would I what?”

He took a deep breath before replying, “Turn against the gods.”

You were silent for a few seconds, biting your lip and staring into Luke’s eyes, wondering if there was a right answer to this metaphorical question. You decided to give him an answer he’d like but also an answer you meant, “I’d go wherever you go. It doesn’t matter if it is a farm in the middle of nowhere or to the pits of Tartarus. If you’re there... count me in.” 

Luke cleared his throat and a serious look took over his face, “Sure, but if the time to make a choice came… would you go against them?”.

His persistence to try and get you to answer his question was making you nervous. The more he asked you about it, the more it looked like he was genuinely considering it. 

A nervous laugh escaped your lips as you nervously played with one of the beads on your camp necklace. He took notice of it. Of course he did, he knew more about you than anyone, probably even more than you know yourself. 

Luke stayed silent at that, a somber look taking over his features, you could tell there was a turmoil happening inside his head. It was almost as if he wanted to let you in on a secret, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“I... um. Well, I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon—at least not in our lifetime. But like I said, I’d go wherever you go, to Tartarus and back.” 

That brought a smile to Luke’s face, he looked into your eyes, probably looking for signs of you lying but finding none, and took your hand away from your necklace, lacing your fingers with his and pressing a kiss to the back of your hand. “To Tartarus and back, baby.” 

He brought your hands down before leaning in to kiss you on the lips. There was a sense of necessity to feel your lips against his, he kissed you like the feeling of your lips was his only shot at salvation. He raised his hand to cup your cheek and deepen the kiss, craving the heat he only got whenever he kissed you.

You stopped him before he could take the kiss any further, “Luke, we’re in the middle of camp. There are children around us, if you want to make out at least take me to our spot behind the stables. Holy shit.”

Luke took a second to steady his breathing, “Sorry, angel. I’ll make sure to keep your suggestion in mind for later, though.”

“Shut the hell up, Castellan.”

The two of you spent the rest of your day being busy working on your own stuff. Luke was still sparring with some campers who were brave enough to go against him, and you were hanging out with the Dionysus cabin while they helped grow more strawberries. 

 You found Chris sitting in the amphitheater and asked him if he had seen your boyfriend, he replied with an annoyed, “He’s probably in bed or something, I don’t know.” You decided to not ask Chris if he was okay and walked straight to the Hermes cabin.

A knock on the wooden door was enough to wake your boyfriend up, you were aware of it when you heard a muffled, “Come in”. You found Luke sitting on his bed, his sword in hand while he sharpened it.

So he wasn’t asleep at all, you thought.

“Careful with the sharp part of the blade.” He looked up from his sword when he heard your melodic voice, your words snapping him out of the trance he was in.

“Oh, hi.” Luke put the sword down next to his bunk and moved to lie down, leaving a space next to him for you to join him. He hummed when you laid down next to him, giving a kiss to his shoulder blade and wrapping your arms around his torso. 

He turned to face you, pressing his lips to your forehead with a soft sigh. His eyes closed at the sensation while his hands traveled to your back, looking for ways to hold you closer. His features relaxing when he finally touched your skin. 

You couldn’t keep this weird tension going on between you two, so you decided to bite first, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Once again, he replied in an almost scripted and mechanical way, “Talk about what?”

“The winter solstice visit, you’ve been acting.. different ever since we came back to camp.” 

Luke stiffened next to you, it made your heart drop. You’ve been dating him for a year now, and he had never been this cold—this uncomfortable around you. 

“I just... I think things are about to change.” He replied in a low murmur, his eyes closing again when you brought your hand up to caress his face, softly tracing his scar with your thumb in a delicate and loving way. Luke let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding when he felt your fingers on his skin.

A smirk made its way to your face, “Change? yeah, in your dreams, Castellan. Campers will keep arriving and only 5 percent of them will get claimed, and the others will get thrown into your cabin.. like things always are and always will be. That’s not changing anytime soon.” 

Luke’s hand traced up and down your back in a soothing manner, “Yeah, maybe they won’t. Forget I even said that.” 

“Just because they won’t change, it doesn’t mean we have to accept it, you know?”Luke's eyes snapped up from your hands to meet your gaze, his brows furrowed in confusion. 

“I’m sorry?”

“We’re all on the same team here. Sure, the gods will never claim most of the campers and we will all probably die before we’re old enough to have children of our own... but is that really all that matters? We have each other. We don’t need them as long as we have the people we love with us.”

Luke tilted his head to the right to press a kiss to the palm of your hand that was caressing his cheek, “I don’t need the gods as long as I have you.” 

“Good to know we’re on the same page, Castellan.”

The two of you went out for a small walk by the lake and sat together in the dining pavilion at night. Your small conversation probably made Luke feel better because he was quick to go back to being himself, he kept greeting every camper he saw and holding your hand, not forgetting to kiss the back of it whenever he had the chance. 

Maybe it was you reassuring him about the love you had for him or maybe it was him being aware of you being willing to drop the gods at any time just to be with him, but he was completely normal during the following days, weeks, and months.

You were sure of it when you saw him walking around with the new arrival five months later, Luke seemed so excited to be showing him around. You greeted the new camper with a small smile when he introduced himself with a “Hi, I’m Percy Jackson.”

[twst-drabbles]

Heartslabyul 8

Summary: Ace and Deuce are fighting again. You watch from the window how the rest of the plant nymphs handle this, because you’re kinda in pain from a not so good fall, and horrible sleeping posture.

(Every time I imagine these little plant nymphs, I always imagine a kazoo playing in the background. Specifically for Ace and Deuce.)

While you’ve been slowly upping your daily activity, your body is by no means a tough one. Years upon years of just isolating yourself in your house and rarely venturing beyond the needed groceries really put a number on you. You’ve only started hiking, but even with the best safety measures, it was only a matter of time before you ate shit.

It was just real unfortunate that it was your knee that took the brunt of the fall. Never have you despised moist weather and mud more. You did hobble your way back home, and at first it wasn’t really all that bad, but then after a day of rest, the pain just got worse. It’s not enough to warrant a hospital visit, but you definitely can’t stand to put much weight on it.

Today is a day of suffering for you. If you didn’t want to do things before, you definitely don’t want to do anything now. You don’t even want to go outside to do your usual sun bathing routine.

Haa… you’re going to have skip Riddle’s tea party. He’s not going to like that. You really don’t want to do anything.

Which is why you didn’t bother getting up from the sofa when you saw Deuce pounce on Ace’s head. Ace screamed and ran around as a distressed chicken would, arms flapping and trying to pry Deuce off, but Deuce continued to whale on him.

You tapped your cane on the window’s edge. “Hey!”

But they didn’t listen, too caught up in whatever plant nymph arguments they’re having.

You shrugged. Oh well. They’ll probably solve it eventually. It’s happened before, where Deuce tried to use Grim as a steed but ended up crashing into Ace’s tulip garden project. At least this time, they’re not biting each other.

Off to the side, you heard a loud leaf whistle. So loud that it even temporarily stopped Ace and Deuce’s fighting. There was shuffling, lots of shuffling, and then there was a storm of Cater’s, all packed together and kicking up dust as they ran towards Ace and Deuce.

Trey, atop the shoulder of the front most Cater, looked very focused, as though on a hunt to take them down.

Oh. Oh, Ace and Deuce probably did something bad huh?

“Oh wow.” You turned off the TV and adjusted yourself, wincing when your knee twitched. It isn’t as swelled as it could be, but ugh, the muscles within hurt. The burning was horrible when you woke up this morning, but at least it’s stopped now.

To your right, there was a set of sharp clicks and clanks. You take a look and found Riddle to be there besides you, his little table and chair right next to your elbow as he set up his tea set.

Riddle attempted to return your gaze with grace and poise, but the stiffness of his body and the slight frown on his face told you all. He’s grumpy. And annoyed, but is trying so hard to keep it all in via that prince-like attitude.

You chuckled then pointed to the flattened Ace and Deuce after failing to fight off the stampede. “Aren’t you going to do something about that?”

When Riddle looked towards them, both Ace and Deuce’s head popped up and looked upon their main flower with dewy, watery eyes.

Riddle blinked, thinned his eyes, then sat himself on his chair and sipped on his tea, fully and completely ignoring them.

“Guess not, huh?”

Ace and Deuce flattened further, practically sinking into the grass beneath them, probably drowning in misery now.

Oh they definitely did something. Whatever they did, it wasn’t against Riddle but probably Trey or Cater. Or both of them. Either way, Trey is looking down upon them with crossed arms and eyes full of disappointment, now that the battle-fire vanished from him.

Riddle, with the help of his root system, set down your own teacup. One of the newer cups you’ve recently bought and placed in the shelf inside the shed. At the bottom of the teacup, there was an image of a hedgehog, napping the world away.

It was soon filled with Riddle’s own tea mixture. Riddle has stopped sipping his and stared unblinkingly at you. He’s watching, waiting for you to drink it all up. He’s not very good at hiding his concern for you.

You sipped, nice and slow, and laughed when two Cater’s carried off Ace and Deuce towards the little bathtub spring they’ve recently built. Trey followed with his brushes, and comically sized toothbrush on his back.

Riddle sighed and all the tension on his little shoulders left him.

“I’ll be fine.” You relaxed as well. “I just need a few days. I just took a really bad fall, is all.”

There was a light hum from Riddle as he sipped his tea. He grumbled a little, but fell silent upon you lightly patting his head. He huffed in embarrassment, but ultimately didn’t stop you.

[mmavverickk]

theoretically, i understand the appeal of having percy, annabeth, and grover go to college. annabeth wants to be an architect, percy wants to be with annabeth, and grover's gonna need some kind of degree backing his environmental preservation efforts. but like, i just can't see it happening.

annabeth was tasked with redesigning olympus after the destruction of the second titan war. that project is her child. she eats, sleeps, and breathes her designs for the palace. as soon as she graduates high school, that is her number one priority. this is her monument that will last forever, this is what her hubris is driving her to accomplish. college and mortal qualifications can wait until she's finished, until olympus is perfect, until her designs are real and tangible and ready to last a thousand ages, until she's made her mother proud and her father regret pushing her aside. and if she's building a family on the side, one strong enough to withstand two wars, one who will never leave her, never let her fall alone? that will last, too.

percy never had a childhood. he can barely remember a life before his abusive stepfather gabe, before he had to grow up too fast to protect himself and his mom. he never got to celebrate getting rid of the bastard, because by then he'd been thrown headfirst into the mythological world, into the expectations that come with being a child of the big three. he's twelve years old and already the fate of the world is in his hands, and he won't fail. he's fourteen, and the weight of the world rests on his shoulders, turns his hair grey. he's sixteen, and he has to make a choice, to trust someone who had betrayed him time and time again, but he doesn't know if the outcome of that choice will be the end of the world or its only hope. he graduates high school, having lived longer than he'd ever dreamed, and does not immediately throw himself into college. it's time to experience the world that he's sacrificed so much for.

grover is the lord of the wild. he spent his whole life searching for the one being who could save the planet, could keep it whole and healthy and alive. he found him, found pan, and had his hopes crushed. pan was dying. he was giving up on the planet and the people who'd believed in him for millennia. pan put all of their hopes on grover's shoulders, made it his responsibility. he stepped up to the challege, used his passion for searching and made it passion for fixing. he started immediately, despite how dire the situation was, despite all the others telling him he was wrong, that pan was still out there, that he needed to believe in a dead god. yes, he needs to find a way to get the mortals to see the effect they're having on the wild, on the environment, on the planet, but first he needs to find out how bad things truly are. he's traveled north america, he's gathered nymphs and dryads and spirits for war against the titans, but north america isn't the only place in danger. the world is his domain, and grover will rise to the challenge.

[flowersandbigteeth]

Hi Flower! I hope you had a great new years! Wish you nothing but the best this year! I wanted to ask real quick if you took requests. Like

With a minotaur? Like I don’t see a lot of them on tumblr - or I can’t find them - but like it can me sfw or nsfw, whatever you want. I low key think that Minotaurs are so cute. Doesn’t have to be like super extravagant or anything, like something a little cutesy fluffy. I don’t know does that make sense? But like only if you want to 😂❤️

ANYWAYS I love your work and I hope you have a great day!

Thank you! I do take requests and I've actually been working on a couple of minotaur stories but I wasn't quite happy with any of them until I decided on this one. It's a little different with a reader with yandere qualities as well. I hope you have a wonderful new year with many delights <3

'Minotaur demigod (Solomon) x water nymph reader

Word Count: 2k

🌶️ NSFW MASTERPOST 🌶️

W: nsfw monster smut, some violence and minor character death, yandere vibes

You watched the golden bull warily as he lapped water from your spring. Next to him he’d arranged some fruits he’d found and nudged them to you. 

“T-thanks,” you murmured, accepting the fruit, taking a bite and picking at it with your small claws. 

Normally, you only ate the fish you caught in the nearby river, but fruit was a nice treat. As a water nymph you ate your meat raw as your ancestors had done for thousands of years.

Trapped in your spring, your territory ranged a few miles in any direction on the mountain where you lived, as far as you could walk in a day. When you were small, your mother had removed your still beating heart from your chest and nestled it at the base of this spring. 

Now your magic made the water sweet and endless. The forest thrived around you and creatures big and small came to drink, but your heart bound you to the spot. You could never leave. When you died another nymph would plant her daughter and the process would start all over again.

This golden bull had been coming for a few days, bringing you fruit and sleeping next to your spring. You’d thought he’d take advantage of the water and then move on, but he seemed to be settling in, spending hours lounging in the sun next to you and bringing you gifts.

“You seem to be getting quite comfortable,” you commented as he grazed on the grass around your spring. He paused for a moment and winked at you before resuming his grazing. 

Suddenly he was on high alert, his ears perked and his head lowered to charge. 

You followed his eyes through the woods until you too saw a handful of elf rogues tromping through the underbrush. 

“A spring! Finally!” one of them sighed. 

Two of them were hauling a large chest, while the others carried packs with supplies. They looked like a rough bunch, some without teeth, one missing an eye and all of them in need of a bath. 

“Well look what we have here!” their leader said, spitting and examining you, “a pretty spring nymph all alone out here.” 

He crouched down close to the water, apparently not noticing the massive bull pacing in the shadows. 

“Come here little girl,” he said, crooking his finger at you, “we just wanna have a bit of fun. If you're good we won't hurt you.” 

You drifted to the center of your pond on the lilypad on which you were sitting and the foolish rogue followed you in thinking the water was shallow and he could overpower you. It was up to a point, but nymphs didn’t live successfully in the wild for thousands of years because you were helpless.

Focusing your magic you willed the water to tug his feet from under him, leaving him sputtering even in the shallows. Every time he tried to get up you sent a new wave to hold him down as his friends watched in horror. If you kept this up you would slowly drown him. 

An arrow flew past you, nicking your shoulder and bringing your game to an end. An angry snort echoed through the clearing, distracting you from the trickle of blood making its way down your arm. 

The bull barreled through the archer, impaling him on his horns and when you looked, he wasn’t exactly a bull anymore, but more human…a minotaur! 

The other two elves, who weren’t being drowned or gored, turned to try to help their friend, pulling out swords, but you weren’t going to let the minotaur be taken unaware from behind. 

You willed a large wave of water over the two poor elves, dragging them, choking into the frigid depths at the center of your spring. You held the three of them under until they stopped moving, letting their bodies drift to a dark corner where the eels would pick them apart. 

They weren’t the only bones of hapless travelers who had thought to molest you that had collected at the base of your pool. 

You squirted a more gentle stream of water at the minotaur, rinsing him of the blood dripping down his neck as he dragged the body over to your pool. Sweeping it up, you maneuvered it with the others to be eaten. 

He laughed and shook his head, like a dog whisking the water away. He had fluffy blondish hair that fell in his eyes and long horns you quite liked. His nose was pierced with a gold ring as were his nipples. Around his waist was wrapped a cotton wrap secured with a gold belt that did nothing to hide his bulge. 

“You do not need my protection, fair water nymph,” he chuckled, rifling through the odd weeds at the edge of the pond, “yet, I still wish to assist you.” 

When he found a leaf he was happy with he chewed it up and spit it into his hand. 

“Come here,” he said, crooking his fingers at you. 

You drifted on your lilypad over to him, curious. You jumped as he leaned down to touch your arm, but his calloused, warm fingers on your damp skin was actually quite comforting. 

“It’s okay,” he purred, “it’s just for the cut.” 

He patted the leaf mush onto the wound on your arm and you realized it had stopped hurting, instead the sensation replaced by a cool tingle. 

“You’ve been here for days,” you commented, “what is your name and why have you not spoken to me?”

He blushed. 

“Solomon,” he said, “and as for why I did not reveal myself to you, I saw what you did with the last males who disturbed you and did not wish to end up at the bottom of your spring.” 

You returned his blush with your own. It was true you did have a habit of drowning males who frightened you or got on your nerves or overstayed their welcome. You were all alone in the forest, there was no one to help you. It was best to be cautious and drown first, ask questions later.

“You are no normal minotaur,” you pointed out, “you have two forms.” 

He smiled at you. 

“I’m a demigod, the son of a minotaur and the goddess of spring.” 

Around you flowers bloomed in the underbrush filling the air with a heady fragrance. 

“Then I could never have harmed you,” you added. 

He chuckled. 

“I did not wish to be drowned endlessly while you figured that out,” he laughed, “I can still feel pain and fear. I’m strong but your water can easily overpower me.” 

You preened at his compliments and smiled. 

“Why are you hanging around here?” you probed, “don’t you have someplace better to be? We’re in the middle of nowhere. There’s not a village for fifty miles.”

He grinned and peered at you from under his fluffy hair. 

“I was hoping that would be obvious, water lily,” he said, plucking a flower that had bloomed beside the pond and handing it to you. 

Your water churned around you, your spring flashing pink and purple as your heart fluttered with happiness, clutching the blossom to your chest. Without thinking your water scooped up the demigod and enveloped him in a bubble to draw him closer to your heart.

He was frightened at first, as you followed him down, swimming alongside the bubble. He soon realized you weren’t going to hurt him and relaxed, sitting down and putting his arms behind his head and his feet up. 

“It’s pretty down here,” he said looking up at the sun filtering through the green pads of the lotuses floating on the surface. Colorful fish swam by and your happy heart made the water glow pleasing colors. 

“Is that your heart?” he asked, examining the small sapphire crystal tucked in a clamshell near the bubble. 

“Yes, I think it wanted you nearby,” you admitted, “I’m not sure I have complete control over it. I hope you don’t want me to let you go, I’m not confident that I can.”  

He looked at you and reached through the bubble pulling you into his lap. 

“I don’t mind as long as you plan on making an honest minotaur out of me, little water lily,” he chuckled, “promise not to break my heart.” 

You blinked at him and turned pink. 

“I-I p-promise,” you stuttered quietly, overwhelmed by his scent. He had a pleasant musk mixed with the smell of grass. Leaning down he brushed his lips against yours, nuzzling you with his broad nose. You twisted around until you were straddling his lap, pushing his hair out of his eyes and looking at him gently. He’d been an attractive bull, but he was much more handsome as a minotaur with rippling abs, that hard chest, and soulful brown eyes brushed by golden hair. 

He kissed you softly, sure of what he wanted. He moaned and held you close to him, winding his thick fingers through your damp hair. Brushing your lips with his tongue he coaxed your mouth open, tasting you. Underneath you, you felt his cock hardening and to your embarrassment automatically ground your hips against it. 

He didn’t seem at all put out by your needy display, pushing your hair off of your bare breast so he could knead it with his big hand. Kissing you deeper, he thrust up to show you what he had to offer. As a nymph you never wore clothes, so there was nothing between you and him but the cotton wrap around his waist. That gave you a very good idea of what he was working with as it pressed into your pussy. 

His hot hands traveled over your breasts and your ass, getting to know your body. 

“You are so lovely, my lily,” he cooed, dragging his kisses down your neck, “you smell like sweet water and lotus blossoms.” 

His tongue found your pebbled nipples and he licked and nibbled them until you were whimpering in his arms, lustily rubbing yourself against him. Pushing you onto your back on the oddly squishy floor of the bubble, he dropped his kisses lower, sucking your clit past his lips. 

You moaned his name as he licked and kissed your little nub, gasping when he split your pussy with two thick fingers. 

“Solomon please!” you whined, trying to fuck yourself on his hand. 

He held you steady with the other one. 

“It’s like honey when you say my name,” he moaned into your pussy, so you screamed it as you came on his fingers. 

That made him feral, ripping the wrap off of his waist and looming over you, his huge cock bobbing against his stomach. He had gold barbell piercings down the shaft making your eyes widen curiously.  He didn’t have to ask as you tipped your hips up and spread your legs for him, spearing you with it as he kissed you passionately. 

You cried into his mouth as he stretched you, tears slipping down your cheeks. You felt the piercings rubbing your G-spot making the invasion that much more intense as they pressed into it. He didn’t rush, pushing into you slowly, but firmly until he bottomed out inside you with a grunt. 

He pushed your legs back behind your ears, enjoying the view of his cock splitting your tiny cunt. You loved the way he snorted and huffed as he held himself back from losing it on you, but you wanted his passion, begging for more. You could hardly move as he bent you in half, rocking his heavy body in and out of you. Memorizing his face, tense with concentration, you whined as his calloused finger circled your clit. 

“Your pussy is heaven,” he groaned, the pace increasing as he slowly lost control of himself.

His hands moved from your clit to gripping one thigh and one ankle so hard he would probably leave bruises as he slammed into you, holding your ankles over your head a pounding down into you. The soft membrane of the bubble cushioned your back as he railed you.

“Mine,” he growled. 

His voice was no longer gentle but gruff and animal. He grunted and growled as he took you, ruining you for any other male and you came to the sound of his feral noises. The water around you flashed colors as you orgasmed, squeezing his cock inside of you. 

He roared, filling you with his load, mixing with your fluids and squirting out of your pussy. After a moment of panting next to your head and flattening you back out, he pulled you into his chest as the little spoon. 

“I never asked you your name, water lily,” he murmured into your hair as you curled up safe and sound at the bottom of your spring with your new mate bent around you. 

“(Y/N),” you whispered and you thought you heard him repeat it as you drifted to sleep.

[olivsie]

Something I like about epic the musical is that it Gives it's changes to the original text an actual Purpose

( The first couple paragraphs are basically a rant regarding retellings. If you only want to hear about epic Skip to paragraph 4)

1. I am a bit annoyed by the lack of. Understanding as to why RETELLINGS aren't the most historicaly accurate things in the world. Sorry to break this to you, but that's both just how they work and I would guess how they reach success. Ancient Greece is a much different culture than our own, And most of us would be terrified to actually live back then. When you are Trying to create content That is based on ancient Greece And you want it to be successful/ At least reach a wide, and notably, MODERN audience. You're likely going to have to take some creative liberty And change a few things. Don't get me wrong, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LIKE RETELLINGS KNOWING THAT FACT ( Me personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Miller's novels Even though I do like epic) BUT IT IS SOMETHING TO BE AWARE OF. And because of that I don't think I would ever expect a retelling to be perfectly accurate And I don't. I had interest in mythology LONG before epic the musical But I didn't actually read the Odyssey until getting into epic. I did not expect it To be just like the musical, I knew Odysseus was going to be much more of an asshole, along with other characters. The odyssey and epic are different pieces of media to me And I am not less of a mythology nerd for liking epic ( Though I will admit that sometimes I take tiny little fun facts of mythology And like to think of them in the context of epic, but that's just for fun.)

2. The Only time being a fan of retellings is wrong as if you genuinely believe they are perfectly accurate And refuse to listen to anything else ( Which has definitely happened, And mythology nerds have the right to be annoyed at that)

3. Some people only like to consume real mythology media, Others like both real mythology and retellings, Others only like to engage with retellings (I would hope they have the self-awareness to know It's not real mythology, From what I've seen some do and some don't, Unfortunately)

4. Ok. now on to what the title of this long ass rant says

I like that epic the musical Retells the story, Not only to both cater to modern audience But Also with its OWN purpose of man versus monster.

Obviously, this is not the point of the original text. Mythos Odysseus does not give a single fuck About the stuff that epic odysseus does. I don't know why the creator Decided to rewrite it this way, (If he's ever said why let me know) But I would assume he wanted to make something about the oddessy And this was simply a very creative way to Translate that for modern audience.

I like this because, yes, holy damn. It does have changes from the original text. But it's not JUST changing it. It's changing it with a purpose

It feels reminiscent of some kind of Dramatic play. the way that epic characterizes.

Polites' kind nature is Representative of the Concept of being merciful Represented in his lines such as " This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms" /"There is so much guilt inside your heart, So why not replace it?"

While in contrast you have eurylochus with more ruthlessness and cautious nature, this is Found in some of his lines such as "You rely on wit, and people die on it" /"we don't know what's ahead" / "I say we strike first. We don't have time to waste so lets raid the place-" /"Let's just cut our losses, You and I and let's run"

And then you have Odysseus, the man/monster. The first act of this Musical is his internal struggle With what He should be On that scale. And the other characters Represent this struggle in the song monster

" Is the cyclops struck with gilt when he kills, is he up in the middle of the night? Or does he end my men to avenge his friend and then Sleep knowing he has done him right?

When the witch turns men to pigs to protect her nymphs, is she going insane? Or did she learn to be colder when she got older and now she saves them the pain?

When a God comes down and makes a Fleet drown Is he scared that he's doing something wrong? Or does he keep us in check So we must respect him and now no one dares to piss him off"

He then Applies this to himself

" Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping trojans cause he is vile? Or does he throw away his remorse and save more lives with guile?"

And this marks his turning point of deciding that Ruthlessness It's ultimately worth it if it means Getting home, as aeolus says "The end Always justifies the means"

It's in my opinion, a very creative way to go about retelling a myth. Is it accurate? Absolutely not. For example, circe (From what we know) is not protecting When she turns men into pigs, For all we know, she could just do it because Shits and giggles.

Her character and most others in epic is changed from the original. But it's not ONLY changing for the sake of apeling to the modern Western audience and being successful like Many other retellings. It is also and mainly changing for the sake of influencing the plot that Jorge Rivera herrans crafted For the sake of Retelling epic. It is creative and I enjoy it despite knowing it's not accurate.

[changenameno]

My Own (Chapter 5)

Summary:
Geralt finds himself once more on the path, gloomily looking at what lies ahead.
And you? You had no one, no home and certainly no coin. Well that’d be something you had in common. No coin. You two are surely off to a great start…

Pairing: Geralt of Rivia x Fem. Nymph Reader


Warnings: 18+, death, cursing, angst and finally some fluff, hurt & comfort, MDNI (there will be smut in the future)

Word count: 1.2K

A/N: Hahah more teasing, sorry, not sorry…It’s not proofread, any mistakes are my own. Please be kind, comments/reblogs are much appreciated…Thank you and enjoy ❤️✨

 

!The Witcher characters and world are not mine!


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(In case you’ve missed CHAPTER 4)

 

CHAPTER 5

You couldn’t read Geralt’s expression in the moment, it seemed to only show stone-faced indifference. Then at last he opened his mouth, “No.”
Pausing briefly, before adding,” Of course not.”

Relieve washing over you at his answer. Safe at last.

Weirdly he was a bit disappointed that you’d believe him capable of doing something like that. He knew of course that this was unfair to you, as he’d be just as suspicious, if your positions were reversed. Still he couldn’t shake the feeling. You were somehow able to push all his buttons and make me feel drawn to you at the same time, which confused him all the more. He couldn’t explain it, if he wanted to.

Shaking his head, he went over to Roach, to do what he originally got up for.

Now that you felt somewhat safe and were no longer hungry, the lingering exhaustion and fatigue caught up to you, making you yawn. Just then Geralt returned with two bedrolls in his arms.

Silently spreading them out, close to the fire. It wasn’t particularly chilly but during night-time a glowing fire could certainly help, feeling more comfortable. An added bonus, the smoke would keep the mosquitoes at bay.

He knelt down, about to rest his aching body, when your amused voice cut through the silence, “Why do you have two bedrolls?”

Geralt rolled onto his side, facing you, looking more sullen than before. You giggled softly, “It’s the bard’s, isn’t it?” If it weren’t for the most delightful of laughs he’d ever heard, he’d have stayed stoic, but instead he nodded, even a little amused himself that you could look through him so easily.

You didn’t want to antagonize him any further, especially because he’d been nothing but nice to you. Though one last quip left your lips anyway, “Knew you were soft hearted…”

He felt rather pleased with your statement, warmth spreading through him. Content and tired he closed his eyes, about to welcome a better nights-sleep.

There was quiet shuffling as you lay down, on the other bedroll.

“Good night, Geralt of Rivia,” you murmured.

“Good night.”

 

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This time he woke because he heard your unsteady and shallow breathing, he kept his eyes shut, listening to your racing heartbeat.

Trying not to wake the witcher, you’d held back the sob that wanted to break free from deep within your chest. A nightmare had woken you a few minutes ago.

As you sat up, breathing heavily, you’d realized it hadn’t been a dream. At least, not really. Your subconscious had replayed recent events, mixing them with the past. Probably because you’d told Geralt about it.

It had all felt too real. An all-consuming sadness spread through you, as the first tears rolled down your cheeks.

He’d opened his amber eyes, even though he didn’t see your face, he could tell you were crying. A salty, bitter scent permeating the air. He sat up, very familiar with nightmares himself, his heart went out to you. To prevent startling you, he cleared his throat.

Making you stiffen and furiously wipe away the tears that didn’t seem to stop flowing down your face. Sniffling, “Fuck, sorry…I didn’t mean to wake you. Go…go back to sleep.”

How on earth was he supposed to go back to sleep, hearing you cry, sounding so distressed and miserable?

When you heard him getting up, you hugged your knees closer to your chest, hiding your face. Your breath hitched when a big, warm hand brushed over your back. Gently stroking up and down.

Geralt didn’t know what overcame him, but he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing, so here he was, attempting to sooth you. After a few tense moments, in which he thought you’d push him away, you finally started to relax into his touch.

Surprising him, when you suddenly turned and slung your arms around him, pushing your wet face into the crook of his neck.

You shocked yourself a little bit, when you turned and hugged him, but you felt so very safe and comfortable in his presents. And he smelled incredibly good, calming you instantly.

Unsure he slowly put his arms around you as well. Small hiccups could be heard, muffled cries leaving your quivering lips.

The embrace lasted quite long, until his slow, soothing heartbeat had reduced the speed of yours.

You lifted your head, wet eyelashes clinging together, as you found his gaze. Now it was his pulse that sped up, as you leaned in closer to his face.

You leaned in, placing a delicate kiss on his lips. Eyes closed, feeling his stubble scratching lightly over your chin when he started moving against your soft lips. The kiss was slow and deep, not rushed or needy. Both of you just wanting to feel the other.

Unhurriedly you pulled back, his ambers already fixed onto your face. His next words came out in a rasp, “We-we should get some sleep.” Because you couldn’t detect unease or regret on his face, you nodded, sliding off his lap and back onto your bedroll. He’d studied you all the while, before he went to get up.

A sudden fear reared its ugly head, what if you’d have another bad dream, so your hand shot out, gripping his forearm. Geralt halted, once he felt your fingers on his arm. Dark brow lifting in question.

“Please. Could you stay?” When you saw him hesitating, you softly sighed. “I just- don’t want to be alone right now. And you-you feel…safe,” mumbling the last word so quietly only a witcher’s keen ears could pick it up.

You couldn’t bear looking at him anymore, too embarrassed as he’d surely deny your wish.

He knew he was playing with fire, but he knelt down once more anyway, too strong was his desire to hold you close, to protect you. “Lie down.” Quickly moving, before he could change his mind, you lay down on your side, facing the glowing embers.

As he lay down, broad chest touching your back, Geralt heard the acceleration of your pulse. Which he mistook for nervousness, so he scooted back.

Though he didn’t come far, as your hand had reached back pulling at shirt, until he got the hint and drew closer again. He breathed in, no distress corrupting your sweet and flowerlike fragrance.

His eyes twinkling happily when you pulled his arm over your side, letting his hand rest against your stomach. Smiling even more, when you clarified, “Just…so you’re comfortable as well.”

A delightful shudder running down your spine when his answering, “Mmh,” sounded.

“Good Night.”

“Night.”

 

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Taglist:

If you’re interested in being on my taglist, please let me know! And if you want to be taken off (my taglist), feel free to tell me!❤️✨

[hannahbarberra162]

hOrnithology for Beginners, Chapter 4

on Ao3 Previous chapter

Unfortunately the real Imperial Woodpecker is thought to be extinct.

ALSO were none of you going to tell me that the beetle would be poisonous not venomous?! I made this mistake in front of Marco, smh.

Marco POV

You had to be fucking with him, right? Either that or he was being severely punished for a heinous crime in another life. Because the sight of you stripping down in front of him while he couldn’t respond was almost too much. He’d seen some of your figure before, but nothing like this. You were absolutely perfect, legs toned from all the hiking you did but also thick in all the right places. He did feel guilty - he knew you wouldn’t want him seeing you naked if you knew he was also Marco the pirate - but he couldn’t stop himself from watching. You were like a little water nymph, jumping and splashing happily in the waterfall. This was one of the times he missed swimming but he contented himself by watching you. 

“I went on a date today,” you said, breaking the silence. “It was OK, but it was with a pirate.”  Interesting, he would get to hear your perspective. It was a little strange that you would tell this to a mythical bird you befriended, but you were a unique woman. Marco decided to help himself to some of your dried pineapple, flying down from his perch.

“I hate pirates,” you said, floating on your back. Marco watched mesmerized as your breasts and hair floated freely in the water, the pertness of your nipples distracting him from your words. “They’re always trying to kill or take living creatures to sell. Always selfish. Bad tippers too.” You pulled yourself to standing, still half submerged in the water. The water cascaded off you in rivulets down your chest, and he was suddenly thirsty. 

“Is that what happened to you? Did you escape from Whitebeard’s ship?” Marco shook his head as he finally registered your question. It was endearing you wanted to help but he didn’t want his captain vilified for something he didn’t do. At least now he knew the reasons behind your passionate hatred of pirates.

“I have so many questions for you. Would you want to answer any?” you looked at him imploringly. He shook his head again. He didn’t want to get himself into any more trouble than he was already in by answering questions. Besides, he would rather hear you talk about your impressions of him. 

“Of course, I’m sorry,” you said abashedly. You pushed yourself to sit on a rock jutting out over the edge of the pool, dangling your legs in the water and your torso exposed. You started kicking your legs gently, which jiggled your breasts with every kick. It was hypnotic.

“This pirate was alright. I think he actually listened when I talked, which is different from most pirates. Well, most guys really. Most of ‘em just listen when they think it’ll get me to sleep with ‘em. But I wasn’t going to either way so he didn’t need to impress me.” Marco trilled softly to show he was paying attention. He had listened to everything you’d said today - your knowledge was fascinating and he enjoyed hearing you speak about your interests.  

You smiled warmly. “Not like you, right? You’d never do that.” Marco cooed to confirm. If his brothers ever found out he spoke to you like a bird he’d never hear the end of it. You stared off at the waterfall.

“He is very good looking though. I don’t like pirates, I didn’t say I wasn’t attracted to ‘em…” You trailed off in thought. Marco ate more of the pineapple and you looked over at him happily. You were so beautiful when you smiled at him, it felt like a warm summer breeze under a cerulean sky. At least you found him attractive, he could work with that. It would be better if you liked his personality, but at least he had a foothold. Er, talonhold. 

“Ha! I’m justifying my feelings to a phoenix. How sad is that? I hope you didn’t mind.” In response Marco came closer to you. You stopped moving and watched his slow approach. Marco stopped a few feet away from you and raised his wing. His primary feathers stopped a few inches from you. You looked at him wildly when Marco trilled.

“Are you sure?” you brought your fingertips up. Marco trilled again, quieter this time. You reached out slowly and extended your index finger to his primary feathers. You ever so gently stroked down one feather and Marco swore you shivered. You trailed your fingers down his feathers with such a light touch he could barely feel it. It felt like a whisper of a kiss on his skin and it was hard to concentrate. You were teasing him with complete innocence and it was increasing his desire to an unbearable degree. 

“You have no idea how much this means to me,” you said with tears in your eyes. Marco suddenly felt guilty - he didn’t know you’d have such an emotional reaction to touching him. He could guess that you didn’t like to show your softer emotions to strangers, and definitely not while naked. He fluttered his wing and a feather trailed down in the air. He picked it up with his beak and handed it to you. You took the feather with shaking hands, clutching it tightly.

“I’ve been looking for a feather since I saw you on the island. I will never sell it. Thank you.” You bowed your head to him. Marco got the distinct feeling you’d be more upset about bowing to him than being naked in front of him. He was in trouble.

Your POV

Aside from the date stuff, which really wasn’t that bad, today was the best day of your life. You got to touch a phoenix, confirm your suspicions that it could communicate, it gave you a feather, and you’d gotten to touch a phoenix . You were walking on clouds, you couldn’t contain your happiness. After bowing to your phoenix (when had it become your phoenix?) it had flown back to the perch, peering down at you every so often. You finished up your swim and put your now dry clothes back on. It was now evening and your stomach growled loudly. 

“I’m going to make dinner. Would you like some?” you asked your phoenix. The phoenix shook its head regally, like the monarch it was. It took a little time to make dinner - you first had to gather wood and start a fire. Gathering the wood didn’t take long as you were in a forest and you assembled the kindling into a cone so it would catch fire quickly. You sorted through your pack, looking for your flintstone when you heard the sound of fire catching. Confused, you glanced back at the now blazing fire and the pleased face of your phoenix.

“Is there anything you can’t do? You really are the perfect creature,” you told the phoenix dreamily. The phoenix preened at your words, looking pleased with itself. It gently cooed at you one last time and sailed off into the night with a flap of its gorgeous blue wings. You sighed and ran the feather it had given you over your face, enjoying the sensation under the darkening evening sky.

~~~

Marco POV

Unfortunately, Marco had to leave. He had other duties to attend to and also wanted to check in on Ace. He assumed Ace would be busy until morning but the doctor in him just wanted to make sure he was at least on the mend. He flew away from you reluctantly as you watched him glide through the sky. Their days on the island were dwindling and he’d have to leave you soon. Selfishly, he’d been enjoying your worship of his phoenix form. The phoenix, though part of him, had a personality of its own. It absolutely thrived on praise and adoration. Marco didn’t think he needed it, but having you dote on him scratched an itch he hadn’t realized he had. Flying himself back to the inhabited part of the island, he soared over Etta’s house and heard Ace…doing well. He was glad Ace was no longer in pain but didn’t stick around to hear the details. 

Landing on the ship’s deck, Marco braced himself for the inevitable onslaught of questions from his brothers. Thatch was the first to spot him and wandered over with a shit eating grin.

“So, how was the double date?”

“Good yoi.” Ace was so far the only one who knew the full story and Marco wanted to keep it that way. 

“Where’s Ace? Had a better ending than you?” 

“Kind of, he touched that poisonous beetle. The aphrodisiac one. He’s…working it off right now.” Thatch laughed heartily and Marco smiled. Ace got into all kinds of trouble, he was young and reckless and it made for good stories. Well, for the others at least. 

“ Jozu, I owe you 50 Beri, he did touch it!” Thatch yelled across the deck, still laughing. This wasn’t their first time to the island, the rest of them knew not to touch the Peel Rhino Beetle. 

“But your date was a sour grape? It was that …friendly waitress, right?” Marco had hoped Thatch would drop it, but no such luck.

“She was nice, actually. I spent a long time with her. She’s quite knowledgeable about birds - wants to be an Ornithologist. Made for good conversation yoi.” Marco took the opportunity to leave - he had spent a few hours away and was sure there was work waiting for him back in his office. Besides, he’d be catching up with you again, and soon.

~~~

Early the next morning, Marco flew to Etta’s house, making sure to shift completely into his human form before getting close to the town. Marco wasn’t used to how long walking took - flying was so much faster. But he didn’t want to risk you seeing him in a partial transformation. His plan today was to charm you into liking him as a man, not as a bird. After all, he’d been on the Grand Line a long time, he was no stranger to attracting women. And he knew that you at least found him attractive. True, he didn’t usually have to try, but it was the thrill of the challenge. He had a few tricks he was willing to use if it endeared him to you.

After listening for a minute to see if anyone was busy , Marco knocked on the door to Etta’s house loudly. No one answered so he knocked again, louder. He finally heard someone scurrying around and the door cracked open. He saw a tired but happy looking Etta behind the door. Marco smiled at the young woman.

“Good morning yoi. How’re you and Ace doing?” Marco asked cordially.

“Ace’s sleeping now but doing better. The, uh, poison is mostly gone.” Etta finished her sentence with a blush on her cheeks. 

“Glad to hear it. I’ll leave you two be, I’m sure you need some rest.” Marco turned to go with a smile, but Etta stopped him.

“Wait, how was the rest of your date?” Marco pursed his lips. He wasn’t sure what Etta did and didn’t know.

“It ended after I brought Ace here yoi.” Etta put her hands on her hips, arms akimbo with an incredulous look on her face.

“Don’t lie. I know you’re the Phoenix she’s been seeing around the island. I’m not going to say anything, I think this might be good for her. She’s a really sweet person, just a little… guarded.” Etta explained. Marco heard Ace moaning for Etta from within the house. Etta and Marco locked eyes.

“I’ve gotta go,” Etta said, her blush returning. 

“Enjoy,” Marco said simply. Etta turned bright red and shut the door. Ah, to be young and poisoned. 

~~~

Already knowing where you were likely to be, Marco picked his way over to the waterfall. He wanted to “surprise” you and see if he could sway your opinion of him. He made his way over carefully, making sure to make enough noise to alert you to his presence. Though it wouldn’t affect him, being shot with a dart gun wouldn’t feel great either. He entered the clearing, pretending to take in the scene for the first time. He sat down on a rock near the waterfall and enjoyed the peace and quiet. 

“Marco?!” he heard you call from the other side of the pool. You didn’t look happy to see him.

“How did you find this place? Did you follow me?” you stalked up to him with a finger pointed in his direction. 

“So suspicious yoi,” Marco said without heat. He had anticipated such a reaction from you. “I checked Ace and Etta this morning to make sure they’re OK. After I thought I’d hike around the island, see what’s here.” Marco threw in the bit about your friend to hook you into conversation with him. You dropped your scowl.

“How are they doing?” you said, biting your lip. 

“Ace is better, Etta took care of him.” He saw your face heat slightly, which he found cute. 

“Anyway, I thought I would enjoy bird watching while I’m still on the island, which brought me here.”

Your POV

Your eyes narrowed, you weren’t sure if you believed him. But you couldn’t prove he had done anything wrong. Besides, it’s not like you owned the waterfall, he could go where he wanted. You considered it your special place, but it wasn’t actually yours. You had been drawing the phoenix feather in great detail when he’d come up to your camping area. You’d moved the feather for safety but your sketches were still out and you wanted to go hide them from his prying eyes. You turned to move back to your belongings when you spotted an Imperial woodpecker in a nearby tree.

“Marco,” you whispered, not moving “look over there.” If he liked birds, he might enjoy this rare treat. If he didn’t ask you to sell it, that is.

“Nice, yoi. Imperial woodpecker.” Marco whistled an incredibly accurate bird call to it, causing it to chirp back. You listened to the two of them singing back and forth until the woodpecker decided to fly off. Two points to the pirate - he correctly identified the bird at first glance and you’d never heard such a good birdcall before.

“That’s a good skill to have,” you remarked casually. He didn’t need to know how impressed you were. Marco shrugged.

“Birds like me yoi. I’m hoping we’ll see some uncommon species today.”

“What do you mean, we? ” He wasn’t planning on tagging along with you again, was he? Just as you were about to tell him off, the Imperial woodpecker returned with a mate and chick. Your mouth dropped - you just had to draw this. You’d never seen a family unit of Imperials together before - they were said to mate for life. It almost looked like the male and female were showing off their young, but why? You slowly grabbed your notebook and pencils, sketching on the clean opposite page. You drew the family unit from various angles until they flew away once more. As you were putting the finishing touches on your sketches, you felt Marco peering over your shoulder.

“Hey!” you exclaimed, crushing the notebook to your chest. “I told you, they’re private!”

“You really are very good,” Marco complimented you. “What was that bird on the opposite page? It looked interesting.”

“None of your business.” He was a nosy guy, for a pirate. You hoped he hadn’t seen too many of your phoenix drawings. You’d expanded on the real life sketches you’d had and were now drawing the phoenix in different positions, some of which were kind of funny. You had drawn the phoenix next to you under the waterfall, annoyed about being drenched with water, steam rising from its non-fiery head. It was childish but made you laugh.

You assessed the situation - Marco was tolerable enough, had a talent for bird calling, and wasn’t terrible looking. Maybe it would be OK if you spent another few hours with him. You didn’t need to become mates for life, after all. 

“We can go bird watching together, I’ll show you some hot spots. But don’t look at my drawings again.” You’d never extended an invitation like this to a man before, you hoped he felt special.

“It’s a date yoi,” Marco said, smiling. 

~~~

You’d had an unbelievably successful day bird watching with Marco. They almost seemed drawn to him, warbling and chirping to his astounding calls. Bird songs filled the air no matter where you went on the island. You wished there was some way for you to record the sounds, but the closest you could get was Marco’s ability to mimic them. You were elated - you were thankful for whatever weather was bringing all these birds to the island and to your sight. You were so happy that you were actually being friendly with Marco. He was surprisingly knowledgeable about birding, despite his protests that he wasn’t a professional. He had a dry sense of humor, matching your own, and had even made you laugh a few times. It might have been your favorite date you’d ever been on. You even showed him some of your sketches of birds, not the phoenix of course, but some of the birds you’d seen together. He asked to keep one, and you wavered.

“I don’t give these out, they’re-”

“Private, I know yoi. It's OK, I’m not offended.” 

You were feeling generous and Marco was looking gorgeous. “Hold still for a moment,” you ordered, taking out your pencils. You did a rough sketch of Marco as a bird, complete with fluff on his head and glasses. Just something silly as a thanks for such a good day together. You ripped off the page and handed it to him. Marco looked at it, then at you.

“Are you sure …never mind.” Marco started to say something but stopped midway.

“You don’t like it? I’m sorry, it was just for fun.” You were feeling self conscious, you didn’t show your drawings often.

“No, I like it a lot yoi. But isn’t it missing something?” Marco said, looking down at the paper.

“Hm, I don’t think so, let me see.” You crossed over to him, standing shoulder to shoulder. You glanced down at the drawing. 

“Nope, got your glasses, your hair, your half open eyes and even the tassel on your leg. Got everything,” you teased. You were close together, examining the paper. If you turned your head, you’d be face to face. You were breathing quickly from the close proximity.

“It’s missing your signature, so when you become a famous scientist I have your autograph.” You smiled, what a charmer. You turned to face Marco.

“I can give you something other than my signature.” You leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips.

[keladeinos]

Rachel Elizabeth Dare Headcanons

- these are definitely fictive influenced sorry

- gender-fluid for sure but sexuality wise she’s unlabeled but on the aroace spectrum so the whole percy thing was entirely platonic but flirting and making girls and boys flustered is something she thought was funny as a teen

- loves all forms of media she can find the beauty in anything she looks at

- her blue plastic hairbrush was a gift from her dad it was a big pack because she likes certain everyday items to be the same incase they break she can replace them she’s got 5 more at home.

- is really good friends with annabeth!! none of that fighting really happened and they never hated each other.

- she’s got a huge soft spot for piper who helped her decorate her cave in little ways

- honestly her closest friends are leo, piper, butch, lou ellen and clarisse which nobody was really expecting but clarisse and rachel just have such a special bond

- loves when the hunters swing by she loves to have dinner with them and talk to artemis who always wanted her to join but respects her decisions and rachel’s an honorary huntress in artemis’ eyes

- also also speaking of cave decorations she has a few favorites: the aphrodite cabin made her one way mirror curtains so that she gets in a lot of natural light. her rugs are kaleidoscopic made by the iris cabin, the demeter cabin always gives her the best strawberry saplings so she can always have fresh fruit around. the hypnos cabin with the help of the hephaestus cabin built her a canopy over bed to help her her sleep

- since her bed makes her pass out she’s got every kind of seat beanbags chairs futons etc to lay on! everyone’s got a comfy seat when they come visit her

- the cabins love her esp now that the oracle is a real walking person and they’re always willing to hang out or spend time with her, she found her family

- all of her clothes are either handmade, or patched up (usually decorative embroidery) and all of her clothing items are covered in doodles and paints

- MAJOR mythos obsessions as a kid, big into norse and egyptian

- dnd buff, she loves to DM and she plays wizards, sorcerers or artificers because she thinks they’re cute

- she gets nightmares and developed some sleepwalking habits after becoming the oracle, sometimes she’ll be found in the forest near the river and all the naiads and nymphs around her in a big pile

- rachel changed her name to a more english sounding one because people would always pronounce raquel weirdly. her name was originally elisa raquel but rachel elizabeth sounded more professional. her closest friends call her RED nonetheless because it’s her favorite name

- rachel had a horrible nightmare that happened when percy annabeth and nico fell to tartarus. she was found huddled in the corner of her cave, everyrhing turned upside down and a painting on the floor that essentially looked like scribbles until you realized what you were looking at. she had a breakdown afterwards, chiron trying his best to comfort her.

- to help some campers with their discomfort in their scars and appearance she learned how to tattoo over them and will have flash sales where you just bring her food and she’ll tattoo you. the first person to get a tattoo was clarisse who brought her a homemade family dish

[hellonearthtoday]

3, 5, 7, 14

Thank you 😌I needed a break from this damn drawing

3. Who is your favorite character outside the main 7?

This is kind of harddd man 😭 born to say Cherry forced to say Curly. Cherry's a character that we actually saw more of, but I have this idea of Curly in my head that's so perfect to me...he's like half my oc...I'm superrr attached to Cherry but I do have to be real w myself cuz whenever I see Curly's name mentioned in any fic or any post it's like a wild lion sighting i get sooo hype

5. What are your favorite ships?

this is NOT hard. My favorite ship is purly I'm an evil purly shipper. I don't typically do shipping because I'm that aroace who is romance repulsed not just for myself but in the media I consume too, but idk something about their dynamic I've half made up in my head abt them...I guess I just really like the dynamic of 2 bros who are friends who might also fall in love We dont know

MARBIT. I really like couples who just giggle together. Couples who justtt rock w eachotherrr something about them....Also they got that forbidden love thing going on and idk the power of laughter could save them. But other than that I'm a platonic power ranger

7. What are your fave non-romantic relationships? (This can be close friends, familial, enemies or even just acquaintances)

This thang is about to get so long. I love non romantic relationships sooo bad I'm romance's biggest hater.

TBH can i say purly here too....they got a friends to lovers thing going on I'll shut up abt them for once this time though.

Johnny and Pony are really the best friends ever, and my idea of them might be fandom crutched more than what's shown in canon, but It don't matter anyway that book came out a bajillion years ago.

Johnny and Dally. I know the jally nation is huge and unstoppable and I can kindaaa see where you're coming from even w how I am...but in my head they aren't brotherly or romantic they're a secret third thing. No labels no nothing. They have something that none of us can touch and it's not romantic to me but they're tgt in every universe

Dally and Ponyboy idk they're funny to me. Like 2 cats put into a fighting ring and one is evil and one just want to sleep and go home idk

CHERRY AND PONYBOY I START CHEWING ON THE WALLS WHEN I SEE THEM PIT AGAINST EACHOTHER IN FICS OR WHEN CHERRY IS BARELY THERE goddd i msis them so much there's something so special to me about an opposite sex friendship that prevails even though it's not seen as a normal thing people do at the time.

14. Tell us five of your headcanons you basically see as canon

POC shepards. It's just kind of real man. I like seeing all the different versions the fandom comes up with but they're a black latino family to me <3

Johnny and Curly hating each other so bad. I think it's the funniest thing ever. Especially if they just don't like eadchother solely off of vibes ...or Curly doesn;t like Johnny bcz Johnny doesn't like him and he's like wtf 😕

It's never said outright but Johnny has anxiety disorder to me.

Ponyboy has low empathy and he just does things out of the kindness of his heart and not bcz "treat people how u want to be treated" bcz whatever LOL! he's autistic to me whatt who said that

PB talks really casually but also somehow rlly awkwardly, and u think he's just chill like that but he's just autistic. He could hate your ass but he talks like some unsocialized forest nymph so you dont know bcz he sounds so docile

[m0rninglatte]

Monster from Epic and Icarus analysis because the thoughts do be real

“How did suffering become so endless?”

- Icarus thinking it should have been done by now, but it's not. It's still going

“Do I need to change?”

…

Moving on.

“I'm surrounded by the souls of those I've lost”

- Icarus talking about Aurelius, Enderian, *Centross*, Momboo, etc.

- The idea of everyone who has died is a sacrifice, and they will be brought back, but also Icarus ability to not grieve properly because of it

"What if the greatest threat we'll find across the sea, is me?

- Icarus wondering if they are failing and they are going to slip up to the point everything crashes because they made one wrong move.

“What if I'm the monster? What if i'm in the wrong”

- I like to think this line as Icarus beginning to think of each reset and all the "antagonistic" acts they've done and thinking if they are and have always been a monster because they in their own eyes can't seem to do anything to help people as they just end up hurting someone.

“What if i'm the problem that’s been hiding all along”

- Icarus in “Lady of the world” talking about how corruption has always been there, how whatever they did then was always there they just pushed it back of their mind until corruption made it the forefront of their mind.

“What if i'm the one who killed you”

- Icarus debating if it was Quixis that killed Momboo or themselves.

“What if I’ve been far too kind to foes but a monster to ourselves”

- Foes = Fable, ourselves = everyone else minus the co-workers

- Although Icarus currently wants to fix everything and stay with Fable, i like to see this as Icarus debating if they are on the right side.

The Polyphemus section is Centross, mainly the Violet Reaper

“Or does he end my men, to avenge his friend”

- S1 funeral. 

-“Avenge his friend” is a line you could annotate “friend” to be Enderian

- If you wanted to, you could almost switch into "...,to serve his goddess"

The Circe section is Enderian 

"When the witch turns men to pigs, to protect her nymphs"

- Corruption of Ominus Bane

- You could see this line in my opinion as either to protect her realm or to prove her point about Overworlders and how they are the same, for example, resorting to violent outcomes

The Poseidon section is Fable

- This section is a mix of things, I can see mixes of Fable during the war and Fable currently, and Icarus is like thinking of the similarities and differences between Fable and himself.

The Odysseus section about him during the Trojan War is Icarus and the Wack

“Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping Trojans cause he is vile”

- Icarus using the wack to kill Momboo

"Or does he throw away his remorse and save more lives with guile"

- Icarus querying if he should just throw away his regret for any actions he has done and attempt to help people through sly and cunning intelligence (literally the definition of guile)

The section after the Odysseus section is Icarus wondering if they should just become the monster to everyone else but not the co-workers and yk Fable 

“I lost my best friend, I lost my mentor, my mom, 500 men gone…”

- Best Friend is Centross.

- Mentor is a funky one because i could see it be switched into my brother, but at the same time, you could keep it as mentor and annotate it to be Quixis

- Mom is Isla -> "Like King like Prince" : Icarus finding her portrait and realising Fable hasn't told them where she is and that he can't remember her aswell as Rae

- 500 men gone = the people and gods who have died and or been husked

“I must get to see Penelope and Telemachus”

A) remove the context of the names, no wife, no son, none of that

B) This could be annotated into two different ways but i can mainly see it as Momboo and Centross and Icarus’ hope with all this they can come back

“I’ll go where Poseidon wont reach us”

- Poseidon could be annotated into Enderian, but one that I think works well is the faction, mainly Ocie.

“And if got to drop another infant from a wall in an instant so we all don't die”

- Icarus being like if i have to kill another person, fuck it, whatever it is I need to do to prove myself or help in anyway.

The end section with Odysseus choosing to become the monster I could see as Icarus state of mind of their not meant to be helping people as all they have done is hurt people, so that's what their meant to do, it's what they were ment to do from the beginning, so they will.

Thoughts and feelings go bonkers and bit of aaah and bit of RA

[lovingherrscher]

Playing Honkai Impact with the BSD men (Dazai, Chuuya, Kunikida and Fyodor)

Note: Crack, OOC even maybe, random ideas at 2AM while I do the Honkai grinding. Might do a Genshin version later if I feel like it. Genre: Crack, fluff, if you squint hard enough there'll be 4th wall breaking and some spoilers for Storm Bringer.

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

Dazai:

Is willing to play with you, and he is kinda bored so he needs something to kill time in the office when he's not sleeping or messing around with Kunikida.

SUPER, like, super lucky. First 10 dorm supply and he already got 3 S-Rank Valkyries????

Man makes you question your luck because just 10 roll in any banner and he WILL get all the rate-up character, weapon or even stigmata.

"F2P btw"

That certain player who skips the story just to play the game.

Said that he's gonna read it later but never will. Too lazy to do that, but does read the comic/manhua version when you brought that up.

But he does read Elysian Realm, including the main story.

Is a simp for Elysia and the other Seele aka Veliona.

Got them at SSS with full gear as well.

Man also got Stygian Nymph at SS2 like how-

Sometimes when he's too lazy or bored he'll throw the phone to you or Atsushi to help him with the daily tasks.

HATES, absolutely hates Otto with a fierce passion. Will switch to Chinese VA if he had to or simply unplug the headphones when he doesn't want to changes VA back and forth too much.

Man started you by almost jumped out of the bed when he first heard Otto's voice in Memorial Arena.

Was suprised af hearing Welt's voice too. Will use that as the reason to 'persuade' Kunikida into playing the game.

"Hey Atsushi-kun, help me a bit will you? Just skip the materials event and play enough to reach 600 BP points and you're good to go!"

With that said, he threw the phone to his subordinate and immediately went to lay down on the couch. Poor Atsushi knows nothing and was fumbling with it for a good while until you took Dazai's phone from his hands.

"It's alright, I will do it for him. You can get back to work, sorry for that, Atsushi."

Chuuya:

Is okay with it actually because he does want to relive some stress, and because you told him to cut out on the cigarettes so he needs something that can distract him.

Enjoys the story enough to play the game with you. That is, until he read Void Heavens & Diane's Sojourn.

Was crying at the part when Herrescher of Void told Fu Hua that Kiana's existence is built upon lies and that she only exists to serve as her vessel.

He cries for the whole night in your arms because that reminds him of what he's been through back then. He was lucky enough that he is, actually a real human being. Still, deep down sometimes he wishes he could be a normal person, for if weren't because of Arahabaki inside him, he wouldn't had to suffer like that.

Didn't touch the game for a whole week after he finished Thunders over Nagazora.

Cries even harder after the end of Theater of Domination and the birth of Herrescher of Flamescion.

Immediately whale for Kiana. He whaled so much in just ONE DAY that Hoyoverse had to contact him and ask is he sure that he wants to continue the transaction.

He had all Kiana's battlesuits at SSS and with proper stigmata sets + weapons for them.

Did whale for Himeko as well because why not? Aunt Himeko deserves it ❤

Those doesn't left even a dent in his black card. Will let you whale as well, as long as his princess is happy ❤

"You have quite the collection there, Chuuya. By this rate they're gonna give you a Kiana golden statue as a gift."

"They are?!"

Chuuya widened his eyes in suprise. He didn't expect to get anything back, he just wanted to see Kiana's growth, for he saw a glimpse of himself in the valkyrie. He admires those with a strong will like that, maybe it was a part of his younger self who admires the heroes in those stories which he convinces himself that he will never become someone like them.

"Well, they might be. I heard that a company use to sent a wedding ring as a token of appreciation for their most loyal customer." (*)

Kunikida:

Absolutely not. He "will not waste his time on such things."

Too busy to afford a hobby, no?

But when Dazai shows him Welt's voice?

He was so suprised his jaws could fall off right there on his desk.

Still not going to play because he insists you that his schedule is already packed. But he will listen to you when you ramble about the game though.

Might ask you to lend him your phone so he can read the story at one point.

He bursted out at the last bubble universe in In The Deep where Welt, Herrescher of Reason turns his back against humanity instead of fighting for them like he always did.

He was scared that he might become like that. Sasaki and the Azure King case still haunts him. He was afraid that one day he will be like him when he is fed up and let his ideals consumes him.

Please hug the man. He deserves a vacation and someone who'd be there for him.

Fyodor:

Honestly, he isn't too fond of the idea of playing games and such.

Will try because of curiosity when you show him Otto's voice.

Does read the story properly, and whilst he shows no interests in the valkyries, he find the Overseer amusing.

Is one hell of a lucky man as well.

When he saw Dazai in the Memorial Arena rankings, he'd starts a race to beat the other. He does owns enough valkyries and equipments, but if he felt it isn't enough he'll whale just to beat Dazai. Of course that's the same case for our beloved detective.

Isn't happy after he finishes Kolosten and Thus Spoke Apocalypse. He doesn't understand why does Otto have to go so far for Kallen.

Is amused again when he saw the fake Otto in A Post-Honkai Odyssey though.

Eventually will quit the game after Otto is gone because it no longer amuses him.

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

(*) This actually happens iirc I've read an article about a game company in China sent their most loyal player a ring upon their wedding as a token of appreciation after all the money they spent for the game.

[canmom]

another night where i can't sleep...

it has long felt like, while in some respects certain things have come easy to me that most people find difficult, such as maths or computer shit or academic writing, in many other respects the rest of the world had a ten year head start on me. stuff like relating to other people, stuff like art and music, the basic activity of living. it's The Autism, and it's the habits I've accrued over the years.

head in the clouds, full of knowledge and theories and technical this and that, still that smoldering anger that's so abstract, aimed at the nature of the world and all the things that i don't know how to change. personally... i write and write and write on here, because i know how to write, i know how to talk about, i can expound and extemporise, but i feel like so often i don't know how to emerge from behind the scripts I've built up for navigating this or that situation, my ignorance of how I'm seen and what messages i give off, the idea of whatever it is people interpret me as (even those very close to me), and just... connect. see and be seen.

when i get the right kind of work of fiction, it feels like... at last, I've found someone who thinks in a way that i understand. this is what is so intoxicating about seth dickinson's books i think. the earnestness of the feelings that animate them, the way they construct people and motivations, the web of philosophical and scientific and emotional connections, the rhythm as they unfold into a desperate searching for the right question, the wicked humour and abrupt violence and the type of body horror imagery that they reach for. all of it feels like I've finally found someone who gets it. that's why i go crazy about it.

(and it means the world what seth has said about my articles - it feels like a mission.)

i don't know if i can expect anyone else to get what i get out of them. there are criticisms you can make - what i take as fearlessness you might call arrogance, overambition. my partner found it too sincere, too direct and 'mannered' in laying out what it's addressing. these are a matter of wanting different things, i suppose. it's not that i can't see why they say it, i just don't see any of it as a flaw.

but... because I've found that connection, because i want to reach back and say, i see what you're doing, i get it, i feel it too - i write the long exegesis articles, to hold it up to everyone and say look, see, this is how it works.

the last article in the series on The Tyrant Baru Cormorant was to be titled Replication, and it was supposed to attempt to ask how to draw out the spark that animated such books into existence. i had an outline in my mind, to talk about the fingerprints of sff culture of the 2010s and how it affected me and perhaps also seth - and about the determination to take the questions seriously, to push and push. the vulnerability to lay your soul bare.

but from there? i don't know what the answer is, only that i haven't managed to do it with any of the things I've created. what is my baru cormorant, my psycho nymph exile or serious weakness, my nier? what is the thing that only i can make, that will resonate with other souls in the dark? am i getting closer?

I'll keep searching.

I'm halfway through Exordia. i don't know how much I ought to say before the book comes out 'for real', but I'll definitely be writing a spoiler-light advance review. I'm so hooked. i can't sleep, even though i have to work tomorrow. it's 'just a book', but... it's what it's all about.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: To the creator of the gifset I will never thank you enough -Danny Words: 2,241 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'The Wreck of Our Hearts' -by Sleeping Wolf

XXXVI: There's a HORSE Loose in the HOSPITAL

"So what's Frank's color? Does it match Hazel's?" Leo follows her around while Ara secures the ballistae. "Is he bright pink?"

"They're lavender, not pink," she has a vague smile on while she explains, not minding his interrogatory. "Percy and Annabeth are scarlet."

"What's ours?" He stands in her way. "You never told me."

Ara moves him out of the way and continues her chore. "It's golden."

His body lights up instantly. "Golden looks great on you! Do I look good?"

Ara laughs. "You could see it for yourself, you know?" 

"What? For real?" He gets excited. "How?"

"Light yourself on fire, it won't be that different."

"Funny. Seriously, I bet we all look god-like in your eyes," Leo's smile dies. "Do gods have soul lights?"

Ara's never thought of that before. "I don't know, they glow all the time regardless of how they feel. I don't even know if gods have souls, they're entities, right? Their bodies aren't vessels, just a form they take."

Leo hums, tinkering with the object he's been making since the night prior. "What about Chiron? And the nymphs and—"

"Mythical creatures don't have soul lights. I don't know why," she frowns. "They experience life differently."

"Can't wait to tell Jason you can see when he's horny," he snickers.

"Ew!" Ara makes a face. "First of all, I don't see sexual attraction, if anything, I only see when he's fawning over Piper."

"Same thing," Leo rolls his eyes. "If you're in love you want the person in every way."

Ara tries not to think of what that implies about his relationship with her. "There are people that don't feel romantic attraction—Or aren't interested in sexual stuff. Soul lights tell you about a person's interests, and what they love most in the world. In other words—"

"Weaknesses. You called them that, I think that's not accurate, but whatever," Leo leans against the ballista smiling at her adoringly. "I still love you even when you're wrong."

Ara stares at him with amusement and annoyance. He treats their situation like it makes him the luckiest guy in the world, which is insane. Leo jokes about being crazy, and she jokes about it too, but there are limits to how delulu you can pretend to be before it gets dangerous.

She hasn't been able to forget the way he freaked out at first, and she wants to ask him if he also conveniently forgot that thing about being an ill match after knowing about their soul lights, or if he's pretending to be happy for her sake.

"Done," Ara sighs, patting the ballista.

"Why are you securing them?" The boy asks. "They don't need maintenance."

"So they don't go off if we crash against them."

Leo frowns. "Crash?"

Ara whistles and Nico jumps from the topmast, landing next to her quietly and swiftly. The girl turns Almighty into a sword. "It's normal to lose your footing while training."

Leo steps back in alarm, eyes widening and darting between Nico and her. "You're training here? Near my valuables?"

Nico snorts. "I can't fight Ara, we can't afford to lose any limbs at the moment."

The girl tosses the sword at Leo and he catches it on instinct. "You got this, Firecracker." 

Nico unsheathes his sword and Leo looks over his shoulder nervously, eyes on the stairs. Ara clicks her tongue. 

"You can't outrun us and you know it. C'mon, stand your ground!"

"I don't like swords!" He complains. "And why are you teaming up all of a sudden?"

"He's doing me a favor."

"I think it'll be funny to watch you panic until you get it right," Nico admits with a smirk.

"Hazel!" Leo shouts. "Zhang!"

Ara raises a brow. "Both of them want you to train as much as I do. And Frank won't save you."

"For all the wrong reasons," Nico nods. 

Leo tries to appeal to her by being cute. "Doll, c'mon, I forge you weapons—"

"Oh, right!" Ara presses the hair tie around her wrist and once it becomes a shield she tosses it to Leo, who struggles to catch it now that he's holding her sword. "Now you're ready!"

"Where did you get that?" Nico eyes the shield with interest.

"Leo made it! It was my birthday present."

"I can make one to match your killer aesthetic, man," Leo offers. "Just put the blade of eternal damnation down..."

Nico ponders, worrying Ara for a second, then he shakes his head and lifts his sword slashing the air. "Nah."

He vaults at Leo, and the boy yelps and jumps out of his way, his dark curls burst into flames. "Jason, help!"

"No one's going to help you!" Ara raises her voice. "We all want you to get better! Who knows what my prophecy could bring? You want to help, right?"

He glares at her while Nico corners him against the mast. "Not fair, Ara!"

She shrugs, not even remotely sorry. "Neither is the curse."

Nico tries to hit Leo's head with the butt of his sword and Leo dodges him, but Nico trips him and Leo falls, dropping the shield and her sword.

"Fast reflexes, weak stance," Nico lowers his sword and offers a hand to pick him up.

"Fine," Leo makes a face, taking Nico's hand and getting up. He picks up the sword and the shield. "Just stay away from my fingers, I need them."

"Make sure I don't get close then," Nico replies, jabbing at him effortlessly.

Leo does his best to stop him with Ara's shield and strikes back, though poorly. It makes her proud anyway, he's trying and it brings her hope.

When Jason almost falls to his death while handling a hoard of Venti, he asks them to hold a meeting. He recounts his vision of Lily, Grover, and Rachel talking to Octavian and Reyna about the note Annabeth sent them.

"She's alive," Leo's arms are covered in the cuts he got during training. He's in no pain, Ara mended each wound with special care, and the boy loved every second of it. "Thank the gods and pass the hot sauce."

"What does that mean?" Frank makes a face.

"It means pass the hot sauce, Zhang. I'm still hungry." Leo rolls his eyes, shirt full of crumbs.

"I can't believe Reyna would try to find us," Frank continues, handing over the bottle to Leo. "It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship."

"If she lives," Hazel adds. "It was hard enough for us to make it this far with seven demigods, the daughter of Olympus, and a warship."

"And me." Hedge says proudly. "Don't forget, cupcake, you got the satyr advantage."

"How's Lily?" Ara asks.

Jason gives her a look. "She was close to stabbing Octavian, but Rachel kept her at a proper distance—apart from that she looks okay."

Ara watches Leo and cleans the corner of his lips with her thumb. "Lily hates being in charge..." she sighs heavily. "I've failed her."

"C'mon, Ara, you're doing all you can," Piper soothes her.

"It's not enough!" She complains. Leo clears his throat and Ara corrects herself. "Lily can't work like that, the closer she is to the action, the harder it is to see the whole picture. Reyna will have it worse, though, Romans work in teams exclusively and to be forced to travel alone..."

"Crossing the Atlantic is a hard journey, no doubt," Jason agrees. "But I'd never bet against Reyna. If anyone can make it, she will."

"Well, I'd love to see Reyna again," Piper says politely. "But how is she supposed to find us?"

"Can't you just send her an Iris-message?" Frank suggests.

"They're not working very well," Hedge sighs. "Horrible reception. Every night, I swear, I could kick that rainbow goddess..."

Everyone falls silent. Leo's voice turns playful. "Coach? Who have you been calling every night, you old goat?"

"No one! Nothing! I just meant—"

"He means we've already tried," Hazel interrupts him. Ara remembers Coach used to have a girlfriend back home, a nymph they met during their first quest. "Some magic is interfering... maybe Gaea. Contacting the Romans is even harder. I think they're shielding themselves."

"I don't suppose Reyna has a cell phone...? Nah. Never mind. She'd probably have bad reception on a pegasus flying over the Atlantic." Frank grumbles.

"She'll find us," Jason assures them. "She mentioned something in the dream—she's expecting me to go to a certain place on our way to the House of Hades. I—I'd forgotten about it, actually, but she's right. It's a place I need to visit."

"And where is this place?" Piper asks.

Jason's soul light suddenly flashes across the table, a dark blue that envelops his body and grows in intensity the more he looks at Piper. "A... uh, a town called Split."

Ara elbows Leo discretely but with urgency, he looks up in confusion and she gestures at Jason, a look of amusement on her face as she does. Leo watches the blond boy for a moment and snorts, understanding what she's exposing.

"Um, yeah." Jason blinks, trying to gather his thoughts. "In fact, we should be getting close. Leo?"

Leo nods with a shit-eating grin still on his face, then he presses the intercom. "How's it going up there, buddy?" Festus responds with a couple of clicks. "He says maybe ten minutes to the harbor—Though I still don't get why you want to go to Croatia, especially a town called Split. I mean, you name your city Split, you gotta figure it's a warning to, you know, split. Kind of like naming your city Get Out!"

"It could be called Care Bear Island and I would still not feel safe," she brushes the crumbs off his shirt. "And slow down with the chips, dude, look at yourself..."

"Wait," Hazel frowns. "Why are we going to Croatia?"

"Well, technically we've been in Croatian territory for the past day or so," Leo leans closer to Ara while she fixes his appearance. "All that coastline we've been sailing past is it, but I guess back in the Roman times it was called... what'd you say, Jason? Bodacious?"

"Dalmatia," Nico corrects him and Jason gives a start. Ara has a hard time not laughing and Nico tries just as hard not to make eye contact with her. "Croatia used to be Dalmatia, a major Roman province. You want to visit Diocletian's Palace, don't you?"

"Whose palace?" Hedge asks with alarm. "And is Dalmatia where those Dalmatian dogs come from? That 101 Dalmatians movie—I still have nightmares."

"Why would you have nightmares about that?" Frank questions.

"Nico is right," Jason interrupts before Hedge can respond. "I need to go to Diocletian's Palace. It's where Reyna will go first, because she knows I would go there."

"And why would Reyna think that? Because you've always had a mad fascination with Croatian culture?" Piper questions.

"Reyna and I used to talk about Diocletian," he explains. "We both kind of idolized the guy as a leader. We talked about how we'd like to visit Diocletian's Palace. Of course we knew that was impossible. No one could travel to the ancient lands. But still, we made this pact that if we ever did, that's where we'd go."

"Diocletian..." Leo tilts his head. "I got nothing. Why was he so important?"

"He was the last great pagan emperor!" Frank exclaims.

"Why am I not surprised you know that, Zhang?"

"Why wouldn't I? He was the last one who worshipped the Olympian gods, before Constantine came along and adopted Christianity."

"I remember something about that," Hazel ponders. "The nuns at St. Agnes taught us that Diocletian was a huge villain, right along with Nero and Caligula." She scowls at Jason. "Why would you idolize him?"

"He wasn't a total villain," Jason replies. "Yeah, he persecuted Christians, but otherwise he was a good ruler. He worked his way up from nothing by joining the legion. His parents were former slaves... or at least his mom was. Demigods know he was a son of Jupiter—the last demigod to rule Rome. He was also the first emperor ever to retire, like, peacefully, and give up his power. He was from Dalmatia, so he moved back there and built a retirement palace. The town of Split grew up around..."

Jason's gaze locks on Leo, who's pretending to write on his palm. "Go on, Professor Grace! I wanna get an A on the test."

"Shut up, Leo."

Ara laughs and Leo smiles at her reaction proudly, dragging his chair closer to her. He has been flirting at every opportunity and in front of everyone like he hasn't done in months, and she can tell he's overdoing it to make her forget their problem. She tries to resist it, but as usual, it's no use.

Piper brings them back to the subject. "So why is Diocletian's Palace so special?"

Nico grabs a grape and pops it in his mouth. "It's said to be haunted by the ghost of Diocletian."

"Who was a son of Jupiter, like me," Jason nods. "His tomb was destroyed centuries ago, but Reyna and I used to wonder if we could find Diocletian's ghost and ask where he was buried... well, according to the legends, his scepter was buried with him."

Nico smiles slightly. "Ah... that legend."

"What legend?" Hazel questions.

"Supposedly Diocletian's scepter could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods."

"Okay, now I'm interested," Leo whistles lowly, his eyebrows raised. "Be nice to have a booty-kicking army of pagan zombies on our side when we enter the House of Hades."

"Not sure I would've put it that way," Jason sighs, "but yeah."

"We don't have much time," Frank reminds them. "It's already July ninth. We have to get to Epirus, close the Doors of Death—"

"Which are guarded," Hazel points out, "by a smoky giant and a sorceress who wants... Well, I'm not sure. But according to Pluto, she plans to 'rebuild her domain.' Whatever that means, it's bad enough that my dad felt like warning me personally."

"And if we survive all that, we still have to find out where the giants are waking Gaea and get there before the first of August," Frank groans. "Besides, the longer Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus—"

"I know," Jason eases him. "We won't take long in Split. But looking for the scepter is worth a try. While we're at the palace, I can leave a message for Reyna, letting her know the route we're taking for Epirus."

"The scepter of Diocletian could make a huge difference," Nico concedes. "You'll need my help."

"Hey, sounds fun," Piper tries to step in. "I'll go, too."

"You can't, Piper," Nico reasons. "It should only be Jason and me. Diocletian's ghost might appear for a son of Jupiter, but any other demigods would most likely... ah, spook him. And I'm the only one who can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel won't be able to do that."

Something scalding pokes Ara in the back, like the red-hot pointy end of a spear, and she bolts forward. Her palms slam down on the table and everyone looks at her.

"Ara?" Hazel eyes her with concern. "All good?"

There is a presence in the room, and it wants her to join Jason and Nico. "I'm going with the boys."

Nico frowns. "Ara, I just said—"

"I know," the presence isn't talking but it feels like it's pushing down on, bending her back. "I'm not saying I'm a modern version of the Emperors but I'm the daughter of Olympus, so—"

"You're the leader of both camps," Jason finishes for her, understanding her point right away. "Greeks and Romans answer to you, yeah I see what you mean."

"So far that hasn't helped much," Nico mentions.

Ara glares at him."I think I hear hooves."

His face shifts, that's what they used to say to let each other know they were being heard. Usually, the code was used while talking about Connor and Lily, and the hooves referred to satyrs and nymphs, they like gossip a bit too much. Or Chiron, so they could run away before he could catch them in one of their childish competitions.

Festus rings the ship's bell and speaks through the loudspeaker in his usual machine language, distracting everyone from the weird stuff Ara just said.

"We've arrived," Leo announces. "Time to Split."

Frank makes a noise of annoyance and looks at Ara. "Can we leave Valdez in Croatia?"

"No," she smiles, getting up from her seat.

"'Cause you can't live without me?" Leo catches her wrist before she can go away and kisses her hand.

"You already know the answer."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[celestemagnoliathewriter]

Fic Author Self-Recs

Fic authors self-rec! ✨ When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers ❤️

Thank you for the tags @artemisia-black and @merlins-sequined-hotpants!

The Nymph of House Black - Tonks travels back in time to the Marauder era. I loved writing this story so incredibly much. Snippet below:

Dora stood gingerly and saw herself in the mirror – it was the vision she’d seen for years. Mousy brown hair, pale complexion, heart-shaped face, and dark grey eyes. She was ready.

“What’s going on, Dora?” Tonks said. “You don’t look very good.”

“Nothing, Tonks,” Dora croaked. “Do you remember what I said about love?”

Tonks nodded slowly, still looking concerned.

“No matter what happens, please remember who you love. No matter how scared you are, love for me, okay? Just love everyone for me.”

(more under the cut)

Cariad - a postwar, Remus and Tonks survive story. It's entering a new stage with a calmer life for the Lupin family, but writing Remadora going through the real pains of marriage was so rewarding.

“This isn’t working, Remus,” Tonks said, wiping her nose with the cloth napkin in her hand. A strange buzzing, quite unlike the catchy music, filled his ears.

“What isn’t—”

“We aren’t working. I know you want the kids at the house but I just can’t live there anymore,” she said, her chin quivering against the multicolored party lights. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I can’t…this isn’t working.”

Remus felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest. Hope slipped in his arms, but he caught her, holding her tight to his chest, scrambling to hold onto something that would make sense of what Tonks was telling him.

Call Me Edward - Teddy goes back in time from 2009 to 1997. I put that little bean through so much.

“All I wanted to do was meet them,” Teddy said bitterly. “But they’re nothing like what I was told.”

“Well, people don’t always want to tell you the worst about your parents,” Harry said. “Especially if they’re not alive anymore.”

Teddy rubbed his toe against the worn Persian rug in the library, at a loss for words.

“I don’t know what it feels like to get your parents back, but I think you should talk to them. They definitely don’t hate you. People who hate you don’t send Patronuses to ask after you. They don’t worry about where you are or what you’re doing. They don’t talk about you at work, either.” Harry offered Teddy a small smile.

The Death of Teddy Lupin - an exploration into the afterlife through the eyes of Teddy.

“Where’s home?” Teddy asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Where love ends,” Gran replied simply, putting her hand on his heart. “As long as there’s love to give, we’re not home yet.”

Teddy gaped at them, confused. “Won’t that take forever?”

Nymphadora and Remus smiled brighter than anyone else.

“The more time you spend here,” said Nymphadora, taking Teddy’s hand, “the more you’ll understand. Forever is all the time we need.”

On Her Terms - an Astoria piece focusing on her relationship with her mortality. This one's rather personal to me.

“I wanted you to be happy,” Astoria says calmly, rocking Scorpius to sleep. “Do keep your voice down. My son needs to sleep.”

“Does he know? Draco?”

“I told him this morning.”

Daphne gave Astoria a reproachful stare. “And?”

“He didn’t take it well.”

Daphne bursts into tears. “You’re my only sister. How could you do this to me?”

“I gave you the life you always wanted,” Astoria replies softly. “I’ve got the life I wanted too. It’s all right, Daph.”

I'll tag @messrmoonyy, @mumka-fanfic, @puppyduckster, @passionatewrites, and @annabtg!

[rpmemes-galore]

don’t starve : woodie character quotes … sentence starters

“Oh boy! Here it comes!“

“Tastes awful, but it works!”

“Not the greatest idea, eh?“

“You shoulda stayed down.“

“I'm used to sleeping in worse.“

“My mouth's dry just looking at it.“

“You do what you gotta to survive.“

“I'm getting hungry just looking at it.“

“This'll make it feel more like home.”

“Sounds like some trouble up above.”

“Can't siesta, something chasing me.“

“Now this is some proper winter gear.“

“You can't be right all the time, I guess.“

“I'll get you something to eat soon buddy.“

“It's nothing a good chopping wouldn't fix.“

“I would have liked this when I was a boy.“

“I'm not one to turn my nose up at a meal.“

“Whose bright idea was it to kill the lights?“

“Gonna have to hold that one real carefully.“

“Freeze you colder than winter in Winnipeg.“

“It's hard to stay neat and tidy in the woods.“

“I don't think it can still be considered a tent.”

“I'm gonna do some serious damage with this.“

“My belly is rumbling. I'd never be able to relax.“

“Eh, at the very least it'd make a good doorstop.“

“Doesn't seem like the best place, but here I am.“

“Whew... almost mistook you for a bird, little fella.“

“Huh. Seeing it now, I guess it's not that impressive.“

“Always good to have something watching over you.“

“Sorry, bud, looks like those bragging rights are mine!“

“Makes me feel like some sorta woodland nymph, eh?“

“Now that I've made it, might as well put it to good use.“

“Can't say much for the food, but I like the presentation!“

“Thanks for the shelter, buddy. I'm still gonna chop you.”

“There we go. Everyone needs a bit of help sometimes.“

“Watching stuff dry passes for entertainment 'round here.“

“Not a good night to have a curse, but then when's it ever?“

“Not sure where it's leading me, but I might as well find out.“

“Anyone want a demonstration of my impressive lungpower?“

“If a log burns in the forest does it hurt my feelings? Yes. It does.”

“Tastes terrible. And that's speakin' as someone who's eaten raw lumber.“

[ghostboyjules]

currently, "jules: the actual mess" edition

tagged by @landwriter because she somehow finds the time to notice my silly self in between all of the other incredibly amazing things she occupies her time with. (no seriously, that list of yours?? hello?? you're literally some kind of Oread, or a forest Nymph I stg)

Last Song: hmm... Amazonia by Gojira, I think. first time I've heard that song was earlier today and it actually blew my fuckin socks off, it kicks so much ass.

Currently Watching: mostly just my usual comfort streamers (drawfee, secret sleepover society, gab smolders,) recently started watching a new guy play this silly little game called super auto pets, and because of his personality and reactions with chat, it's some of the funniest shit I've ever watched

Currently Reading: a few sentences of Wikipedia pages that I happen to pull up when the need arises, the occasional dreamling fic, but other than that I haven't been able to read much recently. besides sales contracts at work 💀

Current Obsessions: my mutuals, stardew valley, sleeping, wanting to hold a hand, trying to stay alive, iced coffee, my best friends, dream of the endless, air conditioning, a bottle of water fresh out of the fridge, driving while the music in my car is loud enough that it feels like a weighted blanket, finally getting a haircut and having my short hair back thank fucking god, the freecell card game app on my phone**, my bed my blankies and my pillows.

(the venn diagram of 'my mutuals' and 'my best friends' is a circle for real I love y'all)

I'm not sure who all of my sandy man moots have been tagged in this cause I've seen it going 'round, so I'll tag @just-j-really, @watermelon-mafia, @hauntedclown, @bobo-the-part-time-clown, @hitnex, @weirdfishy, @leave-me-alone-doctor and @amielot (and if you don't wanna do it, this tag is just a reminder that hi and ily💕)

**i desperately need to make that meme with the 'if nobody else got me i at least know -blank- got me' and replace the blank with freecell