#/ugh percy you're not the hero/

[ofswordsandpens]

Percy, who had finally accepted to bear the burden of the great prophecy after agonizing over it for years only for everyone to repeatedly tell him in the final book that he's not the hero and its not about him:

[wowyoulikeflowers]

headcanon list:

(mostly solangelo, but the others are present)

nico ADORES children, and the children adore him right back. he's nervous, at first, that they'll find him weird or creepy, but they all love his powers and ask him so many questions. he very quickly, and easily, becomes the favorite among the campers 12 and under. (nico and estelle become besties, and percy regularly jokes that nico is stealing his little sister from him).

will struggles with romantic gestures, not because he isn't a hopeless romantic, but because he overthinks everything to the point he talks himself out of them. nico, on the other hand, has vague memories of his mother teaching him how to court someone (girls, but all the theories apply regardless), so he has no issue with being romantic.

Sally Jackson is the biggest ally you'll ever meet. she's been decimating bigots since she was a teenager, and to this day, will verbally spar with any xenophobe. paul adores this about her and is her little cheerleader, holding her purse or earrings or shoes, whatever she deems necessary to have him hold.

nico was terrified to come out to Sally bc she's the closest thing he has to a mom, and so he's shaking when he tells her he's dating will. she just smiles at him and asks nico to tell her about will. later, when he leaves, feeling so light he could float, she pulls him into a tender hug and softly thanks him for trusting her. nico goes back and cries in will's arms from relief.

percy and nico make "not your type" jokes, but only after they have an in-depth conversation where they both apologize for their mistakes and wrong-doings against the other over the years. it's during this conversation that percy comes out to nico as bi, and it completely changes his worldview, bc it's one thing to be told you're not alone, and another to actually see it.

piper has made her peace with being a daughter of aphrodite, but she finds it hilarious to continue being "upset" by it. she'll make jokes, like, "ugh, if only my mother was a USEFUL godly parent" and the other campers will stare at her terrified while she giggles. aphrodite is never mad about this bc she knows emotions and can feel how piper is happy and content with her parentage.

nico, contrary to the belief that he doesn't feel emotions, is actually a very emotional person. he feels everything to the extreme, and started just shutting emotions out as a coping mechanism that was only ever encouraged by minos.

the most powerful demigods tend to look the most similar to their godly parent's chosen form. percy is a great example of this, as he's constantly referred to as a "mini-poseidon". nico is another, though he gets his eyes from his mom. a surprising one that no one remembers is will, who looks just like his father's preferred form.

(I can't remember if I read this somewhere else or if I dreamt this up) continuing with the will is powerful campaign, with apollo's children, there's an easy way to figure out how powerful they are. each of his partners appeals to one of his domains, and his children almost always are most proficient in said domain. for example, kayla knowles: her mortal father is an Olympic archery coach, and she is most proficient in archery. will is the first child of his to break that pattern in a century or so, and is his most powerful kid since asclepius. this is easily told by his mother, naomi, appealing to the music domain, but will having his proficiency be in healing; especially since he's incredibly talented with said healing powers.

nico has always been an ally, even in the 30s. he never understood why people were considered lesser bc of their skin color, and was never given an answer that made sense whenever he asked. he especially never liked how people talked about women, because his mama and bia were (and are) his heroes, so how on earth could they be lesser than him?

[nochi-quinn]

the legend of vox machina season 3 episode 2: prisoners of ank'harel OR this isn't a metaphor for anything

orthax: SOULS OF THE DAMNED ripley: two bagels

"it has a name?"

that bite was unnecessary

"skip intro" how dare you

apparently taliesin (iirc) pushed to go "more anime"

raven queen can't even let him live through the intro

I just realized this will probably play into "bard's lament" if/when we get there - scanlan fucking off without telling anyone what he's doing, but suddenly it's everybody else's fault for not asking what he was doing

get you a man who'll impersonate a police officer for you

apparently they did a whole conlang for this? (probably not a WHOLE conlang, unless they're planning ahead for bell's hells already)

okay I'm reading ahead B U T anna "a weapon in the hand of every farmboy" "poor farming family killed by government forces" ripley vs percy "not only nobility but literally the ruling family" "I have no interest in revolution" de rolo

idk why but "villain kidnaps hero bc they can't figure out how to make the thing work" is one of my favorite tropes

I! wanna! see! gilmore's! parents!

matt singing MATT SINGING

"motherfucker" literally!

there are so many good expression in this season ugh

easter egg watch: taste of tal'dorei goblet, birdhouse has "pock o'pea" carved into it, tickets to the DreamScape Theatre, Little Mister plushie

(I'm sure there's more but I can't frame by frame on prime)

can't believe grog stole that child's gun

gilmore you have to tell me if you're a dragon or it's entrapment

diversity win! the smoke demon uses they/them pronouns!

I don't know what about their time together made her think he WOULDN'T immediately build a bomb

oh I know that bullet popping out felt awful

not as bad as getting shot, obviously, but still

scanlan. just. he's genuinely trying. but no one knows him well enough to KNOW that this is him trying because he doesn't taLK TO PEOPLE it's fine I'm fine

mala: vex's dragon sense is definitely reacting to the little dragonling. and nothing else.

"honesty is rare these days" except he's still lyinnnnng

prepare him for the whatnow

scanlan no

"you can't hate me out of being your father"

unnecessary

double unnecessary

hey I hate this

hey I Hate This

it's funny bc sam riegel is phoenix wright

was the invisibility always a cabal's ruin thing? I gotta go look up cabal's ruin.

Significantly Backlit Perc'halia Scenes

"I just wanted you to know I've been thinking" we're all very proud of you

with WHOMST

matt singing MATT SINGING

ABOUT MARION

oh hey ronin was the little gun boy

[dreaming-in-4d]

Beauty and the Booze - Grog Strongjaw x Dragonborn Reader

Vox Machina arrived in a new town just as night was falling. They were all tired, hungry, and magically burnt out. Grog had already decided many miles ago that his allies were in need of ale. The group headed for the local tavern only to see a large crowd gathered around the entrance.

Our heroes asked one man, "what's this here, friend?"

"A weekly ritual at this point, stranger," he replied. "Another dumb schmuck has challenged (y/n)."

"(y/n)?"

"The blacksmith's daughter."

With his great strength and might need for booze, Grog plowed through the crowd. The goliath's companions follow behind. Once inside, the adventurers take in the sight of two figures sitting across from each other with several empty mugs and a number of spectators strewn about them.

On the left is the challenger; a large man nearly seven feet tall. To the right, the reigning champion, (y/n); a dragonborn lass with shining golden scales and sharp curving horns. Her smaller stature doesn't seem to deter her from downing multiple rounds of alcohol.

Grog gazes at the hardy female, feeling both impressed and infatuated. He couldn't help but stare as the ale dribbles down her chin and onto her chest, soaking into her soot-covered shirt.

The challenger seemed to be near his limit. Onlookers could see the man going pale. Moments later, he rushes from the building to unload his insides on the outside streets.

The bar erupts in a roar of rowdy cheers as their champion arose from her seat, pumping her fists in victory.

"She's perfect," Grog swooned. Pike looked up at her lovestruck friend and smiled.

"Well lads," the draconic dame chuckled proudly, "it's been fun but I gotta head out."

She began making her exit tipsily, bumping into our heroes and unintentionally tapping shoulders with Grog.

"Oh, sorry about that, bud," she said. Grog just stood there slack-jawed and with even less brain power than usual. "Right." She moved past the crowd and began making the trek back to her own home.

Percy went to the tavern owner and acquired a couple rooms for his party. Room 1: Percy, Vex, Vax, Keyleth. Room 2: Pike, Scanlan, Grog.

Most of the party were able to knock out pretty easily while one remained awake. Grog couldn't get (y/n) out of his head. She was everything he could've ever wanted, but judging by their interaction downstairs, he didn't know how to approach his feelings.

The goliath nudged Scanlan awake. The gnome groaned, looking up at his friend with tired eyes. "Ugh, Grog, it's late. What do you want?"

"I need to ask you something," Grog explains, "do you uh...do you believe in love at first sight?"

Upon learning that this was a romantic matter, Scanlan sat up from his cot. "Well buddy," he began, "if you look just a little bit to your left you'll have your answer."

The duo moved their vision towards the sleeping form of Pike.

"I don't get it," Grog responds.

Scanlan refrains from smacking his own forehead at his friend's utter obliviousness. "Yes, Grog. Yes I do."

"Okay. And say you want to try to impress the person you're in love with. What would you do?"

"Well, going by my own talents, I'd most likely spin a heartfelt song for them. But that's me. You need to think about what you're good at."

"Hmm...fighting, smashing things...fighting...and drinking. Oh my gods. Scanlan I think I just had an amenity."

"I think you mean epiphany," Scanlan commented.

"Yeah that too"

With the situation supposedly remedied, the two friends returned to their sleep.

--

The next morning, Grog conspired with his two gnome friends on how to get (y/n)'s attention. The plan was for Grog to be the next person to challenge the object of his affection to a drinking contest.

The downside was that Grog was in no position to talk to her when out of his element. Instead, Scanlan was sent as a singing telegram to the daughter of the blacksmith.

Scanlan entered the smith's shop, its walls and shelves filled to the brim with well-grafted weapons and armor. His eyes first take notice of a towering dragonborn working at the forge.

"Um, hey there," he said awkwardly.

The draconic male stepped away from his tools and greeted him saying, "good day, my small friend. How can I help ye today?"

"I come on behalf of a lovestruck goliath."

"Well you may tell them I'm flattered but I'm already married."

"Well actually his affections are directed to your daughter."

"(y/n)? How unforeseen. Very well. (y/n)!"

(y/n) enters the shop from the back door dressed in full artificer's regalia. "What is it, dad?"

"This gnome apparently has a message for you from a friend."

(y/n) looked curiously as Scanlan retrieved his lute.

♫ my dear beauty with the golden scales,

meet me tonight for a round of ale

I've seen the might of your drinking skills

let's see who has the greater will ♫

(y/n) was stunned. Never had she received a challenge in song form and certainly not one with romantic undertones.

With an intrigued chuckle she says, "tell your friend that I happily accept his challenge."

"Great," Scanlan said with a grin, "thank you. I'll be on my way now."

Scanlan exited the shop just as (y/n)'s mother entered.

"What was all that now?" she asked.

"Our daughter has a date," the father answered.

--

Later in the evening, everyone gathered at the tavern to witness the challenge. Grog was sitting at the bar, feeling anxious. Pike gave her friend some words of encouragement. In that moment, Grog decided he needed a starter. He ordered himself a pint, filling his body with liquid courage. The townsfolk announced (y/n)'s arrival at the tavern.

"Alright," she said with confidence, "who among you has challenged me?"

Swallowing down his starter, Grog stood up and said awkwardly, "uh, that'd be me."

"Oh yes, I remember you from the night before. I'm flattered by your rather unorthodox message."

Grog felt a warmth in his face that for once in his life didn't come from booze.

"I see you've already given yourself a head start," (y/n) commented, noticing the large mug in her challenger's hand. Grog embarrassingly tosses aside his mug (nearly clocking some poor soul in the face) before moving to one of the large tables. (y/n) took her seat across from him as the barkeep came over.

"House rules," they began, "first to puke or pass out loses."

"Good luck," (y/n) says.

The barkeep brings over the first round and the battle of the booze begins. The two appear equally matched as stacks of empty mugs begin to pile up. (y/n) seems to move at a slightly faster pace. A half-hour passes by as (y/n) takes the time to compliment Grog.

"I must say," the gold scaled girl says, "I don't think I've had anyone keep up with me. Color me impressed."

Grog tries to keep his composure at her words, focusing on his drinking.

Tensions rose at the top of the hour, the locals cheering for (y/n) while Vox Machina (specifically Pike and Scanlan) calling out to Grog.

"This goes on much longer and tavern will be completely cleaned out," Percy commented.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Vex added.

"Indeed."

The tavern was in fact on their last barrel. (y/n) winced slightly while promising to heavily compensate for the amount of ale she and Grog had been running through. She looks to her opponent who has been double fisting for the past few rounds. With a slip of the hand, (y/n) toppled over, knocking her head on the table.

There was a long silence as all gazed in awe. The townsfolk were in shock as their long time champion lay buzzed out on the floor.

"Fuck yeah!" Scanlan hollered, breaking the silence.

"Woo, Grog!" Pike shouted out. They rushed to their victorious friends.

Grog himself was almost in disbelief. He didn't feel like he had to win the challenge. To him, he had already won back when (y/n) had spoken her words of admiration. On the subject of (y/n), she slowly came to, groaning in pain.

"Pike," Grog gestured to his friend. The cleric understood what he was trying to communicate.

Pike wanders over to the inebriated dragonborn and uses her magic to heal her.

(y/n) came to asking, "What happened?"

"You...you lost," one of the bystanders answered, still shocked.

"Lost?" she turned to Grog who gave an awkward wave. She chuckled and said walked over to him. "I seem to have been bested. I congratulate you Mr..."

"Uh Grog. Grog Strongjaw."

"Grog; another word for ale. I like it."

The smitten giant responded with a goofy smile, making (y/n) giggle.

"Damn," she said looking at the time, "we've been here a while. Guess I'll see ya around." (y/n) took her leave, smiling back at the tavern.

--

After spending two nights in town, Vox Machina was ready to press on. They were about to exit when they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Wait!" The group looked to see (y/n) rushing towards them. She had an unknown object tucked under her arm. Grog's face flushed as she approached them. "I just talked to the innkeeper," she said, "He told me that you were on your way out and that you paid for ale."

"A gentleman must be the one to pay the bill," Percy stated.

She nodded to the gunslinger and turned to Grog, presenting the object him. A gauntlet to be worn on the wrist, forged with obsidian.

"To yesterday's champion," she spoke, "I've been saving it for two-and-a-half years, waiting to gift it to whoever could out drink me."

Grog accepted the gift with awe-stricken eyes.

"It might be a bit small on you but I'm sure you can have it resized."

Grog snatched the bag of holding from Vax and quickly tucked the piece of armor inside.

"One more thing..." (y/n) gestured for him to lean down at which point she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Until we meet again."

(y/n) trekked back into town as Scanlan hollered, "Alright Grog!" The goliath didn't answer.

"Grog?" Pike spoke. The group looked to see that Grog's eyes were glazed over and he had a slight smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Oh great," Percy spoke, "she stole his heart and his brain."

"What was left of it anyways," Vex added.

It took the whole of Vox Machina to pull Grog along as the band of adventurers continued onward.

[saiyan98]

Estelle and The Mark of Arachnid: The Trident of Poseidon (Chapter 9 + Filler about Sam's new powers)

[First Chapter] - [Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

Chapter 9: I Gotten Myself in a Sticky Situation

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit, fanbase series. Percy Jackson and the Olympians; Heroes of Olympus; Trials of Apollo; Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard are owned by Rick Riordan. Spiderman or any concept of him are owned by Marvel Comics and Sony Entertainment. Please support the official releases.

Okay, so the first thing that came to my head was not something like, ‘Sam! You’re on fire!’ Or ‘Such devastation…’ (If anyone understands  THIS reference, you will be an honorary friend for life); instead, my first reaction was literally, “HOLY CRAP! SAM, YOU LEARNED ULTRA INSTINCT!”

Ugh, I got to take a break from anime, Sam as well. Anyways, Mitch got back on his feet and asked, “The hell is Ultra Instinct?” 

Before I could answer, Daniel replied, “It’s a technique in Dragon Ball that even gods struggle to master! It’s one of the most powerful techniques that Goku was able to master after Dragon Ball Super!” 

“Hold up!” I yelled. “You watch Dragon Ball?”

Daniel looks at me with confusion, as if it’s common sense.

“Who doesn’t know Dragon Ball?”

“Can you guys shut up about cartoons and deal with this first?!” Mitch yelled. 

At that moment, a murder was about to be committed. 

“How am I friends with you?” Daniel replied. 

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind was blown at us from Sam’s position. 

“I don’t care how strong she is, I beat her before, I can do it again!”

Mitch charges at her, but she dodges all of his attacks. The way she moves though was smooth and effortlessly; as if she’s just water itself. I’ve seen enough martial arts movies to tell… kind of.

“Why won’t you stay still?!” 

Daniel answered, “If it’s like Ultra Instinct… okay, not a lot of time to explain but basically she’s just really good at-”

“DODGE!” I yelled as that strong tingling sense intensified. 

Before Mitch could attack, he heard what I said and ducked down, a gust of wind flew past him and hit a tree, cutting it in half. Mitch saw the tree and shuddered at the immense power she demonstrated. 

“Okay, nerds… let’s, uh, say I believe you now. Where do we go from here?” 

Don’t quote Cell. Don’t quote TeamFourStar. Don’t quote TeamFourStar Cell.

“We just need to hold out long enough until she wears out. Though, I don’t know how long that’ll be,” Daniel explained. He’s not wrong, whatever Sam is going through, eventually she’ll have to get tired. Right? I mean that usually works in anime so I presume it should work in real life, right? 

“ESTELLE!” 

I look behind me and see Percy, Annabeth and Chiron heading toward us. I guess Jessie told the three about my note. Eh, it’s fine. I knew it was bound to happen, I just hoped that I would’ve finished the game before I got caught. Though right now, we have bigger problems. 

“Hey Percy,” I said. “I know you're mad, but we have bigger problems right now. Sam is going berserk for some reason, and she has an immense aura surrounding her.”

Percy ran forward and picked up a shield that was on the ground. He uncapped his pen and it transformed into a sword. Sam reacted as Percy charged and sent another powerful gust of wind toward him. He blocked it with the shield, but he was pushed back a bit but still standing. 

“Damn! What power!” Percy yelled. 

Chiron was shocked and said, “It can’t be…” 

“Estelle, get back! Mitch, Daniel, You’re with me. We’ll try to wear her down and knock her out.”

“Percy! Wait!”  I yelled but the three already charged at Sam. I bet you’re thinking, ‘three boys against one girl? That’s cruel. Well, it would be if it weren’t for the fact that Sam has gotten an OVERPOWERED ABILITY AND IS DODGING LIKE A BOSS.

Piccolo would be proud. 

“Estelle!” Annabeth ran toward me and asked, “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine, Annabeth. But, what’s wrong with Sam? She’s… different.”

“That… is Aura,” Chiron replied. 

“Aura?” I asked. “What’s that?” 

“… Aura is-”

[PAUSE]

You’re probably thinking, ‘Isn’t this supposed to be about Estelle Blofis becoming a hero? Basically, a Marvel Story?’ 

Well, yes but you see… Sam awoke something that was deemed to be considered impossible to achieve and it’s a really complex thing to talk about. Most likey, it’d take a while to explain what this Aura is. So for now, we’ll put a pin to that and focus more on the fight. But trust me when I say this, Samantha Stacy has become a Shonen Anime Main Character, no joke. After this fight, I’ll explain what Aura is, I promise. For now we’ll talk about the basics.

[FAST FORWARD]

“-a strong energy source that dwells within all living creatures, especially the gods. What Samantha Stacy is doing is unlocking the full potential of Aura, which only gods themselves can do.”

“Woah… so she’s something special herself, isn’t she?” I commented.

Annabeth nodded, “Indeed, but it was only a theory. We never were able to confirm the existence of it. But seeing it now… It’s astonishing.” 

“Okay, but… you know what, we’ll talk about it later. For now, we need to stop Sam from hurting anyone,” I said.

The three boys tried to knock out Sam, but she was too fast and kept dodging every attack. She hasn’t even moved out of her spot, like Percy and the others weren’t much of a challenge. Suddenly, a strong wave of energy burst out of Sam and pushed everyone back. 

“Such power!” I yelled. “Just where is she getting all this power?!” 

Percy was down on one knee but Mitch and Daniel are down.  Percy kept on the offensive, but Sam was just too fast for him. As Percy tried to make her trip, she did a backflip and jumped on top of a branch of a tree nearby.

Percy cursed quietly as the rest of the campers arrived at the scene. Chiron informs everyone to stay back as Percy tries to calm down Sam. I got up and ran toward Sam. 

“Estelle! Get back!” Percy yelled but I ignored him. If fighting won’t calm her down, maybe I can. At least, I hope so.

“Sam! It’s me, Estelle! Can you hear me?” I said. 

Sam jumps down on the ground and faces me. The aura that surrounds her is immense but it’s starting to cool down a bit. 

“That’s right, Sam. It’s me, no one is going to hurt you. I promise.” 

I kept talking as I walked closer to her. Percy was trying to tell me to stay back but I looked at him with an expression that says I can handle it. Annabeth does it all the time and he listens. I may be over my head, but Sam is my best friend, and now technically my sister, so I gotta do whatever it takes to help her.

“Come on, Sam. You don’t have to be scared. I’ll always be there to help you out, remember? We’re sisters… well, technically we are now since you’re a daughter of Athena and Annabeth is one as well so- I’m getting off track. Look, just listen to my voice and be calm. I got you.”

Talking to her is working. The aura is dimming and she’s starting to wobble a bit. As I got closer, I heard Mitch and Daniel slowly getting up. Percy tells them to stay away from us as I try to calm Estelle down. Unfortunately, Daniel accidentally hit a small twig and it snapped, making a noise that startled Sam. She reacted quickly and was just about to fire another gust of powerful wind towards him. 

“SAM! NO!” I yelled as I tried to reach her hand. Then, something crazy happened. There was this green magic circle that appeared on my sleeve. As I try to reach Sam's arm to avoid Daniel getting hurt…

THWIP

I suddenly shot out a ball of web fluid toward her hand, which made her miss and shoot upwards. Of all the things that happened in just a week, that was the most bizarre thing to ever occur. Monsters attacking us in a museum? Classic start of an adventure. Learning about the existence of monsters and gods? Seen enough Supernatural so I’m used to it. My family being demigods themselves (excluding my parents)? It explains everything about them. 

But the fact that I just shot out a small threadball of web out of nowhere was the strangest thing to ever happen. And to add to that, that tingling sensation keeps happening whenever I’m in combat or about to get attacked. That can’t be just a coincidence, right?

Sam’s energy skyrocketed and burned off the web in her hand and faced me. 

“Sam! Calm down! It’s me! Listen to my voice!” 

But she wasn’t listening as she now aimed her hand at me. The tingling grew and then I ducked and tried to make her trip by instinct. But Sam jumped, but it’s what I want her to do. As she jumps, I grab her by the legs and she falls down. We landed near a puddle that was nearby so we got a bit wet, but the energy around her just vaporized it completely. 

Oh man, I feel bad for the dude (or girl) that’ll break her heart. 

“SAM! STOP!” I yelled. 

Suddenly, I heard her mutter something. 

“What? Talk to me, Sam!”

“...Dad… don’t… go…” 

At that moment, I understood what was happening. Sam is still unconscious and is having a nightmare. Another burst of energy emerged and pushed me off of her. Sam got back up and charged at me. Percy was about to intervene, but I told him to stop. As Sam was about to punch, I dodged thanks to that tingling sensation. I kept dodging all of her attacks as I noticed that as time passes, her attacks are getting weaker. I can tell because of the heat, it was cooling down. If I can just get her to wake up, she’ll go back to normal. As I kept dodging, I tried to wake her up by talking. Seems like she’s still having nightmares about what happened to her father. I wouldn’t blame her, watching the only blood family you have die in front of you can be traumatizing. But I won’t abandon her. 

I noticed that those magic circles that appeared on sleeves are still there. I don’t know how I did it, but I tried to use them again at Sam’s feet.

THWIP

It worked, though I figured that since it was just web fluid I thought, ‘What if it’s like Spiderman and I gotta do a certain hand signal?’ So I did the Spiderman web shot gesture and it worked. It made Sam imobile and unable to escape. Though normally, she’d just burn off the web fluid but she’s losing more and more of her immense strength. 

I just gotta hold out a little longer. Sam was starting to yell out of nowhere, it seems like her nightmare is getting worse.

“Sam! Wake up! It’s only a nightmare!” I yelled.

“Don’t… Leave me! Dad!” Sam yelled. 

The Aura grew hotter and stronger. Out of pure instinct (not the tingling one, but mine), I rushed toward her and hugged her.

“Sam… it’s okay. I’m here for you,” I said. “Remember what you told me, back in kindergarten? You said that you want to be as strong as me. Well you are, but you need to wake up and control that power. It’s yours and yours alone. You dream of having an adventure ever since you read those books. And remember Final Fantasy? Sword Art Online? Danmachi? You dreamed of having adventures like that, right? Well guess what; your dream will become a reality. And you’ll make more friends along the way.”

Sam's eyes were starting to close and the aura that surrounded is fading. Next thing I knew, she collapsed in my arms. 

“I got you, Sam. I got you.” 

She groans as she opens her eyes.

“Stella? Wha-,” Sam jolted up. “What happened?! Did we lose? I blacked out for a moment and…” Sam notices the crowd that surrounds them. “Did something happen?”

I chuckled, “Yeah, I’ll explain later. Let’s get you up.”

I got up and gave Sam a hand. 

“Estelle!” Percy yelled. 

“It’s fine, bro. She’s okay, no one got hurt… mostly.” 

Percy just stood there with a shocking expression. In fact, everyone was. 

“What?” I asked. I heard people muttering and whispering about something. “Don’t worry, Sam’s awake now. She won’t cause any troubles as soon as we figure out what the heck her powers are and-”

“Estelle Blofis,” Chiron interrupted. “It’s not Samantha that concerns us right now.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. 

“Stella?” 

I looked back at Sam and saw her with the same reaction as everyone else, except she was looking above me. 

“What is it Sam?”

She gestured for me to look up and I did. I saw a big symbol floating above me but I couldn’t tell what it was. Plus, how could I be claimed in the first place? I’m 100% mortal. 

“Sam? What god or goddess is it claiming me for?” 

“None…” 

“Then what’s the symbol?” I asked.

She replied.

“...A Spider…”

Oh…

Suddenly, everything that was happening around me was making sense now. The Spider that bit me and disappeared; the tingling sensation on my body; the magic circles and web shooting and the crazy dream I have been having lately. And my first reaction?

“Ah… Crapbasket. Percy, do we have an Uncle Ben?! Cause I’d be very concerned about his safety right now.”

[Filler Explanation on next part. Not necessary to read unless you're curious about Sam's powers]

So… that happened. 

Well… I have some time before we can start the next scene so…

I guess I can talk about what was happening to Sam earlier. Just to clarify, this is a theory Annabeth made with the help of Chiron and the Kane Family in the past. To start, it’s called Aura, it’s an energy source that dwells within all living creatures; like the Force in Star Wars. The gods themselves have better control of it because they are the living embodiment of Aura. It’s like this, for every prayer or thoughts related to the gods, Aura energy manifests those thoughts and creates the gods. How that even happened in the first place is still a mystery, but that explains how the gods and monsters exist and why they keep coming back. The stronger the beliefs, the more powerful the being becomes. 

However, even Gods themselves cannot master Aura. It has three category types:

Mind: Basically, Aura can increase the ability your mind can handle. For example, you can be quick to adapt and can use any weapons available. Telepathy, Telekinesis, flying and other types of mind powers. IQ’s are also considered to be related to Aura as well. Annabeth theorized that Aura: Mind can increase or decrease IQ levels of a person, making them more intelligent in certain types of fields. 

Body: This type affects more on body types abilities such as superhuman strength; speed; instinct and more. It also involves powers such as transformations and breathing underwater. Annabeth theorized that the more powerful Body is, the weaker Mind will be as well. But, the person using this type will become very powerful, and may even rival gods. 

Spirit: Now this one is not in Annabeth’s expertise, it’s more of a friend of hers, Carter and Sadie Kane. Spirit does not involve body or mind but rather having some control on Aura on the area around the person. A great example of this is pretty much that it’s magic itself. The Green Mist? Symbols and Names? Sorcery and Curses? These are all types of abilities that Spirit users can use. Carter and Sadie believe that the stronger the will of a person, the more control they have on Spirit. They even theorized that these abilities can manifest as beings if such will is powerful enough.

If you want a more simpler analogy of each type its like this:

Aura: Mind = Charles Xavier/NewTypes in the Gundam Series (bunch of whiny telepathic kids committing war crimes).

Aura: Body = Shapeshifters/Inhumans or Metahumans/Transformations similar to Dragon Ball (From Super Saiyan to Ultra Instinct).

Aura: Spirit = Magicians or Sorcerers/ Stand or Spirit Users.

It’s kind of similar to Nen abilities from Hunter X Hunter. But what Sam did was almost impossible for a mortal to achieve, not even gods can master it easily. Sam used the full potential of Aura: Body which shuts down her mind and her body just reacted by pure instinct. It was basically the Autonomous Ultra Instinct from Dragon Ball Super. It was shocking for Chiron because Demigods can only use a fraction of Aura due to us being part-mortals. A demigod can use a fraction of two types of Aura while regular mortals can only use one. 

For example, a child of Athena mostly uses Body and Mind types of Aura. A psychic mortal has some power related to Mind and a bodybuilder has endurance thanks to Body. Spirit-Types are more difficult to locate since they're mostly magic wielders or Spirit users. Gods can activate Aura at ease while mortals can not. 

So… yeah… Sam basically just became a classic Anime Main Character in a modern society with monsters and gods in the shadows. Like a mixture of Supernatural, Demon Slayer, Hunter X Hunter, etc. Unfortunately, you won’t hear about her progress or adventures in my stories. She’s just starting her journey and when she’s ready, she’ll tell you all about it afterwards. Which sucks because what she told me was mind blowing! There’s not enough time to comprehend what she went through! I guess we’ll see in the future. For now, back to the story.

Author’s Note:

Sorry for the short chapter. I couldn’t think of a good way to prolong the fight and I don’t want to start the next scene until the next chapter. But I hope you enjoyed it. I also would like to make an announcement, coming soon in a future chapter in Wattpad and Archive of Our Own, I will also include a commissioned art piece of Estelle Blofis made by the same person who made the cover art for this story [@erabu-san]. I wish I could post it here as well, but it seems the website does not allow it. You can find it once I publish it (I publish each chapter in all three websites simultaneously) in AO3 or Wattpad. Same title and my author name too. I will announce it once it’s finished.

Again, I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will also be posted soon this month. 

here's the cover art for the story (Also made by @erabu-san):

[theragamuffininitiative]

3, 8, 17!

3. five songs you're currently obsessed with?

This question is always a lottery bc I am obsessed with some song or other 24/7 but it can change from day to day lol. According to Spotify stats, it's these: "Keep Your Eyes Open" by Needtobreathe, "The Isle of Disenchantment" by Nathan Colberg, "Slow and Steady" by Tophouse, "What If" by Cody Fry, and "He Is Not Safe" by Ross King.

8. name something you are looking forward to?

Winter! And proper autumn, the first frost, etc. A new job... whatever that looks like and whenever I manage to chase it down. A clean apartment if I get around to doing the work for that. XD

17. tell us about your favorite character?

uh. I have.... so many. Percy Blakeney doesn't get enough love on my blog simply bc there is not enough tumblr content for it, but my man Sir Percy Blakeney is truly the hero of heroes, I have not seen a bad representation of him yet, but by far the best (other than the original Scarlet Pimpernel novel) would be the 1982 movie, and the broadway musical. 👏👏👏 "Sink me!" Ugh. The man wrote a freaking poem about himself and then recited it to all his friends without any of them being the wiser... actually no, some of the League were definitely in that room and doing their absolute darndest to hold it together. The man. Loves. His. Wife. to drastic extent. He would do anything for her - except go against his morals regarding like... murder... which is a fair amount of the book's plot. He's insane, he's clever, he's sweet, he's debonair, he's emotional, he's Perfect (and occasionally a perfect idiot).

[random-conspiracy]

I'm livebrogging me watching PERCY JACKSON for your knowledge

Well let's continue.

adkaddsakj Imagine is Chiron was just gaslighting Percy for funsies. "There's no teacher with that name"

The painting, I'm 100% sure it has some mythological background but whatever. A shipwreck or something like that, it works for me. I want to see water motifs bitch

Chiron do something or I'm killing you. AAAAAAH, TREASON!

Ok, call me crazy but I think TELLING HIM THE TRUTH would be easier than all this gaslight hashahshahsa. You're a demigod, monsters are real, you're not going crazy and we're here to help. Easy peazy. BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, WE MUST GASLIGHT GATEKEEP GIRLBOSS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE CAMP BECAUSE "ItS dAnGeRoUs".

y o u r s p e c i a l.

There it goes your young fantasy. Now kill me. hahshasha

GABE!!! MY MAN MY BRO MY DUDE!!! YEARS WITHOUT HEARING YOUR NASTY VOICE!

Ugh!

He looks younger. And less pathetic... ok that is horrible... DID HE JUST PLAYED THE "I CAN ACCEPT PUNCHING A GIRL BUT I DRAW THE LINE AT EXPULSION" CARD???????

Sally your character is already sad, help me here.

I forcen my brother to clap because what else can we do?? The blue candy, ladies and gentlemen!

This works as an allegory for mental illness soooooooo good.

IDK, I liked the movie's Gabe more. This one is awful but the other one was a creep. But TBF it makes more sense for Sally to be with this guy. It was super incomprehensible how she ended with the last scumbag but this one at least reads like "he used to be charming... 10 years ago".

HAHAHAHAHASAHASHAH

THE WAY HE SAYS "I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING IMPORTANT" FEELS LIKE HE'S ABOUT TO COME OUT OF THE CLOSET AND CONFESS HE FEELS SOMETHING FOR GROVER

That gooooooooooooosh he was. Is any one of ye old fandom reading this shit? Percy x Grover has been dead since 9/11.

He's so gay coded ahshashas.

It would be sadder if Sally had an historial of hallucinations.

Seriously Sally? Hhshasasha the good ol' "I never said that" trap? So.... you met Poseidon next to the sceptic tanks? Ya naaaaaaaaaasty. SALLY, SLOW!!!! A BIT AT A TIME!!!! BITCH STOP BEING SCARYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

JHASHASHASHAHAHA PERCY AS THE STRAIGHT-MAN????? HAHHSHAJSHADAHADKJADKJAKJSHSAJASHHAHAHAHSHASHAHHSAHASHASHAJSHAHS

Heeeeeee is already heeeeeeeeere :]

That's racist bro

He's so hurt, Grover. YOU TRIED TO TEACH HIM TO DEAL WITH THIS WITH MYTHOMAGIC??? I respect that. That's actually a good idea. however it brings to mind the horrible world were MagicTheGathering is real.

WHERE IS THE TREE??

I saw the tree.

Sally stop being sad you're making me sad. And Percy... oh boy ahshashasa. No one is explaining a shit to him but ok, gotta keep up.

And here it comes, THE HERO! Brave! Mighty! Clever? Come on boy, steal that horn, daddy needs a new rack.

That shit was crazy. Killed a Minotaur in his first day???

Horse.

[makeithappenandreal]

Annabeth: Ugh Percy is so annoying, like, can you believe how annoying Percy is? He has annoying stupid sea green eyes.

Thalia: *shaking her head* ah-uh. Annoying.

Annabeth: Like when he comes from the beach and his stupid black hair is sweeping in the wind like so annoying I-

Annabeth: And he is always trying to be a hero, like, he always throws himself to save his friends, he is such a jerk!

Annabeth: And so annoyingly thoughtful as well like I can't stand him, you know?

Thalia: You're fucked Annabeth.

[crymeariveronceagain]

Do you like hoo or kotlc better???

kotlc.

hated the ending of hoo. I wanted so much more than I got and I didn't like how that conflict went.(like, come on, the nosebleed? Gaia??? Giants?? Just ruin my life now, ugh.)

Kotlc is a lot better, imho.

Also, since it's fantasy, it doesn't have depictions of mythology to pick holes in.

We all know that Hades would never have cheated on Persephone and you're straight up lying to me if you think the man did. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Nico Di Angelo, but his very existence mildly bothers me.

That's one of my main issues. The butchering of Hades. Like, I'm willing as anyone to admit that the Greek dieties EXISTED to make the mortals feel better about themselves and their flawed actions, but come on. Hades was the best god in their Pantheon. And I am completely willing to die on this hill.

Kotlc also has a lot more characters I really love.

I don't really love Piper, Jason, Frank, or Hazel. I love Percy, Annabeth, Nico, and Leo. I love Calypso.

But that's about it.

Meanwhile, I love Sophie, Keefe, Fitz, Biana, Dex, Tam, Linh, Wylie, Marella, Stina, Maruca, Grady, Edaline, Juline, Kesler, Tiergan. Like, that's a TON more characters for me to really enjoy.

hoo as a whole was decent enough. It's just... not my favorite?

Like, if I had to rank the book series I've read, it would probably go:

The Books Of Bayern by Shannon Hale

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Regina Doman's series of retold Fairytales

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Keeper Of The Lost Cities

The Glitter duology by Aprilynne Pike

Percy Jackson and The Olympians

The Divergent Series, by Veronica Roth

The Selection, by Kiera Cass

Harry Potter

The Inheritance Cycle, by Christopher Paolini

Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard

Heroes Of Olympus

At the very bottom of this endless list is, of course, Twilight. But, y'know, I digress.

I just didn't vibe with it.

Might have been the emotional duress of that cliffhanger in Mark of Athena that didn't give me enough suffering in House Of Hades. The level at which I wanted more Tartarus was dangerously high. I was kind of disappointed enough not to read it again.

I like the premise and I like some of the characters

It's just not my favorite

[wereallydobevibing]

Manhatten Heroes [2]

{Percy Jackson & Avengers Crossover}

Prompt - When the Second Titan War is being fought, the sudden chaos is, naturally, brought to the attention of the Avengers. They find that Percy and his sister, (Y/N) Jackson, are leading Camp Half-Blood and find themselves fighting alongside the demigods to help defend New York. Once the war is won, the Jackson siblings are taken into custody for interrogation.

@a-studying-narnian-demigod (you requested, I figured you'd want a tag!)

Part One can be found on my profile :)

"First things first—what are you?"

Percy and I sat frozen in our seats—we'd been brought into some kind of conference room and sat at a table. The rest of the Avengers sat surrounding us, and Nick Fury was currently taking the lead on this one.

I looked to Percy, and he looked to me. From our level of understanding, we knew that the Avengers weren't regular humans. They themselves had special abilities and had a god or two on their team.

"Demigods." Percy answered, sitting lazily in his seat.

"From Asgard?" Tony Stark asked in disbelief. "Thor, Loki, the Nine Realms, that kinda thing?"

"What?" Percy freaked, eyebrows furrowed. "N-No, who the Hades is Thor and Loki?"

"They're Norse gods, Percy." I said, "And, no. We aren't, in any way, consulting with them. We're Greek demigods—The son and daughter of Poseidon, to be exact."

"Wait, wait, wait," the only other woman in the room joined in—I remembered her to be Natasha. "You're telling us that the Greek gods are real, too? Zeus, Poseidon, Hades–"

"Names have power," I glared. "You don't go throwing them around like that, it's dangerous."

The room fell silent at my warning, and I hadn't realized until then that my glare had turned into a wolf stare. I hadn't meant to become so hostile, but I didn't exactly plan on fighting an angry god or two.

"But I thought Poseidon made some kind of oath not to have mortal children," Banner said. "How could you be children of Poseidon?"

"There's a smart man." Percy murmured, "He broke his oath. Twice. He fell in love with our mortal mother—the first time creating me, the second time creating (Y/N). Zeus and Hades broke their oaths as well."

"There's more of your kind?" Clint asked.

"Many." I responded. "All the Olympians have mortal children except for Hera and Artemis. Some of those children go on to live normal lives, never truly knowing what they are. The rest of us aren't so lucky."

"Lucky?" Tony said. "You're children of one of the most powerful gods in Greek mythology, and you don't consider yourselves lucky?"

"We grew up with an abusive step father, were bullied our entire lives, were forced to take on dangerous quests when we were barely twelve, and just fought a war in our mid-teens." I listed, "Our lives are dangerous. Monsters sniff us out and attempt to kill us everyday. Because of our bloodline, we have ADHD and Dyslexia—the other kids in school look at us and think we're stupid, they don't know that we just saved every single one of their lives."

The room was silent as they comprehended the dangers Percy and I had faced as kids. And I knew they felt bad for us, purely because we were kids. They didn't have to, we didn't need pity, we needed food.

"Why does your bloodline include ADHD and Dyslexia?"

"Ugh, seriously, Stark?" Natasha scolded. "That's what stuck out to you the most in what (Y/N) just said?"

"The Dyslexia is because our brains were hardwired to read Ancient Greek, not English." Percy said. "And the ADHD is our natural battle reflexes—we weren't made to sit still and learn about George Washington, we were built to fight wars."

"I'm not gonna lie, that's pretty cool." Sam said, earning a smack on the back of his head from Natasha.

"Hey!"

"Being children of the gods must mean you come with special abilities." Fury concluded, "What are they? Are they the same for everyone?"

"No," I responded. "Your abilities depend on who your godly parent is. As we've just told you, all demigods have heightened senses, I guess you could say our senses are godly. But Percy and I being the son and daughter of Poseidon means we can do things like—control water, breath underwater, talk to horses and marine animals."

"And when we absolutely need to," Percy continued. "We can cause earthquakes and hurricanes, start storms. Poseidon is the stormbringer."

They gawked at us, which was to be expected. For the most part, they were handling the news pretty well and I was thankful they weren't going crazy over it like most mortals would.

"What could, lets say, a child of Athena do?" Fury asked, hypothetically.

"They're really smart, really good at coming up with battle strategies quickly. They don't have any actual powers, but they're really smart."

Fury hummed, "Next question."

"Great," I muttered.

"That war we found you two finishing, what was that all about?"

All eyes were on us now, everyone, as always, expecting our answer. But now that they knew what and who we are, they were probably expecting it to be, like, amazing or something.

So we went on to explain everything about Luke, and how he teamed up with Kronos to destory the gods and take over the world. We told them everything leading up to the war, too—how me and Percy first found out about who we were, being accused of stealing the lightning bolt, having to navigate through the Labrynth, etc. Throughout the story, they occasionally asked questions and sat in awe as we told them everything we had to go through just to save the world: everything we've lost while we did it as well as the very few things we've gained. We even told them about Zeus' offer to make me and Percy immortal gods—which we had declined.

By the end of our explanation, some of them refused to make eye contact with me and Percy, while others looked at us with softened facial expressions. Fury was the only person with a hardened expression, but even his face had slightly softened. The room, once again, was quiet, but at this point, I knew we had earned their respect.

Clint Barton was the first to break the silence, "you kids have done real good by your father." he said. "I'm sure he's proud."

"Er, thanks," Percy shuffled awkwardly. We weren't used to being praised—things like that never happened.

"Well, it's gotten pretty late," Captain—Steve—said. I turned my head to glance out the window, finding myself being greeted by the nighttime sky. "You should stay here for tonight. As you've told us, it's dangerous for the both of you out there. I can't imagine when it gets dark."

Percy was about to excuse the offer, but I was quick to intervene. My body ached from the fight and my mind was unbelievably worn out—if a monster were to attack on our way home, I think I'd lay down and let it tear me to shreds.

"Thank you," I said, earning a look of confusion from Percy. "We appreciate it, really."

————

So here's Part 2 of Manhatten Heroes!! If you want a Part 3 just let me know!

[sehunniepotwrites]

Hehheh.... No worries. I'm okay now. I'm just upset with my friend but she ghosted me for 4 days now 💀 but I heard she's sick so I hope she's okay. Oooh~ and I'm excited for Hesitate👀 I always love figure skating but sadly there's no winter in my country we can't really skate unless you're willing to spend a few bucks.

The first movie! Oh my gosh, I love the first movie too~ I always love the fake dating trope ( the realisation at the end when they realised they like them always make my heart flutter😩) but tbh, L.J kinda frustrated me in the third movie. She kind of becoming too dependant on her boyfriend but I'm glad she realised that she always comes first ( kind of like what happen to Yumi in Yumi's cell. Do you watch the drama?) and I kinda see what you friends talking about tho. I have a feeling that you're kind of a hopeless romantic? ( I think because of your letters👀... Idk) Lol but that's just what I think tho and usually I'm wrong 😅

Hehe... What do you think about trials of apollo if you read them? I still hasn't read them yet but I don't know if I'm interested enough (because there's no percy but I think I'm going to read the series because of Leo and calypso) also do you read all of riordan works or only percy Jackson? Because I love magnus chase too but I don't know if you read them.

And Gyeongsu's death was probably the 2nd most saddest death in the series ... He must so confused that I just want to reached out and hugged him😭😭 but if you are in a room with someone infected, do you get rid of them by pushing them out of the window or the room ( let's say that the zombies are distracted somewhere else by the sound system) and why?

-💐 anon

The fake dating trope is too good, man, I love it so much. And yes the realization, the moment where she gets into the car and drives herself to go to him, ugh character development. You go girl. Wish I could do that (another reason why my irl friends compare me to LJ—I’m afraid of driving/I don’t have my license lmaooo). But yes, the fashion sense, the fact that I’d rather read a book than go out, the driving thing, the letters—I’m very similar to her. I haven;t watched Yumi’s cells! And yes, I’m a hopeless romantic, terribly so. Which is why a lot of my fics are overly fluffy and dramatic lmaooooooo

I haven’t read the Trials of Apollo yet. I honestly forgot where I left off on but I did start Heroes of Olympus and Kane Chronicles. I read Daughters of the Deep and I loved that!!!

I’m on episode 10 now of AOUAD! AaAAAAAH!!?!?!? Oh jeez, you’re asking me the hard hitting questions. If they were still coherent enough, I’d see if they’d go out by choice. If not, it would be sad but push them out of the room. From there, it’s their choice on what to do or not. Do they run away? Do they cause a distraction for you all to escape? If I push them out of the window, I’d still feel like a murderer because what if they are still themselves when they fall? I would be the person who killed them?? If that makes sense??

[honestly-i-hate-you-all]

For the Reverse Prompt: "Please tell me you're joking."

Sorry for being fifty years late @princessamericachavez but here you go!

Life at Castle Whitestone for LadyVex’ahlia had become… well boring. Despite having five little ones runningaround the castle and Percival, Vex was bored. She had to stay withinWhitestone for obvious reason and the only time she left the city limits wasfor her annual Gray Hunt. And for a woman who used to be a dragon-slaying,god-killing adventurer, it sucked.

One particular morning, she had foundherself with Percy in the study. The only sound was the scratching of quill onparchment as they worked on paperwork together in silence. Suddenly Vex slammedher hands on the desk and slid her chair back.

“I can’t do this today! I need to get out and get some air.Darling, do you think you can manage for a while?” Vex tilted her head andoffered a small smile to her husband.

Percy looked up at her through hisglasses and tousled white hair and chuckled. “I think I can manage the kids forthe day.” He leaned back in his chair. “You do what you need to.”

Vex put a hand to her chest. “Ugh,my hero,” she laughed and placed a kiss on Percy’s check before stepping out ofthe study to track down Trinket.

She found her bear with heryoungest daughter, watching over her protectively as she slept.

“Awwh buddy, thank you for makingsure she’s ok. Want to get out of here for a while?” She whispered, scritchingbehind his ears. Trinket grunted low and licked a long line along the side ofVex’s face. Vex giggled into the big bear’s fur. “I’ll take that as a yes.Let’s head out.”

Vex walked with Trinket out of thecastle and down towards the Sun Tree to start. She didn’t really have anyplans, but she wanted to start with the tree planted by her patron. Being amother had kept her tied to the city, to be close to her children of course.But she still had the heart of an adventurer and it hurt to stay so still.

She stopped under the Sun Tree witha wry smile. “Hello old friend,” she said softly, touching the bark with agentle hand. The green glow of her spell left her hand as an image of Keylethflashed through her head. The druid had taught her a while ago how to talk withplants, and Keyleth used to talk to the Sun Tree all the time, so maybe talkingto the tree would bring back memories of her long time friend.

Keylth had been so busy with beingthe Headmistress of the Air Ashari that she rarely visited Vex anymore. Hardlyanyone visited for anything other then Winter’s Crest, and that just added toVex’s loneliness.

The spell came to it’s completionand she felt the Sun Tree stir. “Heeyy Vex. How you doin?”

Vex smiled hearing the stoner voiceof the Sun Tree in her head. “Hey Sun Tree. I’m good. How’ve you been?”

“Ya know,” his voice echoed backlazily. “Hanging. Loving this warm weather.”

Vex chuckled. “Hey Sun Tree?”

“Yeah Vex?”

“Have you been in touch with KiKi? Imean, I just miss her.”

The Sun Tree seemed to sighheavily. “Hey Vex… I’m gonna have ta put ya on hold here… Got another callcomin through.”

Vex groaned and tipped her headback. “Please tell me you are joking.” She just wanted conversation.

The Sun Tree hummed absently.Suddenly the trunk of the tree ripped open with a golden light. A hand pokedthrough, gripped the bark of the trunk then heaved a lithe female body through.The portal popped closed and there, standing before Vex was a bright red-haireddruid that was grinning.

“Oh hi Vex! I just wanted to pop inan see my nep- uhf!” Keyleth grunted and laughed as Vex’s arms flung around herand gripped Keyleth in a big hug. Keyleth hugged Vex back, laughing. Vex clungto Keyleth shaking with laughter and hiccupping tears.

“Kiki I missed you so much. I wasjust saying to myself that I wanted to see you,” Vex said through her tears, abig smile on her face. Trinket grunted behind Vex and licked Kiki’s face. Kiki reached a hand out and scratched behind Trinket’s ear. Trinket huffed happily and leaned into Keyleth’s hand.

Keyleth smiled, and continued to absently rub on Trinket. “So you wanted to seeme? I was just thinking about you too! I was thinking about seeing my nephewsand nieces, so I thought I’d pop in!”

Vex laughed. “They’d love to seetheir auntie. But first, want to go see the Slayer’s Cake?”

Kiki’s face lit up. “Oh I’d love too!Revisit our old days?”

Vex grabbed Keyleth’s hand and led herdown the road, towards their bakery, Trinket lumbering behind them. As they approached there was flash oflight from inside the bakery. Vex’s eyes narrowed and for the second time thatday she said, “Puh-lease tell me you are joking.” Her hand went to the daggerat her hip, as she had left her bow at the castle. Trinket growled low, feeling Vex’s sudden shift. He bared his teeth protectively.

Kiki’s hand left Vex’s, the familiarlight of her fire hands glowing in Vex’s peripherals. The girls approached thedoor of the bakery slowly, on guard and still paranoid from their adventures.But, before they could even reach the door, it flung open. Standing in theframe, in golden plate armor, her white blonde hair braided back, was a smallgnomish figure.

“PIKE!” Keyleth squeaked, herflames immediately extinguished.

“Hey guys! I just wanted to come byand see the bakery! Maybe stop in and see my little nieces and nephews.” Pike’sbright smile stretched across her face.

Vex almost sank to her knees. Thiswas everything she needed and more. Her girls, back together. Trinket rushed forward, snuffling Pike’s open hand. Pike smiled as Trinket turned and licked her hand. Vex knelt and hugged Pike around the waist. Even if for just aday. But here they were, as if her silent prayer had been answered.

As the girls hugged and startedtrading stories of their lives now, a large black raven fluttered down to perchon the still open door. It cawed once, it’s bright black eyes gazingintelligently down on the trio. The girls looked up at the raven, Kiki’s eyesfilling with tears, Vex with a sad smile, and Pike with a knowing look. Andthey knew, Vax was there with them. Watching over them protectively.