#...we're gonna be geriatric

[anhandfulgirl18]

CHICAGO FIRE 13.10

[felixravinstills]

Shoutout to abyssal first tbosas blog I ever followed and who single handedly brought me out of creative writing retirement!!!!!!!!

Ask Game

Always an honor to have been the first tbosas blog that you follower, El! And again, your break out of creative writing retirement was great! I loved leviathan!

And I'm glad that tbosas fandom has given us the opportunity to discuss the as you said once "real themes of the hunger games prequel. the evil scientist and the man from the prop money getting freaky with it"

[0alanasworld0]

oh busquets

[infizero]

"...we know the government doesn't give a fuck about us. We know the government doesn't give a flying fuck about the future of this country. I don't give a fuck about Biden's campaign! Nor do I give a fuck about Trump's campaign. Because they don't care about me! They don't care about babies. They don't care about women. They don't care about Black people or Native Americans. They don't give a fuck about Palestinian children. I do! I give a fuck about this country! I was born on this soil. I love this place. Because I love my friends, and I love the earth, and I want to protect it, and they don't. Because they want pocket change."

source

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

"

You have to forgive me, cause I'm getting a little angry, but I've seen a lot of rhetoric on this app, and on other social media, and on the news, that our generation is soft. That Gen X- Gen X, Boomers, and Silent Generation believe that Gen Z and millenials and this Gen Alpha are soft. And I will tell you what, I think that is the worst thing to assume.

I have witnessed hundreds of my peers' lives be stripped away from them; their futures, their hopes, their dreams, their prom nights, because of our government's inaction with gun control. I have witnessed millions of lives taken away and altered and changed and ruined because of our government's inaction with Covid.

You guys made us tough. We're tough. We're tougher than you think, and we're tougher than you like to admit. Because we know the government doesn't give a fuck about us. We know the government doesn't give a flying fuck about the future of this country.

I don't give a fuck about Biden's campaign! Nor do I give a fuck about Trump's campaign. Because they don't care about me! They don't care about babies. They don't care about women. They don't care about Black people or Native Americans. They don't give a fuck about Palestinian children. I do! I give a fuck about this country!

I was born on this soil. I love this place. Because I love my friends, and I love the earth, and I want to protect it, and they don't. Because they want pocket change.

Tough. You think you're tough? You're bootlickers! Subservient to the idea of "growth." As if we can grow anymore! Our planet is dying! Because you don't give a fuck. Because you're soft. And saving the planet might be a little tougher than you thought.

I'm ready for that work. You know what I'm not ready for? Another world war. Just because I'm not gonna go over and shoot another working class person that I probably have more in common with, than an owning class piece of shit like Elon Musk, I'm soft? Because I care enough to accomodate my differently-abled peers, I'm soft? Because I don't wanna joke about women getting abused, I'm soft? If I'm alone in a room with Jeff Jackson, I'm leaving with his teeth in a jar. I'll show you how soft I am.

And you wanna ban the only place that we found community? Yeah, nonono. This election year is crazy. Because at this point, like, I think the entire generation, my generation, knows that you guys are geriatric, and knows that the Constitution is as well. It's too old. We are one of the youngest countries and we have the oldest Constitution? Make that make sense to me.

It's time for change. It's time for a new way of life. And these rich, stupid fucks don't deserve to be in charge of it. That's it, I'm sorry, that's it. That's it, I'm done."

[garpen]

My January 2025

1) I deleted my gender, pronouns, sexuality, and spirituality off of all my public accounts (with my name and face) after you know who was elected. Having conversations with my ama about packing go bags just in case. Stock piling on necessities and food just in case.

3) I got hit by a car (ER doc gave me the all clear, so no worries)

3) My PCP sent me back to the ER two days later due to a neurological issues and possible brain bleed (Doc gave me the all clear, so no worries)

4) The hospital I was in caught fire (It was put out relatively quickly, so no worries)

5) Watched a man at said hospital die (I used to work in as a SS in a SNF/Rehab with tons of geriatric patients so I'm desensitized to death, so no worries)

6) My card information was stolen to pay for someone's onlyfans subscription (card has been canceled and I am in the process of getting a new one, so no worries)

See parts 1-4, and 6: Here

7) One of my dogs got out and ran away (we got her back after a few hours, so no worries)

8) My sorta ex's (we're still good friends it's been four years) crush asked me out and I rejected them. Funny actually bc they've tried setting me up with another one of their friends awhile back ago. Dang I got three bitches in that friend group, I didn't realize I had game like that (we're all chill though I think, so no worries)

Not gonna put the whole convo, but here's a snippet:

9) Many friends, family, and family friends are contacting me and saying we will not be able to see each other for a long time bc ICE raids are happening nearby and we are all very worried. Discussing with my ama that if something happens and we need to leave the USA, which family/friends would be best to go to in Mexico. (I am very much white passing but the fear is still there as both my parents are from Mexico, and especially worried for my non-white passing family members and friends)

Just one example-

10) Someone made a fake Instagram account pretending to be me. And tried to take money from my friends/family. One of my siblings was dead ass a minute away from sending them $150 (literally happened today at the very end of the month, but my peeps have already started to report and block them so no worries).

✨Can't wait to see what February has in store for me ✨

[sergle]

perhaps it doesn't need to be that Deep, but some of y'all's relationship with age and youth truly stresses me out. you're doing this thing

like nevermind that using reaction pics/gifs in place of a text response is not something that Olds Do, if it's becoming less common on tumblr, i think that's been in the past like. 2 - 4 years. nevermind that... you truly stress me out using Thirty Five as the old and out of touch age to make a joke about. oh my god girl... 35.... please!!! you don't need to be so scared of aging!!! 35 is young! the imaginary 35 year old mom being used for this joke is a Young Woman! my first instinct is to make jokes abt how I am, in fact, geriatric (which I like to do) but I gotta break character and be like. hey you guys don't Actually think that 30 is elderly, right. we're joking when we say we're old, right?? you aren't actually internalizing that. right??????

also I spent like 5 years curating my Fotos Folder and I've got so many good ones... so I am actually probably gonna keep using them when I AM old. I love these images

[orcboxer]

 Aliens land in the middle east and due to a short altercation some people die so the US intervenes and they're quickly like "we have declared war on the aliens on behalf of Earth" and there's this huuuge media campaign about how we're all in this together and we can defend our homes and humans may not have those fancy alien weapons but we have Courage and Unity, that's our secret weapon, and everyone's like "damn this is a hell of a time to live in, we got invaded by aliens from space that's so crazy I can't believe it's real" and that's all anybody talks about for months and it's kind of annoying because fucking Nate your coworker spends over an hour every day chatting with the manager about it while you are 10 feet away doing the work of both of you. Meanwhile all the prices skyrocket and people are stocking their doomsday bunkers and talking all Serious and Brooding style and you can tell they are like, imagining themselves being the salt-of-the-earth badass with all this wisdom and they're totally gonna kill all the aliens that they expect to come flooding into their house using the semi-automatic rifle that they are now allowed to carry around all day at work just in case of aliens but your main concern is trying to pay rent which has doubled since all this began and nobody will even talk about it because "how can you talk about that when there's ALIENS invading EARTH?" Of course eventually all the aliens get killed to death and the president (a geriatric republican who in the throes of dementia has forgotten everything except, inexplicably, a list of particularly obscure racial slurs) gives a long rambling speech full of pithy lines about the strength of the American Spirit as well as a baffling direct quote from hitler? and somehow when it's all over the US comes out of it owning more land in the middle east and the oil industry experiences a boom in profits and at this point in history the sea has been rising at a ridiculously high rate like New Orleans is just gone and now that the whole alien thing is done people are starting to protest climate change again but Congress passes a bill called like, the Planet Temperature Restoration Act, and all of the parts in the original draft of the bill that would have hurt oil companies all get removed and the version of the bill that passes mainly just subsidizes corporations that put a couple solar panels on their buildings and the only reason it gets passed is because the GOP added a section that dumps trillions of dollars into space exploration using the aliens' ship as well as research into the alien technology and then later during a workers' rights protest the government attacks their own unarmed civilians with the aliens' weapons.

[ask-unpleasant]

hey chat sorry for the month of inactivity. i was unmotivated to do anything with this blog

but then i looked at some of the art on here and realized that i just lost my love for the character designs. so you know how we're gonna fix that? we're redesigning some characters bayybeeee 😈

starting with the man the myth the legend, here is UNPLEZZIE 2.0

he's probably the only one i had genuine problems with other than not being very aesthetically pleasing. he seemed too boring, his proportions were always a bit wonky, and the way he became more and more simple the more i drew him dumbed him down to just...awkward.

for this redesign, i kept all the features that made him my unpleasant. the only really signature thing i changed was his hair, sorry not sorry he had to fire his barber. i changed his scars to be far less opaque as to not clutter him up (which was the main reason i left them out most of the time), the only drawback is that i'm no longer just scribbling them in with a brush, they're actual geometry, so i cut back on the arms just for my own sake. also his tail now looks (and acts) like an actual docked tail.

next is the QSWX GVCTXMG AMXLSYX VIEPPC FIMRK GVCTXMG GLEVEGXIV SJ XLI CIEV, here is CREEPY 2.0

creepy was probably my least favorite character to draw. its head shape with the hair that always ends off screen, the 4 arms, the lack of any real way to move visible, it has always been a mess of a character. don't get me wrong, creepy is my second favorite character to write for (beaten only by neuro), i love its personality and its inflection, i just never got the chance to show that because i hated drawing it so much.

so for the redesign, i've basically reimagined it. its face hair now has an actual definitive ending, it has a more unique shape, and is just much more expunged-friendly in my opinion. it looks even more like its mom now...

next is this one, i thought she was american. here's PARANORMAL 2.0

i'm gonna be totally honest i have no idea what i was doing when designing para for the first time. that outfit was 100% subconsciously stolen from some other character i can't think of right now. it also really just didn't fit her character at all. also i dont know why i gave her boobs???? what????

anyways for the redesign she's basically a whole new design now. i wanted to play with some shape language. also, para always had a sort of inhuman quality to me, despite her personality, so i've given her inverted eyes and some animalistic features. i guess it adds irony or something, i dunno.

and finally, the moment GERIATRIC CAT you've all been waiting for, UNNERVING 2.0

in truth nervy's design is my favorite. the only gripe i had is the lack of legs, like with creepy. also i had to give her one of the same pride flag ass gradient as the rest so she'd fit in with the rest. other than all that i love her she is perfect just the way she is with minor adjustments

that's all the redesigns done!! i only did these 4 because stabby is not mine to redesign and NEURO is perfect just the way it is. feel free to give me any constructive criticism for these redesigns, i can always tweak em a bit. also the more stripy gradients wont a pattern that follows the contours of the body but rather just unmoving plaid always. i hope this lengthy yap sesh contributed something to something, maybe gave some insight into my characters.

and if you got this far i put a public discord server link in the intro post. you dont gotta ask anymore. dont tell anyone....shhh....*lovingly puts my finger on your lips* *smirks* *bolts away* *gets hit by truck* *instantly fatal*

[vro0m]

If Newey builds a competitive car for whatever this upsetting Stroll-Aramco-Honda-AM construct even is, I’m gonna be so pissed, I can’t even lie.

No I'm into it.

First of all an Alonso title after two decades would be amazingly ridiculous and a real win for the geriatrics.

Second of all two choices for Lance in a winning car :

He wins, we're all shocked, it's funny

He becomes AM's Perez and that's a telenovella-grade family drama I'll gladly make popcorn for

[wulfhalls]

i enrolled in uni at 22, got sick, was put in a coma for months, woke up, dropped out and let depression win for a decade as well and will now start uni all over again in summer at the geriatric age of 33. there are dozens of us out there, dozens!!

genuinely healing to hear <3 thank u all for sharing <3 there licherally are dozens of us!!!! and we're gonna make it!!!

[tired-fandom-ndn]

I know Sinners can't get pregnant according to Hazbin Word of God but I have a breeding kink so we're just gonna ignore that. That geriatric deer is gonna get knocked up and he will HATE IT.

[mister-eames]

how do you think arthur and eames would take in other slowly growing old.. I don’t see either of them as characters being insecure about themselves but how the other person would see it is kinda a mystery and exciting.. so how do you think it would go? hugs xx

Oh my goodness I love this question. I agree on them not being overly insecure in themselves - not much, or too seriously, at least. They may lament a thing here or there but nothing that would take up too much mental space.

I know it sounds a bit cliche, but overall I think they'd fall more in love with each other, tbh. Growing older is a sign of survival against an often unkind world. Of experience. It's the sexiest fucking thing in the world to see your SO earn those signs of age alongside you, to say you made it, you keep making it, despite everything life has thrown at you, you are strong enough to survive.

Though, at first, I can see Arthur having a sort of existential crisis about it.

Not because he finds Eames any less attractive. On the contrary, he loves Eames extra padding, the changes in him; the very real markers that signify that they both have survived and they are experiencing this very real privilege to get older and to do it together; that they get to share a life, full of good and bad memories - to trust someone with who you were, who you are, and who you are going to be.

But in that same regard, I can see it finally hitting Arthur in a very real way (kind of the way it hits all of us); oh... our time here is actually limited... isn't it.

Perhaps it's when they're no longer in dreamshare, risking their lives, but it occurs to Arthur in a strange, sudden sense that some day the world will go on without them. That they are in fact, mortal, despite cheating death so often in their dreams and in real life too.

Arthur might be having this crisis at 35 or 45 (probably has it every ten years after his mid-thirties tbh) and he has literal decades ahead of him, but their own own mortality really hits him. He knew, intellectually, and with Mal and Dom, and with others in his life, that nothing is guaranteed. It's just... he feels like he has earned this life with Eames, after all they've been through together and personally, and it's not even that they're geriatric or "old" by any means, but the signs are there - they are not getting younger. They are visibly growing older. There's the greys, and the aches, and the weight gain here, the fat loss there.

The fact is plain and simple with life: there is no turning this car around.

Time is a real thing. One day it starts tick-tick-ticking away very loudly in Arthur's brain, like a bomb about to go off, setting off the same kind of panic in Arthur that says do something about it -- but there is nothing to be done about it. That's the worst part. It's just life, and not even Arthur, point man extraordinaire can mitigate it or stop it.

So Eames unearths the source of Arthur's panic after Arthur takes up three new languages, asks Eames for the fiftieth time if he's sure he won't regret not having kids, dyes his hair to get rid of the greys, takes up trumpet lessons and books them a cruise or seven - and then Eames is utterly bewildered by Arthur's heightened state of existential panic because he's not even fucking old, they've never been better or happier.

At first, Eames is like, "Calm down, dear. Complain to me when we have liver spots and we're both using walkers to get around. Old is just a state of mind."

Arthur, in the midst of frantically planning a new diet for them both sans-alcohol, is not amused.

So Eames asks him, "What are you so afraid of?"

"I don't know... losing time, I guess." Arthur replies. "Or... not making the most of it."

To which Eames asks plainly, fondly, "Aside from spending your days panicking, what are you gonna do about that? What do you need to do, at the end of it all, on your final day, to look back and say 'I regret nothing'?"

"I..."

"Ask yourself: what does your life without regrets look like?"

Arthur thinks, and after a long pause says:

"I... need us to live... exactly as we are now."

"That's good."

"Maybe tell you I love you more."

"And I will do the same."

Arthur takes the deepest breath he's had in days.

Then Eames adds, "By the by, I hear that not being on your husbands back about folding laundry is the key to a long, happy life."

"Nice try," Arthur rolls his eyes, taking his beloveds face in his hand and kissing that cheeky smile. "Speaking of which. I hear helping your husband fold the laundry does wonders for longevity."

--

The press of his lips against Eames and the quiet laughter between them in that moment, is one he never forgets.

--

Later, once all the laundry is folded and they're enjoying a glass of wine, Eames will Arthur that he is wrong. They are not losing time - that every day is more time they gain together.

Arthur will concede that Eames is right, sometimes.

--

As for Eames, well. He has all the pride, heart growing with love, etc etc, but you best believe he has several canvases and sketches and papers with a timeline of every iteration of Arthur, a visual chronicle of a beautiful man, drawn by Eames, over time, in varying mediums.

Not to say Eames has never felt strange about growing older, or Arthur growing older. But he's very much at peace with it, and earned the ability to be at peace with life - and himself. He's not afraid, not when there is so much to look forward to, and so much to learn.

And so many more versions of Arthur to appreciate and adore; on paper, and in person.

--

They both take the other ageing as something wonderful, something to be cherished. We only get one chance to get old, after all, but we get near endless chances to grow older. They don't get it right every day -- that is to say that sometimes life is an alarm clock that you get up and get on with on first ring, and sometimes in life you just press snooze and both is okay -- but they get it right often enough that they can call theirs 'a life, lived'.

So, yeah, they fall deeper and deeper in love with all the signs of age on each other -- it's all the time they've had, and all the incredible time they still have to gain.

[ohara-n-brown]

The reason why a lot of people don't respect those Biden 2024 posts is because every single of one of them reduces the readers moral stance to 'virtue signaling' and 'appealing to morals'.

Me not wanting to vote for a Geriatric Genocidal Asshole isn't because I'm virtue signaling - Sorry, I just have those morals.

And if you want me to set those morals aside you're going to have to explain why setting those aside will prove to be good. As in tangibly beneficial - not just harm reduction.

Which - you can't. All you can say is 'It won't be as bad as Trump'.

Every single one of those posts is like 'We all know Biden isn't the best-'

'Biden hasn't done much'

'Biden isn't the most progressive-'

WHY WON'T YOU SAY PALESTINE?

You know that's why we're here. You know that's our problem. Say it with your fucking chest or get out of my face.

It's very clear that y'all can't make your point while also being candid. Because if you said

'I know you have these morals against aligning with those who fund genocide - and I know Biden has openly sent Billions to Israel through executive action - but I need you to vote for him even though he's directly responsible for over 20,000 deaths and the bombing of Yemen because it'll be better for us Americans.'

You know people would call you a horrible fucking person.

So instead you say 'I know you want to appeal to moral and virtue signaling and I know Biden isn't the best but I need you to vote for him because the republicans are worse.'

Then act like we're not supposed to laugh in your fucking face.

If you're trying to start the conversation but you leave Israel out of your whole post - delete it. It's useless. Because you're dancing around the topic and when people bring it up you lash out.

Just because you will vote for Blue regardless of if they're funding a literal genocide you've been watching live on your phone for four months, doesn't mean everyone else is comfortable with that.

Voting for someone in support of genocide will actively have an effect on my mental health.

It's called MORAL INJURY.

Moral injury is a REAL THING with real documented affects. Forcing someone to abandon their morals no matter how necessary has a marked effect on mental health.

I'm sorry but sometimes people just have stronger moral conviction. Some people genuinely loose sleep at night knowing their action gives power to a killer.

If you want people to vote for Biden you MUST be willing to engage the resulting moral injury. You can't ask someone to injure themselves then get pissed when they ask if you're gonna help after.

If you can sleep at night voting for Biden, good for you. But we can't.

If you want us to vote for Biden - you'll have to respect our morals, understand them, and then give us good reason to set them aside other than 'Trump bad', 'Republicans bad', 'things will get worse'.

If you want to make a Pro-Biden post you MUST address people's concerns about Palestine. You must engage with their morals properly and respectfully.

And if you can't - that's evidence that your standing is weak and most likely morally questionable.

First person to make a Pro-Biden 2024 post that ACTUALLY addresses people's concerns with him and Palestine instead of just saying 'I know you all hate Democrats' gets a cookie.

ALSO if you reply to this and you don't mention Israel or Palestine and their effect on the situation you're only proving my point. If you reply only talking about American politics with no reference to our foreign interference you are apart of the problem 💖

[visage-of-hell]

*hug* Still alive, babies, just ... going through an EXTREMELY rough patch, details under the cut.

So one of my family's geriatric kitties was diagnosed with masses on his liver and one of his sinuses about 2 and a half weeks ago when his appetite took a sudden nosedive and he developed a nosebleed. He's been in hospice mode for all this time, and we've just been watching and waiting for the day where his quality of life begins to suffer. Yesterday was that day and he is no longer with us. So between coping with that sudden (and only half-expected) loss and still trying to keep the holiday cheer for the family Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, I'm ... struggling. Like, I'm GENUINELY looking forward to seeing my family, y'know? I'm in a distraction-craving state of mind pretty badly. But today has been a crapton of pre-prep work for it, and that's the part that's been physically and emotionally exhausting to get through just one day after a pretty significant loss. To top it all off, muse and focus has kinda been all over the fuckin' place? Started getting heavily back into the Overwatch RP mood about a week ago (made a new OC and everything, oop) but have depressingly found that the Overwatch RP community is pretty much, like ... dead? So between the frustration of not being able to latch onto my Vizzy muse as strongly as I want to, but also not being able to do anything with where I DO have muse? Yeah, it's not been a great combination. >_<;; So probably still gonna be a week bit before I can finally start tackling drafts on here again, BUT ... if we're moots and you have my Discord, you can ALWAYS bug me. And if we're moots and you don't have my Discord yet, consider this your invitation to pop into my DMs and ask for it. I miss you guys like fuck but the Yeen be REALLY goin' through it. </3

[oldguardleatherdog]

Dee Snider got cut from San Francisco Pride because we're not gonna take fair-weather allies anymore

Dee Snider got his hit song bounced from San Francisco Pride for boosting an anti-trans tweet from the geriatric Paul Stanley of the transvestite lounge combo KISS (the most popular band ever in my sixth-grade class 50 years ago!).

Snider put out a whiny aggrieved statement about how being an ally "doesn't mean we have to agree with every aspect and swear fealty to every bullet point to line up with the transgender agenda!"

Got news for ya, Sister Twisted Knickers: Approval with conditions is mealy-mouthed right wing bullshit.

Try saying "I'm a supporter of LGBTQ+ people, except when they try to push marriage equality up my nose!" That and a buck-fifty will get you a cup of coffee at your local MAGAdiner, but it won't get you a rainbow flag sticker, our approval, or our trust.

Nickel-and-dime crap at the edges is not full rights or full unconditional equality. It's as fake, false, and inauthentic as a TV dinner trying to pass itself off as filet mignon. We need that like we need AIDS- and both of those have already been done to death.

If this Twisted Sister is looking for perpetual indulgence from this town, he'd better start praying to St. Jude, patron saint of hopeless causes! 😎

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I'm going off with the Percy x Ara dynamic you better enjoy it -Danny Words: 2,423 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'More Like You' -by Orla Gartland

V: Girl Help, the Backpain Is Winning

"My brother in Christ, I'm not stuffing my nose with Vaporub."

Percy shoves the menthol rub into Ara's hands along with two Kleenex. "You've gone into enough commas for a year, put the damn thing on."

"But I hate how it feels!" She whines, wrinkling her nose. "It's so gross, dude. Why the Tartarus does it sting like that? My nose feels extra wet and cold when I use it, I feel like a pig..."

"Isn't this what cops do before they examine dead bodies?" Grover pushes balls of Kleenex up his nose.

"Let's not make that comparison," Annabeth says in a stuffy voice. "No dead bodies today, okay?"

"Oh-tay," Percy winces as he inhales the scent. Ara groans as she shoves the wads of Kleenex up her nose.

"Here we go," Annabeth opens the vial and tilts it, four drops of nectar come out, each starting to move in different directions. "That's not helpful... Should we split up?"

"Always a derrible idea," Percy grumbles.

They part anyway, but after one or two minutes, Ara feels watched. The girl scans the area with reticence. "Peth—Pethsy! Ugh, dis is dum..." Ara abandons her droplet and yanks Percy's arm to get his attention, the boy jumps and curses but it sounds dorkier with those wads up his nose. "Weeb bin wadch."

"Wut?" He frowns. 

Ara pulls the wads out of her nostrils and whispers. "Something's watching us!"

The moment she says it, time stops. Percy's droplet bursts in little flames and Ara gets a whiff of it, tensing immediately and expecting to pass out... but she remains conscious. "Grover and Annabeth," Percy squeezes her shoulder and points ahead. "Something's wrong."

Grover and Annabeth are frozen in place. Ara tries to move towards them, but Percy tightens his grip on her. "Don't go anywhere," he pulls the wads out of his nose. "I don't like this. It feels like..."

"Kronos."

"It is similar, yes," answers a third voice. Ara screams when she sees the man. He's so crinkled and old, that she can smell him from where she's standing. He looks like her very own sleep-paralysis demon. "Take a picture," he snarls. "It'll last longer."

"What do you mean?" Percy asks hoarsely.

"I mean pictures last longer than—" 

"Not that. What did you mean by It is similar?"

"My power. It's similar to the way Kronos stretches time." 

"You were expecting us," her brother claims.

The old man snorts. "Sonny boyo, when you get to be my age, nothing surprises. Besides, I know who you are, Jacksons. I've been watching you."

Ara and Percy share a 'we're-gonna-die' look. "I'm guessing you're Gary?"

"Or Geras, if you prefer. And, yes, I'm a god. I'll give you a hint what I'm the god of. From my name, you get the word geriatric."

"You mean you look like that on purpose?" Percy elbows her hard. If they'd known they'd be facing a god that represents such a horrifying concept for Aphrodites, Ara would've stayed home.

"You are just like Ganymede," Gary hisses, which looks really gross since he has no teeth. "Obsessed with holding onto your most fleeting forms—the most volatile and unpractical of existences."

Ara raises a brow. "Sorry, but I missed the part where being blind and toothless is a win."

Percy clamps a hand over her mouth and yanks her back. "Okay, she's in time-out. So, Gary, you took Ganymede's chalice, didn't you?"

Gary raises his palm, and in it, a vessel hovers looking pretty mundane and ancient, so that can only mean it's the real deal.

"The chalice of the gods," Percy sighs in relief. "So... since you're already immortal, would the cup make you younger? Or has it been your lifelong dream to serve drinks?" Ara glances at Percy with exasperation but can't say anything because he keeps a hand over her mouth.

"Oh, that's disappointing..." Gary vanishes the chalice again. "Perhaps I should have started with Annabeth Chase. I understand she's smart."

"Wait a minute—you separated us with the nectar drops. What are you doing to us? Picking us off one by one? Afraid to take us all at once?"

"I could turn all three of you into grave dust with a snap of my fingers," the god scoffs. "Normally I would, because you're trying to spoil my fun. But since Ganymede sent Percy Jackson after me... well, I thought I would give you a chance. I hoped you of all demigods might understand why I took the chalice. If you don't, though, I can just disintegrate you now and move on to your friends. Perhaps they'll do better."

Ara yanks Percy's hand away and talks before he can shut her up. "You don't like Gani because he's young and vain. And that chalice can turn anyone immortal. That's not good for business."

"I hate that," Gary hisses again. Ara is thankful he's standing so far, otherwise he'd be showering them in spit.

"Right," Percy continues. "Because people are supposed to get old. Not get promoted to godhood like... You want to humiliate Ganymede to make an example. You figured I would understand, because I once turned down immortality."

"Perhaps you are not a total fool after all," Gary hums, giving her brother a polite bow. 

"Thanks. My goal for the week was not to be a total fool."

Gary turns to her and sneers. "You, on the other hand..."

"Hey!" Ara huffs. "I'll have you know, everyone is always saying I'm maturing too quickly! I'm like, the tallest in my class! I'm eating up years like no one's business, man, you should love me!"

The god growls. "Maturing and aging are not the same thing, girl. You're not doing it right."

"I haven't done anything," she mutters through gritted teeth. "How can I be doing it wrong if I don't do anything?"

"Ganymede and you have no business being what you are!" Gary exclaims in anger. "Any object that grants humans immortality is odious and wrong. You are all meant to wither and die and return to dust. That is your purpose!"

"I'm just a daughter of Olympus, dude! That doesn't make me immortal!"

"You were the first demigod in millennia to turn down immortality," Gary points at Percy with a crooked finger. "I respect that. You get me."

"This has been a nice bonding experience," Percy says, pulling Ara back. "I think you've proven your point. Can I have the cup back now?"

"I will not help the heathen," Gary glares at her. "Why would you complete this foolish quest, boy? Walk away! Let Ganymede be punished! Let the gods lose their precious chalice so they have one less way to pass on the curse of immortality to others!"

Ara pauses. "Wait, he's onto something..."

"Seriously, shut up," Percy growls in frustration, looking like he wants to shove multiple wads of Kleenex into her mouth. "Listen, Gary, I need a letter of recommendation for college. And I promised Ganymede. Besides, do you really think he is the one to punish? He didn't ask to get kidnapped by Zeus, right?"

"Oh, please! You think eternal youth and immortality make him the victim here?"

"I think having Lightning Mcqueen's eye on him is what makes him the victim, actually..." Ara mumbles, scratching her nose. "That guy sucks..."

"Yeah, have you seen the guy lately?" Percy adds. "Gani's a nervous wreck."

"I'm disappointed, Percy Jackson," Gary crosses his arms. "If you insist on helping Ganymede, I suppose I was wrong about you. Grave dust it is."

"Hold on!" Percy squeaks. "Look, I get why you're angry. But seeing as we have common ground with the whole mortals shouldn't be gods thing, isn't there some way we can reach a deal?"

Percy nudges her arm and she speaks promptly. "Yeah! Whatever you think of me, Gary, I do not want to be immortal. Being human is the best! Yay, wrinkles!"

Gary sneers again. "In all your lifetimes, you've never lived long enough to meet me, you're the biggest failure in my book."

Ara's jaw clenches. "Still. I'd like to live 'til old age this time, so why don't you help me out a little?"

Gary snorts. "How about I give your brother one chance to win the cup? You should feel honored, Percy Jackson. In the history of humankind, I have only made this offer to one other hero."

"Hercules," Percy glances at her with annoyance. "Man, she's the child of Olympus, why aren't you fighting Ara?"

"Hey!"

"You want to fight him!" 

"Well, yeah, but—!"

"You said this is your quest," Gary interrupts them. "You must defeat me in wrestling. If you win, I will give you the chalice. If I win... you will fulfill your purpose sooner than expected, and I will turn you into a pile of powdered bone. Do we have an agreement?" 

"I have conditions."

"Medical conditions?"

"No. Conditions for fighting you. First, if I lose, you only kill me. You leave my friends and my sister alone."

"Old Age never leaves anyone alone."

"You know what I mean. You don't dust them now. You let them go." 

"Acceptable."

"Next... When you say I have to defeat you, what would that look like? You're a god. I can't kill you."

"Obviously, young fool! If you can bend even one of my knees to the ground, I will consider that sufficient. I, on the other hand, will win when I flatten your face against the pavement. That is more than fair."

"That was the first word that came to my mind. Fair." 

"Anything else?"

"Yes. Let my friends go."

"You already asked that."

"No, I mean let them go from whatever you're doing to them right now."

"I just slowed them down," Gary shrugs. "Old Age does that to everyone." 

"I want them here. To say good-bye, if nothing else. Whatever happens to me, I want them to see it."

"This is not a spectator sport," the god complains.

"Just say yes, dude," Ara groans, a bit of charmspeak slipping.

The old man must like the idea of having spectators, because he doesn't fight her command. "Fine."

Percy blows up a pipe again. 

It's hard to impress Ara after all she's gone through, but watching Percy fight always leaves her speechless. That guy is a beast. She's still jealous of him, it's only natural, but as she watches him, Ara thinks of how even Geras seems to respect Percy.

She can be the daughter of Olympus, and win all the prizes there are, but her brother will always have that something that makes people stop and stare. Percy's special, there is no denying that. That's why she befriended him in the first place, the solutions he comes up with are crazy yet super effective, and if that isn't enough to think he's good, he's the reason Ara has a last name and a home outside of camp. He's not only good at being a demigod, he's a great dude overall.

When Gary crawls on top of Percy's back and starts to force him to bend, Ara's stomach twists in fear. The possibility of watching her brother die turns more real than it's been in months, and she feels a tug in her lower belly that's begging her to intervene in the fight and take his place, her skin starts itching. "Hang on," Annabeth grabs her wrist. "He's... dear gods, he's hugging him?"

"Is Gary crying?" Ara asks in disbelief.

The trio approaches when Gary steps away from Percy. They can hear the last parts of their conversation when the chalice shows up before them. "Take it. I suppose it should stay on Mount Olympus, among those fools who have already turned their backs on Old Age. You give me hope, Percy Jackson, that not everyone is like them." He cleans his nose messily. "Crossword puzzles..."

The god looks at her one last time, and seeing him in such a state softens her. "I'm sorry for what I said," she says bashfully. "I wanna live a full life, and you're part of it... but I'm an Aphrodite at heart, and wrinkles are a scary concept to me..."

"Hmph," he scrunches up his already wrinkled nose. "I'm not the worst outcome you could get, daughter of Olympus. Keep that in mind when Janus comes back to haunt you." And with that beautiful thought, the god vanishes. 

The chalice falls but Percy catches it before it breaks. "Ow," he winces.

"You did it!" Grover whoops. "Hugging him? That was really risky!"

"It was perfect," Annabeth lifts Percy's face and pecks his lips. "You know what? I think you'll make a handsome old man. I hope one day we'll get the chance to find out. But I'm glad that isn't today."

"Yeah, and let's hope he doesn't stink like Gary either," Ara replies tauntingly, but the truth is she can't shrug off the discomfort Geras left.

"So, you think we can send Ganymede an Iris message?" Percy lifts the chalice and hugs it. "I don't want to keep this in my locker until Sunday."

A hula-hoop falls on Ara's head and she yelps, rubbing the spot. "The hell?" They follow the toy as it bounces off. "Ganymede," Ara informs them.

"The Hula-Hoop is Ganymede's?" Grover frowns. "How do you know?"

"Well... the hoop. It's been a kids' toy for thousands of years," Annabeth explains. "It's a symbol of his eternal youth."

"Yeah, that doesn't make Zeus's abduction of him one bit less creepy," Percy cringes. "And you think what, Ganymede tossed the hoop off Mount Olympus?"

"I should be thankful it was plastic and not wood, then," Ara huffs, still rubbing her head. "I could've died... would've been embarrassing after I apologized to Gary."

Annabeth approaches the toy. "Hold on—It's a distress call," she pulls out a scroll of paper wrapped around the hoop. "Ganymede says he's stuck on Olympus, and he needs the cup immediately. He says... Oh, gods. Zeus isn't waiting for Sunday to have a feast."

"So... what, he's having one tonight?" Percy asks anxiously.

"Worse than that—Zeus is having his mom over for a family get-together right now. They're having brunch."

"I don't suppose we can send this Hermes Express?"

"Percy..."

"Don't they have one-hour delivery in Manhattan?" 

"Ganymede needs it now. And you have to bring it. It's—"

"My job." Percy makes a face. "Fine. Any suggestions on how I can sneak into Olympus and infiltrate a godly brunch?"

"Um, actually?" Grover says with a guilty expression. "I might have an idea." 

"Cool! I gotta go, though," Ara glances at her compass pretending to see the time. "School, you know, I love being on time. Cheerleading practice and everything." She leans forward and kisses everyone's cheek. "Aphrodite's blessing—love will keep you safe, yadda yadda—see you at dinner! Don't die!"

"You hate school," Percy scowls. "You don't wanna come."

"No, I don't." Spending another hour watching her brother be perfect and cool? No thanks! "But if you succeed, next himbo juices are on me!"

Next Chapter –>

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