#Hera tells her that doesn’t count

[missunderstood-with-ideas]

Hera: children you have not found the love of your life if you didn’t find them in the trash!

*Sabine and Ezra both look at Kanan*

Kanan: why do you assume that I was in the trash?!

Leia: no she’s got a point

Ezra: does this mean I can space Kallus cuz Zeb didn’t find him in the trash!

Kallus: Bridger I swear

Zeb: kid….Kallus was the trash

[cobrakaisb]

what was i made for?

summary: everybody hates you, but luke could never see you that way; luke hates himself, but he’s always going to be the center of your galaxy.

word count: 2.3k

featuring: angst, reader and luke share a vape (sue me🙈), but also friend dynamics, and official godly parent reveal 🙌, reader and luke are basically together (without the labels).  

series masterlist ||| previous ||| next 

“i hate it here,” you announce, taking a seat at the hermes table for breakfast. 

chris, luke, and katrina all exchange glances. you can sense their nerves from a mile away, and their unease only seems to heighten when you slam your plate and goblet on the table. chris opens his mouth, ready to comment on your behavior, but he decides not to when you throw a nasty glare his way. 

“wow, you’re hera’s daughter,” katrina teases, nudging your shin with her own from across the table. 

“no shit, really?” you reply, stabbing a lone strawberry on your plate.

“no seriously, your glare is exactly like hers. i can see her staring at me in disapproval and everything,” katrina continues with a wide smile on her face.

you flash a tight-lipped smile in response, but don’t take the bait that’s dangling in front of you. over the past few months, you’ve established quite the reputation at camp half-blood. aside from being something akin to a forbidden child -- because it was always assumed that hera would never have children -- your nasty temper, smart mouth, and enormous ego have led to a number of fights. all of them were petty, with campers making claims about you that were so far into leftfield you were surprised they even caught on. 

“what happened this time?” luke asks, his shoulder brushing against yours when he leans forward to rest his elbows on the table. 

“that stupid fucking lava wall,” you grumble, taking a bite of your pancakes. 

“okay…” katrina prompts, waving her hand in a continue motion. 

you swallow your food before answering, “i love the lava wall, it’s such a good workout, but i hate that my time slot is the same as the ares kids.” 

“nothing new, but what’d they do now?” katrina asks. 

“annoy me,” you answer.

luke says your name in the same tone he uses when travis and connor get caught pulling some master prank. you can hear the disappointment in his tone, and that elicits an eye roll from you. he doesn’t even know the full story, and he’s already picking a side other than yours, typical. 

“sorry, that we can’t all be the golden child like you,” you sneer, getting up from the table to throw the rest of your food in the burning fire pit.

everybody knows you prayed to your mother when the flames flash a deep purple before flickering back to their normal orange. 

“i’ll talk to her,” katrina says, standing up from her seat. 

luke lifts up his hand, shakes his head no, and replies, “i got it.” 

he follows you out of the dining pavilion and into the woods. you know he’s there because you can hear the cracks of twigs and rustling of bushes as he matches your step. only two people are crazy enough to follow you, but only one of them knows when to walk in silence.

“go back to camp luke,” you demand, pushing a branch out of the way. 

“not until you tell me what the fuck happened at the lava wall,” he answers, dodging the branch before it makes contact with his nose. 

you stop short, looking at long island sound through a small gap in the trees. luke knows the spot; you two come here frequently. he waits for a moment, admiring your straight back. even when you’re feeling your worst, you still muster up the courage to walk with the confidence of a princess. 

“the same old shit. you know the story,” you mumble, eyes squinting from the glare of the sun. 

luke sighs. he doesn’t understand why you put up this mask with him. why do you feel the need to continue being the strong, confident, arrogant, and put-together, daughter of hera when it’s just the two of you? he steps closer to you, standing directly behind you so his arms can wrap around your waist. you lean back into his chest, shoulders sagging in defeat. 

“i never used to care what people thought of me, now it’s all i can think about. this was supposed to be different, luke,” you whisper. 

luke doesn’t say anything in return. he drops his forehead against the back of your head, and squeezes your hips just a bit tighter. camp was supposed to be different. you were meant to feel wanted and seen; he was meant to become a hero with ultimate glory. from the looks of it, neither of you are anywhere close to getting what you deserve. 

—

some days were harder than others, luke knew this. yet, it didn’t make it any easier when one of those hard days came around. each and every time he feels utterly dead to the world, wanting nothing more than to rot away in the comfort of his bottom bunk in the hermes cabin. being head counselor doesn’t afford that luxury. so, he takes a deep breath, musters up every ounce of courage his body could possibly possess, and walks out the door. 

usually, the training arena is quiet in the mornings. nobody, not even the most dedicated warriors, is willing to get up earlier than they need to. sleep is a hot commodity at camp half-blood. and so is privacy. so, luke relishes in the quiet mornings where he’s surrounded by the soft tweets of birds, the slash of his sword, and his heavy breathing. he trains and trains, searching for a way to be good enough again. he used to pray, but after years of going unheard and unanswered, he gave up on connecting with his father.

he thinks of his mother, alone in their house in suburban connecticut. she never doubted hermes, even when he left them for worse; her faith kept her loyal. luke wishes that he had her loyalty, but he doesn’t. instead, all he feels is anger and resentment towards his father. he swings his sword again, cutting through the outer layer of the dummy, and watches as the stuffing falls gracefully to the ground.  

“that’s a lot of slashes,” you comment, and your voice draws him out of his own head.

he ignores you, continuing on with his practice session. 

“you know you can take a break, right?” you ask, coming to stand behind him. 

luke’s arm falls to his side, his sword resting against his thigh. his head falls forehead, and he takes in a deep breath, letting the clean air fill his lungs. your hand sneaks between the strap of his bronze breastplate and his bright orange t-shirt. he takes another breath, and your chin digs into his shoulder before you drop a kiss on the exposed skin by the collar of his shirt. 

you don’t say anything, and luke appreciates that about you. ever since your arrival at camp, he’s tried to pinpoint what exactly draws him to you. every time he comes up empty handed, but at this moment he knows it’s your willingness to just let him be. you never force him to be happy or content with the gods’ and their behavior. you embrace the darkness slowly rising inside of him, even when he tries to suppress it. 

“i just want to be good enough,” luke whispers, finally allowing himself to be vulnerable. 

your arms tighten around him, and you reply, “you are good enough.” 

“not for him,” he mumbles. 

“he’s not good enough for you,” you say assertively. 

luke doesn’t comment on your words. the conviction in your voice is enough to inform him that there’s no changing your mind. he wishes he believed you, but he doesn’t. 

“you’re not the one who failed their quest,” luke mumbles. 

you openly scoff at his words, letting go of him. he waits patiently for your next move and stumbles when you pull him towards your face by the strap of his armor. your eyes met, and luke swear he’s never seen such fury brewing in them.

“don’t ever use that as a determinant of your worth. that quest was impossible luke, and he knew that,” you seethe. 

luke blinks, letting your words sink in. he can’t believe them; he doesn’t believe them. 

“it was my chance, my one chance to show him that i’m worthy,” luke whispers, leaning his forehead against yours. 

you let out a shaky breath and luke can feel the anger and frustration radiating off you in waves. he knows that if he wasn’t holding you in his arms, olympus would fall. he blinks, and you’re standing there, in the middle of crumbled temples and the debris of ancient ruins with the fiercest look in your eyes. you’re hera’s daughter, and you’re loyal to a fault, he thinks.

“i just don’t know how much longer i can do this,” he confesses, kissing your earlobe. 

“me too,” you answer, squeezing him tighter. 

—

the two of you are sitting on the dock, feet dangling over the edge as your toes barely graze the surface of the water. you always meet here after all the campers in the hermes cabin settled into bed. when he was able to sneak out and away from their curious eyes.

“i hate it here,” you whisper, leaning further back into luke’s chest.

“you don’t hate it here,” he mumbles, fumbling around in the pocket of his cargo pants. 

“i do,” you answer with certainty. “everybody here hates me. except maybe you and katrina,” you continue. 

luke doesn’t accept or deny your statement. instead, he just hands you the orange stick. you scoff at him, but take the vape from his hands anyways. one thing about luke, he feeds your addictions; every single one of them. instead of thanking him, like you normally would, you bring the vape to your mouth, inhaling deeply. you wait a second, letting the toxins fill your lungs, and then release the smoke in one puff. there’s nothing sexy or hot about the action, but luke squeezes your side, pulling you a bit closer. 

“i can’t believe my plug is my boyfriend,” you joke, but there’s no happiness in your tone. 

luke pokes your side. you switch the vape to your left hand, holding it out to him. you wait patiently for him to take it, but he doesn’t. that confuses you. you turn to face him, forehead bumping against his chin. it hurts, but you just grit your teeth instead of saying anything. luke grimaces, leaning down to plant a kiss on your forehead. 

“there are other people here who like you,” luke says.

“name them,” you demand, taking another hit. 

luke takes the item from you, uses it, and then answers, “chris.” 

“is your friend not mine,” you reply. 

luke rolls his eyes. “connor and travis,” he continues. 

“enjoy torturing me, not my company. besides, they’re like ten,” you say. 

“okay then, what about clarisse?” luke asks.

now it’s your turn to roll your eyes, “clarisse tolerates me.” 

“that’s more than i can say,” luke answers, and you snort at his response. 

luke smiles softly at you, and you feel your cheeks heat up. you hate when he does that. when he looks at you like you’re the only person he could possibly dream about. there are days where there's such deep admiration for you in his eyes, you wonder if he leaves burnt offerings in your name instead of the gods.

you turn his face in the opposite direction and whisper, “don’t do that.” 

“do what?” he asks nonchalantly.  

“you know what,” you answer, shooting him a pointed look. 

luke grins. it’s proud and cocky, telling you that he knows exactly what he’s doing. his brown eyes crinkle at the corners, and his scar bunches up with the upturn of his lips. you think he looks the prettiest in this moment; in the dark of the night, with messy curls, grimy skin, and a vibrant smile. you turn again, so that your legs are draped across his lap, and wrap your left arm around the back of his neck. luke’s left hand, the one previously resting against your side, lands on your right thigh, and he squeezes the flesh there as he kisses your temple. 

“do you think we moved too fast?” you ask, taking the vape from his right hand. 

luke waits, expecting you to take a hit, but you just look at him with eager eyes.

“i think we’re doing everything right,” he explains. 

his words hold a deeper meaning that you refuse to acknowledge at the moment. you know what’s going on, but you don’t want to think about it. what would mother say?, you wonder. you lean your head against luke’s shoulder, nose brushing against the crook of his neck, and close your eyes.

“do you think icarus knew he was falling to his death?” luke asks, breaking the silence.

it takes you a moment, but you respond, “maybe. i’m not sure.”

“i mean he was flying the whole time, and then suddenly, he’s plummeting into the mediterranean,” luke continues, taking the vape from your hand.  

“maybe he wanted to die,” you reply, tilting your head to meet his brown eyes. 

a confused expression overcomes luke’s face, propelling you to continue on: “he must have known that the sun would melt the wax, and then his wings would break. i think icarus meant to die, trying to send a message to daedalus or even maybe the gods.”

luke ponders your words for a minute. the gears in his head turning as he contemplates the truth behind your theory. is that what we’re doing?, he wonders. the brewing plans between the two of you linger over his head like a dark cloud, but he can’t bring himself to regret anything.

“so icarus had a greater purpose…like us,” luke observes, wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

“exactly,” you answer, leaning into his side. 

luke hands the vape back to you, and you pocket it for good this time. he exhales deeply, engulfing you in a cloud of mango-scented smoke. it burns your lungs, but at least you feel something, which is more than you can say as of lately. 

“i just want to be happy,” luke announces. 

“happy and free,” you decide, kissing his cheek delicately.

taglist: @percabethlvr @iwantahockeyhimbo @hottiewifeyyyy @loveryoushouldcomeoverr @used2beee @harrysnovia @cami-is-reading @mxtokko @cxcillia @obxstiles @maraschinocherry3

[audreyscribes]

Ω PJO DEMIGOD HEADCANONS: 👑HERA: QUEEN OF THE GODS, GODDESS OF MARRIAGE, WOMEN, MARTIAL HARMONY, AND THE PROTECTOR OF WOMEN DURING CHILDBIRTH 💒

Author's Note: Hi everyone, so some of you have been expecting this. I wasn't lying that I hadn't give it some thought but I didn't write this earlier since I wasn't sure how I could make it work. It might not be what you guys expected but here it is. This is going to be a stretch and please suspend your expectations for this. This is for the anons who asked if I could do Hera. I tried. This is what I came up with. Thanks for reading, liking, and reblogging! I really appreciate it! [PJO DEMIGOD HEADCANONS MASTERLIST]

*Warning: Immense wall of text below [Keep Reading]

I can only see this happening, given that Hera is very loyal to Zeus, and how a demigod child of Hera is born. 

You’re a child of Zeus when the King of the Gods became mortal (SOMEHOW) temporarily and Hera supported him like the loyal wife she is. 

You’re either born like how Athena births her children, where Hera thought about (a) mortal man, or like Hebe (in some mythological records) where she was born from Hera eating a piece of lettuce, from Hera by herself, but was somehow born half-mortal, instead of immortal. 

You were crafted out of clay by Hera? Maybe???

You were born when Hera had become mortal herself (SOMEHOW????), born with Zeus’s help *COUGH*. 

Regardless, your existence or any other demigod child of Hera is unheard of. Like it was not even a thought of possibility. 

No one is sure how to proceed or wrap their minds around your existence. I don’t think you’re told how you were born, but even if you were told, you’re sworn by the River of Styx not to tell anyone except outside a few very selective approved individuals. This is because out of the listed reasons above, only one doesn’t insinuate anything relating to the King or Queen of Gods being mortal; which would reveal a weakness to the two monarchs of the Gods and the harmony of peace among the gods, or indicate Hera of cheating which would break the foundation of marriage and the law behind it. This unfortunately creates a lot of gossip behind your back about your godly mother and you’re the physical representation of it. Something Hestia herself tells you about, in a disapproving way to your godly parent.  

There are immediate renovations to the Hera cabin, mostly because it is not livable at all. You’re temporarily put in the Big House until things are done to the Hera cabin. Annabeth has been given an official ‘pardon’ by Hera because of this, so there’s that? At least.

Annabeth isn’t sure how to interact with you, given Hera’s clear distaste to her, and how you’re her daughter, but at the same time you’re also innocent. 

Percy is also a bit conflicted given Hera was the one who gave him the amnesia and the whole camp Half-blood and Jupiter thing, but he goes about it a bit easier because he knows all about bearing their godly parents misdeeds and grudges and all that. 

On the other hand, you’re living with the knowledge that by technicality, a lot of people could’ve been married under the Ancient Greek laws. For example, Percy and Annabeth could be or would’ve been married when you heard that they were playing hacky sack with an apple and if Percy threw the apple at Annabeth, and she caught it, it would’ve technically counted as “accepting a marriage proposal”, and they were married-

Your mother’s domain is technically powerful and important but at the same time, it’s not very useful to you; considering there’s a lack of married individuals among the campers and the only one who is married is Mr. D, but you don’t dare to. But it’s not like you can do anything anyway since he is a god and you’re just a demigod…that and he’s been avoiding you.

Mr. D just avoids you and you’re not sure until someone tells you that Hera tricked his mother, Semele, into making Zeus reveal his true form to her to prove he was Zeus, evaporating her. 

If Camp Half-blood has the aura of uncertainty, then Camp Jupiter is the opposite. The treatment towards you is the opposite where they treat you with reverence but because Juno is so revered, being her child makes you feel isolated.

The cabins that are at odds with you are the Aphrodite, Zeus, Athena cabins, while the cabins that are more cordial with you are the Hebe, and surprisingly the Ares and Hephaestus cabins. 

At least there are a bunch of beautiful white lilies at Hera’s cabin, making the cabin more of a place to live than a renovated temple. The lilies are there because it is said they were born from her. 

Argus is also your bodyguard for a reason. He was created by Hera for the sole purpose of being a guard and watchman, and considering you are the daughter of Hera, you fall under his duties. Not long after you were born, when you have grown out of the age protection Hera can protect you from, and Hebe when you’re past 8 years old, the monsters start coming into droves. There are monsters immediately trying to kill you, not just fueled because you’re a powerful demigod, but because of also Lamia, who she personally comes hunting for you. This is because Lamia, when she was a mortal queen and had the eye of Zeus, Hera was responsible for killing all of her children and became what she is now, and is also responsible for monsters hunting demigods to this day. Argus is only able to protect you only for so long so sharpen your skills and fight for your life. 

When you get claimed, the world goes absolutely silent. Everyone stares upon the claim mark floating above your head, a peacock, like its a crown above your head. The spread feathers of the peacock does certainly make it look like one. With a crown above your head and a field of white lilies sprouting beneath your feet like a white carpet, it almost makes you think you’re a child of royalty being announced.  But you don’t let yourself be that deluded much longer. They stare at the mark longer than you like to admit, some blinking and rubbing their eyes as if they are seeing an illusion. You already know who your godly parent is, so you know the claim is just a message to Camp Halfblood. 

That you are the demigod child of Hera. A being that has not been thought of to even possibly exist. An impossible existence. 

Yet here you are. And you knew how. And yet you couldn’t tell any of them because Hera made you swear to not reveal that information to anyone outside of a very selected few confidants. If they knew any of the truths, then it would break the balance of the gods and would bring chaos to them; threatening them and you. 

The claim begins to fade, disappearing into glittering lights and as it falls upon you, so do the campers’ eyes. Thousands and thousands of eyes stare at you, not for you, but what you are. 

Argus stands beside you, standing like a guard and his protective stance only adds to the confirmation.

Mr. D drops his can of diet coke and as it splatters across the floor, Chiron finally breaks out of his stupor. He kneels and bows before you, his limbs shaking a bit as he stutters as he announces. 

“The bloodline is determined. Hera, Queen of the Gods, Goddess of Marriage, Women, Martial harmony, and protector of women during Childbirth. Hail, [y/n] [l/n], child of the queen of the gods.”

There is silence before chaos erupts as everything is turned over their heads.

[x-0ophelia0-x]

Ezra just nonstop flirting and being an absolute lovable dork around fem Reader Post reunion..

Poor reader’s desperately trying to get her work done in peace but she is struggling..

One, either because Ezra is even vaguely in the same space as her and she can’t focus because of his stupid pretty face, or his stupid voice that makes her feel all fluttery inside..

Or two, he’s not there at all but she still can’t focus because she can’t stop thinking about him! A mechanic who can’t focus is a mechanic who can’t work… and she needs to get her work done!

So the next time Ezra walks up to lay a flirty line on her she just stops.. gets up, walks over to him, grabs him by his collar and shoves him In chair.. sits on his lap, grabs his face and kisses him.. hard, like within seconds Ezra went from being all suave and flirty with his crush to his crush straight up making out with him on his lap….

Girl has her hands fiddling with his soft curly hair, and thumb rubbing across his cheek when she pulls back for air.. gently running her fingers across his bearded jaw as she slowly gets off his lap…

He his too stunned to speak…. But she’s not~

“I finish work at ten.. I know a few places that stay open late for dinner.. if you’re late THAT won’t be happening again for awhile..”

Reader Calming walks away with a satisfied grin on her face to go back to work…

Ezra: ….. OH KRIFF YEAH!!!!

the last sentence was literally me when I first read your request 😭

can’t focus? can’t work.

pairing: Mechanic!Fem!Reader x Ezra Bridger

warnings: none, kissing at the end

word count: 2K

summary: you are a well known mechanic which meant that you had plenty of work to do. There was one problem tho.. Ezra. He always managed to distract you from your work, even if he wasn’t around you. You can’t focus yourself anymore on anything and this was bad for your job. You had to find a solution to this.. which you did. Leaving him completely flustered behind.

authors note: Flirty Ezra lives rent free in my head.

Pls bare with me, flirting isn’t my speciality, if his attempts to flirt don’t make sense I‘m deeply sorry.

anywayyy

enjoyy <3

Hera asked you if you could help her with something. The Ghost made weird sounds for over a week now, she wanted you to take a look at it. 

„Are you sure? I don’t want you to overwork yourself. I know that you’re quite busy, this can wait for a few days“

She tried to reassure you, knowing that you were a well known mechanic which meant that you had tons of work to do.

Unbeknownst to her though, you had other problems. 

Ezra.

-

Some time passed now since he finally returned. He didn’t want to show it but those years which he spent alone… let’s just say that they left their mark.

You two were close before he disappeared, nobody confessed but you had your moments with him. And now? After all those years you two noticed that you had to catch up on a few things…

And since he was alone for a decade now.. he made sure that he made his affection towards you clear, not thinking twice before he opened his mouth to say something he’d maybe regret when he couldn’t sleep. 

Or not, it’s Ezra after all, he’s sure as hell proud at how he makes you feel.

You kind of enjoyed it, and you still do. But your not so official boyfriend just doesn’t know when he has to stop. 

It all leaded to your current situation. You accepted way to many comissions hoping that they’d keep you concentrated. And they did, for a few days. 

You were stressed, regretting your actions while you worked at the different shuttles or machines. 

Ezra always found his way to you, sneaking in to your workshop, spending his time with you while you fixed some broken parts. 

„Did I tell you that you’re beautiful?“

Yes he did, multiple times now and he always managed to make you blush whenever he said that.

„I guess so“

You tried to brush it off, focusing on your work as best as you could. 

„Do I see a blush?“

He smirked, walking closer to you while you continued your work. 

This boy was so full with love, love that he wanted to share with the only person he wanted. You.

And he made sure that you knew that there was ‚someone‘ who’d be always here for you.

You turned around, originally wanting to change the tools you were working with only to collide against Ezra’s chest. 

You were trying to maintain your focus so much that you didn’t even notice how he left his corner and made his way closer to you. 

And you blushed even more.

„Oh yeah that’s definetly a blush“

There was no point in hiding your face now, you just stepped closer to him, resting your head on his chest while you wrapped your arms around him.

„You’re going to be the end of me, do you know it?“

„Your ‚end‘ will at least be a handsome one“

He said, not even hesitating for a second after your statement. A proud smile made it‘s way up to his face, yes. He indeed was very handsome.

You looked up to him, straight into his eyes. They were directed at you, representing his affection. 

Words can’t explain how they made you feel.

You could stare at them for hours and never get bored of them. 

They were just so… peaceful? Loving, caring, actually a sight that comforted you. 

Blue always had this effect on you. Hera once got really worried because you were standing in the cockpit, not moving a muscle while you observed the hyperspace’s blue. 

His eyes had this magic effect on you and he soon noticed that.

„If you like my eyes that much.. why don’t we go somewhere more private where you’d have all the time you need to observe them.. or more“

He of course had to say something. 

Would it still be Ezra if he didn’t? Nope.

Why did it even surprise you.

After all, deep within his heart, he still was the 18 year old boy who loved to tease his people. 

-

„Don’t worry, I’d be more then happy to work at something I actually care for“

Even if Hera was right about you being busy, she didn’t know anything about your inner conflict. 

Ever since Ezra started to be all lovey dovey around you, flirting with you whenever he got his chance, you felt like you couldn’t get anything done anymore. 

The image of his face, his eyes, his mouth, his handsome hair or whatever. 

He was just perfect and your brain made sure that you wouldn’t forget it.

His voice was a constant element in your mind, haunting you whenever you did something.

„I‘m just worrying about you.. you seem to be stressed“

„I mean… I am but.. believe me, working on the Ghost will definetly help“

„How so?“

„I‘ll be actually working alone“

She was confused, you were already working alone, you didn’t have a coworker, or did she miss something?

„What do yo-„

„Heyy Hera! Ehem..“

Hera was cut by Sabine calling her through her comm link. 

„Sabine! What’s going on?“

There was an apologetic look on her face as she turned around.

„Could you come please? A pilot needs some good advice from you“

„Can’t you handle it..? I‘m in a conversation right now“

„With who?“

Hera gestured for you to come closer so that Sabine could see you.

„Hey there“

You said nervously.

„Oh perfect! Okay y/n tell me and be honest, would you want to repair another X-Wing this week?“

This confused you, Sabine knew about your busy schedule, why would she recommend such a thing?

„.. Sabine… why do you ask?“

This caught Heras attention too.

„Well.. if Hera doesn’t want to come to lecture our newest pilot, your mechanic skills may come in very handy by the end of the week“

You heard a sigh coming from Hera. Seems like Sabine won.

„Okay, I‘m on my way“

„Thank you, see you! And y/n, good luck with the Ghost!“

And with those words she ended the transmission. 

„Seems like she still got her spirit“

Your attempt of a joke actually managed to get a chuckle out of Hera.

„Oh yeah.. however.. thank you for prioritizing the Ghost on your list, I really appreciate this“

„No problem, you’re basically my family, the others can wait a little longer“

You said your goodbyes when Hera left to go and get this new pilot lectured about his X-Wing while you made your way to the Ghost. 

You ran some test and after a few minutes you too noticed the weird sound coming off the engine. 

You ran a mental check list of the things you’d have to get from your workshop in order to get that nasty sound fixed. 

Well.. you tried your best. The thought of a certain someone crossing your mind. 

His laugh and his eyes.. damn they where so beautiful.

He was beautiful.

Damnit! Again! You won’t be able to get any work done at this rate. How did he even manage to take control over your thoughts. 

Jedi or not, he wasn’t even in the same room as you right now. 

With all your willpower left, your tried to stay focused and get your tools to repair your friends ship. 

Everything you had to do right now was to just fix it, it shouldn’t be too difficult, right? 

Your mind always managed to drift off, memories of and with him, his attempts to flirt with you or his handsome face.

Oh my force, why did he have to be this handsome in the first place?

Drifting off while you were at work seemed to be your new speciality.

He had such a big effect on you and it started to annoy you. 

Not he as a person, nor his affection.

You were growing to be upset with yourself. 

A mechanic who can’t focus is a mechanic who can’t work. 

It is as simple as that.  

And if you can’t work, you sure as hell won’t be able to keep your deadlines.

You had to find a solution to this.

Something to stop you from getting distracted whenever you where alone.

But what?

-

You were once again working on a other shuttle. This time you only has to repair something that broke within the wings.

Yes. Wings.

Heras advice didn’t seem to help enough, that new pilot still managed to destroy it. 

For the first time in what felt like forever you managed to stay focused.

Not thinking of him and his flirting or everything.

Until now.

You heard someone’s footsteps closing in on you. 

And then, his sigh before he started to speak. 

„We’d be married by now if you decided to just spend half of the time with me that your spending with those shuttles“

He faked a hurt tone, looking down in ‚defeat‘.

„I already miss your voice.. so sweet..“

He continued, sensing through the force that even if you didn’t answer, he still managed to make you feel flustered.

„Please don’t make me bring the ‚I see the stars in your eyes‘ card, it’s too simple, your eyes don’t just resemble the stars but also the whole un-„

Ezra stopped when you just stopped whatever you where doing.

You placed the tools somewhere on a desk, getting up from your sitting position to walk over to him.

You didn’t say a thing. 

Not a damn thing. 

„y/n?“

Still no answer. 

Instead you reached out for his arm, grab him by his collar to push him onto the nearest chair. 

He was speechless and when you didn’t leave him any time to realize what was happening, you were already sitting on his lap.

Now it was Ezra who was flustered af. 

You then placed your hands on his face, holding him while you took every ounce of courage you had to finally kiss him.

Hard.

Very. Hard. 

Bro was flabbergasted to say the least. 

But he didn’t hesitate to return the kiss.

He still tried to understand what was happening right now. His flirty attitude from before seemed to be replaced. 

Right now, just for you, he was the most passionate man, putting everything he had into that kiss. 

Your hands started to work on their own. The one fiddling with his soft locks while the other did it’s work around his cheek. 

Poor boy still tried to understand how he went from trying to flirt with you to straight making out with you on his lap.

However, oxygen was something you both needed in order to survive, and you two started to run out of breath, you pulled back.

Locking your gaze with him.

You were panting, both of you. Trying to catch your breath.

This was… intense.

You ran your fingers across his bearded jaw as you stood up from his lap, not breaking the eye contact. 

Now it was him who was speechless, a blushing mess even. 

You at the other hand enjoyed this.

„I usually end my work at ten… there are some places I know that stay open late for dinner… don’t be late, otherwise this… won’t happen again anytime soon.“

You then walked off, back to where you were working. A satisfied grin on your face. Words couldn’t describe what you were feeling right now.

It was overwhelming, you just kissed him, kissed him so hard that he was still speechless.

The Ezra Bridger. Speechless. Because of you.

Ezra was still sitting on the chair. Slowly realizing that you asked him out on a date. And that you also just made out with him on his fucking lap. 

His stunned expression turned into a excited one.

He was still too stunned to speak, but his mind was everything but quiet right now.

„Holy force…“

SHE ASKED ME OUT!

OH KRIFF YEAH!!!

[dotthings]

Here's the thing.

Nothing in Ahsoka contradicts canon concerning how The Force works. Neither did the sequel trilogy. Or, for that matter, the prequel trilogy.

Some quotes or observations under the cut.

While the contents of this interview from the book The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi by Jonathan W. Rinzler could be considered somewhat apocryphal, given George Lucas laid out some ideas he didn’t stay with (such as Yoda being unable to fight, only teach), there are other things that are consistent with what he did in the prequels and TCW. George Lucas embraced the idea that The Force was trainable. He compared it to Yoga. There's nothing in Star Wars canon to indicate that George's ideas on that can't be the case.

Kasdan: The Force was available to anyone who could hook into it? Lucas: Yes, everybody can do it. Kasdan: Not just the Jedi? Lucas: It’s just the Jedi who take the time to do it. Marquand: They use it as a technique. Lucas: Like yoga. If you want to take the time to do it, you can do it; but the ones that really want to do it are the ones who are into that kind of thing. Also like karate. Also another misconception is that Yoda teaches Jedi, but he is like a guru; he doesn’t go out and fight anybody.

[x]

Midi-chlorians are in all living things, like The Force. Some individuals have higher midi-chlorian counts than others. But everyone has them.

The Phantom Menace:

ANAKIN : Master, sir...I've been wondering...what are midi-chlorians? QUI-GON : Midi-chlorians are a microcopic lifeform that reside within all living cells and communicates with the Force. ANAKIN : They live inside of me? QUI-GON : In your cells. We are symbionts with the midi-chlorians. ANAKIN : Symbionts? QUI-GON : Life forms living together for mutual advantage. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of the Force. ANAKIN : They do?? QUI-GON : When you learn to quiet your mind, you will hear them speaking to you. ANAKIN : I don't understand. QUI-GON : With time and training, Annie...you will.

*

QUI-GON : With your permission, my Master. I have encountered a vergence in the Force. YODA : A vergence, you say? MACE WINDU : Located around a person? QUI-GON : A boy... his cells have the highest concentration of midi-chlorians I have seen in a life form. It is possible he was conceived by the midi-chlorians. MACE WINDU : You're referring to the prophesy of the one who will bring balance to the Force...you believe it's this boy?? QUI-GON : I don't pressume... YODA : But you do! Rrevealed your opinion is. QUI-GON : I request the boy be tested.

YODA : ...Correct you were, Qui-Gon. MACE WINDU : His cells contain a high concentration of midi-chlorians. KI-ADI : The Force is strong with him. QUI-GON : He's to be trained, then.

And let's go back to the very beginning.

From A New Hope:

LUKE: The Force? BEN: Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.

This doesn’t mean everyone is equally strong in the force.

Another point--Chirrut Imwe exists. There are, canonically, precedent on different ways to access The Force. Some can listen to it. Some can listen and manipulate it. Chirrut can hear The Force, he doesn’t have the full gamut of Jedi powers or tk. I am one with The Force, and The Force is with me.

The current situation wrt Sabine and The Force was already established Star Wars: Rebels, and what Kanan said aligns with Ahsoka's approach.

From Star Wars: Rebels: Trials of the Darksaber:

Hera: Were you careful with Ezra? I don't remember him fighting with a stick. Kanan: Well, maybe I'm trying to do things differently this time. Hera: Or maybe because she doesn't have the Force, you don't believe she can do this? Kanan: No. The Force resides in all living things. But you have to be open to it. Sabine is blocked. Her mind is conflicted. She's so expressive and yet so tightly wound. She's so… Hera: Mandalorian. Kanan: Very.

This doesn’t mean Sabine’s force abilities will be as strong as other Jedi we’ve seen. It also doesn't mean she has to move the mug for it to be worth it to train her. Or that she will move the mug.

But Ahsoka's concept is not actually against canon. It's not “ruining the franchise.” It’s not destroying the idea that there are some individuals who are more strong in The Force, unique in their abilities. Sabine will either be able to move the mug with The Force, or not, but if she does move the mug, it's not contradicting canon or taking away from established Jedi. It just means she unlocked something in herself. Something she has kept closed off.

She can also become more attuned to the force, and never be able to use tk and move that mug.

Also, it's neither anti-Jedi nor Anakin apologism to question the Jedi order. George Lucas did a whole movie trilogy and a tv series that highlighted those flaws.

People are using Huyang as proof Ahsoka is completely in the wrong...Huyang's a droid programmed to repeat Jedi dogma. He's essentially a sacred text.

He's not going to be capable of exploration and asking questions and learning new things, or new ways to look at established dogma.

[miramilocamimira]

For @nectaric

But It Was

Inspired by their Zeus fics about Typheous.

Warning: nightmares, references to gore, hurt & comfort

Zeus hurls a bolt at the beast. Thunder roars as Typheous meets him blast for blast, strike for strike. He cannot lose. Even one misstep could be disastrous.

Sharpened winds of the giant’s storms cut through his skin. Ichor trails down from the various cuts and wounds. Here is where it happened.

Where one of the tornadoes pick up a tree and knocks him to the ground. His body stings and aches as he screams inside himself. It’s not real! It’s just a memory- just a dream!

It doesn't stop the pain. It doesn't stop Typheous from digging his claws into Zeus legs and tearing the flesh. It doesn't stop him from being dragged into the gods damned cave. It doesn't stop him from being chained.

It stops when there's pressure on his shoulder and he lunges- something the chains should prevent- lighting cracking at his call when a familiar voice screams his name. Halfway off the bed, the energy fizzles out.

“Hera?” He breathes, eyes focusing through the haze as he looks at his wife. She's cradling her hand and horror fills him. He looks at her burn. “Love, are you alright?”

“Am I alright? Zeus, are you?” Her other hand reaches out and touches his cheek. She wipes at his cheek and that's when he notices he is crying.

“I’m fine. We need to get you to Apollo.”

“No.” She commands when he moves to get up. “My love, you promised me you'd tell me anything I wish to know.”

He doesn't want to speak of it. It wasn't real. It's not like Typheous and him were back in the cave. It's not like she and their family had left him again. It was just a dream. It doesn't matter.

It shouldn't matter.

“It was merely a memory.” Hera doesn’t move. He needs to get it over with. Electrical burns, even for gods, need to be treated as soon as possible. “About Typheous.”

Her posture softens and she murmurs his name.

“You know you can talk to me. I’m here for you.” She’s right. She always has been. Except…

“I was fighting him when some debris hit me. After that, I was back in the cave, Hera. It's fine.” He says. “It’s not real. That burn is, though, and you need to get it checked-”

“But it was.” What? “It was real and you suffered, Zeus. What had happened was horrific.” He speaks her name and she shushes him.

“We said that it wouldn’t happen again, right? That we will be beside you no matter what.” As always, his brilliant wife put together the issue way to quickly. “You were alone, fighting to save our home- to save us, and we weren't there.”

His eyes sting and Hera keeps her hand on his cheek.

“I will apologize for leaving you however many times it takes, husband. I am not going to run away again.” Her eyes are fierce as she continues, “And if the storm giant dares to wake, he will not get to you. I won't allow it.”

“I love you.” He chokes out and she brings his head to her as the tears continue to pour. She keeps her good hand in a loose hug around him. Repeating the words back at him as she held him.

Zeus does make her check-in with Apollo despite her own insistence that it barely counts as a burn.

[winns-stuff]

LO RANT:

Can we just talk about how incredibly insensitive and blissfully ignorant some fans are about trigger warnings for these very heavy and touchy subjects? Listen I’ve never been so disappointed in my damn life about this stuff, how are you going to read a comic about all of this heavy stuff that happens to people in real life yet also want people who’ve been affected by said topics to shut up or disengage from the comic completely. Y’all are giving this grown woman too much coddling at this point and it’s distressing, Rachel is a grown woman and it’s not like anyone forced her to put these topics into her story she understands (I hope but I say this loosely) that these discussions can be harder to experience for some people rather than others which is why trigger warnings exist and why you give your millions of fans who all come from very DIFFERING experiences than your own a trigger warning to warn them so their day won’t be demolished.

People have a right to call that shit out and if you don’t need the trigger warning good for you, stop acting like these people are insulting the comic by asking for one. It’s not like people are asking her to make a whole around the world trip in one day they are simply just asking for a damn trigger warning. I’m getting so extremely tired of Lore Olympus fans still not getting or even trying to understand this, these people understand that this comic handles serious things but just because Rachel has been “forgetting” the trigger warnings and they don’t want her allowing her fans to go head first into disturbing content doesn’t mean they want their hand held. Also, for the people saying that they should know when those scenes come up you make no sense anyways because you really can barely tell when scenes like these are coming without a trigger warning. The Demeter thing took me by surprise, so did Hera’s story, so did Demeter’s backstory, so did Hades’ shitty apology, etc. The amount of times that I got blindsided by serious topics such as those being dropped into the comic is way too fucking many to count so please don’t try and hide behind that excuse. There’s millions of fans out there who don’t expect shit like this just because you’ve been studying Lore Olympus and got down the mannerisms of the characters before something disturbing or traumatic is coming up doesn’t mean others do.

I’m sorry if I come off rash or meaner in this post I’m just extremely over this whole thing. I am a person that needs trigger warnings as well and last night I watched a video, thinking it would be funny, that ended up harming me. It was a “health” video and it was basically someone telling the viewers that regular human things happening to you is a sign of a painful death, I remember being so mortified that I felt my blood running cold and my heart pounding in my ears. If you didn’t know I’m very anxious, paranoid, and an overall hypochondriac so I don’t do well with shit like that coming up and randomly making itself known. I know many people probably wouldn’t care but I just wanted to let you guys know why trigger warnings are so useful and important to those that need them. Last night my body entered flight or fight mode just by that video alone and I was absolutely panicked, I was in so much distress and it was all because of one video. It only takes one chapter without a trigger warning to trigger worser things than that and we should all be mindful of that fact.

Again, sorry if all of this is aggressive or mean I didn’t mean anything by it I just wish that fans did better. It’s sad seeing them put down others for genuine concerns and it’s even sadder that Rachel does not do anything about it. There’s only so much toxic positivity you can fill up before there’s no real community left and there’s way too many fans who deserve at least a trigger warning with these things it really doesn’t take long to make and it could genuinely save people from these experiences such as mine.

Moral of the story is if you don’t need trigger warnings don’t bag on people who do, they’re not sensitive you just don’t share the same experiences as them and you don’t know what their background is at all. Be mindful that everyone isn’t you, respectfully.

[tarisilmarwen]

I see a lot of people say that Ezra and Sabine are sibling like because Sabine doesn’t like him and Ezra got over his crush in the second season.

What proof is there in the 3rd and 4th season that that is not true?

Honey if you want definitive canon proof of narrative intention you are on the wrooooooong ship.

The truth of the matter is that reading Ezra and Sabine as romantic is an interpretation. It's one that I think personally has a lot of merit behind it, but unless and until I hear from the writers a definitive, "Yes we were actually definitely heading that direction for them." then everything is guesswork and theory and fanon and we can't make any absolute statements.

What people are doing when they say those things is essentially demanding that you stop shipping it because it isn't canon. Rather than trying to find "proof" to prove those people "wrong" (which trust me has led to way more drama in way more ship wars than I can count) just don't let it bother you and ship the ship anyway, because since when has canon status ever stopped anyone from shipping anything?

Kalluzeb isn't even canon (canon as in the text itself clearly portrays romantic feelings between them, discounting any outside commentary) and that doesn't stop the shippers one bit. Why the heck should it stop us on the Sabezra train?

Now, all that being said, I will put forth a couple arguments as to why I think romantic!Sabezra was something that may have been intended by the show.

1: The constant paralleling of Ezra-Sabine to Kanan-Hera.

This started Season One and it was constant throughout the show. Kanan gets jealous and annoyed at Lando for flattering Hera, Ezra gets jealous and annoyed at Lando for flattering Sabine. Kanan babbles nervously around Hera's father, Ezra babbles nervously around Sabine's brother (AND her father, later, too). Ezra and Sabine's first conversation in "A Fool's Hope" is almost a shot for shot recreation of the Kanan/Hera scene at the beginning of "Kindred". Ezra and Sabine's dynamic even, starting in Season Three and extremely prominent in Season Four, takes on a lot of the playful teasing bantering and quipping that defined Kanan/Hera from the beginning promo shorts (see "The Machine in the Ghost" for an example, then compare the Sabezra banter in "Flight of the Defender").

Why invite comparison to the primary main objectively romantic canon couple on the show if not to have the audience draw comparison?

2: The canyon chase sequence in "Imperial Supercommandos".

I maintain that much of the staging and posing in that setpiece was at the very least... questionable, if we were meant to view the two as purely and completely platonic.

3: "Are you with Sabine?" "Yeah I'm with her! I mean--not with her with her, I'm just friends... with her."

There was literally no reason why they needed a She Is Not My Girlfriend moment if they had dropped all intention of showing Ezra having a crush on her. XD

There was no reason for Ezra to assume Alrich was asking about that, and if he truly had gotten over his feelings he wouldn't see an unprompted! need to clarify their relationship.

Including that moment does the opposite of discouraging Sabezra interpretations.

I know this isn't the concrete answer you wanted but as I said, it's not a concrete situation. Sabezra is still, at this point, fanon. It's got a LOT of material to support a romantic interpretation regardless, and I'm definitely liking our chances to go canon in the Ahsoka show but I'm not going to be obnoxious "Those fans are WRONG!" about people seeing them as solely platonic in Rebels. And I would definitely encourage the rest of the shipper base to do the same, because as a Fandom Old I can tell you that no one likes overdefensive shippers.

For the most part I am very happy and proud that we've not been shoving our ship into non-shippers' faces and demanding they take the same interpretation.

I would kindly like the same courtesy to be extended to us.

[illuminatedquill]

Sabine Wren x Ezra Bridger

The Last Promise

End of the War.

Thrawn’s command ship, The Chimaera, is boarded by Jedi Knights, Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren.

Lightsabers ablaze, they enter the bridge. Thrawn is alone, watching his fleet burn by New Republic forces.

Thrawn: A victory well earned. Even I didn’t see it coming.

Sabine advances on him, Ezra close behind.

Sabine: Well, we aim to please. Although it is strange to see you, of all people, be impressed with what’s happening.

Thrawn: It was well done. I am not so egotistical to not commend your plan when it works.

Ezra scans the room and then Thrawn.

Ezra: He’s unarmed, Sabine. No one else here.

Sabine: Good. Get on the comms and let Hera and the New Republic fleet know.

Ezra hurries over to the comm station.

She turns to Thrawn, a grim smile on her face.

Sabine: It’s over, Thrawn. The Empire is well and truly dead after this.

Thrawn: And so it is. But, I’m afraid you will share the same fate, Sabine Wren.

Sabine: What’s that supposed to mean?

Thrawn: You plan to arrest me, yes? Put me on trial?

Ezra: Yes. You’ll answer for your crimes.

Thrawn: Along with all who aided me in my plans.

Ezra pauses and looks at Thrawn. Sabine looks to Ezra.

Sabine: Ezra. It’s okay.

Thrawn: What will the New Republic do when they learn that one of their own was the reason for my return? Will they show you leniency?

Sabine raises her lightsaber to Thrawn’s chest.

Sabine: Be quiet.

Thrawn raises his hands in mock surrender. His smile is almost gleeful; red eyes glowing with all the menace he can muster at this last revenge on his personal enemy.

He’s enjoying this.

Thrawn: Will you kill me? Not very Jedi-like. In fact, I’m counting on it. The Empire will fall but I’ll make sure it takes every last one of you with it. Starting with you, Sabine Wren.

Ezra is silent. Sabine looks to him again, her eyes full of sadness . . . and resignation.

Sabine: I know what I did was wrong. I accept that. I’ll face the consequences.

Thrawn: There will be no peace for you. They will drag you through the streets of Coruscant. Mock and curse your name. You’ll be hated. Exiled from every New Republic world. I’ll see to it that every waking day from here on is filled to the brim with misery and pain -

There’s the sound of blaster fire. A sizzling hole appears in Thrawn’s chest.

Sabine whirls around only to find Ezra, holding one of her blasters.

She lowers her lightsaber, shocked.

Sabine: Ezra?

He doesn’t answer. His face is unreadable as he steps forward to catch a collapsing Thrawn.

Thrawn looks surprised. Blood leaks from a corner of his mouth as he coughs.

Thrawn: . . . Unexpected. You continue to surprise, Ezra Bridger. This is not the act of a Jedi.

Ezra, sadly: I know. I’m not doing this as Jedi.

Thrawn: Then . . . why?

Ezra looks away and finds Sabine’s eyes.

Ezra: You wouldn’t understand.

Thrawn looks between the two of them and nods to himself.

Thrawn: No, I think I do now. Both of you. Why she did it. Why you did this. Mysterious how it can move people to act outside their normal parameters . . .

Ezra: You mean the Force?

Thrawn: No.

The Grand Admiral shudders once and is still.

Ezra closes his eyes and lays him down. Sabine just watches, not knowing what to say.

Ezra: It’s finished. We need to call Hera.

Sabine: Ezra. Why - why? I was ready to -

Ezra: You did it for me. I’m doing this for you. We’re even.

Sabine: It’s not right. None of it was the right choice!

Ezra: I know! I know.

Sabine takes a step back, surprised at his outburst.

Ezra looks at her. Smiles sadly.

Ezra: We’ll have to make up for what we did. Rotting in a New Republic cell won’t do it.

He steps to Sabine and holds her hands.

Ezra: And we’ll do it together.

Sabine, so soft. Looking into his eyes and seeing the endless devotion and care pouring out. She didn’t need the Force to tell how he felt in that moment.

Sabine: It could take a while, you know. To fix all this.

Ezra, nodding: Probably. Could take the rest of our lives. Lots to do.

Sabine smiles, tears forming.

Sabine: Is that a promise, Ezra Bridger?

Ezra smiles back. He answers, but not with words.

[x-reader-things]

“You’re our son—” (Spider-Man AU - part 3)

Part One ; Part Two

Ezra Bridger x gn!Reader

Summary ; In which Hera tells you both the plan of action.

Requested? ; No! Part three of the AU that I talked about in my last post- :DDD

Warnings ; mention of Kanan’s master Depa Billaba getting killed. Also not much of a warning, but found family things w / Hera, specifically- <33333

Word Count ; 1.3k

——————————————————————

The explanation was small, and straight to the point. After a couple years of living with the Ghost Crew, Ezra figured out that long winded explanations wasn’t the best route to go down when talking with Hera.

He and Kanan heard from police scanners that ‘The Inquisitor’ was at it again, terrorizing others on a subway train for whatever cause he was trying to pull them into (something something ‘Empire’ or whatever. Ezra didn’t pay too much attention). The both of them swung their way over, got to the subway station just before the train went off on its way, and swung in just in time.

And just before the police got to them too, thankfully. They really don’t appreciate a vigilante when they see one. Luckily, Hera had some pull to help them out of trouble.

While Kanan was busy getting citizens in the subway car, Ezra was busy fighting ‘The Inquisitor’ on his own for the first time.

Bad decision, because he ended up getting thrown onto one of the seats, and his mask got ripped off, which revealed his identity to the ‘Big Bad’ he was fighting. Not that The Inquisitor knew his name, but he definitely knew his face now.

And now yours, too.

Because you were right there, unbeknownst to both heroes and the villain. Hidden in that corner, shielding yourself and your groceries with only your school bag. And you visibly and verbally reacted when you saw what happened.

It doesn’t even take an idiot to realize that you knew who Ezra was once the mask was taken off. Especially when said idiot was The Inquisitor. Which was a no bueno with Kanan and his rules.

After all, he lost his teacher - the only motherly and parental figure he had - Depa Billaba, because something similar happened to him years ago. He never really explained what happened to Ezra. All Ezra knew was that a lot of people were killed that day because of it. Including her.

Kanan could never live it down in the slightest, because of that. He wanted Ezra to always be careful with his mask when going out in the city as another Spider-Man, just in case.

Which, in turn, probably made this situation a lot worse, the more Ezra thought about it.

Hera hummed, mouth pressing into a thin line once Ezra finished his explanation. “Ok… that makes this, well, a little bit more difficult than I thought.”, she said thoughtfully.

She placed the warm ceramic cup down onto the table, and sat up fully. “But, that doesn’t mean this can’t be fixed.”

“Y/n”, she said, turning to you. “You’re gonna have to lay low here for a little while, ok?”

“Wait - what?”, you furrowed your brows, looking at all the grocery bags on the table in front of you. “What about these? Or - or my parents? Or school??”

“We‘ll have that covered, kiddo, don’t worry.”, she smiled at you. “I’ll have Sabine and Zeb drop them off later on today, and we can call up your parents to explain the situation. I work as a consultant for the police, and this house is a designated safe house just in case for situations like these. We have a guest room you can stay inc and You and Ezra can still go to school. You just have to be driven there instead.”

“But the—“ Hera cut you off again.

“I know, I know, the traffic sucks.”, she pointed a thumb to the rooms behind her. “Kanan and I know our way around the city on the roads. So does Sabine, if we can’t drive you guys. It’ll be fine.”

The smile she gave you was one full of sincerity and hope. It was… oddly calming, to say the least. Then again, she always had that effect on you. And Ezra (not that he would ever admit that to Hera herself though. You, however, are a different story).

You took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. It calms you down, before the rush-in of loud thoughts could make their way into your head again. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.

You’ve had sleepovers there before, anyways. It’ll be just like those. Just… a really long winded one, until The Inquisitor is off your’s and Ezra’s tail.

“As for you, Ezra Bridger”, Hera continued once again, her voice taking on a sterner lilt. “No going out as Spider-Man with Kanan for a while. Not until we have the situation with The Inquisitor under control, alright? Do you understand me?”

“What?”, now it was his turn to question the decision made. “Oh, c’mon Hera, it was one slip-up—“

“One slip-up that could easily get you and your best friend either hurt or in danger, or - hell - even both”, she told him, gesturing to the both of you. Her tone grew more serious, more urgent the more she went on. “Kanan and I aren’t willing to risk it, Ezra. Your our son—“

Ezra’s eyes subtly went wider. The amount of conviction in Hera’s voice struck a chord in him, one that he sometimes forgets he has.

Family.

The concept is still so new to him, even if it’s been a few years.

“—much like how Sabine’s our daughter. And Y/n may not be apart of this family, but we care about them just as much as you do. We need you both to be safe. This is the best course of action we’re able to do right now, alright?”

Ezra sighed, shoulders visibly deflating. Hera was right; you both knew that. It was the best course of action, and there wasn’t much either of you could say about it. Not right now, at least.

And it’s not like he minded being out on house arrest either. Especially if it was with you. It could be fun, if things went smooth enough.

Hopefully.

“Alright”, he agreed, albeit a hint of reluctance still hung on to the edge of his words. “If this is the best course of action to keep us safe then… I guess it’s fine. Right?”

He looked to you.

“Right.”, You gave a reassuring nod, brows furrowing upwards afterward for a moment in a silent question. He nodded back at you, reassurance there and clear as day for you this time.

Hera’s face softened up, a small and relieved smile turning the corners of her mouth up. “Good. It’s settled then. I’ll go get Sabine and Zeb to grab the groceries and bring them to your parents, Y/n. In the meantime… think about dinner.”

She stood up from her seat, bringing the cup of coffee with her. “Usually it would be my turn to choose what to have tonight, but I’ll leave that decision with you”, she raised her cup in your direction. “After all, it was this bucket-heads fault for getting your into this mess.”

She lightly flicked Ezra’s ear. He let out an indignant noise, and brought a hand up to his ear, staring at Hera with a look of utter betrayal.

“Hey!”, he exclaimed, pouting a little bit. “What was that for?”

“You know why, Ezra.”, Hera gave him a pointed look, and turned back towards the kitchen. On her way, she glanced back at you again. “Think about what you want for dinner, sweetie. It can be anything you want.”

You smiled brightly at the thought. Hera chuckled fondly at the sight, and opened the door to the kitchen, closing it behind her once she stepped over the threshold.

Ezra slowly turned back to you, his hand still rubbing his ear. Flick or not. Hera’s strength stung.

“Soo… what’re you thinking about for dinner?”, he asked you. The casualness of it all made you both fall right back into the usual comfortability, as if nothing big happened between you two, or the family in the house you were in.

The bright smile you had stayed clear as day, only enhanced by the setting sun blaring through the blinds behind you.

“How does Chinese food sound?”, you asked, leaning your forearms against the table.

Ezra always thought sunsets were beautiful. This one was just as lovely.

“Sounds perfect.”

His own smile radiated back at you, like the glare of the moon reflected back to the sun.

[lifblogs]

Deal: Chapter 3

AI-less Whumptober: Day 4 Hiding An Injury | Betrayal | Lying @ailesswhumptober, @tarisilmarwen

Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Pairing: Sabezra Word Count: 2437 Summary: While on a mission with Ezra Sabine gets injured and she hides it from him, not wanting him to worry. Things go sideways, and what Sabine wants becomes a whole lot more difficult. WARNINGS: Graphic Depictions of Violence READ ON AO3

They were taken to command. Along the way both Sabine and Ezra had been bound, their hands in binders behind their backs.

They were deposited before Thrawn on their knees.

The sudden pain was enough to wake Ezra. He immediately started growling, trying to get out, but a slap from one of the troopers made him stop. His eyes were all for Thrawn, burning. Sabine felt too hurt to drudge up such hatred, but she perhaps had enough energy to still be level-headed about this. Thrawn liked to negotiate, and with their comms down this long Hera and Kanan would know something was wrong. Despite how alone she felt now, they weren’t alone. She knew that. There was no way they wouldn’t get out of this.

“So, two rebels infiltrating a prison base,” Thrawn mused, hands behind his back. He paced, slowly. “I’m glad to see my hunch was correct, that you would be here.” With that he looked back at them, but he was facing the large windows at the front, and didn’t turn from them. Out there was nothing, the planet killed by the Empire. Nothing but black rock and ash was outside the base. “Usually, it’s not my job to go hunting rebels from base to base, but it didn’t take much work to figure out you would come here. Let me guess, Fulcrum sent you? How disappointing. How obvious.”

“Obvious?” Sabine asked. “Then who were those prisoners? What were they for?”

Thrawn seemed a tad surprised, and even amused, that Sabine hadn’t known that much.

He came over to them now, and Sabine tensed. Her already injured neck was hurting so much more for having to look up at him. She tried standing, but was shoved back down. The force of it had her breathing hitch, and the pain in her right side bloomed anew.

“You didn’t know? Then I suppose there’s no use telling you. They did their jobs.”

“Is that why you killed them?” Ezra growled. “You were done with them? They were expendable?”

“My dear boy, everyone is expendable.”

“Even you?” Sabine asked.

Thrawn’s brows lowered at this, his red eyes seeming to glow with a hatred she couldn’t fathom.

Before anyone else could speak an officer in a gray uniform came up to Thrawn. After a quick salute he said, “Grand Admiral, your ship is in range.”

Sabine went cold, her stomach dropping to her feet, and she had to try and stop herself from shaking. Why did it suddenly feel like her heart was in her throat?

Kriff.

She glanced at Ezra. If they were going to do something to escape, they had to do it now.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” He turned to the rest of them. “Take Miss Wren, and Bridger to my shuttle.”

Sabine shoved back into the hands grabbing her, standing her up. The extra force threw them off, and Sabine found herself toppling backwards with the stormtroopers. This stretched her torso, back making a bow, and she cried out from the sharp throb that went through her ribs. That sharp throbbing stretched around to her back, and now she was a tad afraid something was out of place too.

“Sabine? Sabine!”

More hands grabbed her, and then she was pulled up, face to face with Thrawn. His hands were on her, not any of the troopers’. She had fought in many battles and yet this made her throat go dry.

“You’re injured,” he commented as he set her feet on the floor in a surprisingly gentle manner.

She tried to laugh, and tilted her head, showing her right cheek and the swelling she felt there.

“So?” she challenged.

Why did it matter to him? Was he fascinated with her pain for some reason?

“Bridger doesn’t know.”

“Uh, I have a ball growing on the side of my face—I think everyone knows.”

“Sabine, what’s he talking about?”

“Nothing, Ezra!”

“Ooh, and a liar too.”

At this point she was fed up. Couldn’t he just shoot her or something instead of whatever this was?

“Just take me to your kriffing shuttle.”

Thrawn grinned, and Sabine thought maybe she stopped breathing. A grin did not look good on that face. This was one of the faces of the Empire, a face that hunted her even in her dreams. And always he killed her family in those dreams, leaving her alone in her suffering. Yet this time she knew whatever pain was coming would be directed at her.

He turned her around, and she fell back against him, which was far too personal for her taste. She could feel him breathing. How odd to realize that the Empire’s Grand Admiral breathed just as she did.

Before she could pull away he grabbed her; strong, blue fingers digging into her fractured ribs.

Sabine couldn’t feel her legs, and there was so much pressure in her lungs, in her head, that she thought they were going to explode, that she would explode.

She writhed in his grip, legs she was now a bit more aware of flailing, kicking backwards. Her body tried to cave in on itself, to escape the pressure of that devastating hand. She thought maybe she tried screaming, but there was barely enough air to do it.

Her throat seemed tight, her voice stuck in her, but perhaps a choked sound escaped.

Through it she thought she saw Ezra fighting off his guards, his binders, thought she maybe heard him calling her name, and begging for Thrawn to stop.

He did, and shoved her forward when she was done.

Surprisingly, her enemies let Ezra catch her, and hold her up. His thumbs wiped away tears she hadn’t known were there, and he was particularly careful with her right cheek. His own right cheek was a swollen mass of red and blue. There was a cut along it where the butt of the blaster had struck his cheekbone.

“Why did you hide that from me?” he asked, voice hoarse, broken.

She tried to smile, but was exhausted from the pain. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

“How touching,” Thrawn commented.

Ezra sneered.

Stormtroopers grabbed them again, and that was when a blast from outside blew out the window. Sabine tried to get to the floor and wrap herself around Ezra as shards of transparisteel shot towards them. Ezra tried to do the same. They ended up huddled on the floor together, the building shaking from more blasts.

In the confusion Ezra got her binders off.

What ha happened? Was it the Ghost?

They had been in there a long time without comms, so Hera and Kanan must have figured out something bad was happening.

Luckily the bigger shards had passed Ezra and Sabine by. They had small nicks and cuts on their faces, a few on their bodies, but nothing major. Ezra reached out to ruffle the smaller pieces transparisteel out of her hair. She reached to do the same for him, but his hair was so short that all he had to do was shake his head.

Thrawn was up on his feet already, and Sabine looked around for her helmet, and their weapons. Ezra found them, calling them over with the force. He gave her forehead a quick kiss before putting her helmet on for her.

Another blast, and her comms came back on.

“Spectre-2?” Sabine asked, confirming this was indeed Hera.

“Spectres-5 and -6, you’re back with us?”

“It would seem so,” Ezra responded.

They were up on their feet, but even though Thrawn seemed to snarl at them, he passed them by. He had bigger problems, it would seem.

The Ghost came into view through the shattered window, and Kanan jogged out, ponytail blowing in the harsh wind.

“Need a lift?” he called.

Sabine collapsed against Ezra, partially in relief, partially from the pain that Thrawn had inflicted. She was worried about the state of her ribs at this point, and how dangerous this injury could get.

“Master, I’ve never been so glad to hear your voice,” Ezra said, wrapping an arm around Sabine’s waist, and lifting her other one to be around his shoulders. 

She tried to hang on, and hoped this position wouldn’t jostle her too much.

Chopper trundled down the ramp, yelling at them. Blasterfire started up outside, even as a haze of smoke wafted into the command center from the fighting in the halls. Zeb, probably.

Kanan dodged blasts effortlessly, and took out his lightsaber.

“Yeah? Well, if you want to keep hearing it, get on board!”

“You okay to walk?” Ezra asked Sabine, and for a moment it seemed like just the two of them, all alone in the galaxy, but together.

“I’ll manage.”

Through a haze of pain, and hitched breaths, Sabine managed to get onto the Ghost. Ezra tried to help her up the ladder from the cargo bay, but she pushed at him, telling him to go help the others, that she was fine.

Sabine managed to get to the cockpit, where Hera was pushing everyone to get back on board.

Sabine collapsed into her seat, but she didn’t know whether to hunch over or lean back, or—

Every move hurt.

“What happened?” Hera demanded. “Are you okay?”

“Ambush,” she panted. “Thrawn’s here. He had the prisoners killed.”

Hera’s face fell. Then she said, “Well, that explains the Star Destroyer on our scopes.”

She urged everyone to get back to the Ghost, especially Zeb and Ezra since they seemed like they wanted to wipe out Thrawn here and now.

“But—” Ezra tried to argue.

“There is a Star Destroyer entering orbit,” Hera interrupted whatever Ezra was about to say. “We have to go. Now.”

There were a few panicked minutes Sabine tried to take in as everyone got on board.

Then they were taking off, and of course were met with X-wings as they were leaving the atmosphere.

Hera managed to twirl the Ghost onto its side, and Ezra helped Sabine stay in place, and then they dove between two X-wings, and were in hyperspace. The ship’s artificial gravity had an easier time now, and Sabine eased back into her seat.

They had escaped. And yet, the adrenaline hadn’t given way to relief for Sabine. As she was about to tell Hera she was injured, Ezra did so himself, and then he was taking her to her cabin.

He cursed the design that led to her bunk being atop the booth, and Sabine definitely agreed. Still, he sat her down, and she took her helmet off.

With the soothing hum of the engines, it was easy for her world to shrink down to just the two of them again, though she was not looking forward to this part.

Ezra almost reached out, but then pulled his hands back. “Where are you hurt?”

In answer Sabine took off her chestplate, and then lifted up her shirt. She looked down at the injury as well, and she was met with black and blue taking up a good portion of her torso. There was swelling a few inches below her right breast, and she thought she saw purple there as well.

“Oh, Sabine, why didn’t you tell me?”

“We were… a little busy,” she grunted out, partially lying.

“I’ll go get some ice. And I’ll let Hera know you need medical attention when we land.

Sabine grabbed his hand, and pulled him close. Her hand ghosted over the swelling on his face. “And what about you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Heard that before.”

“Oh, from you?” he teased, reaching up to hold her hand close.

“Shut up. Just go get some ice.”

When Ezra returned with ice, he held it to her torso for her, and another to her face.

“I think we need more for the backs of our heads later,” she said. “Are you dizzy at all?”

“No, no. I’m fine.”

Ezra swayed.

He pitched up against her legs, and with a sigh, he tried to make himself more comfortable. Sabine took over holding her own ice, wincing at the pressure of it against her ribs. As for her face, it was already feeling remarkably better.

“Okay, so I wasn’t the only one hiding an injury,” Ezra admitted into the comforting quiet.

“So why’d you do it?” Sabine asked, feeling the warmth of his body even through her clothes.

He rubbed at her leg, the one that had first been electrocuted, but she didn’t mention it, even as she winced. There was too much to worry about as it was.

“Didn’t want you to worry.”

“And I… I didn’t see a point,” she got out. Then she forced out, the words almost painful enough to bite her tongue, “I didn’t want you to think I was weak.”

Ezra sat up, and looked at her. “You? Weak? Sabine, you’re amazing, and one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen. If someone calls you weak then they don’t know poodoo.”

She gave him a rare smile. “Thanks.”

He rested back against her, and she felt for the lump on his head. She was rewarded with a wince from Ezra. Thankfully the lump wasn’t too big, but he’d been dizzy. Yet another thing to worry about. Still, he couldn’t be injured too badly, but knowing he was injured at all sent a pang through her heart.

Just then she laughed, or tried to before she was left gasping with pain, and almost toppling forward.

Ezra held her up, and after he looked at her, her bare skin she was showing, the bruises not covered by ice, their gazes met.

“What?” he said, almost a whisper.

“I think we need to agree to be honest with each other in the future.”

“I will if you will.”

Sabine smiled despite her pain, despite her difficulty breathing because of it, and she pulled Ezra closer. “Deal.”

She kissed him, and tasted the sweat on his upper lip, felt the warmth and softness she was so familiar with. For a moment she remembered the dried blood on her mouth, but he wasn’t hesitant with his kiss. Ezra pressed his lips against her earnestly; he hardly knew another way.

The universe could have sped on into its own self destruction by the time they pulled back. Sabine pressed her forehead to his, and she felt him lean into her, doing the same. They were living in each other’s space, their breaths, their shared warmth.

When Ezra spoke it was a quiet promise amongst pain, and Sabine wanted to kiss him again to hold it inside of her, but she found she didn’t need to—she trusted him:

“Deal.”

[sophieswundergarten]

HEY BODS I LOOKED AT THE MEME NOW: S.O.S. CHAPTER 22 REACTION

@nobodysdaydreams I... I don't know what to say... I still have some suspicions... I don't even know anymore...

I’m already nervous

I love how Constance immediately tries to trap her in a big existential crisis

I already really like the Whisperer (You are very right, she reminds me a lot of Hera)

OH SHOOT

SHE BROKE HER

Oh dear…

And Garrison is really hesitant to actually get mad with Constance, but Constance is just being her usual self

Which is kind of funny, because what she’s doing to Garrison is what Garrison wanted her to do to the Whisperer

Someone needs to give Garrison a hug. And also help her not be evil-adjacent

Oh no

Oh, Garrison has been through so much at this point. In the Show this scene feels like another silly subversion of expectations where Constance (child) has the upper hand over Garrison (adult). But this is so much worse with the last twenty-some-odd chapters of context

“Friendless and alone” Oh boy. That feels like a pretty familiar summation of someone’s life…

Constance insulting the doll reminds me of her insulting Number Two’s “skeletal fortitude” in the books adhfdj

YEAH. YEAH CONSTANCE ASK HER ABOUT THE WHISPERER. SHE ACTUALLY KNOWS STUFF.

Oh. Oh no. Bods, if you make me cry over Garrison right now, sitting in the dark eating cold noodles, I swear—

And all Garrison wants is to hide. She doesn’t feel like she’s redeemable. But Constance is scaring her so much… I wonder what this says about her history with psychics

“And by this point, Garrison herself has erased and hidden so much from herself and from her own head, that even she didn’t know the full truth of what she had sacrificed to create the Whisperer” I’M GOING TO CRY ABOUT GARRISON HERE IN THE DARK WITH MY COLD NOODLES. THAT’S THE LAST STRAW.

As promised, 30% of your light switches have been covered in two inches of duct tape :) 

GARRISON BACKSTORY

I’M SCREAMING

I AM SO CONCERNED FOR HER

Oh, Garrison. Accommodations are really helpful. I know it’s scary, but you don’t have to always be on your own :( 

MILLIGAN

Milligan is the best I love him he’s so great

“He looked out for everybody. Garrison didn’t even have the strength to look after herself”

Oh, Garrison. Oh no.

I definitely understand the frustration of having a hiding spot at the top of the library and then having it disturbed

“He dressed as if he was constantly going to a job interview and carried himself with an attitude that suggested he was going to be the one doing the interviewing” I’m glad she can tell that he’s ridiculous and pompous at first glance

“Garrison wondered whether he actually believed that anyone fell for his façade. He seemed to try so hard to present himself as this perfectly approachable, emotionally balanced, intelligent, and all-knowing person, and yet he was unfailingly unable to hide the satisfaction and hunger on his face whenever he received any praise or achievement under his poorly crafted mask of false modesty.”

YES. TEAR HIM TO SHREDS.

Ajkddfjkdjf

Now they’re nemeses. They’re delightful

Curtain really is so arrogant and out of touch, even back then

SHE THOUGHT HE’D LEAVE. SHE UNDERESTIMATED HOW PETTY THIS GUY IS.

“The concept of having someone else in her space did bother Garrison, but she supposed that it bothered her nemesis as well, so in a way, that made it even. They could be uncomfortable together. And she knew she could count on him not to try to engage her in conversation, so in a way, Garrison was still alone”

Oh boy. She needs some help. And a big hug. Knowing what’s coming is somehow making it worse

OH

OH HE FELL ASLEEP IN FRONT OF HER

THE DRAMATIC IRONY

GARRISON DOESN’T UNDERSTAND

oh

HE COVERED HER WITH A BLANKET

This poor lady. She’s so tired :( 

AKJHdfskjhdfsa

Pedalian is her lab partner

This is amazing

I always love Pedalian content

BUT ALSO OH MY WORD

“He would occasionally ask Garrison some questions, but most of the time he was content to broadcast his own thoughts on a continuous stream, without any apparent consideration as to how his words might sound to other people. Which many would have judged, but Garrison did not. Pedalian’s ideas were interesting, and his thoughts gave Garrison a welcome distraction from her own.” Bods, your words are so pretty

Afjsdjkadkj He refuses to tell them what “L. D.” stands for. Of course. I forget sometimes that not everyone knows

AND THIS BIT. WHERE MILLIGAN SAYS THAT THEY’RE ALONE TOO. JUST LIKE IN THE FIRST BOOK WHEN THE KIDS MEET. IT ALWAYS HURTS SO MUCH

“They might not have been biologically related to her, but blood-related or not, they were Garrison’s older brothers. They took care of her, and they loved her, and she loved them, more than anything”

Oohhhhhhhh. We talked about this, chapters and chapters ago. Oh.

“But then something unexpected happened. Her friends didn’t think her dream was impossible. They said her ideas were brilliant, they offered her solutions to her problems, and then they offered her the greatest gift imaginable. They offered her their minds, their livelihoods, and their resources, more talent, money, and manpower than Garrison could ever have thought possible. It was her one chance to build her machines, her one chance to have the safety and security she had always dreamed of”

If I wasn’t such a sad pathetic mess I would have done much more property damage at this point. I’m painting exactly one of your doors a very obnoxious colour of yellow. The horrible lurid neon kind that almost looks green.

“ Yes, Pedalian was a brilliant neuroscientist, and yes, he had known what he was doing, but… if Garrison had told her friends the truth about what her machines could do…if she had done more for Pedalian… if she hadn’t been willing to lie to ensure that her machines were built… if she hadn’t fought so hard to survive for so many years and had just given up on herself years ago… then… / Then her friend would still be here.”

Bods. Your salt and pepper shakers. They live in a hole in the ground now.

 “Her morals and ethics were the price she had to pay for secrets, and it was a price that Garrison paid over and over again, piece by piece, giving more of herself away each time she crossed another ethical boundary, from erasing her friend’s memories to experimenting on children.” You’re really not holding back this chapter, are you?

“She did this again and again until finally, Garrison found that she could no longer live with the guilt inside of her. She looked in the mirror to find the woman that she once thought she knew was gone, replaced by the monster that had destroyed her family, the monster whose machines had killed one friend, separated another from his daughter forever, and turned her other friend into someone who was just as horrible as she was. And when it came to the final point of choosing between her inventions and her family, Garrison found that she didn’t have a family to choose anymore.”

OH OKAY. YEAH. I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE. ALL YOUR LAMPS HAVE BLACKLIGHT BULBS IN THEM. YOUR FRIDGE LIGHT IS BROKEN AS WELL AS YOUR MICROWAVE LIGHT. MORE PROPERTY DAMAGE TO BE DETERMINED LATER

Oh no. And Constance doesn’t get it. Of course she doesn’t. That must be terrifying.

DON’T CALL HER A COWARD. SHE MADE SOME MISTAKES BUT THAT’S JUST GOING TO HURT HER SO MUCH MORE. CONSTANCE YOU DON’T HAVE THE WHOLE STORY

She was all alone… And she’s still alone…

Milligan and Miss Perumal are an awesome team

But you’re not forgiven yet, Bods

WAIT

IS THAT WHY SHE FOUND KATE??? BECAUSE SHE WAS PART OF SOME CHILD RECOVERY DEPARTMENT BEFORE IT GOT SHUT DOWN?????

… Is this part of where the Mafia Reynie idea came from?

I’m glad you wrote her a good backstory, though (Still unforgiven)

AND HE STILL THINKS HE’S A HORRIBLE PERSON. OH, HE’S IN THE SAME BOAT AS GARRISON. THIS IS AWFUL

I keep going back to that scene where Garrison thinks Milligan is going to hurt her at the Institute and even though he’s frantic and desperate he just wishes he could help her…

“ “I do. I’ve spent a lot of time looking into the eyes of people who have done terrible things. I’ve also spent a lot of time around people who are genuine, selfless, and kind. I know what kind of person you are. So does your daughter, and the rest of the children, and your friends.” ” Bods, once again you outdo yourself

Aaaaaaannd we’re back to poor Number Two at her wits end while Nicholas is caught in a stupid mental mirror maze of sunbeams and confusion. Yipee. /s

I do love that they get at least slightly distracted by the fabric texture though asdhfjasfd

And there’s that thing about him not being a burden again. I feel that :( 

Nicholas is all concerned over here (As he probably would be normally, just in a more befuddled way) and Number Two is out for blood because Curtain hurt her family. I can’t wait to see you narrate her when Constance freezes up. I’ll probably lose it then too

“brief kidnapping” Asfkjfskj I love these people

MARLON /derogatory

This is the bit where he gets what’s coming to him. I bet you were really excited to write this, weren’t you?

STOP BEING MEAN TO JACKSON AND JILLSON

Uugghghhghg Every time I read about him in S.O.S. I am struck with a need to write revenge fics where terrible things happen to Marlon because he’s so mean to the two of them adjsdkjf

Y’know. I’m not even going to question the Alpaca. Good for him. I hope he enjoys his lunch.

OH NO IT’S GARRISON TIME AGAIN

“And then, at last, Garrison had enough, and she felt the now familiar feeling of another one of her moral boundaries crumbling to dust inside of her.” Oh dear, Garrison. I wish Milligan could just take her with them at the end of this bit. She needs a lot of help. Don’t leave her all alone in the sad rootcellar

(I mean, please don’t leave the Whisperer alone either. But I have no clue how that would work at the moment)

“And they all had people who loved them and could remind them of who they were, which was more than Garrison could say for herself.” EXCUSE ME???? MA’AM???? ARE YOU OKAY???? OBVIOUSLY NOT!!!!

OH OKAY. AND IT ENDS THERE????? HOW DARE YOU. YOU KNOW I LOVE YOUR WRITING BUT ALL I HAVE FOR YOU IS SCREAMING AT THE MOMENT. I LOVE YOU BODS BUT WHAT ON EARTH. IT IS LITERALLY JUST SCREECHES IN MY BRAIN RIGHT NOW

[peggy-sue-reads-a-book]

Tell me about Aphrodite’s jewelry collection!! What kind of stuff is her style?

She is very sentimental and can’t get rid of a gift, for one. So there’s a weird layer of stuff she won’t wear but won’t get rid of because it was a ~present~.

She’s very fussy about her preference of gold over silver and won’t mix metals. I don’t think she likes to wear much at once so she tends to swap out small pendants and little chain bracelets. She has a twisty little cable ring on her middle finger. Overall nothing large or dangly. She just wants to surf and eat chili fries. If she hates something she describes it as “cumbersome.”

Sometimes natural pearls because she likes how lumpy and weird they are.

She has a vintage locket that she likes to keep a picture of herself on one side and the other side is just whoever she has a crush on. Ya know. So when she shuts it, they’re kissing. Dee Dee Ramone was in there the longest but she won’t admit to it.

I feel like she has a cladagh ring from a boyfriend and that one doesn’t come off. We don’t know the story there.

She likes puka shells. They’re, um, a most ancient feminine symbol. 😏🤭

For sure she has a toe ring. Mainly because when she rubs her foot between Ares’ calves at night, it totally gets caught on his leg hair and freaks him out and also she’s kind of contrarian and Hera thinks toe rings are tacky.

This is a great ask because Aphrodite’s jewelry is a very important part of her look. Being a nudist, the accessories really count.

[witchywriterlythings]

Something This Way Comes

Chapter Eight: It’s ‘Everyone Attack Percy’ Day

I tried to find a routine for myself in the next few days and for the most part, I felt like I did a pretty good  job. As long as you didn’t count the sneaking out to visit with the naiads of the lake so they wouldn’t expose me before I was ready. That was a lot of trial and error. 

Every morning I worked through Ancient Greek with Annabeth, going over myths I didn;t know or couldn’t remember as well as she wanted me to. The hardest parts of those lessons were her trying to walk me through other forms of Greek than my mom had given me access to, but I was getting through a few lines before making a mistake. 

Annabeth would usually be patient with me, especially when I started trying to teach her Mycenaean Greek in exchange. “My mother is a goddess of battle,” was one of her favorite phrases to learn. 

Sadly the rest of my days were not as fun as my mornings with Annabeth. Everyone was constantly trying to figure out who my father was to no avail, though it led to some pretty interesting moments.  The wood-nymph instructors were wary of me but friendly, and tended to pit me against other campers instead of racing me themselves. Itwas hilarious to me that trees could tell what I was and yet the immortal centaur was denying it. 

Luke must have seen something during our sword fighting lesson on Thursday because he was more clingy than usual, trying to get me to talk to him like the other campers did. The  fact that it was so surprising that could sort of hold my own against him, even if it was just for a minute or so, really just spoke to everyone else’s level of skill. 

My only real reprieve was the moments I could hang out with Grover in peace, waving at the naiads under the pier who sometimes popped up to chat for a moment before disappearing again. “Did you get into trouble because of me?” 

Grover groaned and nudged my shoulder. “No, it was my fault. I was the unconscious one when we crossed the border and I didn’t do anything to help you, you were already coming to camp too! Don’t—” he cut off my protest “—don’t try to deny it, I really sucked as a protector. You’re always the one saving me.” 

“Will they really not giveyou another chance?” 

Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."

“Then I get a quest and you come with me.” 

“Blaaa-ha-ha. Why would you want me to come with you? I’d be dead weight.”  He looked at  the naiads with such longing I would have been concerned for his safety if I knew he wasn’t interested in them. "Basket-weaving ... Must be nice to have a useful skill."

I hated seeing him like that and if anyone else was saying what he was, I would have torn them apart for it. Or at least imagined it in my head to get my anger under control. But there was nothing and no one for meto fight to help him now and I felt useless. I tried to think of a topic change so at least he’d be distracted, and my gaze went back to the cabins. “Why are there four empty cabins? Wouldn’t it be better if they were temples instead?”

“Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis,” he explained and I held back a comment on how I knew that one. “She doesn’t have kids, but her hunters will visit camp sometimes and it gives them a place to stay.” 

“I guess that makes sense.” It’s not like her hunters could stay in a temple and the big house didn’t really have that many bedrooms despite its name. “But why are the other three empty? Are those for the Big Three? Didn’t the kings have a ton of kids in the old stories?”

Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals."

“That’s her husbands job,” I agreed even as I felt something likestatic in the air. I hated how often everyone just threw around names like they didn’t mean anything, even when they refused to say the names for monsters. As if they had nothing to fear from the gods. "But the lord of the underworld doesn't have a cabin here."

"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."

I frowned. “Shouldn’t there be a temple at least?” My mom, despite never setting up an altar because it would draw too much attention, had a habit of dropping cookies in the burner of the gas stove on ‘accident’ and thinking about some of the less well known gods. She’d passed the habit onto me, saying it couldn’t hurt to have them on our good sides. And the Receiver of Many was not a minor god. “Even if he doesn’t have any kids right now—”

“None of them do.” Grover kicked his legs uncomfortably and I knew he was about to tell me something I wouldn’t like. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."

Thunder boomed.

"That's the most serious oath you can make." I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I did. And if my father had broken it having me…no wonder my mom hated him. She tried to hide it and for a long time it worked, I thought she still loved him despite him leaving. But she just…couldn’t hide from me once my powers kicked in, 

Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo—he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia…well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."

As he told the story of how Thalia had died, I stared at the tree she became with rage boiling inside me. I could feel my claws sharpen and my eyes turn black, my whole body shaking. “He faced no consequences while she didn’t even make it to camp…I barely made it to camp and my mother died forit. And what does he do? He sits in his palace as if we are nothing.” 

“Perceee!” Grover grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him, his pupils now the side slits of a goat. “You need to breathe. You…you’re making the lake…”  He took a deep breath and I instinctively followed along, something easing inside me like it always did when he helped me. “The lake is reacting to you.” 

I focused my eyes on his and tried to breathe through my nose instead of the pant I could feel building up in my throat. Grover, who faced down a monster despite shaking the whole time, who didn’t leave when I showed him a bit more of who I was, now smelled like fear. And it was my fault. I scrambled to grab the cord that connected me to the water and pulled, letting the line go slack. “I’m sorry.” 

He surprised me again when he kept his grip on my shoulders. “You can’t do that, okay? You have to be a child of one of the Potamoi. Or one of the goddesses changed forms to woo your mom. Or…” 

I blinked. “Wait, they can do that?” 

“What?”

“They can change just like that?” 

Grover looked at me like I was missing something, but not like I was stupid. “Percy, we’re greek. Sexuality and gender aren’t hard lines, especially when it comes to the gods. I’m pretty sure Apollo has confused the life out of a few male lovers by bringing them a kid when they were both guys.” 

He let me sit with that for a minute as I processed that. Of course I knew couples weren’t strictly girl/guy and people themselves weren’t really either, but it was always something talked about in hushed voices or loud slurs thrown at kids who didn’t really fit in. 

There was that family that lived in our old building, the one before Gabe, that was a thirty year old mom and her collection of teenagers that she took in when their parents kicked them out. My mom was bringing them what she could for food since none of them could really cook, and I had do dozens of hand-me downs that Casey, the mom, had refitted for me for free. 

It was weird, I guess, in a good way, to hear someone talk about it so freely. "Huh." 

Grover snorted and I was tempted to shove him in the water, but I'm pretty sure he'd sink. Maybe once everyone had figured it out, then I could just bring him back up. 

The other good thing about Friday was that it was finally time for capture the flag after dinner. Which just made the whole thing so much cooler, since it was starting to get a little dark by the time the armor and weapons came out for us to prepare. I knew once we were in the forest it would be even darker, leaving everyone at a slight disadvantage…everyone but me. 

"You'll be on border patrol," Luke told me as he slipped on his chest plate. "All you have to do is make sure the red team stays on their side and don't die, think you can manage it?" 

I gave him my biggest smile, the one that made people slightly uncomfortable but they didn't know why, and preened when he shuffled a bit. "Sounds like fun!" 

Annabeth was leading the charge this time, since the Athena cabin chose who got to plan everything based on game night. It didn't matter who won, just who impressed the most. "Blue team," she yelled, "forward!' 

We cheered and followed her down to the south woods, with the red team yelling taunts at us as they headed to the north. 

I quickly caught up with Annabeth, despite being unused to having so much weighing me down. "Hey, what's the plan? Luke mentioned I would be at the creek?" 

"Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."

She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust, but she was clearly nervous so I didn't take too much offense. I also was very proud of my internal pun which helped buoy my mood. 

Not even them leaving me alone put a dent in my excitement. It was a bit awkward to hold a shield big enough for me to sled on, and the sword Luke had finally settled on for me was unbalanced, like every other sword I'd tried. 

Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. Who was already fighting? Were they positioned on the border too? In the woods? A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.

Great, I thought. I'll miss all the fun. 

Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by. I took a deep breath to try and catch the scent, but there were too many people running around for me to pick out anything. It was frustrating how hard it was to adjust to being around so many demigods, who all had something different about them. Humans tended to smell the same for the most part, with maybe something else thrown in. But demigods? They were weird. 

Annabeth smelled like paper and lemon shampoo, while her brother Freddie was a bit of dust that made me sneeze and basil. Of course that might have been because he was dating one of the Demeter kids, which I only knew because we'd accidentally found them making out against a tree. 

Which is just to say that I couldn't find the source of the growling AND missed the first signs of the war children coming for me. It wasn't until they came bursting out of the underbrush yelling and screaming that I realized I was in trouble. 

Clarisse was leading the charge, brandishing a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords—not that that made me feel any better. Annabeth had specifically warned me off her spear. 

I was tempted to throw down my shield and allow my claws to come out, but it was bad enough that we were fighting next to a creek, let alone exposing myself like that. I immediately stepped inside of it, allowing the water to boost my strength. “Five against one?”

 The first guy’s swing was so sloppy I barely even needed to dodge, but Clarisse thrust at mewith her spear. While my shield deflected it, my whole body started tingling and I had to grit my teeth together not to scream. I was sttanding in WATER for gods sake, why would she use an electric spear unless she was actually trying to kill me? Thankfully, my healing kicked in and I was able to shake it off, but my shield arm was still weak. 

"Get him down, give him a haircut!" Clarisse said. "Grab his hair." She amed for my legs but I was able to move out of her way. 

I growled at them for threatening my hair,both because it covered my scales and because I was actually quite proud of it. I worked hard to take care of it! 

Clarisse snorted while her siblings at least had the sense to take a step back. “Oh, I’m so scared!” She snarled at me. “Like you’re Big Three material, you’re nothing but a worm. We’re going to squash you.” 

This time, the fight was actually on as they got bored of toying with me. They moved forward to fight but I was done being defensive. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water. Theother two rushed me, so I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. The last warc hild didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig.

"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"

She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek.

I didn’t even turn to see who was coming when I heard the screams, not when they were still in the creek with me. 

Clarisse muttered a dazed curse and struggled to get up on the slippery rocks. "A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."

“No one told you to come attack me,” I reminded her and she spit atme before going to join her siblings. They were too late of course, my team had already won. But inside I just felt hollow as I dropped my shield, trying to rub feeling back into my arm through gritted teeth. 

This close, I knew she was next to me, but I still startled when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero." I turned to where I figured she was standing and watched as the air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head. “Where did you learn to fight like that? Luke’s only given you one lesson.” 

I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."

Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized." I thought we were friends, but she didn’t tell me. I would have agreed if she’d asked!

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help." Then she finally seemed to notice how red my arm was. “What happened?”

“The stupid spear you didn’t tell me was electric.” 

Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."

"What—"

"Just do it."

So I did, because I knew she knew. She was smart, it wasn’t all that surprising she’d been the first to figure it out. And I couldn’t let her know that I had been hiding who I was, not yet. Not when she still had ideas of rivalry and caring about our parentage. I started to sink to my knees from the pain but Annabeth caught me. I wanted to cry. 

"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want...I assumed it would be Zeus..."

Before she could say anything else, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest, and for the first time I could smell it. Blood, wet dog, death…hellhound. 

Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "Stand ready! My bow!"

Annabeth drew her sword.

There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers. It was looking straight at me.

Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!" She tried to step in front of me, but  I didn’t let her. I used my good arm to pull her behind me and raised my sword just as it leapt for me. Despite my blade sinking into it, despite the arrows whizzing through the air and thudding into it’s body, it’s claws had started to rip into my skin before it dissolved into shadow. 

"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't... they're not supposed to..." She cut off when I sagged against her again. 

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."

Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.

"You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."

"I'm okay,” I tried to tell her because I knew what would happen if I did. They said we had to prove ourselves, and not dying to two monster attacks and defeating five children of war seemed like a good way of doing it. 

"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."

I was too tired to argue. It was futile anyway, trying to stop Annabeth when she had an idea. I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around me. Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. 

Some of the campers gasped. But they weren't watching my wounds heal, they were staring at something above my head. I closed my eyes as a childish part of me said that if I didn’t see it, it wasn’t real. 

"Percy," Annabeth said. "Um...Your father…This is really not good."

"It is determined," Chiron announced.

All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it. I wanted to cry as I turned to Chiron for my sentence. 

"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

Chiron moved me to cabin three as soon as I was checked over by one of the medics. I thought the kid was going to pass out just from being so close to me and the stench offear and blood covering him made me want to bite something. 

It didn’t take me long to clear out of the traveler’s cabin, it wasn’t like I had much to take anyway, and Luke accepted the sleeping bag back with a raised eyebrow. “For the next kid, you know?” I knew they probably thought I was being a jerk, but I really meant it. Besides, maybe someone could use  it as pillow for now. 

The cabin itself was kind of cool. It had six empty bunk beds, each with a dresser next to them, and the sheets were ocean blue, while the walls shifted color like abalone. It wasn’t meant for me though, despite what He’d said. I wasn’t his son, and I’d known since the first time I saw his name in a book. I remember thinking how young his name looked, how wrong, and my hand traced the correct one in the pages. Everything in camp felt like that moment, as if someone had replaced one of my childhood toys with a new version and expected it to feel the same. For me to care about it the same. 

I hated that feeling. 

Chiron shuffled awkwardly outside before handing me my old duffle bag. “We were able to retrieve your things from the police, though I’m not sure if everything is in there…Grover  wanted to check for you but I thought you might like to have everyting as soon as you could.” 

While I understood the sentiment, and having my stuff back was one less thing for me to worry about, I really would have rather known that nothing was missing. Would the police have kept anything? My pictures? My collection? 

“Thank you. Sir.” I said when I realized he was waiting. 

He left me alone after that and I dropped my duffle bag on one of the beds. 

It was almost as if leaving me alone was becoming a trend as all the other campers did their very best to avoid me whenever they could. Cabin eleven refused to practice sword fighting with me, citing my skill against cabin five, but I knew it was because they were afraid. Everyone was afraid, even Clarisse kept her distance. Though thankfully, she mostly seemed wary, like a predator checking out a rival for  their territory. 

There were very few campers who didn’t leave me alone, and in fact it all boiled down to three. Grover, who despite being a satyr, seemed to participatein some camp activities, and was not someone I was expecting to lose. He sighed when he sat me down to talk about it and reassured me they’d get over it. “Just wait until the Aphrodite kids fnd something else interesting and they’ll make a big scandal out of it, you’ll see.” 

I appreciated the pep talk, but we both knew that wasn’t really the problem. 

Luke also seemed intent on sticking around and had taken to teaching me one-on-one, seemingly with the intent to turn me entirely black and blue by the time our sessions were over. He refused to let me dump water on myself, but I was allowed water breaks so I didn’t pass out from the workout. 

"You're going to need all the training you can get," he promised, as we were working with swords and flaming torches. "Now let's try that viper-beheading strike again. Fifty more repetitions."

Annabeth was the third and continued to teach me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Every time I said something, she scowled at me, as if I'd just poked her between the eyes, and she didn’t seem as interested in learning mycenaean greek from me anymore. I tried to get her to talk about it, but any mention of the feud she assumed we were a part of made her glare at me and storm off for a minute before she remembered she had to keep teaching me. 

I knew I made the other campers uncomfortable, but I didn’t realize any of them hated me until one night I came into my cabin and found a mortal newspaper dropped inside the doorway, a copy of the New York Daily News, opened to the Metro page. The article took me almost an hour to read, because the angrier I got, the more the words floated around on the page. 

Gabe was blaming me for my mother’s death while at the same time bemoaning the loss of his car and claiming I was always the type to blow things up. As if I had done that since the war cannon incident! Also, who left a war cannon loaded around children?!

I wadded up the paper and threw it away, then flopped down in my bunk bed in the middle of my empty cabin. "Lights out," I told myself miserably.

I woke up the next morning, sure I was falling. I was still in bed in cabin three. My body told me it was morning, but it was dark outside, and thunder rolled across the hills. A storm was brewing. I hadn't dreamed that, but the actual details of my dream were fuzzy. All I could remember were palm trees and kindergardeners. 

I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold, but didn’t bother getting up since I knew he’d come in anyway. I’d told him hecould come in whenever so Grover trotted inside like I expected, looking worried. "Mr. D wants to see you."

"Why?"

"He wants to kill... I mean, I'd better let him tell you."

Nervously, I got dressed and followed, sure that I was in huge trouble.

For days, I'd been half expecting a summons to the Big House. Now that I was declared a son of one of the Big Three gods who weren't supposed to have kids, I figured it was a crime for me just to be alive. The other gods had probably been debating the best way to punish me for existing, and now I was getting their verdict. Was it better to be killed for a crime you didn’t commit or for one you did? At least they didn’t know the truth about what I was.

When we passed the volleyball pit, I could see the kids from the sun’s cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs. The madness twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm.

Grover and I walked up to the front porch of the Big House. The god of wine and madness sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on my first day. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheelchair. They were playing against invisible opponents--two sets of cards hovering in the air.

"Well, well," the god said without looking up. "Our little celebrity."

I waited, not daring to move closer unless instructed. 

"Come closer," he said. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father." 

A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house. I didn’t understand why, I personally thought he was hilarious. 

"Blah, blah, blah," the god said, waving the weather off.

Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth, and I reached out a hand to steady him. 

"If I had my way," He said, trailing off. "I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin, sending you back to your father. You’ll find that it us the better option than what the old horse wants you to do and if you’re smart, you’ll let me turn you into an Atlantic Bottlenose and send you to your father."

"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.

"Oh, all right," He relented. “I have an emergency council meeting to get to.” And then the full force of his gaze finally landed on me and I bared my teeth at him. Heseemed to find this amusing. “Maybe not a dolphin then. Do consider my offer, Perceus Jackson, you’re far too entertaining to die right now.” He picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass. He snapped his fingers. The air seemed to fold and bend around him, until he was wind, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.

Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use. “Please sit, boys, we have much to discuss.” He waved a hand and the invisible opponents dropped their cards, leaving two open spots for us to sit aside from what was clearly the god’s chosen chair. It even had little grape vines engraved on the legs. 

“Am I going on a quest?” I enjoyed the surprise on the centaurs face, but it really wasn’tthat hard to assume. Quests were a big deal around here, Annabeth was waiting for someone special to go on one with, I had just been ‘revealed’ to be a son of the ‘Big Three’, and Chiron and Grover had been talking about the solstice back at Yancy. It involved me somehow. 

Chiron grimaced. "If you’ll accept it. But well, you see…that's the hard part, the details."

Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.

"The Earthshaker and the King," I said, thinking  back to my conversation with Annabeth on the pier. "They're fighting over something valuable ... something that was stolen, aren't they?"

Chiron and Grover exchanged looks. Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair, his gaze far more quizzical than it had been before. "How did you know that?"

I hated how surprised everyone seemed to be when i figured something out, but at least this time it sort of made sense. If even Annabeth couldn’t figure it out… "The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And ... I've also been having these dreams."

"I knew it," Grover said.

"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered and I bristled over the way he addressed him.

"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"

Chiron shushed him again before turning back to me and finally giving me information that I could work with. “They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."

I almost threw up. “A what?” 

"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives. Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned." Hecontinued describing it until I felt like how other people must feel on boats. 

"And it's missing."

"Stolen," Chiron said.

"By who?"

"By whom," Chiron corrected. Once a teacher, always a teacher. "By you."

I growled lowly at the accusation and only stopped when Chiron raised an eyebrow at me. 

He explained what the lord of the sky must be thinking and exactly how I could have stolen it, despite the fact that I didn’t know where Olympus was and still wasn’t sure I believed it. “And with you knowing more than you should from your mother, your father being who he is, the rest of the council is starting to side with Zeus.”  

“My mother told me what I needed to know to survive. If they’ve been watching, they should at least be smart enough to know my mom wouldn’t let me be a thief!” The especially for my father or his counterparts went unsaid, though I wanted to throw it out there anyway. 

"Percy," Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you....Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"

“He has no evidence! And he broke the oath first,” I reminded them harshly even though I felt badwhen Grover flinched. I wanted to tell him Thalia wasn’t his fault, but I didn’t get the chance. 

Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"

I refused to engage with him and stayed silent. 

"Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."

It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky. I had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of me and something I didn’t even do. I was furious.

"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?" He really wasn’t helping my temper. “Do you accept this quest, Percy Jackson?”

I glanced at Grover to make sure he was still on board and he nodded, so I did too. 

"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."

I found myself in front of the thing in the attic that wasn’t living and I hated it. She reeked of death and something slimy, like she had been pickled while alive. Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.

The mummy wasn't alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around me in the green mist. But its presence didn't feel evil, like my demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodds or Pasiphae’s son. It felt more like the Three Fates I'd seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful, and definitely not human. But not particularly interested in killing me, either.

I honestly felt bad for whatever was still inside the mummy wrappings, the soul that never got to pass over as her body was used over and over again. My fingertips itched like they did when I saw roadkill. I hated that it happened, but I couldn’t do anything to fix it now that the thingwas already dead. “What will happen on my quest?” 

The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly I was staring into the face of my stepfather and his poker buddies as they laid down cards and chips, cigars puffing out green smoke. 

My fists clenched, though I knew it wasn’t real. It didn’t matter that I could feel the carpet sticking to my feet from dried beer, that I could smell the cigar smoke in the air twinged with BO and ash. It was an illusion. He wasn’t here. 

Gabe turned toward me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.

The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: You shall free those that in time suspend.

Finally, Eddie, our building super, delivered the worst line of all: And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

The figures began to dissolve. At first I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What will I fail to save?"

The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.

I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cobwebs, too, and I wouldn't learn anything else. My audience with the Oracle was over.

"Well?" Chiron asked me as soon as I made my way down the stairs. 

I slumped into a chair at the pinochle table, giving myself time to think over what she’d said. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."

Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!" I gave him atired smile for his enthusiasm. 

"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."

I wanted to snap at him that I was getting there, wasn’t he the one who said the Oracle was dangerous? But I didn’t have the energy. “You shall go west, and face the god who has turned. You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned. You shall free those that in time suspend.”

Grover was practically bouncing in his seat now.

Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"

I really didn’t want to tell him. What did he do to deserve it? And yeah, a small part of me didn’t want to tell him I’d fail. But a larger part wasstill coming up with rational reasons to back it up. "No," I said. "That's about it."

He studied my face before leaning back with a sigh. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."

I spent the next few minutes pulling information from him like teeth while Grover whimpered in the corner. Most of what I got from Chiron seemed to be bull, but I didn’t know why I knew that. The one he was accusing was one of the few gods who hadn’t tried to over throw the king. The queen, the one they thought was my father, they had tricked him with a golden net, but even then it was just until he promised to be better. 

And as Chiron declared that He had to be the only option, for the first time I could smell something coming off him. Sweat. Salt. Fear. So the only other option was too terrfying to consider, or Chiron had stolen the bolt. I almost snorted at the thought. 

A teacher? Do something cool?

No. Even if Chiron was the coolest teacher I knew, it was all in the name of learning. This didn’t make sense as a lesson. 

I looked at Chiron. "You've thought I was the earthshaker’s son all along, haven't you?"

"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."

I didn’t like the way that sounded, but I wasn’t in a position where I could call hm on it. I was hiding things too and he knew it, so I didn’t even have the moral high ground. It could wait untl we completed our quest. 

"So let me get this straight," I said. "I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."

"Check," Chiron said.

"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"Check."

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."

"That's about right."

I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.

"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.

"You don't have to go," I told him. "I can't ask that of you.   

"Oh ..." He shifted his hooves. "No ... it's just that satyrs and underground places ... well..." He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."

I was practically purring and I knew it. I had never had a friend who embodied the term ‘ride or die’ as much as I did, but I think Grover was a close second. While I would charge in without a thought, he’d do it with his eyes closed, but still swinging. I loved hm for it. “Never, G-man.” I turned back to Chiron and let my happiness drop off my face. “So we go west.”  

"Of course, the entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus."

"Where?"

Chiron looked surprised I didn’t know and I wanted to growl as doubt slid into my head. Was everything common knowledge and I was just missing it? "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles." 

How on earth is that obvious? I wanted to ask. Instead, I focused on the actual problem. “How exactly do we get there if I can’t go on a plane? We can’t drive and it would be cutting it close as is.” I shuddered to think what the king would do at the idea of one of his nephews in his domain, it was almost like  putting a giant sign over my head saying “smite me!”

"You will travel over land, perhaps a train," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."

I knew I had smelled lemon in the room when I came back down, I had just assumed it was a cleaning product on something. "Gee," I said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?" My eyes swiveled to where I knew she was standing, over Chiron’s shoulder.

The fact that no one else flinched when Annabeth took off her Yankees cap said everything I needed to  know. "I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"If you do say so yourself," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?" I enjoyed how her cheeks pinked over the nickname and decided  I should use it more often. It was fun seeing her  so flustered. 

"Do you want my help or not?" she demanded. 

"A trio," I said. "That'll work." I couldn’t have anyone else seeing what would come out on this quest. If it meant life ordeath, I would do anything to protect them. Even if it meant losing one of them forever. 

"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.

"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."

<Prev Master Post Next>

[the-firebird69]

Bradley GT

Yeah he helped with it a lot he helped me design it and I knew what I was talking about but he helped me design it to be a kit it came out much better than the first one and Diana was helping too she was princess and she's the one who's buried at dispenser rounds she is my sister. We went ahead and made a few design changes to hers and added things and she said terrific 1 thing that he wanted to have was to tire fill the wheel well and it looks like it's pretty good it looks better than the 1st one it's not zero clearance but they couldn't get away with it they said it was too hard and there's too many different tires and back and back then the tires were not that cheap. And you couldn't get a size that fits it that you can get everywhere. But this was a nice look it's like a determine so tire and rim and it looks pretty hot now there's a few things you do you take the aluminum off and you flared a little wider tires things like that but really this is gonna be a wide body and all sorts of things you can do to it and people are already getting it ready and I'm gonna get mine ready. This one here is a girl who heard about the contest you can see their stuff in the video.

Hera

I do see it but it could have been a year ago so we're checking and I'll tell you what this is gonna be preposterously strange a lot of people their eyes are bugging out I do know what they're saying this is it you're going to see your master and what they do. And I love it.

mac daddy

We heard this crap from him for a long time singing we think he's working with them we're manipulated and he says no it's by power and they're blaming him. And we're gonna see it he says we'll get wiped out like Trump has been. And Oh God this is hell. These cars to drive around in right now. Have this contestbja

We will manufacture them we want to get that going it's one of our goals. His idea and hers and we're going to go ahead with it now you'll see whose car it is and whose design and basically they took the one from the amusement ride and changed it a little and Dave was tickle pink he said this is the greatest idea I've ever seen. So what we're all very impressed with how far this one win it went all the way to number one and it was the analogy in the name this is gonna be a heck of a time.

Thor Freya

I'm really induced it's got my name i'm gonna have a lot of fun this is gonna be tough but boy what a time what a day this is awesome I appreciate my friends interesting me and have me do it. And he said Brad stood he'd good and I don't know if that's the future this is so weird I don't think we've touched that car in 30 years. Be awesome I know how to do this it's a simple method it's gonna be easy we've been doing it for 20 years the Y body stuff. And really there's some techniques we have you know what this is probably the best idea I've heard of in ages and we can reinforce it just for the being the prototype so it doesn't fall apart but we're going to have a race there's a racetrack out there and everybody's interested.

brad

You can count me in i'm gonna get my car. I got one yeah. Kids car. Story we knew it was from the kid we knew it and we knew about the visit to Disneyland and we watched him roar and laugh at Bill Cosby who's his grandpa. I was the most wonderful thing ever. And yeah okay and the white guy coming out down to the junkyard taking the stuff that's probably good right there. And I said Albert is coming to ask me what I'm doing so I'm telling him it's my stuff it says we're sorry I miss you this is where we come to relax and blow off steam from school. It sounded like. But they taught him very well we're gonna start this contest we're gonna open it up we're gonna get the prizes for people and we mean the big ones the rich ones they said it's gonna be them but usually they don't do it. In this case they want to make a deal and provide some of it so I'm going to go ahead with it because it entices me.

rd

Actually we like what that sounds like we might have another one for a saline but really designed for Chevy and people will come out from everywhere. And you know what these guys might win and they can manufacture it out there and he wants the guys to start and they said we have one and so it's on i'm gonna put it out there. Is a design competition and it's for a whole bunch of parameters price is a key factor too. We're gonna provide some things for the contest as prizes it's gonna be a pot this is getting better and he says richer and that's good. What if I win it. Well it goes to your people says no it'll go into storage so we're laughing and saying then you get the contract to build it and that's actually kind of funny and you can win your own contract. Now I've got to tell you something this is going to be enticement right now he's saying what if I win because usually he wins he's only one of few but he he can win and he knows how and he had Sherry win and beat all of us and that was embarrassing.

mac daddy

[oddballtumbles]

Building a Percy Jackson OC in my head right now. Have not read the books in years, I plan to reread them, just can’t right now. But this just WON’T leave me alone.

(Adult language and shit btw)

Daughter of Hephaestus, her mom met him in her early 20s, girl is 7/12, mom was pregnant 7 times, multiple sets of twins. ALL of them are kids of Hephaestus, their house is basically warded against monsters because by the time the second set of twins were on their way, Mom had enough and made Hephaestus deal with it. Hades now has a state of the art fetch machine for Cerberus, and monsters don’t bother her family until she dies. (Spoiler alert, Momma achieves minor godhood eventually due to popular demand and the invention of … something I haven’t decided yet; but it accidentally causes no monsters to be able to go after her bloodline. EVER lol)

Daughter is NOT an engineer (most of her siblings are engineers, tech developers, etc) but is thorough in SASS, and is more of a tinker type. The kind of person who knows random stuff and always carries ducktape but is more likely to only quick fix then refer you to professional than actually fix the problem. Just because the crack is taped doesn’t mean the bucket is fixed.

Specific interaction that keeps popping in my head:

Aphrodite (mad about long relationship with her husband, taking it out on the child of said relationship that happens to be in front of her)

Daughter (full of sass and absolutely fucking done with any and all dieties who think they are above the modern world just because they deign to exist within it occasionally. She has read the texts and watched the OSP videos. Nope)

A: I can’t believe anyone would even last that long! What could there possibly be to interest her in him???

D: idk but I can tell you that she likes the chair. Admittedly if she sat in it less there’d be less of us soooo.

A: please I be he’s only paying attention because she is the only one to look back.

D: well seeing as I’m a combo of both of them and when I went to camp everyone tried to send me to your cabin I’m not sure what that says about your poor taste. Or maybe eyesight?

A: are you calling me old?

D: you are literally older than Greece. What do you want me to do with that?

A: you-

D: look I’m just going to say this. If you paid even half as much attention to the husband you say you don’t want as you do to the lover you jerk around like an angry chihuahua, I probably wouldn’t be in your face sassing you.

A: Zeus arranged-

D: Oh please don’t get me started on that slut. We will be here longer than my mother’s been pregnant. Idk why Hera doesn’t just divorce the walking penis. It is a thing that exists! Also her taking out her rage on the kids and victims of his philandering is just avoiding the problem and causing more grief for the rest of us. If it’s some sort role play they are doing, nobody else is consenting the involvement, they both need to stop.

(Shocked silence.)

D: oh please, I cannot be the first to come up with that.

A: I’m not sure whether to smite you or give you a job.

D: I’ve never been smote before! Unless we count that time in the metallurgy which we do not talk to mom about. I came back fine! Barely even counts!

——————

Idk if I want her to have a Greek name or just a random one. I feel like she would get along with PJ-Dionysius in a “let’s drink and get high” kinda way.

She definitely has slept in all the cabins for no reason other than she broke in and felt like it.

Occasionally Hermes feels like she might be threatening his job a little, especially when she worked as a courier with heelies and a skateboard.

She’s ace by the way. Probably aro too, which is why she has no fear in front of Aphrodite.