#I dunno others like to refer to them as sibling

[downinsomanyfandoms]

Talking about Yuu and Tsubasa reminds me of how Tsubasa went from being the last person to come and checkup on a collapsed Yuu to being the closest person to the kid, and him Yuu. It’s important to me

[luvergirl-866]

something like love

part - 5

pairing - paige bueckers x azzi fudd

word count - 3.0k

c/w - language

a/n - yall have been all up in my asks today, so i pumped this chapter out. gotta give the people what they want fr. sorry it’s a lil short, this chapter was kind of a filler tbh! also, did anyone catch the irl past references in the first scene? ;) as always, hope yall enjoy!! (also, this is unedited. like usual lol)

Azzi is woken bright and early the next morning by none other than her best friend, who seems awfully cheerful considering the night they just had.

“Wow, P,” Azzi grumbles once she’s sitting up in bed, watching Paige buzz around the room through bleary eyes. “It’s early for you.”

“Didn’t really sleep,” Paige says, slipping out of her pajamas so she’s only in boxers and a sports bra. (Azzi knows she should probably look away, but she doesn’t.) “We gotta run to the store, get up.”

“Okay,” Azzi yawns, blinking slowly while Paige slips into a pair of basketball shorts and a crop top that Azzi’s pretty sure belongs to her. “Be up in a sec.” But Paige disappears into the bathroom and Azzi can’t help but lay back down, snuggling under the warm sheets—if she’s being honest, she didn’t get much sleep last night, either. But where the lack of sleep is making Paige hyper, it’s making Azzi want nothing more than drift back off for just a few more minutes.

She’s barely fallen back asleep when something large and solid lands on top of her, and she buries her head into the pillow, groaning. “Ow, Paige, get off.”

“Get your ass outta bed,” Paige responds, but she is laying across the entire length of Azzi’s body like a warm, nice-smelling weighted blanket, and it only lulls Azzi back to sleep. She thinks about the irony of it, that their roles have switched this morning—usually Azzi is the one who has to drag Paige out of bed.

She’s only half-asleep but she swears she’s started snoring when Paige rolls of her and jabs her in the ribs. “Azzi!”

“No, Paige, please,” Azzi mumbles, throwing an arm over her face. “I’m tired.”

“Well I’m not going to the store by myself,” Paige says stubbornly, tugging on Azzi’s hand. “Come onnn.”

“We’ll go later,” Azzi tries to reason, but Paige won’t have that, pulling on her arm even harder.

“We gotta go now, Lauren’s gonna be here in a couple hours.”

Oh. Right. Paige’s siblings get back from their respective activities this morning, and of course Paige would never reunite with them empty-handed.

“Okay, okay,” Azzi concedes, finally sitting up once again, stretching out her arms. Paige, satisfied that Azzi is up now, gets back out of bed heads back to the bathroom.

“Get ready fast, I wanna give ourselves plenty of time,” she calls, and Azzi watches her as she washes her face in the sink, rubbing her face aggressively like she always does.

Yawning, Azzi finally gets out of bed, wincing when she finds her neatly packed suitcase next to Paige’s already disorganized one, her clothes strewn haphazardly across the floor. “Paige, we need to unpack today.”

Paige pokes her head out of the bathroom and looks down at the mess that is her suitcase, then shrugs. “Nah, it’s okay.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion,” Azzi says, kneeling down to move her suitcase away from Paige’s before she starts carefully rifling through the outfits she packed. “I dunno what to wear.”

“It’s warm out today,” Paige says, disappearing back into the bathroom. “You pack those lil jean shorts? With the flowers on them?”

“Yeah,” Azzi replies, instantly looking for those. “But my ass hangs out in them.”

There’s silence in the bathroom and Azzi thinks maybe Paige didn’t hear her, but a moment later she’s saying, “Yeah, wear those with your purple tank.”

It may raise her eyebrows, but it also makes her smirk, and Azzi does exactly as Paige says.

Thirty minutes later, the two of them—after successfully sneaking out of the house without running into Paige’s parents—are at the store, tossing anything they think her siblings will like into the basket. A new video game and snacks for Ryan, and some brand-name makeup and flowers for Lauren. (They also get energy drinks, even though Azzi doesn’t think Paige needs it.)

By the time they get back home, they should still have an hour until Lauren gets home—but as soon as they walk through the front door a young, strawberry-blonde girl is barreling into Paige’s arms, squealing.

Paige grunts dramatically, and then hands off the grocery bags to Azzi so she can wrap her arms around her little sister. “Whoa, what you doing home?” she asks, bending down to kiss her hair. “We were supposed to get here before you.”

“I couldn’t wait,” Lauren replies, muffled from where she’s buried in Paige’s chest. “So I came home early but you weren’t even here, and Mom and Dad said they didn’t know where you went to.”

“Sorry, Laur,” Paige responds, rubbing her sister’s back before pulling away. “We were out getting some stuff.”

Lauren waggles her eyebrows. “Gifts?”

“Mm. Maybe.” Paige smiles when Lauren giggles excitedly, and it’s only then that they address Azzi, who is standing somewhat awkwardly, trying to let the two sisters have their moment.

Lauren’s smile falters only a little when she sees Azzi. To her credit, she still sounds cheerful when she says, “Hi, Azzi, it’s good to see you.”

“Yeah, good to see you too,” Azzi responds, smiling as openly as she can. She’s only met Paige’s siblings a few times—not counting Drew, obviously—and so it’s a little uncomfortable when Lauren goes in for a hug. But this is a twelve-year-old girl, and Azzi is a grown adult, and she welcomes her with open arms, hugging her as well as possible with her groceries still in her arms. Paige takes them back from her after only a second of her struggling.

“You’ve gotten taller,” Azzi comments, because that’s something that you say to kids, right?

It seems to be a good thing to say because Lauren pulls back and beams up at her. “Mom says I’m almost as tall as Paige was at my age.” She looks back at Paige with a proud smile.

Paige grins back, ruffling her hair. “That mean you gonna start playin’ ball?”

“No way,” Lauren replies, playfully vehement. “Ryan keeps saying he wants to try, though.”

“I’ll convince him, for real,” Paige insists, and they all start moving to the kitchen so they can set the grocery bags down.

“Can I see my gift now?” Lauren asks, sliding into a bar stool.

Paige wags a finger at her. “Nuh-uh. We gotta wait for brother.”

Lauren groans dramatically, then giggles at herself and looks curiously at Azzi. “So, is Josh not here, then?”

Beside her, Paige freezes. Azzi glances cautiously at her, and she collects herself quickly, sharing a comforting look with Azzi. “Um,” she says, rounding the island to sit next to Lauren, “did Mom not tell you?”

Lauren wrinkles her eyebrows. “Tell me what?”

That’s enough of an answer, and Paige runs a hand over her face, clearly nervous to have to go through this all over again. It makes Azzi angry, for the millionth time, at her parents—of course they wouldn’t tell her younger siblings. Of course they’d make Paige do it.

“Well, uh,” Paige starts, “yeah, no, Josh isn’t coming. He and I, we actually broke up.”

“Oh.” Lauren frowns. “Sorry. Are you sad about it?”

“No, um, it’s okay. I realized I didn’t like him that much.”

“Why not?” Lauren asks.

“Well, because,” Paige looks to Azzi for help, and all Azzi can do is nod at her. “It’s because he’s a boy.”

Lauren’s frown deepens. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” she looks down at her lap, then makes eye contact with her little sister, “I mean I don’t really like boys, Laur.”

Lauren stares at her sister, and then she glances at Azzi before looking at the countertop, eyebrows furrowed just like Paige’s do when she’s thinking. “So,” she begins slowly, looking back up to Paige, “you like girls? Like, you like like them?”

“Yeah,” Paige says, and she and Azzi share a look, unsure of where this is going. Azzi hasn’t even noticed until now that she’s holding her breath.

“And you wanna date them?” Lauren clarifies.

“Well, I actually am dating one already,” Paige says, and before she can finish her sentence Lauren looks back at Azzi and she can swear she sees the moment it clicks in her brain.

“So Azzi is your girlfriend?” she says.

Paige hesitates, then says, “Yeah, she is.”

Azzi was expecting a lot of reactions, but Lauren’s bright, proud smile wasn’t one of them. “I guessed!” she hops off her barstool to round the island and give Azzi yet another hug. “So that means I have a new sister!”

Sort of incredulously, Azzi laughs, rubbing the younger girl’s shoulder. Paige blinks once before saying, “That’s not how that works.”

“She’s my in-law now,” Lauren replies with a duh tone, like Paige is slow, and it makes Azzi laugh again.

“No, she’s not your in-law until we get—“ Paige cuts herself off, biting her lip and Azzi stops laughing. Because they’re going to ‘break up’ almost as soon as this trip is over and they can’t get Lauren’s hopes up too much about things like marriage.

Lauren doesn’t seem to notice. She shakes her head firmly. “She’s my sister. I don’t care what you say.” Smiling slyly up at Azzi, she says, “So, cooler older sister,”—Paige gasps, offended—“will you please convince your girlfriend to let me open my gifts now.”

Azzi falters, but then she’s looking over at Paige, who is staring at her little sister with something like awe, and she decides that for now, they should just enjoy the innocent, loving acceptance of 12-year-old girls.

——————————————

By the time Ryan gets home Paige’s parents have joined them in the kitchen, and even though it’s tense with them around, Lauren’s chatter lifts the tension significantly. When the front door opens, Ryan barrels into Paige in a similar fashion as his little sister did, and the three siblings reunite happily, all of them a bundle of teasing of arguing and catching up.

When Ryan catches sight of Azzi, nobody has time to be nervous or hold their breaths because Lauren wraps an arm around her waist and says, “Azzi is here because she’s Paigey’s girlfriend. Say hi.”

Ryan opens his mouth, then closes it, then glances at his parents—who are stubbornly avoiding anybody’s gaze—before looking at his older sister with a questionable expression. Paige nods, and so he turns back to Azzi and says, in classic teenage-boy fashion, “Hey.”

Azzi takes much satisfaction in the way his parents fumble over themselves, apparently shocked that their children are capable of so much more love and acceptance than they are.

After the kids open their gifts, they drag Paige and Azzi upstairs to give them the ‘grand tour’ of their rooms. “Mine has changed,” Lauren says once they arrive at the room across the hallway from Paige’s. “We painted it sage green because the pink was too babyish for me.”

Paige and Azzi nod in agreement.

“And I don’t have my unicorn blanket anymore,” Lauren continues, jumping onto her bed to showcase this fact.

Paige places a hand over her heart. “You got rid of blankie? You love that thing.”

Azzi smiles, knowing that exact feeling—being a big sister and watching your siblings grow up without your permission.

But then Lauren heads to her closet and rummages around inside before pulling out a tattered, pink baby blanket with unicorns sewn into the fabric. “Don’t tell Ryan, but I couldn’t actually get rid of it.”

Paige sighs in relief.

Ryan’s room is dark, lit only by red LED lights, and his bed is unmade. He’s got a PS5 set up in one corner of his room and a desk that looks widely unused in the other. There’s dirty clothes everywhere.

“It’s kinda messy,” he says, carelessly tossing a few clothes off his bed to sit in it, powering up his TV.

“You take after me,” Paige says proudly, and Azzi nudges her in the arm, rolling her eyes. Paige grins at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and Ryan glances away from his TV at them.

“So, you guys are really dating?” he asks.

At the question, the both of them share a nervous glance—does he suspect something? But when Paige says, “Yeah, why?” he replies with a simple, “I figured.”

“Whatchu mean?” Paige asks.

He shrugs nonchalantly, looking back at his TV. “I could tell. Whenever we came to visit you were always texting Azzi or calling Azzi or talking about Azzi. It was all, Azzi this, Azzi that, my name’s Paige and I’m soooo in love with my little Azzi-Wazzi—“

“Yo, okay, bye!” Paige says loudly, going to shove Azzi out of the room, but she keeps her feet planted, amused and so, so curious.

“No, seriously, it was annoying.” Ryan sighs. “I remember the one time we came up and Azzi was staying with you and y’all kept playing footsies under the dinner table. It was gross.”

“We did not!” Paige exclaims as Azzi laughs loudly.

“Did too. And that night you dragged Azzi to your room and I heard you moaning really loud allll night.”

Azzi is cracking up now, and Paige puts her hands on her hips, having given up on trying to drag her away. “Okay, now you’re just making shit up. That’s inappropriate.”

Ryan shrugs again, a slight smirk on his face. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that actually happened, though.”

Paige puts her face in her hands. Azzi looks over at her, grinning widely, and knows it’s her duty to give her shit for this later.

——————————————

During the aforementioned later, while the two of them are getting ready for bed side-by-side in the bathroom, Azzi’s barely even opened her mouth before Paige says, “Don’t.”

The two of them didn’t get a second alone for the rest of the day, because Paige has a little sister and it’s kind of her job to follow them around everywhere and ask annoying questions. Or at least, annoying to Paige. Azzi was more than happy to let Lauren talk her ear off—she’s never had a little sister before.

And besides, she’s used to it considering who her best friend is.

Lunch was spent outside on the porch, soaking in the sun, and it was good because Paige’s parents opted to eat inside. But dinner was awkward, all of them sitting around the table, eating the roast beef Dean had made. Lauren still didn’t seem to pick up on the tension, but Ryan, being a little older, did—apparent in the way he looked curiously between the four adults at the table. He never asked about it, though, and when Paige held Azzi’s hand over the table her parents didn’t say a thing (though Dean looked a bit like he wanted to smack their hands apart) so that’s gotta be a good thing.

Now that they’re finally alone, Azzi is not going to miss out on her opportunity to tease the hell out of her best friend.

“So, you’ve always been a little obsessed with me, huh?” she grins, ignoring Paige’s warning.

Paige rolls her eyes, but Azzi swears her cheeks turn a little pink. “He was making that up.”

“Weird, because I believed him,” Azzi replies, watching as Paige starts brushing her teeth. “Seems like a trustworthy kid.”

“He’sh a fifteen-year-old boy, you can’t trusht none of those,” Paige says around the toothbrush in her mouth.

“Maybe it’s you I can’t trust.”

Paige spits and then gives her an offended look. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“Would you?” Azzi teases, and for some reason, it seems to actually make Paige nervous.

She turns away, wiping her mouth on a towel. “‘Course I wouldn’t.”

“Not even if you had a big, fat crush on me?” Azzi says, wish is super unfair because Azzi is the one lying about her big, fat crush, but it feels pretty good to project.

“Bro,” Paige groans, walking into their room, kicking off her basketball shorts on the way.

But Azzi isn’t going to let up. “He seemed pretty serious.”

“He said he heard us moaning,” Paige says, looking around on the floor for a pair of pajamas. (They did not, in fact, unpack today.)

“Okay, he might’ve lied about that,” Azzi admits. She watches, amused, as Paige mumbles to herself while pulling on a pair of PJ pants before she pulls her shirt over her head. “What’re you getting all nervous for?”

“You’re teaming up with my brother,” Paige replies, flopping onto her side of the bed.

“You apparently talk about me 24/7,” Azzi counters.

“Talked,” Paige immediately corrects, and when she sees the triumphant grin on Azzi’s face, she backtracks. “I mean, I didn’t! Obviously I didn’t, that’d be weird.”

“Uh-huh,” Azzi says, “super weird.”

“And I’on even think about you like that, you’re my best friend.”

“I know.”

“And you’re not even my type, for real.”

“Uh-huh.” A week ago, maybe even yesterday, that sentence would’ve been a dagger straight through Azzi’s heart, a harsh reminder of her unreciprocated feelings. But Paige says it like she’s trying to convince herself, and she’s clearly all flustered, her cheeks very evidently pink now, and Azzi wonders—

Slowly, she makes eye contact with Paige, unbuttons her little jean shorts, and shimmies out of them.

Paige averts her gaze, reaching onto the bedside table to take a drink of water.

Interesting. Taking it a little further, Azzi turns away from Paige and pulls her shirt off, letting Paige know two things at once: one, she is wearing a thong, and two, she has not had a bra on all day.

Behind her, a coughing fit starts and she can hear Paige thumping at her chest while her water goes down the wrong pipe.

She grins to herself, sauntering into the bathroom. “Imma take a shower. Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone.” And without a glance behind her, she closes the door.

Pressing her ear to it, she can hear Paige mumbling to herself. She can’t make out exactly what she’s saying, but she does make out a few strings of curse words.

Well. What an interesting development this is.

@azzibuckets @smiths-fan--13 @ch12334 @makethemhoesmad @the-other-half @rosemariiaa

[lowkeyrobin]

Hi sorry if im annoying u but can u do a james hook x reader story . I kenda want the reder to be the dugther of peter pan and hook fell in love whit her.

no need to worry! you're totally fine haha ; but yeah of course I could! ; I decided to make the reader a kind of relative to Peter (sibling/cousin at least) cause age differences and whatnot, even though Peter stays a kid forever, I still didn't wanna do smthn weird lolll but dw I got you ; thanks for requesting, hope you enjoy! ; also I only write they/them / gn readers but I tried to keep readers gender identity pretty in the middle and stuff so

JAMES HOOK ; star crossed lovers

summary ; you and hook fall for each other, your love forbidden as he was a vk, and you were an ak

warnings ; language

disclaimers ; reader can fly & uses pixie dust like peter pan

word count ; 1.1k

masterlist

Hook's eyes land on you from afar, watching as you sprinkle pixie dust upon Bridget and Ella. They had been begging you to let them try out flying, and you'd finally given in halfway through today.

He peers past the concrete wall into the courtyard, watching you three fly about, or really, watch you try to help your friends learn how to fly how you do. You giggle, bouncing back as you practically swim in air, watching them struggle to control themselves. It wasn't as easy as it looked.

"Whoever can fly to class faster wins!" Bridget laughs, looking over at Ella.

"Oh, you're on!" She smiles, dashing toward the nearest doors as fast as she could, attempting to beat Bridget.

Bridget was definitely better at the flight thing, but Ella had speed. You'd have to check in with them later, considering your class was in the opposite direction.

Hook, seeing you were now alone, casually walks toward you, having popped out of nowhere as you watch Ella and Bridget soar past the windows and eventually disappear. He tilts his head as he looks up at you, trying to read you somehow, from behind. You turn around, jumping back in slight fear and surprise.

"Uhm, hello!-" You awkwardly smile, floating a above the ground, making yourself a foot taller than him. You recognize him, knowing he's a VK.

"What's with the eh-" He looks you up and down, "Floaty thing?"

You glance around and shrug. "I dunno. Just kinda... born like that"

He nods, posing no threat. "Cool"

You subtly raise an eyebrow. "You think?"

"Yeah," He chuckles. "Got any more of that fairy dust?" He asks, referring to the magical golden dust that enchanted its victims with flight.

"Pixie dust," you correct. "But, yeah. Why?"

"You do flying classes?" He asks, a soft expression on his face, one of curiosity, craving adventure.

Your cautious expression quickly fades to one of happiness, a smile curling the corners of your lips up. "For you, I guess"

He smiles, watching as you dig into your pocket and sprinkle him in the glittering gold powder. His feet slowly depart from the floor, his arms quickly reaching out to you in fear.

You jump back to avoid his hooked hand, but realized that this was more like teaching a kid how to ride a bike rather than he wanted to hurt you. You reach for his in-tact hand, pulling him closer to you, laughter escaping your lips as he front flips a few times.

"This isn't funny!"

"Yeah, it is!"

He clings onto you, not liking gravity not pulling him down to the ground.

"What're you so scared for?" You chuckle as you question him. "You a pussy?"

"No!" He quickly pushes away from you, needing to keep his tough guy VK coat on in front of you, reminding himself that you weren't one of his friends. "It's very hard to keep balance!" He exclaims as he falls backward to hang upside down. He flails his arms, returning right side up.

"What's your name?" You ask, stifling a laugh as you watch.

"Hook. James Hook"

"Cause the hook, I'm guessing?"

It'd been a few days since you'd last seen James Hook, your mind constantly trying to find an answer to why he wanted to try the pixie dust and why he spent nearly an hour hanging out with you to try and learn to fly. Maybe he was forming some sort of plan. Maybe you shouldn't speak to him again, maybe he was bad just like the other VKs. Maybe you should stop trusting everyone-

"Hey Y/n," James smiles, appearing from behind you, hand quickly jumping to your shoulder.

You jump, looking back at him as you sit under a tree in the front yard of Merlin's Academy.

"Hey, Hook" You answer, looking back down at your textbook.

He raises an eyebrow, looking down at your spell casting book. "You can call me James"

"Hey, James," you repeat, correcting yourself. "What's up?"

He shrugs. "I was going to ask you that"

He slides down the tree, sitting next to you. "I saw your little stunt earlier in the library." he smiles. "You're a trickster, hm?"

You lightly smile. "Yeah."

"Little sprinkle of that dust and watching people try to fly is amusing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, kinda. Especially when it's assholes" You reply, referring to his VK friends.

He chuckles. "It was funny, really. I like you, you have a sense of humor."

"Y'know," You speak, looking up at him. "My shadow is it's own being, it spies"

He raises an eyebrow. You glance back at the tree you rest your back upon, showing him your shadow standing above you, hands on their hips. He jumps for a moment, looking back at you.

"I don't lie, James" You shrug, watching as the shadow attempts to push you two together. You roll your eyes. "They want us to kiss"

James glances between you and the shadow, face growing red. "I mean, a lot of people call me James-"

"It's not about that." You sigh. "Little mischievous bitch thought you falling into my arms the other day was 'adorable'. You have a crush on me or something, apparently, according to them"

He blinks and shrugs. "I mean, they're not totally wrong." He smiles awkwardly wide, looking for validation. He breaks, disturbed by your silence. "I'd love to be friends with you, at least. You're very intriguing and humorous, and-"

You quickly cut him off. "What? We can't, we can't be friends. You're a VK"

His expression quickly falters as he realizes the predicament.

"But... I shouldn't deny that I feel the same way about you"

He blinks, confused and slightly caught off gaurd. "What are you getting at here?"

"We're star-crossed lovers." You speak dramatically. "We can't be together, yet there's something pulling us together. Even if it's just a silly little crush or infatuation"

He nods. "Can we at least be friends? I promise you, love, I'm not as evil as it seems."

Yeah, friends was an awful word to use when describing you and the infamous James Hook.

Someone call up Anne Marie...

Over the course of the next few months, you and Hook had become true star-crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet, bound by love, separated by fate. The constellations aligned but the stars between you and James never did.

You wondered why you had to be separated by social norms, why you couldn't be with him because he was a villain. If James was a villain, then you were too for your pranks, there was nothing fair about it.

Even though you'd sucked yourself into a little world of your own, he was there by your side, loving your lips behind closed doors and confined spaces so you wouldn't be caught. God, no one would ever forget it if they found out. A VK and an AK together? The world might as well have ended.

You fly through the forest with James, his fingers tangled in yours as you swiftly pull him along.

"Y/n, slow down!"

"I'm not even going fast, you're going slow!"

[velnna]

Hii I started following you recently and I absolutely adore your work and your characters but Im just genuinely unclear on Staeve and bg3/the Under Garden. Like is Staeve canon in the Under Garden and Staeve in your bg3 content is like an au?? Is there technically a bg3!Staeve??? I dunno maybe it's just me but I just noticed Staeve shows up in both and on patreon you separate the tags so I haven't really figured out this whole situation yet 😅

That's alright haha I know it's a bit confusing if you didn't follow the origin story on discord 😂 my bad! Staeve was created as a tav in BG3, then transplanted into The Under Garden as a joke, then as we worked on the main plot we gave him more and more of a relevant role and now he's basically set to integrate our main party in the second stage of the story

The main reason he's in ThUG is actually that I wanted to include an old DnD character in the comic as a side character, Nita:

And when i was jokingly proposing staeve being included as well it clicked that they could be siblings (similar colour schemes, etc) and from there a whole backstory developed with them and their family. And then we copied it into his bg3 backstory and so on haha. So basically any post that has astarion or standalone staeve or any bg3 reference is tagged BG3, and any other might be tagged ThUG if it's more relevant to his storyline there.

We may stick to his "old" name Vesta in ThUG, and are obviously not including anything explicitly BG3 in there, but there are aspects inspired by his in-game shenanigans, etc

[fckbatmanhiskidsareminenow]

bat siblings as things kids have said to me at work.

(i kept me as me because i couldn’t figure out anyone way to format this 😭)

steph: *taps me*

me: yeah?

steph: *whispering* hey show me ur moves

me: what 😀

me: how did you even get pencil on ur face?

dick: i dunno

me: my goodness ur a magician

dick: i am 😌

jason: i like picking my nose

me: how about we take a break from drawing and colour in

cass: no i don’t like colouring

cass: i like colouring more than drawing

me: ??

steph: *telling me about all the drama at school*

me who now has beef with a 4yr old named jessica* that’s wild

me: do u wanna colour them in now?

tim: *nods hesitantly*

me: are u sure? 😅

tim: no *seriously*

duke who arrived all of two minutes ago: *asks me something*

me: you’ve already got paint on ur face how’d you even do that?

duke: i know i put it there

me: aight fair

damian: why can’t u bring ur cat here?

me: that’s a great question

me: timmy pls i love ya but imma need you to stop rocking on ur chair kiddo

tim: timmy? only my mum calls me gems

me: whelp guess what i’m ur mum now stop rocking on ur chair

tim: no 😌

damian: mum-oh

me: listen hear kiddo i’m too young to be a mother

damian: but u said ur cat was ur son?

me: yes i did

damian: that makes no sense

jason: let me guess ur in ur teens

me: let me guess ur 2

jason: 😱 no i’m 7! 😤

me: oh right of course

dick: i’m done 😌

me: u sure? *pulls out other sheet of drawing from behind the first one like a magic trick*

dick: 😮

me: is that the same as that (talking about their drawing and the reference)

duke: yes?

me about to ruin this kids whole career: not quite

me: omg ur a goose

jason: *mildly offended* >:0

cass: *smacks self in the face with pencil*

me and her: *laughing way too loud*

context: student asks about a painting across the room

me: don’t worry about it just do ur drawing

dick: then why do you worry?

me: about what?

dick: about everything!

me: that’s so true

context me and the kids were talking about different coloured fish and one mentioned her doubts about pink fish

me: oh there are pink dolphins…but i guess they aren’t fish..

jason: pink dolphins? no they’re grey

damian: no there are pink ones

me: yeah i’m pretty sure they’re from the amazon

steph: like the shop???

me: *laughs to the point of almost tears*

tim: you got it dude

me: i know i got it but do you? (he doesn’t)

[purpledemonlilyposting]

Oh good Lorch is opening her mouth about Utena again. A series she only talks about because ND Stevenson and Rebecca Sugar made references to it, and because I criticized her takes on it.

Spoilers and long ass diatribes below.

[Lily's Post]

Let's do this point by point shall we?

The Thermian Argument was coined by Dan Olson... you know the Breadtuber who uploaded lolicon onto 8chan so he could write an article about how there's lolicon on 8chan. So that's a good start.

What it apparently means is a logical fallacy wherein someone uses the text of a work to quash criticism of something offensive in that work.

I'm sure Lily is going to use it to mean you can't use the text of the work to quash her own misinterpretation of that text.

Ah this is how we know she has FINALLY maybe actually watched the series. She has never mentioned the incestous tones between the three different sets of siblings in the show before now.

It isn't really played for a joke. With Nanami it's her immaturity. She doesn't really get why its inappropriate to hold her brother up as the ideal man and want chaste kisses from him like when they were little. Just like she doesn't get why its inappropriate to refer to her elementary schooler simp as her "boyfriend". She's clad in yellow when she tries to take her brother's place on the student council for a reason. She's very naive, very immature, still clinging to childhood notions of the world. Akio tries to encourage Touga to take her affection in a sexual direction to manipulate both of them, but Nanami resolutely rejects it. Because the adult reality of her childhood fancy is not what she actually wants.

Some people also speculate Nanami is a deeply closeted lesbian, given she's quick to accuse Utena of being one. And that by holding up her brother, an unattainable man, as the ultimate ideal man she's excusing herself from having to engage with other men.

And yes she drowned a kitten she originally gave to her brother out of jealously. By putting it in a box and pushing it into a reservoir. When she was a little kid and didn't know any better. And regretted it immediately.

Get this Lily: characters... can have flaws.

And that's probably why she constantly has bad karma with animals. Well also Anthy fucking with her.

Kozue and Miki are a whole other story. There was one event in their childhood that shattered how close they used to be, then their parents divorced and neither one of them really knows what to do with those feelings as they enter adolescence.

At what point is any of it fetishistic? It's always depicted as a negative thing. Do you just think it's fetishistic because of your own very obvious incest fetish Lily?

Also we're talking about princes and princesses here when the reality is often times there were arranged marriages between siblings among royalty so. You know. There's that too.

Something happening in a piece of fiction isn't an endorsement.

Lily stop treating goddamn TV Tropes as your media criticism bible.

Maybe instead of just going by what Noralities says you could, I dunno, just watch the show, and pay attention, and try to follow what it is communicating to you, and then draw your own conclusions? Wild idea I know.

Well golly gee and who was the one out here saying "Utena isn't yuri" "Utena isn't gay rep" and getting shat on on Twitter for it? You know the same Twitter conversations YOU try to use against me?

More like it's impossible for you to understand the themes because it is a very abstract, metaphorical and surrealist piece of media.

By the way Lily the primary driving theme of RGU is adolescence. That "apocalyptic" period between childhood and adulthood. The process of the death of the child and the birth of the adult. Those inbetween years when you are neither. And all of these people are within a hazy endless summer at Ohtori Academy until they find their path to adulthood, with Akio and Anthy preying upon them.

You don't have to like it Lily. No one gives a damn. The fans will continue discussing and analyzing this work as we have done for the past almost 30 years. Your input is not needed.

https://ohtori.nu/analysis/

https://satirist.org/essays/utena/

So absolute proof Lily had not watched the show in 17 years when she ran her mouth about it in her 2023 SU video. You know the thing that directly lead to me becoming a YouTuber and a thorn in her side:

(pun absolutely intended)

Again: no one gives a damn if you don't like it. And yeah, it's not a very accessible series to the average viewer. Oh well!

You said it, not me.

Utena is an important piece of art beyond it being anime, Lily. Suck it up. It's a product of the people and time it was made in, by their own studio with their own rules. Only that exact confluence of events could have lead to its creation.

[enquire]

Hello again! Dunno when you’ll be back online, but when you do return, could you tell me of any potential DRA ships you have? Additionally, do you plan to make them canon or ship-tease them in your pony AU?

Hello again! :D

I hope you're ready for an info dump because I have a lot of thoughts about class 79!

Ships... the age old question...

I'm honestly not the kind of person who gets heavily invested into a lot of ships. That being said, I do enjoy them a lot, especially when it involves a cast I am as attached to as class 79! And one of those handful of ships I am highly invested in is a DRA ship, lol. (It's Kinjomae... and to be honest, a really big part of my DRA special interest is filled by those two characters, and Utsuro, in general if not together)

Kinjo and Yuki tend to end up being with central roles in most of my DRA related thoughts, art, and writing, it just kind of sneaks in, regardless, somewhere.

I like interpreting them in a queer platonic or more ace-leaning relationship as well. Not always, but I've made a habit of it. So yeah they're going to have a relationship of some sort in this au too.

To specify, I am referring to DRA1 Yuki; I don't really ship the real Yuki and Tsurugi together. To me, they are two very distinct characters with different personalities from each other despite their similarities, not just memories... I won't get into all that (a post for another day perhaps) but in context of Kinjomae, only one of them is his Yuki, who knows and cares for him.

Exploring the relationship between Tsurugi and (actual) Yuki Maeda is still super interesting though, and I can understand why people ship it, there's loads of interesting places to go with it.

Also, I'm the kind of fan who can be swayed to accept almost any pairing or headcanon, especially in the context of the respective work (art/writing, etc) I really think it's possible to execute pretty much anything in a convincing manner if done well, and that applies to ships and stuff. Are there some ships and/or headcanons that give me the ick? Yup. Are there some I just don't like? Yeah. It just takes a lot for me to really get to a level where I hate something.

Uh, let's see... there are a few other ships I tend to immediately think of, even if I'm not as invested!

Ayame/Akane (may or may not be teased or explored in the pony au)

Satsuki/Haru (they'll probably be canon, I mean... it's satsuki and haru)

Rei/Teruya (I love their dynamic, regardless of the type of relationship they have)

Utsuro/Akane (they are super fascinating and it would feel remiss not to include this one in some manner)

I'm not sure yet what I'll do in this AU with everyone, we'll see. Including friend groups: I want to make more 'mane 6' type groups from the rest of the cast but I haven't finalized any of them besides the main one yet.

That's one of the things that makes me love class 79 so much; they feel very real to me, individually and how they all interact with each other. I'm invested in them as a group, and in all the little friendships and groups within the class. So I might spend more time thinking about them in terms of friendships and other relationships than pairings, except for Kinjo and Yuki of course.

My favorites of those are:

☀︎ haru, satsuki, and teruya

tsurugi, yamato, and mikako

teruya, tsurugi, and rei

best siblings yamato and mikako

the if only group: teruya, tsurugi, rei, yuki, akane, yamato, and mikako. (who also happen be most of the mane 6 for my pony au, and are my favorite characters along with Utsuro, pretty much.)

I love this cast a lot if you couldn't tell by now.

My least favorites are Mitch and Kizuna, though. I don't dislike them, but Kizuna in particular I am really neutral toward compared to everyone else.

I feel like I just... don't have a grasp on what kind of character she is at all? Her story in the game combined with her FTEs left me pretty conflicted about her. It feels like there were many opportunities to give more insight into her, but none of them worked for me.

I mean, we get to meet her mom, and even that didn't give me any more insight into her childhood or personality at all... which is kind of hard to ignore when the time we spend (or being told about via FTES) with Ando, Keisuke, Ryutaro, and Midori all give their respective family members more context and anchors we didn't have before. Plus the tiniest whiff of Juu we get speaks volumes for Tsurugi's upbringing, it is very easy to fill in the blanks.

As much as it is a tradition to hate on Mitch, I don't really hate him as a character: he works perfectly well for the kind of role he's meant to fill, (I mean, he's designed to be a case 1 killer first and foremost) and personally, I find it a lot easier to add layers to him than Kizuna because he has a base I can wrap my head around, unlike Kizuna, even if it is a really simple one.

Anyways...

As a bonus, here are some of my favorite rarepairs:

mitch/uehara

teruya/uehara

teruya/haru

almost any rei pairings (I usually pass on the very gloomy and incoming divorce vibes of tsurugi/rei though) maybe partially because I (personally) have difficulties seeing Tsurugi being in relationships with women. Sorry, but I can't undo it. He's just gay in my eyes. And/or ace and homoromantic.

I think that's the end of my thoughts for now. Thanks for prompting another ramble I appreciate it.

⋆⁺₊⋆ see ya later ! ⋆⁺₊⋆

[aingeal98]

this might be a stupid question and i dunno if you're the right person to ask, but why does the batman fandom keep referring to tim and cass as twins? i feel like i'm missing something here

I can't speak for everyone but I think part of it is due to Tim being Robin for most of Cass's Batgirl tenure. Whenever there were family moments the two of them would be given small matching panels or working in tandem together. They were the "kids" of the squad for a decent amount of years. They're Batgirl and Robin which are equal roles and they're also siblings with only two years age difference. Combine that with Tim's Red Robin era floppy hair for jokes about how he's going to grow it out even more so they look like twins

And also their shenanigans during their time in Bludhaven and how writers like to throw in sweet moments like this of them being in sync

And you get the Cass and Tim are twins agenda. Unlike the Jason and Cass are twins agenda which is based on theories about Jason's bio mom and how close he and Cass are in age, the Tim and Cass are twins agenda is just pure vibes based. They're Batgirl and Robin they're the two little shadows popping out behind batman's cape, and unlike any of the other batgirl and robin dynamics, they're actually siblings who are close in age. Boom, flawless logic.

Honestly to me Cass is very clearly the older sister due to how she's always ready to jump in and defend anyone who tries hurting Tim. And how she was written as more experienced in general due to well... Her whole life of experiences. But they don't look vastly different in age so I understand the twins argument more than I would for say, Damian and Steph.

Another few things I'd say added to it is fandom's fondness for long haired Red Robin era Tim and also headcanoning him as East Asian, to the point where some people genuinely believe he's canonically mixed in the comics. Add them all together and you get a funny joke based on small moments from the comics turned into a widespread meme.

[heartfullofleeches]

Gumi Pop

Yan Candy Twins + G.N Reader

[Vaguely implied cannibalism, but they aren't human so it's up to interpretation]

"Cherry orrrrr blue raspberry? Neither really match with what I'm wearing, but they're pretty popular and I live to impress."

The soil is nice this time of year.

"Oh, oh! What about grape?... Mm, nah - Dunno if they changed the recipe, but the flavouring tastes like cough syrup now."

Moist and wet - the perfect place to hide... Let the worms and other nature forces find use for this sticky shell.

"Lemon is good.. but it feels too formal for a first date."

How could there be another place for him? How could you possibly love them after all he's done?

"Strawberry is another fan favorite as well as mine. Dress for the job you want as they say.... Gigi, I swear if you're doing that self deprecating monologue shit again I won't let you pick their locks like we planned."

The man immediately dries his eyes - a red smear ran across his translucent cheek as his sleeve covers his face. "Sorry, Lollie. It's just....we we've gotten so close to meeting them and I messed things up with my... accident."

Hopping off the roof of the car they arrived in, the woman pulls her brother into a hug - relieving him of the shovel in his hands. "Don't sweat it. Mistakes happen, and as soon as Y/n gets a taste of us it'll all be a thing of the past."

Giggling to herself, she pinches his cheek and plants the tool in the fresh mound of dirt - dumping the disturbed earth over the frozen face below. The pile lands center to his chest, soil and small pebbles filing the three, cylindrical holes punched right below his ribs. They'd be the first to claim his death was accidental. Readying a gift for the one they admired most in the human world, twins stopped by a convenience store a block away from your home to pick up the remaining products on their list. There really was no simple way to ease you into the idea of two sentient beings made of candy stalking you for years to learn the ins and outs of human society and falling madly in love with you along the way - but a gift basket was a start.

While Lolotte was gathering butcher knives and cards, her dear brother was in the back making himself presentable for the big meet. Unlike his siblings glossy shine and hard shell, poor Gumi was completely see through from a certain angle all the way down to his sugary skeleton. He was fortunate enough to not have any organs besides a heart, but for any unsuspecting person his appearance may still cause a fright and he didn't want to scare you away at first sight.

Gumi wanted to be cute and cuddly, just like the animal and snack his name derived from. Taking references from both, Gumi stitched together his own costume. It was really just a plush sweater with some ears and a tail sewed on, but the cute factor was high. He also fashioned a pair of paws out of his own bones and some gloves. The outfit was so adorable he couldn't help but put on a little show for himself in the mirror. Looking like a character right out of a picture book, Gumi took the liberty of acting like one as well. No way you could reject something so cute - right? Haha.. Haha.. ah..

Shit.

Turns out - mimicking bear noises in a store a location were they were apparently common wasn't such a good idea. Startled, the on staff clerk went to check out the noise fully unprepared for what he found. Equally as terrified, Gumi committed to the only logical course of action and slashed at the man before fleeing the scene. In another twist of events, solidified sugar was a lot harder and sharper than he thought and the cashier was dead by the time he had dragged his sister back to the scene of the crime. Without skipping a beat, Lolotte loaded up their items and the corpse into the trunk of his car for a quick drop off before they headed your way. The death count could've been a million times the size, and it still wouldn't have gotten in the way of her plans to make you theirs.

Gumi checks the time on his new phone. "It's getting late. We should hurry.. Plus the smell is getting to me."

"Not to worry, brother of mine." Lolotte fishes a knife out of her inner pocket and throws it in his direction. "I'll finish things up here while you go cut out your heart so we can finally wrap up Y/n's basket. You should be patched up and healed by the time I'm done, right?"

"Think so.... Thank you, Lollie." Clutching the knife to his chest, Gumi grins so hard his cheeks feel like they've spilt. "I'm so excited to finally meet them!"

He turns to the car - a sharp whistle preventing him from going far."

"Before you go, why don't you give me a preview of what you were doing in the bathroom?"

Wiping the newfound annoyance and former grief from his face, Gumi raises his wrists and bares his teeth - claws forever stained and a few missing their talon still buried in the organs of the man laud to an untimely rest as their feet. He quickly lifts his hood over his head as he puffs his chest.

"Rawr."

Sporting a grin of her own, Lolotte chuckles. "Oh, they are going to eat us alive."

[littleeyesofpallas]

It's such a nothing detail at this point --after what almost 50 years now?-- but it always bugged me that Lady Shiva is called Lady Shiva... Like... Either do something interesting with her heritage to align her with the Hindi namesake, or call her by some kind of Chinese equivalent of the same Destroyer god. Or like at least tie the Indian epithet to her having learned Kalaripayattu or something. I dunno I just wish her name made a little bit more sense. Although so long as I'm griping about Lady Shiva stuff...

I'd actually really love it if they took her reputation as Master of All Martialarts to heart. It already makes for a great implied dynamic with Batman where he has a reputation that precedes him but by all rights isn't actually a master martial artist so much as just a very competent jack of all trades who supplements what he lacks in martial arts specifically with his deductive reasoning, broader situational awareness, and gadgets. But if her quest to master every martial art took her back to the cradle of civilization it'd make for a cool sort of feather in her cap. She could have more run ins with the likes of Sportsmaster to draw a line around Martialarts as sports vs martialarts as real combat, vs as art, vs as living cultural artifacts. She could have some back and forth with Vandal Savage as a guy who ostensibly knows more about lost histories than any other person on Earth.

Also dumb nothing side bit but how have we not had her do the full blown Bruce Lee, or Bruce Lee inspired blurry anime arms thing to match her Shiva title?

And like, as shitty as his plots have all been, there's just so much more that could be done with David Cain if anyone really gave a shit. I know it's super lame that he's literally named after Cain & Abel, but there's something kind of cool about the idea of a guy better known for training assassins than actually being one having this association with a mythical First Murder. Cain would just make for a much better codename than anything. It'd be really interesting if he was never a martial arts expert or even master assassin at all but just a guy dabbling in experimental operant conditioning and desensitization, trying to master The Art of Killing from the basest level.

Because really learning martialarts and bodily discipline as a first language fits Shiva's shtick better anyway. Cain's deal should be about breaking down the psychological resistance to killing and violence. Among other things there's really no reason for him to even be Cassandra's biological father. It would make way more sense to just make him a weirdo abducting or otherwise buying people's kids to try and get them as tabula rasa as possible. That being said he should also have closer ties to Damian specifically as the recipient of Cain's eventual perfected training methods.

(oh you know I don't know why I never thought of it but is he supposed to also be named after the biblical David? Like as a reference to David and Goliath? So he's named after two biblical guys who killed someone with a rock? Honestly the name David is so plain it never crossed my mind to even look for a connection)

But that all being said there's this implicit untapped synergy between the themes of The First Killer among men, and the Hindu Destroyer God that would be really cool to explore, obviously thru Cass and how she should be the marriage of their two themes, along with any siblings we want to acknowledge in any given timeline. Like, she should really be a perfect embodiment of bothe parents' ideals but also the perfect counter point or refutation of each. Like, I know we all love pure hearted Cass and the whole idea that she could just shake off her lifetime of training and condition to just know that killing is wrong, but I dunno it's a little corny? (I do like the idea that Cain's blindspot was that training her against professional killers meant she never learned the body language of fear in someone who can't fight back, though. That sort of culture shock is a fun part of that moment.) Instead it would be really interesting to acknowledge that, yeah, Cain's training worked and she can pretty easily take a life without much hesitation or guilt, but that doesn't mean she can't make the rational or ethical or moral judgement to not kill, it just means she isn't making it based on reflexive disgust or shame or trauma.

The loophole to her being a perfect killer and unmatched fighter being that if she's truly unmatched then other fighters don't actually pose a threat to her, and without her life at risk she has no actual motive to kill someone. In a way she should operate on a moral perogative more akin to Superman's than Batman's, just scaled down to a street level, or in the specific realm of martialarts.

Unrelated to really any of this while I do hate Cain's dumb "Orphan" moniker working with Mother, and especially the idea of Cass taking it, I almost would have liked if it had been that version of Cain that had had the weird eugenics program with his other kids. (I mean that it just ditch him and make Shiva the one with a bunch of protege kids, and instead of trying to make a perfect killer, it's just Shiva trying to make her perfect adversary) It would make more sense for him to have an entire line of failed experiments preceding Cass that she'd have to prove herself against.

But also if there was going to be a whole legacy of "Orphan" operatives, it would have been cool to make it a mahjong thing; there's a uniquely difficult hand in mahjong called The Thirteen Orphans, where the 13 tiles in your hand form absolutely no pairs, triplets or straights, despite those being the entire backbone of the game. You only get one pair to make it a winning hand and there could be a neat way to single out Shiva and Cass as a matched pair.

[egg-emperor]

Everyone's always thinking that like absolutely all Eggman's creations should be related to him because of Sage but she's still the only one in game canon where he's actually referred to himself as her parent/seen her as his child. That was kinda the whole point of the story of Frontiers and the development. Ya know. That it wasn't something that has happened before in game canon. I thought people who claimed to be big Frontiers fans before I came to like it too would realize that lol

Metal Sonic still hasn't been referred to or interacted with by Eggman as if he's his son in the actual games. He's never called himself his father in game. He hasn't even been nice to him for a single moment actually. In Japanese Colors, Eggman also outright rejected being called father by Cubot, so he clearly only accepted them as being like "brothers* to Sage to entertain her while he was making the proposal to her promotion to being integrated into the Eggnet, making it all the more appealing and not because he wants them as his sons

The absolute closest thing before that, of him assigning any type of familial dynamic to any characters in game canon at all is with the E Series, saying that they're like brothers to each other. But he was anything but fatherly towards them and you know, the way he was so terrible to them is the major plot point and kicker of Gamma's whole story and ignoring that would diminish the importance of that story. So I wouldn't say that counts at all but you know- it's the clooosest if you're gonna reach

Anyway all this to say I don't subscribe to the idea that all of Eggman's creations are literally all like his children just because he's their creator. I actually ship many of his robots with him and think they can be shipped together without people saying it's weird too. It's like how you could say Shadow is like part of the Robotnik family with how Gerald calls him his son and how he's been said to have something of a sibling bond with Maria- yet Eggman very obviously doesn't see him as family just because he was created by his grandfather lol

Not all of them have the same dynamic. I don't know why the family type roles always have to be forced in places they don't exist. I mean do what you want in fanon ofc but people are acting like it's canon fact or a strict set of rules to follow and it's really not because it's never been enforced in canon at all. As of now, it still stands that the only creation of Eggman's that are like family to him is Sage and I still don't even feel it counts with Orbot and Cubot, it's just Sage that sees them as her brothers

It's like how Orbot and Cubot were calling Metal big bro in Rise of the Wisps but Metal doesn't see them as family back and Eggman doesn't see the three as his sons either lol. In the events of Colors, he was actively and vocally rejecting the idea of Cubot being like family to him and he doesn't call himself Metal Sonic's father in game canon. So just because some of the robots may see each other as like family, I don't see it as that literal and they're still capable of having completely different dynamics with each other that aren't familial at all

I also think that really restricts creativity and freedom for how to explore their interactions and dynamics for absolutely no reason, when it's enforced that they're all literally family and see each other as such and it's all wholesome and happy and if anyone steers from it, it will be met with negative responses. Because it's not canon at all and people should be allowed to interpret and portray them and their dynamics in other ways, or in a less wholesome way if it can work but that complicated or toxic way suits best.

I dunno again just some random thoughts and rambling

[digitalgate02]

Friend and I were having a brainstorming hours ago about Rui and Meiko and i'd like to quote it:

(for reference, we were talking about the shitpost edit i made)

Friend: OH MY GOD MEIKO BEING THERE IS MAKING ME LOSE MY SHIT Me: Meiko is here because i had no patience to edit Pipimi for another character LMAO but Meiko probably would get along with Rui, FITE ME Friend: yeah LOL and yeah she would well, she's older than him so even if he's technically senpai as a Chosen, she's senpai in all other respects Me: Meiko and Rui do not have siblings so i can see Meiko enjoying having someone close to a "sibling" because idk why, she would both had too much BS in their lives they can relate to to some extent Friend: it would be hilarious if they met through the Chosen network without the others putting them together so Meiko tells Taichi and the others (whom she's still in frequent contact with) that she picked up this cute kouhai and Rui tells the 02 kids he's been talking to this nice girl lately and then one day when they figure it out it's like WAIT- Me: i mean, i dunno if the 02 kids know Meiko besides Takeru and Hikari and the older six meeting Rui… so it would be even funnier if they didn't know, but then Takeru and Hikari just connect the dots it's like the idea someone had of Ken and Wallace being sort of penpals but not realizing-- Friend: so basically Meiko, Rui, and Wallace end up being chatroom penpals completely outside the others noticing- Me: good, i'd see it happening LOL Friend: Iori: I know what they say about six degrees of separation, but this is… Me: Takeru and Hikari are like "oh my god… all of you…" basically Digimon Adventure Outsiders [/making a parody of that Kamen Rider spinoff of course] Friend: yes LOL

If i weren't focused on Re:Connect and other things i'd write this down, or make some silly comics of it.

Rui, Meiko and Wallace start their own group. The shenanigans of the movie-exclusive characters lol

[kobitoshiningneedle]

For the fandom hot take thing I've got two: The Death Penalty isn't really on the table for a great majority of AA cases, that's only really reserved for people who murdered at least three people (ie Dahlia) Due to the time period and drama and period typical sexism and such forth, Yujin was definitely priming for Susato and Kazuma to possibly get married in the future-- especially since he knows that the world isn't fair to girls like Susato (especially since there's a lot of opportunities that are kept from her SOLELY because she's a woman), and since there's no male Mikotoba heir, the next best thing would be to make sure she's set up for life with someone that is trustworthy and also respects HER as a person....... and Susato DEFINITELY had a baby crush on Kazuma that she was not subtle about due to being 6/7 XD

Hii! So, for the first one:

Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly disagree

So Ace Attorney first and foremost references Japanese justice system, and there is (as much as I know) death penalthy being practiced all way through (probably not for one murder, more likely serial killers will be punished too, afaik, murdering three people warrants the highest form of punishment).

But honestly? There are two things that make me lean towards considering death penalty as the most likely solution if someone's condemned. First of all, Ace Attorney's world is a caricature and it doesn't really have to perfectly mirror the real one. The second thing comes from that as AA is a very dramamtic series, and Phoenix being all dedicated to "save" people he defends in court is really in line with consideration that most of times this is a life or death situations. Aside from Dahlia the other examples that more vaguely imply: Adrian Andrew's situation in 2-4 being compared to Maya's deadly peril, so her situation is on more or less similar level of grave - if Phoenix indicts her as guilty, her life would be wasted. In 3-4 Terry Fawles was on a death row for supposedly killing Dahlia (well, he did some other bad things too like kidnapping etc). The other one is implications that at some point Morgan met Pearl for the last time in Japanese script, and Morgan even never killed anyone directly.

But what stops me to completely side with "Guilty verdict means death" opinion is how sometimes there is implied hope for the imprisoned? It was shown clearly in I2-2 with how Japanifornian prison, with all its faults, tries to rehabilitate people as members of society, inviting performers like Regina or assigning them to groom pets. This is a really positive aspect, and, adding to the fact that there are many sympathetic culprits in the series, you would want to think that there's some hope for them. So overall, there are some arguments in favor and against that, so I dunno

Now onto the Kazuma/Susato one

Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly disagree

Okay, this is a really controversial topic that probably may be repulsing from the modern Western perspective, but Mikotoba imagining Kazuma as a potential husband for Susato could really be the case. For a few reasons

There really was a Japanese tradition for sonless men from respectable families (Mikotobas were well off) to take in orphaned boys, adopt them (even giving them their family name!) and marry their daughters off to them to secure their lineage. Not 100% the situation with Yujin and Kazuma (it's unimaginable that Kazuma would change his name, he's tightly holding onto Asogi's legacy), but it's not unprecedented that basically adoptive siblings were expected to marry in some circumstances

About the sibling part: I do sincerely think that Kazuma and Susato's relationship are resembling of some sort of sibling bond (especialy post 2-5 when they all reconcile in the end) - cue the Japanese DLC case - but here's the nuance. Probably neither of them thought about their relationship in that way. They are not Miles and Franziska. Kazuma and Susato dynamic is a vast and deep topic and I have many thoughts about it, but now I wanna on;y say that 1) Kazuma, as much as he appreciated Susato's help and devotion, wasn't... fair to her, I think? In their relationship he probably always was a receiving party, and really really often he kinda subconciously dismissed her, preferring to be more open with his university friend whom he knew for a year instead. Adding the fact he was kinda distancing himself from Mikotobas already and didn't really view them as a family, he probably wouldn't call Susato his sister, and 2) Susato could view him as her honorary brother, but this does negate the "puppy crush" part as you said. It's probably more of a historical fiction thing, but really often "you're like a brother/sister to me" meant "i want to be with you forever". So the romantic feelings and appreciating someone as sibling really could intertwine, contrary to modern POV. Either way, the way Susato was dedicated to Kazuma's dream, shaping her profession and career path around him probably speaks in favor of her affection, whatever it could be - especially taking a risk of having a job in the sexist sociaty required really strong feelings from her. Maybe it could be the other way around and at some point Yujin saw Susato being that way to Kazuma and began to make wedding plans

Also Yujin would be really glad if his family and the family of his good friend were united

I don't actively ship Asosusa, but I think the implications that Kazuma and Susato were at some moment imagined to be a bride and groom has potential for angst. Especially considering they ended up crushing on the same boy

[worldsewage]

for the ask game..8, 11, and 18 for saint .....

Sorry I fell asleep hehe..

8. do they have a nickname? who gave it to them? if it's not derived from their real name, what's the story behind it?

Saint Light of the Up River Tawasakana, yeah, ‘Saint’ is a nickname…

But Alligator and Shank call them Soap, thanks to Shank having difficulty speaking, and Alligator picked up on this— though she probably doesn’t use it when she’s addressing Saint directly, she definitely calls them Soap when talking about them with others, Saint doesn’t care for the nickname, but Alligator thinks it’s funny, and Soap is one of 3 words Shank can formally say. (Note, Shank says ‘Soap’ in Salsegal, so it doesn’t sound like Soap, but Alligator learned that’s the word she was saying, so she says the word Soap.)

Saint, by the group, is usually referred to as “3” by Callie, July, Marie — who were child soldiers and have no issues addressing 3 AS a solider.

Alligator, who didn’t grow up in Inkopolis or any Eastern-Inkling (ie the common Inkling, the Inklings you see In Game) society actually finds it weird that Saint now takes part in agent work despite their age. So she calls them “Kid, Little Guy,” and a few variations of that.

Alligator grew up far far east, in one of the waterwasted farming zones, so the culture there is very very different.

11. what do they have in common with you? how are they different? would you get along with them?

I dunno if we have anything in common…? Quiet little reserved picky-eater kid who really likes to play video games; yeah; not sure if there’s much there, they’re like a little kid to me. I’m not sure if they’d like me but I think I would adore them because I really love kids.

I think if I were to draw a dragon on a piece of copy paper they would think it’s the coolest thing in the world though.

18. their opinion on lying, stealing, and killing?

They don’t talk much, it’s hard to lie when you hardly speak. (They speak Salsegal and Octarian, so learning Inklish has been hard.) But they’re practically a little kid, so they lie as much as a little kid does, they’re still learning what it is they can get away with under protection of the NSS.

They have 0 logic behind stealing, in thjer head they think, ‘I don’t have money for this; and I want it, so I’ll take it.’ And NO other logic falls behind it, they steal a lot, if they don’t get away with it it’s fine because one of the adults will apologize and pay for it. Before they were Agent 3, they would steal stuff from scrapyards and other machines to make money, not for selling the parts; just the time it takes to steal said parts for clans surrounding the area. It works because they’re small, small little Inklings are quick. They were raised by Salmonids, and I think I mentioned it somewhere before, but Salmonid households are NOT conventional family models, but rather a collect or a bunch of random Salmonids who ARE usually related, there’s not very often a Mom and Dad, just a house full of brothers and sisters and half siblings and cousins, so the house usually runs on ‘go make money for the house fund, and be home for dinner.’ Saint was never intended to go make money, they’re just sent outside to play, and unfortunately a gang of Crab and Salmonid Folk have recruited them to steal.

They’re a little feisty at times but that’s because they’re scared, I don’t think they’re capable of murder, but they do get into fights, if they wind up killing an enemy they’ve already fled the scene before they would even notice.

[bananaactivity]

sooo in your au, what would the hook siblings and Peter pan’s reactions be if they met each other? An ig wendy and her siblings and the never land ensemble in general

SOOO about that in a past post I explained that I didn’t know about Harry’s siblings till it was too late and I will show you how to write them in  while keeping the story that I liked.

 I actually figured it out while writing that post and added it in and by now I figured out even more about how to get hooks siblings in.

 Literally just gave James a brother and I made Harriet and CJ Harry’s cousins. But as a bonus I just found some more out, and now James brothers name is Remus Hook and he is a cowboy. 😄

Get it?!? Because Cowboys are the Pirates of the dry land????

Anyway, that also means that Harriet and CJ‘s aesthetics are now of the cowboys. Honestly cowboys and country men are of my favorite things, because like the looks are so good.

Speaking of what you asked if Peter Pan ever met Harry again, he would absolutely try to kill him. I don’t know if anybody remembers but Peter Pan is not a good dude. A lot of versions of his story wrote him as this ageist little prick who steals kids and kills them when they grow up. Here after hook accidentally had Harry with a Random ass woman  Peter gets a hold of the woman wait for her to birth out the baby, kills her and then steals Harry,  he threatens to hook that he’ll raise Harry as his own, and make him hate hook. But Hook knows that his baby will never grow up at all and essentially be useless for eternity. When he  reminded Peter about this Peter just ended up trying to get rid of the baby by throwing him into a river. Hook, of course, saves his son and returns to the isles costal shores to raise him.

Now I know that writing Peter Pan like this will make James incredibly sympathetic, and as though he is in the complete right to hate a man that cut off his hand and killed the mother of his baby, and tried to kill the baby itself, but most of Hooks problems make him the irredeemable villain that I want him to be. is mostly caused by his complete lack of care for others. All of his focus for all of his life since getting his hand cut off has been to end Peter. He doesn’t care about any other kids that may hurt. He only cares if he gets HIS revenge. he is also a murder and he will have the first on screen kill as a reference to him being the first Disney Villian depicted killing someone.

Harry’s reaction to Peter would be to get as far away as possible, he knows how important killing peter is to his father and he doesn’t want to have to take Peter out in self-defense. James’s brother Remus is much nicer than Hook but looks just like him, so Peter would definitely not notice the difference and try to kill him. However. Remus is a gunslinger and does NOT miss often so as soon as Peter comes for him, or his daughters, somebody’s head is getting blown off and it’s not gonna be Remus.

Also, James and Remus are the Hook Brothers middle names in my Au. Their full Names are Killian James Hook and Arregaithel Remus Hook. Here’s the whole family tree seen in my Au

Parents:

Sean Hook and Deana Hook

Sons;

Killian (Kee) James Hook and Arregaithel (Argy) Remus Hook

Sons children Children (in order of age):

Harriet Beth Hook , Harry Sullivan Hook and Christina-Janneigh (C.J) Anderson Hook

Don’t ask me why Sean and Deana Hook named their kids like that I dunno.

Everybody that knows Killian and Argy calls them by there middle names but they call each other Kee and Argy( if they’re arguing they’ll call each other Keekee and Archibald respectively)

Wendy and co has dementia and that’s all I know about her. :| But her daughter Jane is the mother of Remus’ children I don’t have much worked out for them tho…

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 14: WE BREAK A BRIDGE

I SWEAR I picked the order at random and then committed to it through the entirety of this series for Nico, of ALL of them, to get this chapter! I think I have a magic power, and I wish to return it.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

It didn't take a genius to figure out why Will looked suddenly sunken, a weight appearing in his usually open face. Nico had no delusions, he was about to read about a lot of Will's siblings dying.

Nico didn't know how he was supposed to just start reading like he didn't know something awful like that was about to happen to Will. How had Will done this? What curse of Hades had been placed on them that he now sat in exactly Will's shoes when he'd been the one to read of Bianca's death?

Will gave him a brave smile. There was always such a kindness in his eyes. He was encouraging Nico like he had from the beginning. To start, to get this over with.

He didn't know how to read, he didn't know how to do this to actually be of help though. Will had been a kind of support he'd never had before through all of this and he wanted to try and be that now. Will just nestled down into his seat, shifting his weight to get comfortable, his arm over his shoulders as warm as ever. Like a cat settling in, Nico had never been around them much but he couldn't help think of the comparison. All he was missing was the purring.

So Nico read, "We Break a Bridge."

Alex snorted in delight at once. "Only Percy! Taking a metaphor for trusting others and turning it into a group activity of violence!"

"You break it you buy it Percy," Jason chuckled.

"Gods I hope that bill never finds my mom," Percy frowned.

The others made a few wisecracks too, but all Nico noticed was Will. Pressing into him, obviously trying to hold him as close as possible. Nico honestly wanted to set aside the book and let him.

He didn't know it, but he'd come a long way from that guy who'd landed in here who wouldn't consider tolerating such a thing.

Fortunately, Blackjack was on duty.

"It's a thing of beauty when Blackjack's on duty," Percy said in a sing-song voice.*

"Was that a quote?" Annabeth looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah, sorry, I should stop that," Percy chuckled, again realizing nobody got it but him.

I did my best taxicab whistle, and within a few minutes two dark shapes circled out of the sky.

'Avoiding those pesky distractions of saving everyone along the way,' Will understood as he tried not to fidget around to much.

They looked like hawks at first, but as they descended I could make out the long galloping legs of pegasi.

Yo, boss. Blackjack landed at a trot, his friend Porkpie right behind him. Man, I thought those wind gods were gonna knock us to Pennsylvania until we said we were with you!

"Land of the Eagles, I guess they don't want competition," Magnus chuckled, though the football reference went over most of their heads, and Jason was looking at him particularly strangely.

"Is that all it took to get past those winds guarding the place?" Alex rolled her eyes. "What's to stop Kronos showing up lying saying he just had a nice cupcake to deliver?"

"Even he's not evil enough to think of misusing cupcakes like that," Percy shook his head.

"Thanks for coming," I told him. "Hey, why do pegasi gallop as they fly, anyway?"

"So that they never lose practice of aiming?" Thalia shrugged.

Jason sighed and slumped in his seat. He really wanted to get his hands on a pegasi skeleton, but knew saying that out loud would make him sound like a lunatic right now.

Blackjack whinnied. Why do humans swing their arms as they walk? I dunno, boss. It just feels right.

"Love, love, love that that pegasus just told you to stop overthinking things," Annabeth grinned. She owed Blackjack some sugar cubes.

"Did it do any good?" Percy rolled his eyes at both of them, even if one was only in spirit. "No." He answered his own question.

Where to?

"We need to get to the Williamsburg Bridge," I said.

Blackjack lowered his neck. You're darn right, boss. We flew over it on the way here, and it don't look good. Hop on!

"If your camp hands out medals, Blackjack deserves one," Jason smiled. "No hesitation, just flying you right into battle, every time."

"I'll find a way to give him a horse-sized donut one day," Percy nodded.

On the way to the bridge, a knot formed in the pit of my stomach. The Minotaur was one of the first monsters I'd ever defeated. Four years ago he'd nearly killed my mother on Half-Blood Hill. I still had nightmares about that.

Magnus was a big complainer about Percy's nightmares. He kept insisting it was an extra layer of cruelty he couldn't even get a decent sleep without being bombarded with the world's problems.

He was suddenly just a tad grateful they hadn't been getting a night-by-night example of everything Percy dreamed of, the good, the bad, and the normal trauma.

I'd been hoping he would stay dead for a few centuries, but I should've known my luck wouldn't hold.

"The best summary of your life by far," Nico nodded.

"Yeah," Percy groaned. "Who do I pay to rewrite that?"

Will offered an awkward smile, the errant comment on the tip of his tongue his dad perhaps being able to pull that off, but it fumbled off fast. He just wasn't in the mood.

We saw the battle before we were close enough to make out individual fighters. It was well after midnight now, but the bridge blazed with light. Cars were burning. Arcs of fire streamed in both directions as flaming arrows and spears sailed through the air.

We came in for a low pass, and I saw the Apollo campers retreating. They would hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows and dropping caltrops in the road, building fiery barricades wherever they could, dragging sleeping drivers out of their cars to get them out of harm's way. But the enemy kept advancing. An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. An occasional arrow would connect with their snaky trunks, or a neck, or a chink in their armor, and the unlucky snake woman would disintegrate, but most of the Apollo arrows glanced harmlessly off their shield wall. About a hundred more monsters marched behind them.

It seemed like a stalemate that was going to collapse any second, Percy's throat tightened at the fresh memory. The smell of the smoke had clogged him up before he even got close, he didn't know how those guys had been aiming with such precision to hit anything. Dust had been sweeping across his feet like he'd brought the shore with him as he landed.

He wished the bodies would have vanished as well, but then, that's what separated them from the enemy.

Hellhounds leaped ahead of the line from time to time. Most were destroyed with arrows, but one got hold of an Apollo camper and dragged him away. I didn't see what happened to him next. I didn't want to know.

The same thing that would have happened to Percy all those years ago if Chiron hadn't saved his hind. He wasn't there to save every kid with half-a-dozen arrows this time though, Will felt seized by the thought like someone had grabbed his soul.

"There!" Annabeth called from the back of her pegasus.

Sure enough, in the middle of the invading legion was Old Beefhead himself.

"I'm sure that's exactly what the ancient Greeks called him while running for their lives in that first labyrinth," Thalia looked at him in her usual pride for never passing a moment to insult someone.

"I hope Theseus made the first hamburger out of him," Percy smirked.

The last time I'd seen the Minotaur, he'd been wearing nothing but his tighty whities. I don't know why.

"Sorry Nico, but those four words are the best summary of Percy's life," Annabeth cut in, "and from his own head!"

"I really could just wear that on the back of any shirt for the rest of my life," Percy sighed.

Maybe he'd been shaken out of bed to chase me.

"I am now imagining Zeus and or Hades just showing up in a monster's house and kicking the frame of their bed until they do their bidding," Alex nodded.

"I'm still half convinced he has Echidna on speed dial for next time," Percy nodded.

"Next time you, piss of Zeus?" Annabeth asked in concern.

"Yeah," he looked at her blankly like he could mean anything else.

This time, he was prepared for battle.

From the waist down, he wore standard Greek battle gear—a kiltlike apron of leather and metal flaps,

"For shame on you Percy for never wearing standard Greek battle gear yourself," Alex cackled.

From anyone else, he would have assumed Alex was mocking him for the idea of guys wearing kilts, but from Alex he was pretty sure she just wanted him in that get-up for potential nerd conventions.

bronze greaves covering his legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals. His top was all bull—hair and hide and muscle leading to a head so large he should've toppled over just from the weight of his horns. He seemed larger than the last time I'd seen him—ten feet tall at least.

Considering the last time Percy had 'seen him,' it had been pouring down rain and Percy's mind might have honestly still been obstructed by Mist, Nico would have assumed in fact the Minotaur would have seemed smaller to the now teenager about to face him down.

A double-bladed axe was strapped to his back, but he was too impatient to use it. As soon as he saw me circling overhead (or sniffed me, more likely, since his eyesight was bad), he bellowed and picked up a white limousine.

"I imagine him like a rhino," Thalia nodded. "He just violently attacks without question at the slightest movement. Your scent is like his red flag."

"Great, just what I always wanted, another chance at being a conquistador," Percy's smile was nearly vindictive. This monster was going to wish he'd been reincarnated as a chicken hybrid instead by the time Percy was through with him.

"Blackjack, dive!" I yelled.

What? The pegasus asked. No way could he . . . Holy horse feed!

"Blackjack underestimating his opponents is going to get him hurt," Jason leaned forward in his seat in concern. It's possible that's how he'd even been captured as Luke's personal steed in the first place.

We were at least a hundred feet up, but the limo came sailing toward us, flipping fender over fender like a two-ton boomerang. Annabeth and Porkpie swerved madly to the left, while Blackjack tucked in his wings and plunged. The limo sailed over my head, missing by maybe two inches. It cleared the suspension lines of the bridge and fell toward the East River.

"Feel like that god's going to feel the splash and instantly blame you," Jason said, eyes closed and rubbing them.

"No different than any other part of my life," Percy shrugged. As long as he kept the monsters out of the river while cussing him out.

Monsters jeered and shouted, and the Minotaur picked up another car.

"Was he a brand snob?" Magnus asked. "I just want to know if he picked another limosene, or another white car, or if some certain symbol attracted his attention."

"I'd like to hit him with a John Deer tractor but he'd probably throw that back at me too," Percy scowled.

"Drop us behind the lines with the Apollo cabin," I told Blackjack. "Stay in earshot but get out of danger!"

"Easily the best advice you've ever given someone," Annabeth grinned as she patted his shoulder.

"Far better than that time he tried to convince Clarisse to polish her spear in the blood of that wyvern," Thalia nodded.

"I was trying to be supportive," Percy frowned.

I ain't gonna argue, boss!

Blackjack swooped down behind an overturned school bus, where a couple of campers were hiding.

Annabeth and I leaped off as soon as our pegasi's hooves touched the pavement. Then Blackjack and Porkpie soared into the night sky.

Michael Yew ran up to us. He was definitely the shortest commando I'd ever seen. He had a bandaged cut on his arm.

It had taken all of Will's pleading to even get that far, he kept his sigh very internal. The act of making him sit still for that had been a feat only a little brother could manage. He'd tried distracting him by asking what was going to happen to the animals at the zoo since he heard Conner talking about releasing them.

The memory felt a little bitter, a little sad, and a little nostalgic all at once as Miachel had just told him to stay back at the base as he headed out, and not long after a pig had flown overhead like a bizarre angel all its own.

His ferrety face was smeared with soot and his quiver was almost empty, but he was smiling like he was having a great time.

Nico glanced at Will for probably the thousandth time in as many words to see him trying for that smile now, but his eyes were to sad. It was obvious he was happy his brother died at the peak of his life, even if that cord had been cut to soon for his liking. He still didn't quite understand how Will didn't associate him with that feeling like he did practically every time he looked at Percy.

"Glad you could join us," he said. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

"For now, we're it," I said.

"Then we're dead," he said.

"I see you got all the cheer Will," Percy told him.

He gave a sad smile back for his lost half-brother, he'd learned that dry sarcasm from him.

"He has such faith in you," Thalia couldn't help a derisive snort.

"Hey, it was a lot of monsters," Annabeth hadn't even really argued the point at the time it was a fair assumption.

"You still have your flying chariot?" Annabeth asked.

"Nah," Michael said. "Left it at camp. I told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. We'd insulted her honor for the last time or some stupid thing."

'Or some stupid thing,' Jason frowned and tipped his head to the side as he felt for Clarisse in that. They still didn't seem to understand the root of her problem, which was why she was clearly refusing to make any bridges herself so the camp could just break those later too. She wasn't just a tool, a means to be used and never respected for more than just her capabilities. Nobody should just be seen as a weapon you could point and then toss aside when you were done.

He found himself rubbing his tattoo, as usual when thoughts like that sprung to easily to mind and he thought about the Daughter of Ares for to long. He craved to know what connection he felt should be there, but now with her not even in the picture he doubted he'd get any more chances for the foreseeable future.

"Least you tried," I said.

Michael shrugged. "Yeah, well, I called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped. Here come the uglies!"

"I so wish that was the Ares cabin though, riding in at the perfect moment," Alex admitted. Even if she made a point to knock Micheal on his ass while she stormed into the battle for calling her ugly.

"Yeah, me too," Percy had no problems admitting, even if it caused a severe twinge in his temple to imagine.

He drew an arrow and launched it toward the enemy. The arrow made a screaming sound as it flew.

When it landed, it unleashed a blast like a power chord on an electric guitar magnified through the world's largest speakers. The nearest cars exploded. Monsters dropped their weapons and clasped their ears in pain. Some ran. Others disintegrated on the spot.

"That was my last sonic arrow," Michael said.

"A pity, I'd have let him borrow some of mine," Thalia frowned. She wished she could have dispatched some of her hunters to help their cousins out. The Apollo cabin was probably as close to likable as some of the Hunters could get, even if it was the kind of tolerance at a forced family gathering.

Will knew she meant that in a helpful way, but it made her sound cocky like she'd had extras; it still grated on him, as everything was bound to do when his heart hurt so bad. They were still just laughing, just talking like nothing was wrong. His entire cabin had been on that bridge while only he and his youngest half sister had been at the infirmary at the far back and they were treating this like another quest Percy had gone on and obviously came back from.

"A gift from your dad?" I asked. "God of music?"

"I swear it's like you're still reminding yourself of this all these years later," Thalia sighed as she rubbed her temples.

Percy stayed eerily silent. It was hard keeping track of all this!

Michael grinned wickedly. "Loud music can be bad for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't always kill."

Sure enough, most monsters were regrouping, shaking off their confusion.

"We have to fall back," Michael said. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," I said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Michael laughed. "How do you plan to do that?"

I drew my sword.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "let me come with you."

"Too dangerous," I said.

Gods did she hate being told that. He was right. And it was annoying he was right! But he'd still told her no, and for a good stupid reason. And she hated it! Frekaing, Curse, of, Achilles!

"Besides, I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, you can."

Michael snorted. "Thanks a lot."

She was the brightest person in Camp, Will couldn't stop an eye roll even by threat of death. Everybody knew it, and she and Percy relied on each other to fix everything like the rest of them weren't even there. Micheal getting a chance to say that, even while being ignored, felt justified in a petty way.

I kept my eyes on Annabeth.

She nodded reluctantly. "All right. Get moving."

Before I could lose my courage,

Annabeth sighed, it was as simple as that to him huh? He'd really been trying to prove he wasn't a coward, now of all times! If he hadn't kissed her down in that lake she might have been afraid to ever press her lips to his again, considering when she did he nearly died!

I said, "Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?"

"For luck?" Annabeth scowled at him in a way that suggested she really wished she had her knife on her again. "For luck! Last time I kissed you, you died for two weeks seaweed brain! How was that lucky?"

"You kissing me made me feel luckier," Percy shrugged. "I think that counts."

If looks could strangle, the son of the sea should have been choking on air as he smiled at her.

I figured she would punch me. Instead, she drew her knife and stared at the army marching toward us.

"Come back alive, Seaweed Brain. Then we'll see."

"A tradition has been broken," Jason tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Nine out of ten times before this, if Percy thought you were going to hit him, you hugged him, or indeed kissed him."

"Sorry to disrupt your data," Annabeth gave him a strange look.

"On the contrary, it's just a new variable," he shook his head, still studying the book like it was his thesis assignment.

Annabeth glanced at Percy wondering how he didn't feel like a lab rat. He was still grinning at her without a care in the world. He hoped he proved to her he wasn't a coward. That she'd only said no because she hadn't wanted to jinx it again. Not for other possible reasons like she'd rather go kiss Luke right now.

I figured it was the best offer I would get, so I stepped out from behind the school bus. I walked up the bridge in plain sight, straight toward the enemy.

When the Minotaur saw me, his eyes burned with hate. He bellowed—a sound that was somewhere between a yell, a moo, and a really loud belch.

Alex waved her hand in front of her nose like she could smell such a thing all the way down here, and Percy envied those who couldn't.

"Hey, Beef Boy," I shouted back. "Didn't I kill you already?"**

"Percy over here losing track of how many monsters he's killed," Magnus sighed.

"I just wish I had the gun and actual kill count to match," Percy frowned. Everything he'd done up to this point did not make him feel prepared to stare down this monster that had made him feel more lost in his life than any after. He wished he had that horn on him to stab the Minotaur in a few more places.

He pounded his fist into the hood of a Lexus, and it crumpled like aluminum foil.

"Is cow insurance a thing in New York?" Magnus couldn't help but ask how that paperwork would go for the poor owner.

"Is cow insurance a thing period?" Percy looked around.

"Yes Percy," Will sounded tired though, not at all his usual chipper way of talking and it got all attention. He kept replaying the moment over and over when Percy had killed him the first time in his head, but it wasn't making this feeling any better.

Nico cleared his throat and quickly kept reading, but it didn't stop the lingering looks as Percy's stomach continued to churn up painfully within.

A few dracaenae threw flaming javelins at me. I knocked them aside. A hellhound lunged, and I sidestepped. I could have stabbed it, but I hesitated.

He'd just witnessed one of those murdering a camper, and still he couldn't overcome his greatest weakness, his compassion. Magnus found it admirable, honestly, but he also kind of wanted to stick a pin in Percy's weak spot and remind him to stop being an idiot right now.

This is not Mrs. O'Leary, I reminded myself. This is an untamed monster. It will kill me and all my friends.

It pounced again. This time I brought Riptide up in a deadly arc. The hellhound disintegrated into dust and fur.

Thalia bit back a sigh of regret anyways. Just because it was untamed didn't mean it deserved to die. These weren't wild animals though, she had to remind herself too. It wouldn't just stay in its natural habitat if humans didn't bother it, these things actively sought out and killed half-bloods. Their place in nature was to be vaporized by them only to be reborn.

More monsters surged forward—snakes and giants and telkhines—but the Minotaur roared at them, and they backed off.

Jason really wished Tyson was around right now just to translate. He got the gist of course, but it still would have been fascinating to know the words the Minotaur used.

"One on one?" I called. "Just like old times?"

The Minotaur's nostrils quivered. He seriously needed to keep a pack of Aloe Vera Kleenex in his armor pocket, because that nose was wet and red and pretty gross. He unstrapped his axe and swung it around.

It was beautiful in a harsh I'm~going~to-gut~you~like~a~fish kind of way.

"Is that what all fish think before they bite the hook that ends them?" Nico asked in mild fascination. "This worm is beautiful and oddly shiny."

"I don't ask, I don't fish," Percy frowned at him oddly like it wasn't his own mind's choice of words to prompt that.

Each of its twin blades was shaped like an omega: Ω—the last letter of the Greek alphabet.

Jason leaned over so eagerly to see the symbol for himself he nearly headbutted Nico.

"Looks like an upside-down U," Nico told with a grin.

"A fancy upside down U," Percy agreed, "with curlies on the side."

"How many letters are in the Greek alphabet?" Magnus frowned. "And why do I feel like they're all going to bite Percy in the ass at some point." At least two of them already hadn't been that great.

"Twenty-four," Annabeth answered.

"And no, there's not a cool song," Thalia grinned before Alex could ask, making her slump in her seat in disappointment, only to wind back up a second later and mutter about making her own.

Maybe that was because the axe would be the last thing his victims ever saw. The shaft was about the same height as the Minotaur, bronze wrapped in leather. Tied around the base of each blade were lots of bead necklaces. I realized they were Camp Half-Blood beads—necklaces taken from defeated demigods.

"Oh," Annabeth murmured in understanding long after she didn't need to as bile rose in her. She remembered every step Percy had taken, about a dozen, to banish this monster back to the abyss.

She was now surprised it had even taken that many as angry as he'd be seeing that as a trophy.

I was so mad, I imagined my eyes glowing just like the Minotaur's.

Where was Rachel around to sketch this, Alex thought with relish. She immensely enjoyed Percy's most destructive side, and most of all, where it stemmed from. She craved to get that image into solid marble somehow, of a protective, fierce warrior in all the right ways. Even if Percy would protest every chip away.

I raised my sword. The monster army cheered for the Minotaur, but the sound died when I dodged his first swing and sliced his axe in half, right between the handholds.

"Moo?" he grunted.

"Percy, the cow whisperer," Nico said with a soft chuckle at the actual question mark there. It always was fascinating when one could tell an animal was whole-heartedly confused by something.

Will smiled, the first time he had all chapter. Just a little quirk of the lips, but enough it was clear his thoughts flickered to something other than the ending of this where that bridge was doomed to take his brothers and sisters down. Like he wanted to laugh, and maybe even call back to saying he'd never actually been around cows and might have understood the Minotaur.

It was fleeting and didn't last that long, but Nico still felt a sense like he was doing something right he rarely got to feel.

"HAAA!" I spun and kicked him in the snout. He staggered backward, trying to regain his footing, then lowered his head to charge.

He never got the chance. My sword flashed—slicing off one horn, then the other.

"Percy has officially graduated from taking more than one slice to defeat a monster," Thalia snorted, before back peddling, "no, wait, that's worse."

"Now he's just showing off and will still kill it," Jason nodded.

There was an odd moment of silence, where they all finally realized what they were waiting on, but Will didn't butt in with a pun on his name at all.

Nico had easy access to his hand always on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. He simply nodded and Nico kept going while Percy's hands started to shake. His confidence slipping by the word.

Just because he could finally vanquish a nightmare away didn't mean more weren't always lurking.

He tried to grab me. I rolled away, picking up half of his broken axe. The other monsters backed up in stunned silence, making a circle around us. The Minotaur bellowed in rage. He was never very smart to begin with, but now his anger made him reckless.

"Why are idiots always so predictable?" Jason rolled his eyes.

"Does that make Percy a genius?" Annabeth grinned at her boyfriend, who beamed with pride at the slightly backhanded compliment.

Jason snorted lightly, but he was suddenly rather grateful that Percy's temper which usually did lead him to do impulsive and insane things wasn't what had been 'enhanced' instead of his heart.

He charged me, and I ran for the edge of the bridge, breaking through a line of dracaenae.

The Minotaur must've smelled victory. He thought I was trying to get away.

"Never, ever assume Percy is running from a fight," Will muttered a life lesson he'd clearly taken out of this, as if he'd actually try and pass it along to the next foolish monster and then watch as they didn't listen.

In this one case, he wished he was wrong. That Percy had jumped off the bridge in hopes the army would follow him. His plan had worked, as usual, but the consequences had been deadlier than ever.

His minions cheered. At the edge of the bridge, I turned and braced the axe against the railing to receive his charge. The Minotaur didn't even slow down.

CRUNCH.

"I feel like someone should have gotten that on video," Magnus said in admiration. "Crazy Percy Plan 101."

"We really should add that to the orientation video," Nico agreed with a sideways look at Will. He'd been hoping he'd ramp up to his usual and agree he'd get the costumes ready, but no, Nico had definitely pushed his limit and he recognized that and moved on.

He looked down in surprise at the axe handle sprouting from his breastplate.

"Thanks for playing," I told him.

I lifted him by his legs and tossed him over the side of the bridge. Even as he fell, he was disintegrating, turning back into dust, his essence returning to Tartarus.

"What a fabulous prize, you'll beat that sphinx out of game show host easy Perce," Alex chuckled.

"I've told you a dozen times Alex, I'm done with the TV show life," Percy sighed.

"Eh, they'd never get your good angle anyways," she shrugged.

I turned toward his army. It was now roughly one hundred and ninety-nine to one. I did the natural thing. I charged them.

Nico read that with ease. It had always been the natural thing to do in his mind, of the Percy he'd built in his head. Reading it now, as a fact and knowing the real Percy only made it all the more true somehow.

"At least you were nearly invulnerable this time," Annabeth was still grumbling, considering she knew he'd do this with or without the curse.

You're going to ask how the "invincible" thing worked:

"We actually don't question your methods that much," Magnus admitted as he rubbed his chest, clearly saying it saved him from a heart failure or two being happier in ignorance over there imagining it just magically worked out.

"You should though," Annabeth sounded like she was trying to gently prepare a bunch of pre-schoolers about the real world. "It's always better to understand the methods behind his madness," she finished fondly.

"So that we can all repeat them at length," Alex nodded. Magnus looked between the two in betrayal for every part of this.

"No, I mean, yeah, but," Annabeth frowned at her before Nico read on like all the valid points had already been made.

if I magically dodged every weapon, or if the weapons hit me and just didn't harm me. Honestly, I don't remember. All I knew was that I wasn't going to let these monsters invade my hometown.

I sliced through armor like it was made of paper. Snake women exploded. Hellhounds melted to shadow. I slashed and stabbed and whirled, and I might have even laughed once or twice—a crazy laugh that scared me as much as it did my enemies. I was aware of the Apollo campers behind me shooting arrows, disrupting every attempt by the enemy to rally. Finally, the monsters turned and fled—about twenty left alive out of two hundred.

I followed with the Apollo campers at my heels.

Will just knew that if his brother had survived this, he would have told the most epic story around the campfire for the next year. Didn't matter what the others had gotten up to during all this, how many of them could actively say they'd fought side by side with Percy? Only Annabeth and Clriasse came close to sharing that honor. There were so many things Micheal should have been able to do...

The possibilities of what could have been for him felt like an arrow through the heart.

"Yes!" yelled Michael Yew. "That's what I'm talking about!"

We drove them back toward the Brooklyn side of the bridge. The sky was growing pale in the east. I could see the toll stations ahead.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "You've already routed them. Pull back! We're overextended!"

Some part of me knew she was right, but I was doing so well, I wanted to destroy every last monster.

A hubris Annabeth rarely saw in him that made her shiver now. The curse nearly having its way in him, nearly overruling him.

Then I saw the crowd at the base of the bridge. The retreating monsters were running straight toward their reinforcements. It was a small group, maybe thirty or forty demigods in battle armor, mounted on skeletal horses.

"What is with the skeleton horses?" Magnus scowled. Of the few animals he liked, he found it pervasive that so many easily seemed to summon this. First Clrassie, then Hades, now this!

"Better than skeleton elephants?" Jason offered, a strange idea that lingered all the same of one in his mind he'd ridden atop of. Possibly into a similar enemy threat? Gods he wished his brain made more sense.

"Vaguely," Magnus didn't look all that much better as he grudgingly agreed.

One of them held a purple banner with the black scythe design.

The lead horseman trotted forward. He took off his helm, and I recognized Kronos himself, his eyes like molten gold.

Percy's heart dropped like someone had given his insides a good crunch in return. Someone had told.

The spy had told Kronos this was the bridge to hit, was the most vulnerable area. The weak spot on his back pulsed like it had grown its own miniature heartbeat as he shivered deep within for the loss he felt was coming.

Everything he'd done up to this moment had been for this chance, the mere possibility he'd have this fight.

Now he took one look into a face that had caused him more sleep paralysis than any monster.

Annabeth didn't even notice the way the water was tightening around them like lashings, as she'd winced for Percy once again just calling him Kronos. As if that were the only person he was facing.

Annabeth and the Apollo campers faltered.

Nico read that with a fair amount of disbelief. Like Percy hadn't come to a screeching halt with them?

The monsters we'd been pursuing reached the Titan's line and were absorbed into the new force. Kronos gazed in our direction. He was a quarter mile away, but I swear I could see him smile.

Percy would swear his face had stretched grotesquely doing it too, like his scar was about to split his face in half. The resemblance to Luke's mother had been uncanny.

"Now," I said, "we pull back."

Annabeth gave him a blatant, 'oh, now you listen to me look,' he must have missed at the time but got to admire now in all its correct glory. What would he do without her? Go charging right into the enemy, obviously.

The Titan lord's men drew their swords and charged. The hooves of their skeletal horses thundered against the pavement. Our archers shot a volley, bringing down several of the enemy, but they just kept riding.

"Retreat!" I told my friends. "I'll hold them.'"

In a matter of seconds they were on me.

Michael and his archers tried to retreat, but Annabeth stayed right beside me, fighting with her knife and mirrored shield as we slowly backed up the bridge.

Will was leaning forward in his seat now, his heart pounding so loud in his ears he almost couldn't hear Nico. Gods, he almost didn't want to hear this, the coming downfall, even as he visualized every detail vividly instead of hiding in a tent this time.

Kronos's cavalry swirled around us, slashing and yelling insults. The Titan himself advanced leisurely, like he had all the time in the world. Being the lord of time, I guess he did.

"Whoever gave him that title should be boiled in glue," Alex scowled.

"Erm," Annabeth made a face she didn't know how to explain in short enough words to keep her attention you couldn't do that to Gaea.

It wouldn't have phased Alex if she'd bothered to try anyways.

I tried to wound his men, not kill.

Nico's voice strangely eased up some, to Percy's buzzing ears as he felt like he was straddling a tightrope, but Nico's wasn't the only one. He didn't get it, but the others were more relieved than they'd admit at Percy continuing to do this, show his hesitation to those kids did ease up some of his earlier, casual dismissal of those on the river. Like on the Princess Andromeda. He just couldn't do it in cold blood, and that was of some relief the war and this curse hadn't possessed him wholly.

That slowed me down, these weren't monsters. They were demigods who'd fallen under Kronos's spell. I couldn't see faces under their battle helmets, but some of them had probably been my friends. I slashed the legs off their horses and made the skeletal mounts disintegrate. After the first few demigods took a spill, the rest figured out they'd better dismount and fight me on foot.

Annabeth and I stayed shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions. A dark shape passed over me, and I dared to glance up. Blackjack and Porkpie were swooping in, kicking our enemies in the helmets and flying away like very large kamikaze pigeons.

Alex snorted in her usual delight of all things chaotic, and nobody would really be surprised if she started a flock of pigeons trained to do this in the fortnight she got out of here.

We'd almost made it to the middle of the bridge when something strange happened.

I felt a chill down my spine—like that old saying about someone walking on your grave. Behind me, Annabeth cried out in pain.

Percy moved, every drop of the ocean urging him forward as he found himself on his feet. A pain, deeper than anything he'd ever felt before spurring him to draw his sword-

"Percy!" Annabeth was right in his face, cupping his cheeks, nearly nose to nose with him.

"He, he hurt," he was stammering, his eyes a memory away as Riptide stayed poised in his hand, the flat of it against her hip. She smiled and pressed their foreheads together without concern.

"I know. I know he hurt us. Just breathe."

His sword fell. He pressed his hands against her shoulders and leaned in to kiss her.

She melted into him, throwing her arms around his neck. This, she thought with ecstasy as her lips eagerly drank him in as if never getting enough. This kiss, this should have been their first kiss.

"Dude!"

Percy leaned back with a frown at whoever had interrupted him, then sheepishly took a small step back from Magnus's cousin as Annabeth's shaky breath lingered on the corner of his trembling mouth.

Alex was still smacking the side of her head to get all the water out of her ears and Will was trying to flop his dripping wet hair out of his eyes, but Magnus was ignoring these minor problems as he looked on in exasperation at the pair.

Percy swallowed a new apology as he looked worriedly around the room. There were now gaps in the walls, large enough to put feet through. He'd obviously been about to lose his temper big time.

Annabeth was running her fingers through his hair, distracting him from whatever doom was probably a snap away, her other hand was still holding tight to his wrist on her shoulder like she wanted to ignore the interruption and keep him there forever.

Will wouldn't have let them even if Magnus hadn't interrupted. A sharp clearing of his throat reminded the two quickly they were in the middle of a battle, and they weren't the only two on that bridge.

He was the one to steer her back to their spot, to force his body to cooperate and keep them on the same level as the others while she didn't take her eyes off him.

"Annabeth!" I turned in time to see her fall, clutching her arm. A demigod with a bloody knife stood over her.

Nico frowned in mild sorrow for this poor dead guy who had probably just hit public enemy number one territory over Kronos. Nico was surprised he hadn't seen a dartboard with this helmet somewhere around camp for Percy to vent on. He knew Percy wasn't a saint, above killing, and this person had just stabbed that into reality.

In a flash I understood what had happened. He'd been trying to stab me. Judging from the position of his blade, he would've taken me—maybe by sheer luck—in the small of my back, my only weak point.

Annabeth had intercepted the knife with her own body.

But why? She didn't know about my weak spot. No one did.

Annabeth could feel the questions surrounding her from the others more than she did the salt water, more than Percy finally being entirely wrapped around her. Even Thalia was looking around Percy to study her curiously for an explanation she'd never gotten of details.

She just stared straight ahead at the book and didn't offer anything. She could have said it was a gut feeling, like Percy so often said he got, and they might have bought that. She could have just said it was a reflex, she'd seen what was coming for him and hadn't taken the split second of movement inside herself that was no real choice but a simple shift of her weight to protect him without that curse even crossing her mind.

The truth was, it was none of that, and all of it. She hated not being able to explain something, but she couldn't do any research on this moment until someone found a way to interrogate her knife on what happened for an objective third-party point of view.

I locked eyes with the enemy demigod. He wore an eye patch under his war helm: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis.

"Boy sure is living up to his damned mother right now," Thalia said in blackened disgust. If he wasn't dead already by Percy's hand, she'd be happy to take up the hunt and be a nemesis to the one who had caused as much destruction on their world as Luke for all his awful, repeated, back-to-back choices.

Somehow he'd survived the explosion on the Princess Andromeda. I slammed him in the face with my sword hilt so hard I dented his helm.

The fact that that was his response and his brain wasn't leaking out of that helmet was a kind of restraint Jason didn't think he'd have in him. If somebody had hurt Thalia, any of his friends, they'd be fried like a fish without hesitation.

The idea bothered him for some reason, as he traced his tattoo and studied Percy and Annabeth, now holding each other close in those beanbags with nothing at all in the way, past or future. He had his arm around her waist, his thumb rubbing soothing circles into her hip absent mindedly as he watched the book with a harsh scowl. She was resting on his shoulder, once injured arm hidden from sight as she pressed in close. There was a sad smile in place, but a peaceful one for getting this back, the person she'd wanted since he'd vanished, even amid the battle being far from over.

Jason felt empty as he watched. Nothing in his past could connect to what he was seeing. He had no feeling to relate that to anyone, and it wasn't because he couldn't remember them. They just didn't exist in his world.

"Get back!" I slashed the air in a wide arc, driving the rest of the demigods away from Annabeth.

"No one touches her!"

The protective instinct was a malnourished one in Alex. With Adrian, they'd always had each other on equal ground. She'd felt it flare up a few times around these guys, mostly picturing Percy much smaller and younger facing certain aspects of this alone.

The few group homes she'd wound up in had been a nice delusion of this kind of person existing in her mind, but that was about it.

"Interesting," Kronos said.

He towered above me on his skeletal horse, his scythe in one hand. He studied the scene with narrowed eyes as if he could sense that I'd just come close to death, the way a wolf can smell fear.

Magnus often felt like a part of his life would never be able to look away from those glowing blue eyes in the face of such a monster that had killed his mom, but for once he barely flinched at the idea of a wolf as he kept eyes on his cousin. She seemed at peace, for the first time in here, truly comfortable. He was happy for her, that she'd gotten that explicitly with one person in her life, even being trapped down here so at least he wouldn't have to worry if she was actually alive somewhere.

"Bravely fought, Percy Jackson," he said. "But it's time to surrender . . . or the girl dies."

Thalia knew that hesitation in those last four words was from Nico reading for Kronos, not his own pause of saying something like that.

What killed her in that moment was that Luke hadn't woken up in there. That those eyes hadn't flashed blue upon seeing Annabeth like this. She knew he was capable of it, otherwise this couldn't have ended any other way, but she still felt hurt it hadn't been this. Thalia would have done anything to get Annabeth out of that situation just like Percy, why hadn't he?

"Percy, don't," Annabeth groaned. Her shirt was soaked with blood. I had to get her out of here.

"Still want that lucky kiss?" Annabeth shook her head as her hand came up to clench the old wound.

"From you? Always," Percy said, staring at her with the same smile he'd always had upon that first day in Camp. His mom had been presumed dead, he'd felt out of place and lost in his new home, but still he'd smiled at her just as he was now when she hadn't intervened upon his fight with Clarisse.

"Blackjack!" I yelled.

As fast as light, the pegasus swooped down and clamped his teeth on the straps of Annabeth's armor.

They soared away over the river before the enemy could even react.

"Best, pegasus, ever," Percy murmured for her ears alone. He wished he could wrap her in a blanket and possibly post Tyson over her bed to make sure she was never in this kind of danger again.

That just wasn't their life, even the fleeting idea felt ridiculous and she'd get herself out and then smack him on her way to the next thing he couldn't deal with without her.

"Yeah," she grinned up at him, like they were in their own little bubble of a world for just that moment again before Nico popped it as he kept reading without surprise. He'd known she survived, this wasn't his concern in the slightest. She still felt like slamming the book shut and taking a second to breathe as she still felt Percy's lips on hers, but that was his call, she was just along for the ride now.

Kronos snarled. "Some day soon, I am going to make pegasus soup.

"Talk about friends for dinner," Will frowned, dredging up a new kind of scowl as he saw the last page left lingering in Nico's hand. Was Percy even going to notice the fallout as he ran off after her the second he got?

"We will not be talking about that," Percy gave him an intense look, Micheal's thin, ferret-like face and dark hair looked nothing like Will really, but something of their noses and sharp eyes tried to overlap in Percy's brain all the same as he kept trying to pull Annabeth closer.

It was an odd moment where one easily ignored the other's random comment, lost in their own worlds.

But in the meantime . . ." He dismounted, his scythe glistening in the dawn light. "I'll settle for another dead demigod."

"He should settle for a lot lower," Alex scowled. "More so-so problems like the rest of us, bad hair day and morning breath. Hell, one night standards aren't even something to be looked down on as a standard."

She got a lot of blank stares for that and grinned they just didn't have the imagination to conjure up Kronos trying to pick out his wardrobe and checking his cowlick in the mirror.

I met his first strike with Riptide. The impact shook the entire bridge, but I held my ground. Kronos's smile wavered.

'Not so easy when you can't just win with a flick of your wrist,' Jason sneered. He kept the thought to himself only because he wanted to hear more of Percy kicking his ass to badly to bother with the obvious interruption.

With a yell, I kicked his legs out from under him. His scythe skittered across the pavement.

"Look who could kick a fridge across a room now," Nico told him without looking up.

"Oh yeah, you just know I'll do that in my mom's apartment and feel guilty as hell for it," Percy nodded.

I stabbed downward, but he rolled aside and regained his footing. His scythe flew back to his hands.

Percy replayed that in his head a couple of times with annoyance. Why couldn't the gods just do that so easily when they lost their crap? Why couldn't Riptide do that instead of having to wait precious moments to return to his pocket? Then Nico kept reading and he had to remind himself that really wasn't the point right now.

"So . . ." He studied me, looking mildly annoyed. "You had the courage to visit the Styx. I had to pressure Luke in many ways to convince him.

Annabeth's mouth opened in a gaping display of all her teeth Percy tried not to be to phased at. This obviously hurt her, he tried to pull her somehow closer and she willingly went like she couldn't get enough, but he didn't need to be a mind reader to know that her every thought was now plagued with Luke, again. What pressures Kronos had used, how many times had he refused before he gave in, what had been the catalyst?

Percy moved his hand to her other arm, rubbing his palm gently up and down there like he was trying to warm her as she started shivering. He remembered Hermes's harsh words, that must have been the god's idea of some bizarre scenario about her missing a chance to save him. From what he could tell, she'd done everything and more than what was ever asked of her in that regards.

If only you had supplied my host body instead . . .

Percy would rather have live bugs crawling inside him than that sense of disgust that just passed through him. Thankfully the closest Kronos would ever get to his mind was annoying his dreams.

But no matter. I am still more powerful. I am a TITAN."

He struck the bridge with the butt of his scythe, and a wave of pure force blasted me backward. Cars went careening. Demigods—even Luke's own men—were blown off the edge of the bridge.

Not that this surprised a single one of them, but they all flinched anyways. It's like Kronos was broadcasting why Percy would never give him more than a finger of his time.

Suspension cords whipped around, and I skidded halfway back to Manhattan.

I got unsteadily to my feet. The remaining Apollo campers had almost made it to the end of the bridge, except for Michael Yew, who was perched on one of the suspension cables a few yards away from me, his last arrow was notched in his bow.

"Michael, go!" I screamed.

At least he'd tried, Will swallowed down a painful knot. He sort of wanted to hug Percy for that, and also shove a soiled bandage up his nose for not dragging him back kicking and screaming like he would have if it were Grover.

"Percy, the bridge!" he called. "It's already weak!"

He should have been fine, Will kept thinking over and over in his head. Micheal had once hung from his feet like a trapeze artist to aim his shot, he'd move across beams in pouring down rain and his balance was better than some kid who knew ballet. Will had already been a few inches taller than him at thirteen but had nothing on Micheal's ability to jump to any new perch he needed for a better vantage point on the thinnest of tree limbs. He should have been able to make it...

At first I didn't understand. Then I looked down and saw fissures in the pavement. Patches of the road were half melted from Greek fire. The bridge had taken a beating from Kronos's blast and the exploding arrows.

"Break it!" Michael yelled. "Use your powers!"

Kayla had told him in a broken voice those were Micheal's last words, that he'd encouraged Percy to do this and he'd of course succeeded in completing that blast to his full ability. Will didn't blame him, truly, but...

Percy never would have done that if Annabeth had been the one on that suspension line.

It was a desperate thought—no way it would work— but I stabbed Riptide into the bridge. The magic blade sank to its hilt in asphalt. Salt water shot from the crack like I'd hit a geyser. I pulled out my blade and the fissure grew. The bridge shook and began to crumble. Chunks the size of houses fell into the East River. 

Even if they'd kept that stupid chariot for themselves he still wouldn't have survived, Will kept swallowing and it hurt more every time. None of them had enough practice steering it through debris raining down, could have gotten out in time to catch him. There was nothing anybody could have done to prevent this. He was gone. He shouldn't be, but he was.

Kronos's demigods cried out in alarm and scrambled backward. Some were knocked off their feet.

Austin had watched, his scream unheard in the noise as Micheal had lost his previously flawless balance on his perch. He'd tried to regain it, throw his bow and grab that cable with both hands, but he'd seen the panic, then acceptance as his feet lost against the force.

He and Kayla had been whispering about it when Will had come upon them hours later, their voices petrified like they'd slip off the edge of the world next while Eliza had been crying at the shore feet away watching the rest of their siblings continue the fruitless search.

Within a few seconds, a fifty-foot chasm opened in the Williamsburg Bridge between Kronos and me.

"Titan schmiten," Alex muttered, "I want whatever coked up shit Percy's on." Percy only hadn't won that fight because there were innocents around, she was sure of it after a display of power like that.

"Gods I hope you're kidding," Magnus sighed, knowing there wasn't a force on earth to stop Alex bathing in the styx if she really wanted to. He wondered vaguely who her godly parent was without much care and if they'd carelessly agree or try to warn her away. Even Posideon hadn't done much of either though so he wasn't sure what the basis of a god's opinion on this even was.

The vibrations died. Kronos's men crept to the edge and looked at the hundred-and-thirty-foot drop into the river.

I didn't feel safe, though. The suspension cables were still attached. The men could get across that way if they were brave enough. Or maybe Kronos had a magic way to span the gap.

Nico's brain easily filled in the gaps, of Kronos snapping his fingers and time reversing to put those chunks back together like nothing, to play the planet like a toy and reverse it to do his bidding like nothing had happened.

He wished he could do that for Will now, as a few silent tears fell, smudging the words on the page. He was sitting so close he could feel every breath, every bony press of his lightweight that had never once felt intrusive through his thick jacket.

While Nico might have asked for more breaks in here than anyone, he didn't feel the least bit self-conscious to do so again, especially not on Will's part if he needed a second. His hand was steady on his arm though. Nico wasn't entirely convinced that was a good measure on Will, he was always that steady, but he also trusted Will to admit when he needed something like that considering he'd been the one impressing upon Nico to do the same.

The Titan lord studied the problem. He looked behind him at the rising sun, then smiled across the chasm. He raised his scythe in a mock salute. "Until this evening, Jackson."

Jason instantly narrowed his eyes suspiciously at that. Why would sunrise stop Kronos? Even Alex's blasie' joke about vampires he vaguely heard didn't cut through his intense concentration of trying to understand what scheme was being plotted, that would take so long to set in instead of leaping across that space and accomplishing the maximum amount of distraction now when Percy was shaken and his forces weakened.

He mounted his horse, whirled around, and galloped back to Brooklyn, followed by his warriors.

I turned to thank Michael Yew, but the words died in my throat. Twenty feet away, a bow lay in the street. Its owner was nowhere to be seen.

Why did it hurt worse knowing this would be the outcome all along, Nico frowned. He'd known Will was the head of his cabin, obviously his older brother would have died on this bridge, but still he'd spent every word up to this point hoping in vain he was wrong. That Will wasn't hurting because of that, but some other problem like they'd run out of ambrosia. Like knowing the second Percy had found himself on the edge of that desert his sister was on her last moments of life and still spending the entire time in here wishing he was wrong.

'Because you'd hoped for the best anyways,' a small little voice whispered in his mind that sounded suspiciously like Will. He'd never been an optimist before, he wanted to give that thought a good hand wave away, but he instead sat in a long moment of silence nobody broke as he watched Will's sad blue eyes lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh," Percy's quiet whisper was the first to break the long-held breath. He felt the instinct to dive into the water and find him, but finally the look on the son of Apollo's face connected with the pain in Percy's head he hadn't wanted. "Will, I'm, I'm so sorry." He wanted to get angry. He wanted to get in Clarisse's face and ask if she was happy now. His hands wanted to throw Riptide far away and hope it never came back this time at his own capability of destruction. How had he not accidentally killed Nico?! He clearly had no real control over the chaos he brought to everyone's life.

"Yeah, me too," Will didn't sound angry, just tired. Tired of losing people, tired of the days he spent at camp with the weight of his siblings on his back when all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep. Tired of the guilt that would never let him do more than grit his teeth but get up all the same to see what they needed instead of muttering where to find someone else.

Having to adjust to three heads of a cabin in less than a year could do that to you.

"No!" I searched the wreckage on my side of the bridge. I stared down at the river. Nothing.

I yelled in anger and frustration. The sound carried forever in the morning stillness. I was about to whistle for Blackjack to help me search, when my mom's phone rang. The LCD display said I had a call from Finklestein & Associates—probably a demigod calling on a borrowed phone.

Magnus silently showed Alex the sign for lawyer he randomly remembered, his smile forced, but his mind amusedly offering up the image all the same of someone trying to deliver Percy court documents at a time like this.

Will had heard all of that, back in his tent. The destruction, Percy's scream, then the sound of more phones ringing as he'd been checking a boy's IV he didn't even know the name of, he must have gotten there mere weeks ago. The Williamsburg Bridge had been so close by, he'd known.

He'd kept working, putting it all away like the rest of the kids crying in pain around him until Percy had come bursting through the tent. He'd expected Percy to tell him what he'd already known. Instead he'd yanked him out babbling about Annabeth and Will had gone, handing over his clipboard to Eliza who was six and trying to give her messages to others to far spread out right now to convey everything he needed.

Hoping on the back of that bike and seeing the bridge as they sped off had been his split second to see it was true before he'd shut his eyes and felt it all for that flight over there only before it was right back to work.

I picked up, hoping for good news. Of course I was wrong.

"Percy?" Silena Beauregard sounded like she'd been crying.

She had, actually, on and off so much her siblings had seemed more worried for her than Annabeth unable to stay on her feet. Annabeth felt a faint moment of amusement as she imagined Percy leaping off the ground, cartoon-style exclamation point over his head and everything in fear as he threw the phone away at the mere idea of being back around a crying girl.

That wasn't fair, and a wild exaggeration she knew. Not after he'd tried to comfort her at Becekendorf's funeral.

Apparently it was just her crying he couldn't seem to handle.

"Plaza Hotel. You'd better come quickly and bring a healer from Apollo's cabin. It's . . . it's Annabeth."

If Nico couldn't look up from that and see her sitting right in front of him, he'd be half convinced Annabeth really was dead somewhere out there just from the universe laughing at him having to read that. Somehow, even in the retelling of Percy's life, death seemed to follow him specifically.

Will didn't reach for the book next. He still stayed tightly pressed against Nico as he gazed vacantly at nothing like the words hadn't quite registered a passing of the book should be coming by tone alone.

But Percy was shivering anxiously, lost in memory to know in as explicit detail as possible how Annabeth was alive as she curled into his side now.

So what was he supposed to do?

PJOPJOPJOPJO

*That is a quote from Homeward Bound II, and I tried to look up if it was a misquote done on purpose by the original character but couldn't find anything.

**This is a quote from Hellboy, and while not exactly an exclusive line only to him and Percy, I couldn't stop laughing when I read it in Ron Pearlmen's voice while picturing Percy and that's why I've been on the movie kick with him lately.