#and being fascinated by rick so yeah

[lambilegs]

thinking of: lee being such a creative child with her hobbies of photography and drawing; lee being innately curious about her cases + taking different routes of research with them (using religion, cultural studies, which I think also indicates her inclination to learn about these things in general)

thinking of: lee putting on a facade in front of carter by allowing herself to be exposed to things she's clearly tense and nervous about; how maika said lee surpasses a lot of what's inside her, like her trauma; lee being unable to choose between her love and fear for her mother, which leads to her behaving in confrontational or reckless ways depending on the situation (like @allofyourthings pointed out, her putting her gun down despite seeing ruth shoot her coworker); clearly doesn't feel an inclination to confide in people about her anxieties over the cases (probably out of the natural tendency to remain private + wanting to prove herself capable of the job); absorbs the emotional undertones of situations and others' experiences (gets angry with kobble over the injustices done to the families, cries at the mention of her mother, intensely shaken up by carrie-anne's threats and words, almost seems sympathetic/sad at her mother's revelation of prayers not doing "a goddamn thing")

thinking of: oz saying he originally intended for lee to be listening to the news on her drive home (current events connection), as well as be watching seinfeld at home (show about human nature and realistic people) (also thank you for telling this stuff to me rick ily); lee observing ruby's bedroom carefully, and really any new location she enters; how lee memorizes kobble's code in a singular night; how her entire job is about finding answers (the truth) and seeking out justice, as well as making the world a better, more moral place; how she doesn't rush to agree with any proposition carter sets forth when she's at the start of the case ("you think longlegs has help?" "mm."); she doesn't rush with the case and is thorough; but, then, as soon as she is certain of the accomplice-theory, she's stubborn about it and doesn't let herself get even slightly dissuaded by carter or browning; maika saying lee feels like an outsider and can make sense of the world through cases (connection to being comfortable with being able to make predictions); how shaken up she becomes upon realizing her mom is involved -- how shaken she becomes at a lot of new information (carrie-anne, the discovery of the doll, her mom calling the police on someone -- she becomes intensely impacted by new information)

[untilwefind]

Off Limits

Prompt credits @sleepy-hyperfixations: Ok but imagine non hockey player mack and will and aiden actually being on the same team in college and aiden taking will home with him during the summer and will is immediately fascinated by his little brother who he knows is off limits. Like will always finding a way to invite mack to every party they go to while aiden is just like "why is he here?? wait why do YOU want him here??", will sneaking out late at night to mack's room. Aiden and rick holding up signs "dont touch, off limits" and will like "this sign cannot stop me bc i cant read". Like the forbidden love of it all, will having mixed feelings bc he knows that if he fucks it up with mack his relationship with his brother is also over but at the same time how could he not?? Fall in love with mack?? Especially when mack pretends he cares about exercise now and be running drills with will and aiden just so he can see will shirtless and sweaty

It starts, as most catastrophes do, with a family barbecue.

Aiden’s backyard is all sun glare and cheap lawn chairs, the smoke of half-burnt burgers spiraling into the Vancouver sky. Will’s got a beer in hand and a paper plate full of carbs he doesn’t plan to justify to his trainer. There’s music playing from someone’s phone. There are kids screaming and aunts laughing. There’s Macklin.

He’s not supposed to notice.

That’s what Will tells himself. He’s not supposed to notice the way Mack’s grown since last summer, or the way he lingers near the edge of the patio, flipping a tennis ball between his hands like he’s dying for a distraction. He’s not supposed to notice the curve of his shoulders or the way he lights up when RJ tugs at his sleeve and says something about Pokémon. He’s not supposed to notice anything.

But he does.

“Don’t,” Aiden says under his breath as they stand shoulder-to-shoulder at the grill, watching Mack laugh at something RJ says.

Will pretends not to know what he means. He just smiles and takes a slow sip of his drink. “Don’t what?”

Aiden looks at him. Hard. “He’s eighteen.”

“I’m twenty. Not exactly robbing the cradle.”

“He’s my brother.”

Will shrugs. “Yeah, I gathered as much.”

Aiden gives him a look that could flatten a city block. “Off. Limits.”

Will lifts his hands in mock surrender. “Scout’s honour.”

But he was never a scout.

---

The problem isn’t that Will finds Macklin interesting. The problem is that Macklin finds him interesting back.

Will doesn’t bring him up again. Doesn’t push. He just… includes. Like any polite guest staying with the Celebrini family for the summer would.

There’s a bonfire on the beach that weekend, and Will tosses a casual “Hey, is Mack coming?” into the group chat, like it’s nothing. There’s a pickup game at the rec center, and Will forgets to mention it’s only supposed the other hockey guys in town. There’s a movie night in the basement, and somehow, some way, Mack always ends up next to Will.

“You gathering ideas for dates now?” Aiden asks one afternoon, catching Will red-handed, scrolling through Mack’s Instagram story like it’s a damn art exhibit.

Will tosses his phone on the couch. “Chill, Mom.”

“I am chill,” Aiden says tightly. “You’re the one who’s acting like he’s the hottest thing in the Pacific Time Zone.”

Will doesn’t say, he is. But he wants to.

---

One night, Will wakes up at 2 a.m., the heat thick and clinging, his sheets twisted around his legs. He’s halfway to the kitchen for water when he passes Mack’s door, barely cracked open, a sliver of light stretching across the hallway.

He pauses. Breathes.

The sign Aiden made (DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT) is taped to the door. Mack had laughed when their dad held it up at dinner. Rick Celebrini had handed Will a matching mug that read “Look But Don’t Touch.”

Will had smiled and said, “I can’t read.”

Now, he knocks once, soft, and opens the door before Mack can answer.

Mack’s sitting cross-legged on his bed, laptop open, earbuds in. He pulls one out when he sees Will and blinks like he’s unsure if he’s dreaming.

“Can’t sleep?” Mack asks.

Will shakes his head. “Too hot.”

Mack nods. He doesn’t move aside, doesn’t offer the bed, but Will sits anyway, shoulder brushing Mack’s.

They don’t talk for a minute. Just breathe.

“You know,” Mack says, not quite looking at him, “You don’t have to sneak around.”

Will huffs a laugh. “Tell that to your brother.”

“I’m not scared of Aiden,” Mack says.

Will is. A little. But not enough to stop. “You should be.”

Mack looks at him. “Are you?”

Will swallows. “I should be.”

There’s a pause. A held breath. Mack leans in.

Will meets him halfway.

---

The morning after, Will expects to wake up in a cold panic. He expects regret or at the very least, guilt.

Instead, he wakes up to Mack passed out on his chest, an arm slung across his ribs, and a sleepy smile tugging at his mouth.

He’s fucked.

---

They train together like it’s nothing.

Aiden says they’re doing agility drills and Mack shows up in sneakers and a tank top, stretching on the field like he’s been doing this for years. He keeps stealing glances at Will. Smirking. Will, of course, plays it cool, but nearly eats shit on a ladder drill after Mack tosses him a wink.

Aiden notices.

“You don't even play hockey anymore,” he snaps at Mack during cooldown. “Why are you here?”

Mack shrugs, grabbing water. “Just trying to stay in shape.”

Will, wiping sweat from his jaw, says, “You’re in great shape.”

Aiden glares. “Will.”

Will raises his hands again. “Still can’t read.”

---

The summer ends, as most heartbreaks do, with a choice.

Stay close and risk the fallout.

Or leave and live with the ache.

Will doesn’t make the decision in one night. He makes it every time Mack looks at him across a room. Every time he sneaks into Mack’s room after midnight. Every time he catches Aiden watching him like he knows. Like he’s just waiting for Will to screw this up.

But Will doesn’t want to screw it up. He wants this. Wants Mack. And, against all odds, Mack wants him back.

So when they pack the car for the long cross country drive back to campus, Will slides into the backseat, next to Mack. Aiden looks at them in the rearview and says nothing. Just adjusts the mirror, starts the car.

Will leans into Mack’s shoulder.

Because some rules are made to be broken. Especially when love is the one writing them

[t470n]

I feel like Bryce Lawrence in effect encapsulates what I think is wrong with how the villains in HOO are written because he's so unimaginable flat and cartoonishly evil. And it's not like there isn't anything interesting to work with. Rick accidentally gave him the potential to be pretty fascinating actually! He killed his own centurion and was exiled from the legion but came back as soon as he heard there were pardons being offered. That could be really rich characterisation but Rick does nothing with it. Bryce is designed to be as antagonistic and unlikable as physically possible so everything about him is purely just a reason to dislike him.

What's his deal? he works for Octavian, he's a bad guy! Okay but there are non-bad guys working for Octavian so why is this one really bad? he was exiled from the legion! From the legion the heroes are fighting against? Yeah, but he was exiled because he murdered his centurion! oh wow that sounds important and dramatic and character-defining, care to say a little more? . . . he murdered his centurion! is that all? . . . And he hurts animals! wow, were the animals puppies and was his method of attack kicking them?

Bryce could have actually been a really interesting character because there are so many questions about him that just never get answered. Why did he kill his centurion? When? Was it during the Titan war? How does his family feel about all this considering they got his sentence reduced from execution to exile? How does he feel about his family stepping in like that? What about his and Orcus' feelings towards each other considering that Bryce probably broke an oath with all his antics? What was Bryce doing all that time in exile? How does he feel about being asked to rejoin the legion? Does he hate them and is only joining for survival/protection/to regain his status? Or does he still have some sense of Roman duty and loyalty?

All these questions, and more! are very interesting, but unfortunately rick was only interested in making the single most cartoonishly evil villain so no one feels bad when Nico wipes him from existence. Because characters are allowed to do morally questionable things as long as they're only morally questionable in theory, and in actuality are totally fine because the people these acts are being done to aren't people. If Bryce had layers and complexity, that would make Nico infinitely more complex and morally grey for his decision to kill him (same with letting Octavian die). Nico's grey morality is an optics thing. It's not allowed to be meaningful or have consequences. Characters like Bryce and Octavian (and several other HOO antagonists) need to be as bland and cartoonishly evil as possible so no one needs to feel bad or have any complex emotions about getting rid of these antagonists. They're not characters, they're obstacles for the heroes to overcome, which is such a downgrade from the antagonists of the first series. You feel something with the 'bad guys' there, from the minor antagonists like Clarisse and Claypso (even Quintus/Daedalus to an extent) to the actively villainous antagonists like Luke and Ethan (even Nico for a little bit during TTC). They have layers and character and motives and personality that makes you connect with them and root for them a little bit. This is completely absent with the antagonists in HOO which is why they don't work.

[rapha-reads]

No but I gotta talk about Medusa for a minute actually.

It's been. A very long time since I read the PJO books so I don't exactly remember how Uncle Rick presents Medusa in the book. But the way the show introduces her myth? Fascinating. For me as a Greek mythology enthusiast, that is.

The show makes Medusa a victim of Athena. Of course, the show is mainly for kids, so they can't exactly say that, hey, kids, Medusa was Athena's priestess and she was raped by Poseidon, YEP, or protagonist's father, IN Athena's temple, nah, that's neither kid-friendly nor does it endears us to Poseidon. Not that Poseidon is very dear to us viewers/readers at this point, our narrator/protagonist can't stand his own dad.

But still what fascinates me is that even though they twisted the myth to ft the narrative they still managed to evoke Athena's curse as being actually a gift, and Medusa not feeling wretched over her condition but blessed.

Which is not a modern reading of the myth, actually. Saying that Athena couldn't punish Poseidon for his transgression and could only punish Medusa, but did so in a way that would give Medusa weapons to defend herself against whoever and whatever would try to harm her again, is a narrative that exists since Antiquity.

My point is that the re-framing of Medusa's myth, departing from the traditional, non-kid-friendly version while still incorporating both classic and modern elements, is a good frame of reference for the series (book and show)' entire approach to mythology. And I guess I'm saying that mostly for the non-book readers who are discovering this world, many of whom might be Greek mythology fans and might have gone "wait, why is Hades AGAIN presented as the bad guy when he's the chillest, most normal, most stable god in this entire pantheon", because that's a conversation the book fandom has been having (over and over again) for more than a decade.

Anyway, yeah. As a long time book fan and a show appreciative, here's my advice to anyone who knows WAY too much about Greek myths and still want to enjoy the ride without going every five minutes "wait, that's not correct": reframe. Contemporary rewritings, modern audiences and Fantasy genre.

[carlsdarling]

Homewrecker

Y/N being jealous and stealing Carl away from Enid. Bit more of a plot, then sex. Everyone is 18 or over.

WARNINGS: smut, nsfw, oral, cheating

You've had a crush on Carl for a long time, almost six months to be exact, when Rick found you alone in a vacant building, took you to Alexandria and you met his son. You were immediately fascinated by Carl and felt attracted to him - by his beautiful blue eye, his swift movements, his badass attitude and the lovable character that stood in sharp contrast to it. Over and over you dreamed of seducing him, at night caressing and fingering yourself, moaning his name and burying your head in your pillow so Glenn and Maggie, who had taken you in, wouldn't notice.

You lost your virginity a while ago, and there really wouldn't have been anything wrong with just approaching Carl and checking out if he felt anything for you, too, but there was Enid. His girlfriend. You were so jealous of Enid that you could have screamed with rage whenever you saw the two of them together. When you caught them making out in the paddock, you wanted to snap Enid's neck.

At that moment, you decided that it was not possible to go on like this and that you would fight for what you so desperately wanted, Carl.

One night, when you knew Enid was on guard duty and Carl wasn't, you went to find him at his house. Rick opened the door. "Um, is Carl around?" you asked. In your hand you had a couple of comic books as an alibi.

"Yeah," Rick replied. "He's in his room."

You walked up the stairs and knocked until Carl called, "Come in." He was sitting on the bed, hastily adjusting his bandage when he caught sight of you. You didn't care about his scar, you thought he was gorgeous, sexy and charming even with it. Carl simply had a great charisma, and you were all the more envious of Enid. But now she wasn't here, and this was your chance. "Hi, Y/N," Carl greeted you in surprise.

"Hi," you said in a soft, seductive voice and approached him, letting one spaghetti strap of your white top slip off your shoulder as accidentally.

Carl blushed slightly. "What... what are you doing here?" he asked uncertainly as you sat down close to him so he could smell your perfume and feel your body heat.

"I was feeling lonely," you purred, making big bedroom eyes. "And I thought maybe you could help me." You licked your lips lasciviously.

"Help? With what?" Carl was obviously a bit dumbfounded in this regard, so you gently grasped his chin, turned his head toward you, and kissed him on the lips. They felt soft and a little rough at the same time.

Carl took a startled breath. "What are you going to do?" He seemed embarrassed, but at least he didn't push you away right now. That gave you encouragement.

"I like you, Carl," you confessed, "I like you a lot, actually, and I want to show you."

"But I'm with Enid," he protested demurely. His expression was difficult to interpret.

"And has Enid ever suck you off?"

He turned bright red and shook his head.

"There you go," you would breathe a series of kisses on his neck, making him groan softly. You'd show him you were better than Enid. "I want to do this for you. That and more. You'll like it, I promise. I want to feel you, Carl. I need you. I need you badly, every night I think about you." Again you kissed him, and this time he returned the kiss, slipping his tongue into your mouth before hesitantly pulling away from you again.

He obviously had qualms about cheating on Enid, but Carl also couldn't deny that he was already aroused; he was building a visible tent in his jeans, and his breathing was rapid and frantic as his cheeks reddened. He was so cute. "It... it has to stay between you and me, though," he murmured. "You must not tell Enid about this."

"You have my word of honor," you promised, and immediately you were starting to make out and caress each other, until finally your hands slid under Carl's shirt and you stroked his back demanding. He smelled nice, clean and a little bit of fresh sweat.

He slipped the shirt off and tossed it to the floor, and for the first time you saw his lean, lightly muscled torso, the fair skin, the small tufts of underarm hair, and the strip of soft dark hair that ran from his belly button down and disappeared into his boxers. The sight nearly drove you crazy; so you grabbed Carl by the shoulders and made him lie on his back, then undid his belt and also undid the buttons of his jeans to pull them down to his knees. Carl let it happen, his eyes half-closed, and there was a damp stain at his light grey boxers. His cock was at full erection and was clearly visible under the fabric.

You scattered wet kisses around his belly button until Carl began to moan softly, then you grabbed the edges of his boxers and pulled them down as well. His erection really sprang out, his tip glistened with moisture, and your eyes grew wide: Carl was definitely on the bigger side. His pubic hair was dark and slightly curly.

"Wait," he said hoarsely, sitting up and stripping off his jeans and boxers. Carl was now completely naked, whereas you were still clothed. "I want to see you naked too, Y/N," he sighed, fumbling with your top and bra. Without further ado, you took both off, exposing your breasts.

Carl looked at them ravishedly. "God, you're beautiful," he whispered and began to fondle them, making your nipples hard.

"Lick them, please, Carl," you begged, and he gently began to kiss your right nipple, encircling it with his tongue and sucking on it. You cried out in pleasure and were now finally ready for him, wet as sin, but wanted to give him head first.

Tenderly you kissed his length and then took his cock in your mouth. He didn't quite fit, but Carl moaned heavily and curled his fingers in the pillow, lifting his hips as you sucked gently, letting go of him briefly every now and then to kiss the insides of his thighs and his belly. "Please, keep on sucking," he murmured, stroking your head and supporting your movements with his hand until you suddenly let go of him. His cock was wet with your saliva, veins protruding.

Carl was already in a state of complete euphoria, writhing on the bed whimpering softly and begging you to continue. You took off your shorts and panties. "No, I want you to fuck me now, Carl," you whispered in his ear, leaning over him. He grinded his cock against your belly.

"I've never done this before," he confessed, embarrassed.

"Well, I have," you replied plainly. You were only a year older than him, but unlike him, you had already had some experience. "Do you have any condoms?" He nodded over to his nightstand, and you pulled an as-yet-unopened pack out of the drawer. Jealousy flashed through your mind, because surely Carl had made these preparations for his first time with Enid. Well, screw Enid, you thought. Carl took one of the condoms, tore open the wrapper, and placed it precariously on his cock. "Oh, let me do it," you said impatiently, pushing his hand away and putting the condom on him yourself.

He awkwardly tried to lie on top of you, but you beckoned him to stay on his back. "I want to ride you," you said breathless with desire before guiding his cock to your willing pussy. "Be careful at the beginning," you whispered into Carl's ear. "Very gently."

Inches by inches he penetrated you, his whole body tense with excitement. It was wonderful to finally feel him inside of you. Instinctively, he began to make soft thrusts, and you moved your hips synchronously with him. You immediately found a rhythm together, and both of your moans and sighs filled the room. "It's so good," Carl moaned. "You're so tight and hot." His thrusts were getting faster and faster, and he was going into ecstasy, forgetting everything around him. "Y/N, I'm... I'm cumming, I'm..."

"Me too," you said, leaning forward so he could pull you close as he now reared up and shot his load into the condom, moaning heavily. A loud scream escaped you as you also climaxed. You looked lovingly into each other's eyes and shared a long kiss before you dismounted from him.

Carl removed the condom, knotted it, and wrapped it in a Kleenex before dropping it beside the bed, then hugging you tightly. "That was wonderful," he murmured exhaustedly, pressing little kisses to your lips.

"Yes," you replied, "I have patrol in a minute. I have to go," you said regretfully a moment later.

"I don't want you to go," Carl pouted.

You gave him a kiss on the forehead and got ready to leave. "I have to though," you said, gathering up your clothes.

"Um, Y/N..." said Carl shyly. "Can we maybe do this again?"

You jammed your hands into your sides. "Depends," you informed him. "If you pick me and dump Enid, we can do it every day," you offered with a seductive glance in your siren eyes.

The next night, just as you were about to go to bed, Glenn called you to come downstairs. "You got a guest," he said, perplexed. "Carl's out on the veranda."

Carl looked toward you with a smile on his lips as you closed the door behind you. "I just broke up with Enid," he said, embracing you and immediately kissing you passionately. "I want to be with you."

You won.

[bayetea]

your takes on stuff about pjo/hoo are so validating... it's so hard being a woman enjoyer in this fandom sometimes. i get that we love the main character of the first series but some people act like percy is a little baby who can do no wrong and anyone who breathes on him weirdly deserves the death penalty.

anyways i love what you do with hazel. hippocrene is so good, and i know you said you won't delve into the womens' povs, but i am ITCHING to see inside hazel's head especially after the last chapter!!! can't wait to see how that eventual conversation shakes out.

i just love hazel, and i wish more people actually LOVED her instead of passively liking her. so thank you for loving her as much as you do

yeah fandom has been intensely patriarchal for forever and it sucks to see, and it's very bad in the pjo fandom especially :/ we have so many great female characters but they don't actually seem to garner a ton of real interest, particularly outside of how they relate to male characters (I do place some blame for this on rick tho; pjo desperately needed to have more fleshed out dynamics between female characters and hoo was the best time to do it with its implementation of female perspectives, but rick just... didn't really do that. one can only blame rick so much tho because people latch onto underdeveloped male characters and m/m dynamics all the time). hazel in particular has (imo) the craziest and most fascinating backstory in the entire franchise and yet she seems to barely get acknowledged beyond her relation to nico? which is just crazy to me but yk. people like what they like and there's nothing to be done about that

as for percy specifically I mean, I love him forever (I think I'm clearly biased, he's a main character in like every fic I write lol) but I just feel so uninterested in the way that people often talk about him? like yeah he's a badass and yes he's super powerful and intimidating and attractive I guess but those are like the least interesting things about him (imo). I certainly don't care for the whole "this character can do no wrong/has never done anything wrong" attitude either because what's the point? why soften their edges? why are we infantilizing them? I swear people have this kneejerk reaction to dismiss any "poor" behaviors on percy's behalf as him being ooc (I see this talking point irt percy in hoo especially) and it's like... maybe you're right, or maybe percy just isn't a perfectly perfect nice boy 100% of the time? it's like people grasp that characters should be flawed but don't want to acknowledge those flaws when there's a chance that they might come off as unlikable. imo if you've read the entirety of pjo and weren't questioning/critical of some of percy's thoughts/actions/behaviors at least once then I don't think you were paying attention.... (or you just haven't read the books in a hot minute). he's also just not a perfectly written character regardless but that's a post for another day (that's not saying much tho, because no pjo character is "flawlessly" written)

one of the reasons why I've latched onto the percy/frank/hazel dynamic so much (beyond my deep love for all three of them individually) is because they're characters who really get to see percy at his weakest moments (outside of a romantic context, aka with annabeth who has certainly seen him at his lowest). I keep seeing people highlight how impressive he was to frank and hazel (which is completely true, I'm not saying that that's an incorrect take) but he also broke down in front of them multiple times because losing his memories really put him through the wringer. he was SO profoundly unhappy throughout son which is another reason why it's one of the better books in the franchise. even the shift from first person to third person offers something new to observe in the percy jackson character

anyways this was a long answer and wasn't all totally related to your ask lol, but it's nice to talk about these things with like-minded people! re: hazel in hippocrene, I'm having fun writing about frazel from frank's perspective especially as an opportunity to observe hazel - because he doesn't know what exactly goes on in her head either, and his attempts to understand her better (even after dating for so long) will be an important conflict in the story. hazel is such a mysterious girl imo, like there's just so much going on with her that I don't think she really understands herself either

[anotherpjofan]

It always bugs me how Percy is so dependent on Annabeth for plans in HOO, I mean this is the boy that orchestrated a lot of the defense during the Battle for Manhattan! Like he was leading that battle! And it worked - it kept the monsters out of Manhattan/the Empire State Building long enough for reinforcements to show up (Party Ponies) and with the addition of Party Ponies, able to force Kronos to shift his barrier to a far smaller area! Like that is incredible! Percy is a brilliant strategist and it's a pity that RR reduced him down to powerful/comedic in the series, especially when Annabeth is present.

I know the Doylian reason for this is because for some reason RR overpowered the 5 new characters to the series and needed Annabeth to be equal to them in some way, so she became the only leader, the only strategist and the only one capable of it. And like there was no reason for them to be as powerful as they were? Like Jason, Hazel. Fine. They're Big Three Kids. Frank? He's powerful yes, but his abilities are greatly hampered by the fact that he literally holds his life in his hands, or rather in his pocket. But Leo and Piper? There should be no reason for them to be nearly as powerful as they are in the books. But if RR wanted all 5 kids to have powers, then he could have at least tried to balance Annabeth out. Like instead of giving Hazel Mist powers, when she has her own earth powers which would have been fascinating to see in the final battle of HOH, give it to Annabeth. Have her learn the Mist instead and use it to help her against Arachne. Like I understand the desire to have Annabeth to defeat Arachne using wisdom and logic, but having the Mist to help would definitely make it interesting.

This would be such a good premise for an AU????? hello???? cause we know that Thalia actually learned to manipulate the mist so she could have thought Annabeth and Annabeth being Annabeth obviously wouldn’t be satisfied with the basics and would have learned all that she could -

but yeah rick for sure fumbled and realised he overpowered percy (hence removal of the achilles curse) and needed some way to make sure the others were on the same level and something I noticed early on is that Percy and Annabeth are equals as in for every strategy that Annabeth comes up with Percy comes up with one that saves all of their assesses too. the only difference is that percy’s opinion is biased and he dumbs it down cause he doesn’t think highly of himself but from an outsiders perspective it’s clearly calculated yknow. like we see it as early as in book with where he bribes charon and manipulates crusty into his own torture device again this isn’t taking anything away from annabeth but I just need to let it be known that annabeth would never be with someone who she thinks is stupid like cmon girl would go crazy in a day like she genuinely respects percy and trusts his crazy plans

that being said firm believer of annabeth chase having powers. like yes she’s smart and all but ngl we really don’t see her explicitly showcasing it?? like other characters also have the same ability/planning abilities so where is her athena knowledge coming from?? (correct me if i’m wrong btw) but yeah rick fr did the others dirty

[the-name-is-z]

SKELETONS | ch. 2

daryl dixon x f!oc

masterlist

a03 link

Summary: After the apocalypse took everything Iris held dear, a new opportunity presents itself in the form of a bag of guns. Little does she know, that bag of guns starts something much bigger than she ever could have anticipated. Warnings/Information: AMC's The Walking Dead OC Insert | 18+ Advised | strangers to lovers; the slowest of slow burns; gore; angst; horror; humour; m/f; gun violence, gang violence, offensive terminology for gang members and daryl, salty language

Chapter 2 - The Deal

The kid led them to a warehouse further into the city, and Iris was fidgeting with her knives. They waited at a wall further outside the building, a broken window between them and their friend. The bandana was back over her face, the bag of guns slung over T-Dog's shoulder. Rick rattled a shotgun shell next to his ear before loading it into the gun.

The group of warehouses was old enough to be made of brick and mortar, broken windows and doorframes unaccompanied by a roof. All except for the main building at the back, where the rest of the gang was presumably waiting. The kid wasn't smart enough to set them up, hopefully.

"You sure you're up for this?" Rick asked T-Dog.

"Yeah." He assured. Daryl gripped his crossbow tightly, keeping an eye on the kid as Iris peered through the broken barred window to the gate on the other side. Wasn't anything to write home about, but looks could be deceiving. 

"One wrong move, you get an arrow in the ass. Just so you know." Daryl grunted.

"G's gonna take that arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know." The kid retorted.

"G?" Rick asked.

"Guillermo. He's the man here."

"Okay then." Rick continued, cocking the gun. "Let's go see Guillermo." He gestured for Iris to go first and she scoffed, ducking through the bars and wire fence. T-Dog took up a sniper position on the wall to give them an edge. Rick pushed the kid forward and they followed him to the gate.

They slid open with a loud creak, a group of guards standing in the doorway. One man stepped forward, a cross chain hanging from his neck. He was shorter than the kid, and young. Didn't look like much of a threat, but there were more Iris couldn't see. She gripped the handle of her knife tighter.

"You okay, little man?" Guillermo asked, his hands in his pockets as he regarded them carefully.

"They're gonna cut off my feet, carnal." The kid replied, twitching. Clearly he'd never been a hostage before. That being said, most days consisted of things Iris had never done before.

"Cops do that?" Guillermo asked, his scrunched brow directed at Rick.

"Not him. This redneck puto, here. He cut off some dude's hand, man. He showed it to me." The kid whined. Iris glanced between Daryl and the kid.

"Shut up." Daryl snapped.

"Hey, that's that vato right there, homes." One of the men from before stepped, or limped, forward, one hand pointing at Daryl with a very small revolver, the other firmly pressing a rag to his ass. "He shot me in the ass with an arrow. What's up, homes, huh?"

"Chill, ese, chill. Chill." Guillermo said, holding out his arms to keep him back. He levelled his gaze back at them. "This true? He wants Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick, man."

"We were hoping more for a calm discussion." Rick countered, shotgun still pointing at Miguel. 

"That hillbilly jumps on Felipe's cousin. Beats on him, threatens to cut off his feet. Felipe gets an arrow in the ass and you want a calm discussion?" Guillermo recounted, frowning. He licked his lips. "You fascinate me."

"Heat of the moment." Rick explained. "Mistakes were made. On both sides."

"Who's that dude to you anyway? You don't look related." He asked, nodding to Daryl.

"He's one of our group, more or less. I'm sure you have a few like him."

"You got my brother in there?" Daryl asked abruptly. 

"Sorry, we're fresh out of white boys." Guillermo replied, equally as fast. "But I got Asian. You interested?"

"I have one of yours, you have one of mine." Rick said evenly. "Sounds like an even trade."

"Don't sound even to me." Guillermo grunted.

"G..." Miguel protested. "Come on, man."

"My people got attacked." Guillermo continued, unfazed. "Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?"

"Guns?" Rick asked.

"The bag Miguel saw in the street. The bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag of guns."

"You're mistaken." Rick replied.

"I don't think so."

"About it being yours." He continued. "It's my bag of guns." Guillermo shrugged, leaning back with a frown.

"The bag was in the street. Anybody could come around and say it was theirs. I'm supposed to take your word?" He asked. "What's to stop my people from unloading on you right here and now and I take what's mine?" Felipe cocked his tiny gun once more, Jorge flanking Guillermo from the other side. Daryl raised his crossbow, clicking echoes coming from inside as more guns found their targets, men raised pipes and crowbars.

"You could do that." Rick shrugged, turning to where T-Dog had a rifle levelled at Guillermo's face. "Or not."

"Oye!" Guillermo called, looking up to the roof of the warehouse. Two guys walked to the edge, a third wrestling between them, a soiled bag tucked over his head. They ripped the bag off, Glenn whimpering with a piece of duct tape over his mouth. "I see two options." Guillermo continued. "You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks. Or you come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood."

Guillermo shrugged again, raising an eyebrow at them before turning and retreating into the warehouse. Jorge and Felipe followed, the doors sliding shut. Rick put the shotgun down, sighing as Glenn and the two guards disappeared back onto the roof. Iris blew out a breath.

- "Them guns are worth more than gold." Daryl said pointedly. "Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table."

He was pacing back and forth in front of the desk Rick stood at, the bag of guns set atop it in consideration. Rick was checking them one by one under Iris' watchful eye. They'd come back to their cleared building, T-Dog watching over Miguel as they decided what to do. Guillermo was right, there were two ways this could go, and neither of them were ideal.

"You willing to give that up for that kid?" Daryl asked. Iris raised an eyebrow at him. The whole reason they were here was for their friend. Though, it seemed all he cared about was finding his hand-less brother. He still didn't trust her, that much was obvious, especially by the looks he gave her every few minutes. 

"If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree. But you think that vato across the way is just gonna hand him over?" T-Dog asked.

"You calling G a liar?" Miguel asked.

"Are you a part of this?" Daryl snapped, slapping the kid across the face. "You want to hold onto your teeth?"

"You willing to risk it on Guillermo's word?" Iris asked, turning back to the sheriff. Rick sighed in exasperation.

"Could be risking more than them guns. Could be your life." Daryl added, making a face at Rick. "Glenn worth that to you?"

"What life I have I owe to him." Rick answered firmly. "I was nobody to Glenn, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He could have walked away, but he didn't. Neither will I."

"So you're gonna hand the guns over." Daryl concluded.

"I didn't say that." Rick reasoned. "Look, there's nothing keeping you three here. You should get out, head back to camp."

"And tell your family what?" T-Dog asked, rubbing his temple.

"I'm not going anywhere without my guns." Iris replied, shaking her head. Rick looked to the three of them, nodding conclusively. T-Dog stepped forward, him and Daryl taking a shotgun each.

"Oh, come on. This is nuts!" Miguel protested, siting right back down as Daryl pointed a stern finger at him. "Just do like G says." They loaded them up, each taking an additional hand gun. Iris loaded up her 22, slinging a rifle over her back. 

With a towel tied into his mouth and hands bound, Miguel was escorted by the four of them back to the warehouse and the makeshift courtyard. Iris was trying to ignore the anxiety pulsing in her stomach.

Daryl had his gun pressing into Miguel's spine as they walked, armed and dangerous, through the gate and into the warehouse. Iris carried the bag of guns over her shoulder as they passed through the hoard of guards. Guillermo met them halfway through the warehouse, guns pointed in all directions.

"I see my guns," He mused, "but they're not all in the bag."

"That's because they're not yours. I thought I mentioned that." Rick replied simply.

"Let's just shoot these fools right now, ese." Filipe urged. Daryl pressed the muzzle of the gun into the back of Miguel's head. "Alright? Unload on their asses, ese."

"I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation." Guillermo said sharply.

"No, I'm pretty clear." Rick assured. He nodded to Iris, who cut the duct tape binding Miguel's wrists and shoved him forward. "You have your man. I want mine."

"I'm gonna chop up your boy. I'm gonna feed him to my dogs." Guillermo murmured. "They're the evilest, nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?"

"No, my hearing's fine. You said come locked and loaded." He stated, cocking the shotgun. It echoed as everyone around took aim, Guillermo staring down the barrel. "Okay then, we're here."

There was a pregnant pause of baited silence as they all waited for someone to make a move, to say something. They stared down one another, waiting for the triggers to be pulled. The silence was filled with a small shuffling, and a woman's voice carrying through the warehouse.

"Felipe! Felipe!" She called, tone wavering with age. Iris watched as an old woman walked through the warehouse of gangbangers with no fear.

"Abuela, go back with the others-- now." Felipe urged, keeping his gaze and gun pointed on them, though fear laced his words.

"Get that old lady out of the line of fire!" Daryl chastised. Guillermo huffed, turning to her.

"Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay?" He instructed softly. "This is not the place for you right now."

"Mr Gilbert is having trouble breathing." She pleaded, looking to her grandson and tugging on his shirt. "He needs his asthma stuff. Carlito didn't find it. He needs his medicine." Guillermo glanced nervously between them and the old woman.

"Felipe, go take care of it, okay?" He snapped. "And take your grandmother with you." Felipe took her gently, pleading with her to walk with him, but she brushed past him toward Guillermo, frowning at Rick.

"Who are those men?" She asked. "Don't you take him--"

"Ma'am--"

"Felipe is a good boy." She assured. "He has his trouble but he'll pull himself together. We need him here."

"Ma'am, I'm not here to arrest your grandson." Rick replied calmly, putting the gun down.

"Then what do you want him for?" She asked.

"He's... helping us find a missing person. A fella named Glenn." Rick answered.

"The Asian boy? He's with Mr. Gilbert. Come, come." She urged, waving him along. "I show you. He needs his medicine."

Iris hid her small smile behind her bandana as she followed Rick, Felipe and the old woman through the warehouse. Daryl and T-Dog stayed on their tail, watching the others carefully, even though Guillermo ordered to let them pass. 

The old woman held Rick's hand as she led them out of the warehouse and through a neat garden, and through the doors to another building. It was a hospice center, or a retirement home of some sort. Felipe asked his grandmother to take him to Mr. Gilbert, while the others glanced around.

There were doctor's offices and hospital beds, everything occupied by elderly people. Iris was quick to sheath her knives, following Rick into an old auditorium, tables and chairs set up for a common area. A man in a wheelchair at the back was coughing and wheezing, deeply inhaling as Felipe helped him with his inhaler. Glenn stood beside the, watching to make sure he'd be okay.

"What the hell is this?" Rick said softly.

"An asthma attack." Glenn replied worriedly. "Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden."

"I thought you were being eaten by dogs, man." T-Dog hissed. A small bark sounded from the corner, a trio of chihuahuas sitting in a leopard print bed. 

"Could I have a word with you?" Rick asked, taking Guillermo to the side. "You're the dumbest son of a bitch I ever met..." He hissed, Iris' attention taken away by Felipe's grandma approaching her.

"Young lady, why do you hide your face? Do you have a scar?" She asked, gesturing to her own face.

"No." Iris replied with a small smile, pulling the bandana down to show her face.

"Oh, que linda eres." She cooed, patting Iris' face. "I should introduce you to my grandson. There are no more pretty young girls around here." Iris laughed nervously as she toddled over to Felipe, prodding him in her direction. He flushed, swatting her hand away as he continued to help Mr. Gilbert.

"So you're the girl with the guns." Glenn said, folding his arms as he walked over. Iris turned to him, nodding.

"Iris." She said, holding out her hand.

"Glenn." He replied with a slight frown, shaking it politely. Rick and Guillermo finished their little chat, the former beckoning them into a small room where Guillermo could speak to them quietly.

"What about the rest of your crew?" Rick asked, gesturing to Iris. She handed him the bag of guns, eyeing the interaction closely.

"The vatos trickle in, to check on their parents, their grandparents. They see how things are and most decide to stay." Guillermo explained. "It's a good thing, too. We need the muscle. The people we've encountered since things fell apart? The worst kind. Plunderers, the kind that take by force."

"That's not who we are." Rick assured.

"How was I to know?" He defended. "My people got attacked, and you show up with Miguel hostage-- appearances."

"Guess the world changed." T-Dog mused.

"No." Guillermo disagreed. "It's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken. So we do what we can here. The vatos work on those cars, talk about getting the old people out of the city. But most can't even get to the bathrooms by themselves, so that's just a dream. Still, it keeps the crew busy, and that's worth something. So we barred all the windows, welded all the doors shut except for one entrance. The vatos, they go out, scavenge what they can to keep us going. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait. The people here? They all look to me now. I don't even know why."

"Because they can." Rick replied honestly. He handed the shotgun to Guillermo, and began to sort the guns from the bag. 

Iris turned from the room, walking back out into the auditorium. The vatos kept an eye on her, but she walked over to the closest.

"Hey, Felipe?" She asked. He turned from the table of elderly people, frowning at her sudden appearance. Iris took a map from her coat pocket and a pencil from an abandoned crossword puzzle, circling a place on the map. "I don't know who's in charge of the runs, but just outside the city here, there's an auto shop. If you can make it, there's a van out back full of parts, more cars in the shop. Take whatever you need. No one's gonna come back for it."

"Why?" He asked, taking the map and frowning. Iris shrugged, trying to offer him a comforting smile.

"Gesture of good faith?"

[frankendykes-monster]

peoplw usually compare jimmy olsen and rick jones, any thoughts on them?

I think the dichotomy between them is kind of fascinating in that when you actually take a step back they don't really resemble each other at all.

Jimmy Olsen, in spite of the fact that he first appeared on the Superman radio show, starts out as a fairly conventional "person that gets to hang out with the superhero." They were fairly common in the Golden Age given the "rules" hadn't been nailed down, so you could have a sidekick proper or you could have just some random kid who hangs out with you. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Plastic Man are all part of the latter camp. I think the main reason Superman took a while to get on board is because since Superman is the first superhero "proper", everyone else has the privilege of being able to look at Superman and copy what works and make changes as seen fit.

I've mentioned I'm primarily schooled by Chris Sims on the subject of superheroes, and as such I'm inclined to agree with his sentiment that Jimmy Olsen doesn't become Jimmy Olsen "proper" until he gets his own title, and even then not until the Silver Age, where Jimmy is free to be his own protagonist that is fully allowed to explore and adventure in a world built on convoluted rules surrounding superheroes, but at the same time he's the "apex" of the Silver Age because he doesn't have to deal with any setbacks or tragedies.

Quick aside that it is criminal that DC hasn't collected his solo series in color.

Anyhow, Jimmy is kind of defined by the fact that the Silver Age has all these weird arbitrary rules, one by virtue of the fact that superhero comics are superhero comics, two that the Comics Code Authority was among the most ridiculously strict censorship guidelines in modern fiction, and that's where he thrived. When Jack Kirby eventually comes along to do a brief run to explore some concepts that will filter into the other New Gods books, Jimmy is done with. He can never go back. Jimmy obviously is still around as a major Superman supporting character, but Jimmy "proper" doesn't have much room to exist in the context of superheroes grappling with the concept of "realism" since 1970.

Rick Jones on the other hand is an entirely different beast. As far as the superhero boom at DC in the Silver Age goes, yeah, The Flash and Aquaman got sidekicks, and Green Lantern and the Justice League as a whole got the kids who just hang out. Marvel (read: Jack Kirby et al.) never really went back to doing sidekicks if only because a combination of The Human Torch, Spider-Man, and The X-Men all showed that teenagers could function as the lead sans any adult authority figure shouldering a lot of the work. Rick Jones is the closest to the kid who gets to hang out, but only in the most surface level reading a guy who is almost killed in a gamma bomb test, owes Bruce Banner a life debt, and has to bare the responsibility of defending Bruce whilst also dealing with uncontrollable anger and strength of The Hulk. Rick almost immediately does some bizarre pivots in being the kid who gets to hang out with The Avengers, but it's still in the context of defending The Hulk and having to deal with Captain America's trauma over losing Bucky. Rick does sort of become the guy who gets to hang out with everyone in the Marvel universe that You Don't Really Care About (he never had a presence in Spider-Man or X-Men, for context), so I can't really comment on his status there as he flies in and out of titles in his supporting role.

[ruegarding]

Hi! How are you doing? Honestly, I had a bit of an obsession with Will after The Blood of Olympus mostly because he was a blank slate which meant that he could be anyone and anything especially since Apollo is the god of so many things, so I'd look for Will Centric content. And they were so infuriating because Will would constantly hate Percy for "being better than everyone else," "Killing Michael Yew," "Not trusting Nico." Like Percy did trust Nico, and he trusted him with his plan to defeat Kronos (which worked!) Sure there was some miscommunication but Nico came through for Percy. And Michael's death was not Percy's fault. Percy had to destroy the bridge to stop the monsters. Like to me, it feels like Will centric fics use the justification of Will to hate on Percy without anything being resolved, particularly towards Michael's death without addressing the fact that it was war and no matter how tragic it was, Percy couldn't save everyone. Anyways, HOO is fascinating. I've read somewhere on Tumblr that due to the fact that RR overpowered the five new heroes, that he had to leave the smarts to Annabeth. Which is very true and has detriments to literally every other character but especially Jason and Percy, who were essentially military leaders at 15 and 16! And like would it killed for Piper, Leo and Frank to not have superpowers? And did Hazel really need the Mist? I think it would have been fascinating if Annabeth was the one to learn it, because maybe it would have balanced out the whole power spectrum at the very least because RR insisted on giving everyone superpowers. And it's sad how neither Percy nor Annabeth have a perspective in the final book because they had just returned from Tartarus and because they're the characters we've known for years. RR just shunted them after Tartarus and Percy during the Final Battle. He is the son of the Stormbringer, he can literally summon hurricanes, plus if he really puts his mind to it, he can cause earthquakes. Like the Final Battle is where he couls have shined and yet, he did not. HOO was interesting but so much of it was a disappointment.

hi! yeah, i agree. w the way hoo (hoh and boo especially) are written there's a lot of percy bashing for things he didn't even do or things that are completely removed of nuance (thank u rick for that). like i've said before, percy has plenty of flaws, but instead of using any of them well rick made him completely ooc, and there is a definite bandwagon of hate from ppl for it. unfortunately it makes will's character a bit unapproachable in fandom.

annabeth w mist powers is interesting. i don't think i've seen that before. it could extend past being just another power and be a window into how annabeth imagines her perfect world. but yeah, there's a definite power-scaling issue w hoo, not just w the demigods, but w the antagonists, as well.

i think one of the biggest failures of hoo is that it sets up that there needs to be seven main characters—the seven of prophecy, even—and then fails to deliver these seven consistent main characters. like, the whole reason nico, reyna, and hedge end up delivering the statue is bc the seven (as in, all seven of them) have to finish the quest, but then we don't have perspectives from these characters rick just established as necessary, and rick keeps writing them out of the narrative, and characters who weren't even part of the seven come across as more important. it's a mess.

honestly, it would've been better if the seven did split up to bring the statue to chb, bc then, at least, they would all feel narratively important. instead, it's difficult to tell if we have seven main characters, nine main characters, or three main characters w some side povs. this makes it near impossible to have consistent, well-done arcs and leaves us w. whatever boo is.

[the-unspeakable-tsar]

Kidnapping The Grunk

In 2018, I was 17. I wrote a Gravity Falls/Rick and Morty crossover fic called "Kiddnapping The Grunk". I'm 23 now, and I was looking at my ao3 account, and I saw it. So, I decided to rewrite the fic. The original person who wanted me to write the fic no longer exists on Tumblr. But here's the new version in its entirety.

Stan’s eyes opened up into complete darkness. He started to move but found his limbs stiff and wrapped in something. He was stuck and started thrashing around. He’d gotten it into his head that he was twisted up in his bedsheets again and started screaming.

“Oh god! Soos! Get the jaws of life! Get some snips or somethin’! I’m stuck!” he shouted.

“Nobody’s gonna help you out here, ole man,” said a strange voice from the dark.

“Who’s that?” said Stan. His tone was not so much panicked but annoyed. “Robbie Valentino, this better not be some stupid prank. I’m not playing around with you and Wendy’s games anymore!”

A new voice chimed in, making robotic tutting, “Nah, you don’t get it do ya?” We’re holding your ass for ransom.”

“Ransom?” said Stan. He considered the thought for a moment. “If you cut me in on this, I can get my brother to fork over some more cash. I know he’s good for it.”

“Shut the fuck up!” shouted the first voice. “If your scrawny boy toy doesn’t deliver the Smidgens we want, we’re going to slit your Cromdamned throat!”

“Boy toy? What the heck are you talking about?” he asked and received a smack across the face for it.

Everyone who surrounded him began to laugh as Stan’s head spun.

“Don’t play dumb,” he said. “You were rolling heavy with Rick Sanchez in this part of the galaxy for ten years. Suppose your spastic lust pet doesn’t show up; we’re going to cut your head off and bury you somewhere like a vampire.”

“Who?” asked Stan.

---

A large green portal opened up into a land covered in prone grease grease-slicked grandmothers. Two aged scientists stepped out and into the town. The residents of the town looked at them with fascination. Stanford Pines looked down at his tracker pad, which pinged with a map of this area and the little tracker.

“I cannot believe that my brother has gotten wrapped up in your nonsense, Sanchez,” he said. 

“Better believe it,” said Rick Sanchez, punctuating his brief statement with a burp. 

“You’re lucky I didn’t kill you myself. What are they? Flansians? Predators? The Tall Whites?” asked Stanford, rapidly firing his questions at Rick.

“Beats the hell out of me,” said Rick. “If they’re after me through, Stan I’ll take care of them. Don’t worry your prissy little head about it.” 

Rick reached over and started tussling Stanford’s hair drunkenly, only for Ford to take his hand away. “None of that!”

“You can’t still be angry because I didn’t call you after our night of passion in the Hamburger Fields,” he said. Dismissing him.

“I can be, and I am!” he shouted.

“Oh blah, blah, blah! BLIGHITY BLAH!” shouted Rick. “Stan’s a better man than you anyways. He knows how to make a man feel appreciated. Y’know?” 

Rick then feigned ecstatic moans, “Ohh Stanley, yeah, yeah, yeah, right therreee!” 

“That’s lewd,” growled Stanford. His face flushed a deep red.

“You would know,” said Rick. “I recall you getting very into me sucking on your fingers.” 

“Nope,” Stanford walked forward. Stomping as he went. “Not listening. Just help me find my brother.”

Rick made a dismissive noise. “Bleh…fine….So, does he ever talk about me?” 

“Hmm?” began Stanford. “No, never.” 

“C’mon, i’m being serious right now. He must, right?’ asked Rick.

“Nope. Up until we got the note, I didn’t even know you two were acquainted,” said Stanford.

“What? We spent nearly a decade together, fucking and savaging around the country,” said Rick. “He must remember me.” 

“Well,” said Ford apprehensively. “There’s a chance that he genuinely doesn’t remember.” 

“Oh god, has he been hit with Alzheimer's?” said Rick, feeling his age.

“The truth is more…odd,” Said Ford. “Do you remember when i talked about Weirdmageddon?” 

“Dumb name, yes.”

“Ignoring that…To destroy Bill, Stanley allowed him to invade his mind…Then we erased it,” said Ford.

“You sick son of a bitch!” growled Rick.

“Oh, grow the hell up, Sanchez. I heard about how you regularly erase your grandson’s memories over minor mistakes on your end,” said Ford.

“How did you hear about that?” asked Rick.

“Summer and Wendy are friends on Tumblr,” said Ford.

“Goddamn, Summer,” whispered Rick under his breath. But then Rick smiled, “Hot Damn, Fordy baby, you’ve just given me a chance at this bullshit thing called love!” 

Rick pushed Ford over, and the old man fell on his ass. They opened up a portal that entered them into a dimension filled with bright blue slime bags, and they bounced off of them, weaving between each other as they fell. Rick blessed another portal into the wall of the dimension and it led into the back room of a bar.

Surrounding Stan’s tied-up form were impossibly tall robots and short dwarven aliens with big fly eyes. They all pulled their guns and started firing at the pair. They ducked behind pillars and exchanged looks. Ford looked ready to kill Rick.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!” he shouted.

“Relax,” Rick stepped in front of the scene.

His body was quickly riddled with plasma fire. The bolts of liquid energy passed through his scrawny form like butter, but he kept stepping forward. The aliens screamed at him in their native tongues—horrid insect chirping. Rick’s left arm unfolded, forming a kind of gun made of green semi-metal and flesh. The flesh gun sprayed the aliens with a horrible mist that caused their skin to erupt in horrible sizzling boils and caused the metal skin of the robots to erode rapidly.

“Come to me, everybody!” he shouted. “Look at me go! Your gods might not be real, but I’m sending you to him all the same!”

Ford stood behind the pillar, picking off stragglers with his pistol and resenting every word that fell out of Rick Sanchez’ stupid head. He didn’t have to do all of this. They could have just killed them; they didn’t have to cook alive inside their bodies.

Once this mad violence was over, Stanford dashed over to Stanley and tore the bag off his head; his brother winced at the light.

“It’s okay, Stanley, you’re going to be alright,” said Ford as he began to undo the binds.

Rick turned and flashed Stanley a look. He thought it was sexy, with is hip cocked to the side and the bulge in his pants prominently displayed. 

“Hey, hot stuff,” said Rick. “I’m Rick Sanchez, and I’m the rescue committee.”  

“Yeah,” said Stan. “I know who you are.”

Suddenly, Rick froze. Shit, he remembers all the scumbag shit I did.

Once up, Stan strode across the room and pushed Rick up against the wall, forcing his tongue into his mouth and dry-humping him against the wall. Ford stood by, irritated that it built up to this. He turned his head so he didn’t have to see the image of the two.

“You scrawny son of a bitch,” said Stan. “You made me remember that I missed you.”

[girlberrie]

it seems like ur really connected to greek gods and their mythology. whats ur favorite god and what started ur interest and at what age did it happen?

my favorite god is dionysus, i think. i really enjoy the maniac wild crazy vibes. its like he represents a whirlwind of passion and i like that……yeah. and yk, grapes are great.

what started my interest? pjo ofc. i was twelve. my dad sat me down and told me i needed to read instead of being on the computer all the time. and handed me the lightning thief, unaware that it would change my life FOREVER. it was 2020 and i spend days in quarantine literally devouring the words on those books. i finished the entire series in a week. then i started the other books…….yeah.

ofc, i take whatever information there in on the greek gods and greek mythology with a grain of salt when it comes from pjo, because i am fully aware that rick riordan didn’t represent it accurately all the time for the sake of writing children’s books. so i’m always doing my research and reading more and yeah. i really really love it. and no, i don’t believe the gods are real, for anyone who may have thought that. the topic is just rlly special to me and fascinates me 💗 thank you for this ask!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[femboyhunting]

DUDE THE BUSINESSES IN TITS ARE SO. TERRIFYING. WE ARE PAST LATE STAGE CAPITALISM THIS IS CAPITALISM ON STEROIDS ITS NUUUUUTS, AND YOU CANT DO SHIT ABOUT IT!!!! WHEN YOU GET TO DHAAL AND GO TO THE PARTY UR BEST OPTIONS ARE TO SUCK UP TO THE RICK AND THE CRUEL LIKE. I WANNA DESTROY CONGLOMERATES IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR???? obviously i know this is a kink game but. let me enjoy the kink of ruining the status quo or smth

So far I'm only on the ant planet, Myrellion I think? But I was specifically thinking about New Texas, that guy who knew our dad on the bee planet, and uh the prison planet where we're invited to have sex with the prisoners that are being used as, and this isn't even subtext this is just the text, breeding stock to lessen their sentences.

Apparently New Texas was controversial with their government mandated hormone/whatever injections that completely change your biology and make you dumb sex crazed and subservient that can have crazy side effects but makes New Texas a prime tourist spot so it's ok. And I was like yeah that's fair to feel some type of way about that. And then I got to the private prison planet where they literally raped the prisoners as part of the system and reduce them down to breeding genetics like animals for money. Actually now that I've said that I'm sure one of my deviant litte audience has creamed their jorts thinking about being treated like breeding stock. Which is fair, that's fair. You little freak.

But like in universe that would be kind of fucked up at least. And it's interesting that there's so much of that but no mode (so far, I haven't played all of the game yet let me know if I'm wrong) to rebel against it. Though I suppose it is rather realistic? I mean we're the kid of a famous mining company, one of the richest men in Space, we're routinely recognized on other planets as a famous person. Do we really think someone like that would even recognize the wrong of something that's been normalized all their life and is so unbelievably privileged? But it really is such a beautiful parigon of modern capitalism but is has like just huuuge honkers, ya know what I mean? I do think that's what I like about TiTS more than coc2, it's more able to touch on modern issues the way science fiction as a genre is meant to do. There's a lot of interesting themes in coc2 as well but it's more just, from my understanding, themes about how culture relates to gender and sexuality. It can't really include more modern themes because it simply doesn't have the modes to. Well I mean it could touch on class divides and maybe it does but I haven't gotten far enough to know.

Anyway I don't think Ashur Steel could be radicalized Much, his brain is too broken by wealth and power, and that's actually a pretty interesting dynamic I find fascinating story-wise. But idk it is interesting that it's not an option at all. So far idk. Maybe eventually you can be like actually I don't want to take on my father's colonizer legacy or his fucked up company it's insane that we think we get to decide while planets are too savage to treat as people so it's ok to take them as slaves and strip their homeland of all it's natural resources.

But also it's a porn game and in porn context indentured servitude is sexy. Like idk both these things can be equally true, I'm not mad at TiTS bc it's doing indentured servitude sexy addition. And I actually think a lot of the capitalism themes are on purpose bc it Is trying to be a story outside of the jerkoff material.

[zahri-melitor]

Proposal: I instead turn this into a guessing game~

1) Birds of Prey? 3) Warlord 9) Gail Simone or Brian Vaughn? 10) Hmmm I know you share the completionism with me but Morrison? 11) Harley Quinn 12) Joker 18) Rick Flag

(I am curious to hear your answers for 2 and 20 though!)

Ahahaha great approach

1. Birds of Prey is a good guess, though admittedly I still haven’t got up the courage to touch the Jimmy Palmiotti ones

3. I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about …no pretty obviously, being tumblr’s only Warlord fan is a perfect encapsulation of this

9. Both of them I will indeed try anything they’ve written

10. My completionism still hasn’t actually got me to read Batman Inc vol 1 yet, so good call on Grant Morrison

11. Yeah. I’m pretty vocal on my opinion about Harley.

12. Oooh that’s a fascinating call, and I did actually enjoy The Joker. Not who I was thinking of when I wrote it, but definitely correct.

18. Ahahahahahahaha have I ranted about that one too many times? Yeah, Rick Flag is dead, sorry John Ostrander, I have checked, he could not have touched that sword.

2: The family/books they wholeheartedly ignore because they’ve made an executive decision to narrow the potential scope of their reading

My biggest ones are Green Lantern and Legion of Super-Heroes.

LOSH largely because given their 31st century setting it’s pretty straightforward to avoid needing to read them in crossovers, so I can let them do their own thing and not really feel like I’m missing out because I don’t know what’s happening on the few occasions they are relevant to my reading. It’s also partly because they have so many characters with difficult to remember ‘space’ names.  

Green Lantern I just skip over in part because I had to put my foot down somewhere, and also because it’s one of the least relevant properties to the characters I like most? Like, I am better with Green Lantern, I can name more than a dozen Lanterns off the top of my head, and I have read a handful of stories from the titles here and there, and if they ever started using Jaime Reyes more heavily in Lantern stuff I’d give in. But at present I can leave them be and only bother engaging when the characters turn up in something else I’m reading.

20: The crossover they think is terrible and yet get weirdly obsessed with

Underworld Unleashed. It’s remarkable how often I go back to reference things from UU despite the fact I don’t think most of it is written particularly well and was basically an event for the purpose of having an event.

[crimsonblackrose]

.

Robby's fake job is at Tech Town whose tagline is Sales| Service| Repair and the guy who he impersonated is named Edwardo who he winks at.

Like I get Carmen's: I don't want you around my son ever. But he was already being bothered by these kids even without Johnny around. So that seems like it'd just make it worse?

Banana-rama chocolate chip pancakes. What I've realized with this watch through is that Daniel has given a nick-name to almost every dish he makes. It's adorable.

Anthony immediately turns it into a 'pancake taco' which feels like maybe he takes after his dad in nicknaming food and coming up with his own spin despite Daniel's disappointment in the whole idea.

Amanda trying like 12 different ways to calm Daniel down about the billboard and I love her first response is to make a joke. She'd already done the pr spin and I love that for her.

So no deadpool art anywhere in his room but Miguel is wearing a rick and morty t-shirt.

Miguel calls his mom Mama, which I feel like I need to remember. I remember Ma for Daniel all the time, but I forget Miguel's Mama.

The comedic timing of Miguel defending Johnny only to show Johnny passed out on his floor with the spray can and a beer is still hilarious to me.

I was wondering what his keychains are. Seems to be a bird, which maybe should've been a clue. But it also might just be a 'firebird' or phoenix for his car. Honestly with how much of a mess he is I'm surprised he doesn't lose his keys more.

According to the phone call with Ms. Jenkins it's been a couple of months, which it being after Halloween makes sense.

Colorado canoe trip. 😂The fact she heard how Robby spoke to Johnny and was like maybe I'll call his mom instead and then was like ah yeah this kid going on a canoe trip with his dad makes total logical sense...like ma'am no wonder Robby's giving you trouble. She grew up on the Mississippi delta. Which is a fun little fact and makes me wonder if she's mentioned it multiple times before and if that's why Robby told her he and his dad were going to canoe the Colorado. Which is just...smart.

That is not what I'd expect to be in Aisha's locker. Let alone how little is actually in it. It's so...empty. I'd expect like science jokes and pictures of her and Sam from when they hung out more. Not one random red blob and what looks like a card with a fairy on it.

What are these schools new colors? The outside is very bland with some red, a lot of the posters are red and white but one of the kids is wearing a shirt and it's blue.

It's a Sony production so why am I not surprised Daniel's phone is Sony? Also what teen has their phone size for calls and texts so big. Also Daniel, Sam's at school, do you really want her to be texting and calling you back while at school?

oh right the 100 sausages from Cole.

I love that Amanda is like oh hey free lunch. Which is funny for Cole to have done.

Robby seeing his dad: angry. Robby's friends trying to trash talk his dad: fail and then feeling self conscious when he strikes back. Which is fascinating because I always kind of thing of Robby's friends like Kyler and his group, but Kyler and his group will fight Johnny while Robby's friends are just like ah man don't diss my mustache.

The decor choices for the Keene household are interesting. It's got a bit of a hippie vibe with wall tapestries but also art that looks like something Johnny would pick out but I guess more tasteful and a whole lot of wine. Which, Robby doesn't have food at one point so is the wine gifts from someone else that isn't consumed that frequently? Or does their money get spent on wine rather than food?

It's interesting that they make it seem like Johnny's had absolutely nothing to do with Robby most of his life. But Robby knows who Daniel is.

Oof Robby does get his wish, the whole I'm not going to school I'm done. Bud, you do want to go to school. I also do not believe Shannon is okay with it.

Both Kyler and Miguel ended up with bruises on the same side of their face. Both the left eye. Kyler's from his fight with Johnny and Miguel from his fight with Kyler and his friends.

Brucks being an english and grammar nerd surprises me a little.

Miguel speaks up to Kyler and Demetri's whole body language of like bro what did we just talk about. Even though the person they're being mean to is Eli Demetri's bff.

Demetri, how much yogurt did you throw in the trash can? Also how did you manage to throw so much in there that it got all over your back pack? It's generally in a cup. Like logically that amount of backpack coverage doesn't make sense.

The library has a 2 chalkboards in it?

Carmen taking Miguel to see the new spiderman is cute. Miguel apparently likes m&m's in his popcorn.

The marketing team they use and that tom cole uses is called VP productions. Tom Cole has locations in Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino Oaks, North Ridge, and Arleta. Which is interesting because on the Van Nuys location has been mentioned so far.

The guy who did the ad for Tom is named Bobby Lamont and it's called Yankee doodle which...was originally created to make fun of the USA so it's kind of a funny choice. Kinda shows how he wanted to hit at Daniel but then also didn't do any research.

The drought-resistant cactus 😂

The marketing lady realizing the mistake she'd made as soon as the ad ends.

Shannon not-so subtly hinting that she needs another drink.

Shannon's date is (I assume an accountant) named PJ. And Shannon actually in front of the guy is being very friendly to Johnny which is fascinating.

The bartender's name is Terry and he's so ready to give Shannon an application to work there. Though it shows she lied about it.

Robby's had mono.

He tried to build his own half-pipe and broke his wrist.

I get that Shannon's mad and has every right to be, but you'd think if you can't get Robby to do anything at all including go to school and you're at bars trying to scrounge a meal for yourself you'd take Johnny up on the offer to take Robby in. Because a. someone else can give it a try and you make sure Robby knows he cane come back to you if Johnny screws up. B. Johnny will not let those other kids in his home. c. you don't have to worry about Robby getting food/feeding Robby for a bit. Like you'd think that Johnny looks relatively good and sober and less of a wreck and you might be like well maybe but if you break Robby's heart it's over.

I guess I just think Johnny should've gotten that chance and things would've been so different.

Oh hey Shannon did get her drink refilled.

Tom Cole calls Daniel "Dan" and despite making a very targeted ad is selling and drinking boba. Tom cole has a blonde staff member named Angela.

Angela disapears into the back on the left with a customer for boba and then somehow pops out from the right to get Daniel a boba. Girl is fast at making boba and in those heels. Sorta just teleports wherever Tom Cole points ready to bring people boba.

Is Tom Cole shorter than Daniel?

Looks like it. Wow Daniel actually taller than one of his rivals? Who would've ever known?

I'm surprised no one made a joke about the boba.

The fake movie they made for Sam and Kyler's date is hilarious. Dying teenage romance drama "Let me give you one of my lungs" like I don't know if you can medically do that. It sounds like a great B movie.

Sam not just telling Kyler to stop but literally flawlessly and very subtly kicking his ass is amazing. Where's Daniel and his JERSEY TOUGH or THAT'S MY GIRL.

We will put a little note for times Johnny was right and no one listened. Ah I should've made a counter for that at the beginning. Oh well.

Kyler sitting there looking terrified and in shock is delightful.

Johnny sees a guy and his son, gets turned down on son #1 on both fronts (by son and mother) so goes tries to be parent to son #2 knowing son is excited and mom is the no.

I love Carmen's bored tired look at Johnny here

She is so not impressed.

And it's interesting how Johnny does in fact listen. Because he got the "there's no do-overs with your son" from Shannon. and is like well okay, if I don't have a chance here, which he did in fact try, he went to Miguel.

I won't fail him again...says this guy. Though I will say Kyler is not Johnny's fault.

I love that Rosa is on team Johnny since day 1. Even before she knows him. Like heck yeah Miguel found something he likes, love that for him he just needs to keep his hands up for his next fight. and then Johnny comes by and Rosa's like yup I like that random weirdo who lives next door.

Which I get Carmen being concerned makes sense and protective, but Rosa also knows everything and is protective of Miggy too.

What do you think that top room gets used for? It's like a little watch tower.

Even on low-energy not up for making breakfast Daniel still sets the table with english muffins.

Sam totally knows she's got her dad wrapped around her finger with that what no banana-rama pancakes.

Quick talking Daniel back for the win in response to don't look so excited dad.

6 trophies, a bunch of tiny ones on his desk. Clearly Johnny won more than just the all-valley. It would've been fun to have had the kids in smaller tournaments or just...other tournaments.

The graffiti on the billboard is such a...prank. The fact Louie takes it to an 11 and it ruins Daniel's day to find out who did it is just...oof.

Like Anoush clearly was like debating even telling Daniel and Louie is ready to fight and taking it personally. My dude there's graffiti everywhere.

Honestly the better choice would've been to call up Johnny and be like hey, you graffiti'd my billboard, you know that's an actual legal no no, how about you graffiti Tom Cole's and we'll call it even?

But nooo Louie's gotta get a biker gang involved. This is such a soap opera.

Louie I thought this was cute until I realized who did it which is Johnny and now it's not cute. Which fair, all he knows about Johnny is that he gave Daniel's life hell and then Daniel fixed Johnny's car for free. Not that Johnny's car got wrecked by Sam's friends or that Sam's now ex-boyfriend is the reason Johnny got arrested and his only student got beaten up so badly.

The main component of this show is that no one ever has all the facts and/or actually investigates and discusses the facts making it very pride and prejudice and soap opera-y

[riddlerosehearts]

🐍 same, there were many things i did not enjoy about HoO but leo is one of the highlights i will always treasure from it. in fact I made my OC just so I could make them be friends with him bc it's like an old childhood dream of mine 😭 it's several years late but i will do it anyway. have u ever made any pjo ocs?

I read your post and i agree with you so much!! EN did jamil so dirty and just the few changes they made to his lines flipped the entire dynamic between him and kalim and basically completely erased how tragic and difficult their situation is, and portrayed jamil as basically just someone throwing a fit over something easily changeable when it isn't. I play on JP so I was so surprised to see the changes EN made, it sucked seeing so many ppl hate my fav

oh nooo yeah if both riddle and jamil are in the athena cabin i have no clue who'd become the head counselor... this is so hard, if only we could have more than one :(. Kalim'd def be in a different cabin at least, but just him being around camp would make it so much harder for jamil to be himself, it hurts my heart. there are so many ways you can write this and it all has so much angst potential. on the other hand you're so right abt the missed leo nico friendship bc i always intuitively felt they could've be good friends without knowing why, but your analysis puts everything into words and makes me even sadder we had such a missed opportunity... like cmon rick....

idia labwear groovy but nico is actually so funny - nico ominously approaching cats with his hands out like the grabbing emoji when nobody is looking and completely unaware how scared the cats feel, meanwhile all he wants is to spend some time with kitty before the chain sneezing sets in

I love your ideas abt the outfits I think they fit super well!! if i get around to doodling the characters in a twst au i'd like to reference your ideas if that's okay with you! They'd both probably attempt to wear the uniforms as a full set in the beginning then decide it's way too much of a hassle/feels too stiff (totally not an excuse to want to draw them in the full outfit), then begin modifying things so it felt more like themselves, though at least I think they both would like the ignihyde uniforms better than the other dorms, igni's seems more casual and practical than the other ones imo. for some reason i feel like the savanaclaw colours would look good on leo, i just picture yellow being a nice colour on him - but leo in savanaclaw would just be like him stuck with a ton of jocks feeling confused why he's even there lool

also imagine leo meeting ortho, he'd be so fascinated that something like ortho was possible and be inspired to make a robot of his own (twst festus origin story?) idk if there's a robotics club but i could see that being leo's club of choice, nico maybe board games... which means he'd meet idia and azul omg, what do you think?

sorry it took me a bit a longer to answer this time. i haven't!! i don't make OCs super often in general, i don't even really have one for twst haha, but i love seeing all the creativity other people put into their OCs.

yeah exactly!! i do keep up with the JP main story updates and have read most of the JP events through fan translations, but i started by playing on EN. and i feel really lucky that i recognized the words for master and servant and could tell they were mistranslating some things, because i can imagine that otherwise i would've come out of it hating jamil for "betraying" kalim too. instead i loved him and was a little annoyed with kalim until book 5 showed more of his growth. i don't ship jamil and kalim but i do love both of them and it's sad that the complexity of their dynamic got watered down so much... i will note, though, that the app is rated E10+ on the google play store and 4+ on the iOS app store, so my guess is that higher-ups at disney thought the actual story wasn't kid-friendly enough.

something else to keep in mind with athena kids that i actually sort of forgot about until recently, is that they're all claimed from birth and therefore are pursued by monsters from birth :( and then also the fact that athena is a virgin goddess who just sort of gives babies to people who might not have been prepared to have one... i bet that would make things so much rougher for riddle and jamil. some other ideas i had are that if jamil's parent was a minor god, it could be nemesis (goddess of revenge) or terpsichore (muse of dance). and for kalim, if his parent was an olympian it would be either dionysus or apollo and if it was a minor god it'd be tyche (goddess of luck and fortune). like you said, there's so many different ways i could see their story going in an AU like this and they'd all be so angsty.

if you wanna see more analysis on how nico and leo fit together there's some stuff i've reblogged from others in my valdangelo tag! not all of it is necessarily romantic, i just basically use that for anything about the two of them--and a lot of the reasons why people like the ship are reasons why they'd work platonically as well. but yeah one of my biggest criticisms of HoO is how even though i like all the new characters for the most part, i feel like their relationships to each other were largely defined by romance (and i don't just mean the actual couples, but also the frank-hazel-leo love triangle for example) and a lot of potential was missed because of that!

oh yeah go for it!! feel free to use pretty much any of these ideas we've been brainstorming as basis for your own headcanons and stuff, i don't mind at all. and like i've been saying, if you did draw anything for this AU i'd love to see it. i can definitely see that about leo and nico both trying on the full uniform and then quickly deciding not to bother with it anymore lol. i imagined them both not wearing the tie because i just think nico wouldn't really want to and that leo might not even know how to tie one AFSKJGHDF. do you think leo would add any other accessories or personalization to his school uniform? also, i was thinking, i totally agree that they'd both like the ignihyde uniform, especially nico because it resembles the bulky jackets he normally likes to wear! but i wonder what nico would wear for a dorm uniform if he transferred to ramshackle... according to one of silver's voice lines at least, they canonically don't have one, so maybe he'd just wear, like, a my chemical romance shirt and call that a uniform lol. or keep his ignihyde uniform and confuse everyone.

omg, i love the thought of leo meeting ortho and being inspired to make festus because of him. he'd definitely be so fascinated by everything ortho could do. as for the clubs, i saved this excellent post about NRC's clubs for reference a while back, and since no other existing clubs were mentioned in either of the camp vargas events, i assume that that's all of them. but afaik there's nothing that says leo couldn't start a robotics club, and i'm sure there'd be people willing to join! out of the existing clubs i can totally see nico being in the board game club, i think that'd be a lot of fun for him.