#but 'her' ship is just all junky and been with her forever

[kissingarthurclaus]

Idk how yall feel about those ai song covers (personally I think they're the ONLY valid use of ai) and someone made one for a B1 Battle Droid and made it sing Fireflies and

I haven't talked about it much but I always thought it'd be funny if Brea had a battle droid she reprogrammed to be on the side of the Republic to use for things like spying and such and sometimes when the radio is on the fritz in her ship or Kep is feeling a bit sick from travel she makes it sing for them 😂😂 plus it'll definitely be programmed to keep its old personality so it's probably like "I used to be a commander of the most elite droid battalion!" And she's like "yeah, yeah, now SING!" And also it's name is G-1ZM0

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 17: I OPEN A COFFIN

"Dracula!?" Alex gasped with hope.

"We already have real monsters, why do you want more?" Percy frowned.

"I have fantasies too Percy, it's not all about you," Alex reminded.

"If Kelli sleeps in one of those, you just know it's going to be pink," Magnus snorted.

"Grave robbing Percy? That's what you've been reduced to?" Jason chuckled.

"How sacrilegious," Will snorted.

"Yes, because I really strike you as the kind of guy to be respectful," Percy scoffed with laughter.

Nico was to busy grinning to himself nobody seemed to assume this had anything to do with him to make a snarky remark as Alex eagerly started.

Jumping out a window five hundred feet aboveground is not usually my idea of fun.

"Really? Because you seem to do it a lot," Magnus frowned at him.

"The arch, you jumped off the side of a cruise ship, you were fully prepared to jump off that cliff after Annabeth, and now you jumped down the side of a mountain," Alex nodded along as he ticked off on his fingers. "Percy, you might have an adrenaline junkie problem."

"Yeah, the problem is to much adrenaline. Please tell me there's a cure," he sighed.

Especially when I'm wearing bronze wings and flapping my arms like a duck.

"But that's the perfect time to do it," Nico told him blandly from personal experience. "If you do the chicken dance any other time, people just look at you strange."

"Now the YMCA on the other hand, that's a universal dance you don't need an excuse for," Will grinned.

Thalia forced a laugh she didn't feel, she knew she wouldn't find anything really funny again until Percy's feet were back on the ground and she could stop imagining this.

I plummeted toward the valley and the red rocks below. I was pretty sure I was going to become a grease spot in the Garden of the Gods, as Annabeth yelled from somewhere above me, "Spread your arms! Keep them extended."

The small part of my brain that wasn't engulfed in panic heard her, and my arms responded. As soon as I spread them out, the wings stiffened, caught the wind, and my descent slowed. I soared downward, but at a controlled angle, like a kite in a dive.

A sudden memory flashed back to Percy's mind. He'd been eight in the park with his mom, who had just given him an octopus kite, with its big blue nylon head and each of its legs a different color of the rainbow.

It had only fluttered in the air long enough for him to take his eyes off and smile at his mom before a flash of lightning had zapped it out of the sky. On a cloudless day.

Now he couldn't shake the mental image that was about to happen to him next, and there was no string that would fizzle his fingers as a result.

Experimentally, I flapped my arms once. I arced into the sky, the wind whistling in my ears.

"Yeah!" I yelled. The feeling was unbelievable. After getting the hang of it, I felt like the wings were part of my body. I could soar and swoop and dive anywhere I wanted to.

"Annabeth once again saving your ass," Alex snorted. "Please tell me you're keeping a tally on that?" He obviously directed to none other than Jason.

"Of course," he scoffed as if the question offended his very principles, like he even remembered what those were. "What do you take me for?"

I turned and saw my friends—Rachel, Annabeth, and Nico—spiraling above me, glinting in the sunlight. Behind them, smoke billowed from the windows of Daedalus's workshop.

"Land!" Annabeth yelled. "These wings won't last forever."

"How long?" Rachel asked.

"I don't want to find out!" Annabeth said.

We swooped down toward the Garden of the Gods. I did a complete circle around one of the rock spires and freaked out a couple of climbers.

"I bet they spend the rest of their life telling everyone they saw an eagle soar," Will offered.

"Or a really, really big sugar glider," Magnus smirked.

Then the four of us soared across the valley, over a road, and landed on the terrace of the visitor center. It was late afternoon and the place looked pretty empty, but we ripped off our wings as quickly as we could. Looking at them, I could see Annabeth was right. The self-adhesive seals that bound the wings to our backs were already melting, and we were shedding bronze feathers. It seemed a shame, but we couldn't fix them, and couldn't leave them around for the mortals, so we stuffed the wings in trash bins outside the cafeteria.

"Where they can rot next to cat litter and corpses," Thalia shivered in disgust one last time.

"I can't believe Annabeth wasn't having a conniption fit about throwing away something he made," Magnus admitted.

"I like to imagine Rachel kept a feather as a souvenir at least," Jason said with a sad smile. He definitely liked the idea of flying, it sounded immensely comforting, the idea of lounging on a cloud.

"I can't believe Daedalus still never found a way to make those better long-range," Alex looked wholly upset at a clearly failed experiment. "That had to be his life's work, right? To find a perfect set of wings that could have saved his son. I hope he never finds out they still wouldn't have worked."

"I don't think I go out of my way to mention it," Percy's promise felt lackluster, he didn't exactly have a good feeling about meeting Daedalus again...though the fact that he felt anything at all for it was a cause of concern all its own.

I used the tourist binocular camera to look up at the hill where Daedalus's workshop had been, but it had vanished. No more smoke. No broken windows. Just the side of a hill.

"Have I mentioned how awfully convenient it is your world just cleans up after itself like that," Magnus shook his head in a kind of daze all that was so close and yet so far from the world.

"Now if only we could convince the monsters and gods and titans to stop getting the world killed and we'd have it made," Percy nodded, crossing his hands behind his head and lounging back.

"The workshop moved," Annabeth guessed. "There's no telling where."

"So what do we do now?" I asked. "How do we get back in the maze?"

Percy smiled in surprise nobody pointed out a better way back to Camp would be Blackjack, because it wasn't the way of getting there. Grover and Tyson were still trapped in there, and the Camp was already as warned as they could be. They weren't going home until everybody in the quest was back together.

Annabeth gazed at the summit of Pikes Peak in the distance. "Maybe we can't. If Daedalus died...he said his life force was tied into the Labyrinth. The whole thing might've been destroyed. Maybe that will stop Luke's invasion."

"Along with Luke," Thalia said lowly. She knew that didn't happen, but there was a tiny kernel of relief in her that Annabeth had said it.

The troubled look on Percy's face meant Annabeth might not have said it with any hope, but even the acknowledgment of it gave Thalia some sense of peace Annabeth wasn't totally delusional about Luke's end.

I thought about Grover and Tyson, still down there somewhere.

Percy decidedly did not like the hesitant moment of silence that followed that sentence. He knew Alex wasn't doing it on purpose as a respectful moment because they were probably dead, but it sure felt that way to Percy for that one, horrible beat.

And Daedalus...even though he'd done some terrible things and put everybody I cared about at risk, it seemed like a pretty horrible way to die.

Will smiled at Percy, a really tender expression Percy couldn't begin to guess at. Will couldn't help it, the only person Percy had yet shown zero remorse for was Gabe. It was obviously not common around camp to get to hear insights of what everybody was thinking, Will just genuinely enjoyed the moment of hearing the constant and probable deaths on these quests weren't so easily glossed over.

"No," Nico said. "He isn't dead."

"How can you be sure?" I asked.

"I know when people die. It's this feeling I get, like a buzzing in my ears."

"Is that where that saying comes if your ears are buzzing somebody's talking about you?" Magnus asked.

"No," Nico shrugged, "I have no idea what started that myth."

"Happens to me every time I blow my nose," Jason rolled his eyes. Thalia swallowed a hysterical laugh the same thing actually happened to her, and she didn't think it was related to this nonsense.

"Hades kids get all the good superstitions," Will chuckled, "all I get is somebody blaming my dad for their allergies."

"The real question is, do Percy's ears buzz every time somebody pee's in the ocean," Alex said saintly.

"I wish I could ban you from the room," Percy frowned at him while Nico tried hard to stifle a laugh and was failing.

"What about Tyson and Grover, then?"

Nico shook his head. "That's harder. They're not humans or half-bloods. They don't have mortal souls."

"Cool," Magnus said with a blank look on his face like he wasn't sure if he meant that or not while Percy started chewing on his lip hard.

Will still gave Nico a hopeful smile though. This was the first time Nico had blatantly talked about even a hint of his powers in his past and nobody was reacting poorly at all. If anything it sounded like they really wanted to know more and just weren't sure how to phrase it.

"We have to get into town," Annabeth decided. "Our chances will be better of finding an entrance to the Labyrinth.

"Why?" Alex looked truly dumbfounded at that train of thought. "You literally know of one in your own woods. The location seems purely random."

"Man do I wish somebody had made a map of these so we could try and discern a pattern," Jason said with a smile like cherishing a long-lost loved one.

"Dude, please keep going before Jason starts writing calculations on the wall," Percy groaned.

We have to make it back to camp before Luke and his army."

"Could Rachel even get you to Camp through the labyrinth?" Jason puzzled. "If mortals aren't allowed in, which would trump the other?"

"Monsters can't get in either, but we're not betting on the maze to keep them out," Percy frowned too though as he wasn't sure if Rachel would just smack into an invisible barrier. No way would they leave her behind in there for any reason, but who knew where the nearest entrance would pop them out at.

"We could just take a plane," Rachel said.

I shuddered. "I don't fly."

"But you just did."

"That was low flying," I said, "and even that's risky. Flying up really high—that's Zeus's territory. I can't do it.

"Important things Rachel should know for future interactions with you," Thalia said agreeably.

"And yet you've flown in every adventure so far," Jason chuckled.

"I don't consider getting thrown into the stratosphere by a ship exploding flying," Percy sighed.

"And yet Zeus probably never will forgive you for it," Thalia reminded.

Besides, we don't even have time for a flight. The labyrinth is the quickest way back."

Nico pursed his lips and wondered if Percy would accept a shadow-traveling trip from his dark creepy powers if it would have gotten them back in time to save the camp. He couldn't have done it back then, to many people, he certainly hadn't the skill for it, but the thought fluttered like a shedding bronze feather in his mind...as he next wondered what Will would say if had to experience that...

I didn't want to say it, but I was also hoping that maybe, just maybe, we would find Grover and Tyson along the way.

Alex had to bite back the comment about Percy being an optimist. Those two could be in France or Utah, or dead for all he knew.

With Rachel as guide though, there was a slim chance he would find them again, and Alex liked to blame that idea more on logic than these weirdos rubbing off on him.

"So we need a car to take us into the city," Annabeth said.

Rachel looked down into the parking lot. She grimaced, as if she were about to do something she regretted. "I'll take care of it."

"Rachel can hotwire a car," Magnus said at once with absolute confidence. Was she a runaway? It seemed to fit.

"Why does Nico feel like the only good influence friend you have?" Will frowned, even knowing that wasn't true. "The rest of you nutjobs are all out here doing every illegal, objectionable, immoral, or obnoxious thing I could name, he's the only one actively choosing not to kill people."

"That's not a very high bar Will," Nico rolled his eyes.

"And yet you're still winning," Percy shrugged.

"How?" Annabeth asked.

"Just trust me."

Annabeth looked uneasy, but she nodded. "Okay,

"Prog...proggress?" Jason tried to say. At least she didn't offer a snarky comment instead.

"It takes her a while to get there, but she does trust people," Thalia said patiently.

"Exhibit A," Percy shouted, raising his hand with pride.

I'm going to buy a prism in the gift shop, try to make a rainbow, and send an Iris-message to camp."

"Did Rachel understand any of those words?" Will asked with twitching lips.

"I'm going to buy a rainbow and talk to my also fruity friends, seems plain enough," Alex nodded.

"I'll go with you," Nico said. "I'm hungry."

It also didn't hurt to get away from Percy for a second, Nico happily kept to himself. He'd only been back in his presence for twenty minutes, tops, and already several fantasies had come true about monsters and buildings exploding. All that was missing was the slow, dramatic walk away from it all as he brushed his hair aside.

The reality looking back was much grungier. Percy's shirt had been singed, he'd had a desperately unhappy look in his eyes as he worried about his missing friends and the impending attack. There had been no hand-holding or swooning from anybody.

"I'll stick with Rachel, then," I said. "Meet you guys in the parking lot."

Rachel frowned like she didn't want me with her. That made me feel kind of bad, but I followed her down to the parking lot anyway.

"Because if Percy ever took a hint we'd all have like, half as many problems," Thalia chuckled.

"There could have been very fearsome monsters in that parking lot," Percy insisted. There really was no point in reminding his curiosity on how she was going to make that happen would never let him walk away from this.

She headed toward a big black car parked at the edge of the lot. It was a chauffeured Lexus, like the kind I always saw driving around Manhattan.

The driver was out front, reading a newspaper. He wore a dark suit and tie.

"Easy money his name is Jeeves," Alex said with a very calculating look of where this was going.

"Or Jarvis, or Alfred, come on Alex, don't stereotype," Percy snorted.

"What are you going to do?" I asked Rachel.

"Beat him up, steal his keys," Thalia said with all the sarcastic confidence she had.

"Finally reveal how Annabeth chased that guy out of the car wash, all without planning on duplicating her of course," Jason smirked.

"Kick him in the shins and run for it while expecting Percy to hotwire the car," Magnus offered. Hey, he was from New York, maybe she just assumed he knew how.

"Just wait here," she said miserably. "Please."

Rachel marched straight up to the driver and talked to him. He frowned.

Rachel said something else. He turned pale and hastily folded up his magazine. He nodded and fumbled for his cell phone. After a brief call, he opened the back door of the car for Rachel to get in.

Percy watched in sympathetic commiseration as four mouths opened in shock around him. Will had certainly never heard about this at Camp, and it made Rachel's mystic arcane powers seem even more enchanting she'd been doing this before she spewed green smoke.

"She's a secret siren! I knew Percy couldn't have a normal friend!" Magnus yelped.

"What does that make you," Percy's frown was just as confused as his though.

"I never claimed to be normal," Magnus snorted.

Alex was rubbing the back of his neck though with a very contemplative look on his face. Rachel sure knew how to get around for a mortal, and he knew of one sure fire way that could be accomplished...though it didn't track at all with her going to a public school Percy would attend...unless...

She pointed back in my direction, and the driver bobbed his head some more, like Yes, ma'am. Whatever you want.

"Would you like a space necklace from the Cupar system? Would you like my firstborn child?!" Thalia said sycophantically.

"Mock me all you like, I am this close to stealing that book away and getting answers without your help, Pine Fresh," Percy sighed.

"And miss all my brilliant commentary," she sniffed, giving him a good hard poke in his spleen just because she could. He yelped in surprise while Alex went on, for once ignoring the casual violence in curiosity if there was any proof to his theory.

I couldn't figure out why he was acting so flustered.

"It's called having manners Percy, I know that's a really foreign idea to you," Jason told, but he was to bemused himself to hold much weight.

Rachel came back to get me just as Nico and Annabeth appeared from the gift shop.

"With not a snack in sight I might add," Percy said, taking his troubled eyes off the book to throw an accusing glare at Nico. "If you stuffed Skittles up your sleeve, I hope you share!"

"Annabeth and I weren't exactly walking around with spare change," Nico reminded with a raised brow. "She went to the bathroom with that prism to get any good light and water for her rainbow and I kept lookout nobody went in the podunk, lucky it was working, one-room bathroom." Percy noticed he didn't deny the claim of stolen sweets though as his stomach rumbled.

"I talked to Chiron," Annabeth said. "They're doing their best to prepare for battle, but he still wants us back. They're going to need every hero they can get.

Percy waited for the smart-ass crack about how he and Annabeth alone were going to turn the tide of battle...but it didn't come. Percy felt a sense of pride they had as much faith in his camp as he did, though the troubled look on Will's face still promised it hadn't exactly been a clean sweep of a victory with or without them.

Did we find a ride?"

"We found an alien abduction in progress," Magnus muttered.

"The driver's ready when we are," Rachel said.

The chauffeur was now talking to another guy in khakis and a polo shirt, probably his client who'd rented the car. The client was complaining, but I could hear the driver saying, "I'm sorry, sir. Emergency. I've ordered another car for you."

"If Rachel was claiming that, I would expect to see a lot more blood," Alex said cynically with a raised brow. "I don't see her or Annabeth pulling the 'my water broke' line."

"She's an artist, I would think she'd commit to the bit more, be screaming her heart out at minimum," Percy mockingly agreed.

"Come on," Rachel said. She led us to the car and got in without even looking at the flustered guy who'd rented it. A minute later we were cruising down the road.

"You and Annabeth didn't question this at all?" Magnus asked of Nico.

"We just flew down from a window in the mountain where an emposua and Canadians tried to kill us, a mortal not asking questions why we were using his car was the blessing of the day," Nico scoffed.

Magnus sighed, he'd thought he'd gotten better about keeping up with the weirdness of all this, but clearly he was starting to fall behind again.

The seats were leather. There was plenty of legroom. The backseat had flat-panel TVs built into the headrests and a mini-fridge stocked with bottled water, sodas, and snacks. We started pigging out.

"The only way to travel," Thalia shook her head in exasperation. "You should have abducted this girl back at the Hoover Dam Percy, she would have gotten us a free ride the rest of the way west too in luxray."

"I'm sorry kidnapping wasn't my first train of thought," Percy said blandly.

'It sure was Artimes's' Nico kept the burning comment to himself, and it wasn't as painful as he'd thought it was as it lit and dimmed in him quickly.

"Where to, Miss Dare?" the driver asked.

"I'm not sure yet, Robert," she said.

"Damn, guess you lost that easy money Alex," Percy chuckled.

"I'll make it back by betting when you next say something illegal, objectionable, immoral, or obnoxious." He easily promised.

Percy sighed, he should have known he'd be the sole contender on that list. Ah well, he was used to taking the blame anyway.

"We just need to drive through town and, uh, look around."

"Whatever you say, miss."

I looked at Rachel. "Do you know this guy?"

"No."

"And here my next theory was long lost cousin and blackmail," Jason admitted.

"But he dropped everything to help you. Why?"

"Just keep your eyes peeled," she said. "Help me look."

Which didn't exactly answer my question.

"Oh, well that's a relief, I thought I was just lagging behind again," Magnus frowned.

"Not in this room buddy, one speed only," Percy agreed.

We drove through Colorado Springs for about half an hour and saw nothing that Rachel considered a possible Labyrinth entrance. I was very aware of Rachel's shoulder pressing against mine. I kept wondering who she was exactly, and how she could walk up to some random chauffeur and immediately get a ride.

"Is that what it takes to impress you?" Nico asked in exasperation. "I bet I could do that." Not that he wanted to... it was the principle of the matter...

"Do I need to add a clause about not giving said chauffeur a heart attack?" Percy demanded with a raised brow.

"Well that rules out Annabeth too, guess Rachel gets to keep this unique skill to herself," Will chuckled.

"Yeah, but Rachel ate all the peanuts," Percy grinned, "I have to say, it dulled some of her mystique."

After about an hour we decided to head north toward Denver, thinking that maybe a bigger city would be more likely to have a Labyrinth entrance, but we were all getting nervous. We were losing time.

Then right as we were leaving Colorado Springs, Rachel sat bolt upright. "Get off the highway!"

"That's better than screaming, oh my god monster, but somehow not by much," Magnus sighed.

"I was half expecting her to see vampires running alongside the car," Jason admitted.

The driver glanced back. "Miss?"

"I saw something, I think. Get off here."

The driver swerved across traffic and took the exit.

Alex's gleefully evil eyes were back on full display, clearly plotting whatever diabolical thing he'd do with someone willing to dart across traffic on a whim. It only made Magnus piss his pants a little.

"What did you see?" I asked, because we were pretty much out of the city now. There wasn't anything around except hills, grassland, and some scattered farm buildings. Rachel had the driver turn down this unpromising dirt road. We drove by a sign too fast for me to read it, but Rachel said, "Western Museum of Mining & Industry."

For a museum, it didn't look like much—a little house like an oldfashioned railroad station, some drills and pumps and old steam shovels on display outside.

"You've been spoiled by visiting all the good museums already," Thalia reminded. "This is probably their major economy or something Percy, be a little more respectful."

"It's going to take a lot more steam shovels for that to happen, I demand hydraulics," Percy smirked.

"There." Rachel pointed to a hole in the side of a nearby hill—a tunnel that was boarded up and chained. "An old mine entrance."

"A door to the Labyrinth?" Annabeth asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Why is she still wasting her breath questioning this?" Nico asked in exhaustion.

"Someboyd's got to double-check our work around there, and it's not going to be me," Percy shrugged.

"Well, look at it!" Rachel said. "I mean...I can see it, okay?"

She thanked the driver and we all got out. He didn't ask for money or anything.

There was an awkward pause where everybody expected somebody to say something. Alex didn't blurt out any wild ideas about mind control, Jason didn't offer any theories of how she pulled that off though.

There was just silence as they all tried to process for a moment if this guy had just done a random nice thing for a bunch of kids.

"Are you sure you'll be all right, Miss Dare? I'd be happy to call your—"

"No!" Rachel said. "No, really. Thanks, Robert. But we're fine."

Rachel had watched him go with a look on her face Nico had recognized at the time with no clue why. Percy and Annabeth had turned attention at once to their destination, but looking back he saw now she was regretting her 'power.' Her ability to manipulate someone into doing her bidding just by invoking her father's name. It was a heedy power she toed the line with he still struggled against.

The museum seemed to be closed, so nobody bothered us as we climbed the hill to the mine shaft. When we got to the entrance, I saw the mark of Daedalus engraved on the padlock, though how Rachel had seen something so tiny all the way from the highway I had no idea.

"A valid question," Jason promised, "though I'm over here wondering who went around and put all those marks up. Did Daedalus play Where's Waldo with a US map and throw darts?"

Magnus still took an extra second to realize he was talking about Quintus, that it was possible he'd been alive so long he'd lived in every city in the states, had moved west with every new plot of land and done this himself for his own means. The idea melted his mind.

I touched the padlock and the chains fell away. We kicked down a few boards and walked inside.

For better or worse, we were back in the Labyrinth.

"Worse. I'm pretty confident it's going to be worse," Percy said with entirely to much confidence for the guy who had lived through it and couldn't remember.

The dirt tunnels turned to stone. They wound around and split off and basically tried to confuse us, but Rachel had no trouble guiding us. We told her we needed to get back to New York, and she hardly even paused when the tunnels offered a choice.

To my surprise, Rachel and Annabeth started up a conversation as we walked. Annabeth asked her more about her background, but Rachel was evasive, so they started talking about architecture. It turned out that Rachel knew something about it from studying art. They talked about different facades on buildings around New York—"Have you seen this one," blah, blah, blah,

"I get the feeling Percy was riveted by this conversation," Jason snorted in amusement, and deeply wishing he could fill in the blanks of those blahs. He was now right along with Percy in his jealousy of the universe neither girl was here!

"I'm just over here glad she's finally making friends," Thalia said with a proud smile. She worried about that a bit when she'd left for the Hunters. She knew Annabeth had Percy, and everybody in Camp respected her, but in the time they'd spent together in the mortal world catching up, her little sister hadn't exactly given a list of friends she missed at Camp. She missed the freedom of walking around on the green grass and strawberry fields without a hall pass, and the activities, and avoiding the harpies when she wanted out after curfew to sneak down to the ocean, but just a few sparse details about her half-siblings.

Another thing she'd once resented Percy for but now found herself more than grateful to. The boy made friends everywhere he went, and his friends were going to be Annabeth's friends if they wanted to stay that way.

so I hung back and walked next to Nico in uncomfortable silence.

"No, Percy, say it ain't so. Tell me how you really feel," Nico said deadpan.

"I could have started whistling show tunes to ease the mood," Percy offered just as sarcastically. "There's a pretty wild swing on people who love and hate that though, I don't know you well enough to guess."

"Imagine if someone had actually locked them in a room together," Alex said with way to much critical thinking in the tone of his voice. "Two opposing personalities, that Big Bad Kid 3 whatever tension hitting its breaking point, they'd have either killed each other or come out as best friends."

"Isn't that how everybody makes friends?" Percy shrugged, throwing an arm over Thalia's shoulders.

She smacked him and scoffed, "if we were locked in a room together they'd never find the body."

Nico scratched at his ear and decided to keep the thoughts to himself; A, they were once trapped in a room together and Percy did consider killing him and B, they were locked in a room together now and nobody had actively started killing yet; so it really was anybodys guess how this would end.

"Thanks for coming after us," I told him at last.

Will smiled that of course Percy's first instinct was to thank Nico.

Nico, however, couldn't help a little twitch under his skin that the last person who had thanked Percy was Kronos, and didn't appreciate all the easy parallel lines he could always draw there.

Nico's eyes narrowed. He didn't seem as angry as he used to—just suspicious, careful.

It seemed to be how he'd mellowed out to now, Jason noticed. Gone was that happy little kid, but at least this quiet, suspicious, careful kid didn't seem to have a hint of homicidal return. He just seemed kind of sad. Jason didn't even remember how he used to be and he cracked a smile whenever he found the easiest chance.

"I owed you for the ranch, Percy. Plus...I wanted to see Daedalus for myself. Minos was right, in a way. Daedalus should die. Nobody should be able to avoid death that long. It's not natural."

"What is natural anyways?" Thalia said with a challenging smirk. "Fire doesn't occur without a biological factor, and yet we have Greek fire." Here Nico was mocking Annabeth for wanting to always make sense when he thought he could raise the dead and have natural order.

Fire- occurs- endless gasless fire- gas feeds fire- wait what is gas again- oh right- "Dinosaurs still exist as gas," Percy sounded like he was agreeing even as he went cross-eyed. "Hey, do you think the gods rode on them? I bet they all fought over who would win in fights like we still do. Bet I could ask my dad-"

He was forced to stop his verbal ADHD rant at the loud laughter and then chuckled along until Alex got his breath back enough to keep going. He really wished Riptide would work as a pen right now though, he wanted to jot that one on his hand to ask later.

"That's what you were after all along," I said. "Trading Daedalus's soul for your sister's."

"You know what, I take it all back," Magnus rolled his eyes, "Percy does have a filter, it's just so dam clotted with blonde hair the only thoughts that don't come through are when you won't shut up about how pretty my cousin is."

"I'm always slipping through the cracks!" Nico somehow managed to make that sound like a good thing as Will looked at him in concern.

"What?" Percy still asked blankly like he couldn't figure out why anyone would scold him for bringing up a sensitive topic.

Nico walked for another fifty yards before answering. "It hasn't been easy, you know. Having only the dead for company. Knowing that I'll never be accepted by the living. Only the dead respect me, and they only do that out of fear."

Jason's mouth ticked, and he had no clue. It wasn't pleasant, to suddenly have a lurching inside him that made him wonder if he'd ever described himself like that with no clue why...but the feeling was fleeting and didn't linger as his headache immediately overrode the sensation.

Percy was biting his tongue hard, proving Magnus's statement false once again as he stopped himself saying maybe that wouldn't be a problem if he hadn't run away in the first place! If he could use the maze and the ghosts to figure out how to get around, he could have come back to camp.

"You could be accepted," I said. "You could have friends at camp."

He stared at me. "Do you really believe that, Percy?"

I didn't answer. The truth was, I didn't know. Nico had always been a little different, but since Bianca's death, he'd gotten almost...scary. He had his father's eyes—that intense, manic fire that made you suspect he was either a genius or a madman. And the way he'd banished Minos, and called himself the king of ghosts—it was kind of impressive, but it made me uncomfortable too.

"Sorry," Percy said it like a knee-jerk reaction. Like he was still on the roof about to catch him before he fell, and yet his hand twitched in his lap like he'd pull away just as fast.

Nico knew he was apologizing the thought was said out loud, not because he'd thought it.

Which was kind of a relief. A nice feeling to know what Percy really thought of him instead of constantly wondering and guessing. It's not like there had ever been a question, but getting the answer was still appreciated. Somewhere deep down. "Uhhu," was all Nico could think to say to that.

Was Percy apologizing, saying he shouldn't come back to camp because he wouldn't be accepted? He knew that. And yet Percy made a face like there were dancing skeletons doing the tango every time it was mentioned he'd run away.

"Percy's just uncomfortable around anyone competent, like Thalia and Annabeth obviously," Alex scoffed - "Hey," Percy sighed- "We accept you Nico," he reminded, looking a touch hurt he wasn't everybody's first and last thought.

"Because you've been stuck in a room with me for days and I haven't killed you all," his biting sarcasm held no weight though, he found that an odd anomaly.

"I mean, that's a bonus, not the point," Jason snorted, waving a mocking hand at Percy who pretended to look offended.

Nico struggled to answer with the sudden heat in his face. Will and Percy wouldn't have let these guys murder Luke if he'd been trapped in here, it wasn't the same. They were kicking it in luxury survival mode and would all part ways the moment they could.

"It doesn't have to be like that Nico," Will said robustly like he'd read his mind, a stern edge in his voice like he was daring anyone to say anything now.

Yet even Thalia, who knew his contribution during the Titan war, looked a little to guilty as her eyes shifted from Percy to Nico and chose not to say anything. She thought Will naive, Children of the Big Three didn't get that balance between respect and friendship, Percy seemed unique in that. She'd certainly lived the experience in her short months at camp with everybody avoiding eye contact and afraid to step on her toes lest she electrocute them. The only ones who had never been like that were Luke, Annabeth, and Percy.

"It doesn't matter now," Nico sounded calm, factual. "I'll never know the difference, they all know so it won't feel real."

Percy went crosseyed in confusion when the Camp found out about this but Will wasn't letting go that easily.

"I'm not saying you'll be universally loved! I can't stand Ashely McNabb, I swear she has Munchausen's as much as she's in the infirmary complaining about something! Nobody is, have you met Clarisse?" He threw his hands up in exasperation, ruffling the hair along Nico's neck. "We took in Chris without question! We would have taken in Ethan despite how hard that would have been on a lot of kids who still feel betrayed by Luke and wouldn't believe some idiot would flip-flop on sides like that. You could at least give the place a real chance to prove that." 

Nico didn't outright answer. Something about having a solid future like that ahead made him queasy. He still felt that need to go into Tartarus, to find out what was happening down there, and he didn't believe he could do both without being some sort of infectious plague on the camp.

When it was apparent Nico and Will were just going to have a staring contest over there, Alex kept reading. Not that this wasn't a riveting debate over universal morals, but whoever blinked first would just ruin the tension anyway and he'd rather do that himself.

Before I could figure out what to tell him, I ran into Rachel, who'd stopped in front of me.

"That's one way to end an awkward conversation," Magnus muttered. "I might just get up and run into a wall next time it starts getting to quiet in here."

"I'll have the camera ready," Alex promised without looking up.

We'd come to a crossroads. The tunnel continued straight ahead, but a side tunnel T'd off to the right—a circular shaft carved from volcanic rock.

"Do you go diamond mining?" Thalia asked with such a horribly painful build-up in her throat she was sure that didn't sound intelligible.

"I do not," Percy said with a dull flush on his face for whom his mind jumped to.

"What is it?" I asked.

Rachel stared down the dark tunnel. In the dim flashlight beam, her face looked like one of Nico's specters.

"Which is not an effect of proximity from being around him," Will added cheerfully like somebody was going to rush and check a mirror.

Yet only Nico looked soothed when nobody moved. Will would have rolled his eyes at him if it wasn't just a touch more sad.

"Is it that way?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Rachel said nervously. "Not at all."

"Why are we stopping then?" I asked.

"To make sure you're keeping up?" Jason offered.

"Not in the slightest," Percy sighed.

"Listen," Nico said.

I heard wind coming down the tunnel, as if the exit were close. And I smelled something vaguely familiar—something that brought back bad memories.

"Eucalyptus trees," I said. "Like in California."

"How's that abdication of cough drops going?" Thalia asked, wishing to plug her own nose up at just the thought.

"Surprisingly well, I don't get the flu or allergies very much," Percy resisted the urge to stuff his tongue down his throat to gag up any smell that wasn't in the memory of his nose.

Last winter, when we'd faced Luke and the Titan Atlas on top of Mount Tamalpais, the air had smelled like that.

Percy swallowed a lump in his throat as the thought easily echoed around his brain now. He'd meant to say that out loud, to warn Rachel and Nico what could have been at the other end of that tunnel, but the words had lodged in place to just leave his head feeling cluttered.

"There's something evil down that tunnel," Rachel said. "Something very powerful."

"And the smell of death," Nico added, which made me feel a whole lot better.

"The two usually go hand in hand," Jason agreed blandly, even as his innards squirmed at the idea of Percy going back there. He had no reason to...and yet Jason really wanted him to. Any time Percy got near California, and especially this mountain, the powerful feeling of his memories was always right on the cusp of being understood, no matter how painful it was.

Annabeth and I exchanged glances.

"Luke's entrance," she guessed.

"Gods, if she starts naming all the tunnels and actually trying to map this place out again you'll never leave," Alex said with an awkward laugh that still managed to sound genuine to everyone but him.

"The one to Mount Othrys—the Titans' palace."

"I have to check it out," I said.

"Percy, no."

"Two words that have never done any good," Thalia snorted.

"So we know if she ever says Percy, yes, I'll be unstoppable," Percy grinned.

"Luke could be right here," I said. "Or...or Kronos. I have to find out what's going on."

Annabeth hesitated. "Then we'll all go."

There was a collective wince around the room that Percy didn't cause this time. Absolutely nobody seemed to think it was a good idea to put Annabeth back around Luke, and yet, none of them would have tried arguing the point with her. Last time she and Percy had separated...hadn't ended well.

"No," I said. "It's too dangerous. If they got hold of Nico, or Rachel for that matter, Kronos could use them. You stay here and guard them."

Nico still felt just as small and unseen as he had then, and he still hated himself for that hold Percy would always seem to have over him no matter how desensitized he became to his crush. He didn't need guarding! He, unlike Percy and Annabeth, had never been fooled by Luke! He should have been the one to go!

He'd been about to slip away to prove as much when those girls seemingly agreed with that decision.

A very large part of him had wanted to tell Annabeth and Rachel to hit the road. To split up. He and Percy could handle this while they went to warn camp, it would have been perfect, he could have navigated the maze just fine.

And yet, he'd been far to much of a coward back then to voice such a thing, and it never would have had a good outcome. Percy would never see him as anything more than what they were now. Maybe acquaintances, possibly friends.

What I didn't say: I was also worried about Annabeth. I didn't trust what she would do if she saw Luke again. He had fooled her and manipulated her too many times before.

"Percy, don't," Rachel said. "Don't go up there alone."

"I'll be quick," I promised. "I won't do anything stupid."

Jason made a terribly mocking scoff as he looked at Percy in concern. "You can't even ask yourself what would Annabeth do to avoid that because she's just as bad!"

"Then I follow my own instincts, they've gotten me this far," Percy said simply.

"We're all doomed," Jason did not look very reassured.

Annabeth took her Yankees cap out of her pocket. "At least take this. And be careful."

"Thanks." I remembered the last time Annabeth and I had parted ways, when she'd given me a kiss for luck in Mount St. Helens. This time, all I got was the hat.

"I guess this decision isn't that stupid," Will grinned. "She only shows you affection when she's scared, so she's not that worried about you this time."

"Yeah, that's it," Percy sighed. "So what you're saying is, I should have decided to walk in backward and pretended to join their side."

"Annabeth definitely would have kissed you again if that was the stupid plan you went with," Jason rolled his eyes.

"You're assuming he had a plan at all," Thalia stage whispered.

I put it on. "Here goes nothing." And I sneaked invisibly down the dark stone tunnel.*

"And the countdown for the next disaster begins," Percy sighed for everybody this time. It did not help what a horrible feeling this place was giving him, like this quick trip to Mount Tam wasn't going to be any better than the last time.

Before I even got to the exit I heard voices: the growling, barking sounds of sea-demon smiths, the telekhines.

Percy looked mildly offended his awful stunt hadn't even vaporized all of these things. Either that or they'd just regenerated that fast because his luck was truly the worst.

"At least we salvaged the blade," one said. "The master will still reward us."

Magnus's mind flashed to a guy who lived near the local landfill who salvaged anything of value and then threw it in the ocean where he was sure his master dwelled and would one day call out to him. He was now vaguely concerned if Poseidon or some other ocean spirit could put curses on mortals or something.

"Yes! Yes!" a second shrieked. "Rewards beyond measure!"

"I wonder if they share that with all their telekhine kind, or if they're just the greedy ones who are going to hoard it for generations," Alex huffed.

"Like Kronos is going to hold up his end of the bargain anyways," Jason scoffed.

Thalia felt a horrible feeling deep in her chest that made her want to scream. This would be the last time they'd be able to speak about Kronos in the abstract...soon they'd all have a face to attach to the Titan, one she'd never wanted to look away from once.

Another voice, this one more human, said: "Um, yeah, well that's great. Now, if you're done with me—"

"No, half-blood!" a telekhine said. "You must help us make the presentation. It is a great honor!"

"Oh, well in that case," Magnus blew a raspberry and flipped off the monsters that had nearly killed Percy.

Percy chuckled appreciatively, but his stomach twisted hard at how familiar that voice had sounded. Apparently, no good deed was going to go unpunished.

"Gee, thanks," the half-blood said, and I realized it was Ethan Nakamura, the guy who'd run away after I'd saved his sorry life in the arena.

"Is this an ad to never save somebody's life again?" Thalia asked, that sick feeling in her slowly but steadily rising up, her face growing hot. "I'm thinking about throwing my hat in with that sponsorship."

"Don't forget to do a thorough background check Thals," Percy said with a deep frown of concern at her. He knew she was just kidding, she'd no more stand around and watch someone die than he would, but it was an especially bleak joke from her. There were shadows flickering in her dark blue eyes that had nothing to do with this dark room hinting when her mind really was.

I crept toward the end of the tunnel. I had to remind myself I was invisible. They shouldn't be able to see me.

"Doesn't mean you should start slacking," Jason said sharply.

"Yeah, I was going to start singing opera music or something, I thought that would be real subtle," Percy rolled his eyes.

"You don't even know any opera songs," Alex accused.

"You got me, it was going to be Led Zepplin," Percy grinned.

Thalia laughed in surprise, though she visibly winced too. Percy frowned steadily at her, that look on his face she hated the most. It was usually the dumbass expression that meant he noticed something when he was supposed to be helping her fight.

A blast of cold air hit me as I emerged. I was standing near the top of Mount Tam. The Pacific Ocean spread out below, gray under a cloudy sky.

About twenty feet downhill, two telekhines were placing something on a big rock—something long and thin and wrapped in a black cloth. Ethan was helping them open it.

"Careful, fool," the telekhine scolded. "One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body."

Ethan swallowed nervously. "Maybe I'll let you unwrap it, then."

"Not so brave now Percy's not about to be the one to kill him," Alex frowned.

"Thanks, I feel real special," Percy frowned along.

I glanced up at the mountain's peak, where a black marble fortress loomed, just like I'd seen in my dreams. It reminded me of an oversized mausoleum, with walls fifty feet high. I had no idea how mortals could miss the fact that it was here.

"Mount Olympus hangs above New York," Magnus was the one to remind with a completely blank face, "I'm so done questioning this." However, the fact that his face still ticked proved that a minor lie and he was just done begging the world to make sense of it.

But then again, everything below the summit seemed fuzzy to me, as if there were a thick veil between me and the lower half of the mountain.

Thalia tried hard to swallow, but it felt like her body was fighting her, she could taste the acid swiftly climbing. It had nothing to do with heights for once.

There was magic going on here—really powerful Mist.

Above me, the sky swirled into a huge funnel cloud. I couldn't see Atlas, but I could hear him groaning in the distance, still laboring under the weight of the sky, just beyond the fortress.

Percy still could have pointed to the exact boulder Zoe had been thrown into. He blinked rapidly against his painful eyes as he remembered Calypso.

He wished he could somehow add a few extra layers to Atlas's punishment.

"There!" the telekhine said. Reverently, he lifted the weapon, and my blood turned to ice.

It was a scythe—a six foot-long blade curved like a crescent moon, with a wooden handle wrapped in leather. The blade glinted two different colors— steel and bronze.

Percy rubbed his thigh where that blade had once sliced right through him. He exchanged a troubled look with Thalia, the hurt and vengeance all mingled together like the forge that had done this. Luke had used that to cut off everybody who mattered to him in service of Kronos...and they hoped it wasn't worth it.

"Is that a special telekhine ability only?" Alex asked with a rather sad smile for still getting a joke in. "If they steal my weapon, will they give me back a better one? Does the stealing have to be explicit, or do they do trades for volcanos?"

"I get the feeling that sword was a gift Alex, and Luke gave it back to them willingly," Jason told him with bland sarcasm.

"Killjoy," Alex rolled his eyes at murdering such fantasies of thieving gone right.

It was the weapon of Kronos, the one he'd used to slice up his father, Ouranos, before the gods had taken it away from him and cut Kronos to pieces, casting him into Tartarus. Now the weapon was re-forged.

"We must sanctify it in blood," the telekhine said. "Then you, half-blood, shall help present it when the lord awakes."

"But he didn't even win his fight!" Thalia protested. "What was he doing there in a place of honor?" She said that like one would of a porta potty.

"They got desperate and used the only fool they could grab," Jason scowled.

I ran toward the fortress, my pulse pounding in my ears. I didn't want to get anywhere close to that horrible black mausoleum, but I knew what I had to do. I had to stop Kronos from rising. This might be my only chance.

There was ominous silence in the room for several moments.

Then they realized Alex was just pausing dramatically for effect before he took a breath to keep going. Percy almost wished he wouldn't. He had a bad feeling about this, and not once had this kind of gut-deep bad feeling turned out to be wrong.

I dashed through a dark foyer and into the main hall. The floor shined like a mahogany piano—pure black and yet full of light. Black marble statues lined the walls. I didn't recognize the faces, but I knew I was looking at images of the Titans who'd ruled before the gods. At the end of the room, between two bronze braziers, was a dais. And on the dais, the golden sarcophagus.

The room was silent except for the crackle of the fires. Luke wasn't here.

No guards. Nothing.

"It's to easy," Magnus finally couldn't help but state the obvious.

"Which has never happened in my life and I'm finally owed one!" Percy tried to say with triumph, even shaking his fist at the sky like he was daring the god of the heavens himself to smite him for saying otherwise.

It didn't exactly invoke a feeling of safeness and assurance this was going to go well.

It was too easy, but I approached the dais.

Percy sighed and hung his head. Nobody even mocked Magnus for the book copy. It was just that awkwardly silent. "Yeah, I know," Percy said. "Time to play how does it all go wrong?"

"Well, we know it's probably not Dracula in that coffin, or if it is, Kronos has allies cooler than you and I'm not going to be rooting for you anymore, so I'm out," Alex shrugged, and seeing as he had the book, that kind of mattered the most right now.

The sarcophagus was just like I remembered—about ten feet long, much too big for a human. It was carved with elaborate scenes of death and destruction, pictures of the gods being trodden under chariots, temples and famous world landmarks being smashed and burned. The whole coffin gave off an aura of extreme cold, like I was walking into a freezer. My breath began to steam.

I drew Riptide and took a little comfort from the familiar weight of the sword in my hand.

Thalia couldn't help but paint over the image, Percy's black hair turning blond, him shooting up several inches and his eyes turning bright blue; Luke's final moments. Had he walked into the room with confidence and stopped to admire his final resting place with a smile? Had he been crying and regretting this as Kronos egged on his every step? Had he ever prayed to his father for a way out in a last desperate attempt? Would he have checked every corner, hoping beyond hope for someone to show up and help him out of this one last time?

Had he lain down in peace it was finally over?

She still remembered him throwing her arm over his shoulder, supporting all of her weight as she tried to limp along. She'd gasped he should take Annabeth and run, but he hadn't listened to her that time, instead telling her, "you can live with dignity, you can't die with it," and she hadn't said another word about it all the way to his mother's house.

What had been his final thought that day? What would he call this death? What Kronos had done to his body was perverse, as far from dignifying as she could imagine.

Whenever I'd approached Kronos before, his evil voice had spoken in my mind. Why was he silent now?

"Did he finally run out of things to say?" Nico asked without hope. "They say silence speaks louder than words, is he just trying to be louder than your constant internal monolog?"

"I have a feeling he was talking to himself when no one was around to listen in Tartarus, I doubt that's it," Percy was fighting off the urge to shiver in here. His body wasn't cold, only his memory of what was about to come.

He'd been shred into a thousand pieces, cut with his own scythe. What would I find if I opened that lid? How could they make a new body for him?

"Duct tape?" Alex offered.

"I vote a welding torch, it sounds more painful," Jason murmured, and they all felt a thrill of horror as they wondered if that's what Daedalus had done. Given someone other than himself an automaton body.

I had no answers. I just knew that if he was about to rise, I had to strike him down before he got his scythe. I had to figure out a way to stop him.

I stood over the coffin.

Jason looked blearily at the book, his gaze switching from its solid black cover to Percy and Thalia for several moments with deja vu swimming on the brain...before it clicked. Percy had dreamed of this moment once. Standing over this coffin, ready to kill Kronos...was Thalia going to appear again to help get the job done?

She looked just as pale and miserable as she had back then. He understood her expression now, truly one of mourning, which really didn't click with her having any feelings other than triumph over the Titan Lord's defeat. She'd screamed in that dream...a scream of fear for what was inside...

The lid was decorated even more intricately than the sides—with scenes of carnage and power. In the middle was an inscription carved in letters even older than Greek, a language of magic. I couldn't read it, exactly, but I knew what it said: KRONOS, LORD OF TIME.

"What a boring epitaph," Magnus raised a brow. "No, here lie's dad, he tried to eat us all and deserves this. I would have settled for, in loving memory of the dude who birthed us the second time and nothing more."

"Gods just aren't that original Magnus, we've gone over this," Nico scoffed.

"I bet the Titans made it and just couldn't be bothered," Alex rolled his eyes.

My hand touched the lid. My fingertips turned blue. Frost gathered on my sword.

"Guess Jason finally gets his answer about if I can get frostbite," Percy muttered as his stomach turned. He tried to calm it, constantly convince and remind himself nobody could possibly get hurt from this except him and he was fine...maybe he'd finally saved the world with one easy stab and Annabeth would hold his hand and kiss him this time.

Then I heard noises behind me—voices approaching. It was now or never.

I pushed back the golden lid and it fell to the floor with a huge WHOOOOM!

Thalia knew there was nothing she could do to brace herself. She wished there was, she would have done anything to feel prepared for what she knew was coming next, but there was nothing. She just felt cold, and empty, and primed for the pain that every word was going to cause her next.

I lifted my sword, ready to strike. But when I looked inside, I didn't comprehend what I was seeing. Mortal legs, dressed in gray pants. A white T-shirt, hands folded over his stomach. One piece of his chest was missing—a clean black hole about the size of a bullet wound, right where his heart should've been. His eyes were closed. His skin was pale. Blond hair...and a scar running along the left side of his face.

The body in the coffin was Luke's.

She'd known this was coming all along, reliving these horrible memories of Percy's could lead to no other choice of words than those, and yet Thalia still felt that gasp of air pass her lips. A traitorous tear slipped from her cheek.

She couldn't just sit here right now. She didn't care how weak or childish it felt, a betrayal of her own body as she jumped up with bile in her throat blocking her scream of protest.

This was not something she'd ever wanted to hear in vivid detail, and her mind claimed some protection from that as she stormed out of the room without a word...leaving a storm behind.

Percy gave her a thirty-second head start as he dodged a lightning cloud to go after her. Jason muttered something about raincoats as he ducked into the nearest room, but Percy felt eyes on the back of his neck until he very cleverly and with Sherlockian skill figured out which room she'd tried to barricade herself in by the loudest bass guitar he'd ever heard in his life.

He pushed the door open, one hand trying to reflexively come up and cover his ear to stop it bleeding. Thalia was standing with her hand inside the fridge where a large stereo was blasting music, her fingers still managing to fiddle with the links of her bracelet on that wrist awkwardly with the other.**

The lyrics weren't exactly cheery either, what he could make out through the screaming.

He knew he was probably going to get all of his bones shocked like a stupid cartoon outline and his hair would never lie flat again for this, but he went around beside her and waved his hand experimentally in front of her face to at least let her know he was here.

Her mouth twitched, the smallest degree, but her brow furrowed in concentration and somehow the music got louder. His teeth were vibrating in his skull. His eardrums felt like somebody was crumpling up sandpaper in them.

Stubbornness set in though as he leaned closer and blew on her face, disturbing the hair that was swaying along to the beat.

Her eyes snapped open, electricity crackled from her nose and he really hoped she never decided to get a nose ring, but she took her hand off the speaker and it finally dulled into a background noise as his ears popped. If he wasn't in the ocean he'd probably never get his hearing back.

"What are you, five?" She scowled. "You think I'm going to start whining you're breathing the same air as me?"

"Nah," he shrugged, "I just knew if I tapped you on the shoulder you would have murdered me without hesitation. This seemed safer."

"I probably can't kill you down here," she said with the confidence of one who had really considered it. "I don't want to hear the rest of that. Come get me when you're back in the maze."

"Fair," Percy promised. "Just wanted to check if you need anything besides new eardrums first. Punching bag? Black liquorice?"

She smiled against her will he did remember the kind of candy she liked.

He had to ruin the sweet moment though with a classic Percy, "I know you're beating yourself up, and you shouldn't. You couldn't have done anything differently."

"Go away Percy," she ground out, smile vanishing.

"What could you do?" He insisted. "Not saved his life on that hill? Pretend to join his side to talk him out of this? Annabeth thought of every plan and never found one crazy enough to use, you couldn't have changed-"

"I know!" She snapped as loud as the music had been. Thunder rumbled in the distance. "That's the worst part! I know I couldn't have fixed this and I hate him and I hate myself for hating him and I, I hate that I loved him!"

She stopped with a gasp, another exhale of air that fizzled with electricity between them and made Percy's heart zap like a paddle blast he had not needed. He swatted his chest impatiently, ignoring his fingers twitching against their will as his nerves were clearly standing on end too.

He watched her turn away, her hand reaching for the radio. Gods knew how long she'd been holding all that in. He suspected she'd never talked to Annabeth about this, or at least, it hadn't ended any better than grumpy silence if they started, considering that's all he got out of Annabeth defending Luke. He highly suspected she wouldn't talk to the other Hunters about this, the boy-hating club would just take her side and agree Luke wasn't worth the wasted breath and move on.

No one who was willing to listen without taking sides. She just needed space from any judgy opinion.

"Okay," he managed before the spark from her fingers could make contact. "I'll come get you like you asked."

"Thanks," she whispered.

He got to the door, but the music didn't start again.

"Do you really think that Percy?" She asked, face still turned away. "That we really couldn't have done anything differently?"

"Yeah," he said. He didn't need to know the whole story, or if this was all he'd found out in his life and the war was still raging on. He still believed it no matter the outcome, the two of them had done everything they could to save as many lives as possible.

"Right," she muttered with distaste. "So why put myself through listening to it, it won't change anything. It only makes me hate everything I ever remember about him."

"Right," he agreed, "no need to put yourself through that."

She hated Percy for not making this easy on her and insisting she should come hear every detail anyway or ask what she was hiding from. She knew she was playing right into his manipulative hand by falling for the 'I'm only on your side' smile on his face. If she didn't find a way to stab some nonvital part of him through that Achilles curse than she'd consider this trip a failure.

"Right," she echoed as she stomped around the bed.

He stayed in the doorway with that stupid smile. "Sure you don't need anything?"

"Move Perky!"

He stepped aside with his hands raised and she cussed him out all the way back he was taller than her and yet she could still drop-kick his ass. Why was she doing this to herself?!

She felt insane all of a sudden, like she'd been trying to convince herself she could go back to the innocence of it all. She knew all the signs coming and knew how it ended, but there was nothing she could do to turn a blind eye to it anymore. It had hit, and she just had to keep going...

They came back in to see the clouds had mostly subsided to murky black swirls that were escaping and dispersing out of the cracks in every wall, with everybody having an umbrella in hand and chilling in place like this was nothing out of the ordinary.

They were getting oddly good at that.

"How the hell do you make it rain underwater anyways?" Alex asked, sticking his hand out from under the pink and green nylon to catch a few drops, watching it fall through the cracks in the floor with interest.

"Hey Nico," Will grinned, staying close underneath Nico's arm hoisting a solid black one instead of holding his own. He looked ridiculous as ever all scrunched up and doubled over, but he had a stupidly delighted smile on his face while cupping his hands to collect some. Nico half expected to be splashed, until it spilled over Will's smooth palms to splatter into the puddle at their feet as he grinned and finished, "I think this is getting out of hand."

"So help me Solace, I will find a way to drown you down here," Nico said fondly.

"You're just mad you didn't think of that joke in time Nico," Magnus chuckled, shaking out his banana yellow umbrella and tucking it underneath his feet like he was sure he was going to need it again.

Jason was humming 'rain, rain, go away,' from under his purple umbrella and watching Thalia with those same deep, trusting blue eyes as when she'd first laughed and sang that song with him on an old, broken toy she'd stolen from a traders show to give to him. Unlike 'normal kids', that's how they'd learned their ABC's and 'twinkle twinkle little start.'

The old man bonking his head had been his favorite part. He was to young to get the joke the rain would never stop for them...only to be proven wrong as the others folded theirs up too. She supposed every storm had to run out of rain eventually.

"Sorry," Thalia sighed all the same.

"Pssh, I've gotten them all ten times more wet than this," Percy reminded.

"Anyways," Alex said loudly while Thalia struggled on whether she should address what Percy just said or not. She would either turn it into a competition or try to make him hear the double meaning and while both would be entertaining, Alex decided he had to be the mature one and finish one catastrophe before starting another.

I should have stabbed him right then. I should've brought the point of Riptide down with all my strength.

Nico resisted the impulse to tell Percy that wouldn't have worked anyway. Luke might have been in a state of in-between, he'd sensed that the closer they'd drawn something was off in that place like a soul that was screaming out and would need help being released.

Riptide wouldn't have done the trick though, not with the Achilles curse already in place to house Kronos's body.

But I was too stunned. I didn't understand. As much as I hated Luke, as much as he had betrayed me, I just didn't get why he was in the coffin, and why he looked so very, very dead.

Jason felt a horrible, sick feeling this is what all of Luke's planning had been leading up to. Some final sacrifice Kronos had needed. Wasn't it supposed to be some child of the big three to bring Kronos back? Wasn't that what this was all about? Had Luke thought he'd be good enough and his death was in vain? It was a sad, yet horribly fitting ending to the guy that had started all of this.

Then the voices of the telekhines were right behind me.

"What has happened!" one of the demons screamed when he saw the lid. I stumbled away from the dais, forgetting that I was invisible, and hid behind a column as they approached.

Magnus and Alex exchanged a whole conversation with just one look. They did not like Luke, and whatever was happening in this Greek story was well beyond them to understand.

What they did hear was the mental rant Percy was giving himself over there about losing his chance and how they were going to hear that verbally with extra effects later if this didn't end well, which had never been likely from the start.

"Careful!" the other demon warned. "Perhaps he stirs. We must present the gifts now. Immediately!"

"Swords in bed, they'll replace breakfast, love, and healthcare in no time with that method," Will said dully. This was just a horrible place to imagine from every angle and between that, and actually getting some rain in this dingy place with still not a hint of sunshine in sight was seriously starting to depress him. He longed for the natural world again more every chapter.

The two telekhines shuffled forward and knelt, holding up the scythe on its wrapping cloth. "My lord," one said. "Your symbol of power is remade."

Silence. Nothing happened in the coffin.

"That was not an impressive enough speech to get anyone to wake up," Alex scoffed. "They should try it with coffee and donuts."

"Will did just establish they think their idea is better and I don't think even you could change their mind," Magnus shrugged.

"You fool," the other telekhine muttered. "He requires the half-blood first."

Ethan stepped back. "Whoa, what do you mean, he requires me?"

Alex made a really suggestive, double-clicking sound with his mouth that made them all groan in disgust and Jason threw a bit of his beanbag at him.

"I'm sorry for putting us in the gutter but I'm electing we don't stay there," Thalia's voice was hoarse with stress. To anyone not paying attention she just hadn't thought the joke was funny and was still taking this in stride.

Alex was not one of those people and bobbed his head once in apology, mock zipping his mouth shut as he continued reading.

"Don't be a coward!" the first telekhine hissed. "He does not require your death. Only your allegiance. Pledge him your service. Renounce the gods. That is all."

"No!" I yelled. It was a stupid thing to do,

"True, but ramming a bus into the side of a tunnel is still your top impulse moment," Jason promised.

"If saving this guy's life the first time didn't convince him you knew more than these monsters I don't think shouting in his face will," Magnus agreed.

"I never shouted in his face?" Will mock grinned in confusion.

Nico pretended to spray a water bottle in his face, "bad joke, bad!"

Will laughed in delight and swatted real water still dripping from his hair, which got the most mild of chuckles out of everybody else in the room.

but I charged into the room and took off the cap.

"Annabeth's going to be so pissed at you for revealing her secret weapon, waving it around like that," Thalia managed some attempt at her usual tone.

"She can't do any worse to me?" But Percy somehow managed to phrase that as a question anyway.

"Ethan, don't!"

"Trespasser!" The telekhines bared their seal teeth. "The master will deal with you soon enough. Hurry, boy!"

"Ethan," I pleaded, "don't listen to them. Help me destroy it."

Ethan turned toward me, his eye patch blending in with the shadows on his face. His expression was something like pity. "I told you not to spare me, Percy. 'An eye for an eye.' You ever hear that saying? I learned what it means the hard way—when I discovered my godly parent. I'm the child of Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge. And this is what I was made to do."

"Could a goddess have a child that could have revenge against her? That sounds redundant," Magnus frowned.

"As Luke himself has proven, we're not hard-wired to use our powers for our parents unconditionally," Nico frowned. He still felt like he hadn't found a balance between defining himself and who his dad was.

He turned toward the dais. "I renounce the gods! What have they ever done for me? I will see them destroyed. I will serve Kronos."

The building rumbled. A wisp of blue light rose from the floor at Ethan Nakamura's feet. It drifted toward the coffin and began to shimmer, like a cloud of pure energy. Then it descended on the sarcophagus.

Each time a half-blood joins us, the Olympians grow weaker and we grow stronger. He grows stronger." Luke pointed to the gold sarcophagus... Luke himself had promised this was exactly what was happening. Not one of them had wanted to see it in action, here in as vivid a detail what a few words could do. If only Alex had the power to kill a whole word, he knew which he'd start with right now.

Luke sat bolt upright. His eyes opened, and they were no longer blue.

They were golden, the same color as the coffin. The hole in his chest was gone. He was complete. He leaped out of the coffin with ease, and where his feet touched the floor, the marble froze like craters of ice.

Thalia pressed her hand to her mouth. She didn't know what she was holding in, a scream, a gasp, a sob. It didn't matter. It was staying where it was.

He looked at Ethan and the telekhines with those horrible golden eyes, as if he were a newborn baby, not sure what he was seeing. Then he looked at me, and a smile of recognition crept across his mouth.

"This body has been well prepared." His voice was like a razor blade running over my skin. It was Luke's, but not Luke's. Underneath his voice was another, more horrible sound—an ancient, cold sound like metal scraping against rock.

Percy had always heard those voices together side by side from one of his very first dreams. It still didn't prepare him to hear them as intrinsically tied together as Backbiter now was.

"Don't you think so, Percy Jackson?"

I couldn't move. I couldn't answer.

Kronos threw back his head and laughed. The scar on his face rippled.

"Luke feared you," the Titan's voice said. "His jealously and hatred have been powerful tools. It has kept him obedient. For that I thank you."

"He's not welcome," Percy managed through gritted teeth. He could feel that guinea pig in him once more squeaking in terror and telling him to run, but he easily overrode it with anger at Luke for doing this to himself. One swipe, that's all he needed, one chance with his sword before this could possibly somehow still get worse.

Ethan collapsed in terror. He covered his face with his hands.

There was no mocking to be had, no superior laughs for the comeuppance of his words. This was something no mortal should ever have to lay eyes on.

The telekhines trembled, holding up the scythe.

Finally I found my nerve. I lunged at the thing that used to be Luke, thrusting my blade straight at his chest, but his skin deflected the blow like he was made of pure steel. He looked at me with amusement. Then he flicked his hand, and I flew across the room.

Another tear traced down Thalia's cheek, and she hated herself for that. Her nails were digging into the side of her cheek and she did not unclench any part of herself, sitting still as a tree once more as if a once cursed slumber would help the pain of this all go in easier.

I slammed against a pillar. I struggled to my feet, blinking the stars out of my eyes, but Kronos had already grasped the handle of his scythe.

"Ah...much better," he said. "Backbiter, Luke called it. An appropriate name. Now that it is re-forged completely, it shall indeed bite back."

"What have you done to Luke?" I groaned.

Kronos raised his scythe. "He serves me with his whole being, as I require. The difference is, he feared you, Percy Jackson.

"He hid that well," Jason frowned. He didn't think Luke left his secret diary lying around for notes over that, but he would have liked to hear it from the horse's mouth. Jealousy, hatred, superiority could all easily be applied to Luke, but fear?

Then Jason's eyes flickered to Thalia, and he realized Luke was afraid of exactly what happened, what Thalia herself had once feared of Percy. That he would take away those most important to him. Kronos probably kept feeding the worst of this to delude Luke long enough he never realized he'd done that to himself as Luke's once best friend stayed frozen with this pain.

He wanted to do something for her, anything. He would have stolen Zeus's thunderbolt to smite this hybrid monster, he wanted to smack Percy for dragging her back in here.

All any of them could do was just get through it.

I do not."

That's when I ran.

"Character continuity," Nico gave him a big thumbs up. Percy would have assumed he was being mocked if Nico didn't look him right in the eye with sincerity. "It's like Echidna all over again."

"I've grown some over the years," Percy grinned, "I know how to pronounce Charon now."

"We all go at our own pace," Nico nodded along.

There wasn't even any thought to it. No debate in my mind about—gee, should I stand up to him and try to fight again? Nope, I simply ran.

But my feet felt like lead. Time slowed down around me, like the world was turning to Jell-O. I'd had this feeling once before, and I knew it was the power of Kronos. His presence was so strong it could bend time itself.

"Run, little hero," he laughed. "Run!"

Percy shivered, he still remembered the feeling like his blood was infected with ice. There had been no source of water, nothing he could have done. He studied his shaking fingers that hadn't even drawn his sword on instinct in here, that's how futile he knew this was. Why wasn't he dead? Of all the times he'd asked himself that, it really didn't seem like there was an answer this time-

I glanced back and saw him approaching leisurely, swinging his scythe as if he were enjoying the feel of having it in his hands again. No weapon in the world could stop him. No amount of celestial bronze.

He was ten feet away when I heard, "PERCY!"

Rachel's voice.

"What, took, you, so, long," Will swatted Nico's shoulder with every word, sadly the only available person here he could harangue for this. "Every one of you is a disobedient protective nutjob! How did Percy even make it five steps without you guys coming to save his bacon!" He was still smacking him on the shoulder with a pretty steady rhythm too.

It was light, and playful, like a kitten batting at him. Nico smiled at the casual contact and shrugged, which didn't dislodge Will's beat. "Annabeth told us to wait there, Rachel said she was coming, and I followed. It took, um, maybe sixty seconds, but it was a long tunnel and when we saw the telekhines we didn't have our own invisibility hat so we had to move slow."

Will huffed and crossed his arms, muttering about the lot of them all about to give him a heart attack.

Something flew past me, and a blue plastic hairbrush hit Kronos in the eye.

"Ow!" he yelled. For a moment it was only Luke's voice, full of surprise and pain.

Thalia couldn't stop the noise that escaped her. An eerily similar yelp of pain like it had echoed through time right to her. That this one moment couldn't have lasted forever. That was all that needed to be done to knock some sense back into him.

How awful did that make her? That she'd rather he be frozen in pain like that in his own body forever than possessed and disintegrated from the inside out as this thing took him over?

"Sorry Thalia," Percy couldn't help but whisper, moving to gently put his arm over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. Me too." she whispered, eyes on the floor even as she gave his wrist a squeeze. Being sorry didn't make it feel better.

My limbs were freed and I ran straight into Rachel, Nico, and Annabeth, who were standing in the entry hall, their eyes filled with dismay.

"Luke?" Annabeth called. "What—"

I grabbed her by the shirt and hauled her after me.

Percy's hand grasped at nothing in here, as usual, though his feet twitched and the cold still felt like it was seeping in. The orange of her shirt had looked faded, the black letters peeling. She'd gotten a new one yesterday before they left camp. The gray in her hair had stood out more than ever, her face ghastly pale like being in Luke's mere presence had been aging her faster than them all.

Had Luke/ Kronos seen her and caused a second's more hesitation? Would it have been enough to draw them apart if they'd forced them back into that sarcophagus?

She'd saved his life in that arena with the tip about Gaia, now he returned the favor by saving her from Luke. It had to be that simple. Even if she did hate him for dragging her away kicking and screaming, he really didn't care. Like the sirens all over again, he'd always save her from herself.

I ran as fast as I've ever run, straight out of the fortress. We were almost back to the Labyrinth entrance when I heard the loudest bellow in the world—the voice of Kronos, coming back into control. "AFTER THEM!"

It hadn't been about impressing Percy, as Nico had sneered and a spark of anger always easily at the surface of his mind caught to life at that moment. It had been pure obstinance of being hunted down that had made him lash out with a power he'd never known to touch before.

"No!" Nico yelled. He clapped his hands together, and a jagged spire of rock the size of an eighteen-wheeler erupted from the ground right in front of the fortress. The tremor it caused was so powerful the front columns of the building came crashing down. I heard muffled screams from the telekhines inside. Dust billowed everywhere.

We plunged into the Labyrinth and kept running, the howl of the Titan lord shaking the entire world behind us.

It wasn't until Alex had finished and silently got up to hand the book to Percy, only to sign to Magnus in very choppy and slow words as he sat back down, 'I need your help to plan the best hairbrush-themed party for Rachel' did he realize he'd gone silent and his eyes were swimming with tears of laughter. Showing anything of the sort would have made Thalia really start crying for a wholly other reason though.

He nodded and smiled back, thinking how lucky he was to have landed in here with these guys as Thalia coughed and snapped at Percy to get a move on, her voice frostier than the South Pole.

Percy of course did so without comment or question, pulling his arm away and giving Thalia the space she needed.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

No, they did not stop and laugh about Rachel hitting a Titan with a blue hairbrush. Thalia was in pain over this and there will be respectful silence for their fellow person during that.

They will, however, laugh their ass off in the next chapter along with Percy when there's been a little time to cool. Don't worry, you'll all get your chuckles while I have my emotional constipation about Thalia finally relieved.

*The one and only detail that bothered me about Chalice of the Gods. Percy's worn her hat plenty of times before and never felt an itchy sensation. My headcannon for this change is that Athena did this as a reminder of Annabeth's hubris in the hopes it would save her daughter from her fatal flaw in the future, even if it took a while to kick in when she got it back in The Staff of Serapis. Otherwise, I can't get enough of psychoanalyzing how far their relationship has come from these books to that.

**If you're curious about the song I imagine Thalia was listening to during that scene, it's Downfall by Trust Company.

[jerzwriter]

List of Your Ten Childhood Ships

Thanks @thefirstcourtesan for tagging me. I'm so showing my age here, lol I'm going to count "childhood" right up through the end of high school for these purposes. God, I'm straining my brain. lol What's sad is, outside of Jodie Dallas on Soap, I cannot even recall a queer character, much less pairing, from my childhood. How sad is that? So this list is def hetero as it comes.

This is in no order - not really...

Princess Leia and Han Solo - Star Wars: OK, this was THE couple of my childhood. I was OBSESSED and still am. There was NO better movie than The Empire Strikes Back. The "I love you." "I know." sequence. Goddamn, I've always had a type; it goes back to childhood. I'm ashamed (not really).

Lando Calrissian & Princess Leia - Star Wars: OK - this is bringing back memories - and this is fucking crazy - I did write fanfic as a kid, and it was a Han/Leia/Lando triangle (as good as a 5th grader can write...). God, I'd kill to have that notebook now, and OMG, what a predictor for DTI. 😂😂😂 Even as a tween, I knew that would have been some juicy triangle that never came to be. lol

Sandy & Danny - Grease: Some asides. I was WAY too young to be watching this when it was out (my Mom was insane). Most of it went over my head, and in retrospect, I am so anti-most messages in Grease - but that doesn't mean I don't still love it. I do. And OMG How I loved Sandy & Danny and danced around my living room pretending I was them. lol

Jessie & Angie - All My Children: I was a soap junkie, so I have a lot of soap ships - but this is one of my all-time favorites. A modern-day Romeo & Juliet, and the soap world's first true black super-couple. Angie's well-to-do family forbade a relationship with her obvious soulmate, Jesse. They eventually got together, but in true soap fashion, that didn't last. A death that wasn't really a death, among other things, impeded. But how I remember watching those summers and rushing home from school to check the VCR and pray it recorded. lol OLD SCHOOL!

Kevin & Winnie - The Wonder Years: This was the sweetest show and first love story. The ending was so poignant and probably led to my penchant for beautiful but heart-wrenching endings. I need to rewatch this sometime.

Maddie & David - Moonlighting: This one makes me sad, thinking of Bruce Willis's current condition. 😢 These two drove each other crazy, but the sexual tension radiated from the TV screen. They were the ultimate "will they???" couple, and even when they did, they still never really got it together, but that didn't mean I stopped rooting for them. Sadly, this show is just about completely not available on streaming/reruns due to musical copyright issues.

Nina Cortland & Cliff Warner - All My Children: Told you. I was a soap addict, and AMC will forever be my favorite show. I don't remember how old I was, but I remember that their wedding took place THE DAY that we went back to school, and my prepubescent little girlfriends and I LOST OUR SHIT. This wasn't the days of reruns, this wasn't the days of DVR, this wasn't even the days of Soap Central (y'all don't even know what that is). These were the days of "You missed it, bitch - so sad." And I was...I was...

Maria & Georg - The Sound of Music: OK - I loved musicals from a very young age, and I am forever obsessed with The Sound of Music. I had a mad crush on Georg as a young girl, proof that assholes with a heart underneath it all have ALWAYS been my thing. lol

Dwayne & Whitley - A Different World: It was not a pairing I liked the idea of - initially. Whitley was such a spoiled, obnoxious, rich princess at the start, and Dwayne didn't seem like he'd ever have a chance, but as time moved on, they made it work, and I tuned in each week, dying for them to finally get together.

John & Claire: The Breakfast Club - What can I say - I have a type? lol This was the iconic couple of my teen years, and if had been writing fanfic at that time, I would have had a treasure trove for them.

Tagging @jamespotterthefirst @liaromancewriter @lucy-268 @genevievemd @angelasscribbles @icecoffee90 @cariantha @doriopenheart @peonierose @potionsprefect @coffeeheartaddict2 @lilyoffandoms @storyofmychoices @annoyingmillenialnewbie @utterlyinevitable and anyone who wishes to jump in and play!

[fortysevenswrites]

SethKate for the ship questionnaire!

So...I got a little wordy on this one. Under the cut!

How did they first meet?

Well, Kate almost ran Seth over her family's RV, if we want to be technical, where she called him, "just some weirdo", not knowing that she's going to one day become...his second wife! (I will never be able to stop myself from referencing we don’t make the future, we just know it). But actual real meeting was when Richie dragged her back from the Dew Drop Inn pool at gunpoint and found Seth in the hotel room with her dad and brother.

Who felt romantic feelings first?

So Kate had a moment of "oh shit I just had a sexual awakening and I don't know what to do" when Seth punched out the doorman for being a creep (which, also, she had another one of those when Kisa had Richie drink tequila off her foot, so like, it was a VERY long day for Kate and she didn't really have time to explore any of THAT, what with the whole, vampire of it all) and Seth just had NO clue why he was so drawn to Kate during the Longest and Worst Night Of Their Lives TM.

All the same, I think Seth felt more, real, "oh shit, Kate is my forever PERSON" feelings first, during the Mexican Honeymoon and it SCARED THE FUCK OUT OF HIM, because she was taking to criminal life like a duck to water and was like, the most perfect partner he could imagine outside his brother, which then sent his brain on a tailspin because Richie was supposed to be his only ever perfect partner. Which was a big part of why he thought it was right to send her away for her safety in 2x02.

And while Kate definitely had feelings at the time, more of her feelings developed after she died and was fighting off Amaru in her body, and she saw Seth's soul when Amaru tried to kill him, and then saw all the efforts he was making to save her after he found out she was alive.

You! Made! Them! Into! Heroes!

Like, that's when she KNEW she was totally and completely done for.

Did either of them try to resist their feelings?

Hahahaha SO MUCH. Like I said in the last answer, Seth liked Kate so much it scared him enough that he thought the best option was just to send her away for her safety (forgetting that she's so fucking stubborn and is basically the human form of the "fight me" emoji--which, was probably because of the heroin fucking up his what little complex reasoning skills he has.)

And Kate definitely resisted any feelings back in Mexico because of the heroin and she was NOT going to ever commit herself to a junkie.

Who initiated their feelings first?

SETH GECKO JUST WANTS TO HOLD KATE FULLER'S HAND AND I THINK THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.

(yes, I'm referring to 3x04)

It was Seth with his actions throughout season 3, especially once he confirmed that she was actually still alive in 3x04. But it was Kate who said the words first and hit him with the metaphorical 2x4 before she walked through the gate in 3x10.

Who said “I love you” first?

Like I said, it was Kate in 3x10 before she walked into the gate. I also think it's Kate, AGAIN, post-canon, because Seth loves Kate so much he doesn't have sense, but also has a martyr complex a mile wide and is too scared to make a move because...did she mean in general? was she just talking to Scott? did she mean like love in the romantic sense or platonic???? why couldn't she be more clear it's not like we were facing the end of the world or anything.

And Kate had to be like "yes I actually love you, you donut"

Who gets jealous easily?

While Kate may have some insecurities about Seth's history and the women he's been with in the past, Seth really doesn't like other men who are closer to Kate's age to talk to her, especially at Jed's. He's not a caveman about it, but there are times where he'll get a little huffy about it until Kate sets him straight. It's not something that happens often, and it helps that Kate doesn't look like she was just recently a teenager thanks to the red hair.

Who is more protective?

Seth is SO protective. SO protective. A lot of it is because of what Kate's gone through and Seth really wants to shield her from having to deal with anything even remotely like what she went through over those two years. But at the same time? NO ONE fucks with her boys and gets away with it. Kate can be pretty vicious when she wants to be. Do no harm, but take no shit. And Seth LOVES it.

Who remembers the little things?

Seth feels like he can't afford to forget anything because of everything that happened to them since they met. While they both remember like, all the things, Seth is the ones who brings it up the most, like off-hand comments that Kate made in Mexico about things she likes or dislikes, and it always throws her when he remembers things that she didn't expect him to remember.

Who talks about their feelings more?

Kate is the one who instigates the conversations because Seth can kind of be emotionally constipated. He always feels like he feels WAY more than she does and doesn't want to overwhelm her, and Kate's just like, "shut the fuck up, I'm so stupid about you its almost embarrassing".

Who uses the cheesier pickup lines?

Seth, 1000000%, because he loves him some old movies and can't help but quote them. And then he dies a little on the inside when Kate doesn't understand that reference. But she likes the pickup lines all the same.

(Richie, on the other hand, is disgusted by them both.)

What does a first date look like for them?

Because of, you know, everything, they don't really do a traditional first date. They just go from not together (because she was dead, and then possessed) to extremely together, very quickly. The first time they go on a traditional date is probably one night on a trip they take to Galveston some months after season 3. Seth's like, oh shit, we haven't actually gone on a DATE, and Kate's like, whatever you want to do sounds nice (partly because she doesn't want him to feel obligated to do traditional relationship things since from what she knows about him, he's never been about that life), but Seth pulls out all the stops (really nice restaurant out by the beach, brings her flowers, etc) and it's awkward for all of five minutes because they feel like they should be doing traditional early-relationship date things, until they remember everything they've gone through together and Kate makes some comment about Richie which reminds Seth of a funny story about them and one of their early heists and suddenly it's all back to normal.

What do they like to do together?

Crime. They both saw the potential of what they could be as partners with the mercado heist, but of course didn't have time to think about it all what with everything that happened after, but when Seth let himself accept Kate as a partner, it opened up Los Tres Geckos to a hell of a lot more successful and lucrative crimes to pull off. Kate's REALLY fucking good at crime, and Seth loves it.

(Richie, on the other hand, is kind of disgusted by how much Seth loves how good at crime Kate is)

Which one gets angry the most, leaving the other to calm them down?

Kate is definitely the one who tends to be more even-keeled, especially with her "violence is not the answer" upbringing. She knows better than to let Seth get lost in his own head for too long, and with them being together Seth gets a lot better at handling both his anger and his anxiety.

Do they like PDA?

Seth is much more comfortable with it than Kate is. Kate is just really not a fan of how their culebra family and staff have heightened senses and like ALWAYS KNOW thanks to pheromones, so she tries to be as even-keeled as possible and PDA-free around them. Seth doesn't always let her get away with it.

(This may or may not play into the events of House Hunters: Culebra Properties Edition....just saying.)

What are their big spoon / little spoon arrangements?

More often than not, Kate is the big spoon, but it also depends on who's having the worst nightmares and when. Kate just tends to sprawl, and most of that sprawling ends up being on top of Seth.

Does one like the cuddle more than the other?

Seth Gecko is a WORLD CHAMPION CUDDLER. World. Freaking. Champion. Kate is a little surprised by it, but she's super into it. They're pretty much always touching in one way, shape, or form when they're around each other.

Who hogs the blankets?

I don't think either, so much as Seth runs so warm at night that he tends to kick the blankets off both of them and he uses his both heat to keep Kate warm at night.

Who’s more likely to initiate sex?

Seth, 10000%. Kate's always into it, because Seth is DAMN good at what he does, but he tends to initiate more.

Who’s the kinkiest?

Kate is 10000000% not aware of her kinks because of her upbringing, but she finds she's pretty much into whatever Seth suggests. It's all pretty vanilla, but there are some positions that Kate never would have thought of and she's here for it.

Who is the top and bottom in their sex life? Are they interchangeable?

Seth is usually the one who takes control of things, but the times where Kate's in charge, well, are some of the best sex that Seth has ever had.

Who likes giving and who likes receiving oral?

Definitely both. Seth does it more because he doesn't like to let Kate, and also prefers to finish inside her, but Kate is also very good at what she does, on those times.

Can they last more than one round?

Oh definitely. Y'all, despite the fact that Seth started going gray in his late 20s, Seth is NOT that old. He can keep up.

Which one is a morning person?

Kate is slightly more of a morning person compared to Seth, who is absolutely NOT, but considering their lifestyle is mostly nocturnal, but tend to stay up pretty late.

Do either of them like to cook?

Seth knows how to cook fast food-type food from his time at Big Kahuna, and Kate likes to bake more than she likes to cook. But Kate does know how too cook thanks to her upbringing in Bethel and "traditional woman things". They'll split the difference for breakfast, but most often lunches and dinner are either brought in or eaten at Jed's.

If they get married, who proposes first?

This is one of the times in Kate's life where she is pretty traditional, and lets Seth do the proposing. It's also a lot more of a traditional proposal than she expected, with Seth setting up a fuckton of candles on the balcony of their beach house in Galveston and surprising here with takeout from her favorite restaurant and getting down on one knee before dessert.

What kind of wedding do they have?

It's small, and not technically legal since they're all technically dead. Richie officiates, Scott shows up with his culebra girlfriend, and Kisa comes with a very nice gift that Seth is kind of a dick about accepting from her, because they're very much those antagonistic type of friends and he feels awkward about any sincerity from her and being sincere in return. He's also not comfortable with how much dancing Richie and Kisa do together at their small reception, which Kate thinks is hilarious.

Does anyone object to their relationship?

Freddie isn't a fan, but he doesn't get a vote. Scott doesn't like Seth because of how their families first came together (kidnapping is kind of a bad first impression, I guess), but grows to accept their relationship especially after all the efforts Seth took to get Kate back and how Seth did ultimately save Kate's life while Scott was busy freaking out in the church.

Do they have any kids?

Their lifestyle isn't conductive for children (read: crime is illegal), and also Seth is terrified by the idea of treating any potential children like his dad did, or fucking them up in some way. Along with her fears of potentially going through what her mother suffered before she died, Kate is also scared of passing on any potential leftovers from Amaru. They just mutually decide to pass on that.

They do end up taking in the newly turned culebra teenagers that come their way, because Kate has some experience with encountering culebras at a young age, and Scott is always available for consults as an eternal 16-year-old. They stay at Jed's for a while to acclimate before moving on. It ends up being a handful every year, and Kate always keeps track of them and stays in touch. It's as close to motherhood as it gets for her, and she loves it.

Do they have any pets?

One day, Seth finds an injured cat in their backyard, and just like that, they have a cat. Once she recovers, she becomes the queen of the house, and she loves cuddling with them both on the couch in the evenings.

[whatareyoudoingwithamaserati]

" We'll be royalty."

:D any ship and uh- royalty au is all i got

Leo!!!! Hi!!! I love this song and prompt so uh!! yeah!!

I totally went of prompt but like that’s how my brain works so!!!

~~~

“Hey, Andrew?” Neil calls, opening and closing every door of their apartment. “Andrew, where are—” He opens the door to the laundry room, pausing in amusement at what he finds.

“So you see,” Andrew tells his captive audience of Sir and King from his position on the washer. He’s cross-legged, a knife balanced between two of his fingers as he talks, eyes lively. “All it would take to overthrow the government is a well-planned riot, with our resident junkie being the one to start it.” He doesn’t even bother to look up at Neil, instead gesturing for him to sit down with the cats. “Sit down junkie, this is where you come in. As I was saying...”

Neil makes a noise of amusement, closing the door and sitting in between the cats as Andrew continues to detail how he would take down the government.

“The riot would work, but only as a distraction. See, while you and all the others we associate with—”

“Our friends,” Neil fills in, the corner of his mouth ticked upwards in a smile. It’s taken him a while to get used to the concept of having friends; somedays it still doesn’t feel real, but he likes it.”

“Yes, yes, our friends. As I was saying, while you and our friends—and Aaron—work on keeping the riot running, I will be breaking into the white house. From there, I shall take out the president, whatever shitbag that is, and step into the role as temporary leader of America.”

“Like you could get past the secret service,” Neil snorts, petting Sir, who’s moved to cuddle him. “They’re good at their job. Really good.”

“And how do you know this?”

“Romero and Lola had a sibling who once tried to break into the white house on a dare. They didn’t make it very far.”  Neil says this all with a straight face, not giving away whether it’s a lie or not.

“Point made and ignored,” Andrew says, grabbing the pop can beside him and taking a sip. “I am infinitely better than this long-lost Malcolm sibling, who surely cannot compare to the level of intelligence and stealth I have.”

Neil raises an eyebrow as if to say are you so sure of that?

In response, Andrew raises both his own eyebrow and the can of pop, his expression saying I am absolutely sure of that.

A shake of the head, and then Neil focuses on the pop can. “Andrew,” he says, voice filled with both warning and amusement. “You know you’re only supposed to be having one pop a day. How’d you get this by me?”

In response, Andrew pulls out the empty coffee mug from behind him, pretending to take a sip as he deadpans, “Mm, good coffee.”

Neil starts to snicker; loudly, and it only gets louder as Andrew slips the pop can inside the coffee mug, demonstrating exactly how his little trick works. In between gasps for air, he finally manages to choke out, “Kevin is going to kill you!”

“Kevin can’t kill me if he’s in the middle of a riot while I take out the president of the United States. Successfully, mind you.”

“Valid point,” Neil scratches King’s ears as she snuggles up against him. “You’ve just got to make sure Kevin doesn’t find out until the riot starts.”

“Semantics,” Andrew says with a lazy wave of the hand, putting the coffee cup and the pop can inside of it down. “What he doesn’t know won’t kill him. Back to the plans. While I am the temporary leader of America, you will be in charge of both getting rid of all the pigs,” his tone is one of disdain and he pulls a face at even the mention of a cop. “And making sure Kevin can never come near me with another healthy food ever again.”

“What if I’m the one trying to make sure you’re eating healthy food?”

“Then you will be banished and thrown to the wolves.” Andrew rests his chin on his hand. “I pity whatever wolves get stuck with you.”

“If I get banished, you’ll miss me, and that would be a tragedy.”

“If you get banished, I will jump for joy.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Neil drawls, focused on both Sir and King, who’re demanding his attention. “Maybe you’ll start to believe it.”

“I do believe it. Anyways; after I have successfully banished you, and made sure Day can never touch another vegetable in his life, I will set America free, and live a peaceful, Exy-free life.”

“That’ll never work, you do know that?”

Andrew stares at Neil impassively, his lips quirking when King meows. “See, King agrees with me. Her and Sir are the only two who know how to properly appreciate my genius. King meows again, and Andrew nods at her. “I know Neil is an idiot, but what does that make me? I am the one dating the idiot.”

Now it’s Sir’s turn to meow, and Andrew tips his head as he listens to her tirade. “Yes, yes, I do know this is the same Junkie I have plans to rule the world with, but you have to understand; sometimes he can be annoying, and that isn’t any fun for me.”

“I can hear you, I hope you know.”

Andrew holds up a finger, turning his stare onto Neil. “Didn’t your mother tell you it’s not nice to eavesdrop?”

“No, but she did tell me that the second one starts talking to a cat, something is very wrong.”

A shrug. “That’s what all of my doctors have said, but just look at me; I’m doing completely fi—good. Well. Splendid. Marvelous.” He rattles off an impressive list of words, never once using fine, just to prove a point.

Neil sighs in amusement, picking Sir up and holding her to his chest. “What was this about ruling the world with me?”

“Also none of your business. Next question.”

“What if my next question is the same as the first?”

“Incorrect. Repeat questions break rule number seventy-nine.”

“And what happens to be rule number seventy-nine?” Neil asks, petting King on the head as she demands attention as well. “Andrew Minyard gets to do whatever he wants?”

A calculated tip of the head. “Close, but not quite. Rule number seventy-nine is—and I quote, mind you—‘Andrew Minyard gets to make and break whatever rules he wishes.’”

“Because that’s a fair rules system, isn’t it?

“Mm, life isn’t fair, so why should rules be?”

“Fair,” Neil says, putting Sir down and standing up. “In the spirit of rules not being fair, I propose an amendment; rule seventy-nine and a half.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow, putting his pop can down and standing up as well. “And what would that be?”

“‘Neil Josten is the exception to the rules.”

He’s always been the exception, but Andrew doesn’t need to tell him that, the Junkie’d start thinking he was more than nothing.

But is co-owning an apartment nothing? Is having two cats and sharing cigarettes and falling asleep in the same bed every night nothing? Because it sure feels an awful lot like something, and that thought is almost scary. When nothing becomes something, how does one cope with the thought that they could lose that very something?

The kind of nothing that Neil is is intangible, held together by promises of forever and whispered truths.

The kind of something that Neil could be is something different; something tangible. It could be a lifetime, set not in stone but in water, ebbing and flowing but never quite leaving. It could be everything and nothing all at once, and the thought makes Andrew want. He wants the kind of shit you hear about in fairytales because for all the lack of romantic feelings he feels, he still wants the stability granted from a relationship.

“Rule seventy-nine and a half sounds like an acceptable rule,” Andrew finally concedes, gesturing for Neil to follow him. “Roof?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Together, they leave their apartment, Neil swiping the pack of cigarettes they keep by the door for this very reason.

If Andrew tells Neil about how they’d rule the world together when they’re finally perched on the roof, well, that falls under rule eighty.

Rule eighty: what happens on the roof, stays on the roof.

[nightwingmyboi]

I'll always remember Devin Grayson as the woman who wrote Nightwing getting raped by a supervillain and then tried to pass it off as "wasn't rape, just nonconsensual"...which is LITERALLY THE DEFINITION OF RAPE, YOU HACK!

MSL: Male rape is a topic rarely touched on in comics. Why is it suited to bring it into Nightwing?

DEVIN GRAYSON: For the record, I’ve never used the word “rape,” I just said it was nonconsensual (I know, aren’t writers frustrating? *smiles*) [x] 

Yeah there is no other word for what happened in Nightwing #93 other than rape...I can’t imagine why she would say otherwise. She did technically apologize, but that was ten or so years later. So she eventually, finally did come out and just admit what everyone already knew, but she was still way too late to actually fix any of the damage she caused with how she completely mishandled things. I also don’t think her little apology begins to cover all the issues I have with her. 

Devin’s characterization of Dick is just so, so freaking twisted to me. Really, I don’t think there is a Nightwing writer I despise more than Devin Grayson. The interviews I’ve read from her give me the creeps:

DG: The way I think about him [Dick], he likes everyone, he’s sort of a contact junkie - just this incredibly physical (and attractive) person who lives wholly in the corporeal plane and responds with - processes things in - his body before his head or heart. I imagine that he can be hypnotized by a touch the way other people can be stopped dead in their tracks by the sight of money or the promise of true love. I think he likes kicking and kissing in almost equal measure - except kissing edges out ahead because you can do it for longer and it leads to nicer things. [x]

Yeah that’s fucking unsettling. This is Devin being gross and projecting her sexual fantasy’s onto Dick. And she very much invented this extreme view of Dick as obsessively physical. Pre-52 Dick was always written as a master strategist, an unparalleled leader, one of the best detectives in the world, outside of Devin’s writing. Her fantasy version of Dick doesn’t mesh with that...Dick wouldn’t be capable leader if he’s “thinking with his body” (whatever that means) all the time. He’s survived this long because he’s intelligent and logical. Frankly, Devin’s take on things doesn’t even make any freaking sense. But it gets worse: 

DDG: I’m writing a novel for WB right now that he’s in and I have one scene where Batman has to stop a fight before it gets out of control, and most of the people he can just yell or glare at, but with Dick, he just stands really close behind him and Dick freezes. That’s not supposed to be a sexual thing (though it is kinda hot! ::laughs::), it’s an understanding on Bruce’s part that his physical proximity will speak just as quickly and loudly to Dick as his voice, maybe even be processed faster.

What the actual fuck. You’ve probably guessed it based on how that little scenario played out. Devin ships Dick with Bruce. 

DG: And now think about being a very physical and naturally gregarious and loving person and growing up with someone like Bruce. Then add in the confusion about his status - a “ward” is something you stop being the minute you turn eighteen. Having already lost his parents and then hurling into adolescence at the speed he did...in my personal version of the story, he develops sexual desire and social anxiety about the future at the same time, and this leads to tremendous confusion, on his part, about his role in Bruce’s life. He can’t be a ward forever, in the back of his head he knows he won’t be Robin forever...what is he to this man who is at once his best friend and personal savior, personal god? “Son” is what they eventually settle on, but I think when Dick was in his late teens, the idea of “lover” must have run through his mind (which means, really, as we’ve already discussed, it ran through his body).

Wild that Dick is usually written as incredibly intelligent and emotionally cognizant (was able to puzzle out Damian’s complex motivations and needs when no one else in Damian’s life could for example) and yet Devin thinks he’s not able to sort out that he’s not supposed to make sexual advances towards his father. And by wild I mean stupid as fuck. And, just fyi, Devin goes with the version of events where Bruce took Dick in when he was eight years old! So he’s pretty fucking young when this is all happening! Just when you thought it couldn’t get more disgusting. 

Eventually, much later, Dick gets distracted by other relationships and is able to ease up enough on Bruce for Bruce to relax into his own comfort-level of kindness and affection again (once the threat of sexuality has been removed) and they carry on more or less unharmed. But the relationship remains incredibly powerful and intense for Dick, who ends up feeling apologetic, rejected, and confused on top of all the other issues we already know exist between the two of them. Dick responds to Bruce - or really I should say Batman, since that’s who his relationship is with - on every single level.

So, according to Devin, Dick views Bruce as his “personal god” and is incredibly submissive to and possessive of him. That’s why Devin’s writing is littered with scenes like this: 

Gotham Knights #17

Where Dick acts incredibly awkward and “apologetic” about dating Barbara, because of how he previously made sexual advances towards Bruce in Devin’s fantasy world. Also with Devin, Dick spends a lot of his time stuttering every time Bruce is in the room, even though he’s usually a smooth talker, very chatty, and that’s because of the supposed “intensity” of Bruce and Dick’s relationship. And then there are scenes like this: 

Gotham Knights #18

Where Dick uncharacteristically and disproportionately loses his cool at the slightest insinuation against Bruce and is reduced to an angry hot head. Dick has been noted to be incredibly level headed; he’s also famous for being a mediator among the hero community...this behavior is a complete departure from the way he would normally act under other writers. Dick’s also been one to level plenty of criticisms towards Bruce himself. This sudden personality change where Dick thinks Bruce can do no wrong, where no one can criticize Bruce in Dick’s presence without him absolutely blowing up, where he suddenly can’t control his emotions over the littlest things...it really exists primarily in Devin’s writing. It’s incredibly OOC behavior and it’s rooted in Devin’s sexual fantasies frankly. 

Devin’s writing is also where Dick, despite being incredibly dedicated and monogamous in all of his previous relationships, suddenly became a womanizer. Literally, everyone was written as wanting to get into Dick’s pants: Rose Wilson was reduced to a giddy teenager because of Dick, random women in the streets would comment on how cute Nightwing was, a mob boss’s daughter who was only 15 years old was obsessed with Dick and made advances, Dick had a one night stand with Huntress because she reminded him of Bruce, Bruce called Dick “Hunk Wonder,” Dick undressed in front of fucking Deathstroke (and there was a newspaper with “Richard Wilson” on it as a sly little wink towards the audience), psycho vigilante Tarantula is obsessed with Dick to the point of raping him, the list goes on. If you want more samplings of how freaking disgusting and sex-obsessed Devin was when it came to Dick, look no further than her gross Inheritance book, where she ships Dick with everyone from Green Arrow to Aquaman (here are some quotes if you’re a masochist). And since Dick “thinks with his body” or whatever, Devin’d write him as receptive (or very oblivious) when it comes to this attention. 

Gotham Knights #10

Nightwing (1996) #107

Another thing that made me extremely uncomfortable is how Devin would always have strangers and villains, especially older men--people who Dick very much did not know and wouldn’t appreciate being in his personal space--be all grabby with him. Please leave him alone. 

Nightwing and Huntress #2

There Dick is, “hypnotized” in place by Huntress’s touch. Kill me. It is also especially messed up that Devin suddenly turned Dick into some sexual, warm-blooded hot head at the same time as she decided to introduce him as Romani. 

Q: How could him being Romani be used to inform his characterization?

It reinforces his “otherness” where Bruce is concerned in what I think is a useful, interesting way...It also presents the opportunity for there to be a slight chip on his shoulder, which maybe speaks to his scrappiness. It also maybe gives him a slightly deeper way to relate to someone like Helena--someone who is white but other--and gives the people who love (or lust after) him a potential cultural excuse for feeling as bewitched as they sometimes do. I also just love the idea of Bruce occasionally calling him “hot blooded” just to mess with him, because Dick would of course deny being so in an extremely hot-blooded manner. [x]

Her feeding into the fetishizing of biracial individuals is just disgusting and wrong. If there’s a racist stereotype available Devin really goes out of her way to make sure she includes it in her writing huh. 

Gotham Knights #20

And Bruce being a racist jerk is not charming Devin, it’s terrible. Barbara used slurs also, and was very dismissive of Dick’s reaction to Bruce’s actions...that was also horrible. It’s awful that Dick’s own family would apparently treat him this way. Obviously, Dick isn’t the only one that Devin would write out of character. 

It’s all just so messed up to me, I can’t stand it. When I first read her comics, even when it wasn’t blatant like above, I would feel something subtly off...and once I read her interviews I can’t help but notice these horrible underlying insinuations in all of her work, in so many seemingly “innocent” scenes. There are a lot of big things she’s known for (her horrible treatment of Dick’s Romani heritage and his rape for example) but all these subtle, insidious little details that people don’t even really register...they are equally frustrating to me. Seeing sects of the fandom pick up these details (like, the idea that Dick doesn’t understand personal boundaries, the idea that he’s a hot head, the idea that he’s a womanizer, etc.) when I know a lot of it stems nearly solely from Devin’s crappy characterization and writing of Dick...it’s hard. 

Q: Further to that, if Dick is gay, what kind of guy is his type?

DG: ...Type isn’t as important as passion and opportunity. Because of his psycho-sexual makeup, the other key factor would be a sense that he means something to that other man, that his “surrender” is making that man happy, allowing him to bring pleasure to someone (as he was never allowed to do for Bruce). There’s also a sense, if I may be so bold, of needing to be “caught” and “held down” - this going back to the trauma of losing his parents...being strong and passionate and heroic and virile and loving with a woman is fantastic, he lives for that. But he lost both parents. There is also a part of him that longs to be pinned down and loved a little bit savagely and hurt just enough to reassure him that he’s alive. Man, I’m totally gonna get fired when this comes out....

Literally makes me want to barf. That is supposed to be a professional, official writer at DC. Could go on forever. 

[estoniacobaltpayne]

A Life Day Story

So, I had an idea of a cute Din n Grogu thing, based off the movie A Christmas Story. It's in Grogu's POV.

I hope y'all like it lmao. Be kind, I haven't written fanfiction in like 6 years or more lmaooo

----------------------------------------------

There it was.

The Holy Grail of all the parts and gadgets and gizmos on the ship.

The chrome-plated ball bearing from the landing gear with the engraved ridge around the center had single handedly consumed my every waking thought this Life Day season, and if I played my cards right, and deployed subtle tactics of persuasion, I knew it wouldn't be long before it was in my grasp.

As I sat in the cockpit contemplating the next move of my meticulous plan, loud grumbling from down below in the engine room could be heard through the vents. Thick puffs of black smoke weren't far behind.

Now, aside from bounty hunting, my father was the most notorious engine compressor wrangler in the parsec. A few kicks, screws, and well-timed curses was all it took to get the thing up and running again.

At least, that's what he claimed.

The woman watching me, a short tempered thing my father always addressed as Dune, scolded my 'subtle' attempt at securing the ball bearing (I made the mistake of pointing at it while looking at her, a rookie mistake). She grumbled out a curt, "no, that is not a toy, kid!"

Agh! No! What she had just said was every adult's secret deflection method against allowing me the toy! Their innate bias that what is functional can in no way be a toy came crashing down on me. I had blown my chance!

Dune watched the vent in horror as another stream of "dank farrik"'s and "damn this thing to hell"'s wafted through it. She quickly ushered me out of the cockpit and down the ladder to the hull in order to spare me the assault of words ill-intended for children.

She said it was time for me to head to the small Nevarro school, anyways.

As we walked the short distance, we met up with our usual walking partner. He was a young boy with dark hair who always had the best snacks packed for him by his mother. The first day I met the boy I stole his blue cookies.

Being locked away for so long kept me from learning the basics of speech and writing, so the only part of his name, Phixlana, that I was able to pronounce, was a short Phix; although it wasn't long before all my other classmates called him that as well.

In class, our teacher assigned us a writing prompt to be handed in the next day. Whoa boy. What a drag! Homework was tiresome and boring at the best of times, but my inability to write in any language made this assignment seem impossible to accomplish.

But wait! Did my large ears deceive me?

No. They did not!

The most glorious of prompts that would bring salvation to my plight!

"Write about what you would like most for Life Day!" proclaimed the droid.

This was my chance! I would use the force to wield the pen as my sword! It surely would do a fine enough job putting my prose to paper! It would be my scribe, and I was sure I would produce the most magnificent paragraph!

"All I want for Life Day is the chrome-plated ball bearing from the landing gear with the engraved ridge around the center! Oh! My! How marvelous!" the droid would read, expressing its satisfaction with a plethora of pluses on my A grade! The entire class would jump up and cheer, as the droid at the front would suddenly grow the ability to emote and dramatically express his overwhelmingly pleased feelings upon reading my assignment!

--

Oh! Oh no! This couldn't be! My dreams shattered as I opened up my tablet! What was supposed to be an A+++ on my beautifully thought out paragraph prompt, read as a measly C+. How excruciatingly agitating! I supposed I shouldn't tell my father. I'd spare him the disappoint I myself was currently enduring. And just below! How could I have not noticed before! The inscription of, "that is not a toy, kid!" at the bottom! This put a sour on my mood that lasted throughout the remaining duration of the day.

--

The gloomy cloud only let up slightly when dad took us out with Dune and the man of whom I did not know the name of, but fawned over me regardless whenever my father brought him another bounty. With all of us piled in the small speeder, we set off in search of the finest Life Day tree money could buy.

The trees the shady merchant showed us were dismal and pathetic at best, but my father was a world-class heckler, and never passed up an opportunity to bargain for his buck. After a moment of bickering with the merchant, my father let out a curt, "deal," after the salseman offered to knock back the price and load the large tree into the speeder.

All was well! Dune and who I had heard my dad proclaim as Karga sang tunes for me as my mandalorian father begrudenlingy drove the speeder back home.

Pop! Whap!

"Dank farrik!" drawled my dad. "Piston blew!" he exclaimed from the front seat of the speeder.

We climbed out and dad handed me a pan of bolts to hold as he replaced the piston. He worked quickly. Too quickly, apparently, because as he came back up to grab a bolt, his hand hit the pan, sending it flying straight into the icy blackness that was the busy road in front of us.

Time stood still as I watches the pieces fly out into the night, never to be seen again. Time stood still as I let out some of the only comprehensible words I knew.

"Dank ferret"!

Except I didn't say 'ferret'. I said the mother of all 'f' words. The 'F-----' word.

"What did you just say?" my father asked quietly; and might I add- far too calmly.

All I could do was stare wide-eyed at the mandalorian before me.

He only scuffed and concluded, "that's what I thought you said. Get back in the speeder."

I climbed back in. Whoa boy, was I done for. I was never getting that ball bearing now. It was only moments later that my dad hunched back into the small speeder. He leaned over to Karga and Dune and told them what I said. They both let out gasps of disbelief.

--

How I loved snacks. I loved eating, and the glorious taste of all the different foods the galaxy had to offer.

But right now, all I wanted was for my underdeveloped taste buds to shrivel up and die.

The bantha scrub Dune had in my mouth was disgusting. I wouldn't be surprised if it impaired me forever in some way.

Dune shifted her weight from one hip to the other, her arms tightly crossed over her chest. "I'm going to ask you one more time, kid. Where did you hear that word?"

I had probably heard my dad use that word twelve times a day, every day that I had known him but instead of saying as such, I panicked. Blanked. All conscious thought had left my brain like it was a house on fire. Instead of the word 'dad,' I blurted out the only other name I knew how to say; "Phix!"

Dune left the room with an understanding "oh" and went to call the boy's mother on the holopad.

Poor, poor Phix.

Surely he was getting his punishment a few kilometers away.

--

Despite my slip up on the speeder a few nights ago, and the disappointing grade in school, Life Day still came, and how glorious it was! How beautiful the tall tree was, sparkling with lights and the scrap my father and I had collected from around the ship!

But most importantly, how beautiful the gifts under the tree were!

Before I could even pull one into my lap, my Mandalorian father tiredly sauntered down into the hull of the ship. I could feel the excitement rolling off of him through the force. I didn't need to see his face to know he was happy as he plopped a present in front of me.

Karga and Dune soon joined us in the festivities, the latter of whom quickly fell asleep on the floor after all the presents had been opened. Karga asked if I enjoyed the celebratory day, and if I had gotten all the presents I asked for. I groggily looked at my palms. I had gotten many a splendid gifts. But not everything I had asked for.

My father leaned forward and directed his head towards the corner of the room.

"Hey, what's that over there?"

I looked up at his helmet expectingly. Over where? To where was he gesturing?

"Yes, over there. Behind that crate."

I waddled off of his lap, and over to the crate. Alas! A small package wrapped in shiny red paper! It was the perfect size for-

No. Could it be?

I tore off the paper in awe to reveal a box. And oh! What a glorious sight the opened box was! What was resting inside? None other than the chrome-plated ball bearing from the landing gear with the engraved ridge around the center! It was mine! Finally mine!

I excitedly waddled to the door to go outside and play. My dad came to open it, but quickly stopped when he sighted the roasted, imported porgs Karga and Dune had brought over. Now, my father was a notorious porg junkie, and was sorely disappointed at Karga's loud scold for him to stop picking at the feast; that it wasn't ready yet.

As they bickered, I opened the door myself and ran outside to play. How glorious it felt to have that ball firmly in the palm of my small hands! I threw it as far as I could, and wielded the force to bring it back to me. I rolled it down the ramp many a times. Oh what fun! Until-

Oh no!

Just one small slip of fate! With the tiniest of accidents, the ball rolled over the edge of the ramp and fell into a crevice beneath one of the landing feet! I couldn't even see it to force it back into my hands!

I rushed inside to alert my father of the atrocity! But before we could go back out to reclaim the ball bearing, the unthinkable happened.

Rustling could be heard in the back of the hull; the scratching of nails against metal and loud chirps sounded as well. My father picked me up and rushed back to see what was going on. Dune had woken up, and she and Karga went with us to investigate the crime.

Oh no! The horror! A thousand and one meerkats scampered about the floor, breaking crates and most abysmally, eating the beautiful porgs set out for us to feast on. The three adults hearded the scoundrels out of the ship, but it was too late.

The porgs were gone. All gone! Not even a wing!

The heavenly aroma still hung in the air, mocking us. My father dragged himself over and defeatedly kicked at the remains of what was to be a magnificent Life Day feast. However my father, ever the pragmatist, lifted his arms and declared, "everybody up. Get dressed. We're going out to eat."

Not much was open on Life Day; just a small restaurant owned by a family from a planet far away. One that did not celebrate Life Day, something for which we were thankful.

What a turn of events! But one thing was for certain, as I fell asleep that night, clutching my chrome-plated ball bearing from the landing gear with the engraved ridge around the center, I knew it was the best Life Day I had ever had, and the best of all Life Days left to come.

[booksandwords]

Vespertine by Leta Blake & Indra Vaughn

Read time: 3 Days Rating: 5/5

The quote: Your skin tastes of ocean and sin Your lips sink me like ships In a wave that holds on so strong It’s impossible to sail on — Nicholas 'Nicky' Blumfeld

Warnings: drug use, suicidal ideology (past), death, lots of biblical references, addiction

TL:DR. This is a brilliant book that I recommend to lovers of the genre it has some unique character moments and is just well written. Things to look out for if you decide to try reading this, drug use, suicidal ideology (past), death, lots of biblical references, addiction. Some are minor some are more common.

Here we go. I have never read anything quite like this in my life. I've read forbidden love, I've read addiction and I've read back in town. But I've never read them quite like this with religion, music and high stakes. It is worth saying this is a book that starts with a bang, in the first chapter there is major drug use (voluntary and coerced) to the point of overdose and holy speech running side by side. That is how the book continues with the colliding and melding of worlds sometimes with ease sometimes jarringly as is required. The burning question of Verspertine is what price love? What are you willing to pay for love?

I'm going to be honest and say this is a book with a fairly predictable endgame for those who have read the genre at least. The signposts start appearing and seeing where it is going is not difficult. But it's not about that it's about the characters and the journey. Nicholas Blumfeld is known to the world as Nico Blue, to his friends as Nicky. He is the guitarist and lyricist of the successful band Vespertine. After an overdose on tour, he has returned to his childhood home to get clean and find out who he is clean. His emotional tone throughout Vespertine is shown through song lyrics that appear sporadically. Between the ages of 9 and 17 Jazz and Nicky were inseparable, Nicky never knew why Jazz entered the seminary, never understood a lot of things it left him angry. That anger has fuelled his entire career. Jasper Hendricks, known to the Little Heights community as Father Henricks and Nicky as Jazz is a Priest with a sweet tooth. At seventeen he followed his calling and joined the seminary becoming the Priest in his childhood hometown. His pride and joy is Blue Oasis Center home for LGBTQ+ youth. When Nicky comes back Jazz is thrown, their confrontation is in a place it shouldn't be. Jazz starts questioning his path, his choices in life. His place on the path is shown by the appearance of the church. As characters I really like them I like their dedication to their truths, their paths. The characters are delightfully different for having come from the same place. The way they were written made me want to cry for both of them more than once. Their yearning, shown well with Nicky's flirting and Jazz's staring wasn't ended at the right place. They both knew they were playing with fire, they just couldn't stop. Their coming together each time it happens it tonally perfect, each time feels right and the right one is leading. From the sweet to the hard and desperate. Some of those scenes in other books would be absolute no-goes for me but here they just work.

The support cast is largely minimal but what there is used well. Miriam and Adrian, Nicky's parents, are his support but Adrian also has a bit to do with Jasper. Within Blue Oasis Center there is Lizzie. Lizzie is a trans girl who arrives in Little Heights the same day Nicky gets home, their stories are linked. Mrs Wells is employed and the Center but also taught Nicky and Jazz as children, like most of the others in the book she distrusts Nicky and just sees him as a no-good junkie. It's good to see someone like that in close, her reaction feels realistic. The church is represented well by Andrew and Father Thomas. Father Thomas is particularly interesting, he knows Jazz better than he knows himself. The only member of Vespertine we spend any time with is Ramona a badass rocker if I've ever read one, I cannot express my love for her. Her need to keep Nicky clean doesn't just come across as self-interest which feels important. All these characters just want Jazz and Nicky happy, though not necessarily together. Everyone knows that is impossible.

If I try to write a coherent review of this it will be obnoxiously long so we're going with dot points. Of things I really liked and appreciated because there was not much I didn't.

"Mom I need help." that is just a beautiful line and I almost cried despite its simplicity.

With or Without you in virtually any setting will wreck me. The way it was used in Vespertine was perfect. Acoustic and by people with way more emotional baggage then they can handle  And my emotional reaction to that song will forever be blamed on Looking For Alibrandi.

Dizzy the cat and the chaotic humour she induces are fantastic. I did not expect to laugh so hard at the lines “She gives high fives?” “And delivers death to poor innocent bunnies. I’m considering whether or not she’s an agent of Satan.”. But yeah that's Dizzy. Oh and I love the side of Nicky she induces.

Nicky's tattoos are stunning representing his love even though he didn't know it. I was in awe of them in a way. No spoilers on those

There is as expected a lot of biblical and religious quotations and act for the priest but that in itself as an atheist is interesting.

Nicky and his religious journey. He was born Jewish, spent time in the Catholic church as a teen, considers himself atheist but might be something closer to agnostic.

I had to look up Rugelach for my own sanity. It originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and is a sweet pasty. I think I've eaten without knowing what it was called.

I probably should put it here. Nicky is exactly my type when it comes to fictional men. Slightly broken, tattooed and described as "a pretty little bad boy". Look I know my type and FYI Leta Blake writes broken well (I'm looking at you Joel).

I read on a kindle, a kindle that allows me to highlight and make notes as I read. It has been a long time since I made as many as I did for this. There are some brilliant lines about faith, love and life, just as they were in the other books I've read by Leta Blake.

I may be putting Leta Blake on my fave mm authors list I appreciate her focus on character and growth over smut. (sorry to Indira Vaughn who I will look up more books by soon)

[neeterloveschenford]

Thoughts on RNM 2x13

Howdy partners! Well here we are at the end of the season. Even though I didn’t have to work today and was able to watch last night, I needed time to process what happened. I also was very interested in all the diverging opinions last night and today over everything that happened with Malex. I am still smiling when I think about all that went down. (And I know I keep harping on this, but I am NOT a positive person outside of this show. Every time I talk about how hopeful I am to my two friends at work who are are fandom junkies, they are like Damn Dawnita, when’d you get so positive! But I digress.) All in all I was very pleased with this episode. And it sure as heck was loads better than last year’s finale. So without further ado, let’s dive in shall we!

Things I Liked:

 -Badass science goddess Liz saving the day! She’s amazing. I love her. And Isobel also being a badass containing the fire! That’s my girls!

 -Glad Charlie was rescued! At least Helena did something right.

 - Gregory Manes is bestest brother to ever brother and I would take a bullet for him. And even thought I really love Trevor St John and thought Jesse was a very compelling villain, I am glad Jesse’s dead. It was time for him to go. He was getting too comic book villain. 

 - Even though I have some issues with Max, I am glad he’s ok. I did not want to revisit the save Max at all costs storyline. 

 - Liz getting recognition for her brilliance is nice, But we know Diego shady, so.......

 - “Witch serum” made me snort. Also, Maria knows what’s what. I still maintain she’s feeling Michael’s leftover emotions from Alex’s kidnapping now that she’s not wearing the bracelet.

 - Well, it took several episodes, but Max finally was supportive of Isobel without making it all about himself. She is pretty amazing and it’s about time he told her.

 - Isobel acts all hard and tough, but she wants to find real love so badly!

 - They FINALLY faced their trauma from the tool shed! Michael handing Alex that hammer was so symbolic. Alex angry screams. God baby I wanna give you all the hugs!

 - Of course there was a dead body! Poor Tripp!

 - I am totally loving the brotp of Max and Cam. She gets so much joy dragging him. They make me laugh every time they are together.

 - I think the M!luca I love you’s were handled well. I’m not upset that she got an I love you before Alex. I mean haven’t we gotten these epic declarations from Malex over the last two seasons? I’ll take and I never look away, not really over a simple I love you any day of the week. And what’s so wrong with them actually loving each other? Maria KNOWS she’s not Michael’s cosmic love. She realizes that, yes, Michael would have risked his life to save her. But I think he would have gone to the others first and not just dropped everything to save her. And it’s not a bad thing to love someone but know that in the long run they are not the one you’re supposed to spend your life with. I have an ex-boyfriend that I still think is one of the finest people I’ve ever met and I love him dearly. But we just weren’t meant for the long haul. I think this is what Michael and Maria will be to each other.  (Ok, enough of that.)

 - Tripp and Nora (sigh!) I just love their romance. The fact that Tripp used the word cosmic just melted my heart. And the Malex look when Alex read that. I just died a little. Such a beautiful parallel. 

- Drunk acting Jenna is perfection. And she’s right! Women should tell other women when they’re beautiful!

 - So what’s wrong with Max’s heart? I want to see that x-ray Kyle. 

 - I like that Isobel ships Tripp and Nora. Same girl. Tell me more boys.

 -”Can we all cowboy up and focus please?” I love it when Isobel sasses. She’s the best. And can we have more bro moments between Max and Michael please? It’s some of the few times Max doesn’t get on my nerves.

 -How many times are the Manes/Truman couples going to break my heart? Tripp had to leave her. (SOB) He doesn’t a family without her! 

 -I really want to know about the date June 14, 1997. Why will they be safer 50 years from then? 

 -Loved the Jenna/Charlie reunion. Glad Charlie decided to stick around. 

 - This Echo fight has been too long coming. They have held things back from each other every single time they had any kind of conflict. It was bound to boil over. And they are both right. Liz was taking things too far. Max makes decisions without consulting anyone else. They both needed to be called out on their behaviors.

 - I adore the sisters Ortecho. I would watch a whole show just about Liz and Rosa. (With plenty of Arturo moments.)

 - Finally some Kylex! It was flawless. It gave us hope for Flint’s redemption and acknowledged how Alex has forgiven Kyle. In Alex’s mind, if Kyle can change, then anyone can. Give me more of them in season 3 please and thank you.

- Alex’s song! It just gutted me. Tyler is so incredibly talented. And the look on Michael’s face when he realized it was Alex singing. Then when Alex saw Michael. These two goobers! Ugh! (Ok I’m going to delve into more of this at the end.  I have a lot to say.)

 - Rosa telling Helena loves her but she needs to leave them alone was beautiful. This is Rosa growing up. She’s not the angry teenager anymore.

 - “We are sick of being pissed at you for being obnoxiously yourself.” Same Michael, same.

 - I’m not sure if I like or don’t like Max 1.0. Although I will be obnoxiously saying Howdy partner from now on. And I want to know about him being the stowaway. (Hey, we got an answer to something!)

Things I Didn’t Like:

 - Gotta say I didn’t enjoy Crash Con. Glad it was over and done with quick.

 - So did anyone wonder what was actually wrong with Maria at the hospital? Michael said she had surgery, but for what? I’m assuming it was for internal bleeding, but most people don’t just spontaneously start bleeding internally. 

 - Of course Jesse gets to die a hero. But who covered it up? Was it Alex? Is there someone else involved int PS that we don’t know about yet?

 - Diego, you are just shady and I don’t like you. I was rooting for you too. Shame.

- Is it bad that I really don’t care about Steph? It is? Guess I’m resigned to just being bad. Cause I just don’t care. Congratulations you didn’t die. 

 - Max! You couldn’t have just taken everything, or called Liz or even Alex? Wrong move dude. Seriously dude.

 - That’s the building you blew up? I am not impressed. That was a waste of f/x.

 - No romantic gesture from Max to try to get Liz to stay. Just goes to show how off the deep end Max really is at this point. 

 - The stowaway’s beard upsets me. 

Malex:

 Ok here’s where I’m going to dive into the deep end of my Malex feels. First of all, I did not take Alex performing as his big love declaration. He didn’t tell most people that he was going to sing. Even Kyle didn’t know. He had no idea that Michael was going to walk in at that moment. And since it’s been at least a week, maybe more, since Crash Con, I think Alex and Forrest were already seeing each other casually. Obviously, since Forrest at least knew he was singing, they have had some kind of contact. And Michael’s reaction was probably the most Michael thing he’s done all season. Michael sacrifices himself for other people’s happiness. When he looked over and saw the besotted look on Forrest’s face, he knew that Forrest could give Alex something in that moment that Michael couldn’t. Stability. Michael is just now realizing that he can’t blame all of their problems on Alex walking away or the despicable acts of the Manes family. He knows that if he’s going to good for the one person in this world that he wants to be good for, then he’s going to have to work to get there. He can’t hide in his relationship with Maria anymore. He has no choice but to face his problems head on and change for the better. I’ve seen so many people upset that they didn’t have a conversation after the song, but did they need to? They have hashed this out over and over again almost every episode this season. Despite talking in past tense, they know how much they love each other. Michael built a bomb that would kill himself and every alien on the planet just to save Alex. Alex wrote and performed a freaking love song about Michael. Michael knows that he has to deal with his traumas before he can be with Alex. But for the first time in forever he’s confident that they will find their way back to each other. And he would be a complete hypocrite if he asked Alex to wait for him and not get involved with Forrest. Michael wasn’t exactly celibate during the lost years. Also, I don’t think we’re going to get the big love triangle that we got this season. I don’t think Forrest and Alex are going to be a super heavy romance. As far as we know Forrest isn’t looking to lose himself in a relationship like Michael and frankly Maria were. So I’m not worried about them at all. And with a big time jump to deal with Covid-19, they can even have the relationship end organically. Alex could get deployed somewhere and they realize that they are better off as friend. Then Alex can come back and Michael will have worked on being a better person and they can start over again. And it will be glorious, because once those two work it out, that’s it. They are going straight into domestic bliss. They might even start a little dad band!

So that’s all I’ve got for now. I have many more thoughts, but this is probably the longest review yet, so I will be back with more theories and such at a later date. I am planning on a little project for the lengthy hiatus where I write my thoughts on each individual character. Some will be short because they are minor characters without much backstory. Some will be huge and no one will finish it because Dawnita says way too much about certain things! But until then, I hope you all stay safe and healthy. Till later my lovlies!

[rockislandadultreads]

The Wall Street Journal’s Best Science Fiction Books of 2020

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

When people go missing in the sleepy town of Smith's Hollow, the only clue to their fate comes when a teenager starts having terrifying visions, in a chilling horror novel from national bestselling author Christina Henry. When the bodies of two girls are found torn apart in the town of Smiths Hollow, Lauren is surprised, but she also expects that the police won't find the killer. After all, the year before her father's body was found with his heart missing, and since then everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than in spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids. So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can't just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to answers, she realizes that the foundation of her seemingly normal town might be rotten at the center. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.

The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal continues her award-winning Lady Astronaut series, which began with The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky, with The Relentless Moon. The Earth is coming to the boiling point as the climate disaster of the Meteor strike becomes more and more clear, but the political situation is already overheated. Riots and sabotage plague the space program. The IAC's goal of getting as many people as possible off Earth before it becomes uninhabitable is being threatened. Elma York is on her way to Mars, but the Moon colony is still being established. Her friend and fellow Lady Astronaut Nicole Wargin is thrilled to be one of those pioneer settlers, using her considerable flight and political skills to keep the program on track. But she is less happy that her husband, the Governor of Kansas, is considering a run for President.

Ballistic Kiss by Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim is back in Los Angeles and kicking more supernatural ass in this inventive, high-octane page-turner—the next to last volume in the popular and acclaimed fantasy adventure series from New York Times bestselling author Richard Kadrey. As the battle between warring angels continues, James Stark is focused on seemingly simpler matters now that he’s resurfaced on earth: an invasion of ghosts. L.A.’s Little Cairo neighborhood has suddenly been overrun by violent spirits, and Thomas Abbott knows if anyone can figure out why they’ve appeared—and how to get rid of them—it’s Stark. Armed with the Room of Thirteen Doors, Stark quickly learns that the answer may reach back to the 1970s and the unsolved murder of small-time actor, Chris Stein. As he begins to dig into the cold case, another area of Stark’s life takes an unexpected turn when he becomes entangled with Janet, a woman he saved during the High Plains Drifter zombie attack. Janet’s brush with the living dead hasn’t quenched her thirst for danger. She’s an adrenaline junkie and a member of The Zero Lodge—a club that promises “there’s zero chance you’ll get out alive.” The Lodge attracts thrill seekers who flock to perilous events such as night walks through the LA Zoo—with its deadliest animals uncaged. Joining the lodge to be with Janet, Stark makes a pair of crucial discoveries that could decide the fate of LA and Heaven itself. To prevent the Little Cairo haunting from consuming the city, Stark must piece together the connections between the Lodge and a missing angel last seen in a Hollywood porn palace. But while he may dispatch the ghosts, Stark knows that without his help, the bloody war in Heaven could rage forever.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds. Now she's awakened a nightmare. During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move. As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope...

The Shaman of Karres by Eric Flint, Dave Freer

Captain Pausert just can’t catch a break!

First, he became the mortal enemy of his fiancée, his home planet, the Empire—and even the Worm World, the darkest threat to mankind in all of space. All because he helped rescue three slave children from their masters. Of course, these three young women were the universally feared Witches of Karres—but how was he to know that?!

And after he defeated the Worm World (with the help of the witches, of course), the Empress herself had sent him on a secret mission to stop a nanite plague that was raging across the galaxy. But an enemy had somehow convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, so after a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs, Puasert and the witches of Karres joined an interstellar traveling circus in order to save the galaxy.

Now Pausert and the witches of Karres roam the spaceways again, this time dealing with a slaver-culture that somehow makes slaves happy to be in servitude, and a quest for a long-lost alien pet, during which the youngest witch, The Leewit, begins to come to her full powers as a healer—and of course generates chaos in her wake.

For Pausert, it’s all in a day’s work. But would it be too much to ask for a vacation?

[chxoticmuses]

ULTIMATE SHIP MEME

Status: ACCEPTING!!

@themercifulmother / @streetsofsecrets said: botthhh of our ships

General:

Rate the Ship -   Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - Please, she’s attached to him forever now.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - From the jump Bella already like Ben a lot, but it wasn’t until a couple months in when they started dating did those feelings intensify and she found herself falling in love with him.

How was their first kiss? - It wasn’t much; it was a quick peck outside of Bella’s apartment complex after they came back from the movie theater, but it activated a lot of emotions for her that she didn’t even know were there. Definitely one she won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Though Bella was the one who brought up marriage, Ben was the one who proposed to her.

Who is the best man/men? - Probably Gideon!

Who is the bride’s maid(s)? - Whatever friends or coworkers that Bella can round up.

Who did the most planning? - Can I pull a wildcard and say June? She was basically their official unofficial wedding planner.

Who stressed the most? - Both of them were laidback about everything. The decorations and traditions were just a bonus. At the end of the day they were just focused on getting married.

How fancy was the ceremony? - Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 (it wasn’t anything too fancy, but it was decorated nicely)| 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Hmmm, I don’t think they had anyone in particular who wasn’t invited.

Sex:

Who is on top? - Bella. She prefers positions where she’s on top.

Who is the one to instigate things? - Bella technically? Ben will do something, Bella will cling to it, and then start initiating things.

How healthy is their sex life? - Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 (it’s really healthy! They’re always trying out new things and it’s never awkward between them) | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys (she’s always bringing new things to him to try out) | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

How long do they normally last? - At least an hour and most of that time is spent doing foreplay.

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - Always. Sex is always an enjoyable experience for the both of them.

How rough are they in bed? - Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 (it depends on their moods and wants for the night) | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - One!

How many children will they adopt? -One here as well

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Bella frames Ben with diaper duty all the time.

Who is the stricter parent? - This is hard because the both of them are just so laidback and I feel like Delilah and Audell hardly have moments when they need to be strict, but if I had to pick one I would say Bella. She comes off as more assertive than Ben.

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Neither LMAO. They let their kids experiment around with all types of things and even join them from time to time. Of course, if it’s something a little too dangerous then they’ll stop it.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Please, they both have terrible memories. If anything, the kids have to remind them.

Who is the more loved parent? - This question if TRIFLING!!!

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? - Bella only goes to be nosey and hear the neighborhood gossip.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Both of them. They’re so emotional over their kids.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Because she’s been arrested before and she knows how uncomfortable jail can be even if you’re only there for like a week, Bella is quick to hop up and go bail them out.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Cooking was never her forte, but Bella tries to cook every now and then.

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Bella. She’ll try new food, but very hesitantly.

Who does the grocery shopping? - They do it together and you betcha they act a fool at the grocery store.

How often do they bake desserts? - Not very often, but when they do the whole family comes together and helps.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - I feel like Ben would switch it up and surprise her.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Bella. It’s easier and sometimes she doesn’t feel like cooking.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Just because he’s clumsier than she is, it’s definitely Ben.

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Their room is hardly dirty. Mostly just junky and filled with a lot of unnecessary things, but sometimes Bella will pick certain things up and make it tidy if she’s not doing anything.

Who is really against chores? - Both of them honestly.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Most of the pets that they have technically belong to Bella, so she cleans up after them because she feels like it’s her responsibility.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Ben’s trifling self. The cats always snitch on him.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - The both of them? They don’t really have guests over often, they’re always the ones traveling to other people’s houses.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Bella! She just has that type of luck 😎

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Ben! Bella takes most of her showers before work in the morning, so she doesn’t have the energy to stay in there long.

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - That’s something they do together.

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - All the time!! Especially when Halloween rolls around.

What are their goals for the relationship? - Their main goal has always just been to build a happy and healthy relationship with each other that’s not nearly as trifling as the other ones they’ve been in.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - On days when she’s off Bella sleeps in sleeps in.

Who plays the most pranks? - Bella!! She plays around a lot, especially when she was pregnant. She gives poor Ben a heart attack nearly once a month.

[cerulean-seeker]

Impromptu Thunderrose Ramble Time

I'm very tired but I gotta get this off my chest. I love tc and rosie together. They're my otp. They're so perfectly opposite that they're attracted to their differences! Thunder loves Rosanna's pure headedness and warm bubbly attitude, and she loves his rough features and gruff sounding voice- how he's tough on the surface and soft deep down. He's big, she's small; he's quite and reserved, she's a social butterfly; he's grumpy, she's sunshine; he's thick and blocky, she's smooth and curvy; she sneezes like a kitten, he sneezes like an explosion; he struggles with feelings of destiny, she struggles with working too hard to be good.

And then the similarities! They both love animals; they enjoy movies; they love each other's smiles and laughs; they both love to go out and fly, and travel to exotic places; they're both lightweights; they're both junk food junkies (I'll stop calling them out XD); they both worry about each other; they both want the absolute best for each other; they love each other unconditionally!!

And Thundercracker, oh boy Thundercracker, he's turned into a complete lovestruck puppy over her-- that little pink minibot who got past every one of his walls and defenses. Who had him questioning if he's actually capable of having these feelings. With her charm, her cute little voice, her good spark, and her excellent baking skills, she managed to win over this tired bird's spark. Rosie is his whole world. His light in the darkness. Once he was blind to love and now he's given his whole self to loving that femme. 

Of course, he's still unsure about a lot of things. He's still learning to flirt (and getting better, despite how awkward he sometimes feels when he does it); he's confused about whether he wants kids; he struggles with his depression and self loathing, and trying not to let it get in the way to of their relationship. With every new step, he's worried if he can be what she needs him to be, because he's never felt this kind of love before, and this is his first and only romantic relationship. Will he end up hurting or disappointing her? Will be a bad sire? A bad Conjunx? Will he fall out of love for her one day? 

And Rosie, she just- she listens to all his concerns and woes without judgement, STILL loves and wants to be with him, and is there to support him all the way. And it baffles him!! That he hadn't chased her away! This is why he's so grateful for her. That makes him love her even more. She doesn't care about his past or creation or anything like that. She just stays!!

And when Rosie gets sad, Thunder goes into red alert panic mode. No, the wife cannot be sad! But what should he do?? But he tries so hard to step forward and be there for her, like she has been for him. Even if ts just sending supportive feelings through the bond, he does his best. And he's so grateful that it works because it just matters so much to him that he be the best husband he can be!!! Because he LOVES HER SO FREAKING MUCH!!!

They're otp, they really are, I just love them. I mean, maybe TC ventures into idolizing territory, and kinda puts her on a pedestal sometimes, but this is such a pure ship. Rosie mun tells me all the things Rosanna loves about TC and it's practically everything. Even how he snores, how he frequently chews with his mouth open, how scruffy his face and hair is in human form-- it's all cute to her!! No matter what his weight is, he's cute. She keeps giggling at his hiccups and he doesn't get it?? And mun tells me that no matter what feature we're talking about, she says Rosie thinks it's cute because it's HIM. Everything about TC is wonderful because it belongs to TC! I wish he'd understand that sooner, cuz that's exactly how he is with Rosanna's features. 

Even though I can come up with angsty AUs for them, I really believe these two will stay together forever. And they'll be dorky parents together and just be wonderful dorks for the rest of their lives. Their love will never die and it is strong enough to defeat evil. It is the most powerful thing in the universe. Yeah you can tell I'm getting really tired now. XD

[amandajoyce118]

Runaways Season 2 Easter Eggs And Comic Book References

No Friday Five this week. Instead, have this!

It took me a bit longer than I would have liked to get through season two of Runaways, but I’ve finally got an Easter egg list for you. This time of year was very busy at both my day job and in the writing world, so to have Aquaman, Runaways, and Bumblebee (do you guys want an Easter egg list for this? I haven’t started typing that up.) release at the same time made things a little difficult for me to get them up in a timely fashion.

As usual, if you haven’t yet watched Runaways, there are spoilers below, but I tried to go episode by episode without spoiling things for future episodes. There are times where I watched a few hours at a time before writing up the details, so I’m sorry if you’re reading as you go along and there are minor spoilers. Enjoy!

If I missed something, tell me what you found!

S2E01 “Gimme Shelter”

The Episode Title

Not only was the title of this episode a movie starring Vanessa Hudgens a few years ago, but it was also the title of a Rolling Stones song. The stories for both feature Runaways, so I think the title was more than just an on-the-nose reference to them needing a house. The movie features a pregnant teen who runs away from home and makes a family for herself at the shelter where she stays. The music video for the song featured two teen boys running away from an abusive home as well, though the song is from an album known for tackling issues related to the Vietnam War.

Detective Flores

If you didn’t obsessively research characters you weren’t familiar with in season one, you might not know that Flores is from the comics. He’s actually the detective in PRIDE’s pocket there as well. In fact, he’s probably the closest to their comic book character.

Their Clothes

This season begins with the kids in the same clothes they ended the first season in. Not only does this tell us it’s taking place pretty soon after, but also how hard up they are since they haven’t been able to find/buy/steal anything else. (Also, yes, these outfits are recreations of some of their iconic comic book looks.)

“You think I’m a mole?”

Ah, Alex. Of course we think you’re a mole. But because we think that, you won’t be. In the comics, Alex was the mole. He spied on his friends and reported back to his parents so that PRIDE was always right behind their kids.

WHiH

This is the biggest news network in the MCU. It’s appeared in just about every MCU property lately. This time around, it’s even more significant, because the reporter for WHiH that appears in this episode also appeared as a news reporter for another network on Agents of SHIELD. Looks like she got a new gig.

Kirk Skadden

This name appears in an obituary next to Graciela’s. (I would have checked all the names, but that’s the only one I can make out on my TV, and I can’t even make out the actually obit.) Agents of SHIELD fans might (or might not, it’s pretty obscure) remember this name from the pilot episode. He’s the agent Maria Hill hands off Ward’s piece of alien tech too. Now, further research tells me this isn’t a comic book character, but instead, the name of a graphic designer who works for Studio Graphics, who does VFX work for Agents of SHIELD. It’s likely a nod to the actual guy doing work behind the scenes, and not meant to be a crossover, but it’s still fun to think about.

Odyssey Diner

At first I thought this was a comic book location, but it’s not. Instead, I like to think that it’s a nod to the Greek epic. You know, the story of Odysseus as he tries to get home after the fall of Troy, but he finds so many obstacles in his way that his journey takes forever? Victor Stein just wants to get home and back to life, and things don’t go as planned.

The House

In the comics, the kids do eventually find themselves an abandoned house to squat in. While it doesn’t look the same on the outside here, it’s definitely pretty much exactly the same on the inside. The props/set dressers did an excellent job.

S2E02 “Radio On”

The Last Supper

The image of the five kids sitting at the table and eating reminds me of the painting The Last Supper. It’s not an exact recreation of it, but I can’t help but feel the imagery is intentional. Someone tell me who corresponds to whom as my religious imagery recollection is a litter rusty.

Molly And Her “Mask”

I love that Molly folds her hat down to create a makeshift superhero mask. She’s also (if I remember right) the only character who actually grew up in a future timeline to become an Avenger, so it feels like a nice nod.

S2E03 “Double Zeros”

The Episode Title

Not only is “doublezero” a particular strain of marijuana, but it’s also a math term. I’m sure the math term is what’s actually being referenced here considering we get a lot of calculations from Janet uncoding the Abstract.

The Abstract

In the comics, the Abstract is actually a copy of the book the Gibborim (who are not the subject of the church, but instead, the giant race that gives PRIDE their power) gives to all of the couples. Each of the couples who go on to have a Runaway has a copy of the book. It contains magic spells rather than the secrets of an alien races technology. The show adapts the idea pretty well for their version of the story.

The Staff Doesn’t Work

Noting that the staff didn’t work after the same “spell” was tried more than once has become a thing. Eventually, the gang will have to figure out that it’s called the Staff of One in the comics for a reason. It can only use each “spell” once while the same person owns it. Eventually, Nico will run out of synonyms for the same actions.

Chun Li

Okay, yeah, Nico playing this character in a video game is a nod to her getting to be a superhero and being an Asian woman, sure. But, I can’t help but think that it’s also a shoutout to another Asian-American in the MCU. Ming-Na Wen, who plays May on Agents of SHIELD, played Chun Li in a Street Fighter movie back in the day. (And yes, she was great.)

Topher

Topher is a comic book character, or at least inspired by one. He joins up with the Runaways in the comics, though it turns out he’s not everything he says he is. I’ll hold that story until we know more about him.

S2E04 “Old School”

Cone of Silence

You know where the idea of Cone of Silence came from? These days, it’s just an everyday phrase, but once upon a time, it was a pretty cool trick on the tv series Get Smart.

Topher’s Rock Dust

So it’s clear that Topher doesn’t come by his powers naturally (as in, they aren’t just embedded in him), like Molly. Instead, it’s coming to him, along with a high, from special rock dust. This kind of reminds me of how Wakanda gets all of its energy/derives its tech/creates its medicine from their place on top of a Vibranium mine, which came from outer space. Apparently, rocks from outerspace contain a whole lot of supernatural power.

This also reminds me of a comic book storyline that saw people harvesting mutants for the “mutant growth hormone” their bodies produced. It was like a chemical produced as a result of them being a mutant. Scientists created drugs from it that junkies had a field day with. It was an arc in the Jessica Jones stories, and I think the Spider-Woman stories, if I remember right.

“Our Uninvited Guest”

Okay, so this little dig at Topher means I can tell you that, in the comics, he was a vampire. The MCU hasn’t gone as far as revealing that vampires exist just yet, so I’m pretty sure that’s not part of his story here. But I like the nod to the idea that vampires have to be invited in.

Atlas Academy

In case you forgot about the school the kids originally attended, it pops back up again. Atlas Academy gets its name from Atlas Comics, the precursor to Marvel Comics. The early days of Marvel also saw writers naming fictional companies Atlas “Insert Business Here” as a nod to the change in publisher name.

S2E05 “Rock Bottom”

Topher Doesn’t Age

So, he didn’t get Molly’s super strength full time, but he did get the ability to siphon energy from the rock dust and not age? Sounds like a new age vampire to me.

S2E06 “Bury Another”

The Episode Title

This might be a coincidence, but I think this is referencing the Rilo Kiley song “Bury, Bury, Bury Another.” It’s about looking back on the way things used to be.

Gravitational Wave Space Drive

On the one hand, this series of words just sounds like scientific nonsense put together to sound like something that might power a ship. On the other hand… it sounds an awful lot like the same idea for converting the quinjet into a spaceship on Agents of SHIELD. Making it run with the help of gravitonium can’t be too far off.

S2E07 “Last Rites”

The Magic Memorabilia

Okay, so it might seem like the rooms at the house are just themed for some cool old Hollywood fun, but I think it’s more purposeful. The room where Alex holds his dad captive has a lot of magic show memorabilia in the background. There are signs and pieces from old school magic tricks lying around. This seems like a nod to Alex’s role in the comics.

When he’s initially introduced, he’s just a really smart human. Alex betrays his friends to PRIDE, ends up dead, and sits in Hell, trying to find a way out. He eventually makes a deal to not only “guide” Nico on a magical journey, but also to become the host of a demon. It’s then that he learns how to use all kinds of magic - more than just pulling rabbits out of hats.

Xavin

This name belongs to a comic book character, and it’s interesting that this person appears to be trapped on Jonah’s spaceship with the rest of Karolina’s family. Why? Because this person wasn’t the same race as Karolina’s family in the comics. Instead, Xavin was a Skrull prince. Raised to become a “Super Skrull,” a marriage was brokered between Xavin and Karolina by their parents as a way to put an end to the war between their species. Though Karolina’s alien species appears to be the Gibborim in the show and not the Majesdanians, the story idea might play out similarly? We’ll see.

Marine Vivarium

This particular comic book location didn’t appear in the show, but its likeness did. You now when the spaceship starts to rise from the ground and there are slight cracks in the surface, its got a dome, all that? That imagery looks a lot like the Marine Vivarium sitting on the bottom of a sea bed in the comics that provides a meeting place for PRIDE.

S2E08 “Past Life”

1957

Not a whole lot in this episode in the way of Easter eggs. I mean, Julian McMahon gets to use his real accent and you find out the body he inhabits was from Australia. Curious that “Jonah” decided not to keep the accent. I can tell you that in 1957 Atlas Comics (later Marvel) cancelled a ton of their Western comics. Westerns were on the way out. A lot of their anthology comics that year featured, instead, aliens and flying saucers. Seems appropriate for a reference in this show.

S2E09 “Big Shot”

Roxxon

A banner on the outside of the big hotel advertises Roxxon. You’ll remember this energy company from just about every other MCU property that takes place on Earth: Iron Man, Agent Carter, Agents of SHIELD, Cloak and Dagger, etc. It plays its biggest role in Cloak And Dagger these days.

Wakanda

Do I have to explain Wakanada? Probably not. Unless you completely tuned out from pop culture last year, you know that’s where Black Panther, and the big Infinity War battle, takes place. It does provide us with a bit of a timeline though. We know this likely takes place after the events of Black Panther in the MCU. Maybe even after Shuri already started work on the outreach center in California? It’s likely still set before the events of Infinity War though.

S2E10 “Hostile Takeover”

Nico’s Eyes

When Nico pops back up from her exhaustion and uses the staff, screaming “get out” at the corrupt cops in the house, her eyes do something a little crazy. The get this black, pebbled, gradient around them. Now, if you’ve seen Doctor Strange, you’ve seen that before from Kaecilius and his followers. In the movie, Tina Minoru, though she’s never named and is played by a different actress, appears wielding the staff. (I’m not going to lie, it makes me wonder if Tina got sucked into the power at one point and left her family for a few days to answer the magical call or something.) Presumably, the markings indicate giving over to the pull of the “dark magic” in the staff.

Nico’s Power

Considering Nico manages to make so many people disappear, I feel like it’s important to make a note about just where Nico’s power is coming from. In the comics, she accidentally banishes people (and Old Lace) to another dimension because the staff can access then. Specifically, it has ties to the Dark Dimension. If that sounds familiar, you’ve likely read up on your Agents of SHIELD or Cloak and Dagger Easter eggs, because it’s been referenced there. Ghost Rider has access to the Dark Dimension. Darkforce, an ability we’ve seen manipulated and used on Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter, originates in the Dark Dimension. When Cloak of Cloak and Dagger teleports, he actually moves through the Dark Dimension to do it in the comics. The show hasn’t clarified if it’s the same there. Suffice to say the Dark Dimension provides a lot of power in many different forms.

S2E11 “The Last Waltz”

The Episode Title

Yes, this title is literal since Chase waltzes with Molly, but the term is best known now as a farewell concert by The Band in San Francisco in 1978.

The President

When the Yorkes interrogate Chase, they ask him if he knows who the President is. Though Chase says he does, he never says who it is. I think that’s purposeful to keep the timeline ambiguous. Is it Ellis? Has someone else got the job? We don’t know.

Staff Of One

Nico’s Wiccan ceremony here might be the first time the Staff of One is acknowledged by its comic book name. It’s what she writers on the slip of paper she burns. You can imagine that her trying to cut ties with the staff isn’t going to work out well. At least her “tie” to it isn’t the same as in the comics. On the page, she had to release her own blood every time she wanted to use the staff as it sealed itself away inside her body until she needed it every time. (This is likely the reason we get the “it’s clawing at my skin” line in an earlier episode.)

Molly Hayes Hernandez

We get to hear Molly’s full name, or at least what Gert knows her full name to be. It’s significant because Molly in the comics is Molly Hayes. In an effort to bring even more diversity into the group, the producers decided to cast Molly as any ethnicity, and ended up making her Latina. Molly Hayes Hernandez is a nod to the original comic book character.

S2E12 “Earth Angel”

The Episode Title

Aside from Karolina being literally called an angel at one point, this title is a reference to the (very old) classic song. Originally recorded by the Penguins in the 50s, it’s been covered by a ton of doo-wop, pop, and R&B groups over the years. It was a surprise hit, much like Karolina taking back the church for her grandmother. The song was the B side of their first record, and what was released was the demo version instead of a more polished sound. People loved it, even without any kind of “classier” instrumentation.

“We’re not Cylons from Alex’s Doctor Who show.”

A for effort, Molly. I don’t usually call out random pop culture references, but I like that Alex is both a Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who fan, and that Molly at least attempted to speak his language.

The Hostel

Is this the first time the house is called this? Or did I miss it earlier in the season? Either way, the Hostel is what the group calls their house in the comics as well, so it’s a nice nod.

“...your darkness is you…”

Maybe I should have waited to explain Nico’s power coming from the Dark Dimension? Again, this is another nod to where her power might come from.

Chase Becoming Part of PRIDE

This isn’t something Chase does in the comics. Instead, it’s Alex (though these days, Alex is a full on villain). In the comics, it’s Alex who actually knows about PRIDE’s activities a full year before his “friends.” He purposely leads them to discover what’s going on when he realizes that the Deans and the Hayes plan on killing the human members of the group so that their families can become the full six members of the inner circle. Alex’s whole thing in the comics is about protecting his parents (and Nico). There, his parents are crime bosses, and he eventually becomes one as well after he gets out of Hell. The point is, he turns his back on his friends to become part of PRIDE, but it goes badly for him. Here, it’s Chase who has that role. Because the show did it with Gert calling for help and Karolina hanging out with Jonah as well. They want to show that Alex isn’t the only one who can betray the group for selfish reasons.

S2E13 “Split Up”

Xartan

While Xavin is a Skrull in the comics, that looks like it’s not the case here. It’s possible the show wasn’t allowed to introduce a Skrull with Captain Marvel looming on the horizon, so they went with Xartans. Named for their home planet, the Xartans actually existed in two groups: the base and the deviations. The deviations were those who had been experimented on and granted abilities (oh, hey, sounds like Inhumans on Earth, no?), and they essentially eliminated the “base” Xartans. They also once attempted to invade Earth in ancient times. They didn’t succeed because Thor, of all people, stopped them. The ones that stayed on Earth actually shapeshifted into trees, becoming one with the environment. Somehow, I don’t think that’s where Xavin’s arc is headed.

The Exiled Royals

The story Xavin projects into Karolina’s head about the exiled royal family (first of all, reminds me of the way the Deathly Hallows were presented in the Harry Potter films, so nice visual, and) is pretty much the story of the Majesdanians in the comics. The two that become the Deans (both actors in the comics) make a home on Earth after being exiled. Maybe the writers thought Gibborum was an easier word for fans to learn? Also, can we point out that Majesdanians sounds very much like majestic, or magistrate, so there is still another nod in how the alien race is presented in the show?

Leapfrog

When Chase and Janet talk outside the house, Chase is busy sketching out a design. That design is for the Leapfrog. In the comics, Victor and his wife actually create the vehicle. It’s submersible, so they use it to travel to and from the underwater base where PRIDE meets. I imagine the VFX needed for something like that is why PRIDE performs their sacrifices in the Wilder’s basement in the first season. When Chase and company discover what their parents are up to, they steal the Leapfrog and use it to escape. They also use it to fight crime, live in, and travel through time. Considering Victor has the video from the future already, something tells me Chase might just invent a time machine if the show gets more seasons.

The Minoru Fight

I have to point out that I’m fairly certain all of the Minoru family does their own stunts in that big family confrontation. Also, if you think it’s a stereotype for this Asian family to know martial arts, in this case, not so much. Instead, it’s playing to the strength of the actors. All three of them are experienced martial artists. They all have black belts, according to Lyrica Okano, though I’m not sure specifically which fighting form their belts are in since several award belts as you master different skills. Lyrica is also a trained gymnast. So, yeah, that fight scene probably could have gone on for a whole episode if they writers wanted it to.

“I’ve seen this before.”

When Nico’s eyes change during the fight and Robert gets a little concerned, Tina says this line. So, I’d wager (again) that we can say that was this Tina during the events of Doctor Strange and not just someone who had the same weapon, and though she doesn’t understand all of the advantages and limitations of the staff just yet, she does know those markings mean dark magic.

Some General Talk

Things that pop up across multiple episodes I thought I’d just throw down here. That way I’m not repeating myself in every episode.

Rainbows

Karolina is a lesbian basically made of rainbows, but this season, the costume department decide to reflect that as well. Nearly every piece of clothing she wears has some sort of rainbow imagery or color pattern going on. Her wardrobe is also very in tune with the 60s and 70s when the sexual revolution was in full swing, which seems pretty apt for a recently out Karolina. The only time she’s not in colorful clothing is when the Church of Gibborum storyline comes back into play for her at the end of the season. Even before she changes into the muted clothes to rescue her mom she’s in pastels.

The Church

The Church of Gibborum is not a thing in the comics, but it does have a real world counterpart. Much of what’s done with the church this season - the focus on an actor playing the part of a church leader, the reconditioning, the cutting people off from their families and their names at secret facilities, the strict rules and cult-like behavior - seems to be inspired by a “church” that’s prevalent in Hollywood. You can read Leah Remini’s book or watch her show for more details.

Gert’s Health

There’s a huge focus, at least on Gert’s part, on Gert’s mental health. It’s not until she’s physically ill that anyone else starts paying attention to her. While I get the feeling this is a bit of social commentary, it’s also a nice nod to the comics. Gert actually died so that her friends could live. We almost get to that point, but the show saves her, and that’s something of a relief because killing Gert off was a huge mistake. The newer series brought her back to life with good reason.

Leaving And Returning

I found the repeated references to people leaving the group interesting. The comic group definitely starts with the members we see on the show, but over the years, a lot of people join up or leave. It’s actually surprising that two seasons in the group is mainly in tact. Topher and Livvie didn’t stick it out, and yeah, they’re separated at the end of the season, but the core group is alive and working toward a common goal. I’m curious to see if other iconic characters get added if the show continues for a while. For example, Cloak and Dagger joined up for a while, the group brought Kara Plast back to the present with them from the past, a cyborg joined them, and Xavin lives with them until they have to leave the planet. I’d like to see someone new introduced and shake up the dynamic a bit.

The Feminism

It’s refreshing that this team of superpowered people is mostly teenage girls. I know, for the most part, this is the original line up from the comics, but there have been a few more additions to the group over the years to up the male quotient. I love that Chase going home means that Alex is outnumbered by Karolina, Nico, Molly, Gert, and later, Leslie Dean. There’s also Xavin, but I’m not sure how we’re supposed to view Xavin. A lot of comics fans classify the character as nonbinary because they originally present as a male Skrull before deciding to become a woman because Karolina is a lesbian. They seem to default to female forms more often than not, but also become large males in a fight to be more intimidating, so there’s that. Regardless, I like the focus on the women getting things done. Neither Chase nor Alex are members of the group with superpowers, though they are super smart. The members of the group with raw power are Nico (magic), Karolina (alien-light), Gert (dinosaur telepathy), and Molly (super strength), and I just love that lineup.

That’s it! That’s all I’ve got this time around. I couldn’t catch every street sign, newspaper article, or building plaque, so it’s entirely possible that there are other fun Easter eggs in the show that I missed this season.

[hollymbryan]

Blog Tour + #Review: TO KILL A CURSE by Jennifer Jenkins (w/ #Giveaway)!

Welcome to Book-Keeping and my stop on the Rockstar Book Tours blog tour for To Kill a Curse, by one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Jenkins! I’m so excited to share all of the details on Jennifer’s latest book with you today, along with my review and a giveaway. Let’s go!

About the Book

title: To Kill a Curse (A Lingering Sea Novel, Book 1)

author: Jennifer Jenkins

publisher: Flying Unicorn Press

release date: 24 October 2019

Would you touch the one you loved, even if it might kill them?

Antonio, a merchant sailor, has no idea how dangerous Fina Perona is when he rescues her from drowning in the middle of the Lingering Sea. His ship is headed to the home Fina just abandoned, carrying desperately needed payment for her father's prized wine stores. Pirates attack, and as Antonio and Fina escape the clutches of slavery, she steals back her family's small fortune from the pirate captain's quarters. Fina doesn't need Antonio's protection, she's more dangerous than he could ever be, but she needs his experience as a navigator and agrees to give him a cut of the payment in exchange for his help. Returning the money is the only way Fina knows how to atone for inadvertently killing her own brother, but what she doesn't realize is, before Antonio was a sailor, he was a thief.

While threats of curses, witches, bandits, pirates, and traitors are all very real, Fina and Antonio are the most dangerous players in this story of true love and betrayal. Will they become each other’s demise or salvation as they set out to find redemption and to kill a curse?

Add to Goodreads: To Kill a Curse (A Lingering Sea Novel, Book 1)

Purchase the Book: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | TBD

About the Author

With her degree in History and Secondary Education, Jennifer Jenkins had every intention of teaching teens to love George Washington, the Napoleonic Wars, and Ancient Sparta . . . until the writing began. In addition to her Lingering Sea series, Jennifer is the author of the bestselling Nameless trilogy and Teen Writer’s Guide: Your Road Map to Writing (releasing March 2020). She is a co-founder of Teen Author Boot Camp, and divides her time between reading, taking spontaneous trips, researching random events from the past, and fostering her adrenaline junkie addictions.

Connect with Jennifer: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads 

My 4-Star Review

I have been a fan of Jennifer’s since the moment I was blessed with an early e-copy of Nameless way back in 2015 (oh my...has it really been that long?!). I have now read Nameless three times, Clanless twice, and Fearless once, and I am a forever fan. I don’t think I even looked at the book summary when the notice for this blog tour came across my email -- I merely saw the name Jennifer Jenkins and I jumped!

So, unlike Jennifer's previous books, To Kill a Curse is actually an adult book, not YA. However, it’s not *adult* adult; it’s a clean fantasy romance that is a sweet, slow burn. I really enjoyed the concept of Fina's curse and her quest to kill it, and I loved both Fina and Antonio. The way Jennifer told the story was third person but mostly from Fina's POV, so she interspersed short journal entries from Antonio between some of the chapters. I felt this was key to getting to know what was really going on in Antonio's head, because he's definitely a mysterious character. Learning about him in these little dribbles of information is a great experience for the reader, because he's extremely tight-lipped otherwise! Fina is such a sympathetic character and my heart really went out to her the whole time.

Overall, I really enjoyed this fantasy adventure romance. The characters are great, the adventure is grand (there's pirates!), and the romance is sweet. I love Jennifer's writing, and I look forward to more adventures on the Lingering Sea!

Rating: 4 stars!

**Disclosure: I received an e-ARC of this book for purposes of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review of the book.

About the Giveaway

Two (2) lucky winners will each receive a signed copy of To Kill a Curse by Jennifer Jenkins! This one is US only and ends 5 October 2019. Enter via the Rafflecopter below, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Tour

Here is the full schedule so you can see all the content you didn’t know you needed!

Week One:

10/21/2019 - A Bookish Dream - Review

10/21/2019 - Two Chicks on Books - Excerpt

10/22/2019 - Sometimes Leelynn Reads - Review

10/22/2019 - Good Choice Reading - Excerpt

10/23/2019 - Book-Keeping - Review      **you are here!

10/23/2019 - That Georgia Gypsy - Guest Post

10/24/2019 - Sifa Elizabeth Reads - Review

10/24/2019 - Books & Other Pursuits - Guest Post

10/25/2019 - Shelf-Rated - Review

Week Two:

10/25/2019 - BookHounds - Excerpt

10/28/2019 - Cover to Cover Book Blog - Review

10/28/2019 - K.L Novitzke - Author - Excerpt

10/29/2019 - Moonlight Rendezvous - Review

10/29/2019 - Cuz I’m a Nerd - Guest Post

10/30/2019 - Lilly's Book World - Review

10/30/2019 - Ravenousreader - Excerpt

10/31/2019 - Don't Judge, Read - Guest Post

10/31/2019 - Writer of Wrongs - Excerpt

11/1/2019 - Life of Female Bibliophile - Review

11/1/2019 - Treestand Book Reviews - Review

[josiewinters1999]

What It Feels Like 6

Rocket Raccoon x OFC (Willie)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Summary: Willie awakes to find herself in The Collector’s gallery. She knows she has to escape... for Rocket.

Contains: Angst, fluff, feels, cursing, violence, really gross stuff for a hot minute

A/N: It has been forever and a day since I’ve uploaded and to my [5] fans, I’m so sorry. If you are reading this, thank you for coming back after my long absence and I hope this part is worth the wait. I’m actually pretty proud of it tbh. If you guys like this enough and I keep getting the time/motivation to work on it, I hope to extend it and add the other Guardians. Also, I’m thinking about starting up and writing about Willie and other characters, in her “canon” timeline (aka, the one I have meticulously planned out in my head). Drop a comment and tell me what you think of the story or anything I’ve proposed. And as always... enjoy!

The morning was just like any other; the alarm clock went off, he got up, dressed himself, and went into the control room of his ship. However, when Rocket realized upon entering that it was missing a certain person and all the comforting ambiance they produced, he felt his heart sink in his chest. Today was going to be a long lonely day.

He makes his way to the coffee machine, ready to brew himself a cup since Willie wasn’t there to do it like she typically did. With a drowsy paw, Rocket grabs the coffee and begins making the pot.

As the water brews, the raccoon’s distorted reflection grimaces back at him from the coffee pot. He crosses his arms and looks away, not wanting to be reminded how miserable he actually is. Brown eyes gaze across the common room of his modestly sized ship. On the table where he and Willie would normally be sharing breakfast, he spots his holocommunicator.

All the muscles in his body tense the second his eyes lock on it. He slowly makes his way to it, afraid he might startle it somehow if he’s too quick. It looks back up at him, almost begging him to make the call he so desperately wants to make.

Furry paws grasp the tablet and hold it feebly. It’s only been one damn day, his mind tells him. What could possibly have happened in one day? The voice of his conscious didn’t stop Rocket from wanting to make the call.

If I could just hear her voice one more time... his small fingers punch in her name and got to hit the ‘call’ button but stop in an instant, mere millimeters above the surface of the device.

She left you his darker side scolds him. She doesn’t need you and you don’t need her. Face scrunching up in anger, the raccoon throws the communicator back onto the table and returns to his coffee.

***

The space is still and stagnant, air not moving in any direction. It smells of plastic, harsh cleaning chemicals, and something foreign. Behind her eyelids, Willie can sense there was a light on.

Voices in the distance are muffled by a what sounds like a wall. They’re deep, masculine, and many. Mind not yet a full functioning, Willie is unable to translate and blows off the noise as the radio or television.

In her space, the Gallifreyan stirs, finding her position uncomfortable. The pain in her head suddenly catches her attention and her whole body winces. The sound outside her space changes from voices to loud thumps, each one increasing in volume before stopping.

Bang bang bang.

The sound of a fist on flat glass is enough to jolt the woman awake. She springs into a sitting position and makes the horrible choice of opening her eyes.

Flickering and humming fluorescent lights above her magnify the pain throbbing in her skull to levels unbearable. Raising a hand to shield her eyes, Willie squints, hoping it will help her focus.

The blurry room slowly starts to become comprehensible. There is a man standing above her with a wide, wicked smile on his face. He waves sarcastically as he bends his knees. His blue skin, black eye, and bloody lip make the Kree man instantly recognizable.

Too weak to make a rebuttal, Willie just snarls and the man laughs, his voice now being clear and understandable, “Not so tough now, are you, you stupid bitch?”

Willie’s memory suddenly comes crashing into her like a runaway train.Landing in Knowhere, going to her ship, having a smoke at her table in the bounty hunter’s bar, the fight in the bar, the fight in the alleyway, all while she was trying to get back to Rocket.

Rocket. Oh God…

One of the men from the alleyway steps up and pulls back his friend taunting Willie, “Come on Agron, let’s just let the man pay us and get out of here,” he leans into the blue skinned Agron, “this place gives me the creeps.”

Agron looks between his friend and his catch in the glass cage before walking away. This gives Willie a second to fully survey her surroundings.

Feeling a stiff, scratchy feeling on her skin, she glances down. She was now clad in a crisp, clean, white jumpsuit and matching socks. She feels a pain in her neck. Reaching up,she feels a small metal disk under her skin. Having used them on others before Willie knows exactly what its purpose is; electric shocks. Shifting to be on her knees, she crawls to the edge of the square enclosure. Peering out into the area outside it, she looks up and out at the vast storage area.

The ceiling seems to stretch on almost forever, receding into blackness as the items hanging in it begin to disappear. Hundreds of glass cases similar to Willie’s reach into the space above, each one filled with a different, rare creature.

Willie had heard many things about this man and had evaded his grasp many times by the hairs on her neck. Finally being in his care, in his glass case looking out, was something Willie had prayed she’d never see. Suddenly feeling light headed, she falls back onto the seat of her jumpsuit, the world before her becoming blurry.

In the distance, she sees three indistinct figures. The smallest of them hands something to the other two before they walk away. On the brink of fainting, Willie doesn’t notice the figure’s movement until he begins to finally come into focus at the edge of her tank.

He is slightly taller than Willie and wears a luxurious white fur coat draped over his shoulders, it’s hair matching that on his head perfectly. His tailored purple suit underneath oozed elegance and wealth. Wealth, Willie is now starting to realize, built on blood… blood like hers.

With straight perfect teeth, he grins at Willie like a passerby would grin at a cute dog. He bends his knees, purple fabric around them straining slightly. “Look… at … you,” his words were slow and full of pride, “After all this time I never thought I’d have one. A Time Lord. The last Time Lord,” he trembles slightly with giddiness, “And she’s all mine.”

“Jokes on you dumbass,” Willie grins back, “I’m not actually a Time Lord. I’m a Woodlander. We’re a different breed.”

The Collector stands, fixing his now lightly wrinkled clothes, “Makes no difference. You’re the last one left.” He looks back at her with a devilish grin, “You’re one of a kind.”

***

“I wish we could stay like this forever…” Willie sighs, rubbing the fur between Rocket’s ears gently with her long pale fingers. He grips her shirt tighter and smiles, inhaling her scent deeply. She smelled of cigarette smoke, tangy soap, and something distinctly Willie.

Curling into her side, Rocket can feel her warmth radiate onto him, the clear blue sky above him and the crisp wind completing the scene. “We can stay like this as long as you want baby,” He mumbles happily.

Willie furrows her brow, “We can?” The worry in her voice drains Rocket’s joy as he sits up to look at her. Her skin was perfect without a single blemish on it, like it had been airbrushed. “Why couldn’t we?” he asks, concern evident.

She brushes her vibrantly colored yellow hair back, looking up at the raccoon, “I don’t know.” Her hands find a blade of grass beneath her and twirl it in her fingertips as she continues, “Maybe because we shouldn’t be together.”

Rocket grabs her hand and holds it in both his paws, “Baby, we can do whatever we want. Who was it that made the rules of who can and can’t be together?” Her blue eyes glance at his hands and then back into his eyes.

“Don’t you love me?” the raccoon asks, deep brown full of worry. She only smiles, gracing his cheek with her free hand, “Of course I do. I always have.”

For a moment, time stops, the birds stop chirping, the clouds stop floating, and the wind comes to a halt. Willie’s warm smile is enough to last Rocket a lifetime. Her plump red lips turn upwards as she speaks in a low voice, “Rocket, I lo-”

The moistness under his chin wakes Rocket from his dream. Groggy and half out of it, he sits up, looking at the puddle of drool in his lap. Wiping the now cold liquid from his cheek, he looks at the clock on the ship’s console.

2pm. It’s barely past noon and he’s already bored himself to sleep. Living without Willie is harder than he thought it would be.

His hands tingle as if they really had just been touching Willie. He sighs, heart heavy and the images flashing through his mind. Rocket realizes he feels empty without her.

But again, her face, her real face, not the one in Rocket’s dream comes to mind; sunken in, covered in scars, nose crooked, and eyes permanently full of disdain and disappointment. The sight hurts just to think about. Hurt soon turns to anger and he clenches his fists around the armrests of his captain’s chair.

“Fuck her. Never needed that junkie slut crowding me anyways.”

***

Whenever Willie got any reprieve from being watched, by either The Collector himself or by one of his pink skinned minions, she searched her cell fervently. Top to bottom she looked for something that could get her out.

Fingers tapped, poked, and pried at every corner and seem of the glass. It was sealed tight, the only opening was the air vent above and Willie had already rubbed her fingertips raw trying to feel for a weak spot or anything she could wrap around her fingers to help in her escape.

Willie was beginning to learn the hard way how things work as a toy in The Collector’s box. Twice a day, every day, you were delivered food. The food was bland but kept you alive and healthy, just the way he wanted you.

When it was feeding time, you were told to get into position at the opposite end of your tank. This position consisted of you kneeling, ankles crossed and hands interlocked behind your head. Something you can’t get out of very easily.

The pink skinned girl would then open the door and carefully set the food down before shutting it and leaving. If you moved, she hit a button on the device strapped to her wrist and an electric shock powerful enough to make even Willie seize up would flow through your body, leaving you a sloppy mess on the floor.

Days passed, and many times Taneleer himself would come to just stare at the blond Gallifreyan in her case. Petting his fur coat like it was a living animal, he stared her down, grinning wildly and almost fondly at her. Every time, Willie would curse him, promptly earning her a shock slightly more potent than the ones delivered by the assistants.

Getting out of this place is going to be tough, that much was clear.

***

Willie lay in the dark on her back. The Collector knew better than to give her anything in her case so she lay on the bar hard floor, staring at the grey ceiling, its only features being the light, now dimmed, and the air vent.

Nine days. It had been nine days. Why hadn’t anyone come for her? Where was Rocket? Hadn’t he seen her getting pulled away? Willie thought, hands folded on her stomach. Then it hits her. Rocket doesn’t care. He’s pissed I left. No one is coming…

Her thoughts and potential tears are interrupted by footsteps in the distance. She sits up, crawling to the nearest glass wall. She sees one the cleaning ladies scurrying in, a bucket in one hand and a wad of rags in the other.

“Hurry!” The Collector’s voice is distant, quiet, but unmistakable. “He isn’t going to clean himself now is he?” he shouts and the girl only runs faster.

After watching the pink girl disappear in the sea of dimly lit glass cases, Willie watches Taneleer emerge, steps angry and swift with his less formal, more comfortable night coat flowing behind him.

With the excitement seeming to be over, Willie sits back, listening intently. She could barely make out the sounds of cleaning. The slosh of water, the squeak of clean glass, and the occasional sob from the woman doing the dirty work.

Some time later, the assistant comes back, wet rags inside the bucket of now dirty water. Head to the ground, tears trail down her cheeks and she briskly speed walks out of the gallery hall.

Eyes trained on her like a hawk, the wheels in Willie’s head turn. She feels the blood rush through her body and a hunger form in her stomach; a hunger she hasn’t felt in a long time.

If she wanted to get out of this place, she was going to have to do it the dirty way.

***

Hours passed and her instinct was telling Willie it was turning from night to dawn. The creatures around he were beginning to stir and the hall seemed more alive than it is at night. The Collector comes out to gaze upon his prizes while his entourage of assistants come around with carts full of food trays.

The one that typically fed Willie approaches her tank, tray in hand and cart at her side. She gives a look to Willie and the blond glares at her, asking her to assume the proper position for feeding.

As she kneels, interlocking her ankles and hands, the woman slides the glass door open and sets the tray down before swiftly exiting and going on with her route.

Willie gets up and stares at the food as it practically stares back at her. The tray was like everything else in her tank, white and clean. Perfect, just the way he liked things. It disgusts her and makes her yearn for freedom even more.

Angrily grabbing the food and sitting it on her lap, she begins shoveling it into her mouth, waiting for the perfect opportunity to carry out her plan. She watches the people bustle about, going from tank to tank until their carts are empty. They then roll out in an almost single file line, ready to return in an hour to collect the empty trays.

Finally alone, Willie checks one more time to see if the collector is near. Without the man or any of his minions in sight, Willie sits back hearts racing. If she was going to do this, she’d better hurry.

With no more food left on her tray, she leans forward, looking down at the floor. She gets on her knees, pulling her hair over her shoulders and opening her mouth wide. She takes a deep breath, squeezes her eyes shut tight, and reaches her long fingers down her throat.

There was only a couple other times she’s ever had to do this, and being nervous always made it harder. She forces them deeper and harder down her throat, feeling around to find that sweet spot that will give her the results she needs.

Feeling herself gag, she knows she’s found it. Pressing harder still, she gags more and more. Sweat seeps from her pores, worry that she’ll be caught tickling her stomach. Soon enough she gags one last time and a waterfall of sloppy puke gushes from her mouth and onto the floor by her knees.

Coughing while the last bit comes out, she pulls her fingers out, licking them clean first and then wiping the excess saliva on her leg.

Surely when the lady came to take her tray, she’d see the mess and have to spend a good amount of time to clean it.

Willie’s prediction comes true sooner than she had hoped when Taneleer steps out from behind the row of tanks next to her and see her sitting in her own filth. Glaring at the Gallifreyan, she fakes stomach pains and curls into a corner, trying her best to further the illusion.

The Collector’s face heats up and turns a deep shade of read, “Carina!” he shouts, almost loud enough to make the glass shatter. Quick yet light footsteps rush to his side, “Yes, master?”

He forcefully grabs her arm and jerks her, making her look at the state of his prized piece, “What is this? Are you trying to kill her?” Stuttering but not actually responding, Carina’s mouth opens and closes nervously. “Clean it up...” Taneleer barks into her ear. She nods and rushes off to get her supplies.

The Collector looks Willie up and down one last time before storming off in a rage. If he were to stand and watch any longer, he knows he would most likely scream at Carina the entire time.

Unable to hold it in, Willie grins. Perfect ,she thinks. Within a few more moments, Carina comes back with the buckets, chemical solutions, rags, and sponges needed to clean Willie’s vomit.

Willie begins to tingle with anticipation. Carina doesn’t even bother to say anything to Willie before sliding the door open. The Gallifreyan’s eyes go wide in excitement as she stares at the woman’s wrist and the device strapped to it.

Carina wets a rag and kneels, beginning to wipe the floor. Every second seemed to drag on for years and Willie felt like she did in the forests of her home; nervously excited with a certain insatiable bloodlust as she waits in the bushes to kill her next meal.

Soon the weak prey turns her back to re-wet her rag. The predator lunges forward silently and swiftly, grabbing her by her throat to silence any screams. Prey’s eyes go wide and fingers claw desperately at the suffocating firmness around her.

Willie drags Carina into her tank, through the mess on the floor and up to her chest. The blood pumps through her veins, adrenaline making her stronger and eventually she can feel Carina’s spine in her palm, so close she can feel the bumps in her vertebrae.

The woman’s pawing becomes softer and softer, her pleaing grunts becoming quieter and quieter. Eyes roll up into her skull and she goes limp and heavy in Willie’s hands. Willie reaches down to her wrist and unstraps the device that controls the disc in her neck.

Strapping it on her own wrist, Willie begins punching every button she can find. How the hell do I turn this thing off? Her mind panics. Suddenly there is a beep and Willie quickly prays to every God she knows that that has done it.

Her head darts from side to side as she emerges from her tank for the first time in over a week. Not a soul is in sight and the coast is clear.

She steps swiftly and quietly through the gallery, keeping herself as concealed as possible. She weaves between the rows of glass cases, the creatures and plants inside watching her in awe as she does the thing they all wish they could do; escape.

The door has to be here somewhere. Her mind races and her pores leak profusely as she frantically searches for the exit. Each row only leads to nothingness and Willie starts walking faster and faster through them.

Finally, a grand archway presents itself at the far end of the gallery, barely within view. Face lighting up with relief, Willie makes her way to it, confident and giddy.

“You!” a deep male voice grunts behind her. Her body tenses up again and she whips her head around to see the voice’s owner. The Collector stands down the row from her, Willie equidistant between him and freedom.

She sprints as fast as she can for the door. Taneleer reaches his wrist up to push the button on his device to slow her down. Nothing happens. He presses it again and looks up. She is still running, and alarmingly fast.

His heart tenses and he shouts, “Get her!” No one rushes to his aid and he runs after her himself. Willie reaches the archway and dashes out into the familiar streets of Knowhere.

Luckily there was a crowd and she soon absorbs herself into it, hiding herself in the swarm of bodies lining the strip. By the time Taneleer emerges from his gallery, she is gone. He looks down at his wrist computer again and see a red dot on a radar. “You’ll be mine again...”

***

Weaving quickly through the crowd, stealing the paranoid look over her shoulder, Willie looks everywhere for The Collector or his goons. She’s certain they are right behind her.

After walking the streets and not seeing any sight of them for an hour, she relaxes. She’s outrun them… for now. Willie looks down at her vomit and sweat stained jumpsuit. If she wants to blend in and get off this planet, she’s going to have to change clothes.

She desperately searches the streets for where her ship was parked prior to her kidnapping. That comforting and familiar empty space between two buildings was a sight for sore eyes. A bright smile spreads across Willie’s lips and she runs to her ship. She can’t wait to throw open the doors of that fantastic invisible box and-

Reaching the space, she runs right through it. Where her ship should have been is empty. Her ship is gone.

Willie begins to panic, “No…” she whispers. She frantically feels the air for it. Spinning in circles like a mad man she searches for something that isn’t there. “No,” she repeats. “No no no.” She stomps the ground in anger. “He took it. Taneleer Tivan took my fucking ship.”

She gazes back out into the alleyway, “I need a phone…”

***

Hanging his ammo belt up on the rack at the entrance of his ship, Rocket sighs. Jobs just don’t satisfy him like they used to. The rush of blowing something up and taking someone down just doesn’t get his goat anymore.

They used to give him a sense of fulfillment that satiated his core like a desert flower getting its yearly rain. Things are… well… different now. He knew deep down why, but would never admit it to anyone, especially himself.

With heavy limbs, he trudges to the kitchen. Bounty hunting can sure work up the appetite. Rocket steps on his small ladder to reach the top cabinet. Before he can even fully grasp the handle of the door, the holocommunicator on the dining table rings.

His movements stop. He debates whether he should let it ring out or if he should walk over and reject the call. Either way, he didn’t feel like talking to anyone. The raccoon returns to the task at hand and opens the cabinet.

In the background, the ringing stops. “Guess they didn’t want to talk either.”

Reaching into the cabinet he pulls out a box of food and begins preparing it. He pours the contents of the plastic container into a plastic bowl, sighing with tired eyes and feeble fingers.

The ringing begins again and Rocket growls to no one in particular. Teeth bared, he angrily looks over his shoulder at the table muttering to himself, “Can I not sit down for five goddamn minutes?” Eventually, the ringing stops once more.

Tension releasing, the raccoon takes his food and walks to the captain’s chair to eat it. As he passes the table and holocommunicator sitting on it. It begins yelling at him again, almost as if it knew he was walking by.

Angry beyond comprehension, he slams his food on the table, a few bits of it falling out onto the surface of the tabletop. “Who could it possibly be?” he shouts at the top of his lungs. He picks of the glowing translucent blue tablet and reads the message:

Voice Communication. A3-Sector B09

The code at the end was instantly recognizable to Rocket. It told the raccoon that this call was coming from Knowhere. But why? At this point, Rocket’s anger has subsided and curiosity is slowly taking its place.

Slowly, he takes his paw and taps the accept button. Immediately he hears a hustle and bustle in the background of the call, confirming this call was where the communicator said.

“Hello?” the raccoon’s voice is unsure.

“Rocket!? Oh thank God I was starting to think you wouldn’t pick up,”  distinctive voice worries to him. It was shaky and scared.

Rocket’s heart drops at the sound of it and he nearly faints, “Willie?”

She smiles on her end, “Yeah it’s me.” There is a pause as she swallows nervously, “Rocket, I’m in trouble. I need you.”

Rocket opens his mouth to offer his assistance but is suddenly reminded of the full situation. She left him. She left him after he poured his heart out to her. She doesn’t deserve his help. “Why should I help you?” he grunts.

Willie almost chokes at those words, “What the hell do you mean? Rocket, please. I need your help. I’m stuck here.”

He only shrugs, “Sounds like a personal problem to me.”

The Gallifreyan bites a lip and lowers her voice, “Rocket, listen. I’m sorry for how stupid I was being. This whole thing with our feelings just is kinda hard for me…” she sighs, “I… I shouldn’t have left. I really had no reason to except that I was scared. But trust me when I say I tried to get back to you. I really did.”

Tears welling in his eyes, Rocket tries his best to make it sound like he isn’t crying, “Then what the hell stopped you?” he spits.

“I was kidnapped!” Willie shouts, her voice going through the communicator and filling Rocket’s ship.

He is taken aback by this, “Y-you were what?”

The woman lets out a deep breath, “The Collector got me. He’s been after me for years and he finally got me. It’s a wonder I was able to get out.” She anxiously scans the crowd as she speaks into the communicator on the Knowhere streets, “I think he still might be on my tail though. Can never be too sure. I need to get this stupid thing out of my neck. How soon can you be here? Because I am dying to kill this piece of shit.”

“Willie…” he trails off, unable to think of what else to say.

“Please Rocket, I need my big man to come rescue me.”

His heart flutters and he smiles, “I love you,” he blurts out.

Willie sighs, grinning like mad, “I think I might feel the same.”

The smile on Rocket’s face couldn’t be wider, “Lay low for a while doll. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

***TAG LIST***

@animeaniseed @youralienfriend @fandoms-4-life0000 @groovy-bouquet-starlight @okie--loki @tara-jadet1ffen @rosaufyuniverse 

[westakoasta]

P-MINUS - 2019

Where are you from? And what’s your first memories linked to hip hop?

I’ve lived all over - Belgium, Germany, Ohio, Missouri, the Virgin Islands, San Francisco, and now Los Angeles.  But I spent the most years, including high school and college, in Missouri, so I feel like that’s where “I’m from.”  I first remember hearing hip hop while living on St. Thomas (in the Virgin Islands) and the three songs that started me on this journey were “I Need Love,” by LL Cool J, “You Be Illin’” by Run-DMC and “Fight For Your Right To Party” by the Beastie Boys.  I must have heard them on the radio, so that would have been 1987 - the year of my hip hop birth.  In 1988, I moved back to Missouri and a neighbor of mine had a ton of rap tapes so I’d borrow his tapes all the time or listen to them in his car on the drive to school.  I believe that the first tape I ever bought was Schooly D’s “Smoke Some Kill” (1988).

What got you started with Atak Distribution, how and when did it begin?

Fast forward to 1994 - I had graduated from college, where I had been the Hip Hop Director at the school’s radio station, and moved to San Francisco where I began an internship at Gavin, a music magazine that curated Top 40 lists for radio programmers.  Somehow through that job, I met DJ Stef (editor of the Vinyl Exchange) and started writing record reviews for her.  And on one fateful day, I received a copy of Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” tape for review and I thought it was the freshest thing in the world and in 1996 I officially became an underground hip hop junkie.

Were you a hardcore music collector before you started Atak?

Before Atak, I had a decent cd and record collection, full of ‘90s “golden era” major label releases, but hardly any tapes and barely anything considered “indie” or “underground.”  Back then I wasn’t a collector, just a music fan, because all this incredible music was just sitting at the record stores for $12.99.  I shopped a lot at Amoeba and Rasputin’s and a few other smaller stores in the Bay area, plus a few record labels and artists would send me promos for review.

How did you choose what would be in your catalog? How did you make contacts with the artists?

Starting with Sacred Hoop, I was certain that this amazing group wasn’t getting the exposure it deserved, so the seeds of Atak were first planted.  I then started soliciting for more submissions through the Vinyl Exchange and some other Bay area rap magazines, such as 4080.  I think that the Hoop started spreading the word, too, because I soon started getting tapes from the likes of FTA, Megabusive, San Francisco Street Music, Jedi Knights Circle, 99th Demention and others from the South Bay and SF.  Somewhere in there, I met up with the Mystic Journeymen, bought some tapes from them, and was eventually exposed to Berkeley and Oakland artists such as the Living Legends, Hobo Junction, Zion-I and Illa Dapted.  If I liked your tape, it would get in the Atak catalog.  The first printed mail-order catalog had 12 tapes in it and the very first tape sold was Mystik Journeymen’s “Escape Forever” on August 10th, 1996.

Was the mail-order a full time job or did you have other occupations (studies, other job?)?

During the first few years I had several jobs: the Gavin internship became a paid job, I worked at a grocery store and then later at a vegetarian cafe.  Eventually, since my rent was cheap and I was starting to sell more music, I was able to do Atak full-time.  All the storage and shipping was done out of my bedroom.

Did you have many overseas/international customers and what role did that play in the business?

It looks like I started getting my first international orders (from Finland!) in 1997.  I don’t know how they found out about Atak, but they were serious fans of West Coast underground so word spreads fast amongst those folks.  Fans in Finland, Australia, Canada and Japan were my strongest supporters, with a few folks in France and Germany, too.  This was before I started selling online, so these folks were trusting me with their cash and money orders and I will be forever indebted to them.  Through these customers, I was exposed to international hip hop and eventually started selling music from the likes of Ceebrolistics, the Sebutones, mcenroe, Mary Joy Recordings, Muphin and the Hilltop Hoods.

What was the « peak » year in terms of sales and in terms of quality of music?

After a year or so of mailing out catalogs and setting up tables of merchandise at shows, Atak finally got online with the help of one of my earliest customers, Todd (aka Vic aka Celph Titled), who was extremely active on hip hop message boards, and he really helped spread the word around the U.S. and the world, so Atak started getting more non-Bay area music in the catalog and I started getting  orders from everywhere.  I think that the music quality was strong start to finish.  I was listening to everything before I put it in the catalog, and if it wasn’t dope, it didn’t get in.

Did you ever wanted to make Atak a bigger thing, like UGHH or such?

There was a time in which I would have loved for Atak to get really big, because it was all so much fun - all the shows, meeting the artists, hearing a ton of new music, even the packing and shipping was fun for me.  But in hindsight, it is clear that I was better at being a huge fan of the music rather than being a savvy businessperson.  At the point in which digital music started taking off, I didn’t have the technical knowhow to adjust accordingly, and a big part of me still simply loved selling physical copies.  As a fan, I didn’t want everything to go digital, but as a businessperson I should have dived in headfirst to keep up with the other big websites.  I admired what the other sites were doing, and what friends like Shane (aka Kegs) was doing with Below the Surface - putting out records, putting on shows, opening a brick-and-mortar storefront.  But part of me liked keeping things small and simple, but that clearly pushed me into smaller and more obscure corner of the online hip hop biz and eventually bumped me out of it altogether.

You did some cd-r reissues as well as a couple of mix-cds. Any temptation of launching a proper record label (as in: « new release, no reissue ») at some point?

I’d been wanting FOREVER to start a label and put out records!  I made a feeble attempt to put out an Atak compilation in the late ‘90s, full of all the folks that were in my catalog at the time.  I was able to get maybe 7-10 crews over to my house one night to talk about it, but since I had no idea how to really put it all together, I ended up getting one original song, from Nitrous Ox, out of that great big idea.  More recently, I’ve been hoping to help folks put out releases but nothing has materialized just yet.  Nowadays almost everyone is really good at getting this stuff done themselves, so I’m happy that they are taking control of their destinies and getting their music out to the world.

Can you give us your personal Top 5 favorites in your sale catalog? Also one that you think was dope and didn’t have the recognition it deserved?

In no particular order, I’ll list a few of my favorites, but I’m obligated to mention Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” (aka “Sacred Hoop” aka “Runny Poop”) first since that tape inspired everything.  I was also thrilled to be able to pick up indie music from the Hieroglyphics (“Hiero Oldies”)and Saafir (Hobo Junction’s “Limited Edition Compilation”) since I was such a fan of their major label stuff.  I really liked Red Tide’s “Rogue MCs” tape.  Disflex6’s self-titled debut (aka “1984”) was great.  The Kracken’s “Abstract & Cognac” left me wanting much more.  The Sebutones’ “50/50 Where It Counts” blew my mind!  Early stuff Dose One and Why? showed me that hip hop had no boundaries.  This is an extremely abbreviated favorites list - as I look back through my old catalogs, I realize that I loved them all.  It was all so new and so fresh and I think these artists all deserved more recognition than they got.  I’m glad that I could help expose them a bit but I wish I could have done a lot more.

Did you developed friendship with artists/crews over those years and do you have interesting stories/ anecdotes linked to that?

My anecdotal memory is terrible so I’ve sadly forgotten a ton of great stories, fantastic show moments and hilarious conversations.  Looking back, I should have kept a journal or taken a million photographs, because we all had so much fun and did so much back then.  But, luckily for me, I’ve been able to keep in touch with a few of my very favorite people, emcees Luke Sick (Sacred Hoop/Grand Invincible) and Roughneck Jihad (Third Sight), and producer Deeskee (who has probably produced more songs in the Atak catalog than anyone else).  And luckily for everyone else, all three of these guys are still making incredible music, more than 20 years after giving me tapes to review.  A few weeks ago I got to hang out with The Grouch for a bit and he gave me a copy of his “F...the Dumb” double vinyl, 20 years after I first sold that tape in the catalog.

Why (and when) did you stopped Atak?

Atak started to slow down around 2004.  I had recently moved from the Bay area down to Los Angeles, gotten married, bought a house, and started another job that was able to pay the bills more reliably.  I was still getting orders and submissions from new artists, but wasn’t able to give Atak the focus it required to really push new artists and releases.  I didn’t have time to go to many shows anymore, and all my hip hop buddies were still up in the Bay.  I had ambitions to reboot the website, but then my web host got hacked and I had to shut down the site...and then I never got it back online.  I eventually moved my inventory onto some other online platforms and kept selling, but for the most part, Atak was done.  I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to the artists who submitted music around this time.  I was getting some great music but just didn’t have juice to do anything with it.

Any thoughts on the evolution of hip hop? What about the the come back of the cassette? Is it possible that Atak would make a comeback in the future, in some form or another?

Tough question, because I don’t keep up with much truly “underground” music anymore, so I really hope that there are a ton of dope kids putting out dope music out there, and I’m sure there are plenty of them.  I love 90’s hip hop so much, both major label and my Atak stuff, that that is what I still listen to the most, digging in my records, tapes and cds or bumping music in my car.  I agree with most true heads that a lot of today’s hip hop is junk, and though I’m happy to see rappers get big and make money, I’d much rather that it be good, original and compelling hip hop.  I’m stoked to see everyone buying and releasing tapes again, because of my love for the physical copy (though I agree that a free or cheap digital download is an essential part of that sale).  And in regards to Atak’s great big comeback, I don’t think it will happen - it would require too much time and energy to do it right.  But if I can still help out a few people, promote a few records, maybe even sell a few for my old pals, I’m happy to contribute.

A specific question from the homie Age: do you still want to reissue that Hi-State album?

I bugged my man Mr. E about that tape FOREVER and at least he finally put it up on Bandcamp (https://eightarrow.bandcamp.com/album/hi-state-project-demos-n-shit-vol-1) and we chatted about putting out a cassette reissue.  I’m sure he wouldn’t have much trouble selling a short run of 100 tapes, so I’ll remind him about it.  But I’m happy that fans can at least take a listen or buy it online.

What do you think was the most special in the 90's underground scene, and do you believe something like that would ever happen again?

I’ve never really tried to analyze that scene, but in retrospect, I bet that a lot of these emcees, producers and deejays were inspired by all the incredible major label releases that kept pouring out in that decade.  So much quality hip hop was coming out and it was easy to see on “Yo! MTV Raps” and BET and the good stuff was even getting on the radio!  It was everywhere and it was so damn good!  I’m sure that these kids just wanted to be a part of that magical time, and a lot of the underground music was super fresh, too, because it wasn’t easy to make beats and put out cds - they had to commit to it and create a whole scene and they had to be dope to do it.  Granted, I’m a old nostalgic rap dude now, but I don’t think the major or the underground scene will ever be that saturated with fantastically innovative, powerful, creative and inspired hip hop.  Nowadays there isn’t enough inspiration in the scene for there to be an onslaught of great new hip hop like there was for me back in the days.  There will always be a lucky few who can inspire themselves to be original and make great music, and hopefully these kids will get a chance to be heard.

Interview conducted by Kaliyuga Pro & Pseudzero with a bonus cameo by Age, february 2019.