#could i not have just made up a separate new thing for percy's birthday month? yeah. but that would've required more effort and i'm so tire

[happyk44]

"I'm not leaving you behind! It is my duty," he hissed. "I swore myself-"

"Your swore yourself because you had no choice, Percy." Her eyes were endless dark, devoid of feeling, of life. "You had a price to pay for your mother's life and this was your only offer." Her thin fingers cup his face through the bars. "You didn't choose to be my protector." She gave a weak laugh that made his stomach plummet to the floor. "You're not even my guard yet, not really."

Like a phantom, her touch slid down his cheek. He caught her wrist before her fingertip stopped gracing his skin. He could feel the rounded edge of her fingernail poke against him. Silence held fraught between them.

"Bianca-"

"Percy," she cut in, voice so sharp it cut him to the core. "I want you to survive. You're free. Take advantage of that, and go. Now."

"I can't go back without you," he said, quickly. She didn't fight his hold, but still his grip tightened. As though the harder he held her, the more she would stop protesting her escape. "You are-"

"Dead." Her lips thinned. "I'm dead, Percy. I was dead the moment they got their hands on me and I will be dead before either one of us even makes it beyond these walls, but you-" Her voice cracked, eyes watering.

He shook his head. Blood pounded in his ears. He didn't want to hear what she was going to say, wanted her to stop, wanted it all to stop. Just for a moment.

But it didn't, and neither did she. With a deep breath, she carried on, "You can make it. You can live. But only if you leave without me, so go."

His lungs burned. She inhaled so deeply, spoke so forcefully, and it made him hold the air in his chest until he couldn't take it anymore. If he didn't breathe, maybe she would. But his chest ached. Self-loathing wedged itself like a rock in his throat as he let go. The sound of his own breath was like nail on chalkboard.

"Percy," she whispered. He shook his head and leaned in closer. Although tears hadn't yet fallen, her eyes were still wet. They glistened like the night sky. Her forehead pressed against the bars.

He looked away. The brick wall to his left was growing a fair bit of moss in the corner. "What's our star again?"

She laughed. It was a watery thing that choked him where he stood. Memories of standing the long grass, moonlight shining off the river, while she read her books beside him. Every so often, she'd look up at the night sky and search for the brightest star that month. She'd tell the stories behind the constellations. Or at least the stories from her kingdom. Any time she told a story, a fantastical myth, she'd follow up that her brother knew more - Nico, the quiet prince with a voracious appetite for legends and monsters.

Then, if she could spot the brightest star that month and if she recalled, she'd tell him what it meant for the people born that month. At least, in their hemisphere anyway. The stars were different elsewhere. Sometimes she'd crack open the newspaper, the stark image of her father, and read aloud the horoscopes.

He still remembered the incredulous sound she made when he told her they shared the same birthday. She'd dragged him to the library to refresh her memory on their star. Then argued furiously that he did not share the same traits as her.

It was a silly thing. She didn't believe it. He didn't either. But it was the first time they hadn't played the stiff act of royal princess and her knight-in-training. Not Percy holding his tongue and following strictly one step behind. Not Bianca doing her best to pretend he wasn't her shadow.

Awkward civility and stiffness carried thick between them from the moment Percy had been casted into his role. But that night, with the sound of yelling and laughter still echoing in their ears, they made an agreement. They didn't have to be the best of friends, but they sure could be casual with each other. After all, they were going to be stuck with each other for the rest of their lives.

At least... they were supposed to be.

Slowly each finger detached one by one until all that was left was his palm pressed against her wrist. Then that fell away too. Still he couldn't bare to turn his head and face her.

"Leo," she said. "The lion. Strength, pride, loyalty, confidence."

A stabbed orange toy on new year's day passed through his mind. "Sacrifice."

It was quiet for a beat. Then, "Yes." His heart hammered so fast he could feel it in his throat. "The lion represents sacrifice."

What was he supposed to say? He wanted to run, to turn the lock with the key he stole, take her and run. Run far and fast. But deep inside, he knew she was right. He could get by undetected. No one cared about a child knight, not even yet passed his training. He could blend in and slip out. Even if he got caught, they wouldn't nearly put in as much effort to get him back as they would if she were with him.

She was right.

She was already dead.

He swallowed thickly and met her eyes again. The night sky glistened back at him and he thought of constellations and warm handshakes and kind agreements and silly arguments. Breath caught in his throat. "I'll miss you," he whispered, voice hoarse.

Her lips twitched. "I'll miss you too." She blinked, and one tear slid down her cheek. He tracked the wet trace it left behind until it welled up at the bottom of her chin and dripped to the floor. "Will you do me a favour?"

"You're my princess," he said. "I would do anything for you."

It was a weak smile she gave before she spoke. The sight of it crushed him. "Tell my family I love them." Her breath escaped from her shakily. She pushed back her hair. A classic move to hide the nerves that drove her hands to tremble ever so slightly. "And take care of Nico. Please."

"I will," he promised.

Her smile strengthened ever so slightly. But the tears fell fast now, one right after the other. Her face tilted away at the first streak. He immediately turned his line of sight back to the brick wall. Weakness, sadness, grief - she hated being seen with any of them. He always respected it. Look away until she was done. Don't speak, don't ask her anything, don't help her. Just look away and stay silent unless she calls out.

So, even as his mind's eye was trapped in the wet track of tears on her skin, the hitched sound of her breath holding in a cry, he turned and headed back for the dungeon's door. The doorknob twisted in his hand. The door cracked open.

"Percy."

He held stiff. "Yes?"

"Don't forget the bracelet."

Heat burned at the back of his head. In his pocket, the bracelet felt heavier than the weight of the world. When he had first arrived, she gave it to him. When he refused to take it, insistent that she could deliver it to Nico herself, she shoved it into his pocket herself. Like a ghostly stain, his thigh still tingled with the forceful and firm press of her hand. He was sure it always would.

"I won't."

"Stay safe," she said, a princess in a dungeon ready and waiting to die.

His heart shattered. Still, he kept his head held high. "I will."

Then, without another word, he left the girl he had spent the last three years training to protect. He was meant to die for her. It was the role he had accepted the night he and his friends had stormed the castle and pleaded for help with his dying mother. He didn't argue. He didn't plead. Without hesitation, he swore his life away for hers. Without hesitation, he swore his last breath would be hers.

Yet she was the one embracing the eternal coldness to come. She was the one breathing weakly so he could breathe strong. She was trading away her life for his. She was the lion, giving a mighty roar before the dawn of a new year. She was the sacrifice, held down by chains with a glistening sharp blade raised above her head.

But he wasn't the one lowering it upon her neck. No, he was the cold breath of winter. The first drop of snow. The wilting grass. He was the barren wasteland that drove her out into the open. He was the starving masses desperate to live. He didn't have to drop the blade. He didn't have to use his own hands to spill her blood across the ground. His survival was her end. And that made him her killer anyway.

[djangodurango]

for the WIP ask game... The Future Is Still Silver and Black? (original train fiction from you two sounds really interesting!)

So last year, I went up north to visit Ray. Ray lives in Chicago, which just so happens to have the largest railway museum in the United States, the Illinois Railway Museum.

At the IRM, we saw the Nebraska Zephyr, which is a streamlined stainless steel articulated trainset. Each of the cars in this train are named after Greek/Roman goddesses. Venus, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, and Juno. It's really quite striking. And the train is pulled by an EMD E5 (the only surviving E5 in fact) named Silver Pilot.

The next day we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. There we saw the Pioneer Zephyr, the first of the Burlington Zephyrs.

So after we get out of the MSI, we're sitting in the Metra station, waiting for the train, and we're doing Independent Research on our phones. Because the concept of the Nebraska Zephyr is great, right? Five beautiful cars all named after goddesses. And that is when we learn that Silver Pilot did not originally belong to this train.

"Those aren't even his bitches," Ray said to me.

So over the next few months, we did more Independent Research. And every new piece of information we found about Silver Pilot just made his story even better. The whole thing is fuckin' wild and we had to DIG to find almost all of it. It's insane because the engine has this amazing story - a story that Ray often points out would sound contrived if it wasn't true - and apparently no one has cared until a pair of fucking cunt dorks went to the train museum.

Comparatively, the Pioneer Zephyr was easy to find more about. Its history is extremely well-documented and lots of people in the past have been fucking cunt dorks about that train. The thing about the Pioneer Zephyr though is that it was made in the early 30's, right? And Burlington promoted this train in a way almost... vaudevillian. It broke the land speed rail record on its way to its debut at the 1934 World's Fair (outdoing its competitor from the Union Pacific, M-10000 only a couple months after it broke the record), it went on an exhibition tour, there were commemorative letter covers given for its service milestones, there was a ride-on children's toy made of it, it starred in a movie!

So me and Ray were now thoroughly enthralled by these two separate but related trains and how different their service lives were - and continue to be - when we get an idea.

We'd considered the idea of trains writing letters to each other before, but it's a little human for them in general, particularly for working engines who are busy. Although I was quite pleased when I was able to report to Ray that there was indeed an episode of TTTE where Thomas sends Percy a postcard.

But these guys are both preserved and while Pilot still works, the IRM is only really open on weekends. They got time. They have people with hands who can read and write who also have time.

DJ: Oh, what if they send each other letters? Ain't like they've got anything else going on. Ray: c2c. I was thinking about them being pen pals. Especially since they live so close, the letters don't take long to arrive. They can be short and sweet. DJ: Gives them something to look forward to. Ray: You can send some a few times a year and not be overwhelming with the information.

Which was all well and good, but then I found something practically serendipitous. A sign that this was the way to go.

So remember how Pioneer had all these publicity stunts and events done for it? On its tenth anniversary, they made a six foot birthday cake and rigged up an eight-foot-long knife such that the train could pull forward, break a ribbon, and cut its own birthday cake.

Most of this cake was given to veteran and child hospital patients, but individual pieces were also sent off to each of Pioneer's "brothers" and a hundred-ish other fellow streamliners across the country.

With a letter.

DJ: Raymond. There's a train letter IN the Pioneer Zephyr book. FROM the Pioneer Zephyr. About his birthday party. Although he does say in it that he only has brothers. Ray: OH MY GOD. How did we know??? Are we just that fucking good???? Do we just know and perceive the truth THAT well. DJ: It's too fucking cute. Ray: The fact that he is a he and also says he has brothers is revolutionary. That almost strains the limits of credulity, knowing how Train Guys are about calling engines "she". But I know you would not lie to me about this. Can you scan it?????

The fucking train actually, canonically, wrote a letter.

So yeah, the trains are pen pals. And they write to each other about their past and but moreso about their present. Because as it happens, their history post-preservation is interesting too (as I'm sure you can relate) and there's far less said about it already.

The first batch of letters are done, we're just getting some other materials together before we can publish.

EDIT: people are reblogging this again so just editing to add that you can read the train letters here.

[fbfh]

miss missing you - percy x reader

 1.1k words

 pls listen to miss missing you by fob and conspiracy and where the lines overlap by paramore

The end of the summer could pretty miserable for a lot of reasons

But you always tried your hardest not to focus on that

Communicating with other demigods was pretty hard sometimes

You couldn’t really call or text, and writing letters was hard unless it was in greek, but that could seem pretty suspicious

But love can make you pretty creative

Over your years of being together, you and Percy have worked out a pretty good system

You managed to get your hands on old fashioned camcorders, dvd players, and blank dvds among other things

You film little video diaries every day, burn them onto a dvd, and mail them to each other

You’ve also gotten into the habit of filming during your time at camp half blood, too

The only consistency you have nine months out of the year is getting a big orange envelope from percy with a dvd of his face, polaroids of him and his mom, and little notes in greek

The singing thing started when he had a particularly rough week

He was behind in school, drama had erupted with the few friends he had managed to make, and his mom had the flu

He missed you so much it physically hurt

All he wanted was to feel your touch

Maybe hear your voice in person instead of through shitty dvd player speakers that stopped being made in 2006

He kept thinking back to being at camp with you

Those moments when you smelled like chlorine and your hair was warm from the sun

He missed the taste of your lip balm, the strawberry one with spf you only used in summer

When you would hug him and the knot from your tied up camp shirt would poke his stomach, the way your laugh blended seamlessly with the crackle of the bonfire

And now it was abysmally icy outside, and his seasonal depression was in full swing

“I just miss you… miss your voice. I can’t catch up on my homework because every time I try to, that song conspiracy by paramore won’t stop playing in my head even though I haven’t listened to it since middle school, so… I dunno what’s going on up here,” 

He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck, but you could tell he was really struggling

The next video you sent included a clip of you singing and dancing along to conspiracy in your kitchen, followed by your step parent asking what you’re doing up this late

It ended with you in your room, bidding him good night

You included a polaroid of  you kissing the teddy bear he got you for your birthday, and written on the back in greek,

“Remember ‘where the lines overlap’? What a banger ♥️”

You went back and forth for weeks, sending clips of you singing old songs you listened to in middle school among your other videos

You’d talk about school and camp, you’d dream about the future together, talk about getting a little apartment together after you graduate

Every time Percy came home and saw his mom holding an envelope with that specific look on her face, he knew something from you had arrived

That was the main thing that got him through each semester

Any time there was a school break, you tried to meet up with him

What felt like half an eternity later, you were both cramming for graduation

He had gotten into a college close to where he lived on a swimming scholarship 

The minute you got home from graduation, you ran into your room to pack for camp

You were coming early this year and nothing could stop you

You even risked an iris message to Percy while you got ready

You had no idea if you would be able to pull off the surprise you’d been working on, but you were going to do everything possible to make it happen

After you hung up, you finished the smaller surprise for his birthday

That summer was among the best you’d ever had

As august drew nearer, you started to get nervous again

Chiron had dropped by a few days before Percy’s birthday to give you a letter in person

“It seems important”

It was

You were beyond elated, things were finally falling into place

Once it was finally Percy’s birthday, you had pulled him aside to have a quiet moment together to give him his present

He unwrapped it, and gave you a confused look, a smile already unstoppable on his face

“All of our songs,” you said, “in chronological order.” 

And there it was

All of the songs you’ve sung and danced to numbered in blue fine tip sharpie

He pulled you in for a tight hug

You savored it for a moment, his hugs are always amazing

They’re so enveloping and warm

After a minute you mutter, “There is another surprise,”

“I was going to wait until the end of camp, but I can’t hold out on you anymore.” 

You pull the letter out of your pocket and hand it to him

You explain the plan you’ve been working on for months

You used the gifts from your godly parent to get an internship at a great company in manhattan

“I’ll need to do some training, complete some coursework, but…” 

He stared at you in disbelief

“I’m staying in New York”

He pulled you into another hug, this one tighter than before, and kissed you so warmly you thought you’d melt

After you finally pull apart, you grab the cd case and slip in a piece of paper you’d written the title of the mix tape on

He reads the title you wrote out in greek

‘Songs to dance to in our kitchen’

Our kitchen

He laughed in disbelief

“So no more mailing videos?”

You shake your head

“No more mailing videos,” 

He realized this really was the end of an era

But the beginning of a new one

Once he realized you weren’t going to be separated any more, he suddenly felt strangely nostalgic for all those times you got through together

He mentioned this, and you joked, “Oh, I can move back in with my parents if you want to keep doing that,”

“No way,” he laughed, pulling you into a hug, “I’ll miss missing you, you know, now and then... but I’d much rather have the real thing.” 

“So would I,” 

And you both got what you wanted 

Dancing in the kitchen together to songs you used to cry to

But this time everything felt alright

[thedigitalnativee]

do mi ti. (fred weasley x fem!oc x theodore nott)

summary: during the spring of ‘96, fred and george weasley departed from hogwarts. but fred didn’t just leave hogwarts behind, he left his beloved lena too. while fred was gone, lena made a mistake that is now threatening to come to life.

warnings: ANGST, mentions of death, mentions of cheating, like super slight nsfw (literally will miss it if you blink), i think that's it but let me know if i missed anything.

notes: i split it into two parts and i will post part two as soon as it’s finished. lena’s name is pronounced LEH-na (the european way, not the english way) and her house is ravenclaw :)

Lena face claim:

•••••••••

It had been six months since Fred and Lena had been reunited.

She had been at The Burrow with Mrs. Weasley, waiting for the seven “Harry’s” to return. She had no idea Fred was on the mission until she saw Harry’s boy-ish face transition into Fred’s freckled, masculine one.

It was the first time she’d seen him since he and George left Hogwarts.

Since that night, Lena had been attached to Fred at the hip. She never wanted him to leave the way he did again.

But there was something she was hiding. Something that she planned to take to her grave.

~

December 31, 1996

Lena’s hands gripped the expensive fabric of Theo’s white dress shirt, pulling him into her. His hands roamed across her back gently. Both of their minds were slightly hazed by the amount of alcohol both of them had consumed. The sound of the other’s ringing in the new year echoed down the hall where they were.

Theo pressed Lena against the cobblestone of the dungeons. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she felt his manhood rubbing against her sex. Lena tilted her head back and let out a breathy moan as his lips attacked her neck. “God, you’re so beautiful,” Theo whispered against her skin and she felt a chill run down her spine.

Lena’s nails dug into his back as she heard him begin to unbuckle his belt. She peppered sweet kisses down his neck, her moans vibrating through his skin as he pushed her panties to the side.

He very slowly lowered her onto him, letting each inch of himself sink into her. Lena breathed out as he bottomed out inside of her. Theo buried his face in her neck, grunting as he gripped her hips. “Theo,” She breathed.

Lena gently moved up and down to meet his thrusts. A delicious swoon came over her as Theo pulled her top down to reveal one of her breasts. His soft lips wrapped around the sweet bud and sucked lightly, swirling his tongue over the sensitive skin.

She didn’t want to admit it, but he felt better than anyone else she’d been with.

He even felt better than Fred.

Months of yearning for each other. Stealing glances from across the library and potions classroom. Their passion had built up, boiling over and burning them. Just the touch of Theo’s fingers on her sent the young witch into a tizzy. The way he kissed her and held her so tenderly was so unlike Fred, but it was oh so good.

Theo lightly bit down on her shoulder as both of them came to their climax. Lena cried out as her orgasm hit her in waves. Each of Theo’s thrusts sent shockwaves through her. His eyes screwed shut as he spilled into her warmth. “Fuck, Lena.” He said lowly.

Moments later, after the fact, the guilt consumed her. She could feel the tears and the panic rise as she and Theo stood in silence.

She had cheated on Fred.

How could she do that?

She loved Fred, Fred loved her. She had no reason to be unfaithful, right?

It had just been so long. Lena hadn’t spoken to Fred in nearly a year. She craved a man’s presence, the feeling of someone else’s weight on her. And Theo was handsome and intriguing and he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

It would never happen again. She didn’t need Theo when she had Fred.

She loved Fred and didn’t want anyone else. She’d chalk up her encounter with Theo as a moment of weakness. Fred was her soulmate, and that was all.

~

July 27, 1997

Lena’s head rested against Theo’s chest. Theo played with each of her fingers

The war was beginning to rage and so was Lena’s anxiety. Not only did she have no clue where Fred was, but she knew Theo wanted to fight.

Theo was stubborn and still had that Slytherin determination as if he had something to prove. Ever since he defected from being a Death Eater, he had this horrible chip on his shoulder. He wanted a fight, he looked one for everywhere he went. He’d settled a little bit, finally, after Lena convinced him to go into hiding. She thanked the gods every day that Molly agreed to take him in until Tonks found somewhere permanent for him to stay.

Theo often mentioned the idea of running away. Just her and him, moving from place to place before they settled once all of it was over. But Lena refused. She had to see the war through to the end. But in all honesty, the idea was tempting. Especially if it meant that Theo would be safe.

Their affair started as a way for her to cope. Fred was gone and she craved companionship. She desperately needed to feel the weight of a man on top of her, holding her. But it turned out that Theo was too good at his job.

She started to feel more for him very quickly. And she swore that the moment she started to feel soft on him, she would never lay with him again. But then it kept happening. Before she even realized it, she was kissing down his chest as her hands roamed across his broad back.

And now, here she laid on his chest, overwhelmed with anxiety over his well-being.

Part of her felt guilty. Technically she was still with Fred. But she hadn’t seen Fred in a year.

When Fred and George left Hogwarts, they truly left without a trace. No one, not even Molly, had heard from the two boys in ages. The last thing Lena heard about them was that they were traveling across the continent selling products from their business.

But she was also angry. If Fred truly loved her as much as he claimed, why hadn’t he written to her? Why hadn’t he called? Was he so busy that he couldn’t even be bothered to pass along a message or send a bouquet of flowers on her birthday? The fact that he was able to continue in life so easily without her hurt.

“We could still run, you know? I could make a portkey that’ll have us in Iceland by morning.” Theo smiled down at her.

Lena chuckled lightly, “The answer is still no, Silly. Now come, Molly must need help with dinner for Harry and the others when they touchdown in a few.” She said as she got out of bed.

They’d been keeping themselves a secret from Molly. Though Theo was fairly certain that she had her suspicions. Nonetheless, Lena made sure she entered and exited his room as discreetly as possible.

She got dressed and placed a sweet kiss on his cheek. Before she could walk away, Theo caught her wrist. She turned back around and looked at him with confusion.

Theo’s face looked grim as he swallowed harshly. He gently pulled her down to sit next to him. He sat up slowly and cupped her face in his hands, his hands flattening her hair. Lena’s brows furrowed as his eyes ran across her face. “What’s the matter?” She placed her hands on his wrists.

He shook his head and let his thumb rub her cheek, “Nothing. Just let me look at you.” He caressed the top of her hair and forehead.

Lena closed her eyes and let herself feel his touch. She tried to ignore the guilt racking through her.

Fred, Fred, Fred.

What’s wrong with you? You love Fred.

Fred is who you want, remember? Your loving boyfriend who would do anything for you?

Theo’s hands drew patterns across her cheeks. He connected the beauty marks on her skin with lines and squiggles. He drew stars above her eyebrows before letting his fingers ghost over her lips. And just as he leaned in for a kiss, Lena cleared her throat and stood.

“Dinner,” She said, “We should go help Molly with dinner.”

Theo fell back onto the bed with a sigh, his bare chest glistening. “I’d rather stay here and have an obscene amount of sex with you.” He smirked and Lena felt butterflies soar through her stomach.

Lena rolled her eyes playfully, “Haha, very funny.” She put her hair up. “Try to do something though. Even if you don’t come downstairs and help with dinner. I hate how you stay locked away in this room. Read one of Percy’s old books, or ask Ginny if she’ll go for a round of quidditch.” She suggested.

“You’re right, I should do something. Come here and keep me busy.” He said suggestively.

Lena stopped at the door and chuckled, “Always a cheek one, You.”

She raised her hand and twirled her fingers lightly. “Amorcaptus.”

The spell lightly flowed towards Theo. Pink and crimson hearts danced through the air, dissipating once they got to him. A smile came to both of their lips. “What’s this?” Theo asked her.

“Amorcaptus. It’s a lesser-known spell now, but it was really popular in Germany when my mother was young.” She explained to him.

Her mother taught it to her when Lena was very young. “With love” is what it meant. Her mother told her that it became popular in Germany during World War II when many Jewish witches and wizards cast it as a final goodbye to one another before they were separated.

Lena couldn’t tell Theo she loved him. It was wrong and a horrible thing to do to Fred. So she said it with her magic instead, hoping it would be enough to get the message across.

She shrugged, “It’s the only wandless magic I know. Maybe one day I’ll teach it to you.” She smiled and then she was gone.

Later that night, Lena helped Molly set up the extra rooms for when everyone touched down at The Burrow. And after practically begging him, Lena convinced Theo to read one of Percy’s books. He settled on 1984 by George Orwell.

As Lena fluffed the pillows on Ron’s bed she heard the familiar crack of thunder sound off outside. A moment later, Molly called up to her to tell her that Hagrid and Harry had made it back safely.

Lena ran down the stairs and outside to the front lawn. “Harry!” She smiled and wrapped her arms around his short frame in a hug. “You’re okay?”

Harry nodded, “Has no one else come back?” He asked.

“No, you two are the only ones so far.” Lena told him.

Harry’s skin paled slightly before he put on a smile as to not worry Lena. But Lena could see the thoughts in his head swimming.

Ginny came outside, followed by Theo. Lena felt her breath hitch at the sight of him, still stunned by handsome he was after all this time.

Harry ran to Ginny and lifted her into the air. “I was so worried,” Ginny said as Harry spun them around.

Theo’s eyes caught Lena’s and he slowly strode towards her with a slight smile. Lena saw Harry’s face drop at the sight of Theo, his jaw clenching with contempt.

Lena was well aware of how Harry, Ron, and Hermione felt about Theo. And she loved her friends, but she couldn’t tell them about her and Theo. They didn’t even understand why she was nice to him at all. To them, he was just another Death Eater that defected to avoid prison. She couldn’t imagine how they would react to her and Theo being together.

Everyone was focused on Theo discreetly linked his pinky finger with Lena’s. His ice touch made her gasp slightly. It was the most public display of affection they had ever shared, though it was still so small.

Lena closed her eyes while Theo’s eyes scanned over her sculpted face. As he stared at Lena he took in every detail. How the moon beat down on her freckled skin. The way the wind blew her raven-colored hair across her face. Her fluttering, silken lashes and the soft champagne pink of her cheeks.

His lips parted slightly as he tried not to let his thoughts get away from him. But he couldn’t help the way his thoughts ran wild.

Theo cleared his throat, “Lena, I-”

Almost as soon as he opened his mouth, another crack of thunder came down. Lena’s eyes shot open and she didn’t even realize that Theo had said anything.

Her body reacted before her mind fully registered that it was him. At the sight of his fiery hair and tall frame, an electric current soared through her.

He looked up, his downturned eyes looking towards The Burrow. That was when she knew it was him.

Lena didn’t think twice before snatching her hand away from Theo, running towards Fred with a sob. Theo winced and tried not to show his disappointment on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck to hide his reaction.

Fred’s eyes found Lena as she ran to him with her arms outstretched. A feeling of pure euphoria came over him when she hauled herself into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her hair forming a curtain on his shoulders. He felt her tears staining his clothing as she violently sobbed.

“Oh, my love.” She cried into his neck before pulling back and kissing him on his plump and slightly bruised lips.

A year. That’s how long it had been since their lips touched, since she had held her face in her hands and looked at him so closely.

Fred smiled against Lena’s lips, “Hello, Lovey. Missed me, I assume?” He asked into the kiss.

Lena almost felt like slapping him harshly across the face. How could he be so nonchalant about disappearing for a year? It was like their time apart meant nothing to him. He didn’t even shed a single tear. “What are you- What are you doing here?”

“George and I decided to surprise everyone. We got the message about the mission and showed up at the Dursley’s. Quite a shock for everyone when they saw us.” He explained.

Theo wasn’t even a thought in her mind anymore. That was until she saw him again, and her feelings for him flooded through her all over again. Her love for him hit her like a tidal wave. She hugged Fred but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from Theo.

You fool. Theo thought. What did you expect? You both always knew that this arrangement was temporary.

Fred set Lena down and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He saw Theo standing a few feet away and smiled at him. Theo tried to put on a smile to be polite. “Nott, it’s good to see on the right side.” Fred nodded at him as he walked towards the house with Lena.

“Thanks, Mate...” Theo acknowledged.

Fred patted his shoulder, “Yeah, no problem. It feels good to do good.” He said to the younger wizard passive-aggressively.

It feels good to do your girlfriend, you fire-crotched bloke. Theo couldn’t help but think.

Theo felt like tackling Fred and slapping his smug smile off of his face. He knew how the Weasley’s felt about his Death Eater past and heritage. He knew that most of the Order of the Phoenix looked down upon him. He was tired of putting up with the staring and the whispers and the backhanded comments.

But instead of slamming Fred to the ground, Theo just nodded. “Yeah... feels good.”

Lena felt like her heart was nosediving into her stomach. Her two lovers were interacting with each other. Their alpha-male personalities were clashing slightly. She silently hoped that one wouldn’t say something to set off the other, fearing where confrontation may lead.

Fred kissed the top of her head and Lena eyed Theo guiltily. Theo just stared back at her with an unreadable expression.

“Come on, Lovey. Smells like Mum’s made beef casserole.” He said and Lena smiled slightly at his keen sense of smell.

Theo watched the pair of them saunter towards the house, Lena’s hands running through Fred’s hair and her soft lips peppering kisses across his face.

Lena tried to focus on Fred and how he was finally with her again. She tried to force herself to feel that joy she should have felt after seeing him so long. But she could tell that she was only happy to see him because she felt obligated to. And she also realized that she would have rather been kissing Theo.

~

August 1, 1997

Fred and Lena laid in bed together with nothing flowing between them, despite having just made love to one another.

They had tried to restore what they once had. They spent all of their time together, they tried different ways of showing their affection to each other, they even tried new things in bed to see where it may lead. Nonetheless, Fred and Lena were at all standstill.

Fred could tell from his first night back that she was apprehensive. But he just thought that it was because they hadn’t met for a year. He figured her wariness around him would go away with time. But after nearly two weeks, something was still plaguing his witch.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love him anymore. She’d checked after there was no spark when they made love that first night. She did still love him with all of her heart. But she couldn’t escape how much she missed Theo. She craved his lips and his touch. She craved it so much that Fred’s lips and touch felt like nothing against her skin.

So, she had come to realize she loved them both.

Lena pulled the covers over her chest as she cleared her throat. “The wedding is gonna start soon. We should get ready.” She said and he nodded.

He didn’t know if he should ask her if something was wrong. He could be opening a can of worms without even realizing it. But he wanted her to look at him the way she used to. Like he was the best thing in the world.

“Lena,” He started as she began to get dressed.

Lena turned away from him and scrunched her face. She recognized that tone in the older wizard’s voice. She tried to pretend like she didn’t hear him say her name. Perhaps he wouldn’t try to call to her again if she ignored him.

“Lena,” He said more firm, “we need to find time to talk today.” He stated.

Lena winced internally but said nothing but, “Alright.”

She left almost immediately after, deciding to spend the rest of the day with Fleur and the other bridesmaids. Being around her cousin had been effective in distracting her from Fred and Theo. Plus she could always talk to Fleur considering she was the only person that knew about Theo.

Lena would have told Hermione, but she knew the Gryffindor Princess wouldn’t understand no matter how hard she tried to. She hated that she couldn’t even tell her best friend.

At the wedding reception, Lena tried her best to avoid Fred. She knew it was the perfect time for him to pull her away and speak to her. She just wasn’t ready to confess to him.

She tried biting back that slight pang of jealousy she got when she saw Fred talking to Angelina, his ex. She knew when she and Fred started dating that he would always have a bond with Angie to an extent. Plus, she rationalized that she couldn’t be upset considering Theo.

About an hour into the reception, Fred finally approached his girlfriend. He came up behind her and gently wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on the space between her shoulder and her neck. He placed a soft kiss on her neck, “You look gorgeous in blue.” He smiled and so did she.

Lena closed her eyes and silently prayed he wouldn’t bring up wanting to talk with her. “You look good in orange, but we already knew that.” She giggled.

“Do you want to dance?” He asked.

Lena titled to look at him before she nodded apprehensively. Fred smiled a bit more as he took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

Theo watched from outside of the tent. He would have joined the others, but he wasn’t sure if he was welcome. Despite Bill and Fleur saying he was more than welcome, he still felt like an outsider. But it wouldn’t have mattered or hurt nearly as much if he had Lena.

He had kept his distance from her since Fred’s return. He didn’t want to complicate things even more for her. But he had to admit that he missed her, and being away from her was agony.

He watched Fred and Lena dance together. Her head rested on his chest as they swayed. Fred’s fingers gently raked through her dark hair as he kissed the top of her head. Her eyes fluttered closed in contentment.

Theo cursed himself for the ache in his heart. What a foolish, sorry sack you’ve become. He thought.

He had had his share of conquests. He, Blaise, and Draco had flipped the skirts of many dames in their time as young men. He’d even had an affair with the daughter of the caretaker at his parent’s home in Greece. So, he wasn’t able to understand why the thought of not having Lena anymore pained him.

Never had he ever felt for a girl the way he felt for Lena. He felt like a fool, stupidly in love with a girl who used him. But he couldn’t help but love her. Who wouldn’t fall in love with a girl as beautiful and kind and intelligent as Lena?

Oh, how he wished that he could dance with her publicly. Or do anything publicly, for that matter.

He wanted her, he wanted her in the true way. Not in the way of sneaking around, kissing in empty dark rooms, and linking pinky fingers. He wanted to hold her hand as they walked down the streets of Diagon Alley. He wanted to sit with her in a sandwich shop and talk the way they did in private. He wanted her to read him in the mornings as he made her coffee just the way she liked it.

He just wanted her.

“You could go inside if you’d like.” He heard a girly voice from the side of him.

Theo turned and saw the infamously quirky Luna Lovegood. She had a slight smile on her lips and her eyes gaped just like always.

“What?” He asked the strange girl.

“I’m sure no one will mind if you go inside. I think Lena would enjoy seeing you.” She said as if she could read his mind.

He wanted to scoff at her. How naive of her to think that the situation was so black and white. But he held his laugh in, remembering how Lena told him that Luna didn’t have very many friends.

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, Luna.” He pushed his hands into his pockets.

A giggle escaped her, “That’s not very Slytherin of you.” She shrugged absently.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He said, slightly offended.

He was so sick of the other three houses looking down upon Slytherin. As if they were the only house to produce dark wizards and Death Eaters. And being constantly surrounded by Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs made him the outlet for almost everyone’s animosity towards Slytherin.

“I don’t mean to offend you. I only mean to say that my favorite quality about Slytherin house has always been your drive and desire to get what you want. It’s not like you to walk away from something you desire.” She explained.

Theo’s defenses came down slightly as she explained herself. He should have known better. Luna Lovegood would befriend a Dementor if she could.

He looked down at the dress shoes Arthur let him borrow, “She doesn’t want me.” He said quietly.

“Sure she does. I’ve seen how you look at each other. She’s just scared is all. But I’m fairly certain she’ll feel better once you tell her how you feel.” Luna assured him.

He felt her place her hand on his shoulder. The two of them stood there in silence, staring at the jubilant scene in the tent.

He’d always dismissed the eclectic Ravenclaw as daft. She did tend to go off on irrelevant tangents. And she did come off as an airhead at times. But Luna Lovegood was actually quite insightful. And she was pretty good at giving advice.

Theo heard a rushing sound from above, a small blue light visible out of the corner of his eye. Both he and Luna looked up and saw a blue sphere flying past them and directly towards the tent.

“Well, that’s peculiar,” Luna said as Theo pulled her away from the tent with him.

Lena heard gasps from around her and felt Fred’s grip on her tighten. She opened her eyes just as the Patronus landed in the center of the room. Fred pulled her behind him to shield her from any potential danger.

Everyone backed away from the Patronus, which Lena now recognized as Shacklebolt’s lynx. Lena peered around Fred and spotted Hermione across the tent. She felt someone grip her hand and looked down to see Fleur’s manicured hand.

“The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.” The Patronus announced cryptically.

Lena felt her blood run cold. Without The Ministry, there was no form of government to keep the Death Eaters at bay. The Death Eaters essentially had the will to do whatever they pleased.

The Patronus disappeared and the entire tent went into a panic. Everyone began to either run or disapparate as far away from The Burrow as they could.

Bill and Fred kept Fleur and Lena behind them as they found their way to George and Ginny. Death Eaters began to invade the tent, casting killing curses almost as soon as they apparated in.

Lena’s mind raced.

We’ve lost. We’ve lost the war.

My parents don’t know if I’m safe. I don’t know if they’re safe.

Harry. They’ll kill Harry. He’s our only hope.

Theo...

Theo!

Her thoughts stopped running about when his name came to mind.

Theo. She thought. He’s still at the house. They’ll kill him and hang him for all to see if he’s found.

She began to feel sick. She remembered how Theo told her that his father vowed to kill him himself for abandoning the Dark Lord’s cause. And now, possibly an army of Death Eaters were on their way to The Burrow.

She couldn’t leave him, she wouldn’t.

Theo couldn’t die.

He can’t die! She panicked internally.

Not after they worked so hard to protect him. Not after he made her love him.

Lena stopped running, gently pulling Fleur back. Fleur turned and looked at her like she’d lost her mind. She didn’t even think before she began tugging her along again. “Lena, let’s go!” Fleur yelled.

“No! No, Theo is at the house still! We have to go get him!” She said to her cousin.

Fleur gave Lena an apologetic stare, “We have to go, Lena. When we get somewhere safe we’ll send a signal to let him know where we are.” She tried to pull the younger witch along again.

“No!” Lena insisted.

Before she could protest anymore, Bill intervened. He gripped Lena’s other hand in his, making sure the hold was tight. Instinctively, Lena gripped his hand back. She didn’t realize what he was doing until it was too late. She saw Fred and George’s hands on both of Bill’s shoulders. Ginny had her arms around his waist tightly. As soon as Lena tried to pull her hand away, Bill disapparated all six of them out of the tent.

Theo and Luna watched as people began rushing out of the tent.

Theo’s feet immediately started carrying him towards the tent, towards Lena. But Luna pulled him back before he got too far.

Xenophilius rushed out of the tent and frantically searched for his daughter. Luna spotted his floral waistcoat and his ice hair. “Here, Dad!” She called to him.

When Theo saw him, he knew that the man had to be Luna’s kin. They were dressed almost exactly the same and he had the same silver eyes as Luna.

Xenophilius came to the two young wizards, “Thank the gods, you’re alright.” He hugged his daughter. “Come, we must leave immediately. We’ll stay at your grandmother’s until everything settles.” He added and Luna nodded.

Xenophilius’ eyes landed on Theo. He recognized him as the boy the Weasley clan had taken in. The defected Death Eater. He held no prejudice towards the young boy. After all, he was just a boy and not much older than Luna. He couldn’t leave him.

“You are welcome to come too, my boy,” Xenophilius said to Theo.

Theo didn’t know why, but Xenophilius’ invitation shocked him. He knew that much of The Order didn’t care for him. He had expected to be left as Death Eater bait. He hadn’t expected Xenophilius or anyone to offer him asylum.

Xenophilius saw the wheels turning in Theo’s head. “It’s alright, Son. Any friend of Luna’s is a friend of mine.” He said sincerely as he offered Theo his hand.

Theo swallowed harshly, Lena’s sly smile and freckles coming into his mind. “Lena,” He strained out.

“Lena Humphries?” Xenophilius asked recalling how Lena had been something of a role model for Luna. Theo perked up and Xenophilius nodded, “She’s safe, I believe. I saw her disapparate with the bride and groom.” He reassured Theo.

A Death Eater soared past them and Xenophilius pulled Luna closer. The Death Eater landed and cast a killing curse at one of the guests. The sight of the green beam shook Theo to his core.

“We must go!” Xenophilius said to them and Theo nodded, finally taking the man’s hand.

Theo closed his eyes to shield himself from the chaos around him. He wondered if his father was among the Death Eaters attacking the wedding. He felt his body separating as Xenophilius disapparated them. The last image he saw being The Burrow up in flames.

[keeptheotherone]

Do You Promise?

Chapter 1 of a new WIP, just for you, my Tumblrers <3

August 1999 the Burrow’s garden Weasleys’ 2nd Annual End of Summer Celebration

Charlie Weasley sat on the fence separating his mother’s vegetable patch from the garden, thinking about the last time he’d sat here, one year ago. Then it had been Bill at his side, not his little sister.

“Knut for your thoughts,” she said, pushing herself up.

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

Ginny raised her brows at the implication of his answer but didn’t tease. “Around.”

“Mmm.” He’d been home for more than twenty-four hours, but he hadn’t seen Potter once. At Christmas, they’d been a package deal, never out of arm’s reach of the other. “I thought he might have had to work.”

Ginny shook her head, pigtails dancing round her shoulders like they had when she was shorter than this fence. “Today and tomorrow, but not tonight. Mum made them promise.”

By “them,” Charlie knew she meant Ron and Harry. But … Mum made them promise? Not Ginny, or even Hermione?

“Well, he’d better show up,” Charlie said, taking a drink of his beer. “He owes me a rematch.”

They had played Quidditch in the orchard last year, he and Ginny and Potter and George and a bunch of kids he hadn’t known. Played past sunset into darkness, until Professor McGonagall ended the pick-up match without a capture of the Snitch.

Ginny muttered something that sounded like “he owes me a hell of a lot more than a rematch,” but Charlie let it slide. Ginny could take care of herself.

He and Bill had made sure of it.

“Shouldn’t you be with your friends?” 

“Thanks, Charlie, that means a lot.” She swiped the bottle from his loose grasp and drank.

Charlie had to remind himself she was of age to keep from overreacting, but even so, his hand twitched reflexively.

Ginny saw it and smirked round the glass, tipping her head back and the bottle up, taking several long swallows just for show.

“Yeah, you can have my beer, Sis. I’ll just get another, no problem.”

She finished with a pop and licked the foam from her upper lip before handing it back. “Thirsty.”

Charlie held the bottle up to the light—there was exactly one swallow left. “Brat.”

Ginny was predictably unfazed, gazing over the crowd starting to assemble round the food tables. “I talked to Angelina. She said Alicia couldn’t make it this year.”

“Who?” Charlie said, right as a picture of a perky brunette, with equally perky … anatomy … popped into his mind. Shit. Alicia wasn’t avoiding the party because of him, was she? The same age as George, she would know most of the people attending tonight. He’d thought they parted on good terms, all things considered….

“I thought you might be watching for Amy.”

“Amy’s coming?” He hadn’t seen Amy Green since he had invited himself back to her room and she politely declined. 

“Fleur wasn’t sure,” Ginny said casually, as if she hadn’t just dangled fairy lights in front of a niffler. “She said she encouraged her to come since she sounded a little down, but Amy didn’t commit. I hope she does, don’t you?”

“Of course. I haven’t seen Amy since the memorial. It would be good to catch up.” Charlie took a subtle deep breath, repeating the mantra he told himself when he occasionally woke with her on his mind. You asked, and Amy said no. It doesn’t matter if she isn’t seeing anyone. She’s still unavailable, Weasley. No benefits, just friends.

“I remember, you know. You think I was too young to understand, but I remember. In Egypt.”

Charlie scoffed. His baby sister celebrated her twelfth birthday the summer his family had visited Bill in Cairo. “Oh, yeah? And what do you think you remember, Gin-Gin?”

“I know Bill was an arse,” she said bluntly.

This reversal of her usual hero worship got Charlie’s attention.

“I know you weren’t. And that you liked her. I know you two went out together, and you’ve both dated other people since … but you’ve never dated each other.”

Charlie sighed. “Ginny….”

“Bill’s married,” she said simply. “It doesn’t matter any more.”

“I never thought I’d say this … but go find something else to do. Even if it’s Harry.”

****

Charlie did not leave his post on the fence rail, content to get quietly drunk and watch his family enjoy themselves. He had wondered why he’d bothered making the trip in—it made three in a month, when you added the party to Ginny’s and Percy’s birthdays—but now admitted to himself it had been in hopes of seeing Amy. After all, she hadn’t refused him, exactly; she’d refused the timing. 

“I think we both know what will happen if you walk me back to Hogsmeade.”

He raised his brows, leaving the challenging “so?” unspoken.

Amy closed her eyes, then pulled her hand from his. “Not today, Charlie.” She waved her hand at the gates and the castle and the grounds beyond, where the first Remembrance Ceremony had just ended. “Not after this.”

“Oi, sleepyhead!”

Charlie opened his eyes to find an object in eminent danger of colliding with his nose. He snatched it from the air in sheer self-defense, then groaned when he realized he’d just crumbled one of the best biscuits he’d ever had in his life—a biscuit he’d been waiting all year to taste again.

Percy laughed. “Nice catch, Captain.”

“Shut up,” Charlie muttered, trying to transfer the contents of his hand to his mouth without wearing them.

“Full of snappy retorts tonight, I see.”

Charlie eyed his next-youngest brother, his cheery demeanor highly suspicious. “Did you just get laid?”

Percy slung one arm around his shoulders. “I, in the utmost gesture of brotherly solidarity, am foregoing my own numerous opportunities to assist you in yours, however few and far between they may be.”

“You’re pissed.” Alcohol did not make Percy more relaxed; it made him more Percy-ish.

Percy squinted one eye closed and looked towards the gate. “Perhaps,” he conceded. “But not so drunk I can’t recognize a certain beautiful brunette.”

It was Amy. She was wearing—well, Charlie supposed it was technically a dress, but he’d seen similar items under a dress or robes more than once. It was black and flow-y, with red flowers and skinny straps made to make a man think of slipping them off, and just like that Charlie saw the garment puddled at her feet. She was taller than usual in thick sandals, and even from this distance, with the cut of the dress and the way she moved—he could tell she was braless. He raised the bottle to his mouth before remembering it was empty.

“Godric, I wish I had a camera,” Percy said wistfully. “George and Ron are never going to believe this.”

Charlie realized he was making a fool of himself, closed his mouth, and turned, shaking off his brother’s arm. “What’s she doing now?”

“Making a beeline for us.”

Charlie spoke through clenched teeth. “Shut up and get the—”

“Amy! What a pleasure. We’re so glad you could make it.”

Charlie turned to find his brother kissing Amy on both cheeks with minimal difficulty, despite their height difference. His heart skipped a beat. She was taller; he could kiss her easily.

No, not kiss. We’re friends!

Oh, who was he kidding? Unless she flat-out declined, he was sleeping with Amy Green tonight. They could figure out the friendship stuff tomorrow.

“Hey,” she said, pausing just shy of kissing distance (cheek or otherwise).

“Hey.”

Her hair was down, as it often was, but she had pulled back the front above her ears, exposing small purple and silver earrings (her house colors) and … a blush?

“I would offer to bring you a handful of biscuits, but something tells me you two aren’t going to be here for long.” Percy smirked. “Take care, Amy. See you tomorrow, Charlie.”

Charlie glanced at Amy to judge her reaction. “I’m sorry. He’s, er—”

“Taking the piss?” She offered the British idiom with a grin.

Charlie returned it. “I was going to say ‘pissed,’ but yeah. That too.”

She laughed.

“I keep telling you, you’re lucky to be an only child.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, brushing her hands over his chest with slow, deliberate strokes that were in direct opposition to her presumed goal of removing crumbs. “Brothers can be useful. I figured even if you turned me down, not all of you would.”

Charlie froze, just for a second, his brain short-circuiting to a night more than a year ago, before Ron had left for Australia. “Well, if she actually says it with words, that’s always a good sign, although if she strips her knickers off, that’s even better.”

Wait a minute … she wasn’t commando under that thing … was she?

It took a few moments for the silence to catch his attention.

“I take it that’s not a no,” Amy said dryly.

“No. It’s not. But—”

Her expression darkened, and she pulled away slightly. 

“The terms haven’t changed.” 

“I didn’t think they had,” she said cooly.

They had been here before, the autumn after Voldemort came back. Grimmauld Place, an unexpected post-meeting raid, high spirits and adrenaline … and the darkened hallway where Amy had turned him down. “I like strings,” she’d said, and walked away.

The staccato drumbeat of the Weird Sisters’ Do the Hippogriff pulled Charlie from the memory.

“Drink?” he asked, indicating his empty bottle in case she hadn’t heard him over the noise.

“Not really.”

He’d already started towards the tables, but her answer drew him up short. “Really, Amy, you could at least buy me dinner first,” he said sarcastically.

She sighed. “Look, Charlie, I don’t want to play the game. It’s why I’m here. Now, am I wasting my time or not?”

For the second time that night he found himself holding on to his temper. He was starting to see how she’d got under Bill’s skin, why he’d had such a hard time letting her go even when Bill had known he didn’t want to pursue a relationship with her.

“So what, you thought you’d just fly in, snap your fingers, and I’d jump?”

“Am I wrong?”

Godric, she was obnoxious. She was also beautiful, confident, and sexy as hell, and Charlie was honest enough to admit he found the balance of power between them as intoxicating as it was infuriating. 

“We could get a room at the Leaky—in magical London—or maybe Hogsmeade?”

“I have a room in the village.”

Damn. When Amy made up her mind, she didn’t mess around.

“All right,” he agreed. “One last thing, though.”

He stepped into her space, close enough to ruffle her skirt with his legs and watch the gooseflesh pebble across her chest and shoulders. He ignored the temptation to follow it down and looked her in the eye. In heels, she was as tall as he, but his wide shoulders and bulky frame dwarfed her. He paused to let her consider this fact, still not touching her, before dropping his voice.

“You will not be in control the entire night.”

Her reaction went straight to his groin—a sharp intake of breath, dilated pupils, a shiver she tried to suppress. Then she smiled, a sly, knowing smile that reached all the way to her eyes and made them sparkle in the fading sunlight.

“Do you promise?”

[1littleshippergirl1]

Little info about this: it's like Canon, Harry defeated Voldemort but he and Tom Riddle are separate people. Tom and Harry are married, they dated during their Hogwarts years. Teddy has lived with them since Andie became too old to care for him. Technically Harry is supposed to be his dad, having adopted him but Teddy will still just think of him as his godfather

Also features soft!Tom b/c I can

----

The day had given way to dark; the snow was still steadily falling down, covering everything out there thickly. Teddy pressed his nose against the chilly glass, looking over at the illuminating Christmas lights that the people that lived across the street still hadn't taken down. The red and green lights twinkled, giving off their respective colored shadows.

It was about to be an exciting evening; it was Tom's birthday and Harry had planned a small party for him. Mrs. Weasley had initially wanted them all to have the party at the Burrow but Harry gently declined. Teddy knew why; Tom wasn't fond of being around a lot of people. He was alright with the Weasleys (he and Percy talked the most) but their home was small and it allow them to spread out like he would have liked.

Another thing Tom didn't like was a fuss being made out of his birthday. He insisted nothing needed to be done this year. He'd never liked celebrating it, never had a reason to particularly care about it. Harry was determined to change that, which he had apparently been doing since they'd met before they were friends, while they were just friends and as they got together.

Harry told him the plan a week ago: they were to act like it was an ordinary day so Tom was none the wiser. Then at about ten at night, they would start putting together the dining room while Tom was off probably in the library or elsewhere. Teddy wryly told his godfather not to go overboard. He had a tendency to do, attempting to make up for the lack of real childhood he and Tom didn't get to have.

What they were both unaware was that Teddy had been planning something special for a while now. He'd asked Percy for help a few months ago and now everything was ready. His stomach fluttered and he felt quite jittery. He couldn't wait until Tom saw his gift!

"When's he coming?" Teddy was, admittedly, slightly impatient to get started.

"Soon," Harry grinned. "I'll have to go get him." That was likely true. Tom could get lost in whatever he found interesting, not noticing how the hours would pass until someone pulled him away.

"Get him for what?" Came a deep voice from behind. Tom paused, staring at the decorations and food that was placed on the table.

"Surprise!" Teddy said excitedly. "Happy birthday, Tom!"

It wasn't easy to make Tom speechless, downright impossible it seemed. But today they'd done it. They'd rendered him unable to say a thing.

"I thought you forgot?" Tom blinked. He looked to Harry for an explanation. Teddy had never seen him look so innocent before. Like a child that was seeing gifts under the Christmas tree.

Harry cupped Tom's cheek, caressing it with his thumb. Teddy pretended he didn't see a red flush come over Tom's face. The older man was embarrassed (and as a result--angry) whenever someone caught him like that. "Surely you didn't think so? I'd never forget, love. Neither would Teddy."

Harry pressed a kiss on Tom's lips, pulling back with a bright beam on his face. "Now that you're here, you can put on your birthday hat!"

"Birthday-no," Tom was shaking his head. "Absolutely not. I refuse to wear such a silly thing."

"You mean after all the time I took to make it?" Harry was being deliberately quiet, as if he were hurt. Teddy knew he wasn't. He was merely exploiting the emotions Tom insisted he didn't have. For a good cause.

Tom groaned. He actually groaned. "Very well. Give it to me."

Immediately, Harry beamed again. "Fantastic! Here you are!"

Teddy barely refrained from snickering.

His godfather said often Tom pranced around like he was royalty or something, so it was only fitting that he wear a handmade crown with the words Dark Lord Wannabe on it.

He had no idea what that was about but evidently they did. Harry looked like he was on the verge of laughter and Tom's eye twitched.

"There, don't you look adorable and non threatening," Harry laughed out loud.

Tom was disgruntled. "I despise you, Potter."

"Watch it," Harry wagged a finger, "you're a Potter now. Don't go self hating on my watch."

It was a curious thing. People would have expected Harry to take Tom's name, not the other way around. But Tom wasn't one to play by the rules. He wanted to rid himself of his surname as soon as possible, proclaiming that it meant nothing to him. During their vows, Tom quietly said that Potter served as a symbolic reminder of what Harry had given him: a family, friends, hope, love.

Tom rolled his eyes, motioning towards the table. "Shall we get on with this?"

"Would it kill you to be enthusiastic?" Harry remarked as his husband sat down in one of the chairs.

"Quite. It would be tragic to pass away on my birthday."

"I dunno, maybe it's some sort of luck to ring in the new year?" Harry said teasingly.

A sparkle of mischievousness came into Tom's eyes and he swatted at Harry's bum. Teddy grimaced and hoped they could keep themselves in tact until they were in the privacy of their bedroom.

"You're being awfully naughty , Tom."

"In that case, I give you full permission to punish me until my behavior is sufficient," Tom smirked.

Teddy wanted to gag. "You guys are gross."

They ignored him.

"Alright, birthday boy," Harry swooped down to kiss his forehead. "What are we doing first? You pick."

"I suppose gifts," Tom shrugged like he was indifferent to the whole thing but Teddy wasn't fooled. He knew the older man was dying to know what he was bought.

"Alright," Harry nodded. He started to reach for the nearest box which do happened to be Teddy's.

"Wait!" He said quickly, causing the two men to swivel their heads in his direction. "Er, do mine last."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay... Open mine then, love." He handed Tom a small package.

It turned out to be a framed photograph of the first photo that was taken of them. Tom stroked it with a single finger. Teddy took a peek at it. They must have been no more than thirteen. Harry was laughing, ducking his head down as Tom threw a handful of snow on top his hair. At the last minute before the photo looped, they turned to smile at whomever was taking it. They were somewhat bashful , which was a funny look for them, especially Tom.

"Do you like it?" Harry asked, looking unsure. "I wasn't sure what to get you and Hermione suggested something sentimental and-"

Tom cut him off by pressing his lips against Harry's. When he was finished, he rested their foreheads together. "Thank you," He whispered.

"You really like it?" Harry had to clarify.

"I love it because it was from you."

Definitely not something most would think Tom Ri--Tom Potter would be caught saying.

They got through a few more gifts. Teddy observed how several emotions crossed Tom's face, though he would probably deny it. His heart began to thump the closer they were getting to when he would open Teddy's. He didn't know how the older man was going to react. Hopefully well.

"Alright, Teddy, your turn," Harry said cheerfully.

Teddy nervously presented Tom with the gift. The former Slytherin quirked an eyebrow. "You have to open it from the front," he explained, "so it's in order."

"Very well," Tom opened the box to revel folded up parchments. Teddy had been careful to keep it loose so nothing would wrinkle. "Every since I could remember, you've been around," Tom read aloud.

"You've taught me many things."

"You've given me confidence."

"You showed me how to negotiate better than anyone I know."

Harry snorted.

"But most of all, you've given me your love."

Tom wore an unreadable expression as he unrolled the last one, inhaling sharply. His eyes darted towards Teddy, who smiled hesitantly at him.

It took several moments for Tom to speak. "Are...are you sure, Teddy?"

"What?" Harry was curious and went to look. His eyes widened.

"I'm sure," Teddy said quietly. He stood in front of Tom and cleared his throat. "Tom Marvolo Potter, would you do me the honor of becoming my other dad?"

___

Tom Marvolo Potter, formerly Riddle, never cried.

Not since he was a small child and his in the comfort of his assigned bedroom to escape the torment of the other children in the orphanage.

But here he was, nearly thirty years of age and his eyes had grown misty and a lump formed in his throat. At one point when he was a child, this was all he ever wanted until the dream seemed like it was never to be and faded away.

And now he had it.

The last part of his gift that he unrolled had been adoption papers. They all seemed to be in order. Only his signature was needed in a couple of spots.

"Come here," Tom croaked out.

Teddy practically leaped into his arms, burying his face in the crook of Tom's neck. One hand was on the back of the boy's head. Tom squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting those tears to fall. He heard Harry from behind him and felt him grip his shoulder.

"You know," Tom said when he properly regained his emotions in check, "you can't take this back. No matter how angry you get at me."

It was meant as a feeble joke but his voice was thick, unable to push those... feelings back like he would preferred.

Teddy pulled back, his eyes glistening with tears. He nodded. "I know."

"Teddy..." this came from Harry, utterly in disbelief. "How did you...when did you-"

"Percy," Teddy said with a smile. "He helped me with everything." He looked at Tom shyly. "So it's a yes, yeah?"

"A million times yes," Tom did a rare thing and kisses him on the forehead. He wasn't as physically affectionate as Harry but he hoped Teddy knew he cared. "Thank you, Teddy. This is the best gift I've ever been given."

"I think I've been upstaged," Harry laughed lightly. "No way I can top that."

For the rest of the evening, the rest of what was left of the year, they ate cake and drank pumpkin juice and enjoyed each other's presence. Tom was the lightest he'd been in years; he watched as Harry and Teddy laughed over something that was said with a look of fondness on his face.

Never did he imagine having all this. Back at the orphanage where he sat on his lumpy cot, knees pulled up to his chest, he thought he was doomed to a life of misery. No one ever came to see him and even at Hogwarts kids had avoided him.

And then he met Harry, who brightened up his entire world and gave him possibilities he didn't know existed.

And now he had a family. All of his own.

The clock struck midnight. Tom reached over to squeeze Harry's hand.

"What's that for?" Harry whispered.

"Just a thank you."

Harry was bemused. "For what?"

Lips caressed his temple. "Everything."

[alfolfa]

Do Me a Favor?

Annabeth didn’t know what had gotten in to her, but before she knew it she was already dialing Piper’s number. They had broken up a few months ago, but Annabeth still hadn’t told her family, who very much approved of Piper. The topic of the breakup never really came up in any conversation, which was Annabeth’s excuse for not telling them. But now, the Chase household was hosting their annual Christmas gathering, where friends and family all are invited— meaning Piper was expected to come. Annabeth didn’t know why she couldn’t just show up without Piper. Why she couldn’t just say they had broken up. But it was already too late when she heard a familiar voice answer the phone.

“Annabeth?” The voice asked. God, she missed that voice. The breakup was mutual, they both thought it was best. They had an argument. Much more serious than the rest of the ones that they had before. It just didn’t seem like something they could recover from. She wasn’t sure how the argument started, or what it was about, but she knew it was bad enough to cause them to break up.

“I can’t just be perfect, Annabeth!”

“You can at least try to do things the right way!”

“What? You think I don’t try?”

“Piper that’s not-“

“No. I get it. You don’t think I try. Whenever an exam comes up, you think I just do nothing. You think I don’t study. Whenever your birthday comes up, you think I don’t try to get you a nice gift.”

“Piper please-“

“Don’t even, Annabeth. You think I don’t care enough about anything to give a shit about what’s going on around me. You’ve always thought I was this lazy asshole who let everyone do everything for her. But believe me, I try so damn hard with you. I’ve always tried so hard with you. You’re the only person I was ever sure about. You’re the only person I’ve ever loved, for God’s sake. How self-involved do you have to be to have never noticed?”

“No…” Annabeth could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I’m done, Annabeth. I’m sorry, but I’m done.” Piper stormed out the day door.

Okay so it wasn’t a mutual breakup. Piper broke up with her. She hated that. She also hated that she was definitely in the wrong. But it was too late for any of that. “Yeah… hi.” She finally responded. “Um… so my family is having their Christmas party thing, and I…” She didn’t know how to ask. ‘Hey, can you pretend to still be my girlfriend because I haven’t told my family we’ve broken up?’ didn’t sound like the best thing to say. “… I was wondering if you could go… with me...” Annabeth could almost see the smirk through the phone. She hated that smirk. She loved that smirk.

“Have you not told anyone we broke up?” Annabeth stuttered over her words.

“Listen, I know it’s been a while since we broke up, but the topic never really came up, so…”

“Wouldn’t the topic have come up while you were talking about the Christmas party?” Annabeth just didn’t respond. The truth was, she didn’t want to tell her family they had broken up. Piper had just gotten along with her family so well, and they really seemed to like her. She didn’t want them to be sad that they weren’t going to see her again. Piper and her started dating during their first year of college up until a few months into their fourth. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll go.” Annabeth’s thoughts were broken when Piper spoke up again. She hadn’t really registered her answer until a couple seconds later.

“You… what?”

“I’ll go. As long as it means I get to have that famous Chase family Christmas Pudding. Plus, your family kinda loves me and I’d like to see them one last time.” Annabeth smiled even though she knew Piper couldn’t see her.

“Thank… thank you so much, Piper. I promise I’ll tell them after Christmas.”

“Sounds good. Stop by my apartment when you’re ready to go.” Annabeth hummed in agreement. “Is Nico going?”

“Yeah, and Percy. I thought they could come with us, why?”

“Is it alright if I invite someone?”

“I guess… Piper what are you planning?” She could hear that goddamned smirk again.

“Nothing.” Annabeth rolled her eyes. It wasn’t nothing.

*

A few days went by. Mostly filled with packing and constantly reminding Percy that they were leaving the next day.

“Sorry.” Percy said when Annabeth had scolded him for not finishing packing. “Hey, I feel left out. Why am I the only one getting in trouble.” He glanced around the room and only saw her and Nico. “Where’s Piper?” Annabeth’s heart felt heavy. She didn’t want to say anything.

“She-um… She’s spending time with her friends.” Percy scrunched his eyebrows.

“I haven’t seen her in a while. How many friends does she have?”

“She has her own life, okay?” She said a little too harshly. “Sorry. She just has her own stuff going on, is all.”

“Is she even going to New York with us?” Nico asked.

“Of course she is. There’s no reason for her not too.” Annabeth knew she sounded way too defensive, but if she got her point across she was fine with it.

“Jeez. Fine.” Nico spoke. “I guess it’ll be kinda nice to see her. It’s been a while.” Annabeth tried to hide her smile. Nico saw her. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

“Is she bringing that stuffing that she makes? That stuff is really good.” Percy asked. Annabeth smiled. And for a moment, it was almost like nothing had ever even changed.

“I’ll be sure to ask her.”

*

Annabeth held her hand out to the door, ready to knock. Except she didn’t knock. She brought her wrist up to her forehead to wipe off the mild sweat. She wiped her palms on her pants and tried again. She barely got one knock before she gave up again. Thankfully, Piper still answered the door.

“Did you forget how to knock, or...?” Piper teased. Annabeth smiled. She tried to fight off a blush that was making its way to her face. She didn’t succeed.

“Right, yeah. Sorry. Are you ready to go?” Piper smiled at her, and nodded her head before grabbing a suitcase by the door.

“You’re gonna have to relax if you want this to seem natural.” Annabeth sighed.

“I know.” They walked over to the elevator in silence, a weird atmosphere around them.

“Percy and Nico are already waiting in the car.” Annabeth said to break the silence.

“Great.” Piper smiled. Annabeth noticed the elevator stop at a different floor.

“Did you press that?” Piper just smiled in return and walked out the doors. Annabeth frantically followed behind her.

They stopped at someone’s door. Oh god. Annabeth thought as she saw who opened it. “I can’t believe you...” She whispered as Will Solace went to his room to grab his bags.

“I’m doing us all a favor. It’s been taking too long, you know that. Plus, his family bailed on him so I’m being a good friend.” Annabeth grunted in protest, even though she knew Piper was right.

“Ready?” Will asked as he got back.

“Ready.” Annabeth answered. She shook her head at Piper and started walking.

*

As soon as Nico saw Will, he almost spat out the water he was drinking and glared at Piper. Annabeth got in the driver’s seat.

“So much for wanting to see you…” He mumbled. Will glanced at him, confused. Piper laughed as she started to get in the back seat of the car before Percy stopped her.

“Don’t you wanna sit in the front? You know, with your girlfriend?” Piper scoffed.

“Girlfr-yes.” She stopped herself and speed walked around the car to the passenger’s seat. Annabeth hit her arm once she sat down. Annabeth waited for the boys to get in the back seat until she drove away.

“Percy, you know you’re not allowed in the middle.” Annabeth said once he tried to get in after Nico. There were incidents in the past that led to Percy being banned from the middle seat. Will got in. With Percy going after him. The rest of the car ride was mostly quiet, except for Percy singing along to every song that came on. Even if he didn’t know the lyrics, he tried to guess. He never guessed right. Piper and Nico slept for most of the ride, while Will asked repeatedly how long the rest of the ride would take because he had to pee. This drive takes an hour and a half, Annabeth thought.

*

Annabeth pulled into the driveway of her parents’ house. Everyone got their stuff from the trunk of the car and made their way to the porch, where Annabeth opened the door. She was immediately greeted by her family. One by one, they took turns hugging her and the rest of her friends. She showed everyone their separate rooms once everyone was done talking. “Are we sharing a room?” Piper asked as they were walking down the hall. Annabeth thought for a moment.

“We’re gonna have to.” Annabeth could see Piper visibly clench her jaw. This wasn’t going to be an easy weekend for either of them. Annabeth led Piper to their -Annabeth’s- room, although Piper was already familiar with it. Piper placed her bags next to her side of the bed and sat down on it, Annabeth doing the same. “How is this gonna work?” Annabeth asked.

“We just… act the same way we did before we broke up.”

“That’s gonna be hard for so many reasons.” Annabeth looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s almost seven. My parents probably have dinner ready.” Annabeth noticed how Piper happily sighed as she got up from the bed. Annabeth couldn’t help but smile at her.

Piper and Annabeth took their places at the table next to each other. They tried their best to act the same way they did when they were dating. They would occasionally glance at each other and smile, when dinner was over, they linked their arms, Piper laying her head on Annabeth’s shoulder at one point. Annabeth couldn’t help the amount of times she blushed whenever Piper did something affectionate towards her, even though she knew it wasn’t real. Her feelings for Piper never left. They had broken up, but that didn’t mean Annabeth had stopped loving her.

read on ao3 with many many changes

[axelsagewrites]

Fred Weasley*Afterlife

Ship(s): Fred x reader, platonic!maruaders x reader

Request: nope

Warnings: Death

Masterlist HERE

Wattpad HERE

People were trickling in here one by one. Occasionally we’d have a bigger burst of them. The only job up here was too great them.

Sure, people die all the time but there are different sectors they send the newbies too. You can travel through the sectors but the older the sector the fewer visitors. They try to put you in a sector with people you mention in your paperwork.

Because of the number of people and sectors work was normally slow but I still preferred this job. I’m always meeting new people as a greeter.

Our sector is separated from the muggles and only squibs can visit with special passes. This meant when tragedies happened, we had less inflow than the muggle areas. Tsunami’s and other natural disasters cause a spike in numbers. The world wars must’ve really screwed the muggle sectors over.

Recently though we’d been hit hard. The wizarding war was going on. Voldemort was a prick and now he’s making the job harder. Every time there was a battle it was even worse. Luckily processing alerts, us when their queues getting long. Man, I'd hate that job.

The red light started flashing meaning we had a rush come in. the rushes normally lasted a couple days because of the paperwork and formalities. Someone told me it was a battle at Hogwarts or something like that. Everyone was scared and confused.

To get from processing to greetings they have to go through something like the floo network where they show at a random greeter in the sector, they’ve been placed in. I only had one more before a break. Thank merlin.

I sat in my swivel chair with my feet on my admittedly too messy desk when the fireplace lit up blew and suddenly there was Ia tall ginger standing in my office, gawking at everything. I kinda stared at him for a few seconds till he noticed me. Before he could say anything, I stood up “I’m (Y/N) and you are,” I held my hand up and his file materialised in my hand. He jumped, “Fred Weasley?” He nodded, “Perfect. Have a seat,”

“What is this place?” he asked as he took a seat at my desk.

Dropping his file onto my desk, I sat down, “They didn’t explain it to you?” I asked as I opened my computer. Thank merlin for computers. If I had to handwrite this id go insane.

“Well kind of but they were pretty um busy,” he looked down.

I nodded, glancing at the cause of death on his file, “Hogwarts?” I asked and he nodded, “Okay so basically you’re dead. Standard questions include, where am I? who are you? Can I go back? And what about my family? So basically, you’re in the afterlife. I’m (Y/N), I’ll be your greeter. My job is to make sure you understand, and things run smoothly. You’ll have a meeting with me about every two weeks for the first few months. No, you can’t go back. I’m not death, I don’t make the rules. And finally, any dead family members you can travel around the afterlife to meet and you can watch over the alive ones if you choose,” I said. His mouth was partly open, and he was just staring at me, “Simple really,” I said.

I turned to my computer since his e-file had shown up. “How do I know if my families alive?”

“I can look it up,” I mumbled as I filled some basic stuff in, “but we need to do some stuff first.” I went through a list of standard questions and organised everything. “Okay so we do give you a job assignment at first but that’s just to keep your mind off…other things? Either way, you do that, but you can quit after a month and then you can work or not. It's whatever really. you’ll be assigned a house or flat. You only get to move if you’re family size increases or you follow the standard moving system. The computers just generating your accommodation and you’ll get your job assignment some point this week. Understand?” Fred slowly nodded. “You’ll get used to it. Any questions?”

“My family. How do I- “

“I’ll pull it up,” I say as I click on the family section, “how many years do you want to go back?”

“Um, I don’t know. 10 I guess?”  I nodded and typed in the information. “I have brothers and a sister. I wanted to check on them,”

“Coolio. Well, this is either good or bad news,” I said, turning to look at him, “They're not in the system.” I said which made his face scrunch up, “They’re alive. Theirs no parents either so they're alive as well. Only deceased people show up on this. I can look up any deceased pets and request for them to be sent over here,”

“No that’s okay,” Fred looked down at his lap. “Is it bad that I wanted one of them to be dead?” he whispered.

I took a deep breath, “I get it. I was 19 when I came here. Its been 20 years and I’m the only one of my immediate family. It’s hard because you want them to be happy, but you also want them here. There is a place for you to go watch over them but try not to get sucked in,”

“Can I go there? I-I want to see them.” Fred’s eyes were watering up. Most people were sad coming here but this time I completely got it. Id fell in that loop of endlessly watching my family. “Please?” his voice cracked.

“Okay,” I nodded, standing up. “Follow me,”

The standard viewing areas were normally extremely busy, but we had one in our office for newbies. Fred was hesitant to step onto the cloud floor “You need to trust me,” I said, stepping onto it, “See?” He nodded and copied me then we walked down the corridor till we found an empty section.

Once we got to a free one, I walked in and shut the door, Fred follows me. “This is your ID number and password,” I handed him a piece of paper, “Type it in there,” I pointed to the screen. He nodded, taking the paper and quickly punching in the numbers, “Okay now go to the menu, click watch, now you can scroll through and pick. Families automatically added but we can add more people at your request,”

Fred had already clicked on one before I could finish. “Why can’t I see anything?” He asked, frantic.

“Copy me,” I stepped into the screen. A wave of cold then a hot flashed ran over me then I was standing in a shoddy looking house.

A second later a pop was heard, and Fred was beside me. “George!” He said, rushing over to a boy who looked just like him? “Why can’t he hear me?”

“Because you’re not there. We’re watching,” I said. “He’s your twin?” Fred nodded, “Is this all your family?”

Fred looked around the room and nodded, “Yeah,” he gulped, “Mum, dad, Ginny, Ron, Charlie, bill…” he stared at one boy, “Percy. He finally was coming back,” he started to cry.

“I’ll let you be alone. I'll wait in that room okay?” Fred nodded.

Fred took a while, but I didn’t mind. When he arrived back his eyes were red and puffy. “How do you cope?” He asked.

“You just have too,” I shrugged, “this is it. You don’t get sick here, you don’t die here, I mean you can dream in your sleep,” I don’t mention ghosts and angels, not wanting to get his hopes up, “You kind of have to find a new family while you wait for your old one,”

“That’s sick,” he said, the words sounding venomous, “They’re my family,”

“And they're alive. And you're dead! If life isn’t fair death is a whole lot worse,” I snapped.

Fred went silent. “How long have you been here?”

“17 years,” I whispered.

“Your family?”

“Alive and well. Hell, even my grandparents are kicking it. One healthy family, I guess,”

“How did you die?” Fred asked. My eyes widened. “Sorry, it’s just I- “

“It's alright,” I said “People don’t normally ask. Have you heard of the order of the phoenix?” I asked and he nodded, “I was a part of that. my friends were in hiding and I had been on a mission. I got home early and wanted to surprise them. I was going to go to my family but-but I didn’t,” I took a deep breath, “but when I got to Lily’s the door was open. James was already dead. I went upstairs and everything went so fast. Lily hit the ground as I walked in., he didn’t see me at first. He was going for the baby. I did what I had to do- “I was rambling, “There was chaos for a few seconds then silence. My heartfelt like it had been stretched like gum and next thing I knew I was at processing,”

“I’m sorry,” Fred said after what felt like an eternity.

“It's not your fault. Hell, you were probably a baby,” I tried to chuckle, “For so long I regretted it. I wanted nothing more than to go back and tell myself to go see my mum. I ended up here every day for hours just watching. Watching is the bit that hurts. On birthdays and special occasions sure. I got to watch my brother’s wedding last week,”

“I-I don’t think I can do this,” Fred stammered.

“I still don’t think I can. But I do. I wake up every morning and I keep going. I’m here for you Fred. I will help you,”

Turns out I was there for him more than I thought. He moved into my apartment complex and was just down the hallway. He met my friends and it turned out he knew Lily’s kid. Sometimes the table looked quite awkward because of how the age system worked. Sirius and James didn’t look like a pair that would be friends.

Years and decades went on and Fred and I started dating, something I never thought I would do in the afterlife. We’d both died so young without partners that it made it easier. As years went on more people joined us. My grandparents, a couple of his aunts, even my old dog.

Fred, James, and Sirius were at work but had agreed to meet me and Lily on our lunch break. As we waited Lily broke into a smile. “What?” I glanced over my shoulder.

“That’s Molly,” She said, “I need to go say thank you. Come with me,”

“what?”

“Please?” She said, grabbing my arm.

I sighed, “Fine okay,” I followed her.

Well, this was one way to meet my boyfriends mum. She looked frantic and puzzled than she saw Lily, “Ginny? No dear what- “

It's Lily,” She cut her off, “It's okay. Sometimes faces get confusing when you first arrive.” Molly’s face crumpled, “It's okay. Ginny’s alive and well,”

“How do you know that?” She snapped.

Lily looked at me. I held in a sigh, “I saw her the other day while you were sleeping. Harry will be with her,”

“How do you know this? How can you see her?”

“Did processing not explain this?” I asked. She shook her head, “You had Karren, didn’t you?” Molly nodded. I turned to Lily “we have got to get her fired,” I whispered. Lily nodded profusely.

“What’s going on? Fired from- “

“Mum?!” I looked to see Fred, James, and Sirius. Fred rushed over, “Mum!” Fred wrapped his arms around her.

Molly engulfed him in a hug, running a hand over his hair, “It’s really you Fred. It’s you,”

“It's me, mum,” I could hear him holding in sobs.

Eventually, they pulled away, “You haven’t aged a day,” Molly said, wiping tears away.

“I did always want to stay young forever,” he joked. Molly laughed. Fred looked over at me, “Mum this is (Y/N). They work at processing,”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley,”

“You too dear. How do you know each other?” she asked.

Fred put his arm around me, “We’re dating,”

“You can do that here?” she said.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, “Yes. Let us show you around. Their nothing to worry about,”

[flightfoot]

A Convergence of Apollos Chapter 2

I studied Hoodie Apollo’s face as we all ran out of Central Park. He looked guilty and bitter, though I wasn’t sure why. Because he sent us on this quest alone last time? At least, assuming he was right about being a mortal Apollo sent back in time by some method (note to self: ask how that happened). I didn’t think he was lying. The emotions he showed were too raw and genuine for that, plus there was God Apollo’s reaction to consider. But I still had a hard time believing it. A lot of strange things had happened to me since I became a demigod, but this would DEFINITELY go in my top ten.

“So where’s the Celedon?” Meg asked as we exited. Apollo thought for a moment, slowing down as a look of embarrassment swept over his face.

“I... uh... I... don’t know,” he admitted sheepishly. “Percy and Grover found her last time, I didn’t care enough to ask about it.” A bitter tone tinged the last part of that sentence. I was beginning to worry about this guy, whoever he was. He really seemed to hate his past self, or at least who he believed was his past self.  “But they found, stopped her, and brought her back to Central Park by sundown, so it can’t have taken TOO long. So, uh...? Percy, Grover... where do you think we should look?”

I blinked, caught off-guard. I’d been looking forwards to not having to lead the quest. Oh well. At least I had more help than I originally thought I would.

A diva who wanted to make a name for herself singing to the largest crowd she could...

“Times Square,” I said after a minute. “It’s in the theater district and is full of tourists just walking around, able to hear her singing.”

Apollo smiled at me and nodded appreciatively. “That makes a lot of sense. It’s where I’d go, if I was a Celedon. To Times Square it is!” He walked authoritatively for a few yards in one direction, then stopped. “Er... how do we get there again? Normally I’d just fly over there in my Sun Chariot, but right now...”

Meg sniggered. “Come on, Oh Great God of Getting Lost. I’ll show you how to use the subway.”

Apollo shot Meg a slightly annoyed look, which she ignored. He huffed and started after her, Grover and myself close behind.

As we rode the subway, I glanced at the dead-turtle-lyre God Apollo had forced onto Grover. “Hey, Grover? Do you know how to use that thing?”

“Well, uh... kind of? I learned the basics, and us satyrs have a natural affinity for music, so hopefully that’ll be enough?”

“I can play it,” Apollo chimed in.

I nearly smacked myself. OF COURSE Apollo could play his own lyre, mortal or not. Though if he was mortal...

“Hey Apollo?” I asked. “Does the lyre have any powers of its own? Will it still work if the musician is mortal?”

“Oh yes,” he said, looking like Annabeth does when someone brings up architecture around her. “This is the lyre I used the first time I was turned mortal, in fact. I helped build the walls of Troy using this lyre.”

Huh?

Did he use the lyre as some sort of divine brick-laying tool?

I mean, I’d seen stranger improvisations (I will always savor Rachel hitting Kronos in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush), but it still seemed weird.

My confusion must have been evident on my face because Apollo continued explaining. “This lyre conjures up items based on the music you play. Back then, that meant bricks. Lots and lots of bricks. But it can summon other things too.”

“Like a cage for the Celedon?”

“Yes, like that,” he agreed.

Grover handed the lyre over to Apollo, but he hesitated a bit as he slowly held it out to Apollo, as if struck by a nervous thought.

“Er... Apollo?” he asked nervously, starting to chew his shirt in his anxiety. (He’s a satyr, he does things like that. One time he got so nervous and hungry he had eaten massive holes in his shirt before he’d realized it was even in his mouth. It couldn’t be salvaged, so he took it off and ate the rest of it.)

“Just... be careful not to scratch it, okay? Please? Apollo - er-  the OTHER Apollo said he’d incinerate me if I did, and he’s really freaked out right now so I don’t know WHAT he’d do if it was damaged.”

“Incinerate..?” he said disbelievingly, his voice squeaking at the end. “I... said that?”

“if you damage it, I’ll incinerate you,” I recalled. “That’s what he said.”

“I...” the guy looked close to tears. “I... I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have even considered it. Your lives are worth more than a musical instrument. Plus you were doing a favor for ME. It was WRONG.”

He took in a shaky breath. “Grover, I know you’re not friends with me now, in this timeline. And considering how I acted, I’m surprised your counterpart is friends with ME in my timeline,” he said with a wry smile. “But I still consider you to be one of my friends, and I wouldn’t hurt you no matter HOW annoyed I was at you, even if you DO like Walt Whitman.” (I was confused at this, but Grover seemed to recognize the name at least). “I won’t allow you to be hurt either, not while I have the power to stop it.” his eyes gleamed softly, and for a moment I thought they were glowing. It was gone so quickly, I wasn’t sure whether it was a trick of the light. “If my past self gives you trouble, I’ll handle him.”

“Thanks,” Grover replied. “I thought with this quest that this would be a pretty bad birthday, but meeting you had made it less-bad than I thought.”

“It’s your birthday?” Apollo asked, looking surprised.

“Really, Apollo? You did this on Grover’s birthday?” Meg chimed in, sounding annoyed.

“I didn’t...” he closed his eyes for his moments and furrowed his brow. “I... thought it was Percy’s birthday?” he muttered to himself, eyes still closed. “Wait, but Percy’s next birthday he was turning sixteen, the Great Prophecy hinged on that, I KNEW this wasn’t his birthday...” he trailed off and opened his eyes.

He took in a deep breath and left it out, then took turns looking Grover and I each in the eyes.

“I didn’t care,” he muttered, his voice tinged with bitterness and self-hatred. “It didn’t matter to me whose birthday it was, or what you were already doing. Because I was a god, I was more important, my needs were more important than yours. So why should I bother remembering that it was Grover’s birthday? It had no effect on me, and I was the only one who mattered.”

“Then I was turned mortal again, and had to live with you, amongst you, as one of you, AS EQUALS. And I cared.”

“I don’t know what made the difference this time, exactly. I didn’t care the last two times I was turned mortal. But then again, those times, I stayed separate from most mortals and their struggles. I didn’t experience what they did. And I was still partially divine, I still looked like myself, I still had ichor in my veins. Or maybe because this time, I was with people who needed me. Not because I was a god, but for who I was.”

His eyes shimmered with unreleased tears. “My children...” he whispered. “I barely knew them, but they did everything they could to make me comfortable at Camp Half-Blood, even though I just wanted to sulk. They embraced me as family. I’d only appeared in their dreams every now-and-then. They acted more like family towards me in those few days I spent at Camp Half-Blood, than I had towards them in their entire lives. I couldn’t even REMEMBER the last time anyone had cared about me that much, AS A PERSON. I didn’t deserve them. I DON’T deserve them. I’m their father, and yet THEY took care of ME. I can’t... I can’t think of myself as their father. Not really. I haven’t earned the title. But they’re my family, and I will protect... them...”

His eyes grew wide. “MICHAEL!” he shouted, startling the other passengers.

“Huh?” I said, confused. A nauseous feeling broiled in my stomach. Why would Apollo look so frantic about his oldest son? At least the oldest one at Camp.

“He... he died. In the Battle of New York City. I... I don’t know how. I and the other gods were busy fighting Typhon at the time. I don’t know if you can change anything. I don’t know if anything that happens now can change fate. But... still, please. Look after him?”

I looked at his pleading face, remembering the last time someone had asked me to look after their family. She had died a few days later. But...

“I’ll try,” I promised. I hesitated. “You know that I don’t have a great track record with keeping people from dying though, right? I promised Nico that I’d try to keep Bianca safe. I failed.”

“I don’t have the best track record with keeping people safe either,” he admitted. “I promised Thalia I’d check in on Jason, on her little brother. He went on a quest with me to help defeat one of the emperors, Caligula. He’d gotten a prophecy a few months before that said that if he and Piper helped me, one of them would die. He could have refused to help. No one could have stopped him. I certainly couldn’t compel him too, the way I am now. But he helped anyway, because more people would die if we didn’t help take Caligula down.”

He took a shaky breath as the tears ran down his face, unable to hold them in anymore. “The... the prophecy said that it could’ve been either of them. He decided that he would be the one to die. He couldn’t bear the thought of Piper dying. I... I said that we’d succeed without either of them dying. He just smiled and made a joke. But he... he asked me to make a promise. To.. to take the designs for some shrines he’d been working on back to Camp after he died, and... and  to remember... to remember what it’s like to be human.” He let out a choking sob. 

“Even then, even as he was about to march to his death, he was worried about his fellow demigods, OUR FAMILY, who we’ve mistreated so, SO badly. Because they were more important to him than his own life. He was a hero.”

His puffy and bloodshot eyes took on a steely glint. “I’m keeping that promise. I WILL remember this if I survive, if I regain my godhood. And I WILL make things better. I promise.”

This guy... he’d been through so much. He had so much self-loathing and self-hatred for what he’d done, and for what he’d failed to do. He recognized his mistakes and was trying to fix them. Because he CARED. 

I pulled Apollo into another hug. He stopped holding back his tears, letting out huge sobs.

“He would be proud of you,” I told him. “You’re trying. That’s enough. He wouldn’t want you to beat yourself up endlessly.” I didn’t KNOW Jason, but based on what he’d told me, I was fairly confident I was right. “Just try. That’s the best any of us humans can do.”

Apollo smiled as he pulled away, breaking my hug. “Thanks.”

As we pulled into our stop, I took another look at Apollo. He looked nothing like the god I had seen earlier. He didn’t glow when upset. Yet right now, as he stared determinedly at the doors, ready to help capture the Celedon, to make sure she didn’t harm any innocent mortals, I thought that he’d never shone brighter.

[gold-from-straw]

Everything That Happens

A tentative peace...

Fair warning, though - while I have ‘fixed’ a lot of the canon deaths from the battle, I won’t be fixing all of them. Harry has to learn that he can’t save everyone, and it’s not his place to do so... please forgive me!!

Read from the beginning on AO3 if you prefer!

When Harry woke up in his bed at Hogwarts, for a moment he was too scared to let the memories loose again. He took a deep breath and let them come.

He remembered everything, layers upon layers of timelines, grief and battle and terror, and finally, settling on top like a tentative veil, the memories of finding Draco, Ron and Hermione huddled together in the alcove, covered in rubble but unharmed. Fred and Percy thumping him on the shoulder and running back into the fray without a backwards glance. Hermione handing a fallen wand to Draco as they ran on.

They were separated in the Great Hall, Harry, Ron and Hermione continuing on to the Shrieking Shack without Draco, and most things from then on blended into that first bedrock memory of horror and fear.

Except in the Great Hall. Just before he slipped away to watch Snape’s last memory, there was Remus’ body. And instead of lying dead beside him, Tonks wept over him, Draco Malfoy standing awkwardly beside her, flinching if anyone got too close.

Harry curled into a ball and cried again. It felt like now he’d started crying, weeping out his problems to his parents on his eighteenth birthday, that he might never stop. He wept for Remus, like he hadn’t done properly yet, but he also cried his gratitude. Tonks was alive. She was grieving her husband and her dad, but Eddie still had one of his parents.

“Harry… Harry, mate, wake up.” The hangings around his bed were pulled back and Ron shook him gently by the shoulder. Just the fact that he was here and alive and able to do that made Harry want to scream and laugh and cheer and cry, all at the same time.

Ron patted him awkwardly, rubbing between his shoulder blades and murmuring platitudes, and Harry rode out the wave, exhausted.

Considering the magnitude of the change, the life-altering vastness of having all the Weasleys alive and well (and somewhat celebrated for that fact - a family of nine surviving the war intact was nothing short of miraculous) seemed to have little obvious effect on the world at large.

But the more Harry watched and remembered, the more he saw the good it had done. There were no longer fifty names on the memorial, but thirty eight. With Fred alive, Percy no longer blinded by grief and rage, Tonks still there, and Draco fighting on their side, the ripples had spread out across names Harry had never recognised, and those people who’d been saved had saved others in turn.

And more than that; Harry hadn’t recognised how much smaller Ron had made himself after Fred died, the weight of the war having pressed so hard on his shoulders. But now that Fred and George were running the shop in Diagon Alley together, sending him test packs to hand out among the students to ‘raise spirits’, he had become almost a figurehead for them all. Ron was loud and cheerful, and he saw. It took Harry a while to really work it out, but Ron would notice when someone was struggling to keep their social mask on, and he’d either cheer them up or he’d grab the world’s attention. Once everyone was looking at Ron, it allowed the struggling person, usually Harry, to slip away.

Hermione may have teased him for having the emotional range of a teaspoon, but Ron’s empathy was instinctive and generous, and Harry had to close his eyes and control his breathing every time he remembered the darkness of that one, awful timeline without him.

And it was all thanks to Draco. Harry watched him, and wished. Because in this timeline, Harry had never held him through the night, fingers stroking through that soft hair. He was glad of that, desperately relieved that it hadn’t been necessary, of course, but it was like he’d taken a step away from Draco. They were back to their last names, at least out loud. Within the privacy of Harry’s own mind he could never go back to calling him Malfoy, always hearing that quiet voice, saying ‘Just Draco… no Malfoy, no past.’ They hardly spoke at all now. He wondered if he’d ever hear that again.

Even so, he sometimes caught Draco staring across the table, eyes narrowed not in anger, but in cautious calculation. It made Harry nervous, stumbling and clumsy with his hands and his words, and though Ron and Hermione made the effort to include Draco (and by extension, Theo Nott), Harry found himself tongue-tied more often than not. Which was frustrating, because he wanted so badly to thank Draco, and now it felt too late, like replying to a letter months after receiving it.

And then Harry dropped his head onto his desk in the middle of Charms and laughed at himself. Because he was a fucking time traveller, and it didn’t have to be too late at all.

He focused on a quiet moment he remembered from summer, when he’d sat and watched Diagon Alley as it repaired itself, eating one of Florean Fortescue’s best sundaes and reliving the summer before third year.

The first time round, he’d spent a wonderful hour of peace and solitude just people-watching. This time he excused himself, leaving his ice cream behind Fortescue’s counter under a stasis charm, and ran down to the post owlery. Standing at the counter there, trying to stop himself from chewing on a borrowed quill, he wrote:

Dear Malfoy, I’m sorry for not doing this in person. I think I’d screw it up and not say everything I mean - it all seems so big. Thank you. I can’t even express how much it means to me, what you did at the battle. You saved my best friends, and Te Eddie still has a mum because of you.

Harry paused. What else could he say? How could he express how dark the world had been, how many times he’d tried and failed to save those people until Draco did it for him? In the end, he signed off with one more thank you, and posted it with a rented owl, a deep pang in his chest to see the bird fly off silently.

He walked back to Fortescue’s and sat back at his table with a peaceful smile before letting go of the past and blinking, disoriented, back in his Charms class.

“Harry,” hissed Hermione, like she’d been saying it for several minutes. “Wake up, for Merlin’s sake, and do your damn questions before Flitwick kicks you out!”

“Sorry,” he muttered, and bent his head over his work.

***

Almost nothing had changed after his little jump back to summer, and it was such a relief. Harry hadn’t realised how tense he’d been, waiting for all the new memories to settle in his mind. The only difference he could see was that Draco now glanced at him with a bit of uncertainty, as if it was now he who wanted to say something and didn’t know how.

He got his chance one night in early November.

Harry didn’t think he’d ever have a healthy sleep pattern, especially not with enough battle memories to fill a lifetime of nightmares and nobody to talk to about a lot of them. Not that anyone ever talked about their battle memories, he thought as he wrapped his warmest cloak tighter around him and stared out over the lake. Hermione tried to get people to talk sometimes. Maybe she and Ginny talked some days. Maybe she and Ron did too, late at night when Ron crept into her dorm like they all pretended he didn’t.

Harry turned when he heard footsteps, and saw a pale shape faltering in the corridor. “Oh! Draco.”

Draco’s eyebrows shot up; Harry realised what he’d said, and kicked himself. But Draco didn’t say anything, walking up to join him at the window, staring out into the night instead. He took a deep breath. “I must formally apologise for not replying to your owl over the summer. It was terribly rude, and - what are you laughing about, Potter?!”

Harry shook his head, chuckling at Draco’s bristling, offended glare. “Sorry, nothing. It’s just… nothing.”

Draco blushed, two spots of colour high on his cheeks. Harry found himself staring at them, wanting to touch. “I realise that’s the least of the things I have to apologise for,” Draco began.

Harry shook his head. “No, no, I wasn’t laughing at that, I just…” He chose his words carefully. “I felt like I’d taken a long time to thank you. Like I should have done it earlier. It was… it was just such a huge thing, I didn’t really know how to say it.”

Draco met his eyes, searching. “Yes, that’s exactly it.” He paused and seemed to consider, weighing his options. Harry should, perhaps, have made his escape, but he didn’t want to, preferring to enjoy the sight of that pale face limned in moonlight once more, only this time with less shadow under Draco’s eyes, less of a haunted look.

“Something’s different about you, Potter,” said Draco. “You called me Draco, like you’ve earned that intimacy.”

“Sorry,” said Harry, ducking his head and wondering if he should go back, rewind this conversation.

Draco carried on like he was thinking out loud. “And you look at me like you’ve seen something else, like you remember something other than six years of acrimony.”

Harry struggled to focus on the start of the conversation, but the memory was too recent, too imprecise, too mixed up with the distraction of Draco right there. “Excuse me,” he muttered, pulling away from the window.

Draco’s hand shot out and grabbed his elbow. Grey eyes bored into his, almost angry, almost afraid. “One good thing, Draco. One choice you can be proud of,” he said. “You pulled me out of a cursed fire that one of my friends set, you’d had my own wand pointed at me moments before, and yet you then called me Draco. I’ve been through these memories obsessively, Potter. In a pensieve. I’m not misremembering, so don’t you dare try that.”

“I wouldn’t--”

“How did you know?” Draco hissed, leaning close. “How could you possibly know the words that kept me going each night?” His hand tightened around Harry’s elbow, fingers digging in. “‘Just one good thing;’ that’s what I kept telling myself. If I just made one good decision, it’d be enough. How did you know when the bloody Dark Lord himself didn’t?”

Harry made his decision with one look at Draco’s wild, terrified eyes. “You told me,” he said. “In another timeline. A worse one.”

Draco let go of him, frowning. “You’ve got a time turner?”

Harry shook his head and bit his lip. “I’m not meant to tell anyone. I don’t even know if you’ll believe me but… on my eighteenth birthday, I found out I can travel back in time.”

Draco let out a long breath. “That’s what the Potters have, then.”

“You’ve heard of it?” he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

“Lots of Pureblood families have these hereditary extra powers,” he said. “It’s almost always a closely guarded secret, so…” He shook his head and seemed to sag against the wall. “Of course you just went and told me. Of course you did.”

“Well, I didn’t know, did I?” Harry snapped. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a bit out of the loop on family traditions.”

“Sorry,” said Draco, looking away.

Harry leaned against the wall next to him. “Wow, you’ve changed,” he teased.

“Of course I have,” Draco frowned. “I’d change every aspect of my personality if I could.”

“Don’t,” said Harry softly.

Draco looked at him for a long moment, then pushed off the wall. “Come on then, Potter,” he said. “You’re going to tell me every tiny embarrassing thing I said to you in every timeline so I know exactly how much to Obliviate you.”

Harry smirked and followed.

Tagging anyone who interacted with last chapter! I hope you like the way this new act goes ^_^ @idriltelcontar, @dangerouslyyoungphilosipher, @slytherclaw134689, @sadsoulsadeyes <3

[braveskyered]

Knights (Part 3)

Part 1 Part 2

The guilt remains, and Arthur knows that even though he's married now, he cannot bring himself to go back to introduce his side of the family. So he hides them, instead. Just what did the Mystery Skulls do...?

Part 3: So Long Since I’ve Wrote About It

The next day came by, and Arthur woke up in his warm soft bed, happy that he didn't have a nightmare this time. He looked to his left, and didn't see Elaine beside him. He isn't surprised, considering the circumstances.

Arthur got off from bed and attached his arm, which received many upgrades compared to the model he had back when he left Tempo. Now, his left arm received a skin covering that left it nearly indistinguishable from a real arm unless one examined it up close, which helped make him feel less self-conscious about it. Ever since Arthur left his old life behind, he never liked being outside that much with his old prosthetic, fearing that someone would stare and eventually recognize him. He even went so far as to avoid wearing orange vests like he used to, instead opting for ones with darker colors such as brown or black. He dressed in a white shirt like he usually does with dark burgundy pants, before donning the vest in question. He stared at the mirror hanging on the wall and nodded to himself.

You are okay, Arthur. You will be fine. You live for them now.

He didn't want to go back. Not now, not ever. Not when he has a wife to be with...

“Arthur, could you tend to Percy real quick? I have my hands full with Gwen. He's already been fed and changed, so I think he just wants to be held by you.”

...and two babies to take care of. He went to the other side of the room and gently lifted the three-month-old baby boy from the crib. He saw Elaine's figure poke out from the bathroom door and take a box of wet wipes from the dresser nearby before going back in. With the tiny babe safe in the crook of his arms, Arthur left the bedroom, went to his work desk down the hall, and sat down on the chair. He then grabbed a small book that held the logo of a horse's head behind a shield with a sword from the stack and opened it, then slowly went through the pages of his diary entries, casually reading through some of them.

I don't know why, but Elaine gave me this diary for my birthday. She said that if I write down the things that trouble me, I can be less stressed about it or something like that? Honestly, if I wrote all my troubles down, I'd probably fill this book twice or more by now.

He flipped a page.

I've had this for a few months now. I guess it's helping. Writing out my thoughts and then processing them has helped me plan out on how to deal with this. It helped sort out the dreams, too.

He skipped past a few pages.

I'm worried they'll find me, I left without them knowing. I don't want to go back. Lewis hates me and I'll just be in the way. Vivi wouldn't give up until she found me. I don't want Mystery to track-

He skipped many pages to avoid that entry, suppressing the fear while trying to stop his hand from shaking.

He looked at an entry that held handwriting that wasn't his.

I love you, my star. ★

What is Elaine doing writing in this? I guess I shouldn't complain, though. It's really sweet of her. I guess she's serious about us being together? I mean, it's most likely that. I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE WITH HER.

I got separated from Elaine while we were at the show. I could've sworn I saw Lew-

...before quickly skipping all the entries past it until he reached a blank page for his next entry, and started to write the words.

It's hard to believe that Gwen and Percy are over three months old now. Other parents weren't kidding when they say that kids grow up quickly. They still like hearing me hum the chorus of Lewis's song. I wonder if he'll forgive me for using it as a lullaby. I doubt it, but I can't recall any other song that will work for them besides the noise from the dryer. So far, the New Year is off to a good start.

Arthur set the pen down. He first used the diary to write down things that trouble him, but over time, he came to write down things that also made him happy, the events he had with the family he married into that made him slowly fall for his wife, even though there were some bumps and secrets to show between the two of them. Then came the children, and Arthur would write down multiple child care tips he learned from doctors or parents that were already experienced with handling them.

For Arthur, a part of him still has a hard time believing that he is a father to three-month-old twins. If someone were to tell his twenty-two year old self that he would be married with children at twenty-five, he wouldn't have believed it for even a second.

When Arthur first met Elaine, it wasn't love at first sight, but he did have an admiration for her spirit. Recalling the memory from three years ago somewhat fondly, Arthur held his son gently, holding out a finger from his left hand for the baby to wrap his fingers around.

“Holy...! Either the mechanic at that dealership is an idiot or they actually sabotaged the thing! What the hell?!”

Arthur stood back with Elaine beside him as the two watched another of the latter's relatives, an older woman with short black hair, examine the van's engine in more detail. It took less than a minute for Arthur to find the woman intimidating, and it wasn't even directed at him! He stepped back slightly to remain behind Elaine, the woman's niece.

“Look at this!” she gestured at the engine, “It's just as the kid says, there's so much crap in these pipes that it'll take hours to get it all out! I'm surprised the engine didn't overheat and break apart when our regular brought it in! Ugh! The idiots at that used dealership used the wrong kind of silicon sealant...!”

“Still, this is a problem, Aunt Morgan,” Elaine shook her head with her arms crossed with concern, “His son is pretty tall, and they've spent at least three months looking for a vehicle like this after their last one got totaled before then. I mean, we can clean it out, but wouldn't that be somewhere around the thousand dollar range if we did that? We don't have a spare engine to replace it either, and that would cost around the same even if we did. And last I checked, our regular doesn't have that kind of money.”

Morgan sighed irritably, “I'll think of something. I'll go talk to your mother and see if there's anything we can do about it. At the very least I'll have to see if I can convince our regular to file a claim or even a police report against the dealership for attempting to sell a tampered car. I don't trust them to clean it, but I do want them to pay for it since it's their goof up.”

Elaine glanced at Arthur for a moment, then back to her aunt, “Might be a good idea to keep Uncle Miles on speed dial if it somehow goes to court by them.”

“Oh, trust me, I intend to do that from the get go,” Morgan shook her head, wrote down some notes, and turned to Arthur, “As much as I disapprove of having strangers coming in here, I must thank you for finding this issue for me. I would've eventually found it, but you did save us some good time.”

Arthur gripped his left wrist, not trusting himself to say anything, so he nodded. Elaine turned to him in concern, glancing at his arms and then at his face.

“A man of few words, huh? You're an interesting one, I'll give you that,” Morgan let out a sound of her being a little annoyed, then started to leave, “I'm going to go submit the report in my office. Elaine, go talk to Mom and see how we can repay this guy for his help, she wanted to talk to him, anyway.”

“Yes, Aunt Morgan,” Elaine nodded as she and Arthur watched Morgan go to a door leading to another room, “Sorry about her, she can be a bit hot-headed at times. Mama Vivienne should still be in her office, so... why not come with me and we can talk? I'd like to get to know you more, it's not often we get a man who's great with machines around these parts, if you pardon the pun. Well, that, and there's something she wanted to ask you.”

Arthur glanced at Galahad's cage and his bag, considering it. Looking out at the sky, the sun is just about to set, and it will be night time within the hour. If he doesn't find a motel soon, it'll be too dark to safely walk outside.

Elaine seemed to have picked up on this somewhat, “If you need to take your hamster and bag with you, you're welcome to. Or we could leave them in the office for Aunt Morgan to watch over. She won't mind if it's only for a little while. If worse comes to worse, I can also ask my father to drive you home if you like.”

Arthur flinched slightly when Elaine said the last part, causing the latter to furrow her brow. He recognized that kind of reaction, since Vivi was always great at finding minor tells that say otherwise. If she's perceptive like Vivi is...

“I'll be fine,” Arthur shook his head, “You don't need to do anything.”

Elaine's look of concern did not leave as she slowly held out a hand and smiled, “Then at least come talk to Mama Vivienne? It's not good for a king's man to keep a lady knight's time without seeing her.”

Arthur stared at her incredulously. Did... did she just... make a pun out of their names?! It caught him off guard, and he couldn't help but laugh. He took her hand, the smile still on his face.

The motel can wait.

A gurgle interrupted his reminiscence, so he looked down and saw Percy looking up at him with his pale blue eyes, wrapping his small hand around Arthur's finger. Arthur carefully caressed the little boy's blond hair, musing at how much the child resembles him, while having his mother's pale blue eyes and a white lock of hair like she did. In contrast, his daughter Gwen resembled Elaine, having completely black hair with no white locks. Other than inheriting his gold-colored eyes, Gwen didn't resemble her father at all.

Regardless, Arthur loved them both equally and smiled ruefully. He knew that he didn't deserve having his newfound family. He remembered being so scared when he first learned that he was going to be a father, but after Gwen and Percy were born, most of that fear went away as love for his children bloomed.

...Uncle Lance would have loved them.

Arthur shook the thought out from his head. Although he missed Lance, he knew that as soon as Lance caught wind of his location, so would Vivi, Mystery, and... Lewis. Arthur did not want to expose his children to them. Not with them being so young. Or ever if he can help it.

The only form of communication Arthur gave Lance were one sided letters. He would write a letter, saying that he is fine, say that he is sorry for leaving, and request Lance to not look for him, even though he knew very well that his uncle – or anyone for that matter – would ignore that part. He would travel to another city during his occasional trips around the country to investigate or hunt ghosts with Elaine and her family, and drop off the letter with the address to Kingsmen Mechanics in a public mailbox with the appropriate postage and without a return address. Elaine always made Arthur stay at home on the more dangerous jobs, so every now and then, she would drop off the letters he wrote in his place.

Arthur will never get a reply because of this, but he felt it was for the best. He made sure to never send a letter while in Cantabile or in a neighboring city, nor send them from the same place twice in a row. Sometimes he would wait for as long as four weeks before sending another letter during one of the trips. He didn't bother sending letters to the Yukino family or the Peppers, there was no point, even though he's pretty sure they would wonder how he is. He wonders if they missed him at all.

He let out a sound through a wry smile. As if they would want him back. He knew that he is no longer wanted by them, not after what happened.

Arthur thought about telling Lance about his marriage or the birth of the twins, but decided against it. The less chance about anyone from Tempo knowing about them, the better. Granted, it wasn't because he thought they would be endangered by either Mystery or Lewis if the kitsune and wraith did know, far from it. However, he did fear that it could cause a fight that would result in death on either side, and even though he is hated by them now, he did still care about their well being.

Percy started to fuss a little, snapping Arthur out of the gloom. He didn't smell anything, and Percy's clothes felt dry. Elaine said said that he's recently fed, and she never fails to tend to him after to make sure he doesn't have gas. Maybe he's too warm or cold? Arthur got up from his desk to pick up one of the spare blankets he kept nearby and swaddled his son in it in the manner his mother-in-law taught him.

The baby boy quieted down, but not completely, so Arthur held his son to his chest and started to slowly hum the lullaby he used when soothing the twins to sleep. He never actually sang the lyrics he barely recalled in the haunted mansion that Lewis's singing ghosts used when he first encountered them, but the chorus the Deadbeats sang remained deeply ingrained into his mind, into his deeply wounded heart.

*

This time I might just disappear...

Whoa-o-o-oh

This time I might just dis-

Oh mo mo mo mo

Oh mo mo mo mo (Oh yeah)

Oh mo mo mo mo oh

This time I might just disappear...

Whoa-o-o-oh

This time I might just dis-

Oh mo mo mo mo

Oh mo mo mo mo (Oh yeah)

Oh mo mo mo mo oh

*

Percy stopped whimpering, much to Arthur's relief.

“I still find it amazing that you can get him and Gwen to calm down with that,” Arthur looked up and saw Elaine with their daughter Gwen in her arms, “Every time I try to sing them a lullaby, it's like a roulette. Sometimes they sleep, most of the time they just cry. Am I so bad,” she chuckled, her last words more being a statement of fact than a question.

“I'm... sure they'll take to it when they're older,” he grinned nervously.

Elaine rolled her eyes playfully, shaking her head, “What say we get the day going? Another day, another car to repair for you, and another monster hunt for me.”

Arthur nodded. While this isn't exactly like the times with the Mystery Skulls years ago, Arthur would be lying if he said that he preferred staying out of the paranormal entirely. He remembered being so afraid of everything around him, and he remembered Vivi and Lewis usually dismissing his fears, while convincing him that everything will be fine... until the cave that is.

For the Knights family, it's their duty to protect their home from any malicious beings that tend to emerge in Cantabile, so unlike the Mystery Skulls, they actually have active experience in dealing with things from monsters to ghosts and from dark creatures to demons. Because of this, during the times some of the family members (primarily Elaine and her aunt and cousin, Morgan and Eleanor respectively, who usually go off on their own) were required to travel and Arthur came along with Elaine to help with maintaining her equipment, Arthur actually felt... safe. The protective wards that Elaine kept in her van worked wonders, and he was never possessed by spirits or kidnapped by crazy cult members since then.

Well, he was kidnapped once when the two went on a date before Elaine was to start another job, but...

That also happened to be the day that he learned the secret the Knights keep to themselves.

Despite the inhuman screech, the knife didn't come down to his heart. He heard people scream in fear and in pain until it suddenly went silent.

Arthur slowly opened his eyes, and saw that he is still alive, still in his body, and still injured. The chains binding his arms, legs, and neck had broken off, allowing him to crawl out of the ritual circle with a bloody pentagram drawn on it alongside many other runes he didn't have time to identify. He tried to examine his surroundings, and through the dim candle light, saw the bodies of the cult members crumpled to the ground. Were they knocked unconscious or–

His heart skipped a beat when he felt something sticky on the ground when he crawled past a downed cult member.

– or dead? He then noticed that something is looming over him, the sound of something rattling and ringing, and went white with fear.

The giant skeleton spirit towered him from behind by several meters, being visible from the floor waist up. A purple light is shining in its left eye, a color that Arthur is all too familiar with. If Lewis truly became a demon, then...!

Was that thing summoned by the circle? Arthur looked down and saw that the monster was outside of it. Thankfully, it seemed to ignore him at first, growling at the cultists. One thing's for sure, Arthur didn't want to find out what exactly that monster is. He needs to find Elaine and get out of the cave while they still can. He wasn't ready to die yet, not when he still has sins to atone for.

Arthur had been dating Elaine for six months now, and had only just started having the confidence to take part in paranormal investigations again. The first few went okay, and when the two went to investigate this, they weren't expecting for there to be a secret cult trying to summon forth a demon made from the spirit of many dead soldiers that never received their last rites. If that giant skeleton monster happens to be the demon in question... Shaking off some of the pain, he struggled to stand up.

“Arthur...”

He looked behind him and saw the giant skeleton hold a hand out to him, looking desperate. It had to be a trick. There's no way this monster is friendly, and Arthur didn't want to risk staying to find out. If he doesn't run now...

“My knight, please!”

Notes: Arthur has become so fearful of the Mystery Skulls that he cannot return home. How does Elaine feel about this?

And the Knights are more than just a family of mechanics, it seems.

To pull off the lullaby yourself, you simply hum the chorus of Ghost, just slower than the usual beat. It's quite soothing, to be honest...?!

Knights Part 4

[uniquejennyessays]

Greek Myth In Contemporary Society

For years I have been liking Rick Riordan (Rick)’s works, it seemed like I have not written a review on it yet. So, here’s one on my favorite book series of all time.

HOW AND WHEN DID I START ON THIS SERIES?

It all started during my first year of high school, when I had a fixation on Greek Mythology. I admired the humanized personality of different gods, the adventures of heroes with their tragic end, and the inconsistent romance (either a happy or a miserable end). The passion led me to discover the first series of the Chronicles, Percy Jackson and the Olympians (PJO). I think I borrowed the first two books from the school library and bought the rest from the bookstore. I pretty much spend most of my time reading these novels forth and back.

Then it came the Heroes of Olympus (HOO) series, which Rick introduced Roman Mythology. With a set of new characters and old friends, I was even more absorbed into the series throughout my high-school years. I waited anxiously whenever a new installment was published, and was really content when I got to know the continuation of their adventure (which the author is a troll for cliffhangers, just like how they do for Attack on Titan Season 2). The Blood of Olympus (BOO) was published during my fourth year, which the moment I read it I had a mixed feeling of joy and sorrow. The ending was extremely shocking, from Leo’s plotted death to his revival (He’s the Percy Jackson’s Jesus), I nearly wanted to punch the author. But then, Rick created many mysteries inside the book itself. For example, Apollo’s punishment, the prophecy Ella recited, Nico and Will’s relationship, and Leo and Calypso’s whereabouts. These unexplained mysteries just made me go ‘What the hell’ at the end of the book. There were conspiracies that Rick would make a new series, with all these hints. Yet I fulfill all my needs through fanfictions, seeing what people predicted the future ‘book’ will happened.

Good news rained down on me in my last year of high school. During his tour for Magnus Chase series in 2015, he announced his new Greek Myth series, Trials of Apollo (TOA). The Hidden Oracle (THO) came out when I was studying my A-Levels, I went to the bookstore on the day when it was published. Since shipping required an amount of time, I was informed that the book will arrived one week later. Eventually, I waited patiently, and finally I received it. The book was still amazing as ever, with a God as the narrator and the main character. The other main character, the daughter of Demeter (which I predicted accurately) who can perform badass sword-fighting at the age of 12, sometime out of the ordinary Demeter child people would imagine.

During my A-Levels period, my taste has turned to Victorian classics. Besides, I have started on anime. Thus, my need for the series had lessen. Even I bought the Dark Prophecy (TDP) months ago, I managed to finish it. However, this does not stop me from loving the author’s style of writing and sense of humor.

(Additional note: I have finished TDP on Percy’s birthday.)

(picture of the troll)

WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT?

After pouring all my love for the chronicles, so what are the series all about? Americanized Greek Mythology in the modern world. These demigods live in training camp named Camp Half-Blood (another word for demigod) during summer or for the entire year so they can prepare themselves for the dangerous outside world full of monsters. Since it has 3 different plots for each series, I need to introduce them in detail separately.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2005-2009)

The gateway to the demigod universe. It started off with the Lightning Thief (TLT), through first-point of view of our beloved hero, Percy Jackson. He discovers himself as the remaining demigod son of Poseidon, the Greek god of sea. Due to a great prophecy predicted one of the Big Three (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades) children will bring to the fall of Olympus, his presence was a threat to the Gods. He was also set to vanquish Kronos, King of Titans who is under the aid of another demigod, Luke Castellan.

The five books of the series described his journey to be a living legend, with an amount of betrayals, deaths of his trusted partners, slight romance and awesome fighting scenes. His humorous jokes and comments presented Rick’s unique style of writing, giving the readers memorable images.

The final book, The Last Olympian (TLOl), is the greatest among them all. brings up another prophecy which is the key to the next installment. No matter how much Luke is a villain, his devastating childhood stories and his anger towards the Greek Gods made the readers understand his resentment and yearning for a familiar love. Besides, it also revealed another prophecy, which is the key to the next series.

Heroes of Olympus (2010-2014)

The sequel of the previous series, narrating seven demigods on a quest to defeat an ancient deity in the ancient grounds of Greece and Rome. They meet challenges from the worst monsters, mortals and deities, sailing to stop the wrath of Gaea, the Earth goddess.  

This series, is my favorite series among the three. It does not focus on a main character, or written in 1st person point of view. Instead, we got a third person omniscient from 9 different people, who are the seven main demigods (with Nico and Reyna in the last book). We do not get our beloved son of Poseidon in the first book, but we were given a new set of characters with different background. We also discover the Roman Version of Camp Half -Blood, Camp Jupiter, a rigid military-like camp full of Roman demigods and their descendants. The series narrated two parallel sides of the Greco-Roman Mythology working together against a common enemy.

Unlike the previous series, this brought up many backstories of characters even more tragic than Percy’s. The narration was still amusing, yet there’s a sense of seriousness inside. There was an obvious character development when the series goes on. For example, Piper McLean, who refuses to recognize herself as the daughter of Aphrodite, later accepts her identity and able to use her own inherited powers. Frank Zhang, an insecure demigod with a bad reputation, turned into a confident Roman praetor.  

The thing I would like to complain about is the final fight scene in BOO. It was a few pages long with Piper, Jason and Leo putting Gaea back to her slumber. It was not as majestic as people expected it would be. It could be as fantastic as TLOl!

Trials of Apollo (2016-?)

The latest sequel for the previous series, which feature the sun god Apollo as a powerless mortal, finding his way to gain back immortality. Rick had converted back to the first-person point of view style, with the sun god as the narrator. His choice of narrator gives us an insight to a deity’s mind and opinions, how he sees the world compared to how mortals, having an ephemeral life, perception on their life. It’s a philosophical matter which discuss about life and death, and living an eternal life.

In THO, readers could see the improvement on Apollo’s personality. From the arrogant and narcissistic god who cannot accept on his ‘ugly’ condition, finally learns how to be humble and trying to see the world as how mortals would. We also witness the psychological abuse of Nero on Meg McCaffery. Letting her believe her abuser is another person from her adoptive father, but what she does not know Nero and the ‘Beast’ are the same person.

The second book, TDP, probably is my least favorite of the series. There was not much Leo-Calypso endearing moments that I expected it should be. The first half of the book narrating Apollo doing various pet tasks, and remembering his ex-lover, Emperor Commodus. However, I am pleased that Rick put a lesbian couple in the story, which I had no idea that even same-sex relationship is prohibited as well for the Huntress of Artemis. There are old friends from the previous books, which I am delighted to see again.

The third book, The Burning Maze (TBM) will be released next year.

Companion books

As much as the companion books are light and consisted with short stories, I explored the little things that were never mentioned in the main series. Besides fillers, there were information on the demigod world, giving readers a clearer sight of the Greek Mythology and Percy’s world.

The Demigod Files (TDF), narrates how Percy assisted Clarisse on her Ares rite of passage; the discover of the bronze dragon (which later Leo named him Festus); and the children of the Big Three Gods finding the newly forged weapon of Hades (Gods do like causing unnecessary trouble and giving quests to their half-blood offspring).

The Demigod Diaries (TDD), explains the adventure of Luke and Thalia in a trapped mansion, finding Annabeth on their way; the task given by Hermes during Percy-Annabeth’s one-month anniversary date; Leo and his friends’ encounter with the drunken followers of Dionysus; and an extra story written by Rick’s son, with impressive writing style for someone diagnosed with dyslexic and ADHD.

Camp Half-Blood confidential (CHBC) is a collaborated guide ‘made’ by the campers, due to the horrible orientation film directed by Apollo. Poor Nico is the only one who suffered from the film and accidentally humiliates himself in public.

Percy Jackson’s guide to Greek Gods and Greek Heroes are separate two books as a guide introducing to Greek Gods and Heroes. People could actually score Greek Mythology with these two non-boring lecture books.  

Rick also made a crossover on Percy and his Egyptian Mythology counterpart, Carter Kane. They work together to defeat Setne, an Egyptian magician who thirst for divine powers. It was like an official crossover fanfiction.

Diverse Demigods with Dazzling Characteristics

I love the characters in the series, they were just full of animation and so on. I’ll state my top 10 favorites and that one character I truly despise.

First come with my favorite characters of the series: 

(art by viria, she makes the old official arts belongs to the pit of Tartarus)

10. Frank Zhang

One of the cinnamon roll of the series, and the tamest among Mars/Ares children. I’m glad that Rick put a Chinese demigod in it. His Chinese name, Fai Zhang, probably based on Zhang Fei from the Romance of Three Kingdom. He is the only demigod who can read and write normally. He has shape-shifting abilities, inherited from his ancestors, is adapted from the Monkey King from Journey to the West. Like the Greek hero Meleager, his life is depended on a wooden stick, showing his pyrophobia.

Frank started off as shy with low self-esteem. He was raised by his military mother and his strict grandmother who told him various tales of their ancestors. His mother died in a war, giving him a start to train himself as a Roman demigod. In the Son of Neptune (SON), we first see him doing tasks that are undesired by the other campers. He is officially welcomed into the centurion of the fifth cohort, after he was claimed as the son of Mars. His first quest to Alaska causes him slowly gathers courage and discovers his family power. The funniest makeover he has was in the House of Hades (HOH), when Triptomelus rewards him with a buffer and taller figure, saying goodbye to his chubby self. Finally, he is upgraded to praetor.

The dynamic between Leo and Frank plays a vital role. Frank, who is initially afraid of Leo because of his fire power while the latter keeps making fun of him. We can see in the Mark of Athena (MOA), his act of jealousy towards Leo due to his similarities with ‘Sammy Valdez’, Hazel’s first love. As the series continues, Leo gives him a fireproof cloth for him to keep the wood, as a baby step for Frank to give him trust.

I heard that he will be in the subsequent book, as the Dark Prophecy stated him as the ‘changeling lord’. I might see him as a mature praetor on duty alongside with Reyna.

9. Hazel Levesque

Another cinnamon roll in the series. Despite being a daughter of Pluto/Hades, she is the less miserable version of Nico. Originally, she is known to have the abilities of controlling metal and valuables. Her magical abilities in controlling the mist is known in HOH, becoming another useful weapon. Like any child of Hades/Pluto children in the series, Hazel was from the pre-20th century. Her mother, Marie was hungry for wealth, causing her daughter having a cursed ability of attracting metals. Despite Hazel resented her greedy mother, she saved her from raising Gaea. Her heroic deed gave her a token to Elysium, yet she gave up her position to refrain her mother suffer from eternal punishment. As the child of death, she wandered around Asphodel for decades. Until her Greek half-brother discovered her and brought her back to life, giving her another chance to live again, in the 21th century.

In SON, it is revealed that Hazel’s half-brother is Nico. Originally, he wanted to bring his biological sister, Bianca back to life, seeing that the Doors of Death was opened. It was hinted Bianca had chosen a new reincarnated life than staying in the Underworld. Eventually, he learnt about Hazel’s presence and decided to take her back instead. Initially, we thought Hazel as a replacement for Bianca, judging Nico as a selfish person. Slowly, he shows brotherly affection for her in HOH by kissing her forehead, something he would not simply do. In BOO, he accepts Hazel’s relationship with Frank and teases them. He even comforts Hazel when she cries for Leo. It’s a coincidence that their mother almost shared the same name.

As she lived in an era where colored-race were low-key discriminated, with her unusual ability, she was a target of bullying. Her only comfort among these mishaps was Sammy Valdez, who sees her as a diamond. As Leo shares the same looks and last name as Sammy, believing as his reincarnation, she has slight romantic fondness for him. Later, they discover Sammy is Leo’s Great Grandfather.  She finally settles down with Frank, treating Leo as her friend.

Her curse, which will be washed away by a descendent of Poseidon/Neptune, which readers are not sure if it is Percy or Frank. Besides, she probably learns some interesting 21th century stuff she had never seen before. Hopefully she does not craze for fidget spinners (those things are just all over the place!).

8. Annabeth Chase

The Brainiac of the group. Our favorite Wise Girl who is Percy’s love interest and strategist. The architect of Olympus. Someone you would choose as your girlfriend. After meeting her, you will change your views on blonde hair people.

No matter how beautiful and smart she is, she has her own fears and flaws. She has Arachnophobia, based on the feud her mother and Arachne had. In MOA, she faces her greatest fear, mother of spiders Arachne. With her clever trick, she easily defeats Arachne, possibly the first Athena demigod to do so. In SOM, she reveals her fatal flaw is hubris, believing her intelligence and power are beyond the Gods.  

She ran away from home at 7, believing that her father and stepmother had disliked her part god status. On her way, she met Luke and Thalia, who presented her one of her signature weapon, the Celestial Bronze dagger. They were like a parental figure to her, and the first demigods she encountered. In the beginning of TLT, Percy figures Annabeth develops a crush on Luke, who turns out to be a backstabbing traitor and a threat to Camp Half-Blood and Olympus. Her feelings towards Luke varies in the PJO series, we see compassion, sympathy, love, respect, hatred, and regrets. In TLOl, she settles with having a sibling love towards Luke, choosing Percy over him.

The Percy-Annabeth relationship is one of my favorite hetero fictional couple. They treat each other as equal, rather than having Annabeth as his personal sidekick. With her, as the intelligent girlfriend; and him, as the brave puppy-dog boyfriend. We surely remember the first thing she tells Percy in TLT is ‘You drool when you sleep’. Even the rivalry between their parents, Annabeth still treats him as a friend, with one or two disagreements. Of course, I shipped them before they are officially together. In the Titan’s Curse (TTC), we get hints on Percy starting to fancy Annabeth, with Aphrodite’s appearance and her teasing. Next, there was the infamous kiss scene in The Battle of Labyrinth (TBOL), confirming the start of Percy’s romance journey, which becomes true in TLOl (that underwater kiss is so romantic!). After dating for months, Percy is swapped place by Hera/Juno, without any previous memories except for Annabeth. In MOA, she gives him a judo-flip (I laughed at that scene for hours) and spend a night with him in the Argo II stables (Frank does not deserve to see this ‘intimate’ moment).

Besides, do you know that she has a Norse Demigod cousin? Check out Rick’s Norse Myth series to find out.

7. Luke Castellan

You would probably ask why I place him as Number 7, for someone like him as a traitor who almost destroy Olympus and the host for Kronos. He is the anti-hero in the first series, but I like the fact that Rick created someone like him.

Luke is not an entirely a bad person. Normally, he can pass as a protective older brother, a swordsman mentor, or that mischievous and charming friend you want to hang out with. His ambitions to destroy Olympus and feeling of resentment the gods, due to the injustice of the Olympians to their demigod offspring, makes him an antagonist in PJO. He is one of the demigods who can see the flaw of the lawful system, the one who questions the authorities.

Luke constantly seeks for familiar love which his parents failed to give him, with him living with an insane mother and an absent godly father. After he ran away, he was paired with Thalia and Annabeth, giving him a new meaning of family. However, Thalia’s death added as a fuel of his bitterness. His became the head of the Hermes Cabin, leading his half-siblings, but his anger had not fully stopped, with Kronos’s constant impure motivation. He also feels compassion towards minor godly children who have no place in Camp Half-Blood, which most of them serves him during the Titan War.

For most horrible deeds he has made in the PJO series, he finally died as a hero, oppressing Kronos who possessed him. Inspired from his wish, Percy refuses his eternal life by demanding fair treatment for every demigod child.

I ship him with Thalia, which they share a few romantic tensions in a short story in TDD. He is the reason why Thalia declined her offer as a hunter in the first place, and also the reason why Thalia settles down as the lieutenant of Artemis in TTC.

6. The Grace siblings (Thalia and Jason Grace)

It’s a tie. Yes. I could not separate them like how Juno/Hera does. The Grace siblings are the improvised version of their father. We see their father as a womanizing, dramatic and disloyal King of Gods. They showed his best qualities, like leadership. The siblings are very loyal to their partners and masters, like Thalia to Luke and Annabeth in the beginning and Artemis in TTC. Jason, a loyal and supportive friend to his Argo mates and his girlfriend (He did admire Reyna before, but thanks to certain goddess).

Thalia Grace is that cool-looking sister in punk. Her name is from Thalia, one of the Muses. The irony is that she has a great fear of heights, but she can control lightning. Like Percy, Thalia was destined to be the child in the prophecy. She fought the monsters sent by Hades to her death, protecting Luke and Annabeth. Then, she is reborn in the Sea of Monsters. Luckily in TTC, she joined the Huntress. She also been through a rough childhood, with taking care of her baby brother and her irresponsible mother, then with the disappearance of Jason. She had to take the role that her parents failed to perform, yet the Gods accused of her existence before Percy showed up. It’s pretty much Zeus/Jupiter’s fault for not stick with the oath. Not once, but twice! Worst of all, he named his son Jason, like the mortal hero, so he can make his wife happy! Best Dad award for him!

Her brother, Jason, with blonde hair and blue eyes, the typical American boy. The ‘perfect’ boy with duties and leadership, he could live a perfect Roman demigod life in Camp Jupiter. Then, Hera/Juno interfere again. From the Lost Hero (TLH) to BOO, we can see a few changes of him. The rule-following golden boy to a slightly laid-back person with nerd glasses. Most fans expected Percy and Jason had a death-match against each other in MOA, with Percy replaces his position as the praetor in SON and Jason, the legendary son of Jupiter. Unexpectedly, they become best buddies on first sight and gang up against Octavian (We also got that one scene with them fighting while being possessed by eidolons). He also has the most passed out scene in MOA (hence the birth of Brick x Jason). His sympathetic character cares for Nico when he is forced spit out his crush on Percy (who does not have a crush on him, I mean, it’s obvious to fall in love with the greatest hero). He does not question or having a prejudice on the boy’s sexuality. At the end of BOO, him and Piper sit on the roof, remembering his ‘dead’ friend Leo.

These polar-opposite blood-siblings are a unique element of the series. I would like to see more of their interactions, or Thalia spilling out more embarrassing stories of Jason.

5. Leonidas ‘Leo’ Valdez

I called him the second Percy Jackson, with that same level of humor and that friendly attitude. He has a pair of magical hands that can create things and repair broken stuff. In TLH, he modified a simple paper into a small flying helicopter. Leo was partly raised by Hera/Juno, who makes him do dangerous tasks in his childhood (This woman is nuts!). When he was eight years old, Gaea made him believe he caused a fire that kills his mother in her workshop, leaving a scar in his heart.

Leo probably knows himself as the third-wheel, constantly the one being left out. There was a period of time he is jealous of Jason’s charisma and excellent leading abilities, while he is a low-profile mechanic, with no one cares about him. Otherwise, he is a good friend to people who are nice to him. In BOO, Nike/Victoria predicts either Frank, Hazel, Percy or Leo will die in the war. Leo, helping the idea of getting the Physician’s Cure while secretly plotting his own death and his chance of survival.

This guy has a tough time catching the girls’ attention, he keeps falling for the wrong person. In the beginning, he has the hots for Khione, the cold snow goddess who side with the Titans. Next, he falls for Jason’s sister Thalia, who tries her best ignoring him. He has a small chemistry with Echo, a camouflaging nymph who is cursed to repeat people’s sentences (I feel hurtful when Echo disappears). Hazel mistakes him as her first crush Sammy, who happens to be his great-grandfather. Finally in HOH, the Titaness Calypso despise his sudden appearance on her island, later they find themselves being attracted to each other. He is also the first hero who can return to Ogygia and claim Calypso as his girlfriend, and the first demigod known dating an ancient being.    

I need more interaction of Percy and Leo, which was rare in HOO. I expected them to be joking buddies, but in MOA Percy yells at Leo for setting New Rome on fire, not a good start for best friends. Leo also dislike Percy for abandoning Calypso behind, which turned out to be a misunderstanding. I finally get a scene of them making Nike and Adidas joke they made in BOO.

By the way, Team Leo for the win.

4. Piper McLean

I do not get why people would dislike someone like her. There are several fans disliking her characteristics, including an ex-classmate of mine. They think her as the most useless and bland character. I love Rick’s arrangement of her characteristics! What is the point of making her the main character if she does not contribute anything? I mean, she singlehandedly defeats Khione and the Boreads in HOH. When Khione degrades her, she confidently argues with her, proving her strengths.

People stereotyped daughter of Aphrodite as living Barbie dolls, who do nothing but looking into their reflections and gossiping. Sometimes, they either pair people up or break others’ hearts. She breaks that idealistic view as a tomboyish girl who cares less of her look or fashion. She is one of the boldest Aphrodite child who fights for people she loves (the other one is Silena). She is very down-to-Earth about her father’s job as a Hollywood actor, until she is cornered by others. She is also the first person who dauntlessly challenges the cabin leader and oppose the Aphrodite’s rite of passage of breaking other’s heart. Piper is not a dumb-beauty, she already has an abundance of knowledge on Greek Myth and Cheeroke legends which play extremely useful information to other.

That ex-classmate told me Piper is possessive towards Jason. For me, it is very normal for her to be possessive to her ‘boyfriend’, or someone whom she loves, as long as it’s not Yuno Gasai level (see Future Diary for references). Besides, Jason is not the only one she cares about. There is Leo, and her father who is captured by the Giants. There are people dislike her because in MOA, she thinks Percy as cute, but average. Everyone has their own opinion, not everyone fancies the greatest hero on Earth. I really adore her and Percy as best friends, rather than her being another Percy’s admirer.

I would say she has the second-best character development. In TLO, she has the image of an insecure girl. Her adventure as a demigod makes her grow, mending her weaknesses. I love her chemistry with Annabeth in BOO, when fear and phobia prevent Annabeth’s logical reasoning from functioning properly, her feelings guide her to overpower them.

3. Reyna Ramiez-Arellano

Most of the major female characters are taken (except Thalia, the huntress and Rachel, the oracle), she’s the only major female demigod character in the series without a romantic partner. She made a minor appearance in the Sea of Monsters (SOM) as Circe’s apprentice, but soon

Her first appearance in SON gives a dignified and mysterious aura, we barely know her last name and such. She is fearless in battle and a wise leader. In fact, the last book reveals her fear towards ghosts, leading to her haunted childhood of physical abuse. She has moved from home to home, and settles as a praetor in New Rome. Her former sin for patricide might lose her power and trust in New Rome, thus she never speaks of it to anyone except for Nico.  

I am really entertained with the fight between Orion and Reyna. Orion, being the male chauvinist, comments the greatness of male dominance. Reyna proves herself that she can perform as well as a man could do, defeats him by herself while avenging the fallen huntresses and Amazon warriors. ‘You will die at the hands of a girl’, that sentence literally gives me the chills.

She has a successful career, blessed by two divine beings, and having an excellent characteristic. One thing that she does not own is romance, just like Aphrodite/Venus tells her that she will never find romance in half-blood. There might be a chance for her having a mortal lover, or catching the eye of an immortal being.

2. Perseus ‘Percy’ Jackson

He is the key character for us to fall in love with the demigod world with Greek Gods and monsters. He was not only charming, but having a great sense of humor. The dark hair and green eyes of his makes him fall into the category of the stereotypical hot-blooded protagonist with a tragic backstory and secret powers, like Eren Jaeger from Attack On Titan, or Hyakuya Yuuichirou from Seraph of the End. The character is based on Rick’s own son, Hayley Riordan, who suffers from ADHD and dyslexic. Rick used to tell him Greek Mythology as his bedtime stories, until the child gave him the inspiration to create his world with Greek Myth as the base.  

In TLT, he is shown as a troublesome child who gets kicked out of school frequently. He has an abusive stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, a nasty gambler. He does not have any friends except for Grover, who has difficulty in walking, and stands up for him. He nearly loses his mother from a Minotaur. His unfortunate past changes when he knows of his identity as a demigod. From SOM to TLO, we can see improvements in his mortal life, such as gaining a new stepfather, Paul Blofis, able to attend high school, and getting loyal friends. In TOA, it is known that he will have a baby sister.  

Besides his heroic acts and his brave deeds that we all know, he is pretty goofy and sarcastic. We all know of his personality through that first-person point of view about his views on others and the description of his adventures. He is moderately smart and observant, but he can be oblivious in simple stuff around him, like his own romantic encounters. He needs years to realize he is in love with Annabeth, which most of the readers get the clue before him. Reyna confesses her feelings to him in SON, which Percy needs minutes to figure it out. In BOO, when Nico opens up to Percy, Annabeth already gets the point right ahead, leaving him still in a daze.

Percy, despite being the best demigod alive, he acts quite modest and selfless. Most Greek Heroes we all know are portrayed as prideful, arrogant, womanizer or ungrateful. Him, as the son of Poseidon who technically saves the world, he never looks down on anyone. He barely sells himself, except when it’s needed, or in a very sarcastic way. He makes friends with everyone, including non-humans. In SOM, he is a little ashamed that his half-brother is a Cyclops, in the end he accepts him as his brother. The most significant moment is in TLOl, when Zeus offers him immortality. He considers at first, but then realizes the price of it, and turning it down. Instead, he asks for minor deities’ equal rights to claim their demigod children, including Hades, who is not welcomed in Olympus. If I were him I would probably do the same thing, except I might face the wrath of the King of Gods.

**Before revealing my top favorite character, here’s some honorable mentions:

Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Will Solace, Charles Beckendorf, Rachel Dare, the Stolls brother, Ethan Nakamura, Grover Underwood, Tyson, Blackjack, Chiron, Silena Beauregard, Gleeson Hedge, Clarisse La Rue, Calypso

Now here comes my favorite character:

1.Nico di Angelo

I am so sorry, I must put him at number 1 because of my personal bias.

This character has the most noticeable character change and development. He is debuted in TTC, which he is portrayed as carefree 10 years old boy who loves Mythomagic and very curious about everything. The death of his sister, his only known blood relative, caused him fall into despair. Soon, he learnt about his parentage, separating himself from the other demigods.

Despite him as the serious, angry son of Hades with depressing background, he gets a few hilarious moments. He is turned into two types of plants; the Spiderman referenced quote ‘With great power…comes great need to take a nap’; his imagination of Percy joking about farturas; and his confession to Percy.

His personality is mostly seen from other demigods’ views. In TTC, Percy sees him as an annoying little brother and full of curiosity of the demigod world. He seems excited with everything he is involved in, and very eager in participation. He also shows concern for his sister Bianca, asking Percy to protect her. His twist of personality comes in when Percy brings the news of Bianca’s accidental death. In BOTL, he becomes the gloomy, antisocial, and angry child who seeks for revenge and performing necromancy. He also crowns himself as the Ghost King, which the name sounds very Chuunibyou-ish (Chuunibyou is a Japanese term for people who acts like a know-it-all adult and look down on real ones, or believe they have special powers unlike others, see the anime Love, Chuunibyou and other Delusions for more info). In TLOl, he tricks Percy into his father’s lair, which makes Percy angry. He is one of the important ally who aids Percy gaining his Styx River immortality and convincing Hades to fight the Titan army.

There are more demigods involved with his description of personality and people’s opinion of him in HOO. Hazel, seeing him as her savior and brother, showing an amount of respect and admiration. Annabeth, doubting him having a crush on her (which he does not), only sees him as a younger brother. Leo is scared of his necromantic skills, trying to avoid him as best as he could. Frank shows respect and fear to his ‘brother-in-law’, but unexpectedly sharing the same interest in Mythomagic. Jason, originally suggests abandoning him to the Titans while proceeding their main task in MOA, receiving many objections from the other crew members. In HOH, Jason has a sense of sympathy to Nico when Cupid forcefully make him spill out his feelings. He approached the younger boy to befriend him. We also have Reyna, who forms a big sister instinct towards him, and also feels his pain.

We get Nico’s own point of view in BOO. We could not help but to sympathize with his old memories and feelings. We can see his unrequited feelings towards Percy, his moments with Bianca, his hatred towards the Hunters, his intense feelings with his father and the most importantly, his concern towards other demigods. He is not entirely a cold-hearted, unemphatic person like others believed him to be. The way he describes Will, it definitely sounds like a typical boy meets boy fanfiction. Using comparison to other demigods like Jason and Octavian, he has a sense of fondness to the child of Apollo. The Percy-Nico-Will mirrors the Luke-Annabeth-Percy relationship. Both Luke and Percy are the heroic figure to Annabeth and Nico, they are years older than them (technically Nico is older), and they the first demigod they encounter. Annabeth had a love-hate relationship with Luke due to his betrayal; while Nico hates him for breaking their promise and admires him at the same time. Annabeth bickers with Percy like how Nico argues with Will, and they are opposite attractions. In the end of the series, Annabeth tells Luke she sees him as a brother and starts to date Percy in PJO; Nico confesses his past crush towards Percy and sets his eyes on Will, which they end up dating.

I am glad that Riordan arranged Will as his boyfriend. There is a slight change of his personality after they are dating. For example, in CHBC, him and Percy team up and tease Annabeth. In THO, he becomes more participating in camp activities, and willing to socialize with other campers. Plus, he gives an excuse for himself to sit with his boyfriend in the Apollo table. Nice job kid! The loophole of two demigods of the opposite sex cannot stay alone in a cabin gives them a nice chance to spend nights in Hades Cabin, doing stuff.  

The character I despised the most, is none than other:

Octavian

He is purely whiny and annoying, like a fly. I knew he was up to no good when I first know this person. I do not care if he is the descendant of my favorite god (Apollo), this puny auger is terrible. In SON, he reminds Percy as Luke Castellan. In BOO, Nico describes him as a watered-down, unhealthy version of Will Solace. Leo also states he has a girly screaming voice. These descriptions give reader an image of an undesired person, also adding humor in the series.

Octavian is extremely xenophobic. He immediately dislikes Percy, insulting him as graecus scum. He does not show any sign of welcoming to the arrival of the representatives of the Greek camp. Ironically, he fears for Nico, who is a powerful Greek demigod. He discriminates Rachel Dare, Apollo’s chosen oracle, believing she is a fraud who practice sorcery.

His sadistic and prideful side is portrayed in many scenes. For example, he rips off stuffed animals as an offering to the gods. He hopes Percy feel the pain of getting his new SPQR tattoo. When he is in charge as Pontifex, he picks people who are brutal like Bryce Lawrence and strong like Mike Kahle. He casually tells people that his family is wealthy in New Rome and he is a descendent of Augustus.  

In the end, his own pride and lust for fame and power blinds him, giving him a death sentence. His death is graphic and funny. He might receive eternal punishment in the Underworld. My favorite scene of him is when Piper, Jason and Percy tells him to shut his mouth in MOA.

(I almost forgot Gabe Ugliano, who happens to be the worst parent and husband in the fictional world. This man is gone for good!)

Groovy Gods of Olympus

The Greek Gods in Percy Jackson’s world rules the world, which all of them have humanistic personalities. Greek Gods mirrors human’s behavior with their vice and virtues, like Hera’s jealousy, Hephaestus’ diligence, Zeus and Aphrodite’s lust, Hestia and Artemis’s chastity, Zeus and Ares’s wrath, Hestia’s kindness and Dionysus’s sloth. They moved their base from empires to empires, until they found their spot in United States, the world’s superpower nation. Olympus is based on the top floor of the Empire state building, while the entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles. These settings probably make us never see those things the same way again. The gods, adapted to the 21st century lifestyle, with their area of power matches the modern professions.  

Rick still sticks to the original description of the gods, with Athena’s greyish eyes of wisdom, Aphrodite’s changing beauty (depends on different people), Ares’ ruthless behavior, Apollo’s flashy and handsome looks and Hephaestus’s unappealing image. Not all the gods are divine as they should look. Dionysus/Mr. D in PJO series acts as a sluggish camp director. He is banished to Camp Half-Blood due to his flirtatious manners on an off-limit nymph. He does not contribute much to the camp, except for having naps or playing poker with Chiron and a few satyrs. Apollo, the prideful and narcissistic sun god, turns into a mortal by his father in TOA series. He has lost his former glory and powers, leaving him a mortal identity and body to live on Earth. Hestia, the former Olympian in the appearance of a young girl, is easily neglected due to her status.

I would admit that Greek Gods does not make excellent parents. Zeus forbids the gods from visiting their mortal children, except in a few occasions (he is also the douche who broke the oath twice and have 2 demigod children, and he passes most of the blame to Poseidon). Hera, expecting an ideal family, abandons her child Hephaestus because of his ugly appearance. In TLOl, Hades openly declares he prefers Bianca over Nico. However, some gods do care of their children. Poseidon in the series acts as a caring father to Percy (we barely see his angry side like in the myth). Hermes, who has multiple jobs, and countless children, he cares deeply for them. He even kisses Luke on the forehead before the Fates carry his body away. In BOO, it is revealed that Hades has a deep affection for his children, which most of them do not have a happy life. The antisocial and awkward god has difficulties in showing fondness, thus he provides his children gifts (Pluto gave Hazel colored pencils on her 13th birthday while Nico gets a French zombie chauffer).

Usually, gods conceive children like normal human beings. In BOTL, children of Athena are born in a unique way. I was curious at Annabeth and the other Athena’s children birth since their mother is a virgin goddess. There was a story in Greek Myth which she and Hephaestus had a child sprang from her handkerchief (of course they do not have any intimacy). It is told that children of Athena are born from the mind and pure love, not through intimate love and pregnancy. In THO, the daughter of Apollo Kayla Knowles has two fathers. I had to stop and reread that part, and it is true. I still do not get how demigod children are born from same-sex parents. Subjugate mothers? Or maybe like Athena children, sprang out from something. (I need to stop thinking about this or else the complexity will burn my brain cells).

Controversies

There’s a few controversies I have heard around.

Similarities of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter

This one was all over the place. People keep comparing Percy Jackson to Harry Potter. Some complaint that Rick copied the characters Rowling owned. These are the examples people brought up.

1.Percy has green eyes and black hair, living with an abusive parent. He does not know of his parentage. Harry, who has green eyes and black hair, living with abusive relatives.

2.Annabeth plays the smart one in the first trio. She is constantly compared to Hermione, the brightest witch in the Wizarding World.

3.Grover is the timid person of the trio, and the first supporter and companion to the main character. Another character in Harry Potter with the similar personality, Ron Weasley.

4.Chiron, the knowledgeable and caring mentor in the series, like Dumbledore in Harry Potter.

5. Luke, blond hair, the anti-hero. Draco, the anti-hero to Harry.

6. The mischievous Stolls brother, who keeps pranking on people. The Weasley twins, pranksters duo of Hogwarts.

7. Camp Half-Blood that is invisible to mortal’s eye, a haven for Greek demigods to learn defensive skills. Hogwarts, unknown to muggles and where young witches and wizards lean magic.

Maybe the author was not stable with the characterization in the first place, he might get references from the series itself. However, Rick has not confirmed that his characters are based on the Harry Potter series. The characterization became better later.

To be frank, I prefer Percy Jackson than Harry Potter. I love the diversity shown in the book, with good humor in it. Otherwise, Harry Potter gets the best language form.

The Percy Jackson movies

Movie adaptations are barely good, this is one of the examples. Even Rick himself acknowledge that the movie is horrible. I watched both movies, the plotline itself is good, but it cannot satisfy us fans.

The producers casted young adult actors for the roles than 12 years old. They could actually make the actors grow up with the movie, just how they did for Harry Potter. I’m alright with the Percy Jackson actor, I have no prejudice over Movie Grover’s race, Luke’s actor is fine (where’s the scar). I just have problems with the casting on female characters. Firstly, Annabeth Chase. In the first movie, she’s a brunette with blue eyes. I legit thought that’s a random daughter of Aphrodite. Where is the blonde hair and blue eyes? It does not mean I dislike the actress herself, it just her signature curly blonde hair with grey eyes are gone! This mistake was soon corrected in the 2nd movie. In the SOM movie, the Clarisse’s actor looked like a Victoria Secret Super Model, rather than the buff, mean-looking leader of the Ares Cabin.

There is a stark difference from the movie settings and the book settings. Instead of having cabins based on their godly parentage, each member has their own cabin. What is this? Luxury camp for the godly children? There is also no rule on camp clothing, where’s the orange camp shirt? The worst of all, why do they have advanced technologies? It is said that technologies attract monsters, which is unusable for demigods.  

All of these flaws made me prefer a sophisticated anime adaptation than a real-life movie or TV-show.

LGBT+ characters

(whoever made this edit deserves a thumbs up)

This is a recent controversy after the publicize of THO. Mostly from parent readers, they complained on the god’s sexuality and Nico and Will dating. I understand that some parents don’t want their children to knowing much about human sexuality at an early age. What makes me feel mad about the people who complained about having same-sex couple or characters in the LGBT+ spectrum does not realize that homosexuality is accepted in the ancient times.  

It is true that Apollo is bisexual, who has countless affairs with women and men. Other gods are not 100% straight, even Zeus fancied Ganymede. (I know, Greek Myth is one hell of a messed-up pit!)

Besides, I have nothing against Nico and Will dating (Solangelo shipper here!). Rick does not use words like ‘gay’, ‘queer’, ‘homosexual’ to identify their sexualities, which he does not want to label them as a specific identity. In Ancient Greco-Roman, same-sex relationship is highly encouraged in the army to strength the bonds between teammates. Also, as someone in the LGBT+ spectrum, I appreciate Rick’s decision to take the risk and promoting diversity. One thing I am mad about him is the vagueness of Nico and Will relationship. There are so many gaps in between BOO and THO which there’s no description on when they started dating, who confessed first and how do they get together! I need to know more about their relationship! I will be glad if there’s a side story of them. Also, Kayla’s mysterious birth from same-sex parents.

I love the fact that Rick does not give a dam (I simply just put a pun here) about the people who complained. He straight on inserted a kick-ass elderly lesbian couple in TDP.

How the series made an impact on me? My hopes on the franchise.

It is one of the reason why I took the path of writing. The story, and the writing-style had inspired me to be a writer myself. Looking at the vivid image of modernized Greek Gods brought some magic into my dull high-school life. I would also like to cosplay those female demigods in the future. As an anime fan, I hope this series can be created into an anime series, just like how they did for the Powerpuff Girls back then. I also hope I can meet more PJO/HOO fans in my country.

 Jenny (14-21 Aug 2017)

Author’s Note: My first essay describing on a fictional work I like. I tried to avoid any grammatical mistakes and add as much vocabulary as I can in it. The one week of writing this essay gives me neck pain (from looking too much on my laptop), and a better insight to the character and the story. I took a hiatus in the PJO/HOO fandom since I started on Hetalia and other anime. The day I decided to write this fic, I realized there are so many details I have forgotten, thus I need to check the Wikia and the books for references. This is a pleasant experience for me to start on writing reviews and simple creative writing. I might write more reviews or analytical essays for other book series and anime.  

[drews-diary]

Life Summary

Now that I’ve explained why I started my blog I thought my first post should be a wide overview of my life so far rather than any specific event so that I (or any people who happen to come across my new blog) do not get confused when I come back later. I dunno maybe I suffer from dementia or some shit later on and forget everything that’s ever happened to me. 

I am Korean, my entire family is. I was born in April in 2000. I am not going to write down the specific date because it is constantly up for debate and I honestly don’t care. Either one can be deemed as my birthday and I don’t give a fuck which. I was born in Seattle when my dad was getting his second masters (idk why he did that but whatever). A few months after I was born my family moved to North Carolina where my dad would get his PhD. I have a younger brother who is three years younger than me. He’s really nice. I’m a real bitch to him. Lately, I’ve been trying not to be. It’s actually going pretty okay

My dad and my brother are both really nice guys. And I mean that as in like, actual really really good kind people, not the #niceguys you find on reddit. My mom, on the other hand, isn’t. She’s a good person, but she can be a real bitch at times. I think I get it from her. Still, I really look up to her because even though she can be a bit harsh and rough around the edges she always has good intentions and she too is just a genuinely really good person. I wanna be like her when I grow up. Since I’m already there in terms of being a bitch every now and then. 

I grew up in North Carolina around a bunch of Korean people, most of whom were there for reasons similar to my dad. At school my brother and I were the only Koreans. I made friends with the one girl who was Chinese. Honestly I was so annoying as a kid. 

A few months before I graduated elementary school, my dad got a job as a professor in Korea and we moved. My first year in Korea, I got into a special class in an elementary school that was specifically for students who had spent long periods of time abroad and were trying to adapt to Korea, which made the whole transition a lot easier for me. After that, I went to Korean public school until my second year of high school. 

When I was about to turn thirteen my uncle passed away after a long fight with a pretty rare disease. I had a really hard time and I think it was at that point I started to fall into the world of fandoms. I had always really liked Percy Jackson as a child but it was at this point that I went into it, it’s what got me through that hard time. Before this I didn’t even know that fandoms were a thing and all of a sudden I was running an pjohoo fan instagram account and doing all-nighters to read fanfiction on wattpad. When Rick Riordan ended the series in 2014 I felt empty for a while. I didn’t know what to do with my life (this was before he announced the Apollo’s Apprentice series). I liked One Direction for a while but it just wasn’t the same. Then I found 5sos through them, and honestly I’ve stuck with them ever since. I am not as die hard now as I was back then because I’ve gone through puberty and as a result am less of an emotional wreck now, but the fact remains the same that I would die for Calum Hood. 

My grades were okay in middle school but they suffered a lot once I got to high school and in my second year my parents and I decided that the best option was for me to transfer to an International school. As a result, I spent the last two years of my high school career going to an international school here in South Korea. 

I got pretty close to my classmates during senior year, as opposed to junior year where I mostly stuck to my small group of friends. But high school ended pretty quickly (this past June) and everybody went their separate ways. While others headed off to university, a handful of friends and I made our way to hakwon. There, I rotted away for the next 4-5 months while I got ready for Korean university, which has a different application season from other places (I think). I worked on my resume, essays and most of all I prepared for my interviews. The results are out now and I got into my second choice. Which, is really good and I am so thankful that they accepted my ass, but I still hope I get into my first choice (I’m currently wait-listed, chances are not good).

I am now in sort of a transition period. I have all of this time until the first day of uni (which is in the beginning of March) and I think that that is the reason why I have been contemplating so much shit lately. Everybody else seems to be busy going out but I’ve always been more of an introverted, only-leaves-the-house-when-absolutely-necessary kind of person. But I do meet up with people maybe once or twice a week. I really like hanging out with my friends and getting drunk and all that shit, but honestly it’s pretty draining. A close friend and I got a netflix account together recently so I’ve mostly just been bingeing shit in bed. 

I have all of this time until the next official chapter of my life starts, and I thought it might be a good idea to spend it by looking back on the past and recording what I can remember. Don’t get me wrong, I have plans for the next couple of months - I’m going on a trip to Paris with a few of my really close friends (it is going to be the first time I ever go to Europe!), I have meeting with plastic surgeons set up, I want to get a job and my driver’s license too - but still, that’s a lot of empty time on my hands. I think this will be a good way to spend it. 

I am going to try not to post a bunch in one day. That is the easiest way for me to quickly lose interest. Instead, I am going to try to pace myself so that the memories do not stop flowing. Hopefully I can post once every few days. I wanna post about vague memories that I have, but I also wanna record things as they happen. I am really going to treat this like my diary. There were a bunch of times when I started a diary in the past, but I could never get myself to go more than a few weeks. Hopefully this time it will be different. 

I honestly really wanna be able to find this blog later so that I can go through it and remember everything. Hopefully I don’t ruin it by being lazy again. Wish me luck