#dear arizona daughter | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

toasttt11 · 5 months ago

Text

worth it

August 2, 2020

Cutter was waiting on the swing on her front porch for the Mcgroarty to show up.

The restrictions for Covid loosened and Rutger’s family was coming out to Cutter’s family lake house in Arizona to spend some well needed time together.

Cutter rolled her eyes annoyed at Kennedy and Keegan arguing again, she had been stuck with the two fighting constantly the entire quarantine.

Cutter turned her head seeing her littlest sibling and her favorite sibling, Kingston. Kingston was rolling her eyes looking just as annoyed listening to their siblings arguing, “Do they know how to be quiet.” Kingston sassily mumbled.

Cutter pressed her lips together smiling proudly at her seven year old sister, “And this Kingsy is why you’re my favorite.” Cutter muttered to her baby sister as she pressed a soft kiss to her head.

Kingston proudly smiled, from the second she was born it was so obvious that Cutter was her favorite.

Cutter got up seeing the car pull into the driveway and she headed to the stairs rolling her eyes as Kennedy pushed past her to get to Molly first.

Rutger grinned widely as he got out of the car seeing his best friend, Cutter titled her head to the side opening her arms slightly and actually smiling for once.

Rutger immediately bounded right over to her tackling her into a tight hug almost knocking them both over with how hard he tackled her.

Cutter let out a fond breath gripping onto Rutger just as tightly back.

“I’ve missed you so much.” Rutger mumbled holding on to Cutter so tightly in fear she would be away from him again.

“I missed you too.” Cutter quietly admitted, she had missed Rutger and also was anxiously waiting to tell him she feels the same.

Rutger very reluctantly let go of his best friend from their hug to let her greet the rest of his family.

“Cutter!” Cindy beamed pulling her future daughter in law into a tight hug, rocking her side to side, “You have grown even more beautiful my dear.” Cindy softly cooed holding Cutter’s face delicately in her hands.

“Thank you.” Cutter flushed slighty just as she does every time Cindy compliments her, it means a lot coming from Cindy but as she also knows Cindy is being completely honest.

“Cut!!” Molly grinned walking past her mother and pulling Cutter into a very tight hug, Cutter has and will always be Molly’s favorite out of Rutger’s friends.

“Hi Mols.” Cutter softly greeted her back, Cutter does not enjoy a lot of the more “Girly” things but the few times she does it is because she is doing them with Molly and she’s gonna to see Molly as an older sister.

Jim waited until his girls were done saying hi to Cutter before he pulled her into a gentle hug.

“Alright give me my Cutter back.” Rutger grumbled wanting to be with his beta friend after being apart for so long, he didn’t notice he called her his but Cutter did and she flushed slightly.

Rutger wrapped his arm around her shoulder making her lean against him.

Molly chuckled at her brother and just shook her head fondly.

Kim and Cindy shared a knowing glance that made Kim nod her head with smile making Cindy bean excitedly.

“Come on you dork.” Cutter rolled her eyes fondly at her best friend and pulled him into her house past their two families.

Rutger happily let her pull her through her house and to her bedroom.

Rutger immediately let go of her hand when he stepped inside her room and flopped onto her bed sighing happy cuddling into her fluffy blankets and getting the scent of Cutter.

Cutter just shook her head fondly but was smiling watching Rutger as she has missed his cuddling and napping on her bed, she never understood why Rutger likes laying on her bed so much.

“Come here.” Rutger softly whispered pleading with her as he held out his arms towards her.

Cutter blinked slightly not use to Rutger straight up asking for her to cuddle but took a deep breath and got into bed laying down next to Rutger laying her head on his chest and immediately feeling Rutger’s arms wrap around her and feeling him sigh happily.

“I’ve missed you so much.” Rutger mumbled against the top of her head closing his eyes peacefully, feeling so happy having Cutter in his arms and it gave him hope she might be getting ready to feel the same for him.

“I’ve missed you too.” Cutter admitted whispering against his chest, she never had cuddled like this Rutger and she was curtain herself for not doing it sooner, she has never felt more comfortable or content.

Rutger smiled happily hearing her words, “What was that? Is the Cutter Gauthier admitting she had missed me!” Rutger teased her poking her side making her squirm.

Cutter chuckled grabbing Rutger’s hand to stop him from poking her anymore, “I did miss you.” Cutter admitted again hiding her face in Rutger’s chest.

Rutger smiled softly squeezing her tighter pressing a very soft kiss to the top of her head.

Cutter and Rutger cuddled together for a good while and both of them dozing off for a while in each other’s arms.

Cutter was fiddling with the bracelets stacked on Rutger’s wrist having woke up before Rutger and didn’t want to get out of his embrace.

Rutger woke up and felt his heart squeeze happily realizing he had been napping with Cutter in his arms but she was also still there when he woke up and just fiddling with his brackets.

Rutger looked at Cutter’s face and could tell it was thoughtful and knew she was thinking hard over something.

“What are you thinking about in that brain of yours?” Rutger softly teased poking her forehead softly.

Cutter bit her lip looking at Rutger slightly fearfully but took a deep breath remembering her mother’s words.

She took a deep breath and sat up looking at Rutger, “Do you still feel the same towards me?” Cutter was nervous that Rutger might no longer feel the same towards her and she could not blame him because she had made him wait for so long.

Rutger’s eyes widen in shock and he slowly looked hopeful, he sat up grabbing Cutter’s hands, “I will always feel the same toward you. I told you i would wait forever for you.” Rutger softly reassured her, to Rutger she was worth waiting for her.

Rutger felt hopefully as Cutter started this conversation and hoped maybe she was going to admit she felt something for him.

Cutter let out a small sigh of relief hearing Rutger’s reassuring words.

Cutter took a deep breath gripping onto Rutger’s hands tighter, “It scares me. How much i feel for your Rutger James. I always have and i’ve tried to push it away for a long while now but i don’t want to hide what i feel for you no longer.” Cutter slowly cupped his face with one of her hands making Rutger happily lean into her touch as he listened to her speak.

“And what do you feel for me?” Rutger softly whispered smiling softly at her, he was beaming as he realized Cutter was admitting she felt something for him.

“I love you.” Cutter admitted to Rutger whispering just as softly back. Cutter had to take the step and admit her feelings and she no longer wanted to held back by her fear, she loves Rutger and she wants him to know that.

Rutger let out a small breathy chuckle feeling his heart squeezing tightly as he heard her say the words he has been dreaming of her saying for a long time.

“You do?” Rutger whispered in disbelief looking at her with hopeful eyes bringing his hand up to cover her hand that was still holding his face gently.

“I do.” Cutter softly smiling as she reassured him and she was happy seeing how happy her words have made Rutger.

“I love you I love you I love you I love you.” Rutger repeated over and over as he pressed multiple kisses around her face making her laugh and wrap her arms around his shoulder pulling him closer to her.

Rutger put his hands on her waist pulling her closer making her sit on his lap as he sat on her bed still.

Cutter leaned her forehead against his forehead letting out a happy sigh, she has been scared for so long of admitting her feelings but seeing how happy it made Rutger made her wish she told him sooner.

“I love you.” Rutger whispered softly rubbing his nose softly against her nose. Rutger couldn’t believe she really did feel the same for him and that she finally admitted her feelings.

“I love you too.” Cutter whispered back just as softly and she leaned closer making the two lips finally touch again.

Rutger and Cutter both let out identical sighs as they finally kissed again, something they both have been waiting for since they kissed for the first time.

“This does mean i can be your boyfriend now right?” Rutger cheekily questioned the second they stopped kissing.

Cutter let out a fond laugh rolling her eyes fondly at her boyfriend, “Yes Rut you’re my boyfriend.” Cutter reassured him before pressing her lips back to his.

“Awesome.” Rutger mumbled all distracted as he desperately pressed his lips against his girlfriend’s and holding her tightly to him.

20 notes · View notes

w98pops · 1 year ago

Text

my silly new frumentarii oc and the first (even tho its a half-assed sketch) art on my new display tablet. its been pretty fun so far.

about nicodemus

Unlike other frumentarii, Nicodemus is not a fan of deception and violence. He's a noble and grand, albeit a little sociopathic, soul.

Nico's parents were Khans, and it took Legion a week of siege and 17 members just to infiltrate their house. The legate initially wanted to enslave them, but because of the absence of any cooperation and ways to bend Nico's parents will to Caesar's, they were killed, and their 7 month old baby was taken to be trained as a legionary. Nico was taunted all his childhood, called Goliath because of his abnormally big body proportions (He was the size of a teenager by the time he was 7). Nico was a perfect unit, but he had little to no interest in combat.

Instead, he was highly encouraged by his dear teacher, Aletus of the Boneyard, to study Bible. Although, Aletus introduced Bible to young Nico as a work of ficton, it inspired a true faith in the boy and by the time he was 15, he knew scripture by heart.

Teenage Nicodemus had an arranged marriage with his teacher's daughter, Inga, who was just 4 years younger than him. Nico looked forward to it, because Inga was a dear friend of his, whom he truly loved with all his child heart, but also because it was a way to connect with Aletus, who became a sort of father figure to him. After inga's supposed escape, Nicodemus went wild for a few years, heartbroken and betrayed. In that time, he worked really hard to be noticed by the mighty Caesar, and noticed he was. Caesar saw the potential in the young man, Nico had a very poetic and inspiring tongue and a very impressive and terrifying build.

Nicodemus officially became the youngest frumentarii, at just 20 years and in the time of his work, never once failed a task. His work for Caesar mostly consisted of being an ambassador and a messenger to the tribes. Nico is a soft-spoken but strangely unnerving person, which made him a surprisingly good negotiator. His last and only failed work were negotiations with the Great Khans, because KARL IS NONEXISTENT IN MY CANON, after failing which he was shamefully demoted, and sent off to Arizona. But, he never went back to Arizona.

Ex-frumentarii Nicodemus disappeared a week before the Second Battle for Hoover Dam, and was never seen by any of surviving members of the Legion ever since.

There were rumours that he reconnected with a certain childhood friend of his and found out something about his and his parents' past affilations and made a conscious decision to left it all behind, but uhmm 🥱 I guess we'll never know.

#fallout #fnv #fallout new vegas #caesar's legion #oc: nicodemus

82 notes · View notes

fnafcatfanatic · 5 days ago

Text

Last letter before a star burned

The first and only thing that needs to be said is that I absolutely despise William Afton. I just wish he never appeared in my life, because the things he did were and still are terrible. It serves him right to burn in the deepest pit of hell.

If somebody had told me what he did back then, I wouldn’t believe them and argue that he’s the kindest person I knew. He helped me with whatever imperfections and „problems“ I had. But now I finally see that his „help“ had been nothing more than a pack of lies, a means to manipulate, and whatever he claimed was wrong with me was completely normal. “The past is in the past and you realised your mistakes” they say, but nobody talks about the impact it could have on your mental health and personality as a whole when they’ve been doing it for as long as he did.

Call me spiteful or stubborn, but I will forever hold him accountable for not only what he did to those poor souls that will forever miss their families, but also to his friends, and me. Without him, I wouldn’t be afraid to get close to people, scared that when people find out my true personality, they’ll leave or worse, make fun of me behind my back, or only plot how to hurt me even more to the point of breaking me. Afterall, William played his role of a supportive friend and confidant very well.

…Or maybe I was just blind to it, foolishly following his direction and blindly trusting him with what I held dear. And would you look at that…innocent people paid with their lives thanks to my denial of the truth. And then what did I do when I saw him in that backroom, looking back at me while he was slumped over somebody’s dead body?

I turned around and ran…like a fucking coward and I didn’t look back. I took some of my necessary belongings, packed them into the biggest bag I could find in my house, put it in my car and hurriedly drove away. I was driving for hours, unsure whether he saw me leave and followed, so I just drove until my gas didn’t run out. I tried not to cry so that I wouldn’t crash – though I wished it would happen - as realisation finally hit me. He did it. He killed my daughter and all the other missing kids.

Eventually, I got tired and parked in some parking lot in Arizona and spent the night there.

When morning came, I wished it was a nightmare and the only person, who seemed to genuinely understand what I have been going through, wasn’t the one who had destroyed my life. …Or maybe I had done it myself after Charlotte disappeared. I sat there, not moving for a long time while I thought about if I should just start popping antidepressants like tic-tacs. I took the bottle in my hands, put one in my mouth and swallowed it using water. The taste was bitter, but the feeling it gave afterwards was great. It wasn’t perfect, because I was feeling even worse once the effect faded, but that was to be expected.

I waited for a while, hoping it would start working soon, but it didn’t, so I popped another one…then one more and after that…

…I woke up in a hospital with Jen crying her eyes out, saying I was stupid for trying to take my life. I had to promise her to not do it again. …She thought that I was a coward for doing it…that hurt. She was my sibling; couldn't she have been more supportive?

After that whole ordeal, she drove me to her house as per instructions from the psychiatrist - who questioned me back at the hospital – hid all sharp or potentially dangerous things and told me that I need to go to therapy every week. I refused, saying that it’s expensive and I would rather be dead than tell anybody about my problems and be told the same thing Will always said, *”I understand that you must be hurting.”*

It was like a trigger for me, and I would most probably storm out in panic, but Jen kept insisting, so I did. And just as I predicted, it happened, I broke down, yelled at the poor woman, and then ran away to find the nearest bridge to jump off of. Unfortunately, Jen, who had been waiting in front of the house, stopped me and gave me a long scolding about being a responsible adult. But it wasn’t like she knew how it felt to have your child taken away by somebody she should’ve been able to trust.

I go angry and stormed away, repeated once again my whole escapade from three days ago and this time I didn’t look back.

FNAF 6 (2024)

Today is the day I finally end all of this. Oh, how long have I waited and how much willpower it took not to end my life throughout all these years, but it has been worth it. Some poor soul took the job as intended and brought all of them inside. I don’t know why he did it, though. Maybe he just wanted parts to save money, which was the most probable explanation.

When the final day had come, I went inside the secret office I had built and waited until they were all as near as possible to the security office. Even Molten, who, somehow, managed to slip by the franchisee during the maintenance check, came inside the vents. Once that happened, I sealed all exits including my own and turned my microphone on.

During the whole speech, that I gave, I was reminiscing about all the things that happened, all the locations I opened, then closed, everything the new management had done to cover up the past, and most importantly, my daughter again. My voice was carefully even and emotionless and then I finally did it…I set the whole thing on fire.

When my mind shut itself down to avoid all the pain, I finally felt relaxed and free, just like all the other souls who rose from the ashes, heading for heaven. As I watched four particular ones come together and embrace one another, I thought that death has never seemed so pleasant.

“Daddy…?” I heard from behind me. I turned around with tears in my eyes and my sight landed on befuddled Charlie. “Charlotte!” I yelled as I flew to her. “Daddy!” She screamed in response and met me halfway. We hugged and wept for all those years of being separated.

I didn’t notice it, but one of the souls tried rising up, then got pulled abruptly down by some golden strings, not to be seen again.

#fnaf #fnaf headcanons #fazbear entertainment #five nights at freddy's #fnaf fic #helliam #willry #five nights at freddys #fnaf henry emily

3 notes · View notes

gatekeeper-watchman · 11 days ago

Text

Daily Devotionals for December 12, 2024

Proverbs: God's Wisdom for Daily Living

Devotional Scripture:

Proverbs 30:15-16 (KJV): 15 The horse leach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: 16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough. Proverbs 30:15-16 (AMP): 15 The leech has two daughters, crying, Give, give! There are three things that are never satisfied, yes, four that do not say, It is enough: 16 Sheol (the place of the dead), the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the fire that says not, It is enough.

Thought for the Day

To introduce four things that are never satisfied, Agur described the leech; a blood-sucking worm. It feeds through two suckers, one at each end of its body, thus the depiction of "two daughters" clamoring for blood. Horse leeches live in well water and spring water. As animals and humans drink, tiny leeches enter their mouths and attach themselves inside the throat or similar places. Feeding on their host's blood, they grow rapidly and can cause bleeding, obstruction, and even death. The leech presents a vivid picture of human parasites. They enrich themselves by draining others, and giving nothing but trouble in return. Like the leech, the following four things are never satisfied:

The Grave or Sheol: It takes countless souls every day but is never full. "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it" (Isaiah 5:14).

The Barren Womb: The effects of sin upon humanity rob some women of the ability to conceive. It is heartbreaking for a woman yearning to have a child to be unable to conceive. She is never satisfied and tries every method possible to become pregnant. God's promise and power can break the curse of a barren womb (Deuteronomy 7:13). Whoever follows Christ has God's blessing, including the ability to conceive. My husband and I have seen many women able to become pregnant after being prayed for.

The Earth: It is never satisfied with water. No matter how much rain falls, the earth will become dry and need more. Drought is a curse. Israel was warned that if they turned from the living God to idols, the earth would suffer for it. (Deuteronomy 11:13-17).

Fire: Its very life depends upon consuming everything that it touches. It is devastating to view the aftermath of a fire. At the time of this writing, Arizona has endured its worst drought in over a hundred years, and many fires have ravaged the land. When driving by these areas it is sad to see mile after mile of charred timber that had once been a green forest. It is far sadder, however, to see people's lives ravaged and destroyed by sin. Like fire, sin is never satisfied, but consumes more and more of a person's soul and life.

God has promised to provide for all our needs. He entreats us to trust in Him. "Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present circumstances and with what you have; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]" (Hebrews 13:5, AMP).

Prayer Devotional for the Day

Dear heavenly Father, praises be to Your Name for delivering us from the curses of the enemy! I thank You for Your many blessings, and am grateful that You have redeemed us from the curse. Lord, set us free from all dissatisfaction and discontent. Lord, today, may I find my peace and contentment in You. Father, I am grateful for Your protection against the curses of the devil. Thank You for protecting my property from fire and sending us rain in due season. I am grateful for the refreshing rains You send and I know the animals, trees, grasses and the earth are happy, too. We thank You for Your many blessings and pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

From: Steven P. Miller, @ParkermillerQ,gatekeeperwatchman.org , TM, ‎Founder and Administrator of Gatekeeper-Watchman International Groups. #GWIG, #GWIN, #GWINGO, #Sparkermiller Wednesday, December 11, 2024, Jacksonville, Florida USA 6:06:31 PM www.facebook.com/gatekeeperwatchnan www.facebook.com/ Instagram: steven_parker_miller_1956

2 notes · View notes

cosmiclasagna · 5 months ago

Text

i got tagged in another game!!! :D

gonna be giving yall 5 songs ive had on repeat!

1) ost [spiritual] by bring me the horizon

2) bullet with my name on by bring me the horizon

3) limousine by bring me the horizon

4) n/a by bring me the horizon

5) r.i.p (duskcore remix) by bring me the horizon

honorable mentions

aqua regia by sleep token

arizona by carter vail

dear arkansas daughter by lady lamb

thanks to the lovely @highwarlockofphilly for tagging me (sorry this was posted so long after lol)

time to tag some people!! @catsrcoolyeet @justlikeregularchickens @justlittlefrogthings @dearpyramus no pressure to participate :)

#lasagna talks #may or may not have just had that album on repeat since it came out lmao #obv i listen to other things as well #but this album is so good

3 notes · View notes

use-your-imagination98 · 1 year ago

Text

How to save GH

This is a tiny project that I've been working on. GH is in a bad place. It's stale. No romance. No intriguing stories. No heart. The focus is on characters no one cares about. So, I let my creativity run wild and create stories that use vets, legacy characters, and built on history.

This is pretty, pretty long. But this show has one million characters and needs a lot to fix it. If you take the time to read it, god bless you 😂

"TOXIC" CAST CULL

“Pikeman” decides to target all of Port Charles with a deadly toxin. TJ, Portia, Finn, Terry, and Elizabeth all work to create an antidote with help from Patrick and Robin via telephone.

It is revealed that Pikeman is revealed to be an alive Lorenzo Alcazar who is intent on finally ending Sonny’s reign once and for all.

We see Gladys, Dex, Cody (who is revealed to not be Mac’s son), Willow, Sasha, Mason, Austin, Finn, Gregory, Diane, and Olivia each die from the toxin. After the 11 deaths, the hospital crew was finally able to create an antidote. The rest of the town is saved.

Gladys, Dex, Cody, Sasha, Gregory, Finn, Austin, and Diane’s funerals are off screen. The Quartermaine’s decide to have a double funeral for Willow and Olivia.

Immediate aftermaths:

Stella and Marshall move to Arizona because Port Charles is too much for them

Hayden comes to collect Violet and move her immediately out of Port Charles

After losing her dear friend, Alexis is spurred to get her law license back.

ANNA, VALENTIN, AND A GROWN UP EMMA

Anna discovers that Valentin was responsible for setting fire to her house. She isn’t fully blindsided because she suspected her Cassadine lover was keeping secrets from her, but it didn’t stop her from being gutted. Robin and Patrick agree to allow Emma to finish college back in Port Charles to support Anna. Emma, desperate to discover why Valentin would destroy her grandmother’s house, starts investigating.

During her investigation, Annie Donely returns to assist. They track Valentin to a secret meeting with Lorenzo. They discover that Lorenzo was threatening to kill Charlotte because Valentin was going to quit being his right hand man. Lorenzo did not want to reveal himself until he was certain he could take Sonny down for good, but Valentin’s closeness with Anna, who is close to Sonny, was becoming a problem.

Emma and Annie reveal to Anna their findings. Anna confronts Valentin with the discovered facts. He reminds her that they both agreed to kill one another if their children were threatened. She asks how he came to be Lorenzo’s partner. Valentin explains that it was motivated by just wanting money and power. But when he heard that Lorenzo was planning to attack Port Charles, Valentin wanted out.

Anna declares that she will help take Lorenzo down for good, but they can’t tell Sonny because Sonny will have Valentin killed for his involvement with Lorenzo. Anna and Valentin, with some help from Annie and Emma, work to rid Port Charles of Lorenzo Alcazar.

However, their plans are spurred when Emma’s best friend from college, Lila Rae comes to visit Emma. It is revealed to Emma that Lila Rae is Alcazar’s daughter, which puts Emma in a tough spot: Does she stand by her friend or help bring down a mob boss criminal?

Cameron Webber also returns home after tearing his ACL. He enters into a love triangle with Emma and Lila Rae. Does he choose his old friend or the girl he was attracted to at school?

LULU RETURNS WHILE DANTE SPIRALS

Lulu wakes up from her coma around Christmas 2023. Laura rushes to the care facility with Kevin and Nikolas by her side. When Lulu is questioned about herself, it is discovered that she woke up thinking it is August 2006. She believes that she just turned 18, her mother is catatonic, and that she was never wanted. She is shocked to see her mother awake. Laura gently explains to her that it is 2023 and that Lulu is a 35 year old mother of 2. Lulu is shocked and scared that she can’t remember anything.

She is quickly released from the care facility and back home in Port Charles on New Year’s Eve where a clearly drunk Dante shows up to drop off Charlotte and Rocco at Laura’s.

Lulu has no recollection of Dante, the kids, or becoming friends with Maxie. She clings to her mom, Kevin, and Nikolas. Rocco and Charlotte are desperate to reconnect with their mother, but Lulu is very hesitant. WIth some advice from Laura and Maxie, Lulu begins to make inroads with her preteen kids.

Dante, already messed up due to his mother’s death, goes into a deeper spiral at the return of Lulu. Sam is Dante’s voice of reason and after months of drinking him into a stupor and going on probation at work, she is able to get him to see that his drinking is becoming a problem and seek help. Once Dante gets clean, Dante proposes to Sam.

Sam, worried to go down the marriage path again, especially after the failed engagement to Patrick, initially says no. She is happy with the way things are with their family. Dante promises not to push but saves the ring in case she ever changes her mind.

THE END OF ESME:

Esme is curious about her past. Thus, she continues visiting her mom, Heather, who spoon feeds Esme about her past with her adopted family. Heather reveals the truth: Esme killed her adoptive parents in a rage. The reveal sparks Esme’s memories before the second jump off the parapet to return.

Laura and Kevin were able to find where Mason, Austin, and Cyrus were hiding Nikolas. Nikolas woke up shortly after they found him and he revealed that Ava was the one who struck him. The trio return to Port Charles with Laura vowing to never allow Ava anywhere near her family again. Nikolas agrees to not report Ava for the blow to the head if she returns Wyndamere to him. Ava agrees.

A returned Nikolas begins making amends with Spencer and Elizabeth for his actions. Spencer is wary of letting Nikolas in his and Ace’s life, but Trina is able to convince Spencer to give his father one last chance. Spencer moves out of Wyndamere and into his own apartment, but continues to have a large presence in Ace’s life to Esme’s chagrin. Ace’s time is split between Esme at Laura/Kevin’s house and Wyndamere with Nikolas.

Esme is angry with the overlooming presence that Nikolas and Spencer have over her son. She overhears Nikolas discussing getting full custody with Kevin, Spencer, and Martin. She hears Spencer reveal to the three men all the evidence of her crimes against Ava, Cam, Joss, and Trina to use against her in court. Esme rushes to Pentonville and vents to Heather. Heather conspires with Esme a plan of revenge against Spencer.

Esme and Heather’s plan includes framing Spencer for small to large crimes. At first, it's a break in at Wyndamere where she steals a family necklace which ends up in Spencer suit jacket. She trashes Ava’s gallery and splatters paintings with fake blood, similar to Spencer’s first run in with Trina at the gallery. Spencer keeps getting arrested or questioned by the police, but Martin is able to defend him from charges being made.

Esme is furious. The night before the custody hearing she picks a massive fight with Spencer on the docks. Spencer gets angry enough that he raises a hand to her, but never follows through. However, Spencer is caught raising his hand by Esme’s uncle, Kevin. She asks to speak to Spencer alone and Kevin takes the launch to Wyndamere to join Nikolas, Ace, and the rest of the family for dinner. When they are alone, Esme “apologizes” for picking a fight and gives Spencer a hug. He pushes her off and gets on the launch.

Esme returns to Laura and Kevin’s and gets busy bruising herself all over her body and rips her clothes (all with gloves on). When Laura and Kevin return home, they see a battered Esme with torn clothes. She cries that Spencer r*ped her and she wants to report it to the police. A piece of Spencer’s hair is found on Esme’s shirt and he is arrested and charged. Due to the charges against Spencer, the custody hearing is delayed and the normal custody schedule remains.

Martin is unable to procure Spencer’s bail and release. So, Spencer is in prison until the trial. He gets visits from Nikolas, Laura, and Trina. He proclaims his innocence and they all believe him immediately. He wouldn’t touch Esme, let alone r*pe her.

Trina begs Taggert for help in proving Spencer’s innocence. They get Spencer to tell them his every step on the day Esme says she was r*ped. Meanwhile, Laura, Nikolas, and Elizabeth put their heads together and watch Esme’s every move. Kevin is torn. He wants to believe his niece, but knows Spencer wouldn’t do anything like that to anyone.

Trina discovers that Esme never had a r*pe kit performed on her. All the police have is Spencer’s hair on her shirt. There is no proof that Spencer violated Esme. And Esme can not account for the time from the docks to when Laura and Kevin returned home. Laura is able to get Trina a private meeting with DA Robert Scorpio. Trina explains her theory: Spencer and Esme got in a verbal fight. Esme was either close enough to Spencer that a piece of hair fell on her shirt or she purposefully embraced him. Then, went somewhere private and bruised herself. She set him up. Laura is impressed and Robert agrees. He suggests that Trina forget art history and become an attorney.

Robert questions Esme, who slips up when trying to retell her original story. She originally claims that Spencer r*ped her behind Laura/Kevin’s townhouse, but instead says he r*ped her in their townhouse. Robert arrests her for her false story of r*pe, as well as all the other crimes she framed Spencer for. She is sent to jail for 3 years. Spencer is freed.

Soon afterwards, Trina visits Esme in Pentonville. Trina finally unleashes all her anger at Esme. Trina explains that she was sick of playing the nice guy to Esme just for a baby. But that time is over and Esme can rot in jail.

Spencer’s third stint in jail made him realize it is time to act on his feelings. He sets up a romantic evening at the gallery and finally proposes to Trina. Because of Portia's meddling, they elope with a returning Cam and Ava as their only witnesses. They get a romantic honeymoon.

Kevin, guilty that he could never save his brother, works on trying to save Esme through prison visits. However, when she asks him to help her remove Ace from Nik and Spencer's clutches by lying to a judge, Kevin refuses.

Esme is furious. She really believed that her uncle Kevin would help her no matter what, especially over helping Nikolas and Spencer, who are not his blood. Esme breaks out of jail and attacks Kevin at his GH office (similar to Carter and Lucy's attack on ER). Kevin is stabbed multiple times, but his biggest injury is Esme basically stabbing his throat.

Liz finds Kevin bleeding out and screams out for a doctor. While Deanna is prepping Kevin for surgery, Liz calls Laura. Laura, a returned Lulu, Martin, Lucy, Mac and Felicia wait for TJ to finish operating. Nik calls Spencer, who is on his honeymoon, to tell him about Esme's latest crime and Kevin's condition. Spencer and Trina rush home to be at Laura's side.

Kevin survives, but he will never be able to speak again. Dante and Jordan find Esme hiding out at an abandoned carnival and arrest her. After hearing from Martin that Esme has been arrested, Laura rushes to the PCPD to confront Esme. Laura finally tells Esme off (no more sweetheart here). Esme is jailed for life, but shows no remorse because she was able to take away something precious from Kevin like Ace was taken from her.

KEVIN’S SILENCE

This story spurs from the end of Esme. Waking up after his stabbing, Kevin discovers that he can’t talk. He, along with his friends and family, are told that the stab wound to the throat was deep. They had to remove his voice box. Kevin slips into a depression while dealing with the fact that he can never speak again. Laura and LuLu, specifically, start attending ASL classes with a disgruntled Kevin, so that they are able to communicate.

Kevin’s thoughts get darker and darker. He then decides to take his own life. He rationalizes that without his voice, he can’t do his job or be the man that his wife, family, and friends need. There will be an entire special episode centered around Kevin writing his s**cide letter. Everyone else is silent. The only voice we hear is Kevin reading out his letter during his last interactions with those he mentions in the letter: Mac, Felicia, Lucy, his step kids/grandkids, hospital staff, and finally Laura. Laura finds him at home with empty pill bottles all around him and calls an ambulance.

Kevin survives but continues to be very dark and depressed, specifically towards Laura. Laura’s attitude that love can conquer anything angers him. The married couple have a harsh argument in the hospital room where difficult things are said. Lulu intervenes and is able to relate to Kevin: he lost his voice for good and she lost her memory for good. She convinces Kevin to give her mom a second chance once he gets to Shadybrooke for rehab.

After a month apart, Kevin asks Laura to visit him in Shadybrooke. They discuss his depression over losing his voice. She admits that she will miss his voice, but it's the person behind the voice that matters. They reconcile.

Kevin’s ASL teacher bonds with Lulu and they strike up a romance. We later learn that he is Kevin’s son from a one night stand before Kevin showed up in Port Charles.

NIZ REVIVAL AND LUCKY RETURNS

When Nikolas returns to town, he is set on making amends with the people he hurt, specifically Spencer and Elizabeth. Spencer is cautious to forgive Nik and allow him back in his life. Trina helps Spencer with his conflicting feelings over his father. Elizabeth reads Nik the riot act for leaving her high and dry. She explains that she almost lost her job for helping him keep Esme locked away. He apologizes and sends her an apology note everyday attached to her favorite flower.

Elizabeth is touched and warns him that if he ever embraces his full Cassadine side again, she is done helping and protecting him. Nikolas, free from Victor’s grasp, free from Spencer’s rightful anger, and free from the blackmail Ava relationship, realizes that he still loves Elizabeth. He decides to embrace this new and improved version of himself and asks her out on a date. Elizabeth says no. Every time they get intertwined, they get in trouble. Nikolas argues that they were young and high on emotions. Nothing is holding them back. He will go as slow as she would like. But if he doesn’t try, his life would have a missing piece and be filled with regrets.

Elizabeth is touched and eventually agrees to a date. While she was expecting to be wine and dined, he took her to an art class and had pizza afterwards. Elizabeth was touched at his simplicity. He reveals that he has always loved her since they were teenagers and never wants her to change who she is for him. He would rather change to fit into her world than her changing to fit into his. They go back to Wyndamere and sleep together.

When Laura gets re-elected as Mayor, a big inauguration party is thrown by Nikolas. Lulu decides to invite Lucky without anyone knowing, assuming that he would not show up. During the party, Lucky shockingly arrives. Elizabeth is stunned. Cam, Jake, and Aiden are angry. Nikolas and Laura are surprised. Before Lucky makes his way into the depths of the party, Laura pulls him aside outside. She tells him she loves him and is so happy he is here, but if he doesn’t plan on sticking around for his sons, he needs to leave now. She explains that the boys have gone through rough times and he never showed up, but he returns for a party. So he either leaves for good or joins the party with the intent on sticking around for his sons.

Lucky takes a few minutes, but he decides to return to the party. Cam confronts him and advises him to stay away from their mother and her boys. He reveals that Liz is happy with Nik and doesn’t want Lucky screwing it up. Lucky congratulates Niz on their relationship and gives them his blessing. Niz are surprised.

A few weeks pass and Laura encourages Lucky to at least try to make inroads with the boys. She bluntly tells Lucky that her grandsons don’t need a father because they have a wonderful mother who raised them on their own, but those boys deserve a good dad. Lucky visits Elizabeth at work. He asks her how he can not only attempt to fix his relationship with the boys, but with her as well. She recommends family therapy, but only if the boys are up to it.

Lucky attends solo sessions and Elizabeth shares that the boys will try family therapy. Aiden thaws the quickest to Lucky, while Cam remains cold for a while. During Lucky’s solo sessions, we get insight into why he has stayed away so long: In fear of becoming a drunken, absent husband and father like Luke, he thought staying away was the best option. But by doing so, he became an absent partner and father in the process.

Lucky apologizes to Elizabeth for all the infidelities and hurtful words he has said to her in the past. They agree to be best friends and co-parents. Lucky gets his life back on track in Port Charles. When Carly gets the Metro Court back after Olivia’s death, she sells Kelly’s to Lucky for a dollar.

SCOTT’S DAUGHTER FALLS FOR LUKE’S SON

Serena returns to town a lawyer, like her father. She reunites with her parents, Scotty and Lucy. They are so excited to see her and she reveals that a position in the DA’s office opened and she decided that it was time to come home. Lucy is so excited to introduce her to Martin.

One day, she goes for lunch at Kelly’s and actually bumps into Lucky. He accidentally spills water and lemonade over her. He apologizes profusely. She agrees to accept his apology and not charge him for dry cleaning if she can get a free lunch. Lucky agrees. They strike up a flirtation and she ends up going to lunch at Kelly’s everyday, but they never give each other their first names.

Lucky, with encouragement from his brother, asks Serena out. She agrees. They decide to catch dinner and a movie. While having dinner at the Metro Court, they bump into Scotty who freaks out at the prospect of his daughter dating Luke Spencer’s son. Lucky and Serena are shocked at the other’s parentage, but agree to continue on their date. The chemistry is palpable and they sleep together.

Scotty is vehemently opposed to the relationship, but Lucy is excited as she sees this as another way to become even closer to the supercouple Luke and Laura. He eventually becomes less vocal as he sees how happy Serena is.

Lucky and Serena’s happiness comes to a bump when Serena falls pregnant. Serena wants the baby, but Lucky is against it. He was already a terrible father to the boys. He’s scared he will abandon this child as well. BUT he doesn’t say this to Serena and breaks up with her. Serena does not wallow. She’s a strong independent woman and decides to keep the child.

Lucky is lost without Serena. Elizabeth, Lulu, Laura, and eventually the boys convince him to get her back and be a partner and dad to the baby. Serena does accept his apology but does not take him back. She experiences some difficulties and is put on bed rest, she is scared she is going to lose the baby. Lucky rushes to her side and declares his love. She realizes that her birth mother never got a second chance at life and love. Serena forgives Lucky. She gives birth to a preemie baby girl, who they name Ruby Dominique.

MAXIE/SPINELLI REUNITE AS GEORGIE SHOCKS THEM

As Maxie and Spinelli realize that they belong together, their lives are thrown for a loop when Georgie suddenly gets ill and ends up fainting in the middle of dinner at the Metro Court. They rush her to GH where doctors run many tests on her. While Maxie and Spinelli are waiting to see Georgie, Terry approaches them. They automatically think it is cancer, due to Terry’s concentration. She asks to speak with them privately. Terry initially calms their nerves by saying that Georgie does not have cancer. She is, however, pregnant at 13.

Maxie and Spinelli are in shock. Maxie calls Felicia and Mac to the hospital and reveals what Terry has just told them. Felicia can’t speak and Mac questions whether Georgie has been sexually abused by an older man. He takes it upon himself to background check and investigate every male teacher and adult in Georgie’s life. Maxie and Spinelli are able to see Georgie and they reveal her impending motherhood. Georgie is shocked. They start asking her millions of questions, but Georgie panics and kicks them out.

A few days later, Georgie is still giving her parents the silent treatment. Felicia comes over with ice cream and cookies in an attempt to get her granddaughter to open up. Georgie makes Felicia swear not to reveal to anyone who the father is until Georgie plucks up the courage to tell him. Felicia agrees and Georgie reveals the father, but the audience does not hear the name.

Felicia tries to calm Maxie, Spinelli, and Mac’s worries and concerns. They deduce that she knows the father and attempt to pull it out of her. But Felicia stays loyal to Georgie. We see Georgie text an unknown number and ask to come over to Maxie’s house (Maxie and family moved into Lulu’s house before Lulu woke up). A knock is heard at the door and when Georgie opens the door, the camera pans up from the bottom and it is revealed that the baby daddy is Jake Webber.

Georgie reveals to Jake that after their two time romp, she is pregnant. Jake goes into a panic. But Georgie reveals that she is getting an abortion. She can’t be a mom at 13. As she reveals her intentions, Maxie and Spinelli come home and hear her. Jake agrees to whatever Georgie wants to do, because it is her body.

Maxie and Felicia accompany Georgie to the clinic to get an abortion.

JOSS/CARLY MIRROR CARLY/BOBBIE

After Dex’s death, Joss learns that Jax has unexpectedly passed away as well. Josslyn begins sleeping around with any man just to numb the pain. Soon, Josslyn discovers Carly having a flirtation with Lorenzo. She notices Carly is enjoying the flirting and ignoring Drew more and more. Josslyn became close to Drew during the Crew relationship and respected him for taking the fall for the SEC mess.

She finds Drew drunk at Charlies and cozies up to him. She gets a tipsy Drew to open up about her mom. He reveals he knows Carly in entertaining Lorenzo’s advances. He is angry because he put Carly above Scout and his other family. They end up falling in bed together. When Drew wakes up more sober, he is shocked that he slept with Josslyn and has her promise to keep this a secret. Josslyn agrees. However, she plans on seducing him again.

After Drew catches Carly and Lorenzo making out, Drew runs into Josslyn. They talk and end up in bed again. They continue this secret affair for months. However, when Carly goes to tell Josslyn the news about Bobbie, she discovers Joss in bed with Drew.

Carly is FURIOUS. She orders Drew out to have a word with her daughter. Carly and Josslyn get into a huge argument. Terrible words are said. Josslyn reminds her mother that she learned everything from her mother, even sleeping with her mom’s partner. Carly scoffs and goes to exit, but turns around to reveal the news about Bobbie. Will the death of Bobbie bring mother and daughter back together after a huge rift?

TJ/KRISTINA ONE NIGHT STAND

After things fall through with the surrogate, Molly’s (with a more age appropriate recast) baby rabies gets even worse. She even decides to quit her job at the DA’s office to focus on becoming a mom. TJ is upset that she didn't discuss her plans to quit with him or her increasing attempts to adopt a baby. Molly and TJ get in a huge fight. He declares that she isn’t even thinking of him anymore and she is letting her obsession with having a child take over her life. He leaves their apartment in a huff.

He goes to Charlie’s to drink away his anger. He vents to Kristina about her sister and she eventually gets drunk along with him while venting about Molly. They sleep together and immediately regret it. TJ tells Kristina that he is going to tell Molly the truth about what happened. Kristina begs him not to. Molly will never forgive them, but TJ says he doesn’t keep secrets.

TJ returns home and admits to Molly about his tryst with Kristina. Molly is enraged. She breaks up with TJ and heads directly to Kristina’s. She accuses Kristina of setting out to ruin her life. Kristina throws back into Molly’s face that Molly is ruining her own life with her baby rabies. They keep trading barbs back and forth. Alexis arrives after getting a call from TJ and intervenes. Molly admits that she can’t stay here anymore and Alexis assumes she means in the room. But Molly clarifies that she means Port Charles. She decides to leave town and go stay with Ric.

Roughly 6-8 weeks later, Kristina realizes that her period is late. She takes a test and it is positive. She contemplates not telling anyone and getting an abortion, but she hears Molly’s voice in her head telling her she can never complete a task and won’t ever accomplish anything. Kristina decides to have the baby and breaks the news to TJ. They decide to co-parent amicably and once she hits 12 weeks, they break the news to their shocked families.

SONNY’S FRUITY KIDS

After Willow’s death, Michael is beside himself. He is raising two kids alone and is not sure if he can cope. He didn’t really have the best examples of parents growing up. A few months following Willow’s death, a smile returns to Michael’s face and there is a pep in his step. Ned, Brook Lynn, Joss, Carly, and Sonny all question this happy glow he has. All Michael reveals is that he has found someone, but is keeping it private because of the kids.

Brook Lynn goes to visit Michael at ELQ one day and stumbles in upon Michael, shirtless and pants undone, kissing Paul Wu (Selina Wu’s nephew). Michael is embarrassed and orders Paul to leave. Brook Lynn tries to calm down a clearly panicking Michael. Michael swears her to secrecy. Brook Lynn questions why he doesn’t want anyone to know. Is it because he is related to Selina Wu? Michael replies that Paul’s relationship with Selina may complicate things in Sonny’s mob world, but it’s not his biggest concern. He reveals that Paul is a man and he is scared of what Carly, Sonny, hell even Monica would think of him.

Brook Lynn promises her silence, but tells Michael she loves him for exactly who he is. It doesn’t matter who he loves. Michael meets with Paul and apologizes for his outburst. Paul agrees to keep their relationship private for now, but not forever. Michael has an inner battle on revealing his true self and relationship to his parents and family.

A pregnant Kristina meets Annie Donely at Charlie’s after Annie comes in for a drink. They strike up a conversation and are clearly flirting. Their flirtation continues for a few weeks before Kristina takes her upstairs after a shift. Kristina tells Annie about her predicament with TJ and Annie surprises her by telling her she’ll stay by Kristina’s side. A pregnancy doesn’t scare her. Kristina is touched, but soon becomes worried for her dad when she discovers that Annie works for the WSB and is looking into stopping mob activity in Port Charles.

When Kristina is six months along, she suffers a miscarriage and is devastated. Molly’s words haunt her again. Kristina thinks Molly was right and she can’t accomplish anything. Annie tries to help Kristina through the aftermath of losing her and TJ’s baby boy: Thomas Stefan.

FAREWELL BOBBIE

Bobbie left town to go visit Lucas. A week later, Carly gets a call from Lucas. He went to wake up Bobbie for breakfast, only to find that she passed in her sleep. Carly spreads the word. The town is shocked.

Carly, a visiting Lucas, Michael, and Josslyn plan the funeral. The entire town attends. Lesley Webber and Noah Drake visit to pay their respects. The funeral goes on for 3 show days. We get eulogies from Carly, Lucas, Scott, Laura, Noah, Elizabeth, and Lucy. Flashbacks are intertwined with the eulogies. Bobbie’s portrait gets hung on the GH wall next to Amy’s.

Josslyn and Carly agree to allow some time to pass for the anger between them to mellow. Carly admits that she was not a good daughter to her mom in the beginning and she lost some years with her that she can’t get back. She doesn’t want to lose any time with her daughter.

Also at the funeral, Lucas stumbles upon Michael’s secret and gives him advice and a listening ear.

TAGGERT IS THE FATHER

Selina Wu is revealed to have switched the results of the paternity test to keep Curtis in her clutches. She learned that he was contemplating working with the WSB to take down the mob underworld. So, to keep him in line, she changes the results and begins threatening his “daughter” Trina when she needs him to do her dirty work.

When Selina asks Curtis to host a meeting of the 5 families and demands 51% ownership in his club, Curtis freezes. He refuses to be involved in the mob life and she catches him secretly calling the WSB to report a mob meeting. Selina orders her men to kidnap Trina. However, the kidnapping backfires badly and Trina is shot.

Spencer is beside himself, Portia is scared, and Taggert and Curtis rush to GH. TJ declares that Trina has lost a ton of blood and needs family to donate. Curtis jumps at the chance, but when he is asked his blood type, it is not Trina’s match. He doesn’t think anything of it, but when Portia says she can’t donate because they are not a match, Curtis puts two and two together: He is not Trina’s father. Taggert is!

Taggert, torn between being elated at Trina being his but also scared for Trina’s life, rushes off to give his blood, which is confirmed to be Trina’s type. Curtis is furious. He lashes out at Portia, accusing her of changing the results to get him to forgive her for the 20 year lie. However, Portia keeps maintaining her innocence.

Curtis calls Stella, who moved to Arizona with Marshall, and tells her about everything that has happened. She tells him to pull his head out of his ass and be a STEP father. Blood doesn’t make a family, love does.

Curtis returns to GH and sits vigil with Portia, Spencer, and Taggert. He gets a text from Selina asking him to meet in the garage. Curtis excuses himself and meets with Selina. He unleashes his anger about Trina and lets it slip that he assumes Portia changed the results. Selina reveals that she was behind the switch and demands he hand over 51% of his club to her or Trina won’t wake up. Curtis agrees and rushes back into GH.

Spencer sits vigil with Trina and we get flashbacks and even visions of how Spencer sees their future. As Spencer lays his head down on her hand to cry, another hand comes up to pet his head. Spencer looks up and sees Trina is awake.

Once Trina is more alert, Portia and Taggert reveal that Taggert is really her dad. Trina is happy, but also sad for Curtis. Curtis comes to visit and reveals having her as his daughter for the time he did was the happiest time of his life, but the DNA doesn’t change his love for her. He will always, always protect her. Taggert overhears and begins investigating what Curtis is hiding and why Trina needs protecting.

NEXIS RIDE AGAIN

After Olivia’s death, Ned finds himself a single dad to Leo. Brook Lynn and Chase move into the Q mansion to help her dad cope, especially since Monica is getting older. When Ned basically becomes a recluse, Brook Lynn calls in reinforcement: Tracy, Dillon, and Alexis.

Tracy takes the tough love approach, but that gets her nowhere except kicked out and sleeping on Laura’s sofa. Dillon tries to help his brother by comparing how he felt when he heard KiKi was killed. Ned still remains cold. Alexis decides to take matters into her own hands. She literally drags Ned out of the house by his collar and takes him to the park for ice cream at night.

After they finish their cones, Alexis tells Ned to lay with her on the grass to look up at the stars. She tells him Olivia is one of those stars. Ned scoffs and asks when she did she become a lovey dovey person who talks to the stars. She replies that she’s not, but to help him, she will do anything. After that little date, Ned and Alexis start seeing each other more and more, but deny that they are dating.

When Tracy questions Ned and Sam questions Alexis about Nexis’s status, they both respond that they are nervous to take that leap since the last time it ended with Alexis running from the altar.

Ned admits to BLQ that he is scared it is too soon after Olivia, but BLQ tells him life is too short. Take his shot. And if he gets hurt, her, Chase, and Dillon will be there to catch him. Tracy, who now is back working at ELQ, asks Alexis to be ELQ’s legal counsel, hoping it would derail Ned from dating an ELQ employee. Ned, finds a work around in ELQ bylaws, and asks Alexis out on a date, much to Tracy’s chagrin.

Alexis and Ned are back together, but Alexis remains concerned that she can’t do normal and will constantly be pulled towards whatever bad guy bats his eyes at her. We will see Alexis struggle with a “normal” man, but work to fight for the relationship.

BRENDA RETURNS

After Nina is outed as the person who reported Carly and Drew to the SEC, everyone is expecting Sonny to drop Nina. BUT he surprises everyone by standing by her, but decides to postpone the wedding. Sonny explains to Kristina that he’s made MANY mistakes in his life yet a lot of people forgave him and gave him a second chance. He needs to start doing that for others.

When Lorenzo’s attempts at finally destroying Sonny ramp up, Sonny gets a shock when Brenda turns up. Sonny and Nina’s relationship is sent into a tailspin. Brenda is back to visit with Brook Lynn and help her set up LnB records 2.0.

Sonny is immediately drawn back into Brenda’s presence and Nina is worried. Carly was one thing, but Brenda… she is the love of Sonny’s life and the one that always got away.

Nina tries to convince Brenda to leave town and that BLQ will be fine without her crowding her. But Brenda sees right through Nina’s act and warns Nina that Sonny will drop Nina in a hot second if she asks.

We see Brenda reconnect with Ned and get an update on Lois.

Lorenzo gets word that Brenda is in town and realizes that she is his ticket to destroying Sonny. He puts a bomb in Brenda’s car and when she leaves her dinner with Ned, her car explodes. Ned calls 911 and then Sonny.

Sonny, who just ran off with Nina to the courthouse to elope, gets the call that Brenda has been attacked. He leaves Nina and rushes to GH. Brenda’s life hangs in the balance. Sonny sits vigil at her bedside, much to Nina’s chagrin.

Sonny, not knowing that Nina is listening, promises Brenda the world. He promises that if she wakes up, he will quit the mob life. Hand over his empire to Lorenzo and he and Brenda can leave PC. They can have a new life.

Nina is furious and starts to act unhinged. Ava tries to calm down her best friend by explaining that Sonny is just speaking words that would make Brenda wake up.

Brenda wakes up, but what is Sonny really going to do? Will he leave his world, kids, and Nina for Brenda? Or will Brenda always be left standing in the rain for Sonny?

WHO KILLED ESME

After all of Laura’s kids return, the whole Kevin is silent arc, we get a big murder mystery: Who killed Esme?

Leading up to Esme’s death, a group of people visit Pentonville: Laura visits Cyrus, Nikolas visits Esme, Ava visits Olivia Jerome, Spencer visits Esme, Martin visits Cyrus, etc.

When Esme’s body is found in her cell, the police look Cyrus as suspect number one. He is in jail and Esme has hurt his family. He is the perfect target. They question him and some of the wardens. They quickly discover that Cyrus was in his guarded cell for hours before and after Esme’s murder. So, it couldn’t be him.

Nikolas is questioned next because he was the one who visited her. He is questioned by Jordan. He admits to visiting Esme, but only to tell her to stop sending him threatening letters regarding killing him and kidnapping Ace. Nikolas offers picking up Aiden from school as his alibi. Jordan lets him go.

Ava is their next suspect. She hates Esme. They question why she was meeting with her sister. First, she admits she just wanted sister time, but Jordan sees right through that excuse. Ava admits to taking over Olivia’s connections but leaves it vague enough for Jordan not to worry. Jordan asks Ava if she asked Olivia to kill Esme for her, but Ava scoffs at the notion. Ava admits that if she wanted Esme dead she would have done it herself a long time ago. With Ava’s honesty and a watertight alibi, Jordan lets Ava go.

Before Jordan has time to question Spencer, evidence is brought to the station. A scarf that belongs to Laura was found with Esme’s blood on it. Laura is immediately called in for questioning. When presented with the scarf, Laura is shocked. She admits to wearing that scarf, but swears she put it in her purse because she gets heated when she has to yell at Cyrus. Laura’s only alibi was being at her mayor’s office alone, but no one was there to confirm. And coincidentally, the security cameras glitched during the time Laura swears that she was there. Jordan has no other choice but to arrest Laura for Esme’s murder.

The town is shocked, but does not believe Laura did the crime. Martin tries to get Laura out on bail, but the judge denies her bail since she already has 2 murders on her wrap sheet (Theresa Carter and David Hamilton).

Heather angrily confronts Laura in jail with a shank, but Cyrus jumps to Laura’s defense. He defends Laura and insists Laura would NEVER kill the mother of her grandson. Laura pleads with Heather. Heather eventually agrees that killing Esme wasn’t in Laura’s style. The trio form a comedic bond in prison.

The town works to prove Laura’s innocence. Sam, Felicia, and Spinelli use their PI skills to look at every security camera and track down any and every witness to Laura’s moves that day.

Kevin, Martin, Spencer, Cam, Lucky, and Lulu visit Laura and all find it curious that Nikolas hasn’t visited. Cam brings up that fact to his mom. Liz questions Nik on why he isn’t visiting his mom and after an argument he admits that he can’t face her. Liz wonders if Nik thinks she actually did it. He says no, but their lives would be easier if everyone believed she did. Liz becomes very curious at Nik’s stance.

Liz finds out through some snooping done by Spencer and Cam that Nik’s alibi is picking Aiden up from school, but she knows for a fact that Aiden went home with a friend that day. She talks to Aiden who admits that Nik paid him $10,000 for his silence. Liz is furious and confronts Nik. He tries to talk himself out of it, but admits to it. Liz accuses him of being the one to kill Esme. She loves Nik, but he used her kid and she won’t stand for that. She tells Jordan that Nik lied about his alibi.

Nik is questioned again. This time admits that he can’t provide a rock solid alibi. Meanwhile, Felicia was able to find a cleaning lady who admits to seeing Laura at the office during the time of the murder. Kevin can’t thank his friend enough and Laura is freed, only for Nikolas to be locked up.

Nikolas admits to Cyrus that he was meeting with a hired hitman to kill Esme, but didn’t go through it. He couldn’t tell the police that. It would only disappoint his mother, son, and family even more.

Lulu is spending the night with her new boyfriend, Garrett, also Kevin’s ASL teacher. While he is out of the room, he knocks off his wallet from the side table. She picks it and its contents up, only to find a picture of a young Kevin. When Garrett returns, she questions him about the picture.

He admits that Kevin is his father. Lulu wants to rush and tell Kevin. Garrett stops her. Lulu is confused and says that Kevin would be thrilled at a son. Garrett says he can’t ever know because it will make things worse. Lulu says what? Garrett admits to killing Esme after learning that Esme was also sending Kevin letters threatening his life and he wanted to protect his father. Lulu is shocked. Does she keep her boyfriend's secrets or free her brother?

#general hospital #gh #this show needs help #my little passion project #laura webber #kevin collins #spencer cassadine #esme prince #trina robinson #lucky spencer #too many characters to tag

15 notes · View notes

survivalchances · 11 months ago

Text

ANNALIESE BLACKLEY is here. Turns out the 51 year-old used to be a pathologist, but now they contribute as a surgeon. Better watch it — they’re known to be both maternal and anxious. They’ve been around for four years, but we’ll keep an eye on them just in case. They remind me of muffled cries in the dead of night, working hard to avoid sleepless nights, a smile desperately trying to remain bright anyway. — raquel cassidy / she/her / cis woman

Basics

Name: Annaliese Blackley Age: 51 Old Job: Pathologist New Role: Surgeon Gender, Pronouns and Sexuality: Cis woman, she/her and Bisexual Time in group: 4 years Family: Mother (Annabelle Blackley) deceased pre-apocolypse, Father (Andrew Blackley) deceased in the early days, Sister (Angela Blackley) deceased recently. Partner (utp) status unknown. Children? up for plotting.

Character Inspo

Elizabeth Waring (Raquel's guest chara in DCI Banks), Angelica (Hamilton), Emily Prentiss (Criminal Minds), Amy Santiago (Brooklyn 99), Martha Jones (Doctor Who), Lisa Cuddy (House MD), Marcus Bell (Elementary)

Biography

Annaliese, affectionately called Anna, was the eldest of the two Blackley daughters. She doesn't remember life without her little sister and from a young age she took great pride in the title of 'big sister. They were a close knit family and Anna always lived near her parents.

She was always very shy growing up, tending to stick to the sides if she could. A typical wallflower. Anna would have a few close friends though that she is extremely loyal too. Loyalty is still a trait she holds dear.

When time came for college Anna decided to go into medicine. She was good at science and wanted to help people. In the end though it didn't work out. Whilst she was good with her studies and even managed a suitable (if slightly serious) bed manner her anxiety worsened. She worried about hurting people or being unable to help.

In the end she became a pathologist, she was able to use what she learnt for medicine and still help people in finding closure.

She worked at a local hospital in Arizona when the virus began. Anna tried to help in the beginning but it spread so quickly. When her own father got bitten when she was away trying to find a group the guilt was too much. She and her sister left their home to find safety and joined the group that set up in the prison.

Anna is likely known by htose in the original group but she didn't take a leadership role like her sister. Shetreid to help anyone who needed it and settled into life.

She campaigned for the doors to be opened to newcomers, again she wanted to help.

Now though Angela died/turned under mysterious circumstances. She feels extreme guilt and grief about it all. She no longer trusts newcomers, unable to believe that the people she's lived with for years would hurt Angela.

Wanted Connections

Partner - can be any gender. Most details can be up for plotting but I like the idea that they are Anna's opposite mannerisms wise so quite outgoing and overly friendly.

Best Friend - Anna's really going through it right now, give her a ride-or-die friend who is by her side and understanding even when she's being rude.

#whq.intro

3 notes · View notes

brasideios · 2 years ago

Text

top ten favorite bands/musicians tag game

I was tagged by @mini-uzzy @aeide & @sleeplessincarcosa Thank you my dears 🤍

This is really difficult, but lemme see...

Joelistics - an Australian hip-hop artist, his solo work is about politics, story-telling, and is very self-reflective. Seamans Lullaby, In the Morning and Days are my absolute favourites. He was also the lead MC in the band TZU (pronounced tee-zed-you) and they made four albums which contain additional gems - Mondays and Coming Round are top tier. I've been following his work since the early 2000's (when Aussie hip-hop began, really) and it's so interesting tracing the development of his (and TZU's) music. It started very light and upbeat and grew steadily dourer and even a touch bleak by their final album. It says a lot for the times, and what growing up in this country is like, honestly. Very relatable.

Urthboy - another Aussie hip-hop artist with all the hallmarks of our brand of hip-hop. He is often upbeat - like Knee Length Socks, Shruggin' and Long Loud Hours are all great stories and/or cheerful beats - but he sometimes writes these stunningly intimate tracks - Daughter of the Light, which is an homage to his mum, or Natural Progression are good examples. He was (is?) also in the band The Herd. They are more politically focussed - the most famous song being 77% - a song that absolutely sizzles with anti-racist anger.

The Black Keys (of course) - I'd been aware of their existence for years and years (Gold on the Ceiling and Lonely Boy were everywhere at one point) but I had never been into it. Which retrospectively, is weird because I always like blues music, though I always skirted around the edges of it. What really grabbed me in the end was Howlin' for You, which began haunting me during last year. I'd wake up in the morning with that song in my head. So, I went digging for more, and an obsession was born. Personal faves include Crawling Kingsnake, Sinister Kid and Tighten Up - but there are so many great songs to choose from.

Editors - They are industrial rock (I think it's called) out of England, These guys are possibly my favourites of all time. Their music talks a lot about love and death in really interesting ways - it's a mix of rock, melancholy acoustic tunes and electro. Their album An End Has a Start is where I began, but The Back Room and The Weight of Your Love are brilliant albums. I'd single out All Sparks, Formaldehyde, and The Phone Book as their best, but it was a hard choice.

Kings of Leon - I was totally obsessed with their music around 2010 and I still passionately love several of their songs. Arizona, Knocked Up, King of the Rodeo, Waste a Moment, and Find Me are always going to be on a list of favourite tracks.

Talking Heads - I grew up in a musical household, in the sense that there was always music playing, mostly my dad's music. He was a young dad - 21 when I was born - so he was still very into popular music at the time (though definitely not R&B which was just starting to reach us in the late eighties. I often wonder what he would've made of Aussie hip-hop if he'd lived to hear it... anyway.) Talking Heads were big in my childhood, and I still really love their music - new wave is so fun and at times silly, I'm totally into it. Songs like Love for Sale, Psycho Killer, The Lady Don't Mind, And She Was and Girlfriend is Better are such cornerstones of my musical taste, I can hardly imagine who I'd be without them.

Dire Straits -Sultans of Swing is a forever favourite. It's one of those songs that reminds me really strongly of my dad. He had this silly way of singing the line 'it ain't what they call rock'n'roll.' I also really love Brothers in Arms and Romeo and Juliet.

Pink Floyd - the song Wish You Were Here absolutely defined a time in my life and sums up something about myself for which there are no words. The whole album (of the same name) is such a journey - even though I've always found Shine on you Crazy Diamond incredibly creepy. I also appreciate the album The Wall as a musical journey. Comfortably Numb, One of my Turns and the various iterations of Another Brick in the Wall are so, so good. Part 1 speaks to me on a cellular level.

Danheim - The soundtrack to my writing activities for years and years now, I couldn't make a list without mentioning him. I don't know the names of the tracks because I listen to whole albums at a time. They're all good. For some reason though, the song Glitnir is known to me as a particular favourite.

Heilung for the same reason as Danheim - though with Heilung, I've watched the full LIFA show like a thousand times; and I passionately love the song Norupo.

This is a very shabby, on the fly list - and I'm sorry for my inability to write anything short 😅

I'm tagging with zero pressure @liminalspacecowboah @i-gotta-get-normaller @myriath @woodsman2b @el-zorrito and anyone who I've undoubtedly forgotten who wants to jump in.

#tag game #music

10 notes · View notes

domithehuman · 2 years ago

Note

Do you have an f/o list?

Hey , dear ! I didn't create yet , and I am adding new f/os very fast, but here's the list :

Cassandra from "Tangled" series : romantic f/o

Koala Man : romantic f/o

Marcus Cubitus ( Tofungus ) from " Asterix : Mansion of the Gods" and "Asterix: Secret od the Magic Potion" : romantic f/o

Squareonthehypothenus from "Asterix: Mansion of the Gods" : twin brother f/o ( @in-broken-mirrors , if you don't mind 😉 )

SmurfBlossom from "The Smurfs" new series and "Smurfs: The Lost Village" : romantic f/o

Beagle Boys from Donald Duck comics and movies , series : queerplatonic f/os

Robi from "Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue" : queerplatonic f/o

Charles Darwin from " Pirates: Band of Misfits": romantic f/o

Victor Zsasz from "Gotham" : brother f/o

Oswald Cobblepot from "Gotham" : romantic f/o

Danton from "Cinderella Monogatari": romantic f/o

Odette from "Leap!" : romantic f/o

Bilbo Baggins from "The Hobbit": romantic f/o

Monty Burns from "The Simpsons" : romantic f/o

Ken from "Urban Vermin": romantic f/o

Benson from "Regular Show": brother f/o

Dr. Kranz from "Arizona Goof": romantic f/o

Chrystal from " The Legend of Snow White": romantic f/o

Speedy from "The Seven Dwarfs": romantic f/o

Karla Kolumna from "Bibbi Blocksberg": romantic f/o

Gary from "Escape from Planet Earth": romantic f/o

Farmer Hoggett from "Babe": romantic f/o

Mr. Tumnus from " The Narnia" : romantic f/o

Stuart Little - queerplatonic f/o

Bessy from "Barnyard": romantic f/o

Cleopatra from "Asterix and Cleopatra": romantic f/o

Strawberry Shortcake : daughter f/o

George Jetson from "The Jetsons": romantic f/o

Colette Tatou from "Rattatouile": romantic f/o

Betty DeVille from "Rugrats" : sister f/o

Stu Pickles from "Rugrats" : romantic f/o

Debbie Jelinsky from "Addams Family II": romantic f/o

Cindy Bear from "Yogi Bear" : queerplatonic f/o

Ranger Smith from "Yogi Bear" : romantic f/o

Olive Oyl from "Popeye": romantic f/o

Frank Murphy from "F is for Family": romantic f/o

Sinbad from "Arabian Nights: Sinbad's Adventures": son f/o

Stretch from "Casper" the movie and the series : romantic f/o

Shrek : brother f/o

Elmer Fudd from "Looney Tunes" : romantic f/o

Janusz Tracz from "Plebania": romantic f/o

Scarr from "Evil Con Carne": romantic f/o

Jon Arbuckle from "Garfield" movie: brother f/o

Happy Chapman from "Garfield": romantic f/o

Bloom from "Pippi Longstocking": romantic f/o

Engineer from "Team Fortess 2": romantic f/o

Jasper and Horace from "101 Dalmatians": brothers f/os

Antoni Dziubak from "Ojciec Mateusz": romantic f/o

Sybil from "Sam and Max": romantic f/o

Mr. Smee from "Peter Pan": romantic f/o

Edward Murdstone from "David Copperfield": romantic f/o

Gilligan from "Gilligan's Island": queerplatonic f/o

Coraline : sister f/o

Betty Boop: queerplatonic f/o

Szpieg ( Spy ) from "Król Maciuś Pierwszy" ( King Matt the First): romantic f/o

Mario from "Super Mario Bros": queerplatonic f/o

Mrs. Coulter from "Golden Compass": sister f/o

Ming Lee from "Turning Red": romantic f/o

Prince Froglip from "Princess and the Goblin": romantic f/o

Lucky from "Lucky: The Adventures of the Unluckiest Leprechaun": brother f/o

Neytiri from "Avatar" movies: romantic f/o

Fegan Floop from "Spy Kids": queerplatonic f/o

Spike from "Flushed Away": romantic f/o

Gaetan Moliere from "Atlantis": romantic f/o

Daniel from "House of Magic": romantic f/o

Bolt from "Bolt": pet f/o

Jessie from "Toy Story": romantic f/o

Rouge from "Sonic the Hedgehog":romantic f/o

Karaba from "Kirikou": romantic f/o

Gordy from "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide": romantic f/o

Sarah Hawkins from "Treasure Planet": romantic f/o

Miss Atlantis from "Dumbo": romantic f/o

Weedon from "Tom, the Greatest Friend": romantic f/o

Susan from "Memories of Nanette": romantic f/o

Nanny McPhee - romantic f/o

AstroBoy : son f/o

Oskar Kokoshka from "Hey Arnold": romantic f/o

Squidward from "Spongebob Squarepants": brother f/o

Belial from "Three Wise Men" : romantic f/o

Rothbart from "The Swan Lake": romantic f/o

Cedric from "Sofia the First": queerplatonic f/o

Tabaluga : queerplatonic f/o

James from "Tabaluga": romantic f/o

Tzekel Kan from "The Road to El Dorado": romantic f/o

Eris from "Sinbad: The Legend of Seven Seas": sister f/o

Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty" : sister f/o

Trafalgar Law from "One Piece": brother f/o

Doc Croc from "Simsala Grimm" : romantic f/o

Quetzal from "Dragon Tales": queerplatonic f/o

Sensuella from "Jungledyret Hugo: Movie Star": romantic f/o

Rancid Rabbit from "CatDog": romantic f/o

Mirabel Madrigal from "Encanto": queerplatonic f/o

Castiel from "Supernatural": brother f/o

John Watson from "Sherlock": romantic f/o

Remus Lupin from "Harry Potter": romantic f/o

Wendell Pleakley from "Lilo and Stitch": romantic f/o

Dwayne LaFontant from "Over the Hedge": romantic f/o

Penelope Pitstop from "Wacky Races": romantic f/o

Rodney Copperbottom from "Robots" : romantic f/o

Lefty Maginnis from "Everyone's Hero": romantic f/o

Gwizdo from "Dragon Hunters": brother f/o

Tiana from "Princess and the Frog": sister f/o

Leslie Noodman from "Sanjay and Craig": romantic f/o

ShortBread from "Saving Santa": romantic f/o

Fagin from "Oliver and Company": queerplatonic f/o

Benny Krupp from "Captain Underpants": romantic f/o

Peter from "Arthur Christmas": romantic f/o

Minnie Mouse from Mickey Mouse universe: romantic f/o

Pani Myszka ( Mrs. Mouse) from "Bajki Miki Mola": romantic f/o

Chameleon from "T.U.F.F. Puppy": romantic f/o

Whiskers from "Brandy and Mr. Whiskers": brother f/o

Grimmel the Grisly from "How to Train Your Dragon III": romantic f/o

Shifty from "Crime Time": romantic f/o

Puciek from "Tajemnica Szyfru Marabuta" (The Secret of the Marabut Cipher ): romantic f/o

Miss Cassandra from "Maya the Bee": romantic f/o

Roo from "Winnie the Pooh": son f/o

Chester V from "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs II": romantic f/o

Rocky from "Paw Patrol": pet f/o

Mummy from "Tad Jones" movies : romantic f/o

Madame Medusa from " The Rescuers": romantic f/o

Pocahontas : sister f/o

Buzz from "Nine Dog Christmas": romantic f/o

Thumbelina - sister f/o

Orizaba from "Elena of Avalor": romantic f/o

The Widow from "The Magic Riddle": romantic f/o

Lucky Luke : brother f/o

Pat from "Pat and Mat": romantic f/o

Pikachu from "Pokemon": pet f/o

Ronnie from "Millionaire Dogs": romantic f/o

Vector Perkins from "Despicable Me": romantic f/o

Henchman 21 and Henchman 24 from "Venture Bros": romantic f/os

Porsha from "Sing 2": queerplatonic f/o

Cooper from "Trolls" movies and series: queerplatonic f/o

Sebastian from "Camila and Sebastian": romantic f/o ( however can't find the movie now :( )

Ned McDodd from "Horton Hears a Who": romantic f/o

Benjamin from "Benjamin the Elephant": queerplatonic f/o

Mr. Crocker from "The Fairy OddParents": romantic f/o

Mr. Humberfloob from " Cat in the Hat": romantic f/o

Cat from "Cat in the Hat": queerplatonic f/o

Ann Possible from "Kim Possible": queerplatonic f/o

Andrew Morris from "Ron's Gone Wrong": romantic f/o

Moana : sister f/o

Count Olaf from "Series of Unfortunate Events" : queerplatonic f/o

Wallace from "Wallace and Gromit": queerplatonic f/o

Max "Augustino" from "Magiczne Drzewo" ( The Magic Tree): romantic f/o

Alice from "Alice in Wonderland": sister f/o

Mary Poppins : romantic f/o

Clara Oswald from "Doctor Who": queerplatonic f/o

Mary Lou Helperman from "Teacher's Pet": romantic f/o

Volk from "Nu Pogodi": romantic f/o

Edgar from "The Aristocats": romantic f/o

Egon Olsen from "Olsen Band": romantic f/o

Ray Stantz from "Ghostbusters" movies and series: romantic f/o

Nimbus from "Raindrop, Water is Adventure": queerplatonic f/o

Fräulein Rottenmeier from "Heidi": romantic f/o

Miss Clavel from "Madeline" series and movies: romantic f/o

Belle from "Beauty and the Beast": sister f/o

Captain Underpants : queerplatonic f/o

Pearl from "Steven Universe": romantic f/o

Michael Scott from "The Office": romantic f/o

Alex from "Totally Spies": sister f/o

Marv Murchins from "Home Alone": romantic f/o

Alex Delarge from "Clockwork Orange": brother f/o

Applejack from "My Little Pony": sister f/o

Lord Starchbottom from "7d": romantic f/o

Maude from "The Dragon Hill": romantic f/o

#Ask #F/o list #F/os #Self shipping

10 notes · View notes

starstwinkleplanetsshine · 4 months ago

Text

Daughter of the Sea

Chapter 2: I Talk to a Horse (Read on AO3 here)

The first thing I heard when I reached the other side was a man’s voice, deep and kind.

“Well now what do we have here?”

I coughed and shook as much soot off as I could. “Hello,” my voice was small and raspy, “I’m Angie.”

“And what are you doing in my fireplace, Angie?”

It was then that I realized I wasn’t speaking to a man.

“Why are you half a horse?” The words tumbled out before I could consider they might be rude—I was having a bit of a rough day. The horse-man just laughed.

“A fair question, but I believe I asked you one first.”

I shifted uncomfortably, the weight of my backpack heavy on my shoulders. “I was, umm, sent here. I think. A monster attacked me and then my mom threw bread in our fireplace and said I was special and then I stood in the fireplace, which I thought was crazy but it actually didn’t burn me, and now…I’m here.”

He looked at me as if none of that was surprising in the least, which terrified me.

“A monster, you say? Tell me more, please.”

I did as he asked and told him everything, and as I spoke his tail twitched and his eyebrows knit together. He had a kind face with wide eyes that looked as old as time. In the silence after I finished speaking, I began to rack my brain for Greek myths about centaurs.

“It is odd that a Kindly One was sent after you, and what she said is definitely troubling. Why would Hades take an interest in you?” He began to pace slightly, and he was speaking as if he forgot I was in the room.

“I can assure you, this creature was not kind , and—wait, did you say Hades?” My blood felt like it turned to ice.

“Oh dear,” he turned back to me, as if remembering I was still there. “I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Oh I’m well past scared.”

The centaur sighed. “Of course you are.” He walked closer to me, his hooves echoing on the wooden floor. “Let me start at the beginning. Welcome to Camp Half Blood. You’re currently in New York, Long Island Sound.” My jaw flew open. How had I traveled all the way across the country in a matter of seconds? The centaur smiled slightly, his eyes twinkling. “Where did you come from, Angie?”

“Tucson, Arizona.” He nodded.

“I’ve been to Tucson, although it was a while ago. A lovely place—just not in the summer.”

I cracked a smile for the first time since emerging from the fireplace. “It’s very dry at home.”

“Yes.” He considered me for a moment. “Now may I ask, how did you receive the Blessing of Hestia?”

“The what?” He nodded again, like he was putting pieces together.

“That’s how you were able to travel here so quickly. Hestia is Goddess of the Hearth, among other things, and is able to grant blessings to those she deems very special to travel from one hearth to another. Did your mother tell you anything about that?”

I shook my head. “She kinda just did the ritual and told me to go. She said it was the only way to keep me safe, and that everything would make sense once I got here. She told me she couldn't come because she’s mortal.” The last word felt strange in my mouth, but the man didn’t seem thrown by anything I said to him.

“Interesting.” He was quiet for a long moment. “I’ll have to speak to the Lady herself, I have a feeling…” he stopped himself and his tail swished again, which reminded me of how strange this interaction was. “May I ask—do you know if the woman who sent you here, your mom, gave birth to you?”

“No, she didn't.” I couldn't see why this mattered, and my voice instinctively got defensive. “I’m adopted. Why do you need to know?”

“Just wondering…” his tone was still even, and something about that calmed me down. “You remind me of someone, that's all.”

“Oh…” I looked around and studied the grain of the hardwood floor.

“I’ll go find someone to show you around, please excuse me while I attend to some business.” He started to walk out of the room and then stopped and turned back. “Where are my manners? I’m Chiron, Activities Director here at Camp. Sorry about that, I’ve been unusually distracted as of late. Things are, well…” he sighed, and I noticed how sad his eyes were. “This is strange timing.” He attempted a smile before walking out of the room, leaving me alone and confused, soot still tickling my nose.

Before long, a girl entered through the open wooden doorway. She was probably my same age, a little shorter, with her dark red hair in one braid down her back. She had blue eyes and a kind smile, and carried the confidence of someone much older than her. She spoke cheerily as she walked up to me.

“Hi! I’m Cadence Hayes, nice to meet you.” There was a lilt to her voice that was beautiful and very easy to listen to.

“I’m Angie.” I watched as the girl noticed my charcoal-coated clothes. “I’m new.”

“I know.” She said with a laugh, “That’s why Chiron asked me to show you around!” She grabbed the handle of my suitcase and walked out of the room. “Follow me.” She led me out of the room through a maze of hallways and finally out into the sunlight. “That’s the Big House.” She gestured to the building we had emerged from. It was, indeed, big, and blue.

When I turned back, my breath caught at the view.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” I forgot she was there for a moment, completely enraptured in the beauty before me.

The Big House sat on a hill, and the valley below it glimmered in the golden, late evening sun. I could see large strawberry fields, a dense forest, cabins that were designed with all sorts of styles, a shimmering lake, and all the way out as far as my eyes could see, the Sound stretched out into the ocean.

The water was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and the valley was the most green I'd ever seen in real life. I had never seen the ocean before, and the sight of it put me in a trance. I felt tears in my eyes and that tugging in my gut returned, as if every fiber of my being was willing me toward the water, telling me to run to the blue depths. Growing up in the desert, it's easy to forget that large bodies of water actually exist , and that other places in the world aren't just sand and dust. The sight overwhelmed me, and I felt like I could stand on that hill and stare until the sun dipped below the horizon.

“Moving on!” I wouldn’t have followed Cadence if she hadn’t been holding my suitcase hostage.

We wound down dirt paths that led into the valley, passing an open-air dining pavilion with white marble columns and marble tables. We walked by archery ranges, training courses, and the deadliest rock-climbing wall I’d ever seen. Wherever we went, kids in orange T-shirts and full Greek battle armor jogged past, holding all sorts of weapons. No one was laughing or smiling, and if they were talking to each other, it was in hushed, serious tones.

The air was tense, and even I could tell.

“What’s going on?” I asked as a tall blonde girl rushed past with a bow over her shoulder, a full quiver on her back.

Cadence pursed her lips and looked around nervously.

“Things have been tense for awhile, but now it's worse than ever. We’re on the brink of war.” She said this so matter-of-factly that I almost didn’t process it fully.

“Did you say war?”

She nodded. “It’s complicated, but basically the Lord of the Titans is trying to destroy the gods and everything associated with them. To make it worse, a former camper helped resurrect him and some more half-bloods joined his army because they felt abandoned by the gods—oh look! A rainbow!” She pointed to the strawberry fields where a beautiful, full rainbow had suddenly materialized.

“Oh,” I felt like I had whiplash. “Is that what Chiron meant when he said my coming was ‘strange timing’?”

“Hmm, maybe. Chiron says a lot of things that are hard to understand.” She turned from the rainbow to look at me again. “You’ll get used to it.”

She brought me to an open clearing ringed by twelve large cabins, each decorated uniquely. In the middle stood two imposing structures with marble columns in the traditional Greek style, the one on the right carved with beautiful etchings of peacocks.

“Are those two for Zeus and Hera?”

Cadence smiled, seeming impressed. “Very good! Each of the twelve cabins is for the Twelve Olympians, and their children stay in their parents' cabin.” Some of them were beautiful, neat, and decorated with flowers and vines. Others I wanted to stay far away from. As I was looking at all of them, a breeze blew past, causing the door to the cabin just to the left of Zeus’ to swing open. The wind was cool and slightly salty, and immediately my senses were flooded with images of the ocean I had just seen. I felt my nerves calm and a smile spread across my face. I could hear a trickle of water coming from the now-open door, and I wanted to know more about that cabin.

“What’s that amazing smell?”

Cadence looked confused, “What smell? Maybe you’re getting whiffs of the flowers from Demeter’s cabin?”

I shook my head, “It smells salty…like the sea.” I didn’t know how I knew that, since I had never actually smelled the sea before.

“Maybe something’s coming from the Poseidon cabin.” Her voice had a hint of worry to it, and as she said the name of the Sea God, a tingling returned to my fingertips.

“Is it that one?” I pointed out the low, wooden cabin lined with seashells. The nautical wind chimes were blowing in the breeze, and I thought it was one of the best sounds I had ever heard. I had never been to the beach, but it looked just like the weather-worn structures you would expect to find there, if not a little run-down.

“Yup, that’s for children of Poseidon, although there aren’t many of those.”

“Is it empty?”

“No, there’s one son of Poseidon here.” Cadence’s face was a mixture of pride and concern. “His name is Percy Jackson, he’s on a quest right now.”

I told myself that the last name Jackson was very common, and it was just a coincidence we had the same one.

“A quest?”

“Usually, that's the only way to leave camp during the summer. A Hero’s Quest. You know, like Hercules and Jason and Odysseus. The gods will send demigods out to do something for them, and if they survive and succeed, they get glory and recognition. Kleos .” Somehow I knew that word was Ancient Greek, and I knew what it meant.

I nodded. “So, what’s Percy’s quest?”

She looked around like she was nervous, stepped close to me, and then spoke in a low voice, “It’s actually Annabeth Chase’s quest, but he and some others went into the Labyrinth, you know the story of the minotaur, right?” She waited for me to nod before continuing. “Word is that Kronos’ army is trying to attack Camp through the tunnels. Hopefully Percy and the others can find a way to stop them before that happens.” I swallowed hard, trying to understand. I hadn’t been here for more than an hour, but already the thought of something bad happening to this place made my heart sink.

“There might be an attack?”

Cadence nodded grimly. “That’s why everything’s so tense. This isn't the best time to come to Camp for the first time, but here you are!” She brightened her smile, and the sight of it actually lifted my spirits. “Don't worry, this place will feel like home in no time.” She gave me a half-hearted pat on the back and continued walking. “Come on, I’ll show you where you’ll stay while we wait for your godly parent to claim you.”

I followed her down the well-trodden footpaths, stealing one last look at the empty Poseidon cabin, the open door still swinging in the briney breeze.

She stopped in front of a beautiful, tall structure with Greek columns supporting a large open patio and a white shining house behind it. The roof looked to be made of actual gold, which gleamed in the sun, and over the door there was a mosaic of a handsome man in a chariot with the sun trailing behind him. As we got closer, a cacophony of sounds came pouring from the inside—everything from singing to various instruments to spoken word poetry to the sound of arrows bouncing off metal.

“I’m guessing this is the Apollo cabin?” Cadence beamed brighter than I had seen her before.

“You catch on quick! Yup, this is my cabin. Come on inside!” I followed through the patio and into the building, which was so much brighter than I thought it would be. Each of the walls was at least half glass, with beautiful stained-glass scenes that bathed the room in golden and colorful light. Immediately as I walked into the cabin there was a main room filled with well-worn couches that were strewn with more instruments than I’d ever seen in my life, only half of them being played at the moment, along with scripts, poetry books, and medical textbooks strewn about. At the back of the large room there was a long hallway, and I was about to ask what it was for when I saw about twenty arrows fly by the open door.

“Makeshift archery range, make sure you enter through the far door to the right.” I hadn’t noticed Cadence was watching me, a delighted smile on her face.

“Is that safe?”

She shrugged, “All the healers are in this cabin anyways, so it's usually fine.” I took in the chaos around me, and noticed that none of the other campers seemed to pay any mind. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like an outsider. For the first time in my life, I began to wonder if I finally found the place I belonged.

Cadence continued talking as she led me to an empty bunk. “Apollo is the god of many things, so his children have a lot of talents. Archery, healing, music, poetry, drama, dance, the sun…to name a few.”

“Does anyone here actually have sun powers?” I didn’t even know what those could be, but Cadence just smirked.

“They’re very rare, but yes. Stella Marberry can control sunlight, it's actually very cool to see.” I glanced around the room again, soaking it all in and looking at the few campers in a different light. All of them had special talents, supernatural abilities given to them by a literal god. I wondered who my parent could be, hoping silently that it would be Apollo, although I didn’t think I had any of his gifts. I sang well enough, but maybe not good enough to have the god of music as my dad. “You can leave your stuff here, this is where you’ll stay for now.” I gratefully plopped my backpack onto the heavy bunk, rubbing at my shoulders, and I noticed a slight shift in Cadence’s demeanor. She looked around as if she didn’t want the other kids to see what was going on, and when she turned back to me, she spoke quietly, “Usually the New and Unclaimed kids stay in the Hermes cabin, but I asked Chiron if you could stay here for now. I just think, with everything going on—”

Just then, a sound filled the room, almost like a horn, and all the kids started to get up and move towards the door. I shot Cadence a questioning look.

“Dinner time!” Was all she said as she quickly filed out of the room behind her siblings. I followed her excitedly, I didn’t realize how hungry I was, but at the mention of food, my stomach started growling.

As we got outside, I could see lines of campers flowing out of the other cabins, streaming in from the strawberry fields, and pouring out of the various training grounds. Once we got to the dining pavilion, I noticed that there weren't just kids at this camp. I had to stop myself from staring at the different mythological creatures. I recognized satyrs, nymphs, and dryads from my bedtime stories. None of the other campers seemed to pay them any mind, some even talking to them like they were old friends. I wondered how long it took them to get used to it all.

I thought dinner was somewhere I would finally be able to relax—how different could eating be, right?---but I was wrong. It started with a magic cup that Cadence told me I could ask to be filled with anything I liked. When I wished for Dr. Pepper, it appeared, and for a couple minutes I was too shocked to drink it. Then, when the food came out, she had to physically stop me from shoveling the ribs into my mouth.

“You have to wait!”

“What, do you say grace or something?” She chuckled and then began to stand up with the rest of the table.

“Kinda. Just follow me and do what I do.”

I followed her to a big, open fire pit in the middle of the pavilion, and watched as the campers before me scraped a portion of their plate into the fire. And it wasn’t just any portion, but the best portion. I figured I had better do the same, and I tried to listen to what the other kids were mumbling as they did it, but it wasn’t until Cadence went right before me that I actually made out the words.

“For Apollo.” She said, and as her ripest strawberry hit the flames, a scent of a warm spring meadow floated over her.

When it was my turn, I froze.

“What do I say? I don’t know who my parent is.”

“That’s alright, you can make an offering to all of the gods by saying, ‘to the gods’.”

“Okay.” I scraped off a portion of the rib that I had almost shoveled into my mouth minutes ago. “To the gods.” When the meat hit the flames, they grew higher and hotter, and the faint scent of the sea washed over me again. No one else seemed to notice, though, and I followed Cadence back to the table.

“So do you do that every time you eat?”

She nodded as she dug into her strawberries.

“Yup, as a thank you to our parents. Some of the Half-bloods think our godly parents are lousy, and sometimes they are, by mortal standards, but they also give us a lot of blessings. Most demigods have special gifts, and all of us are hardwired to be excellent in battle. You have to look a bit harder, but the gods do care, even if they show it in unique ways.” She turned back to her plate, leaving me to consider her words.

So far, I didn’t feel like my godly parent was all that great. They hadn’t even claimed me, whatever that meant, and both them and my mortal parent had abandoned me as a child. I ate the rest of my meal in silence, watching the campers around me.

After dinner, it was time for a bonfire, which the Apollo kids were very excited about. They led me down to a huge fire pit that contained the largest place for a campfire I’d ever seen and plenty of seating around it in concentric circles. I sat there as Cadence’s siblings led the campers in a few songs, told a few stories, and did their best to boost camp morale. And while the mood did lighten some, evident by the apparently magical camp fire that reflected the mood of the campers, an air of tension still hung over everyone. I found myself staring into the flames, which I had done a lot that day, since I didn’t know many of the songs. And again, I could've sworn I saw a woman with glowing eyes looking back at me, and this time she was smiling. No one else seemed to notice her, though, so I just looked away and told myself I was crazy. When I looked back again, she was gone, and I decided I was officially losing my mind.

After about an hour, the Apollo kids wrapped up the campfire and everyone slowly made their way back to their cabins. Cadence was one of the last people out, so I waited on a bench until she was done reassuring a younger Apollo kid that they hadn’t been pitchy during one of their solos. When she walked back over to me, she wasn’t alone. A tall, blond, handsome kid that I guessed was a year or two younger than me was with her and he smiled at me as they approached.

“Angie, this is Will. He’s a good friend of mine, and he’ll be the person you go to for help whenever I’m not around.” I shook Will’s hand and gave him a smile.

“Why won't you be around?” I had met a few of the other campers, and they were nice enough, but Cadence was the only person I felt safe around so far.

“I work in the infirmary most nights. I actually have to go start my shift now, which is why I asked Will to look out for you. Don’t worry, he’s almost as capable as I am.” She gave her half-brother a wicked grin and he rolled his eyes playfully in protest.

“When it comes to this I just might be more capable. You’re gonna be late, Cady. Run along.” He patted her shoulder and she nodded before smiling back at me.

“You’ll be fine. Goodnight!” And with that, she jogged off toward the hill that I thought the Big House sat on, if I remembered correctly.

I followed Will back to the cabins, and it’s a good thing too, because I definitely would have gotten lost on my own. He made small talk on the way, and I quickly decided I liked him.

He was kind, genuine, and gentle, which was a relief since I wasn’t used to being around many caring kids, much less guys. When we got back to Cabin Seven, as Will called it, he led me to my bunk and then said goodnight, disappearing into the crowd. Now that it was nighttime and all the kids were in one place, I noticed how crowded the room was. I didn’t know how many people were in the other cabins, but I thought Apollo must have one of the highest number of children. I remembered the words Cadence said to me earlier at dinner, and as I crawled into the only empty bunk in the room, I wondered if the sun god knew all of them by name and if he actually cared about them.

Eventually, one of the older kids who seemed to be in charge announced it was time for lights out, yelling over the din that seemed to be a constant accompaniment for Children of Apollo. He had Stella extinguish the lights in the cabin, which was both cool and convenient since no one wanted to get out of bed to do it. As the darkness settled in and my head hit the pillow, I realized how deeply exhausted I was, both emotionally and physically.

The last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep was feeling a small tear run down my cheek and pool in my ear.

1 note · View note