#honestly mason would totally say that

[poisonousquinzel]

my main issue with Harlivy not being monogamous is that the idea exists solely because DC is homophobic. I think, in some worlds, they could have a healthy poly relationship, obviously I love harliva (Gotham City Sirens), I stand by that this would be a wonderful dynamic if ya know written by competent and skilled writers who actually understand all their characters.

And frankly I dont feel like Harley is one who typically would be okay with sharing the person she's in love with. she's just not. maybe in a case where she and the person she's in love with / dating are both also in love with another, who's equally into the both of them.

But

That's not what's happening in Harley & Ivy's comics right now. That's not what's ever happened with this "open relationship".

I think Mason was healthy and sweet for Harley, from what I remember, but Ivy didn't love him and he didn't love Ivy. It's understandable to a degree, Ivy's reasonings and such, and in a different world with better writers I think that aspect could have been explored and developed.

Because Ivy does, truly, deeply, love Harley, and the idea she would be okay with Harley having hookups, etc, could be explained in a way that would make sense. Particularly during the part of Harley's arc that the 2014/2016 comics were, well, were supposed to be, dealing with.

She's freshly broken up with Joker, not really fully into a healing phase either, and isn't in the right mindset to be like settling down and thinking of Forever again. Harlivy's relationship is strong and built on friendship, so even in the beginning there while their relationship isn't Platonic, it's not "Officially Dating", Ivy knows how deeply Harley also cares about her. She also knows Harley isn't in a good place, and neither was she.

So her being okay, or outright happy for Harley, being loved by other people would make some sense because all Ivy's tried to do their whole friendship is prove that she deserved better, that she deserved to be loved and cherished. And as long as whoever is the pick of the month for Harley is someone who makes her feel happy and loved, then Ivy wouldn't feel jealous over it because damn, good for her being so happy messing around with someone who isn't as nasty and cruel as Joker. And it wouldn't take away from the real underlying feelings the two women have for one another.

But, again, that's not what this is. And it is now a "dynamic" that's bled into both Poison Ivy (2022) and Harley Quinn (2021), and has ultimately (due to the sheer lack of shown conversations or anything) devolved to borderline cheating.

In all honestly, this isn't a thing that'd exist if she was still with Joker and him alone. 1000%.

She would be with him and him only and would be depressed, insecure and jealous if he had a "friend" like Janet who he'd fucked before and continued to keep around.

This concept was only introduced because DC wouldn't allow for Harlivy to be openly in a monogamous relationship in 2014/2016. This is the company that in 2013 lost both the artist and writer for the Batwoman comic (artist: JH Williams III and writer: W. Haden Blackman) due to the company refusing to allow them to show Kate get married. It's not ooc for them to have refused to let them be monogamous, especially since Harlivy wasn't even allowed to be shown kissing on the lips at the time.

cause forbid sapphic women are allowed to be shown being outright loving and romantic with each other and doing something as ridiculously simple and mundane as a lip kiss, but having Ivy grab her ass in front of two dudes is totally okay cause it's hot.

it's so hot in fact that they needed to add in Tool dude, a fucking loser ass creep, saying "homina" in response to getting to see these two hot ladies like this. It seems like this is supposed to be a version of "Hummina"

Wiktionary: used to express that one has a strong reaction that cannot be expressed in words, especially when expressing embarrassment or sexual attraction.

Urban Dictionary: gibberish used to convey excitement or immediate sexual attraction to someone that takes your breath away.

Or the definitions for "Homina" itself

Urban Dictionary: A word, normally repeated three times, to express shock, befuddlement, or general speechlessness. Often when looking at a particularly attractive member of the speaker's favored sex

-

A sound you make when you see someone very attractive and beautiful. Similar to "hubba-hubba" or "a-woo-gah a-woo-gah" or "rwaaaarrr!"

[AND! I think the dynamics with her relationships with Joker and Ivy during the Mad Love arc is ridiculously complex and cannot be boiled down to "she cheats on him with Ivy so its in character for them to not be monogamous" because it takes away all context of both relationships and the mental state she'd have been in during that arc that was directly caused by him.

Her hooking up with Ivy while still being on / off again with Joker, a man who had broken her mind, her bones and her self esteem, is not at all similar or equatable to the pointless, ooc strange plot threads that've been published recently that frankly are just starting to feel like it's playing into biphobic stereotypes]

anyyyhoo, those are my thoughts<3 I have to finish cleaning my room now I sporadically wrote this on a short break SKDJSJKSKSKS

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1 REACTION

It's a new week which means a new episode of 9-1-1. So, let's talk about it! This reaction is for the season 8, fourth episode "No Place Like Home" which originally aired October 17. 2024. The episode was written by Lyndsey Beaulieu and directed by Marita Grabiak. Spoilers ahead!

I want to start off by saying I love this show. I love the characters. I love the emergencies. I love the big disasters. I have been thoroughly entertained by this show since episode one. There have been many amazing episodes over the last eight years. "Buck Begins", "The Searchers" and "Fight or Flight" come to mind. If I were to make a list of my Top Ten or Top Twenty Episodes of the series, tonight's episode would be a strong contender for either list. Yes, you read that correctly. Tonight's episode has everything I like in an episode of 9-1-1. We have two brutal emergencies. We have some comedic moments as well as some heartwarming ones as well. We also have one of the best villains I've seen on primetime television in a long time. Olivia Ortiz is part mafia boss, part Captain Planet villain and I loved hating her this episode. I have a feeling this will not be the last time we see her. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start off by talking about the best plot.

Best plot?

There are a few strong contenders for best plot of the episode. I really enjoyed Eddie's side quest to reunite the cheerleader Weston (played by Trent Mason) with his father Mike (played by DaJuan Johnson). The plot really endeared me to Eddie and his situation. I haven't been the biggest Eddie fan since he blew up his life last season but I'm starting to see glimmers of what his character was like back when he was first introduced. I hope they don't carry on the 'Christopher is mad at Eddie' storyline too much longer. I need Gavin McHugh back on my screen again and not via a FaceTime call. 

I did also love the stuff involving Bobby and Athena. I totally get where both of them are coming from. Athena wants something familiar and Bobby wants something new. I'm honestly surprised they lasted as long as they did living in Athena and Michael's home especially after Michael ended up in her bed that time. Perhaps Athena didn't want to uproot her children from their childhood home. Maybe her thought process was that it didn't matter if her family looked different (divorcing Michael and marrying Bobby( as long as the environment she was in stayed the same. I'm glad that Athena really acknowledged Bobby's feelings. Listening and taking into account each other's feelings has been an obstacle for them to overcome. I really think the cruise saved their marriage. They seem to be so in tune with each other. I can't wait to see where they end up living.

While I enjoyed the two aforementioned plots, the best plot of the episode, in my humblest of opinion, was Hen and Karen's fight to get Mara back. First off, shout-out to Veronica Falcón. Councilwoman Olivia Ortiz is hands down the best villain we have ever gotten on this show. Psycho firefighter Jonah Greenway (played by Bryce Durfee) and serial rapist Jeffrey Hudson (played by Noah Bean) or even Vincent Gerrard (played by Brian Thompson) can't hold a candle to this ruthless person. In the scene where Hen goes to Olivia's campaign office, I actually thought that she'd finally gotten through to the councilwoman. Boy was I wrong. No one holds a grudge quite like Olivia Ortiz. The woman is pure evil and I don't even think she cares as much about her son as she would like us to believe. The only thing she cares about is having power and maintaining it.

My heart broke for Hen and Karen when they were told they could no longer be around Mara. It never occurred to me there could be something wrong with Maddie and Chimney fostering Mara as a way of having Hen and Karen around. At least they didn't remove Mara from the home. I think that would've broken Hen and Karen. And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, we learn via Gerrard that the ultimate goal is to not only break up Hen's family at home but her work family as well. The woman is diabolical I tell you! In the most surprising move on the episode, not only do we get a conclusion to the Mara/Olivia Ortiz storyline, we get a twist! Turns out, Gerrard is still a steaming pile of horse shit but he is capable of doing something really good - even if there's something in it for him. 

Who knew that Chekov's bodycam would be the thing that brought Olivia down. I just knew that when we saw Gerrard go to Ortiz's office that things were about to go left. Turns out, Bobby does manage to get through to Gerrard during his visit to the firefighter show set and he uses his own bodycam to expose Olivia's nefarious plans to close the 118. We get to see that footage played during the hearing at the end of the episode and just like that, ding-dong, the wicked witch is dead and that's not even the best part. Gerrard ends up taking over Bobby's job at the studio and Bobby is reinstated as the rightful captain of the 118. It's a win-win situation although something tells me we haven't seen the last of Olivia Ortiz.

Best emergency sequence?

One of the major complaints about last season is the lack of emergencies we got to see the 118 respond to. The first three episodes of the 10-episode season were dedicated to the cruise ship disaster. We had an episode devoted to Maddie and Chimney's wedding. The last two episodes were all about Bobby. Thankfully we're back to the kooky emergencies that really put this show on the map. As far as what's the best emergency sequence of this episode - that's a hard one. Out options this week is Death Becomes Cheerleader and Tiger King. The emergency involving the tiger in the high-rise building was especially fun because we got to see Chimney be a total bad-ass with a tranq gun. My pick for best emergency sequence is our totally twisted cheerleader. Not only does it involve body horror and toxic masculinity, this emergency also feeds into Eddie's storyline. It did make me a tad bit nervous when we got the establishing shot of a football field and cheerleaders performing a routine. The last time we had cheerleaders in the show, it ended in tragedy. Weston does manage to survive his injury thanks to Eddie and his superior paramedic skills. I do wish they would play up his paramedic side a bit more on the show but that's sort of hard to do when you already have Hen and Chimney there.

We learn that Weston has a strained relationship with his father who isn't exactly thrilled about having a cheerleader for a son. I've always found the whole 'cheerleaders aren't real athletes' sentiment to be baffling because one could argue that cheerleader requires a lot more athleticism than playing football does. Yes, I know that football players are putting their bodies on the line for the sake of winning a game but cheerleaders are flipping and being tossed in the air all without wearing pads and there's a strong chance they may fall on their head or in the case of this Weston, get their entire body twisted around. Unfortunately, Weston's father Mike doesn't see cheerleading that way. He thinks cheerleading is for girls and deems his son as less masculine for being a cheerleader. Eddie decides to talk to Mike about his treatment of Weston which leads me to my award.

Episode MVP?

The MVP of this episode is Eddie Diaz! Yes, you read that correctly. I really liked the scenes we got with Eddie. Minus the awful mustache, it really felt like we got old Eddie this episode. I was totally on board with the advice he gave to Weston's dad. At first I thought it was a bold move for Eddie to seek out Mike and talk to him. No offense but Eddie is hardly the person to be doling out parental advice at the moment. I did like his approach to talking to Mike. Eddie was very honest about his own fraught relationship with Christopher. I truly felt for Eddie during this conversation because things have not improved between him and Christopher and he doesn't want things to get so bad that he becomes Mike and Christopher becomes Weston. Eddie does manage to get through to Mike and we see father and son reunited at the end of the episode. Even if Eddie isn't able to repair his own father/son relationship, at least he can facilitate reconciliation between Weston and Mike. Hopefully we get to see more of his journey towards forgiveness and reconciliation in the next episodes. I miss Christopher and I can't wait until he's back in Los Angeles where he belongs.Hey writers! More of this Eddie please. Oh, and please, please, pretty please with sugar on top get rid of that creepy mustache! Ryan Guzman is a gorgeous man and it's diminishing his sexiness. 

BuckTommy Corner

There's no BuckTommy in this episode. For our third episode straight, Tommy Kinard is nowhere to be found. But I'm not too upset about it. Lou Ferrigno Jr. did shout-out the episode on Twitter so I am quite confident we will be seeing him soon. The man stays booked and busy so the show has to work around his schedule. I do think this is a sign that he is meant to stay for the long haul because I'm sure they could find another actor who is more available. I get the sense that Tim and the gang really love Lou and what he brings to the show so they are more than willing to take what they can get.

Something I found amusing that is BuckTommy is adjacent to Gerrard's nickname for Buck in this episode. He calls our dear sweet Evan 'tight-end' which is a reference to his position when he played football back in high school. I did wonder if Gerrard's usage of the name is more about Buck's sexuality than it is about a football position. Also, I never really figured out if Gerrard knew about Buck and Tommy. I'm sure he knows about Tommy but does he know  they are dating? I guess that's all moot because Gerrard is gone and Bobby is back. Poor Buck has been so miserable as of late. Hopefully Bobby being back will mellow him out a bit. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. It felt like classic 9-1-1. I've said it once and it bears repeating - the move to ABC continues to be one of the best things that has happened to the show. The network truly cares about 9-1-1 and is throwing all the money at the show. I do wish they could have rescued 9-1-1: Lone Star as well. Maybe Sierra McClain would still be on the show if the spin-off made it over to ABC as well. I have heard some scuttlebutt about there being another 9-1-1 sequel that will air in conjunction with the OG series but nothing definite. I do wonder which city they would pick if we do get another show. My vote is for New Orleans or Atlanta. But hey, we're talking about 9-1-1.

I am curious as to what's in store for everyone now that everything's been reset. Bobby is back at the 118 and Hen and Karen got Mara back. I hope we get to see more of Buck and Tommy. I am curious about the journey Eddie's about to embark on. The B*ddie shippers seem to think we're about to see Eddie wrestle with his latent homosexuality but I think the man has bigger fish to fry. Eddie needs to deal with his religious trauma. I think he also needs to reckon with his feelings about Shannon. He also needs to get Christopher back. Our boy has a lot of work to do and playing kissy face with his best friend and coworker is not even remotely a priority. Another thing I think we're going to focus on is Maddie and Chimney's first year of being married. Maddie's last marriage was a total nightmare and old habits die hard. I wonder if we will see her struggle with own personal demons as she navigates a marriage with Chimney. I can't wait to see Bobby and Athena move into a new home and deal with being empty-nesters. I do wonder what they have in store for Hen and Karen. Hopefully they're good for now and maybe all we need is the occasional scene of domestic bliss. I guess we'll have to wait to see what happens next. Until next time ...

[cameronspecial]

Thorn In My Side, Rose In My Hand (Part 4)

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings:  Under Age Drinking, and Swearing

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 4.4K

Summary: Everyone in her life is finally back on the island and she finally has her date with Wilson. But what happens when things don’t go to plan and she starts questioning her feelings. 

A/N: This was way longer than I though it was going to end up being because it was honestly supposed to just be a filler chapter but I honeslty just couldn’t stop myself. 

Masterlist

Y/N and Wilson had been texting for a week before he finally asked her on a date for tomorrow night. She isn’t sure what he has planned, but he said the dress code is formal so maybe they are going to a fancy dinner. Not exactly her favourite idea, she could live with it though. Lacey returned back to the Outer Banks yesterday, so Y/N is going over to her house to cook brunch together. Even though Y/N and Mason picked Lacey up from the airport, the girls need some quality time together. Well, Lacey would do most of the cooking while Y/N snacks under the guise of quality testing and making smoothies for them. 

“I’m here,” Y/N sings as she waves the bag of smoothie mix she brought. Knocking is no longer in her vocabulary in regard to her best friend. “I missed you so much, Bitch! The men in Paris may be hot. But they got nothing on being with you,” Lacey screams as she blindsides Y/N with a hug. Y/N laughs and wraps her arms around the other girl, “I missed you too. But I literally saw you yesterday, babe.” “Yeah, but we spent so long a part for my month-long summer internship,” Lacey complains, “Let’s get cooking. Mama is hungry.”

Y/N moves toward the blender to begin mixing the smoothie blend. “So a little birdie told me that you and Rafe are actually starting to get along with each other,” Lacey teases her friend. 

“Yeah… He’s been acting like a totally different person lately. The teasing is mostly just verbal and he can actually be helpful.”

“Awwww, Y/N/N. It sounds like you have a crush on him. Should I start planning a wedding?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Plus, I met someone last weekend.” 

“Ohh, tell me about him.” 

“Well, he’s sweet, funny, likes to read, he really likes doc-”

Lacey interrupts her, “I don’t want those details. Show me a picture.” Y/N giggles and pulls up a picture on her phone to show her friend. Lacey also notices how similar Rafe and Wilson are but bites her tongue.

 “He’s totally cute, but he looks like he has a stick up his ass.” 

“LACE! He does not! Although, he doesn’t use contractions and goes to sleep at like 11 P.M., but I promise he is funny.”

 “Okay, but how is the sex?” 

"We haven’t gone on a date yet. We have our first date planned for tomorrow night.” 

Before the conversation could continue, the oven timer goes off and Lacey goes to take out the chocolate chip scones from the oven. “So what are the plans for tomorrow? Do you need help getting ready?” Y/N nods her head, “Yeah, could you help me curl my hair, please? He said to wear something fancy so I was thinking of wearing that black dress that I wore to my cousin’s wedding last year. You know the long one with a spaghetti strap kind of style.” “Ooh, you’d look so cute in that. I can definitely curl your hair. Maybe, I can braid it back like a little crown on your head,” Lacey gushes as she stirs the omelet in the pan. Y/N smiles at the girl and starts playing some music on her phone. 

Brunch is finished quickly and the girls settle in the breakfast nook to eat. “So let’s get back to the topic of Rafe Cameron because we both know you haven’t told me everything, bitch,” Lacey bugs with a shove of Y/N’s shoulder with hers. The slight blush on Y/N’s cheeks doesn’t go unnoticed by Lacey. “There isn’t much to say. I mean…” Y/N stops not wanting to admit what she felt last week after having lunch with Rafe, Mason, and Wilson. “Girl, you better continue or else I’m gonna make you cook for us next time,” Lacey warns as she knows where her friend is going. “Fine, last week, after I had lunch with the boys and Wilson, I thought maybe… Maybe Rafe and I were going to kiss.” Lacey beams with excitement at this revelation. “No way! What happened?” “Kie and I jumped into the pool to sink the guys and… when it was just Rafe and me, he teased me about always getting him wet. He took my hand and we got closer, but I got a text from Wilson before it went any further,” Y/N wouldn’t admit it but even she could hear the slight disappointment in her voice. 

“You totally should’ve let him kiss you!”

“No, it was a mistake for us to even have gotten that close. He may be sweet today, but it doesn’t mean I can just forget about him being a jackass. Plus, he is Mace’s best friend. It would be awkward.”

“That’s true, but I’ve always thought there was something between you and Rafe. And I think if you guys really like each other, Mace will accept that and be happy for you.” 

“Maybe. Let’s not talk about this anymore. I have a date with someone else tomorrow anyways.”

———

“So how many parties did you throw and drag your sister to, Mason?” Cassie questions while she sits in her newly claimed passenger seat. Mason groans, “I was only able to convince her to let me throw one and even that was cut short. Not that it was your fault Y/N/N.” Mr. And Mrs. Y/L/N didn’t mind their children throwing parties as long as the police didn’t show up, everyone had a designated driver and nothing was broken. They’d rather be realistic about their children’s activities and ensure they do it safely. 

“Why? What happened?” Marvin looks up at his twins through the back mirror. “Owen was being an asshole when I went out to the gazebo. Rafe and Mace found me before anything serious could happen. Although I did punch him for insulting them, so I might need your help untangling that web.” Marvin shakes his head with a light chuckle, “Like that knucklehead’s lawyers can beat the Y/L/Ns. I swear that idiot’s parents were just as bad as he was when I was in high school.” “How was Bali?” Mason asks. “Amazing. You guys would love the beaches, we’ll have to go back with you guys sometime,” Cassie gushes to her children. “That’s a great idea, my love. Just, kids, remind me to put sunscreen on. I fell asleep on the first day when your mom was at pilates, I woke up three hours later as red as a lobster,” Marvin chimes in. This causes the whole car to laugh. 

———

Y/N is getting ready for her date with Wilson. She does her makeup while Lacey lightly curls her hair and braids the front pieces back to create a crown. “Has he given you any hints about where you are going?” Lacey inquires, returning to sit in the bed after finishing Y/N’s hair. Y/N pauses with her makeup sponge in hand and turns towards her, “Nope. If it’s just dinner, it should be fine.” 

“It’s basic though. You hate those types of dates. You need more excitement.” 

“Yeah, but at least it’s not like dumpster diving.” 

“I mean he could still do that. Maybe he just wanted it to be fancy.”

“Oh my god, could you imagine?”

Both girls fall into hysterics at the notion, which catches the attention of a certain boy passing by the open door. Rafe pauses as he walks past the door and upon hearing the laughter, stops. He wants to go inside to investigate the reason behind it. He quickly starts to walk again toward Mason’s room, “Where are Y/N and Lace going?” “Oh, they aren’t going anywhere. Lace is just helping Y/N/N get ready for a date with Wilson. Can you believe she actually wants to go out with him?” Mason states without so much as looking away from the video game he is playing. “A date? Really?!” “Yeah. Now, dude, hop in before I get creamed by these guys.” Rafe does as he is told but he could not stop thinking about what Mason said. Y/N has been on dates before, but something about Wilson screams bad news for Rafe. All of Y/N’s other dates were obviously not serious about her. They just liked the novelty of dating a Y/L/N and were not into dating men. Wilson seemed too serious at lunch to want to date around like the other boys Y/N has dated. 

“I have to go, my dad wants to go to the country club for dinner. Bye, love you.” Rafe hears Lacey say from down the hall. The sound of her footsteps and the front door opening prompts him to say, “I actually forgot to get some snacks while I was downstairs. I’m going to go get some now.” “Okay, dude.”

Rafe makes his way to Y/N’s room and leans up against her door frame to watch as she looks at herself in the mirror. “Well, don’t you look like a disaster, Y/L/N,” Rafe teases. “Haha, very funny. But seriously. Does this dress look okay?” Y/N asks timidly. Rafe wanted to say that it doesn’t just so that she would take more time looking for something else to wear and miss the date, but the look of uncertainty on her face makes him forgo that tactic. He also wanted to be honest with her; the truth is the dress she wore wouldn’t be the dress he’d want to see her in if he took her on the date. “While you looked amazing in that dress at your cousin’s wedding, I think this dress would be much better,” he answers as he walks towards her clothes and takes out her long black dress with a column skirt and halter top. He had seen her wear it last year to her dad’s 45th birthday bash. Rafe remembers having some inappropriate thoughts about the dress for a family event. Y/N nods at the suggestion and goes to try the new dress on in the bathroom. 

She comes out with a smile on her face and does a little twirl for him, “Rafe, this is perfect. Thank you!” She gives him a hug, which he returns. He was correct; she looks like an absolute vision and it kills him that he isn’t the one taking her on the date. That he was honest with her and now Wilson will get to see her in Rafe’s favourite dress for a date. Although, Rafe wouldn’t take her anywhere fancy on their first date. He knows it would make her nervous if he did, so he would take her to the bookstore first and buy any book she so much as glances at. Then he’d bring her over to his house to bake some cookies for their dessert after dinner, which would be a picnic on the beach at sunset. He would make sure to bring a sweater and an extra blanket for when the night breeze sent goosebumps up her arm. He has to shake himself out of his daydream before he stares too long, “No problem. Have fun on your date. Be safe and I’ll probably see you when you get back because I’m too lazy to go back home.” Rafe makes a quick exit back towards her brother’s room. 

Y/N notices the upset look on his face and assumes it is because of the thought of his father being home, the most likely reason why he is sleeping at her house again for the fifth night in a row. At this point, he might as well just move into their guest bedroom. Everyone in the Outer Banks knew that Ward Cameron had a favourite child and her name was Sarah Cameron. This caused Rafe to constantly try to get Ward’s approval so he could feel the same paternal love his middle sibling got, but no matter what he did it still led to arguments between the father-son duo. It didn’t matter that Rafe had continuously dominated the breaststroke events in swimming, he still wasn’t good enough in the eyes of Ward Cameron. She would be wrong though; the reason why he is upset this time is the fact that she is going on a date.  Before she knew it, a knock was at the door and she heard her father answer the door.

She walks towards the landing overlooking the front entrance. “Hello, I am Wilson Porter and I will be taking Y/N out on this fine evening. I hope you are in accordance with this idea, Mister …,” Wilson greets while holding out his hand for her father to shake. She realizes she still hasn’t told Wilson her last name yet. Her father takes Wilson’s hands and shakes it, “Hey, it’s Mr. Y/L/N. And I am fine with you taking her on a date as long as you have her home by one.” Y/N hopes Wilson doesn’t make the connection to her mom. Y/L/N is a common last name. “Of course, Mr. Y/L/N. punctuality is my specialty. Ah, there is the woman of the hour. She looks radiant.” Y/N is surprised she doesn’t blush at Wilson’s compliment; she could’ve sworn she was on fire when Rafe was raving about how she looked, “Thanks, Wilson. Are you ready to go?” “I absolutely am. Right, this way,” Wilson leads Y/N towards his car and goes to the driver's side. She thought he would open the door for her, but when he doesn’t, she quickly scrambles to get in so it isn’t awkward. 

———

The car ride was filled with pleasant conversation. Wilson mostly talked about Cassie’s books, which doesn’t surprise Y/N considering she knows he wants to become a writer as well and some of her mother’s earlier works are his favourite books. They arrive at La Fleur Bleue, an expensive French restaurant. She isn’t thrilled to be here considering the portion sizes are so small. They enter the restaurant and are led to their table. They look at the menu, when Wilson speaks up, “Do you think I could order for us? I think I have you figured out and can pick you something you love.” “Sure, I’m not too sure what I want to get anyways.” “Great,” Wilson waves the waiter over to order, “Hello, we are both going to have the quiche loraine with a bottle of champagne, please.” The waiter nods, takes their menu and goes off to put their order into the kitchen. “How did you get them to not check our id?” Y/N is astounded at the strings he could pull or hopes she isn’t dating someone who is 21 without her knowing. “My dad is a silent partner here, so they generally look the other way as long as the restaurant isn’t busy,” Wilson explains. 

At least, she knows he isn’t dating her for her money. While waiting for the food to come out, Wilson starts up the conversation again, “So have you had the chance to read The Wisp of Forever? Is it not a literary masterpiece? I mean hardly say this but Conan Austin’s work could rival Cassie’s”

“No, I haven’t had the chance yet because my tbr is so long. But also, it doesn’t really seem to be my type of book.”

“You should stop filling your time with Book’s Instagram and Young Adult Fiction. It’s all nonsense you will grow out of and look back on with disgust. The books I read help fill you with knowledge and enlightenment. They are also realistic.”

“Well, I like YA and Bookstagram. I actually enjoy the books I read from there. Also, it’s nice to read about people going through similar issues as me,” she says as nicely as she can. She is used to this response from most adults in the Outer Banks community, so she has the response memorized. Before Wilson could retort, the waiter comes back with their food and champagne on a tray. The first thing she notices is how tiny her quiche is. It definitely will not be enough food for her, but she doesn’t want to complain about it because of how expensive the food is. Even though her parents have generational wealth, Cassie and Marvin raised their children to be cautious of pricing and that just because they have the money now, doesn’t mean that it can’t disappear with one bad decision. She’ll just make grilled cheese when she gets home. As she eats, she notices she is shivering. The AC is on so high right now. With nothing to cover herself with, she tries to continue eating. 

Dinner went and passed with pleasant conversations about themselves. “Would you guys like to look at the dessert menu?” The waiter offers after clearing their plates. Y/N is about to speak up, but Wilson beats her to it, “No, we actually have somewhere else to be, so just the check, please.” The waiter returns with a check and places it on the table between the pair. Wilson pushes the bill close to Y/N. She isn’t one to expect the man to pay for the first date every single time, but she thinks that whoever asks the person out and chooses what to do should pay for the date. Or at least split the bill. She doesn’t want to make a scene, so she pays the bill without a word. Maybe, he just wants to reverse the unfair expectations of men always paying, which she could get on board with. Wilson gets up in a hurry and makes his way toward the entrance, leaving Y/N to run after him. He opens the door for himself and walks through. This causes the door to shut in her face. Y/N awkwardly opens the door for herself and gets into Wilson’s car. 

“So where are we going to now?” Y/N asks to break the silence. “We are going to a showing of Hamlet at Kildare Theatre. I hear it is an amazing performance.” Y/N is a little disappointed at the notion. She has nothing against Shakespeare and actually enjoys reading his comedies, but she finds watching the actually plays boring and can’t remember the last time she could stay awake through one of them. “Oh, cool. Sounds fun.” They arrive at the theatre house and settle down into their seats. As she watches the play, she has to gently pinch herself every time she nods off to keep herself awake. By the time the play finishes, Wilson takes her home and she gives him a peck goodbye before going inside. 

———

She enters her home and looks at the grandfather clock in the front entrance to see it is 12 A.M. At this realization, she notices how her stomach grumbles. She goes to change into Rafe’s Led Zepplin shirt and comfy shorts. She puts her hair up into a messy bun then makes her way downstairs to make a grilled cheese. “Did you have fun on your date, Y/L/N?” she hears from behind her while she is turned toward the counter wall. She jumps out of surprise, “God, Rafe. We need to tie a bell around your neck. And to answer your question. Yes, I did have fun.” She lied because although he planned a pretty boring date, she didn’t mind Wilson’s company. Rafe is wearing his light gray zip-up swim sweater on top of his salmon t-shirt with basketball shorts. His hair is all messy, he probably just woke up. She wishes she could just reach up and run her fingers through his hair. “I smell lies. If you had a good time, then why are you here making a grilled cheese in the dead of the night?” Rafe points out. “Even if the portion sizes are small, I can still have fun on a date, Rafe,” She argues. “Whatever you say, Y/L/N,” Rafe comes over and takes the pan out of her hand, “Come on, let’s go to McDonald’s instead.” 

He takes her hand and gently guides her to where he keeps his keys at the front entrance so he can pick them up. Once he has his keys, she opens the front door for them to head to his car. He jogs ahead and opens the passenger door for her. She whispers her thanks and takes the hand he offers her to help her get up into the high jeep. Wilson didn’t open the car door for her. 

Most of the car ride was spent making fun of Mason and singing along to Rafe’s playlist. She notices most of the songs are her favourites. When they get to McDonald’s, Rafe is quick to help her out of the car and open the entrance door for her. She has to admit it is nice to not have a door slam in her face. They pick a seat near the back close to the window and Y/N tries to get up to go with Rafe to order, but he stops her, “I’ve got this, Y/L/N. Just stay here.” Y/N listens to what he says and watches as he orders the food. She’ll have to remember to pay him back on the way home. A few minutes later, he returns with the food, “Ten piece chicken nuggets with fries and Sprite for you. And a BigMac with fries and a coke for me. I’ll get our ice cream after we finish,” he recites as he places her food in front of her. 

“Thanks, this is honestly exactly what I need.”

“No problem. Couldn't have you go hungry. So where did you guys go?”

“He took me to La Fleur Bleue, then we watched Hamlet at Kildare Theatre.”

Rafe chuckles at the look of slight disappointment he saw in her eyes, “I swear that place has the smallest portion sizes. It’s where Rose likes to eat when she wants to diet. However, you must’ve loved the play. You always looked so cozy taking those naps whenever we go to one for school.”

“Oh, it was so fun. I think I still have an imprint on my arm from every time I pinched my skin to wake myself up,” Y/N jokes back, showing him her arm to further the joke. The belly laugh that Rafe lets out causes heat to reach Y/N’s cheeks. She likes making him laugh like that. “I’m going to go get the ice cream now.” Rafe gets up and walks back to the counter to order. Y/N once again notices a chill overcome her tonight and sees how her arms are covered in goosebumps. She should’ve grabbed a sweater before she left. 

Rafe makes his way back to Y/N, noticing the bumps on her arms. Either she always forgets to bring sweaters with her or she is stubborn enough to not wear one to not disturb her aesthetic. He places the ice cream on the table; quick to remove his sweater for her. He hands over the sweater to her without saying anything. How come Rafe noticed she was cold and Wilson didn’t? She takes it and shrugs it on, “Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” Rafe watches as Y/N happily takes a bite out of the Oreo flurry he bought her, “Why don’t you eat any other flavours other than Oreo? Even when we get Dairy Queen, it is always an Oreo blizzard.” She is shocked he pays enough attention to her to notice it, “Oreos remind me of the one time when we were little that you, Mason and I would get along. Our moms would always bring us Oreos after soccer practice. It was the one time we could share without trying to kill each other. I loved the cookie part and you loved the filling, so I would always let you eat the filling from my Oreo and vice versa.” 

Rafe is a tad saddened by the mention of his mother; however, the fact that one of her favourite ice cream flavours is in relation to a memory of him makes him glad. “I didn’t know you remembered that. I have to confess though, after like the second time of us doing that I was sick of eating just the cream filling. The only reason why I kept eating the filling is because you were always so sad about wasting the filling if you didn’t eat it,” he confesses. “No way! Rafe, you didn’t have to do that.” “It’s okay. It made me sick, but my mom would cuddle me after to make me feel better so it was a bonus.” At the mention of his mother again, a comfortable silence washes over the pair. If she was with Wilson, she’d probably feel the need to fill the silence in a way that would prove her intelligence. They finish eating and head back to the car. 

“How should I pay you back? Do you want me to e-transfer you or I could get you the cash when we get back home?” She offers, pulling out her phone in preparation to make the transfer. “What? You don’t need to pay me back, Y/L/N. I asked you to come out with me, so I pay.” It looks like Y/N and Rafe are on the same page about who should pay when going out. Y/N begins to protest; however, Rafe speaks up again before she could, “I’m serious, Y/L/N. I won’t accept anything you try to give me, so don’t even try.” Y/N nods and looks out the window of the car. She turns up the car radio, beginning to sing along to the music. Rafe glances over at her and starts to sing with her. Much like their drive to McDonald’s, it is filled with laughter and music. Y/N can’t help but wonder why she can’t feel this way when she is with Wilson. She is dating Wilson and is supposed to hate Rafe, but why are they making it so hard to feel the right way about each one of them? 

Taglist: @itsalexwin @sublimepenguinpeach-blog    

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 18: CHIRON THROWS A PARTY

Alex started shouting reading in delight, and only continued in that way, "and we all know Chiron's family throws the best parties!"

Annabeth was a third worried about Oceanus, a third worried about Percy, and a third worried about her eardrums as she gently tapered, "but Chiron's throwing the party. Perhaps he has something planned more mellow, with hot chocolate and Dean Martin."

"Odd time for a party if so," Magnus offered in peace.

Thalia was mildly impressed Alex couldn't get a hint off Annabeth about even rainbow afros in the near future. She really had her shit together.

Alex frowned at Annabeth killing her vibe but nodded and continued reading a touch more in the normal hearing range.

Midtown was a war zone. We flew over little skirmishes everywhere. A giant was ripping up trees in Bryant Park while dryads pelted him with nuts. Outside the Waldorf Astoria, a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin was whacking a hellhound with a rolled-up newspaper. A trio of Hephaestus campers fought a squad of dracaenae in the middle of Rockefeller Center.

Those who had never been to New York just heard landmarks and monsters being smashed together like wrong puzzle pieces. They understood the gravity of what they were hearing, simply because of the look on Percy's face. As if every new crack he'd traveled over was a new vindication he sought.

I was tempted to stop and help, but I could tell from the smoke and noise that the real action had moved farther south. Our defenses were collapsing. The enemy was closing in on the Empire State Building.

The sense of gravitas in Alex's voice always did sound like she should have all attention around the campfire. Even those who were in the know had a way of listening in and left breathless at what was going to happen.

We did a quick sweep of the surrounding area. The Hunters had set up a defensive line on 37th, just three blocks north of Olympus. To the east on Park Avenue, Jake Mason and some other Hephaestus campers were leading an army of statues against the enemy. To the west, the Demeter cabin and Grover's nature spirits had turned Sixth Avenue into a jungle that was hampering a squadron of Kronos's demigods. The south was clear for now, but the flanks of the enemy army were swinging around. A few more minutes and we'd be totally surrounded.

"We have to land where they need us most," I muttered.

That's everywhere, boss.

"We've only just started this one and the horse already gets the gold star," Jason looked pretty proud of Blackjack earning that.

Percy nodded seriously. "Right, so, our options include splitting the island in half and hoping Kronos takes the part that doesn't have the Empire State Building-"

"Pass," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Or shutting the hell up, Jason, to see what we do about it," Percy concluded.

"I'm sort of leaning towards the first option though," Thalia said honestly, "like honestly, I'd just kind of like to see you try."

"You're all hopeless," Nico said in true bafflement how they'd survived this night.

"We're all heroes," Percy reminded with pride, "hopeful, hero, hhhh-" he stammered on another H word.

"Hobgoblins," Alex offered.

"Humanitarians," Magnus grinned.

"Honorable, hopeful, heroes," Jason offered, immediately getting back on Percy's good side as he gestured to him with a nod of thanks.

Alex huffed and called them all a bunch of hobgoblins before she continued.

I spotted a familiar silver owl banner in the southeast corner of the fight, 33rd at the Park Avenue tunnel. Annabeth and two of her siblings were holding back a Hyperborean giant.

"There!" I told Blackjack. He plunged toward the battle.

"No offense to Annabeth in the slightest," Will couldn't help but say through only slightly gritted teeth, "but that's really who you thought needed the most help?"

"No," Percy dismissed at once her injured shoulder had any play in this thought...even if he wouldn't deny it either. "I came to ask her like I would Chiron on top of that hill where forces needed me most."

I leaped off his back and landed on the giant's head. When the giant looked up, I slid off his face, shield-bashing his nose on the way down.

"RAWWWR!' The giant staggered backward, blue blood trickling from his nostrils.

"Does it taste like an Icee?" Alex grinned.

"I didn't lick it!" Percy yelped in disgust.

"Your loss," she shrugged.

I hit the pavement running. The Hyperborean breathed a cloud of white mist, and the temperature dropped. The spot where I'd landed was now coated with ice, and I was covered in frost like a sugar donut.

Alex laughed in delight that further sweets just reinforced her idea of these guys showing up in the next imagining she had of visiting Canada in a complete Willy Wonka mayhem.

"Hey, ugly!" Annabeth yelled. I hoped she was talking to the giant, not me.

"Both?" Magnus smirked.

"No Magnus," Annabeth chuckled, "I meant the giant."

"I don't know, the two looked pretty similar right then, that's not a great defense," Thalia smirked.

"You weren't there, shut it zappy," Percy huffed.

"I don't need to be there to know how you look covered in donut powder, I've witnessed that mess," she chuckled.

Blue Boy bellowed and turned toward her, exposing the unprotected back of his legs. I charged and stabbed him behind the knee.

"Just as planned," Annabeth told Will.

"You planned on Percy descending from above to stab that thing while you distracted him?" He asked in disbelief.

"He's very handy that way," Annabeth shrugged. "I wouldn't have even been surprised to see him tame that pig."

Will couldn't even be mad if they were joking. The two did work best together.

"WAAAAH!" The Hyperborean buckled. I waited for him to turn, but he froze. I mean he literally turned to solid ice. From the point where I'd stabbed him, cracks appeared in his body. They got larger and wider until the giant crumbled in a mountain of blue shards.*

"Why was that somehow more disturbing than turning to dust?" Magnus asked.

"More visually destructive," Alex said with relish.

"They won't turn to dust and vanish as fast," Nico agreed.

Magnus's frown grew as he realized they were right and decided to set aside for now why that did deeply bother him about all these monsters.

"Thanks." Annabeth winced, trying to catch her breath. "The pig?"

"Pork chops," I said.

"Good." She flexed her shoulder. Obviously, the wound was still bothering her, but she saw my expression and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Percy. Come on! We've got plenty of enemies left."

She was right.

"Mmmmm," Annabeth closed her eyes and savored that.

"About the enemies, you only get to enjoy that half as much for not being fine in the shoulder," Percy huffed.

"Mm," Annabeth mocked, trying to sound just as savoring with a serious face.

The result caused them all to snicker like idiots.

The next hour was a blur. I fought like I'd never fought before—wading into legions of dracaenae, taking out dozens of telkhines with every strike, destroying empousai and knocking out enemy demigods. No matter how many I defeated, more took their place.

Percy had been fighting for his life since page one of this mess.

This felt like more. Heavier. Nine times out of ten Percy was outside of Camp facing down these threats, but this time Camp had come to defend his home, and it didn't feel like there was an end goal in sight this time of running them all out. Even if they won this day. More would always take their place.

Annabeth and I raced from block to block, trying to shore up our defenses. Too many of our friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing.

Will fidgeted with the beads of his camp necklace. He officially had more than Micheal at the end of last summer. The assortment of colors always stood out on his neck when he looked in the mirror, like flashes of eyes he'd never see again.

As the night wore on and the moon got higher, we were backed up foot by foot until we were only a block from the Empire State Building in any direction. At one point Grover was next to me, bonking snake women over the head with his cudgel. Then he disappeared in the crowd, and it was Thalia at my side, driving the monsters back with the power of her magic shield. Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere, picked up a Laistrygonian giant in her mouth, and flung him into the air like a Frisbee.

Annabeth used her invisibility cap to sneak behind the enemy lines. Whenever a monster disintegrated for no apparent reason with a surprised look on his face, I knew Annabeth had been there.

But it still wasn't enough.

Jason felt as if he were being held captive by his own mind. The sounds and smells flashing by to fast to get a real grasp on, the emotions that kept peaking and rolling back out of him while he sat in a green bean bag at the bottom of the ocean. He knew every flick of the wrist Percy had made, but everything felt a step off from truly connecting he felt a little madness creeping in what the heck his old life really was until he forced himself to focus on Alex reading with her whole self, Percy's manic grin, Thalia lounged out in her seat still fiddling with her bracelet. This was real, at least. These weren't moments a god could take away from him again. He wouldn't let it happen.

"Hold your lines!" Katie Gardner shouted, somewhere off to my left.

The problem was there were too few of us to hold anything. The entrance to Olympus was twenty feet behind me. A ring of brave demigods, Hunters, and nature spirits guarded the doors.

Alex's voice shook rarely, but it did now as she realized this was Rachel's drawing, again. Just popping up in Percy's near future. And she was on her way there...somehow. She kept it together well and barreled through the moment, still reading with a thrill in her voice for the idea of being in that action, but Magnus saw it.

I slashed and hacked, destroying everything m my path, but even I was getting tired, and I couldn't be everywhere at once.

Behind the enemy troops, a few blocks to the east, a bright light began to shine. I thought it was the sunrise. Then I realized Kronos was riding toward us on a golden chariot. A dozen Laistrygonian giants bore torches before him. Two Hyperboreans carried his black-and-purple banners. The Titan lord looked fresh and rested, his powers at full strength. He was taking his time advancing, letting me wear myself down.

Alex felt the internal urge to puff up and hiss. To transform into a chimera and use all three heads to deal with this. To throw a slushie with some human teeth in all their faces. This entrapment down here really was starting to affect even her creativity when that's all that came to mind before she just audibly grumbled for a moment before moving on.

Annabeth appeared next to me. "We have to fall back to the doorway. Hold it at all costs!"

She was right. I was about to order a retreat when I heard the hunting horn.

It cut through the noise of the battle like a fire alarm. A chorus of horns answered from all around us, echoing off the buildings of Manhattan.

I glanced at Thalia, but she just frowned.

"Not the Hunters," she assured me. "We're all here."

Alex threw Annabeth a look of fond excitement. She'd known all along the party ponies were coming but had tried to tamper her expectations they weren't going to until the end of the chapter and perhaps only a handful of them would be there with more paintballs.

This, sounded like fun.

"No international league heading in?" Jason asked her, knowing the real answer, still imagining girls in kilts and bows showing up for his own amusement.

"Not unless I was finally unbanned from Saskatchewan," Thalia shrugged. "Long story," she promised at the many confused faces.

"Then who?"

The horns got louder. I couldn't tell where they were coming from because of the echo, but it sounded like an entire army was approaching.

Alex grinned. She read giddy, with such mayhem and delight it would have been infectious to Ethan or possibly even Kronos himself to get hyped about his own demise coming. Annabeth, at least, got a moment to smile and imagine Luke with that old challenging smile on his face to hear of an enemy being thwarted.

I was afraid it might be more enemies, but Kronos's forces looked as confused as we were. Giants lowered their clubs. Dracaenae hissed. Even Kronos's honor guard looked uneasy.

Then, to our left, a hundred monsters cried out at once. Kronos's entire northern flank surged forward.

I thought we were doomed, but they didn't attack. They ran straight past us and crashed into their southern allies.

Percy was already blinking like he was trying to get the dust out of his eyes. The monsters had already started to blur together by that time. The slightly different shades of their skin and the little details they each had in their armor had faded to nothing in his mind but where next to swing his sword. Seeing them run right past him, flee and then explode on their allies' own weapons, coating the streets in glittering sand that was dispersed moments later as more took their place amid those horns really messed with him and put in perspective while an entire army just watched in terror really had made him feel small for just that moment.

A new blast of horns shattered the night. The air shimmered. In a blur of movement, an entire cavalry appeared as if dropping out of light speed.

"Yeah, baby!" a voice wailed. "PARTY!"

A shower of arrows arced over our heads and slammed into the enemy, vaporizing hundreds of demons. But these weren't regular arrows. They made whizzy sounds as they flew, like WHEEEEEE! Some had pinwheels attached to them. Others had boxing gloves rather than points.

"Centaurs!" Annabeth yelled.

"So, I think the Party Ponies have arrived," Will said conversationally.

"And they're going to smash everything in their sight charged on the power of awesome!" Alex yelled like a child high on soda and cursed knowledge. They were already resigned to pissing off the ocean titan and letting her have her fun.

The Party Pony army exploded into our midst in a riot of colors: tie-dyed shirts, rainbow Afro wigs, oversize sunglasses, and war-painted faces. Some had slogans scrawled across their flanks like HORSEZ PWN or KRONOS SUX.

"That's going to be my license plate one day," Alex declared, reading each new thing as if a treasure trove of a lifetime. Maybe Loki Sux instead.

Hundreds of them filled the entire block. My brain couldn't process everything I saw, but I knew if I were the enemy, I'd be running.

"I'm so disappointed in your brain," Jason groaned. He wanted every messy detail of this just as bad.

"I am too," Percy nodded. He knew his friends loved this kind of stuff and really was sorry he couldn't give them better visuals. Stupid brain.

"Percy!" Chiron shouted across the sea of wild centaurs.

"Chiron and Percy, parting the sea of wild centaurs and creatures to get to each other," Thalia gave a mock sniff. "It's such an amazing story of mentor and mentee-"

"I'm going to turn you into a manatee," Percy scowled.

He was dressed in armor from the waist up, his bow in his hand, and he was grinning in satisfaction.

"I half imagined him showing up to this in his tweed jacket," Nico admitted.

"He's worn that once guys, while pretending to be a real teacher at my school," Percy chuckled.

"What do you mean a real teacher?" Annabeth looked at him in disappointment. "He's literally the trainer of all hero's seaweed brain."

"Like, grading papers, and Paul- no, but- boring, no," Percy groaned that wasn't right either and waved at Alex to just get back to the fun stuff.

"Sorry we're late!"

"DUDE!" Another centaur yelled. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!"

"That centaur knows how to live," Alex nodded in agreement.

"We haven't slayed one monster in here," Percy agreed in mild disappointment. "Guys, do we talk to much?!"

"Yes," they all agreed, not that it was going to stop a single one of them.

He locked and loaded a double-barrel paint gun and blasted an enemy hellhound bright pink. The paint must've been mixed with Celestial bronze dust or something, because as soon as it splattered the hellhound, the monster yelped and dissolved into a pink-and-black puddle.

Alex's laugh was subdued at best, even for that badass moment though. She couldn't recklessly laugh at that harm done anymore without picturing Mrs. O'Leary crossing her paws over her nose in Percy's apartment. Even Magnus couldn't have a vindictive laugh over this happening to a monster dog with that look on her face.

"PARTY PONIES.'" a centaur yelled. "SOUTH FLORIDA!"

"As opposed to North Florida?" Jason asked blankly.

"Bet the Flordia Georgia line is an epic meet-up spot?" Percy shrugged.

Somewhere across the battlefield, a twangy voice yelled back, "HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"

Will pressed his hand to his heart and started humming something. Nico just thought what a lovable dork he was no matter the song.

"HAWAII OWNS YOUR FACES!" a third one shouted.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Annabeth tried hard to hitch up a mock sob, but it came out to much as a laugh to be anything more than adorable to Percy.

The entire Titan army turned and fled, pushed back by a flood of paintballs, arrows, swords, and NERF baseball bats. The centaurs trampled everything in their path.

"Run, wild horses, run!" Will said with a static kind of energy that got the others just as hyped as Alex could. He'd been running around trying to ensure the sick and injured had gotten inside first, he'd been snatching up supplies so fast the Stolls would have been proud, he'd been having to deal with his own chaos and really hadn't even been aware these guys showed up until one tapped him on the shoulder and offered help. He was pretty sure it was one from Colorado and had still instantly said yes without question.

"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos yelled. "Stand and ACKK!"

Alex really drew that noise out too, making it sound wet and painful, leaving no one in doubt Kronos had not managed to finish saying the word attack.

That last part was because a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him.

The lord of time disappeared under a giant blue butt.

Through an effort Hercules would never bother with, Percy refused to let himself laugh at that like most everyone else did as Annabeth bit her lip. He was pretty sure that should earn him a free pass for laughing at something inappropriate in the future. Jason might even laminate it for him.

We pushed them for several blocks until Chiron yelled, "HOLD! On your promise, HOLD!"

It wasn't easy, but eventually the order got relayed up and down the ranks of centaurs, and they started to pull back, letting the enemy flee.

Thalia's face was flushed with joy, still panting just a bit from her laughter at Luke's stupid face vanishing under an icy ass like he wholly deserved, the ghost of adrenaline she hadn't properly felt in days still pumping through her. Once this high had worn off she'd been so exhausted she'd nearly fallen asleep climbing some stairs!

"Chiron's smart," Annabeth said, wiping the sweat off her face. "If we pursue, we'll get too spread out. We need to regroup."

"I mean, yeah, but," Alex gestured to the book and the chaos being taken away.

"I'll personally sign you up for the next scavenger hunt at Camp, nothing gets more chaotic than that," Annabeth promised.

"Deal," Alex shrugged without further ado.

"But the enemy—"

"They're not defeated," she agreed. "But the dawn is coming. At least we've bought some time."

I didn't like pulling back, but I knew she was right.

"How to sum up them dating," Will and Nico said at once before they both busted out laughing. Annabeth and Percy exchanged unamused looks at this somehow continuing long past the point it was funny, but as constantly proven, they knew when to pick their battles.

I watched as the last of the telkhines scuttled toward the East River. Then reluctantly I turned and headed back toward the Empire State Building.

We set up a two-block perimeter, with a command tent at the Empire State Building. Chiron informed us that the Party Ponies had sent chapters from almost every state in the Union: forty from California, two from Rhode Island,

"Rhode Island slacking," Alex sniffed. "It's right next door!"

"They're, congressional appointments, of centaurs," Magnus said in fascination. "Like, they sent some by population? Is there a centaur president?"

"Ah, no," Annabeth shook her head with a smile. "Don't overthink it cuz."

"Right," he chuckled, imagining that would be Chiron anyways and he already knew what a hectic leader that guy was.

thirty from Illinois . . . Roughly five hundred total had answered his call, but even with that many, we couldn't defend more than a few blocks.

"Just topple over one unoccupied building, that's all I'm asking for," Alex crossed her fingers hopefully. "Brick launcher grenade gun!"

"They could too," Jason said with mingled dread and delight for that idea.

"Dude," said a centaur named Larry. His T-shirt identified him as BIG CHIEF UBER GUY, NEW MEXICO CHAPTER.

"Are all the Hells Angels just secretly centaurs? Is there a centaur gang?" Percy asked.

"The only turf war they'd have is best licorice supply runs, I think we're safe from that," Annabeth shrugged.

"That was more fun than our last convention in Vegas!"

"Yeah," said Owen from South Dakota. He wore a black leather jacket and an old WWII army helmet. "We totally wasted them!"

Chiron patted Owen on the back. "You did well, my friends, but don't get careless. Kronos should never be underestimated. Now why don't you visit the diner on West 33rd and get some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer."

"Root beer!" They almost trampled each other as they galloped off.

"I got it," Thalia snapped her fingers, "they argue over which brand is better and that's why they all have to live separately!"

"How many brands of root beer are there?" Percy asked blankly.

"3,192," Alex said without hesitation.

There was a long pause before nobody decided to ask how serious that answer was.

Chiron smiled. Annabeth gave him a big hug, and Mrs. O'Leary licked his face.

"Ack," he grumbled. "Enough of that, dog. Yes, I'm glad to see you too."

"Chiron, thanks," I said. "Talk about saving the day."

He shrugged.

Nico smacked the side of his head. "I finally figured out where you got it from!"

"Yeah Nico, after the second time you've saved the world, it is kind of not a big deal," Percy shrugged.

Nico wouldn't know. He'd only kind of helped once.

"I'm sorry it took so long. Centaurs travel fast, as you know. We can bend distance as we ride. Even so, getting all the centaurs together was no easy task. The Party Ponies are not exactly organized."

"Noooo, say it ain't so!" Magnus chuckled.

"I mean, they're about as organized as Percy's camp, aka being held together by an awesome speech and the thrill of surprise attacks," Alex nodded. "I think it works."

Percy kind of wanted to be offended, but like, she wasn't wrong.

Percy kind of wanted to be offended, but like, she wasn't wrong.

"And a sense of family, loyalty, duty?" Annabeth prompted with a frown.

"Don't forget the duct tape," Thalia chuckled as Will hid his wince. Maybe Annabeth wouldn't admit they'd been fighting family amidst those monsters, but he didn't forget.

"How'd you get through the magic defenses around the city?" Annabeth asked.

"They slowed us down a bit," Chiron admitted, "but I think they're intended mostly to keep mortals out. Kronos doesn't want puny humans getting in the way of his great victory."

"So maybe other reinforcements can get through," I said hopefully.

"What other reinforcements are there?" Jason asked critically. He didn't mean to sound so sharp, but he did all the same. There was an electric storm still simmering in his brain that felt like it was zapping every part of him from the inside if he tried to concentrate on any blurry idea to long and it was giving him a serious headache.

Chiron stroked his beard. "Perhaps, though time is short. As soon as Kronos regroups, he will attack again. Without the element of surprise on our side . . ."

I understood what he meant. Kronos wasn't beaten. Not by a long shot. I half hoped Kronos had been squashed under that Hyperborean giant's butt, but I knew better. He'd be back, tonight at the latest.

"Well there goes my master plan," Alex sighed. "All those years of practice training that guy to squash things with his ass, wasted."

"Have no fears Alex, you'll move onto your next passion project soon," Magnus said with complete confidence.

"Yeah," she agreed with a longing sigh all the same.

"And Typhon?" I asked.

Chiron's face darkened. "The gods are tiring. Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday. Typhon smashed his chariot, and the wine god went down somewhere in the Appalachians.

Nico spluttered on a painful sounding laugh. "Even Chiron calls him the wine dude?"

"The wine god," Will corrected in a posh voice. "And I'm sure Mr. D's threatened to turn him into a table a few times for it."

No one has seen him since. Hephaestus is out of action as well. He was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia.

"I really hope some mortal thinks that's an asteroid bringing the dinosaurs back," Percy laughed.

"Percy, no," but Annabeth stopped with a sigh and let him have his fun.

He will heal, but not soon enough to help. The others still fight. They've managed to slow Typhon's approach. But the monster can not be stopped. He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow. Once he and Kronos combine forces—"

That's all they'd been hearing of this problem from the start, and it somehow just got worse every time they heard it. Even if, beyond all hope, Percy had somehow stopped Kronos with one stupid decision, how the heck had that been stopped?!

"Then what chance do we have?" I said. "We can't hold out another day."

"We'll have to," Thalia said. "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter."

She looked exhausted. Her jacket was smeared in grime and monster dust, but she managed to get to her feet and stagger off.

Annabeth had watched her go with such a tight pain in her throat she wondered if she'd accidentally swallowed some monster dust. Thalia hadn't even glanced back at her. She'd gone off to do her next task with the stoic, stiff shoulders of Luke watching them fall asleep and promising to get more firewood.

"I will help her," Chiron decided. "I should make sure my brethren don't go too overboard with the root beer."

"No such thing as too much fun," Alex huffed.

"I'd believe you'd find it even before the Party Ponies," Annabeth agreed.

I thought "too overboard" pretty much summed up the Party Ponies, but Chiron cantered off, leaving Annabeth and me alone.

"That was strategic," Annabeth huffed how unsubtle he was. She owed him a good nerf arrow.

"I know right, he just got there and he's already running off again," Percy huffed with a frown what on earth he meant by it. He would have thought Chiron would want to stay and chat for more of an update.

She cleaned the monster slime off her knife. I'd seen her do that hundreds of times, but I'd never thought about why she cared so much about the blade.

"Not really something I ever would have questioned," Alex shrugged. "I notice you never clean your blade Percy. Just because it's magic doesn't mean it might not like a good polish every once in a while."

Percy rubbed awkwardly at his nose and had nothing to say to that.

Jason suddenly felt the strong smell of polish in his nose and had an odd deja vu moment of being in an armory doing just this and smiled. He turned eagerly to Nico and asked, "how do you polish your sword?"

Nico grinned and started talking about more deadly rivers that could probably do worse to you than wipe your memory or kill you, like put gravel in your shoes or something worse, but Percy was distracted from listening by still watching Annabeth until someone shut the pair up.

She'd spent the entire time fiddling nervously with her hair, a long lost look in her eyes. He finally let the impulse win and traced the side of her neck with a question in his eyes. What the hell had she been through while he'd been away?

Annabeth caught his fingers and smiled but shook her head. Not now. That was okay. He'd wait as long as she needed.

"At least your mom is okay," I offered.

"If you call fighting Typhon okay." She locked eyes with me. "Percy, even with the centaurs' help, I'm starting to think—"

"I know." I had a bad feeling this might be our last chance to talk, and I felt like there were a million things I hadn't told her.

Athena, her stoic, absent mother, was far from her highest concern, Annabeth shook her head. Though of course her brain had been able to process plenty of concern all around. Chiron darting in and out and around everyone while sparing her a smile first had been that way since she'd arrived. Her dad was on the other side of the country, safe away from the monsters, from her.

It had been Percy she'd wanted, and him who had stayed right there.

"Listen, there were some . . . some visions Hestia showed me."

"You mean about Luke?"

Maybe it was just a safe guess, but I got the feeling Annabeth knew what I'd been holding back.

"I always just assume Annabeth can read your mind and has just been politely not informing you," Magnus nodded.

"That's not polite," Percy frowned.

"Um, or possible," Annabeth gave them a strange look.

"Right, that too," Percy waved off.

Maybe she'd been having dreams of her own.

"She's been having dreams about your dreams?" Will asked excitedly. "Dreamception?"

"This is somebody's nightmare around here," Nico rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," I said. "You and Thalia and Luke. The first time you met. And the time you met Hermes."

Annabeth slipped her knife back into its sheath. "Luke promised he'd never let me get hurt. He said ... he said we'd be a new family, and it would turn out better than his."

"Which, isn't going well," Magnus said in the kindest, most respectful voice anyone could make that sound.

"Right on the money," Annabeth nodded slowly as she leaned back into Percy's side, fingers still linked together. She really didn't know what she'd do without him in all this.

Her eyes reminded me of that seven-year-old girl's in the alley—angry, scared, desperate for a friend.

Thalia bit back a miserable sigh at how much she'd failed her too. Never on purpose, but enough that she wasn't in this moment and felt every hammer swing she deserved for it in the heart.

Annabeth sighed and gave her a good hard nudge with her foot. She wasn't going to let Thalia keep blaming herself for all that happened since then. There was enough to go around.

"That I can't face Luke," she said miserably.

"Hey, look how well you know me though," Thalia said with a genuine smile.

"Yes, your faith in me is everything," Annabeth said with a sad, sarcastic smile.

Thalia tipped her head and looked back at the book with the unsettling feeling this was about to get worse.

I nodded. "But there's something else you should know. Ethan Nakamura seemed to think Luke was still alive inside his body, maybe even fighting Kronos for control."

Annabeth tried to hide it, but I could almost see her mind working on the possibilities, maybe starting to hope.

Thalia let out a puff of breath and looked into her miserable eyes. "I'm not happy to be right you know."

"Well that's always good to know," Annabeth nodded as the two watched each other for a few moments before looking away.

"I didn't want to tell you," I admitted.

"But you did," Annabeth said in relief, just for him. He kissed her temple and couldn't think of anything else to say, but it was more than enough for her.

She looked up at the Empire State Building. "Percy, for so much of my life, I felt like everything was changing, all the time. I didn't have anyone I could rely on."

I nodded. That was something most demigods could understand.

'Most, but not him,' Will shook his head. He'd wondered a lot during this if Percy really knew how good he had it, the best of both worlds in his parents, all three of them.

"I ran away when I was seven," she said. "Then with Luke and Thalia, I thought I'd found a family, but it fell apart almost immediately. What I'm saying . . . I hate it when people let me down, when things are temporary. I think that's why I want to be an architect."

"To build something permanent," I said. "A monument to last a thousand years."

She held my eyes. "I guess that sounds like my fatal flaw again."

Most everyone around Camp knew that that was 'her thing.' Her go to if someone had a project, her specialty. Someone who was even paying attention could probably even piece together that was her fatal flaw.

Percy was still the only one she ever talked about this with. The one who made her feel like she could tell him anything and he'd never judge her for it. He'd shared his mortal spot with her. How could she ever be afraid to share anything with him?

Years ago in the Sea of Monsters, Annabeth had told me her biggest flaw was pride—thinking she could fix anything. I'd even seen a glimpse of her deepest desire, shown to her by the Sirens' magic.

Annabeth had imagined her mother and father together, standing in front of a newly rebuilt Manhattan, designed by Annabeth. And Luke had been there too—good again, welcoming her home.

"I guess I understand how you feel," I said.

"Liar," Annabeth chuckled.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. He knew he'd never understand every part of her, but he did try.

"But Thalia's right. Luke has already betrayed you so many times. He was evil even before Kronos. I don't want him to hurt you anymore."

Annabeth pursed her lips. I could tell she was trying not to get mad.

"And that was going so well," Jason said in surprise. She hadn't even pulled her knife back out.

"Yeah, first time for everything," Percy agreed in surprise.

"And you'll understand if I keep hoping there's a chance you're wrong."

I looked away. I felt like I'd done my best, but that didn't make me feel any better.

Annabeth struggled to swallow as his hand held hers tight enough to never let go. Gods this somehow kept feeling worse the longer they were dragged over each letter.

Across the street, the Apollo campers had set up a field hospital to tend the wounded—dozens of campers and almost as many Hunters. I was watching the medics work, and thinking about our slim chances for holding Mount Olympus. . . .

And suddenly: I wasn't there anymore.

I was standing in a long dingy bar with black walls, neon signs, and a bunch of partying adults. A banner across the bar read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOBBY EARL. Country music played on the speakers.

"Friends in Low Places?" Magnus nodded without surprise. It was barely even a shock to his system Percy had just been yanked out of his own head to deal with another gods mess.

"Does any other country song exist?" Percy chuckled.

Will opened his mouth with a pained look at the pair before closing it slowly, knowing that rant would fall on deaf ears.

Big guys in jeans and work shirts crowded the bar. Waitresses carried trays of drinks and shouted at each other. It was pretty much exactly the kind of place my mom would never let me go.

"In public?" Thalia said in understanding.

"Places where alcohol and those outfits are in one room," Percy huffed. "Mostly the alcohol!"

"We need to get him drunk one of these days, just to see if it'll finally be the thing to piss of Sally," Thalia rolled her eyes.

Somebody was clearly in a terrible mood. "Pass," Percy said at once. The stench reminded him of Gabe without even bothering to indulge the other stupid part of that.

I was stuck in the very back of the room, next to the bathrooms (which didn't smell so great) and a couple of antique arcade games.

"Oh good, you're here," said the man at the Pac-Man machine. "I'll have a Diet Coke."

He was a pudgy guy in a leopard-skin Hawaiian shirt, purple shorts, red running shoes, and black socks, which didn't exactly make him blend in with the crowd. His nose was bright red. A bandage was wrapped around his curly black hair like he was recovering from a concussion.

"So he blended right in like a sore thumb," Nico said, blinking spastically at the setting.

"Accurate," Percy nodded.

I blinked. "Mr. D?"

He sighed, not taking his eyes from the game. "Really, Peter Johnson, how long will it take for you to recognize me on sight?"

"About the same time as when he gets his halo," Alex rolled her eyes.

"About as long as it'll take for you to figure out my name," I muttered.

"Oh, so much never!" Magnus laughed, clasping his hands together in mock praise.

"An infinite amount of never, that's the answer to some riddle out there," Percy laughed along.

"Where are we?"

"Why, Bobby Earl's birthday party," Dionysus said. "Somewhere in lovely rural America."

"It's not a very lost Lestragonian is it?" Nico asked, vividly remembering their names had a similar ring.

"Don't stereotype Nico, lots of normal people have names like Earl, and they're just your everyday pieces of crap," Will rolled his eyes hard. If they were going to make jokes about the South he might as well get his digs in with another classic country song coming to mind.

"I thought Typhon swatted you out of the sky. They said you crash-landed."

"Yes, but Chiron never said where," Jason agreed. "Why wouldn't he land in a bar? Makes sense to me. Bars have wine."

"They're not magnetically drawn to their domain when they crash land," Annabeth sighed.

"Yeah, but I bet you anything if Hepahsuts had drawn me in for a one-on-one, I'd find myself in a very tiny tool shed with him throwing saws around and complaining about their dullness matching mine," Percy sighed.

"Your concern is touching. I did crash-land. Very painfully. In fact, part of me is still buried under a hundred feet of rubble in an abandoned coal mine.

"Huh," Percy and Jason said together with interest they'd been wrong.

Annabeth just smiled and rolled her eyes at these idiots.

It will be several more hours before I have enough strength to mend. But in the meantime, part of my consciousness is here."

"At a bar, playing Pac-Man."

"You sound a tad jealous," Alex chuckled.

"Eh, I prefer Street Fighter eating my quarters," Percy shrugged. There was a retro arcade not far from one of his favorite movie places he didn't get to visit enough, but his high score was still in the top ten.

"Party time," Dionysus said. "Surely you've heard of it. Wherever there is a party, my presence is invoked.

Percy yelped and covered his ears at the idea of such a future pain in his ass. "I take it all back! Alex and anyone else is forbidden from ever throwing me a party!"

"Awww, come on Perce, I promise to keep him in the back with an arcade machine," Alex looked like a kicked puppy.

Percy's heart instantly crumbled. "Yeah, well, fine, but nobody had better involve singing."

"Deal," she instantly agreed. She winked at Will though when he looked away, who instantly grinned back.

Because of this, I can exist in many different places at once. The only problem was finding a party. I don't know if you're aware how serious things are outside your safe little bubble of New York—"

"Safe little bubble?"

"Come on Percy, you'd know this was a trap if he wasn't delusional on all that partying," Thalia shook her head at him.

"Yeah, yeah, one thing is normal in this crazy world," Percy huffed.

"—but believe me, the mortals out here in the heartland are panicking. Typhon has terrified them. Very few are throwing parties. Apparently Bobby Earl and his friends, bless them, are a little slow. They haven't yet figured out that the world is ending."

"Don't know what he's on about, sounds like the perfect time to throw a party," Alex chuckled.

"Yeah, that tracks," Jason nodded without surprise.

"So . . . I'm not really here?"

Magnus couldn't even be upset and surprised that Percy had legitimately thought he'd just been yanked off the street like that. Considering where he'd woken up without memories. It really wasn't that far-fetched.

"No. In a moment I'll send you back to your normal insignificant life, and it will be as if nothing had happened."

"Yes please," Percy sighed. He might even be grateful for a memory wipe!

...unless Dionysus had gone to far. That actually seemed likely.

"And why did you bring me here?"

Dionysus snorted. "Oh, I didn't want you particularly. Any of you silly heroes would do. That Annie girl—"

"Annabeth."

"The point is," he said, "I pulled you into party time to deliver a warning. We are in danger."

There was another long, awkward pause where even Alex looked disconcerted because she hadn't caused it this time.

"As opposed to?" Percy finally asked into the silence.

"Um, Norwegia? Do they have anything bad going on right now?" Nico finally answered.

"To hell if I know!" Percy threw his hands up, long overdone with these gods making no sense and expecting him to keep up.

"Gee," I said. "Never would've figured that out. Thanks."

"Can't say he never helped guide you," Will chuckled.

"Yes I can," Percy huffed.

"It would just be a lie?" Will tried in vain.

"No Will, I know full well when I'm lying," Percy smirked.

He glared at me and momentarily forgot his game. Pac-Man got eaten by the red ghost dude.

"Erre es korakas, Blinky!" Dionysus cursed. "I will have your soul!"

"Appropriate reaction to be honest," Jason nodded.

"Competitive streak, locked and loaded," Percy pointed at him accusingly.

"I, well maybe, I don't know," Jason frowned before he shrugged and decided against arguing the point. He had a strange feeling he'd once strangled someone with a controller, but he wasn't sure if it was a monster or not and that was kind of bothersome.

"Was nobody going to translate that awesome Greek cuss so I know what I'm saying when I use it?" Alex pouted.

"He said go to the crows too," Nico offered with the same helpful smile as the first time.

"Oh, I see, now I know where she got it from," Alex grinned at Annabeth, who didn't bother to look embarrassed as she shrugged.

"Um, he's a video game character," I said.

"That's no excuse! And you're ruining my game, Jorgenson!"

"Jackson."

"Whichever!

"No, no, Percy Jorgenson should very much be discussed more. What's his life like?" Magnus chuckled.

"Going to Giants games, living his best life I assume," Percy sighed.

Now listen, the situation is graver than you imagine. If Olympus falls, not only will the gods fade, but everything that is connected to our legacy will also begin to unravel. The very fabric of your puny little civilization—"

The game played a song and Mr. D progressed to level 254.

"Ha!" he shouted. "Take that, you pixelated fiends!"

"Um, fabric of civilization," I prompted.

"And Pac-Man is a part of that, gosh Percy, let the man prioritize his way," Jason grinned.

"I'll set Blinky on you, don't test me," Percy promised.

"Yes, yes. Your entire society will dissolve. Perhaps not right away, but mark my words, the chaos of the Titans will mean the end of Western civilization. Art, law, wine tastings, music, video games, silk shirts, black velvet paintings—all the things that make life worth living will disappear!"

"This is not news," Thalia frowned as she looked from the book to Percy. "He didn't really think you were tempted by Prometheus did he?"

Percy shivered, something tight lodged in his throat. He couldn't breathe for several moments as his head swam, that stupid jar leaping to mind strapped into the backseat of a car-

Annabeth put her arm around his shoulders. She held him close as he leaned into her for the stability he desperately needed right now as his head swam without the rest of him.

She ran her fingers gently through his hair until his breathing labored into something more even and Alex kept going without question.

"So why aren't the gods rushing back to help us?" I said. "We should combine forces at Olympus. Forget Typhon."

He snapped his fingers impatiently. "You forgot my Diet Coke."

"Gods, you're annoying." I got the attention of a waitress and ordered the stupid soda. I put it on Bobby Earl's tab.

"Is that illegal?" Magnus frowned. "It feels like that should be illegal."

"I honestly don't think anyone here knows," Will admitted. None of them were exactly law-abiding citizens on the regular.

"Fair enough," he nodded.

Mr. D took a good long drink. His eyes never left the video game. "The truth is, Pierre—"

"Percy."

"Posey," Thalia offered with a smirk at Percy, who groaned in dismay. He just knew she'd find a way to tell his dad he'd once accidentally called him that.

"Nah, got to give him one thing, he's never called Percy a Polly," Alex said in delight. "I was thinking Peitro though, or Picholo."

"I'm so glad I wasn't named after an instrument," Percy frowned and knew he owed his mother yet another thanks in his life.

"—the other gods would never admit this, but we actually need you mortals to rescue Olympus. You see, we are manifestations of your culture. If you don't care enough to save Olympus yourselves—"

"Like Pan," I said, "depending on the satyrs to save the Wild."

"Yes, quite. I will deny I ever said this, of course, but the gods need heroes. They always have. Otherwise we would not keep you annoying little brats around."

"I feel so wanted. Thanks."

"You really should," Annabeth was blinking at him like a new riddle to solve. "I don't think he's ever said that out loud. You must have done something during the battle to really get his attention Percy." Short of creating an ocean of Diet Coke, she couldn't think what he'd done to earn this audience.

Percy realized he hadn't yet mentioned the bit where Dionysus had pulled him aside and basically told him he'd cured Chirs and he was sad his son was dead. It was one of those things he was used to the others all knowing. He'd kind of become Mr. D's fall guy for the entire camp after that he supposed. The good and the bad.

"Use the training I have given you at camp."

"What training?"

"You know. All those hero techniques and . . . No!" Mr. D slapped the game console. "Na pari i eychi! The last level!"

"And that means?" Alex asked eagerly, this time looking around at Nico expectantly.

Nico grinned in a way that already made Will blush before he said, "that one's something more in line with what Will would call Hera."

"Ah, fantastic update, thank you," she chuckled while Will sighed without much regret that was never going to die.

He looked at me, and purple fire flickered in his eyes. "As I recall, I once predicted you would turn out to be as selfish as all the other human heroes. Well, here is your chance to prove me wrong."

"Yeah, making you proud is real high on my list."

"Like, right up there with getting kissed by an empousa," Thalia said in a really good simpering act.

Percy high fived her in agreement and Annabeth really kept telling herself she should move so they'd stop doing that across her face.

"You must save Olympus, Pedro!

"Remind me to send Pedro a thank you gift," Percy rolled his eyes.

"Sounds like you might have to learn some Spanish, personally I'd just take credit for it," Jason shrugged.

Leave Typhon to the Olympians and save our own seats of power. It must be done!"

"Great. Nice little chat. Now, if you don't mind, my friends will be wondering—"

"There is more," Mr. D warned.

"Oh thank gods," Magnus clutched at his shirt over his heart. "This just wasn't dire enough yet!"

Alex patted his shoulder and knew in that moment he'd love a good theater camp.

"Kronos has not yet attained full power. The body of the mortal was only a temporary measure."

Annabeth licked her suddenly dry lips as her eyes darted around like she expected to find an angry mob with pitchforks appearing out of nowhere. It made no rational explanation, she kept trying to scold herself, but that did no good. She half expected them all to laugh at her, to throw in her face they'd known all along that Luke was just a pawn, a means to an end, and he'd deserved this.

None did, and she started feeling dizzy with her own relief until Percy put his arm around her in turn until she caught her breath and her eyes stopped burning so bad. Gods she missed Luke so much.

"We kind of guessed that."

"And did you also guess that within a day at most, Kronos will burn away that mortal body and take on the true form of a Titan king?"

"And that would mean . . ."

Dionysus inserted another quarter. "You know about the true forms of the gods."

"Yeah. You can't look at them without burning up."

"Kronos would be ten times more powerful. His very presence would incinerate you. And once he achieves this, he will empower the other Titans. They are weak now, compared to what they will soon become, unless you can stop them. The world will fall, the gods will die, and I will never achieve a perfect score on this stupid machine."

Alex read all of that without to much surprise. It really was a constant case of, 'how could this get any worse?' and then she got her answer and just moved on. It had kind of been the track record of her whole life anyways.

Nobody was really up for arguing the point with her. It's not like it was new information anymore than, 'Percy needed to save the world or we'd all be dead.'

Maybe I should've been terrified, but honestly, I was already about as scared as I could get.

Jason mock rummaged around in his pockets. "Hang on, I have a meter I need to check for that."

"Where haven't I threatened to shove that yet?" Percy tapped his chin, before he snapped his fingers. "Ah, into your belly button!"

Jason theatrically covered his stomach with a horrified expression and the two idiots chuckled for a moment while Thalia and Annabeth exchanged bemused looks.

"Can I go now?" I asked.

"One last thing. My son Pollux. Is he alive?"

Alex really hated herself for the emotion that gripped her voice. That her mind flashed to her father for just a second, then Loki, before she slammed her fist into an already destroyed washing machine in her mind that made something fall out with a clunk to scatter those stupid images away. She knew what she was telling herself, it wasn't denial, it was just anger it wouldn't go away.

I blinked. "Yeah, last I saw him."

"I would very much appreciate it if you could keep him that way. I lost his brother Castor last year—"

"I remember." I stared at him, trying to wrap my mind around the idea that Dionysus could be a caring father. I wondered how many other Olympians were thinking about their demigod children right now.

Will caught Percy's eye and held it to let him know he wasn't alone. That he'd really felt that, been thinking it too. He'd wondered how useless his prayers were while sending them to his dad. The fact that Mr. D even bothered to pull one camper aside to check in, in his own way, really made him believe for a moment that even if he hadn't gotten an answer, his prayers had been heard.

Or that Pollux hadn't been making any.

And he wasn't sure which it was.

"I'll do my best."

Magnus heard that as, when he went to visit his cousin there, he should expect to see a pudgy blonde kid chilling at a cabin alone. The one with grapevines all over it probably. Percy's best wasn't always the solution to everyone coming out alive, but it was as close as he'd ever expect.

"Your best," Dionysus muttered. "Well, isn't that reassuring. Go now. You have some nasty surprises to deal with, and I must defeat Blinky!"

"Nasty surprises?"

He waved his hand, and the bar disappeared.

"Would the gods stop doing at least that," Percy heard it in his own voice, tried to reign in the reverberating power that could easily topple the room they were in, but man was it heard. "If they know something helpful, next time start with that!"

It took every bit of his concentration not to form his hands into fists and draw Riptide and figure out how to go back to his subconscious or whatever and at least break that stupid machine!

"I don't think their brains are exactly linear like ours Percy," Annabeth reminded patiently.

"Then I'm going to start the conversation by setting three alarms so they think they're running out of time and actually tell me this stuff while the first two to go off! The third one's because I'm positive I'll actually want them to stop talking by then," Percy sighed.

"Good plan. Hope it works out for you," Annabeth sighed right with him at whatever god he decided to test this theory on.

I was back on Fifth Avenue. Annabeth hadn't moved. She didn't give any sign that I'd been gone or anything.

She caught me staring and frowned. "What?"

"Um . . . nothing, I guess."

"That really was nothing to you too," Magnus sighed. Just another day in the life of Percy Jackson, being dragged across the country only in his head to have a conversation with the wine dude who also wasn't really there!

"I know the important things in my life," Percy grinned.

I gazed down the avenue, wondering what Mr. D had meant by nasty surprises. How much worse could it get?

Magnus felt the urge to cover his eyes and whimper pre-monster arrival. Just to get it out of the way now.

My eyes rested on a beat-up blue car. The hood was badly dented, like somebody had tried to hammer out some huge craters. My skin tingled. Why did that car look so familiar? Then I realized it was a Prius.

Paul's Prius.

With every new descriptor Alex's voice had gotten a little quieter, a little more shaken. This wasn't her spooky, telling ghost stories over a fire voice where she tried to make herself sound scared to up the mood. She was legitimately upset at realizing Percy's parents could be hurt much more than some dents in the hood of a car, and Percy was as touched as he suddenly was panicked. It was a very strange feeling that stole his spurt of action but left him feeling sick with the need to do something.

I bolted down the street.

"Percy!" Annabeth called. "Where are you going?"

Paul was passed out in the driver's seat. My mom was snoring beside him. My mind felt like mush.

The fact that she was asleep was of interest to note to those not in the know, but not enough to do more than exchange surprised looks.

Rachel was on her way there, and she'd be asleep for whatever message she wanted to deliver. That was yet another disaster on the horizon while he was processing this one with his face an entire mask of pain.

How had I not seen them before? They'd been sitting here in traffic for over a day, the battle raging around them, and I hadn't even noticed.

"We don't come with built in radars Percy," Annabeth gently reminded as they held each other's hands so tight. "I've tested."

Percy gave her a shaky smile, his mind a complete mess he expected to collapse any second. They'd possibly have to start this all over again and build himself back from the ground up. But she kept smiling back and didn't let go, so that was okay.

"They . . . they must've seen those blue lights in the sky." I rattled the doors but they were locked. "I need to get them out."

"Percy," Annabeth said gently.

"I can't leave them here!" I sounded a little crazy. I pounded on the windshield. "I have to move them. I have to—"

"Percy, just . . . just hold on." Annabeth waved to Chiron, who was talking to some centaurs down the block. "We can push the car to a side street, all right? They're going to be fine."

My hands trembled. After all I'd been through over the last few days, I felt so stupid and weak, but the sight of my parents made me want to break down.

Percy had been scared plenty of times over the course of this, but it was usually coupled in with adrenaline and determination and anger. The kind of grit that made him defeat the next monster, gave him the strength to know that even if he hadn't saved everyone from his past at least he'd never forget them again and try not to make the same mistakes.

This is how Kronos could have defeated him all along, he could feel it in his bones. Yet mortals were beneath his notice, and so she'd sat by untouched but always there at the heart of all this.

Chiron galloped over. "What's . . . Oh dear. I see."

"They were coming to find me," I said. "My mom must've sensed something was wrong."

"Most likely," Chiron said. "But, Percy, they will be fine. The best thing we can do for them is stay focused on our job."

Then I noticed something in the backseat of the Prius, and my heart skipped a beat. Seat-belted behind my mother was a black-and-white Greek jar about three feet tall. Its lid was wrapped in a leather harness.

Percy glowered at the book in the kind of way that made Alex confident he wanted to throw the book in her hands out of the ocean and possibly her along with it if she held on to tight. She ignored it best she could and relied on Annabeth and Thalia to remind him why that was a bad idea. She'd actually never done something like that before, but hey, first time for everything.

"No way," I muttered.

Annabeth pressed her hand to the window. "That's impossible! I thought you left that at the Plaza."

"Locked in a vault," I agreed.

"How do you put something in a vault wrong Thalia?" Jason decided not to let that moment pass without a tease.

"When Percy's involved," she said with a straight face. "It was his magic item and he set me up to fail."

"I'm sure you deserve it for something," but Percy was so jittery he couldn't think straight, couldn't think up one instance over the past where she'd messed with him. All his mind could latch onto was his mom, dropping him off at another new school with another hopeful smile, the songs she'd hum while she was baking, the dark circles under her eyes and the sense of joy radiating off of her for a good night's work. Gods he'd be lost without her.

Chiron saw the jar and his eyes widened. "That isn't— "

"Pandora's jar." I told him about my meeting with Prometheus.

"I thought it was a pithos?" Jason felt the strain in the room and strived to do what Percy did best, give a little levity to it. "You told him about Prometheus giving you Pandora's Pithos Percy, remember how pithy that sounded?"

Maybe word play wasn't everyone's cup of tea in amusement, but he at least got a few smiles and eye rolls for his attempt, which made all the world to him to feel like he hadn't failed.

"Then the jar is yours," Chiron said grimly. "It will follow you and tempt you to open it, no matter where you leave it. It will appear when you are weakest."

"Forever?" Magnus frowned. "Like you have a new Riptide? Man, talk about something in serious need of a regift."

Percy had the brief thought that he should give it to Rachel. She'd probably paint over it and make it look more fun and tempting to open, but she'd also been dealing with hopeless situations with much more style than he'd ever have so she just seemed the obvious choice.

He got a pained spike to his brain for the thought and his eyes flickered to Annabeth with guilt instantly so he decided not to voice any of that.

Like now, I thought. Looking at my helpless parents.

I imagined Prometheus smiling, so anxious to help out us poor mortals. Give up Hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient.

Anger surged through me. I drew Riptide and cut through the driver's side window like it was made of plastic wrap.

Alex grinned at all the mayhem Percy's sword could cause he didn't indulge in nearly enough. "Did it have that smooth feeling like when scissors glide through wrapping paper?"

"Yeah, actually," Percy's smile was a tad diabolical and Annabeth swallowed in horror how many cars were going to be broken into when those two teamed up.

"We'll put the car in neutral," I said. "Push them out of the way. And take that stupid jar to Olympus."

Chiron nodded. "A good plan. But, Percy . . ."

Whatever he was going to say, he faltered. A mechanical drumbeat grew loud in the distance—the chop-chop-chop of a helicopter.

Rachel's insane deal to go to a finishing school all so she could have a chat with Percy hadn't been mentioned in a few hours, what with the constant battles and deaths and centaurs appearing, but boy did they not get a choice now but to think of all the problems, implications, and disasters that were about to happen!

On a normal Monday morning in New York, this would've been no big deal, but after two days of silence, a mortal helicopter was the oddest thing I'd ever heard.

He'd felt it in his chest, the reverberating machine that disrupted his world overtaking the rest. The ground hadn't actually been shaking, but he'd been so loopy from seeing his parents he wouldn't have been surprised to see drinks shaking and windows rattling like the arrival of that machine had smashed them back together.

A few blocks east, the monster army shouted and jeered as the helicopter came into view. It was a civilian model painted dark red, with a bright green "DE" logo on the side. The words under the logo were too small to read, but I knew what they said: DARE ENTERPRISES.

"Did you, ever get a ride in that Percy?" Will's voice was choppy as he strived for his usual cheerful voice but knew it sounded fake. Gods that helicopter crash had been terrifying. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to sit through another action movie with an explosion again without shivering at the heat and noise.

My throat closed up. I looked at Annabeth and could tell she recognized the logo too. Her face was as red as the helicopter.

Trouble and danger afoot, Nico didn't even roll his eyes in surprised annoyance this time because of course Percy looked to her first.

"What is she doing here?" Annabeth demanded. "How did she get through the barrier?"

"You're asking me?" Percy looked so wounded and confused as he sat deep in his seat.

"I'm asking her as soon as I can," her scowl was more light and playful than anything, but Percy felt like he was in trouble for some reason.

"Who?" Chiron looked confused. "What mortal would be insane enough—"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Thalia answered with pride.

"Yeah, not something I'd brag about right now," but Jason couldn't help begrudgingly sounding the same. She really was something, charging into the unknown for her friend. It was as admirable as someone could be.

Suddenly the helicopter pitched forward.

"The Morpheus enchantment!" Chiron said. "The foolish mortal pilot is asleep."

I watched in horror as the helicopter careened sideways, falling toward a row of office buildings.

Even if it didn't crash, the gods of the air would probably swat it out of the sky for coming near the Empire State Building.

I was too paralyzed to move, but Annabeth whistled and Guido the pegasus swooped out of nowhere.

You rang for a handsome horse? he asked.

"Come on, Percy," Annabeth growled. "We have to save your friend."

"Well don't sound so happy about it Annabeth," Alex said with a strained smile she still tried hard to make casual. "You should be used to this by now!"

"It was Rachel's turn for this, wasn't it," Magnus groaned as he watched Percy get up to take the book. "Gods, is there a ticking clock on this? Are you guys going to have to rescue me by association?"

"Possibly," Percy said sheepishly.

Annabeth waited patiently until he got back beside her before swatting him on the back of the head with a very calculated scowl for trying to scare her cousin.

To her surprise though as Percy flipped to the next chapter as if nothing had happened, Magnus just sighed as if he were already resigned to it. He obviously knew Rachel was fine and they had rescued her. He really was taking this much better than she ever would have dreamed.

PJOPJOPJO

*This was legitimately one of the stand-out kills for me from my first reading of the series and I tried to analyze why upon this reread and I think I've narrowed it down to this reason. Instead of dust like every other monster, it's imagining the pain and anger frozen on the monster's face as he collapses to blue shards that stayed there until they melted long after the fight was over. Something about deviating away from the usual formula I guess?

[trlvsn]

of course phoenix's second "first" case is helping the performer girl with the diamond-shaped earrings who forces smiles and sort of tricks him when they first meet. i mean. what else is there to say (i'm going to say a lot, this is a long post about the orca case and it's references to aa4)

i'm going to talk about sasha first, though, even if the similarities between her and trucy might be coincidental rather than intentional. here is a somewhat full list of them:

1. diamond-shaped earrings and a big hat they wear at all times

2. perform for an audience for a living and are genuinely passionate about it

3. the "smile during showtime" attitude being not only something they use on the clock, but a motto overall (buckler tries to keep a smile and cheer phoenix and athena up in the detention center: see image below list)

4. have a persona with a moustache that they use in their performances (see image below list)

5. their first encounter with phoenix is an unintentional deception on their part: trucy gives him forged evidence and buckler, well, doesn't tell him the client is technically an animal and isn't even considered to be someone who can be brought to court for a trial

6. phoenix chooses to help them out after a trial ends unexpectedly (zak dissapearing, buckler being accused)

7. does a dead "father figure" count? i feel like it might.

you get the idea. again, i'm not claiming this was intentional: i am simply pointing it out.

btw. you know what he does right after taking the orca case (accepting the "deception")?

he goes to the pub o'danger, a place totally different from the, oh, i don't know. the borsht bowl club. intentional or not, this is a nice blast from the past, because we get a lot of his beanix personality showing throughout the case. a good example is the bloody "trump card" he presents:

basically, a bloody piece of evidence that turns the case around and gives him a chance to prove the truth turns out to be not what it seems. this case is one of those very rare times aa5 doesn't completely erase phoenix's aa4 (and trilogy) personality, i think. just look at the way he starts straight up manipulating people at some points:

it's very much like beanix: well-intentioned and careful pressing of the right buttons. i enjoyed that a lot.

speaking of phoenix's personality, a thing he does a lot more than he used to is staying silent. his thinking sprite while he does that is one of the only aa5 ones that have traces of his aa4 self in it: he is looking to the side, relaxed, calmly examining everything he has so far. at a certain point in this trial, athena actually gets to scream "objection" before him. she says she heard it in his heart that he's not willing to give up yet, so she spoke for his heart instead.

honestly, athena is a walking metaphor for phoenix's badge in this case. athena and phoenix get frequently addressed as the blue and yellow duo by deplume, which you might as well call phoenix and his badge; phoenix wears his badge like one wears a heart on their sleeve, and this entire case is his journey of learning trust and hope again (but i will talk about that later for a nice conclusion).

the case also has a sub-plot of sorts: specifically, the TORPEDO system. oh, you know the one with the capital letter name that is illegal in japan but would actually help a lot and work really well and is introduced to us by some shady guy who we think is a criminal... what do you mean that's MASON. like a jar?

"but, in some cases, lives can be saved by breaking the law. do we simply allow the lives of our animals to be lost whole we wait for the laws to change?"

if aa5 actually had the jury system happening in the game, this would make so much more sense. unfortunately, i'm not sure if this was an intentional parallel, but i'm sure going to talk about it regardless. it's illegal means for the greater good, introduced to us by the guy we are totally meant to suspect and misinterpret as the audience, just like we are meant to be put off by beanix in aa4-1. we later learn that ms deplume is trying to change the law and make the system legal in japan, and dr. crab won't be getting into any serious trouble for it, too.

we honestly learn a lot of new information that contradicts our prejudices that the game purposefully creates. a lot of people in this case can be suspected even based on their design - ms deplume in her shady glasses and shady attitude, dr crab with his twenty-something dead girlfriend (wasn't actually, btw. purely platonic situation there, which is surprising for ace attorney) and actual motive, and, of course, rimes. turns out, for the first time in forever, none of them did it. wasn't a murder.

phoenix, though, like the player, has no choice but to suspect. he doubts, he recharges the magatama, he changes theories and he, at the end of it all, gets his faith and trust back by saying "hey, actually, rimes didn't do it, it was an accident", despite rimes staying silent. i honestly think rimes is a mirror of sorts for phoenix's character - the guy who is, at his core, tired of being too "weak" to help anyone, so he doesn't speak up much for himself, and isn't that what phoenix did in aa4?

phoenix didn't try to defend himself when the diary page was revealed to be forged. phoenix didn't try to defend himself seven years later, saying "maybe i did it, maybe i didn't". phoenix didn't even create the jury system to redeem himself.

how can ya trust a creature that can't speak, indeed.

in this trial, phoenix is the orca and is the rimes and is athena the fire and i am the forest and i am the witness watching it. he is defending the creature that can't speak, and the man that didn't mean for this to happen, and his own right to wear his badge. he loses his voice at times, but his heart speaks up. it takes him two trials to get back at his rightful place, the trial for orla and for buckler - just like it took the trial of aa4-1 and 4-4 to get justice. hope has returned, and no one did it, and you can trust them all.*

* - trusting them all really would make much more sense in the presence of the jury system. forever mourning her.

[canirove]

The Princess & the Football Player | Chapter 10

Author's note: A bit of a filler chapter before something that I think you guys will like happens on next Monday's 👀

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"I want all the details. Now" Sophie says over facetime.

"There is nothing to say."

"Oh, c'mon. You girls went on a date with two hot guys! I'm sure something happened!"

"We played mini golf, Declan and I won."

"And?"

"Mason and I made out" Roberta shrugs.

"See? Something happened! What about you, Ellie? Did you and Declan also make out?"

"Nope."

"But they both wanted to" Roberta smirks.

"Then why didn't you do it, you idiot?"

"Because it wasn't the right moment" I say.

"It always is a good moment to kiss a hot guy."

"But I don't want to kiss him just for kissing. I want it to be special."

"Oh my God, since when are you the romantic one?" Sophie laughs. 

"Since she met Declan" Roberta says, elbowing me.

"Anyway, are you seeing each other again?"

"Yeah, after the next game" I say. 

"But alone this time. Mason and I want to get to know each other a bit better."

"Oh... That's how they call it now" Sophie laughs. 

"I don't know what you are talking about" Roberta says with a mischievous smile.

"Do you know if uncle Jamie is finally coming for the next game? He hasn't replied to my texts" I ask Sophie, trying to change the topic.

"He should be leaving today."

"Oh, your uncle Jamie" Roberta sighs. "But we can't tell him anything about Mason and Declan. You know he can't keep a secret."

"He can't keep a secret when it is about others, but about him..."

"Wait, what do you know?" I ask.

"He has a boyfriend" Sophie says.

"No!" Roberta and I gasp at the same time. 

"Yep. Remember the French chef we met last Christmas, the one with the fluffy hair? That's him."

"I can't believe he has kept that from me! How do you know?" I ask.

"Caught them facetiming. And I have to go, dinner is ready. Keep me updated on everything, ok?" Sophie says.

"Promise."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━        

"Football!" my uncle Jamie says when we walk into the stadium. "Best sport ever. Isn't it, Eleanor?"

"Yep" I reply. Besides me, he is the only one in my family who likes football, and he is the reason why I fell in love with it. He would take me to my games, play with me, watch them on tv or the stadium with me...

"We should go somewhere and have a little game before we go back to England. What do you say, Roberta?" my uncle asks her.

"Playing isn't my thing. I prefer watching" she says while we take a seat.

"Watching anyone in particular?" he asks, arching a brow. 

"Not really."

"Oh, c'mon girls. You've been here for a few weeks now and attended all the games. I'm sure you fancy at least one player."

"We don't" I shrug.

"And I don't believe you. Let's see... Stones?"

"He is your type, not mine."

"Or mine" Roberta adds.

"Bellingham?"

"He's a baby. He is younger than Sophie!"

"Ok, ok" my uncle chuckles. "Mount? I've heard all the girls like him."

"I honestly don't know what they see on him" Roberta says with a straight face. If I didn't know she is crazy about him, I would have totally believed her.

"C'mon... There must be at least one."

"Roberta fancies Rashford, but he has a girlfriend" I say, which isn't a lie. 

"Oh, yes. Such a lovely boy. And hot. Have you seen his abs?"

"Eleanor likes Ben White” Roberta says.

"Who?" my uncle asks.

"He isn't playing much, he's basically here to look pretty on the bench. But he is so hot. Isn't he, Ellie?"

"He is really hot, yeah" I say. Which isn't a lie either. "But imagine if I show up with him for dinner. They'll probably disinherit me."

"Why would they do that?"

"He is a football player, uncle Jaime. And he..."

"Has tiger tits" Roberta laughs.

"What?" he asks.

"This is him" I say, showing him a photo of Ben.

"Oh wow. He is hot. Like... Wow. And tiger tits, uh?" he chuckles.

"Imagine him showing up for dinner at the palace with all his earrings and rings."

"He probably wears more than your mum" Roberta laughs. "And when she sees all the tattoos..."

"She isn't the biggest fan of tattoos."

"She is not, no" my uncle says, still checking Ben's photos. "But you know, for a fling..."

"Already had one of those last summer. That's not what I am looking for."

"What are you looking for, then?" he asks me.

"The one" I say, my eyes fixed on the pitch as the players come out to warm up. My eyes fixed on Declan.

[khiphop-discussions]

RAP:Public Ep.3 Part.2 Thoughts

On to the 35-ish minute mark of rap:public ep.3. i watched until about 1:03 (out of 2:05 in total). This portion is more about getting to know game dynamics/set up and less about rapping.

EDIT: LINK to part.1, LINK to part 3

The infinite cyphere was 78 minutes and they performed 88 verses between the 8 of them.

Wait, are they REALLY gonna live here for the duration of the show? I mean it's convenient for filming but I notice they have no bags or belongings. Maybe they'll just stay for the day of filming (like the WHOLE 24 hours potentially) and then go home after filming.

99 Nasty Kids has a cute friendship(?). I think it's a friendship, it gives more friendship than romance but I'm not for sure.

Didn't the rules say you CAN'T steal money? So wouldn't the producers just force you to give it back if that's the case?

This is an interesting little town they have. It looks small but as they are exploring they keep finding stuff. The walls are higher than they looked when they fiest walked in. It looks like they are a foot or so taller than the people.

Ok so they found a rule book: They reiterated the "no stealing money" rule. Also, can only drink at designated times, have to follow the rules of the organizer (obviously), no physical violence (yeah Mason Home, no more touching shyboiitobii! Lol), to quit you need the consent of half your team, the block money can only be used within the game

Owen's walking around touching the money box with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Whew chile...

Block matches happen every 2 days. It's rapper vs rapper and whatever team loses someone will get eliminated. The winning team gets block money.

Then, there's beef matches where you can call out a rapper and release a diss. I honestly don't think people will take this option much cause... It's kinda contrieved? If the diss is returned then the rest of the blocks will vote to see who wins.

Fleeky Bang says Jtong has an intense, different vibe. I thought like Fleeky Bang would be like that lol. So it's funny he made the observation about someone else. Shyboiitobii and Fleeky do their best impressions of Jtong. Tobii saod he reminds him of dracula with the slicked back hair. Ok, I definitely see that one lol. Meanwhile, they show Jtong walking around playing with a walkie talkie and saying he likes the top bunk bed better & who hates the top. He'll pair with that person (it was Don Mills) so they can take the bottom one. In his interview, he starts reminiscing about when he was a kid and took the top bunk. He just sits as cutely as a fully grown, intimidating, dracula looking man can on the top bunk while everyone else in his block is presumably still exploring lol.

There's strategy boads but some of them can be seen by other blocks through carefully place mirrors or just by angles. Its way too easy to just walk into any blocks room to look at the board and then leave before anyome notices. So I suspect that will happen regardless. BUT being able to see others' board without having to sneak over strategically, will probably be beneficial.

For some reason, Block 3 thinks Block 5 will be every man (or woman, Luci lol) for themselves. I guess they see Khundi Panda as a bit ruthless. I think I agree that he'll do what needs to be done. But I think he'll try his best to keep the team together. Bulkkup being hater saying "He wanted to tell JP to calm down" after the infinite cypher cause he was so excited. Wtf anybody would be excited after beating a bunch of rappers who are way more famous! I personally would have tried to hide it better. JP will clearly be targeted now since he's shown himself to be strong. However, I understand him being excited. Also, not scared of the backlash because he just beat all of those other rappers so who cam actually challenge him and win? Guess it depends on what the challenge is.

Doubledown says Marv looks handsome in his pictures. I do this Marv is good looking. The hairstyle and color works for him. They said Foggy looks scary but he was trying to be cute by giving himself pigtails lol

Shyboiitobii keeps saying "Where's yukon?" And it's literally the dude he's talking to lol. He's like "its me" shyly lol. Shyboiitobii is obviously embarrassed and says he's leaving to another block. He apologizes lol.

Don Mills and Jtong don't care about strategy and getting into people's heads. Makes sense as both are 30+ and established. They think this makes them "weak" in this regard. But really, I doubt they'll be attacked just off of skill and establishment. People KNOW they are a threat so even if they're targeted people will be a bit scared to make moves. They'll likely try to set things up so that others go against them.

They said Jeffrey White is good at reading the games. It turns out Jeffrey White is sitting across from him lol. Why is he talking about him by his full name like that instead of just saying "him" or pointing lol? Someone brought up that Jeffrey attended Yonsei. He majored in Physical Education and used to swim so that impresses everyone.

Khundi Panda is already picking out the "weak links": Joonie, Moon, damn near all of Block 8 besides Bizzy...Block 8 is also.

I'm noticing Drain K is a little blunt? Like he's really forthcoming about who he thinks isn't good. When gamma was leader in the infinite cypher he said OUT LOUD "Oh we're doomed" or something to that effect. He also said "She's the weakest out of the 60 rappers here" about Joonie. She's from an idol group, ichillin' . I think he's gonna end up rubbing people the wrong way. He's blunt but he doesn't think about how he's phrasing things. Also, doesn't think about whether the things he's saying NEED to be said out loud. Additionally, he hasn't really proven himself yet. Khundi can be ruthless and blunt because he's proven himself and isn't unnecessarily cruel. He'll make it as quick and painless as possible. Like when he bluntly told people he wants to close his team and not to come anymore on ep.2 because it's too cruel to reject them? Whereas, Drain K doesn't seem that way. He comes off a bit more cruel/mean-spirited. Team 8 could have spoken up against Gamma being leader. Drain K clearly didnt have faith in him. However, instead of telling him privately in the group, he made comments behind his back while gamma was on stage. He could have saved gamma the embarassment if he just spoke up face to face. (In Drain's defense, I think no one else volunteered so gamma kinda became the default) Drain K is a bit more like younger me and Khundi is a bit more like me now . We are the same age so it comes with time. For what it's worth, I still think Khundi is a bit more cutthroat/ruthless than me lol. Guys can get away with this personality type a bit easier than women though. So maybe Drain K won't have that many issues. I'm sure there's multiple guys on the show who are similar and we just haven't seen it yet.

They say to think about the Block, not just the rapper because the block could retaliate. That's correct.

Aww, Joonie wants to get to know Damini but she's shy/doesn't know how to approach so the guys do the older brother role...and lightly make fun of her/make jokes lol. But she feels comfortable around them and part of the group so that's good.

Omg the beef zone would be so nerve wracking cause what if you stsrt the beef but lose? Lol so embarrassing.

They reiterate all of the rules. They emphasize that The leader always survives but if enough people in the block agree, they can be replaced.

Also, members cam be recruited to other blocks. Khan looked really sad/disappointed at one of the announcements of a rapper being recruited. Khan and Shyboiitobii have BOTH been seen crying in flashforwards on other episodes so...dang. Something unfortunate seems to happen for that team later on.

(side note about shyboii but he's had a few short scenes here and there. Still cute lol)

Oh they changed clothes and they show a rapper moving his luggage to a different block. So yeah, it looks like they ARE living there for a portion of time longer than a day. Damn! This is crazy!

There's gonna be a block match announced. This one is called "Block Breaker". Block vs Block and each team has to "pull down" all the members in the opposing block. I think that means out rap/beat everyone in the team? Let's see.

Yes. They send out rappers for a 1v1. The one who loses can't rap anymore. The one who wins can keep doing matches for as long as they want. So one rapper could potentially take out a whole block. Other blocks will vote. The match ends when a whole block is eliminated.

The team voted weakest gets to choose their opponent first. They voted Block 8. Kaogaii said performance aside, they just look weak. However, they have Bizzy and I don't doubt he can probably go toe to toe with a whole block. They chose Block 4 as weakest. They allowed Kaogaii to get under their skin and choose block 6. Idk, I wanna see block 6 lose but idk. Block 4 and 6 do have some members that would be hard to beat. Anyway, people are gonna have to learn not to let people provoke them. It's an obvious set up. Ignore them, make THEM mad cause they arent being taken seriously, and then THEY'LL mess up by making a rash decision. At least in the best case scenario. But i also understand people are aware they are on tv and want to put on an entertaining show. It's more interesting if you react to provocation.

Block 4 chooses Block 5. Block 1 has the least money so they get to choose. They choose Block 7. So Block 2 and 3 are opponents by default. Loopy and Haon's team

Annnnd I'm gonna end here since there's roughly an hour left! It's already 11:48PM here!

[just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi]

okay totally random thought, but have you ever considered an au where clyde and/or rudy are the owners and mason is the pet? how do you think that would go?

I actually never have thought of this lol. Whumper turned whumpee is not often my thought process honestly.

Mason would be a good pet. Annoying to other pets but very well behaved. Teacher pet (literally ha!)

Clyde would probably not get a pet. Rudy probably would and Mason would still walk all over him lol. Gets whatever he wants, very spoiled, Rudy can’t say no to him.

So in the end no major difference lol

[lesbiradshaw]

would looove to hear your thoughts about when liam asks theo why he's trying to save him and how scott will never trust him. like why do you think liam says that to begin with? they're so interesting to me because they are clearly getting closer and willing to fight with and for each other and liam throws that at him almost like he's mad about it (and theo is like yeah sure okay lol anyway). and I'm like liam you can say whatever you want but your actions speak louder than words baby!! he legit is the one who wants theo with him at the zoo and within the same few scenes about saying scott won't trust him, he's with theo figuring out who the anukite is. and he seems so comfortable around him and yet he also tries to fight it maybe? like he's annoyed when mason agrees with theo and I'm like liam my sweet baby liam stop acting like you don't trust theo more than everyone lmao. honestly as I type this im just thinking about how they BOTH deal with their feelings towards each other, like would just love your thoughts on how liam vs theo deal with it !! I can't stop thinking about these boys they make me unwell!!

i think ive mentioned this in a fic (or the tags if a post because lets face it: i talk too much) but i really think that liam and theo are painfully aware of what each others greatest weaknesses/fears are. their achilles heels if you will. liam’s is losing total control and not being able to save people— especially his friends and family. theo’s is always being inadequate and the fact he’s always been more or less alone. they always seem to be pointing these things out to each other in moments where they either want to get under each others skin or kinda reality check each other (and in most cases both because they are just. so dumb like that) and i think that shows how well they truly come to understand each other over the course of the season. once the sword is gone, liam switches to always bringing up trust and the pack as his greatest weapon where theo is concerned, especially when he’s lashing out against him— which happens more and more as the season progresses because i think liam begins to realize that he really IS beginning to trust theo despite his promise to scott, and is beginning to rely on him more than he views him as his responsibility. if anything, that sentiment becomes mutual once theo starts repeatedly showing concern for liam’s safety. liam throws the idea that scott will never trust him or let him in the pack back in theo’s face not only because he’s trying to push theo away, but because he’s trying to push away how he feels about theo. it’s kinda similar to theo bringing up that he’s not going to die for liam in the elevator 😭 like… beloved no one said that but YOU! so clearly YOU were the one already considering it! the only time liam outright says he doesn’t trust theo after he comes back is when he’s talking to scott about letting him stay. after that, it’s we need to trust you with sheriff stilinski, and scott will never trust you (even if you keep acting like you care about me). the locker room scene really is so interesting to me because liam basically admits that he knows theo has focused a lot of his attempted redemption on keeping him safe. after that, theo does say liam needs to remember that scott’s goal is to keep people alive— and people to theo clearly means liam. he doesn’t care if gabe dies at that point. he was callous about brett and lori dying, and he was willing to give up jiang and tiereny (and even pushed liam to do the same to keep himself and the others safe). i’m not saying theo doesn’t care about anyone but liam but i think we all know that liam is his priority. it’s why scott chooses to call him when liam is trapped at the hospital. liam claims scott will never trust theo to be in the pack, but scott trusted theo to keep liam safe— liam, his first bitten beta, one of the most important people in the world to him. i would be so interested to see how their dynamic shifted after the finale when they finally begin figuring out that other people are beginning to forgive theo through acknowledging that he can be relied on to help out and how liam would feel about scott’s first act of trust towards theo involving his protection over liam.

[petruchio]

Could we have some headcanons for Johanna Mason? I am perpetually wanting more about her 💓

oooo i honestly should have more. i feel like i never really have set headcanons so much as like, i love to speculate about specific things and then when i'm writing a fanfic i will develop really elaborate backstories to connect all the dots together but i feel like because things can change depending on WHAT i'm thinking about i don't necessarily have anything specific that i have set in my mind.

i do think it would be fun to speculate more about seven as a district, especially as like kind of a halfway point between four and twelve -- bc we've just been doing so much speculating about four on here (and i did SO MUCH in my current fanfic) but my only reference to seven in my fanfics is the chapter where they go there in my victory tour one and like a one off line in my post mj story. but i feel like it would provide a really interesting window into like, not a career district but also not a "forgotten" district like twelve -- i'm curious what other people imagine it to be like.

but yeah johanna's such an interesting character! bc we know she's the one that did the whole "fake weak" thing and then turned out to be super lethal -- which is interesting to think about considering the character we meet in the books who is so snappy and forward -- it's difficult to imagine her pretending to be weak, since her personality comes across so strong. so i guess we can imagine that she's pretty small physically -- like i would say she's probably even smaller than katniss, or at least more like... delicate looking? like i imagine katniss is pretty small but i kind of imagine johanna looking kind of ethereal -- basically something totally nonthreatening, because that's the only way i can really imagine her pulling off that scheme.

also i kind of imagine her being "difficult" in the capitol's eyes -- i mean, we get a lot of that anyway in the text itself, but like after her win i just imagine her being problematic for them. i feel like she and finnick both are examples of how they cope with being mentors and victors -- because finnick basically leans into his "persona" whereas i think we can imagine that johanna really rejects having any kind of persona assigned to her at all -- which is ironic, considering that was her entire strategy to begin with.

idk!! maybe i'll write a fanfic about johanna's games or something. but only like four people would read it lol

[wtfwhy]

SPOILERS!!!!!!! Unorganized Teen Wolf movie review basically

I actually... really liked it??? Like it's not that good but I enjoyed watching it! A lot of parts were genuinely funny and the plot was like passable! (Quite a few unanswered questions tho)

There were some things I found confusing or weird, like idk wtf Harris had against the pack (his reveal was funny af tho) and a few other things, but they were mostly just because of the lack of Stiles, Kira, and and Isaac

The Kira 'stand in' girl (I think her name was Hikari??) Was pretty cool, obviously sucks that Kira herself wasn't there but that's a whole different conversation 👀

Honestly, as a huge Stydia shipper I was hoping they wouldn't break them up and just have him like watching their kids or something (I think I saw a funny post of that once) but they way they broke them up? Not actually that bad? Like Lydia left him because she loved him and I was just worried that they wouldn't love each anymore so I'll take what I can get! Tho not expanding on the dreams she was having is a bit of a lost thread, but since it wasn't really apart of the main story, I'll let it slide lol.

I did not like how they just pretended Issac didn't exist, that was pretty fucked up. Like I predicted that Scott and Allison would get back together by the end, but damn rip Isaac for real 😔

Anyways, about Derek's death... Honestly, since I wasn't taking the movie that seriously in the first place, I didn't really feel anything about Derek dying? Like don't get me wrong, I love the man and if they killed him off in the actual show I'd be bawling, but the movie to me is just a silly little suggestion to canon than law. There's real canon, fanon, and the third secret canon that lives inside my brain ☺️

But like, I don't really care that he died in the movie, I was just surprised tbh. Rip king you deserved better 🙏 (I don't understand how he just like, disappeared, after being burnt?? Like maybe I didn't notice it but his body was gone like huh???)

I never liked Scott and Malia together so I'm glad they broke up, but Malia and Parish was weird as hell and was just so random. I think that ever since Malia and Stiles broke up the writers just couldn't figure out what to do with her? Which is a total shame cause Malia is queen. But none of her relationships post stiles make sense or work out so rip (I do love me some stlia on the side ngl)

Jackson was GREAT, funny af and just like how I would imagine the redeemed adult version of the asshole from season 1, 10/10

Lots of missed opportunities for interactions, (like Liam and Mason) but it's only a 2h movie so I get it

I thought both Scott and Allison were great, tho I'm not sure how I feel about her staying alive afterwards. Plus I always shipped Scira more but you know 👀 love that Scott was the same great guy ☺️ when he hugged Chris I literally cried it was so cute 🥺

UNEXPECTED TWIST for me!!! I came into the movie, very lightly shipping Chris and Melissa, and came out of the movie shipping Chris, Melissa, and Peter 😳 I didn't expect that! But they were such a cute trio omg it was amazing

Eli was cute and I don't think that he was that much like stiles, but there obviously similarities

And Jackson and Lydia brotp??? Absolutely!!!

So that's basically it, I'll give this a solid 6/10

PS: saw some people legitimately mad that sterek didn't happen, fuck those people. You are not allowed near my blog...unless you want to send funny hate anon that I can roast

(like one person brought up the whole, sterek was "queerbaiting" thing, which is such bullshit. They literally never fucking liked each other, even platonically. I would say by the end of the show Derek just barely tolerates Stiles. The real queerbaiting was the writers being to scared to confirm that Stiles was Bi because it's ridiculous how many scenes pointed to that, especially in seasons 1-3 smh)

I might take about more later but it's bedtime!!!

[sc0tters]

welcome to todays au thought, playoff edition:

Maddie and Mat: Mat got all the praise in the world for his goal. Sure Maddie might save lives but Mat will always get rewarded for a big impact on a game. Mat might never look at the back seats of his car the same way but it was totally worth it.

Jamie and Gabe: Jamie was relieved when they won their first game so honestly she just wanted cuddles from Gabe when she got back to the apartment.

Gracie and Elias: Gracie wanted attention, and in that position Elias would never say no and that's how they ended up dancing in his kitchen as she made him watch mama mia after learning he had never seen it. She convinced him it was her reward for playing well.

Rouge and Quinn: Her parents are in town to watch her play so when they arrived home Quinn made sure to praise her for the OT goal and an earlier assist.

Sydney and Mat: Sydney is so proud of Mat for making it through! She is kind of sad that she can't play still but the bruising in her nose is now like ten times better.

Charlotte and Jake: Jake got home and Charlotte was fast asleep on the couch as that was where she had been watching the game. He honestly thought it was kind of funny because she was in his hoodie and a thin pair of white panties that were on full display when her ass was in the air with how she was sleeping. She had her arms wrapped around the pillow she had definitely stolen from his side of the bed too.

Amelia and Mason: Mason got home to see Caleb sleeping in bed with Amelia as the boy had been getting nightmares when Mason left so he felt so awful going again. But once he carried Caleb back to his own room and tucked him back into bed the hockey player got the chance to see how pretty the ring looked on her finger.

[ksbbb]

(This doesn’t count as one of the ones for the celebration u can replace one of the others or add it in or whatever but) ❝  just let me look at you for a little bit.  ❞ for anyone u want

Home is Where You Are

Dropping off Liam and his friends at college wasn’t something he planned on doing, and it certainly wasn’t anything he thought he’d ever want to do, but somehow Liam has found a way to convince him. Convince him just like everything else he always convinces him of, and always in a way where Theo has no other choice but to say yes. 

The things Liam asks of him has always involved spending some level of time with him. Whether it's driving him somewhere, helping him with biology homework, helping with something Stiles needs, or even advice on life in general. He’s always said yes. He isn’t the best person with life advice, but Liam wants the company more than anything else, and who is Theo to deny the person that makes him want to get up every morning.

Liam has made him soft, and those are not even his own words, they’re Corey’s. Corey and his teasing about how Theo has done a 180 in terms of his character. Always willing to help, never saying no if it involves saving Liam’s ass, which happens more often than it should, but honestly Theo would do most anything to ensure the other werewolf has made his way home safely. 

A home that has now become Theo’s too. All Liam had to do was make those sad blue eyes grow wide when he learned Theo was living in his truck, and that was all it took. He didn’t even have to beg, although the chimera would never even need him to, but Liam only had to stare at him for a total of 5 seconds before he agreed to go home with him. 

Corey and Mason made sure to tease him about it, and Jenna made sure to never let him leave the house without breakfast. It wasn’t terrible. Dr. Geyer was always kind and giving advice, even when Liam grumbled about it, because he was mortified that his father believed they were dating. Liam had to stop him from going into the “be safe talk”, while Theo sat in his chair laughing and earning glares from Liam the entire time. 

They aren’t actually dating, but he doesn’t mind letting others think they are because it causes Liam to be enraged, and causes a good laugh for Theo. Corey and Mason will sometimes tease them about it. They know they aren’t dating, but it doesn’t stop them from pointing out everything they do, and claim that how they act is very couple-like. Theo doesn’t let it annoy him too much, even when Liam is seething about it, almost making him insulted that he’s so bent out of shape about possibly being with Theo that he has to stew about it for hours. It hurts sometimes but he gets it.

Liam has imprinted himself on his heart, maybe his very soul, always around, never letting him get a moment's peace, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s grown accustomed to Liam in the morning, eating his cereal, while he rolls his eyes about class, and Theo being cranky when he has to get up early. He's grown accustomed to him in the afternoon where Liam has to text him immediately to explain why he has found himself in the woods instead of class, trying to figure out some supernatural issue while Theo has to find him to ensure he isn’t about to come face to face with a villain that he needs help with.  

Tonight though, he has agreed to watch a movie with Liam before they take off for college in the morning. He even convinced Theo to pick it, with his pouty lips, and soft blue eyes gazing back at him, creating a burning inside of his chest. One that threatens to ignite at any second, making him explode with feelings he never even knew he was capable of having until he met Liam, but he’s here now. He can’t shake him, with his chaotic ideas, angry moods, and smile that takes over whenever he teases Theo about anything.

“Are you going to turn it on, or be annoying and in your thoughts?” Liam frowns up at him, as he lays on the couch, and huffs at him for taking too long to switch on the movie.  His eyebrows are furrowed as he looks up at him.

“Maybe I should pick something else.” Theo admits, doubting his choice, and leaning back on the couch, while Liam throws up his hands in frustration.

“You’ve picked 8 different ones!” Liam sighs, dramatically throwing his arms over his face, and leaning back so his head is now laying across the chimeras lap. 

Theo doesn’t move, sitting still, waiting for Liam to speak, or move, anything to help Theo from ripping the couch cushion open from having to control his heart rate from skipping in his chest. Liam looks up, smiling, raising his eyebrows and motions for him to turn it on.

It’s a good distraction from having to focus on his own actions and what Liam might hear . He turns on the movie, and rolls his eyes as A Bug’s Life flashes on the screen.  Liam was thrilled when he mentioned it. Apparently Mason and Liam have been discussing Theo and his need for children’s films that he missed out on growing up. He chose it to appease Liam and his ever growing need to help Theo learn about things he missed as a child, but as he watches the first few minutes, he doesn’t hate it. 

Liam rolls over to face the TV screen, pulling a blanket over himself, and snuggling into Theo’s lap, not making any move to sit anywhere else.  Theo swallows roughly, keeping his eyes on the screen, his body from moving, and his heart from coming out of his chest from how frantically it's beating. He knows Liam must hear it, but he doesn’t say a word, not even when Jenna peaks her head in and smiles at them. 

The movie goes on and Theo is able to refocus his attention on it and even shifts his legs to prevent them from falling asleep, with no help from Liam who has decided to pass out and start snoring softly. He shakes his head,  pulls the cover over Liam more firmly, and ignores the sharp pain he feels about dropping Liam off tomorrow. 

He knew this day was coming, but he wasn’t expecting to be so attached to another person that he actually feels as if he’s losing something. Not being able to see Liam complain about Theo and his snarky attitude in the morning, or text him he needs to get picked up from the clinic that he wasn’t supposed to be at, is something he has gotten used to.  Liam is a presence. A presence he has grown very fond of, and one that makes the day a little better, almost bearable, even when they have nothing to do but watch a movie like this. 

Theo turns the movie off. He peers over to stare at Liam. He takes in his peaceful face, the lines of his jaw, the gentle rise of his chest while he sleeps, and the messy hair he will no longer be able to see every morning. He bites his bottom lip, willing himself to get a grip, to realize he will see Liam on holidays, or even sooner if Liam has a problem and he probably will, but it’s not enough. 

He’s never connected with another soul the way he has to Liam. The way he carries himself, his antics, and his way of being unapologetically him. It’s something he can barely put into words but he can feel it. Every time Liam smiles, frustrates him, calls to tell him he has another idea, or innocently looks back at him with his blue eyes when he’s trying to get Theo to agree to help him, he feels it. It’s probably the most terrifying thing he’s ever dealt with. To care. Care about someone so much that he can't see himself being without them for more than a day.

“Hey.” Theo looks down and sees Liam looking up at him, a small smile on his lips, and a yawn leaves him while Theo smiles back. Liam looks over at the TV screen and starts to get up, but Theo quickly pushes him back down gently.

Liam frowns, his face filled with confusion, as Theo clears his throat, attempting to explain himself as he nervously fiddles with the fuzz coming out of the couch. A much needed distraction while Liam continues to look up at him, his head still in Theo’s lap, looking tired but content as he smiles at Theo. 

“Theo.” Liam whispers, saying his name as if it’s the only one that matters at the moment and Theo can feel his heart race again, as his palms become sweaty, but he can’t even say it. Not now but maybe someday. Instead, he can say something that he wants to do. 

“Just let me look at you for a little bit.” Theo whispers, gently stroking his hand through Liam’s hair, and he hears a small whimper from him, but he won’t say anything. He won’t ruin this because this….

It’s enough.

[protect-daniel-james]

honestly, i'd talk about fanfic with you all day and would totally ask you all of these, but how about: ❤️, 🥴 (however you define weird), 🌶️, 🏆, 🫣

haha thank you!

The fanfiction that holds a special place in your heart

Definitely the fics that were at the beginning of now "big" ships - I was the second person to post a Rakidrić fic on AO3, and the first person to post a Gavi/Pedri fic in there. I like being ahead of the curve, to be kind of "proven right" about certain chemistries being interesting and appealing. And I like the idea that someone thought of Gavi/Pedri fic, searched AO3, and mine was The One fic that was there in their time of need - before others eventually got the balls to write one as well (and now there's almost 350 fics with Gavi/Pedri, which is amazing, since it's a lovely ship). So these two will always be kind of special in this sense. I wrote a bunch of unpopular/rare ships, and I don't strive to write what's popular or what most people would read - I hope that someone might read my fic and think - this makes sense, why didn't I know/think about this pairing; rather than being one of the billions who write about Messi/Ron or Messi/Neymar etc.

I also wrote the first Harry Kane/Pochettino fic, and I'm sad and disappointed there's not more about them! (they deserved it)

Your weirdest fanfiction

In terms of pairing, definitely the Unai/Football one, but I am proud of it and once again - I think it is subtle and it makes sense. Like, it's written in a way that could convince someone to ship them, haha (I hope). I think the weirdest in the sense of story itself it's probably Italian Cuisine. I cringe at the stuff I wrote about Ronaldo/Dybala, because a lot of it was pure PWP with a bit of angst. It was really explicit compared with what I've been writing lately; and it's basically meaningless porn that's not really my style anymore. It feels weird to me now that I was like - oh sure, lets write about Ron fucking Dybala with a cucumber. There's no other meaning, or reason, or any sort of explanation.... It's literally just that. And I think I don't like writing stuff like that anymore.

I wrote a lot of "weird" things in terms of incest, omorashi, piss kink, priest!AU, priest kink, Basque separatism!AU, or even more in the past - Trudeau/Macron PWP lol ... But I think all of these were justified/served the story/served the exploration of the dynamic - but there is just no excuse for the cucumber story, period.

Your spiciest fanfiction

Uuufff, that's difficult to say since I find most of my PWPs from 2018-2019 cringy (and that's when I wrote most of the spicy stuff). Probably Rakidrić's Never knew anyone in love or Three is a charm (Two is not the same) about Kane/Poch/Southgate threesome. And of course, the priest kink with Dalić/Modrić (and it was my first risqué fic, or a fic that I felt like some people might have a problem with), I do like a priest kink hehehehe. Once again I would write it a bit differently and probably more...subtly today? I think I wrote a couple of nice spicy PWP things back in the day, but now I feel like I use smut scarcely, non-explicitly, or as a tool to depict someone's deep desperation and inability to connect/communicate in other way (Lampardverse, Frank/Mason, Scamacca/Paquetá...)

The fanfiction you are the most proud of

Right now, probably The Stands of Villa Park. Ngl, some parts made me emotional, because it made me think of the reasons why ppl love football so much, and how important it is, how it is part of life (I wrote my Master's thesis about something slightly covering this subject, so naturally I am passionate about it) - and it gave me an opportunity to explore all of this in a deeper, visceral manner of someone who would not survive without football, who needs it more than food and drink, and who needs all his senses filled with football, football, and only football.

I'm proud of the whole Lampardverse experience (but it's not my verse wink wink) and its stories because it just makes sense and explains a lot.

I think atmosphere wise, I really like Briefly and We'll Always Have London because of the heavy implications and what is left unsaid - the unrequited feeling in the former, and the relationship breaking up in the latter. I like having that in fics.

The fanfiction you were most hesitant to post

The Grizicest saga. I feel like it was sort of an appetizer before Lampardverse, and a lot of the themes first explored in Grizicest are now being rediscovered in Lampardverse. I actually got one anon hate for the Grizou, Grizou story on my previous blog loooool. Today, I would write it differently, definitely. But the main plot would probably stay mostly the same.

Also, today I wouldn't care at all about someone hating on that story. Look, (wo)man, I feel like writing a story about Unai fucking a football pitch. Or a trophy. Or Scamacca pissing on Paquetá, or Cousin Jamie breeding Franko. What are you going to do about it? As I said in the notes for my last fic, patrolling days are over.

[longeyelashedtragedy]

tag ppl you want to know better game - tagged by @heffer-wen many many days ago! (i had so much fun reading your answers!)

last song: "shrike" by hozier. i liked this song fine when the album first came out, but 5 years later all of a sudden it's everything my brain needs to hear. something about how his voice sounds when it gets Loud--it's just filling all the spaces that are empty and expanding my lungs and i can breathe. yknow?

currently watching: nothing, sincerely. i've got a pandemic era frank interview queued up, but that requires actually staring at a video and paying attention, and i'm not very good at that. i mean i guess i've poked around a couple old youtube videos that are too incriminating to discuss. but!

in seriousness...i'm trash at watching anything most of the time. tv/movies were on a near-total ban in my house as a kid and i think i'm a product of this parenting choice (recommend!)

three ships: frank x mason, big gabi x willo, XHAKARTETA. hard to pick a favorite frank ship though...that could go in a lot of directions.

favorite color: Heff did i see hot pink and black? YES! my favorite colors are pink and black. runners-up: red and purple, though some reds and purples are better than others.

first ship: gosh...honestly, i think it was McLennon, hahah. that was the first ship i realized was a ship, though, because my friend introduced me to ff.n via that ship the summer after 8th grade. before that, i was informally shipping katarina witt with a whole bunch of people myself included. but yes, John & Paul. i didn't really have headcanons or anything though, i just read some stuff. the first ship where i was like I SHIP IT and went to read fanfic on LJ for it was *sigh* bellatrix/narcissa from harry potter. say what we will about JKR now, and i'm sure we all have, but some of the fanfic on livejournal went HARD. as a mere teenager, i was in awe of the adults writing all this stuff, and felt so privileged to lurk amongst them and occasionally comment. Would that fandoms were still like this!!!

place of birth: new york, ny in a hospital that's about to close. i was six days late because i was destined to be a sag and not a scorpio. i knew even then!

current location: just across the river and a little bit southeast.

relationship status: hardcore in my aromantic era. i used to be obsessed with love and having a special person and all that, but i don't know...the idea of having to have someone up in my business, entitled to knowledge about me, sharing a space with me all the time...it all just feels like a big NO these days. it actively makes my skin feel crawly. of course, life is designed for you to have a partner which is pretty frustrating. sincerely i'd rather just have a bunch of loving and interesting friends who all live near me. now, am i down for a hookup? sure, but the only part of me worth seeing is my head, so we move!

last movie: "encounter in the air," it's a movie directed by this albanian director whose stuff i love. he doesn't use music in his films, and films on location in/near his hometown in northern albania, and the...soundscape? is so rich and bountiful and gorgeous. you don't realize how noisy movies are till you watch one of these. (this was one of the very rare times when i watch something)

currently working on: reading my way through my library book pile, decluttering my leggings shelf, thinking of how i want to structure a potential fic about a ~75 year-old man having a drunk fuck with his son's wife (with motivations currently unknown to me--and what tone it should have? not my usual pedestrian tone, but how to do it differently? i do have some interesting sentences written down in the draft. i like the sight and then the memory of wet footprints on the hallway floor & mud from the football pitch and carelessly worn boots tracked through the house). also how i'd write some frank/anthony gordon england NT callup dubcon phone sex. now that was a whole serving of word salad. shit, imagine if i was writing TAA/szoboszlai or pedri/gavi.

tagging: @thatbrightblueshine @kvaradonaa @protect-daniel-james @medicalwastebouquet @thundercrack (answer on whichever of your blogs hahaha) and i KNOW i'm leaving people out so...YOU. if you want!!!! no pressure at all.

[mydemonsdrivealimo]

— lovingly tracing the other's scars

tysm for this one omfg this is finally my chance to talk about some of jensens scars lmao. also totally lied i did a whole mini-fic for this instead of bullet points asdfghjk

~~~ word count: 948 ~~~

Jensen’s bedroom was still filled with a hazy glow from the lamp on his nightstand. The movie they started had long been forgotten, quietly humming away on the laptop perched at the foot of the bed. They had opted to chat until the early hours of the morning, all-encapsulating darkness painting the window in inky splotches as neither of them had bothered to draw the curtains.

Jensen’s shirt had also made its way haphazardly into the hamper, Bryce insisting on close-contact under a heap of blankets despite Jensen’s insistence that he was absolutely, undoubtedly going to have a heat stroke if Bryce laid on top of him any longer.

Bryce was wearing a familiar sleepy smile, tracing shapes over Jensen’s arm where he was curled up at his side. As Jensen quietly told him some story he was only half-listening to, he let his hand wander, trailing over his shoulder, then clavicle, then down a little further to his upper chest. He stopped his finger over a slim, lighter mark, one he could only catch in the right light but under his hand dipped in enough of a divet for him to feel.

He stopped on it long enough for Jensen to quiet, leaving the air open for Bryce to ask, “What’s this from?”

“Honestly? I don’t remember,” he answered. “Probably something stupid and with alcohol involved,” he continued with a gentle laugh. 

Bryce hummed in understanding before letting his hand wander again and asking, “Are there any you do remember?”

He nodded with a small, “Mhm,” bringing his arm up between them and twisting it enough to show off the thin, jagged line of rough skin down his forearm.

“When did you get it?

“Oh, forever ago,” Jensen started, “It was from broken glass.” At the look Bryce sent him, enough to prompt him to continue, he elaborated, “When I was younger, Mason, Seb, and I were playing baseball in Mason’s backyard. We sent one though the neighbor’s shed window and they lifted me up to try and grab it. Needless to say it didn’t go well.” He smiled fondly at the memory, and Bryce was almost surprised at how easily he could find something good in it (considering the people involved). Then again it was Jensen, and laughing through the unpleasant was kind of his thing. 

Bryce remembered another on Jensen’s lower back, aligned with his ribcage yet shorter than the previous one. Bryce asked him about that one, too, and a smile grew over his face. 

“Liyah,” he said in a playfully accusatory tone, “I told her for months she needed to clean up the strings on her guitar because she changed them out then didn’t cut ‘em down all the way. Midway through a show at some shitty little venue she swung over when I was standing next to her and sliced right through my shirt.”

Jensen started to go on about the other times Aliyah did similar things, Bryce happily resting with his head on Jensen’s shoulder and soaking up every word. He kneaded his hands down Jensen’s arm then back up, drawing squiggles over his skin on his next pass and leaving a kiss, too.

They had barely seen each other the last few weeks with Bryce’s schedule even more hectic than normal, and any time the two of them could spend alone were held in the highest of regards, like priceless gifts that nearly felt too good to be true.

Bryce found another light patch on Jensen’s knee, a larger scrape, pointing it out as his story came to a close.

Jensen seemed more hesitant to answer that one but, after a short sigh, he started. “That was from one of the times my mom and I moved.” Bryce didn’t press further, knowing Jensen would pick up on it as his chance not to continue, but he proceeded to, anyway. “I don’t know how late we were on rent, but she was freaking out about potentially being evicted—or freaking out as much as she could, I guess—” Jensen had talked about her typically monotone, closed-off demeanor, and Bryce could only assume that’s what he meant. “I ended up taking a day off school to stay home and move stuff into the car. We were carrying this heavy-ass nightstand outside and I tripped and ate shit. It ended up cracking when I dropped it and my mom was pissed but it honestly probably wouldn’t have fit in the car, anyway.”

Jensen was quiet afterward. He didn’t have anything to elaborate with, which is what he usually did when Bryce was (rarely) too tired to fill in the blanks himself. Instead, Bryce pushed himself up, tucking one hand against Jensen’s neck and pulling him in for a short but sweet kiss. He mumbled an, “I love you,” into Jensen’s lips, pressing theirs together one more time before settling against him again. 

Though Jensen was hesitant to talk about it at first, Bryce knew just how much a simple “I love you” could mean to him. Jensen explained how foreign of a phrase it was for him to hear, much less be the recipient of, and Bryce had made it his personal mission to wear it out. Especially when it came to hard topics, Bryce was more than happy to remind Jensen that, despite the bad times he opened up about, he would always be there with plenty of love and support.

Jensen leaned into him, pressing a kiss to his forehead before sliding off the bed to get the curtains and light. He was back in record time, cuddling up to Bryce with a squeeze and letting him drift off for the night.