#i don't think siblings do that guys. i dunno man

[ocelotlesbian]

every time i hear someone utter the phrase "mitsunene siblings" i get one step closer to abandoning civilization and walking on all fours, i really do. because like,, it's definitely better than shipping them cuz let's be real mitsuba does not fucking swing that way, but still. the only two options in your mind are "shippable characters" or "siblings"?? grow some balls (or a clit i'm a feminist) and embrace FRIENDSHIP. did we learn NOTHING from my little pony.

[gallusrostromegalus]

Speaking of public health. What was the soul society reaction to the eradication of small pox like?

"You notice there's a lot less dead babies these days?" Iba asked in the middle of one morning's office work.

"Fewer dead babies." Komamura corrected without thinking. "Less is for things you measure by volume, fewer for things you count. We do not measure dead babies by volume."

"Oh. right." Iba nodded. "Yeah, that wouldn't be right."

After a moment, what his lieutenant actually said caught up with him. "Sorry- force of habit from living with a Librarian." Komamura shook his head and looked up from the monthly intake statistics analysis report, peering at Tetsuzaemon Iba through the narrow gap of his helmet. "What do you mean, fewer dead babies?"

"I dunno, it just occurred to me. When I started the academy in the 40's- right after the catastrophe- we did a student tour of the 7th division's recently deceased souls intake queue, remember?" Iba waved his hand leaning back in his chair, apparently uncertain of where he was going with this either, but articulating his thoughts.

"I believe so. I had just taken over from Captain Kotsubaki." Komamura nodded, patient. Chikane Iba was an excellent shinigami and had done a magnificent job running the third division, but she had a tendency to talk over and bulldoze her son, so Komamura had learned to be patient when the young man when he felt like he should share a thought.

"Yeah, yeah- Not gonna lie Boss, you scared the crap out of me back then." Tetsuzaemon laughed. "-But the thing that stuck out to me that day was just. The sheer number of Infants and little kids in the line. the guy giving us the tour- I think it was Old Ito, actually- He said that one in five babies in the living world didn't live to see their fifth birthday."

"An improvement even back then- it was one in three children when back when I started in the 1840s." Komamura nodded. "It's funny that I frightened you- Captain Aikawa apparently headhunted me for the 7th because Kaname told him about how the children at the library used to use me as playground equipment."

"Good grief." Iba blanched. "So, what, he threw you in the deep end with all the dead kids?"

"In Captain Aikawa's defense, I did volunteer to handle children's cases. As sad as a frightened infant is, it's infinitely preferable than dealing with the deceased who are angry."

Iba frowned, opened his mouth like he was about to object, reconsidered, closed it, considered further, rocking his head from side to side, and then nodded. "I- yeah, Yeah, that tracks."

"You were saying though?" Komamura laced his fingers in front of him, leaning forward to listen.

"Oh! Well- not as much these days but back then, every family had like seven and eight kids, you know? And I realized that, well- almost everyone I know has a dead sibling or two? Almost every mother lost a child- Gods know my mother's a basket case but even getting a cold could send her into fits. If something had happened to me when I was a tyke- I don't think she would have pulled through."

Komamura nodded enough for Iba to see his helmet tilt to indicate he as still listening.

"I- I don't actually know where I was going with this, but I was reading that report earlier and there's a note from Shita-san at the end that this is the first month we haven't had a kid under the age of five in the intake queue. Ever."

Komamura flipped though the pages of the report to read the hand-written note at the end. "That is excellent news!"

"Oh! Yeah! It's great!" Iba nodded enthusiastically. "It just- I don't know, I guess it just snuck up on me and I'm so used to hearing something went wrong I guess I don't quite know what to do with good news?" he shrugged.

Komamura pondered this for a moment. "Hm. Well. Take heart, to start. But I see what you mean- it's a tremendous achievement, but not one we contributed to, and a "No Dead Babies This Month" office party feels in poor taste at best."

"Oof, yeah- especially if next month there's an accident or something and there's a whole bunch in the queue." Iba nodded. He considered things for a moment.

"-What happened that there are le- fewer dead babies, actually?" Iba frowned. "-Whoever it is, it would be appropriate to toast them and make an offering in their name to the Gods of Good Fortune, I think. Also do more of whatever they did."

"That IS a good idea!" Komamura smiled under his helmet. Perhaps it was his training as a priest, but he did enjoy an offering of goodwill ceremony. Also, nobody would ask him to drink- just pour any alcohol he was offered on the statue of the relevant deity. "I think- It's probably in our statistics, if the tenth division doesn't have an idea already. Can you collect the cause of death data for young children for the last-"

He was interrupted by the thunderous footsteps of someone sprinting towards the office, immediately followed by a tall young woman with short white hair throwing the door open, red-faced and winded.

"THEY DID IT! THE MAD BASTARDS THEY DID IT!" She shouted with wild excitement.

"Isane-? Uh, Miss Kotetsu?" Iba flustered.

"Please keep your voice down-" Komamura said through gritted teeth, trying not to growl at being suddenly shouted at. "Who has-?"

He was interrupted by Miss Kotetsu bolting right up to his desk and shoving a newspaper into his face hard enough to actually wrap around his helmet in excitement.

"SMALLPOX! IT'S GONE!!" She shrieked with joy.

"-gone?" Iba asked, bewildered as Komamura gently took the newspaper from her and pulled it back to actually read it. It was a newspaper from the living world, dated that morning- someone had gone through some pains to get it back to the Seireitei at speed, but the news was worth it:

SMALLPOX IS DEAD!

"TOTALLY ERADICATED! EXTINCT! KAPUT! IT HAS CEASED TO BE!" She bounced excitedly. "IT IS AN EX-PANDEMIC!"

"So like. Nobody has it this year?" Iba tried.

"Nobody has it this year, or will ever have it again, if I'm reading this right." Komamura muttered in awe. "Thanks to an aggressive worldwide vaccination and disease protocol program, there have been no human cases of the disease for several years. Since there are no people infected, there is no way for the disease to come back..."

Both men stared into space, the news almost unbelievable.

"Well. That does explain the Less Dead Babies thing." Iba nodded.

"Fewer Dead Babies." Komamura and Isane corrected in unison.

"I mean yeah that sure is part of it because Smallpox was the number one killer of infants in the living world for a long time there, but there's a whole bunch of stuff that's really cut down on infant mortality in the last few decades in particular." Isane nodded.

"We were JUST Talking about that!" Iba said, excitedly. "-Good to know you guys in the fourth are keeping track of that, It was gonna take forever to pull out that data..."

"Oh, could you pull it out anyway Tetsu-kun?" She asked. "-That's most of why I came over- I mean, to share the good news first, but Unohana-Taicho is planning on using this to really push a widespread vaccination program in the Rukongai and having the numbers to back us up would be really helpful!"

"Oh! Uh, sure!" Iba blushed.

"...You know this young lady, Tetsu-Kun?" Komamura lightly teased.

Both of the young people twitched and bowed to him, pointing at each other and speaking at once.

"Oh! I'm sorry Sir, I'm fourth division third seat Isane Kotetsu, i just know Iba because we were in the same class at the academy-" She babbled.

"-this is Isane Kotetsu, she's the smartest person I know and she saved my life from a lizard one time!" He waved excitedly.

"...That lizard was not going to kill you." She sighed, covering her face in embarrassment. "-I mean, if you developed a sepsis infection from the contaminated wound it might have made you very ill but that would take weeks and we have antibiotics for that, the lizard itself wasn't all that dangerous."

"It was INSIDE my LEG!" Iba gestured to his right thigh.

Komamura slowly tilted his whole torso sideways at Iba, hoping that sentence might make more sense at a forty-five degree angle. "...How?"

"I. Uh." Iba stopped, realizing his story was maybe not one he should be telling his boss. "I was. um. Out camping with the lads back when I was in the 11th, and a lizard climbed into my cot and I was. not totally awake and thought someone was trying to cop a feel and well you know, that's behavior you respond to with force so I rolled over and tried to stab the intruder's hand and. Uh. Missed."

Komamura continued to stare at him blankly.

"There was. screaming. lotta flailing, blood, general mayhem sort of thing. And in the confusion the Lizard.... climbed. inside the hole. In my leg. Sir." Iba explained, slowly crumpling behind his desk.

Komamura sighed deeply.

"-but Miss Isane was right there and actually kicked Ikkaku halfway across the camp because he was trying to lure it out with a Banana and generally being useless and she just grabbed that sucker and ripped him right outta there and had the wound packed and sealed in less than a minute and I even got to finish doing boot camp!" He rallied, cheerfully waving at Isane in hopes of distracting his captain with how cool she was.

"...What happened to the lizard?" Komamura asked, warily eyeing her through the gap in his helmet.

"Oh! He was really, really human acclimated and sneaked into my medkit rather than go back into the wild, so Harry lives a very spoiled lizard life in a terrarium in my room at home! Though it's actually my sister's room now but he still gets all the mango and smashed beetles he can eat!" Isane nodded cheerfully.

"You named a lizard. Harry?" Komamura asked slowly.

"...Iba-san named him, actually." She blushed.

"Ironically!" Iba protested. "I'm only mostly stupid, sir."

Komamura sighed deeply and once again regretted that his disguise would not let him rub his face as needed. "Alright. Thank you for the announcement, Miss Kotetsu. We will get that data to you in a timely manner- was there anything else you needed"

"Oh gosh, there was something else, what was it-?" She tapped her chin, trying to remember.

There was the distant sound of explosives, and all three of them turned to see what looked like midday fireworks going off at the 4th.

"Oh Right! Unohana-taicho requests your presence at the 4th as. Um. 'Designated Non-Drinker and Unarmed Combat Specialist' because the party was getting kind of wild when I left actually-"

Komamura sighed, and picked up Tenken from his stand and started tying the zanpaktou to his belt anyway.

---

The following morning, a small party arrived at the local shrines to The Gods Of Good Fortune, bearing offerings on behalf of the living world's World Health Organization and the handful of names they'd been able to glean from the living world newspapers, and nursing varying degrees of of hangover.

Komamura lead the party, having gotten them up at a slightly malicious 5AM to be there first thing in the morning. Tetsuzaemon and his friends from the 11th he insisted come along and 'suffer with me, as my sworn brothers' were quite pained but doing their best to hold it together.

Shunsui was a veteran of this nonsense and was hiding the pain very well behind his longtime party companions, Ukitake and Unohana, who seemed so extraordinarily cheerful that Komamura had to conclude that they were both still significantly chemically altered. He couldn't fault Unohana- they were faint and only visible on the rare occasions she let her hair down, but just below her left ear there was still the faint divot scars from surviving her own infection.

Isane had celebrated just as hard as the 11th Division lads, but had also had the good sense to alternate beer and water and take both aspirin and some sort of horrible pink goop that apparently relieved nausea before passing out under a table and had woken up only slightly groggy.

Komamura's new friend Harry the Lizard- a remarkably loquacious and quick-witted reptile -had taken up residence inside his helmet, lightly intoxicated on the cocktail fruits people had kept feeding him, and was politely nestled in the thick fur of his neck to ward off the morning cold.

The rituals of gratitude for this miracle, and asking the Gods to bless those who had worked so hard went smoothly, and Komamura couldn't help but notice when he turned around that Miss Kotetsu had opted to lean on the shoulder of 'Tetsu-kun'.

It was not often Komamura started the day with the feeling that everything would turn out alright, but as he watched Tetsuzaemon cautiously but gracelessly take Isane's hand and her squeeze it back on the way back down from the shrine, he felt like the feeling might stay this time.

[24-05txt]

He spits in the vicinity of the guy's face and immediately braces when he sees a gloved hand raise. It's not a flinch—its not—but he needs to be ready when they hit him.

"Hey, Soap," says the man looking over him, quiet and even and casual, and Soap's mind is sent reeling, suddenly, because the last time he heard this voice in that tone was in a shitty kitchenette at three in the morning. Must've been days ago now (at least).

"Ghost?" He tilts his chin up, trying to look down his nose and under the blindfold. If he's hallucinating, he at least wants to see it.

"Yeah. I've got you." A rough, leather-clad hand comes to rest on the side of his head and the blindfold lifts and it's Ghost on the other side. Ghost is crouched over him. Ghost tosses the blindfold away and makes eye-contact with Soap for a long few seconds.

"...Ghost?" He asks again, and hates how plaintive it sounds. He desperately wants to say something funny, even curse a little bit, have a witty quip to kickstart some banter; something to say 'I'm alright, Lt.' But he can't think of a single thing.

Thankfully, Ghost covers for him (as usual) when he says, “that's my name, don't wear it out,” and shifts the hand on Soap’s cheek, taking a more firm hold. “Give us a sit-rep, Johnny, are you injured?”

His thoughts stutter a little, like a car struggling to shift into gear.

"Dunno what time it is," he rasps. His voice is hoarse from alternating between stubborn silence and full-volume yelling with very little between. "Estimate about two days here. Taken a few blows to the head, spotty circulation to my left hand, got me drunk off something a while back—"

"I can smell that much," Ghost grumbles, and Soap can't help but laugh—dry and brittle—at the offense in his tone.

"That bad, is it?"

"Certainly didn't waste the good stuff on you, Sergeant."

Ghost knows what it's like; laying flat on your back, helpless, unable to think anything other than 'it hurts, I'm in pain, I want someone with me. Anyone. Please, God, someone. I dont want to be alone.'

Nobody had come for him—the eldest son of an eldest son—not since his mother was killed. Even then, sparingly (though it pained him to admit any fault on her part. Heavy weight in his chest. Tight throat.) Even after Price came along to play at a guardian, Simon had already been convinced of his place with others. He knew he'd never be able to depend on anyone ever again, not really. Couldn't expect them to come looking for him. Couldn't expect his little brother or his mom to step up when his father put hands on him.

He doesn't know what Johnny's home situation is like; doesn't know if he has siblings, how many, what his place in the pecking order is, if he likes his mum. It's easy to imagine Johnny as someone constantly surrounded by family, but Ghost is all too aware of the things he hasn't heard his Sergeant talk about.

He doesn’t know who comes to bat for John MacTavish, but he isn't shy to count himself among their numbers (however many or few it may be). Simon's had a long time to wish for someone to depend on—has had even longer to give up on it—and he knows what he'd want, in this situation. What he'd want in a Lieutenant. A brother. A friend.

So he gives Johnny a gentle voice, firm hands. Moves quick and efficient and withholds every apology he tries to give for the obvious overwhelm. He treats Johnny himself, lets him shy away from the medics, and is quietly relieved at the lack of serious injury.

The line gets a little blurrier when he wants to tuck Johnny up under his chin, hold him tight against his chest and listen to him breathe. Is that something he wanted, at some point? Does he want that for Johnny or himself?

The fact that he lets Simon do that—curls up against him and sheds quiet, exhausted tears—is... fucking hell it's something all of its own.

[ladydeath-vanserra]

Hello 👋

I love your thoughts on anti ic and the way you delve into everything and actually name the issues within them .

I have a rant about Feyre :

I liked her in Book 1 but book 2 onwards Mr SA melted her brain . There are lots of things that irk me about feyre : Her Hipocrasy first and foremost

The Hipocrasy is strong with this girl istg , like you're the one who does a free public porn show for the guy who SA you and then have the gall to compliment rhys when he uses his powers on keir for calling you a whore. Like wtf ? I am on kiers side in this , if your dictator ( because that's what rhysand is ) was fingering a fae in front of all of his court I'd be disgusted too .

The scene where feyre starts crying because of nestas expenditure ? Like bitch you have 5 houses and your "friend s" are always out drinking and fucking and you don't have a problem with that ? I actually think mor is an alcoholic and her relationship with cassian is incestuous.

Feyre locking Nesta in the HOW even after her trauma when tamlin locked her up in the manor like are you kidding me rn ? Seriously if I was nesta I would've verbally rendered feyre to a pile of dust .

Coming to that she also has no phycological damage from the 3 months rhysand SA her and made her do lap dances but when your sister is snarky and calls you for her decisions you have the gall to have trauma about that ? Be fr bro I call my brother whore for fun 💀( only children shouldn't be allowed to write sibling relationships - sjm )

Sorry if this got too long , I just wanted to rant to someone and I hope you understand ( you're one of the few people in this fandom with actual functioning neurons )

Thank you 💗

Yeah, I don't really get Rhysand's whole,,, well anything regarding politics tbh. He talks down and degrades the CoN and treat them as nothing more than oppressive misogynists' in front of them and then proceeds to perform sexual acts with the woman he then wants to be viewed in a professional, respectable and political light and when that doesn't happen, due to the whole sexual act and 'Rhysand's harlot' or whatever she called herself, thing, Rhysand then assaults Keir

So like.... he can assert authority and abuse power when it comes to disrespect to the girl he literally wanted to be his plaything in front of these people, but he can't assert authority when it comes to protecting the vulnerable populations of the CoN or to establish progressive laws. He says Keir is in charge of the CoN and that he can't use the Darkbringers without his permission but then he assaults the Steward of the CoN. High Lord or not that doesn't make a lick of sense if he ever wants to be viewed as a legitimate ruler. I would also be disgusted by such vulgar acts- besides these people did not consent to be witnesses to sexual acts of display

Feyre crying is... I dunno. Like I chalked it up to hormones, but I am more concerned with Rhysand's blatant manipulation and emotional and financial abuse of reading off expenses in front of every single member of the IC. That is a form of shame and humiliation in order for Feyre to 'get her sister under control'. But I also agree, I think it's completely unnecessary and hypocritical of Rhysand and Co to look down their noses at Nesta for spending money when Rhysand himself said that the IC bleed him dry with their flagrant spending on alcohol and parties- which is said in ACOMAF but then it gets played off for the Laugh

Feyre and Rhysand locking Nesta up in the HoW is just sooooo. guh. How is it that when Tamlin does it for *checks notes* five minutes it's the most egregious, unforgiveable sin but when Rhysand and Feyre not ONLY lock her up, they demolished her home, they had Elain pack up her belongings, they made her live with a man Nesta repeatedly, verbally said she wanted nowhere near her. Plus the humiliation factor of not only being talked at in front of the IC, but Rhysand, Feyre and Amren talking about Nesta via Mental Powers in front of Nesta. There was so, so much wrong with that entire scene and the fact that both the narrative and the fandom cannot see why that scene was so disgusting is quite frankly, alarming

Like I can get that Feyre could have emotional and internalized feelings of a bad self image via Nesta from childhood, but I am also aware of what can happen when children are forced into extremely small proximity with each other with a very toxic and unhealthy household. Nesta and Feyre both were at each other's throats. they were both awful to each other and there is a rather large amount of assumption by Feyre and a large amount of miscommunication with both the girls

Rhysand however, with all his abuses of Feyre UtM, just... being forgotten about, just like that, is very weird. Very weird, especially if Nesta is still paying for sins from before the first book even took place. Feyres not getting triggered from the Weavers cottage? shes not getting triggered with his "Feyre Darling"? She's not getting triggered being in the CoN where UtM was inspired by? She's not getting triggered wearing those scraps of clothes? She's not getting triggered when Rhys uses paint on Feyre in Chapter 55 or whatever chapter it was just like he did UtM in front of Tamlin??????

Feyre brings up UtM ONCE to Rhysand and he gets all hyperventilatey and says theyll 'talk about it later' and then guess what, it doesn't. It just gets explained that he just had to torture his mate and what it was doing to him

give me a break

[xoxo-sarah]

Deserved it

↝a/n: I need a better title for this. Also this has been in my notes app for so long and I've been too scared to post it.

↝pairing:Steve Harrington x fem!Hargrove!reader

↝ Warning: Billy, Reader is Billy's twin sister, angst , fighting, blood, arguing, slight smut, making out, not proofread

↝⎙ 9.9.23

"I have a hard time believing that." Oh- your smile. How could you look so much like Billy, yet so different? In a good way, of course. One thing that you didn't physically have that was the same was your smile. Yours was, well, nicer. More friendly. Less intimidating.

"I'm serious! Look- ask Nance." If you didn't know any better, you'd probably say he was practically begging you to believe him.

"I dunno, I just can't picture a guy like you being a ladies man."

"Okay, ouch."

Laughing, you couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of playfully picking on this poor soul.

"I was literally known as King Steve-"

"Bull."

That's how it all started. Playful banter between a kid who peaked in highschool and a new girl who had everyone's eyes on her and her own brother. Apparently, your family moving to Hawkins was a huge favor for everyone. You're welcome. You'd probably tell everybody, given the chance.

•••••

"Stay away from that Harrington boy." Billy puffed at his cigarette, before flicking it absentmindedly onto the dry ground.

"Steve-"

"Oh, first name basis now?" He scoffed, drumming his fingers on the car roof.

"He-"

"-Is trouble. He's looking for some dumb broad to pick up and have a good time."

"Billy, I don't really care what you think. And even if I was into him, that isn't any of your business." He slammed his hands down on the roof of the car, making you jump.

"Y/n," Billy tsked, "you are a lot of things, but a dumb slut isn't one of 'em. Now get in the car." Before you could respond, he sat down in the driver's seat, starting the engine.

Slamming the door, you slung your backpack over your shoulder and turned around.

Billy threw his arms up and huffed as he watched you walk away. Grabbing another cigarette, he lit it, letting you walk a bit ahead before he started driving. If you were going to act like a brat, he was going to treat you like one. He wasn't one to give in to anyone, but you had moments that made his cold heart ache for you, he was always going to be there for you, but only for you. You literally shared a womb together. There's obviously a connection that no amount of sibling back-and-forth could wilt, right?

Hearing an engine roaring, you didn't need to glance back to know who it was. Billy slowed, looking at your side profile, noting your sour expression. "C'mon, Cookie. The weather isn't looking too promising for you to be acting like this." Cookie. The nickname he had made up when he caught you stealing a cookie out of the cookie jar that was on top of the fridge. You were lucky he was the one who caught you. If it had been Neil, you wouldn't have gotten the cookie and a new nickname out of it.

"Fuck off, William."

That, right there, pissed him off to no end.

He sped past you, kicking rocks and dirt behind as he went, swerving in and out of the lane to taunt you.

You scoffed, "Fuckin' dick."

"Watch the floor!" Stopped in your tracks, it took everything in your being to not spin around and smack the shit out of Neil. Here you stood, soaked head to toe, along with your backpack and everything in it, and he was worried about the floor.

"I'll try to keep the water from falling until I get to my room." Giving him a fake smile, you marched to your room, slamming the door.

Almost as soon as the door shut, it opened again and Billy came in. He had to of just came out of the shower, steam rolling off his skin. Walking over to your desk, he picked up your deodorant.

"What do you want now?" You practically barked.

He held his free hand up, "Relax. I ran out." He harshly applied the stick with his other hand.

Yanking the stick from his hand, you scowled. "Buy your own. Get out."

"I don't have any money." He yanked it back, lathering his other armpit."

"Get. A. Job." You now harshly yanked it.

"I have a job, I just haven't gotten paid yet."

"That sucks for you. Get out, now."

"I don't think I will." Billy pulled out your desk chair, running his fingers through his wet curls.

"I will scream at the top of my lungs if you don't get your ass out now."

"Fine, whatever. Don't forget to clean the water up." Looking down, you watched as more water continued to drip from your soaked clothes to the hardwood flooring.

The deodorant went hurling against the door and clanked against the floor as he slammed the door shut behind him.

"Stop slamming the doors!"

The feelings of wanting to claw at your skin was intensifying each time your father opened his mouth.

You were in deep need of a relaxer.

•••••

"Billy would kill me- mmph~" As soon as Steve's lips pulled away, yours were chasing them.

"Shut up."

"M'kay." His hands tightened on your thighs as he felt your hips wiggle and closing against his own. Moaning as your pulled at his hair, he didn't have time to be embarrassed. He wanted you. Needed you. Right now.

You had gotten dried off and practically ran to the Harrington's. At first, it was just to blow off some steam, vent, if you will. But Steve had gotten some weed off of a friend and who were you to say no? A relaxer is a relaxer. Things got a little out of hand and you ended up saying a few things no sober person should ever admit. It didn't take much green for you to end up like you were. You were going to blame the plant either way.

Your other hand slid under his shirt, feeling the skin and hair under it. You groaned against his lips, feeling him unbutton your jeans.

Reluctantly, he pulled away, helping you pull his shirt over his head and throw it somewhere on the floor. His hands went back to your thighs as your lips went down his neck, starting at his jaw and going behind his ear and down. You kissed his body as if you were praising it. Every touch of your soft hands left a fire-hot trail, begging for your lips to follow with a cooling effect.

This is surely heaven, he thought.

Steve made a sound, causing you to quickly pull back just as quickly as you had put your hand in his pants and moved lower down his body. Be slowly shook his head, shifting in the seat. "Mmm, no. I want to touch you." Your unsure expression quickly vanished, replaced with a wicked smirk.

"Yeah? How?"

Steve was so glad he has matured from his King Steve days. Younger him would never take the time to worship a woman's body. But yours, oh God, yours deserved every bit of praise and everyone should worship your perfectly imperfect body. Every stretch mark, every crevice, every indent that society deemed 'ugly'. Hell no. He was set on showing you just how much he adored you and your body.

•••••

Steve chased after you, having trouble keeping up. "I didn't - I didn't mean for this to-"

"Stop following me."

"Cookie, please."

You spun around, a look of fury in your eyes. He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Stop following me." You repeated, "I never want to see you ever again."

"This wasn't supposed to happen- not like this."

"Oh please, stop with this bullshit." Steve had to stop himself from wincing at the choice of words. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. "Imagine how humiliating this is for me."

"It was stupid! Carol and Tommy-they made some stupid bet and I was drunk and I just couldn't say no for some stupid fucking reason. Please,"

It was true, they were all plastered when the bet was made. You had just shown up, a fresh face and already the talk of the town. Every boy in their grade had said something about you and your body. At first, Steve ignored the cruel, disgusting words and acted like your arrival didn't affect him. You two hadn't talked much, but he had heard the way you talked to Billy, someone you had literally known since birth, your sweet voice yet snippy remarks.

Carol had made some jab, and Tommy had found it weird when Steve didnt laugh. Sure, they had grown apart, but it wasn't that long ago when Steve would make those same remarks. The liquid courage had Steve argue with Tommy on how you would totally not date Steve or anyone like him. The next morning, the terrible hangover has Steve promising himself to never drink again. The horrid memories haunted him until he got to school. Tommy had a group of preppy kids huddles around Steves locker. Apparently, Tommy had opened his mouth and spilled out all of what Steve had said. Multiple guys clapped and went to high-five. "King Steve is back!" What was he supposed to do? Almost everyone knew about what he had said, well, not you or Billy. God. Billy would kill me, he thought.

He was surprised no one had told you when you walked though the school doors. Everyone kept quiet, until 3 weeks later. To be honest, Steve had forgotten about it. Or tricked himself into thinking so. At the beginning, you guys getting closer was purely for the bet, but you were so quick witted, so smart, so pretty, so easy to talk to.

Carol didn't keep quiet for long. Just as you and Steve got so close, skin to skin, breath to breath, heart to heart, Carol had gushed about how Steve actually won some bet. Confused, you listened as both Carol and Tommy told you all about it and about what Steve had said. It didn't help that so many people were standing around, watching everything go down. Steve was lucky Billy wasn't there at that moment either.

He tried to reach for your hands, sighing in defeat when you yanked them away. "Please. I can't- we have something good."

"Do we? You embarrassed- humiliated me. You let it happen. No matter what we have done, it never meant as much to you as it did to me."

"It did. It does. Everything we did meant everything to me. Y/n, please."

"She warned me about you, ya know. Everyone did."

"What?"

"Nancy. She warned me about you. You only ever want one thing."

He was at a loss of words, flabbergasted. "What?"

"You got it. So you can leave me alone now."

Steve watched as you walked away, mouth hung open. He didn't know whether to go after you, or marinate in what you had said.

What did Nancy say and why?

Turning a corner in the supermarket, you didn't expect to almost run into something, or someone. "Shit-sorry."

The girl waved you off, fixing her hair. She looked up, watching as you picked up the loaf of bread you had dropped.

"Y/n, right? Billy and Max's sister."

You looked at her curiosity. "Yeah, you?"

"Nance. Nancy."

"Nancy Wheeler?" Her cheeks became red. You had heard of her.

"Steve has told me alot about you."

Oh.

Her face fell a little. "What has he said?"

Alarm showed on your face. He hadn't specifically talked about her, just about how they used to be together and how she could vouch for him being a total took a year or two back.

"Oh, just about how you were together."

Well, this is awkward.

"Yeah." Yeah.

"Ya know, he told me to ask you about his King Steve days." Her own face didn't have the same playful smile yours did. It was unsettling.

"Did he now?"

You looked at her confused, what had you just unleashed?

Apparently it was a lot.

•••••

Steve tried everything to get you to talk to him. He called, never getting an answer, or when someone did pick up, it was either your dad, the clueless mom of Max, or Billy. He brought you flowers that stayed on your porch and rotted. He tried talked to you in school. He never got a response out of you. It was as if you didn't see him.

He deserved it.

One night, he thought it would be a good idea to try one more time when the parents left for date. You were surely home, he didn't know about Max and Billy, but he didn't really care.

He knocked on the door, 1, 2, 3 times.

"Y/, come on, please! I'm sorry!" His head dropped against the door. He was desperate at this point. Even if you opened the door and told him you hated his guts, he would be beyond grateful to just hear your voice on last time. He'd understand you.

Hearing someone making their way to the door, he fixed his posture, waiting.

Right after the door opened, a blow was delivered straight to Steve's left cheek. He staggered back, his back hitting a pole keeping the screening up around the porch.

"You gonna make another bet about my sister, Harrington? You just can't leave her alone, can you?"

Billy's hands continued to pushed at Steve, pushing him further off the porch and into the yard. Insult after insult was thrown at Steve, he could only take it, keeping his mouth shut. He deserved it.

"William!"

Was he hearing things? Had Billy hit him one too many times? Your sweet voice rang through his head, bouncing around, wrapped his throbbing brain in a silk bandage, kissing it better as if it was a simple scratch. "Get off of him! Damn it!" The blows at Steve's side stopped. This time, Billy went staggering back after you had pushed him off of the hunched over boy.

You were too nice.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Billy bellowed. He threw his bloody hands up towards Steve. "You're gonna let him get away with humiliating you?"

"You're gonna kill him!" You made a point to look at the blood dripping from his knuckles and then to Steve's bleeding nose and swelling eye.

"He deserves it!"

"That is not your place!" Billy closed his mouth, looking at you in pure disbelief. You had just yelled at him, truly raised your voice, not one ounce of familiarity behind those eyes that burned in hatred. Your eyes softened, biting your lip before going to apologize. "Billy," before you could continue, he stomped towards the house, bumping into Max, who watched the whole thing.

After looking at the door, contiplating what to do next. You would deal with Billy later. Steve had to be gone by the time your father got back.

"What we had-"

" ‘what we had’? We fucked, Steve. That's it." You sounded tired, exhausted.

Steve stood hunched over, at a loss of words. It wasn't just a simple fuck. There was something there. He felt it, surely you did too. Your bodies fit together too perfect for a simple fling. His hands wouldn't remember every curve of your body for a simple fuck that didn't mean anything what so ever. He refused to take that for an answer. Even if it took a while to show you that you did mean more, he'd do just that.

"Alright."

He turned, walking towards his car.

"Steve," you called out, "you're hurt-"

"I got it."

He didn't waste any time getting in his car and leaving.

If you wanted space, he'd give you space. He'd find a way to make it up to you, even if it took a lot of time and a lot of different ideas and apologies. You both needed time to heal, emotionally and physically.

-----------

•2021-2024 by xoxo-sarah on Tumblr•

•My work is not to be translated, copied, modified, and/or reposted on any other site without my permission. [!I don't give permission!]

[indecisive-dizzy]

Alright the Gravity Falls brain rot is kicking in (aka I watched a 4hr video overanalyzing ATOTS <3 iykyk)

So have a loosely thought out concept of a hypothetical Welcome Home x Gravity Falls au with my "Hear me out!"s This is a long one, you've been warned <3

Wally - Dipper

Sally - Mabel

Julie - Stanley

Frank - Stanford

Eddie - Soos

Barnaby - Wendy

Poppy - Abuelita

Howdy - Gideon

Home - Bill???

Ok hear me out! (under the cut) Please ignore typos <3

Very quick clarification! For this au everyone is at least in their teens and I'm gonna add their ages as I elaborate. Ok? Ok!

Gonna Start with Poppy and Eddie. In this hypothetical au Poppy is Not Eddie's grandmother. Originally I thought of assigning Poppy the role of Lazy Susan but I wanted her to have a closer connection to the rest of the cast. And Abuelita fit the role well enough for me! She's just a sweet homebody who wants to knit and bake in peace. Eddie tells her all about work and Wally and Sally visit. <3

So Poppy and Eddie live together as Roommates/Family. Poppy took Eddie in as a teen (16ish) when she was in her early 20s (22-23?) He views her as a big sister. And she views him as a little brother. Anxiety siblings <3 (yes I hc Eddie has anxiety) Eddie started working for the shack soon after being taken under Poppy's wing. He's a tad forgetful and clumsy but is a very reliable handy man and a good friend! He's got a big heart and worries about Julie sometimes.

Currently, as in the time the au takes place, Eddie is 24 and Poppy is 30-31.

Julie and Frank would in fact make a Fantastic Mabel and Dipper. Tbh I think I've seen the comparison before. Which is exactly why I'm not doing it! They're not twins here but they are childhood friends and very close in age, Frank being slightly older. Currently, Julie is 57(?) and Frank is 58(?). (Ages aren't confirmed, all I know is I want them to be A Bit younger than the Stans. Currently this would put them in their late 20s at the time of the portal incident)

I feel like people sometimes forget that Frank is not against resorting to violence lol. Which is great for post portal Ford (and maybe Paranoia era Ford. bbg was not afraid to use that crossbow.) And Julie is a girl bossing business woman! She's scamming people selling breen to the tourists! Whatever that is! Tbh Big inspo for this decision is Relativity Falls, like I said these two make for great mystery twins.

So! Wally (15) as a teenage Dipper! It's just Wally but his curiosity is bumped to 100. Still the same lil guy but he's got a hyperfixation on the supernatural and cryptids. Maybe he hasn't quite figured out his style yet, maybe he's a bit more awkward, I dunno.

He kinda didn't want to spend his summer here but ends up enjoying himself as he makes friends and gets to over indulge his curiosity.

Sally (15) is Wally's adopted sister! By sheer coincidence they have the same birthday but Sally always points out that she's older because she was "born at sunrise!" She's very adventurous and is often the one leading their escapades. I imagine she meets this aus equivalent of Candy and Grenda at the local theater. Very much wants to be her own person, separating herself from the Adopted Twins thing. Not in a bad way! She loves Wally very much but wants people to see her as Sally! Not just "Wally's Sister."

Barnaby (22) is very laid back and so is Wendy. Yeah I don't actually have a lot to say? Um. He does the bare minimum work but is a good friend to Julie. He's real observant and can tell she's not always as bubbly as she seems But she's also his boss so he doesn't pry. Instead just offering a distraction or a rare bit of advice..

Oh! There's a parallel with him and Wally and Wendy and Dipper. Except Wally just wants to be friends with Barnaby but doesn't quite know how to communicate that. Maybe he just kinda follows him around the shack hoping to figure out what to say?

Thinking their relationship is literally the recent quote from Clown's Q&A: "Barnaby meeting Wally felt like business as usual, and Wally meeting Barnaby felt like meeting the whole world." yeah that's it. Sums it up Perfectly <3 Wally thinks Barnaby is really cool and friendly. And he wants a friend who treats him like he's mature. Like he's 15, not 5. And Barnaby does that right out the gate. Calls him kid but obviously doesn't treat him like a small child.

Ahem. Capitalism. Howdy's (21) a filthy capitalist and wants the shack for Profit. I don't think he'd resort to literal breaking and entering to get the deed? Can't make Profit from jail if he gets caught. But he's definitely trying to buy the property off of Julie. Maybe we stray further from Gravity Falls canon and say he gets an early redemption bc I'm a sucker for this goof. It would be sometime after taking the shack (and losing it.) Oh but he does summon the Evil. Can't break the law if the law doesn't account for Interdimensional Demons!

On that note, Yes Howdy could be Stanley. But again. That's the easy way out! Also in my brain that would make,, idk Barnaby? Ford. And I couldn't do that.

Ok final (wh) character. Home. So I'm on the side of Home Isn't Evil/The Antagonist. He's just a guy (house)! A sassy fella! But someone's gotta be the Eldritch Horror and Unfortunately, Home,,, well he's a lil quirky!

But idk How to incorporate Home. They speak in onomatopoeias! They're a house! Is Home now a Vague 2D House Shaped Demon? Do the have Limbs? Wear a top hat? Do they talk now? Home speaking words feels cursed. But I genuinely don't what else to do? Maybe we suspend our disbelief and they still talk through banging shutters. Everyone just understands them bc Cartoon logic pffff maybe they have subtitles projected into your brain that only you can see idk lol.

So obviously there's Way more GF characters than there are WH characters. insert characters [(y/n)] aren't my thing for aus so that's a no go for me personally. I imagine the town is filled with characters we've heard of outside the neighbors (Ma Beagle of course lives in town.) Maybe some of Howdy's family is here who knows. And the rest would be randos or ocs I guess! Tho I don't believe Julie's siblings are in town.

Anywho this is all hypothetical and I made it up and retyped things as I went along. I wanted to ramble some nonsense so I did! If you read it, Awesome! You sure did that!

[phoenix-writez]

HEY! TUMBLR VERSION FOR GRIAN'S POV IS HERE!!!

I still don't know how to format as the spacing is weird. If I get rid of extra spacing, it looks too jumbled up so... Unfortunately we're gonna have to make do!

This is in first person, so if you're not a fan of such POVs, sorry! :3 I have another fic coming up that's in 3rd person! Maybe that'll be up your alley!

But anyhow, welcome to Grian's POV! Enjoy :)

—

Entry #2

[GRIAN]

We'd finally gotten him out, and I didn't know how to explain to this poor kid that he's on the borderline of humanity.

There we were, sitting at a random table outside of a restaurant. Scar swore he knew what place this was, but that it never used to look so bright before.

Gem and Scott distracted him while I figured out a way to explain his situation. I open my mouth to speak. That's when it hit me.

He probably knows.

“Scar?” I ask, and he turns towards me. “Yeah, Grian?”

“What's your opinion on, I dunno, mythology?” I smile awkwardly, not knowing what I'm doing. Scar fidgets with his hands, “Oh! Not much, honestly. What kinda mythology we talkin’? Greek? Roman? The Bible or something???”

“Let's start with Greek.”

Scott and Gem look at me with nervous expressions on their faces. I nod at them slowly while Scar giggles to himself.

“I know that Zeus is pretty bad, I mean, no one likes that guy.” He places his hand on the table, leaning forward with a smug grin on his face that would be almost attractive if he wasn't such an idiot. I look at the other two with concern, “Really? That's all?”

“Hmm… a lot of, I dunno, sibling relations? Really odd, I mean none of them care! It's just something they do! Oh, yeah! Why do you ask, by the way?” Scar continues.

“Would you think I'm insane if I said that they're real?”

“I would.” Scar blinks, “But I did just escape from a time traveling theater that's making me wonder how old I am now.”

“You'd still be sixteen.” Scott says, “You haven't grown at all since you entered or left.”

“Huh.” Scar looks down at his hands, “I haven't even cut my nails in a week and they're still short.”

“Exactly.” Scott looks at me, “Think of it as a time freeze, but the world around you continues anyway.”

“Funny… So if I can be stuck in some otherworldly place for years, who's to say deities can't exist at this point! That guy who escorted us out had one eye, for God’s sake!” Scar says with irritation. I smile, “Good! This makes this easier.”

—

We left the restaurant after a while of talking, then we took some public transit (big risk) to the nearest place to our camp.

Scar spends our entire time looking uncomfortable. Though, I guess I would be too if I was on a wheelchair and people stood in front of me on a bus crowding me.

“Are you okay?” I ask him, Scar clutches his hands near his legs. “Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.”

“Uh-huh…”

“It just reeks here.” He looks away and frowns. “I mean, yeah, public transit always does.” I giggle. “Not like that. It smells like something's rotting.” Scar glances around. Then his eyes widen.

We turn towards where Scar’s looking. “Oh!” I cover my mouth. The people in the bus were sitting and acting normally, except for this couple sitting by each other.

“Hey! Hey! Wake up, hey!” They shouted. That's when the bus took a strong and short stop. I grab onto Scar’s chair quickly as I'm still watching. “What's going on?!” The person continues.

Scar blinks, “She died as soon as I said that.”

“What?” I look at him. “She was still living.” Scar frowns, “But it smelled like–”

“Are you okay, Scar?” Scott leans over. “Can we get out?” Scar asks. “We have to anyway.” I get up, then smile at Scar. “Let's go.”

And we do, we all leave. An ambulance shows up, but Scar sighs like it's too late. I glance at him, then at Scott. Scott shrugs. Gem dusts herself off, “Eugh, thank the gods we left that bus. Dusty old man does not feel good on your shoulder.” She grimaces, then she glares at Scar.

“Something's up with you, bud. But for now, let's head off, shall we?”

“Are you mad at me?” Scar asks. “No, just concerned.” Gem says, “I have a suspicion, and I'm not liking the odds.”

“Of what?!”

I flick Scar’s head, “Let's just go, we're close to camp anyway.”

“This feels like a cult.” Scar jokes. I roll my eyes, “You've already decided to join, let's go.”

—

Camp looks eerie, especially that no one is here. I look around, “We're back! Uh, fellas?”

Not a single person answers, so I walk in further. Then I run towards the Big House, “Hello?! Hey! Martyn! Anyone?!” I yell.

Then I turn towards the others. “Where did they go?” I frown. Scar holds himself, “So, Grian, what's the story here, man?” He giggles anxiously.

I smile, though the corners of my lips seem to shake with the effort. “Greek gods, we're their children. That's all.”

“Where are you all?!” I open the doors to the house, and that's when I see it. Martyn on the ground with a broken mirror. A mist of water surrounding him falls as the rainbow fades.

“What are you doing here?” He looks at me slowly, “I thought you were on a quest…”

“We were searching for others just like us, ‘cause the satyrs are currently preoccupied with wildfires.” I say, “Martyn, what are you doing?”

“None of your business, how's the sun looking?” He stands up, then walks out the door. Pushing me aside in the process. “Good. Good.” He places his hand on his head. “Sorry, Ren just gave me one of the worst Iris messages possible.”

“Oh, what did he say this time?” I cross my arms. “He and those stupid Ares kids are close to death, Bdubs decided to go with them knowing he can't really get on their level. I… ugh.” Martyn walks away.

“Wait! Is anyone else here?” I ask. “Everyone's helping the satyrs. You should check on Taurtis.” Martyn continues onward. I watch him leave to his cabin, then I turn towards Scott, Gem, and Scar.

“Welcome home? I guess?” I frown. Scar looks at me and I feel a sharp sense of guilt. “It– it's usually better on the first day!” I say, then turn towards the forest. “We just gotta fix that.”

Scar rolls towards me. “You think it's just a wildfire?” He asks. “I hope it is.” I start walking.

—

The fire was larger than I thought it was.

I rush in, “Taurtis! What happened?!”

Taurtis bleats and splashes water on one of the trees. The tree forms into a dryad, “Thanks for the water, but I'm not the one on fire!” She says. “Sorry, Lizzie.” He groans, “I'm so tired.”

“You're fine, I think you should get some sleep. Besides, maybe this newcomer is a Poseidon kid!” She grins. “I doubt it.” I say, then gaze at everything else.

Scar rolls towards us, “Poseidon?”

“You can control water, right? Maybe breathe in it or–” Lizzie looks at him. “No.” Scar says.

“I can't even swim, if you couldn't tell.” He tilts his head. “I mean! Who said you had to swim?” She giggles.

Scott walks in and stares at the forest in horror. “Oh… oh my gods. Gem, any idea to fix this?”

“Well, first off. All dryads please turn back to your humanoid forms.” Gem says, “Scott, you're good with animals, take them and get them out of here temporarily. They can live in whoever's cabin caters to them the most.”

“Demeter’s, probably.” Scott nods, then delves deeper into the forest. I stand there next to Scar, and Gem looks at us both. “You should probably look for… survivors, maybe.”

“There's tons of those.” Scar tilts his head, “I don't think it's gotten that bad that people are suffocating.”

“Illness travels fast when you breathe in smoke.” I say, then I walk off. Scar cracks a grin, “Well excuse me, mister! I didn't take you for an expert!”

—

I found some of the others, mainly the Hephaestus kids. Surprisingly, they'd created some tools to help with the forest.

“Doc!” I yell, and immediately he turns to me. “What do you want, Grian?! We're busy!” He answers. He's so kind to me.

“Gem is devising a plan on how to fix this, but I've got something figured out.” I grin. “What do you guys got there?”

Doc gazes down at his own hands. “Oh, this. It's just an enlarged water gun. We had to go down to the river, explain to the naiads what was occuring, and get drenched in freshwater before we could finally get this made.”

“Naiads…” I groan, and Scar curiously raises his hand. “I'm real out of the loop here, guys. Also, how am I supposed to help?”

I look at Scar and smile, “Do you know what you can control?”

He shakes his head, “No-can-do. I don't have solar powers, stealing skills, master fighting skills or whatever!”

Doc hands him a piece of scrap metal, “Anything you can do with this?”

Scar stares at it, “It's just a piece of metal. It's really sharp, I could stab someone with it.” He smiles at Doc, who looks disappointed on sight. “Right, of course you can. My mistake for being too vague, can you create something?”

“Nope!” Scar gives the scrap back to Doc. “I've never actually created a thing in my life! Except for a few excuses here and there, maybe. Cat ate my homework, best line used this century!” He giggled.

I rolled my eyes, “Who believes that?”

“You'd be surprised!”

Doc crosses his arms, “You aren't very pretty, so not Aphrodite… nature. Can you assist with nature? Like farming, or whatever.”

Scar smacks his own legs lightly, as if he were playing with his hands. “I don't think so, I live in a city. We don't really have nature there. Or farms. Didn't really have a calling for it, either.”

Doc hums to himself, then he looks at me. “I'm concerned.”

“Why?”

“If he's not even just a little bit like the gods, there's only so few choices left. I'm not liking the odds.”

Scar fidgets around with his fingers, “Are you saying I might be a child of the big guys?”

“Might,” Doc stares right at Scar like he can see his soul, “is too weak a word for this occasion.”

Scar leans towards me, as much as he can in his confined space. “What is he saying?”

I shake my head, “Let's focus on the trees for now…”

And that we did. The satyrs spent most of the time asking the naiads for assistance, the rest of us hacked down broken branches that were too weak to truly thrive anymore. Then I stole someone's water gun thing and started spraying the trees.

The smoke bellowed upward and only got worse and worse till we finally asked the gods to assist.

That's when the rain came down, and Scar yelped and nearly cracked open the earth.

—

“What did he do?”

I sit down and stare at the clouds above us. “Nothing too special,” I look towards Gem. She furrows her brows, “Grian. Scar did something when Zeus gave us that storm. What was it?”

“There was an earthquake, Gem.” I shrug, “The ground broke beneath us, boohoo.”

“Why are you covering for him?! Poseidon’s quakes haven't been active in this area for years!” Gem squints. “Maybe he just decided we needed one. Maybe he was giving us a tsunami in an attempt to clear the fire. I don't know, Gem! I don't know what Scar did, I'm trying to create my own logic here!” I wave my arms frantically.

Gem sighs and sits next to me. “He broke the ground.”

“Yeah…”

“...Did anything happen afterwards?”

“It fixed itself, he panicked and tried to reverse what he did. Told everyone not to worry, casting more attention on himself. It was barely noticeable, looked like a hair fracture.” I pick up a pebble and stare at it.

“He's talking to the watcher right now.” I groan, “This is so irritating.”

“Not knowing, huh?”

“That I might be wrong?! That this was natural, and he just freaked out over something that happened right as he panicked?! Maybe! Or that I'm absolutely correct, and he's the son of Hades for the gods' sakes!” I toss the pebble and rake my hands through my hair and pull.

“He's done other things resembling that of a Hades kid, Grian.” Gem pats me on the shoulder, “Why are you stressing so much about this?”

“... Don't you get it? Any of the big three having kids is insanity. The fact that he's still alive amazes me yet terrifies me at the same time.” I look into the distance, “I'm so sure that a monster may have gotten to him before…”

“He probably survived off the same thing you did.” Gem says. “What's that?” I turn towards her.

“Stupidity.”

“Oh.”

—

Scar’s wheelchair is parked but he's not on the chair. Alarms ring in my head as I look around, “Scar?! SCAR?!” I shout, running around.

It didn't take long for me to find him. Mainly because he didn't really go far at all. There he was, trembling and holding onto a tree. “Scar?” I say.

He nearly jumps out of his skin as he turns to me. “Grian! Ah, I'm so glad you're here! I'm a little bit, uh, stuck…” He grins. “...What happened? Why aren't you in your wheelchair?” I blink.

He laughs awkwardly, “I thought I was in good enough condition to walk again. But it turns out, my brain and my legs still aren't as connected as I thought they were.”

“I'll get the chair for you, Scar.”

“Thank you so much–”

I lift my finger and stare at him, “You've gotta remember to be careful, Scar. No one cares if you walk or not. We're still figuring out who you are.” I say, then I turn away and start going for the wheelchair.

When I do reach the wheelchair, Martyn approaches me.

“Have you seen Impulse?” He asks. “Not since we left the theatre.” I place my hands on the handle of the chair, pulling it out of the mud it happened to get stuck in. “Jeez, this thing has to be cleaned now…”

Martyn rubs his face in annoyance. “He's been gone for several days. How can he just go on a quest and go missing like that?!”

A sort of revelation hits me, and I stop in my tracks. “He’s in there…”

“Huh?”

I curse under my breath and turn around, “Shoot– Scar! I've got your chair!” I run towards him. I quickly help him into the wheelchair and promptly glance around.

“Something bothering you, Grian?” Scar asks.

“Ah, nothing too serious.” I smile, “You alright?”

“Yep! Better than ever, thanks G!” He places his hands on the wheels and pushes himself forward.

I watch him leave, then think momentarily. “Shoot, shoot, shoot.” I mutter, “Impulse, we left Impulse!”

I remember Gem shouting where everyone was, I already knew where Cub had gone. Kinda. Under the theatre, but I don't really know if he's gonna be gone for long. But Impulse, he went in with us and vanished.

Just what is that theatre?

[cherryberg]

HI OK I HAD A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT IT, THIS IS ABOUT YOUR TEN 17776 POST.

i was talking to my bf about it. and he broguht up that ten is 'rude' at points. and that made me think.

people perceive ten's bluntness as her being like. mean or snarky? even though juice's entire intoduction is him insulting nine

like. juice is meaner than ten, ten is just serious.

i think in part because ten is female aligned, people view her bluntness as much *harsher* than it actually is - and since we live in a male focused world, a woman being rude is her worst sin. does that make sense

anyways. ten i love you

god forbid a woman does fuckin' anything, man

for a good chapter or so, i also perceived juice to be rude Because of his introduction, but ten being rude has never been a defining trait of hers to me. definitely blunt and stubborn, yes, but not rude. i partially wonder if how ten writes changes the way she's perceived, properly compared to juice's lax style of speaking ("Juice can do it because he’s European. You and I are NASA, born and bred. We have standards." 20020, Chap 4), and with it making her casual speak stick out like a sore thumb ("… listen, Nine, are you going to keep doing this? Is cross-talk just your … deal? Want to shut up for even a second?" 17776, Chap 1) - but yeah can't forget that, because she is female-aligned, people will probably, unintentionally or not, read her ruder than she is or have it stick to them more that she is rude. that isn't to say she's not not rude - she has her fair share of "Shut up"s ("Shut up. Shut. Up." 17776, Chap 1. "Shut the fuck up." 17776, Chap 13) - but god forbid women be abrasive

the line i brought up in that original post ("He’s the fun one, and by default, I’m the boring one." 20020, Chap 7) makes me nuts. juice is the fun one so BY DEFAULT ten is the boring one, and she knows this. it's so aligned with how people treat her, coupled onto the fact that she is indeed the "girl satellite". and it drives me nuts when people further the wedge on how different juice and ten is because juice is intensely goofy (an example being putting a period before juice dialogue but not for ten, when all have periods before their dialogue in videos - it's just a formatting thing!). especially when nine is the middle ground, and is more open to juice's shenanigans, it emphasises the stricter, more serious light on ten, which might be emphasised further by fans because, by default, she is the boring one

and it's not like ten doesn't have any whimsy herself. she does speeches and has calls with human friends and watches the sun rise, even if it is just a speck, and is great at handling the camera and changes the direction of her text to go up and makes mistakes that kills billions of people and "Yes you do, buddy." and she loved that light bulb and loves people and earth and loves her sibling, who is both older and younger than she is, and loves juice, despite it all. she loves her friends, and she loves football

even in real life, do you know how interesting pioneer 10 is? the first outer planetary mission? to jupiter, no less! there are Real Life Monetary Coins made of her, man - someone get me a 2009 $1 Australian gold coin with a space probe Pioneer 10/11-type on the back please!

i dunno, this is all just ramblings. don't take this as me hating juice, i love that guy. but i also love ten. more people should like ten #women #girl

[lowkeyrobin]

Oneshot where reader is Stevie's Older sibling and it gets angsty cause of the car crash and Stevie fucking DIES which then leads to reader basically lashing out on both their mom and beother and then blames fuckshit and is basically screaming because stevie was basically their child and is just crying over Stevie's body🧍(I made this too angsty for no reason...)

-♣️

you're crazy for this wth. ; listen to is it really you by loathe for this one ; also happy birthday to me!!! I'm 16 now 😔🙏

STEVIE ; is it really you?

summary ; in the crash, your little brother stevie is killed

warnings ; language, sexual jokes/innuendos, car crash, death, fighting

disclaimers ; no romance/all platonic, no established relationship other than siblingship between reader and stevie ; reader and stevie have different fathers obviously so you can look whatever you want to look like

track ; is it really you?, loathe

word count ; 2.6k

masterlist

"C'mon, c'mon! You can do it!"

"Oh my God, I did it!"

"You fucking did it!"

"I did it!"

Stevie runs to you, pummeling you into a hug. You spin him around, his feet of the ground as he laughs and smiles.

"You did it! I told you that you could!"

"I did it!"

He was able to figure out how to balance himself on his hand-me-down boogie board from Ian. He'd been practicing on the side of the road basically all night, trying to figure out how to ride it and not fall off within five seconds.

He looks up at you, a smile painting his face. His bare chest is sweaty, his little prepubescent body heaving as he begs his lungs for air. He hugs you again, burying his face in your chest, as he's much smaller than you.

"Thank you" He mumbles

"For what?" You ask, an eyebrow raised in confusion as you pat his back, just under his left shoulder blade. "You're the one who did it"

"For believing in me, and taking care of me" He answers, looking up at you again. "Love you"

"Love you too, kiddo"

"Ew, don't call me that" He chuckles.

"Sorry, I un-hipped myself. I'm not a cool kid anymore." You dramatically sigh, throwing your hands up in defense.

"You're so weird"

"Don't say that to the one who feeds and clothes you, little man"

"Don't be such a dick, Ian" You grumble, pouring some milk into your bowl of cereal. "We all know it was you"

"Shut the fuck up!" He whisper-shouts, like your mother would ever believe his word over yours or your youngest brother's. "Who eats cereal for dinner at nine?"

"Me, because I have a job, Ian. You should invest in one. Use your time wisely." You reply, an attitude lacing your each and every word.

"Shut the fuck u-"

"I'm paying for that dumbass field trip, pal. Close your mouth." You sternly speak, getting him to effectively shut up.

Your mother turns back to him and sends Stevie into the kitchen with you. You can hear her quietly scolding and grounding him, which he tries to fight and continue blaming Stevie to no avail.

You give the little boy a smile, "How's your day?"

"Good." He smiles, "I met these guys at the skate shop on fifth. I didn't skate or anything, but I think they like me."

"Awe, that's good, Stevie." You lightly smile, holding the milk up in a questionable form with a look on your face, silently asking if he wanted any. "Did I tell you about that chick Angela that I work with?"

He nods to the cereal, then shakes his head to the question.

"Oh my God, okay, so there's this kid... ugh.." You reach up in the cabinet for another bowl while he sits down at the table. "I dunno his name, but she's got some crush on him and will never shut up about it. Like, I'm not your friend, you probably would've bullied me if I was your age"

"Wasn't she the girl who stole your lunch?" Stevie asks.

"Yes! And I'm still mad about it"

You serve Stevie his cereal and head to bed once you're done, having been exhausted by your day at work, plus you had to get up early for a double.

You're awoken from your slumber around 11:30, hearing some sort of grunting across the hall. These walls were paper thin. You were praying it wasn't your mom in her room with some random man again. But these didn't sound like pleasurable sounds, they sounded painful.

You slowly raise your head from your pillow, confusion hitting you like a brick at this hour. The next grunt is louder, leading your suspicion that the sound was coming from your mom's room to be false. You stand up, walk out into the hall, and determine the location of the sound was in Stevie's room.

"You better not be jerking it this loudly, dude," you think, slowly and quietly placing your hand on the doorknob.

You push the door open and look over at Stevie's bed, a mattress on the floor. You see Ian over Stevie, repetitively punching him in the stomach.

"What the fuck?" You exclaim, "Ian! Get the fuck off of him!"

You rush to the youngest boy's aid, pulling the older boy off of him. Ian fights back, the both of you tussling in the middle of the bedroom. He yells in pain as you punch him in the nose, and Stevie runs up to try and separate you two. Your mother then runs in, probably having been awoken by your shouting.

She pulls you away from Ian and you see Stevie fall back onto his bed, clearly scared.

"What in the hell is going on in here?!"

"Mom, calm down-"

"I'm not calming down! Your brother is being given drugs by a group of older boys, probably your age!" She yells, her hand tightly gripping around Stevie's wrist.

"Mom, I'll go down there myself, you're gonna be late"

"No, you're not! You do everything to keep him out of facing the consequences of his actions. He's not going back there again!" She exclaims, pulling him toward the door.

"Make her listen to you" You whisper to him.

You watch the front door slam shut, leaving you and Ian alone in the home. You walk back to your room and grab your keys and wallet, preparing to go to work.

You look out the window, seeing your mom pulling out of the driveway, Stevie in the passengers seat with the most miserable look on his face.

"Christ, Stevie"

He didn't come home that night, but you wouldn't have known since you were working the graveyard shift. Even the next day, you hadn't heard from him at all. You just hoped that he was out skating with his friends, and making good decisions.

You had the day off, thank God. You decided to make dinner before any of the three came home from work or hanging out with friends. By five, you passed out on the couch thanks to the night shift and your exhaustion, plus the melatonin you'd taken to stay asleep.

At one in the morning, you're ripped from your sleep as the phone rings. You groan as it rings again, and stand up to answer whoever oh-so-desperately needed you at this God forsaken hour.

You pick up the phone and hold it to your ear, the sleep inside your brain about to consume you "Suljic residence"

"Hello, is this... Dabney Suljic?"

"Uh, no. This is her eldest kid, I can leave a message?"

"We'd prefer if you or she could come down to the hospital. You can get a hold of your mother here, Stevie was in an accident with some friends. We need papers signed by a legal adult and/or guardian"

Your eyes widen, your brain immediately waking up. 'What? Holy shit, is he okay?"

The man urges you to get down to the hospital, which you do after shoving shoes onto your feet and grabbing a jacket. Every minute that passed felt like an hour, an hour that you could be missing of your little brother's last breathes. You just wanted him to be okay, even if he was hooked up to machines forcing him to breathe and for his heart to keep pumping just a little longer.

You quickly speed through the automatic doors of the building and run to the reception desk, asking where he is and what happened. Apparently, the boys he'd been telling you about had been giving him drugs and alcohol, and the driver, at least, was driving under the influence, and the car flipped.

Now, your brother was living off of life support.

You weren't able to see him, and had to sit in the waiting room. You used every single quarter you had in your car to urgently call your mom, calling around at all her jobs, the home phone, the bar, even. With no answer after ringing the home phone again, and with no quarters left, you sit down, your leg bouncing like crazy.

Your head rests in your hands, tears streaming down your cheeks.

Your brother, basically your own son, was laying in the ER, and you had no idea of the extent to his injuries.

You watch the other boys, his friends, you guessed, walk out of the elevator, and come down to the waiting room. You sit next to the payphone and hope for any call to ring at the front desk, hoping it was your mom, or even Ian for all you cared.

The group of boys sit a little ways away from you, scratches and bruises littering their bodies. You walk back out to your car and scrape a few quarters from your middle console and rush back in, dialing the home phone again.

No answer.

408-299-2929

Finally, a fucking answer.

"Mom? Ian?"

"It's Mom, are you okay, Y/n?" Your mom asks.

"Did you not hear me call the phone fourteen fucking times?" You ask, "Fuck, Stevie is in the hospital. Get down here ASAP, please"

You hang the phone up and sit back down, leaving the spare quarters on top of the machine for others to use. You notice the boys all looking at you, considering your little outburst.

"Sorry," you mumble to them, leaning back in the plastic seat, eyes still on the floor.

"What do you mean he's dead?"

"He's gone, Y/n" Your mother speaks to you, tears falling down her cheeks.

Ian rushes out of the room, headed toward the bathroom, hopefully to have some empathy for once.

You look back at Stevie, laying lifeless in the hospital bed. He looks so peaceful, even with tubes running down his throat and wires stuck to his chest. His chest isn't rising slowly anymore like he was just asleep, he was just... there.

Dabney steps out of the way, as you'd been asleep when he flatlined, due to your exhaustion and overwhelming anxiety. You slowly stagger into the room, having it all to yourself.

The boys outside watch as you step in, shame and disappointment painting their eyes. The curly haired blonde is obviously the most shameful, being in himself for causing this. He'd hurt not only Stevie but Dabney, Ian, and you as well.

You stand next to the little boy's bed, and take a long look at his lifeless body. A hand runs through his fluffy brown hair, which circles down to rest behind his ear and on his jawline.

Tears fall from your eyes as you lean down, your other hand resting under his jaw.

What kind of last words were "make her listen to you"? He deserved better, especially from you.

"I love you, Stevie. I'm so proud of you. I'm-" You choke on your sobs, "I'm gonna miss you. I'm gonna miss you coming home and telling me all about your day, and going to the fair with you, and buying you snacks at the gas station"

He doesn't answer, his body becoming colder and much more pale over time.

"I'm never going to forget you, okay? Everywhere I go, everything I do, you'll be there. You'll see the world and what it had to offer you, kiddo."

You hug his cold body, wanting to imagine his arms happily wrapping around you again like he just successfully did his first kickflip again. But he never wraps his arms around you with a smile. His laughter only echoes in your mind.

You pull away and place a kiss on his forehead like you did when he was little, when you'd tuck him into bed all the way up til he was ten or so.

"Goodnight, I love you"

Not adding the "see you tomorrow" shattered your heart into a million pieces as you stepped outside, trying to keep your tears contained.

You wrap your arms around your mom, seeing her still crying as she was waiting for you. She gives you a little nod, needing to sign a million papers confirming his death and plans for everything else.

You sit down where you were at earlier, seeing the group of boys looking at you. The first to approach you is a dark-skinned boy with locs, wearing a blue hoodie and dark pants.

"Are you Y/n?" He asks softly, sitting next to you.

You nod.

"Sunburn told us a lot about you. I'm sorry for your loss"

"It's okay" You nod, wiping the tears from your eyes while you could. "Uhm, sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, he was uh, friends with us. Skate group," He clarifies. "My name's Ray"

"What... happened?" You ask him, "Like, what was his last day like" You speak quietly, almost too scared to hear it.

"Uhm, your mom brought him over to Motorz, went all crazy about drugs and the fingering-"

"Fingering?" You ask with confusion.

"Uh, I'll tell you about that another time, yeah?"

You nod, begging for him to continue.

"I talked to him for a while after he was done throwing his board around all upset. We skated til maybe ten, fell asleep on a fountain, and used our boards as pillows. Next morning, we went back to get with the others and go to a skater meetup type thing. A bunch of skaters and friends meet up to do drugs, smoke, drink and shit."

You nod, fidgeting with your fingers a bit.

"He got mad fucked up, thank Fuckshit" He mumbles, glaring at the curly haired blonde a few feet away. "Uh, got in a little fight with Ruben" He points over at a boy in a grey sweatshirt, hair buzzed. "Uh, got him to chill out with Fourthgrade for a while til the sun set" He looks back at another boy, about his age, with bleached hair and some pink streaks in it.

"Is that when...?"

He nods. "I tried to just get Fuckshit to take everyone home, we were all miserable, he wouldn't listen. He could barely keep his eyes open, and..."

You nod. "Thank you. I needed to hear it in detail, they wouldn't tell me shit"

He nods again, rubbing your shoulder as a sign of comfort. You could tell he'd gone through something similar like this, it was all spoken in his heartbroken eyes.

Fuckshit walks over, a look of self shame, regret, and sadness in his eyes. "Sorry, I'm Fuckshit. I just wanted to say sorry for your loss, and I wanted to share my condolences. " He speaks, hands tucked away in his pockets. He's clearly nervous, yet taking in your look as he'd never met the infamous Y/n that Stevie always talked about.

"He talked about you a lot, he really loved you, man. I'm so sorry-"

"Sorry for what?" You ask with a snarky tone. "Sorry for killing my brother? Sorry for taking away the only thing that kept me functioning in this fucked up world?"

He steps back a bit, not speaking for himself. He didn't want to cause any trouble, especially after what he did. His head hangs low as all of the boys look at him. Ray looks nearly disgusted.

"You're the kid who killed my brother?" You ask, standing up quickly as Ray follows your actions, trying to de-escalate the situation as much as he could.

Fuckshit solemnly nods.

"Go fuck yourself. I hope you learned your lesson, Fuckhead" You spit, quickly making your way toward the doors to go sit in your car and sob at eight in the morning.

Ray gives Fuckshit a gross look and a shake of the head before chasing after you, wanting to make sure you were alright. Fourthgrade sits quietly in his seat, fidgeting with his camera while Ruben next to him bites at his nails.

"Shit..."

[crushedsweets]

I am so curious as to what you'd think about Nina and Hoodie as a duo. They've been two of my absolute favorites (even if Brian technically isn't even a creepypasta) since I was younger and I've always loved them as a sort of big brother/little sister pairing. They are so siblings to me I adore them. What are your thoughts on the sillies..

OHHH this is actually super interesting... but also im worried i do not have a lot to say because they won't mesh very well/very much. but i will try. not super realistic headcanons i think but what do i know... <3

brian isnt very present in my story, partially bc ik some mh fans dont like the crossover very much. and by time ninas in the story, i want him+tim to kinda separate from slenderman as toby and kate take over. he's still involved and coming around since he gets horrible slender sickness(but its from the operator) if he's away too long, but he doesn't live near or befriend most of the main cast..

nina is very present in my story because i love her and she is such a good and fun representation of the fandom yk. but brian is much more realistic and late 30s man, while nina is a very cartoonish early 20s girl. theyre on very different fields character and life wise...

BUUUUUUUUUT they would still meet of course.

she'd be bubbling around the entire cast, meeting people through jeff. people initially think she's in the same vein as jeff, natalie, and toby, with a LONG list of blood on their hands influenced by the operator, so they just don't think much about it. theyre mostly surprised by how cheery she is, but the proxies are the first to find out she's just... obsessed with jeff..... so thats very off putting. brian isn't fond of it.

nina would develop some light slender sickness(again, from the operator) just by being around jeff all the time, but the operator never infected her because he didn't see her as a worthy vessel. so, she would have to come to the proxies about it. if toby isnt in the mood or busy, she'd just have to hope brian/tim are around with some pills that'll soothe the pain

brian is more likely to help. with nina, he'd be quick to take on a more protective role, trying to console her as she cries on the couch holding her head whining about static.

initial convos would go smth along the lines of "do you want some coffee ? or uh kids like hot chocolate huh... maybe tea" "i'm literally in my 20s please tell me toby has weed somewhere" "that does not help with this pain i promise" "how would you know" "haha. water it is."

brian was a major stoner back in his early 20s and nina thinks its fucking hilarious. . . she'll try to get him to smoke with her but he's rlly not interested LOLLLL.... hes like 15 yrs older than her he thinks its weird .

again, he's not around a lot, but she's always happy to bump into him. she'd be squealing n shit 'HIII BRIANNNN how r u :3' and he'd just be like :) hey nina. and then never answer the 'how r u' bc he doesnt actually wanna sit and talk .

its a good change of pace. he's been through hell and back for well over a decade by this point, everyone around him is a sad sack of shit, and he spent a long time just. fighting to be an optimistic, cool guy to hang around . . but .... like.... um..... its hard to be that kind of person after all he's been thru. something about nina just forces that sort of like..... glee out of him . its not a huge difference where he's suddenly bouncing and giggling and whatever, he's still just Some Guy. but he'll be like :) lol .

mayhaps he'd catch her trying on toby's goggles and he'd offer to let her try on his mask. but nina would fake gag and be like 'no i dont want that dirty musty nasty sack on my head' and he'd be like ?????. then he'd say she can wash it and then try it on. which.. as an older sibling.... is the type of shit i'd do just to get my sister to do smth for me that i dont wanna do LMFAOOO. she might fall for it just cuz my dear nina is the ultimate fangirl

i dunno i kinda struggled with this one just cuz in my au, they wouldnt be all that close and the Type of characters they are don't mesh very well, but i am super fond of the concept and would love to try expanding on it more

[noah-moth-cursed-chaos]

The Brotherhood's newest recruit was. Annoyingly sociable. A chatterbox really, it baffled Arnbjorn to no end, to his knowledge, Argonian preferred fewer words and told most things in body language, yet Zane never. Fucking. Shut. His mouth.

Astrid said she saw something in him. As did Nazir and Veez.

Arnbjorn just saw an annoyance.

"What did you think you'd do when you were young?"

Arnbjorn looked over at the man standing next to him, watching him.

"... What?"

"I'm curious, I mean, I know children don't typically dream of being assassins."

Arnbjorn stared at Zane like he had two heads, what made him think that they were close enough for Arnbjorn to speak about his childhood?

"... I wanted to be a linguist." Apparently the silence wasn't as off putting as he'd wanted. "I love language, it fascinates me. The way different people choose to communicate, ideas only present in one language or another, formalities and grammar and the way it all intersects with tone and body language."

Arnbjorn looked at him for a minute. He'd seen Zane's writing, a code of his own design, incorporated about five or six different languages and alphabets, some Arnbjorn had never seen.

It wasn't like he didn't have the skills.

Arnbjorn questioned how valuable linguistics were to argonians. Or if Zane would be listened to anywhere outside the Marsh.

"But, well. Dad was a thief. And when he died... Bellies needed to be filled, so I followed in his footsteps. And it lead me here."

"... You had siblings?"

"One, Tanasi. I miss him dearly. We had to part ways when we left the marsh, hopefully he's somewhere safe in Cyrodil." Zane's tone had... The slightest tinge of sadness, "Far from me, he was always a wonderful craftsman, hopefully he's left our old life behind and begun using those skills."

"You act like you're the thing that was fucking things up for him." Arnbjorn scoffed.

"A better brother would have been able to provide without leading the both of us into a life of crime." Zane stated, as if that were a simple fact, and not likely far more complicated.

"How old were you anyway?"

"... I was 14. Tanasi was 13."

"... What fucking choice does a 14 year old have? By the nine, cut yourself a bit of slack." Arnbjorn shook his head, "... I wanted to be a guard."

Zane was... Trying not to laugh.

"Hey! You asked alright! The companions were the closest I could get. But. Well. I've got a vengeful streak, and some bastards skimped us on pay." He looked over at Zane, "So, what drew you to the companions? You don't seem the heroic sort. And I can't say I know many other places you'd contract lycanthropy and live to tell the tale."

"The fact that you think I can't hold my own against a werewolf is insulting." Zane said, before pausing, "It was... Well it seemed right. I was in a new country, surrounded by new people. I was one of the people there when that dragon by Whiterun was killed, and the dragonborn absorbed the soul and all. He didn't want to stick around, but there were things to be done, and he trusted them to me for some reason. I suppose I was trying to prove I could fill those shoes." He shrugged, "The whole righteous schtick just didn't suit me. I killed some werewolf hunters though."

"You know the dragonborn?"

"Short khajiit, calico markings, big eyes." Zane said, "Last I heard he became the archmage."

"Divine shit, you do know the dragonborn."

"The imperials were trying to kill us both when Helgen got attacked. We escaped together."

"What'd you do to piss off the imperials?" Now Arnbjorn was actually starting to get curious. Dammit. The new guy was growing on him.

"Walked across the border. Ji'Ren was on the way out, but offered to turn back to show me somewhere I could stay, we walked over the border together just when they ambushed." Zane explained, "They smacked him over the head so hard I was worried he might not wake up at first."

"I still dunno how I feel about having you as a brother, but I will admit you live a damn interesting life."

Now it was Zane's turn to laugh, "I just go where life takes me, it tends to direct me down a lot of interesting side roads."

"Like becoming an assassin?"

"It has been interesting."

"Well, just make sure you're good at it. I'm gonna need more stories and I can't get them if you're dead."

[goldenworldsabound]

Edward: Hope is telling me I have to say hello to Clayman. Or, sorry, Lord Clayman, I guess, she insisted I refer to you as that title 🙄

So! Clown motif, huh? I knew a guy with a clown motif...

Do you know any tricks? Any little funnies you can do for me? I'm sure whatever it is would be vastly better than my previous clown experiences.

at ~ @princess-hope-selfships 💖

Clayman: it is important to refer to those above you by their proper title, human. Therefore, it is and will always be Lord to you.

Clayman: Clown motif? Do I look like a clown to you? I'm elegant and a gentleman, with flawless fashion sense. And the way you say that...I'm not here for your amusement.

Laplace: Don't ask questions like that, Clayman, it leaves ya open to attack.

Clayman: What ever do you mean, Laplace? I was simply putting this weird green man in his place.

Laplace: ...nevermind. In any case, I think ya might be thinking of me and my other siblings. We're the Moderate Jesters, and Clayman was among our ranks before he became a Demon Lord. I dunno about funny, but we can certainly play with ya, if that's what ya want. :)

[shioritsumi]

Took me long enough to get to Bingge but he deserves his own post....

-Bingge knew the modern world would be different, but the technology is much easier for him to grasp than he'd thought and a lot of functions of daily life are simple or hardly changed at all. Society, however...it hasn't changed, exactly. Shen Tianyu talks about his divorce and Bingge has to get reminded inflicting random violence upon people isn't legal. "I'm disappointed too, man, but we both have to live with it."

-Bingge needs time to adjust to not being a demon lord and instead just being a tall muscular citizen. Blending into human society isn't something he has recent experience with, and he has to re-learn it.

-Shen Tianyu lives in a penthouse apartment, and Bingge still isn't certain if he likes having to take the elevator so often just to get in and out of the home. "Did you make your kid do this every day?" "Xiao-jiu isn't old enough for school yet, and this was my second home anyways-I stayed here when i couldn't go home since it's much closer to work. Now it's just....home, I guess. What else did you want?"

-Every time Tianyu talks about his marriage, Bingge gets sad. He managed to become demon lord of his realm, he knows what it's like to rule....but Tianyu talks about things as though despite everything he's had very little control over his own life. He loves his son but he didn't personally choose to have kids. He was "strongly encouraged" to go into business, rather than choosing it willingly. Bai Lianhua pursued him first, not the other way around. The more popular a person or competitive the market, the more easily Shen Tianyu could be compelled to join the race for it. Bai Lianhua effectively convinced him to court her by reminding him frequently lots of guys were after her but she was there with HIM.

Bingge is quick to realize this means Tianyu has done very little for himself in his own life. Which sets him about trying to seduce Tianyu in a strange complicated reasoning that he wants Tianyu to choose him of his own free will and not just because he's the all-powerful demon lord lusted over by countless women. How does one court a competitive man with crippling depression when you are the most desirable bachelor in a stallion novel?

(by the way, Tianyu likes Bingge bc he hears all his trauma and just laughs and goes 'mine is worse'. It's like his friendship with Shang Qingshui but better because Bingge knows when to stop.)

-Bingge ends up reading PIDW and is of the opinion the author has never had sex with a woman. Shang Qingshui can vouch for this, and Shen Tianyu thinks they should both think before they open their mouths.

-Bingge ends up finding all the Luo Binghe merchandise and doesn't know how to respond. "It belonged to my brother, but after he died....I dunno, it's a little like still having him around, since he cared about these things so much. My sister has the other half of his collection if you want to see it." Bingge is extra confused and he just inspects the merch because what even IS this. Some of the figures are fully sculpted in every way....EVERY way. His brother BOUGHT these? With his own money? "Well yeah, you were his favorite. I don't blame him."

-The more Bingge is told about Shen Yuan, the more confused he gets. His siblings describe him as smart, with a photographic memory, and decent looks "but he's definitely related to us". Bingge is absolutely concerned by this one. Hanjun seems to be the only sibling with his shit together properly, having started his own nutrition company and doing quite well. They're all possessed of a dark sense of humor, a sharp tongue, and a tendency to get hyperfixated on fictional characters. So what does this mean about the recently deceased Shen Yuan? "Oh come on, I bet you'd like him if you met him!" Bingge.....isn't sure of this.

-fun possible scenario popping up when Hanjun invites both Bingge and Tianyu to his wedding. Bingge swears he's not a maiden, but he definitely stresses out the most about being invited to a wedding for his boyfriend's family like they're a legit real couple and they NEED to make a good impression ("like we're a legit real couple? Bing-er, we ARE a real couple, stop stressing" "NO" ) they need to wear the right clothes, they need to bring the right gift do they need a sword because he has swords.

-Shen Jiuyuan and Bingge have to talk about it once the truth comes out to Bingge. For the longest time they aren't sure HOW to talk about it, and Jiuyuan doesn't want his new dad to know. They can't act like they don't have history, especially history as bad as it is. But this is a brand new life for Shen Jiu, and he has a father who loves and dotes on him endlessly, constantly apologizes when he's wrong and doesn't lecture him overly long when he's rude or violent. (Tianyu recalls being a difficult child himself, and currently figures the attitude and violent issues are just a result of being related to him-Shen Yuan was probably the only Shen son who didn't have a similar childhood and that was the result of having two older brothers.)

They may not necessarily like each other, but they love Tianyu, and he loves them. Over time they learn to tolerate each other and even share a few moments. Bingge is just mildly confused as to how going to a completely different world to find a new better shizun turned into karmic retribution for killing his own shizun. How did things work OUT like this?!?

-Bingge being prepared to hear about Tianyu's childhood full of soft comforts and spoiled luxury and instead he's told about a mostly ordinary upbringing because his family wanted to foster responsibility in their kids. (although they did always have good things and vacations and whatnot available) And Tianyu's stories of his childhood are most stories about being an absolute gremlin when he was a kid. "One time Hanjun had to fish me and A-Qing out of the river, alongside six other people because turns out that peg was important and i got grounded for two weeks." "I threw a snake at Qingshui's head once. We were ten, and in my defense he told my crush Mianmao i had 'snake eyes' so it was karma. He got bitten and i was suspended for a week." Tianyu just pointing to a super tall building and being like "I jumped off that when i was 15."

Turns out his new shizun was an unhinged child, and the only reason Shen Yuan wasn't is because Hanjun had already witnessed it previously and made sure Yuan didn't even have ACCESS to the most unhinged experiences Tianyu made for himself. Bingge silently wonders how he did indeed find someone to match his freak so perfectly, on ACCIDENT.

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 14: WE BREAK A BRIDGE

I SWEAR I picked the order at random and then committed to it through the entirety of this series for Nico, of ALL of them, to get this chapter! I think I have a magic power, and I wish to return it.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

It didn't take a genius to figure out why Will looked suddenly sunken, a weight appearing in his usually open face. Nico had no delusions, he was about to read about a lot of Will's siblings dying.

Nico didn't know how he was supposed to just start reading like he didn't know something awful like that was about to happen to Will. How had Will done this? What curse of Hades had been placed on them that he now sat in exactly Will's shoes when he'd been the one to read of Bianca's death?

Will gave him a brave smile. There was always such a kindness in his eyes. He was encouraging Nico like he had from the beginning. To start, to get this over with.

He didn't know how to read, he didn't know how to do this to actually be of help though. Will had been a kind of support he'd never had before through all of this and he wanted to try and be that now. Will just nestled down into his seat, shifting his weight to get comfortable, his arm over his shoulders as warm as ever. Like a cat settling in, Nico had never been around them much but he couldn't help think of the comparison. All he was missing was the purring.

So Nico read, "We Break a Bridge."

Alex snorted in delight at once. "Only Percy! Taking a metaphor for trusting others and turning it into a group activity of violence!"

"You break it you buy it Percy," Jason chuckled.

"Gods I hope that bill never finds my mom," Percy frowned.

The others made a few wisecracks too, but all Nico noticed was Will. Pressing into him, obviously trying to hold him as close as possible. Nico honestly wanted to set aside the book and let him.

He didn't know it, but he'd come a long way from that guy who'd landed in here who wouldn't consider tolerating such a thing.

Fortunately, Blackjack was on duty.

"It's a thing of beauty when Blackjack's on duty," Percy said in a sing-song voice.*

"Was that a quote?" Annabeth looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah, sorry, I should stop that," Percy chuckled, again realizing nobody got it but him.

I did my best taxicab whistle, and within a few minutes two dark shapes circled out of the sky.

'Avoiding those pesky distractions of saving everyone along the way,' Will understood as he tried not to fidget around to much.

They looked like hawks at first, but as they descended I could make out the long galloping legs of pegasi.

Yo, boss. Blackjack landed at a trot, his friend Porkpie right behind him. Man, I thought those wind gods were gonna knock us to Pennsylvania until we said we were with you!

"Land of the Eagles, I guess they don't want competition," Magnus chuckled, though the football reference went over most of their heads, and Jason was looking at him particularly strangely.

"Is that all it took to get past those winds guarding the place?" Alex rolled her eyes. "What's to stop Kronos showing up lying saying he just had a nice cupcake to deliver?"

"Even he's not evil enough to think of misusing cupcakes like that," Percy shook his head.

"Thanks for coming," I told him. "Hey, why do pegasi gallop as they fly, anyway?"

"So that they never lose practice of aiming?" Thalia shrugged.

Jason sighed and slumped in his seat. He really wanted to get his hands on a pegasi skeleton, but knew saying that out loud would make him sound like a lunatic right now.

Blackjack whinnied. Why do humans swing their arms as they walk? I dunno, boss. It just feels right.

"Love, love, love that that pegasus just told you to stop overthinking things," Annabeth grinned. She owed Blackjack some sugar cubes.

"Did it do any good?" Percy rolled his eyes at both of them, even if one was only in spirit. "No." He answered his own question.

Where to?

"We need to get to the Williamsburg Bridge," I said.

Blackjack lowered his neck. You're darn right, boss. We flew over it on the way here, and it don't look good. Hop on!

"If your camp hands out medals, Blackjack deserves one," Jason smiled. "No hesitation, just flying you right into battle, every time."

"I'll find a way to give him a horse-sized donut one day," Percy nodded.

On the way to the bridge, a knot formed in the pit of my stomach. The Minotaur was one of the first monsters I'd ever defeated. Four years ago he'd nearly killed my mother on Half-Blood Hill. I still had nightmares about that.

Magnus was a big complainer about Percy's nightmares. He kept insisting it was an extra layer of cruelty he couldn't even get a decent sleep without being bombarded with the world's problems.

He was suddenly just a tad grateful they hadn't been getting a night-by-night example of everything Percy dreamed of, the good, the bad, and the normal trauma.

I'd been hoping he would stay dead for a few centuries, but I should've known my luck wouldn't hold.

"The best summary of your life by far," Nico nodded.

"Yeah," Percy groaned. "Who do I pay to rewrite that?"

Will offered an awkward smile, the errant comment on the tip of his tongue his dad perhaps being able to pull that off, but it fumbled off fast. He just wasn't in the mood.

We saw the battle before we were close enough to make out individual fighters. It was well after midnight now, but the bridge blazed with light. Cars were burning. Arcs of fire streamed in both directions as flaming arrows and spears sailed through the air.

We came in for a low pass, and I saw the Apollo campers retreating. They would hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows and dropping caltrops in the road, building fiery barricades wherever they could, dragging sleeping drivers out of their cars to get them out of harm's way. But the enemy kept advancing. An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. An occasional arrow would connect with their snaky trunks, or a neck, or a chink in their armor, and the unlucky snake woman would disintegrate, but most of the Apollo arrows glanced harmlessly off their shield wall. About a hundred more monsters marched behind them.

It seemed like a stalemate that was going to collapse any second, Percy's throat tightened at the fresh memory. The smell of the smoke had clogged him up before he even got close, he didn't know how those guys had been aiming with such precision to hit anything. Dust had been sweeping across his feet like he'd brought the shore with him as he landed.

He wished the bodies would have vanished as well, but then, that's what separated them from the enemy.

Hellhounds leaped ahead of the line from time to time. Most were destroyed with arrows, but one got hold of an Apollo camper and dragged him away. I didn't see what happened to him next. I didn't want to know.

The same thing that would have happened to Percy all those years ago if Chiron hadn't saved his hind. He wasn't there to save every kid with half-a-dozen arrows this time though, Will felt seized by the thought like someone had grabbed his soul.

"There!" Annabeth called from the back of her pegasus.

Sure enough, in the middle of the invading legion was Old Beefhead himself.

"I'm sure that's exactly what the ancient Greeks called him while running for their lives in that first labyrinth," Thalia looked at him in her usual pride for never passing a moment to insult someone.

"I hope Theseus made the first hamburger out of him," Percy smirked.

The last time I'd seen the Minotaur, he'd been wearing nothing but his tighty whities. I don't know why.

"Sorry Nico, but those four words are the best summary of Percy's life," Annabeth cut in, "and from his own head!"

"I really could just wear that on the back of any shirt for the rest of my life," Percy sighed.

Maybe he'd been shaken out of bed to chase me.

"I am now imagining Zeus and or Hades just showing up in a monster's house and kicking the frame of their bed until they do their bidding," Alex nodded.

"I'm still half convinced he has Echidna on speed dial for next time," Percy nodded.

"Next time you, piss of Zeus?" Annabeth asked in concern.

"Yeah," he looked at her blankly like he could mean anything else.

This time, he was prepared for battle.

From the waist down, he wore standard Greek battle gear—a kiltlike apron of leather and metal flaps,

"For shame on you Percy for never wearing standard Greek battle gear yourself," Alex cackled.

From anyone else, he would have assumed Alex was mocking him for the idea of guys wearing kilts, but from Alex he was pretty sure she just wanted him in that get-up for potential nerd conventions.

bronze greaves covering his legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals. His top was all bull—hair and hide and muscle leading to a head so large he should've toppled over just from the weight of his horns. He seemed larger than the last time I'd seen him—ten feet tall at least.

Considering the last time Percy had 'seen him,' it had been pouring down rain and Percy's mind might have honestly still been obstructed by Mist, Nico would have assumed in fact the Minotaur would have seemed smaller to the now teenager about to face him down.

A double-bladed axe was strapped to his back, but he was too impatient to use it. As soon as he saw me circling overhead (or sniffed me, more likely, since his eyesight was bad), he bellowed and picked up a white limousine.

"I imagine him like a rhino," Thalia nodded. "He just violently attacks without question at the slightest movement. Your scent is like his red flag."

"Great, just what I always wanted, another chance at being a conquistador," Percy's smile was nearly vindictive. This monster was going to wish he'd been reincarnated as a chicken hybrid instead by the time Percy was through with him.

"Blackjack, dive!" I yelled.

What? The pegasus asked. No way could he . . . Holy horse feed!

"Blackjack underestimating his opponents is going to get him hurt," Jason leaned forward in his seat in concern. It's possible that's how he'd even been captured as Luke's personal steed in the first place.

We were at least a hundred feet up, but the limo came sailing toward us, flipping fender over fender like a two-ton boomerang. Annabeth and Porkpie swerved madly to the left, while Blackjack tucked in his wings and plunged. The limo sailed over my head, missing by maybe two inches. It cleared the suspension lines of the bridge and fell toward the East River.

"Feel like that god's going to feel the splash and instantly blame you," Jason said, eyes closed and rubbing them.

"No different than any other part of my life," Percy shrugged. As long as he kept the monsters out of the river while cussing him out.

Monsters jeered and shouted, and the Minotaur picked up another car.

"Was he a brand snob?" Magnus asked. "I just want to know if he picked another limosene, or another white car, or if some certain symbol attracted his attention."

"I'd like to hit him with a John Deer tractor but he'd probably throw that back at me too," Percy scowled.

"Drop us behind the lines with the Apollo cabin," I told Blackjack. "Stay in earshot but get out of danger!"

"Easily the best advice you've ever given someone," Annabeth grinned as she patted his shoulder.

"Far better than that time he tried to convince Clarisse to polish her spear in the blood of that wyvern," Thalia nodded.

"I was trying to be supportive," Percy frowned.

I ain't gonna argue, boss!

Blackjack swooped down behind an overturned school bus, where a couple of campers were hiding.

Annabeth and I leaped off as soon as our pegasi's hooves touched the pavement. Then Blackjack and Porkpie soared into the night sky.

Michael Yew ran up to us. He was definitely the shortest commando I'd ever seen. He had a bandaged cut on his arm.

It had taken all of Will's pleading to even get that far, he kept his sigh very internal. The act of making him sit still for that had been a feat only a little brother could manage. He'd tried distracting him by asking what was going to happen to the animals at the zoo since he heard Conner talking about releasing them.

The memory felt a little bitter, a little sad, and a little nostalgic all at once as Miachel had just told him to stay back at the base as he headed out, and not long after a pig had flown overhead like a bizarre angel all its own.

His ferrety face was smeared with soot and his quiver was almost empty, but he was smiling like he was having a great time.

Nico glanced at Will for probably the thousandth time in as many words to see him trying for that smile now, but his eyes were to sad. It was obvious he was happy his brother died at the peak of his life, even if that cord had been cut to soon for his liking. He still didn't quite understand how Will didn't associate him with that feeling like he did practically every time he looked at Percy.

"Glad you could join us," he said. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

"For now, we're it," I said.

"Then we're dead," he said.

"I see you got all the cheer Will," Percy told him.

He gave a sad smile back for his lost half-brother, he'd learned that dry sarcasm from him.

"He has such faith in you," Thalia couldn't help a derisive snort.

"Hey, it was a lot of monsters," Annabeth hadn't even really argued the point at the time it was a fair assumption.

"You still have your flying chariot?" Annabeth asked.

"Nah," Michael said. "Left it at camp. I told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. We'd insulted her honor for the last time or some stupid thing."

'Or some stupid thing,' Jason frowned and tipped his head to the side as he felt for Clarisse in that. They still didn't seem to understand the root of her problem, which was why she was clearly refusing to make any bridges herself so the camp could just break those later too. She wasn't just a tool, a means to be used and never respected for more than just her capabilities. Nobody should just be seen as a weapon you could point and then toss aside when you were done.

He found himself rubbing his tattoo, as usual when thoughts like that sprung to easily to mind and he thought about the Daughter of Ares for to long. He craved to know what connection he felt should be there, but now with her not even in the picture he doubted he'd get any more chances for the foreseeable future.

"Least you tried," I said.

Michael shrugged. "Yeah, well, I called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped. Here come the uglies!"

"I so wish that was the Ares cabin though, riding in at the perfect moment," Alex admitted. Even if she made a point to knock Micheal on his ass while she stormed into the battle for calling her ugly.

"Yeah, me too," Percy had no problems admitting, even if it caused a severe twinge in his temple to imagine.

He drew an arrow and launched it toward the enemy. The arrow made a screaming sound as it flew.

When it landed, it unleashed a blast like a power chord on an electric guitar magnified through the world's largest speakers. The nearest cars exploded. Monsters dropped their weapons and clasped their ears in pain. Some ran. Others disintegrated on the spot.

"That was my last sonic arrow," Michael said.

"A pity, I'd have let him borrow some of mine," Thalia frowned. She wished she could have dispatched some of her hunters to help their cousins out. The Apollo cabin was probably as close to likable as some of the Hunters could get, even if it was the kind of tolerance at a forced family gathering.

Will knew she meant that in a helpful way, but it made her sound cocky like she'd had extras; it still grated on him, as everything was bound to do when his heart hurt so bad. They were still just laughing, just talking like nothing was wrong. His entire cabin had been on that bridge while only he and his youngest half sister had been at the infirmary at the far back and they were treating this like another quest Percy had gone on and obviously came back from.

"A gift from your dad?" I asked. "God of music?"

"I swear it's like you're still reminding yourself of this all these years later," Thalia sighed as she rubbed her temples.

Percy stayed eerily silent. It was hard keeping track of all this!

Michael grinned wickedly. "Loud music can be bad for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't always kill."

Sure enough, most monsters were regrouping, shaking off their confusion.

"We have to fall back," Michael said. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," I said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Michael laughed. "How do you plan to do that?"

I drew my sword.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "let me come with you."

"Too dangerous," I said.

Gods did she hate being told that. He was right. And it was annoying he was right! But he'd still told her no, and for a good stupid reason. And she hated it! Frekaing, Curse, of, Achilles!

"Besides, I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, you can."

Michael snorted. "Thanks a lot."

She was the brightest person in Camp, Will couldn't stop an eye roll even by threat of death. Everybody knew it, and she and Percy relied on each other to fix everything like the rest of them weren't even there. Micheal getting a chance to say that, even while being ignored, felt justified in a petty way.

I kept my eyes on Annabeth.

She nodded reluctantly. "All right. Get moving."

Before I could lose my courage,

Annabeth sighed, it was as simple as that to him huh? He'd really been trying to prove he wasn't a coward, now of all times! If he hadn't kissed her down in that lake she might have been afraid to ever press her lips to his again, considering when she did he nearly died!

I said, "Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?"

"For luck?" Annabeth scowled at him in a way that suggested she really wished she had her knife on her again. "For luck! Last time I kissed you, you died for two weeks seaweed brain! How was that lucky?"

"You kissing me made me feel luckier," Percy shrugged. "I think that counts."

If looks could strangle, the son of the sea should have been choking on air as he smiled at her.

I figured she would punch me. Instead, she drew her knife and stared at the army marching toward us.

"Come back alive, Seaweed Brain. Then we'll see."

"A tradition has been broken," Jason tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Nine out of ten times before this, if Percy thought you were going to hit him, you hugged him, or indeed kissed him."

"Sorry to disrupt your data," Annabeth gave him a strange look.

"On the contrary, it's just a new variable," he shook his head, still studying the book like it was his thesis assignment.

Annabeth glanced at Percy wondering how he didn't feel like a lab rat. He was still grinning at her without a care in the world. He hoped he proved to her he wasn't a coward. That she'd only said no because she hadn't wanted to jinx it again. Not for other possible reasons like she'd rather go kiss Luke right now.

I figured it was the best offer I would get, so I stepped out from behind the school bus. I walked up the bridge in plain sight, straight toward the enemy.

When the Minotaur saw me, his eyes burned with hate. He bellowed—a sound that was somewhere between a yell, a moo, and a really loud belch.

Alex waved her hand in front of her nose like she could smell such a thing all the way down here, and Percy envied those who couldn't.

"Hey, Beef Boy," I shouted back. "Didn't I kill you already?"**

"Percy over here losing track of how many monsters he's killed," Magnus sighed.

"I just wish I had the gun and actual kill count to match," Percy frowned. Everything he'd done up to this point did not make him feel prepared to stare down this monster that had made him feel more lost in his life than any after. He wished he had that horn on him to stab the Minotaur in a few more places.

He pounded his fist into the hood of a Lexus, and it crumpled like aluminum foil.

"Is cow insurance a thing in New York?" Magnus couldn't help but ask how that paperwork would go for the poor owner.

"Is cow insurance a thing period?" Percy looked around.

"Yes Percy," Will sounded tired though, not at all his usual chipper way of talking and it got all attention. He kept replaying the moment over and over when Percy had killed him the first time in his head, but it wasn't making this feeling any better.

Nico cleared his throat and quickly kept reading, but it didn't stop the lingering looks as Percy's stomach continued to churn up painfully within.

A few dracaenae threw flaming javelins at me. I knocked them aside. A hellhound lunged, and I sidestepped. I could have stabbed it, but I hesitated.

He'd just witnessed one of those murdering a camper, and still he couldn't overcome his greatest weakness, his compassion. Magnus found it admirable, honestly, but he also kind of wanted to stick a pin in Percy's weak spot and remind him to stop being an idiot right now.

This is not Mrs. O'Leary, I reminded myself. This is an untamed monster. It will kill me and all my friends.

It pounced again. This time I brought Riptide up in a deadly arc. The hellhound disintegrated into dust and fur.

Thalia bit back a sigh of regret anyways. Just because it was untamed didn't mean it deserved to die. These weren't wild animals though, she had to remind herself too. It wouldn't just stay in its natural habitat if humans didn't bother it, these things actively sought out and killed half-bloods. Their place in nature was to be vaporized by them only to be reborn.

More monsters surged forward—snakes and giants and telkhines—but the Minotaur roared at them, and they backed off.

Jason really wished Tyson was around right now just to translate. He got the gist of course, but it still would have been fascinating to know the words the Minotaur used.

"One on one?" I called. "Just like old times?"

The Minotaur's nostrils quivered. He seriously needed to keep a pack of Aloe Vera Kleenex in his armor pocket, because that nose was wet and red and pretty gross. He unstrapped his axe and swung it around.

It was beautiful in a harsh I'm~going~to-gut~you~like~a~fish kind of way.

"Is that what all fish think before they bite the hook that ends them?" Nico asked in mild fascination. "This worm is beautiful and oddly shiny."

"I don't ask, I don't fish," Percy frowned at him oddly like it wasn't his own mind's choice of words to prompt that.

Each of its twin blades was shaped like an omega: Ω—the last letter of the Greek alphabet.

Jason leaned over so eagerly to see the symbol for himself he nearly headbutted Nico.

"Looks like an upside-down U," Nico told with a grin.

"A fancy upside down U," Percy agreed, "with curlies on the side."

"How many letters are in the Greek alphabet?" Magnus frowned. "And why do I feel like they're all going to bite Percy in the ass at some point." At least two of them already hadn't been that great.

"Twenty-four," Annabeth answered.

"And no, there's not a cool song," Thalia grinned before Alex could ask, making her slump in her seat in disappointment, only to wind back up a second later and mutter about making her own.

Maybe that was because the axe would be the last thing his victims ever saw. The shaft was about the same height as the Minotaur, bronze wrapped in leather. Tied around the base of each blade were lots of bead necklaces. I realized they were Camp Half-Blood beads—necklaces taken from defeated demigods.

"Oh," Annabeth murmured in understanding long after she didn't need to as bile rose in her. She remembered every step Percy had taken, about a dozen, to banish this monster back to the abyss.

She was now surprised it had even taken that many as angry as he'd be seeing that as a trophy.

I was so mad, I imagined my eyes glowing just like the Minotaur's.

Where was Rachel around to sketch this, Alex thought with relish. She immensely enjoyed Percy's most destructive side, and most of all, where it stemmed from. She craved to get that image into solid marble somehow, of a protective, fierce warrior in all the right ways. Even if Percy would protest every chip away.

I raised my sword. The monster army cheered for the Minotaur, but the sound died when I dodged his first swing and sliced his axe in half, right between the handholds.

"Moo?" he grunted.

"Percy, the cow whisperer," Nico said with a soft chuckle at the actual question mark there. It always was fascinating when one could tell an animal was whole-heartedly confused by something.

Will smiled, the first time he had all chapter. Just a little quirk of the lips, but enough it was clear his thoughts flickered to something other than the ending of this where that bridge was doomed to take his brothers and sisters down. Like he wanted to laugh, and maybe even call back to saying he'd never actually been around cows and might have understood the Minotaur.

It was fleeting and didn't last that long, but Nico still felt a sense like he was doing something right he rarely got to feel.

"HAAA!" I spun and kicked him in the snout. He staggered backward, trying to regain his footing, then lowered his head to charge.

He never got the chance. My sword flashed—slicing off one horn, then the other.

"Percy has officially graduated from taking more than one slice to defeat a monster," Thalia snorted, before back peddling, "no, wait, that's worse."

"Now he's just showing off and will still kill it," Jason nodded.

There was an odd moment of silence, where they all finally realized what they were waiting on, but Will didn't butt in with a pun on his name at all.

Nico had easy access to his hand always on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. He simply nodded and Nico kept going while Percy's hands started to shake. His confidence slipping by the word.

Just because he could finally vanquish a nightmare away didn't mean more weren't always lurking.

He tried to grab me. I rolled away, picking up half of his broken axe. The other monsters backed up in stunned silence, making a circle around us. The Minotaur bellowed in rage. He was never very smart to begin with, but now his anger made him reckless.

"Why are idiots always so predictable?" Jason rolled his eyes.

"Does that make Percy a genius?" Annabeth grinned at her boyfriend, who beamed with pride at the slightly backhanded compliment.

Jason snorted lightly, but he was suddenly rather grateful that Percy's temper which usually did lead him to do impulsive and insane things wasn't what had been 'enhanced' instead of his heart.

He charged me, and I ran for the edge of the bridge, breaking through a line of dracaenae.

The Minotaur must've smelled victory. He thought I was trying to get away.

"Never, ever assume Percy is running from a fight," Will muttered a life lesson he'd clearly taken out of this, as if he'd actually try and pass it along to the next foolish monster and then watch as they didn't listen.

In this one case, he wished he was wrong. That Percy had jumped off the bridge in hopes the army would follow him. His plan had worked, as usual, but the consequences had been deadlier than ever.

His minions cheered. At the edge of the bridge, I turned and braced the axe against the railing to receive his charge. The Minotaur didn't even slow down.

CRUNCH.

"I feel like someone should have gotten that on video," Magnus said in admiration. "Crazy Percy Plan 101."

"We really should add that to the orientation video," Nico agreed with a sideways look at Will. He'd been hoping he'd ramp up to his usual and agree he'd get the costumes ready, but no, Nico had definitely pushed his limit and he recognized that and moved on.

He looked down in surprise at the axe handle sprouting from his breastplate.

"Thanks for playing," I told him.

I lifted him by his legs and tossed him over the side of the bridge. Even as he fell, he was disintegrating, turning back into dust, his essence returning to Tartarus.

"What a fabulous prize, you'll beat that sphinx out of game show host easy Perce," Alex chuckled.

"I've told you a dozen times Alex, I'm done with the TV show life," Percy sighed.

"Eh, they'd never get your good angle anyways," she shrugged.

I turned toward his army. It was now roughly one hundred and ninety-nine to one. I did the natural thing. I charged them.

Nico read that with ease. It had always been the natural thing to do in his mind, of the Percy he'd built in his head. Reading it now, as a fact and knowing the real Percy only made it all the more true somehow.

"At least you were nearly invulnerable this time," Annabeth was still grumbling, considering she knew he'd do this with or without the curse.

You're going to ask how the "invincible" thing worked:

"We actually don't question your methods that much," Magnus admitted as he rubbed his chest, clearly saying it saved him from a heart failure or two being happier in ignorance over there imagining it just magically worked out.

"You should though," Annabeth sounded like she was trying to gently prepare a bunch of pre-schoolers about the real world. "It's always better to understand the methods behind his madness," she finished fondly.

"So that we can all repeat them at length," Alex nodded. Magnus looked between the two in betrayal for every part of this.

"No, I mean, yeah, but," Annabeth frowned at her before Nico read on like all the valid points had already been made.

if I magically dodged every weapon, or if the weapons hit me and just didn't harm me. Honestly, I don't remember. All I knew was that I wasn't going to let these monsters invade my hometown.

I sliced through armor like it was made of paper. Snake women exploded. Hellhounds melted to shadow. I slashed and stabbed and whirled, and I might have even laughed once or twice—a crazy laugh that scared me as much as it did my enemies. I was aware of the Apollo campers behind me shooting arrows, disrupting every attempt by the enemy to rally. Finally, the monsters turned and fled—about twenty left alive out of two hundred.

I followed with the Apollo campers at my heels.

Will just knew that if his brother had survived this, he would have told the most epic story around the campfire for the next year. Didn't matter what the others had gotten up to during all this, how many of them could actively say they'd fought side by side with Percy? Only Annabeth and Clriasse came close to sharing that honor. There were so many things Micheal should have been able to do...

The possibilities of what could have been for him felt like an arrow through the heart.

"Yes!" yelled Michael Yew. "That's what I'm talking about!"

We drove them back toward the Brooklyn side of the bridge. The sky was growing pale in the east. I could see the toll stations ahead.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "You've already routed them. Pull back! We're overextended!"

Some part of me knew she was right, but I was doing so well, I wanted to destroy every last monster.

A hubris Annabeth rarely saw in him that made her shiver now. The curse nearly having its way in him, nearly overruling him.

Then I saw the crowd at the base of the bridge. The retreating monsters were running straight toward their reinforcements. It was a small group, maybe thirty or forty demigods in battle armor, mounted on skeletal horses.

"What is with the skeleton horses?" Magnus scowled. Of the few animals he liked, he found it pervasive that so many easily seemed to summon this. First Clrassie, then Hades, now this!

"Better than skeleton elephants?" Jason offered, a strange idea that lingered all the same of one in his mind he'd ridden atop of. Possibly into a similar enemy threat? Gods he wished his brain made more sense.

"Vaguely," Magnus didn't look all that much better as he grudgingly agreed.

One of them held a purple banner with the black scythe design.

The lead horseman trotted forward. He took off his helm, and I recognized Kronos himself, his eyes like molten gold.

Percy's heart dropped like someone had given his insides a good crunch in return. Someone had told.

The spy had told Kronos this was the bridge to hit, was the most vulnerable area. The weak spot on his back pulsed like it had grown its own miniature heartbeat as he shivered deep within for the loss he felt was coming.

Everything he'd done up to this moment had been for this chance, the mere possibility he'd have this fight.

Now he took one look into a face that had caused him more sleep paralysis than any monster.

Annabeth didn't even notice the way the water was tightening around them like lashings, as she'd winced for Percy once again just calling him Kronos. As if that were the only person he was facing.

Annabeth and the Apollo campers faltered.

Nico read that with a fair amount of disbelief. Like Percy hadn't come to a screeching halt with them?

The monsters we'd been pursuing reached the Titan's line and were absorbed into the new force. Kronos gazed in our direction. He was a quarter mile away, but I swear I could see him smile.

Percy would swear his face had stretched grotesquely doing it too, like his scar was about to split his face in half. The resemblance to Luke's mother had been uncanny.

"Now," I said, "we pull back."

Annabeth gave him a blatant, 'oh, now you listen to me look,' he must have missed at the time but got to admire now in all its correct glory. What would he do without her? Go charging right into the enemy, obviously.

The Titan lord's men drew their swords and charged. The hooves of their skeletal horses thundered against the pavement. Our archers shot a volley, bringing down several of the enemy, but they just kept riding.

"Retreat!" I told my friends. "I'll hold them.'"

In a matter of seconds they were on me.

Michael and his archers tried to retreat, but Annabeth stayed right beside me, fighting with her knife and mirrored shield as we slowly backed up the bridge.

Will was leaning forward in his seat now, his heart pounding so loud in his ears he almost couldn't hear Nico. Gods, he almost didn't want to hear this, the coming downfall, even as he visualized every detail vividly instead of hiding in a tent this time.

Kronos's cavalry swirled around us, slashing and yelling insults. The Titan himself advanced leisurely, like he had all the time in the world. Being the lord of time, I guess he did.

"Whoever gave him that title should be boiled in glue," Alex scowled.

"Erm," Annabeth made a face she didn't know how to explain in short enough words to keep her attention you couldn't do that to Gaea.

It wouldn't have phased Alex if she'd bothered to try anyways.

I tried to wound his men, not kill.

Nico's voice strangely eased up some, to Percy's buzzing ears as he felt like he was straddling a tightrope, but Nico's wasn't the only one. He didn't get it, but the others were more relieved than they'd admit at Percy continuing to do this, show his hesitation to those kids did ease up some of his earlier, casual dismissal of those on the river. Like on the Princess Andromeda. He just couldn't do it in cold blood, and that was of some relief the war and this curse hadn't possessed him wholly.

That slowed me down, these weren't monsters. They were demigods who'd fallen under Kronos's spell. I couldn't see faces under their battle helmets, but some of them had probably been my friends. I slashed the legs off their horses and made the skeletal mounts disintegrate. After the first few demigods took a spill, the rest figured out they'd better dismount and fight me on foot.

Annabeth and I stayed shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions. A dark shape passed over me, and I dared to glance up. Blackjack and Porkpie were swooping in, kicking our enemies in the helmets and flying away like very large kamikaze pigeons.

Alex snorted in her usual delight of all things chaotic, and nobody would really be surprised if she started a flock of pigeons trained to do this in the fortnight she got out of here.

We'd almost made it to the middle of the bridge when something strange happened.

I felt a chill down my spine—like that old saying about someone walking on your grave. Behind me, Annabeth cried out in pain.

Percy moved, every drop of the ocean urging him forward as he found himself on his feet. A pain, deeper than anything he'd ever felt before spurring him to draw his sword-

"Percy!" Annabeth was right in his face, cupping his cheeks, nearly nose to nose with him.

"He, he hurt," he was stammering, his eyes a memory away as Riptide stayed poised in his hand, the flat of it against her hip. She smiled and pressed their foreheads together without concern.

"I know. I know he hurt us. Just breathe."

His sword fell. He pressed his hands against her shoulders and leaned in to kiss her.

She melted into him, throwing her arms around his neck. This, she thought with ecstasy as her lips eagerly drank him in as if never getting enough. This kiss, this should have been their first kiss.

"Dude!"

Percy leaned back with a frown at whoever had interrupted him, then sheepishly took a small step back from Magnus's cousin as Annabeth's shaky breath lingered on the corner of his trembling mouth.

Alex was still smacking the side of her head to get all the water out of her ears and Will was trying to flop his dripping wet hair out of his eyes, but Magnus was ignoring these minor problems as he looked on in exasperation at the pair.

Percy swallowed a new apology as he looked worriedly around the room. There were now gaps in the walls, large enough to put feet through. He'd obviously been about to lose his temper big time.

Annabeth was running her fingers through his hair, distracting him from whatever doom was probably a snap away, her other hand was still holding tight to his wrist on her shoulder like she wanted to ignore the interruption and keep him there forever.

Will wouldn't have let them even if Magnus hadn't interrupted. A sharp clearing of his throat reminded the two quickly they were in the middle of a battle, and they weren't the only two on that bridge.

He was the one to steer her back to their spot, to force his body to cooperate and keep them on the same level as the others while she didn't take her eyes off him.

"Annabeth!" I turned in time to see her fall, clutching her arm. A demigod with a bloody knife stood over her.

Nico frowned in mild sorrow for this poor dead guy who had probably just hit public enemy number one territory over Kronos. Nico was surprised he hadn't seen a dartboard with this helmet somewhere around camp for Percy to vent on. He knew Percy wasn't a saint, above killing, and this person had just stabbed that into reality.

In a flash I understood what had happened. He'd been trying to stab me. Judging from the position of his blade, he would've taken me—maybe by sheer luck—in the small of my back, my only weak point.

Annabeth had intercepted the knife with her own body.

But why? She didn't know about my weak spot. No one did.

Annabeth could feel the questions surrounding her from the others more than she did the salt water, more than Percy finally being entirely wrapped around her. Even Thalia was looking around Percy to study her curiously for an explanation she'd never gotten of details.

She just stared straight ahead at the book and didn't offer anything. She could have said it was a gut feeling, like Percy so often said he got, and they might have bought that. She could have just said it was a reflex, she'd seen what was coming for him and hadn't taken the split second of movement inside herself that was no real choice but a simple shift of her weight to protect him without that curse even crossing her mind.

The truth was, it was none of that, and all of it. She hated not being able to explain something, but she couldn't do any research on this moment until someone found a way to interrogate her knife on what happened for an objective third-party point of view.

I locked eyes with the enemy demigod. He wore an eye patch under his war helm: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis.

"Boy sure is living up to his damned mother right now," Thalia said in blackened disgust. If he wasn't dead already by Percy's hand, she'd be happy to take up the hunt and be a nemesis to the one who had caused as much destruction on their world as Luke for all his awful, repeated, back-to-back choices.

Somehow he'd survived the explosion on the Princess Andromeda. I slammed him in the face with my sword hilt so hard I dented his helm.

The fact that that was his response and his brain wasn't leaking out of that helmet was a kind of restraint Jason didn't think he'd have in him. If somebody had hurt Thalia, any of his friends, they'd be fried like a fish without hesitation.

The idea bothered him for some reason, as he traced his tattoo and studied Percy and Annabeth, now holding each other close in those beanbags with nothing at all in the way, past or future. He had his arm around her waist, his thumb rubbing soothing circles into her hip absent mindedly as he watched the book with a harsh scowl. She was resting on his shoulder, once injured arm hidden from sight as she pressed in close. There was a sad smile in place, but a peaceful one for getting this back, the person she'd wanted since he'd vanished, even amid the battle being far from over.

Jason felt empty as he watched. Nothing in his past could connect to what he was seeing. He had no feeling to relate that to anyone, and it wasn't because he couldn't remember them. They just didn't exist in his world.

"Get back!" I slashed the air in a wide arc, driving the rest of the demigods away from Annabeth.

"No one touches her!"

The protective instinct was a malnourished one in Alex. With Adrian, they'd always had each other on equal ground. She'd felt it flare up a few times around these guys, mostly picturing Percy much smaller and younger facing certain aspects of this alone.

The few group homes she'd wound up in had been a nice delusion of this kind of person existing in her mind, but that was about it.

"Interesting," Kronos said.

He towered above me on his skeletal horse, his scythe in one hand. He studied the scene with narrowed eyes as if he could sense that I'd just come close to death, the way a wolf can smell fear.

Magnus often felt like a part of his life would never be able to look away from those glowing blue eyes in the face of such a monster that had killed his mom, but for once he barely flinched at the idea of a wolf as he kept eyes on his cousin. She seemed at peace, for the first time in here, truly comfortable. He was happy for her, that she'd gotten that explicitly with one person in her life, even being trapped down here so at least he wouldn't have to worry if she was actually alive somewhere.

"Bravely fought, Percy Jackson," he said. "But it's time to surrender . . . or the girl dies."

Thalia knew that hesitation in those last four words was from Nico reading for Kronos, not his own pause of saying something like that.

What killed her in that moment was that Luke hadn't woken up in there. That those eyes hadn't flashed blue upon seeing Annabeth like this. She knew he was capable of it, otherwise this couldn't have ended any other way, but she still felt hurt it hadn't been this. Thalia would have done anything to get Annabeth out of that situation just like Percy, why hadn't he?

"Percy, don't," Annabeth groaned. Her shirt was soaked with blood. I had to get her out of here.

"Still want that lucky kiss?" Annabeth shook her head as her hand came up to clench the old wound.

"From you? Always," Percy said, staring at her with the same smile he'd always had upon that first day in Camp. His mom had been presumed dead, he'd felt out of place and lost in his new home, but still he'd smiled at her just as he was now when she hadn't intervened upon his fight with Clarisse.

"Blackjack!" I yelled.

As fast as light, the pegasus swooped down and clamped his teeth on the straps of Annabeth's armor.

They soared away over the river before the enemy could even react.

"Best, pegasus, ever," Percy murmured for her ears alone. He wished he could wrap her in a blanket and possibly post Tyson over her bed to make sure she was never in this kind of danger again.

That just wasn't their life, even the fleeting idea felt ridiculous and she'd get herself out and then smack him on her way to the next thing he couldn't deal with without her.

"Yeah," she grinned up at him, like they were in their own little bubble of a world for just that moment again before Nico popped it as he kept reading without surprise. He'd known she survived, this wasn't his concern in the slightest. She still felt like slamming the book shut and taking a second to breathe as she still felt Percy's lips on hers, but that was his call, she was just along for the ride now.

Kronos snarled. "Some day soon, I am going to make pegasus soup.

"Talk about friends for dinner," Will frowned, dredging up a new kind of scowl as he saw the last page left lingering in Nico's hand. Was Percy even going to notice the fallout as he ran off after her the second he got?

"We will not be talking about that," Percy gave him an intense look, Micheal's thin, ferret-like face and dark hair looked nothing like Will really, but something of their noses and sharp eyes tried to overlap in Percy's brain all the same as he kept trying to pull Annabeth closer.

It was an odd moment where one easily ignored the other's random comment, lost in their own worlds.

But in the meantime . . ." He dismounted, his scythe glistening in the dawn light. "I'll settle for another dead demigod."

"He should settle for a lot lower," Alex scowled. "More so-so problems like the rest of us, bad hair day and morning breath. Hell, one night standards aren't even something to be looked down on as a standard."

She got a lot of blank stares for that and grinned they just didn't have the imagination to conjure up Kronos trying to pick out his wardrobe and checking his cowlick in the mirror.

I met his first strike with Riptide. The impact shook the entire bridge, but I held my ground. Kronos's smile wavered.

'Not so easy when you can't just win with a flick of your wrist,' Jason sneered. He kept the thought to himself only because he wanted to hear more of Percy kicking his ass to badly to bother with the obvious interruption.

With a yell, I kicked his legs out from under him. His scythe skittered across the pavement.

"Look who could kick a fridge across a room now," Nico told him without looking up.

"Oh yeah, you just know I'll do that in my mom's apartment and feel guilty as hell for it," Percy nodded.

I stabbed downward, but he rolled aside and regained his footing. His scythe flew back to his hands.

Percy replayed that in his head a couple of times with annoyance. Why couldn't the gods just do that so easily when they lost their crap? Why couldn't Riptide do that instead of having to wait precious moments to return to his pocket? Then Nico kept reading and he had to remind himself that really wasn't the point right now.

"So . . ." He studied me, looking mildly annoyed. "You had the courage to visit the Styx. I had to pressure Luke in many ways to convince him.

Annabeth's mouth opened in a gaping display of all her teeth Percy tried not to be to phased at. This obviously hurt her, he tried to pull her somehow closer and she willingly went like she couldn't get enough, but he didn't need to be a mind reader to know that her every thought was now plagued with Luke, again. What pressures Kronos had used, how many times had he refused before he gave in, what had been the catalyst?

Percy moved his hand to her other arm, rubbing his palm gently up and down there like he was trying to warm her as she started shivering. He remembered Hermes's harsh words, that must have been the god's idea of some bizarre scenario about her missing a chance to save him. From what he could tell, she'd done everything and more than what was ever asked of her in that regards.

If only you had supplied my host body instead . . .

Percy would rather have live bugs crawling inside him than that sense of disgust that just passed through him. Thankfully the closest Kronos would ever get to his mind was annoying his dreams.

But no matter. I am still more powerful. I am a TITAN."

He struck the bridge with the butt of his scythe, and a wave of pure force blasted me backward. Cars went careening. Demigods—even Luke's own men—were blown off the edge of the bridge.

Not that this surprised a single one of them, but they all flinched anyways. It's like Kronos was broadcasting why Percy would never give him more than a finger of his time.

Suspension cords whipped around, and I skidded halfway back to Manhattan.

I got unsteadily to my feet. The remaining Apollo campers had almost made it to the end of the bridge, except for Michael Yew, who was perched on one of the suspension cables a few yards away from me, his last arrow was notched in his bow.

"Michael, go!" I screamed.

At least he'd tried, Will swallowed down a painful knot. He sort of wanted to hug Percy for that, and also shove a soiled bandage up his nose for not dragging him back kicking and screaming like he would have if it were Grover.

"Percy, the bridge!" he called. "It's already weak!"

He should have been fine, Will kept thinking over and over in his head. Micheal had once hung from his feet like a trapeze artist to aim his shot, he'd move across beams in pouring down rain and his balance was better than some kid who knew ballet. Will had already been a few inches taller than him at thirteen but had nothing on Micheal's ability to jump to any new perch he needed for a better vantage point on the thinnest of tree limbs. He should have been able to make it...

At first I didn't understand. Then I looked down and saw fissures in the pavement. Patches of the road were half melted from Greek fire. The bridge had taken a beating from Kronos's blast and the exploding arrows.

"Break it!" Michael yelled. "Use your powers!"

Kayla had told him in a broken voice those were Micheal's last words, that he'd encouraged Percy to do this and he'd of course succeeded in completing that blast to his full ability. Will didn't blame him, truly, but...

Percy never would have done that if Annabeth had been the one on that suspension line.

It was a desperate thought—no way it would work— but I stabbed Riptide into the bridge. The magic blade sank to its hilt in asphalt. Salt water shot from the crack like I'd hit a geyser. I pulled out my blade and the fissure grew. The bridge shook and began to crumble. Chunks the size of houses fell into the East River. 

Even if they'd kept that stupid chariot for themselves he still wouldn't have survived, Will kept swallowing and it hurt more every time. None of them had enough practice steering it through debris raining down, could have gotten out in time to catch him. There was nothing anybody could have done to prevent this. He was gone. He shouldn't be, but he was.

Kronos's demigods cried out in alarm and scrambled backward. Some were knocked off their feet.

Austin had watched, his scream unheard in the noise as Micheal had lost his previously flawless balance on his perch. He'd tried to regain it, throw his bow and grab that cable with both hands, but he'd seen the panic, then acceptance as his feet lost against the force.

He and Kayla had been whispering about it when Will had come upon them hours later, their voices petrified like they'd slip off the edge of the world next while Eliza had been crying at the shore feet away watching the rest of their siblings continue the fruitless search.

Within a few seconds, a fifty-foot chasm opened in the Williamsburg Bridge between Kronos and me.

"Titan schmiten," Alex muttered, "I want whatever coked up shit Percy's on." Percy only hadn't won that fight because there were innocents around, she was sure of it after a display of power like that.

"Gods I hope you're kidding," Magnus sighed, knowing there wasn't a force on earth to stop Alex bathing in the styx if she really wanted to. He wondered vaguely who her godly parent was without much care and if they'd carelessly agree or try to warn her away. Even Posideon hadn't done much of either though so he wasn't sure what the basis of a god's opinion on this even was.

The vibrations died. Kronos's men crept to the edge and looked at the hundred-and-thirty-foot drop into the river.

I didn't feel safe, though. The suspension cables were still attached. The men could get across that way if they were brave enough. Or maybe Kronos had a magic way to span the gap.

Nico's brain easily filled in the gaps, of Kronos snapping his fingers and time reversing to put those chunks back together like nothing, to play the planet like a toy and reverse it to do his bidding like nothing had happened.

He wished he could do that for Will now, as a few silent tears fell, smudging the words on the page. He was sitting so close he could feel every breath, every bony press of his lightweight that had never once felt intrusive through his thick jacket.

While Nico might have asked for more breaks in here than anyone, he didn't feel the least bit self-conscious to do so again, especially not on Will's part if he needed a second. His hand was steady on his arm though. Nico wasn't entirely convinced that was a good measure on Will, he was always that steady, but he also trusted Will to admit when he needed something like that considering he'd been the one impressing upon Nico to do the same.

The Titan lord studied the problem. He looked behind him at the rising sun, then smiled across the chasm. He raised his scythe in a mock salute. "Until this evening, Jackson."

Jason instantly narrowed his eyes suspiciously at that. Why would sunrise stop Kronos? Even Alex's blasie' joke about vampires he vaguely heard didn't cut through his intense concentration of trying to understand what scheme was being plotted, that would take so long to set in instead of leaping across that space and accomplishing the maximum amount of distraction now when Percy was shaken and his forces weakened.

He mounted his horse, whirled around, and galloped back to Brooklyn, followed by his warriors.

I turned to thank Michael Yew, but the words died in my throat. Twenty feet away, a bow lay in the street. Its owner was nowhere to be seen.

Why did it hurt worse knowing this would be the outcome all along, Nico frowned. He'd known Will was the head of his cabin, obviously his older brother would have died on this bridge, but still he'd spent every word up to this point hoping in vain he was wrong. That Will wasn't hurting because of that, but some other problem like they'd run out of ambrosia. Like knowing the second Percy had found himself on the edge of that desert his sister was on her last moments of life and still spending the entire time in here wishing he was wrong.

'Because you'd hoped for the best anyways,' a small little voice whispered in his mind that sounded suspiciously like Will. He'd never been an optimist before, he wanted to give that thought a good hand wave away, but he instead sat in a long moment of silence nobody broke as he watched Will's sad blue eyes lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh," Percy's quiet whisper was the first to break the long-held breath. He felt the instinct to dive into the water and find him, but finally the look on the son of Apollo's face connected with the pain in Percy's head he hadn't wanted. "Will, I'm, I'm so sorry." He wanted to get angry. He wanted to get in Clarisse's face and ask if she was happy now. His hands wanted to throw Riptide far away and hope it never came back this time at his own capability of destruction. How had he not accidentally killed Nico?! He clearly had no real control over the chaos he brought to everyone's life.

"Yeah, me too," Will didn't sound angry, just tired. Tired of losing people, tired of the days he spent at camp with the weight of his siblings on his back when all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep. Tired of the guilt that would never let him do more than grit his teeth but get up all the same to see what they needed instead of muttering where to find someone else.

Having to adjust to three heads of a cabin in less than a year could do that to you.

"No!" I searched the wreckage on my side of the bridge. I stared down at the river. Nothing.

I yelled in anger and frustration. The sound carried forever in the morning stillness. I was about to whistle for Blackjack to help me search, when my mom's phone rang. The LCD display said I had a call from Finklestein & Associates—probably a demigod calling on a borrowed phone.

Magnus silently showed Alex the sign for lawyer he randomly remembered, his smile forced, but his mind amusedly offering up the image all the same of someone trying to deliver Percy court documents at a time like this.

Will had heard all of that, back in his tent. The destruction, Percy's scream, then the sound of more phones ringing as he'd been checking a boy's IV he didn't even know the name of, he must have gotten there mere weeks ago. The Williamsburg Bridge had been so close by, he'd known.

He'd kept working, putting it all away like the rest of the kids crying in pain around him until Percy had come bursting through the tent. He'd expected Percy to tell him what he'd already known. Instead he'd yanked him out babbling about Annabeth and Will had gone, handing over his clipboard to Eliza who was six and trying to give her messages to others to far spread out right now to convey everything he needed.

Hoping on the back of that bike and seeing the bridge as they sped off had been his split second to see it was true before he'd shut his eyes and felt it all for that flight over there only before it was right back to work.

I picked up, hoping for good news. Of course I was wrong.

"Percy?" Silena Beauregard sounded like she'd been crying.

She had, actually, on and off so much her siblings had seemed more worried for her than Annabeth unable to stay on her feet. Annabeth felt a faint moment of amusement as she imagined Percy leaping off the ground, cartoon-style exclamation point over his head and everything in fear as he threw the phone away at the mere idea of being back around a crying girl.

That wasn't fair, and a wild exaggeration she knew. Not after he'd tried to comfort her at Becekendorf's funeral.

Apparently it was just her crying he couldn't seem to handle.

"Plaza Hotel. You'd better come quickly and bring a healer from Apollo's cabin. It's . . . it's Annabeth."

If Nico couldn't look up from that and see her sitting right in front of him, he'd be half convinced Annabeth really was dead somewhere out there just from the universe laughing at him having to read that. Somehow, even in the retelling of Percy's life, death seemed to follow him specifically.

Will didn't reach for the book next. He still stayed tightly pressed against Nico as he gazed vacantly at nothing like the words hadn't quite registered a passing of the book should be coming by tone alone.

But Percy was shivering anxiously, lost in memory to know in as explicit detail as possible how Annabeth was alive as she curled into his side now.

So what was he supposed to do?

PJOPJOPJOPJO

*That is a quote from Homeward Bound II, and I tried to look up if it was a misquote done on purpose by the original character but couldn't find anything.

**This is a quote from Hellboy, and while not exactly an exclusive line only to him and Percy, I couldn't stop laughing when I read it in Ron Pearlmen's voice while picturing Percy and that's why I've been on the movie kick with him lately.

[artemistorm]

One word prompt: licked

This one is a fun one--it reminded me of a thing I used to do as a kid--lick my hand and hold it up to ward off my siblings.

(1301 words)

******

"Let go of the rupee," Legend urged. "You can't get your hand out of the hole unless you let go of the rupee. Your fist is too big."

"NO!" Wind hissed, his hand trapped in a hole in the wall, his fist wrapped around a glowing golden rupee. "My rupee!" His eyes were red and crazed and his entire arm was tensed and stiff as if electrified. It didn't take a genius to tell that the rupee-in-the-hole was clearly cursed and intended to be a trap, one that the strapped-for-cash little pirate fell for.

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"If you let go for just a second, I can use my whip to get it out of the hole for you," Sky pleaded.

"And take it for yourself? I don't think so!" Wind lashed out with his free hand, fingers bared like claws when Sky got too close for his liking. "This is my money. I found it first! Its all mine!"

"Don't touch him and don't let him touch you," Four warned.

"What can we do?" Twilight asked. "We can't reason with him in this state."

"You shouldn't have let him open that cursed chest full of rupoors earlier," Warriors nudged Legend. "Maybe he wouldn't have fallen for the trap if he still had any money."

"I warned him not to!" Legend spluttered. "Maybe you should have been quicker to stop him before he reached his hand into a random hole!"

"Wiiind!" Hyrule sang holding up a silver rupee just out of his reach. "Do you want more rupees?"

"Careful," Time put a hand on Hyrule's arm.

Wind surged forward as much as he could with his arm still trapped in the wall. Hyrule leapt back and dangling the rupee just out of reach.

"Give it to me! I want it now!" Wind made grabby hands and strained to reach the silver rupee. "More rupees!"

"Let go of the other rupee and you can have this rupee," Hyrule said.

"NO! I want both rupees! Gimme!"

"Wind! Let go! You're going to break your arm!" Twilight cried. "Hyrule! Give it to him so he doesn't hurt himself!"

"Yes! Give it to me!" Wind growled.

Hyrule panicked and flung it at Wind who caught it faster than the eye could follow with his free hand. He laughed maniacally and dropped the rupee in his pocket.

“Great that didn’t work. Now what do we do?” Warriors sighed.

“You look rich! Give me all your rupees!” Wind demanded of Warriors. “They belong to me!”

At the back of the group there was a sound of lips smacking and Twilight turned to find Wild idly licking off each of his fingers.

“Eww! Cub! What are you eating?” Twilight grabbed Wild’s hand. His hand and his mouth were covered in green gelatinous substance. “Ugh! Spit that out! How could you be eating at a time like this?! What even is that nasty—”

“Hmph. No’ bad.” Wild said then swallowed. “Tastes like cuckoo.”

“What even is this?” Twilight wiped some of the green gunk off his hand and on his pants. Wild shrugged.

“Dunno. I bought some off a guy in Wind’s Hyrule. He called it a jellyfish, said it was something you didn’t want to eat unless you were in a desperate situation—and we’ve been stuck in this dungeon for three hours and I’m pretty desperately hungry.”

“Seriously?”

“Do you have any more?” Time asked.

“Yeah! You want some?” Wild held up another green glob with long thin tentacles hanging down. Time made a face and accepted the disgusting offering.

“Old Man, what are you—” Twilight trailed off.

“Ahhh—” Time inhaled sharply. “Ahhh—!”

“You good, old man?” Four asked, turning away from Wind.

“AAAAHHH CHOOO!” Time sneezed mightily with such volume that the sound echoed down the stony corridor. Everyone flinched and jumped, even Wind, who had a fistful of Warriors’ scarf.

Time looked down at his hands where the crushed green remains of the jellyfish dripped from his hands.

“Augh!” Sky gagged and covered his eyes, trying not to heave.

“That’s disgusting!” Legend stepped away from their elder

“Did that just seriously come out of you?!” Four gasped.

“What the hell? Do you have the plague??” Warriors jumped back, yanking his scarf from a startled wide-eyed Wind’s grasp.

Time sniffed the green goop in his hands.

“Hmm.”

Time touched his tongue the green goop. He made a show of taking a long slow lick the length of his right hand.

“No! No! Don’t do that!” Sky squealed and waved his hands. “Ahhh!”

“OHH! That’s just gross!” Warriors looked away and covered his mouth with a gag.

“Is this really happening?” Four asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the spectacle.

Hyrule watched simultaneously appalled and perplexed and Wind stared in horrified silence.

“Mm. Salty,” Time said licking his lips.

In the back of the group, Wild stifled a laugh and Twilight covered his mouth with his hand his eyes wide with glee.

Time cocked his head at Wind.

“Are you stuck, young friend?” Time asked. He casually approached Wind, the others jumping out of his way.

Wind didn’t answer but bared his teeth.

“Let me help you!” Time reached out a green slimy hand toward Wind’s stuck arm. Wind squirmed and pulled away from Time.

“Don’t touch me!” Wind scowled. “You smell poor.” Wind strained to lean away from Time.

“It’ll just take a moment to get you unstuck!” Time’s hand stopped just short of grasping Wind’s arm. “Oh! There’s something on your face!” He reached for Wind’s face with his green gloopy hand.

Wind screeched and jerked backward, arm suddenly free of the trap. He fell onto his behind then scrabbled away on all fours hissing at Time, who watched him with cool amusement. Wind’s face went blank for a moment, then he blinked confused up at all the other staring heroes.

“What’s going on?” He said, then winced and curled around his arm. “Ow.”

“Here, let me see,” Legend pushed past the agape Hyrule and knelt by Wind.

Time held up his hands for the others to see.

“This is jellyfish,” he said. “It’s not snot.”

“Hehehe I get it. It’s-not snot.” Wild snorted.

“And you’re right. It does taste like cuckoo.”

“I can’t believe it. You really got me, Old Man!” Warriors laughed.

“Wow. I’m so glad that’s not real.” Four shivered.

“Wahaha that’s so funny!” Hyrule burst out in laughter. “I didn’t know you had it in you!”

“I know you said that it’s not real, but… I think I’m going to throw up anyways!” Sky pushed past Wild and Twilight and threw up on the ground at the edge of the corridor.

“Hey Wind, how’re you feeling?” Twilight called edging away from Sky.

“He’ll be fine,” Legend said helping Wind stand up. “His arm isn’t broken and there’s no residual damage from the curse.”

“It’s just bruised and sore,” Wind said, inspecting the red marks on his skin where it had rubbed on the rim of the hole.

“I hope you learned your lesson,” Legend crossed his arms.

“I bet you won’t go sticking your hand into any more holes, will you?” Warriors said.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Wind said patting his pocket. “I’m a hundred rupees richer!”

“Wait! No! That’s mine! Give it back!” Hyrule reached for Wind’s pocket.

“Buzz off, slacker. It’s mine! I deserve it for my troubles!”

“That’s not supposed to be the lesson that you took away from this little experience!” Twilight groaned.

“If I help you get it back, will you give me half the money?” Wild asked Hyrule.

Time stepped away up the hall a little ways and poured a trickle of water from his canteen to clean off his hands and he laughed and laughed quietly to himself.

[deanoheartspie]

2 Different worlds-Chapter 1

Pairing: Mom! Reader x Actor Dean

Warnings: strong language, little mention of abuse

Word count: tbh. I dunno

A/N: Y/e/c (Your eye color) y/h/c (your hair color) Also I settled at the most famous for his live-action Batman movie😭

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Chasing your 3-year-old through the store wasn't quite ideal, hell it was a nightmare all because you simply told her no. “Emmy!!” you shouted letting out a sigh, as your other two children followed behind. “Ouch!” tripping over the sandals that looked cute at the shops but were a devil to wear, running straight into a man in front of you.

“Oh my! I'm so sorry” You say feeling deeply embarrassed as you notice Emmy clinging to his leg.

“No, it's fine who's this little one?” The man asks and gives her a little wave and smile.

When you finally get a good look at him, you can't lie he's handsome as hell, your cheeks can't help but blush when you meet his green eyes with your y/e/c

“Mwe Emmy! I- I'm tree! and I seen chu on tvs!” Emmy smiled showing off her missing front teeth.

The mysterious green-eyed man smiled and glanced away from the toddler seeing the older two come over holding a bag of goldfish, when their mouths drop open when they see him.

“Mom Mom! That's the guy who plays Batman!!” The 8-year-old boy shouted as he smiled up at the man and waved excitedly.

“Ah, a fan? Nice to meet you, buddy” The man gave a little wave back with a wink, you pick up your toddler as she was quick to get distracted by the goldfish that their siblings were once holding.

Awkwardly clearing your throat, you give the man a little smile and pull your son and daughter closer to you as you didn't know who the man was. “I'm still so sorry, enjoy your evening sir” You turn around and grab the cart at the end of the hall strapping emmy back in the seat. “What did I tell you missy? You're supposed to stay with me honey, your lucky he was nice”

Thankfully the rest of the shopping trip was somewhat calm and not too crazy when you strap in Emmy after shopping and glance over to make sure the other two are strapped in correctly When you hear a RING! RING!

Sighing as it's your ex, Jonathan you shut the car door and stand over to the sidewalk and answer the phone. It was a bad habit, you knew you shouldn't pick up your abusive ex's number, but they were your children father...

“Why'd it take you so fucking long to answer? Where are you, I'm sorry about Friday y'know how I get honey. Please come back the kids deserve both parents” Jonathan mumbles over the phone not sounding too interested in the call whatsoever.

You pace around running your fingers through y/h/c, the kids did deserve to grow up with both parents... “You hurt me and I don't want the kids to see that. Please stop calling, I will send you any information about possible visits.”

The answer only seems to piss the man off, as you hear him huff and hear the creaking of what sounds like a bed.

“I will call your parents. They will cut your ass off, what will you do then Y/n Y/L huh? You won't afford to take care of them. You will end up back with me and you know it so don't be stupid and just come back”

You feel your stomach drop, he was right what would you do? Your family loved Jonathan even after the amount of time you tried to tell them what a narcissistic asshole he was, they still and always will take his side. Tears prick at the corner of your eyes as you glance at the car to make sure the kids were alright. “I'll call you later...”

Hanging up, feeling a huge weight on your shoulders as you thought about your options when you felt a tap on your shoulder. God please please don't let me get robbed, you silently prayed before turning around and seeing the man from earlier.

“Heh... I swear I wasn't eavesdropping. Eh, I kinda was I can't lie. You're in a tough situation? I think we can help each other out.” He says stuffing his hands in his pockets.

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What is dean going to offer? Tell me your thoughts!!

A new chapter will be coming out soon!