#i have no clue whats happening i just like answering polls

[maidflowery]

Jealousy

♦︎♦︎ Aventurine x Reader ♦︎♦︎ 𝕀𝕝𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕

ততততত 𝓛𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓑𝓓𝓢𝓜, 𝓑𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓪𝓰𝓮, 𝓑𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓯𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓼 ততততত

"...Everyone is ogling me lately? Why would they?"

The handsome gambler tilted his head, seemingly having no clue what you were talking about. 

However, the glint of amusement in his eyes told you otherwise.

You answered matter-of-factly, and he put his thumb under his chin, as if in deep contemplation.

"So, everyone is gradually noticing how beautiful my eyes are? That's a good thing, isn't it?"

He asked innocently, the playfulness in his cyan-violet eyes deepening.

...From the looks of it, he really wanted you to spell it out. 

The annoyance and frustration of seeing more and more people discovering the cool and, dare you say, lofty side of the supposedly sly and cunning gambler, before falling in love with him. 

Also, playing innocent didn't suit him!

You averted your gaze, not wanting to give him the exact thing he wanted.

Then, as usual, your sweet and doting gambler forfeited the game.

"My bad, I went too far. Of course it's a bad thing." 

Easily, just like that, grinning in amusement all the while.

He approached you, pretending to still be deep in thought.

"We have to do something about it. Ah, right..."

Then, as he drew closer, he casually pulled the black lace ribbon from your ponytail, and your hair fell to your shoulder.

Just as you wondered what he was about to do, he draped it over his eyes, tying it behind his head in a loose knot.

"Should I wear a blindfold whenever I go outside?" 

He asked, leaning closer until his lips were right beside your ear.

Then, he whispered.

"...From now on, only you are allowed to see my eyes."

His breath tickled your neck, while his voice was as sweet as honey.

When you were silent, unsure how to reply, he asked yet again.

"Not good enough?"

There was neither irritation nor sarcasm, only eagerness to appease his lover, who was suffering from slight jealousy and insecurity. Happily, too.

"Then you can tie me up and keep me by your side all the time."

And you knew he meant every single word.

How the man known as Aventurine shall lead his life from now on hung on your answer.

"Enough joking, Aventurine. I don't make a habit of keeping slaves."

You lightly pushed him, and the man let himself fall, knowing that the spacious, king-sized bed would cushion him.

Sure enough, in the next moment, the sound of something sinking into the soft mattress could be heard.

"I know, I'm blessed to have such a compassionate girlfriend. Then, how about we start small?"

"What...?"

All of the sudden, he started unbuttoning his white dress shirt, revealing his broad chest and rippling abs. Seeing his lean frame, nobody would've expected such a physique underneath.

Then, while you were distracted, his hand reached for a tube of lipstick, which happened to be scattered nearby. Yeah, you weren't exactly the neat type.

"Mark me."

He said as he opened the cap with a pop. 

"—Preferably where it can be seen," he added. "I can give you some pointers if you want."

Your lover was smiling from ear to ear, provoking you with his gaze.

...In truth, you knew from the beginning. You stood no chance of winning against him.

"They have to know that I belong to you."

ℙ𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕞𝕪 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕔 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖, 𝕘𝕦𝕪𝕤!

An ongoing poll

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Um, hi! Regarding that other anonymous asker wondering about the comic's enjoyability, I actually WAS one of the people who voted "I've never watched the show but I do read the comic" in that poll; all my prior knowledge about Steven Universe was from passive osmosis. I don't know anyone personally who likes it either, my baseline is limited to, like, the premise and 'hey I think that one's a major character?' every now and then (this was most recently Lapis Lazuli. Peridot I'm prettttty sure is canon, but I didn't recognise her right off. Betting that Sea Glass isn't. No clue about Jasper).

So if it's of any help, from my experience I do think that your comic is fairly accessible to folks outwith the Steven Universe fandom! I read long-form fanfiction for media I know nothing about on a regular basis, and it does a good job of explaining the core concepts required for the plot to hold water; it makes it much harder to spot foreshadowing that I feel may have been more obvious to experienced readers (e.g. I didn't get anywhere near working out Earl's issue because I didn't know that A. White Diamond could do mind control, or B. what societal role Pearl-class gems (is that the term?) hold relative to the Diamonds), but the actual narrative itself holds up well so long as you're willing to put the thought in. Actively following your blog helps a bit too, I've gotten extra context clues from the FAQ and asks you've answered.

My one warning would be that reading a long-form story for a fandom you don't know is a very different experience. The best way I could describe it is akin to reading Arthurian stories or folkloric retellings without studying the source material: while the main narrative is comprehensible, you become distinctly aware that certain parts are name-checking their original culture in a way that the author expects to be apparent but isn't, not to you. I spend a lot of time faintly baffled when I'm not cross-referencing between multiple fics for commonalities to reverse-engineer (also do that regularly, would recommend), which is fine! It's fun! Might not be for everyone, though.

I just want you to know I love this ask, and I was enraptured reading this. It's a very cool insight! Especially as someone with the exact opposite reading philosophy, this is extremely valuable.

It's neat to also get a confirmation about the fact that a lot of over-the-top stuff that was meant to echo the original show might not get pinged by those who aren't familiar with the original. Though to be fair, people didn't quite pick up on what was happening with Earl even when they knew what White Diamond's powers were.

I also find it hilarious to realize that Jasper might not be a recognizable original-show character to most outsiders. DEMOTED!

[aceviscontiswife]

Killers catching you crying/upset

I’ve been wanting to do some comfort type stuff for a while, so this is what my poll was for! Hope y’all enjoy!

Gn! Reader. Pre established relationship! Killers included: Danny, Pyramid Head, Wesker.

• Danny is used to seeing people cry from fear. He isn’t one to comfort, if anything, Danny’s the reason someone’s crying in the first place. He’s a murderer, not a therapist.

• However, when Danny catches you crying, it’s a different story. Why? What happened? Who did this? How the actual hell does he help you? Long story short, Danny hates seeing you upset.

• You’ve never seen Danny this concerned, or this confused. It’s clear he has no clue how to comfort you, but he tries his best. He’ll kneel down beside you and stay with you until he was sure you were alright. It was a side of Danny you’ve never seen, but not one you didn’t like.

• If it’s a survivor who’s made you cry; don’t worry, Danny will handle it. Once you’re better, Danny will teach that survivor a lesson they’ll never forget.

You had tried to last the entire trial without breaking down, but eventually you couldn’t hold back your tears any longer. You slumped against a tree, hugged your knees to your chest, and began to sob quietly. Danny was the killer this trial, you could always just find him, but you didn’t want to ruin his trial with your problems. Danny must’ve heard you, for it wasn’t long after you started crying that he kneeled down next to you and quickly removed his mask so you could see his face. “Hey… what’s wrong?” Danny asks in a tone so… soft, so concerned. It was like nothing you’ve ever head from him.

“I… it’s Nea…” You answer as more tears well up in your red, puffy eyes. Danny nods, wiping away your tears and pulling you into a tight hug, mainly so you wouldn’t see the flash of anger in his eyes at the mention of your teammate. “I’ll handle them once you’re better, okay?” You nod, and while you knew Danny was being sincere, you couldn’t help but ask “Are you sure?” To which Danny simply replies, “It’s what boyfriends are for, dollface.”

(I have never wrote for Pyramid Head before so I apologize in advance lol 😅)

• You’re… crying? That’s not something Pyramid Head likes to see, not at all. His first instinct is to make you stop crying, whatever that might take.

• While he can’t speak, Pyramid is good at telling you things through his body language. He’ll set his weapon aside and open his arms slightly—his way of saying “Come here.”

• He’ll pull you into a bone-crushing hug, his hands awkwardly rubbing your back as you cry against his chest. Pyramid will hold you until you’re done crying, and listen to any word you had to say. For something that spoke in garbled nothingness, Pyramid Head was surprisingly very well at comforting you.

• You’d tell him what had upset you, and if it just so happened to be a survivor, Pyramid Head would leave your side in an instant to go deal with them. He would return covered in blood, set his weapon aside, and allow you to melt in his arms once more.

You were somewhere in the deep, desolate forest of the entity’s realm, tears streaming down your face as you cried. You hadn’t even heard him approaching, startled when Pyramid Head suddenly appears next to you. He had laid his large weapon against a tree, his arms slightly open and waiting for your embrace. You didn’t say anything, you simply took a small step forward and wrapped your arms around him, laying your head on his chest.

Pyramid Head held you for a while, and it was only when your sobs began to lessen did he finally pull away. You knew what he wanted now; Pyramid Head wanted an explanation. “Gabriel was-“ You cut yourself off as Pyramid Head suddenly turned away, grabbed his weapon, and began making his way towards the survivors’ campfire. Was he going to-? Would the entity even allow that?! Either way, once you realized what Pyramid Head was doing, you couldn’t help but smile and wait patiently for his return.

• Unlike most of the killers, Wesker at least knows what he should say to someone who’s upset. Does he? No. Crying is a weakness, and Wesker can’t have that.

• But, much like Danny, Wesker does a complete 180 when he finds you crying. He never wanted to find you like this, and now that he has, he wants nothing more than to bring an end to your tears.

• You never would have guessed Wesker was good at comforting, but he was. He knew exactly what to say, what to do, and had you feeling better again in no time.

• If it’s a survivor who’s made you cry, you best believe Wesker will handle things. He’ll wait until he’s in a trial with them, and once he is, he’ll make sure their time with him is absolutely miserable. Wesker will teach that survivor a lesson, and it’ll work so well they’ll probably never speak to you again; out of fear of what Wesker might do if they hurt you again.

“Dearest, why are you crying?” You heard a familiar voice speak from behind you. You turn around to spot Wesker, staring up at him through teary eyes. “It’s nothing…” You lie, quickly wiping away your tears and sniffling. Wesker obviously didn’t believe you, stepping up next to you and resting his hand on your shoulder. “Don’t lie to me, y/n. What’s upsetting you?” You knew there wasn’t a point in lying again, so you tell Wesker the truth.

“Laurie was being really rude to me in my trials…” You admit, sounding more childish than you had wanted to. Wesker simply hums in response, resting his free hand on your other shoulder and beginning to rub them, easing the tension you had gathered from your earlier trials. “I’ll handle it, sweetheart.” Wesker assures you, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

[chimchiri]

Poll Adventure: Rarijack Dinner

Index | [prev] - Part 02 - [next] Special thanks to @babydarkstar for major support with the writing

Previous Poll:

-----

Minutes pass and Applejack still has no idea what to say. She’s drafted a few starters, but none of them feel right, or even like something a normal person would say to initiate conversation.

[You. Me. Saturday. Dinner?-] Delete, delete, delete…  [Hey Rarity, do you have any pla-] Delete, delete, delete…  [So Big Mac’s plannin to smoke some BBQ this weeken-] Delete, delete, DELETE.

Frustration builds—right in her chest all the way up to her ears. She can’t find the right words, and she’s usually so good at that—in her own way. 

This should be easy! It’s not a profession of undying love. 

Yet progress is a stick in the mud when it comes to her feelings for Rarity.

The legs of the chair squeak across the worn hardwood as AJ gets up and starts pacing around the kitchen, talking to herself. She takes her hat off, ruffs her fingers through her bangs, puts her hat back, runs a hand down her face. A huge, frustrated sigh escapes her when she throws her hands up.

“It’s Rarity. How goddamn hard can it be to ask her for somethin’?!”

That’s it. 

Tired of her own inaction, she slams her thumb on the call button.

Ring…

…ring…

With each ring the reality of her actions washes over her, and by the third ring she is fully aware of what she’s about to do. Her frustration morphs into panic and doubt, soaking her in dread. 

Is she actually doing this? Like…following through instead of letting her ideas fizzle out? 

This is happening, the phone is ringing, it’s sending the signal to Rarity’s device and she’s gonna grab it and answer and—

No, it’s too soon, they’ve only known each other for forever—

Before she can cancel the call, she hears a click—

“Applejack, darling!”

AJ’s gut leaps at the sound of that silky voice, clear elation in its tone and excitement at the chance to answer her call.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

AJ can feel her heart pounding up to her throat. Why is her mouth so dry all of a sudden? 

“Uhhh…howdy.”

Not her brightest greeting, but this isn’t the first time she’s acted without thinking it through. She doesn’t even know where to start.

The weight of reality makes her feel awkward, like a bull in a china shop. Too big for her britches indeed.

Silence rings in her ears.

Why is she freezing up at a time like this?

“Applejack…? Are you still there?” chimes Rarity on the other line, but she might as well be talking to a brick wall. 

It takes a few seconds of blank thought before AJ realizes it’s her turn to speak. 

“Agh! Sorry, I just—I thought I’d give you a call. See how you’re doing…make sure you—and the business o’course—make sure it’s goin’ ok and whatnot.”

She wants to smack herself upside the head. 

The business?

If she could go dig a hole outside and lay in it while the seasons change, she would; but she’s got a family to take care of and a farm to run. Surely this isn’t the worst moment of her life. Surely. But she doesn’t need to see Rarity’s face to feel the effect of her clunky greeting.

This is not like her. This is getting worse by the second, she doesn’t have a clue what to say, and she’s kicking herself for even calling. 

Why can’t she have even an ounce of the romantic charm that her parents had? Why is she so bad at flirting, especially when it comes to Rarity? When she tries to be intentional, it’s like she doesn’t know up from down; she stutters and fumbles like a bumbling buffoon. All this romance stuff seems so easy when she doesn’t care.

After a moment she hears Rarity give a little laugh, a sound like a sparkling stream running through fields of green. It makes AJ’s knees weak, a one-two punch to her joints. Elegance, grace, poise. When Rarity laughs, it’s flower petals dancing in the breeze; it’s birds chirping after a summer rain; it’s the shimmer of quartz shining in a dusty path.

“Oh, I’m spectacular, darling. Just putting the final touches on some designs for next month. I’m confident about my next line, but as always—I have too many ideas. You know me.”

AJ grins at that. “Yeah, I do. Knowin’ you, you’ve got at least a dozen too many.”

The chaotic, unrelenting artist inside Rarity used to annoy the hell outta AJ when they first met. Now she can’t help but find it endearing.

“Quiet, you,” Rarity says coyly, and AJ can hear the smile in her voice before she switches the topic, “How’ve you been, darling? You sound positively stressed.”

There it is again. The feeling of her nerves tying themselves to knots.

“I…uh…I’m doin’ fine. I just-”

“Is everything alright, dear? Anything I can do? I’m glad to offer my assistance—though nothing that could ruin my manicure; I just got a fresh coat. It’s a new formula…supposed to be hard as diamonds. Of course, I don’t believe such ridiculous claims until I try it myself…though I’d hate to push them too hard after I just had them done—Oh, but darling, please. Do tell me if everything is okay with you…?” Despite her rambling, Rarity sounds concerned. Great. And normally AJ would roll her eyes at the manicure excuse, but her nerves are shot, and that’s NOT what this is about.

“No! I mean—yes…I’m alright. Just—you know how it is. Farm and all. Exhausted,” AJ tries to give a lame excuse, though she can hear her voice break in between, and prays Rarity won’t notice. She clears her throat.

With the way it’s pounding between her own ears, AJ’s sure everyone and their mother can hear her heart beating in her chest, running like a wild horse. But that’s just what Rarity does to her.

“Oh, I do know, darling. Work can be a chore, especially for you. Ooh, we should go to the spa—it has been far too long since you spent a day pampering yourself! They have a new treatment that I just know you’ll love...”

“Yeah…yeah, that sounds nice,” AJ says distractedly, chewing on her thumb as Rarity raves about the newest spa services.

She’s blowing it.

She’s. Blowing. It.

Partly because now, she’s thinking about all that beautiful, smooth, creamy skin put on display next to her at the spa, all while she tries not to stare too much or say something stupid. It’s hard for AJ to admit to herself that part of the reason she finally took Rarity’s initial offer of a spa day was because of the promise of seeing her in way less clothing than usual. She got used to it eventually, but—did she really? Is it ever boring to see Rarity, in all her grace and glory, wrapped in nothing more than a towel? She’s all soft curves, and smooth skin, and pretty hair piled up on her head and held together with a big clip. With her hair up like that, it’s easier to see the cute little mole on the curve of her neck, one she probably forgets she even has. If AJ could, she’d lean over and press a kiss right there, feel her tremble under her lips—

“…but Applejack, really—are you alright? You don’t sound a bit like your usual sunny self.”

Fuck. Okay. Moment of truth. C’mon AJ. Stop stalling. Stop fantasizing when you could have it for real.

“Rarity, I’m callin’ ‘cause I—…well, I—“

AJ could ask her for a date, plain and simple. Which would almost surely be a confession. Something about dressing nice and holding doors (which she does anyways). It’s the most unambiguous choice for sure, but…is that what she wants? She’s never been in this situation before, wanting to change the dynamic between her and a close friend to something closer to the heart. She values her dynamic with Rarity, whether it’s romantic or not.

AJ could also just ask if Rarity wants to have dinner, no mention of a date in sight. There’s no obligation there, no real pressure to “get it right.” She knows she’s playing it safe this way, but maybe she should test the waters and make sure she doesn’t completely ruin her friendship with Rarity by confessing right away.

Either way, this means too much for her to blow it off again. She has to decide now.

Tag List: @mrrrpmeow @babydarkstar

[painyrainy]

well like 54 of yall voted on that poll so about 92% of them that voted 'yes' better interact with this post. /j

Left Unspoken - 1

CW for vauge mentions of blood and maggots, not important to the story

The autumn leaves crunched underfoot as Giyu made his way through the orange forest. It was relaxing, breathing in the crisp air without having to think about the demons that lay further in.

Except, that was his job now. To think about the next mission, to think that this day may be his last. Giyu wasn't very good at his job if these things were expected of him.

“Kaw, K-Kaw!”

“Was that… Kanzaburo?” The rusty voice could only match the one crow. “God dammit. I thought I told him to stay behind!”

“Kanzab-”

“Giyu-san! Report to the Butterfly Mansion for fur- further instructions! This is not a mission!”

The crow landed upon his dark-red covered shoulder, leaning into the tangled mess of Giyu's hair. It really was an old crow, though a great companion to have in such a lonely world.

“Not a mission…?” The raven-haired man muttered, lifting his hand to pet Kanzaburo on his feathered head. “If it's not a mission, then what do they want with me?"

“You're here to collect instructions…? I don't know what to tell you, Water Hashira-sama, I've not got a clue on the manner.”

The search for the brief which the Master had provided for him was proving quite difficult. The estate was busy at this hour, with people constantly brushing against his shoulders.

“It's best to just hurry up and get these instructions,” Giyu mutters to himself, the constant noise stimulation building the bricks of chokable nausea in his gut.

“Tomioka- San?”

The raven-haired man's rising anxiety jumps up his throat as his coworker addresses him. People sneaking up on him was never a great idea, for himself, anyway.

Turning around to face the elder Kocho, he mutters out a “Sorry, yes?”, the awkwardness of the situation making Giyu stare at the tiles below their feet.

“I hear you were looking for instructions?” The woman's calm voice breaking through the hubbub of the hospital. “I've been looking for you everywhere. Anyway, follow me, I'll just show you.”

The long-haired butterfly woman leads him through the pistriene corridors of the hospital, the chatter fading away to only the sounds of cleaning and small wheels rolling.

Hospitals always gives him a sense of dread. People may come in, and some may not come out. Even more so that most folk don't even get the luxury of sitting in a bed, even if it just be for a bit. They could have died on the blanket of red stained leaves, the maggots their only company until the earth- or a demons gut- claimed them.

“I've been told to notify you on a sort of… Social exercise?”

“Social?” Giyu unhelpfully repeats, his mind rushing back to the white walls of the mansion. Delayed shock sets in at the emphasised word. What, was he really that noticeably introverted that they need to put him in a social exercise?

“Yes… Recently, lower moon one has been slain by the hands of two highly ranked hashira. One of them injured his vocal chords, and needs rehabilitation before he attends his first Hashira Meeting. And, well, the Master decided to put you there because you could work on your speech regardless of any injury.”

Oh. So it wasn't even about him, not mostly anyway. He's to go in, talk at some guy who can't talk back, (which is exactly what doesn't happen in every single conversation he's ever had,) and leave. “What of the… other?”

The answer hits him before he can finish the sentence. His face burns red as Kanae Kocho responds in a mournful tone.

“Dead. Please, do mind what you say near him, I hear the two were great friends. He's quite the character.”

The raven-haired man mumbles in agreement. A similar fate as him; tortured to become Hashira at the expense of another. Giyu's not sure of what to think, other than send his silent condolences for the man's friend.

“Why can't you do it…? It's more of a rehabilitation, isn't it? To rehabilitate this guys voice…?”

Kanae sighs, brushing her bangs into place. “I suppose I could. It's just… I want to try and get him better… Not just physically? I know him, and he'd never open up to me.”

“Oh.”

For once in his life, Giyu doesn't prod.

As Kocho opened the door to a room brightened from the autumn sun, Giyu hadn't even notice the man sitting up under the covers at first. The only thing that catches his eye is the man's deep violet eyes, linking to his, the shade almost familiar.

Sanemi Shinazugawa is a pale, monochrome man by Giyu's first impression, but as his gaze looks deeper, there's more colour to his grey appearance. The scar- no, scars that litter his face cut up the greyish skin. The pale dusty pink decorating noticeable eyebags and kissed upon his scarred cheeks. His eyelashes…

Giyu is sure if he was given a pen and paper he'd be able to draw him perfectly without mistake, that is how… Mesmerising this man is.

He is stunned out of staring by the door shutting slowly behind him, and there the reality of the situation sets in. He's gotta sit here, with this random guy and try and improve their talking skills. Why can't someone else do it? Giyu thinks he'd much rather die to a demon one million times than have to talk about feelings or whatnot.

Regardless of this, the raven-haired man sits down anyway. On the stool next to the bed- Sitting on the bed is too personal, in his opinion. And by the look Giyu was getting even the stool was too close.

“Hello.”

If looks could kill, Giyu would be blended into a meat smoothie by now.

“I'm Giyu Tomioka. A hashira. I've been put here to, er, help rehabilitate your speech…?”

The same dull look wasn't helping the already ass self presentation. “What am I supposed to say anyway?! Goddamn it…”

“So… um… Can you talk at all right now…?”The raven-haired man internally facepalmed. “Of course he can't talk- that's why I'm here!”

The scarred man seemed to have the same thought process as he wheezed a scoff. Dispite the obvious answer, Shinazugawa still opened his mouth, brows furrowed and eyes alight.

“Fuc-”

The raspy response didn't last long before the man doubled over into the covers, gagging and clawing at the bandages wrapping his throat.

Giyu jumps back off the stool, then almost as suddenly lifts a hand to rub Shinazugawa's back in mediocre comfort. That doesn't last long either after the wheezing man flinches and slaps his hand away.

Giyu sighs, rubbing his reddening hand in defeat. This was obviously impossible.

He should just give up. Tengen was way more chatty than him if they wanted another hashira, even if half the stuff he said were innuendos. Yes. He should just give it to him.

Turning to the door, Giyu accepts defeat, he gives up. What's the point? From seemingly nowhere, a firm hand grasps his haori, pulling him back with enough force to make the man fall over. Sabito’s side of haori. And there he realises, after stepping to face the scarred man. As he gazes into those deep, but light, apologetic purple eyes, he realises.

“Okay. I'll stay…” Giyu mumbles, seemingly to himself.

Shinazugawa pulls his hand away, back onto the bed, and looks away. It's in an almost bashful but irritated manner that stuns Giyu from his first impression of the man.

And Giyu decides, there and then, in the brightly lit hospital room, that it is his duty to help this man who is so different but so like himself. So different, but so similar to Sabito.

[destinyc1020]

Tomdaya checkpoint🛂

💔who broke it off? what was the reason?

❤️who reached out first the second time?

💍engaged/ secretly married?

📸fav pic?

💎fav piece of tomdaya jewellery?

💊do you believe in the plan b tea?

🧢thoughts on Zendaya’s haaat story and the live?

💭what was tom thinking about when he talked about the most important experience in your life that has shaped you into the person you are today, if you could say one?

🍞did Z manage to taste granny Tess’s bread by now?

❌unpopular opinion

LOL is this a Q&A thing anon, or something you want me to make a poll out of? I can't tell lol 😅

Anyway...I'll just answer to the best of my ability....

💔who broke it off? what was the reason? - I have no clue, but if I had to guess, I would say Tom did. 🤷🏾‍♀️ Could have been for a number of reasons. Maybe they were also busy and not able to see each other as much? Could be the H/L/D/DC was getting a bit tiresome? Maybe they were just young and needed time to grow, maybe date other people as well?

❤️who reached out first the second time? - I would say Tom did. Especially since he was the one (I suspect) broke things off with her. Plus, we all suspect he reached out for her when she got her Emmy nod.

💍engaged/ secretly married? - Oof...that's a tough one. I'll say... engarried. LOL 😅

📸fav pic? - Oooof! This is another tough one anon! Gosh! Are you trying to kill me?? Anyway, as crazy as this sounds, this is actually one of my favorite Tomdaya pics. They just look so peaceful together, you can literally sense the love and friendship btwn them just through a silhouette, they look like they will be like this when they're old in their 80s together lol...aaaannnd lastly, it's just a GREAT photography piece! 😊(I do photography)

💎fav piece of tomdaya jewellery? - The piaget necklace... For many reasons lol 😅

💊do you believe in the plan b tea? - Yea.... I do lol 😅

🧢thoughts on Zendaya’s haaat story and the live? - I think I posted my thoughts about this already? 🤔

💭what was tom thinking about when he talked about the most important experience in your life that has shaped you into the person you are today, if you could say one? - No clue Anon lol! You might have to ask Tom that lol. But it obviously involved Z cuz he said so. 🥰

🍞did Z manage to taste granny Tess’s bread by now? - Let's hope!! 😅

❌unpopular opinion - I think fans need to chill about Tomdaya and just let life happen the way it's meant to happen. 👀 I think the constant concern, anxiety, tracking of whereabouts, and FBI detective work is a bit overkill these days in 2024. 😭 We know they're together, we know they're madly in love w/each other, and we can't control the past, present, or future, so let's just enjoy the ride with them....regardless of if they stay together, or break up one day. 😊

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 21: MY BIRTHDAY PARTY TAKES A DARK TURN

Thank you so much to:

@ary-cm

on Tumblr for the awesome cover image!

I can't believe I'm already almost done with one of the three series?!

PJOPJOPJOPJO

Will read what he was sure to be the last chapter title with heavy concern. What on earth could be left to happen to Percy that couldn't have waited until the next disaster of an adventure to start with?

Nico's heart sunk that's how his appearance was described. Apparently whatever respect he'd gained from Percy was already twisted into fear so early. He couldn't blame him, after what he'd talked him into. A lifelong curse he now had no clue about...

"Please involve something cool and fun for once," Thalia sighed, imagining him having one last fight to the death and passing out on his birthday or something. "Like blacklights! You don't enjoy the effects of those enough!"

"To see all the blood in my room? No thank you," Percy scoffed.

The rest of the summer seemed strange because it was so normal.

Will's tone was happy, hyper even, he seemed genuinely excited he was finally getting to share Percy having a normal time at their camp for actual weeks on end for once.

The daily activities continued: archery, rock climbing, Pegasus riding. We played capture the flag (though we all avoided Zeus's Fist).

"Clarisse actually sat out of most of them," Percy recalled in surprise. "Her whole cabin didn't, but she and Chris helped be the medics for a few fights. It was sooo weird, but it made a lot of the campers who were clearly uneasy about him warm up a bit. Especially when Mrs. O'Leary cuddled up to him too."

"He caught on pretty quick," Will agreed, "he still helps out in the infirmary too when he doesn't really need to anymore," he finished with a significant look at Nico. Most kids didn't seem to care who was helping them as long as the pain was going away, his parentage or whatever he'd done in the past usually wasn't on their mind when it hurt like that.

"Are you sure it wasn't changed to Kampe's fist?" Alex asked when Nico didn't seem to be answering in any way. "The first never even seemed to fit."

"Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to try and get everybody to agree on a new name for something?" Will asked. "Even if we did a poll it would be chaos."

Which was no bother at all to Alex of course, so she looked at him like he was the one who was nuts for pretending that was a good excuse not to.

We sang at the campfire and raced chariots and played practical jokes on the other cabins. 

Will hid well how hard the adjustment had been for him that time marched on. Kids had come and gone from the camp, his siblings hadn't been immune to shocking deaths from a random monster attack in the forest or even defecting, it wasn't even the first time he'd been witness to such a thing, if only a handful of times before; but it was usually the ones who'd been there a few weeks. The kids who he'd barely gotten to know.

Lee had been there from day one. Had shown Will the ropes and been his Luke, his best friend, his go to for advice on everything there. It was strange for so long to not wake up every day and have him rousing them for breakfast. Micheal had never tried to emulate him either, he'd done it his own way, which had been all right, but a part of Will had wished someone in there would keep making Loony Tunes references, would keep challenging them to archery target practice instead of just letting the memory of him slowly fade away. Hearing him in Percy's life had been the most he'd been able to think of him in a few years now, and it felt nice.

I spent a lot of time with Tyson, playing with Mrs. O'Leary, but she would still howl at night when she got lonely for her old master. Annabeth and I pretty much skirted around each other. I was glad to be with her, but it also kind of hurt, and it hurt when I wasn't with her, too.

Percy expected the laughing at the teasing, probably a few snarky comments about Rachel.

None came, and as he looked around in surprise he just saw sympathy. Because he didn't have that option now with her nowhere to be seen. He had friends down here, but he still didn't have someone very important to be going through all of this with him.

I wanted to talk to her about Kronos, but I couldn't do that anymore without bringing up Luke. And that was one subject I couldn't raise. She would shut me out every time I tried.

Jason couldn't let that one go without a good laugh though. "I'm now imagining you following her around and she actually darts into random cabins or bathrooms or anywhere she can to slam a door in your face. Maybe even a window if you agitate her enough."

"You're right Jason," Percy sighed with indulgent exhaustion. "I should have cornered her in the woods, maybe used Grover and Tyson to triangle her in so she couldn't escape."

"You say that like she doesn't need an intervention," Thalia grumbled.

July passed, with fireworks on the beach on the Fourth. August turned so hot the strawberries started baking in the fields. Finally, the last day of camp arrived. The standard form letter appeared on my bed after breakfast, warning me that the cleaning harpies would devour me if I stayed past noon.

Magnus opened and closed his mouth several times like he couldn't decide if he wanted to ask how real that threat was. If he stayed and killed the harpies would he be punished or rewarded for yet another fight for his life? Would they devour him if he stayed until 12:01 or if he managed to avoid them until next summer would the ban be lifted?

He ultimately closed his mouth and decided it wasn't worth the headache.

At ten o'clock I stood on the top of Half-Blood Hill, waiting for the camp van that would take me into the city. I'd made arrangements to leave Mrs. O'Leary at camp, where Chiron promised she'd be looked after.

"Tell me you at least intend on riding her down the streets of New York once Percy," Alex looked rather betrayed such a glorious hound was being confined to one camp.

"She deserves to be on a farm where she can stretch and be happy, um, without the death metaphor," Percy shrugged.

"You can still have her for the weekend," she sighed but didn't argue the point further.

Tyson and I would take turns visiting her during the year.

I hoped Annabeth would be riding into Manhattan with me, but she only came to see me off. She said she'd arranged to stay at camp a little longer.

"I can't decide how the bus should feel about that," Jason told him with an almost straight face. "You now range from blowing them up to awkward silence when she's around."

"He's blown up more on his own in his younger years without her, I think the bus should be worried," Thalia offered.

Percy sighed and muttered something about normal friends, whatever that meant.

She would tend to Chiron until his leg was fully recovered, and keep studying Deadalus's laptop, which had engrossed her for the last two months.

"I think you should be thanking some god out there for making sure she stepped away from it," Will agreed.

"She slept with it, Malcolm has proof," Thalia agreed.

Then she would head back to her father's place in San Francisco.

"There's a private school out there that I'll be going to," she said. "I'll probably hate it, but..." she shrugged.

"Yeah, that but," Percy agreed with the same feelings of awkwardness swimming through him now. A feeling that apparently wasn't as good of a swimmer as him, as it kept coasting up and down his throat like vomit!

"Truancy, something even a child of a wisdom goddess would never break the rules for," Alex agreed tragically.

"Yeah, well, call me, okay?"

"Sure," she said half-heartedly. "I'll keep my eyes open for..."

There it was again. Luke. She couldn't even say his name without opening up a huge box of hurt and worry and anger.

"I'll get the key," Nico promised through gritted teeth.

"Maybe you could lose a few while you're at it," Will muttered. Nico seemed to have been better as of late about not keeping everything so close to the chest, but it was still something he found himself worrying about.

"Annabeth," I said. "What was the rest of the prophecy?"

She fixed her eyes on the woods in the distance, but she didn't say anything.

"You would nag Zeus himself about not finishing destroying you," Alex told him with a hint of awe in her voice.

"Seriously Perce, learn to let it go," Jason couldn't help but agree with a troubled frown. Annabeth had been through enough.

Percy didn't feel particularly ashamed though. His stubbornness paid off, and if Annabeth didn't resent him he wasn't going to let these guys make him feel guilty for getting the full picture. It had happened so rarely before meeting her.

"You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze," I remembered. "The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise. We raised a lot of the dead.

Magnus had a cheeky remark on his tongue for, 'who's this we,' before he paused and realized. Bianca might never have revealed herself to Nico if Percy hadn't been there. His coming along on Annabeth's quest was likely essential for that to happen. It hurt his head, a lot, to realize all over again how powerful those fates were to be able to weave together such immensely different and important things.

We saved Ethan Nakamura, who turned out to be a traitor.

A line that Annabeth had probably hoped referred to Luke all this time, Thalia thought miserably. The girl had been a hopeless optimist when it came to him, but that would imply she'd ever fully admit to Luke being a full blown traitor.

We raised the spirit of Pan, the lost one."

"Raised, and or released," Will agreed.

Jason pursed his lips rather than putting in. He kind of regretted his comment to Percy because he loved that they went over these at the end to analyze them, but he felt like he'd only be encouraging Percy.

Annabeth shook her head like she wanted me to stop.

"You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand," I pressed on. "That wasn't Minos, like I'd thought. It was Nico. By choosing to be on our side, he saved us.

Nico still smiled at how casually Percy acknowledged the good he'd done on this quest instead of that unfortunate period of threatening his death. Seems Will had been right, Percy really didn't go around saying a bad thing about him.

And the child of Athena's final stand—that was Daedalus."

"I'm sure Malcolm is so relieved," Percy snorted.

"Percy—"

"Destroy with a hero's final breath. That makes sense now. Daedalus died to destroy the Labyrinth.

"Which is very awesome," Alex couldn't deny. "Though I'm still mildly disappointed Annabeth didn't discover some kind of sonic blast breath or something along the way."

"She uses words as a weapon, isn't that enough?" Percy sighed.

"Whoever said words don't hurt never got hit by a dictionary," Thalia nodded in agreement. She'd gotten quite angry in her youth trying to memorize all the homonyms once and thrown it across the room where Thalia's head happened to be.

But what was the last—"

"And lose a love to worse than death." Annabeth had tears in her eyes. "That was the last line, Percy. Are you happy now?"

"No," Percy whispered, shivering for the first time in the cold depths of the ocean. He'd always known she liked him, but it didn't really hit him until now she liked liked him. Not just admired and was impressed, as Percy once was. It left a very dead feeling inside him, wondering what had stopped her from running away with Luke back when he'd tried to kill Percy. If Luke had gone to Annabeth and taken her away then, how different his life could have been without her.

The sun seemed colder than it had a moment ago. "Oh," I said. "So Luke—"

"Percy, I didn't know who the prophecy was talking about. I—I didn't know if..." She faltered helplessly.

If it meant him, Percy clearly understood that context! She'd thought him dead, she might have even thought kissing him was some final breath that had been all her fault!

He found himself scrunched up in his seat to stop himself beating at the walls. He wanted her in here! He wanted Annabeth to look him in the eyes and say she was okay with how this had all gone and mean it! It was probably selfish of him to want her to relieve this nightmare with him, but he ached for her in a new way he couldn't even begin to describe to himself. Annabeth meant so much to him, couldn't her prophecy have mentioned that!

"Luke and I—for years, he was the only one who really cared about me. I thought..."

Before she could continue, a sparkle of light appeared next to us, like someone had opened a gold curtain in the air.

Magnus finally released a breath he'd been holding for getting to jump off the topic of the creepy idea of his cousin hoping some guy twice her age would be in love with her too and instead blanched in horror if that was Kronos/ Luke about to appear from thin air and murder them all. How was it possible her life was so much more miserable and complicated than his?

"You have nothing to apologize for, my dear." Standing on the hill was a tall woman in a white dress, her dark hair braided over her shoulder.

"Oh hey," Alex said with a hint of violence already on the horizon. "She owes you an explanation!"

Percy grinned a scary sight, tapping his fingers impatiently on his leg and glowering at the book. She'd scarred the piss out of Annabeth, her advice had been in no way helpful, and he had a bad feeling already he could blame more on her soon for how miserable this quest had gone.

Jason sighed. Just what they needed, another god for Percy to piss off.

Thalia was glancing uneasily between Percy and Jason though as her own guilty thoughts got an unpleasant jumpstart. Their reaction to her showing up only reinforced in her she was doing the right thing for now, keeping her suspicions to herself. Percy was already unhappy at Hera for his own and Annabeth's past, if he found out what Thalia was considering he'd rip apart the ocean in a heartbeat just to get rid of his growing tension.

Jason, Jason just looked like he would want no part in this. He was too cautious, to content to let things slide. She enjoyed that about her little brother, it would make picking on him much easier and made him nothing like their dad, but for this it felt right to keep him where he felt safe.

"Hera," Annabeth said.

The goddess smiled. "You found the answers, as I knew you would. Your quest was a success."

"A success?" Annabeth said. "Luke is gone. Daedalus is dead. Pan is dead. How is that—"

"Our family is safe," Hera insisted.

Will couldn't help but read that in agreement. He couldn't help but share the sentiment, that the good had outweighed the bad this time. His brother had died, his camp had felt vulnerable and left him scared to sleep at night like nothing before...and yet he still had a bed. Siblings he could lean on. Not all was lost as it could have easily been. There were better paths out there, like if Hera had actually stepped in and banished all the monsters before any of her 'family' had to die, but Will honestly read that with a sense of joy in his tone that, to Percy's ears, had somehow been lacking. Hera had been stating a fact with pride, Will made Percy smile in some sense of agreement of the word family, even if not the whole pie.

"Those others are better gone, my dear. I am proud of you."

I balled my fists. I couldn't believe she was saying this. "You're the one who paid Geryon to let us through the ranch, weren't you?"

Hera shrugged. Her dress shimmered in rainbow colors.

"Taking a rainbow in vain," Alex scowled hotly for such a beautiful representation of inclusiveness being taken hostage by someone so selective.

"I wanted to speed you on your way."

Will's voice cracked, like someone had stabbed his bubble with a knife. He knew Annabeth had a beef with Hera, the whole camp knew she blamed the goddess for Percy missing. His heart broke though that Nico's journey hadn't even been considered in her wisdom? That she'd only paid for just Annabeth's group to get through and any other half-blood could suffer the consequences? That had been Hera!

"But you didn't care about Nico. You were happy to see him turned over to the Titans."

"Oh, please." Hera waved her hand dismissively. "The son of Hades said it himself. No one wants him around. He does not belong."

The pain of hearing that surprised Nico more than the actual words. His dad said it all the time, he assumed it frequently from the few interactions he'd had with these major gods, but for Hera herself to just come outright and say it made him flinch.

Which quickly morphed into admiration when he heard Will cuss. He hadn't seen that before. Sure he'd been angry in the past, but never full-blown swearing like he was doing now. His southern accent really came through too, he was twanging bad on all his i's and drawing them out to a noticeable level.

"It's, erm, not a big deal Will," Nico patted his hand again. Not one person in here looked like they even sort of agreed with Hera, instead they all looked varying levels of anxious at Will and a tad angry too and his behalf. For some reason that didn't surprise him anymore, which surprised him. "We all know that's how the gods feel about-"

"It is a big deal Nico, because she's being a mother fu-"

"Will," Alex sighed, rubbing her temples. "I agree with every word you're saying, but maybe use some other language, oh child of a poetry god."*

Will finally shut his mouth with a restrained grimace. He didn't feel nearly the amount of better as he'd have liked after venting, but Alex looked as discomforted as Nico for once, who was looking equal parts uncomfortable as usual at being so focused on, everybody watching him for his reaction, and just a tad flattered at Will so vehementily defending him; all while looking rather anxiously at the book clearly wondering how Percy had reacted to that.

So Will conceded he'd made himself plain enough while wondering what the opposite of an offering was as he muttered and searched for his place.

Thalia looked on, mildly impressed and perhaps recruiting Will on her kill Hera crusade, while Percy just felt bad the guy was finally at his level of outrage. He hadn't wanted to drag anyone else down with him.

Magnus and Jason were to busy glancing at every speck to make sure Hera wasn't going to appear and blast them all to smithereens to react properly in time.

"Hephaestus was right," I growled. "You only care about your perfect family, not real people."

Will's voice still shook with fury at just how right the god of the forge was about that apparently. When the gods were born, how much understanding did they have? Had this newborn child looked up at his mother and seen the look of disgust on her face before being pitched off a mountain?

It was an ugly truth Will had never really been confronted with until this moment. It made him sick to realize if Luke had been telling kids this kind of stuff all along and how it wasn't that unbelievable to him anymore. He'd never considered the gods perfect, but growing up in camp had always given him a sense they'd at least grown from their first depictions as the very worst they could be called today. They'd laid out a safe space for their kids to practice and grow, they had to have been evolving with the times, if slower, right?

His breath shook loose, a calming feeling as he remembered his dad helping Percy find Artemis and how awkwardly yet fervently Posideon continued to help Percy. None of them were perfect. They were distant and often harsh and more often unhelpful if they did try and tended to make their lives worse, but Hera was just a horrible exception.

Ares and Hephestus, Zeus and Posideon, he'd never really had much firsthand experience with any god except Mr. D and flip-flopped between pitty and heavy annoyance with him with minimal grudging appreciation he didn't just incinerate them all and call it a job done. Percy's adventure in detail didn't really change anything, it just gave him a heavier feeling of what he'd been fighting for than he'd gone to Manhatten with.

It sort of scared him for a moment, actually, as he frowned at the rest of the page and his skin twitched with displeasure at what he'd really just been doing. He never would have considered thinking all that before being thrown in here, let alone saying it out loud, verbosely, and only having to be stopped because someone asked him to. He'd been noting Nico's slow change with enthusiasm, but hadn't really stopped to consider his own until this moment, and it left an uncomfortable knot in him as he continued.

Her eyes turned dangerously bright. "Watch yourself, son of Poseidon. I guided you more than you know in the maze. I was at your side when you faced Geryon. I let your arrow fly straight. I sent you to Calypso's island. I opened the way to the Titan's mountain.

Nico felt his mouth open for several moments before he realized he should close it. Not since the stories of old had he heard such blatant interference, and it kind of impressed him. That Hera had gone so out of her way, unprompted, to help them every step of the way. He'd never have believed such a thing from Percy's own mouth, but to hear it from an Olympian herself was amazing. Like a real flip of the cards to reveal what her plan had been all along and strike down all foes come to life.

It was, of course, possible she'd done all that just to gloat and change history a bit in making her seem like the caring mother her title suggested she could be, Thalia's painful looking sneer proved this wasn't a popular thought, but Nico still found it extremely fascinating. He'd have never wanted such help from a god before all this, every interaction he'd had with them was laced with tension and she herself proved they wanted nothing to do with him in return...but that didn't make this less interesting to hear by a mile.

Annabeth, my dear, surely you see how I've helped. I would welcome a sacrifice for my efforts."

"Do you think anybody sacrifices to her?" Magnus had very mixed feelings about hearing this, Percy was a tad disgusted to hear a touch of pity in his voice. "I think she really did do this, like a kind of adoption?" He didn't sound that sure though. Like a theory he expected to get trashed. He even mouthed 'sorry' to Nico, not trying to disconnect from the fact she didn't do it well! Yet Annabeth's own mother didn't seem to have stepped in here, maybe Hera had really wanted to help and was just out of practice.

Percy strived to keep his voice even and not too harsh in return. "I, um, think it's a tad more selfish. It sounds like she was willing to win by any means necessary, it just happened to align with our means."

Annabeth stood still as a statue. She could've said thank you. She could've promised to throw some barbecue on the brazier for Hera and forget the whole thing.

Jason looked very queasy at all of this, for once instead of being the arguing party he understood both sides well. Juno probably did feel undervalued, with no direct link to those kids at Camp. Her temple dusty, her history rarely spoken of and if so negatively.

Yet, he had a feeling what Annabeth was about do. The same thing Percy would have done. He had almost grown used to the level of disrespect these guys so often showed to the gods, and it froze some inner part of him with dread at the mere bubble of thought, let alone what his ears were about to hear worse than anything Will could have called her.

But she clenched her jaw stubbornly. She looked just the way she had when she'd faced the Sphinx—like she wasn't going to accept an easy answer, even if it got her in serious trouble. I realized that was one of the things I liked best about Annabeth.

"Name a thing you don't like about Annabeth," Thalia rolled her eyes.

Percy opened his mouth, closed it, thought about it for a moment, and then said with confidence, "her love of olives. I tolerate them at best, but she puts them on everything!"

"Ah, the olive theory, a classic," Alex snickered while Thalia just looked at him with complete pity. Gods, boys.

"Percy is right." she turned her back on the goddess. "You're the one who doesn't belong, Queen Hera. So next time, thanks...but no thanks."

"Not really as harsh as I was expecting," Magnus admitted even as his heart tried to jump around his chest like a jackrabbit on crack no matter what he said.

"I guess that was her restrained dismissal," Alex agreed with a tad more disappointment. She'd probably wanted at least one jump scare at minimum to impress her.

"And this was the girl who warned you to be polite to Ares," Jason mumbled through numb lips, expecting her to drop dead any second honestly.

Hera's sneer was worse than an empousa's. Her form began to glow.

"That, is not great," Magnus said with a very dry mouth. Somehow Percy constantly pissing off gods felt like second nature by now, it really wasn't that great of a concern at this point since he was alive.

Where the heck was Annabeth?! Was this curse to be forced to live at the bottom of the ocean meant for her? If so, the digs seemed way to nice, though perhaps by their standards this was poverty?

"You will regret this insult, Annabeth. You will regret this very much."

I averted my eyes as the goddess turned into her true divine form and disappeared in a blaze of light.

Most of the others flinched and instinctively wanted to close their eyes, imagining a mushroom cloud in her wake after that.

Except Jason, who sat frozen in place without the good sense to do anything other than mutter, "uhoh."

Percy sighed, already knowing he'd probably have to tackle this idiot to the ground at least once in his life if he saw something cool enough to kill them all.

The hilltop was peaceful again. Over at the pine tree, Peleus the dragon dozed under the Golden Fleece as if nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth told me.

"She's sorry?" Percy asked meekly, a very strange expression on his face. "Where's my apology?" His tone implied none was needed though, his lips were twitching to much and he kept rubbing his thumb across them. They all figured out what that tone was and collectively decided they didn't want to hear it again.

"I—I should get back. I'll keep in touch."

"Listen, Annabeth—" I thought about Mount St. Helens, Calypso's Island, Luke and Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and how suddenly everything had gotten so complicated. I wanted to tell Annabeth that I didn't really want to be so distant from her.

Then Argus honked his horn down at the road, and I lost my chance.

"Remind me to smack an eyeball onto Argus's sense of timing," Thalia groaned. She would have personally handcuffed the two together if it would have resolved their problems already.

"Duly noted," Percy and Jason both promised, causing the others to snicker hard.

"You'd better get going," Annabeth said. "Take care, Seaweed Brain."

She jogged down the hill. I watched her until she reached the cabins. She didn't look back once.

Percy had never felt so much at once seeing her take off like a blond comet across the green fields. Her confidence in every stride, how happy he was for her she'd finally made peace with her dad and felt no need to look back.

The longing he wished she'd at least slow down, that she'd shove that tenacity of hers in his face and kiss him again when he wasn't about to die. That she'd tell him he was a Seaweed Brain and that her feelings for him were just as complicated as they were for Luke's at minimum.

Will's voice startled him out of his memory, to be dragged back here as lost and confused as ever what Annabeth would ultimately decide was best for her with no clue how to show her it could be him.

He didn't even know who to ask for advice about this. His dad was kind of out of touch at the dating thing, he'd probably just suggest Percy snap his fingers and offer to split the ocean for her or something, or ban him from talking to Annabeth if he didn't already know who she was. His mom was just way to embarrassing to even consider every time her name came up. Chiron, maybe...nope. Still to awkward. He was starting to become more convinced by the hour that lone memory he'd awoken in here with was a dream and a fortune teller was probably his best bet. Gods he was hopeless.

Two days later it was my birthday. I never advertised the date, because it always fell right after camp, so none of my camp friends could usually come, and I didn't have that many mortal friends.

"Do you, have any?" Thalia honestly tried to ask without sarcasm, but it sounded that way anyways.

"Um, I used to cat sit for this really old lady before we moved and she'd give me jelly beans when I walked her dog," Percy shrugged.

"A true bestie I'm sorry we never got to meet," Thalia chuckled.

Besides, getting older didn't seem like anything to celebrate since I'd gotten the big prophecy about me destroying or saving the world when I turned sixteen.

"There are so many themes you could do around that though!" Alex sighed. "I can think of three off the top of my head!"

"Alex can and will make a volcano explode in your apartment," Magnus sighed with full confidence.

"But I'll leave the surprise of who jumps out," she winked.

"Pass," Percy could only say hesitantly though. It sounded fun, he'd never even had a bounce house before...but hadn't it already happened? Retroactive birthday party? Maybe? If he survived another year?

Now I was turning fifteen. I was running out of time.

My mom threw me a small party at our apartment. Paul Blofis came over, but that was okay because Chiron had manipulated the Mist to convince everyone at Goode High School that I had nothing to do with the band room explosion.

"Yes!" Percy fist bumped the air with such exuberance there was yet another new crack in the ceiling. "I thought of that before but didn't know if I'd remember to tell Chiron before I left!"

"Now remember this plan for the next time," Nico chuckled.

Percy sighed at the already assured knowledge there was going to be a next time, but it had been a nice five seconds while it lasted.

Now Paul and the other witnesses were convinced that Kelli had been a crazy, firebomb-throwing cheerleader, while I had simply been an innocent bystander who'd panicked and ran from the scene. I would still be allowed to start as a freshman at Goode next month. If I wanted to keep my record of getting kicked out of school every year, I'd have to try harder.

"You say that like it was your fault," Magnus told him bracingly. "Until someone invents monster repellent, you can try all you like and get nowhere."

He meant it in a positive way, but Percy nodded as glumly as before. It was something he'd heard all his life being ADHD. He'd have to try ten times harder than the 'normal' kids and still never be on their level, which to him sounded like he really shouldn't bother trying that hard at all.

Tyson came to my party, too, and my mother baked two extra blue cakes just for him.

Percy bounced in his seat for a moment with one of the happier grins they'd seen on his face today. Annabeth couldn't or wouldn't be there, Percy didn't feel like his own birth should be celebrated, but his little brother was there. His mom had opened the door and greeted him with a Tyson worthy hug and had extra cake just for him and that was pretty much the greatest birthday present he'd want anyways.

While Tyson helped my mom blow up party balloons, Paul Blofis asked me to help him in the kitchen.

As we were pouring punch, he said, "I hear your mom signed you up for driver's ed this fall."

"Would Percy's bus explosion problem translate to cars?" Alex asked eagerly.

"Gods I hope not," Percy sighed.

"I'm not sure I get the stereotype about New Yorkers and driving," Magnus admitted. "You have to walk everywhere because the streets are horrible, but if everybody walks or takes the subway why are the streets so bad?"

"We're fearless about any obstacle but are to impatient," Percy grinned.

Magnus might as well have asked him to spell out those Canadian monsters names again for all the light that provided on the subject.

"Yeah. It's cool. I can't wait."

Seriously, I'd been excited about getting my license forever,

"Pretty sure that's something we look forward to from the time we're born," Will said wistfully. He'd spent the whole day of his sixteenth birthday on the chariot track, imagining it as his dad's sun-mobile. He'd spent the previous week painting it bright red and everything and, according to his own imagination, won every Indie 500 Race that day.

Only to have several of his siblings show up and hog the races the rest of the day from the rest of camp to make that a reality. Kayla had even painted brands and logos on some of them for authenticity while Micheal and Lee somehow always had the dastardly bad luck of fumbling the finish so Will could sail through.

It really had been a good day, and only a tad bittersweet at the end as he sat on the roof of his cabin watching the sun go down, his prayer unanswered of hoping his dad would just make an appearance, let alone let him touch the sun. Austin had assured him that night as he flopped into bed they'd all made that wish and Apollo hadn't answered in centries for any of his kids, just another day.

but I guess my heart wasn't in it anymore, and Paul could tell. In a weird way he reminded me of Chiron sometimes, how he could look at you and actually see your thoughts.

Will realized his thoughts had drifted him into a melancholy mood, and trying to jump right back out, he offered, "hey, did you know Chiron will help kids at camp get their license if they want to. He does something with the mist, gives them papers if they need it, but they still have to pass on their own merit," he finished with a grin at remembering Connor nearly drove his practice car into a jewelry store and still insisted it was an accident. It probably was an accident, but it was still funny too.

"I was actually wondering about that for a second," Magnus told him gratefully. He knew he was out of luck on that front and would likely remain homeless forever because of it, but for once this Camp finally had a solid, irrefutably good thing he might be able to look into.

 I guess it was that teacher aura.

"Is the dark turn Paul's been a secret FBI agent all along infiltrating the school," she paused with a wild gasp, "or your family! And he reveals the secret conspiracy of hauling you all away to Area 51!"

"Alex," Percy sighed with a good-hearted grin. "You are going to be excellent at whatever you decide your life is."

"Living that dream," she smirked.

"You've had a rough summer," he said. "I'm guessing you lost someone important. And...girl trouble?"

"I guess we know who the problem child is, the ones the parents gossip about," Thalia did a pretty good impression of an ornery older sister to Percy's ears while he flushed and muttered a bit about how he wasn't surprised this had come up with his mom.

I stared at him. "How do you know that? Did my mom—"

He held up his hands. "Your mom hasn't said a thing.

"Oh," Thalia sounded as stunned as anybody while Percy went from shocked to pleased the fastest. Percy had never really missed his life as a mortal, he'd spent to much of his younger years being the odd kid out to even know what that felt like but at this moment he knew that if Paul was the dad in his life that he didn't have to be, things would have still turned out all right for him.

And I won't pry. I just know there's something unusual about you, Percy. You've got a lot going on that I can't figure. But I was also fifteen once, and I'm just guessing from your expression...Well, you've had a rough time."

I nodded. I'd promised my mom I would tell Paul the truth about me, but now didn't seem the time. Not yet.

"Save that for his birthday," Jason chuckled, "see how long he thinks you're pranking him and asking for his real present before it sinks in."

"Well I know who I'm scratching off my next guest list," Percy rolled his eyes.

"I was on the list?" Jason looked surprised, which Percy hoped was a joke. Obviously everybody in here was.

"I lost a couple of friends at this camp I go to," I said. "I mean, not close friends, but still—"

Will looked touched all the same Percy didn't go back to his home and try to forget it even happened. Maybe the next time there was a war council meeting and Lee wasn't at the table Percy wouldn't just blink and breeze right past it like it had entirely left his mind.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah. And, uh, I guess the girl stuff..."

Percy had never been the greatest with his words. He had no more clue what to say to Paul than to Annabeth herself, how to get started on her and Rachel and Luke and the constant question mark bouncing around in his head. It wasn't because of Paul though. He'd stood there waiting patiently the entire time as he'd gathered his useless thoughts and then scraped them at least five times.

"Here." Paul handed me some punch. "To your fifteenth birthday. And to a better year to come."

We tapped our paper cups together and drank.

Percy couldn't have asked for a better toast. Any year had to be better than the one he'd just had. Right?

"Percy, I kind of feel bad giving you one more thing to think about," Paul said. "But I wanted to ask you something."

"He asks you if you're a half-blood?" Thalia asked, because really, it had to be something with Paul. Maybe he could see through the Mist too and never knew how to say it before he saw Kelli.

"Is he going to ask what he should have gotten you for your birthday?" Will asked, imagining he'd gotten Percy, like, a black puppy that turned out to be a hellhound too or something and that was the 'dark turn.'

"Is he going to ask to move in already?" Magnus asked, no clue how fast these things were supposed to go, but it felt like 'a step,' worthy of including Percy.

"What is the capital of Bulgaria?" Alex chuckled.

"Yeah?"

"Girl stuff."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh gods," Jason's mind started spinning like a guinea pig. "He's not going to ask you what he should get your mom for her birthday?" 

"Sounds, um, kind of nice?" Nico offered. Percy obviously got along with Paul, maybe Paul was looking for a way to spend more time with him.

"Your mom," Paul said. "I'm thinking about proposing to her."

"Oooh," all seven of them said with the same blank look. That was, so beyond the scope of their understanding honestly, they barely knew how to react to that other than nonplussed, maybe a little mild pleasure. None of the others really had a great enough relationship with their own mortal parent to process entirely what was being said.

I almost dropped my cup. "You mean...marrying her? You and her?"

"Sally and Paul, sitting in a tree," Thalia burst out singing with surprised laughter.

Percy came out of his dumbfounded state enough to react to that and give her a shove. He was happy for them, a hundred percent. Really, it wouldn't even be that weird, the guy was over all the time anyways. He just didn't even know how to process something like this because it didn't involve stabbing something.

"Well, that was the genera idea. Would that be okay with you?"

"You're asking my permission?"

Paul scratched his beard. "I don't know if it's permission, so much, but she's your mother. And I know you're going through a lot. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't talk to you about it first, man to man."

"Man to man," I repeated.

Percy had never been called anything more than his mom's little man before. He found himself sitting up straight in his beanbag chair, smiling with a new kind of pride.

It sounded strange, saying that. I thought about Paul and my mom, how she smiled and laughed more whenever he was around, and how Paul had gone out of his way to get me into high school. I found myself saying, "I think that's a great idea, Paul. Go for it."

It had felt like the obvious answer the moment he'd said it. Paul had looked him right in the eye while asking, despite their height difference. He was always there for his mom, he'd never made her cry. Percy didn't even know what else people needed to be in a marriage, but he already knew it would be better than what she'd had before.

He smiled really wide then. "Cheers, Percy. Let's join the party."

Percy had followed him with a strut in his step he'd never had before. His imagination had already been going wild, asking Paul to help him put on those weird monkey suits he'd only seen on TV. Would Paul ask Percy to call him dad? How upset would he be if Percy never wanted to?

But his mom...those seemed like minor problems when he could already feel the happiness through a kind of faith alone he'd never had for the gods that she was never going to stop smiling after this day.

I was just getting ready to blow out the candles when the doorbell rang.

"Did you make a wish?" Thalia asked with interest. The only time she'd ever managed to sit down for one of her birthdays was over a trashcan fire with Luke and Annabeth. They'd found some lumpy, frozen chocolate that had clearly all once melted together and were chipping it away, the two teasing her not to blow out their 'candle' that was keeping them warm, and she'd only promised her wish would be it never did. Other than that experience, she had no clue what someone would wish for.

"Yeah," Percy grinned without elaborating. It had just been a feeling really, of hope, that everything would be okay. He'd bottled it up tight and been about to exhale it onto that candle as a kind of offering all its own to the cosmos when that knock had interrupted him. He tried not to frown at that being some kind of bad omen.

My mom frowned. "Who could that be?"

It was weird, because our new building had a doorman, but he hadn't called up or anything. My mom opened the door and gasped.

It was my dad.

Percy had instantly felt zapped, shrunk back down to twelve years old again and seeing him for the first time on Olympus. He'd wanted to load him into a taxi and have some fairy tale ending. Instead, he'd told Percy he regretted him being born.

He was wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt and Birkenstocks, like he usually does. His black beard was neatly trimmed and his sea-green eyes twinkled. He wore a battered cap decorated with fishing lures. It said NEPTUNE'S LUCKY FISHING HAT.

"Pos—" My mother stopped herself.

"What kind of fake name could she have even given?" Alex asked in amusement. "Pos, pause, pus," she kept trying to enunciate that into something and looked increasingly frustrated coming up with nothing. "Posterior? Pustrami? Pussudinym? Postumus? Possible? Positive, Pustual, Potter, Pos-"

"Posey?" Percy offered. That was a flower, and a girl's name, right? Then he went crosseyed as he realized what he just suggested his dad should go by for any length of time.

"Yes! Great one Percy!" Alex cackled in delight.

"I think we could go through every religion to find his alter ego and he'd still rather just go by his own name," Will finally interrupted the madness with a laugh.

She was blushing right to the roots of her hair. "Um, hello."

"Hello, Sally," Poseidon said. "You look as beautiful as ever. May I come in?"

"Can you say no to that?" Magnus stage whispered.

"I wouldn't want to try," Percy shrugged though because it was his dad, not in general.

My mother made a squeaking sound that might've been either a "Yes" or "Help." Poseidon took it as a yes and came in.

Percy shook his head at the six of them getting a good laugh out of that, Thalia of course escalating it by giving him a hearty clap on the shoulder and saying, "well, now we know where you got that from too."

"I don't squeak," he finished with a long, exhausted sigh knowing he couldn't really deny any such thing.

Paul was looking back and forth between us, trying to read our expressions.

Jason nodded in understanding. Some random guy showing up probably had Paul instinctively worried about Gabe showing up, if Sally had shared anything about him at all.

Finally he stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Paul Blofis."

Magnus crinkled up his nose in disgust at the idea of a creepy, three-eyed monkey coming to mind who always introduced himself like that at the end of those old cartoons. He'd really hated that thing. It had nothing to do with Paul, it was just a bad name association.

Poseidon raised his eyebrows as they shook hands. "Blowfish, did you say?"

"Ah, no. Blofis, actually."

"Oh, I see," Poseidon said. "A shame. I quite like blowfish.

"Poseidon's favorite son confirmed," Will snorted.

"At least it's not Antaeus," Percy shrugged.

I am Poseidon."

"I kind of like that better," Alex said. "Just come right out with it, why hide?"

"I think we just heard Alex's life motto," Nico grinned.

"Poseidon? That's an interesting name."

"Yes, I like it. I've gone by other names, but I do prefer Poseidon."

"Like the god of the sea."

"Very much like that, yes."

"Well!" my mom interrupted.

"I have never thought of your mom as a killjoy before this moment," Thalia admitted. "Even when she's being boring and safe and loving, telling you not to die and be careful and all that nonsense. This, this I would have paid to see how long your dad would go on like this."

"She's a little stressed," Percy shrugged, "and she gets a free pass."

"She gets all the free passes," Thalia nodded in agreement.

"Um, we're so glad you could drop by. Paul, this is Percy's father."

"Ah." Paul nodded, though he didn't look real pleased. "I see."

"Oooh, jealousy," Alex snickered in surprise.

"I'm guessing Paul's not his biggest fan," Percy agreed, confusion mixed into every syllable of how he felt about this. "My mom always made sure I knew my dad didn't abandon me, but you know, I was a little kid. I don't think Pual would have taken to that lost at sea thing. He probably wants to speak to him man to man too," he finished with an awkward smile he'd definitely have to be a part of that conversation to make sure nobody got turned into blowfishes.

Poseidon smiled at me. "There you are, my boy. And Tyson, hello, son!"

"Daddy!" Tyson bounded across the room and gave Poseidon a big hug, which almost knocked off his fishing hat.

"Naww," Magnus smiled in surprise.

"It was that or Tyson was going to burst into tears of joy or something," Percy grinned in relief at this choice.

Paul's jaw dropped. He stared at my mom. "Tyson is..."

"Not mine," she promised.

"Legally," Percy mock whispered, using air quotes and everything.

"It's a long story."

"I couldn't miss Percy's fifteenth birthday," Poseidon said. "Why, if this were Sparta, Percy would be a man today!"

"That's true," Paul said. "I used to teach ancient history."

Poseidon's eyes twinkled. "That's me. Ancient history.

"Have the gods written a memoir?" Jason asked with a false amusement meant to hide his instant need for such a thing. "An autobiography? A manuscript? A rough draft I could steal?"

"Jason, that last one could count as high treason, worse than stealing the bolt," Percy told him with wide-eyed concern that wasn't really mocking.

Jason laughed like he was kidding, but even to his own ears he knew he didn't convince anyone.

Sally, Paul, Tyson...would you mind if I borrowed Percy for a moment?"

He put his arm around me and steered me into the kitchen.

Once we were alone, his smile faded.

Percy sighed as that chapter title came true, again. He wished they wouldn't even be there to kill his blue skies, always looming over whatever nice moment he'd been having. Like storm clouds rolling in and chasing everyone off the beach. His dad hadn't done it on purpose he was sure, it had just instantly killed his mood.

"Are you all right, my boy?"

That immediately felt like the storm running out of rain though as Percy smiled. Chiron had called him that many times, but it had never hit as hard as that did.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I guess."

"I guess," Thalia nodded without surprise. "You know Percy, you don't have to guess every question you're given."

"I'm right like, fifty percent of the time," Percy shrugged.

"I call bullsit on that number," Jason scoffed.

"And I'm to bad at math to do the actual percentage," Percy scoffed right back.

"I heard stories," Poseidon said. "But I wanted to hear it directly from you. Tell me everything."

"See, this is why they invented cellphones though, to avoid awkward moments like this," Magnus said with a twitchy feeling in his gut. The gods popped up at any old place now, yeah been there done that, but something about Poseidon being in Percy's apartment was giving him a feeling of anxiety. Ever since Gabe had left, Percy had always felt safe there, and though his dad was clearly no threat to him, it felt invasive. Like he could hear howls in the distance...

So I did. It was kind of disconcerting, because Poseidon listened so intently. His eyes never left my face. His expression didn't change the whole time I talked. When I was done, he nodded slowly.

"I cannot say I've ever had a god's undivided attention before," Will said with a touch of awe. When Annabeth had done it, he'd been infuriated beyond words. Now his mind felt overflown with jealousy at Percy getting the same from his dad. It really did feel like all or nothing for the Olympians sometimes.

"So Kronos is indeed back. It will not be long before full war is upon us."

"As opposed to the minor battles you've been dealing with," Nico sighed.

"What is war if not just for a bunch of little battles," Thalia agreed.

"Violent," Alex offered.

"Profitable," Percy raised his hand for something he actually remembered from a class.

"You two think you're so clever," Thalia scoffed.

"What about Luke?" I asked. "Is he really gone?"

"I don't know, Percy. It is most disturbing."

"But his body is mortal. Couldn't you just destroy him?"

"We've been asking that since he summoned a scorpion and tore a rip in the air with a sword," Magnus said, and by we he clearly meant himself.

"Mortal, perhaps, but there is something different about Luke, my boy. I don't know how he was prepared to host the Titan's soul, but he will not be easily killed. And yet, I fear he must be killed if we are to send Kronos back to the pit. I will have to think on this. Unfortunately, I have other problems of my own."

"That, was the best summary of the gods, and I didn't even have to Sparknotes it," Nico sighed. Yeah, your problem sucked, but I'm busy with other things!

I remembered what Tyson had told me at the beginning of the summer. "The old sea gods?"

"I wonder if Oceanus is listening in on us and muttering about how his strategies still would have worked," Thalia said with interest. She wished he wasn't such a reclusive old nut, she'd have liked the chance to hear the perspective of an old Titan.

"More likely he'd forget our names every other minute and be whining about how the Olympians run things," Percy rolled his eyes.

"Back in my day we squashed puny mortals on their birthday!" Alex even gave a helpful old man impression again to prove Percy's point, earning a grin from said child of the sea.

"Tethy's didn't seem that bad," Jason was clearly on Thalia's side with a hopeful smile at the door.

"So long as she keeps that thermometer away from me," Percy insisted.

"Indeed. The battle came first to me, Percy. In fact, I cannot stay long. Even now the ocean is at war with itself. It is all I can do to keep hurricanes and typhoons from destroying your surface world, the fighting is so intense."

His dad had been stroking his beard the whole time, a nervous tick Percy had never seen him do before. He didn't have his triton on him, also a first. Poseidon had seemed more human in that kitchen than Percy realized he even could be. Like that delirious moment of him just waltzing back into his mom's life and snapping his fingers to make everything perfect was possible for just this second.

And then what he'd said really sunk in. That his dad, in all his godly power, was already exhausted and torn in half by a war long before Zeus even admitted one was happening. His father, like any of the gods, was far from perfect.

"Let me come down there," I said. "Let me help."

"The summer camp I'm honestly surprised you haven't attended yet," Alex agreed.

"Not for lack of trying!" Percy groaned.

Poseidon's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Not yet, my boy.

"Yet," Percy sighed, though when he did try and search through his mind to get a glimpse for that feeling, it hurt. A trace of pain lancing through him he had no wish to play connect the dots with in the slightest.

I sense you will be needed here. Which reminds me..." He brought out a sand dollar and pressed it into my hand. "Your birthday present. Spend it wisely."

"Is, that a joke?" Jason asked slowly.

"Um, spoiler, I didn't laugh," Percy promised if it was.

"Uh, spend a sand dollar?"

"Oh, yes. In my day, you could buy quite a lot with a sand dollar.

"Could probably buy a whole sand mansion or something back in his day," Nico snorted.

"Wasn't he kind of born owning the ocean?" Magnus asked. "How rich is he from just all the treasure in the seas?"

"More immeasurable than his already infinite power I'm sure," Percy sighed at them missing the point, as usual.

I think you will find it still buys a lot, if used in the right situation."

"What situation?"

"When the time comes," Poseidon said, "I think you'll know."

Percy sighed at the strange feeling that gave him. Like he knew his dad was right, and it wasn't even particularly painful like the last time he'd just tried to understand this cryptic advice, but it was still as exhausting as wondering whose string those old ladies had cut. Better than sending him another card though.

I closed my hand around the sand dollar, but something was really bothering me.

"Only one something?" Jason sighed. "Because I'm over here losing track of all my somethings."

"I prioritize better," Percy smirked.

"You forget more," Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Dad," I said, "when I was in the maze, I met Antaeus. He said...well, he said he was your favorite son. He decorated his arena with skulls and—"

It had been a really horrible moment in a vast, never-ending sequence of horrible moments down in that maze. Nobody was surprised this one had stuck with Percy.

It was nice he got the chance to air it for once. That Poseidon had a chance to answer for why he'd never stepped in and told Antaeus to knock it off with the murdery entertainment.

"He dedicated them to me," Poseidon supplied. "And you are wondering how someone could do something so horrible in my name."

I nodded uncomfortably.

Poseidon put his weathered hand on my shoulder. "Percy, lesser beings do many horrible things in the name of the gods. That does not mean we gods approve. The way our sons and daughters act in our names...well, it usually says more about them than it does about us. And you, Percy, are my favorite son."

Percy smiled to bright for them to do anything other than smile along, the answer had clearly meant a lot to him that they weren't going to badger for more.

Yet it felt more like a redirect than an answer.

He smiled, and at that moment, just being in the kitchen with him was the best birthday present I ever got. Then my mom called from the living room.

"Percy? The candles are melting!"

"You'd better go," Poseidon said. "But, Percy, one last thing you should know. That incident at Mount St. Helens..."

For a second I thought he was talking about Annabeth kissing me, and I blushed, but then I realized he was talking about something a lot bigger.

"There was something bigger that happened?" Alex said in an oh so innocent impression of Percy's voice.

Percy gave her an eye roll for that, a blush on his cheeks but sinking lower in his seat all the same for what he'd done.

"The eruptions are continuing," he said. "Typhon is stirring. It is very likely that soon, in a few months, perhaps a year at best, he will escape his bonds."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean—"

Poseidon raised his hand. "It is not your fault, Percy. It would've happened sooner or later, with Kronos awakening the ancient monsters.

Percy couldn't believe the weight that was lifted off of him, like taking a much needed breath of air. He did still feel the responsibility of that on his shoulders, but for his own dad to assure him it wasn't his fault was unbelievable when he knew best the gods would try and blame this kind of mistake on the easiest target available.

But be aware, if Typhon stirs...it will be unlike anything you have faced before. The first time he appeared, all the forces of Olympus were barely enough to battle him. And when he stirs again, he will come here, to New York. He will make straight for Olympus."

"Oh, so it's not just my birthday that took a dark turn," Percy sighed. "It's the whole stinking continent that's soon going to be covered in ash and blotting out the sun getting a dark turn."

Thalia gave his shoulder a gentle shake and her usual spiel about not freaking out to early while Nico batted his eyes at Percy in surprise. He'd been so sure that stupid thing related to him, that he'd hear Percy's uncomfortable thoughts about inviting him inside to darken his apartment. Percy's wasn't exactly a great interpretation, but it certainly was different than his.

That was just the kind of wonderful news I wanted to get on my birthday, but Poseidon patted me on the back like everything was fine. "I should go. Enjoy your cake."

And just like that he turned to mist and was swept out the window on a warm ocean breeze.

Alex chuckled for a moment before telling Nico, "you still have the best calling card in this one by the way, but Poseidon does get points for spirit on that."

Nico swelled with pride he was being compared to some god other than his dad to care what those points were worth.

It took a little work to convince Paul that Poseidon had left via the fire escape, but since people can't vanish into thin air, he had no choice but to believe it.

"I feel so bad for Paul," Magnus chuckled as he rubbed his temple. "Knowing the answer you're given isn't the truth but feeling crazy there's no other answer."

"Yeah," Percy agreed with a sorrowful nod. He'd felt awful lying to Paul after the awesome talk they'd just had and resolved in himself to tell him the truth sooner rather than later. He hoped he'd managed to do that before this whole disappearing off the face of the earth thing he'd apparently done so his mom had someone to really confide in about her worries.

We ate blue cake and ice cream until we couldn't eat anymore. Then we played a bunch of cheesy party games like charades and Monopoly. Tyson didn't get charades. He kept shouting out the answer he was trying to mime,

"Which is lucky for you because he would have kicked all of your butts being such an awesome artist," Alex grinned.

"I call him on my team!" Jason instantly yelped.

"Hey, no dibs before we even set up our own game night," Alex narrowed her eyes with a menace none of them were sure was entirely playful.

"Got to be faster Alex, sorry," Jason just shrugged smugly.

Thalia loudly cleared her throat to move that on before she had to restrain the two.

but it turned out he was really good at Monopoly. He knocked me out of the game in the first five rounds and started bankrupting my mom and Paul.

"I see Tyson really got all of Poseidon's good traits," Magnus laughed in surprise.

"I call him on my Monopoly team," Alex said swiftly.

Jason sighed in defeat they would switch it up between games and gave in.

"How do you play Monopoly in teams?" Percy asked.

"By making shit up I'm sure," Thalia shrugged at the amount of chaos that was going to happen when this night happened.

I left them playing and went into my bedroom.

"Aw Perce, don't tell me you're a sore loser," Will frowned.

"More like I was getting a headache watching their money move hands so fast," Percy grinned.

I set an uneaten slice of blue cake on my dresser.

Nico smiled in surprise that finally explained why, when he'd materialized, he'd heard shouting in the background like there had been a gameshow on when the TV was off as he'd come in. He'd thought he had shut it off or something crazy when he'd come in with his weird powers and aura and they'd fallen silent upon seeing him. Turned out it was a much more fun, and mundane reason.

Then I took off my Camp Half-Blood necklace and laid it on the windowsill. There were three beads now, representing my three summers at camp—a trident, the Golden Fleece, and the latest: an intricate maze, symbolizing the Battle of the Labyrinth, as the campers had started to call it. I wondered what next year's bead would be, if I was still around to get it. If the camp survived until next summer.

Percy did have another bead on there, of course, and he clasped his fist around the lot now, his throat as tight with worry as ever what had happened between all that. He felt like the best-case scenario was he'd come out alive, but the more realistic possibility was he'd just gone nuts and molded one for himself in a mock victory from his grave or something before being plopped in here.

I looked at the phone by my bedside. I thought about calling Rachel Elizabeth Dare. My mom had asked me if there was anyone else I wanted to have over tonight, and I'd thought about Rachel. But I didn't call. I don't know why. The idea made me almost as nervous as a door into the Labyrinth.

Thalia sighed with guilty relief he hadn't. It would have just been awkward if Annabeth found out about that...and yet she knew from Annabeth Percy had spent a large chunk of time coming up hanging out with Rachel so she was a tad surprised that hadn't started here.

I patted my pockets and emptied out my stuff—Riptide, a Kleenex, my apartment key.

"You kept up with that this whole time," Will asked in complete disbelief. "I need the brightest rainbow lanyard I can find to keep up with my key to my cabin because I keep losing the dang thing and my siblings started locking me out after the seventh time."

"I never lock my cabin door," Percy said blankly.

"You scare kids to much to sneak in there," Thalia scoffed.

"I want to know how and why you got a kleenex," Alex snorted. "And, more importantly, why you didn't offer that to Annabeth when she was sobbing her nose out."

Percy's heart froze and his mind scrambled as he suddenly found himself asking the same thing before Magnus jumped in saying, "probably pocketed it from that meal with Hera, I wouldn't trust that thing not to be poisoned anymore. Grover's probably just immune to such things."

Which didn't make Percy feel better, but did make him laugh for a moment along with the others.

Then I patted my shirt pocket and felt a small lump. I hadn't even realized it, but I was wearing the white cotton shirt Calypso had given me on Ogygia.

"I bet Annabeth loved that," Jason muttered, imagining she'd hardly looked at him the entire time because of the reminder.

Percy had been amazed it held up so well, covered in dirt, mud, and other unmentionable things he was sure. She was probably more amazing with a loom than Circe for giving him clothes he hadn't lost and or torn to shreds.

I brought out a little piece of cloth, unwrapped it, and found the clipping of moonlace. It was a tiny sprig, shriveled up after two months, but I could still smell the faint scent of the enchanted garden. It made me sad.

Percy touched where the little pocket had been over his heart, of course no longer there on his camp shirt. He had done the impossible, he had forgotten about Calypso even for a brief time in all the other madness that went on when he came home. Now it was Annabeth, Rachel, and Calypso all bouncing around in his head like a screen saver all fighting for his attention as his fingers tightened in his shirt before he dropped his hand back to his lap and sighed.

What the hell had Hera meant by it, sending him to her island? Had it been a warning, that all the Titans had faced punishment and Percy had better remember which side he belonged on? Had it been her deranged way of helping, giving him a chance to heal there, a place she knew he'd never stay on?

All he did know was that, like all help with the gods, it felt more harmful than good really. From now on, only his dad was allowed to send him off on vacations, and that was a spotty vow considering he wasn't sure what the outcome of this place was going to be yet.

I remembered Calypso's last request of me: Plant a garden in Manhattan for me, will you? I opened the window and stepped onto the fire escape.

My mom kept a planter box out there. In the spring she usually filled it with flowers, but now it was all dirt, waiting for something new. It was a clear night. The moon was full over Eighty-second Street. I planted the dried sprig of moonlace carefully in the dirt and sprinkled a little nectar on it from my camp canteen.

Nothing happened at first.

Then, as I watched, a tiny silver plant sprang out of the soil—a baby moonlace, growing in the warm summer night.

"I'm surprised Grover didn't sniff that out and eat it," Alex broke the heavy tension falling around them. "I honestly expected this to be mentioned back at camp as an invasive species and D would rip it up and threaten to strangle you with it."

"My brain works in mysterious ways," Percy grinned, a sad but meaningful one to help take his mind off all the bad. "That's probably why it waited until just now, weeks later, for me to ever think of cleaning out my pockets."

"Mmm, yes, mysterious," Alex laughed, because she said mysterious like one would their least favorite kind of cheese.

"Nice plant," a voice said.

I jumped. Nico di Angelo was standing on the fire escape right next to me.

"Nico's back!" Will yelped in surprise. For once he hadn't been tensing up beside him, fidgeting and internally freaking out about this happening, so Will had not a hint of warning any more than anybody else.

"I've been here the whole time you nit," Nico rolled his eyes with a smile.

Will's arm pulled him just another tiny little bit closer as he just laughed in surprise and kept going like the whole room was a bit brighter all of a sudden, making Nico blush and for the first time think of pushing him away making this 'a thing.' It was just a fleeting thought though, one he didn't act on.

Will didn't find it hard to explain to himself why he was so jazzed for this news. It was the very first instance of Nico reaching out to anybody, especially the most perfect person on the planet being Percy with his mom right on the other side of that door. For Nico to get a glimpse of how he should be greeted any time he entered a room.

"Is anybody going to ask how?" Percy yelped loudly, rudely interrupting Will's joyful reading as he stared strangely at Nico. "You appeared out of nowhere dude!"

"Practice," Nico said with pride in his voice, which of course, was no answer.

Percy groaned, Chiron and Thalia were known to do that too so it wasn't just the gods being cryptic and annoying, they were passing it on!

Nico really did give him a sorrowful smile though and pressed his finger to his lips, his skull ring gleaming. They had shadow-traveled a lot in the coming time, and he didn't want to upset Percy now when he saw the last page in Will's hand. They were nearly done with another, no need to go pushing Percy's mind to its limit when he'd get his answer without Nico forcing it on him soon enough.

He'd just appeared there.

"Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"That's—that's okay. I mean...what are you doing here?"

Nico inhaled carefully, letting his mind think of that with interest now rather than the little happy dance he'd been doing in his head Percy's first reaction back then hadn't been pushing him off the fire escape in surprise. Now he really heard this for what it was. Not the blatant acceptance he so craved, just Percy reacting to him somehow even better than he had Rachel popping up in his mortal life. It was surprisingly a nicer, warmer feeling than his old feeling he had to keep off any part of his face.

He'd grown about an inch taller over the last couple of months. His hair was a shaggy black mess. He wore a black T-shirt, black jeans, and a new silver ring shaped like a skull. His Stygian iron sword hung at his side.

"An outfit you apparently never changed out of," Jason chuckled in surprise.

"I bet he has a closet full of the same outfit," Alex sighed tragically.

"I like this color," he kept the childish note out of his voice almost well enough. He should get used to defending his odd choices now if he was going to go to camp and hear this over and over...then he was surprised how easily that thought had come to mind. Tartarus had gone to far from his plans, he realized as a cold feeling swept him.

Will's hand curled gently around his arm, a warm pulse radiating from his palm that gave Nico a chance to exhale and focus on this.

"I've done some exploring," he said.

"A common day pirate," Will smiled in delight. "A vassst yee, I shall be tied down to no land!"

"See, now you're getting it," Nico's eyes shimmered with delight at the goofy impression.

"Even pirates need a secret cove to bury all their treasure," Will reminded hopefully. If that's all camp could be to him, a way station of safety, it would feel like enough so long as he'd always feel free to use it.

"Hmm, I'm not much of an artist Will, I'll have to work on getting a map together," Nico couldn't help the glib comment, the wishy-washy response. Despite how comfortable he felt under Will's arm, it was the longest, most permanent feeling he'd ever had in his life up to this point. Something so solid, even more permanent like Will kept wanting still sounded like to much for him to wrap his mind around right now.

"That's okay, I know a good one. X marks the spot and all that," he grinned all the same. He'd still carve that on Thalia's old tree when he got back and knew Nico at least would get the reference.

 "Thought you'd like to know, Daedalus got his punishment."

Will's voice somehow sparked with even more joy getting to read this so soon. He really had wanted to know his fate, and Alex was right there with him, leaning forward eagerly in her seat, her teeth sunk into her lip as she wavered back in forth in her head how harsh she wanted to hear this being.

"You saw him?"

Nico nodded. "Minos wanted to boil him in cheese fondue for an eternity, but my father had other ideas.

Nico had been surprised when he'd showed up in his courtroom he hadn't even needed to step in and offer anything for this. Daedalus had been such a notoriously lost soul for so long Hades had already taken an interest, and swift execution before Nico had even woken up.

Hades had laughed to himself about the cheese fondue idea and even filed it away for later though. As far as Nico knew, Minos was still on his seat at the judge's table, so he hadn't exactly been as punished as Nico would have liked, but hey, you win some you lose some.

Daedalus will be building overpasses and exit ramps in Asphodel for all time. It'll help ease the traffic congestion. Truthfully, I think the old guy is pretty happy with that. He's still building. Still creating. And he gets to see his son and Perdix on the weekends."

It was just the perfect kind of Greek ending really. Quintus, Daeadlus the fifth's body, had had a very long road, and his punishment was to continue making them. It was no reward, but really, it was no great punishment. Hades seemed to have found a stroke of balance in his domain that all wished for really, a kind of medium eternal life after his grand adventure that rocked to many boats.

"That's good."

Nico tapped at his silver ring. "But that's not the real reason I've come. I've found out some things. I want to make you an offer."

"What?"

Percy hadn't squinted suspiciously at him or anything, he hadn't gone for his sword or jumped back in and slammed the window in his face. He hadn't exactly jumped to his feet with delight either and hugged him for finding all this out, so, that had been the highlight of Nico's month.

"The way to beat Luke," he said. "If I'm right, it's the only way you'll stand a chance."

I took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm listening."

Will's voice was so happy as he read that, his pupils kept wanting to jump away from the text to glance at the two with such bright eyes. This, this had been what he'd been hoping for Nico for so long, ever since he'd vanished after the Titan War. He already knew Percy and Nico made an awesome team, the two working together had been the saving strategy and the reason they were probably all alive today. Why did Nico constantly think he wasn't accepted again when Percy had been open and amenable from the start to his plan?!

Nico glanced inside my room. His eyebrows furrowed. "Is that...is that blue birthday cake?"

It had been the strangest feeling, Nico shook his head at himself. He'd been glancing around for an enemy, someone eavesdropping. Instead he'd seen the brightest splash of color, a blue swirl patterned cake with sprinkles. The exact kind of thing Bianca would have smacked his hand for reaching for, telling him he'd get a cavity just looking at that thing.

He sounded hungry, maybe a little wistful. I wondered if the poor kid had ever had a birthday party, or if he'd ever even been invited to one.

No, and no, Nico pursed his lips together rather than answer. Will, thankfully, read right over the moment without waiting for an answer, bless him. Nico still considered himself a no on both too, because he hadn't been 'invited' to this party. He'd gate crashed.

"Come inside for some cake and ice cream," I said. "It sounds like we've got a lot to talk about."

"Everything Percy brags about his mom's cooking is true by the way," Nico said swiftly before anybody could ask questions they weren't going to get an answer to. "It was, the best cake, I've ever had." He smacked his lips in appreciation at just the thought. It had been the most solid food he'd had in months and he was pretty sure his ambrosia had switched to tasting like that for a while.

"We'll get her her own cookbook, or a TV network show or something," Jason laughed.

Percy had a lot more questions buzzing around his mind about how that night would have continued. He opened his mouth with at least three trying to all bunch together, but all that came out was a very rude yawn.

"The question now is, do we take a break or just start the next one?" Thalia asked, stretching and jumping to her feet all the same.

"A break, definitely," Percy pleaded at once. "Hell, can I take a nap, since the days all out of whack anyways and we start the next one tomorrow."

"Nap yes," Thalia told him not unkindly, "but I am waking you back up to at least start on the next one! We'll be in here for twenty years if you sleep to your heart's content Rip Van Winkle!"

Percy nodded and then, actually just slumped over, right there in his chair. It would have been a tad concerning if he hadn't started drooling only moments later.

Nico expected Will to jump up and join the others as they all started talking quietly, stretching and going off to eat, but instead he stayed in place, hugging the black book tight to his chest and smiling at it still. Nico still thought him nuts, but a very charming kind. Nuts and berries.

Something had been nagging at the back of his mind though. A pessimistic idea that wouldn't leave him, an observation about Will always being so happy and optimistic at the idea of Nico being at camp. "Did you kiss me because you want me to stay at Camp?" Nico asked, his stomach in painful knots that the answer was going to be yes and how much he should care about that and how much it would make a difference. Maybe Will did just want something from him-

"No!" Will's startled blue eyes were pure honesty. "I kissed you because I wanted to, no other reason." Nico still seemed confused though, so he offered, "look, I, I feel like I should apologize, for kissing you right then," Will confessed. "That, um, wasn't exactly, 'friendly,' and if that's what you need right now-" his arm started to pull away even.

"I like it," Nico interrupted, the surprise on his own face for admitting that causing him to sheepishly avert his eyes, but his hand darting up to hold his fingers in place, nearly pining them to his black shirt. "L-liked. Um, it was, it feels- felt, good, but if you regret it-" his hand spasmed as he told himself to let go.

"Woah, I never said that," Will interpreted right back. "I've been trying to get to know you since we met. I just, um, was trying to make sure-" he was blushing himself and stammering and going very blank in the mind to find words to describe anything.

"Right, well," Nico took a shaky breath but looked back at him with a hesitant smile. He interlocked their fingers, and Will easily mimicked him. "That's, established. Neither of us, regret it, and we both like talking, so let's just, keep doing, that."

"Sounds perfect," Will grinned.

PJOPJOPJO

I am not promising that this will be the last book to end with Solangelo, I don't want to be a liar like that, but I do already have the ending to the next book planned out and it's not focused on them, so there's that?

So I'm taking a short break and then posting Demigod Files next month for sure, and then I'm going to start Last Olympian in May! I'm so excited guys, I'm looking forward to it all as much as anybody!

*I know most people probably imagine Alex using the f' word like a bestie, but I'm more familiar with people who grew up in verbally abusive households disliking strong language because it's been used on them to much. Also I do my best to keep these PG, T at most, so it's going to stay at least in the level of clean you've seen so far in the tone of the original books, so this is what I'm going with.

[cryptomiracle]

Blue aura ( eyeless jack x reader)

EJ WON THE POLL WHOOP WHOOPP

I decided to do a story, instead of headcanons lol.

Also I thought I should mention, after this I'm probably gonna take a break from requests.

(I'm not gonna close them, but I won't be answering them)

Not a long one, just a mini break so I can come up with more ideas for hcs and short stories, also so I can do some research on this one character someone requested me to do <33

WARNINGS:

Mention of injury, breaking and interning, missing persons, etc.

(I hc that his sight is not the best, cause well yk.. but he can see auras, and lights, although he can't make out facial features that well, he also goes off of scent, that's how he finds most of his victims)

Eyeless jacks POV:

He was out at night, strolling through the little town you so happened to live in, that also happened to be surrounded by a forest.

What a coincidence, huh?

He'd been camping out in the woods, only coming out to get necessities, like food, water, bedding, bandages, etc.

As he was walking down the street, the hood of his jacket covering his head, he noticed a gas station, the LED lights read "Marty's stop n shop".

The store looked run down, if it wasn't for the dim lighting, and barely stocked shelves, you'd think it was abandoned.

"Perfect.." he thought to myself

After months of having to break into stores, store owners started going all out with their security measures.

Even going as far as hiring security guards.

That's how he got here, all beat up, maybe even a few broken bones.

If he was still human, he'd be in the back of a cop car, headed to the emergency room right now. But luckily, because of his inhuman abilities, he's able to heal 10x faster than normal.

After fleeing the scene, he decided to come to a questionable gas station, to get some bandages, and a very stiff drink.

As he got closer, he peaked through the window to see a human behind the counter, their aura, a bright blue.

(Which is his favorite color *wink wink*)

He decided wait it out until they left.

also because of the fact he doesn't have enough strength to fight right now.

So there he was, sitting in the bushes, patiently waiting for them to leave.

Y/NS POV:

It was 12 am, your shift was nearly over, you were waiting for your coworker mark to show up so you could go home, and finally get some sleep.

You blankly stared at the magazine I'm your hands, dark eye bags under your eyes.

A familiar voice came from the tv, drawing your attention, you looked up to see mrs mitchell, marks mother.

"a family of 4 are currently searching for their oldest son, a Craig Williamson, sources say he was last seen walking back to his dorm at 8:45 last Friday, If you have any information, please call your local police department, or contact us at __________"

Then the news anchor went back to talking about the same boring things that go on in this little town.

Business was the same as usual, horrible.

The most customers you'd get in a day was about 20-25.

You were surprised how the store had stayed open this long, I mean it's been open since you were a kid, and even then, it was basically abandoned.

Suddenly, the lights went out

Making you feel uneasy.

Y/n: "stupid lights.."

You sighed as you got up, and tried to make your way to the front door.

You finally made it to the door, the bells jingling as you pushed it open.

The cold night breeze hit you from behind, making any stray hairs go everywhere.

You continued walking, old beer cans, and cigarette butts littered the parking lot.

You finally made it to the side of the building, where the electric box is.

You opened it up to see a mixture, of cords, levers, and buttons.

That's when it hit you.

You have no clue how to work this thing.

"Shit." You mumbled

You moved around the building, facing the road, and slid down the side of the wall, the only light coming from the moon, and the auto part store across the street.

You pulled out your phone, it read 3%

You decided to save your battery, considering you may need it.

You closed your eyes and breathed in, the only noise being the crickets, and the wind hitting the branches of the trees.

It was peaceful.

*SNAP*

You quickly opened your eyes to the sound of something snapping, you looked around, but you didn't see anyone.

You stood up so that you could see better, you scanned the area for a minute, when a few bushes to your left started shaking, you snapped your head towards the sound.

After a while of standing there a while, you decided to check it out.

You turned on the flashlight of your phone and started slowly walking towards the bushes.

As you got closer, they moved once again, making you step back.

You finally got the courage to get close enough to see.

Your heart was racing,and your hands were shaking.

You squated down, and peered through the limbs.

Only to find nothing there.

You let out a sigh of relief.

You saw your coworkers car pulling into the parking lot, slowing down as he saw you.

He came to a stop, right beside you, he rolled down his window, and gave you a confused look.

Mark: "what the hell are you doing skeeter?"

He's called you "skeeter" ever since you were kids, you don't exactly know why, all you know is that it annoys you.

A lot.

You and mark grew up together, your parents were friends, but you kinda hated each other.

And now you work together.

Y/n: "I uh-.. I thought I heard something in the bushes."

He slightly turned his head, as he adverted his eyes to the bushes.

Mark: "well I don't see anythin'"

You sighed.

Mark: "and what happened to the lights??"

His confused look morphed into an annoyed one.

Y/n: "I dunno, they went out about 15 minutes ago."

Mark: "and you didn't try to turn em on?"

You stood up and turned to face him

Y/n: "I don't know how to work the box thingy."

You were tired, still uneasy, and ready to clock out.

his sudden attitude didn't help any.

Mark: "I don't have a clue why Mr Smith still lets you work here, you don't know how to do jack shit."

Y/n: "and you do?"

Mark: "uh, yeah? You don't see all the work I do??"

Y/n: "you only do stuff whenever you want a raise, and the only reason you still work here is cause Mr Smith is dating your aunt Sara."

Mark: "..."

He looked away, and took his foot off the break.

Mark: "well, I guess I'll be seeing you."

Y/n: "mhm.."

He sped up, and pulled into a parking space.

You sighed once more before making your way to your car

Once you got there, you pulled out your keys, and unlocked the drivers side.

You turned your head back to where the bushes were.

Only this time, you caught a glimpse of something, or someone..

I may or may not make a part 2, but please don't expect this to be a series, or very long 😭

The most this will get is maybe 4-6 parts.

TY FOR READING <33

[rocketyship]

That poll is so hard to vote for cause on one hand, it feels like Tiff would fit the best because of her incredibly unreliable narration matching Ted's while it would still be a subversion of the original because of the reason why she's unreliable(rose tinted glasses and extreme devotion to BE as opposed to the stuff Ted's got going on) and her pov on and relationship with BE would just be so fun to see explored and the horror of the situation being a subtle thing thats swept under the rug could be so cool.

But on the other, Evan would also kinda match with the original due to his open emotional distance and disconnect from the girls, AND it would bring a lot of fun, fresh stuff! Seems like Evan is the one who pays most attention to AM, and seeing what's happening there from his pov would be so interesting! He, just like Ellen if she would've narrated could bring up how things like being the only one of the opposite sex and gender in the group and (from what we know from the short story at least) only dark skinned person would like.. idk change perspectives on things?? I'd also love to find out more about him!

Oh, not to mention Naomi!! Having narration that is pretty damn reliable would make worldbuilding and exploration much easier and she's also got that disconnect due to her age and crystal clear memory, being able to see things as they are and were could be really refreshing in a ihnmaims universe and i really want to know what her whole deal is! Being born toward the end of the war must've made quite a difference to how a person would process everything, Ted's whole "I'm youngest so my experience is different because i barely had time to live as an adult before the nukes" wouldn't have shit on someone who wasn't even like... done w puberty.

Ooooh they'd all make for such fun narrators 😭 It's really too bad that writing takes so much time and effort or it would've been amazing to see all three's povs! I still don't know what to vote for or how the results are looking so far but im really looking forward to seeing what the results will lead to!

Maybe you have a character you have the most ideas for or would like to write most? Cause if so, that'd def help me choose what to vote.

Sorry for the wall of text(would you believe me if i said i wanted to write more? This is me trying to show restraint, didn't even write about the potential AM could have as a narrator), and i hope you have a good day!

Okay so first off, I love-love-love this response. You have such fun perspectives on these silly little au characters of mine and it makes me a little sad that you didn’t write anymore cause I definitely would have read it, especially what you were thinking about what an interesting narrator AM could be.

As to which character I have the most ideas for, is such a difficult thing to answer cause well I have so-so many. But I do want to put them out there for you so here they are:

Tiffany: narration wise, I imagine the stuff she says can and does come across as nonsensical and border line trigger happy, however sometimes she occasionally lets something slip that clues into her true feelings and that a part of her may indeed be aware of the gravity of the groups situation, however she shuts it down as she has severe attachment issues and cannot fathom how she could possibly survive without BE. Another thing I pictured is that she very often quotes the bible and other religious texts, as BE doesn’t present herself as machine and genuinely as a divine entity. I also have been toying with a scene similar to the one in the radio drama, where AM is talking to Ted about bumblebees and getting high r something. Where it is set up as the reverse. BE showing Tiff the horrors of what the radiation and world has come to (in a way that is seriously deceptive) and claiming that all she has to do is snap her fingers for it to return. It would definitely read as a story where there is total tonal whiplash from one scene to the next, so that is something to consider.

Evan: I have come up with so many pasts for all these survivors before they were “rescued” by BE, however one thing to note is that I don’t really think of these characters as just “genderbent versions of the originals”. Evan is one of the key examples of this, as in this au he is technically the original Ellen’s older brother, however he left home when she was around 12-13ish, as he didn’t like the life, college and job his family set out and tried to push him into. Unlike Ellen who was a successful engineer, who may have been a hopeless romantic based on the original text. Evan was and very much still is kind of a massive party animal. I picture him very punk but like the old kind of punk. Like he was the kind of guy to go motorcycling around the country (even into war-devastated bits, cause it was a thrill), he went to underground clubs and concerts, and sure as heck slept around and had no shame in it (both women and men if you are curious). He doesn’t want to get sentimental, he wants to live his life on the edge and BE doesn’t allow that. He constantly tries to upset her, get some kind of intense reaction from her. He tries to escape, he kicks and tries to tear open parts of her internal network. This man has tried to kill Gloria (Gloria kind of deserves it thou) and the only reactions he gets from BE is her finding him cute, amusing, or as if he just needs to be put in a corner to calm down for a bit. Truthfully he is someone who just wants to go back and experience life again, recognising that BE’s utopia isn’t living and refusing to buy into it.

Naomi: I won’t lie, Nimdok is so boring in the og story, and they definitely tried to do “something” with him in the game. I don’t like it, again different ramble. So like Evan, she is a different person. Like you said she has barely started puberty and because of BE neither her body or even her mind has really aged in anyway and she is horribly aware of this. Due to the war she has had her childhood taken from her, but now because of BE she shall never experience adulthood or growing up. Her memory hardly anything particularly helpful. She remembers exactly what BE did to the others when they first got brought to the compound, she has seen what goes down in the labs, she knows what pills are and aren’t sleeping pills, developing a habit where she will pretend to take one and spit it out if she is able to. As stated in the survivors master post, she knows BE’s blind spots and will often go there on her own. Not really to do anything, just kind of sit around. Further more, she and Evan have a way of communicating, number of blinks, which fingers moved when you spoke to them, that kind of stuff. Still she doesn’t want to escape, she knows she’ll die if she does, generally she acts more like a mediator in the group. As a narrator, I did have this idea for a few odd habits she has learned over the years. Example is that she constantly counting, time and routine is import to her, as she notices when something is wrong and that freaks her out. She also has this habit of just staring at the others for very long periods of time, especially Gloria. She clearly remembers seeing her on tv during her old life, and also remembers how she attacked her when Naomi attempted to mention it to Gloria.

Writing does take so much effort, especially for me, cause truthfully I’m always jumping back and forth on what I’m working on. On top of this au and the fic, I’m also in the process of finishing the final script and sketches for a different web comic I’ve been planning for a while, as well as a completely unrelated world building project that I’ve been at for two years now. Anyhow!! Tell me more please

[retropobor]

Ladies, Gentleman, and All Other Colors, I present to thee: Deltarune Parallels

So about a week ago, I put out a poll asking when I should reveal this little project of mine, and with an overwhelming 2 votes the people said I should release now, so I am pleased to announce the existence of the one and only

(It's currently in a very early stage, so not everything is fleshed out, but here's what I have so far)

Parallels is a little side project of mine which takes the current deltarune world, and focuses on a different cast.

The Human: Terro

Terro is an adventurous person. They're often very quiet while in public, but completely change when alone or with friends, becoming drastically more social and friendly.

The Monster: Ruby

Ruby is a jack of all trades when it comes to knowledge. If you have a question about just about anything, she probably at least knows where to guide you for answers. Above all else however, she loves gardening and nature

The Neighbor: Jack

Jack is a simple monster. If someone gets scared, himself included, he's happy. Scaring runs in his family, and he's happy to keep up the tradition. Although being Hallow entails far more than just scaring. After all, a halloween scare contrasts sharply with holiday spirit

The Prince from the pmdw: MT Pqge

Mgfaymfaz Tqxbqd Pqge, mxea wzaiz me MT Pqge ad vgef Pqge, ue m pmdwzqd ymotuzq yqmzf fa meeuef xustfzqde ftdagst ftq pmdw iadxp. Tq ue puefuzofxk xqee radymx ftmz tue oagzfqdbmdf, ngf efuxx nqxuqhqe uz yqdok mxx ftq emyq.

The story would occur during the story of regular Deltarune in hometown, however, instead of playing as kris, you instead play as Terro, accompanied by Ruby on your search to find out what happened to Kris and Susie

Now then, with all those introductions aside, you're probably wondering where this will go. That is a good question, I do not know, but I have some options, which is where you come in. Either:

A Game

Pros

-The intended experience for parallels

-Will probably be the most enjoyable

-Gives me an excuse to finally get into game design and begin something big

Cons

-Will take forever (Look no further than UTY taking 7 years)

-Requires me to learn music design, and game design

-Unless someone actively asks to join, I have no clue how I would expand my team

A webcomic

Pros

-Frequent Content that still follows the plot

-Follows the plot most accurately without being the game itself

Cons

-I cannot draw well and I don't have any art creation software other than aseprite (There is a reason I went into sprite art)

-I'm not sure how I would write this, and I don't think it will turn out that good

You can submit asks, and the characters will answer

Pros

-Can exist alongside other options freely (honestly depending on what happens with my question box, it will probably just come with whatever other option is chosen)

-Takes basically no effort on my end

Cons

-Barely gives any plot

-If used alone, makes certain characters forever unknown

Or I release the info doc I have on this thing

Pros

-Easiest option on my end

Cons

-I genuinely cannot think of a more boring option for all this lore to be revealed. Like seriously, this doc just lists everything out that I have

-Locks out all other options from being usable as it spoils the entire plot and everyone's character -Immediately all mystery is thrown out the window, and the majority of headcanon formation is squashed

Multiple of the above

Pros

-Any Pros of the components

-Gives more depth and interest to the story

Cons

-Any Cons of the components

-Combines the time of the individual parts

I now place the option in your hands, but I should note that if this doesn't get much attention, I'll probably just drop this all, because I already have a lot on my plate (Idk if this is greedy of me to ask, and I guarantee this will never happen in a million years, but just so everyone can have a concrete number I'll guarantee making whatever comes of the result I can get 3k notes on this post if the poll is still active, 5k notes if it's not, at which point I'll repost the poll so all the new people can vote).

Anyways, I think that's about everything on the topic, thanks for reading through this mess, you may go back to your regular scrolling.

oh hey you're still here. Have some art

Okay, that's all for real

U eqq kag mdq dmftqd pqhafqp fa gzpqdefmzpuzs ftue fqjf. Kag dqyuzp yq m xaf ar ykeqxr, pqmd dqmpqd. Bxqmeq, oazfuzgq fa pa ea itqz iq yqqf msmuz. Kag iuxx ruzp sdqmf geq uz pauzs ea.

[yorshie]

Hey Yorshie!

So I was just thinking some random thoughts... big surprise huh?... lol -

BUT - remember you did that little poll a while back about what species the Bay Turtles are? And you cited Sacks referring to them as "itty bitty box turtles" - or if they (I think you were referring to the people who made the film) just couldn't keep their facts straight....

well....

What if this was in fact done intentionally? As a demonstration of just how little Sacks cares about the turtles. To say that he only ever saw them as a means to an end - not as living creatures (the way young April did). And that justifies how Sacks is so quick and willing to tell the lab staff (who look 3000% unwilling participants btw) to drain all of the turtles' blood - "even if it kills them"...

Just randomly thinking about this from a story telling aspect...

Any thoughts? 😜

Oh I have a bunch of thoughts about this! Sorry it took me so long to answer Avery, I was ruminating on it, rewatched the movie just to make sure.

Ok, so this is total conjecture on my part, but I'm going to make the claim that Saks wasn't actually a "scientist" and then site my sources.

So in the movie the first time we see Saks, he's smoozing it up at a Gala event. He talks a pretty big game and then ends the speech by saying he will always be there to put out the fires, whether through Saks Biomed, Robotics, or Construction. He strikes me as a business man, clearly the CEO of the companies, but I don't think he was an actual practicing scientist. Maybe he had a degree.

The next clue is actually from April. She says her dad worked "for" Saks not "with" him. Now, I know, that on its own is pretty weak, but I think it is bolstered by the fact that when we see Saks in the Lab, when April is videoing him, he is only shown administrating the “test”, kinda like when John Hammond comes in to only see the eggs hatch in Jurassic Park. When Splinter talks about April's Father, he mentions he was a good man, and we know that he trashed the place when he learned of Saks plan. Now, If they were working together in the same lab, it would probably be much harder to keep secrets from one another. I think Saks funded the Lab for April's Father, gave him grant money to research things without telling him why they were researching. Yes in his speech he makes it sound like he was an active participant in the lab, but I think he was just pulling a politician moment right then. Him being just the backer would also explain how he doesn't know what species April's father is working with because that info would be on EVERY document concerning the results and experiments.

And that leads me to the scene where Sak has the turtles in the tubes. He's not in lab gear, he is ordering other around to show what happens, gets them to drain the turtles blood, etc. Doesn't seem to care at all that if he drains them they would die which doesn't sound at all like a scientist protecting his work once it comes to fruition.... he even says something like “and we were going to use rabbits” which is wild because that’s a completely different set of parameters, conducting the same experiment on mammals and reptiles. (And splinter I know)

I think my final thought is to agree with you that Saks did not care enough to know. The turtles were a means to an end. He wasn’t even fascinated by what he created, it was only the product of the antidote that he cared about.

[cheese-water]

Call me a monster all you want. If doing that resolves your mental turmoil over the ethicality of the choice Showfall Media forced us to make, that’s fine by me. I am more than willing to be your scapegoat.

However, due to some recent… revelations, the guilt is starting to weigh a little heavier. What would have truly happened if there had been a 50/50 split? Is Ranboo really dead? Do our choices actually matter?

Short answer: I have no clue, but that’s boring.

With the long answer, however, I still believe that no matter what the vote favored, Ranboo would’ve died and been reprogrammed solely based on what we’ve seen in the series, thematically and physically. It’s the 50/50 question everyone seems to be focusing on. I mean, I can't blame them; we were so close to splitting the results until someone realized they could vote more than once, but what’s done is done. But I just can't get behind the notion that that was the solution. I mean, logically speaking, even though a poll may look 50/50, the results may have been rounded and scaled due to thousands of people voting (2/2 out of 4 and 20000/20001 out of 40000 will both look like 50/50). Also, thematically speaking, when has the solution to any puzzle ever been to sit on the fence? If "cheating the system" (and succeeding) was a central theme across all three episodes, then I completely missed it.

So hypothetically speaking, let’s say there was a "good ending." What could we, the audience, have done in order to change Ranboo’s fate? Ruling out die and live winning for obvious reasons, and I just talked about why the 50/50 option doesn’t make sense, so what does?

Neither.

What would’ve happened if no one voted? Really, tell me what Hetch would’ve done. As impossible as it seems, a 0/0 split is theoretically possible. Showfall loves to remind us how powerless Ranboo and the audience are to what happens on set, so why give them that power in the first place?

Think about it. Earlier in the third stream, the only time the "all-knowing" Hetch seemed caught off guard was when Ranboo found the exit prematurely. Ranboo would have left right then, ruining the broadcast until Hetch mentioned his friends were still alive. That’s why Ranboo continued. That’s why he went off with a bang. That’s why the broadcast was a success. Because he was forced to make a choice. You or Them. Except it never really mattered.

The choice the audience makes in the end isn’t whether Ranboo lives or dies. It’s whether we humor the monster who’s already plunged the knife in his back or not. His fate is sealed either way; why are we forced to "choose?" Why are we choosing to create an impactful ending for a company that we know doesn’t give a damn about us? Why are we playing right into Showfall’s hands? What is the point of all of this?

This was the Social Experiment. And goddamnit, we tested well.

[3m-l0st]

Robo Father

So I finally finished writing the fanfic that won the stupid poll I made and there it is.

P.S: This is total shit and I have zero idea if I wrote Nick being a father figure correctly so yeah.

Also please give me criticism so I can get better at writing.

Word count: 1327

Characters: Nick Valentine, Sole Survivor, Ellie (mentioned), Dogmeat (mentioned)

Warning: Non graphic description of injuries

As the sun dropped down, saying goodbye to the land that it had kept awakened for many hours, and saying good morning to the other side.

And Nick Valentine kept still at his desk, even after Ellie had gone to sleep. Still flipping through his files, notes, and holotapes, and yet there was still no answer that could have this mystery all wrapped up.

He sighed, he knew that he should have taken a break an hour ago, but he just couldn’t. He couldn’t just stop, he felt the need to obsess over and over at all the evidence he had gathered up to this point.

He reorganized the file he had endlessly looked through, flopping it on top of the other ones. He slumped back in his chair, rubbing his forehead as he started to flip through his notepad, trying to seek a clue that he may have batted an eye to.

At the sound of the creaking from the Agency’s door, all he did was pray that it wasn’t another damsel in distress that would only stack up more work on his already overfilled plate.

He turned his head to the door, opening his mouth to dismiss whoever entered his Agency, only to shut it real fast as he saw nobody other than his favorite vault dweller- “What the hell happened to you?” he stared at them, appalled at their disheveled appearance. 

Their head hung low, eyes full of shame, and they sat down in front of Ellie’s desk. Nick jumped up from his desk, standing next to Sole, “what happened?” He speaks in a hushed tone. The lone survivor kept quiet, only sniffling and panting. Nick steadily placed his hand on their shoulder, rubbing it tenderly.

“Will you at least look at me?..” the synth breaks the silence that’s been holding up between the two. The survivor sighed, moving their head up but keeping their eyes away from Nick as their whole body was filled up with shame.

Nick kept his hand on their shoulder as he inspected their rugged face; cuts and scratches, there were no major wounds to be dealt with which Nick was relieved of. “Are there any other injuries?..” he walked away, checking if any of the cabinets had bandages, Sole nodded. “Yeah…there’s a few on my arms and shoulders…but it’s not that much, just a few scrapes…” They roll up their sleeves, their arm is littered with small scratches that appeared due to several incidents.

“Here kiddo.” Nick hands them purified water, trying to cool them down. After Sole had quickly downed the water, Nick started to clean and bandage their arm up.

The room was filled with silence, only occasional coughs and loose hums of song lyrics from the radio. After bandaging Sole’s arm up, Nick started to move up to their shoulder, he carefully removed their armor, placing it next to him as he moved their loose shirt over their shoulders he couldn’t help but scrunch up his nose, wincing as he stared at their shoulder that wasn’t just covered with a few scrapes but bullet wounds, and large rough cuts that almost cross over to their collarbones.

He felt squeamish at the sight, he gulped as he tried to tenderly as possible clean up their wounds. The survivor hisses, pulling away from Nick and he grabs them by their shoulder blades, forcing them to sit back down and to keep still.

“There there…” Nick whispers, “It'll all be over soon, just gotta be patient..”. Sole holds their breath, closing their eyes tightly, nodding.

It took a while for Nick to bandage Sole’s shoulder as they would keep on squirming and pulling away making Nick have to quickly pull them back to not mess up the process and make a bigger mess. In full honesty, Nick felt like being ambushed by the wasteland's creatures would be much simpler than having to deal with any of this. And in full honesty, he felt bad for thinking this way about his dear friend, but he already has to deal with stubbornness so he would rather deal with anything else but stubbornness.

Nick pats their face, bringing their attention upwards towards him. “Are there any other ‘scrapes’ that I should be worried about?” He jokes, Sole points to their knees, Nick takes a deep breath, ready for a nightmare fuel of an injury, only to see red and actual scrapes, it wouldn’t need any bandaging, just some cream that will make it all better, but it was already late so he would buy the cream in the morning. He rolled their pants down.

Now he only had to deal with their rugged face which would be a bit easier than the other injuries. Just clean the cuts, add a bandaid, and maybe some cream.

They stared at each other, both knowing that they would have to approach the topic of what happened one way or another. Nick put his hand on their shoulder once again, this time trying to be as tender as possible to not cause any pressure to the wounds below their bandaging.

“So…you gonna tell me what happened now?” He asks, even if Sole doesn’t answer, he’ll just wait till they're better, no matter how long that might take.

Sole kept quiet, looking down to the floor with the same shameful expression from when they walked into the Agency.

They sighed, finally deciding to open up.

“...I...I fought a bunch of raiders…” they hid their face in the palms of their hands, “but…there were too many…too many to handle on my own…”

Nick frowns, “...why? Did one of the factions put you up to it without knowing?” Sole shakes their head “...no…I did it on my own…”, Nick can’t help but feel disappointed in them. They should have known better than to mess around with raiders, especially with a large amount, everyone knows that.

“Why would you do that? Even if you didn’t know that there were vast amounts of them, you still should know when and how to handle yourself in those situations! Even if so, you should have at least brought someone else with you! Hell, dogmeat can’t shoot but he’s still helpful! Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

The synth detective scowls at them, he knew he shouldn’t speak towards them in this tone but it was the stress of this endless case that was speaking for him now.

“I know I know!” They looked up at him, “I heard that the ring leader knew something or someone about the case! And I just wanted to make you proud so you can finally relax for once!” Their hands find their way to their forehead as they rub the sides of it.

Nick stays silent, he murmurs nonsense. He pats their back “I understand your efforts…but you gotta learn if you can handle certain situations, especially like those.” they look up at him, their expression not changing one bit, “How about this? When you’re all healed up, me and you go back to those raiders and teach them a lesson? Whatcha think, kiddo?”

A hopeful grin slyly pops up on their face, they nod “Yeah…I would like that” Nick grins back at them, grabbing their armor and placing it down near his bed “You’re probably tired, how about you take the bed?” He helps them up, walking over to his bed, “what about you? Where are you gonna sleep?” They ask, taking off their boots before lying in bed.

“I’ll be fine kiddo, I can take the chair for one night.” he pats their head, turning off the light “Goodnight” he whispers and they whisper back before tucking themselves in.

Nick walks back to his desk, looking down at his papers. He grabbed them, placing them back in his file cabinet before he turned off the last source of light and sat down in his chair as the darkness surrounded him.

Alright, what did y'all think of that?

[princess-starscourge]

I still don’t have a definite answer for myself but it’s either three or one. I absolutely LOVE the setup of three, how Rean’s a professor and taking on a whole new Class VII…but the first one, even though it starts off slow, is also so good. So much shit happened that I can’t really give a coherent explanation of why I like that one a lot 😅 But I do.

Also I’m curious as to where four will place because personally, I think I hate that game 💀 I’ll have to replay but it was def my least favorite. It’s not that I didn’t like the conclusion; I did. I’m glad these kids get to rest and finally enjoy life after everything they’ve been through (though I guess that’s not entirely true since there’s a fifth game lol).

However, and this is coming from a person who absolutely loves high fantasy, it was WAY too magicky. Multiple times I had to paise the game and go “huh?” because I had no fucking clue what they were talking about. It felt way less grounded in reality than the others (but three was definitely dipping into that territory).

(Don’t read past this point unless you wanna see an unhinged rant. It’s not related to the poll.)

And I hated that curse shit!!! It felt like they were saying all the atrocities committed in Erebonia weren’t actually the perpetrators’ faults; it was just an age-old curse making them act up. FUCKING NO. HUMANS BE EVIL. THIS IS FACT.

Also also it doesn’t help that the fourth game is also where Rean CALLS OSBORN “DAD” OR SOME SHIT NEAR THE END AND WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE OKAY WITH THAT. HELLS NO. HE KIDNAPPED BLUD’S SISTER. HE TRIED TO KILL ALTINA AND IT RESULTED IN MILLIUM’S (temporary) DEATH. HE SHOWED NO SYMPATHY OVER KEEPING HIS GODDAMN SON CAPTIVE FOR WEEKS ON END WHILE HIS MENTAL STATE WAS FUCKING DETERIORATED. FUCK OSBORNE. NIHON FALCOM, THAT SHIT AIN’T FUNNY. I DON’T CARE IF HE LOVED A WOMAN AND ONCE LOVED REAN. I DON’T CARE IF HE WAS ULTIMATELY DOING A GOOD THING. HELLS. FUCKING. NO.

Also also also also ALSO that shit with Black Alberich?? No??? Not everyone needs to have super secret super evil relatives???? Fucking stop????? AND THAT GEROG BULLSHIT????? (That mighta been three but still—I hated it).

Anyway. Sorry and happy voting :-)

[jacquesthepigeon]

Chengs have deep ancient ties to the Order and their lineage has been searching for clues as to what happened.

Found out about Fu and took notice of Miraculi being used at various points since.

At first were tempted to brute force the retrieval but decided to remain patient and see if Fu would willingly redeem himself.

As time passed they noticed he was constantly running away from the problems, never really making an attempt to fix it unless absolutely neccessary.

At some point they (Sabine's Parents) decided something needed to change. The Miraculi have been static and progress needed to be made.

Once Fu moved to Paris and seemed content to stay, the Cheng Parents created a circumstance (negatively or positively for Sabine will determine the tone of familial relations and interactions) where Sabine would feel compelled to move to Paris.

Everything happens as expected with Sabine and Tom, but Sabine has an innate understanding that her family is not only abnormal but has some sort of connection with powerful and dangerous people. (This being part of why she leaves is optional)

So when the Miraculi (peacock and butterfly) activate not only do the Chengs and Fu sense it, but Sabine feels something is off as well.

[Sabine being knowledgeable about the Miraculi and their purpose but not taught anything else/Sabine not only being knowledgable but also being involved in the plan (therefore involving Marinette without her knowledge)/Sabine only having bare bones understanding that her family is involved in powers and "magic"/Sabine having some understanding of powers and the Miraculi but wanting nothing to do with it] are all options to take with Sabine and I suggest another poll.

When Marinette starts to act evasive about things, not only school but her personal activities, weird purchases and visits to an old man she never met before, she finally bites the bullet and informs her parents of what she suspects is happening. (This is going off the "Sabine has some understanding but wanted nothing to do with it" story path but can be changed to adapt to whatever storyline the Cheng family is going to have as long as the Chengs are informed by Sabine at some point)

Anything after this point must be dictated by 2 main things.

The grandparents relationship with Sabine and in turn Marinette as a family or as blood.

The grandparents attitudes on the Kwami/Miraculi, their purpose, how they should be treated, how involved they should be with the greater world, if they are members of the order or simply close allies/blood descendants of the founders/blood descendants of past holders, etc.

Apologies for this long as post, but Marinette's lack of connection to anything of her Asian roots has been infuriating since Kung Food and Shanghai. Do with this as you wish, I've needed an outlet for a bit.

Oh no don’t apologize these are all very fascinating prompts, the possibilities are endless!

I suppose Sabine’s (and her sister’s) involvement would depend on how old they were when the Cheng parents “died” and how much influence they had thereafter. Personally, I like to imagine Sabine and her sister were being trained to one day fulfill whatever role the Cheng parents had (finally, a watsonian reason for Sabine being Like That that isn’t just her ethnicity) but they weren’t told what that role would be before something happened and the parents had to fake their death and leave the sisters behind. It’s also fun for me to imagine the now adult Cheng sisters looking back on their childhood and going “well that was weird” and lamenting how the answers supposedly died with their parents.