#if i die the curses goes to shadow and i don't want that either

[masked-jazz]

somebody help me

So i’m playing as TMNT's Casey Jones right, we're in this campaign where every fictional universe has been slammed together and somehow i became a cop. Anyways, we were in a wierd tv land where a coven of witches lived (including Betty White) and one of them cursed me with necrophilia.

Then, Baba Yaga started flirting with me, which i reciprocated because i didn't wanna DIE and then she died and in this universe, she was a god of nature and decided to pass on her godhood to CASEY JONES who is now the GOD OF NATURE. Apparently, because the will of Baba Yaga is that strong, i’m slowly becoming her. All of this to ask a simple question.

How do i stop the process of wanting to fuck and eat dead kids. Because naturally,

I REALLY DONT WANNA DO THAT.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Some ideas for option 2

Rewind! Reader was experiencing sudden bursts of pain and went to the doctor alone, only to stumble up on Mr Sinister out of his disguise

Causing reader to have to run for their damn life as Mr Sinister tries catching them, maybe even gets close to actually catching them before reader either finds a way to slip away or something something Devine interference-

Cube anon

You'd been feeling sicker lately.

A lot sicker, actually.

Kevin had had to take you home about two weeks ago, seeing you about to pass out and struggling to move without stopping in pain. They'd been kind enough to stay over at your apartment, fixing you dinner amd feeding you and keeping a wet towel presses to your forehead and talking to some some their friends while you were trying to keep the worst of the pain at bay.

It was agony.

Your nails felt like they were on fire, the nailbeds raw and red and stinging sharply. Your mouth ached, your teeth hurt when you touched them and your gums felt sore and bled at any hars touches. Even your bones felt exhausted, like they were shifting under your skin. Your entire body felt feverish and cold and you couldn't stay warm enough or keep cool enough.

It felt like H*ll.

Which led you to here, the old clinic, looking for your old doctor.

The doors creaked as you peeked through them, your boots clacking loudly on the tiled floor. The air smelt of chemicals and cleaning supplies, the shadows seemed too dark and too deep, and each noise and echo made you shiver even more...

But you eventually came across a room, where you saw a shadowy figure waiting.

You hesitated.

It didn't.

"Why, child... come back so soon?"

Your spine goes rigid, feeling like ice filled each crac and joint.

"My my... yes... Reader, correct? It's been quite some time since we last met, face to face~" It loomed in the dark confines of the room, seeming to grow bigger and bigger with each word.

"..."

You couldn't squeeze anything past your throat. Whatever this was... it wasn't good...

"Cat got your tongue~? Hmmm... Always were such an antsy little thing~ But I fixed most of your flaws, my dear... Now... why don't you come closer, so Dr. Essex can fix this, too?"

You didn't waste a minute turning tail and running, panting and heart going a mile a minute as you fled from the dark being chasing behind you. You could hear it's cackle echo all around you, the darkness humming with malevolence. This... thing... wanted to hurt you. It might even kill you, if it had it's way.

You can't let it get it's hands on you.

You grab a bottle of rubbing alcohol as you run, clutching it tightly to your chest as you turn down a hall... Right into a dead end.

You freeze. You can feel the darkness writhing with something, the evil lurking within it...

And then hands are clutching at you, trying to drag you in.

You scream, kicking and thrashing, fighting as best you can against the demon trying to drag you under, bit all it does is make you feel weaker, your head fuzzing with fever. You shake, tears starting to slip down your cheeks.

You can't die here. You can't be taken to God knows where bu this creature. You can't leave Kevin- What would they think? That you abandoned them? That you were ungrateful? Or assume you weren't worth it? Simply forget about you? You yelled at the thought, crying out in despair.

You couldn't disappear like this.

In a shaky twist of the cap, you open the bottle of alcohol-

Then splash it in the creature's eyes, earning am enraged shriek as it releases you, scrambling at its eyes and cursing.

You don't think twice, running past it and down the next hall, making your way into the lobby-

And then you're pushing through the door, running as fast as you can, trying not to collapse on the pavement as you go back home...

It's quiet, when you enter your home.

You feel a sense of unease, stepping forward cautiously, worried, feeling like a naughty child about to be caught sneaking out...

But then you see Kevin, their back facing you, their front hidden from sight, the light from the TV casting their form in shadow.

"K-Kevin-" you start, "K-Kevin, I, I saw something- I'm so sorry, I swear I wasn't leaving you, I'm not going to leave again, we, we just need to hide, fast- Kevin, it's after me- it was horrifying, like- like some undead vampire, or, or some demon- God, I'm so sorry-"

"WhAt did you say you saw?"

You pause.

Something doesn't seem right...

"It, it looked like a being made of, like, shadows. It's face was as pale as death, or a corpse, and it's eyes, Kevin, they were blood red! It's teeth- oh f*ck it's teeth-! They were like needles- It was waiting there, it was after me, I'm so sorry Kevin, but you need to get out of here, before it comes after you-!"

"I'm not going anywhere, kit-cat." Their neck cracks, the snapping noise echoing in the silence.

"All of this time... all of this effort... And he StiLl found you... WhY?! WHY CoULdN'T hE LeAvE yOu ALoNe?!" Their body seems to shift, their form lengthening, growing taller, the skin becoming pale and their bones popping and shifting.

"K-Kevin...?"

The being stills...

Then it turns to face you, and you feel your heart sink to your stomach.

That... is that...

"I'm so sorry, kit-cat... I tried... but it isn't safe here anymore..." The being twitches, then steps closer.

You take a step back.

And it's eyes, bright and hollow and piercing, seem to widen.

"Kit-cat... it's okay... It's me, Kevin. I'm your friend, remember?" it croons softly, smiling at you as though trying to reassure you.

All you can do is shake uncontrollably, starting to hyperventilate. Your hands hurt, your head hurts, your mouth your teeth your eyes your back-

A screech comes out as you double over, clawing at your arms as deep agony rocks your core. You feel tears falling down your cheeks as you cry, hiccups sobs pouring out as the pain only gets worse. You dig your nails in deeper, only to feel sharp pain like daggers stabbing your skin. You glance down, breath shaking-

And see sharpened nails, curved and razor-sharpz covered in smears of dark red.

Your breath hitches, and you shakily stare up at the form of the creature you'd called Kevin. They're frozen, staring at you, shock soon turning to worry.

"Sweetie-!? Shhh, shhh, it's okay, let's calm down, okay? It's gonna be okay, just take a deep breath. See? In, and out. Come on, please, breath kitten, it's gonna be okay-"

You fall backwards, scrambling across the floor, until your back is against the wall. Your heart is beating too fast, your ribs hurt, your mouth is on fire, your teeth burn, your skin crawls, you're shaking and you can't stop-!

A hand comes near you and you scream, nails clawing into your arms and belly, bloody smears starting to stain your clothes. The being (Kevin?) took a step back, stuttering, lost on what to say-

"Reader. Stop hurting yourself. Now."

You freeze up, then slowly turn to look at the screen of the TV.

There, staring back at you, are the X-Men, eyes set on you, watching.

Your ears rush with blood, your mind going into a blind panic as the f*cking TV starts talking at you, the voices swelling as you cry out, tearing at your arms and head and trying to make everything stop-!

The room pops with noise, a loud static and blinding light-

And there's more distorted beings in there, towering over you, looking down, seeing you.

You can't make your legs get up, can't stop them as they come closer, Kevin trying to talk to you as arms and hands reach out, wrapping around your limbs and holding you down-

"Shhhh, it's gonna be okay, kid, yer gonna be okay-"

"Shhh, sweetie, it'll only take a minute-"

"Be gentle, don't hurt them-!"

"Take a deep breath, IN! Then out-"

"Let's calm you down, sweetheart-"

You hear the pop of something small, and try to twist your head around to see it. No matter how hard you thrash you can't free yourself, the grips on you too firm and your limbs held tightly. You see the light glint off something sharp-

"Shhhh, don't look, look over this way-"

And then there's a sharp prick in your arm, then the world starts to... tilt...

"Hey... that's it, sweetie... You're doing so well... Hmmmm, you feeling tired?" A hand is in your hair, smoothing it down and rubbing it lightly, massaging warmth into your chilled skin.

"Good job, kit, ya did real good. Let's get ya up and get ya situated-" Arms are wrapped around you, warm and strong and firm, sitting you up, wrapping around you, then hauling you into a careful hold, the limbs wrapped tight around you.

"Oh, kit-cat, it's okay. Shhhh... I know, I know it hurts so much, and everything is too much right now, and all you wanna do is take a nice, big nap. Why don't you close your eyes for a bit, hmmm~? That's it, you're safe, just relax..." Something is rubbing your back, making small circles and kneading the cold flesh through the wet fabric, causing the muscles to un-tense amd loosen...

"Shhhh... You're so good, kitten... Look at you, you took the medicine so well... You're just feeling tired, aren't you? So so tired... Shhhhh... Just rest~ We'll take care of everything~♡"

Your body is covered in something thick and soft, the arms around you keeping you tucked into their chest... Your head feels thick, your ache melting and waning under the medicine, tugging you down into blissful, quiet, warm darkness...

"Okay, team... let's go home~♡"

( @thewickedweiner @sugar-soda @weebwholovesuchihasasuke )

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep3 & Ep8 Musings - Loustat's Fire Gift, and Withholding (Pt3)

(Part 1 is my discussion about whether or not AMC!Lestat is fireproof/sunproof as of the S3 promo. Part 2 is my gifset of the first time we see the Fire Gift used in S1.)

I've noticed how many folks were surprised to see Lestat use the Fire Gift in 2x8, so I just want this series of posts to help break it all down.

This scene is the first time (AFAWK) that Louis has ever seen Lestat use TFG in their 30/100+ years. But this is NOT the first time WE the audience has seen Lestat use TFG.

The whole point of Lestat revealing his Fire Gift to Louis in 2x8 is multilayered, but it all boils down to an important main theme:

Withholding

Lestat deliberately withholds A LOT of information from Louis (& Claudia), about his/their nature as a vampire, and esp. about his past (TVL).

Lestat Withholding his True Nature/Powers/Gifts

book!Lestat never wanted to scare Louis, by letting him know exactly what powers Les had, and exactly what he could do, and how monstrous he was ("how things will never be right between monstrous us"). But contrary to popular opinion, this goes FAR beyond him knowing Akasha's blood is in him--and lord don't even get me started on the braindead Amel takes.

Lestat says exactly why he hid his true powers & gifts from Louis: cuz Louis "shrank in guilt and self-loathing from using even half of his own powers."

(Catholic) Guilt & self-loathing is a HUGE theme in TVC. It's why so many vamps yeet themselves into the sun/fire, thinking they should die. They hate themselves, and find it impossible to carpe diem in the Savage Garden, or see any reason to endure--and "if you can't love yourself, how are you gonna love anyone else, can I get an amen!" Self-loathing vamps like Nicki, Daciana, the Children of Satan/Darkness, Armand, and ofc Louis don't treat the Dark Gift like a GIFT, but as a CURSE. They have no "Vampire Pride." 🏳️‍🌈

Lestat revealing his Fire Gift to Louis was on one hand an act of honesty, honoring Louis by being transparent with him: "Here's all of me, I'm not gonna hide things from you anymore, look at what I can do." But it was also an admission of guilt: "I really was hiding stuff & lying; I am a monster; but you already hate me, so there's no point keeping up pretenses."

However. Some vamps hide in the shadows not cuz they're ashamed of what they are, but cuz they know it's not SAFE; that if people knew certain secrets about them, it could get them literally killed. (Istg Anne Rice snapped with all the queer parallels in vampirism. 😤🤌)

Lestat Withholding His Past (TVL)

Some of Les' withholding IS excusable/forgivable: Marius ordered Les to never say a word about TWMBK, cuz whatever happens to them/Akasha happens to ALL vampires: if she burns/dies, ALL vamps die. Some self-loathing vamp extremists WANT all of them to die, so They Must Be Kept SECRET from as many people as possible. So it's 100% valid for Les to never tell Lou about Akasha.

(But conversely, AMC!Les is a effing brat who broke that rule, blabbing about them to Lou & Claud in S1, AND Lou & Armand in S2; but y'all wanna convince me that Les GAF about obeying the Great Laws in that scripted AF Ep4 revist? Sure, Jan. Les had ONE job and failed at it TWICE. 🙄😒)

However, Marius' command has ZERO bearings on why Lestat never told Louis about himself. Les was perfectly safe & free to tell his NOLA fledglings about Magnus & Nicki (a la 1x6), Gabrielle, AND the Children of Darkness, cuz none of them had any effing clue that Akasha existed.

The ONE name I can excuse is Armand, since Marius is his Maker--but Marius never told Armand who TWMBK were either, for a VERY good reason: it's LITERALLY a matter of life & death for ALL of them.

Knowledge is Power

AMC including the element of domestic abuse to Loustat's already canonically toxic AF dynamic implies several things about both the implications and ramifications of Lestat's tendency to withhold.

It adds an insidious element of danger and fear that Les' NOLA fledglings feel about about him, where they live with him in constant insecurity--unsure, unsafe, and above all: UNEQUAL. This whole show is about power imbalances. It's so bonkers to try dismissing the abuse in Ep5 just cuz Lou & Claudia didn't act scared enough, when Ep6 & Ep7 had them repeatedly explain how uncomfortable they--esp. Louis--felt, not knowing eff all what Lestat was capable of doing to them! Just cuz they're not cowering in a corner doesn't mean they don't fear the unknown or verbalize about those fears:

Claudia jumps in to ask a very good question ("Who made you?"), but notice how Lestat deflected & never actually addressed Louis' point: TELL US *WHAT ELSE* YOU CAN DO. (It's moot whether or not Lestat had already used the Cloud Gift while they had sex in Ep1--Louis was reeling, so he likely wasn't paying attention--people OFTEN describe sexual pleasure as feeling like they're floating.) Lou is telling Les that what he did in Ep5 SHOCKED them--floating an inch off the ground/bed is NOTHING compared to soaring into effing outer space. ("He got tricks, is all.")

Louis repeatedly emphasized the raw difference in weight class b/t immortals like him & Claudia, and immortals like Lestat specifically.

LOUIS: "But he's not mortal. No illness can touch him. You threaten a life which will endure till the end of the world!" CLAUDIA: "I'm done enduring!"

In 1x6 Lou stresses that when it comes to killing Lestat, "HE" is not mortal. Not "WE, as undead vampires, in general," but THIS dude in particular. Even in his total ignorance about Akasha, Louis still knows there's something special about LESTAT specifically that separates him from other vamps; not just cuz of what he experienced firsthand in Ep5, but also from the Spell/Mind Gifts he knows Les often uses (poker in 1x1, the soldiers in 1x3, the bar in 1x5, etc).

As I've repeatedly pointed out, AMC loves putting Louis & Claudia at the same level, stressing that their position/status/experiences are the same, esp. wrt where Lestat gets positioned. Louis & Claudia are Lestat's "diminished" progeny, who can't do anything Les can do.

Louis was deadset convinced that the answer was a resounding NO. He begged Claudia not to even try, not to even think of trying, cuz she'd be "destroyed," a la what book!/AMC!Les himself warned her.

Louis has no idea what else Lestat can do, but he's seen enough to know that Lestat is sitting on way more than he's letting on. However, unlike Claudia, he blindly accepts that it must be a simple matter of some vamps just being "born" better--a total role reversal from his ambitious spirit in 1x1-1x3. Lou's been beaten down (literally) to the point that he's internalized the same racist eugenics determinism nonsense that had taught his generation & the generations before him that some people (*cough*) were born lesser and could never rise above their stations or lot in life and MUST be stopped if they got too "uppity." So Lou' swallowed the Kool Aid, but S2!Claudia proves that this IS a lie, just like she said it was in 1x6.

Vampires CAN learn advanced Gifts--but the important thing is that they MUST already have the scaffolding to support those powers:

the experience of age/practice

the benefits of a strong Maker who can pass the abilities down,

access to an Ancient vamp whose blood they can drink

Loustat Learning the Fire Gift

Lestat's Fire Gift

AMC!Les already has TFG in 1x1, so it's safe to assume he got it from Akasha the first time he drank her blood (TVL). However, book!Lestat didn't acquire the Cloud Gift (& astral projection) & Killing Gift & "probably" TFG until QotD, after he'd guzzled a metric ton of Akasha's blood; way more than the sip he got in TVL.

He knew about TFG for centuries, cuz Marius swore to torch Les if he ever blabbed about TWMBK. But despite this knowledge, Les COULDN'T use the Fire Gift--he didn't have the right scaffolding yet.

Even in the PL Trilogy, almost 40yrs after Akasha was dead, even knowing what Marius revealed in Blood & Gold (that you can repel the Fire Gift even if you don't know wtf's happening), Les was unsure of how well he could survive TFG if he fought an Ancient--

But apparently he did have it in PL, and definitely in PLAtRoA--

And ofc Les had it in BC (2017) when he finally killed Rhoshamandes; he was able to send TFG right back at Rhosh the way Marius said to.

Louis' Fire Gift

However, book!Louis never even knew the Fire Gift was a thing until the 1980s (reading TVL). Pyromaniac du Lac always set ish on fire manually. Even in PLatRoA it was still a guestimate--even for Amel--if Louis (knew he) had TFG yet, let alone if he'd ever bother using it:

AMC leaned into this, as Louis himself says his Fire Gift only works when he Hulks out--

--and we all saw what happened to that Theatre. 🔥

Another big difference is that this time Les KNOWS Lou has TFG, and Armand taught him how to use it, cuz Les sure AF didn't.

Armand teaching Louis how to hone/use the Fire Gift is one thing, but HOW did Armand know Louis could even BE taught? Did he just assume that cuz he knew Les had the Fire Gift, that his fledgling MUST be able to use it, too? But what about Louis' diet?

ARMAND: I understand you supplement your diet. LOUIS: I feast human every other night.

Louis was still eating pigeons & crap in Paris, so how would he have been strong enough to have TFG already? Esp. cuz we know in Eastern Europe Lou kept complaining about how cold he was, so I assume he didn't have TFG then either.

Meaning Louis must have been GUZZLING Armand's blood in Paris. Sadly, we never see them do this or even talk about it.

So I wonder who initiated the convo to have Louis learn TFG? It could've been Lou, just curious how TF Armand could do that in 2x3.

But it makes HELLA sense for Armand to insist that Lou drink his blood & get TFG down--if only for protection, cuz the same scene where Lou's practicing with TFG is also while Loumand's talking about The Secret.

Armand knows it's Bad News Bears for Lou to stay in Paris and not join the coven, he warns Lou over & over again. And we know he's not above throwing his own coven in the literal flames--in TVL he torched his coven after Lestat arrived in Les Innocents.

So I'm convinced Armand was intentionally teaching Louis TFG, knowing good & daggone well this could only end badly, and hoping it could give Lou some way to defend himself.

Cuz who'd expect the coven to jump Lou during his cozy family dinner surrounded by humans at a public cafe with THE Armand standing right ther--oh wait. 😬💀

So maybe I'm wrong, and it really was just Louis being curious & wanting to learn the Fire Gift himself, and Armand DGAF either way.

Like, I was always suspicious of the scene where Louis drank from "Rashid," cuz we never actually saw the blood--Armand covers his neck wound so Daniel can't see anything. So I'm still wondering how much of Armand's blood Louis could've POSSIBLY even drunk, in Paris or Dubai. Cuz although Armand's a 400-500yo fireproof/sunproof vamp in Dubai, we KNOW Louis isn't. In the books, the vamps that can use the Fire Gift are also sun/fireproof. But AMC!Lou still burns in the sun in SanFran AND Dubai in 1x1, even though we KNOW he has TFG in Paris AND Dubai!

So WTF?

*sigh* AMC, I stick by my 1001 rants about y'all having effed up royally by making Armand a daywalker. Cuz this ish is confusing.

[m3r1m4r5u333]

Hey buddies... LET'S GET TRULY DELUSIONAL. And talk about buddie and curses!!!! How

"I see crows." truly is

"I see dead people." ... And how that is...

"I know you... I met with you once upon a dream..."

Because I FREAKING KNOW THIS CROSSOVER WE ARE WATCHING, with Eddie's journey into this delulu ✨dreamland ✨

to date his dead wife.

And no, I'm not talking about Vertigo now. (Though I don't doubt that either. The show is super into intertextuality)

It's the Sleeping Beauty!

And it has been foreshadowed a lot!

The team being superstitious:

worrying about .

CURSES...??!!

Worrying about birds who are omens of death and illness? (Maleficent's was a raven, another bird who is an omen of death. Ours are crows!)

Remember Buck being warned not to go chasing waterfalls? Well he did!!

Recognise this scene from the 9-1-1?!!!

"YOU TWO HAVE AN ADORABLE SON!"

And rewatch that scene in which Eddie enters Buck's apartment with Chris, before he goes to meet Kim!!

Buck talks about baking a lasagna (a dish with many layers!) and when he says he might have cracked himself trying out this recipe, and ended up burning the dish, since Eddie is smelling smoke...

As Buck says this, he glances up at the

very familiar bicycle hanging on the wall.

Burning spinning wheels, that's the lasagne written here!!

Eddie suddenly sleep-walking, dreaming about dating his dead wife.

Really, Eddie is simultaneously dating Marisol, Kim, Shannon and Buck. That's a damn bicycle in flames, alright!!! How bisexual is this love square? Very!

So it's...

"Don't go chasing waterfalls, Buck!"

And

"You two have an adorable son!!"

And Chris, waking up, screaming, from his nightmares,

And Buck asking what Eddie thinks triggered the nightmares - maybe Shannon returning at Christmas?

Remember what initially triggers the whole curse plot in the Sleeping Beauty?

It is Maleficent being excluded from the celebration, the party celebrating Aurora's birth!!

Isn't that quite a parallel to Shannon being excluded at Christmas, the birth of baby Jesus, right?

This is her, outside, looking in.

And when Chris wants to make a wish (another parallel to the movie, fairies and wishes!) to Santa...

Eddie invites Buck, not Shannon.

She is again excluded from this birthday party, like Maleficent was.

Really, remember the team worrying about curses,

Remember how we were warned not to torment, anger, attack crows.

Remember crows being named.... Buddie?

Remember one particular crow following the team around.

Remember being told crows are the birds associated with death and pestilence.

Well, isn't that bird Shannon, Kim?! Isn't she also a crow, a bird associated with death?

So...

maybe buddie isn't just Buck and Eddie.

Chimney does name a crow buddie, so crows are Buck and Eddie,

and Buck and Eddie are crows...

But there were lots of crows in that episode.

Maybe Shannon and Eddie were the "original buddies".

Friends to lovers, and both of them crows in their own way. They certainly lashed at each other when they hurt each other. But they're also loyal. They tried again, and even after divorce and death... Shannon still shadows Eddie as a ghost...

So maybe buddie isn't just about Buck and Eddie. But also... About another ship.

"Bud... Dies."

After all, in this crossover... Aurora, the princess, the one who was destined to die... She was also called "Rose". And in the world of Disney, roses symbolize love.

And what is young love, like Eddie's and Shannon's, but a young rose: a bud.

Bud... Dies.

So yes, I rather feel like we are watching a crossover of 9-1-1 and

The sleeping Beauty

and that powerful sleeping curse... It has just been activated in Eddie. He is dreaming, delusional!!

And hey, Hen just revived a dog called rosie!!

She revived rosie, right before we get Eddie spiraling to madness, into a dream land, trying to date his dead lover. That's a dead bud, revived!

So yeah our prince got too close to the spinning wheel (Buck? coming out as bi, maybe triggering something)...

And the way Eddie excluded Shannon at christmas, threw her out, didn't invite her, angered her, inspired her to show up at the team's Christmas event, to embarrass Eddie by loudly airing details of their sex life to his collegues...

Maybe that's what triggered the nightmares, Shannon returning at Christmas. Being uninvited, excluded, that's what made Maleficent dish out her revenge, and cast the sleeping curse on the kingdom.

The are just so many similarities between this film, and the show.

Maleficent's outburst after realizing her cronies have been looking for a baby all this time...

In the Monsters, the team slipping past the crows in disguise, disguising the boys to look older, hurt... To avoid being recognised by the disgruntled crows.

Then these persistent crows...

Remember how Chimney starts talking about the crows to Maddie? He asks her if she wants to know a secret:

"I see crows!"

Much like... the famous line...

"I see dead people."

Eddie seeing Kim, and dreaming that this will surely all work out perfectly, that she won't be at all freaked out this stranger who thinks he knows her, is his husband, and she his dead wife??

Yep. Eddie thinks this will all work just as nicely as in the Sleeping Beauty,

when the Prince just shows up, being a total stranger, and sneaks behind her, takes hold of singing Rose's shoulders to dance with her (like a total creep!)...

and when this freaks her out,

he just tells her not to fear her because

"He recognises her from a dream??" (And he kinda does actually, in the movie Philip meets Aurora when she is a baby, so they saw each other when they were younger. Like Eddie thinks he knows Kim, from his past life.)

Isn't this scene of Philip and Rose meeting really curiously similar to Kim's and Eddie's meeting.

In the Sleeping Beauty... Rose is just having fun, singing to herself in the Woods, not meaning anything by it when she sings "Once upon the dream"...

Isn't that similar to Kim basically singing to Eddie

"I know you, I met with you once upon the dream"

when she shows her the beach candles, ones she doesn't know Eddie associates with memories of Shannon?!!!

So Eddie is receiving messages she never intended to sent. There is no "I know you", Eddie just thinks there is.

So yes, I think this is what we are watching right now. A sleeping curse that's been activated.

Kim and Eddie. Shannon and Eddie.

I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream

I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

Yet I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem

But if I know you, I know what you'll do

You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream

But if I know you, I know what you do

You love me at once

The way you did once upon a dream

I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream

I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem

But if I know you, I know what you'll do

You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream

And ultimately...

It's Eddie, finally having that long overdue meltdown about Shannon dying. After all, he's never had it. We see him destroy a room when he learns about the death of his friends. With Shannon? No strong reaction, ever, just some quiet tears. That's barely a reaction!!!! Obviously Eddie is quite capable of meltdowns!!

So. Eddie hasn't really faced it, that she really is GONE.

This is what's happening here, Eddie is starting to spiral because he hasn't processed Shannon's death.

This is why we are getting Once upon a Dream, now. Because no, Shannon wasn't perfect, their love had lots of fractures, but he did still love her. It's apparent from the way he keeps trying to find her again and again. Like she isn't dead.

Remember the way Ana dressed so similarily to Shannon? Really, their clothes were almost identical.

And then Eddie startles when Ana visits the fire station and Ravi thinks Ana is his wife, Eddie keeps staring at Buck, and when Buck asks if he's sleeping or just pretending...

Eddie says he doesn't want these things to wilt, looking between Ana and Buck. It's not about salads, he doesn't want his roses to wilt. His great loves.

So asked about sleeping? Eddie says he was trying to, until Buck interrupted. Because that's how the curse is broken in the film, with true love and persistence!!!

And Buck? What does Eddie say to him?

"You never give up, do you?"

Yes. This is the "locked yard mystery"!!!!

"There was never a ring, there was a fence.", Buck and Eddie, talking in the kitchen before Buck tells Eddie he'd still take him. I rather think this "fence" is built of roses!!

And Buck... He is the type to hack that fence down, to get to Eddie, to wake him up!!

He's a fire fighter. He can take down any door, all he needs is the right tools, and enough time. That's what he says in his coma dream.

Oh, and the reason why I think we have crows instead of ravens? I think it's because our story is very bisexual, and ties to a film that looks super bi-coded to a modern queer viewer. Because Maleficent is basically the bisexual fairy, okay! Her signature color is purple, she enchants a woman who also loves a man,

she is the fairy who is too wild and scary and excluded from a party celebrating Aurora's birth (go watch Verilybitchie on YouTube, learn your queer history. How another weather phenomenon's, Pride's 🌈 birth wasn't actually an inclusive celebration. Bisexuals not welcome, among others.)

And the buddie mascot animals being crows...? Crows are also queer history. They are queer subtext, and distinctly bi.

The show has made references to the Wizard of Oz before, that's a classic film full of queer subtext. So go watch the scene in which Dorothy meets Scarecrow. He's the character who Dorothy doesn't at first notice... Who is stuck at a crossroads and tells the audience that he cannot make up his mind, and People do go both ways!)

[ominous-faechild]

✦ OC Questionnaire Tag 3 ✦

Following tag from @honeybewrites !

Featuring characters from Sun and Shadow: Freya, Crow, Daleira, Valyarus, Soren, and Grimnir! As well as a surprise visit from someone else...

Notes: Valyarus is Daleira's adopted dad, Lynsmouth nobility, and a faerie; Soren is Freya's dad, strongly hinted to be ageless, and worked as a sailor; and Grimnir is Crow's dad, the famous criminal detective of Lynsmouth, and known to work under an alias and masks to hide his identity.

Featured Questions (not all characters will answer): - "Sun or moon?" - "Would you rather drown or be buried alive?" - "How many people have you killed?" from @the-golden-comet - "Do you believe in fate?" kidnapped from the-golden-comet's post

"Sun or moon?"

Freya, the MC of Sun and Shadow who's explicitly sun-coded: Freya: Well... even before I found out about the whole "my dad gave me a magic restraint from a really young age without telling me and I actually have magic" thing... I'd always liked being out in the sun. I'd feel more refreshed, energized. I thought it was just normal, yknow? Like, who doesn't like being out in the sun? But apparently it's A Normal Magic Thing™ to feel better in your element? Even though I felt awful for a while without the restraint... apparently that's something called "magical sickness" from having too much uncontrolled essence? That's what Daleira said at least... I don't know. Regardless, um, sun, obviously, haha. 😅

Crow, the "shadow" of Sun and Shadow: Crow: Moon. The daytime is too bright and it's a lot harder to blend in. I mean--(*pointedly wiggles the sunglasses they're always wearing*)--I need these to be able to actually see thanks to my damned curse and how bright everything is. Then, like, I need to stick to the shadows at day because I just feel worse under sunlight, you know? So, yeah. Moon, easily.

Daleira, the OTHER, secret "shadow": Daleira: Sun! (gotcha 😉) It's thanks to the sun's energy that our world goes round--well, metaphorically speaking--and it would be almost unrecognizable if the sun didn't exist! 😊 Well, I mean, now that I say that... I guess the same applies to the moon, huh? Like, it's thanks to it that we have the tides and-- (*continues rambling about Science*) --wait what was the question again? Oh, right! "Sun or moon?" I would probably still pick sun, haha! 😊

Valyarus: This is an odd question. I would dare to say sun. Nights tend to be much more dangerous, both in the Faewildes and in this world. Criminals adoring the darkness and all, yes? Besides that, I am also weaker at night. So that should be an easy answer for me, no?

Soren: I'm brought back from the dead and/or a potentially disastrous situation in order to answer arbitrary questions? (*heavy sarcasm*) Interesting. How kind of our all-powerful gods to give me this opportunity. (Look do you want this break or not?) ... fine. Yes. (*Clears throat*) My wife and children all had sun- and light-allegiances. I feel that should speak for itself. However... as a seaman, the stars have always been my best friend, and it would be a nightmare to navigate without them. In spite of that, if you told me to choose between my daughter and the night, I would choose my daughter in a heartbeat. Happy? (*he asks, glaring at the camerawoman* Very, great job, Soren! 😉 *he scoffs*)

"Would you rather drown or be buried alive?"

Freya, who in the first chapter of SaS got traumatized by nearly dying in a shipwreck: Freya: Be buried alive. Next question, please and thank you.

Crow: Easy! I'd choose to be buried alive! Being encased in a coffin--or even just dirt--would surround me in shadows and I could just teleport out through them, ha! Daleira: Crow, you're supposed to take this at face value. There's no way getting out. If you had to die either way, which would you pick? Crow: (*scowling*) But that doesn't make sense! I could just teleport out! Daleira: Yeah, well that's not the point! It's supposed to, like, find out your personality and stuff! Which you'd, uh... consider to be the least painful death?... hm, that's actually really dark when you think about it... Crow: Exactly! Besides, it doesn't say I have to die through it! Just drown or "be buried alive"--not that I die in the process! (*smug birb.png*) Daleira: Um... actually, "drown" does imply death. Crow: Wait, what? Daleira: It's in the definition! "Drown: verb; to die through submersion in and inhalation of water!" Crow: ... and why do you have the exact definition of "drown" memorized? And where did you get it??? Do you have a dictionary lying around somewhere in your workshop??? Daleira: (*flushed*) Just--answer the question! Crow: I still pick being buried alive. It doesn't mean I can't escape alive, sweetheart. 😘 Daleira: (*groans and puts her face in her hands*)

Daleira: Unlike Crow, I'm actually going to answer this question as intended. 😒 While both are deeply unpleasant ways to die, I'd probably choose to drown just because it's quicker than suffocating in a coffin... or loose dirt. (*shudders*)

Valyarus: (*pleasantly; if not a bit smugly*) I could and would do neither. As a faerie, I could simply teleport out of either situation. Daleira: 😒😒😒 Daleira: (*takes a slow, deep breath... unlike someone in the situations posed in this question!*) Dad, the point of the question is "imagine you don't have any other choice". Like, if you had to pick one, which would you pick? Valyarus: (*quizzical look*) Well that's just incredibly dark, isn't it? Who would pose such a question? Daleira: (*exasperated, throws up her hands*) I don't know! Could you please just answer it, Dad??? Valyarus: (*gives a long, drawn-out sigh... also unlike someone in the situations posed in this question!*) If you insist, dear. I suppose... I would choose being buried alive. In your hypothetical situation, unaware that I was completely doomed, I would likely choose it knowing it took longer and spend a majority of the time I had trying to figure out a way out... only to die. Valyarus: But, Dally, you are aware that even if our bodies die, we do not, yes? Daleira: 😃 (*internal screaming*)

Soren: (*completely unaware of the events of the first chapter of SaS in this case--*) I would choose the sea--or, drowning, that is. I was born by the ocean, was made by the ocean, and lived through the ocean. I see no better way to die. Or a more fitting one.

Grimnir: In those cases, I'd assume I'd be being assassinated by some of my enemies... and so they're planning for it to be as painful as possible. In which case, it would likely look like this: my to-be killers choose to drown me. They repeatedly dunk and pull my head out at intervals maximized for suffering, but just barely below the time my body would force me to inhale. Ideally, none of them would have control over water magic, or they could simply let me breathe it in and draw it from my lungs. Which would likely be doubly as unpleasant as traditional water inhalation. Regardless--they would repeat this process until I finally suffocated or they got bored. And then they would kill me. Alternatively, my captors could've chosen to kill me through burying me alive. In that case, they'd do so without a coffin. That way, I'd be suffocating, buried within whatever material they thought would make me suffer most. Due to the phrasing of this question, I would assume it could not be anything inherently dangerous, otherwise I would die of exsanguination, poisoning, or whatever else. No, instead, I'd suffocate. In this case, it's unlikely my captors could interrupt or pace out my murder--unless they periodically buried, unearthed, and re-buried me, which simply seems like more effort than it's worth and comes with risk of a coma instead. Between the two situations, I would choose to be buried alive. Though, I hope you aren't intending on trying anything... I may be a detective, but I have a lot more tricks up my sleeve.

"How many people have you killed?"

Freya: Nobody??? What???

Crow: What do you mean? I'm a detective, not a murderer! Obviously I haven't killed anyone!

Daleira: (*voice uncharacteristically quiet*) It... depends on what you count as a "person." And... whether you're counting accidents... which you probably are. Regardless?... a lot.

Valyarus: I have killed very, very few people. If they even counted as "people" by the time I killed them is a better question. But... if you consider the fact that I, myself, am not human, and that those of us in my position call all of us sentient beings "people"... then I have killed very, very many people. That's why I'm in the position I am today. I am very powerful. And, sometimes, death is necessary to protect those looking up to you as a leader.

It's been a bit since Elvalen has joined Lynsmouth, though. I think I've gotten a bit rusty. 😄

(note: Valyarus has accidentally killed a lot more people in a similar manner to Daleira, but is not counting them due to it being "part of a faerie's nature", unintentional, and frankly unavoidable to an extent. Up his perceived creepiness/danger level as you deem necessary.)

Soren: Depends who's asking. If this has any possibility of reaching my daughter, none whatsoever. Otherwise... more than I wish. But being what I am, death is sometimes inevitable. Other times, it's simply the only correct choice. Would you rather leave a monster alive, or kill it where it stands to save its victims, both present and future? I think there's only one right answer there, and I have a number of people who'd thank me for it. ... even if my daughter would not.

Grimnir: Depends on what you mean by "killed". Does it count to put them in prison, knowing people can and might target them there? If so: I don't know. Definitely more than I can count. Otherwise... only a few. And only when necessary, in self-defense.

"Do you believe in fate?"

Freya: You mean the idea that our lives are predetermined from the beginning, that our decisions are set in stone before we're born, and that nothing we can do will ever change that? Of course not. And even if it did, I'd assume magic itself would interfere with how Fate wanted to make things.

Crow: I'm... not sure. I've never thought of it before to be honest. I'd guess there's probably some god out there capable of it?... though if you think of it that way, wouldn't all gods be Fate in one way or another? Like, they're all always just... sitting in their godly domains or something, watching us, seeing everything and making decisions off of it right? So from our point of view, wouldn't that make them the puppeteers of our fates? So I'd say it depends on what you consider "fate" to be. Is it an active force keeping things to a certain "timeline" or set of events? In which case I'd say no. Or is it a set of actions carried out by beings that can see so much more than we do, that are capable of comprehending things that we can't, and actively try enforcing their wills on us? In which case... I'd say yes.

Daleira: Fate? Like "things are destined to happen a certain way"? I wouldn't know! Haha, there's so many things in this world that it's impossible to know! Like, there's billions of lifeforms breathing, existing!, making decisions all at once! Could there possibly be a reason behind it, some sort of consciousness pulling everything in a certain direction to make sure different events come true? Possibly!

... what do I think of that?... hm. That's a great question. I... don't know honestly. I like the concept of free will, would like to think we all have complete control of our lives and where they go... but that just isn't realistic! Even if fate didn't exist, our lives are all still pushed and pulled in every direction by those of the people around us. And by nature! The world constantly throws things at us, and all we're able to do is react to it! Even if we make our own decisions, they're based on our life experiences and the examples we've seen of others... so it's impossible to say "free will" truly exists, either.

Valyarus: Fate? (*snickers*) Which kind of "Fate", the idea that Grand Destinies follow people, that some people are destined to come together and "complete" one another", or something... Or the cold and merciless goddess known for doing whatever it takes to achieve her goals?

Don't misunderstand me--most gods are "cold, cruel, merciless" and all those good things. But I've heard special things of Fate. She sees everything that has happened, everything that is happening, and everything that will happen at all times. She's able to make decisions with more information than anyone else. She's been able to plan out her actions and puppeteer everyone else from the very beginning of time. She's known for acting irrationally, having her son carry out the most out of place things... for what? What cause? What purpose? We don't know. We can't. What we do know is that she's willing to do anything. She and her son--acting on her behalf as all avatars do--have done some things even the other gods wouldn't dare do. Although, I don't think it's for a lack of willingness so much as it would otherwise get in the way of their goals to actively commit atrocities.

Regardless, oh--I do believe Fate exists. It's very hard not to when you've spoken to her son firsthand and he responds to you before you can even speak. I wouldn't recommend it, by the way. I've met some very disturbing creatures before, but he was... different.

Quinn: Well, that's just rude. Valyarus: Quinn: After I helped you and everything. Valyarus: How... how did you get in here? Quinn: Not telling. 😉 Want to apologize? Valyarus: Valyarus: (*indignant!*) I see no reason to. Quinn: Of course. No problem, then. Just... be careful around birds. Valyarus: (*silent, confused panic???*)

Soren: I believe Fate exists, yes. Whether or not that's a good thing depends on the day... and if you're in her way. Thankfully, it does not seem like I've done anything to cross her... at least, not for a very long time.

Grimnir: (*deadpan*) I would assume so. Otherwise, I'd worry who I gave my eyes to.

Your questions: - What would you do if you watched a starving child steal something expensive without anyone else noticing? - If you could go back in time and say anything to your younger self, what would you say? - What would you sell your soul for? (Metaphorically speaking, doesn't have to be literal. In other words: "What is the most important thing to you, that you would do anything for?")

Tagging (with no pressure) @darkandstormydolls @yourpenpaldee @.honeybewrites @fantasy-things-and-such @themboty @the-letterbox-archives and whoever else wants to join!

Divider from @cafekitsune

[cephalofrog]

the more I try to understand how death works in elden ring lore the more I hate it

judging by the whole existence of spooky skeletons, ghostflame, etc. (all linked with destined death) we can pretty much rule out destined death as literally meaning death like how it happens in our world. so what is it?

normally when you die your soul goes back to the erdtree automatically and is reborn (probably via the crucible but shhh) as something/someone else, basically just like a standard reincarnation type biz (related: if you wanted you could probably headcanon any characters you kill getting reincarnated via the erdtree if you go for either the age of fracture or perfect order ending. however I'm fairly sure it wouldn't just be, like, morgott strolling out of the tree one day, more like his soul being brought back as like a dog or something. idk the fanon possibilities there are interesting at least), which to me along with the whole of everything in the DLC says that what destined death actually is is, like, your soul not returning to the erdtree and instead just sorta doing what it wants?

this could mean becoming a skeleton or it could mean just hanging out but I guess it most likely means either heading to the realm of shadow or getting burned in ghostflame, the results of which are unclear but don't seem to result in a permanent end judging by the description of the ancient death rancor spell mentioning that it throws "vengeful spirits", raked from ghostflame. seems like a rough deal to me but what do I know, maybe it's better? maybe you could choose to go get resurrected by the crucible if that sounds like your jam but it's just not forced. idk

(as for what happens to spirits in the realm of shadow... idk. maybe you head to the scadutree to have... something... happen judging by DLC remembrances being "hewn into the scadutree"? or maybe you just hang out forever, or also get ghostflame'd but like in a different place. the hornsent seem to like spirits so it's probably not too bad assuming you don't wander into the abyss and get melted.)

so the duskborn ending right. after that ending when people die they don't return to the erdtree. sounds cool. until you remember the blessing of despair ending (in which people no longer return to the erdtree after dying) also fucking exists

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE THERE? what is the difference between people no longer return to the erdtree (spooky) and people no longer return to the erdtree (stinky)? what does the omen curse, a manifestation of the crucible, have to do with making people no longer return to the erdtree? the erdtree doesn't particularly hate omens, it seems to like morgott, so why is the curse of despair linked with omens? if the hornsent are basically kinda like omens and they like spirits (which exist cause of destined death) and the blessing of despair is linked to omens and it makes people no longer return to the erdtree (causing them to become spirits, which the hornsent like) are the rune of the fell curse and the rune of death just the same damn thing but in a different package???????????

I mean it would make sense for there to be more than one way to re-add destined death since the mending rune of death seems different to the rune of destined death that maliketh has???

idk man. maybe returning to the erdtree is possible for duskborn but blessing of despair makes it not an option at all. or another possibility is that the blessing of despair ending doesn't let people become spirits and causes them to actually vanish after death but that's just baseless speculation, with nothing in the game to actually support it. it would be funny if the stinky poop man ending is the one that actually gives you what people assume the duskborn ending gives though

shit's driving me insane. frenzied flame is the correct choice just to sort out this goddamn clusterfuck of lore once and for all

[stephpuppet]

binge read your norrington/elizabeth fics and im OBSESSED. you briefly mentioned having an au in your head where james and jack are brothers — do you have any more thoughts about that? i’d never considered it before and now you’ve put the idea into my head i can’t escape it!!

Hi Anon! Thank you for the ask!

I really love the James & Jack dynamic in the film series because it's quite an unusual protagonist/antagonist dynamic (which one's which is up for discussion!). There is actually a fic on fanfiction.net where James and Jack are brothers, though I can't remember the title for the life of me, so it has been done before.

I'm going to spend too much time gushing about what I would do with the concept, so I'll put it below the cut to avoid clogging anyone's feed.

I haven't managed to put it in a fic yet but I really like the idea of James having a really poor relationship with his father. Because then you can play with the idea that James's career ambitions are either 1. a way to prove himself to a father who will never think he's good enough, 2. him trying to succeed to spite a father. If Jack is his older brother this adds in another interesting dynamic of there being a black sheep in the family that James is trying to escape the shadow of but is also somewhat envious of, because Jack has the freedom of not caring what other people think of him and also being very successful in his own right.

Focusing on Jack for a moment. I think that Jack is a character primarily defined by his selfishness and in the films we rarely see him do something that isn't at least a little self-serving and the moments where he does do something unselfish are really nice. I like the idea of Jack having someone that he does actually value above himself, because (as far as I'm aware), we don't ever see that in the films. Jack debates becoming Captain of the Flying Dutchman himself before ultimately giving it to Will, but it wasn't like he had his heart set on the idea. He votes for Elizabeth to be Pirate King, but doing so didn't do anything to his own chances - he wasn't going to get voted in. I want to see him truly sacrifice for someone else.

If I had ever been able to write this idea I think it would have gone something like this.

Curse of the Black Pearl happens as normal just with a touch more "I'm going to arrest my law-breaking brother because I am the GoodSon(TM) and he keeps flirting with my girlfriend" and "hey bro, long-time no-see, whoa what's with the hostility? anywho I have things to do, let's catch up later".

James still goes after Jack in Dead Man's Chest, still on the "I must prove myself to Parental Figure That Sincerely Does Not Give a Fuck" bandwagon. Hurricane happens, only this time Jack and the Pearl go back to fish him out of the water. Cue lots of James being "I hate you, you're the worst brother ever, please leave me to die" and Jack being "Idgaf, I love you and you're going to stay on my ship and I'm going to take care of you while you have your existential crisis/breakdown."

Will and Elizabeth individually turn up for their respective plotlines and Jack deals with them with James just in the background still in his emo-teenager "life is meaningless, woe is me" phase.

From here it gets a bit fuzzy. In this verse, James doesn't steal the heart and betray everyone because, despite all his very dramatic angst, he does actually appreciate that someone gives a shit about him. I think this is one of the tragic aspects of his character in the films - he doesn't have anyone that cares for him. Governor Swann kind of does but I imagine that relationship dissipates when James is no longer a prospective son-in-law. His men respect him but I imagine a lot of that again goes when first he loses the Interceptor and a load of men in the attack on the Isla de Muerta and then again when the Dauntless is sunk in the hurricane. Elizabeth ditches him for Will. He just doesn't have anyone.

That's why I really like the idea of Jack and James being brothers, because it can give James someone that will love him unconditionally and it can give Jack someone he values as more than just a means to an end and also (crucially) something that he can lose. If you think about it, all the consequences Jack faces in the films are temporary - he dies and comes back, he loses the Pearl and gains it again.

I'm not sure when or how it would happen, but I like the idea that James still dies (possibly at the end of Dead Man's Chest) and Jack just loses it. His motivations during At World's End change from the rather impersonal 'Save Piracy and Stop Davy Jones', to 'Find Someway to Get James Back and Fuck Everyone and Everything Else'. There's now a solid motivation for him to try to become Captain of the Flying Dutchman and I feel it would be really interesting to see him sacrifice his principles and screw over people he cares about to achieve his goal. Like all bets are off, the ends will justify the means. And not just his innocent "Yes I betrayed you but it all worked out in the end", but legit life-ruining, "we will never forget or forgive this" betrayals.

I like to think in the end Jack succeeds, potentially without having to become Captain of the Dutchman. Like maybe he's able to make some deal with Davy Jones (and/or the EITC??, prob not though). He gets James back but at some huge cost. Would be super interesting if Elizabeth ends up dying because of Jack's actions and he has to lie about it to James because he knows James wouldn't forgive him if he knew what he had done.

Anyway those are my extensive thoughts on the subject. I like the ideas but I'm not motivated enough to commit them to paper and write the fic.

[boowhumps]

Whumpril 2024

Day 5 - Reckless

⚠TW⚠

- Swearing

- Mentions of Trauma

- Mentions of Blood

- Mentions of Injury

(Part 2 of Day 4)

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~

Lua and Silas are quick to draw their weapons, and Amne brings up her fists as the remaining people clear out of the castle.

"Shouldn't Selyna be here somewhere?!" Amne shouts. "She could help us, right?!"

Lua frowns. "You'd be surprised, she's never been good at this fighting thing, now focus!"

Amne rolls her eyes as Lua's eyes dart around.

Finally, the trio sees a shadow in the hallway that quickly disappears.

"Straight ahead, go!" Lua shouts. "And for the love of Selyna, don't split up!"

Silas and Amne nod, and all three of them sprint down the hallway, following the sinister shadows and laughter coming from it.

~~~~~~~~~~

As suspected, Lua's words went unheard as Silas and Amne found themselves lost, and without Lua in sight.

"Shit.!" Amne curses as Silas awkwardly rubs the back of his neck.

"Amne, calm down-" He starts as Amne shoots himself glare. He goes silent as Amne stammers.

"We're going to die, oh fuck, where do we go if we die here, is there like a second Celestial, or are we stuck in an endless void, oh Selyna, why me, why me-"

Amne stops as Silas pulls her close, kissing her. It proves to be effective as it shuts her up quickly.

"Sorry, it's just, you were spiraling.." Silas says as he lets Amne go.

Amne takes a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. "Y-yeah.. that makes sense.."

The two go silent before Amne groans.

"God, why is it awkward between us now?!" She shouts.

Silas raises his hands up in surprise. "I don't know!"

Amne slumps down on the floor, groaning in frustration. Silas stays standing, shuffling a bit.

"Can we just-" Amne starts.

"-pretend that didn't happen-?" Silas finishes.

Amne lifts up her head. "Yeah.."

Silas frowns. "That would be for the best, yeah.." He looks away. "It doesn't take away my feelings though.."

Amne sighs. "I just.. I don't think I'm ready for a relationship.. not again." She mumbles. "Don't take it the wrong way, Silas, it's a me thing, it has nothing to do with you.."

Silas perks up. "No I-.. I get it." He looks at her. "I don't think I'm ready either.."

They both go back to silence before Amne speaks up.

"What are we then..?" Amne asks.

"That would depend on what you want us to be.." Silas replies. "Or if you even think there's an.. us."

Amne looks away. "I don't know how this works.. but maybe we're like.. friends with benefits.?"

Silas raises an eyebrow. "I mean.. yeah, that makes the most sense.."

Amne forces herself to stand up. "So.. friends.?" She asks, holding her hand out.

Silas musters up a smile, shaking her hand. "Friends."

Amne also smiles softly until a loud sound startles them both. Amne jumps, clinging onto Silas as they hear footsteps.

"Where the hell are you guys!" Lua's voice rings out. "I thought I told you not to split up!"

Amne tries to respond, but Silas is quick to cover her mouth as he pulls her close. Amne gives him a confused look, but Silas states straight ahead.

"I swear guys, when I find you you're both dead!" Lua's voice rings out again before fading.

Amne finally manages to get Silas' hand away from her mouth as he exhales sharply.

"What the hell is wrong with you-" Amne growls as Silas looks down at her.

"That isn't Lua." He mumbles.

Amne's eyes go wide as they both hear giggles approach quickly.

In a second, white tentacles shoot out of the darkness, grabbing them both, causing them to fall. Amne gets the wind knocked out of her lungs, leaving her winded. She gasps harshly as she sees Silas out of the corner of her eye.

He's struggling against one, but once again, in a split second, he's dragged away, out of sight.

"Silas-!" Amne shouts, but it's no use. Another set of tentacles grab her, and one manages to wrap around her neck. Amne gasps for air, struggling against it.

She shuts her eyes, convinced that this is how it'll end for her. All she had gotten in such a short time was ripped away from her.. and she was going to die again..

Amne sucks in a breath.

No. It won't end like this.

Not now.

She's going to fight.

Fight like she should've a long time ago.

Amne's eyes snap open, and in a swift movement of her arm, she summons a dagger, and plunges it into the tentacle around her neck. An inhumane screech echoes through the room, and all the other tentacles release.

Amne scrambles up, and sprints down. the hallway Silas was taken through. However, with her long dress, it's almost impossible to do so.

Amne has to stop, and quickly rips away her long skirt, revealing shorts under, something much more convenient. She then takes the time to put her hair up in a ponytail, and goes back to running.

She runs until she hears voices. She slowly down, slowly moving as to not alert anyone of her presence. She can hear two voices speaking, and she listens in.

"-the boy's secure." One voice says.

"What about Selyna's kid?" The other asks.

"Not located yet, but they will be soon enough." The first one replies. "There's a third one too, not accounted for, but should be easy to take out."

Amen covers her mouth, knowing damn well that she is the third one in this scenario.

She breathes silently as the talking stops, and both suspects leave the area. Amne peaks her head around a corner, and deems the coast clear as she passes through.

She looks up, and sees agent in the ceiling. Even with the possibility of bugs being up there, it's the best way for her to travel around without being noticed, so she sucks in a breath, and goes straight to work.

~~~~~~~~~~

The vents were a bit bigger than she imagined, and surprisingly clean. Amne slowly shuffles through them, peeking through vent covers to try and locate Silas.

She didn't want to think about what could be possibly happening to him right now..

Amne pushes back her thoughts as she keeps going.

He's probably fine, still alive.. yeah, he's okay..

Amne stops, peering through yet another vent covers when she spots two figures who she is sure are the ones she heard talking earlier. It's a girl and a guy, Briar and Brennan, as Lua called them..

Amne narrows her eyes, scanning the area, there's a couple of shadows around.. maybe their abilities are shadow summoning..

Nonetheless, she has to get through them and fast.

Amne sucks in a breath, and puts her foot against the vent cover. She braces herself, and then kicks it hard, sending it flying open.

She falls through it, and lands on her feet, drawing her dagger. She had her eyes locked on the pair, and she wastes no time in pouncing.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amne plunges her dagger into the neck of the last shadow, dropping it to the floor. She wipes the blood away from her face as she catches her breath. She looks back to the pair, who she managed to beat down and tie up.

She walks over to Brennan, the conscious one, and draws her dagger, digging it into his neck.

"Where is he..?" She asks lowly, her eyes narrowed.

Brennan glares at her, but glances over at a door.

Amne pulls the dagger away, and walks over to the door. She turns the knob, and finds the door locked. In a burst of frustration, Amne kicks at the door until she manages to drop it.

She stumbles into the room, and to her total relief, finds Silas still very much alive and well. He's tied up, to be fair, but he's okay.

Amne can't even help but sigh in relief. However, she expected his face to go from surprised to relieved, not from surprised to terrified.

Amne tales a step forward and Silas gets even more distraught.

"Amne, behind you!" He shouts.

Amne snaps around, and finds Brennan right behind her, however, she far too late to stop him. He slams her against the wall, and Silas struggles against his ties.

Amne is lifted off the ground by him from her neck. She once again fights against the tightening grip. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Silas free one of his hands.

Amne goes back to looking at Brennan, and she manages to kick him in the knee, causing him to release her. Amne falls to the ground, but Brennan is quick to pin her to the floor instead.

Amne can only struggle, eyes darting between Brennan and Silas. She tries to kick him away, but the second he draws a dagger of his own is when it stops. He wastes no time in plunging the knife into Amne's leg, causing her to yelp.

Amne is caught off guard from the pain, and Silas manages to take over. Now freed, he jumps into the fight, knocking Brennan out swiftly as if he was nothing.

Amne pushes herself up so she can lean against the wall as Silas unarms Brennan.

"Didn't think you could do that.." Amne mumbles.

Silas looks over to her, seeing the blood coming from her wound.

Silas goes over to her. "You need to put pressure on that, idiot.." He says, pressing Amne's hand over it.

Amne hisses from the pain. "Fuck-.." She looks at Silas. "Why do you seem pissed..?"

Silas deadpans. "You put yourself in danger for me, so yeah, I'm a little pissed."

Amne glares at him. "I saved your life.."

"-and put your own in danger at the same time." He adds. "That was not only reckless, but also shows how little self-preservation skills you have."

Amne punches him in the arm with her free hand in response.

"Hey, cut that out-!" He says sternly. "Now stay still, I need to heal you."

Amne watches Silas place both of his hands over her wound, and as he begins to mumble incoherently, the wound begins to close.

Amne breathes deeply as the wound closes completely. "Fuck.. that felt weird as hell.."

Silas hums. "Yeah, so unless you wanna go feeling that again, don't try to play hero."

Amne rolls her eyes. "Yeah yeah.." She looks away from him. "A thanks you still would've been nice.."

Silas sighs, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, really." He says, smiling a bit.

Amne's heart flutters as she awkwardly pats his own shoulder. "No problem.."

"No more doing that, thought."

"Oh, fuck off."

~~~~~~~~~~

[casspurrjoybell-31]

The Consort's Will - Chapter 18 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Finn

We're silent because we have to be.

After Leo's wordless confession, we know our every movement is being watched.

We're in an underground snow globe, trapped but transparent.

Reyo is in control of it all, pulling our strings and making us dance to his whim.

Leo's trails his finger up the back of my elbow and leans into me.

Brayden stiffens at our closeness.

He's learning to pick and choose his battles when it comes to my old lover.

This isn't one of them.

"Reyo will summon you," he whispers.

"Be prepared."

He gives Brayden a solemn nod and leaves us, moving down an unfamiliar corridor.

The wiggling flames tighten around his silhouette, shedding light to his slight limp and slender frame.

Shadows swallow him whole and Brayden nudges me to keep walking.

We're out in the open here.

There's so much that needs to be said,but it's not here.

Never out in the open.

"Kelly's going to die."

They're the first words spoken by either of us since we left Kelly's bedside.

Brayden replies with a curt nod and stealthily moves throughout my chamber.

His masculine features pinch in concentration as he searches along the ceiling and the wall.

For cameras.

He's trying to find Reyo's virtual eyes hovering near us.

He stops at the edge of the bed.

I follow his gaze to a decorative flower made of smooth metal and iron.

In the center is a reflective camera.

It's small, no bigger than the size of a dime and unless I knew what I was looking for, I'd never be able to find it.

Brayden removes his belt and uses the buckle to smash the cylinder switch once, then twice.

"If Mr. Primary is as clever as he poses himself to be, this will be restored quickly," Brayden mutters, emphasizing Reyo's title like the curse that it is.

"We don't have long."

He angles his body towards me and hurriedly speaks his plan.

"When he calls you back to the war room, agree to his terms. Whatever they are. We need you to remain easily accessible and that shall only be accomplished if Reyo doesn't see you as a threat."

Fear clutches my insides.

"He'll use my blood, though. Every vampire they can get their hands on will be destroyed. They'll inject them with the serum and they'll die."

Brayden's black eyes bore into mine.

He knew this was going to happen.

He doesn't trust the Secondaries and I shouldn't have either.

Reyo doesn't want to help bring peace.

He never did.

He simply wants to overthrow the vampires so that the Secondaries can finally rise to power.

Once again, humans are the pawn.

"I will devise a plan for our escape," Bogdan continues ignoring my words.

"Kelly included. But in order for it to work, you must play your part. And I shall play mine."

"What's yours?"

"My dependency on you," Brayden says, drawing closer to me.

"It will be used against us, unless I can make them believe it's no longer there."

My best friend is days away from dying, Leo is being beaten and used by the Secondaries and the delicate balance of humankind hangs in the balance of war.

Yet in this moment, a small fissure forms at the center of my chest and it's the only thing that I can feel.

It's in the way he says it that I realize his dependency for me goes beyond our blood blond.

He's talking about me.

I'm not able to bask in the joyous news, it's taken from me just as quickly as it's given.

Brayden feels something for me, a feat neither of us thought possible.

And he's afraid it will be our downfall.

A mix between an argument and a plea travels up my throat and onto my lips but it never reaches the surface.

Bogdan is there before I get a chance, pulling me into his arms and capturing my lips as his.

His hands are demanding.

Everything about his touch is frantic, needy and full of weeks of unmet desire.

I harden to his touch.

His kiss is rough. His tongue slides against mine, luring me into more.

He fights off his growing fangs as long as he can before the hunger builds.

My blood is too inviting, and his need for it battles against his sexual desire.

He tears his lips from mine, frustration etched through his features. Shades of black flicker across his irises.

The warring emotions are too much.

I lean my neck to the side willingly.

It might not be the way I want our last moment of intimacy to end but I know what he needs.

Bogdan slides his arms around my waist and turns me until my back is pressed firmly against his stomach.

His hardness presses against my ass.

My breath comes out in short, fast spurts as Bogdan rushes through the motions of undressing me.

He gently bends me over the bed, though his fingers dominate my skin, keeping me in place.

"Relax, human."

[starry-bi-sky]

got reminded of this again and it's still my fondest memory of BG3, it's just so sweet and funny. We were in the Shadowlands and iirc this was just as I was about to start fixing up the shadow curse. I'd been taking frankly, quite a bit of long rests because I liked talking to the companions and seeing if they had anything new to say.

I remember taking a long rest and swerving the camera around in a full circle, and out loud said "anyone got anything new to say? no? nobody wants to talk to me? aw :(" while I made my durge moon druid Anakin physically make her rounds around the camp. And I was feeling pretty bummed about her not having a romance partner.

"Karlach you got anythng new to say? Gale? No?" and I'm just imagining this happening in game is Anakin was going around trying to make small talk but everyone was just too tired to talk much, so she went to go talk to withers.

Which is what I go to do, except I was very surly about it. "Fine I'll just go talk to Withers then, old man you got anything to say?" and this fucker goes "yeah i do actually. why are you single."

to which i said outloud, "oh fuck you." But in game I think I either just made an excuse about the dark urges and her worry about them or said something about how no one's caught her eye yet. (I reloaded the long rest after the wyll cutscene to see if my response to withers had effected it. It did not.)

I can't remember what he said after that, but I figured I was just done for the night. Fuck yall im going to bed.

I hit "long rest" and BOOM! Like the universe just decided to go 'you want to romance a charming magic man? here's WYLL coming in with a STEEL CHAIR and a DANCE". Like I've barely interacted with the man this whole campaign because I don't know how to utilize his character class that well (but damn if im not going to learn to now).

So all i'm imagining is that in-game, Wyll noticed Anakin looked pretty down about not being able to talk to anyone, went to go speak to her, overheard some of her conversation with Withers. Then promptly decided "nows my CHANCE" and rushed back to the campfire to meet her there.

Let me tell you my utter disbelief when I got this cutscene. The IRONY. the COMEDY. I couldn't believe it. However, despite not using Wyll in my party that often, I was still very endeared by him since his introduction. The few times he was in my party I really enjoyed hearing him speak, and his little "do you believe in love at first sight, Lae'zel?" line was very very sweet to me.

So i've been lowkey very twirling my hair around my ear and going "i could talk to him for hours" in the back of my mind. But I wanted to try and romance Gale because he stole my attention first.

But safe to say I was very flustered the entire cutscene. I am also a big ol romanticist. Wyll's whole speech during that cutscene had me just utterly swooning, like AW? YOU'RE SO FUCKING SWEET? I WOULD DIE FOR YOU NOW?

It didn't help that the dynamic between a Wyll x Durge romance is just gold to my poor writer's heart. Like wdym it's monster x monster hunter? You would've hunted her down in the past, she is the very evil you have sworn to destroy. Except she's here in front of you with no memory of her past and is actively choosing to do good. She is trying to be good, and she is horrified of these urges she has.

Like I am eating that shit UP. Anyways Wyll Ravengard you have my heart

one of the funnier things that's happened to me while playing Baldur's Gate was that in Act 2 I still hadn't romanced anyone because I slept through the tiefling party, but I still wanted to romance a companion. And when I took a long rest I was disappointed to see that no one had anything to say to me, so I went to go talk to Withers. And upon starting the conversation the first thing he says to me is basically "why are you single".

Which, okay, damn old man. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed but also it's not like it was on PURPOSE. I wanted to romance Gale because he's charming, but no dice despite having 100 approval. I was not having much luck.

So after finishing up the conversation and having no one else I needed to speak to, I decide to go and take a long rest and finish up the day. Bam. Immediately upon long resting I get Wyll's romance cutscene where he asks us to dance.

Funniest chain of coincidences in this game so far. I like to imagine that Wyll overheard the conversation and, having been pining quietly, decided to shoot his shot. And it worked.

[bringerofdeathandtheapocolypse]

Gajeel is such a fun character to both write and read.

Like he's almost like an analogy to the nature vs nurture argument alongside Natsu after they both get to the present.

Both were "abandoned" by their dragons and had scrambled and lost memories from the eclipse gate but that's where their stories change. While Natsu is found very quickly by Makarov and brought into a guild where he is given the chance to express himself and be a kid, Gajeel doesn't.

Gajeel is left to fend for himself on the streets where he's stealing. (And the friend he had at the time was more than likely encouraging it) and then he joins Phantom. A guild that is similar in nature to Sabertooth pre Sting. Although we don't see much of Jose, we do know that he was the one to take the job to get Lucy and we know he wanted a war with Fairy tail. And I doubt Gajeel would have attacked the guild hall without being told something. We do know it was Gajeel's idea to attack Shadow gear since Jose didn't know before hand. And its canon that Gajeel has gotten taken to trail at least once and been bailed out. I doubt its over destruction of property so it has to be something. And Jose gets really mad when he finds out that Sol, Totomaru and Juvia are all defeated by Fairy tail mages which is pretty telling of his attitude to his guild members.

I truly believe that Phantom brought out the worst in Gajeel. He chose to do some of the things he did. He chose to attack Shadow gear and he chose to throw his Kunai's (or beat in the anime's case the cowards) at Lucy. Phantom Gajeel is a lot more sadistic. He's kind of like Laxus in that regard. (Which I fully believe that if both continued down the paths they did, they probably wouldn't have been able to come back. I've actually said this in a youtube comment before but Acnologia is almost similar to them. He lost himself to his anger, something that both Laxus and Gajeel were letting happen, Laxus with his hatred of Makarov and Gajeel's unresolved feelings towards Metalicana. If they hadn't been defeated and then ultimately faced consequences, I wouldn't be surprised if they fell to the darkness since both really pushed that line when they were antagonists (I mean Laxus threatens a whole town, throws an attack at Freed who was just trying to talk some sense into him, cursed out Evergreen after she lost, didn't care to stop when he knew Makarov might die and tried to kill Natsu on several occasions and Gajeel attacked several Fairy tail members, beat up Lucy and was definitely planning on killing Natsu. I mean the chainsaw arm was a dead giveaway with that one now wasn't it)

However I also believe that Fairy tail brought out the best in him. Or at least the best it could after he'd been shaped to be the way he was. Like he probably wouldn't be the same as an adult as he is if he had grown up in a different guild that let him express himself.

But it's really telling that one of the first things he does after joining the guild, despite saying he hates both the guild and all its member not even 10 minutes prior, that he goes up on stage and preforms one of his own songs. Yeah sure he gets into a fight straight after but he still preforms. And it isn't even the only time he does this either. (Which is why it always hurts my soul as a fellow musician when he gets made fun of and yelled at. Like you don't have to like it (Although with a tiny bit of practise, he could actually improve because at least in the anime, he isn't actually that bad) but don't out right reject him before he starts. He won't get better that way and all you'll get is him closing up and not wanting to express himself around you again)

Plus AU Gajeel just has heaps more trauma added to the pile, especially with what I have planned for this rewrite.

I just love writing about mentally tortured characters (Even the two main characters for my own original book are emotionally and mentally tortured. Not even my own characters are spared)

[britishassistant]

The multiple Yuus' suffering won't end yet.

I feel like Villain! Yuu and Villainous Paranoiac! Yuu are similar personality-wise but do you mind switching them too?

I can imagine them sleeping with one eye open in their new world, cuz they don't trust anyone.

Thank you for the ask, dear anon!

You cover your nose and mouth to muffle your breathing as best you can.

Costumed adults run past your hiding place, crouched behind a series of pipes. They’re boiling hot, feeling like they could burn through your thin pajama sleeves even though you’re trying to keep your distance from them while staying concealed.

“Princess? Oh, little Princess? Come out, come out, wherever you are~” The voice of the older woman who tried to kill you when you woke up croons. You can see her shadow on the wall next to you.

Your lip curls involuntarily at the nickname, and you hunch down further into yourself.

“Are you sure we wanna do this?” The other man asks. “If the Night Raven finds out about this...”

“He won’t.” The woman snaps. “Not if we do this properly. That pampered little brat needs to die. If it’s another one of those annoying alternate versions, killing this one means there’ll be no way for our version to switch back here. If it’s a de-aged version, then even better. Either way, we’ll finally be free of that weak, pathetic pushover of an employer. Now go check over there!”

“R-right!”

You watch as their shadows move across the wall, until they vanish as their owners exit through the doors on the other side of the room.

You bite the skin on the side of your thumb. You thought this place was where that...reporter version of you came from, and that you were in the lair of one of the seven supervillains you met before, but everything you’ve seen and heard so far runs counter to that hypothesis. None of them were using the whole clockwork and steam motif that this place is decorated with, and the way those...minions? were talking, it sounds like a version of you is the one running this place.

And not very well, judging by the employee dissatisfaction.

You want to just curl up and stay hidden behind these pipes forever, but the longer you stay here, the more likely it is you’ll be cornered with no chance to run. Plus the heat’s making your head spin, and you know with your luck you’ll end up burning yourself. Better to get out now while the getting’s good.

You slip out, and go through the door that the two minions came from, peeking around to make sure the coast is clear before darting for the next bit of cover. You wish not for the first time you had shoes to muffle the sound of your bare feet against the rough floor.

You need to find an exit, get out of here as fast as you can. But if you can’t find a way to distract the minions, how long will it be until they just follow you to wherever you try to take sanctuary, just like the Scarabia students did back over winter break?

You’re in an even worse spot that you were then. At least then, you had Grim with you.

Here? You’re all alone. Defenseless.

Your right ankle twinges again, making you stumble and clip a bunch of nearby boxes. You frantically need to spread your arms to catch the boxes so the crash of them falling over doesn’t alert any of the security.

And injured. Can’t forget your overblot injuries.

You’re already panting after running for only a few minutes, your lungs burning in your chest. Nurse Kamac told you you’d find physical exertion much harder now, but it’s one thing to hear it and another thing entirely to feel how much effort it takes to do things you used to be able to do with ease, how much your body protests against the one advantage you used to have, how much more useless you are now.

You slump at a corner, sweat beading on your brow. Your vision is swimming, and your knees feel unsteady under you.

Something liquid and hot is sliding down your collarbone. You think your throat is bleeding again.

“Kreek?”

You yelp, tripping over your own feet at the sound, hitting the ground with a hard thud. You whip your head around to find the source of the noise.

There is a huge crow perched on a pipe above you.

It’s massive. Are birds allowed to get that big?

It tilts its head at you, before taking off from its perch and fluttering down to land next to you, hopping a few steps closer.

“H-hey, nice birdie...” You rasp. Then, recalling something the minions said earlier, you venture, “...Are you the Night Raven?”

There’s a moment of silence.

Then the crow erupts into a raucous, croaking squawks that sound suspiciously like laughter.

You purse your lips, running a hand through your sweaty bangs. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. It’s not like I’ve been sent to a whole other world again or anything, and whoever this ‘Night Raven’ is seems to be the only thing between me and those guys who think killing me will ensure some supervillain also ends up dead. Because of course they do, that’s just how my life is, it’s not like I don’t already know my birth was enough of a mistake. Ugh.”

You drop you head onto your knees and squeeze your eyes shut tight. You’re tired. You’re sore.

You just wanna wake up back in your bed at Ramshackle with Grim cuddled up next to you, muttering about tuna, and have all of this be some horrible nightmare.

You flail at the feeling of a series of sharp pinches on your good shoulder and a heavy, warm weight unbalancing you. “Hey, what the—!”

The crow croaks at you from its new perch on your shoulder, looking both mildly annoyed and unphased by your floundering. You jerk as it’s wickedly sharp beak darts forward and—!

Closes around a section of your mussed up bangs?

The bird pulls your hair back into place as best it can, tugging hard on your scalp as it repeats the process until it’s satisfied you’ve been groomed enough.

It is one of the weirdest experiences you’ve ever undergone. And you’ve played in a Heartslaybul crocket match.

The crow pushes off your shoulder, smacking you in the face with one of it’s wings in the process. It lands on another set of pipes some distance away and turns back to look at you. It caws in a distinctly impatient tone when you don’t immediately follow it.

You weigh your options. On the one hand, it could be leading you into a trap, and you’ll end up dead, though that doesn’t explain why it would try to groom you. You also don’t know your way around this place, and ignoring the bird could lead to it making even more noise as it attempts to get your attention again, which would alert your pursuers and get you killed even faster.

“So I’m following birds now. It’s official. I’ve finally lost it.” You mutter to yourself, pushing yourself shakily to your feet, and counting yourself lucky your vision only goes fuzzy once when you’re upright.

The crow guides you through the...lair is the only word suitable for it. It has a knack for landing on areas that will allow you to take some cover should some of the minions looking for you pass by, hissing whenever it wants you to stay put, and giving that same impatient caw once it’s time to move on again.

It’d be nice if that system could be foolproof.

Unfortunately, as you’re running past a doorway that you thought was clear, you hear a cry of, “HERE! THEY'RE HERE!! THE IMPOSTER IS OVER HERE!!”

You curse, and make yourself run faster, trying to ignore how it pulls the ridged scars along your left thigh and hip and your sudden shortness of breath. You can’t afford to acknowledge that right now, especially when you yelp as actual gunfire erupts behind you and real, genuine bullets whiz past your head to embed themselves in the stacked boxes near you.

The crow has the same idea, taking off to fly just ahead of you, soaring into the faces of any minions who try to cut off the path it’s leading you down with sharp talons and beak at the ready.

You follow it to a huge room, slamming the large double doors shut behind you.

You shove back against them as the doors jump when your pursuers collide with it. Your breath is coming in harsh pants as you fumble with the bolt and padlock, barely clicking it shut before the entrance is forced open.

You stumble away, blindly colliding with a desk and hitting the floor as you desperately and feebly try to suck in air that your lungs can’t seem to inhale, your breaths getting shallower and and more panicked as your vision fuzzes out again. You can’t breathe, you can’t breathe, you can’t breathe, you can’t breathe, you can’t breathe, you can’t breathe, you can’t breathe, you can’t breathe, you can’t breathe—

A loud cry erupts above you, and you faintly see dark shapes descend down on you, feeling dozens of sharp pinches on your upper body, the force of what feels like dozens of dozens of wings dragging your upper body up and back until you’re leaning upright against something and there’s a monumental. warm, fluffy weight against your chest, alternating between getting heavier and lighter, forcing it to expand and contract in intervals of four seconds under it.

It takes a while, but eventually, your hyperventilating finally, finally stops, as you carefully and slowly suck in grateful lungfuls of oxygen and your eyesight gradually returns.

Then you have to blink hard.

You are covered in what you think Epel would describe as a metric fuckton of birds.

They’re all staring at you, some of them picking at your pajamas, others making a caw-like noise that can only be best described as a worried peep.

You lift a hesitant hand to try and maybe shoo some of them off, only for your heart to melt as one of them honest-to-Seven nudges into your palm, like it wants you to pet it or something.

You wonder if the supervillain version of you trained them to do this. If so, at least they did one thing right, because Great Seven this is adorable.

The monsterous crow who led you here lands next to you, squawking and flapping its wings indignantly. The black birds gradually hop off you at this display, much to your subtle disappointment.

“Alright, alright, I’m up.” You grumble, shakily pulling yourself to your feet. “Now what Crow?”

The leader of the birds lands on top of the desk you hit earlier, tapping on some sheets of paper with its beak. You pull them towards you, trying to puzzle out what you’re seeing. It looks like some kind of...schematic? For a water-powered machine that seems to be the power source of a death ray or something. What’s most interesting though is the part of the plans with a section labelled ‘self destruct’ near the top of the construction.

“Okay, so this going boom would make for a good distraction so I could escape.” You chew at your nail. “But now I’ve got to find where it is so I can do that...”

The crow pecks at your other hand. When you pull it away, it shoots you an unimpressed glare and turns around.

You lift your head and follow where it’s looking.

There, along the back wall of this huge room, sits an absolute behemoth of metal and glass surrounded by scaffolding, a huge clear water tank like the one in the plans already filled to the brim and gurgling with movement.

Oh.

You purse your lips at the Crow, which is still shooting you an unimpressed glare. “In my defense, I was kind of having too much trouble trying to keep those guys out, and then breathing to really notice...that.”

It laughs at you again.

There’s a percussive boom from the doors, all the birds taking off and circling with warning squawks.

You push off of the desk as you dash towards the machine, trying to ignore how you want to flinch as several more booms follow the first one. You grab the scaffolding and frantically pull yourself up, trying to climb as fast as you can. If you can just reach the top before they break through—!

There’s an ear-splitting explosion as the doors fly open.

“THERE! THERE THEY ARE!! STOP THEM!!”

You shriek as the gunfire starts again, the need to climb, to get away warring with the instinct to try curling up as small as you can so you’re less of a target.

Your footing slips when you jump to grab the last ledge, leaving you to desperately grab onto the scaffolding with your bad arm. You whimper at how the rounded scars on your shoulder scream in protest at taking almost all your weight, the blackened bite mark on your elbow throbbing with pain like a second heartbeat.

You feel a flare of agony in your right thigh that makes you almost lose your grip. You whine through your teeth as you grab onto the metal and heave yourself up and over, rolling away from the ledge and curling up so your attackers can’t hit you.

“Cease fire! Cease fire you idiots! You’ll break the tank!!”

It takes you a second to realize that you’re curled around the circular podium where the schematics said the self-destruct button was mounted.

“Come down, Princess!” The older woman’s voice floats up to you. “You don’t know what you’re doing up there, do you? There’s nowhere left for you to run. Just be a good little nepotist and come face your fate with some dignity. I swear to you it’ll be quick.”

You grit your teeth as you haul yourself up. “Fat chance.”

You can see her at the head of the pack now, scoffing as her face twists with hate. “Typical. Bloody typical isn’t it? Even the other version of you was an ungrateful little shit, but at least it knew when to keep its head down and listen to its betters. It’s galling to be demoted to working under an imposter, a fake human like that thing!! Spending all its time with birds and playing around with those stupid civilians, hah! You’re no better than an animal! Just a dumb little pet that the Night Raven thought would be funny to give a title and call his ‘heir’!! A disgrace to the pursuit of villainy and evil!!”

“Are you sure about that?”

You take far too much delight in the way she pales as she sees your hand hovering over the self-destruct button.

“H-hold on princess,” She babbles, reaching a futile hand up. “W-we can talk about this, just don’t—”

“Shut. Up.” You growl. “If you wanted a heroic little fairytale princess to terrorize, you picked the worst person you could.”

“‘Cause me? I’m the damn wicked witch.”

You slam you fist down on the button.

There’s a wailing of alarms as the structure below you shakes. Tons upon tons of water bursts out of the machine.

The woman can’t even scream as the flood swallows her.

The crows caw wildly above your head, and you tear your eyes away to see the largest one leading the flock in flapping around a ladder leading to a hatch in the roof. You stagger over to it, your hands almost slipping off the metal rungs several times.

You push hard on the metal hatch and breath in the cold, dry air of the outside, the rough stony roof feeling like it’s cutting into your feet. You can still hear the alarms blaring as you close the hatch again after the last of the birds have flown out.

You’re tired. So tired. Your eyesight is going blurry again and the right leg of your pajamas feels uncomfortably wet, giving off little pulses of agony that has you whimpering.

“Hey, Crow?” Your voice sounds very far away. “I think I’mma pass out now.”

The world tilts sideways before everything goes black.

[shyrose57]

Ooo, yes! I love the idea of the server as a living thing with its own intelligence that's learning as it goes. Like, at first it mostly focused the corruption on Grian since he worked with it most, then shifted it to Tubbo when he tried to get rid of it. Now, it's keeping it more spread out from the start, working more subtly. Will definitely be tougher to root it all out in the end.

Man, just imagine being Ranboo in that situation. Your friends are missing, again, as are the only people who might know more about why and how. And when you're at your wit's end, grasping at straws, you happen to go through a portal, and it feels like you blink and then you're somewhere else. And you've finally found your friends, but they don't know you, and they don't know each other. They only know the rules of this game that'll get them all killed. So you team up with some near-strangers because at least they're in the same boat as you. Also, you now have even more mysterious ancestry than you did before and a bucket of new instincts to grapple with! Stressful day, to be sure.

Man, that is delightfully angsty to think about. Ren and Doc hop through the End portal together and only Doc comes out. Impulse, Scar, and Mumbo drop through the Boatem Hole and just don't respawn. Joel vanishes on a quick trip to the Nether, as does Lizzie when she goes to investigate, and it's only Gem and Pearl's update from Hermitcraft that convinces them it wasn't Xornoth's doing.

Ranboo and Lizzie are the Fae Royalty combo we didn't know we needed! Fun bit of irony, the Ocean Queen and the enderman ending up together in the shadows, but they're definitely the better for it. With all the other fae running around the server now, it's good to have a court backing you, even if it's only a court of 2 or 3. Lizzie, Ranboo, and Ren do sound like a genuinely delightful trio. Very strategic and clever, actually.

Tubbo would be awesome in Magic Mountain, aw man. You thought it was hard to keep the enchanting table away from Scar before? Now he can roll up with a deal and a speech while Tubbo makes off through the backdoor before you even realize you've been stolen from. Especially if he's underestimated early on, as a yellow life, he can probably convince a couple people to part with some souls. Not to mention the incredible combination of a red life base, a very corrupted yellow, and Mr. 7-Lives sitting up on a mountain together. No way that can end badly! Especially if Tubbo does have a little secret alliance with Grian.

If Tommy's with the Southlands as well, maybe Eret can go with Cleo, then! To keep the DSMPers more spread out, that leaves her with Cleo or BEST, though Cleo and Eret does sound like a super interesting combo. Maybe they ran into each other really early on, before Cleo and BigB made their alliance? The rest of this paragraph is a spoiler for Cleo's session 4: maybe after BigB killed her, when she leaves the Fairy Fort, she goes back to Eret instead of to Pearl and Scott? Or if she does turn die to Joel's trap, Eret brings her back up to yellow and they team up from there! Between Eret's diplomacy and Cleo's intimidation, I feel like they'd be quite a strong duo.

For Tommy, I kind of want to give him the same wolf/dog thing Ren's got going on? It seems to fit his vibe. Or maybe some kind of harpy or griffon, to give him wings but with a fantastic element. I think Martyn's got some kind of mature spirit thing from Yogscast, and Tango and Impulse both lean a bit demony. So maybe one of those could fit Puffy, though I'm a little behind on her content.

Oh, Lizzie's boogey session could be so jarring to the newcomers. I wonder if she'd tell Ranboo, at least; she didn't tell her allies. A shock to Pearl either way, so I imagine all the newcomers had a lot to talk about once she was cured. If nothing else, insight into the boogey curse.

Four for Ranboo, six for Tommy sounds good! And Tubbo's got his two because corruption. Depending on how often Eret and Puffy get targeted, and how willing they are to trade lives, maybe 3-4 for them? Puffy could do on 3, I think, as a pretty strong PvPer.

In 3rd Life, they were it's end. And in Last Life, they'll be it's enforcers.

Ranboo and the rest of the Newbies are just going through it. He was just getting the grasp on this whole Enderwalk thing, and now, he doesn't even know if he's an Endermen at all anymore, because this server has spared no one of it's changes. Sure, it's really cool to be able to touch water without protection now, and there's a lot of other neat things-but there's just as many downsides. Lying actually stings now, and he has to watch his every word, and the almost-apathy he feels towards the people he knows less is...concerning, to say the least.

Oh, that second one?? God, that'd be absolutely terrifying. Vanishing through portals is one thing, but just not seemingly respawning at all? I love it.

These three are some of the most regal, polite people you've ever met at first glance, but the moment you look away, they're all dorks. Regardless of that though, they can be a very dangerous trio. Ren's loyalty is all but unmatched, and the fae are not known for taking lightly to slights-even if they only really just became fae. Combined with all of their skills(Ranboo's mining, Lizzie's trickery, ect), they're a powerful force.

Yes! A red-life wizard at the bottom, and two demons dwelling near the top. Tubbo lives in between the two, in the center of the mountain-the heart, if you will. He keeps friendly and 'trusting' of Joel even after he goes red, and keeps an eye on Scar as well, making use of their shared species as a bonding point(not that Scar really trust him either, but eh. He expected no less from him). Tubbo has an in with the reds even before Grian becomes one.

Eret with Cleo and BigB in the Castle alliance, fantastic! Do we let Cleo stay red, and add her to the powderkeg that is Magical Mountain and the Reds? Or do we let Eret save her and see a amazing team up between those two, and a little scene where they give her a life, or meet her from her respawn at BigB's hands and gain a stronger bond with her? Choices, choices, it's so hard to choose.

Wolf Tommy or Griffin Tommy? Both would be fiercely protective of their group, and look very awesome so who's to say. Wolf Tommy could also have a possible connection with Ren though, which could lead to a connection between him and the Fairy Alliance later on, so that would be interesting. As a Griffin-I'm not too sure. Griffins guard treasure, so maybe something with that, tying him to something?

Demon Puffy, or nature spirit Puffy, hm. Nature spirit could have an interesting tie with the fae, again, and other's like her. But demon Puffy would be really cool too. Either way, she gets to go feral-as a treat. We're just gonna let her loose on anyone who decides to mess with her group.

It absolutely would. I feel like she wouldn't, but maybe Ranboo just kind of has this...feeling...that something's off. Just little things. She tells him to stay in the fort, and there's something about the way she does, the way she leaves, swift and sharp, that makes him uncertain. But the only prior experience he's had with the Bogeyman so far was indirect, so he doesn't realize what it means until Pearl's death message fills the chat, and Lizzie comes back covered in blood.

Three for Puffy then, and. Hm. For Eret, four would mean they have a life to spare, but three would mean they kind of don't, and still are offering one up to Cleo, so I don't know!

[flameraven]

Wheel of Time episode 2! Livestream thoughts: (I have not read the books, but I have read about half of a detailed summary of Eye of The World on this blog, several years ago. I'm watching with my roommate, who made it through Book 5 or 6.)

Ah, I see we're meeting the anti-magic religious zealots.

Ok, the thread/weaving effects of the opening are legitimately cool.

This is why Dianna Wynn Jones complained about robot horses, isnt it. Also, we're just repeating the Nazgul ferry scene, ok.

Can't really blame people for not liking Aes Sedai if they're casually destroying this dude's livelihood (and killing him in the process!)

Oh so they're magically restoring the horses. Well that's something.

Ehhh. I'm not buying Morgaine's justifications. It wasn't murder but she's not blameless either. She could have disabled the ferry in a less extreme way.

Those oaths sound good but anyone familiar with the fae know there's plenty of loopholes if you word things right.

Awww man, never hide your wound made by evil monsters! That's how you get possessed. Or tracked. Or just die of infection.

You should maybe put some ointment or something on that wound, Morgaine, if you can't heal it. Infection!!

What are the governments and powers in this land? The politics? There's an awful lot of "empty" lands they're riding through. Do these governments know there's a cult casually murdering magic users? Are they cool with it? Who is financing these assholes?

Rand is an ass and still has no established character beyond "vaguely whiny"

Talking to wolves: cool. Not washing your leg horrible wound: NOT COOL. Clean it out at least, come on. Do you want to die of blood poisoning?

Well I'm sure nothing bad will happen in the Shadowy Fallen City of Shadows with a big ol ominous crack in the wall.

Do people ship Mat/Perrin?

Roommate: 🎶Wandering alone in the Evil City of Shadows! Sounds like a Great Idea~ Found a Box in the Hall, Gonna Open it Up and Take What's Inside~! Sure Hope it Doesn't Possess Me🎶

Well that dagger doesn't look evil or cursed AT ALL.

Aww, shadows ate your horse. That's why nobody goes there! (What did you think would happen?! Kind of questioning Lan's decision making skills here.)

Oh damn, now we've split the party.

Suggested alternate titles for this ep:

That's How You Get Blood Poisoning

All The Wrong Choices in All the Wrong Places

I Don't See How This Could Possibly Go Wrong

[youuuimeanmee]

Jibaku Shounen no Hanako-kun's ED Analysis/Theory

The ending shook me so much because it has SO many foreshadowing, I'm surprised so few people talk about it so I wanna try to give my two cents.

Don’t read if you’re anime only and don’t want to be spoiled.

The white background symbolizes near shore and the red side is far shore. The upside could indicate that the time is "present" and the downside is "future". Whoever crossing line, be it diagonally or vertically, their fate intertwine. Nene is the only one who has a shadow on the red side because she is close to her death. Nene encounters her friends on the white side should means that she still interacts with them like normal when she's alive.

After further walking, the white background turned black and her shadow turned into fish. This could indicate that she will die and her soul as fish will return to the far shore. Or maybe she will die as a fish, who knows.

For Hanako's case, the upside is "present" while the downside is "past." Amane and Tsukasa are walking towards each other as if they're against each other. Their confrontation(?) lead to their death, as they become one(?) supernatural Hanako on the far shore. I read a super interesting theory from here that Tsukasa is Hanako's yorishiro so I think it makes sense they become one item on this scene.

Now we have Nene who doesn't have a shadow, along with Kou and with what I assume real!Mitsuba on the white side. It means that in the present time, they're alive in near shore with Hanako the only one on the far shore. Well technically real!Mitsu is dead, but his true soul still remains on near shore. When Kou and Mitsu encounters, with Hanako's influence from behind Mitsu meets his death, leaving only Kou in near shore with Mitsu's camera. The camera is on the red side because real!Mitsu's memories are locked in far shore.

When Nene crossing line with Hanako from the far shore, it symbolizes her first time meeting him and her confirmed death, hence the black background for a second. It turned white again when they got tangled up, which indicates she's alive when their destiny intertwined in current time with their contract. But when the more time passes, the closer they become, the closer she is towards the far shore.

On a related note, I remember in Noragami when Tenjin urged Yato to cut his ties with Hiyori because "if mortals were exposed with far shore's problems too much, it'll be difficult for them to live in their own world (near shore)" or something along those lines. I think the same problem could be applied with JSHK's circumstances, but idk.

When she reached the red side completely the white side turned black, she began to drown, her hands turned to scales and her legs turned into fish’s tail. It's like Nene is dying with her curse. Even when Hanako hugged (or kissed) her, no matter how desperate Hanako tried to save her, he couldn't. Then she turned into fish completely. I guess she almost died?

In order to save her as the last attempt, he has no choice but to let her go and returned her to near shore. Maybe he did it to dry her off to undo her curse, or he did it because he doesn't want her meddling in the far shore anymore that could lead to her death. Either way he might sacrifice himself for it, leading to his downfall. Hanako disappeared while Nene's fate is unknown...

This is interesting because, in Noragami, Tenjin urged both Hiyori and Yato to cut their ties so her life could be saved. Yet in JSHK, Hanako tied his destiny with Nene in the first place to lessen her curse but idk. Maybe in the end he realized they can't be together if he wants her to survive.

The screen turned white momentarily before the cloud and sun appear. It could indicate the passing time? Nene did wish she wanted to live for another 90 years so maybe she died of old age? At any rate, even though we don't know Nene's exact fate, it seems Hanako managed to lengthen her lifespan. When she died, her soul goes to the sky and returned to the far shore as rain. So maybe she will meet him again in the afterlife.

I can't believe a mere ED could mess me up this bad, what the hell...

Idk maybe anyone has different interpretation than mine?

Edit: I just remembered why I could make near-far shore analogy in the first place, it's because of this event in ch 27

[notfeelingthyaster]

Imagine (Son of Hades! Percy; Godswapped! Big Three's kids) Son of Neptune AU (2/7) or (7/12)

Hello! Before reading, check the PJO AU and the TLH AU - the links are on the masterpost - because they are essential to this one. Don't forget to check the warnings before reading. Review and make suggestions! And have a good reading :))

TW: This post in special has sexual harassment, racist slurs, and mentions of whipping.

Perseus wakes up in a semi-destroyed building full of wolves with a black ax in one hand and a Warhammer in the other. And that's just the beginning of the worst months of his life - or the only months of his life he can remember.

Then everything hurts - too much, like his skin is melting from his bones and his eyes are being gouged out. His skin feels like it's melting, and he promptly passes out.

He has no idea of who he is - except his name, but he might just know it because the wolf woman told him - and the talking wolves don't know - or can't tell him anything else. Either way, Perseus is getting nowhere.

Oh yes - he is also pretty sure wolves aren't supposed to shapeshift. And rope you into training - which, he must've been a bodybuilder or something because he is pretty good at wrestling.

Shoving the wolves into the ground and destroying the monsters that try and defy Lady Lupa's pack are the highlights of his week.

Lady Lupa is... - Lupa is everything he knows. She is the one who, for some reason, let's him stay. She tells him about the gods and the monsters - about how she found him in her doorstep after her home was sacked by Earthborn.

How he must be the sign of the Olympus that Lady Venus promised her. The one who comes to help.

Perseus doesn't know her - he doesn't know who she is or if she is telling the truth. But he has well-trained powers that he has no idea how to utilize, nowhere to go and no way of searching for his family - no one knows who he is, except for his first name (which sounds wrong).

And he tried to run away once - it didn't end well, because monsters are immortal - and everywhere.

Lupa tells him he had a curse upon him, so he has to train himself all over again now that it's gone. It doesn't sound like the truth, but he prefers Lady Lupa's carefully crafted half-truths than sleeping in the streets.

Lady Lupa teaches him - and tells him to expect the signal of the gods. They will guide him - even if they give him no answers.

Perseus doesn't like the gods much. They've left him here - which is a good place, but not his home, wherever it is - with no idea of who he is or what to do - except train and learn.

Mother Lupa - as most call her in the Wolf House - educates him like one would an unruly puppy. She corrects everything - from the way he addresses the gods at evening prayers to the way he sits - and he obeys.

Because in the midst of all those wolves? Perseus is just another puppy. So he sits and read hours of Vergil, Ovid and Horace in ancient Latin out loud - even if he would prefer not to.

Sadly - he does not have an opinion. Lady Lupa won't hesitate on using her whip on him. Oh yes, she has a whip - a black whip, which she uses to educate them. His back hurts sometimes when he rests upon the cold floor.

He prays to anyone - his godly parent - who is some Underworld God if his hold on shadows and stone means anything - or a friend, someone who's missing him, anyone really, for them to come and gives him answers.

It doesn't happen.

So he trains and he trains. He has no idea how much time has passed - how much time he has been slashing and cutting and killing, how much time he has heard every detail of Julius Caesar crusade through Europe.

It's still cold when the gods send their signal - they send him a maiden. She holds her hand to him like he is an old friend - and he goes.

She makes him only one question - "Do you want peace or answers, Perseus? Choose carefully, for no path will be easy, but the harvest comes for those who plant the seeds" - and when he answers, she climbs to his back and flowers create a path in the ground.

She doesn't talk anymore. He follows the trail and the girl threads her fingers through his hair, humming to herself a melody only she is able to hear.

In the way, there are two gorgons. Lady Lupa taught him about them. It's an easy battle - until he discovers that they just don't die. They keep reforming, like evil pottery.

They attack again and he picks up his ax to continue racking them into bits, but she tightened her fingers in his hair - like one would steer a horse.

So before they reform, he runs. Perseus runs - with a beyond beautiful maiden on his back (which would be really uncomfortable, if he wasn't so pissed with the gods for giving exactly no answers) doing nothing but play with his hair and eat granola bars - and he gets to a military outpost.

At least, it's what it looks like. There's a wall who must be at least 20 feet high. Its not a normal wall - because he can see eyes in its crevices, looking at him.

Perseus is really tired. There are people there - he is seeing them, do they think he is stupid? - and he has a person in his back.

So he kills both gorgons again with his stone spikes - he is pretty sure the guys that aren't opening the doors can deal with them when they eventually reform - and shadow travels inside.

He doesn't do this often - it takes a lot out of him and he might end up stuck in the wall if he is too tired, but he is too angry to care.

Perseus could've destroyed their door. He should've, really. It might have stopped those people from surrounding him with weapons.

These people - the people looming over him now that he crossed the barrier, who are using togas just like him, so different but so familiar - would've let him die for nothing. Perseus growls - a bad habit he picked up living only with wolves for an undetermined amount of time.

He should kill every single one of them. He should open the ground - and let it swallow them, let their bones turn to dust, return their weapons to molten metal.

But the maiden tightens her fingers in his hair, and he obeys - because Perseus has been well trained, and he doesn't bend.

"Who are you?!" A boy with a bow asks harshly, and Perseus wants him to rip him apart - he is so done. Perseus is a Roman - is what Lupa taught him - and Roman wolves don't roll over.

"Lady Lupa sent me." They don't look like they believe him, but they take him to their leader.

He feels like an alien - behind the wall, there's a whole new world - hundreds of people stare at him with a mix of fear, disdain, and curiosity. It feels familiar.

Perseus is reluctant to leave his weapons with a statue - specially while entering the territory of people who won't protect him and might try to kill him, but he is not one for scandals - so he thanks Lord Terminus, and goes on.

They enter the Senate after walking for about an hour - his head held high, even with the extra weight in his back - in the middle of the session. Lady Lupa would find this appalling.

Everyone turns to them - the tall black muscular man, dressed in a dark red toga, with a woman in his back also clad in a toga - they look like normal citizens, and yet, somehow, completely foreign.

Their escorts - a black girl no older than fourteen and the archer, that must be around his age - kneel to the Praetor - but as soon as they start explaining, they are interrupted.

Their promagistrate - a man Perseus will later learn is named Justus - looks at them once and shrieks.

"Lord Pluto!" They call him, and the whole Senatus knee down "Lady Ceres!"

The goddess he didn't recognize comes down of his back, chuckling to herself. All gods are mad - Perseus thinks, but keeps stoic in front of the government of this Rome copycat, else they kill him for disrespect or something.

"Rise!" She starts "You're almost correct, child of Justitia. For I am Ceres, but this is not Lord Pluto."

The promagistrate seems offended with Perseus somehow - like it's his fault the man is an idiot.

"This is his only mortal son and my daughter's champion, Perseus of Styx. He has been under Lady Lupa's tutelage in her command." This was new.

So his father was the king of the dead himself - which was not surprising. But he was apparently Lady Proserpina's champion - a goddess who left him with Lady Lupa, apparently with his father's, Lady Venus' and Lady Ceres' approval.

Perseus (apparently, of Styx) wants to tear Olympus apart. He wants a lot of things - but for now, he shall observe and do what it's told of him.

Ceres leaves him under the "care" of the Romans. Immediately, the Praetor takes him to be interrogated.

He tells her the truth - or at least, what he can bender: He has been with Lady Lupa as long as he remembers. Yes, he is trained. He can control earth, shadows, metal. Sometimes, vines and skeletons. No, he doesn't have a last name. No, he doesn't know Jason Grace.

In return, the woman (a daughter of Bellona with brown skin that he feels he should know) explains where he is.

This is Nova Roma - and they are in Jupiter's Capitol, also known as the First City of Twelve, where is localized their Forum Romanum - which is composed by the Comitium (where the Senatus is localized), the Pluton Denar Domum (their bank) and a temple for all the gods - decorated with gardens and founts mainly used by the politicians in session and augurs.

The other non-military districts are Juno's Urbs, where most families live; Minerva's Scientia et Quaerere Centrum, which contains schools, colleges, libraries, and research centers; Phoebus Apollo's Salutem Receptum, a whole district for health care and who mainly takes care of cleaning the city; and Vesta's Forum Boarium, where the temples reside, including the Hearth of Rome, with their sacred fire.

Then there the indirectly of military nature; Ceres' Agris, fields who produce all food of the city; Mercury's Via, where communication and post are handled - also, the main place for entertainment; Vulcan's Caminus, the forges and armory; and Neptune's Militiarum Equestri, battle horses, pegasi, hellhounds, elephants, wolves and hounds.

There's also the military ones: Venus Victrix's Feminam Lorem ad Bellum, the training camp for girls; Mars Ultor's Masculum Lorem ad Bellum, the training camp for boys; and Diana's Venari, a forest they use to hunt monsters.

Praetor Arellano shows him around. The praetor shouldn't be doing that, but he seems to be important enough - he got here with a goddess in his back after all. His step-grandmother?

"Everyone is involved in the war effort - Everything for Rome. Everyone capable is obliged to join the training as soon as they're eight. When you're ready, you join the Legion, for fifteen years, in any capacity. Some - the ones with specific talents - join the field healers or the forges."

"Most join the legionnaires. Later in life, some go to college - training to farm, teach, own business, plan buildings, weave, research, write, go exclusively into politics, or become doctors - for either animals or people. Some never leave until they absolutely have to - it's an honor to serve Rome."

"You are neither a son or legacy of any construction or any health deity, so you'll go directly to be tested by Mars Ultor's Masculum Lorem ad Bellum - to see if you are qualified to be a soldier or if you need to undergo more training, and how much."

"A fight, Praetor?" He asks, as respectfully as Lupa indoctrinated in him, even if he hated this situation from the start.

"It's part of it, yes. But a fighter is not a soldier - you'll be expected to know rhetoric and show resilience, to be able to think and strategize. Put on a good performance - the Centurions choose which Cohort you go."

Then, she explained the Legion and its Five Cohorts - and the Centurions - before leaving him with one of his escorts from earlier. He doesn't think it matters much - if one of the Praetors is from Third Cohort and their last Praetor, from Fifth, while the Consul himself was from Fourth - what does it matter?

The guard seems uncomfortable in his presence - as if she knows exactly who he is. She introduces herself - Hazel Levesque, daughter of Jupiter. And part of the Fifth Cohort - mainly because of the previous Praetor - the one who's missing.

Her buddy, the archer, - Frank Zhang, unclaimed - is also part of the Fifth Cohort. But it's not him they meet - it's a boy way too familiar to be a coincidence - three times today.

"You know me, don't you? You know where I come from?" He snarls, and the boy denies it.

Shadows start curling at his feet - and he's told later that his eyes darken to black from their usual forest green. Perseus is a second away from killing the little lying gremlin when Praetor Arellano shows - and he immediately reverts to parade rest.

She doesn't ask - and he doesn't volunteer an answer. He leaves the guy trembling - and flustered, for some reason - and goes with the Praetor to his "test".

Hazel is having a very bad year. A very bad life, to be true, but mostly, a bad year.

She died, and she was walking aimlessly for years - until she met a boy. She thought, initially, that was a god - for his beauty was insurmountable.

He talked with her - he was named Perseus Jackson. He was powerful and kind - but still a mortal, so she latched into him. Hazel isn't a good person - her mother always told her that - and she used his kindness to drawn just a little of his powers. Just enough.

When the Doors opened, she was strong enough to escape - even if she left Perseus drained for a week, apparently. Hazel didn't go far - she got caught by Ceres.

Ceres - who was in her greek form - took pity of her and brought her to Hazel's father and stepmother, pleading for her usefulness in the war to come. The dead aren't their domain - but as long as Pluto didn't discover it, they would turn a blind eye.

Her brother - who was the first bridge between the two demigod settlements - took her to Nova Roma. She adapted - she learned about the ending of segregation and the world they now lived - and made friends - Frank and Jason.

But she never forgot the boy who gave her the chance, the chance to be more than the cursed child Marie Levesque told her she was. Her curse is supposed to be washed away by a descendant of Pluto.

Perseus gave her a chance, and now he is probably her salvation from this poisoned existence. He is in Nova Roma, and both Hazel and Nico are too ungrateful, too proud, too involved in the gods' plans to help him.

Her father's curse rang true - for children of Zeus aren't supposed to control unaltered energy through minerals. Metal is not theirs to use - and Hazel is paying the price.

Perseus does well in his test - so well, the First Cohort wants him. He is not generally rude, but the way Octavian - their apparent Centurion and Leader of the Augurs (the priests of Apollo) - calls him "Excellent, for a colored one with a graecus name" makes him mad.

So he rejects Octavian - no one gets to mock his name, the slur for greeks matched with the blatant racism almost makes him clock the guy in the face - and, since no other Centurion wants to go against the white supremacist, he joins the Fifth Cohort.

"Well, there's the place for filth, anyway. What could you expect from a nigger ape, like that one?"

If in the training that followed, he left Octavian unconscious - well, everyone turned a blind eye. Perseus saw the Praetor laughing discreetly from where she was polishing her spear.

He is given a bunk to sleep on, a probatio tablet and a date - it's March 18th, 2012. He remembered that, when he ran away from the House of the Wolf, was still January's first week.

Almost three months for the gods to bother with him, and he has no guesses how much time he is missing. Did his family give up on him? Did he have a family?

Perseus doesn't know. He spends the next weeks following the army's routine - wake up with dawn with the horn, muster, morning prayers, then the morning drills - stretching, an obstacle circuit of three miles with a lake in the middle and running five times around Ceres' Agri.

After the drills - which Perseus and Hazel bond over hating, because there's a lake - they go to breakfast, then classes - for the younger ones. Perseus is old enough (and did well in the school tests), so he has a free slot where he allots his power training - under Praetor Arellano's watchful gaze, as she tries and brings him to his full potential.

Reyna (as he is allowed to call her during free time) also does power training - she has a different kind of charmspeak - the kind that makes people motivated or defeated. She can make armies have a burst of energy, or drop-down with exhaustion - possibly. Nova Roma has very few wars nowadays.

There's lunch, then weaponry training - where he kicks Octavian's (and all of his little friends who look down on Perseus because of his name, his lack of family or his skin color) ass with pleasure every single day - followed by weapon cleaning - which always takes forever because Perseus has both an ax and a giant Warhammer.

On Wednesdays, they have horse and pegasi riding. Both Perseus and Hazel have it slightly different - she mounts a venti, Tempest and he mounts a hellhound, Spot. On Fridays, they have hunting lessons in Diana's Venari - which always end up with some Apollo's child or legacy waving their victory in everybody's face - except for that one time where Frank and Perseus joined forces and won in an hour.

At four p.m. every day, those who did well enough get to have two hours of free time before evening prayers, which can either be followed by dinner or competitions - wrestling and gladiator games are really popular on weekends.

Then, if it's Sunday, they are allowed to go to Mercury's Via to drink, party, dance, go to karaoke - whatever, if they're over fourteen. It seems young - but Perseus has seen younger kids, at the training camps, sneaking in wine.

If it's not Sunday - they are free to do anything if they don't drink and are in bed by 21h30. You are only excused of the routine if you are escalated for border patrol - generally twenty different people every day. Perseus's patrols are on Thursdays - because Reyna loves him. Octavian's are on Sundays - they're just not on Saturdays because he has Augur functions and is excused of everything on Saturday.

Saturdays are days of prayer - there's no training and no feasting. They go to the temples and see the Vestal Virgins - a custom Perseus though would be outdated by now - and do basic chores - like washing their togas and sheets, mending their leathers, or airing the blankets.

When Hazel's brother leaves, he actually bonds with the girl - over being a child of the Big Three, of having big expectations thrust upon them - and consequently, with Frank - who is also his bunkmate. They spend their free time on the small fountain that overlooks the aqueduct, just in front of the Vesta Temple.

It's weird to see the Vestal Virgins - they are six girls between 8 and 24, wearing white stolas and veils, of incredible beauty and vowed to modesty and chastity. They spent their days tending the fire and giving blessings, cleaning the temple, and visiting the Senatus.

They didn't choose to be priestesses of Vesta - Vesta herself chooses them, and they have to leave their families and vow their lives away for thirty years. The other priests are there of free will - they never join the Legion, if they choose to serve a specific god.

Perseus goes to his father's, Lady Proserpina's and Lady Ceres' temples regularly - if only to ask for answers. His father's priests treat him as royalty - which, to them, he probably is. There are not even legacies of Pluto, as far as they know.

Every Sunday, Perseus goes to the Comitium - while people don't generally like him, he is good in rhetoric, and well respected for a probatio - so they hear him. He is good at politics. Reyna looks like he is measuring him, when he rises to debate - like he can be the next Praetor instead of the campaigning Octavian - who the Senatus is divided into loving or hating his guts.

Perseus is happy - or something. He hates not having memories - not knowing who he is, who his mother is, pains him. He has friends - Frank, Hazel, even Reyna and Dakota, his Centurion, who lives half-drunk in wine most of the time - and a life.

It doesn't feel like his life. By the third week of his staying in Nova Roma, he starts having dreams - a blonde boy, doing everything Perseus is doing now. He is afraid of telling anyone. Perseus is already called slurs by Octavian and his hateful friends - he doesn't want to attract attention now that he is settling.

By Reyna's pictures, he finally names the blonde in his dreams. It's Jason Grace.

Jason Grace is, for lack of a better word, graceful. He is loved by everyone - so different from Perseus, who is more feared then liked - and a troublemaker - if the vision of him being whipped in Mars Ultor's training camp is to be believed.

Romans don't hesitate in corporal punishment on children. Nor in adults, either - misdemeanors are punished harshly. Perseus is lucky Octavian has no direct authority over him - the number of times he put him on his ass would get Perseus bleeding on the floor for days.

However, he didn't escape the whip completely. In his fourth week on Nova Roma, Hazel is disrespectful to one of Octavian's friends - he called her a "good piece of monkey meat" and touched her ass, so she kneeled him in the balls. Reyna is out on a mission - and the guy just happens to be Questor Cicero.

Questor Cicero is twenty-eight - and everybody believes him when he tells them Hazel kneeled him without reason - a grave offense because it can affect his descendants. Hazel gets sentenced - by the Consul, in absentia of the Praetor - to a hundred lashes.

Everyone is obliged to watch - and neither Perseus nor Frank can last after she sobs. They rise from the crowd and volunteer to take the rest of her punishment. The executioner of it - a girl named Domitia - is surprised and asks why when they rise up to take Hazel's place - not a lot volunteer, generally older siblings or partners.

Hazel protests, while she is taken by a daughter of Aesculapius, Lavinia - "No, Perseus, no, it's my fault, Frank, I can take it, please!" - But he doesn't care to hear. Hazel is a child, and something stirs inside of his memory - No child shall suffer under his watch. - He wants to stop Frank - the boy is only sixteen - but there's no stopping the guy about his best friend.

"She could take it. I just don't want to see her, or anyone I care about, do it. She is too young. A child - one that shouldn't feel the injustices of life."

"That's my best friend. I won't let her pay for something she didn't do, and I won't let Perseus do this alone."

It's rational enough that no one will see weakness when she starts whipping them. Domitia is a good girl - they become a sort of friends after it, but Perseus can never understand why the daughter of Nemesis would dispense unfair punishments.

Perseus endure the whole thing awake - the forty-five lashes, under the jeers of Octavian and his friends - and they walk out of the stage supporting one another, before collapsing in a pool of their own blood, in the arms of Caelius - the youngest of Apollo's offspring working on the hospital.

They take both of them to the UTI - he doesn't remember a thing. He wakes up three days later - they aren't allowed to use any magic to heal him, or anesthetics to numb his pain. He suffers for a week, while his godly blood slowly heals him.

Hazel sits by their bedside - he and Frank are in the same room - her own back fully healed by now - and tells him stories about how Dakota kicked Octavian's ass in training in their name, or just plays with his hair. Sometimes, when she thinks he is asleep, she cries - it's heartbreaking.

Reyna comes back by the time Frank is out of the hospital - Perseus moved to much and his stitches came out - and is fueled by rage. This kind of punishment is hers to give - and with through interrogation before - and she has been trying to eradicate them for years.

She does insist on an interrogation with Aurum and Argentum - perhaps because she knows what a sweetheart Hazel is. She uncovers the whole story - how Cicero called her names and sexually harassed her - and the guy is stripped off his post and exiled - sexual harassment is a crime punishable by lashing, but together with lying to a court of law and supplanting his direct superior - oh well, he is not coming back for the next five years.

With Hazel's absolving, the doctors are allowed to heal them with magic - but it's too late. They can repair the nerves and muscles, take away all the pain - but the flesh will remain scarred.

Their backs are now a crisscross of scar tissue - it's a reminder of Nova Roma's failings - and he revels on taking his shirt off to drills, even if Frank is ashamed of it, for some reason.

Praetor Arellano thinks "Perseus' loyalty to the Roman Law and his Cohort" is enough to give him an SPQR tattoo instead of his probatio tablet. He didn't cry when they put the mark of his father on his arm - just later, in his bunk, for the eleven-year-old that was tattooed together with him.

After the tattoo, Perseus discovers he has money. Like, really, lots of money in the bank - which is named after his father, who is their patron god - and apparently filled his account with denars. Perseus solves to donate part of it - and part of it he keeps because his wages as a foot soldier are meager.

Hazel, on the other side, is brimming with remorse - and protectiveness. She will do her absolute best to protect Perseus Jackson - this is the second time he saves her. She can't tell him anything - but she can make his life as easy as possible.

Hazel dreams about Frank - Frank, and a terrible price that is a piece of wood - and she thinks she likes him, even if he is older and braver than she'll ever be.

It's June 18th - and Perseus has been in Camp for three months when the war games take an unexpected turn.

Frank is leading the Fifth Cohort - Dakota is hangover somewhere - and their battle formation is impeccable. They also have the two biggest powerhouses - Perseus and Levesque.

Hazel - while a child of Jupiter - is unable to fly - or any air or climate control. Her power lies on energy - publicly, she controls lighting and thunder - and can get bolts to basically incinerate whole canons or dismantle phalanges.

Perseus, however, can raise skeleton soldiers to fight for him - and stone spikes to block his enemies. His vines are of no use - the First Cohort has two sons of Ceres who out-do him any day. He can also use the shadows to confuse their rivals or make the ground tremble - under the cost of their own stability.

Frank is very proud of having such powerful and amazing people as friends. He didn't expect Perseus of Styx, the boy who didn't have to fight to be recognized - the one who came with a goddess at his back and muscles in his arms and a father on his blood - to be friends with Frank.

He is a very okay guy, you see. Frank had - has - three best friends, but no one openly dislikes him. He doesn't have someone - he has no use for quick tumbles under the cloak of darkness, and that is all people like him can ever have.

But he is not like Perseus or Jason. He doesn't defy Octavian. He was too anxious to muster the courage to volunteer to take Hazel's punishment alone - Perseus had to do it first.

He is not like them. He isn't anything like his mother. Frank feels happy, at least, that at those little things like war games he has better strategies than anyone else. It was Perseus who motivated him to take the lead while Dakota is otherwise incapable - under Hazel's cheerful applause.

This time, there are elephants involved - Perseus loves elephants - and they burst through their rival's doors - the 12th consecutive victory for the Fifth Cohort since Perseus arrived.

Gwen - the only openly ficatrix girl that Perseus knows, a Jewish daughter of Venus Genetrix - dies probably by Octavian's hand - and doesn't stay dead.

This evokes Lord Mars Ultor - who claims Frank, gives him a quest to find Letum and ropes Perseus into it - "Your father's domain, your responsibility" - so they choose Hazel as a third member - because who else - and get in a car to go to Alaska.

Before that, for Dakota's negligence, the Fifth Cohort is passed to newly-coined Centurion Frank - with Hazel as his second in command, while Gwen - who is not respected because of her preferences - steps down the second position to go study - apparently, she wants to be a teacher.

They have to be back by June 24th - or die. That gives them six days - it's at least two days going and two days back from San Francisco to Alaska, so they have two extra days to localize and rescue Letum.

Hazel, Frank, and Perseus battle the karpoi in Mendocino - this time, they're easily defeated, because no one leaves Hazel alone. Frank actually kills a lot of them - under the sheer appreciation of both his very supportive friends.

They see Polybotes army - and run away in their car, which crashes in the front of the R.O.F.L.

Perseus IM's Reyna - he thinks it necessary, for she is their Praetor, their leader. Hazel is right by his side - and then goes to call her brother - which he doesn't stick around for, examining the drachmas - the weird graecus' coins that Perseus recognizes

Iris remembers Perseus of someone. He doesn't know who, or why, but that night, for the first time in months, he doesn't dream of Jason Grace. He dreams of red hair spilled into the snow, blond curls around his fingers, a mechanic leg whirring in his ear, a spear coated with blood, shoes with wings and pan pipes - and wakes up crying for a past he doesn't remember.

He hugs the tie-dye bag against his chest - and cries. Perseus doesn't care - his chest literally aches with missing, for someone he doesn't know.

Frank doesn't ask questions when he finds Perseus crying. Frank cried a lot when he first got to Nova Roma.

"Are you missing someone?"

"I'm missing everything" And that's how Frank discovers Perseus doesn't remember anything at all.

Everything spills up - Lady Lupa's house, the dreams about Jason, the way he just dreamed of what could possibly be his friends, and what if he was a graecus like Octavian said - and Frank does not judge him.

He knows what it is to have a gigantic secret pressing upon his shoulders - and he has known Perseus for three months now. He knows Perseus is a trustworthy person.

"We'll discover who you are - but if you don't like it, we won't judge you. It doesn't matter what your past life has been like, it doesn't matter if you're a graecus - you're one of us now."

Because Frank is the absolute best - Perseus can't think of a friendship he deserves less than Frank's.

They trade stories about their rage against the gods - things they would never be able to utter at home. Their lives, their insecurities, their shared hate of Octavian's racist ass - everything they can share.

Frank tells Perseus about the piece of wood - which is very important when Perseus tells Frank that, sometimes, he can conjure a weird green fire of which he has little control over, so is better to keep that wood far away from him.

Some things are kept in secret - Frank is not sure Perseus will be repelled by his preferences, by the way, no woman ever caught his eye - and Perseus is afraid of telling Frank about the way that, sometimes, he wants to see the world burn, skeletons beneath his feet and blood coating his hands.

They travel through Portland - which means half the journey is done - and meet Ella - which Perseus immediately wants to take away from the creepy old dude because that's a child.

Ella is hungry and cold and in pain - and neither Perseus nor his quest mates are having that.

So he does a gamble with Creepy Old Dude and Lady Terra - which he isn't sure is in their side - and kills him. Because he is not dealing with a creepy old man who is trying to capture children, even if those children are monsters.

They take Ella with them - she's such a small, innocent girl-bird. They can't send her to Nova Roma alone - they would either kill her, hunt her or use her as entertainment - and they can't stop the mission, so there's that.

Hazel and Frank are sharing memories - with each other and Perseus. Perseus himself has no private memories to talk about - except for his dreams of Jason, which he already told Frank and now relays to Hazel.

Ella says is because their destinies are connected - says that their curses will be gone by their hands. Frank gives Hazel his piece of wood - "I would give it to both of you, but your fire is weird" - And Hazel tells them about being dead.

Perseus has an inkling of suspicion - that maybe - just maybe - he brought Hazel back. Maybe that's why his memories are gone. Either that - or he has a sibling, and wouldn't that be amazing? Siblings, cousins - a giant family. Just for him.

He doesn't ask though - because Hazel is sad and he is not an insensitive ass.

They head to the Amazon Headquarters - where Perseus has the amazing idea of going in, even if he knows Amazons just have one utility for men - sex.

They get caught - just this time, while Hylla does recognize Perseus, she is grateful. Perseus did kill Circe, yes, but he didn't free any pirates - Hylla and Reyna sailed away and never got any trouble.

Hylla is grateful for Perseus - but she cannot help him or Frank - Amazons are misandry warriors, and they are too young to be lovers, but too old to be reliable to let go. So they lock them up, and Hylla and Hazel make a plan to free them.

Otrera is dangerous - because the Amazons will follow anyone, they aren't connected to any goddess. So, when Perseus shadow travels from his cage with Frank, Hylla helps Perseus - who is way too tired - to mount Tempest - Hazel's venti - so that they can reach Letum - or, how Hylla calls him, Mors.

They go North - then further North - to the house of Frank's Grandma.

Everything goes the same - Frank's Grandma is cryptic, Mars appears, the house catches fire, they flee. A bird is seeing flying out of the window - but if it's her or no, they don't know.

Frank and Perseus discover they are related - by a lot of generations, but does it matter really? They are shield brothers - and fight in the same Cohort, for the same Rome.

Hazel feels lucky - both her best friends are related to Pluto. Both can be the one to save her - and she really hopes is not Perseus, for she can't own him any more debts.

Frank tries to control his abilities - and between Perseus' own training and Hazel's unwavering belief on him, they get him to shapeshift. Some. He is not good at it at all - but he'll get there.

They don't fear Hazel - not even when gold slips between her fingertips. Perseus calls her sister, for their connection shall be forged on metal and fire.

They fly to Alaska - this time, Perseus entrusts Ella to a General skeleton and tells him to take her somewhere safe.

During the travel, they cuddle together - all three of them - to share body warmth. Hazel is flushed - for she never had such close contact with a boy, least a boy she really likes, like Frank.

Frank, on the other side, has never been so close to a boy as he is to Perseus now. Perseus is just a brother to him - but he can't help but blush like a virgin maiden.

Perseus observes the situation with confusion - for he doesn't understand Hazel's flustered expression - which makes her look a lot like her brother any time Perseus even glances at the guy - nor Frank's blushing cheeks - which must be because of the cold.

Perseus almost drowns on Earth - the single thing he fears the most, in his own element. It pains him, and he wants to destroy Lady Terra for her trickery and mockery.

They stay in a little motel, just out of the way. No way that Frank nor Perseus would make Hazel go back to where she was abused and mistreated.

They shared basically everything in the past few days - they know almost everything about each other. Hazel tells Perseus she knows him - but is under oath to not tell anything.

Perseus is frustrated - but that is Hazel. Soft, trustworthy Hazel. She isn't doing this to hurt him. Her brother, on the other hand, can go to hell. He obviously knows Perseus - but lies to him. Explicitly. Nico Di Angelo is as bad as the gods are in Perseus' eyes.

He can't sleep - he keeps dreaming of the Earth swallowing him like it did many of his enemies - and Frank hugs him as Hazel inches closer to their shared embrace - it feels, for the first time since he woke up, like family.

They fight against Alcyoneus. Frank frees Letum - waisting part of his life on it, literally - Hazel takes on Alcyoneus - vengeance for herself - and Perseus raises an army to fight against the Undead Roman one - it's easy to defeat them, and then turn them against the giant once he has the Twelfth Legion Eagle.

Perseus - and his army that is getting harder and harder to maintain - helps Frank (who has finally managed to shapeshift) and Hazel to drive away Alcyoneus - and finally kill him, once he is out of Alaska.

They head back to Nova Roma - Hazel on her venti, Tempest, with Frank as an eagle and Perseus mounting Spot - the hellhound he was able to call from Nova Roma - pushing a chariot of Imperial Gold weapons - something rare and essential.

They meet Mrs. O'Leary - another hellhound - Blackjack - a hellhound that can speak with Perseus - Ella - who apparently found safety - and Nico Di Angelo with the cyclops Tyson - which immediately spark Perseus memories, even if he has no time to think about it.

Perseus leads the Romans - they look at him, and see the boy that has spent three months with them and three months with Lady Lupa, the boy who has been invaluable for Nova Roma's safety - their own Julius Caesar, their Augustus.

He fights against Polybotes one on one. Polybotes may be the bane of Neptune - but Perseus is also an earthshaker. He makes the Earth - Lady Terra's earth, who they are oh so proud of, the earth that swallowed him - fight against her own son.

With help from Terminus - and lots of backup from the army, his army - Polybotes is gone. The monsters - defeated.

There are thirteen dismemberments and fifty-three gravely injured. These are rushed to the hospital, while the other 184 soldiers rest and prepare for the burials.

Thirty-eight dead - men and women alike - plus nine that succumbed to their injuries. They do the procession - followed by cremation and the burial of the ashes in the temple of Pluto.

What follows is the eulogy - and the laurels. The families who have dead members are given money and prestige - it bothers Perseus. Is not enough - it won't fullfill their childrens, siblings and friends places.

Then come the laurels of the living. Frank, Hazel, Di Angelo, and Reyna are awarded Civic Crowns - the second biggest award any commander can win for battle. Everyone else is rewarded Golden Crowns - the fourth-highest decoration of battle, for their bravery.

Perseus himself is the most celebrated - he not only wins a Grass Crown (Corona Obsidionalis) for being credited for saving the whole Legion - he charms the Senatus with his acts of heroism - enough that they give him the Praetor Peregrinus title - for he also has a reputation of a good politician, as he often spoke on the Forum - while Reyna holds to the Praetor Urbanus one.

Frank himself also gains a promotion - he is now Legatus Legionis - the overall Legion commander - a title that was vacant since Jason Grace rose to Praetor, but with him missing for six months - it is time to fulfill both positions. Hazel raises to be Centurion of the Fifth Cohort.

The Consul holds the ceremony for both of their awards - where they vowed to serve Nova Roma with their lives, to put Nova Roma above their personal lives and interests - and later, they feast.

Perseus is happy with his new position - While Reyna is in charge of all judicial matters - the matters of the law - he is in charge of all defense, war and foreign matters.

That's why - when Lady Juno gives back his memories - he is infuriated. Not only he has a whole life waiting for him - one that conflicts directly with his new life - he has now a giant pile of paperwork.

The first thing he does - still in his toga praetexta, the worst garment to ever be done, even if he pities Reyna for having to use a stola on most occasions - is to punch Nico di Angelo in the face.

Then he hugs him. The boy apologizes - stuttering through words - promise to make up for it - and promptly leaves to not be seen again.

Perseus goes to the Senatus, and tell the truth: Lady Juno has sent him a vision - and in the war to come, they have to fight alongside the greeks.

Octavian wants to discredit Perseus for being a graecus. It doesn't work - for the Romans love their new Praetor - and Octavian wasn't even in the battle.

That night, Perseus doesn't even remember Jason Grace - he is just a shadow of some dreams he had for two weeks, more nightmarish than not. He dreams of Nico di Angelo - who is walking around ruins - and fears for the life of the boy who betrayed him.

He doesn't think much about it.

Perseus shadow travels to his mother - not yet to Camp, he is not ready to see them yet, and Hera/Juno told him they are coming, so it would be a waste of his energy - and hugs her for about four hours before his duties call him back.

She is happy to see him alive and well - even if she doesn't like he is fighting in yet another war for the gods. He doesn't like it either - after this, he is retiring and making them promise to never bother him again.

Perseus spends the next days preparing - for his friends, for his two lives to collide - and working his very difficult political job - Nova Roma is a homophobic and racist place, and he won't stand for other people like Gwen to be killed for it - he isn't tolerating "ficatrix" instead of lesbians or the clearly prejudiced priests anymore.

He has a long way to go. But it's fine - he and his friends are the government. Talking about his friends...

"Call me Percy"