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sweet-villain · 2 years ago

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It's You Who I Wanna Chase~ Steve Harrington

Requested? : Yes

Anonymous asked:

Than can I request a fic thing for Steve where the reader is the older protective sister of Eddie who will do any and everything to prove Eddie is innocent even if that means having to work with her former highschool enemy Harrington. Reader doesn't know that Steve has changed for the better she still sees him as King Steve. Reader keeps trying to deny her feeling throughout the journey however when she notices all the changes in Steve. It all comes out though when Eddie accuses reader of being jealous of Nancy

" Hey! that's mine" you grumbled reaching over to your brother grabbing the back of Chex mix from him that he took as soon as you looked away.

" Sharing is caring" Eddie says as he grabs a handful of chex mix into his hand, making you pout and squirm in your seat. " Butthead' you muttered under your breath, glaring at him. He stuck his tongue out at you in reply to the comment.

Your gaze caught to the King himself Steve Fucking Harrington who walked the cafeteria liked he owned the place. He always hanging around his toxic friends and acting like a jerk. But you can't get him out of your head with that luscious hair and the way he would strut into the room.

A slam of hands on the table brought you out of your thoughts.

" Where did you just go now, double trouble?" your bother asked, eyeing you.

" No where, I'm here" but you slouch in your seat and knowing if you looked at the King himself, your brother wouldn't let it go.

" Hey Y/N" Dustin greets you, " do you know if anyone would help Eddie hide?"

Eddie went into hiding from the police, and that jackass, Jason. Jason had believed that he had something to do with Chrissy's death. He was hunting him.

You haven't been with Eddie and Chrissy when this happened, you had your own thing after school to deal with. You were worried where Eddie might of gone and hoped he was okay.

" yes, I think I know. There is a drug dealer named Reefer Rick that Eddie talks about here and there. From what I heard, he is probably hiding in his house or something" you tell Dustin, nodding your head that you were probably right about that.

You were worried about your brother, he was your best friend and you two would tease each other and butt heads from time to time, but he was the person you'd always find comfort in, always the person who knew what to say to make things better, he was your big brother and you didn't want anything to happen to him.

" Mind if I tag along?" you ask, Dustin shakes his head. " If Eddie is there, the more the happier and less frightened he will be" you hopped into the car, not knowing that King Steve was coming along too. Scowling at him as you sat down, you mumbled the address to him as he sped off.

" Eddie! Hey butthead! you shouted in hopes to finding him beginning to search the empty house for him, worried and hands feeling clamy that something might of happen to him.

Your eyes looked everywhere, searching for the curl metal head of a brother that you love so much. But, he appears to be no where in sight and that made your heart race.

" Where are you, Edward?" you mumbled to yourself. Your eyes set on the boathouse, maybe, just maybe Eddie would be hiding there.

" Hey!" you called out to the rest, running is what you heard, Steve bumping into Dustin.

" What is it?" Steve asked you. You rolled your eyes at him, scoffing stepping aside from him. He rose his eyebrow at your action, but shrugged it off and focused on what you were saying.

" I think he's at the boathouse, over there" you explained as you pointed towards it.

You and rest slowly made your way to the boathouse, making sure you were quite in case someone might jump up or something. You placed your arms across the group, being in front.

" Let me go first" you whispered to them, " he might not jump at the sight of me." They all nodded with some protest from Steve, which Dustin shot him a look at.

You slowly opened the door and peered insides, " Butthead?" you softly whispered as you walked into the boathouse, the others slowly following you in.

Eddie popped up from where he was hiding and ran to you, his arms wrapping around you and buries his face into your hair. You hug him tight, smiling into his jacket now knowing he was okay.

" Y/N" he says as he pulls away, smiling down at you before giving you a noogy messing up your hair which you grumbled trying to fix it.

" Thanks so much, butthead" you pouted which caused Steve to laugh. You shot him a glare which made his put his hands up, and step back.

" You're okay" you mumbled to Eddie, who peers down at you and nods. You pull him into another hug, tight. He hugs you back just as tight, " Don't you dare leave me like that again, you hear me or you'll be sorry. You hear me?" you pulled away grabbing his jacket, eyes a bit glossy.

His gaze softens, " I hear you, little one. I hear you" he pulls you into him with one arm kissing your forehead.

" Why are you interested in Harrington all of sudden?" Eddie comes up to you, standing next to you as he looks at Steve whom you were watching.

" I'm not" Eddie laughs, looking over to you.

" Don't bullshit me, little one. You like him, I get it"

" So what if I do? It's not like I'm Nancy Wheeler that he'll fall for me just like he fell for her? I'm not Miss Perfect"

" Wait, are you really jealous of her? Come on, Y/N. You?"

You shrugged, kicking an imaginary rock with your shoes.

" You're nothing like her Y/N, yes. But you're much better than her, even though we annoy each other and tease each other, call each other names and what not. You always will be better than her, in your own way. Don't ask me, because I said so. I'm right, because I'm your big brother"

" Thank you Eddie" you shot him a side way smile peering at him from the side. He nods, taking a drag of his cigarette. " You're welcome, and hey thank you for finding me and coming, making sure I was okay"

" Always"

" You know, you don't have to look at me like that"

" Like what, Harrington?" he stood next to you as you leaned against the car.

" Like you hate me, I'm not what I used to be, you know?"

" You're still the same jerk king fucking Harrington of Hawkins High School. Still the jerk that parties, hangs out with the wrong crowd and acts like puppy around Nancy Wheeler"

Steve frowns his eyebrows hearing what you just said.

" That's where you're wrong Y/N. After Dustin came up to me the first time asking for help, I have been looking after him and the rest of the kids. I will do anything to protect them. I don't want to go back to the way I was. That's not me anymore, that's not who I am"

" Just because you said it, doesn't mean I believe you"

" You don't have to, but what's this I hear about Nancy Wheeler? That was ages ago, I'm not into her and I don't plan on chasing her if that's what your thinking" he chuckles.

" I'm not thinking anything, Harrington"

" It's you who I wanna chase, Munson"

This shocks your whole body as you stare at him. A smirk appears on your lips as you, " if you can handle, double trouble. Then go for it"

" I'm watching you, Harrington!" Eddie shouts from afar watching you. Steve brushes him off and winks your way, and my you can't help but the blush comes over your cheek.

#steve harrington #imagine steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington stranger things #steve harrington x reader #jewls writes

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captain-tch · 2 years ago

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Ride or Die (Eddie Munson x GN!PlatonicReader)

Your friendship ended months ago to protect him, yet somehow he ended up knowing about the Upside Down. Can you salvage what you've lost? TW: mentions of blood, loss and death.

It was never supposed to be this way. Eddie was supposed to be graduating this year, pouring all of his efforts into walking across that stage and taking that diploma, flipping the bird at everyone who never believed in him. He was never supposed to see someone murdered brutally in front of his eyes, be labelled a killer and have to hide for fear of being locked away for something he didn’t do. He certainly wasn’t meant to be dragged into the mess I’ve been involved with since it all began, was never meant to know of the parallel world that threatened our own.

I had tried so hard to keep this from him, and now, he was subject to the horrors. Everything I had done to protect him was for nothing. All of the lies had put a strain on our friendship, and I wouldn’t have been able to recall the last time we talked. I missed him, I missed his calm demeanour, the way he always brought a goofy smile to my face, the way I was undeniably me around him. I told myself that the price was worth it, that he’d never have to know the reason I couldn’t sleep through the night.

But then Chrissy died.

When I walked into that shed at Reefer Rick’s, I saw how his face dropped. I saw how his guard was up, and I saw how not a single trace of our friendship lingered behind that empty stare.

I hated how Dustin was the one who calmed him down from his spiral. I envied him; I was able to do that up until a few months ago. After the events of StarCourt Mall it hit close to home how easily one of us could die. I didn’t want him to mourn for me, or worse, have to mourn him. So I pushed him away, until he didn’t fight back anymore.

As Dustin told Eddie everything we’d been through, his eyes trained on me the entire time. I shuffled under his piercing gaze, gulping nervously. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure how he’d react.

“You knew?”

I couldn’t avoid his questioning gaze anymore, cracking under the pressure. “Ever since Will went missing.”

“Is that why you blew me off?”

“I -” Steve cut me off.

“We have bigger fish to fry right now.”

“Steve’s right. Right now, we’re more concerned with keeping you safe.”

“Wait, safe from what?”

“Jason has gone ape shit thinking you’re a cult leader who killed Chrissy for a satanic ritual. He’s on the rampage.” Dustin sighed, pointing at me. “You keep an eye on him while we figure out what’s going on.”

“What?” Eddie and I spoke in unison, sharing a questioning look before turning away.

“Not to be rude, but why am I being dubbed the babysitter? That’s Steve’s job.”

Steve snorted. “Not today it isn’t.”

“Just, please, do it for us?” Dustin pleaded. “We’ll be a few hours, tops.”

“Unless you get caught by the cops for breaking and entering.”

“You worry too much.” Dustin smiled, “Besides, seems like you two have a lot of catching up to do. See ya!”

“Wait!” The door shut firmly behind the rest of the team, leaving just me and Eddie, alone. I sighed deeply, leaning my hand against the wall and falling until I hit the floor. I laid there for what felt like eternity, feeling Eddie’s gaze burn into the side of my head.

I couldn’t take it anymore, I snapped. “What?”

“Is hanging out with me really that much of a burden for you?” I could feel the venom in his voice; when I looked up, his face was crestfallen, his attention focused on his hands knotted in his lap.

I sighed deeply, shaking my head. I rubbed the palm of my hand into my eyes. “No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it? Why did you run away?”

“I -” I swallowed thickly, trying to push past the lump in my throat. This was a moment I had been fantasising about for months, but all I could feel was a deep sadness. There was nothing good about the reason we were talking under these circumstances. A girl had died. It only acted like a dagger in the heart. Why did I push him away, if he was only going to get tangled up in it anyways? A crushing weight fell on my chest, a sudden grief washing over me over all of the memories we could have made.

I couldn’t formulate the words. I couldn’t describe the lead weighing me down, or the total and utter terror I felt when I realised Eddie was in danger just by being associated with me. I didn’t know how to tell him the real reason I pushed him away was, secretly, to protect myself, so I never had to see him perish in the way Max saw Billy suffer.

“That’s fine, I get it. Guess you finally got sick of the freak, huh.” His head bowed. My heart sank. He was already hurting - he witnessed his middle school crush viciously die, had been shunned by the town and felt all alone - and all I was doing was adding to that.

“It's not that.”

A beat of silence passed, then two. He lifted his head to peer at me through the curtains of curly hair, his head quipped to the side. “Then why?”

“Did you not listen to a word Henderson just said?” I huffed a dark laugh, shaking my head. I rubbed a hand across my jaw, finding myself focusing on the opposite wall to stop myself from breaking down. “This is some heavy shit, okay. It’s not like D&D where you can pause the campaign to take a pee break or you can die and create another character. This is,” the thickness of my throat choked the rest of my words.

I stood up abruptly, storming out the door. It slammed with a thud behind me. I took in a big gulp of air, closing my eyes and I breathed in, and out, and in, then out. I calmed down my racing heart, banishing the images playing behind my eyes from my mind. I squeezed my eyes tightly to remove the image of Billy hanging in the air, mouth spewing blood. I shook my head to erase the image of Bob being torn apart, Joyce’s anguished cries breaking my heart.

A hand landed on my shoulder.

A shriek ripped out of me. I shrugged the hand off, feeling my muscles tense as I darted around, fists clenched to see… Eddie, standing a few feet away with his palms raised in surrender. Instantly my muscles relaxed. A wave of exhaustion invaded my body.

“Don’t do that.” I breathlessly warned, pinching the bridge between my brows.

“I’m sorry, I called your name like a thousand times.” Eddie’s eyes raked up and down my body, his eyes soft with concern. “Are you okay?”

I brushed the question aside. “Let’s get back inside.”

Eddie followed me wordlessly back into the shed, lingering close. He closed the door gently behind him, leaning on the wood. He watched me silently as I paced up and down, feeling the urge to release all of my pent up energy.

“So,” he sent me a teasing smirk. “What are your new friends like?”

I wanted to tell him that they were nothing in comparison to Eddie. Sure, they were great for saving the world, but everyone in that group already had their person. Steve had Robin, Nancy had Jonathan, the kids had each other. I always felt like a spare piece when we were hanging out when the world wasn’t in danger. We were trauma bonded and I would always feel close to them - never in the way I felt about Eddie.

A small smile graced my lips. “They’re okay, but for some reason no one wants to graffiti the school at 3AM.”

Eddie’s face mirrored mine. “Remember when the cops showed up?”

“I ran so fast I got a cramp.”

His face lit up. “They seem like a bunch of buzzkills.”

“I mean, they have saved the world three times. Got to give them some credit.”

“They lose points for the lack of graffiti.”

“I agree.”

My cheeks were starting to hurt with the strength of my smile. The words tumbled out before I could reign them back in. “God, I’ve missed you.”

Just like that, the happy moment was shattered. The smile dropped from his face and a look I hadn’t seen before clouded his features. He didn’t say another word, retreating into a corner turning his back to me. The knife in my heart twisted. I caused this. I made him unhappy. I wanted to protect him; all I ended up doing was hurting him.

We carried on in this pattern. Talking, being on the brink of reconciling and then falling apart all over again. I hated it, and no matter how hard I tried to fix it, nothing worked. I tried talking to him in the boat whilst trying to find Watergate, I tried to talk to him while in the Upside Down after following Steve in, and I tried talking to him whilst he sat in the trailer waiting for everyone to get the weapons. Each conversation we had sent us further and further away from the friendship we once shared and I hated it to my core.

I vowed to try one more time. If it didn’t work, then I’d accept the consequences and mourn the relationship we once had.

I waited until we dropped Max, Erica and Lucas off at the Creel house before I approached him. He was staring out of the window of the motorhome, gazing distantly at the scenery passing by. Dustin saw me walking closer, glancing between the pair of us.

“I’m just gonna go over there.” Dustin bolted to his feet, moving out of sight. I took up the seat where Dustin was sat, playing with my fingers. After so many attempts to reconcile, I wasn’t entirely sure how to start. Luckily, Eddie did the job for me.

“You again.” Eddie muttered, his attention still on the world outside.

I huffed a nervous laugh, “Yeah, me again.”

“What do you want?” He sounded so defeated. I wanted to reach out and hug him the way I used to - I knew I no longer had that privilege.

“I just wanted to talk -”

“About what, huh?” Eddie interrupted me, finally breaking his eyes away from the glass. He stared at me, a disbelieving curve to his lips. “I think we’ve already established that you ran away because you're you. Don’t worry, I’m used to it.”

All of the hope rushed out of my body. With a deep breath, I pushed myself upright, taking a step away from him. I turned my thoughts back to the days where I would stay over at his trailer, reading music magazines until the sun was way below the horizon. I recalled the times I was frustrated, and he’d nod his head to the woods outside school where he’d hand me a joint and we’d unwind, snickering about the most mundane of things. I remembered how after StarCourt, he hugged me like I was glass, because whilst he didn’t know the whole story, he knew I was hurting.

He was my person. I was not going to give up that easily.

“No.” I turned on my heel, my voice raising an octave. “You don’t get to tell me why I did what I did. You don’t know. And if you knew, you’d have even the tiniest amount of sympathy for me.”

He raised a brow. He opened his mouth as if to talk, but I cut him off. “You’ve had plenty of time to talk, Munson. It’s my turn.”

Sucking in a deep breath, I started spewing out every word I’d held back over the past few days. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to push you away? Do you have any idea how much that killed me? You are my person, Eddie Munson. You are the closest thing I have to a brother in this world and it fucking devastated me to see you in the halls, but not even smile at each other anymore.”

My vision grew blurry. I didn’t care, letting the tears spill down my cheeks. “But you know what hurts more? The thought of you dying. All of this backwards shit that’s happened over the past few years has killed people, Eddie. I have watched people die in front of my eyes and all I could ever think about was how I would feel if that was you.” I jabbed my finger at him aggressively, uncaring about the spit flying from my mouth. “People who get involved in this get hurt. They get hurt, or they die. I couldn’t let that happen to you. So I pushed you away. But now you’re here and it was a waste.”

I was borderline hyperventilating, my finger still raised in the air. “I lost months of memories with you and now you’re here and I,” my breath hitched in my throat. “I’m not sure I can protect you.”

I saw Eddie unravel before my eyes. His indifferent demeanour changed as he opened up his arms, gesturing for me to come forward. I didn’t waste a minute, lurching into his arms and feeling them wrap around me. I sobbed into his jacket, relishing the scent of weed and leather enveloping my senses. His hands brushed up and down my back, his voice soothing me.

By the time my tears slowed down, the vehicle pulled to a stop. Everyone awkwardly lingered as I pulled myself from Eddie’s embrace, sniffling. He placed a delicate hand on my neck, smiling at me softly. “I’ve missed you too, you stubborn asshole.”

I was elated. Such pure happiness consumed me that I felt no fear when walking into the Upside Down again. I felt little anxiety as Dustin, Eddie and I were boarding up the trailer, preparing ourselves for what was to come. I only felt the tiniest drop of fear as Eddie began to play Master of Puppets on his guitar, the fear trickling in as I saw the swarms of bats gunning towards us against the red sky.

The bats were closing in quickly. Dustin begged Eddie to finish sooner, I tightened my grasp on the spear in my hand. Eddie finished the solo in the nick of time, the three of us rushing down the ladder and into the trailer. The door slammed shut with a resolute thud. I felt myself relax against the metal, grinning wildly to myself as I witnessed Eddie and Dustin jump up and down for joy.

I wanted to share in their excitement, I really did. But my experiences told me that something worse was coming. The pit in my stomach began to grow as the thudding of the bats became louder against the metal.

A bang. My gaze snapped upwards to see bats threatening to come through the vent. Instinctively I moved towards it, swinging my spear up and killing the ones threatening to enter. Dustin joined me, throwing his spear as randomly as I was, praying that the swarm would stop. My arms were beginning to ache with the repetitive motion and yet the bats kept on coming.

“Move,” Eddie commanded, holding the nail-filled shield and jamming it into the vent, effectively blocking the hole.

“Good call,” I complimented, bent over and hand squeezing my side.

Eddie nodded, seemingly content with himself. The battering had seemed to quieten and I took a moment to rejoice.

Dustin froze. “There’s not anymore vents, are there?”

I exchanged a look with Eddie. I knew this trailer inside out after all the years spent in it, and by pure instinct my feet guided me towards the back room, grinding to a halt as I saw the bat claws ripping open the vent. A huge gust of bats swooped into the room. I pushed Eddie and Dustin back behind me, bringing the door shut with a thud.

We were trapped in the living room, bats in rooms on both sides. The only place left to go now was back up the rope. Eddie encouraged Dustin up the rope, sending him a reassuring smile.

“I’m right behind you, buddy.” Once Dustin was safely on the other side, he gestured for me to climb the rope. I held it in my hands, pausing for a moment as I looked at Eddie. He was on edge, a sorrowful look in his eyes. Even after all these months of being apart, I knew right then what he was planning. My heart dropped. I had already left him alone once, I wasn't going to do it again.

I let go of the rope.

“What are you doing?” He exclaimed, passing the rope back to me. “Climb!”

“What, and let you have all the fun?” His face dropped.

He paused for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“You’re my ride or die, Eddie, of course I’m sure.”

“And you say I’m the stubborn asshole.” He grabbed his spear, deaf to Dustin’s protests. In one fell swoop he effectively severed the tie between our worlds.

I ignored Dustin’s pleas, snatching up my own spear and sucking in a breath. My heart was racing in my chest and my mind screamed at me to turn back, to find some way back through the gate; my heart told me to follow him. I wasted too much time pushing him away to protect, now I was going to do the very thing I swore to do when I ended our friendship months ago,

Eddie swung the door open, rushing towards the bike in the yard. I was hot on his tail, trying not to hyper focus on the number of bats lurking around us, jumping on the back spokes of the bike. He began pedalling furiously, body swinging side to side with the energy. I grasped tightly onto his shoulders, my spear digging into his shoulder. I turned around, sensing the bats gaining on us.

“Pedal faster!”

“What do you think I’m doing?!”

In one moment I was standing upright, the next I was thrown to the ground. The road bit into my cheeks as I came to a stop. Panic coursed through me as I struggled to see Eddie amongst the black mist of bats.

“Eddie!” I clambered to my feet clumsily, ignoring the faint burn of my knees and hands. I grabbed my spear from where it had fallen, hitting the few bats that were in my way. I was closer to the swarm now. My eyes nearly fell out of my head as I saw Eddie at the eye of it all, swinging ferociously with his spear and screaming a battle cry.

My worst fear was going to become a reality.

Adrenaline pounded through my veins. With a shriek of my own, I ploughed into the sea of bats, striking at them in a deadly dance. Bodies started to fall around me as I got closer to Eddie, moving at such speed it felt unnatural.

A bat bit into his shoulder.

I moved faster now, the sight of his blood sending me into a blind fury. I was within reach of him when I saw a bat swerve down, aiming straight for his neck. I didn’t think, I acted on instinct. I shoved Eddie out of the way, feeling the bat's teeth tear into my jugular. An animalistic scream left me as I pulled it away, blood spurting profusely. With all the energy I could muster, I slammed it into the floor, stomping on its head.

The world started to spin. Absent-mindedly my hand drifted to my neck, and when I looked back down at it, it was slick with red. I wanted to laugh, unable to believe it had taken this long for this world to break me.

I heard Eddie scream my name, just as all the bats started falling limp. They died around me as I fell, crashing harshly into the ground. Eddie was by my side instantly, wide eyes staring into me. His hand fell on my neck - I hissed at the contact, but he wouldn’t let go. He pressed down harder, forcing a cry of agony out of me.

“It’s going to be okay.” He whispered. We both knew he was saying it for his own sake. I knew my fate the moment I let go of that rope.

“You can’t die on me yet.” Eddie warned, his gaze glassy. “We have a lot of catching up to do, you and I. I need to tell you all about the new campaign, about the little squirts, and we need to go graffiti the school. You are always so good at that.”

I smiled weakly, coughing lightly. Blood wet my lips. I felt Eddie’s hand press down harder. “Why isn’t this working!” He cursed, ripping the bandanna off his head and pressing that to the wound. I knew it was fruitless; I didn’t have the energy to argue. I just relished in being close to him, to the new memories we made in the last few days.

I lifted my hand, cupping his cheek. He froze, lip quivering. “You deserve the world and more. Don’t let,” I coughed, ignorant to the spew of blood that projected up. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“You’re going to be fine. You’re going to -” He started to ramble, cutting himself off as he started to notice my ghostly complexion. “You’re my best friend. I love you.”

I missed hearing those words after so long. “I love you too.”

I heard footsteps approaching, Dustin’s cries of anguish. I tried to hold on a little longer to say goodbye; death had other plans. As I felt death’s scythe swoop over me, I managed to utter my final words to this planet.

"Thank you for being my friend."

stranger things masterlist

#eddie munson x you #eddie x me #eddie x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x gn!reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things s4 #stranger things 4 #stranger things season 4 #stranger things #stranger things x gn reader #stranger things x y/n

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multi-writer · 2 years ago

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A Sibling´s Love

Eddie Munson x Carver! Reader

Summary: Eddie is being followed by Jason Carver and his basketball team to avenge Chrissy´s death, but what happens when Jason's half-sibling is Eddie's friend and has a crush on him?

Author´s note: this came up to me on Sunday when I was trying to sleep (not even then I can stop thinking about Eddie god have mercy on me) where Jason's not-so-popular half-sibling is Eddie´s good friend and helps him escape from his revenge-seeking brother. I made reader half-sibling because I'm also POC so I want every reader out there to feel included.

Warnings: some bad words I guess, mention of the words "killed" and "murder" - Bullets imagine

Requested? No (Request are open btw! <3)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You arrived to Hawkins because your mom married Jason´s dad so you both went to live in Jason´s house, but you’re completely opposite of him. He’s popular, you´re not. He´s into sports, you´re into books, even in personality, you´re different.

Talking about books, they´re the reason you met Eddie “the freak” Munson

One day you were at the library reading a fantasy novel and waiting for Jason´s practice to finish, meanwhile Eddie was there looking for a book with Mike and Dustin.

“Nice book, but the second is better” Eddie said to you.

“I know, this is the third time I’m reading it” You answered without looking up. The first time you saw Eddie´s eye was when he introduced himself to you. Since then you both enjoy talking about fantasy. He would explain D&D to you and you would talk about your favorite fantasy books.

A friendship (and hopefully more) made in heaven.

Until one day Jason came up to your room because it seems Eddie killed Chrissy (your half-brother´s girlfriend).

Which shocked you

Eddie? The same Eddie who couldn´t annotate on one of your books because he felt he would ruin it?

Impossible.

Jason knew about your friendship and crush on Eddie, so he did what other weird intense brothers would do. Lock you in your room so you wouldn’t go to Eddie´s.

And you did what other siblings would do.

Escape from the window.

There’s only one place where Eddie would be and you know it.

Reefer Rick.

When you arrived you quickly spotted Eddie hiding.

“I knew I would find you here”

“What are you doing here? Did you guide your brother to me” Eddie looked so betrayed it broke your heart

“Eddie, I would never do that” you answered while grabbing his hands. “but please, tell me what happened”

So he told you everything without dropping your hand.

Some hours passed until you heard voices

Especially your brother´s voice.

While Eddie tried to find a way to escape, you went to your brother

"(y/n)? what are you doing here?!" Jason asked angrily

"I´m here to defend my friend Jason, he did nothing wrong so you better step away"

You two were fighting until Jason saw Eddie behind you, making him madder than he was.

That made him push you to the ground and hit your hand with a rock

And oh boy, Eddie saw that and his eyes were R E D

“How dare you throw them like that Carver!?!?”

And he came towards you to help you stand up and put you behind him in a protective move

Loverboy is mad

“Put your dirty hands on them and I´ll send you to Satan himself”

Damn, that´s hot coming from Eddie.

When you saw Jason was ready to fight Eddie you put yourself between the two men

“Jason! Listen, he´s innocent. Something pretty bad is happening in Hawkins, you have to believe me”

Jason didn´t believe you

Until one of Jason´s friends started to float above the air.

Eddie covered your face since he knew what was coming next.

The bones started going from one way to another, the sounds were horrible, the mouth went to the side, the eyes exploded and finally, the body came down with a strong sound it made you shiver.

“See Carver?” Eddie asked accusingly. “It wasn´t me”

Jason looked at his friend´s body and then looked at Eddie blankly

“How can I help to stop this Munson?”

#eddie munson fluff #eddie munson #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x reader #stranger things imagine #stranger things one shot #stranger things #eddie munson angst #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x male reader #eddie munson x poc! reader #joseph quinn

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that-thing-that-feeling · 2 years ago

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I'm so confused about the timeline. I think that everything is happening concurrently in the week of spring break but then the scenes of Hawkins High make me think that they are not on spring break.

When is the Cali group expected to arrive in Hawkins?

What are your theories on how the Hawkins group is going to free Nancy from Vecna if they don't know her favorite song. Maybe that is why they had Robin being nosy in her bedroom and she'll have some educated guess based on seeing a tape or something?

So ep 1 is the day before Spring Break begins, Friday, March 21, 1986 (that’s why the Hawkins HS scenes and Lenora Hills scenes are taking place). Then Spring Break begins the next day. I’ve put a whole long timeline below; you can pretty much track the days, but things get confusing in ep 7 because a lot of it appears to be taking place overnight between Wednesday, March 26-Thursday, March 27, I think.

I don’t think Cali gang will arrive in Hawkins until ep 9. That could be March 28, but much more likely March 29. They weren’t in ep 7 and maybe they won’t show any of the drive to the silo, but they have to reunite with El, there’s a salt bath scene, a night stop at a gas station, and idk if they’ll show any of the drive back to Hawkins or how long that will take from Nevada. They could just show one scene of them on the road or the other scenes count enough so they just show them arriving back in Hawkins (I bet that will be so emotional for all of them to see it again!)

Re: how Nancy’s saved; I’m so curious about this too. I wonder if they’ll use music again (in which case yes, Robin did go through her tapes; I like that theory—altho they aren’t near her tapes), or if Steve will do anything, or if there’s anything else that can get you out of Vecna’s trance, or if Vecna lets her out of the trance. It’s interesting that he didn’t stalk her at all before hand—he pulls her in and shows her his full backstory, but to what purpose? You’d think he’d def want to kill her bc he’s revealed so much, and yet he wasn’t going after her exactly the same way—is he so confident he won’t get caught he shows her all this anyway to just mess with her and then lets her go? But I prob lean towards there would still have to be a big rescue moment for her (I’m also assuming that Eddie moment is during Creel house battle but all the things they’d have at their disposal are what’s in Eddie’s trailer). Anyway, how Nancy gets out of Vecna’s trance is going to be so huge to see! Really curious what the writers choice is there and if anyone else has any theories on it, lmk what you think.

But, anyway, here’s the Timeline (altho I didn’t put it in order by scene, just roughly what things/eps take place on which day):

Friday, March 21, 1986: ep 1

in Hawkins—that’s the pep rally, newspaper room, cafeteria, basketball game, dnd, Chrissy killed at Eddie’s

In Cali—Lenora HS (El bullied, Jargyle shop class); Joyce receives package from Russia

Saturday, March 22, 1986: ep 1 and part of ep 2

Spring Break begins

in Cali—Mike arrives; Murray arrives; roller rink; the writers forget it’s Will’s bday smh; Joyce and Murray call Enzo; golf scene; jargyle high; dinner scene

In Nevada—Owens is visited by Sullivan that night and told of the new killings in Hawkins and that he blames El

In Hawkins—aftermath of chrissy’s death, Nancy and Fred investigate, rest of hawkins crew—the ricks & eddie hiding, Fred is killed that night

Sunday, March 23, 1986: part of ep 2 and ep 3

In Cali—El is arrested; Joyce and Murray leave for Russia; Cali crew try to see El; El is taken away and intercepted Owens; diner scene with El and Owens; Owens people inform the Byers There are new killings in Hawkins and El has been taken by Owens to get her powers back

In Hawkins—CW Jason again takes up too much screentime (looking for Eddie), Nancy and Hawkins crew reunited, Nancy and Robin research at the library; Max sees clock (not so good!), Lucas warns of CW Jason

Monday, March 24: ep 4 and a part of ep 5

In Hawkins—concern about Max; Ronance go to Pennhurst; Victor Creel monologue; max at cemetery and that running up that Hill moment

In Cali—byers under house arrest; Jonathan comes up with plan to go to Hawkins; Sullivans raid and shoot out on the Byers house; hero agent man dies in van; a little confusing bc says 12 hours ago in the next ep, but I think El arrives at Silo this day

In Alaska—Joyce and Murray meet up w Yuri

Tuesday, March 25, 1986: most of ep 5, a tiny bit of ep 6

In Hawkins—Nancy pieces together Max’s drawing; Hawkins gang visits Creel House; Patrick dies that night; more wasted screentime of CW Jason questioned by police

In silo—El in Nina project for first time

In Russia—hoppers backstory; Joyce and Murray “land” in Russia

Cali Gang—bury hero agent man, mike has plan to go to Suzie’s

Wednesday, March 26, 1986: most of ep 6

Cali gang—in Utah at Suzie’s

Hawkins gang—meets up again with Eddie, town hall meeting (don’t get me started on how much time CW Jason takes up), ronance are friends plus Robin talks about stancy, that night is the dive (Steve, Nancy, Robin are in UD), rest of Hawkins gang questioned by police about Eddie’s whereabouts

In Silo—El reliving lots of memories

In Russia—demogorgon pit, jopper reunion

Late Wednesday, March 26–into early morning Thursday, March 27: ep 7

But here I actually get confused bc we lose a lot of outdoor signs of day/night: it seems the lite brite, teens in the UD with the rest of them getting them out at Eddie’s trailer portal is happening either late Wednesday, March 26, or the early morning (still dark) hours of Thursday, March 27, as is the huge reveal in the silo, Nancy taken by Vecna and watching His backstory. But I think when ep 8 resumes it will still be Thursday, March 27?

#stranger things 4 spoilers #nancy wheeler #Cali gang #stranger things 4 speculation

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newathens · 4 years ago

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ohh shit your post about toa sidelining grief is making me insaneeee. i LOVE toa, i waited each year for the new book but the way! the way it handled grief and rage!! it makes me so disappointed and angry. i remember thinking for SURE after half of ttt when Apollo was grieving so hard and was so angry at zeus that he had forgotten playing safe that we were going to explore it and get an arc about how zeus is a tyrant in these books and has to get his comeuppance....but then thalia came and nothing happened and in tower of Nero the anger just...fizzled out!! I was expecting Percy to have some reaction—any reaction—to Jason’s death and he was sad for like one second!! Seriously thought we were going there, but we didn’t and it’s just so much of lost potential.

Talking about lost potential I had this huge theory about what will happen in toa at some point, was sooooo sure that Rhea was going to play a huge part in these books and be the “tyrants can be overthrown, my life is proof” voice we NEEDED. the alternate route to changing the gods in a way. Like instead of the Luke-Kronos plot which was corrupted due to their aim being acquiring power vs. Rhea-Apollo being a story of gods relinquishing power to change the status quo...Rhea looking into the future instead of the past like Kronos had (the dichotomy of Rhea being of prophecy vs. Kronos being of time/tradition, Rhea of the Grove vs. Kronos of the Cut Fields, growing vs. reaping) THERE WAS JUST. SO. MUCH. and nothing came out of it!!!!!!!

yes yes yes !!!! every time i hear another person say it fizzled out i’m like YES so we were going there, we all expected it to go there, it was supposed to go there, something’s up !!! (. . .riordan 😒)

percy should’ve had the biggest reaction it irritates me to no end. i’m so mad that we’re just supposed to assume he had the same reaction as thalia and nico—really angry off screen and then on screen it’s all ‘haha the past is the past we can only move forward xoxo.’ like i demand percy n zeus brawling there is no middleground i need them in the ring !

you 🤝me: loving rhea with all our hearts. about to cry rn im so happy you love rhea like this i swear no one speaks of her. idk what rick was trying to do with her in the hidden oracle but if he only used her as a cameo he really missed out plot-wise. omg “my life is proof” you GENIUS that’s so good.

ugh another thing that would have been great is if ouranos had been in hoo and used to help defeat gaea, it would have made perfect sense for rhea to appear in toa and help apollo because in the original myth ouranos helps rhea hide i believe (gaea helps to i’m p sure but the gaea&kronos / ouranos&rhea split would have been so dramatic eeeep!!!)

#i have rhea in my ton rewrite bc she is supposed to be there rick just doesnt know these things #the roles she could have played im mad.....im just shoving them all into one fic lmao i pray i finish #also apologies about the late response i was a busy bee !!!

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leonardovaldezz · 4 years ago

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What would u do if u could change anything about anything in the series?

I’m gonna assume you’re talking about Hero’s Of Olympus, since I want to talk about it. Let’s start with the relationship each of the 7 had with one another/character dynamics.

Percy. We know who he is, we’ve met him before, we’ve lived through his adventure with him. He’s a shithead, we love this about him, but he’s also kind and loving. Percy would’ve made an effort to get along with everyone, to be friends and goof off to help everyone feel better. Which is why all of this shit Rick created with Jason being his Roman counter part and them being rivals, the two “macho men fighting for power to lead the pack” makes NO goddamn sense. And quite frankly smells HEAVY of toxic masculinity the entire series could’ve gone without. They would’ve been friends. Maybe not the best of friends because Jason has Leo but they would’ve been those two dumb jock friends and that narrative bettween them would’ve made the story so much more fun and interesting than pitting them against eachother.

Annabeth. The trope Rick created with Annabeth being a know it all, smartest person in the group is a disservice to her character and makes her shallow. She’s the daughter of a goddess of wisdom, wisdom recognizes intelligence when it sees it, and the fact that all Annabeth thought about Leo during the entire book was that he was annoying is VERY dumb. They could’ve had a really good friendship, two nerds playing off of one another’s intellect to create things that could benefit everyone on their journey. Or even Leo just convincing her to help him make stupid shit like a toaster that can toast eight pieces of bread at once. I would change how rigid Annabeth is, loosen her up just a little bit and make her friendship with Leo the type of thing where they constantly feed off of one another.

Piper. Her entire character arc revolved around being beautiful, being Native American, and Jason. Firstly, we’d have to throw away all the stereotypes and general horrible things that Mr. Rick Ross (read: Rick) did to her character. Like the whole feathers in her hair thing. There are better way to incorporate Piper being Native American, there were so many missed opportunities to intertwine Greek mythology and Native American beliefs. Secondly, in order to get rid of the. Frankly, shit, way Piper dealt with beauty is to first address the way the Aphrodite cabin as been treated through the entirety of the PJO universe. Instead of writing Aphrodite children like frilly little things that can’t stand to get their hands dirty and Piper being “not like other girls uwu”, I would’ve written them as deceptivly beautiful. Deceptive in the fact that no one expects them to be strong, cruel, to be able to hold their own. Knights you mistake for damsels in distress, and before you realize you’re wrong they’ve already defeated you. You can be strong and feminine, and femininity isn’t the only way to be beautiful, so I would’ve explored that too. And Pipers arc on beauty would’ve been different in the sense that she realizes she doesn’t have to like pink and glitter in order to be beautiful, and that even if she did like those things, that’s okay. Let girls be feminine without demonizing them for it.

Hazel. God Hazel was done so dirty. First, she’s thirteen, so no Frazle shit, jot that one down. Her and Frank being really good friends would’ve been so much better and allowed her to grow as a person without throwing her into some serious romantic relationship so young with someone so much older. I would’ve written Hazel as very cautious, specifically around her white friends. She comes from the 40’s of course she wouldn’t be buddy buddy with them immediately, and I think that would be a valid concept for the books to explore. And besides, her realizing later on that things really are different and times really have changed would be such a heartwarming thing to experience. Her breaking out of her shell and leaving that shit behind her to be unapologetically her. Actually exploring the racism and prejudice in the world instead of ignoring it and erasing the experiences of black people and black youth in this world is problematic and we won’t be doing that here smh. I wouldn’t make it the core of her character because that’s wack but it also wouldn’t be something that’s just never talked about. That being said, I would’ve made her relationship with Leo SO GREAT. They could’ve been dumbasses together running around the ship playing stupid games like hide and seek. Once again, instead of that romance shit, I would’ve built their friendship. Let the girl have fun, she’s 13 for gods sake.

Jason. The essence of his character was to be Percy Jackson’s Roman counterpart, which IS WACK. It made him VERY boring and one sided, so away with that! The Jason I had hopes for and wanted to see was, in simple words, a blond Himbo Jock!!! He loves his found family (Piper, Leo, and later the rest of the seven) and he PROTECT!! He and Percy would get in mock fights and wrestle sometimes because Percy says something very stupid and Jason simultaneously wants to laugh and shake him and he and Leo have the type of friendship where even the last few barriers come down and they are unapologetically themselves with one another. Jason learning that he doesn’t have to be a grown up and that he doesn’t have to have such a rigid sense of responsibility and that it’s okay to have fun sometimes, things Leo and Percy teach him. He grows into himself and realizes that he’s not JUST a son of Jupiter, and he doesn’t have to be a leader all the time. It’s okay to let go of the reins, and be stupid.

Frank. Rick made him... so forgettable. Firstly, the fatphobic blessing of Mars shit. We can hit next on that shit: the blessing of Mars but Frank goes from chubby to chubby with muscle because believe it or not a lot of fat people have muscles!! The arch with him wanting to be a child of Apollo is VERY interesting and something that should’ve been played up more within his arc until he realized he didn’t have to prove to anyone how manly he is, that you don’t HAVE to be aggressive and manly to be a child of Mars. Once again: Rick was on some toxic masculinity shit. Frank being okay with being a big teddy bear is enough for me. Also fuck the burning stick of life things stop putting a time limit on teenagers lives that’s bullshit. His relationship his Hazel was rushed and shallow, and quite frankly (ha) they should’ve just been friends.

Last but not least: Leo. Leo’s relationships with EVERYONE could’ve been better. He was treated as the comic relief, an annoyance, someone everyone could barely stand to be around, and instead of bettering his relationships with everyone Rick thought killing him off and then bringing him back with a love interest was the best thing to do. He was the treated as an emotional whipping board and then gave his life to save everyone on some sacrificial lamb shit which is a fucking cop out. In my head, Leo would’ve remained single, he would’ve felt like an outcast in the beginning, yes, but his friends would have actually noticed and reminded him that they value him as a person. I would’ve also built Leo’s arc so that he realizes the only validation he needs from anyone is himself, and that he wasn’t responsible for his mother’s death. I would’ve also written him realizing he has a support system amongst his friends, and he doesn’t need to overexert himself trying to fit because he’s already one of them. Leo has an inferiority complex and that was the core of him sacrificing himself, he felt like, if anyone, it would be him. He felt that he wasn’t as important as any of the other 7. He wouldn’t have died so other people could live, his life would’ve mattered to everyone including himself.

#wow this was long sorry #lmao Iiiii think i forgot to answer your question oops #i shouldve just answered simply: i would change the dynamics the characters have together #heros of olympus #percy jackson #annabeth chase #piper mclean #jason grace #frank zhang #hazel levesque #leo valdez #long post

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juleamarson · 4 years ago

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Theory time

Was Nico erased from the Big profecies?

This one will probably make absolutelly any sense, but...maybe it does??

I've seen some people talking about Nico was crucial in both Wars and he wasn't in neither profecies.

In all the 15 books, 12 profecies (if my calculations are correct). Nico only apear in 3 of them.

The first one as ghost king, where everybody thought was about Minos, but it was Nico.

In this quest Hera admits letting Nico out in purpose, and I think she said something about he doesn't fitting in CHB, but i'm not sure.

He should at least have an profecy about bringing Athena Pathernos. Anything about he leading Percy to Achiles's curse also should be good. Like... Nobody predicted that?

Other thing I realized was: Nico gave Percy Achiles's curse, Hera take it away. He cannot be known as the boy who leaded Percy to this curse if he don't have this curse anymore.

And you can't say he doesn't have a profecy because he's from another time, in MoA he apear in one.

But when he's the hero, the leader, when it's his "quests" he doesn't have one.

Saying that Hera erased his profecies is also saying she have a power over the Oracles, but she's a powerfull godness, can't she control wich profecy come out?

Now some stuff about Tower of Nero:

But unlike Python, she can't control the Fate herself, that's why his quests kept happening.

Hera is also known as very manipulative between the mortals (Ex: when she made Dionysus's mother made Zeus show his divine form to her, causing her death).

It's such a coincidence that 'another' profecy with Nico as protagonist was ereased (or he tried). Will tried to keep Nico away from Apollo's quest. Will hided the lines about Nico.

Plus: those lines was send by Delphi, trying to run away from Piton, also Hera was so busy with grief about Jason's death.

And then, at Rachel's house, Meg ask if he doesn't like cows, he don't say he likes cows.

I also would like to say about that theory about Hera being a homophobe or heteronormative at least.

This theory says Hera joined her hero (Jason) with a lesbian (I'm not bi ereasuring anyone, this just make way more sense to me) because that's what a perfect couple should be, StRaIgHt.

According to this, let's go back to House of Hades:

And there's a lot Hera could have done to manipulate Nico to feel himself not part of both camps.

Because like ??? Are you saying Nico, a mith'o Magic nerd would never heard about Patrochiles, Apollo and Hyacinthus, Sapho? Apollo and Hyacinthus was my confort couple for years.

He obviously searched about it, he knew about Zefiro's story before coming, he tried to talk to him before that mission, but Zefiro only appear when Hera's hero is with him.

Zefiro also said Apollo and Hyacinthus where just friends. A HUGE LIE. Why did he lied? Did he tried to erase Apollo's sexuallity? Or maybe some olympian godness is trying to give him a warning that only straights are olympians?

Anyway. That was my conspiracy theory about another reason to hate Hera but probably will never happen because it's not likely to Rick do this.

But yeah, thank you for reading until here and I'm sorry for what you just readed lol

#percy jackson #pjo #pjo stuff #heroes of olympus #pjo text post #pjo/hoo #pjoverse #riordanverse #rick riordan #nico pjo #nico di angelo #tower of nero #hera pjo

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winryofresembool · 4 years ago

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Caleo one-shot: Back in Waystation

Warning: Tower of Nero spoilers! Do not read past this point if you don’t want to know anything that happens in the book!

Summary: Calypso returns from the band camp and she and Leo finally sort some things out (Post ToN).

A/N: Here’s the 'fix it' fic I promised. Like I said in one of the author's notes of TWLitF, I feel like Rick did these two very dirty in ToA, especially in the end when he left things so open ended. It would have been better for both characters if he had made them, you know, deal with their issues. I know this fic ended up being very sappy but it was something I myself would have liked to read so... I hope you guys enjoy it too.

Also, since this fic has taken a lot of my writing time for the past 2ish weeks, I'm not going to post a new chapter for TWLitF tomorrow. But worry not because I am hoping to post normally again next Thursday! Stay tuned!

Don't forget to let me know what you think of this fic!

Words: 4100+

genre: fluff, slight hurt/comfort (you know, the usual)

warnings: none

AO3

...

It was already late August. The weather had started getting slightly cooler in Indianapolis and people were getting prepared to go back to work and school after the summer vacation. Even Leo was preparing for the start of the new high school year; he had finished his community service teaching the homeless kids shop skills a week before and gone to buy some supplies for the school year. Now all that was left to do was waiting.

If the young demigod was totally honest to himself, he was getting a bit antsy. His girlfriend had been gone for pretty much the whole summer, counseling at a band camp and not telling him when exactly she would be back. If ever. Leo was worried that she’d meet someone way cooler than him at the camp and just leave some message that he shouldn’t be expecting her to return.

Before she had left, things had been complicated between them; they had been arguing quite a lot and Leo hadn’t exactly been his usual self after returning from his trip to California. He had found out about the death of his best friend Jason and accompanied the heartbroken Piper to her new home before flying back to Waystation where the information about Jason had fully sunk in. Unlike Leo himself, Jason would never be back.

Calypso had never known the son of Jupiter and she didn’t know how strongly his death had affected those who had known him. That’s why Leo felt like he couldn’t show his mourning to her and for a few weeks after his return he had been pretty withdrawn. Instead of going back to school with Calypso he had been tinkering in Jo’s workshop until Jo had dragged him out of there and forced him to take care of himself, to eat, to shower and so on. She had also been the one to suggest the community service for Leo, and after considering it he had finally decided it could be a good idea. Having something to do that forced Leo to leave the house had a positive impact on him and even though he still missed Jason, he also knew that Jason would be mad if he didn’t try to move forward, so he did. That led to Leo’s current issue, Calypso. He wished he would have had an opportunity to talk with her properly before she had left….

Loud clanking pulled Leo back from his thoughts. He was in the workshop again, this time with Jo and Georgie, trying to fix a part of Festus’ wing that had broken when one of Leo’s homeless pupils had accidentally thrown something at it, not knowing Festus was there. Jo was instructing Georgie with something that looked way too dangerous in the hands of a 7-year-old but Leo knew from experience that since she was a demigod (suspected to be Apollo’s daughter), she would have to learn to fight sooner rather than later. Waystation may have been a safe haven for demigods but Georgina wouldn’t be able to hide from the monsters forever.

Leo was going to ask Jo’s opinion on how to make the wing part more durable when the workshop door opened. Expecting it to be just Emmie who would tell them the dinner was ready, he didn’t even turn to look at the newcomer. But soon he felt weird tingling on his skin that had absolutely nothing to do with Emmie as he smelled the very familiar cinnamon scent and realized that the steps were lighter than the older woman’s.

“Hi,” he heard a soft voice say and he finally turned around to see his girlfriend standing right behind him. She was smiling at him, although slightly awkwardly, probably as unsure about their situation as he was. A hundred different emotions rushed through Leo as he took her in; happiness, nervousness, uncertainty… and how had he forgotten she was so damn pretty? When he didn’t say anything for a moment, she tilted her head slightly, looking at him expectantly. Finally the gears started moving again in Leo’s head and he spread his arms, leaping into a hug.

“You late, Sunshine,” he mumbled against her shoulder as he tightened his arms around her. Calypso recognized the reference to what she herself had said back on Ogygia and couldn’t stop her smile from widening a bit as she responded to Leo’s hug. He probably would have kissed her on the mouth too but Jo and Georgina’s presence made Leo a bit self conscious about showing affection and he ended up kissing her cheek instead. “Missed ya,” he whispered after that.

Eventually the couple pulled away from the hug. Calypso greeted the other two people in the room and turned her attention back to Leo again.

“So, I’m Sunshine now again? No more Mamacita?” Her tone was suspicious but Leo could tell that she was actually happy about the change.

“Yeah,” Leo shrugged. “Reyna had quite a talk with me about how ladies should be addressed and apparently Mamacita isn’t an appropriate way to do that,” he said sheepishly.

Calypso cocked her eyebrow a bit at that piece of information. Even though she hadn’t met Reyna personally because she had left for her band camp before Reyna and the other hunters of Artemis had visited Waystation, she did remember hearing the name before. “Reyna? Isn’t she that girl who you saw in that vision back on Ogygia? The one with dark hair and…”

“Yes, that’s her,” Leo said cautiously. “She’s a Hunter now so she and her group visit here pretty often.” Before Calypso had time to say anything to that, he added: “She’s acting like a sister figure towards me and she’s scolded me a lot for… well, a lot of things.” He decided to not reveal that a lot of their talks had revolved around Calypso.

Calypso’s expression softened at his comment. “I’m glad someone has been keeping you in check while I was gone. Maybe I should let her do that more often.”

Worry flashed briefly in Leo’s eyes because he thought she was implying that she would be leaving Waystation so she decided to calm him down. “Relax, Repair Boy. I didn’t mean it that way. I wanted to stay here with you and that hasn’t changed. Besides, high school is pretty great, you know? I want to get through that. But, um… I’ve been thinking. About what was going on between us before I left.”

“Oh? Yeah, me too,” Leo replied, combing his messy hair with his hand.

Suddenly they remembered that there were two extra pairs of ears in the room listening to them, ending the conversation there.

“Ahem,” Jo cleared her throat, understanding the situation all too well. “Leo, how about you take Calypso’s bag into her room? I can see the wing meanwhile. I promise Festus will be better than new soon.” “Sure, I can do that, mom,” Leo said with slight reservation in his voice.

Calypso gave Jo a thankful look, exchanging a couple of words with her and Georgina before pulling Leo out of the workshop.

The two occupied the room Calypso used to sleep in before the band camp. Leo didn’t hang out there that often, but he was reminded of one particular time earlier that spring when he had been there. That night Calypso had had some nightmares and she had found out Leo was awake as well. They had stayed up talking for a long while in Calypso’s room until falling asleep next to each other. Even though they had been fully clothed when Emmie had come to wake Calypso up for some morning gardening (Leo felt like bursting into flames even at the thought of having done something that involved taking their clothes off. It wasn’t that he had never thought of it - he was a 17-year-old boy who was very much in love with his girlfriend after all - but he didn’t think they were quite there yet. And he highly doubted that Calypso would appreciate him even requesting that), the mother hens of Waystation had still pulled them apart and had some very embarrassing talks with them. Comparing it to the time when Percy and Annabeth had fallen asleep at the stables of Argo II, Leo felt like those two had gotten off easy.

“So… How was the camp?” Leo started awkwardly after setting Calypso’s bag down in her room, snapping out of his memories.

“It was good,” Calypso said simply, sitting down on her couch, Leo following her. “I am impressed by how talented these kids with no special powers can be.”

“Don’t underestimate the regular mortals,” Leo noted. “In my homeless kid group there were a few that were really good at the shop skills even though I’m pretty certain they couldn’t see Festus.”

“What do you mean with that?” Calypso asked. Before she had left for her camp, she had heard about Leo’s plans for the community service, but what she didn’t know was that Leo had used Festus as the place to teach the kids. Leo explained the situation to her.

“But isn’t that kind of risky?” she wanted to know then. “I mean, I know he’s your friend, and all, but what if he had accidentally started blowing fire at them or something?”

“C’mon, of course I had safety precautions for that,” Leo protested. “I may be an idiot but I do know my way around mechanical dragons.”

“Right. Of course.” Calypso said. Before their break she might have started a debate about Leo’s safety precautions but given the circumstances she decided that it would be better to not question it. A silence fell between the two as both wondered how to approach the topics they really wanted to talk about.

“So how have you been doing, really?” they asked almost simultaneously.

“Um, you go first,” Leo said, attempting to be polite.

“Like I said, I did enjoy the camp,” Calypso answered, getting a dreamy look on her face. “It’s… still so fascinating to me to see how the regular mortals – I guess I’m one of them now – live, having no idea what’s going on behind their backs… And I learned a lot of things about modern music that Apollo didn’t teach me. I know how to play the guitar now! But…” she hesitated a bit. “What about you?”

Leo got a strong feeling that she was actually going to say something else after that ‘but’. Her face told him that she was debating in her mind about something. Maybe she was even going to say she had missed him? But instead of asking about that, he answered Calypso's question.

“Decent, I guess, all things considered… Who would have thought that I enjoy teaching? But I guess it helped me that I could relate to those kids’ situations… and it’s kept me distracted from what happened with Jason…” He was looking down at his hands, hoping it would manage to keep him calm enough.

“Yeah…” Calypso seemed to be thinking about something for a while. Eventually she asked: “Hey, would you like to tell me more about him? I mean, what was he like?”

Leo was surprised by the request but he did what he was told to do.

“Jason… He always put the others’ happiness before his own. On the day we met, Piper was about to fall in a canyon but he jumped after her without knowing that he could fly. Crazy, I know, but that’s the kind of guy he was” He noticed that even though it hurt, he was now able to smile at the memory.

“I don’t remember if I’ve told this to you but Hera had messed with his memory; he didn’t remember almost anything about his past, but I think he took it all like a boss. If I had been in his boots I would have probably punched her in the face. Jason also accepted me as his friend even though…” Leo’s lip started trembling but he bit it and managed to continue: “Even though I had never had real friends before Piper and Jason and didn’t really know how to act around other people. That’s why the jokes. He was probably everything I wished I was - strong, smart, etc. - but never made a big deal out of it. He was so humble. After what happened with Dirt Face he probably thought he’d get to live a normal life and be a regular high school student, but...

“The Triumvirate…” Calypso said for him, having heard that part of the story before.

“Yeah,” Leo nodded sadly. “From what I’ve heard, Jason knew he would have to die in order to let Piper and the others survive and Apollo to succeed in his mission. He wasn’t like me, though. I hadn’t really accepted death when I decided to sacrifice myself against Potty Sludge so I used the Physician’s Cure. Jason, though… he had accepted his fate and he died knowing that Apollo would make things right. I’ve heard from Apollo that his last wishes were that no minor god would be forgotten again, and that Apollo would remember what it was like to be a human even after he becomes a god again. And to me it seems Apollo is holding to that promise. I know things won’t probably ever be perfect for us, but… if even one god is on our side… I feel like some things might improve at least for the next generation of demigods and… Jason didn’t die in vain.” He sighed, fiddling with his hands like always when he was dealing with difficult topics.

“So you think that Jason was the reason why Apollo was able to change?” Calypso asked.

“No, probably not the only reason, but… a reason nevertheless.” Leo said absentmindedly.

“Jason and you were willing to die for your cases. Sometimes I wonder… if giving up my immortality was the right choice, but hearing these stories makes me feel more peace with it. Life is short when you are a mortal and that’s why we should live it the fullest every day… and that’s why…” Calypso leaned towards Leo until their lips touched. It was a short and gentle kiss but it made Leo flustered and worried he might accidentally burn something.

“W-what was that for?” he stuttered when they broke apart.

“Stupid. You thought I found some hot clarinet guys from the camp and forgot about you?”

“You still… love me?” Leo asked in return. Even though he technically knew it (how else would he have gotten out of Ogygia in the first place?), it wasn’t something Calypso said aloud often and especially after the events of the past couple of months Leo had had a lot of doubt in his mind. Hearing it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he felt a smile spread on his face automatically.

“We may argue sometimes and you may be kind of insufferable when you’re in that mood but after taking some time to think I recognize that I am at fault too for the issues we’ve had and I am willing to admit that. Sometimes I’ve blamed you for things that were not your fault and I’m sorry about that. Besides, I see that you have learned a thing or two while I was gone. Not calling me Mamacita is a good start. So, yes, Leo Valdez. Se filo.

Even though Leo hadn’t spent a lot of time learning Ancient Greek at Camp Half-Blood, he still knew what Calypso’s line meant. His heart suddenly feeling full, he had to admit that the line felt more powerful when said in your first language. But there was a language even more near and dear to him than Spanish; one that his mother had taught him when he had been very young, one that he had repeated countless and countless times when missing her. During their flight from Ogygia back to the States he had taught a certain rhythm to Calypso so she knew the meaning too. When he started tapping against the back of her hand, a small sniffle came out of Calypso’s mouth.

“You haven’t done that in a long while,” she said quietly, her voice slightly cracked. “Gods, I feel I’ve been pretty selfish lately… All this time I have been thinking about my own struggles and have forgotten you have your own… yet your feelings towards me haven’t changed… You know, Apollo was right to get mad at me that one time.”

“What?” Leo asked, not understanding what Calypso was talking about.

“When we were on our way to that zoo…” she referred to the time when they had just arrived at Waystation. “Oh, never mind. What matters is that I see more clearly now. I’m not sure if I’m much better than those men who left me in Ogygia.”

“Of course you are!” Leo exclaimed. “You were stuck there for thousands of years! I… can’t even imagine… being forced to fall in love that many times and having to watch all of them go… I would have gone nuts. Thinking about it, I find it crazy that you didn’t just throw me out of your island. You deserved something better.”

“Leo…” Calypso said, turning his face towards her gently. “I think the fact that you weren’t exactly the type of hero that I was hoping for back then was the reason why things ended up going differently with you. I did not fall for you because of the curse. I fell for you despite that. And… after spending so much time together without having any time off from each other, I… started taking things for granted and forgot to be grateful. I owe you a lot. But I want to make it clear that that’s not why I want to be with you. I want to be with you for you. Sarcasm and bad puns included. And that’s what I remembered while I was gone.”

“Hey, Cal…” Leo removed Calypso’s hand from his jaw and took it into his. “I think we’ve both been faulty for these issues. The others here have made me realize that I haven’t exactly been the best boyfriend material either. I don’t talk about my issues. I make jokes at moments when I shouldn’t and probably make you think I don’t take our relationship seriously. Like that one time when I compared it to machines. I… I think I can see now why that annoyed you but that’s just how I roll. A machine geek and a clown. Those will probably always be a part of who I am so I’m not gonna promise that I’m just gonna magically change. But what I can promise is that I will try to make you see that I do take this seriously. Because I do.”

Calypso gave him a small, genuine smile and squeezed Leo’s hand slightly.

“I believe you. And… maybe we’re just one of those couples who enjoy bickering. What’s a life without challenge?”

Leo chuckled at that. “Wouldn’t have said it better myself, Sunshine.”

“I haven’t given my permission for the nickname ‘Sunshine’…” Calypso gave Leo a pointed look, which however quickly melted into a mischievous smile. “But we’ll see about that. More seriously speaking, though… I should try to keep my temper in check more as well. That doesn’t mean that I won’t call you out, though, when you deserve it.” She nudged him playfully.

“That’s fair enough,” Leo admitted too, giving her a lopsided smile.

“Yeah… Listen,” Calypso said suddenly. “In case you still doubt my commitment… I have something to show you.”

She went to her desk and took some papers out of the drawer.

“Here. Something I found on Ogygia after you left. Thought you might want to see it again.”

Leo took a closer look at the drawings and his mouth opened in surprise.

“You… these…” he said, dumbfounded.

“I just made Leo Valdez quiet? Miracles do happen.” Calypso teased but then turned her focus on the papers as well. It was a blueprint of a garage building Leo had drawn while stuck on Ogygia with Calypso. Besides Leo’s own workshop, there was a space for Calypso to do her work as well. For something that had been sketched in only a few hours, it seemed that he had still put a lot of thought into it. Even Annabeth Chase would have been proud of it.

“I… I wasn’t expecting to see these anymore,” Leo said with a hoarse voice, his eyes gleaming in the dim light of the room.

“But it was something you dreamed about, right?” Calypso asked, worried she had done something wrong.

“Yeah… still do.” Leo nodded, the papers shaking in his hands. “I didn’t think you’d remember…”

“I remember a lot more than you think I do,” Calypso said. “I used to be a titaness, remember? But… when I saw it I knew it was important to you and I kept it because it was my way to hold onto the hope that…” She swallowed. “That you would come back to me.”

Leo leaned in to give Calypso a kiss on her forehead. “And I did. Hey, wanna hear a secret? I took something from Ogygia to guide me back there. I think I still have it…”

He started fiddling with his toolbelt for a while before he found what he was looking for. It was a tiny piece of crystal from Calypso’s old cave.

“It was thanks to this that I got the astrolabe to work and managed to find back… You can have it.”

“But I…”

“It has done its job. It brought me to you. So, who is more suitable to carry it?”

“Thank you.” Calypso looked at the crystal with teary eyes. “It… may have been my prison but it was also a home… This… means a lot to me.”

“I hope it’ll remind you of the good things you experienced there. Not the bad," Leo said quietly.

“Yeah. Don’t worry, it… it will.”

“Good.”

Calypso leaned against Leo’s chest to calm herself down, getting his shirt wet but he didn’t complain. She didn’t move from there for a long time, and Leo was starting to get a bit worried before she finally lifted her head and swiped her nose on a tissue Leo dug for her from his toolbelt. Then she looked at him with her puffy eyes, somehow still looking good in Leo’s opinion.

“I don’t know what just happened there…” She mumbled. “I guess… this whole past year… or more… has been a lot. Yet I haven’t been able to cry even once… Somehow it just all flooded out of me now.” “’s OK.” Leo said, stroking Calypso’s long hair. “Trust me, I’ve been feeling that way… well, probably since I was 8.”

“When your mom…”

“Yeah,” Leo nodded. “But wanna hear a weird thing? Even though things haven’t exactly been easy for us… Right now I’m feeling more balanced than in a long time.”

“And why is that?” Calypso asked.

“This is gonna sound cheesy as hell but I think it’s because I’ve finally found a home. No, I don’t mean Waystation as a place, although I admit it’s cool as heck and the only place about as safe as Camp Half-Blood. But I mean the people here. You guys make it home.”

Even though Leo didn’t say it aloud, his eyes told Calypso that he wanted to say ‘especially you’. She understood.

“I think… I feel the same way,” she said.

Leo brushed a strand of her hair aside from her face and leaned in to kiss her. The gesture made Calypso happy because so far Leo hadn’t been the one to initiate the more romantic displays of affection, even though she sometimes wished he would. It might have been a bit sloppy, but neither minded, just enjoying the warmth of the kiss.

After they finally separated, they continued talking for a long time, occasionally bickering, but it cleared the air between them. Calypso wanted to teach Leo to play the guitar (“But what if it makes me too irresistible? You’ll have to drive all the ladies away!” “You have a bit too high expectations on yourself, Leonidas.”). Leo told her about his pupils’ and Georgina’s most recent shenanigans. They also ended up speculating about Apollo’s plans now that he was a god again and reminiscing the times on Ogygia. At some point Leo dug the Valdezinator from his toolbelt and got Calypso to sing along to the music, making both a bit emotional again but in a good way. They fell asleep huddled in each other’s arms on the couch and didn’t even care when Jo and Emmie found them there the next morning, giving them quite a scolding again.

#caleo #leo valdez #calypso #trials of apollo #heroes of olympus #my fics #tower of nero #percy jackson and the olympians

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mvndrvke-archive · 5 years ago

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bless you honestly????

trigger warnings : homophobia / anxiety / death / references to ww2

scene : nico and jason vs cupid ( h.ouse of hades, can’t remember what chapter but it’s jason’s pov so if that helps, cool.

if you want a shortened version of this rant, there’s a lot about it in my post about where i divert from canon with nico, which you can read here.

i’m gonna put this under a read more since i got A LOT to say on it.

send me a topic to write a meta about my muse on // accepting! // @greektides

alright. so. the scene where nico and jason fight cupid is a pivotal and necessary part of house of hades-- they need the sceptre to save their friends, blah blah blah, we all know what the deal is. this chapter gives me a LOT of stuff to work with when it comes to things like nico’s powers, his anxieties, his feelings for percy, etc. bUT. as an arc for nico, it’s so fucked up. yes, i will concede that nico is not the type of person to just talk openly about his feelings, especially when it comes to percy. BUT i think this chapter deserves a lot of criticism for various aspects, so buckle up kiddos because we’re about to tear this thing apart.

i shall be rating these with brownie points. as nico is rick’s character ( technically, he’s mine now and you can’t tell me otherwise ), i shall give rick ten (10) brownie points to start with.

BROWNIE COUNT : 10 brownies

THINGS THAT I TOOK FROM THIS CHAPTER THAT SUPPORT WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT NICO BEFORE THIS SCENE

there’s a lot that we can take away from this. like, a lot. which is great, and most of those parts don’t actually have anything to do with the fucked up way that nico is forced to come out, but his emotions and the way he reacts to being forced into a corner. nico is not a character that gets stuck in situations where he’s powerless ( though i will concede that he has been captured more than once. but no one asked him in those situations to reveal incredibly private details about his life in order to get out of said trouble )-- he’s an incredibly powerful demigod that i would say surpasses the more major demigods like jason and percy in a lot of ways when it comes to the strength of his powers and his ability to wield them.

but that’s a whole other thing. my point here being that we’ve seen nico lash out when he gets stuck. and really, that holds true in this chapter. he really keeps his chin up for most of the chapter, and his Attitude remains-- aka his determination to never show fear or let himself be put in a position where he has to listen when someone tells him to shut up ( great examples of this-- nico’s first scene in titan’s curse where he yells at a fuckin MANTICORE who’s being mean to bianca, also the scene in i THINK the last olympian when-- imma quote this-- percy says “The lord of the dead paced up and down, holding his ears while Nico followed him, waving his arms.” which honestly, iconic ). a few parts in this chapter ( well, lines ) where i’d like to highlight this are the following--

‘I don’t serve anyone,’ Nico muttered. ‘Especially not Cupid.’

[ ... ]

Next to him, a wall collapsed. Jason barely managed to roll aside.

‘Stop it!’ Nico yelled. ‘It’s me you want. Leave him alone!’

[ ... ]

‘I’ve been to Tartarus and back,’ Nico snarled. ‘You don’t scare me.’

he defends his friends, he pushes back, he doesn’t let himself be defeated even though he has to admit he was in love with percy. and for that, rick may have two (2) brownie points.

BROWNIE COUNT : 12 brownies

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:·ﾟ✧ nice job so far! *:·ﾟ✧

the next thing that i think this chapter supports is that nico is incredibly strong. his powers are honestly unlike any others we see in the series-- he’s able to hold his own against a LOT. specifically in this chapter, i admired his ability to take a moment of high stress and utilize his powers in a productive ( but ultimately unsuccessful ) way. here we go--

“Nico,” [ Jason ] called, “what does this guy want from you?” ‘Tell him, Nico di Angelo,’ Cupid said. ‘Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone.’ Nico let loose a guttural scream. The ground at his feet split open and skeletons crawled forth– dead Romans with missing hands and caved-in skulls, cracked ribs, and jaws unhinged [ … ] [ ... ] Meanwhile, Nico’s Roman skeletons surged forward and grappled with something invisible. The god struggled, flinging the dead aside, breaking off ribs and skulls, but the skeletons kept coming, pinning the god’s arms.

nico summons a bunch of skeleton soldiers and battles a god with them, he cracks open the earth, etc. and STILL has the strength and power to shadow travel with jason out of there once they get the sceptre. he’s fuckin STRONG. i appreciate this part because it shows how powerful nico is, and ( i love jason i don’t want anyone to think that i don’t love and respect jason as a character ) kinda how he’s more powerful than jason in some respects, though it’s hard to compare their powers. but watch me do it anyway!

The skeletons had Cupid pinned now, but the invisible god laughed so cruelly that Jason wanted to summon another bolt of lightning. Unfortunately, he doubted he had the strength.

for remembering that nico is incredibly powerful in this scene, i shall give rick one (1) brownie point.

BROWNIE COUNT : 13 brownies

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:·ﾟ✧ you haven’t fucked it up yet! *:·ﾟ✧

nico being reluctant to share personal information / feelings / etc. so important. like that’s most of this chapter is his unwillingness to share his own thoughts and emotions ( emotions i’ll go more in depth with later ). but we see nico here when he’s trying to still keep his feelings for percy private, he goes so far to try and keep that to himself. we also need to consider how angry/upset nico gets when cupid tries to out him. he’s PISSED. he’s SCARY. he lashes out with his powers, which is a common theme for nico throughout the books, but when he’s defending himself, he goes into attack mode. this line is super important--

Waves of darkness rolled off the son of Hades. When they hit Jason, he almost lost consciousness – overwhelmed by hatred and fear and shame …

nico is upset, and he projects. it’s kinda unclear whether or not the flashes of memories that jason sees are because nico snapped or because cupid made him see them, but either way, nico guards his personal feelings and emotions so intensely that jason nearly passes the fuck out from it. for remembering that nico isn’t one to share details about himself, even to people he’s close to, i shall give rick half (0.5) a brownie point.

BROWNIE COUNT : 13.5 brownies

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:·ﾟ✧ you’re doing great so far! *:·ﾟ✧

nico is aware of his own importance. he knows that he’s the one cupid is after, even before jason does. he understands EXACTLY what cupid wants in return for the sceptre. i don’t have much to say about this, but for acknowledging that nico’s confidence in his own importance is a key part of his personality, i shall give rick one (1) brownie point.

BROWNIE COUNT : 14.5 brownies

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:·ﾟ✧ this is so fucking upsetting! *:·ﾟ✧

nico isolates himself like crazy. he has since titan’s curse when he ran away, and has consistently continued doing so until the glossed over switch from loner to “i got a doctor’s note so i can be social” which i’ve got a lot of thoughts on too but don’t have the time rn. he deflects, he gets hostile, he lashes out, he isolates himself. and he fully acknowledges all of those things in this chapter. here we go--

‘Stop hiding,’ Cupid said [ … ] ‘You do not have the strength.’ “Nico,” Jason managed to say, “it’s okay. I get it.” Nico glanced over, pain and misery washing across his face. “No, you don’t,” he said. “There’s no way you can understand.” ‘And so you run away again,’ Cupid chihded. ‘From your friends, from yourself.’ “I don’t have friends!” Nico yelled. “I left Camp Half-Blood because I didn’t belong! I’ll never belong!”

i’ll allow this. it’s really important to who nico is, and honestly without this, he wouldn’t be the nico di angelo we see today. for having nico fight so strongly over this for as long as he does, i shall give rick one (1) brownie point.

BROWNIE COUNT : 15.5 brownies

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:·ﾟ✧ time for a shitty history lesson! *:·ﾟ✧

to rick’s credit i guess, he does acknowledge that nico was born and raised in italy for most of his life. he kinda gives that a little more information in this chapter by emphasizing that part of nico’s issue with coming out is because of the era he was raised in.

“I don’t feel that way anymore,” Nico muttered. “I mean, I gave up on Percy. I was young and impressionable, and I– I don’t…” His voice cracked, and Jason could tell the guy was about to get teary-eyed. Whether Nico had really given up on Percy or not, Jason couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Nico all those years, keeping a secret that would’ve been unthinkable to share in the 1940s, denying who he was, feeling completely alone– even more isolated than other demigods.

nico grew up in the 30s/40s in pre-WW2 italy. read more about this here. rick does address nico’s shame about actually liking percy here--

All the fight and denial seemed to go out of Nico at once. The darkness subsided. The Roman dead collapsed into bones and crumbled to dust. “I hated myself,” Nico said. “I hated Percy Jackson.”

nico’s got plenty of reason to dislike percy, and this KINDA makes sense to me. do i think the two are connected, nico’s self loathing and his hatred of percy? not really. but the fact that rick actually acknowledges that part of nico’s reluctance to share personal information about his sexuality is due to how he was raised is something that shall earn rick half (0.5) a brownie point.

BROWNIE COUNT : 16 brownies

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:·ﾟ✧ time to get angry about shit! *:·ﾟ✧

POINTS WHERE I DRAW SOME FUCKIN ISSUE WITH THINGS SAID

right off the bat, i feel like i need to say that overall, i have incredibly mixed feelings this chapter. i value the information about nico we get and the glimpse into his mentality, his powers, and his feelings in general. BUT it’s fucked up. i think we can all agree on that nico gets outed in an incredibly painful and cruel way as part of a game. were there better ways to do this? yes. give nico some fucking development when it comes to him being open about his life instead of outing him for funsies.

i talk about this A LOT, but it’s wildly unfair of rick to put the motivations for nico’s actions when it comes to percy on nico’s love for him in the way he goes about it. nico’s in love with percy, i will happily accept that. it makes sense and yea, it explains a lot of his actions. BUT i HATE the idea that nico acted out of his desire to win percy over, which is something rick has nico state in canon. fuck that. no. let’s cut this into ribbons and wrap this puppy up--

[ … ] Nico’s voice was like broken glass. “I–I wasn’t in love with Annabeth.” “You were jealous of her,” Jason said. “That’s why you didn’t want to be around her. Especially why you didn’t want to be around… him. It makes total sense.”

fuck everything about this, thanks. i will concede that he is jealous and even a little resentful of percy’s relationship with annabeth, and he and annabeth are never best buddies. he’s not close to her. but he runs around constantly saving percy’s ass. he’s not avoiding him. everyone would be dead like twenty times over if it wasn’t for nico intervening. he’s not running around trying to get rid of annabeth so he can win percy. that’s not who he is, and he’s not avoiding percy either. he’s not his best pal hanging around with him all the time, he does run from his feelings, but making it sound like nico’s sole reason for not hanging around with the main squad is because of his feelings for percy is kinda bullshit. it ignores everything else about nico’s reasons for isolating himself.

if anything, i’d argue that nico’s feelings towards percy are what motivate him to put his life on the line for him so many times. it’s what keeps him going back-- he wants percy to be safe, and while he’s not annabeth’s #1 fan, she makes percy happy, so he’s not going to step on that because of his own feelings.

so no, i disagree that nico isolates himself because of his feelings for percy. because if that’s the case, why the hell does he keep helping them out?

because of this, i shall be taking away three (3) brownie points.

BROWNIE COUNT : 13 brownies

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:·ﾟ✧ time to get angry about shit! *:·ﾟ✧

this bullshit--

He watched Nico with satisfaction, as if he’d identified the exact spot for his next arrow to make a clean kill.

‘I had a crush on Percy,’ Nico spat. ‘That’s the truth. That’s the big secret.’ He glared at Cupid. ‘Happy now?’

For the first time, Cupid’s gaze seemed sympathetic. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t say Love always makes you happy.’ His voice sounded smaller, much more human. ‘Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you’ve faced it now. That’s the only way to conquer me.’

Cupid dissolved into the wind.

okay yea, let’s just out a kid and act like somehow that solves nico’s problems. he’s pissed that jason tells him the others will support him, and then just kinda accepts it on his own i guess???? there’s chapters from nico’s pov. if you’re gonna do this reveal and you’re going to make a huge deal out of it like this chapter does, at least put some time and consideration into nico’s mentality going forward. it’s unfair and like a lot, it just gets glossed over like it’s nothing once the scene is over, other than a few more references to it and the magical appearance of will solace in toa ( i will say now that i truly love and appreciate will and nico’s relationship, and i’m glad he’s got a successful relationship in the series, even if i really hated that book ). for one of the characters that actually has chapters from his pov ( especially in blood of olympus ), nico gets very little consideration when it comes to all the shit he’s gone through and had to do. getting outed is really shitty and messes with your head, and i think in nico’s case it would make him shut down and not want to tell anyone else. there was ample opportunity for this reveal to happen in other ways, or at least address it since it did, and he didn’t.

because of how little rick seems to give a shit about this affecting nico and like. his lack of addressing it later except having nico abruptly come out to percy ( not a huge fan of the way that scene went either but i don’t have time for that either ), i shall be taking away five (5) brownie points.

BROWNIE COUNT : 8 brownies

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:·ﾟ✧ but it’s not all garbage! *:·ﾟ✧

WHAT I TAKE FROM THIS SCENE IN MY INTERPRETATION OF NICO

nico has anxiety. and a lot of it! i do appreciate in this chapter that we get to see some of that, like his ability to kill plants with the pure power of anxiety. i use this a lot in my interpretation of nico, as anxiety is a big part of who he is and how he behaves and how others behave in regards to him. we see that nico’s negative feelings can be projected onto other people ( in this chapter, that’s jason ), and in my version of nico, that’s a big reason why he hates being around others, actually, because he’s anxious about them disliking him, which projects his anxiety, which makes them anxious around him, and it all just cycles and builds until he has to leave.

nico actually has a goddamn backstory. again, there’s a bit of a callback to his childhood in italy/him growing up in the 30s/40s. this is super important to nico’s growth and later behavior, so i appreciate us getting something i can use from there in terms of how this impacted the rest of nico’s life and behavior.

nico is reluctant to come out to others. obviously ( or not so obviously, rick pls focus on the consequences of your characters and their actions ) this experience is traumatic for nico, and combined with his already pre-established fears, nico does NOT want to come out. and he doesn’t. before he gets together with will, nico has come out to : jason, percy, annabeth, hazel, and reyna. he’s also technically out to hades i guess. he never gets to/had come out to maria and bianca. go read why. he’s obviously uncomfortable in toa when will calls him his boyfriend, which is why i believe and play nico with this fear which was only intensified by the fact that he didn’t get to come out on his own terms the first time.

nico isn’t still holding bianca’s death against percy. he uses past tense. “I hated Percy Jackson.” i don’t think that nico can go through and do everything he does and still hold onto his hate. the fact that he hated percy for bianca’s death made his feelings shameful in his mind, he stopped hating percy and started hating himself instead. i don’t believe that nico is ever able to trust percy again, but he doesn’t hate him anymore.

nico doesn’t have perfect control over his powers. he kills grass. he hits jason with his fear powers. it’s not on purpose, it’s just an unfortunate side effect of his own fears/anxieties and his inability to fine-tune his gifts. we know that nico is strong but we don’t see a ton of him being out of control with his powers. he’s mostly got his shit together, but he’s still a kid. the expectation that he’s perfect/totally in control isn’t fair.

*:·ﾟ:·ﾟᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ i gotta go cry now excuse me *:·ﾟ✧

alright so yea. that’s what i’ve got to say on that. if you’ve read this whole thing, honestly, nice job?? enjoy this quality gif of smiley nico as your prize and thanks for reading???

#meme replies #nda headcanons #( i think i’m running out of time || musings; nico di angelo )#homophobia tw #anxiety tw #death tw #goD this took forever #in my defense celine said spare no detail

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lake-lyn · 6 years ago

Text

EW’s exclusive excerpt of The Tyrant’s Tomb by Rick Riordan (2/2)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Dude, this isn’t cool

Dude just tried to eat my dude

That’s my dead dude, dude

I like flying cars. I prefer it when the car is actually capable of flight, however.

As the hearse achieved zero gravity, I had a few microseconds to appreciate the scenery below—a lovely little lake edged with eucalyptus trees and walking trails, a small beach on the far shore, where a cluster of evening picnickers relaxed on blankets.

Oh, good, some small part of my brain thought. Maybe we’ll at least land in the water.

Then we dropped—not toward the lake, but toward the trees.

A sound like Luciano Pavarotti’s high C in Don Giovanni issued from my throat. My hands glued themselves to the wheel.

As we plunged into the eucalypti, the ghoul disappeared from our roof—almost as if the tree branches had purposefully swatted him away. Other branches seemed to bend around the hearse, slowing our fall, dropping us from one leafy cough-drop-scented bough to another, until we hit the ground on all four wheels with a jarring thud. Too late to do any good, the airbags deployed, shoving my head against the backrest.

Yellow amoebas danced in my eyes. The taste of blood stung my throat. I clawed for the door handle, squeezed my way out between the airbag and the seat, and tumbled onto a bed of cool soft grass.

“Blergh,” I said.

I heard Meg retching somewhere nearby. At least that meant she was still alive. About ten feet to my left, water lapped at the shore of the lake. Directly above me, near the top of the largest eucalyptus tree, our ghoulish blueblack friend was snarling and writhing, trapped in a cage of branches.

I struggled to sit up. My nose throbbed. My sinuses felt like they were packed with menthol rub. “Meg?”

She staggered into view around the front of the hearse. Ring-shaped bruises were forming around her eyes—no doubt courtesy of the passenger-side airbag. Her glasses were intact but askew. “You suck at swerving.”

“Oh, my gods!” I protested. “You ordered me to—” My brain faltered. “Wait. How are we alive? Was that you who bent the tree branches?”

“Duh.” She flicked her hands, and her twin golden scimitars flashed into existence. Meg used them like ski poles to steady herself. “They won’t hold that monster much longer. Get ready.”

“What?” I yelped. “Wait. No. Not ready!”

I pulled myself to my feet with the driver’s-side door.

Across the lake, the picnickers had risen from their blankets. I suppose a hearse falling from the sky had gotten their attention. My vision was blurry, but something seemed odd about the group. . . . Was one of them wearing armor? Did another have goat legs?

Even if they were friendly, they were much too far away to help.

I limped to the hearse and yanked open the backseat door. Jason’s coffin appeared safe and secure in the rear bay. I grabbed my bow and quiver. My ukulele had vanished somewhere underneath the inflated airbags. I would have to do without it.

Above, the creature howled, thrashing in its branch cage.

Meg stumbled. Her forehead was beaded with sweat. Then the ghoul broke free and hurtled downward, landing only a few yards away. I hoped the creature’s legs might have broken on impact, but no such luck. It took a few steps, its feet punching wet craters in the grass, before it straightened and snarled, its pointy white teeth like tiny mirror-image picket fences.

“KILL AND EAT!” it screamed.

What a lovely singing voice. The ghoul could’ve fronted any number of Norwegian death metal groups.

“Wait!” My voice was shrill. “I—I know you.” I wagged my finger, as if that might crank-start my memory. Clutched in my other hand, my bow shook. The arrows rattled in my quiver. “H-hold on, it’ll come to me!”

The ghoul hesitated. I’ve always believed that most sentient creatures like to be recognized. Whether we are gods, people, or slavering ghouls in vulture-feather loincloths, we enjoy others knowing who we are, speaking our names, appreciating that we exist.

Of course, I was just trying to buy time. I hoped Meg would catch her breath, charge the creature, and slice it into putrid ghoul pappardelle. At the moment, though, it didn’t seem that she was capable of using her swords for anything but crutches. I supposed controlling gigantic trees could be tiring, but honestly, couldn’t she have waited to run out of steam until after she killed Vulture Diaper?

Wait. Vulture diaper . . . I took another look at the ghoul: its strange mottled blue-and-black hide, its milky eyes, its oversize mouth and tiny nostril slits. It smelled of rancid meat. It wore the feathers of a carrion eater . . .

“I do know you,” I realized. “You’re a eurynomos.”

I dare you to try saying you’re a eurynomos when your tongue is leaden, your body is shaking from terror, and you’ve just been punched in the face by a hearse’s airbag.

The ghoul’s lips curled. Silvery strands of saliva dripped from his chin. “YES! FOOD SAID MY NAME!”

“B-but you’re a corpse-eater!” I protested. “You’re supposed to be in the Underworld, working for Hades!”

The ghoul tilted its head as if trying to remember the words Underworld and Hades. It didn’t seem to like them as much as kill and eat.

“HADES GAVE ME OLD DEAD!” it shouted. “THE MASTER GIVES ME FRESH!”

“The master?”

“THE MASTER!”

I really wished Vulture Diaper wouldn’t scream. It didn’t have any visible ears, so perhaps it had poor volume control. Or maybe it just wanted to spray that gross saliva over as large a radius as possible.

“If you mean Caligula,” I ventured, “I’m sure he’s made you all sorts of promises, but I can tell you, Caligula is not—”

“HA! STUPID FOOD! CALIGULA IS NOT THE MASTER!”

“Not the master?”

“NOT THE MASTER!”

“MEG!” I shouted. Ugh. Now I was doing it.

“Yeah?” Meg wheezed. She looked fierce and warlike as she granny-walked toward me with her sword-crutches. “Gimme. Minute.”

It was clear she would not be taking the lead in this particular fight. If I let Vulture Diaper anywhere near her, it would kill her, and I found that idea 95 percent unacceptable.

“Well, eurynomos,” I said, “whoever your master is, you’re not killing and eating anyone today!”

I whipped an arrow from my quiver. I nocked it in my bow and took aim, as I had done literally millions of times before, but it wasn’t quite as impressive with my hands shaking and my knees wobbling.

Why do mortals tremble when they’re scared, anyway? It seems so counterproductive. If I had created humans, I would have given them steely determination and superhuman strength during moments of terror.

The ghoul hissed, spraying spit.

“SOON THE MASTER’S ARMIES WILL RISE AGAIN!” it bellowed. “WE WILL FINISH THE JOB! I WILL SHRED FOOD TO THE BONE, AND FOOD

WILL JOIN US!”

Food will join us? My stomach experienced a sudden loss of cabin pressure. I remembered why Hades loved these eurynomoi so much. The slightest cut from their claws caused a wasting disease in mortals. And when those mortals died, they rose again as what the Greeks called vrykolakas—or, in TV parlance, zombies.

That wasn’t the worst of it. If a eurynomos managed to devour the flesh from a corpse, right down to the bones, that skeleton would reanimate as the fiercest, toughest kind of undead warrior. Many of them served as Hades’s elite palace guards, which was a job I did not want to apply for.

“Meg?” I kept my arrow trained on the ghoul’s chest. “Back away. Do not let this thing scratch you.”

“But—”

“Please,” I begged. “For once, trust me.”

Vulture Diaper growled. “FOOD TALKS TOO MUCH! HUNGRY!”

It charged me.

I shot.

The arrow found its mark—the middle of the ghoul’s chest—but it bounced off like a rubber mallet against metal. The Celestial-bronze point must have hurt, at least. The ghoul yelped and stopped in its tracks, a steaming puckered wound on its sternum. But the monster was still very much alive. Perhaps if I managed twenty or thirty shots at that exact same spot, I could do some real damage.

With trembling hands, I nocked another arrow. “Th-that was just a warning!” I bluffed. “The next one will kill!”

Vulture Diaper made a gurgling noise deep in its throat. I hoped it was a delayed death rattle. Then I realized it was only laughing. “WANT ME TO EAT DIFFERENT FOOD FIRST? SAVE YOU FOR DESSERT?”

It uncurled its claws, gesturing toward the hearse.

I didn’t understand. I refused to understand. Did it want to eat the airbags? The upholstery?

Meg got it before I did. She screamed in rage.

The creature was an eater of the dead. We were driving

a hearse.

“NO!” Meg shouted. “Leave him alone!”

She lumbered forward, raising her swords, but she was in no shape to face the ghoul. I shouldered her aside, putting myself between her and the creature, and fired my arrows again and again.

They sparked off the creature’s blue-black hide, leaving steaming, annoyingly nonlethal wounds. Vulture Diaper staggered toward me, snarling in pain, its body twitching from the impact of each hit.

It was five feet away.

Two feet away, its claws splayed to shred my face.

Somewhere behind me, a female voice shouted, “HEY!”

The sound distracted Vulture Diaper just long enough for me to fall courageously on my butt. I scrambled away from the ghoul’s claws.

Vulture Diaper blinked, confused by its new audience. About ten feet away, a ragtag assortment of fauns and dryads, perhaps a dozen total, were all attempting to hide behind one gangly pink-haired young woman in Roman legionnaire armor.

The girl fumbled with some sort of projectile weapon. Oh, dear. A manubalista. A Roman heavy crossbow. Those things were awful. Slow. Powerful. Notoriously unreliable. The bolt was set. She cranked the handle, her hands shaking as badly as mine.

Meanwhile, to my left, Meg groaned in the grass, trying to get back on her feet. “You pushed me,” she complained, by which I’m sure she meant Thank you, Apollo, for saving my life.

The pink-haired girl raised her manubalista. With her long, wobbly legs, she reminded me of a baby giraffe. “G-get away from them,” she ordered the ghoul.

Vulture Diaper treated her to its trademarked hissing and spitting. “MORE FOOD! YOU WILL ALL JOIN THE KING’S DEAD!”

“Dude.” One of the fauns nervously scratched his belly under his PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BERKELEY T-shirt. “That’s not cool.”

“Not cool,” several of his friends echoed.

“YOU CANNOT OPPOSE ME, ROMAN!” the ghoul snarled. “I HAVE ALREADY TASTED THE FLESH OF YOUR COMRADES! AT THE BLOOD MOON, YOU WILL JOIN THEM—”

THWUNK.

An Imperial gold crossbow bolt materialized in the center of Vulture Diaper’s chest. The ghoul’s milky eyes widened in surprise. The Roman legionnaire looked just as stunned.

“Dude, you hit it,” said one of the fauns, as if this offended his sensibilities.

The ghoul crumbled into dust and vulture feathers. The bolt clunked to the ground.

Meg limped to my side. “See? That’s how you’re supposed to kill it.”

“Oh, shut up,” I grumbled.

We faced our unlikely savior.

The pink-haired girl frowned at the pile of dust, her chin quivering as if she might cry. She muttered, “I hate those things.”

“Y-you’ve fought them before?” I asked.

She looked at me like this was an insultingly stupid question.

One of the fauns nudged her. “Lavinia, dude, ask who these guys are.”

“Um, right.” Lavinia cleared her throat. “Who are you?”

I struggled to my feet, trying to regain some composure. “I am Apollo. This is Meg. Thank you for saving us.”

Lavinia stared. “Apollo, as in—”

“It’s a long story. We’re transporting the body of our friend, Jason Grace, to Camp Jupiter for burial. Can you help us?”

Lavinia’s mouth hung open. “Jason Grace . . . is dead?”

Before I could answer, from somewhere across Highway 24 came a wail of rage and anguish.

“Um, hey,” said one of the fauns, “don’t those ghoul things usually hunt in pairs?”

Lavinia gulped. “Yeah. Let’s get you guys to camp. Then we can talk about”—she gestured uneasily at the hearse—“who is dead, and why.”

#ttt #the tyrants tomb #the tyrant’s tomb #rick riordan

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thecomicsnexus · 6 years ago

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ARSENAL #1-4 OCTOBER 1998 - JANUARY 1999 BY DEVIN GRAYSON, RICK MAYS, KARL STORY AND JASON MARTIN

SYNOPSIS (from DC Wikia)

Arsenal has many things on his mind these days. A villain presented him a Red Arrow costume directly plugged from his mind and he is also looking for a babysitter to take care of his little daughter Lian. He also gets a surprise visit by Black Canary and, of course, they talk about the deceased Oliver Queen.

After a few minutes, four female mercenaries dressed as nurses enter his apartment. These women were sent by Babette Doubel. She is a daughter of Vandal Savage who started to clone brainless humans to be able to harvest replacement organs for her immortal father. Because Lian fell on her arm while crawling out of her playpen, Roy wants to take her to hospital while Dinah takes care of the heavily armed nurses. Before the nurses flee, one of them hands over a piece of paper to Dinah.

A little later Dinah meets Roy at the hospital. They think about the first time they met and how Black Canary helped him going cold turkey on heroin. A doctor has bad news for Roy because his daughter Lian might be in need of a kidney transplantation. Dinah shows him the list which has 15 names on it - including Roy Harper. But Dinah also recognizes the name Babette Doubel because Oracle and her are currently on the case of Babette's kidnapping also involving Vandal Savage. Dinah tells Roy about the villain looking for replacement organs and that Roy seems to be one of Savage's descendants. So Roy leaves his daughter with Dinah to look for Babette and perhaps be able to cure his daughter's illness by finding Savage

With Arsenal on a mission, Black Canary takes care of Roy's little daughter Lian. She continues talks with potential babysitters and finally hires the young woman Chanda Madan.

Meanwhile, Arsenal visits Checkmate hoping to receive some clues about the whereabouts of Vandal Savage. But in the end, its Oracle providing him the necessary information as Savage may be at a closed down health clinic. In that clinic, Arsenal finds the mercenary nurses who invaded his apartment earlier. This time Roy fights them all by himself and defeats the women pretty handily. Surprisingly, Green Arrow shows up at the clinic because he is looking for Vandal Savage as well. Despite this being difficult for Roy, he agrees to work together with the son of his mentor Oliver Queen. They sift through the clinic and they discover the laboratory where Babette Doubel was cloning babies to provide Vandal Savage with replacement organs. And seeing several discarded brainless babies is shocking for both Arsenal and Green Arrow

Arsenal, backed up by Green Arrow, is again being confronted by the mercenary nurses he defeated earlier. But this time Vandal Savage is with them and he confirms that Roy Harper is a distant relative of him. And Savage also thinks that the brainless babies cloned by Babette Doubel may be the key to save Roy's little daughter Lian. As Arsenal wants to know more about this, Savage decides to use one of his many magic tools to teleport away. This leaves Arsenal and Green Arrow once again on a confrontation with the mercenary nurses. And again, the women get defeated quite easily.

Pretty banged up, Roy returns to his apartment where he is greeted by Black Canary, but rarely acknowledges Lian's new babysitter Chanda Madan. Roy puts on a new costume, but suddenly Vandal Savage teleports into Lian's room and grabs the daughter of Arsenal. It is still unclear if Savage has something to do with Lian's illness and the necessary kidney transplantation. Arsenal attacks Savage and manages to get Lian out of his hands. Again, Savage teleports away, but to the surprise of Black Canary, he took Arsenal right with him.

Before materializing somewhere, Savage talks with Arsenal. He wants Arsenal not to compromise his secret laboratory because this move might also save Lian. Cleverly, Savage asks Arsenal if he thinks he will be lucky enough to save his daughter by himself? Roy thinks about all the bad luck he had in the past and now he to make a choice. If he decides to help Savage, he has to confront the police which was called by Green Arrow to shut down Savage's laboratory.

Arsenal cannot believe that he is actually fighting the police to protect the cloning laboratory of Vandal Savage. But it takes only a few moments until Roy decides to stop this. He throws away his weapons, but now the police officers continue to shoot at him.

Roy tries to hide in the clinic building and encounters Babette Doubel who like Roy is a descendant of Vandal Savage. She tells him that Savage also used this laboratory to create a virus to make children ill and, thus, being able to control their parents. Babette Doubel lost her son to this virus but now she has developed an antidote which will also work on Roy's daughter Lian.

After placing some explosives in the laboratory, Roy fools the cops by making it look as if Babette is his hostage. But then Vandal Savage appears again. Arsenal does not have the power to beat Savage, but the fight takes long enough for the time-bomb to explode at the right moment. Roy and Babette get of the building unscathed and they believe Savage teleported out of it. The police saw how Arsenal fought with Savage and therefore they leave him alone.

Days later Arsenal visits the Navajo tribe which raised him after his father left him in their reservation. And Roy is happy that Black Canary accompanied him to his third naming ceremony

REVIEW

There was a moment in the nineties when something called “amerimanga” was pretty popular. Even when not doing manga, several artists had a very cartoony style that was more acceptable at the time. You can see the influence of amerimanga in this story as the art feels like a blend of manga and american comics.

This story takes place after Green Arrow’s death, after Connor taking the mantle and just before the new Titans title (just “Titans”). Casually written by Devin Grayson, the Bendis of that time. Now, Devin Grayson is a very controversial writer, but for the most part, she would do this type of story, with a lot of dialogues and self-searching monologues. Not a bad thing when used properly, and it is the case for this story. Arsenal is at a moment in his life when he feels less than a sidekick and he is still trying to figure out who he is supposed to be. He is also a pessimist, or is he realistic?

When I said Devin Grayson was like Bendis, that includes characters that sound pretty much like her. Roy is a bit unique, but the rest of the cast jumps into his type of dialogue very easily. Well, at least it displays the affection between Dinah and Roy.

I give the story a score of 8

#dc #comics #review #1998 #1999 #modern age #roy harper #arsenal #speedy #rick mays #green arrow #black canary #titans #vandal savage #connor hawke

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problematiquecritique · 7 years ago

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@sweets-books-and-anime replied to your post “Solangelo is just so bad??? And not healthy?? I absolutely love Rick Riordan but...”

Would you mind explaining why you think so? I've always thought they were really cute and I just wanted to know why you think that

So I truthfully think that Solangelo has potential and could have been a lot better had Rick paired them the way he did. I've read some better explanations that I really liked and they go really in depth to certain aspects too and I'll link them because I recommend reading them.

My problem with Solangelo is what I think is a lot of anti-Solangelo's problem. The relationship is so rushed and it's not portrayed as the most healthy relationship in the world. Now, when I mean unhealthy, I don't mean that Will is out there actively mentally, physically, and/or emotionally abusing Nico or vice versa. By unhealthy I really mean it in the context in which their relationship happens.

Nico is a kid born in the 1940's where homosexuality was condemned and is not only struggling with his sexuality and his romantic feelings for his friend, he's also having to deal with his sister's death, his father's neglect and deceitful nature, isolation for being a child of the Big Three, and feeling put out for literally being from a different century. The boy is troubled and tortured and that's just from the events of Percy Jackson & the Olympians. That's not mentioning having to hide himself and become a social outcast for going back and forth between the Roman and Greek camps without tipping one off of the other, handling the revival of another sister, helping accomplish a prophecy, surviving Tartarus, and being forcibly outed. The poor boy has gone through so much trauma and he just needs a warm blanket and years to rest himself emotionally and mentally.

That being said, I don't think Rick handled Nico's sexuality well. The Heroes of Olympus was a mess beginning with The Mark of Athena. There was so much focus on romance and the plot was unnecessarily complex due to all of the subplots and there were way too many characters to keep track of. I think I would have been much happier with five kids for the prophecy if not three. It would have been much simpler. But anyway, Rick didn't handle a lot well in the books, one of them being Nico's sexuality. Rick has Nico forcibly outed which while does absolutely happen to tons of closeted LGBT+ people, it was very painful to read. I kind of apologized it, though, as Rick trying to amplify the pain in Nico's life and trying to portray a realistic route that some coming out's have taken. What really made me uncomfortable, though, was the way Nico just so seamlessly accepted his sexuality after being forcibly outed within a few weeks? days? (it's been a while since I read the last two books so my timeline is off but so is Rick's and he wrote the books) by coming up to Percy and admitting his crush on him, saying that he's over the childish crush, and then quickly moving on from Percy to Will after a few moments of interaction. I think I reread the parts involving Nico and Will several times because I did not believe what I was reading. How the hell does someone who's been so tortured in life by everyone including himself, just suddenly accept something as big as sexuality within a few moments because he met a cute boy that told him (rather rudely) that he needs to get over it because he's being delusional?

What I really don't like about the relationship is just, Nico is suddenly accepting of his sexuality because Will told him to get over himself. Not only was Will's comment very rude and unnecessary, it's just so improbable that Nico would fully believe that he's accepted for being a son of Hades and that his sexuality is very much ok because Will told him to get over it and that he's just being an angsty teen. If someone told me something like that, I wouldn't even consider dating them and would probably isolate myself further from people as it would feel pretty obvious that nobody is fully accepting as they're not trying to understand what I've gone through.

Honestly, Will Solace used to be one of my favorite characters. After The Last Olympian, I basically devoured The Lost Hero in hopes of getting to read more about him and I was happy to have those small snippets of him in that book. And I actually still like Will, only the pre-Blood of Olympus Will as he might as well be a different character in Blood of Olympus and forward as his personality is entirely different. And I'll admit, I did, and still do, ship Will with another character (Nyssa Barrera, thanks toff.net) but I could get behind Solangelo if it weren't for how Rick treated the characters.

I don't like how Nico was just paired with someone for the sake of pairing him with someone. Just about every main character ends up with someone by the end of Blood of Olympus, except Reyna and Leo doesn't explicitly end up with Calypso but it's pretty much implied (upset about that because I very much ship Leyna and would have loved to see I believe two of four of Rick's only explicitly Latinx characters get together, plus I feel like they're pretty compatible for each other). And sure, fine, I'm a sucker for romance but Nico didn't need to jump straight into a relationship right after being forcibly outed. He needed what Jason gave him: friendship and support (and I am not a Jasico shipper btw, I know a lot of Solangelo shippers claim that anti Solangelo shippers are all Jasico or Perico shippers which isn't always the case as some of us are neither). I feel like it would have not only made more sense, but also been healthier for Nico to focus less on romance and instead try to find solace in friends, not in Will (no pun intended). Nico needed time to heal and accept who he is and then slowly get into a relationship. Nico has had so many people use and manipulate him, I highly doubt he would immediately jump into a relationship with someone he just met. I think I would have felt slightly more comfortable had Nico and Will known each other personally for a while but none of the books give us any indication that they had a real conversation before the Blood of Olympus. I would have been happier with Solangelo being hinted at in the end of the series and then several months later, with the appearance of Lester/Apollo, Nico and Will having finally gotten together in a relationship that started out as a friendship and slowly developed into romance.

I think that fanon Solangelo is so much better than canon Solangelo. I still don't ship it, just an a preference, but fanon Solangelo I have to admit is cute. It's very sweet and adorable and that typical light and dark trope that a lot of people love. However, it's just fanon. And I feel like people forget that fact. A lot of Solangelo shippers get caught up in all of the cute headcanons they make up and stuff but they forget what's actually canon and I think that's kind of bad. Will doesn't treat Nico well. He bosses and pushes Nico around and it's treated as a joke and you know what, it could definitely have been funny and cute had Nico not gone through all of the traumatic experiences he had gone through. He needs to be treated with kid gloves because if Rick hadn't botched his character, it would have been obvious that Nico could have a huge mental break at any moment, if he hasn't already. And I don't like Nico's compliance to Will. Sure, I love Nico's rather dry and dark humor in The Trials of Apollo, it feels nature and like his sense of humor considering everything he's gone through, but he's so accepting of Will's rudeness and pushiness and it doesn't feel right. I've had some people that had been in abusive relationships say that Nico's compliance reminds them of themselves whenever they would get pushed around by their abusers. Now, I'm not a psychologist and really know abuse from what Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has taught me, but it's telling when an abuse survivor tells you that a fictional relationship reminds them of their abusive relationship(s).

I really think Solangelo could have been such a great ship had Rick not handled it the way he did. It's just a lot of layers to why I don't ship it and if Rick had done things differently, Solangelo could have been such a great relationship for LGBT+ readers to admire. As I tend to say about a lot of things: great idea, terrible execution.I highly recommend asking @artem-ace, @billyxkaplan, and @nikthan as they can give you some really good anti Solangelo explanations that isn't just "I don't like them because I like x ship/they're toxic/I just don't like it" and really dig deep into the story, although I fee like some of them come off as slightly anti-Will, they’re very thorough and well-spoken. I'll link you at the bottom to a few of my favorite posts of theirs but definitely check out their blogs.

x x x x

#sorry this got so long!#and that it took so long to answer!#anti solangelo #rr #text

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dagenspear · 7 years ago

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SUICIDE SQUAD Rewrite

Open on the Red Hood mask,the surface of it reflecting the ACE Chemicals Plant in it. Go through The Killing Joke origin where the Joker is a sad comedian forced into being the Red Hood and when Batman comes after him he pleads with him to not hurt him, that it’s just a mistake, but Batman doesn’t listen to him and throws him into the chemicals. Show him crawling out of the river and pulling off his hood to see his face bleached, his hair green and a sadistic smile on his face.

Then we cut to the Joker in Arkham Asylum and the whole scene was him telling the story to Dr. Harleen Quinzel.

The Joker says that he realizes now that the Batman victimizing him the way he did and it driving him insane is no excuse for what he’s done since then and that with Harleen’s help he’s now cured. He asks her if she can get a package from a friend of his and bring it to him during their next session.

She’s hesitant, but he tells her it’s just a family heirloom and it would really help him in his recovery. She agrees.

Cut to the Joker firing a machine gun in Arkham. And his men strapping Harley onto the electroshock table. When Joker shocks her brain, we cut to the opening title:

SUICIDE SQUAD

The Joker could be played by Alan Tudyk. But a cast change is not really needed.

Then cut to the conference scene where Amanda Waller tells them what she wants to do, that in Superman’s absence they need a force for humanity, to protect them should they ever be threatened again.

She gives the low down on the group, same deal, built in deniability etc.

The squad is comprised of Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Slipknot, El Diablo, Enchantress, Katana and Killer Croc, led by Rick Flag.

We see Deadshot, Boomerang, El Diablo, Enchantress, Katana and Killer Croc’s flashbacks. Katana is a volunteer.

One of the conference members asks how they are gonna keep Enchantress from getting her heart.

Waller explains that the box the heart is inside is made up of nth metal, which is magic proof and that they keep her brother’s statue locked in a vault completely lined with it.

They’re recruited.

Poison Ivy contacts the government, with the threat on a city that her plant spores will replace the concrete monstrosity of the city with plants and trees and tells them to evacuate everyone in the city or they’ll die with it.

She then begins, her plants growing in an empty building.

So Amanda Waller, because they have no knowledge of Poison Ivy’s thought process, decides to use Harley Quinn to find her.

FLASHBACK TO: After Jason Todd was murdered, Batman chases down and wrecks the Joker’s car, that he and Harley are in, onto a pier. Batman restrains Harley and beats the living crap out of the Joker, nearly killing him, but holds himself off. The Joker laughs in Batman’s face, saying that he’s disappointed in him, before setting off a bomb that blows up the pier, Harley falling into the water, Batman jumping in after her to save her. Joker is then presumed dead.

END FLASHBACK.

Harley, now locked up, has to be force fed her medication by several guards. Afterwards, Waller visits her and recruits her with the promise that she’ll be released so she can go get her psychotic boyfriend if she helps them find someone. Harley instantly agrees, not caring who.

When the team is assembled, they get their stuff and Harley gets a giant hammer excitedly that when Boomerang asks about she says it’s a surprise. Flag then takes it away. She pouts.

Boomerang pockets his exploding boomerangs.

Deadshot asks why he isn't gotten his heavy artillery back.

Flag tells he'll give him his grenade launcher, when he becomes a soldier.

Deadshot introduces himself to Harley, to which she responds, “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

Deadshot explains to her that he was hired to kill her once, but he rejected it. When she asks why, he tells her that he doesn’t kill victims.

She asks what that means.

He tells her that he knows what the Joker did to her.

She says that she’s been told that lie by her psychiatrists and the Bat, but they were just trying to get her to turn on her Mr. J. She insists that Deadshot shouldn’t believe everything he hears. He stays silent.

Harley asks who the soldiers are. Flag tells says it’s none of her concern.

Meanwhile one of Harley’s guards is captured by the Joker’s thugs and taken to him, where he interrogates him. He gives Joker everything about the situation.

The squad is briefed. When Harley finds out that it’s Poison Ivy, we FLASHBACK:

To the events of No Man’s Land, where the Joker is in a gunfight with the Penguin’s men and Harley’s shot several times, but the Joker leaves her there to die when he’s chased Then a barefoot woman walks up to Harley, grass and flowers growing in her footsteps, as she bleeds out.

Cut to Harley waking up with healing plant enzymes on her gunshot wounds, to Poison Ivy watching her in her lair, surrounded by children.

Harley asks Ivy why she saved her and Ivy says that she protects the helpless, it’s what she does. Harley is confused.

Ivy tells her that she was left to die and she couldn’t let a helpless victim of the Joker suffer that fate. Ivy proceeds to give the children food to eat.

Harley asks why the Bat hasn’t gotten her.

Ivy says that Batman has bigger problems with the city having undergone a massive earthquake that’s run out most regular people and left the city to the criminals and psychos. She continues that her and Batman have an arrangement, he brings her any lost, orphaned or abandoned children to take care of and he leaves her alone. Harley tries to leave on her own, but is stopped by Ivy, who tells her that she can’t leave yet, as her wounds aren’t fully healed yet. Harley thanks her for everything and she says that it was no problem. Harley and Ivy introduce themselves officially to eachother and shake hands.

Poison Ivy is played by Mary-Elizabeth Winstead.

END FLASHBACK.

The same scene where the Joker breaks into ARGUS’ computer hard-drives and has Harley’s bomb disabled.

The squad arrives on the scene and Flag confirms that the entire area has been evacuated and quarantined, so even if they could disable their bombs they couldn’t get out, the official story being there was an earthquake. Same basic scene with Slipknot.

They track down Ivy and confront her. They fight her plant people first, before they get to her. Deadshot sees El Diablo not fighting and gets onto him about it. Diablo blows him off, saying he won’t be a tool of violence and death anymore, he wants to do God’s will.

After a short battle, Enchantress possess' Ivy’s body. The squad tries to stop her, but she gives them traumatizing flashbacks to hold them off and fully possess Ivy, leaving June Moon’s body.

Deadshot’s flashbacks are of his dad abusing his mom when he was a child, beating her and him, him grabbing a gun and shooting his dad when he was going to kill her.

Harley’s flashbacks are of her suffering electroshock therapy by the Joker.

Katana’s are of her watching her husband being murdered with her sword.

Killer Croc’s are his parents locking him in their basement as a child and feeding him scraps of meat like an animal.

El Diablo’s are of his house burning around him.

Flag’s are of him seeing his mom die by being hit by a van as she pushes him out of the way of that car.

Flag shakes his off first and starts to aim his rifle at Enchantress as she’s still leaving June’s body, but hesitates to take the shot. Deadshot shakes his off just in time to see this.

Enchantress proceeds to bring the building they’re in down around them, the squad dodging the majority of the debris, but eventually all getting knocked out.

Amanda Waller becomes enraged and sets off the charge in the heart to destroy it. But it doesn’t work.

Enchantress teleports herself to ARGUS and confronts Waller, saying, “You should have done your research. My heart is only a weakness in a body that needs one. This body is unique. It doesn’t need a heart.” She places her heart back into her body, saying, “Now it can restore my full power without being a liability.”

Meanwhile Harley flashes back while out:

To Ivy trying to convince her not to go back to the Joker. Harley blows it off, saying that her puddin’ needs her, she’s his girl. Ivy tells her that she can be more than that.

END FLASHBACK.

Deadshot wakes Harley up as the rest of the squad gets itself together. They start to peace out only to be met with Flag holding the trigger to their nanite bombs, telling them that they have to stop Enchantress. They reluctantly agree. Flag wonders where she went, when June says that she’s gone to ARGUS.

When the squad asks her how she knows that, she tells them that she still has some sort of psychic connection with Enchantress. They ask why she's at ARGUS and June says that she’s going after those who kept her imprisoned. Her psychic link to Enchantress kicks in and June sees her tell Waller to take her to where her brother is being kept. June tells them that.

Flag states that they have to get back to their helicopter and get to ARGUS now to keep Enchantress and her brother from killing anymore people.

Deadshot says that he knows a shortcut through one of the neighborhoods.

They cut through the houses of a residential neighborhood, with Croc breaking down the doors.

They see a bar built into the house. Boomerang immediately tries to go for the alcohol, but is dragged back by his jacket by Flag.

Croc stops and looks solemnly at a picture of the family the home belongs to.

Harley steps in and makes a hypothesis about Croc’s psyche: That even though he pretends to be a monster, all he’s ever really wanted is societal acceptance. That based on his actions, she suspects that his anger, desire for acceptance and inferiority is rooted in child abuse.

Croc does admit that his family always saw him as a freak, as something to hide and lock away, but he’s happy the way he is, a creature that’s feared and respected.

Harley then remarks that she bets that he wishes that that was true.

They get to the building and go inside it.

When the squad gets up to the top where the helicopter is, they see that the helicopter has been destroyed. The group that was guarding the helicopter has been killed. All by Enchantress. Flag is infuriated.

The guards all form into monsters. Enchantress speaks through them to the squad, telling them that if they want to live, to leave her to do what she wants with Waller.

Most of them consider it, but Flag states that there is no way he’s going to let that happen. The rest of the squad begrudgingly agree, because they have to.

The monsters attack them and they fight throughout the building, going down the floors, but still staying in the top levels.

They can’t defeat them all.

Harley and Deadshot stop 1 together barely, Katana puts 3 down, Croc kills 1 barely, while Boomerang hides, but they’re pretty much overpowered.

Deadshot again sees El Diablo doing nothing in the battle and confronts him about it. Diablo says again that he won’t do violence, he won’t do evil anymore.

Deadshot asks him if he thinks God wants Enchantress to continue killing, if God wants him to hide and do nothing. Deadshot pushes him some more until finally he uses his powers to blow the monsters all away.

In the fight Katana’s sword gets knocked out of her hands and out a broken window. She freaks and tries to jump out after it, but is grabbed by Flag. Croc grabs the sword through the window from the floor just below Katana and Flag. Harley takes a moment to give Katana a knowing look of understanding and has a quick FLASHBACK:

Of her jumping into the vat at the ACE Chemicals plant of her own free will.

END FLASHBACK.

Harley and Deadshot have the same exchange about love.

After a brief few moments of calm, suddenly another helicopter swoops in with the Joker in it, piloted by his men, with more of his goons firing machine guns out the back. He calls Harley to him and she hesitates, torn between saving Ivy and going with him. She says, “Sorry Red” and goes to Joker. Flag tries to activate her nano-bomb, but it doesn’t work. Flag then pulls out his gun to kill Harley, but is shot in the side by a stray bullet. The helicopter starts to fly away. Flag gives Deadshot the order to kill Harley, but he doesn’t.

In the helicopter, Harley is overjoyed that the Joker has come for her, but then he hits her, knocking her to the ground and laughs about how he really got her with this and then complaining about how he had to waste his time finding her, because she’s his property, his joke. Harley has a flash to the Joker electrocuting her. She has a moment of realization about what was really done to her, then seeing herself being pushed into the the chemical vat by the Joker, not jumping in on her own. Harley’s eyes fill with tears, as the Joker continues to laugh at her. Suddenly the gas tank is hit by something-

A boomerang thrown by Captain Boomerang.

The gas tank in the helicopter explodes. Harley jumps out as the helicopter it goes down, her landing on the roof of a building, it crashing to the ground.

They all rush down and find Harley in the same way as in the movie. Flag confronts her, blaming her for Joker attacking them, but Deadshot says that if it hadn’t been for his boss, they wouldn’t even have this problem, so why not let Enchantress do whatever she wants with Waller?

Flag holds up the trigger.

Deadshot tells him that he better do it fast before he lets out that Flag had a shot to take Enchantress out, but didn’t take it before she bodyjacked Ivy.

Flag doesn’t do it.

Deadshot then tells him that they aren’t gonna get there anyway, so he’s gonna go get a drink and Flag can blow his head off if he wants.

Harley follows, as does Croc, Katana… and Captain Boomerang, but only after making sure that Flag isn’t going to blow his head off and then making a go for the alcohol.

June stays with Flag.

They get to the bar inside the house from before. Harley gets behind it and takes out some bottles. The lights are still on inside the house. Harley asks what Floyd will have. He gives her a look, like he’s wondering if she even knows what she’s doing. She says that she’s serious, that she used to bartend in college, it was how she paid for it. Croc follows, but sits down on the couch in the same area. Katana takes a stool seat at the end. Captain Boomerang sits directly between Katana and Floyd. Katana takes her mask off. She sets her sword on the bar and starts talking to it in japanese. Harley asks them all what they’re having. They tell her. She starts making them.

Harley gives the last drink to Katana and asks her what the deal with the sword is that she’s willing to get herself killed because of it.

Katana says that it’s unique.

Harley asks if that’s because it belonged to her husband. Harley then explains that she recognizes the kind of desperation that would cause her to be willing to get herself killed. Harley then says that their situations are completely different though, because her being willing to get herself killed for something like that is almost normal, not healthy really, but healthier than a reason she personally would have for doing something like that.

Katana simply says that it’s the sword her husband was murdered with.

Harley just nods and says that yep, still healthier than her reason.

Same basic scene. Floyd gives his spiel about how they’re gonna get blamed. He talks about how, for a minute, he had hope that he could get the chance to see his daughter again. Diablo says that he can still have it, if he lets God give it to him. Deadshot asks if he’s preaching. El Diablo says that Deadshot still has a chance to turn it around, to get away from his evil. Deadshot gets angry and defensive at that, saying that all he’s ever done is kill evil. El Diablo shoots back that murder doesn’t change for him no matter who he is does it to. El Diablo continues that he knows what Deadshot is thinking, that he thinks he does what’s necessary, that it’s justified, because those he does it to aren’t good, so why should he care? He continues with:

DIABLO: We both used to see the line, but we reached a place where it was nearly invisible, and you’ll cross it one day, like I did. What we both didn’t realize is that we’ve already crossed the line and the one we think exists is just a delusion.

DEADSHOT: What’s that supposed to mean?

DIABLO: You have a “code”, right? You ain’t never killed no women, no kids. And you think because of that you’re a good guy, that you can still do what you do. But you can’t. Your code won’t be something you can hide behind. It won’t even exist anymore.

Deadshot gets in El’s face, enraged.

DEADSHOT: I’ll never kill women and children.

DIABLO: That’s what I said.

El Diablo tells his story. It’s fully the same.

BOOMERANG: What happened to the kids?

HARLEY: He killed them. Didn’t you?

EL: Yes.

HARLEY: Of course… What’d you expect? Did you think you could just play with evil and have any kinda life? Evil infects you. It rots your soul until your broken and it destroys everything you have that matters. That’s the price of darkness and by the time you realize you made a horrible mistake, it’s all gone. You didn’t deserve all you had, but God gave you a break and you blew it to pieces.

BOOMERANG: You think you’re any better, sweetie? I heard about the things you and the Joker did. You may be as pretty as a picture on the outside, but on the inside, you’re ugly.

HARLEY: We all are. We all are! We’re murderers. We’re monsters. Every single one of us. We ARE the bad guys.

DEADSHOT: What the Joker did to you, you can’t be held responsible…

HARLEY: I haven’t have full control of my faculties ever since Mr. J-Joker… did that to me. But he didn’t force me to give him a gun. We’re not innocent victims just because we’ve been broken after we did something wrong, treated like lesser, lost people or have been abused. I made a CHOICE to give him what he wanted. I knew what he was. And I still let myself be used. I was dazzled by the super criminal world and I wanted to touch it. I thought that if I could get him to trust me, I could... be more. Pride was my sin and a lot of people have died for it. I may not have known that what I gave him was a gun, but I knew it wasn’t innocent. And I’m responsible for that choice.

Flag and June both walk into the house and Flag sits down next Deadshot, as June leans on the wall in the back. Flag then asks Deadshot if he figured out about his feelings for June. Deadshot responds with, “I’ve never had sex with a witch before. How was that?” to show that he has. Flag says that he spent all his time trying to protect June, he couldn’t risk killing her.

June then pipes up that he should risk it.

Flag pulls the trigger out of his pocket and flips it over, showing the bullet damage in the front of it from the Joker.

Captain Boomerang immediately jumps out of his stool and runs away.

Flag says that Deadshot was right, they wouldn’t get there fast enough to stop Enchantress anyway. Harley makes an analysis of Flag that his intense protective nature of the woman in his life is likely tied to a childhood trauma about his mother. Flag gives an angry look to the effect of ‘Too personal.’ Harley apologizes and says that it’s a reflex.

But Flag admits that his dad was an important high ranking general, who had a lot of enemies, who targeted his family. When he was a child, one of them tried to run him down, but his mom pushed him out of the way and died in his place. He saw his mother die and there was nothing he could do about it. June walks up to Flag and comforts him by placing her hand on his. Deadshot has a meaningful moment where he tells Flag that he knows what it feels like to watch something terrible happen to your mom.

Flag pulls several letters out of his side pocket and pushes them over to Floyd. Same basic scene about his daughter. Floyd asks why Flag has these and he responds that he was supposed to use them as a way to gain emotional leverage over him if he became difficult. Floyd asks if that’s what he’s trying to do now. Flag just shakes his head no.

Flag taps a glass and Harley takes the hint and pours him a shot of whiskey. He lifts the glass and comments about the things they do for their family. And June has a quick flashback to a memory of Enchantress’, causing her to drop to the ground:

Of her and her brother forcing mankind to bend to their will and them making the preparations to open a portal to their hellish dimension using both of their energies to bring forth their people into this world and replace humanity with them. And then the humans attacking and cutting out Enchantress’ heart and trapping them both in their statues.

June then realizes and says that that’s what Enchantress wants to do now and why she’s going to release her brother.

The team realize that they’re all in danger from Enchantress and Flag says that there’s nothing they can do, the helicopter’s destroyed and they can’t get there in time. Deadshot immediately says that, yes, they can, depending on how long it’ll take for Enchantress to get to her brother. Flag says that the vault he’s in has a nighttime shutdown protocol. It won’t be able to be opened by Waller until dawn, which is in 3 hours and then tells them where ARGUS is. Deadshot says that that’s enough time, barely. Flag asks how he could know that. Deadshot responds that he’s a sniper, his whole thing is measuring times and distances.

Deadshot then asks Flag if he knows a way past the quarantine. Flag says that they should take the underground tunnel. Deadshot, Katana, June, Flag and Diablo all head out. Then Harley follows them, telling Croc, “Come on. Ya got something better to do?”

The squad search through the streets for something to ride in and they come across an abandoned bus. Flag starts to hotwire the bus and Deadshot makes a playful jab at him knowing how to. Harley starts to close the doors, when Boomerang pops up at them, begging her to let him in. Harley questions him about his sudden change of heart.

CB: Well, I was running away from all this danger and I stopped and suddenly felt this strong sense of compassion for my fellow man, to just save lives and be a hero-

HARLEY: You don’t know how to get out of the city.

CB: I don’t know how to get out of the city.

Boomerang gets on the bus and they’re off. When Boomerang is told what they’re doing, he’s freaked and asks them all if getting themselves killed is what they want. Deadshot says that he’d do anything to protect his little girl and Harley responds that her best friend is trapped inside Enchantress, it’s not like she’s got anything left to live for and she can’t be anything but this, also that it’s either this or get put in a hellish dimension of monsters.

Katanna talks to her sword in japanese again in the back of the bus. Croc walks up to her and asks if her husband’s soul is really trapped in there. She looks surprised. Croc says that when he was a wrestler he traveled around the world and had to learn multiple languages, at least the basics for most. He can understand what she’s saying because he speaks a little japanese himself. Katana simply nods. Croc asks her if she’s going to hold onto the sword forever, let her husband be trapped in it. Katana asks him what he means. He says that it must be able to be broken otherwise she wouldn’t have freaked out about it falling out of the building, so it’s not like he’s completely trapped in there, that he can move on, if she lets him. She takes offense to that, saying that she’s not keeping him from that, she’s protecting him. Croc tells her that she’s protecting herself, from having to move on. That she’s holding on to her past. Katana becomes angry and tells him that he doesn’t know anything about that. He says that that’s him: Never letting go of his past. That choice has made him what he is. She rebuts that he’s a an animal, something that eats people. He snarls and says he’s never eaten anyone. It’s just what he lets people think. He’s killed though, but so has she. She asks why he lets people think that, if he does because he liked to be seen that way. He says no. But he used to lie to himself that he did, then he just lied to everyone else. But he does it because he thought that’s all he was good for. He’s punishing himself the way his family punished him for existing. Katana takes a moment, then says that her husband’s death was her fault. He died saving her. That maybe she’s been punishing herself too. But she’s been punishing Maeso in the process. Croc says that he thinks that self-punishment never just hurts yourself.

They pull up to the ARGUS base.

Katana holds her sword, contemplatively. The squad gets ready, trying to figure out a plan. Boomerang says that he said that this was a stupid idea, that they don’t even know if they can hurt Enchantress. Katana realizes something at the word “hurt”. re-iterating Croc’s words before, “Never just hurts yourself” and tells them that yes, they do have a way to hurt Enchantress.

FLAG: How?

KATANA: Us.

Katana points to herself and El Diablo.

KATANA: Or maybe even just you.

She then just points to El Diablo.

DIABLO: What?

KATANA: Why hasn’t Enchantress tried to kill us? She personally killed the team guarding the helicopter, she went after Amanda Waller personally, but she left us for dead.

DEADSHOT: Why?

KATANA: Because my sword and Diablo’s powers can hurt her. She didn’t want to take the chance.

HARLEY: Um, huh?

KATANA: We were the only ones who could take out the most of her monsters. My sword and his powers are mystical. She’s afraid of us.

They work out a plan, to go up against Enchantress. June says that her heart isn’t a vulnerability anymore now that she’s in Poison Ivy’s body. Katana says that she can use her sword to trap her soul in order to pull her out of Ivy’s body, but her sword is only for a human’s and it won’t hold a witch for very long and then she could just jump back into Ivy’s body. June then says that that won’t happen if she takes Enchantress on long enough to get her heart out. Flag objects, but June tells him that she can’t keep letting Enchantress control her. He tells her that they don’t know for sure if crushing Enchantress’ heart will kill her too or not. She responds that it’s her fault Enchantress is free anyway and it’s her responsibility to do what she can. Flag reluctantly agrees. The squad all recognize that it’s now dawn. Flag says that they better hurry. They start to make their way inside the ARGUS facility.

Meanwhile Enchantress now forces Waller to open the safe. She does. Enchantress then telekenetically lifts Waller up and renders her unconscious. Enchantress proceeds to float the statue to her and cracks it open, funneling her brother into the Waller's body. He forms. They have a moment, saying that it's a good thing she hasn't been destroyed, as their life forces are tied, he would die with her. They then begin to combine their energies and open the portal.

As the squad breaks into the facility, clouds take up the sky above them. They go in.

Entering ARGUS, Flag comes across the bodies of all those there. He goes over to a weapons cache area, pulling out a drawer holding the squad's more vicious weapons, saying that they, ARGUS, kept their bigger weapons out of their hands for safety, but they're gonna need them now. Deadshot goes for his grenade launcher, but Flag snatches it up first and then calmly hands it to him. Boomerang grabs his explosive boomerangs. And Harley excitedly grabs her comically oversized hammer. They get in the elevator going down into the ARGUS lower levels vault.

Enchantress and her brother open the portal to their world, energy crackling out of it, saying it's time, creatures starting to come out of it.

Harley and the group peek at the situation unfolding. Harley saying, "Everyone else's seeing this, right?" They respond yeah, why? She says, "I'm off my meds."

Flag states that the portal's open now, how are they gonna close it?

June says that the portal will become destabilized and dangerous if it's interrupted without a power source, so they can't just kill Enchantress and her brother, otherwise it could turn into an unstable wormhole. It'll take an energy pulse, like the kind that would emanate from Enchantress' heart being destroyed.

Deadshot concludes then that they'll have to figure out a way to do that.

Enchantress senses their presence and sends her other creatures and her brother to get them, saying that now that the portal is open she can keep it that way on her own. The squad fights them.

Boomerang uses all of his exploding boomerangs to take a couple of them down, Katana takes a couple out, Deadshot has to start shooting his gun when his grenade launcher gets knocked out of his hand first thing, him and Flag going back to back and Harley being a lure to catch a few off guard with Killer Croc.

Diablo squares off against Enchantress' brother, an intense firey battle, but ends up being beat down by him, though still barely holding his own.

June meanwhile sneaks past the fight up to Enchantress. She makes her way up to Enchantress, signaling Katana. When Enchantress twists her head around and grabs June by the throat, yelling for the squad to stop or she'll kill June. Flag, frozen in fear, tells them to stop. They do as they're told.

Enchantress jerks their weapons away telekenitcally to her feet, even Harley's hammer. Enchantress tells them that she can give them everything that they want in life, as they've earned her begrudged respect, showing them these flashes of what they want.

Flag/June-A life together.

Deadshot-Him killing Batman and having his daughter.

Harley-A kooky suburban life with Joker.

Katana-Her husband.

Croc-His family to love him.

Diablo-His family.

Diablo breaks it though, gripping his cross, his wife's cross, telling Enchantress that he can't change what he did and neither can she, as he then blows her brother away from him using his powers! He turns to the group to convince them of the same.

DEADSHOT: I killed the Bat.

DIABLO: You don't want that.

DEADSHOT: Yes, I do.

HARLEY: Me too!

DIABLO: Well, I'm not gonna be the devil's pawn anymore. My choice is to fight. Even if I have to do it alone.

They all hesitate and he unleashes his full powers on Enchantress' brother. The squad all join in, fighting back. They fight and Diablo implodes himself and her brother to defeat him. Her brother is severely damaged, unable to move.

The squad stops in their tracks, the only thing left of their fallen comrade is the cross. They don't know what to do now. Harley staring at the crater left by Diablo.

Enchantress mocks them, telling them they've lost their biggest and only real weapon and they should give up and they'll get what they want in exchange for their surrender, as more monsters come through, showing them that they can't possibly defeat them all.

Harley picks up the cross, contemplatively, then handing it to Deadshot.

They all look at eachother, Boomerang ready to side with Enchantress. Harley speaks up first.

HARLEY: Can you really do what you said? Can you bring my Mr. J back?

ENCHANTRESS: Yes.

HARLEY: I believe you can.

Harley walks up to her, kneeling in front of her. She then looks back at Katana, shifting her eyes to the side to signal her for something. Katana's confused at first, but she realizes.

HARLEY: Don't you want that too, Katana? Don't you all want that?

The squad look at eachother in understanding. Harley looks back to Enchantress, first looking down thoughtfully and then back up at her, Enchantress in Poison Ivy's body.

HARLEY: Red, are you still in there? If you can hear me, I want you to know that you were right. I can be more.

Harley then grabs her hammer and smashes Enchantress in the face with it, the hammer EXPLODING! Harley is blown back and caught by Croc.

HARLEY: Whoa! Packs a punch.

Enchantress is blown away from the portal, disconnecting her from it. The squad all go for their weapons while they have the time. The portal then begins to turn into a black hole. June yells that it's now or never as the black hole sucks all of Enchantress' other creatures into it. Enchantress recovers, infuriated, before being stabbed in the shoulder by Katana, with her sword, absorbing Enchantress into it. The black hole becomes stronger. The sword struggles to contain her, but June grabs the sword, as it starts to crack and break, absorbing Echantress into her body. The sword is destroyed. Enchantress is enraged. Boomerang throws an exploding boomerang at her, which she catches and deactivates, glaring at Boomerang, who is peeing his pants scared now.

ENCHANTRESS: I won't be fooled with the same trick twice.

KILLER CROC: Good thing it's not the same.

Killer Croc rams his fist through Enchantress' back into her chest from behind and pulls out her heart. He throws into the black hole and Deadshot takes aim with his grenade launcher. Enchantress, weakened severely, flashes an image of Deadshot's daughter in front of him.

HALLUCINATION ZOE: Daddy! Daddy, please don't do this! You can have Batman dead, so much money and power... me. It's what you want.

DEADSHOT: Yes, it is... But I can choose better.

FLAG (begrudgingly): Do it.

Deadshot FIRES the grenade launcher and the grenade BLASTS THE HEART, destroying it, just as it enters the black hole. The pulse of the heart being destroyed CLOSES THE BLACK HOLE and causes an explosion.

Deadshot, Harley, Boomerang, Croc, Katana and Flag wake up, surrounded in the rubble of the ARGUS vault.

Harley quickly digs through the rubble, calling for Ivy, Croc then assisting her. She pulls her out, alive. Harley hugs Ivy. Who is confused and worn out.

Flag walks up to Enchantress' body, June's body, now turned to stone. He has a moment of grief, Deadshot telling him how sorry he is. But they then hear something, coughing coming from the now statued body. Flag and Deadshot crack the stone, getting all the pieces off to find June alive. Flag kisses her. He then hugs Deadshot, thanking him, which Deadshot shoves him away, saying he doesn't do hugs.

They all have a moment of triumph, Deadshot saying he's headed back to Gotham, to see his daughter. Harley then saying she can hot wire a car, asking him if he wants a ride.

Same basic scene with Waller.

But Harley barters for Ivy to join the squad instead of going to prison or Arkham, along with the espresso machine.

And Killer Croc wants a fully furnished, above ground cell, with a TV that has access to CMT, as he's no longer living in the sewers like a monster, saying that he's not an animal and he doesn't want to pretend he is anymore.

And when Boomerang tries to get up in arms about not being set free, Waller tazes him.

WALLER: Any other complaints?

HARLEY: Nah.

DEADSHOT: I'm cool.

Same scene with Deadshot and his daughter.

In the end montage Harley fist bumps Ivy through the glass of their conjoined cell and willingly, peacefully takes her medication.

Katana becomes their personal guard.

June finds that she now has energy powers of some sort.

Flag and June get married, the squad in attendance.

And, as Harley sits in her cell, drinking espresso, suddenly the entire ARGUS base is hacked, the squad's bombs are activated, and a voice telling them they have to work for him now, as a GREEN QUESTION MARK appears on all the ARGUS monitors.

THE RIDDLER: You belong to me now.

END.

Post credits scene is Justice League setup scene.

And a reveal of the Joker being alive, unsurprisingly. Played partially for laughs.

Please review and tell me what you think! Have a very great day!

God bless you all!

#anti jarley #harley quinn #poison ivy #deadshot #anti suicide squad

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