#my beloved little disaster trio

[airlocksandaviaries]

they’re getting ice cream together in downtown LA 😊

also it’s magic hour

[faeryarchives]

more than words (sebek zigvolt & silver x gn!reader)

requested by anon: Hey, hopefully still open! I hope I didn't break any rules, because it's kinda angsty, but tries my best no to be heavy. It'll be Silver and Sebek. Where Yuu eyes got injured and they need time to heal so their eyes got bandage and blind temporary. The idea is from Naruto, where Hinata got eyes injury and Neji help silently. So imagine them still in pining state. Helping their crush silently :"). note: hi anon! no you did not break any rules but i made it both headcanon and scenario wise hihi other fics: heartslabyul with a furina-like reader & savanaclaw with a furina-like female reader & i'm not jealous !! (savanaclaw x gn!reader) & to my beloved (octavinelle x gn!s/o)

⚘ sebek zigvolt

sebek didn't mean for it to happen - everything went like a blur and the only thing he remembered vividly is how you start panicking and crying out how you can't see anything

if he knew that helping you and your group out would lead to a disaster, he would just stayed in his lane

"(name)!" sebek immediately ran towards you, assisting you in maintaining your balance as you tried to prevent any more of the alchemy liquid from coming in contact with your eyes.  "henchman, are you alright?!" grim ran at the speed of light - wiping the disaster off your face. "i'm fine, you guys! just give me a minute." crewel made his way towards you worriedly. "little pup, can you open your eyes?" sebek watched you open your eyes, only to look disturbed for a reason. "...? why is everything so blurry?" you started to blink rapidly to try to make the blurriness of your vision away, only for it to worsen, and the light was not helping. instead - it just made everything worse. "i'm kidding, everything is not fine. i can't see anything. every time i try to blink it hurts!" "... i think you should take some time off of class."

all he wanted was to help you out 🙁 did he messed up again?

he couldn't help but feel down even after being graced with malleus presence which caused the diasomnia trio to notice his odd behavior

"it turns out child of man got into an accident?" "and regrettably - it's all my fault." "then why don't you go and help them out? i'm sure they will appreciate it."

that is why sebek found himself trailing behind you silently - watching over you while grim went out to fill in your classes

seeing the bandage around your eyes made him feel more guilty that is why he opt to not reveal his presence

reaching out for your water bottle but it's out of reach? you will miraculously find it next to you after one minute + during the morning there is already breakfast served for you and grim and you knew that ace and deuce definitely didn't do it

it's not like you were that dumb to not notice anything especially when you hadn't tripped over anything + not knowing how sebek would prevent himself from screaming and immediately grabbing the random things on the floor for you to not slip

oh you only know the surface how this man would look at you with so much care to the point that the ghosts felt like they were intruding on the both of you

helping and guiding you around became a part of sebek's regular routine; honestly, he was so happy he got to assist you in his own way! and he got to see many sides of you, too - flustered after almost tripping down the stairs, getting frustrated in opening things after trying to force the lid to the opening direction and such.

it became a surprise to him how well you adapt to your situation, especially when you start to look in his direction - as if you knew who he was. imagine his shock when you finally took several steps forward and reached out your arm only to press it against his chest.

"sebek, it's you who's helping me around, right?

"…! how did you-?!"

"you are not as sneaky as you think. don't you know the charm I gave you as a gift has a certain sound?" your hands seem to find his own, and you finally gently wrap them in your touch.

"i was wondering why you are staying silent all this time though."

"the alchemy accident was all my fault! how can i face you after causing you to lose your vision?"

"you said it yourself; it was an accident. you didn't intend this to happen." sebek felt some pressure around his cheek from you pinching it - his eye focused on how you still have that same smile you would give him daily.

"why don't we keep each other company right now? do you listen to podcasts?"

⚘ silver

silver knew that what he feels about you is more than a platonic one + but seeing you with your other friends so happy makes him feel like he doesn't deserve you

so silver decided to maintain his distance and vowed to protect you from afar

but it became one of his regrets as he stood there helplessly and watched you get injured after helping ruggie to escape from an overblotted leona

okay, tackling leona and pushing the hyena out of his hold may not be a good idea. still, at least it worked out! "ruggie, are you okay?" you tried walking to the wounded second-year, eventually failing due to the sudden sharp pain you felt around your foot. 'fuck, must have cushioned my fall on the wrong foot...' you clicked your tongue in annoyance and tried to stand up ever so slowly, failing to realize the screams of your friends and a compelling presence looming from behind until it was too late. "behind you, idiot! why are you just standing there?!" an irk mark appeared on your head after hearing ace scream from the crowd. "who are you calling an idiot?!" "that's your priority?" your blood ran cold after finally realizing that leona was only an arm's length from you. life flashing right literally before your eyes. 'oh, i'll be damned...' "(name)!" silver didn't know how he did it but his body moved before his mind could, already running towards you and leona in fear of losing you - his hand already holding his wand tightly, but he couldn't think of any spells to cast. the damage was already done by the time the knight reached you and carried you away.  "please be okay. please be okay, please be okay—" silver froze when you start to reach out towards him, your hands were now start to bleed from the excessive cracking of your skin. but the worst was yet to come. "s-silver? is that you?! i can't see anything!"  "...what?" "it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much. why won't it stop?!" the second year could feel his heart drop as you start to cry out in pain and how it will forever haunt him even to his dreams.  "i'm so sorry, it'll be over soon, i promise."

it turns out you were not accustomed to experiencing highly accumulated mana and it affected most of your senses especially your eyesight

that is why crowley suggested you to take some time off + resulting you to have bandages around your eyes to avoid it to get irritated by light

you were expecting your healing time to be hard as to not being used to not seeing things - but it was like there was a uardian angel around you always

"grim, did you rearrange the dorms or something?" "me? not me! those things are heavy looking you know." "huh, maybe i am just lucky to be able to reach the things i need?" "mmm, maybe! i just remembered i asked deuce to help me bake your favorite food with trey!" "...you're leaving me alone?!" "i'll leave them to you, nya!"

that was the time when you realize someone was helping you around and it was certainly not grim 😭 i mean his little paws wouldn't be able to cook (favorite food) with him just alone

ace and deuce are good friends even though they are trouble makers but they could never be this silent 👩🏻‍⚖️

sometimes you would almost catch your secret helper only for them to suddenly disappear from your range and the people you were thinking off were slowly getting crossed out in your mind and it only leaves one person - silver

"i'll be out again nya! don't miss me too much, i'm going to bake your favorite food!"

"and i am alone once again." you tapped your finger against the table, humming and wondering if your secret helper is still around. "is anyone there?" what came as a question was only answered with pure silence - except for the birds chirping outside.

"…i'm kinda bored."

with the ghosts and grim being absent from the dorm made it lonelier for you - not used to the silence. you leaned your head on the dining table out of boredom; after days of being unable to attend class, you can't believe you missed listening to lectures!

"i think i can remove it right now right?" contemplating for a while,you remove the bandage around your eyes, wincing at the sudden brightness but rather than seeing only blurry things - your eyesight were slowly becoming clear until your sight came back to normal.

"woah… i can finally see again-"

"oh…" the moment you can finally see clearly, your eyes met shocked auroral-like hues revealing silver a few feet away from you with his arm already reaching out towards you as if prepared to catch you any moment.

"i knew it! it was you silver!" after being exposed, silver couldn't help but take a few steps back, scratching the back of his neck and avoiding your gaze. a light hue of red coating the apple of his cheeks.

"how did you know it was me?" you stood up and walk up to him - unknowingly giving him a soft smile that made his heart flutter.

"no one is as gentle and quiet as you are." pointing your finger over his shoulder, silver turned around to see a familiar group of small animals hanging around your dorm. "and i only know one person that animals love."

silver sighed before sitting on the chair next to him, holding his head in his hands. "… i feel so angry at myself for not being able to help you back then. that's why i thought-"

"thank you for saving me and even helping me while i am healing."

"you are not mad?"

"why would i be? hey, would you mind if you introduce me to your little friends?"

[colourstreakgryffin]

I have a request to make. Yandere obanai vs yandere mitsuri vs yandere shinobu, with a darling reader with a pet anaconda (who is also quite the cuddle bug)also the anacondas name is noodle.

Happily will do this idea! It actually sounds somewhat cute so let’s find out what will happen with these three! A little short but that’s okay, I assume!

Lol. This picture is the only thing I can find for these three!

Yandere! Romantic! KNY Hashira Scenarios: Iguro Obanai vs Kanroji Mitsuri vs Kocho Shinobu

What a absolute disaster pitting these three together is. Obanai is hostile, Shinobu is dangerous and Mitsuri is passive-aggressive! So every scenario ends in a vicarious fight that could shake the ground

All three fall for you very close to one another, and find out each other’s feelings for you when they notice the lovestruck glares directed at you during one of the many Hashira gatherings. This triggers the Yandere corruption and it gets worse with the rivalry growing alongside it

Obanai is the first one to find out how about your pet. A big emerald-palette anaconda named “Noodle” by stalking you from your window. Mitsuri learns about Noodle by getting invited into your house and Shinobu learns about Noodle last when you ask for medicines useable on snakes

Obanai knows his snakes very well so he offers you snake care advice as Shinobu and Mitsuri angrily glare at him for winning over your attention so easily. He has the biggest advantage over the two girls, for his knowledge on snakes

Though, all three are very jealous of Noodle for the way you admire and love him. Why does that stupid serpent get your affection?! They are also very jealous of each other

All three love you dearly so they’d never try kill Noodle at all and will always run up to you to give whatever you want for Noodle or for yourself but they all wish they could get rid of Noodle without hurting your feelings

Overall. They argue and fight basically constantly over who can touch you and/or take care of Noodle for you. You do notice how bad it gets from behind closed doors, but you just hope it doesn’t have anything to do with you

Shinobu may or may not put coma-inducing serum in your beloved Noodle’s food to make you come to her for medical care. Mitsuri and Obanai get furious over the situation as they both know that Shinobu is the reason Noodle is hurt and she is hurting you for her own selfish infuriation

Mitsuri is a lot closer to you then she is to Noodle but she is very good at handling the heavy snake as if he weighs nothing to her. Obanai and Shinobu get jealous at the way you coo happily at her and Noodle cuddling

All three are very invasive and clingy, grabbing onto random parts of you whenever they can, bickering and swiping at each other so they’ll back off. It never ends until you get up and walk away, but that doesn’t mean they won’t follow you like a group of ravage fans to a Popstar

You having Noodle isn’t a favourite for Yandere Obanai, Mitsuri and Shinobu but your happiness is very important to them so they don’t really mind that much. Tho, the main problem is the rivalry the trio have against each other

All three are very manipulative, all emotionally. Shinobu tries to directly trick you into thinking the other two are liars, Obanai uses old fashion gaslighting until you think he is the only safe one whilst Mitsuri simply lies about what those two do with a few crocodile tears so you’ll sympathise with her

Won’t deny. Obanai would most likely work hard to invent a new form for Serpent Breathing, mimicking Noodle and other anacondas to try impress you

“Noodle’s a anaconda, my lov— Dokusha. He has very specific requirements for temperatures, try maintaining the cage in 60 to 70 percent humidity with periodic spikes near 100 percent— hm? Don’t thank me, we’re… friends”

“Heeeey! Dokusha! Look! Wanna see something cool! I’m gonna go play with Noodle! Are you ready— Oh! No, don’t worry! He isn’t heavy at all! He’s fine, I’d you want me to, I’ll gladly do it! Anything for you— because it’s fun!”

“Oh my, Dokusha. Noodle likes a bit tuckered out? What is the problem? He… he won’t wake up? Well, that sounds like a good thing— a simply horrible thing! I’ll try figure out what’s wrong, okay! You can rely on me”

[bl-bracket]

Best Siblings Round 4: Pat & Pa (Bad Buddy) vs Jiang Yanli & Wei Wuxian & Jiang Cheng (The Untamed)

[Submitted Reasons Under Cut]

Pat & Pa: "SUCH an amazing sibling dynamic. They’re so supportive of each other and always there for each other, especially when it counts the most. Pat being able to confide in Pa about dating Pran at a time when he can’t confide with many others and them having gay double dates together with their respective s/o’s is sibling goals. Their little squabbles and Pa’s awful timing are so fun to watch, too. Also, just the fact that there was the whole plot line where Pat was trying to navigate his old crush on Ink with the slow realization that he has feelings for Pran, and Pa, the entire time, is just going, “Yeah, it’s totally understandable that you would have feelings for Ink, she’s just so amazing and cool and wonderful and beautiful, who wouldn’t?” before Pa realizes HER feelings for Ink. Queer disaster siblings if I’ve ever seen any!"

Jiang Yanli & Wei Wuxian & Jiang Cheng: "I find it really hard to talk about them without going on a rant and crying. Yanli is the best big sister ever. She always puts her brothers first without fail and her care for them is the glue they need when they argue. Even though Wei Wuxian is not their biological sibling, trust and believe Yanli will shut down anyone who tries to minimize their relationship or claim Wei Wuxian isn’t her brother. In return, Wei Wuxian is fiercely protective of Yanli and will literally kill anyone who touches her. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian both love her to absolute bits. The relationship between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian is more complicated, but contains no less love. Ripped apart by circumstances out of their control on top of being constantly compared to each other growing up, they still have each other’s backs and canonically would die for each other and prove this multiple times. Yunmeng trio my beloved❤️"

[lordsireno]

For the “send me the character and I’ll do this”, I’ll send three characters: Rufus, Cletus and Argus, if that’s okay!

Idiot Trio my beloved!!

Rufus

Sexuality Headcanon: Bi.

Gender Headcanon: Intersex/male

A ship I have with said character: All of them? Heh, okay uh, with Goal is at the top.

A BROTP I have with said character: Bozo!

A NOTP I have with said character: with Wenzel. Little man probably doing better without Rufus in his life.

A random headcanon: His taste buds are all over the place, so his favourite foods are ones he can feel. He'd go wild for pineapple because of the allergic reaction.

General Opinion over said character: Chaos man deserved better early in life but he just wouldn't be himself without disaster.

Cletus

Sexuality Headcanon: Bi

Gender Headcanon: Intersex/male

A ship I have with said character: This question is moot because again, I'm a multi shipper XD but my go to is Argus.

A BROTP I have with said character: He's not really the friend making kinda guy, but for laughs I'd like him to hang out with Janosch

A NOTP I have with said character: no one lol

A random headcanon: He chubby~ Playing into my other headcanon that clones are made to go a long time without food- So as someone who has always had easy access to food, he puts on weight easy. He tries to work it off or wear slimming clothes.

General Opinion over said character: I love a snooty ponce type and hope he can be put through more horrors before redemption.

Argus

Sexuality Headcanon: Ace

Gender Headcanon: Agender

A ship I have with said character: Fork I mean, either Cletus or Rufus?

A BROTP I have with said character: Toni, they're anger management pals

A NOTP I have with said character: Goal, I generally see them more brotop/sibling, but never actual romance

A random headcanon: I'm sure everyone knows my "He's good at make-up" one so uum, he's got a bad poker face. Years of helmet wearing means he pulls faces without realising.

General Opinion over said character: Funky little war criminal who I can shove so much onto because the game gave him the least screen time >:3

[quietwingsinthesky]

(@transgenderdoctorwhomst)

Will what pokemon do you think 10 would have 👀

i'm about to be so self-indulgent (and show my whole ass with my only knowing off-hand pokemon from gens pre-6)

Roselia: OKAY. look. at first, i was like, no, i'm not giving him the literal rose pokemon, that's too obvious, but. well. how can you build ten without rose. integral to who he is AND canonically he is weird enough to have replaced her once with a cat also named rose. so. he'd definitely be weird enough to dedicate an entire team slot to a pokemon related to her name. there's also the fact that roselia is not actually, by title, the rose pokemon, it's the thorn pokemon, it is both beautiful, with an incredibly calming presence and scent, and covered in poisonous thorns. felt fitting.

Vaporeon: by law all doctor teams need an eevee or eeveelution on there somewhere, and I thought actually having one evolved fit Ten more, less in the sense that he's come into his own and more for the sense that he doesn't want to change. it terrifies him. and why vaporeon? well. did you know that in terms of human/pokemon breeding, vaporeon is-

Gothitelle: Gothitelle my beloved. Here are some relevant pokedex passages.

It can see the future from the movement of the stars. When it learns its Trainer’s life span, it cries in sadness.

Gothitelle unleashes psychic energy and shows opponents dreams of the universe’s end. These dreams are apparently ethereal and beautiful.

I was reading those and thinking about the fact we have that Ten was probably the shortest lived regeneration, and there's such a contrast there between the end of the universe itself (which he also went to see himself lol) and the brief blip of his "life span", as it were, in comparison to that. Also, Gothitelle's hidden ability is Shadow Tag, which prevents opponents from leaving battle. and. (gestures at all the times ten made things so much worse because he couldn't let things go)

Joltik: SHUSH i swear its not just here because i love joltik. although i do. look at that little face. adorable. but also. Joltik: The Attaching Pokemon, with pokedex entries that literally all revolve around it clinging onto other pokemon to get the energy it needs to keep itself alive. perfect pokemon for mr "if i'm not in a weird codepedent friendship right now i'll kill myself".

Absol: I think Absol could really be a shoe-in for any Doctor team. It's position as the Disaster pokemon is just. really obvious. And the fact that it doesn't actually bring disaster, just senses it and tries to come and warn people, gaining itself a reputation as a harbinger is even more so. And for me, I also remember vaguely a little fact about Absol in competitive. It has fairly good attack, not great but good enough to rank it, if not for the fact that it's defense is so mediocre in comparison. But, this could be a fine set-up for a sort of glass cannon build. Just one small problem. Absol has never been fast enough to pull it off in a way that makes it viable in higher tiers. And ain't that just the doctor in a nutshell, harbinger of disaster, coming to warn everyone, always too late, the guy with a time machine and never enough time.

Entei: And finally. You gotta have a legendary in a slot somewhere. I debated back and forth on if this should be Entei or Raikou. I knew I wanted it to be one of the 2nd gen legendary trio because their pokedex entries and everything about them is about how they run. they're always running. they're a bitch and a half to catch in-game because they'll flee every other turn if you don't tie them down. Raikou was in the running for being the thunder pokemon, thee oncoming storm, but in the end, I went with Entei, thinking of Pompeii.

[spookfished]

media roundup jan 2024

hey whats up!!! its me again!!! happy valentines day :3 finally caught up to patch. and by patch i mean "talking about things that i remember reading." finally got around to reading/playing a bunch of things that were really hyped up!! that ive been really looking forward to :3 yippee also, one of my new years resolutions was to play all of umineko? which according to most people ive seen, does in fact take An Entire Year due to being 1. fully voice acted 2. a little over 1 million words. so uh, please look forward to that.

books:

camp damascus by chuck tingle: horror ya. a girl on the cusp of adulthood belongs to a strict and isolated christian sect, living in the town with the us' most famous conversion camp. things get weird quickly.um ok i was really hyped about this! its the first chuck tingle thing that ive actually read (lol) but ive been following his stuff for a while. its an interesting look into what its like to be uh, really christian and also (SPOILERS) gay, but the whole time i was like man i wish i was playing [we know the devil]. which is a really good game please play wktd :3 there were some really cool and chilling body horror parts!! which i liked a lot!! but overall it was more inspiring (?) than scary, which wasnt really what i was looking for personally

the way spring arrives and other stories: translated chinese scifi/fantasy anthology, written and translated by a team of women + nb writers. really solid!!! took me a while to get through, but theres such a wonderful variety of stories here--some are creepy, some are heartwarming, some are silly, some are elegant. i particularly enjoyed some of the essays about translation itself, as well as the titular stories and A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters as Told in a Sinitic Language. definitely check it out!!

spark joy by marie kondo: an appendix of sorts to marie kondos super big book the life changing magic of tidying up, with a couple more practical tips and some anecdotes. ok to get kinda personal, konmari stuff appeals to me bc i grew up surrounded by detritus. from where i sit in my childhood bedroom, i can see a stack of floppy disks, old checkbooks, and a copy of The Lost Treasures of Infocom--a game from 1991. almost none of it is ever touched. so the idea of having a space full of only joyful things is really appealing.. honestly i think the best bit of advice from the book was that if you have things that are necessary but dont necessarily elicit joy (eg screwdrivers, coffee makers, whatever) that you try and take a bit to appreciate/praise those items and what they do for you? and they may become more beloved :3 anyways probably not worth reading unless youre already into the whole konmari thing

ninefox gambit by yoon ha lee: space opera. kel cheris, a freshly promoted general, has been sent to suppress a rebellion lodged in a fortress. but her greatest enemy is also her greatest asset: the implanted consciousness of the prodigy traitor-general, shuos jedao. famous for winning impossible battles--and infamous for killing his entire fleet. its kind of in a trio of "lesbian sff about empires and stuff" with machineries of empire and traitor baru cormorant. well for one i really liked it. i do have a lot of hours in um games like civ 5 and starcraft but i usually dont like Reading books about military stuff. this is obstacle number 1. obstacle number 2 is that ninefox gambit has some really intricate worldbuilding, and unlike some other lesbian bodysharing scifi novels out there, our protagonist is not a newcomer. you dont get the assist of getting to learn about the world as the same time as her. but the thing is that ninefox gambit makes you Want to pick apart everything thats going on and get into it, and once you have a good idea of all the factions and stereotypes and tensions, etc it feels really rewarding :3 and the world is grounded in how you get to see what feels like every single level of this one infiltration/siege, from the general at the top to the infantry at the bottom even to the servant robots who clean! yay robots :3 when youre jumping to someone completely different, doing something totally unrelated, its pretty easy for that to be… super jarring? (hi sanderson) but it was not that <3 although it took a bit for me to get it, i also liked the intermittent correspondence that we get to see from the enemy side as well. how humanizing! it also balances a large cast of characters very well. characters with bit parts still feel memorable to the extent they need to be? idk how to say that correctly. obviously between cheris and jedao, jedao has the upper hand conversationally pretty much always but they have a good dynamic and its cool to see her strengths come through in other ways i think one of its strengths/weaknesses is that its very focused on this One siege in One point in time. i would love to hear about the anden in the sequels for example. also like does everyone have to be in a section or are there real (non conquered) civilians. how do yall grow food. also yeah sorry democracy beign the ultimate heresy made me laugh ninefox gambit is kind of a tricky read; its probably not a good idea to try reading without a stretch of uninterrupted time + brain energy but i liked it 👍 i thought it was good 👍

raven strategem by yoon ha lee: sequel to ninefox gambit! yoon ha lees ability to balance lots of different povs works really well for this book :3 it really ratchets up the tension! i also really liked seeing all of the exotics lol (magic wepaons that do crazy stuff). unfortunately the tension didnt pay off in a way that was really satisfying to me personally, however.. it didnt really help that i didnt like one of the main pov characters (brezan.) the first book is still worth reading though as a standalone!

comics/manga:

mitsuya sensei no keikakuteiki na edzuke: m/m series about a cooking writer (older man) and his editor. ok i talked about this last time but im a big fan of romance with older people in it. the baggage comes preattached!! also the protag in this kinda looks really similar to shinji from kamen rider ryuki?? has some Extremely Delicious looking food art, as well as some really nice like. food + desire + eroticism type thing going on. (i started reading it bc tumblr user stella obstinaterixatrix was talking about it as an example of non explicit eroticism!) yay i love food manga :]

sonna me de mitekure: aka look at me with those eyes. m/m romcom that parodies a lot of common BL tropes (overbearing prince of the school falls in love with some rando!) but also has a lot of heart :3 definitely only worth reading if youre like. already sort of in the soup of romance manga though lol

ouji-chan no sukina hito: suuuper cute f/f oneshot about baby prince idolization

catch you catch me: another cute f/f oneshot :3

botticelli drawings exhibit: ok i just thought this was neat. it was an exhibit about some of the preliminary sketches that were made for some of botticellis famous pieces (he was a famous painter during the florentine renaissance in italy) i like how you got to learn more about how the Workshop Style worked like how a lot of paintings were actually made by lots and lots of apprentices.. also how botticelli apparently got really into this one super duper intense monk type guy and started making some kinda weird shit

movies/tv shows:

pokemon concierge: lighthearted family show about a stressed office lady who quits her job to work at a pokemon hotel. super cute!! very short!! you can watch it with your parents or kids or whatever its really not that deep but the stop motion was just soooo cute. slightly concerning in like idk the level of 'escapism from office culture' but you know how it is

dear ex: slice of life/drama? taiwanese movie. after his father's sudden death, song chengxi and his mother meet his fathers hidden male lover. dudee this movie is so fucking pretty and so sad. i almost cried and blew up and died. all 3 main parts of the cast are such good actors and the way it does grief and like the seamless sliding between memory and the present AUGH. so good

sousou no frieren anime: also known as frieren of the funerals! a slice of life/fantasy anime about what happens after you save the world. frieren is a long-lived elf who saved the world with her companions--but many decades afterwards, she still wanders the world the same as ever. bro this show is so freaking gorgeous and well made. it really makes me wish going outside was real. has a really nice sense of melancholy too.. its just a really solid adaptation :3

dungeon meshi/delicious in dungeon anime: cooking/slice of life/adventure anime set in a dnd-like setting that digs into a lot of fantasy worldbuilding. mainly about: can you eat the monsters!!!! i finished the manga a couple months ago so i was really hyped (and a little bit nervous) about this anime but studio trigger is doing a really good job!! its just a really good show ok please watch it

marry my dead body: straight police guy gets ghost-married to a dead man, and then is tasked with solving his murder. um ok so i watched this bc i misread neils text and thought it was by the same director as dear ex. spoilers this is very much not true lmfao its more lighthearted with a side of feelings about death and stuff. very silly! i think the gulf of expectation was so wide that i couldnt enjoy it that much.. also cops. why. some of the jokes didnt really hit for me esp the whole like ahhhh slag straight guy doesnt understand anything type thing? but its like not a bad light movie

percy jackson and the olympians: remake of the first percy jackson book. yeah this was fine i watched it with my mom while playing solitaire the whole time. the actors are very charming and the show is solid, but i think it really deserved to be like. a 20-episode series with 20 minute episodes, or something like that. like its oestensibly for kids but its Really trying to make that nostalgia cash grab so it exists in a slightly uncomfortable middle (writing is very basic and friendship-y which isnt necessarily bad but its not like That Deep, but also who is making a kids show 40 MINUTES LONG). anyways i think a longer pacing like that would have given more time for filler and replicating the road-trippy vibe that the original books had. its still solid though!

games:

umineko episode 1: its the classic murder mystery setup: a wealthy man on his deathbed still hasnt resolved the issue of his inheritance. he, his hateful children, and their own children are cut off from the world on a remote island. but the man still has unsettled debts….and something is deeply wrong on the island of rokkenjima 🤯ok umineko is infamous for 1. having fans who wont shut up about it 2. something something metatextual? 3. a very high bar for entry, featuring near-required modding, several hours of expository setup, and the fact that. well. its a visual novel. that aside, i enjoyed the first episode way more than i thought i would :3 the uroshimiya family is so rich and alive and shitty it felt like i was watching succession again lmfao. battler is a very endearing (if slightly stupid) main character, and there are some really strong characters laid down that make you excited to get into All That in the future. plus, once i got to the murder part it was genuinely so hair-raising? theres some phenomenal voice acting.. the scene with maria was so memorable i thought i was going to dream about it. also i loooove beatrice <3 anyways i would recommend but its not for the faint of heart. 99% of umineko-ers stop reading right before the love lets them see it, and so on.

off game: wow im so happy to have finally beat off. i mean. hey whats up. off is a weird, abstract game about a 4th-wall breaking "Batter" whos self proclaimed goal is to purify the world. its often viewed as a spiritual predecessor to games like undertale :3 …actually, i played off a long time ago and then got stuck/intimidated by the very last set of puzzles so i Just Now gave up on actually finishing and just watched a letsplay lol. honestly one thing that ive figured out over time is that actually?? im really not that much of a fan of pokemon-style rpgs like this 0_0 i mean, the gameplay is just. not that fun? and the typical random encounter type thing is just not that nice. i think this is something that a lot of jrpgs/rpgs have figured out recently, but off is an older game without those QOL improvements lol. (also random encounter is easier to code probably) anyways!! the writing in off is so compelling…its so weird in a way that invites you to pick apart that weirdness, but also makes you feel like some mysteries might remain unresolved forever. its a video game that actually Has Writing In It. its one of those (free!) indie classics thats definitely worth checking out. also i love drawing the judge and valerie. weird cats for the win ok now im just going to talk about my theories about the game. so we know that the only real humans in the world are sugar, zacharie and the baby. however, the queen and the batter are parental figures for the baby. the wardens of each of the levels were created for the baby as it (in the absence of its parents?) longed for companionship, but they warped over time. whats healthy becomes sick and whats sickening becomes necessary etc. possibly mimicking how the baby, sick and alone in the hospital, also warped over time? becoming warped caricaturizes the babys creations and makes them cruel and so the batter becomes the ultimate heroic figure, who purges whats evil and rotten. but if it lives where i live then i guess the whole world has to go?? well idk

music:

take my hand by zerobaseone: ok whenever i listen to this imlike this is one of gods perfect songs. the production is like chefs kiss and theres just some really beautiful sounds in here? its so warmly dreamy and delicate feeling.. just like first loves… or whatever lmfao the fluttering hook-y thing at the beginning is just too good i ended up looking up a bunch of the producers. also big pop is nice bc you can tell they mixed it so it sounds good in a car OR in headphones lmfao

1,000,000 by nine inch nails: i forgot what genre nin is supposed to be ok this song came up when i was playing hifi rush (rhythm based action game!! so cool so stylish) and me and neil were like NINE INCH NAILS?! it was like that one comic you know. anyways i like this song its very adrenaline feeling. i looked up the real lyrics recently but to ME its about trying to escape emptiness thru adrenaline and danger and sex and stuff :P not that i do that but its still a fun song!! yippee

dark red by steve lacy: ok i found this song bc of a tumblr post i did not know he was the "i wish i knew" guy lmfao. honestly if people only knew like a 5 second songbite from my works id be so mad. but anyways its progressive rnb apparently? i just like this song :3 when you are kind of pathetic but basically chill with it but what if.

anyways if youre reading this: hi!!! ive been spending a lot of time recently doing the hard fisher quests in final fantasy 14. guys never do beast of brewers beacon ok the school year is just starting up but having to wake up early is kind of doing a number on me…… other than that i actually totally have my shit together! yay :3 if you read to the end (or even skimmed) thanks <3

[bicraigmanning]

for the Character Asks, how about I give you your pick of any/all of our 3 established Gossip Girl Main Characters bc we're writing a whole show about these 3 rich dysfunctional gays lmao

hello YES! i enjoy our rich disaster gay trio sitcom (/dramedy) headcanon chats! work with for the other two so it would largely be headcanons anyway. i decided to go with jenny since the others don't have much canon to work with.

How I feel about this character: my beloved <3 more seriously, she's the character in gossip girl i find most interesting so this is going to be. long. anyway. she can be flawed and self-righteous and self-destructive and petty and she can be awfully, egregiously cruel, she knows how to take someone's insecurities or mistakes and hit them where it already hurts -- and despite all that, she's so sympathetic. because she's also ambitious and creative and starts off the show so optimistic and relatively happy-go-lucky, even with her parents' separation. she's cutthroat because she HAS to be, because she would never be able to hang in the upper east side if she wasn't, and that's the path she sees towards her dreams and doesn't she deserve her dreams? she knows she can hack it if she can just GET THROUGH THE DOOR. she's funny and charming and witty and SAD, sadder than i think anyone in the show realizes until she's imploded by the end of season three. she develops this armor of black clothes and sharp eyeliner and bitchy witticisms in season two and season three even moreso and so many people see this as character derailment or think it makes her awful or irredeemable somehow but i look at her and see a girl who's been tread on too many times, with chuck and with damien and with agnes and the guys in the club and what they almost did. with her father, even, and his lack of ability or willingness to understand where she's coming from, that she's not just sad or lonely at school, she's in DANGER. (evidence: the reference to the fact that apparently everyone except two girls in her chem class apparently tried to light her hair on fire?) so she builds up walls and she isolates and she makes decisions that maybe aren't great but she doesn't have the support she needs and all of this makes me feel so soft and sad for her and protective OF her and protective, even, of her right to be flawed, of her right to make mistakes. every other character in the show has equally (or even worse) egregious flaws that get excused or hand-waved by not only the fandom, by the narrative. jenny is held to a much different standard. the narrative screws her and casts her aside (and yes, i get that taylor momsen wanted to leave, i respect it, and i even respect that it's a teen drama and her exit was always going to be a little dramatic, but they did not have to do what they did) and if they didn't think all of this was the perfect storm for me to emotionally adopt her into the list of blorbos in constant rotation in my head-oven well. they've got another thing coming. tldr; jenny is the Born To Die trope except it's more like Metaphysical Innocence Born To Be "Corrupted". it's so clear what they're doing even in the pilot. i will go to my grave defending her.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: jenny x therapy LMAO. actually answer is uhhh idk. might be easier to give a list of my DEFINITE NOTPS (easily guessable, i'd assume.) i simultaneously DO headcanon jenny as having had a crush on blair and think they have interesting dynamic (and lots of angst and turmoil and admiration/jealousy psuedo-political warfare that makes me understand why people DO ship it) while also not really wanting it be like. A Thing. (i also think their relationship was too fraught and blair in particular was too awful to jenny for them to ever have a healthy romantic relationship, so.) i have... a soft spot for nate and jenny let's say? i don't think canon was the right time for them to be together, obviously, and i can easily see how some of her feelings could come across as comphet (especially with him being so constantly unavailable). at the same time, i think they have a lot of sweet moments that are rooted in like, affection and genuinely liking who the other person is. he's very gentle with her and i think jenny could have used a lot more gentle moments in the show. at the same time, i'm not sure they're ultimately the right fit for each other, and i don't really imagine that they're "end game", so to speak, but i do like reading the occasional post-canon fic about them. so that's where i land on them, i supposed. in actuality, i think jenny probably realizes she's queer in some capacity eventually, but that's a whole other question lmao.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: jenny and eric! but also jenny and dan! but also jenny and serena!! it's hard to pick lmao. i think the show does a pretty decent job showing the complexities of the friendship between jenny and eric given eric's limited screentime lmao. i think they hit something very grounded and real with eric and jenny's back and forth, which how much they love and need each other and also can't stand each other half the time, how their introduction was a really simple moment of jenny showing him compassion and him meeting her back with that effort full-force, with how they both value each other more than is common in heterosexual romance-based western cultures but also can't or won't or don't know that they need to or how to admit that to one another. it's a very honest depiction of a friendship at this age and of this kind, at least for me.

i was about to say that my feelings about dan and jenny are simpler, but i don't know if that's true? i might be repeating myself here, but if there's one thing gossip girl does well, it's grounded and realistic dynamics. they tease each other lightly and they tease each other too harshly sometimes, they fight, and they try to understand each other but often can't, they secret-keep for each other until that's no longer viable, and they do their best to protect one another and it's all just so balanced. one scene that stands out to me is when jenny steals the dress in season one and dan goes into talk to her and it's so clear he's had to take on somewhat of a parental role with her since their mom has been gone? and i'm sure that's frustrating for both jenny and for dan. but despite taking on this role of care, he doesn't treat her condescendingly or with any ire, he tries to be understanding and careful and thoughtful where rufus couldn't be. and while i'd say the show does a disservice to their relationship as time wears on, i think when dan gets the CHANCE to be a good big brother to her, he always always is. he tries to do right by her and even in her harsher, more isolating days, she still tries to trust him and lets herself be jenny around him moreso than she knows how to do with other people.

with jenny and serena -- i think i love what their dynamic could have been more than what it was? watching the pilot for the first time, i was sure there were going to be more big sisterly moments between them, but they end up going for conflict instead. which is understandable; like i said, it IS a drama. but serena tries so hard to be kind to jenny in the first season and while jenny wants to BE blair, i think serena's kindness lets her hold onto her dream a little longer, imagine that there's a world where she gets in with the in-crowd and someone like serena is there to back her up. i also think there's a really intriguing theme of jenny's arc paralleling what's serena's been through in terms of assault and sexual exploitation. the "the sixteen year old virgin" really exemplifies how serena WANTS to protect jenny from going down a path of self-destruction that could lead to her getting hurt even more. and just. that's an interesting but woefully underexplored dynamic. she also has the best approach (at first) in that episode which is to just like. talk to jenny like a peer. explain her worries over a shared pint of ice cream. it's only when she panics and starts Plotting that it becomes Too Much. anyway. there's a world in which their relationship was meatier and i want to live in it!

My unpopular opinion about this character: she deserved way better than the narrative throwing her under the bus to prioritize ch*ck.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i think i wish dan would have found out somehow about jenny getting drugged by agnes. on the one hand, nate telling him maybe would Kind of Not Be Cool, buuut it's tv the characters are allowed to be flawed and messy. plus! it makes the most sense. i feel genuinely feel that if dan found that out, she would be able to open up to him and they would figure out what was best for her (going to stay with their mom for senior year, lots and lots of therapy) sooner and without the ch*ck of it all.

[thefringespod]

I'm very late to the @224bbaker finale which means I can liveblog it without worry about spoilers

That being said: spoilers under the cut!

-I love Hampton Fawx so much he's just a dramatic little man and I love that about him

-*they wouldn't even need to change the name*

-my gods why are they awake at 3AM I get that things went a little sideways but 3AM is sleepy time

-I will never get tired of the jaunty lil theme tune

-THE JEWELS WERE STOLEN AGAIN? CAN THESE JEWELS CATCH A BREAKER?

-Hampton Fawx doesn't play dumb he just is (affectionate)

-"I'm apparently quite blinded by my own ego and ambitions" Hampton my beloved

-THEY KIDNAPPED JAMES??? JAMESNAPPED!! NO!!

-ONE HOUR

-O N E H O U R

-James is gonna die

-"You're recoiling cause you were successfully confident for the first time in your entire life?" Madge Stallion I love you

-Hampton Fawx having an idea for the first time in his life i love this for him

-"Deduction :)"

-Hampton *definitely* gets fidgety and indignant

-MADGE STALLION I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

-the power of lesbian leads to stealing jewels <3

-LETS! GO! FREE! A! STALLION!!!

-And Ambrosius <3

-I KNEW CRIMERIA STOLE HIS OWN JEWELS

-MY VOTE IN THAT TUMBLR POLL WAS RIGHT

-Unionize Oskar. Unionize. Union of one. I believe in you.

-STOP PUNCHING JAMES

-We wait.

-Jonathan Crimeria is a whiny little baby I hope Madge gets to punch him she deserve that

-Yes Madge is the only one of the trio that I believe can/has thrown a punch

-"its not my fault they dont execute criminals on sundays you can blame God for that" "I do" "so do I. Every day."

-I! KNEW! IT! WAS! INSURANCE FRAUD!!

-Also shout out to the editor very good punching (stop punching James though please)

-Hampton Fawx: right for the first time :)

-"Its a crimeria thing"

-I love that James is just sassing crimeria for being boring

-OH SHIT OSKAR'S GOT A GUN

-"wasn't a compliment" "with a different tone it could've been"

-Fidgety and indignant :)

-THE WAX CYLINDER!!!!

-You can hide a lot in a lady's bustle :)

-"So THATS why you were playing so dumb" James please

-I KNOW WHAT A SALAD FORK IS

-friendship is jumping in front of a carriage for each other <3

-DID THAT CARRIAGE JUST BLOW UP

-THEY JUST SOLVED THEIR FIRST CASE!

-its not every day tou get to blackmail someone with a wax cylinder

-you need ALL THE MINCE PIES JAMES

-THEY CREDITED HOLMES AND WATSON??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????? FAWX AND STALLION(S) DESERVE BETTER!!!!!!!!!!

-Hampton you did WHAT

-hes grown so much. But also. Please Hampton you deserve credit

-ARCHIE QUIT???????? YES ARCHIE!!!! LIVE YOUR BAKER DREAMS!!!!!!!!!

-To my favorite failure so far :)

-FOR AMBROSIOUS!!!

-Hampton Fawx, aroace disaster (I don't care if this is canon its canon to ME)

-THEY HAVE A CASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND A WHOLE TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My gods this show is an absolute gift. Congratulations to the entire Fawx & Stallion team for an incredible first season I cannot WAIT for season 2 and all the shenanigans that are sure to come :)

[daisychainsandbowties]

(trying to find the right poses)

What would you say are the preferred lightsaber forms of our dearly beloved disaster trio? (and also Mary and Shannon)

For me, I can see Beatrice switching between the elegance of Makashi and the unbreaking wall of Soresu (the little overachiever would of course be more than capable of using more than one form) (and that fight in chapter 2 of LB had total Soresu vibes from Bea).

And Ava, who is always so aware/absorbed/active in the Force, I can see leaning more into Niman to compensate between use of the force and the actual physical demands of the form. Or maybe Ataru, because of how she already automatically leans into the Force to enhance her natural movements, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for her to take it further in her lightsaber form (and also the little energizer bunny isn't exactly the type to stay contained. she totally has ketamine-gremlin-yoda vibes)

Lilith, I can see with Forms V or VII (or both, considering her proficiency with a blade). I can see her leaning into the physicality required for Shien/Djem So, as well as the practicality of it for both saber and blaster combat. But also Juyo, for the aggressive chaos and sheer strength of body, mind, and will it requires to sustain (and I cannot unsee the parallels between her and Maul).

What do you think?

oh you are wonderful for getting me thinking seriously about this. i trained in kendo for years as a kid, so usually i meld that and my karate to write (sword)fighting scenes, but this is giving me so much more to work with.

so, thinking on the lighsaber form of the star wars au cast:

Mary would definitely use form 5. probably both variations. she fought extensively during the Clone Wars & would have seen the value in a lightsaber form that prioritised deflecting blaster bolts over duelling.

she wouldn’t have gravitated towards Soresu, i think, because she is naturally more aggressive than that, and she wants options available to her for initiating conflict, as opposed to responding to it. Shien is excellent for fighting in battlefield conditions. like Soresu in its emphasis on deflecting blaster bolts, but also more assertive - often redirecting those bolts into other opponents, or environmental hazards.

the Djem So side of things she would be less, but still somewhat, practiced in. she'd see the value in aggressive close combat duelling tactics, but ultimately her preference is for Shien. Djem So is her go-to for fighting other lightsaber-users though, because it offers a solid set of options, but relies less on the kind of wild acrobatics that many other Jedi employ.

she is not so accomplished at Djem So as in Shien, mostly because she’s not a natural duelist, specialising in battlefield command, usually fighting among Republic Clone Troopers. Mary also, even before Order 66, carried and used a blaster in addition to her lightsaber.

Shannon: Soresu. Shannon is a very Obi-Wan Kenobi/ Luke Skywalker character. she’s dedicated to the beliefs of the Jedi - she is about balance, harmony, hence why she has a green saber - and Soresu exemplifies the Jedi philosophy.

it is also incredibly useful in a variety of situations (all about exposing minimal targets to the enemy, thinking of Luke practicing en-route to Alderaan); it’s resilliant and adaptable, and as a diplomat - probably one of the few Jedi who were called in to deal with complex scientific issues (read: the time when Shannon ended up in a star wars equivalent of the movie “Alien” along with Mary, back in their early days together) Shannon would have favoured Soresu as a defensive form.

she’s a self-sacrificial sort of person, too, and you can see Soresu in the way that she defends Ava from Crimson in chapter 1 (an echo of Obi-Wan in A New Hope). i think she almost took Niman after mastering form 1 back in her padawan days, but something (Mary) changed her mind about spending 10 years studying it. 

Bea: oh! i definitely think that Bea is melding different forms together (certainly she’s borrowing aspects from her Jedi and her Sith training).

so yes, she uses Makashi on the Sith side of things (because it is Lilith who retrains her in the lightsaber after she is tortured; she has to adapt to her shattered elbow, which will always be weak. hence why Makashi - a (frequently) one-handed fighting style - is an ideal style for her to fall back).

i think she is trained in Soresu, but she had to abandon it - again, because of her injury - though she retains the tactical instincts of that style, despite adapting to a more aggressive outlook. Soresu requires too much dual-dexterity.

instead of Soresu, Bea picks up Ataru. the force-assisted acrobatics and the fluidity of it suit her perfectly - plus the aggression. she’s all about sliding through an opponent’s space, slipping past their guard, or simply coming at them from an angle they don’t expect. the combo of Makashi - THE duelling form - and Ataru would i think be Potent. both elegant, but Makashi playing into her calculating, strategic side - all about the footwork and controlling yourself AND your foe - plus the explosive power of Ataru and also its use of the Force, which, as we all know, Beatrice is incredibly powerful with. bringing out the blunt-force side of her fighting instincts. i think the ch 2 pit fight showcased her ability to balance aggression with manipulation, and also to come at her opponent with vicious speed and end the fight swiftly and efficiently (a hallmark of Ataru)

Lilith: you’re totally right. i think 100% Lilith would use form 7 - and Juyo specifically. she’s not trained in the same way as others, & i think was pretty swiftly thrown into battle after mastering form 1 and being taught elements of Makashi (which she later perfected, just because she could) but in her heart she’s a form 7 practitioner.

it requires both immense aggression, a level of viciousness, and also a focus on emotion and domination. i think from what we see of Lilith’s fighting style she is MUCH more brutal than Beatrice (her fight style resembles Kenpo karate)

Juyo is described in one of the novels as a form filled with “malignant grace” <- could we describe darling dearest Lil any better?? in ch. 2 her leaping attack really exemplifies the sudden volatility of form 7.

it also requires a lot of internalised Force energy, which, considering Lilith’s unique relationship with the Force (and her augmentation with magick) would be ideal for her. it also LOOKS messy, but it is, in fact, astonishing grace hidden inside of staccato movements. considering Some Plans i have, that would suit Lilith perfectly - yes, she seems like an untamed thing, but she is in fact as deft and calculated as Beatrice, and Juyo allows her to use her fury to her advantage, and also her overwhelming physical prowess, because she really IS probably the most physically adept out of all of them.

Ava: i think for Ava i spoke in ch 1 about her being absolutely angelic with the lightsaber, and also Ava knows physics. she loves acrobatics and she ADORES aerial acrobatics, specifically - particularly aviation and ship manoeuvers. she knows g-forces and how not to pass out while pitching and rolling in atmosphere.

so i think she is a pure Ataru practitioner. form 4, with its focus on acrobatics and dynamic movement, would appeal to her desire to move and to fly and to be rooted anywhere but into the ground. it is also incredibly offensive (a good echo of Ava’s ‘i’m more of a punch-first type girl’ comment). and it DOES emphasise the force, but specifically for movement.

i think Ava, depending a lot of Shannon’s incredibly Force-abilities, would lean into the more embodied side of the Force - speed, agility, and a no-holds-barred offence would absolutely suit Ava - though, of course, Ataru is really incredibly dependent on the practitioner’s strong connection to the Force, which early-star wars au Ava does not have.

but yes the quickness of it, the jumping and the almost phasing through space with Force-enhanced speed, all of it would suit Ava. i think, probably, she will have to adjust eventually to learn some techniques for dealing efficiently with blaster-bolts and projectiles. i think also there’s an extent to which Ava’s use of Ataru is tempered somewhat by her training in Soresu, from Shannon. i think she leaned into the beauty and the ferociousness of Ataru, but now that she doesn’t have her Master anymore there’ll be an element of melding those styles together, learning to protect herself because Shannon - who always, always protected her - has stood between Ava and her death for the last time. 

[dragynkeep]

gangsta and twdg for the new fandom ask game!

GIVE ME A FANDOM & I'LL TELL YOU:

gangsta.

my favorite female character: alex, my darling beloved.

my favorite male character: nicolas. worrick is a very close second but i just adore my husband too much.

my favorite book/season/etc: we only got one season for the show rip but for the manga, i really love volume / arc 4. it felt like the main trio were settled into something familiar with each other & we were beginning to get to the nitty gritty of the world around them. plus the club fight scene is so good.

my favorite episode: siblings from the anime, chapter chapter 17 from the manga.

my favorite cast member: n/a.

my favorite ship: nicolas / alex, nicolas / worrick, ginger / gina, striker / marco.

a character i’d die defending: erika on god. my poor baby girl went through so much, i need her away from that creep ivan.

a character I just can’t sympathize with: none really, like the previous answer in the kny meme: the characters we're meant to sympathize with all have pretty good reasons to do so.

a character i grew to love: a collective answer but the destroyers group, their introduction was albeit a little clunky & came at the expense of other beloved characters dying around the same time. i absolutely adore them now though.

my anti otp: none.

twdg.

my favorite female character: it will always be clementine, my darling. my pookie bear. christa for a close second though.

my favorite male character: torn between lee, marlon or david.

my favorite book/season/etc: s4 imo. it suffered issues in the writing but i think that was more a result of the situation behind the scenes than the actual writers themselves. overall this season did a lot to redeem from the disasters that s2 & 3 had been.

my favorite episode: no time left in s1, done running from s4.

my favorite cast member: i love a lot of them but melissa & dave will always have a special place in my heart sobs.

my favorite ship: clem / louis, clem / marlon, marlon / louis, lee / carley, lee / lily.

a character i’d die defending: christa & lily hands down. the fandom can end up being really weird about lily, especially kenny stans & i think that season 4's jumbled writing only worsened this.

a character I just can’t sympathize with: kenny. idc i want that stupid racist crybaby dead.

a character i grew to love: violet.

my anti otp: kenny / anyone.

[usagoodnews]

Freelance Movie (2023) Alert: John Cena’s Exciting Role

Summary

Freelance Movie: Director Pierre Morel is bringing a new movie for you in which you will see comedy along with action. WWE wrestler John Cena is going to be seen in the lead role in this movie. He has left a different impression in the hearts of the audience by playing his role in many movies till now. In this, Alison Brie and Alice Eve are also going to be seen in a new character and a different style. Let’s talk about freelance movies.

Freelance Movie Trailer

Read Also:- Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner announce the end of their marriage

Freelance Movie Plot

Mason Petits (played by John Cena), a former Special Forces operative, finds himself stuck in a mundane desk job. However, his life takes an unexpected turn when he reluctantly accepts a freelance job providing private security for Claire Wellington (played by Alison Brie), a once-prominent journalist who is now on the decline. Little does she know that Claire’s interview with immaculately dressed dictator Juan Venegas (played by Juan Pablo Raba) will be a game-changer. As a military coup strikes, just as they are on the verge of a career-changing opportunity, this unlikely trio must traverse the treacherous jungle, working together to ensure their survival and escape danger.

Freelance Movie Cast

John Cena

John Cena’s name is Mason Petits in this movie and he plays the character of a retired Special Forces operator.

John Cena is a versatile American talent, known for his wrestling talent in WWE, having held 16 world championships. Beyond the ring, he is a well-known actor, having appeared in films such as “Trainwreck” and “Fast & Furious 9.” Cena’s iconic phrase, “You Can’t See Me” and his philanthropic work, particularly with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, has made him a beloved figure. He is praised for his dedication, humility, and positive influence, making him a role model for many and maintaining a lasting legacy in both sports and entertainment.

Alison Brie

In this movie, Alison Brie’s name is Claire Wellington who is playing the role of a journalist.

Alison Brie is a versatile American actress, best known for her roles in “Community” and “GLOW.” With a talent spanning both television and film, Brie has showcased her acting prowess in projects like “Mad Men,” “BoJack Horseman,” and “The Disaster Artist.” Her ability to portray diverse characters has earned her critical acclaim. Brie’s charming personality and advocacy for women’s empowerment also make her a respected figure in the entertainment industry, leaving an indelible mark on both TV and cinema.

Alice Eve

In this film, Alice Eve is playing the role of Mason Petits (John Cena)’s wife.

Alice Eve is a British actress known for her captivating performances in film and television. She gained prominence with roles in “She’s Out of My League” and “Star Trek Into Darkness,” displaying her acting versatility. Eve’s talent extends to various genres, from comedy to drama, and she has appeared in projects like “Black Mirror” and “Iron Fist.” Her striking beauty and compelling on-screen presence have garnered her a global fan base. With her talent and charisma, Alice Eve continues to leave a lasting impression in the world of entertainment.

Read Also:- The Exorcist Believer (2023) the fear is still there

Freelance Movie Release Date

Freelance movie starring John Cena in a lead role. This movie will be released on October 27, 2023.

How did you like the trailer of Freelance movie? If something is missing in our blog that we could not write in this blog then please let us know about it. We will bring change in ourselves.

Thanks For Reading

[idyllic-affections]

Guess who's back

Back again?

🐉 Anon's back

Tell a friend!

Jokes aside, hello again!

I agree completely. I feel mihoyo realized that people might not have felt that strong of a connection to the Traveler (even though they're motives are the entire reason we do the stuff we do in the game) due to how little we actually hear them, how little they might come off as their own living, breathing person. And since they probably it was already too far into the game to rectify this error, they instead elected to have the Trailblazer be voiced more instead. And it really does so much for them, because they really feel like they're a character themself, instead of just another player-insert, it's also super refreshing with just how unhinged, how much of a the Trailblazer can be characterized as. Plus, I especially love the VA for Stelle, and my favorite line that she's delivered so far has got to be:

"Wow... the cringe is strong."

The palpable disgust in that delivery is beautiful.

March is legit so absolutely adorable, 100% would jump in front of the Disaster Beast's disaster-beam to protect her again. Would take photos with her, even though I'm honestly not much of a photographer myself. And again, I just find the sibling dynamic that the main trio have is just to die for. Then we add in certain characters calling Stelle big sister and just... AUGH. I think I may have become so attached, that I have trouble playing different teams. And considering how they'll simply reappear in the dialog sections, is that kinda weird? Eh...

Either way, they all have a special place in my heart, the fucking faces March makes when you choose the trolly dialogue options LMAO

And great! I'll get around to sharing some of them with you in the next day or too! Though be forewarned, there is angst, there is trauma. I swear the spirit of Hoyoverse must've come over me or something, because basically all the characters I've come up with have some sort of issue... does that prospect make you uncomfortable?

Also also, I was wondering if you're open to taking writing requests atm? Because I had a couple of potential ideas for some genshin stuff if you are!

-🐉Anon

hi lovely welcome back hehe <33

yes i agree!!!!! the trailblazer feels like... an actual character, you know? stelle has her own personality and thoughts and is an actual fleshed-out character. it's endearing. the trailblazer is just so so important to me, i love her sm <33 she feels so much more real than aether or lumine do. also, i personally feel far more connected to stelle's narrative. the traveler's objective is solely to find their sibling, but with stelle, the emphasis of her journey does not seem to be the destination but rather on the journey itself. and i love that. because the traveler's sibling literally DOES NOT want to see them and idk how they don't get tired chasing after someone who isn't interested in reconnecting. like. i don't like that standoffishness, you know? it's really annoying to me. how can lumine (in my case) be so cold and enigmatic towards her literal TWIN BROTHER?? just talk to your brother bro it is not that hard PLEASE i am tired of chasing after you AJSKAGKFHD

UGH SAME. MOVE OUT OF THE WAY STELLE IT IS MY TURN TO THROW MYSELF INTO POTENTIALLY FATAL DANGER IN MARCH'S DEFENSE!!!! i picked up photography last year as a hobby and i honestly love it sm. i would absolutely take photos with her. beloved. also hook calling stelle big sister and getting flustered about it is the cutest to me!!!!! that's my daughter and i will not let anyone hurt her. same i know i will need to change up my team comp eventually (it is the trailblazer, dan heng, march, & hook at the moment) to make combat easier but i love them sm?!?!?!? i do not want to abandon them?!?!?!?!?!

I KNOW SHE GIVES THE TRAILBLAZER THE DIRTIEST LOOKS IT ALWAYS MAKES ME GIGGLE. THE FACES SHE MAKES AUSGAKGJGHF

this is actually a bit funny to me! anyone who knows me--knows my ocs--knows very well that i think there is NEVER enough angst. there is always room for more trauma. so no, it does not at all make me uncomfortable!!!! do your worst in my inbox!!!!!

also yep! my reqs are always open, so feel free to send in any thoughts at any time <3 you can send as many as you want as often as you want to! just be sure to send all your reqs seperately.

[thehallstara]

hi tumblr i’m doing that thing again where i throw part of this wip on here bc i’m having a moment with it so uhhhh enjoy about 800 unedited words about edric declan and baby (cw for like. implied toxic relationship) (that’s maybe the best way to put it idk)

You meet Declan at 20 years old, him about 3 years your senior. You’ve already been with the Firestarters for about a year strong at that point, eager to prove your worth. When Tyreek asks you to bring him on a call, it’s not even a question, just a scramble for approval. They’re cocky at best and cruel at worst and you know in an instant they could destroy you if you let them.

That’s how you find yourself teetering on the edge of something rotten at the cusp of a new era. You and Morrow are rocky at best these days, petty jabs and broken kisses and not much else in between. You’re bitter that they chose a Charleston far away, and they’re bitter that you didn’t choose theirs and so instead you try and summon the dredges of a broken future.

Declan is jealous and Declan is self-assured in a way you’ll never be and Declan laughs as the crowds cheer his names till it’s almost cataclysmic. It’s heated kisses with backs against locker room walls, and bitter, bitter fights, and it’s expertly aimed jabs you both know will hit, verbal sparring matches that leave your mouth with the taste of tears and acid. The peanut only makes them even more unbearable.

It’s a relief when you switch.

The Declan of Chicago is kind, and misguided, and a bit too much of a mess, but he quickly becomes one of your only friends. Once you get past the bravado, you can see what your former self saw in him, puppy-dog eyes and an eager smile and an overflowing heart that makes up for the mistakes of it all, at least for you. The rest of the team has a harder time with him, but to you it’s such a refreshing difference that you can’t help but love him, even just a little.

You let 12 runs in your one game in the internet series, and they have an allergic reaction that ends up winning you all the championship. It's a match made in heaven.

In Deerfield you were too soft. Here, you’re all harsh lines and sharp edges. It's bristling at the winds, chafing against a rigid structure you don’t know how to deal with. Here, your back is as straight as it used to be at barre. Here, it’s a tension in your fingers, restraint that’s foreign to you. Here, you try. By god, do you try.

Baby, who you never really talked with much before, takes to you for the opposite reason. Xe likes you for your sharp edges, spits bitter curses at your former self, smokes with you outside while everyone else gives disapproving glares. Xe doesn’t understand why you’re this way, and xe don’t try to. That’s not what your relationship is about; you are there to prove their apathy right. Both of you know this, and you’re okay with it because xe has never followed a proper expectation in xir life, it’s a matching painted middle finger to everything around you, every side glance and whisper you receive as they spur you on. You make out at parties in Baltimore while Declan fucks around with Tillman, both of your jokes a little too sharp to hide the truth of them.

Of course the three of you end up together. Of course it’s messy and wonderful and all a little too much. Of course you crash and burn in spectacular fashion the moment any actual weight is put on it.

It is what it is.

Season Twelve is bad. Season Twelve is worse than Season Four, which is saying something mighty. In the months leading up to it, the three of you debate whether it’s better to keep your apartment or move back into the Firehouse, eventually deciding on the latter, but not without a fight. It’s better in the long run though, as becomes immediately apparent. Still, none of you are ready. How could you be?

Your second game, you feel the air tingle as the Jazz Hands steal a win from you and the black hole deafens. You hear the jeers of the crowd and can’t help but cringe. Twenty-six days in, something causes Baby to vibrate out of their skin, something that has only happened to one other person, who just happens to be married to hir sibling, and there's no way in which that ends well. Day after that there's a rotation reverb, and you've only felt the fear that runs through you when the vibrations hit once or twice before. Forty-two days on, Declan goes into anaphylaxis and you're not even on the field, but you watch as Josh stabs them with the matching epipen most of you keep in your pockets and you watch as Baby rubs their back and stares you straight in the eye. Day Sixty-one–

Well.

Day Sixty-one, your life flips itself upside down for the second time, and there's nothing you can do but try.

Josh dies and you're not there and Declan gets shadowed and you're not there and that's all that it is. Baby goes first when you push too hard and then Declan clings desperately as all the pieces fall apart, but by the time the next season starts it's all over. You don't think you could have changed it if you tried.

It doesn’t matter, in the end.

[chocolatemilksmoothie]

Clouds on the Horizon

aka

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ahem, I mean, let's go

the Collector and Belos don't seem to like or trust each other at all, even though or maybe because lmao they've worked together for centuries

"what if it's all changed? what if you've changed?" both true, Belos is gonna hate 2022 even more than we do. also he'll catch every virus and illness known to man

I LOVE the way this little bastard is animated

he doesn't want to make another grimwalker until "dealing with the current one" ugh

I'm wondering if it's just because he doesn't want the trouble of two at the same time or because he needs... parts from the previous one. one of the ingredients were bones from the original but it could also be that he uh, "recycles" them. ya know?

kikimora is a whole disaster huh

Blight siblings my beloveds

Odalia my despised

the language of loooove aw

Lily and Hooty being chaotic we love to see it

"you may be a titan but you're still a little guy" aw he wants to be useful

"Belos made sure we all have... replacements" oh I do NOT like that

using the curse to corrupt the spell is clever and makes sense but also... this all feels so risky

we don't know by the end if Eda actually got the sigil for sure, so we'll have to wait. Raine seemed very hesitant

Lilith volunteering to do it seems important. I wonder if she'll try to switch with Eda, since she is there dressed as a scout

Hooty did wear clothes after all

Darius and Eber's plan: we may kill some people but hey, at least we stop this guy. flawless :)

Eda keeps talking like it's the end and I agree with King, she needs to stoppppp it hurts me

AN EGG I LOVE IT I'm sad we still don't know what her palisman will be, I assume it'll hatch next week, but that is so perfect. they get to choose, and whatever it is, it'll be the perfect match for her

or should I say, the perfect hatch!! heh? I'm hilarious

Eda supporting Luz and Amity's romantic adventures I love her

"tell Bossy Boots I said yooo" lmao

sobs I LOVE THIS FAMILY

I know Raine will do anything to keep their promise, but that's what scares me too

Raine annoying Darius with the CATs name is everything to me <3

"Titan help us" "I'll... do my best" god he is feeling so much

Hexside trio reunion !!!!! thank u for the serotonin

+ Hunterrrr my son made friends :') he's so awkward but making progress

and he got new clothes and a shower thank you

a little sad we didn't get to see Darius and Hunter interacting but it's good to know they've been in contact and we're all in the same page here

so yes, he hasn't told them about the grimwalker thing, that makes sense. I hope he gets to talk about it on his own terms rather than have it revealed by Belos or something, ugh

Gus using that little spyglass like a BADASS go my boy

"SORRY MAN" he is so funny

not the going up the balcony with the flowers romance is SO alive right now

Odalia broke the little tamagotchi I will end her

grounded for arson, I'm impressed

I like that Amity trusts her dad to listen and believe them, but not her mom. they are not quite the same

the twins being like oh look who's here :) hehe let her finish this is cute

oh to have the most mundane, slice of life date ever with your cool witch girlfriend

KISS I AM SOBBING

the animationnnn the love

listen when I saw them hug I was like will they will they will they? nah they probably won't let them and then BAM

Eda seems to be in far better spirits than before finding out about the rebellion which makes sense, but also she's most likely putting on a facade of confidence with all the jokes and such hmm

she has accepted the curse as a part of her forever, which I like since it fits the chronic illness angle the story has given it. and hey, she still has glyphs if all goes wrong. I hope

Steve was extra serious this whole episode it made me uneasy

that creepy connection King and the Collector have is terrifying

he seems so much like a lonely child. a powerful, chaotic, dangerous child

snorse power, HA

why does that rat look like Alador? a cosplayer rat??

"I'm an asset gal myself" I would die for Willow

those wild witches are all so pretty! am I crazy or are they based on the cast and crew? nice

Alador and King bonding was not what I was expecting but honestly I loved it ahaha

seems the Blights' relationship is more of a business partnership where she is the unreasonable boss. checks out

things are gonna change after the Day of Unity indeed, sir...

I've been waiting for a shot with all 5 of them LOOK AT THIS TEAM WITH ALL THEIR NEW OUTFITS AND HAIRSTYLES THEY'RE PERFECT

"we'll find you a new girlfriend" I love that she is horrible but still draws the line at homophobia, we don't need that here

so, Belos and everyone seem to know about the CATs. Does this mean... there's a traitor??? or were they just discovered?? oh god either way this is not good

"was it the power of believing in myself?" "NO" why did that take me out

unbothered

the way Alador blushes like Amity when they get angry. yes

she feels justified and like she's doing them all a favor, she wants to stay in control

very cool to finally see an oracle witch in action! even if I want her to lose

I noticed "Luz" did Hunter's quick warp thing to shield Willow and was confused, it felt too intentional. very nice

also add one to the counter of Hunter instinctively protecting people. he does that a lot

I am devastated this wasn't actually Hunter but this is so On Brand for Luz I love her very much

Gus an absolute icon for keeping up that illusion for so long while also kicking ass

"the jetpack actually works!!! :) oh, the jetpack actually works :("

very badass of Alador to destroy his own work and quitting his marriage job

Luz thought of a way to kill two birds with one stone: protecting Hunter by keeping him away from Belos, and helping Eda by being taken to her. But now she's alone heading directly to the emperor

she is so selfless but girllll be safe

she still has her palisman egg and her glyphs of course

and so we end with this ominous shot

what is it with second to last episodes and the blood moon lately? and the way both matched the recent blood moon eclipse is pretty wild ngl

so I assume Amity, Willow, Gus, Hunter, King and Alador will head to the uh, the head, but they'll get there later. hopefully not too late

though I am scared for King being anywhere near there given the whole thing with the Collector... oh, next week will be INSANE

It'll be sad to say goodbye to the Owl House for the time being, but I know it'll deliver a crazy season finale. oof, can't wait

[thejudgingtrash]

11. “...did you just sniff me?” for percabeth pretty please 🙏🤍🤍🤍

Heya! I’m finally here to come back to this request 😄😄 It took me only a little bit in comparison to other requests, but I'm here!

Also since @percyheartsannabeth, @skaterannabeth and @not-optimistic-petrol-biscuit had asked about fluff. Here you go... Kinda? 😬 Anyway. Here's a monster sneak peek into may I introduce you to my beloved wife? 😋

It took me all day yesterday, but I managed to pump out 11k words. That's a record for a single session in one day (with like two breaks). And yes, that is still not the entire chapter. Here are roughly 9,2k for you to consume!

TW: alcohol, overbearing relatives not minding their own business, a tiny section talking about domestic abuse and Athena and Frederick Chase ain't shit but that's nothing new. Poseidon too, for once. Enjoy!

may I introduce you to my beloved wife?

(*absolutely not proof-read, my bad)

Annabeth sighed. You can do this. You can do this. You’ve already finished the week. Think about the money. Think about the move to California. Push through this day and next week, think about the money and the minute you’ll hand your termination in. She wanted to splash some water up her face, but the makeup that tinted her lips in a luscious rose and added some bronze to her high cheekbones was too expensive to be washed off and hastily reapplied.

It was pre-Dionysus Day, which meant it was merely the calm before the storm. The first sparkling sip of an impending disaster waiting to rollover the roomy Greek villa Percy forced her to stay in. Well not really forced. Forced and bribed her to stay in. That made it sound slightly better. Just think of the one-hundred seventy-five dollars he’s going to transfer into your bank account for your new start in California. I should renegotiate. California is also expensive. Make it two-hundred fifty thousand.

The tall blonde looked at her reflection in the mirror. A young woman full of life was the first thing she had seen in the morning but now she looked tired and annoyed, just how she felt. Something crashed in one of the dozens of rooms next to her and people laughed. Annabeth sighed again. It was the only thing she could do, otherwise she would scream like a banshee, making sure that at least Hermes and Prometheus would check her, if it wasn’t for Percy stuffing socks into her mouth to make her shut up before they got to her. The majority of his Greek relatives had been lovely if not terribly nosy and overbearing. It was the opposite of her family. His was warm and chaotic and for the most part welcoming. Hers? Cold, apathetic, disapproving of everything she did. She had no family in comparison, and neither would she want to compare this wholesome messy bunch to the cold-hearted Athena Pallas and the monster that was Friedrich Chase.

Annabeth respected Hera and Hestia, she definitely side-eyed Aphrodite who was cheating on her husband and she would definitely stay away from Zeus. Crossing paths with him occasionally in the New York office of Atlantic INC. was terrible, seeing him openly be flirty and loosen up during a forced trip was way worse.

This was a bad idea and I have a terrible feeling about this. The burgundy wrap dress that hugged her skin was soft and light but in the Thessalian heat it felt like a sticky cocoon caging her. She wasn’t a beautiful butterfly, ready to burst out and wow everyone. Neither was she a moth drawn to a flame. She was a bug that had been sprayed by Percy with a pesticide, wrapped in toxic chemicals which were slowly dissolving her body, piece by piece.

A knock shoved the horrendous image inside of her head aside. “Yes?” she asked with a firm voice. Too firm with a hint of annoyance, but she was not a professional actress and could not switch her emotions off as she pleased. She was a junior marketing manager for Christ’s sake. Not for much longer. Only two more months…

Percy opened the door. “Are you ready?“ he asked with his usual pleasant baritone reaching her ear.

He wore light linen pants that hugged his legs loosely and a light blue shirt with the first buttons opened up. She could see his defined chest and the swirls of black hair peeking through. The hair was styled into a disheveled curly mess which suited him way better than the gelled back corporate look and he forgot to trim his beard like the day before. Annabeth couldn’t deny what she saw – her tormentor was a very attractive man.

“Do you want to bail?” His sea-green eyes darkened a shade. Worry flashed through them.

Annabeth exhaled sharply for the last time. “I wish I could but then I’d leave you without a fiancé,” she smiled through the pain.

Her glance found her reflection again. The topknot was still intact, and a few strands carefully framed her heart-shaped face. She looked perfect on the outside and she wanted to commit manslaughter in the inside.

“Let’s get over with it,” Percy sighed and stretched his hand out. It seemed like Percy was the one that would rather bail.

Annabeth took it without any complaint. She was the happy girlfriend soon-to-be-wife and holding hands was way better than being forced into kissing him during Sports Day. The Theodoropoulos family truly had planned activity after activity during those two weeks in winter.

“Oh!” Sally peeked into the bathroom and saw her son holding Annabeth’s hand.

“There you are! Is everything okay, mija?” she asked with her sweet Dominican accent and looked at Annabeth.

Annabeth automatically smiled back. Sally was the mother she never had, and it broke her heart crumble by crumble by the sheer charade Percy and she were forced to display for the next six days. Sally Jackson deserved the best. She certainly didn’t deserve being deceived and lied to by her terrible son and his tag-a-long coworker.

“Yes, Percy was just making sure we’re arriving on time.” Annabeth got on her toes and placed a soft kiss on Percy’s stubbled cheek. It tickled but by now she had gotten used to it.

He rolled his eyes, smiled at his mother, nonetheless. Sally’s eyes sparkled and she clapped, clutching her hands tightly. “You don’t know how proud you’re making me, mijo,” she then said teary-eyed.

“You finally found a great girl and she is standing next to you.” Sally wiped a tear away and the awful feeling that sat on Annabeth’s chest and made everything heavier, amplified by a thousand times.

This was way worse than being referred to as the woman that would bear him three to five children presuming with the first one sired on this current vacation by Ares. Yes, Annabeth wanted two children at max, but not definitely now. She was twenty-eight and in the prime of her life! Note: Percy would certainly not be the father of said two children. Unruly blond waves and a mischievous grin blitzed through her head. Pale blue eyes came back from the deepest pit of her memory. Luke. Fuck no, that was even worse than Percy. His betrayal… Annabeth tried to shake the memory off and focused on the ongoing situation in front of her.

Sally truly hoped her son found love and not a quick fling. Oh shit, Annabeth thought and looked up to Percy whose face expressed similar thoughts. His conscience nibbled and guilt flooded his body.

“Mamá,” Percy began and released Annabeth’s hand in order to grasp the older woman’s shoulder.

Sally brushed his large hands off. “No, no! Off you go! You younglings should be downstairs celebrating your reunion with the entire side of Poseidon’s family.”

Annabeth appreciated the fact that Sally was invited and flown out each winter holiday by the Theodoropoulos’. Despite having been divorced from Poseidon for over twenty years, she was still a popular and welcomed guest, not just because of her son’s attachment to the Greek side and his tied division of the Greek family company.

Sally gave each of them a last smile before entering the women’s bathroom. Percy exhaled and pinched his nose. After ten seconds he released the nose and looked back at Annabeth. “Ready?” he asked a final time. Annabeth nodded.

The loud singing, yelling and talking that had been muffled by the bathroom hit her by a tenfold. The place had all the Mamma Mia vibes without the fun singing four days ago. Not anymore, as drunk relatives hit up the shore with loud music and talked loudly in their Pontic Greek dialect.

As the couple descended the stairs and walked through the parlor, a new wave of guests arrived at the same time. Three people that have just entered early adulthood looked up to them. Two men, one blond with a stoic face and bronzed skin, the other was shorter with spiky black hair and a beautiful grin on his lips. The woman next to him was the tallest out of the trio and possessed a high ponytail that would leave Ariana Grande dying out of envy. The dyed lilac hair swung around and nearly reached the middle of her thighs, meaning the hair was even longer without its tight prison on top.

“Thanatos, Zagreus, Megaera!” greeted Percy and gave each one of them a rib crushing bear hug. They looked pleasantly surprised at seeing Percy being accompanied by a pretty woman his age. It seems like the proposal didn’t reach all of the ends of the Greek world.

They fell into a short conversation in Greek and Annabeth smiled politely next to Percy as she fell entirely out of place. The evil Duolingo owl didn’t prepare her for this experience. Neither did her mother bother teaching her at least their Athenian dialect properly. She could introduce herself in Greek, order a beer, say goodbye and that was it. Thank you, Athena. For nothing again.

“Oh, you must be Annabeth,” Megaera eyed her carefully and Annabeth had the feeling that she could split her open with her hands. Weirdly enough, Annabeth was kind of into it. Megaera wasn’t only as tall as Percy but she was clearly the one with the toughest workout regimen as she displayed her muscular legs and defined arms with a short cocktail dress only a few shades darker than her hair.

“Yes,” Annabeth squeaked. She nearly added a ma’am towards the end. Megaera cocked her dark eyebrow. She had an aura that demanded respect.

“Interesting to see the woman who captured Perseus’ heart. It seems that he did develop a good taste after all. Calypso was as pretty as the crescent moon flower but sadly as dull as his corny jokes are.” Megaera’s deep smirk was a stamp of approval as her eyes roamed all over Annabeth.

“Hey!” Percy interrupted and placed a firm hand on Annabeth’s waist, as if he was trying to mark his territory.

“You have your own toys right to your right,” he then added with a playful tone.

Megaera actually laughed and waved dismissively. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more.” A clear offer which left Annabeth’s face turn into a fiery tomato red.

“Anyway, we have some catching up to do,” Thanatos proposed as Zagreus and he silently watched the conversation blossom. He sounded as reserved as he looked.

“Indeed,” Zagreus agreed, surprising Annabeth with a posh English accent. “Father will murder me if we miss out on his moussaka. It’s to die for you need to try it, Annabeth, at least before Hephaestus gets ahead of himself.”

Annabeth laughed. The Theodoropoulos did have their positives. “I will, Zagreus,” she nodded.

“Oh please, if aunt Sally gave her go for you to stay here, you’re as good as family. We’re Than, Zag and Meg for you,” Zagreus offered.

“Annabeth is already my nickname but thank you for the kind offer!”

The three new guests went on to join relatives and friends at the party which seemed to get more chaotic by each passing minute as the volume seemed to increase.

“My cousin Zagreus from my uncle Hades’ side,” Percy explained as the three went out of his sight.

“Are they friends? Or…”

“Pretty sure they’re polyamorous. You know, I don’t know, and I honestly don’t really care, I see Zag once every twelve months at max. Just don’t stick to Meg’s side for too long otherwise she’ll turn you into her fiancé.” Percy’s tone suggested that he was not joking.

“Oh.” Annabeth didn’t know what to think of it.

Percy closed his eyes as if he was making a silent prayer, before his sea-green met Annabeth’s light gray ones. She smelled like lemon with a hint of lavender, instead of roses like normally. Delicious. If it weren’t for the fact that it was Annabeth.

“So, listen. You know I’ve talked about Dionysus Day and how his birthday brings out the worst side of everyone.”

Annabeth nodded as Percy went on to explain.

“Pre-Dionysus Day is basically same with the only exception that my great-grandmother’s house is filled with the entire family. Yes, we’re expected to eat, drink, laugh, drink, dance, drink, reminisce on our past, drink, make fools out of ourselves in order for them to take blackmail pictures and drink some more, but no matter how much they want you to open up… try to control yourself. Everything you say can and will be used against you.”

Annabeth’s stomach started to churn, and her knees slightly gave in. “Look, I’m truly sorry for the mess that I’ve caused,” Percy looked directly into her eyes and tried to ignore the rosy streaks across her flushed cheeks. “And my relatives can be overbearing. But if we manage to stick through this night and the next one tomorrow, we’re as good as done with playing games.”

“Fine,” Annabeth gritted through her teeth. She had agreed to the terms and condition. She didn’t need a reminder of the stupid decision she made two months ago.

“Let’s go.”

She placed her hand on the doorknob that separated the parlor from the huge living room. Percy followed her as she opened the door. A wave of laughter, wine, ouzo, discovered secrets, cigarettes, sweat and fun hit them.

“Oh wow, someone should open a window.” Percy suggested as he coughed. Luckily cousin Metis had the same idea. No, aunt Metis. Or was it Thetis? Why did Percy need to have so many relatives with similar names again?

“Oh, Annabeth, look at you!” Aphrodite had snuck up behind them and surprised the fake couple by hugging each of them and nearly spilling the expensive Greek vintage in her hand on Percy’s shirt. The red alcoholic liquid carelessly swirled in her glass and more than often seemed to want to escape from her clutch.

“Aphrodite, be careful!” Percy reminded her as she dug her fingers into his arm. Her nails were as fake and bought as was the bond between Annabeth and Percy.

“Oh, please cousin, you should learn how to loosen up!” She laughed, but it sounded more like the shrill sound a bird made when it got nearly hit by a car. The high pitch made Annabeth slightly frown.

“Take your girl upstairs and show her all the Zorbas moves you got!” She wiggled her badly overdrawn eyebrows.

Aphrodite had always been the poster child of perfection. She knew how to dress her curvaceous body the right way, she knew how to apply the perfect touches of makeup on her face and she was the most graceful being Annabeth had ever met. Seeing her so disheveled left the blonde American content. It showed that Aphrodite wasn’t one of the gods, she was a mortal mess like they all were. That, and it was kind of funny seeing the abrupt transition from oozing perfection to looking like a rough mess after a couple of glasses of wine.

“If you know what I mean, you two know what I mean, right?”

“Yes,” Annabeth and Percy answered. Unfortunately, they did.

“That reminds me, this is such a pretty dress that you got!” Aphrodite’s eyes widened and she tugged at Annabeth’s sleeve that went slightly over her elbows. “Percy needs to bring me a couple of those the next time he visits. Oh wait! You’re about to marry, Annabeth can take me shopping. I want to visit New York next summer. When was your wedding again?”

Panic filled Annabeth she tried to stutter a lame excuse like they had done the entirety of the stay. Aphrodite’s brown eyes found something else to focus on in the meantime. Her hand went out to poke the tall blonde’s chest as she went on to pull on the thin fabric.

“You should show the men what you got! Free the girls!” Aphrodite yelled over the loud music, pushing Annabeth’s C cup to its limits. “Let Percy stand in the corner with that stupid frown, all jealous and depressed while you’re out on the hunt!”

Percy did not look amused especially since he tried to pull Annabeth away.

“Yeah, just like that!” Aphrodite’s glass pointed directly at his face as Annabeth tried to shove Aphrodite’s fickle fingers aside. “Oh, if I were just a little bit younger and not tied to your cousin…”

“You mean cousins,” Percy corrected and made a step backwards as Aphrodite’s dreamy and drunk dazed focus shifted from Annabeth to him.

“Aphrodite, leave Percy and his future wife alone,” Hera arrived to save the stressed couple and rolled her eyes. “Go harass Hephaestus and try to be a faithful wife for once in your life.”

She still looked like she had a massive stick shoved up her ass by the way she stood entirely straight next to them, but Annabeth appreciated the gesture. If Hera didn’t like Aphrodite much, Annabeth would rather join Team Hera than stand alone by the bleachers and under Aphrodite’s charmspeak. Aphrodite pouted and stomped with her feet twice as if she were a toddler and not a grown woman marching towards her forties. Then she stormed off and ran into the arms of her lover, nother husband to spite her mother-in-law and embarrass her even further.

“Malàka,” Hera cursed and lost her cool for one second, before clearing her throat and focusing on the already tired fake engaged couple in front of her. Not even Hera seemed to be averse from drinking a glass of wine or two. “You two definitely need a drink.”

Annabeth agreed with her for once.

She pointed at the bar behind her, which was managed by Dionysus and his wife Ariadne. The number of relatives ganging up on them and demanding new drinks was frightening. Surprisingly Dionysus kept his cool and shoved drinks in people’s hands at an impressive speed.

“Yeah, let’s get over with it,” Percy sighed and took Annabeth’s hand again.

“Are you okay?” Annabeth asked him. She knew from Thalia that Percy rarely ever drank and that his family was to blame for most of it. Percy seemed stiffer and graver than usual as well. As much as she disliked his jokey nature and easy-going demeanor he displayed at work, she’d much rather have that Percy by her side right now. Dionysus Day and the day before seemed like it was hell on earth for him and walking through it each year must take a toll on him.

“Yeah, let’s just each grab a glass of wine. Let them be happy about me shoving this disgusting stuff down my throat.” He thanked Ariadne as she prepared two glasses of the same vintage Aphrodite seemed to have inhaled earlier.

“Thank you.” Annabeth took her glass and sniffed. The wine smelled sickly sweet with a hint of the bitterness that the fermentation process had left. The glass in her hand weighed surprisingly heavy, not because of the wine itself but because of the golden swirls decorating it. The glass transitioned from the crystal-clear transparency into a deep black. A lyre surrounded by a bigger laurel wreath decorated the middle section and a golden snake was wrapped around the stem. The golden rim gave it a nice finish.

“Into a fruitful night,” Percy darkly mumbled over the music. He was really not looking forward to it, which confused Annabeth immensely. She didn’t understand why he pushed himself through this if he really didn’t like the drinking activities. He surely had his reasons, hence her not starting a fight with him over it. It was his family and their tradition after all.

“Into a fruitful night,” Annabeth instead repeated.

Issuing a weird toast as well. Percy Jackson was clearly not a drinker. Their glasses clinked and each of them took a sip. Thankfully grandma Rhea made sure they were well-fed before the festivities began.

“Fuck,” Annabeth muttered. A fine vintage as well. Not as sweet as she thought, it left a hint of sweet cumin as the lingering aftertaste. Her lipstick left a mark on the glass, but she didn’t bother to care as she took another gulp. The wine was nearly finished. She slowly started to understand why ancient civilizations went crazy after this stuff.

As she looked at her so-called fiancé, she saw that his glass was already empty. A grimace rested on his face as well.

“Err, Percy?”

“What?” The dark brooding look on his face was no more.

“Shouldn’t you take it easy?” Annabeth carefully asked. His eyes narrowed.

“I am,” he stated and cocked his head towards his cousin who was still busy playing the barkeeper but kept an overall watchful glimpse on the guests that flooded the gates.

“Dionysus saw me drink. Most importantly he saw us have a drink. That should be enough for me, but if you want some more, be my guest.” He shrugged.

Annabeth felt that she should probably drag his mopey ass out of the party, but it was way too early to leave. “Fine,” she said and asked Ariadne for a refill. Annabeth went in for another long sip. She should definitely stock her wine cabinet once she was back at her shitty apartment. Before the glass reached her lips again, Hermes snatched it away and chugged the remaining wine.

“Hermes, what the hell?!” Ariadne grabbed the glass and pushed her husband’s cousin away. The bored postman was back with his shenanigans.

“My bad, dear wifey, but I’m on a mission here to abduct sweet Annabeth,” Hermes winked and placed his hands around Annabeth’s shoulders.

“What are you up to?” Out of all of the relatives she’s met so far, Annabeth was convinced that everything Zeus had ever sired was a mistake. Zeus himself was a mistake.

“Can you stop being German and boring for once?” he joked. Annabeth’s eyes narrowed. She did not like this one bit. She turned her head around and saw that Percy had been pulled into a conversation by Hypnos and Morpheus. He had completely forgotten about her. Great.

Hermes guided her through the crowd, towards the middle of the room. They had to dodge chairs, drunk relatives, a sofa, chatty relatives, the coffee table and dancing relatives before they made it.

“There she is!” greeted Achilles the confused marketing manager.

Paris, Helen, Patroclus, Hermes and Achilles stood in a circle around a table. Dozens of shots of all sorts of colors were displayed. Annabeth had a terrible feeling about this.

“What is this and why are you pulling me into this?” Annabeth asked and did not like the mischievous grin they all shared. She wanted to go back home and cuddle with Daedalus on her sofa and push his cat ass out of the way before the next steamy Outlander scene hit the screen. Yes, Annabeth was that much of a single that seeing some on-screen action was the best she could get. She hoped that the mangy cat didn’t bother Thalia all too much while she was staying in Greece. She owed her so much already.

“Well, I stayed in your country,” Paris started. “And they have a weird tradition with ouzo. They don’t drink it the way we do, watered down and slowly at lunch and what not…”

Annabeth was still American for the most part and had nothing to do with Germany. The last time she stayed there was nearly thirteen years ago. She didn’t want to have anything to do with Germany. Friedrich Chase lived in Germany. And she fucking hated Friedrich Chase. Therefore, she hated Germany. Things that would never change. Okay, Hamburg was a cool city and she was glad her father moved to Cologne. Should she feel the urge to travel back to Germany for a week or less, she’d go to Hamburg, take ten thousand pictures, and post them on Instagram the minute before she was boarding her flight back to New York. Helping her to enrage her stupid father was all Germany had to offer.

“Germans do ouzo shots,” Patroclus cut to the chase. “And since you’re the newest member of our family…”

“And German!” Paris and Hermes added simultaneously.

“We’ve decided to play this little game,” Achilles added.

“What’s the name of the game?” Annabeth asked. She was only slightly curious. Emphasis on slightly.

“Last man standing. Oh sorry, ladies. Last person standing,” Hermes corrected himself as he placed four shots in front of each person. That was way too much hard liquor to handle. But if she did Jägermeister bombs in her sophomore year of college without any issues, this should be fairly easy.

“What are the rules?” They all looked at her in silence. No rules. No prize. Just drink.

“Oh wow.” The urge to roll her eyes and walk off came back with a force.

“I think I’m going to pass,” Annabeth said and already turned to her right.

“Why?” Helen asked innocently. “Need your man to look after you? The one who’s having an amazing time back there with his third glass of wine?”

Foul game. Annabeth’s head shot to the right. Helen was right. Percy was laughing and looked like he was having a great time chatting with Oceanus and his wife Tethys. Tethys refilled his glass as her husband and Percy broke into laughter once again.

If that’s the case…

“Fuck it, I’m in,” Annabeth agreed. She swallowed the bait and she knew it. There was no reason why she should feel upset about Percy opening up all of a sudden. He desperately needed it. Why she wished to be a part of that, Annabeth did not know.

“Great!” Helen threw her brown mane over her shoulders and grabbed the first glass.

“Για μας!” they all yelled and chugged the liquor. Gia mas, the Greek toast, was repeated every time and it seemed to brighten the mood, despite resting heavily on Annabeth’s stomach. Her college days were over, but she was glad she resisted coughing repeatedly.

Patroclus clutched his stomach after the second shot, Helen ran out after the third, Paris and Achilles were laughing maniacally after the fourth and Hermes mysteriously disappeared after the first one. Annabeth was the last person standing. She placed the crystalized shot glass back on the table and examined the messes around her. The only thing that had happened to her, were that more golden locks escaped from her bun and her lipstick needed some reapplying as she left marks on each glass.

Annabeth tried to take a step away from the table and felt how the world slightly shifted around her. The fact that she would curse and hate herself for her behavior in just six hours, was something drunk Annabeth gladly put aside. The headaches that definitely would haunt her for the rest of the trip didn’t matter, she won and that was all she cared about.

“Hell yeah!” she yelled as all inhibition faded away, leaving pure and raw life force behind. Unbeknownst to her, Annabeth had moved right into the circle of dancers.

“Perseus, get your bride before she breaks her legs!” someone laughed. Was it Iapetus? Or was it Hyperion? Who even cared at that point?

The next two hours were a blurred mess. A blackout slowly crept through her mind, leaving foggy memories behind. Annabeth felt how she was dancing with people and how people were laughing. Were they laughing at her or with her? Did it really matter? Why was her hair repeatedly slapping her face, didn’t she tie it up?

She danced with different people, men and women. She really hoped that the guy that looked like a naked Danny DeVito with longer black hair was not Zeus who had lost his shirt and pants. Who was the guy with the sea-green eyes again? Why was he clapping and laughing whenever she was busting a move next to Hermes? Was he important? Why did he remind her of work? The shots might have been a short-sighted idea after one and a half glasses of wine. She probably overestimated the amount of food she had consumed at dinner prior. Wasn’t she supposed to try someone’s moussaka?

“There you are! Ares, stop dancing with her for once. We’re about to leave.”

Ugh. Ares. Not Zeus, but still yucky.

Sea-green eyes. Percy, of course. How could she have forgotten the asshole that brought her into this whole mess? He seemed fairly sober, didn’t he have a glass or three of wine? Annabeth was certain, she’d be able to drink him under the table. His height and his build might put him at an advantage, but if he wasn’t used to drinking, she might have a fair shot.

A rock song was the next song that appeared. Percy wanted to drag Annabeth off the dance floor.

“Oh no!” Aphrodite intervened with a shrill screech. “Give the two lovers some room to show each other affection!”

Hera actually raised her glass for once to show that she actually agreed with one of Aphrodite’s wild ideas. Someone fumbled with the playlist and a Greek slow jam roared through the old speakers.

“Are you guys fucking serious?” Percy muttered under his breath. But roughly eighty pairs of eyes were all but watching the soon-to-be betrothed and waited for a romantic dance which reminded Percy more of the horrors that the eight-grade dance was.

Annabeth drunkenly hiccupped and looked at him in surprise as she felt one of his hands around her waist and the other one taking her hand. They rocked as if it was the final dance at prom. Annabeth barely remembered prom. Oh right. Her mother had forbidden her from going. She never attended prom.

A casual glimpse through the crowd showed her that people were actually filming this nonsense and some women were actually cooing. Did… did they seriously think this back and forth with sweaty clothes on was romantic? Her eyes found Percy’s again.

“So…” he began.

“So…” she repeated.

“Careful!” he warned her before twirling her through the tight circle. People screamed and applauded. A camera flash blitzed through the darkness twice.

“Oof,” Annabeth groaned. Her stomach and equilibrium did not appreciate that sudden movement.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do that again,” Percy swore. The rocking motion made both of them sleepy. Annabeth suppressed a yawn, rested her head on his shoulder. Percy could make the perfect comfy bed, if he wanted to.

Percy, sensing that people were awaiting some action from either of them, placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face up. Annabeth’s eyes widened. Is he going to kiss me in front of them? Again? her panicked brain asked. She was turned into stone, not by Percy’s distant cousin Medusa who had eaten most of the truffles, but by the tenderness of his actions. He was one solid actor.

Percy placed a soft kiss on her forehead, before moving on to a temple. Annabeth blushed and buried her heated face in his chest as he released her. Intimate, soft and sweet. The screaming relatives disrupted their comfortable silence yet again. The slow song came to an end and the next upbeat one invited everyone back to the dance floor. Annabeth released herself from Percy’s tight embrace and just bolted. Damned be nausea. A wave of coldness hit her. She felt something she didn’t like the minute Percy had softly kissed and soberness woke her at a start. What was it? Anger? Disappointment? Longing? She didn’t know and she didn’t want to know.

“Annabeth!” Percy shouted, but the amount of people standing in his way made it more difficult for him to keep up with her. His hand brushed over his own lips.

Annabeth opened and closed doors left and right. The kitchen, the dining room, the smoking room. She hasted through the first floor until she found another lost soul in the fireplace room. Why the villa had a fireplace room in the first place, she did not know. It had been super-hot the entire time but what Annabeth understood as heat and what native Greeks deemed as hot temperatures didn’t have to correlate.

Great-grandmother Gaia’s humming faded away. The eldest of the Theodoropoulos looked up from the pair of socks she was knitting. When she came to find out the intruder was Annabeth, joy spread over her face.

“Come, come!” The broken English that she softly spoke reminded Annabeth of her own grandmother. She hadn’t seen Elsbeth Lilienthal-Chase since she had left Germany. And since her mother didn’t give her a chance to say goodbye, she didn’t have a phone number to reach her with. The only way would be through that asshole Friedrich Chase, and the only time she’d willingly let someone contact that man was if she had been six feet under and he would be forced to show up for one important family event for once.

“I was unable to sleep. Parties aren’t something for me. I’m too old and boring for my children and their children,” Gaia sighed as Annabeth took a seat on the green sofa next to the light blue armchair. All of the cushioning seemed to have been made by Gaia as the socks had the same pattern as the pillow that Annabeth leaned against. Balls of wool surrounded the older woman as if she sat on a field of fresh tulips.

“Drink, drink! You need water. I’m pretty sure you danced a lot.”

Annabeth kindly took the offer, grabbed the carafe and poured herself a little bit of water into a small glass. The water was surprisingly cold and refreshing.

“My children deem me crazy,” Gaia continued. “The war with the ottomans. Deportation. Fleeing and seeing death everywhere. Losing my father in the chaos. Then the big world war after that twenty years later. They don’t want to listen to the same stories. They only want to have fun. So, they sent me away.”

Annabeth felt terrible for the old lady. It looked like she had been through hell and back in her youth. She didn’t look like she needed much, only someone to listen to her.

“I won’t bore you much,” promised Gaia.

Gaia’s tanned leathery hands continued working on the little socks. “Don’t worry about tomorrow, dearie. We have plenty of acetaminophen and other hangover remedies. Tomorrow will be even worse, because Dionysus wants to celebrate his birthday with even more wine,” the old woman laughed, and her green eyes twinkled full of life.

“I also was young once…”

The two sat in comfortable silence, only interrupted by Gaia’s humming or Annabeth refilling her glass of water.

“So,” Gaia began.

“So?” repeated Annabeth.

“You are the woman that tamed my little Perseus,” the older woman grinned.

Oh no.

Annabeth had a lump in her throat and drinking water to solve it, didn’t work. She wasn’t just lying to Zeus and his wife. She was lying to an entire clan, from the youngest to the oldest members. What Percy and she were doing wasn’t right, neither was it fair. Sure, Percy’s shitty uncle didn’t help much by forcing him to marry the next person, but did the rest of the family deserve to be deceived as well? No, they didn’t, and that truth rested heavily on Annabeth’s narrow shoulders.

The fact that Gaia looked so much like her great-grandson was crazy. They possessed the exact same shade of sea-green. It was passed onto Rhea, Percy’s grandmother, and then Poseidon, Percy’s fucked up father. Always full of intelligence and calculation. Shifting easily from delighted and full of life to the crashing anger of a storm. Power and knowledge were key features of Gaia’s eyes.

“How did you meet my sweet Perseus again?” Gaia innocently asked but Annabeth knew that there was some sort of ulterior motive behind her question.

“At work,” she honestly answered, and Gaia smiled. The old lady was able to sense the truth.

“He’s not my direct boss, but we run into each other a lot. And we hated each other from the moment we saw each other.” Annabeth remembered how she accidentally spilled her hot coffee all over his shirt. She had been public enemy number one from then on.

“He’s an excellent boss, as much as I hate to admit it. He knows his ways around and is passionate about the ocean and its inhabitants. Definitely more passionate than me, I’m just there for the money. He actually wants to make a difference. And he’s extremely annoying, might I add.”

Gaia burst into laughter and needed a minute to calm down. Annabeth cracked a toothy grin. “Ah yes, I can see how you fell in love with him.”

Doom. Uneasiness. Discomfort. The lump in Annabeth’s throat grew bigger and bigger. Why was her vision so blurry all of a sudden? She looked down at her dress. Dark dots appeared. More sprinkled across her lap as Annabeth realized she was crying.

“I’m so sorry,” Annabeth sniffled. “I… Percy… I…”

Gaia put her knitting utensils aside and set herself upright in the armchair. “Oh no, what is going on, Annabeth?”

The calming hand on her back did not help the young professional at all. No, Gaia’s honesty and curiosity made it way worse.

“Percy and I… we’re not engaged. We did it because Zeus-” Annabeth tried to confess, but Gaia brushed her off.

“It’s okay, Annabeth. I know,” the old woman smiled.

The tears that smeared her foundation or rather what was left of it ceased to fall. “You what?!”

Shock widened Annabeth’s light gray eyes.

“I knew from the minute you stepped into my house. I’m pretty sure Rhea knows as well.”

Annabeth’s jaw fell open. “B-but how?!” she stuttered and felt like an utter and complete idiot. The first few days had been rough and difficult, but now she thought that Percy and she conveyed the illusion of being a happy couple.

“You were scared of everything including him the minute you arrived,” Gaia warmly smiled. The infectious warm smile of a grandma looking out for her little chicks. Was Annabeth now one of them?

“I knew something was off with that sudden engagement of yours with the way you two behaved. Either you were pregnant, or it was a ruse. Since you are heavily drinking and paper thin, it was clear that there was no pregnancy. You young people truly don’t eat enough anymore,” Gaia shrugged, patted Annabeth’s knee and went back to knitting the sock.

“But now… it all makes sense. You do feel something for each other. Even if you are blind to it for now.” She continued to hum. “I just hope that my dear Perseus will be the young and carefree boy he was all those years ago one day again. And I do believe that you are the key in finding him hidden underneath all those layers and walls he had put up due to his father.”

Annabeth didn’t even close her mouth during the elder’s monologue. Did Gaia seriously connote that she… that Annabeth Chase… might feel something for her soon-to-be boss? Madness. Absolute madness. She took everything she had thought of the friendly old woman in front of her back. Maybe her relatives did have a point, when they decided to brush Gaia off due to her old age.

Annabeth? And feeling something for Percy? If that something was hatred and the utmost rage, absolutely yes. But… anything else? She would receive a hefty sum on her bank account and would put in her two weeks the minute she found a better job in California.

“You know… there is a tale I’d like to tell about men.”

And Annabeth would prefer to place the glass back on the table, throw the heels away, storm out and run to the next airport.

“They are stupid vapid creatures,” Gaia carried on.

Annabeth snorted behind her glass. “That is certainly true,” she agreed and earned an honest grin from Gaia.

“My dear husband Ouranos with whom I had all of my dear children decided one day that one woman was not enough. And that twelve children were not enough.”

Twelve children?! Annabeth's womb just twisted and turned in protest. The shocked expression on Annabeth’s face made Gaia chortle loudly.

“Oh yes, back in my day we were all very fruitful,” Gaia affirmed.

“That sounds horrible,” Annabeth interjected.

“Oh, only the birth part and the eighteen years after it,” the older woman dismissed her which made Annabeth in turn laugh again.

“My father was a farmer and he had one piece of advice: never let someone toy with you. You are not a doll; you are a person with morals and dignity, a person with feelings and dignity. Let no one, especially not a man, treat you like a commodity or something to kick around. Well… when dear Ouranos left me and sought our neighbor with bigger breasts… I taught him that lesson. And I did so with my father’s trusted knife that I hung on the wall afterwards.”

There was no knife displayed on the wall. It was a fucking scythe. Large, frightening, brutal. A golden great long sickle with jagged teeth rested on the wall as if it were ready to cut you up into one thousand pieces. Was there really dried blood stuck on the teeth or was Annabeth’s drunken mind making things up?

“The minute our youngest turned eighteen he took off and was never seen again. And now, should a person, in that case my Perseus, not know how to treat you properly, you know what to do,” Gaia advised and took a sip out of her own glass.

“Uh… you mean threaten to cut his genitals off with a large and sharp family heirloom?” Annabeth’s eyes widened again.

“No, dearie…” Gaia gave it some thought. “Well maybe so, dearie,” she then went on. That made Annabeth chuckle again.

“But demand absolute respect from him. Don’t ask him for it. Demand it. I don’t know how but he has dragged you into our family and expects you to play the perfect fiancé. This will eventually blow up in his face and he will drag you along with him. Teach him a lesson, however.”

“You know what? I will!” With Gaia’s official blessing, Annabeth was all smiles and scheming new plots. If the head of the family gave her the approval of kicking Percy’s ass, she definitely would.

Steps echoed in the fireplace room and Annabeth and Gaia’s heads turned to greet the intruder. They didn’t even realize the door opened and closed again.

Gaia’s younger twin who still had some black streaks in the braids marched into the hall, curious about what the two women in front of her were previously talking about. Gaia’s youngest daughter Rhea had joined them. The large blue floral dress made her seem like she never left the late 1960s and the two long braids only added to that sentiment.

“Mamá, what is going on? By the way Percy is looking for you, Annabeth,” Rhea informed her grandson’s alleged fiancé before taking a seat in front of her and grabbing one of the many balls of yarn in front of her mother. Rhea then went on to play with it as if she was a six-year old.

“Oh no, Rhea, Annabeth and I were just chatting about love and life,” Gaia batted her eyelashes.

“You see, I gave Rhea the same advice about her disgraceful husband when he went out to seek another woman.”

Rhea rolled her eyes behind the large pentagonally glasses. “You and your stories about the scythe, mother,” she sighed.

“I have to make sure the younger generation knows!” Gaia huffed. “I won’t be here for much longer and then-”

“We'll regret all the things we’ve said and done to you, I know mamá, you have been telling me this since I was four years old and spilled my apple juice,” Rhea completed her mother’s sentence.

Rhea’s attention shifted to the smiling blonde in front of her. She grew to like Percy’s fiancé. She had a fire within herself and a backbone, all great things to handle a Theodoropoulos man.

“But my mother is right when she says that the scythe is a trusted tool. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades did scare Kronos with it after he tried some foul things with their sisters. Treated them worse. Did overall horrible things. He never wanted daughters, only sons. Didn’t seem to accept the fact that it was out of my hand.” Rhea squished the ball of light blue yarn in her hand.

“My children were always looking out for me and I will be forever grateful for them. I do hope that you will have the same feelings and love for your children.” It was clear who their father was supposed to be.

“Yes, I hope so as well,” Annabeth squeaked. Did it get hotter in here all of a sudden?

The door opened, and a worried Percy stepped into the fireplace room. “Oh, there you are,” he sighed as he immediately sighted Annabeth’s blonde unruly curls. He had been running from the basement all the way to the roof searching for her. Relief washed over his face like some shower gel from a cheap commercial. Only then did he realize that Annabeth had been cornered by both his nosy grandmother and his even nosier great-grandmother.

“Whatever they’ve been telling you, it’s a lie, it’s wrong and it never happened!” he warned her as he took a seat right next to her.

“Oh please, relax,” Rhea rolled her eyes and threw the wool at her grandson. “We have been talking about mamá’s scythe.”

“Hey!” both Percy and Gaia complained. At least they hadn’t dished out embarrassing stories of him taking off in diapers at night.

“This is expensive! You young people show no respect towards others' belongings,” Gaia cursed.

Annabeth took the blue yarn and placed it back on top of the pyramid of other colors.

“Thank you!” Gaia smiled before she focused on finishing the sock.

“You’ve found your fiancé, Perseus. Now go off back to celebrate and let us old people reminisce about the past and talk.” Rhea lazily waved at them whilst Gaia didn’t even look up from her craft.

“We will,” Percy said while getting up and casually dragging Annabeth along. He kissed both Gaia and Rhea on the cheek, Annabeth threw a hasty “See you in the morning!” over her shoulder before the couple left.

“Are you okay?” Percy asked as he pulled Annabeth aside for a small breather.

She nodded. “It’s just a bit overwhelming with the amount of people that either want to take pictures of us, hope I remember when their youngest kid’s birthday is, or they tell me they hope we have our first baby preferably in less than a year.”

Percy blushed. He didn’t think it was that bad, but then again, men are mostly left out of the baby talk until their mother’s saw that their best friend’s children had their first grandbaby. He truly didn’t have any intention of having a child before the age of forty. He had to save a business from his damned uncle, run and manage said business and preferably find a woman he tolerated enough to marry before he could even think of children.

Percy apologized again. “One week,” he promised her.

“One week,” Annabeth repeated and nodded.

“We’re going in, you’ve missed the high of the party with your talk with my yai yai, but that’s perfectly fine. The first have already left, let’s just mingle for ten minutes or so before we can-”

The door flung open. “There they are!” yelled Hermes who was followed by Zephyrus and Hercules.

None of them had any intention of letting the party stop before five in the morning. It was merely two. The minute Hermes had his sights on Annabeth, he knew that he had found his best drinking buddy aside from Dionysus himself. Oh no, Annabeth thought and rightfully so.

The minutes of calmness and rest next to Gaia did their wonders because Percy and she were thrust back into the party at full force. She didn’t exactly remember when the blackout happened, but it was roughly thirty minutes later. She was drinking, she was dancing, she was completely making a fool out of herself. The hair? A mess. Annabeth herself? Don’t even think about it. She had been dancing with Hermes and Patroclus, Aphrodite accidentally stepped on her foot one time when Ares approached her.

Percy broke his own promise and accepted a fourth glass of wine from Dionysus who insisted on it. That glass was his doom. The last droplet touched his tongue and his world turned into a flashy mist, his consciousness was broken into pieces, fragmented and sprinkled across the floor. Where he was, when he was and who he was were things he couldn’t remember. The only thing that popped up in his mind were waves of solid gold. Was it hair? Could hair truly move like that and possess that texture? And a whiff of lemon with a hint of lavender crawled up his nose. It was an odd combination, but it felt safe and like home. He liked this smell. Where did he smell this before?

Percy didn’t care, he had other matters to attend to. The first thing on the docket was finding the bathroom, he had drunk way too much. The house had weird rules in regard to bathrooms. Was it the left side or the right side that the young men could use? Why did his uncle Hades have to break two sinks in a span of a week when he was sixteen again? Why were women and others allowed to do whatever they wanted? His great-grandma and her weird plans were always set to make him fail somehow. Things that she had thought of decades ago still bore fruit today.

Percy stumbled upstairs and turned right and prayed the doors he was opening were empty bathrooms and not relatives making out. That was just what he needed. The first door he opened was of his great-uncle Oceanus and Tethys who had a face mask on her face and pink curlers up her hair. At least the old people still knew how to behave. He hoped his mother had left the party hours ago. He apologized and closed the door. The next one was an empty bedroom, his even maybe. No, his bedroom was on an entirely different floor. Or was it?

The next bedroom was closed off thank god, but from the sounds on the inside it seemed like cousin Eos and her newest catch Orion had some fun. Disgusting, Percy thought before he moved on. The next door was what he was looking for. A bathroom. Lit up, clean and empty. Empty if it wasn’t for this one woman who was clutching the brims of the polished sink. She was tall, the golden hair equaled a rat nest and her red dress seemed to have witnessed a lot.

“Ugh,” she muttered and looked into the mirror. Her eyes found his immediately.

“Percy?” she turned around.

Oh right. He was Percy Jackson, thirty-one, single, hopefully the new CEO of Atlantic INC., he had a fantastic apartment in the Upper East Side with an amazing view and he was in Greece to impress his family with his fake fiancé in order to secure his father’s legacy. His fake fiancé being Annabeth Chase, a woman he loathed, had to pay a little hush money and hoped would leave the company fairly soon after.

“You’re in the men’s restroom,” Percy then stated.

Annabeth looked around. No, it was not the same bathroom she used in the morning. Oh yeah, Gaia’s weird bathroom rules.

“Honestly who cares?” the junior marketing manager complained. “A toilet’s a toilet, no matter who uses it.”

Percy shrugged. Annabeth had a point but it wasn’t their house so they couldn’t dictate the rules.

“I wanted to retouch my makeup, but I didn’t find my makeup bag.” She walked steadily to Percy, but it was clear to both of them that she had her fair amount of shots in her system.

“Yeah, it’s probably in the other bathroom. Wait, let me use the bathroom for a second and then we can head back to our room and you can look for your makeup.”

Annabeth nodded and waited on the outside while Percy was tending his business. After drying his hands, he opened the door and found Annabeth yawning in front of one of his yai yai’s paintings. It showed the scythe from the fireplace.

“In all honesty, your great-grandmother is an amazing woman. I admire her. Showing kindness and strength each day. How old is she?”

“Turning 106 next October,” Percy smiled at her. “She always said she wanted to live long enough to see her favorite descendants find their own happiness, whatever it may be.”

The softness in his voice made Annabeth’s heart ache. She turned her head back to the painting. She was a nobody. She had no family, no traditions she could upkeep. She didn’t even have a steady relationship in the past five years. Fucking Luke Castellan. He also had to take that from her as well. Make her suffer. That’s what Athena, Friedrich and Luke all thought at the same time. And they all had nearly reached their wicked goal if it hadn’t been for her stubbornness and will to eventually blossom into something else. The first step towards that something else resided within her move to California. She wanted to leave everything and everyone behind and start a new life, somewhere where no one knew her.

A thumb brushed over her cheek. Annabeth looked up to Percy. She hadn’t even realized she was sobbing again.

“Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay,” Percy assured her. His hands found her sides, pulling her into a soft hug.

A true fiancé level hug. Annabeth had never felt that comfortable within a man’s reach. Percy might have been an awful and annoying coworker, but he truly cared about his fellow people. The way they slowly rocked and kept hugging each other reminded her of the school dance work they had put on the floor earlier. But this time it was real. This time there was no one taking pictures or yelling into their ears, or the demand to see a kiss.

Annabeth rested her face in his chest and Percy leaned his head on hers. It was like they had been made for each other. A welcoming scent greeted Percy. Lemon and lavender. The person stuck in Percy’s crumbled mind had been Annabeth. She was his anchor in the havoc his relatives had created in such a short time. He took a deeper breath. It felt reassuring.

“Did you just sniff me?” Annabeth laughed as she pulled away from him.

“You do smell good!” he defended himself with a stupid grin on his mouth.

“Oh, wait you’re super drunk,” she giggled again as she saw his widened pupils that had pushed the darkened sea-green iris away.

“Well, look at you,” he retorted.

They looked at each other. Aside from the bumping music and the noises people made downstairs it had been completely silent. He missed her warmth; she missed his comfort. Neither would have guessed that a simple embrace could offer so much. Neither would have thought they would take it to the next step within a split second.

One last look. A last time sea-green and light-gray met before each set of eyes closed and their lips met with a brutal force in the middle. Their teeth clacked but it didn’t matter to them. What mattered now, was the moment. Forgotten was the alcohol, forgotten were the troubles of past, present and future. Forgotten were the friends and relatives in the building and back in New York.

So... what do you think? 😄 Like I said, this is not the entire chapter 🤷🏾‍♀️ I honestly feel bad for cutting the chapter off because it's really getting more interesting from that point on 💁🏾‍♀️ I'll probably continue working on this once I've published the next act of The Fool 🥳

Also Greek people, if something seems off with this (aside from random English at times lol) hit me up, I definitely have to do more research!