#my mom says I’m like an oracle sometimes

[imthatwannabeauthor]

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[lacrimosathedark]

Bat-Family Nicknames and Insults

So I went off the other day because fans keep having people who aren't Roy Harper call Jason Todd "Jaybird" and now I'm thinking about all the other nickname misconceptions so here's a probably non-comprehensive list of nicknames among the Bat Fam.

(Special thanks to @sohotthateveryonedied for a bunch of my data, she made a whole powerpoint with actual comic panels! Go check that out! Also got some info from @kiragecko who was writing some lists with more specific references.)

This list is an active document and will be edited in the event I find more nicknames or have more to say

Addendum note: I'm more than willing to add something I forgot, but you must have receipts. I'm not just going off of memory. Nothing will be added to this list without proof. If you don't have a source, please don't make a suggestion.

This is aside from assorted common insults and nicknames like jerk, ass, shorty, dude, idiot, etc.. Sidenote, every not-Steph Robin has been called “Little Bird”, “Birdboy” and/or “Wonder Boy” at some point. It’s kinda part of the job lol Secondary side-note, the only ones who REALLY use nicknames for people are Barbara and Jason. And Tim specifically in reference to Damian. Everyone else pretty much uses their names 98% of the time. Final note (sorryyyyyy) generally unless they're funny to me, I'm not including things used only once unless I have gotten vibes that it's a trend. This is an attempt to compile recurring nicknames. So ones noted to be used once are either I can only confirm it happened once but could happen multiple times, or I think it's hilarious.

Alfred Pennyworth

Al/Alf Seems to be a common nickname among the boys.

Alfie Dick, Tim, and Jason have all called him this.

Alfredo Jason called him this at least once and I think that’s funny. Not sure it’s exclusive though.

Mom Dick seems to have referred to him as such once…I’m sorry but that’s so funny.

Alfred also has specific ways of referring to everyone: Bruce: Master Bruce, Mister Wayne, Lad, Bruce, My Son Barbara: Mistress Barbara, Miss Barbara, Miss Gordon, Miss Oracle Dick: Master Dick, Master Richard, Master Grayson, Dear Boy, Young Sir, Young Man, Richard, Dick Cassandra: Miss Cassandra, Young Cassandra, My Dear Jason: Master Jason, Young Sir, Lad, Jason Tim: Master Tim, Master Timothy, Young Master Tim, Lad, Young Sir, Young Man, Timothy, Tim Damian: Master Damian, Young Master Damian, Young Sir, Young Man, Son, Damian

Bruce Wayne

Spooky Oliver Queen calls him this, others might as well but I legitimately have no idea.

Batsy Everyone and their goddamn dog, but Joker uses this notably a lot.

Detective RA'S AL GHUL EXCLUSIVE. I think? But this is how Ra's generally refers to Bruce.

B-Man HARLEY QUINN EXCLUSIVE...I think. She calls him this a lot though.

While Dick and Jason will internally think of Bruce as their father, Dick rarely says so and extremely rarely calls him “Dad”. Jason would only say so mockingly or under pain of a second death. Tim rarely even thinks of Bruce as his father (he didn’t become Robin to be Bruce’s kid, and he doesn’t want to replace his own father—much the same way Dana didn’t replace Janet) and never refers to him as such outside of WE work (where he very much uses that to his advantage). Damian almost exclusively refers to Bruce as “Father” but has called him "Dad". Steph sometimes calls him “Boss”. Everyone usually calls him "Bruce".

He refers to ALL of the boys as “chum” and “lad” at some point. It’s just how he used to talk honestly. He DOES NOT call them “sweetie” or “honey” or anything like that. He DOES, however, speak to small children this way. There are multiple instances of him using "sweetheart" and similar terms when dealing with young children. This differentiation I think is for two reasons. One, Bruce is emotionally stunted and being open with anyone outside of actively comforting is difficult for him, and two, the youngest child he has ever had himself was 9 years old so he's never had a small child he'd be likely more inclined to be extra super soft with.

Barbara Gordon

Babs Most people call her this. Bruce doesn’t seem to though, oddly enough.

Babsy/Babsie Both Dick and Jim Gordon have called her this. Very cute.

Barb/Barbie Nearly exclusive to Jason Todd, actually. I think her dad calls her this once in a while, but specifically Jason calls her this.

Babes A few of her friends call her this, but mostly Luke Fox when they were dating.

Red A few people call her this, but mostly Jason and not real often. Probably cuz we already have a red-head often referred to as “Red” (Pam Isely by Harley) and as to not be confused with the other two Reds in the family (Red Hood and Red Robin).

The High Priestess of Tech More of a reference than a nickname, but I think it’s funny. Dick referred to her as such.

O For Oracle!

Dick Grayson Exclusives because Boyfriend Baby Love Beautiful

Richard Grayson

Dick Everyone calls him this. Almost no one calls him Richard.

Dickie His parents also called him this, along with other people who knew him from Haly’s Circus, but otherwise it’s mostly just Jason.

Dickster I…hate that this is canon lmao. Dick has thought this one in his inner monologue, but Jason has also said it at least once. It’s…Something.

Circus Boy Common insult, Jason uses it a few times.

Tight Ass No comment.

Rob Kinda rare for him and more a Tim thing, but his Titans team call him this sometimes. I specifically remember Wally doing so, and Roy too I think.

Boy Wonderful Not marking this as exclusive because Babs probably used it at one point but, shockingly (or not) this comes from Wally West! Wally has also called his Titans team as a group “Dear Hearts” at least once which is just so fucking cute. Neeeeeerd.

Kid Not exclusive to him, but consistently called this by Slade Wilson/Deathstroke over most anything else.

Marcia TIM DRAKE EXCLUSIVE. A joke between him and Tim, assigning each Bat-boy a Brady Bunch member.

Little Robin MARY GRAYSON EXCLUSIVE. This is where the hero name Robin came from; Dick’s mom used to call him this.

Dickie-Bird JASON TODD EXCLUSIVE. Jason calls Dick this a lot during his weird appearances in Nightwing that I pretend never happened because it was weird and dumb. But it is a canonical nickname. And it’s funny.

Amy Rohrbach Exclusives because Partner Rookie Stud Cowboy Sherlock Mr. Confident

Barbara Gordon Exclusives because Girlfriend (and because she’s funny) Flatterer Boyfriend The Brightest, Sweetest, Most Handsome, Wealthiest Young Bachelor on the Entire East Coast Buckaroo Bucko Candy-Gram Darling Lover Love Hunk Wonder Man Wonder Hound Wonder Former Teen Wonder Twenty Something Wonder Blue Wonder Poor Lovable Naïve Dope Pixie Boots

Cassandra Cain

Cass Pretty much everyone calls her this.

Cassie Some people call her this, specifically the people closest to her; Stephanie, Tim, Barbara, Bruce, and Duke. It’s generally used sparingly, especially considering Tim is close to ANOTHER Cassandra who goes by “Cassie” almost exclusively, so Cass is generally preferred to avoid confusion. But Cassie is tossed around.

Batghoul Possibly Stephanie Brown exclusive, though easy enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if others called her that. She is notoriously spooky.

Bat-Babe KON-EL/CONNER KENT EXCLUSIVE. These two are actually good friends and dated for a short time. They’re very cute. And they met at the time Kon was just…Like That.

Jason Todd

Jay Literally everyone calls him this sometimes. It’s a common nickname.

Jace/Jase Also pretty common, but seems to mostly be among family. Dick and Bruce have at least both called him this.

The Toddster Was called such by Danny Chase, implying they were friends somehow? (Jason didn't have many Titans missions so idk how they were close enough for him to call him that). He calls him that when he discovers Jason’s status in the system is “unknown”, leading him to find out he’s dead.

Rojo Referred to himself as this once while he was still a crime boss, so presumably some of his gang called him this too. Obviously Spanish for red because Red Hood.

Little Bird Possibly exclusive to Barbara Gordon, she called him this in a flashback.

Jan That Dick and Tim Brady Bunch joke. Just imagine one of them looking Jason dead in the eye and saying “Sure, Jan.”

Little Wing DICK GRAYSON EXCLUSIVE. Called Robin Jason this in Nightwing Year 1 and it’s very cute.

Jaybird ROY HARPER EXCLUSIVE. The reason I’m making this post because no one seems to remember that Roy and only Roy has ever called Jason this. But any time these two appear together, it’s usually said at least once.

Stephanie Brown

Steph Pretty much everyone calls her this at one point.

Stephie A few people if I recall, but I know Tim’s called her that.

Blondie Pretty sure a few people call her this, but notably Harper Row.

Damian Wayne Exclusives because He Was A Brat Wench Fatgirl Girl Blunder

Timothy Drake

Tim Everyone to the point where it’s just his name.

Timmy A lot of people call him this pretty teasingly. Dick, Jason, and Babs do it consistently, but that’s older siblings for ya. Bernard has done it too.

Timbo Dick and Jason as well as his friend Ives have called Tim this at the very least. Tim notably doesn't seem to like it, though he has used it himself in a derogatory way in his inner monologue.

Timbers I’ve only ever seen Jason call him this, but I could be missing things. Would not be surprised if Dick did too, but it’s very Jason.

Rob Most of Young Justice called him that up until he revealed his name (which took a while because Bruce was being controlling and overprotective, as he does). Short for “Robin”, obviously, which is all they knew him as.

My Robin I’m pretty sure each member of Young Justice has said this about Tim, though Conner does it the most and has the biggest negative reaction to literally anyone but Tim being Robin.

Cindy DICK GRAYSON EXCLUSIVE. It’s that Brady Bunch joke again!

Little Brother DICK GRAYSON EXCLUSIVE. I didn't originally include it because it had the same vibes as like "dude" or "jerk"; something that's easily tossed around, y'know? And it feels like a descriptor, but it is actually used as a title/nickname several times, especially when Dick is messing with Tim.

Pretender JASON TODD EXCLUSIVE. Though it should be noted, he only directly called him this one time. Aside from that, he more refers to Tim as A pretender, not as like a nickname or title. It’s a description. (like “replacement” was but fandom made that a nickname yes I am in fact bitter)

Duckboy HARLEY QUINN EXCLUSIVE. She says this once, but it’s hilarious so I’m keeping it.

Detective RA’S AL GHUL EXCLUSIVE. Ra’s is very particular about titles. The only other person he refers to as “Detective” is Bruce, and Dick one time in his internal monologue, so he is acknowledging Tim’s competence. And then proceeds to get a large portion of his resources obliterated by Tim <3

Stephanie Brown Exclusives because Girlfriend Sweetie Muffin Boy Virgin

Duke Thomas

Narrows Almost Jason exclusively, though I think Harper has called him this once or twice. In reference to the neighborhood he grew up in, as opposed to Jason and Harper's Park Row aka Crime Alley upbringing.

Newbie Jason calls him this frequently, though it's likely the others have too.

Baby Bird ELAINE THOMAS EXCLUSIVE. Yeah, surprisingly Duke is actually called this by his mom.

Damian Wayne

Gremlin Mostly exclusive to Tim, but Jason has called him this too. This also seems to be Tim’s go-to for Damian when not using his name or codename.

Dami Used by Jon Kent and Talia al Ghul, so presumably those closest to him.

Little D I think Barbara Gordon exclusive but I’m not sure.

Cousin Oliver Not said to his face to my knowledge, but the Brady Bunch in-joke between Dick and Tim.

Prince/Your Highness (other royal variations) A common way to mock Damian for his haughty air and stuck-up attitude. More common in the past because Damian was The Worst and never shut up about being the heir to Batman and the Demon's Head. He's grown a lot since then and this kind of joke is used less. He is still pretty snooty though.

D JON KENT EXCLUSIVE. I have yet to see anyone else call him this at least, and this is how Jon almost always refers to him.

Baby Bird TALIA AL GHUL EXCLUSIVE. I’ve seen her call him this once, and I don’t recall ever seeing anyone else call him this. Just wanted it known that Talia is the only one to call Damian this.

Tim Drake Exclusives because Tim is Petty and Damian was a Brat Little Monster Hobbit Homunculus Little snot Spoiled, vicious and homicidal little punk Heir to the Kingdom of the Damned

Note on how Damian refers to others: Damian usually uses full first names or surnames, depending on circumstance and closeness. He occasionally calls Dick “Dick” or “Richard”, but often calls him “Grayson”. He almost always refers to Tim as “Drake”, but occasionally as “Timothy”.

Fanon names that I dislike

Replacement Jason never once calls Tim this, and refers to Tim as A replacement about as much as Dick did about Jason (Yes Dick has at least once when talking to Bruce referred to Jason as his replacement). How common it is in this fandom to call Tim "Replacement" (with a capital R like it's a name or title!!!) drives me absolutely insane. It's not canon and tbh you can do better. Hell, "pretender" is right there! And Jason's a nerd, he would do better.

Baby Bird Like…it’s cute, but given it’s used in fanon almost exclusively for Tim, and POST DAMIAN, it just feels infantalizing. Especially when the only canon uses are mothers towards their kids. I see this a lot with Dick and Jason using it, which is...just no. Like, Dick, I get it, but he's more likely to call Tim "Little Brother". Jason would never allow himself to be seen as this soft to Tim. If he were trying to be gentle with him, he'd probably call him "kid". He's done that before.

Baby Bat(s) I have seen this used literally twice. Once where a goon mockingly called Tim that, and once in an AU where Harley said it to Damian. "Baby Bat" isn't a thing. Sorry.

Big Bird More amusing than anything but a little annoying. No one ever calls Dick that in canon and whenever I read it all I can think of is Sesame Street so unless a giant yellow muppet bird is what you're going for, maybe don't do that lol

Demon Brat/Demon Spawn Not the most egregious thing, especially considering the numerous nicknames Tim comes up with, but the consistency of its usage in fanon is a little frustrating. This is never used in-canon, and if you want to use it in your fanworks, just maybe intersperse it with other more creative nicknames, yeah? It's just unoriginal at this point.

Jaylad I don’t hate this one, but it’s such a huge misconception that it’s canon. Bruce has said “Jay, lad” a couple times because he calls like every boy he meets “lad” and people made up “Jaylad”. Not the worst thing ever, but it's not canon.

Golden Boy I don't actually have a problem with this one, but I may as well clear up that this is canon as a descriptor but not as a nickname for Dick. Like calling Jason "the dead Robin". Like, people have said that about him in-canon, but they haven't called him that. The common derivative "Goldie" is entirely fanon.

Non-canon nicknames I think are funny

Dick-face/Dickhead I’m sorry, I find it hilarious whenever someone (usually Jason) in fanfic calls him this. It’s also to me just a silly exaggeration of the obvious joke that has been made at least once (but probably several times by now) in canon about someone being about to call Nightwing a dick and someone else reminding them not to use names in the field. I think it’s hilarious.

Timberly I can’t tell you why this specific deviation of Tim is funny to me but it is. And I'm surprised I haven't seen Jason call Tim this in canon.

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

Yknow I’m really disappointed we didn’t get more on Perry Porter because from what we do see of him, he seems like such a cool character and I’m really disappointed we didn’t get even a single proper scene with him.

Like!! Just the facts we have about him are seemingly so random - he’s in the Oracle Coven, he used to be friends with Eda and her gang but was, interestingly, shown to be pulling away about the same time Darius and Alador - both implied to have chosen status or power of their friends - did. He seems to be Gus’s only parent given his mom is literally never mentioned, yet he’s also a high profile (given he was the only shown person reporting on Eda’s Petrification) reporter. He’s clearly willing to turn his morals and feelings off when needed given how little emotion he shows while one of his old friends - however old he must have some feelings about it - is basically about to be executed, yet he raised an incredibly kind kid who sticks to his morals no matter what.

Like how did he feel when on the Day of Unity, his twelve year old son was unable to be found - hell, we know he reports on high profile events like this, could he have been so busy he didn’t even realize Gus had snuck out until after the Collector stopped the Day of Unity and he had to realize no one knew where he was? How come we never see him interact with any of his old friends, even when Alador and Darius are eventually pulled back with them? I can understand why Odalia wasn’t reconnected with them but it does seem like if nothing else Perry was a decent parent, so why is he never shown interacting with the others?

It also seems like he puts quite a bit of pressure on Gus at least - I don’t think he’s like Odalia ofc, but Gus does say that his dad wants him to be a Master Illusionist (though that’s not what Gus wants), so it’s clear he does expect a lot from him. Did Gus being a prodigy from a young age impact this? Did he encourage Gus to move up two grades or was he against it? Given what we know of him - high profile Coven job, seems to have drifted away from his friends for status like Darius and Alador, wants his kid to be a Master Illusionist - I’m inclined to think he encouraged it and at least didn’t think much about the social implications. What did he think about Gus’s loneliness and lack of friends - did he even notice? I’m saying this as a former gifted kid who’s parents are, still to this day, surprised when I mention how bad my peers and teachers treated me in elementary/middle school - even caring parents can be unaware of just how bad things are in school. Was Perry like that? Or did he notice but feel helpless to do anything?

What about Gus’s illusion maze thing? How long has he been able to do that - since he was a kid? What was it like to raise a kid who could do something like that? Did Perry try and each Gus some tricks to get rid of it - given Willow was the one to teach him the breathing technique and that’s what he uses, it doesn’t seem like he did. Why? Did he just not know what to do? Did the Emperor’s Coven ever seem interested in Gus, who was clearly a whole lot more than just a gifted kid (this kid took down the Illusion Coven Head and a whole bunch of scouts at age 12 and he wasn’t even trying)? How did he respond to that?

Idk, I really want to see more about who Perry Porter is and Gus’s childhood. It’s so interesting to think about.

I have my own image of him as a somewhat neglectful parent who, while he does care about his son a lot, treats him as a lot older than he is sometimes. Like Gus is a very mature kid but he’s still a kid and I think Perry could follow the rest of the world in forgetting that a lot. Maybe talk to him about things he’s not old enough to understand, put responsibilities and pressure on him he might find hard even being a prodigy and get angry when he can’t do it, etc. I don’t think he’s abusive or anything but I definitely want to see how he is because as a former gifted kid absolutely all of these have happened to me and I’m betting you Perry also does this to Gus. And that’s not even getting into Perry’s morality and character, how that impacts Gus, and Perry’s backstory.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Eyes and Ears

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: An AU where Barbara finds Jason instead of Bruce.

It's March and Jason's fifteen in this chapter.

Chapters: 40/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Sheila Haywood, Original Character(s)

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character(s), Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Older SIbling Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd-centric, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Jason Todd is NOT Robin, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Has a Crush, Adopted Siblings

Chapter Forty: In His Blood

The violent rocking roused him from his sleep. “How did you find me?” Sheila asked as she pressed a blade to his throat. His head ached, but he quickly got his bearings as he scanned the room.

“My arms are too heavy to fight back… What’s the blade for?” Jason asked. His tone was calm and distant, but his eyes were alert as ever. “He saved me from you, didn’t he?” 

“Jason—.”

“You were always going to hurt me… I used to wonder why Dad couldn’t look at me sometimes. I used to wonder why—? We have the same face, and you’re about to do something you can never take back,” Jason whispered. Sheila sat across from him in the dark and lit a cigarette. “Well? Spit it out, Mother.” 

Holding her cigarette firmly between her lips in a violent sneer, Sheila grabbed Jason’s face. “I would’ve made you into so much more. He was scared of you, Jason. That’s why he allowed Catherine to soften you—.”

“Don’t speak on her,” Jason interrupted, baring his teeth. “Don’t you ever speak her name again. What do you want to do to me?” 

Sheila blew a puff of smoke in his face.  “I’m not going to do anything to you… I want to get out of Greece… You’re gonna be a good little boy, and I’ll return you to your new family—.” 

“My real family,” Jason corrected her.

“I’ll return you to them unharmed once I have what I need,” Sheila replied. Jason’s fingers subtly twitched into a fist.

“What is so important to you that you’d take me hostage and risk my father and sister’s retaliation? They’re wondering why I’m not in my bed. They’re calling me… And I always answer,” Jason smiled, “You might as well start telling me what you’re up to… And explain why you’re pretending to be a horrible person.” Sheila’s cigarette fell out of her mouth. “That’s it. Isn’t it? You’re not kidnapping me because you want to. You’re kidnapping me because you have to.” 

“Jason—.” 

“Are they listening?” Jason questioned. 

“No,” Sheila sharply replied as she nodded. Jason swallowed hard. “Shut up and be good… And this ordeal will be over before you know it.” 

“Text my sister and tell her I’m fine… She’s worried sick,” Jason replied. He looked into her eyes. “Mom. Mom, please.” 

“Jason, settle down. If you behave, I won’t have to put you to sleep again,” Sheila warned him. She stomped out her cigarette and sat beside him, smoothing his hair. “Jason…” Sheila leaned close to his ear. 

“Can you move?” Sheila whispered. Jason didn’t answer. “Twitch your finger? No?” 

Jason’s eyes darted around the room, looking for a quick way out. “How long was I out?” Jason questioned. 

“Nearly six hours. I thought you’d be awake sooner, but I didn’t have time to account for your weight and tolerance level. I suppose—. I’ve given you too much. Are you woozy?” Sheila asked. 

Jason tried to twitch his toes in his shoes, but they wouldn’t budge. He shut his eyes. Sheila rubbed his hand with her thumb. “I need you to stay with me, Jason,” Sheila whispered. 

“I’m here… You have to tell my sister—.” 

“I can’t do that, Jason,” Sheila interrupted. Jason refused to panic. His situation didn’t seem dire. Not yet. “Jason, will you be good? I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“You’re hurting me now… Don’t do this. Let me go, and I won’t say a thing. I don’t know what sort of trouble you’re in, but I’d like to protect you if you’d let me,” Jason offered. He meant it. “Mom, I want to help you.”

“You can help me by being quiet and behaving,” Sheila replied. Someone knocked on the door. “I’ll put you down to bed… You’ll be more comfortable there.” Sheila dragged his chair to the bed while the person outside knocked. “One moment! Jason, please. Lie down and behave.” She got on the bed and pulled him up. Jason winced. “Sorry, sweetheart. You’re heavier than you look.” Once she got him settled, she answered the door. Jason lay on his stomach, completely immobile except for his fist, which he used to clutch the pillow under his head. 

“What does he know?” the man in the room asked. 

“Nothing… Jason’s harmless. He’s afraid and wants to go home,” Sheila answered, “I promised him we’d let him go after we get there.”

“Can he move?” the man questioned. “Good… Keep him that way.” 

Sheila returned to Jason’s side, gently rubbing his back. 

“It’s alright,” Sheila whispered, “I’m doing this for your own good.” 

Jason wanted to fight with her but needed time to uncover their plans. She injected him with something, and his fist loosened. Jason’s phone vibrated in Sheila’s pocket. Jason hyperventilated, and Sheila shushed him. “No, sweetheart… It’s alright. Jason,” Sheila whispered. She rubbed his back and said something to the man, but he was too tired to listen. Sleep took him quickly. 

*

The boat docked in Spain in the late afternoon, and Sheila bound Jason’s hands with rope and covered him with a blanket. She pushed him around in a wheelchair and checked into a hotel near the beach. Jason lifted his head drowsily as Sheila untied him. “Jason, how do you feel?” Sheila asked as she rummaged through her medical bag for an armband and needles. Jason spit up into his lap. Sheila frowned, balling up the soiled blanket and tossing it in the trash. “Jason.” She clicked her tongue at him. 

“I’m dehydrated,” Jason mumbled. She wiped his face and kissed his cheek. “Mom—.” 

Sheila nodded as she poured water into a cup with a straw. “Here… I have to go soon,” Sheila whispered as she held the straw to his lips. “I need you to be quiet and let me explain things to you. I might not get another chance to explain this to you.” 

Jason sipped water until she set it aside. She tied the band around his arm and prepped him for a blood draw. “When you were born, you were ill. Your heart was severely damaged… And—. I refused to let you die. So, I started working in the lab to develop a drug that could save your life or extend it until you were old enough to survive an invasive surgery. I made a discovery and decided to test it on you… For six weeks, I gave you injections and closely monitored your progress. 

“Then, you died. It was sudden, and it forced me to come clean to Willis. He was furious with me. We couldn’t report your death. He said he’d deal with everything. So, he took you with him, and four hours later, he returned. You were alive and laughing and healthier than you’d ever been. I ran tests, and Willis took you to a pediatrician. You were healed. It was like you were never sick at all. 

“Jason… You’re special. You’re not like any other person in the world. You can heal at the cellular level… Even to the point of self-resurrect—.”

“You experimented on me—.” 

“You sound like your father. Jason, I saved your life. I could save countless—.” 

“Mom, that’s not why you kidnapped me, though. What does that guy want? I know he doesn’t care about my blood. So, what is it?” Jason asked. 

“The less you know, the better—.” 

“Chemical weapons, right? Is that what he’s using you for?” Jason questioned. Sheila took a final vial of blood and offered Jason more water. He accepted her offer, tossing his head back. “I’m right… Aren’t I?” 

“Jason, I’m going to call your sister. We’re in Barcelona. Can you move your fingers?” Sheila asked. Jason twitched his pointer finger. 

“Yeah,” Jason answered. She took his phone from her pocket and allowed him to call Barbara. Barbara picked up immediately. 

“Jason, why haven’t you answered your phone? I’ve been calling you since last night—.” 

“I was unconscious… I woke up in Barcelona,” Jason interrupted. 

“Jason, how did—? Stay there. Dad and I’ll come and get you,” Barbara replied. 

“Can you bring my red backpack?” Jason asked. It was a code between siblings to let Barbara know that he’d been kidnapped.

“Is your wallet in there?” Barbara asked. Another code. It was Barbara’s way of asking if the other person could hear her. 

“Yeah,” Jason answered, “I’ll sit tight until you get here.” Jason watched as Sheila packed her medical bag. Barbara hung up, and his phone vibrated. That was all the time she needed to get his location. 

“Do they take good care of you?” Sheila asked. 

“Yeah… I won’t see you again after today. Will I?” Jason asked. Sheila shook her head. She kissed his forehead. “I still love you… And I hope you turn yourself in someday.” 

“Jason—.” 

“I know you’re not a bad person, Mom. You don’t want to hurt people. I know you don’t,” Jason replied, “I don’t understand how you got mixed up with these people, but I believe you can—.” 

Sheila struck him across the face. “Shut up!” Sheila screamed. “Jason, you’re still so young. You don’t know anything. If we see each other again, I’ll have to hurt you… Possibly kill you. It might not be permanent, but it’ll buy me some time.” Tears fell from Jason’s eyes. When he found the strength to lift his head, Sheila left.

[inact-ice]

Final thoughts on 911 season 1 now that I’ve actually watched it all:

- Abby was my favourite character of this season! Which really surprised me because Buck is like the exact type of character who’s usually my favourite (goofy with a lot of dark trauma and insecurities that they hide with jokes, himbo, bisexual coded), but the episode where Abby’s talking to her brother and she said that being a daughter and being a saint were the same thing really endeared me to her (eldest immigrant daughter core). I liked her relationship with her mom a lot too, I love how much they loved each other but how the show wasn’t afraid to show how putting all the care of someone struggling with an illness like that onto one person, can be so difficult and isolating for both people in that kind of relationship. I also really loved how dedicated she was to saving people, like I kept calling her Batman even though calling her the Oracle would have made more sense lol. Again, need the spinoff show where Abby’s just travelling the world and solving crimes!

- I cried when she left because I know from the fandom that she’s gone forever (for the most part) and that she ghosts Buck so we never even hear her voice again ugh

- I think Bobby’s arc was my favourite, it was very nice to see him heal, then backslide a bit, then get back up and keep trying. Bathena was also my favourite relationship even though it only really showed up at the end, but they’re just so cute together

- Favourite episode was episode 7 because of the way they tied together the emergencies, it was so well done and showcase of writing talent that I’m excited to see more of! Also this is when Abby solidified herself as Batman to me, she yearns for justice and the streets of Gotham I fear.

- episode 7 is also the episode with my favourite emergency of the season, the one with the gay couple where one of them had a tapeworm! They were so funny, and honestly so was everyone involved in the scene. Buck sharing his gym bro dieting tips made me laugh so hard, and Bobby just being over it was hilarious! Despite being surrounded by other pretty dark emergencies, it didn’t feel jarring!

- my least favourite arc was the hen cheating arc, I already knew they were gonna get back together and it would never be mentioned again, and it was just not fun to watch at all. Plus Hen took over w/ the intro monologues for Abby during this arc, which cut into our already limited Abby screen time, to make metaphors about cheating on her wife. UGH!

- my least favourite character was probably actually buck (gasp!). I liked him, don’t get me wrong! But a combination of the intense second hand embarrassment he gave me at the beginning of the season and my intense overwhelming love for Abigail Clark, just made me enjoy other characters more. Sometimes I felt that he was a little too immature for her, or he’d say things that would make me cringe

- my favourite scene overall was the scene where bobby was helping buck tie his tie, and he told him he looked handsome, and they were just joking around with each other! It was so cute, such an adorable father-son moment that showed some of the growth they’ve both gone through to be able to be in this situation and interact with each other like that. Ugh just so cute, will be reading more buck and bobby father-son fics THANK YEW

- my least favourite scene was of course the scene where buck is assaulted by his therapist because what the fuck was that.

- I also really hated when everyone not only thought that Buck would cheat on my beautiful wife Abby Clark, but they were also just kinda chill with it??? It felt so weird and callous?? And kinda ooc bc they yelled at him when he was single and just slanging it, but now that he’s in a relationship they think it’s none of their business?? It was so weird, and it would have been my least favourite episode if we didn’t get that awesome closing monologue to Florence and the machine from Abby at the end, which made me cry btw

- and also if the first couple of episodes weren’t kinda rough, the season got better the later we got into it, then peaked at episode 7!

All in all, I really enjoyed this season and I’m glad I decided to stop being a fandom lurker and finally watch it! Very excited to start watching season 2 whenever I get to it, because this is the season where Maddie and Eddie enter right? And Christopher!! I predict that Maddie will probably be my favourite character of the season, bc of eldest daughter solidarity and bc from what the fandom has told me she’s literally the coolest ever

- wait i lied, Athena’s mean gay husband is my least favourite character! He just lacks so much tact and has said some things to Athena that were so damn mean! I don’t think either Athena or her husband handled that whole arc well, but sometimes her husband said stuff that was like especially cruel and unwarranted. But Bucks’ still my least favourite main character sorry!

[maceofpentacles]

Genuinely asking as a practicing pagan who only has 3 decks (2 tarot, 1 oracle) what about having so many speaks to you? How often are you doing readings/rituals and have you calculated a cost per use for your decks?

great questions tbh,, i find myself asking myself them all the time and honestly i know full well that the “addiction gene” or whatever runs in my family ((my moms an alcoholic and my dad is a chronic over spender)) and i have bpd so those 2 holding hands is not the double combo i want.

full disclosure i have ~30 decks and i have a habit of buying decks, using them for like a month or two, then deciding i don’t want them anymore which is annoying but i need to use that as a deterrent to keep myself from buying more. i’ve used it in the past to hold off from buying decks but sometimes i just slip up/have a moment/whatever you want to call it and i spend money i shouldn’t be spending

i do use all of my decks! that might be surprising tbh but i have my divination side blog @cilis-readings where i do free readings/pick a card readings/daily card pulls! so i rotate between decks very frequently for that,, but even for readings that are just for me i pull daily oracle cards from like 3-5 different decks depending on the day and i use my decks for spirit communication as well!

now the calculation question: i’ve been thinking about adding all of the decks i use up but i’m too embarrassed to do it and i feel like that’s going to trigger something in me where i say fuck it and get rid of everything out of shame😭😭 i can say that i used to be a kpop stan that would buy albums when i shouldn’t have so like i said about the addiction gene, i just traded kpop albums for tarot and oracle decks and called it a day kfkwbfkwndnw

on a serious note though, i am aware that i have a problem which is why i’m using the whole “deck buying ban” thread as a way to keep myself accountable and also maybe show other deck hoarders ((lovingly of course)) that we will survive without buying the newest, fanciest deck!

[alyjojo]

Thinking of You - June 🤞 2024 - Libra

Whole of their energy towards Libra: 4 Wands

This is a past contact, what kind I’m not sure. You could’ve lived together, or you definitely are from the same place initially, probably someone you knew in childhood. I’m getting neighbor, but that won’t apply everywhere. Sibling maybe. This person knows you can’t trust them, they also know however you knew them is not how they are currently and it makes them feel a way to know you feel this way about them. They wish they could show you how they’ve changed. Or this could be switched entirely and they just know you’ve kicked some bad habits. The biggest message I’m getting is “addict”, or rather, a former addict. For some, this person no longer lives anywhere near you. Someone has moved enough of a distance that it would be a “trip” to visit each other. Literal and joking, “wow what a trip” at the difference. You or they are nothing like it used to be.

Feelings: 7 Cups rev

I’m seeing drinking, could’ve been anything but alcohol is the clearest thing coming through. Possibly someone known to drink and drive, or there’s a story here about maybe going out together and you refusing to let them drive you drunk? Maybe switch it. It’s a party-going, substance indulging sort of wild energy, probably when you/they were young - and a lot has changed since. Why they’re thinking of you, I’m not sure. They don’t actually intend to do anything about it, you just weigh on their mind sometimes. Whatever these issues are that they had took a long time to work through, and probably had nothing to do with you, or anyone really.

Intentions: 4 Pentacles rev

Releasing. I get you as a part of “the past” as a whole, even when they think of you it’s among other things - who they used to be, shit they used to do, and they feel a way about it. Hoping they could have that back in a new way, but also knowing that’s probably not going to happen. There is emphasis on ending reckless behavior - even Adventure came out reversed, and Indulgence is rev at the bottom which…I’m not sure how that one is reversed at all tbh. Schedule shows them now. They grew up, got their shit together, are probably alone or are at least vibing independently and strong, probably somewhere else entirely location wise. Happy as a clam, but they think of you.

Actions: The Devil rev

Aw 🥹 I got literal tears for a sec. They’re not going to say anything, and it may not even be more than a half hour ordeal, but they will have a moment where you’re in their heart and they get curious. How is Libra doing? If you have social media (most of us do), they may click on your page for a second just to see…who you’re with, where you’re living, did you ever do that thing you always wanted to do, etc. And they will consider their own life, miss you a little, and then move on. That’s probably the most real life reading I’ve ever gotten 🙏

Messages:

Their side:

- You can’t trust me.

- I still think of you.

Your side:

- Living my life.

- Bookworm 📕

Oracles:

Adventure 🏔️ rev

Explorer - Passion - Travel

Schedule 🕰️

Management - Plan - Organize

Possible signs:

Capricorn, Pisces, Sagittarius & Aries

If you’re dealing with:

9 Pentacles is showing up again for your energy, so this person may just be peeking in and seeing that maybe you’ve moved, maybe you’re off living the dream independently and living your best life. I don’t get bitterness from them and I’m definitely getting happiness from you, completely secure in things right now - separately from the issues with/of others.

Aries - tired of being busy every second of every day, shit is getting old, they need to play 🎉

Taurus - could be traveling for work, or you are

Gemini - reluctantly returning to this drama but they’re not feeling great about it

Cancer - not giving to this, you, anything, not interested and that’s not changing - not now

Leo - no movement towards reconciliation, someone’s mom/spouse could not like the other person, or someone switched up their look and the other person isn’t into it

Virgo - not pressed, unbothered, though you may sending a flurry whirlwind of messages

Libra - making a final decision about how to work together or some new project, could be your boss - if so it’s a good one

Scorpio - pissed off at you hanging around forever and wasting their time

Sagittarius - not speaking & not taking any action

Capricorn - secretly crushing on you like crazy, could be flirting with you and you don’t even see it, there could be a quiet affair going on

Aquarius - missed an opportunity for romance due to grudges or holding back - either side - or they’re not interested for that reason

Pisces - chalks this up to a learning experience, they failed, and they’ll do better next time

[lets-talk-spirituality]

hi!! how are you? so, there’s this situation that is really keeping up with me, and if it’s possible, I’d like to know what my guides have to tell me about it. or just anything they want me to know in general, right now. A lot of things are happening and I’m kinda lost and anxious so maybe some things are just in my mind lol. if you pick up on anything specifically like a color, an animal, a song, a number or etc could you please add it too? only if it comes to you, no pressure. it’s just that me and my guides sometimes communicate through this stuff. thank you already ❣️

Hi! I’m doing okay. Chilling on the beach atm (maybe you need a vacay, that’s what someone’s saying). Very zenned out. Perfect time to do some channeling.

❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️ ❣️

Guides, what say you?

Yessss you need a vacation. All you do is work work work. It’s okay to breathe, to rest, to take time off. You need to say yes to yourself more. You play it so safe. (They sound like this older sister, like a teenager to a younger sibling, popping bubblegum, like 90s teenager, Lizzie McGuire style clothes). They touch your shoulder. Look, I’m not trying to be harsh. I’m trying to be real. Life is for living. You’re gonna be okay. What’s the worst that can happen? You die? Big whoop! You’re gonna do that anyway. Yawn. So what’s new with you (asking for tea). How’s that guy??? That guy you like?? (They feel very like girlish and giggling). (It’s fading out now but I feel frustration about their answer, idk if you feel frustrated in response?)

What about this specific situation?

(Same guide) What specific situation? Oh that thing? Baby, don’t worry about it (they’re making hand gestures a lot). We have got you covered. You just need to focus on your energy (I’m seeing them like giving you a makeover like an older sister would when helping a younger sister get ready for a dance or a date). It’s such a non factor, a blip. Promise you. Five years from now, you’re gonna be in a whole different place and state of mind. You won’t even remember this little hiccup. Pshaw. Just do what you want, be what you want! Lighten up a bit, have a little fun.

Card Pull

Work Your Light Oracle

Took a bit for these cards to come out so I feel like it’s asking you to trust yourself and that the answers you want you already know, if you are still confused then wait, you may not be meant to know now but you will understand clearly one day.

Anna, Grandmother of Jesus—seeding the light. Laying foundations. Divine Plan.

Protection— call back your power. Cut the cords. Soul retrieval.

Didn’t your soul sister say you’re protected? Oh no, but that was I guess something I felt in the reading like I could’ve sworn I wrote something like that. But that’s why she’s so nonchalant, like you’re protected. It’s fine for you to take that risk. It’s part of your divine plan and part of how you do your light work.

Other things that came up— pink bedroom, notebook, pen, playing with gum/popping gum, twirling hair, both hands on shoulders and looking into their eyes, applying glittery makeup, in front of a mirror, there’s a word for that furniture piece but I can’t remember it, Lizzie McGuire, little hair clips, lip gloss, green fabric cardigan, rougher fabric but still soft? I don’t have words for it.

As I was looking for this photo I thought about Unfabulous and zoey 101, all shows that I watched with my sister and that reminds me of middle school aged, the sister came through as young teen talking to a younger like probably 8-11 year old, at times it felt older and younger. But something about middle school, the ages of like 9-15, that energy is coming through super strong. Summerland, Jesse McCartney

Hope this helps! Would love to know how this resonates or connects.

[jazzy---j]

Daughter of Poseidon: The Lightning Thief

“even the gods have to bow to fate”

Chapter Summary: Cassie and Percy's first full day at camp as they navigate their new home. Little do they know the dangers right in front of their faces.

Masterlist >>> Read on ao3 (7/23)

Our Dinner Goes Up In Smoke

Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever we went, campers pointed at me and Percy muttering something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet.

She showed us a few more places: the metal shop where kids were forging their own swords, the arts-and-crafts room where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man, and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn’t get to the top fast enough.

This place was totally freakin crazy. But for some batshit reason, I was totally into it.

Finally, we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins. “I’ve got training to do,” Annabeth said flatly. “Dinners at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall.” “Annabeth, I’m sorry about the toilets,” Percy said.

“Whatever.” 

“It wasn’t our fault,” Percy responded indignantly. She looked at us skeptically, and I winced. It technically was our fault. We'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn’t understand how. All I know is that the feeling in my gut when Clarisse was pushing my brother's head into the toilet was uncontrollable. I've never felt anything like that before.

“You need to talk to the Oracle,” Annabeth said. “Who?” Percy said  “Not who. What. The Oracle. I’ll ask Chiron.”

I stared into the lake, wishing this would all become a little less confusing. I saw a ripple in the water and looked a little closer and that was when I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below. They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loosely around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if I were a long-lost friend. I didn’t know what else to do so I waved back.

“Don’t encourage them,” Annabeth warned. “Naiads are terrible flirts.”

I looked up to see that Percy had been waving dumbly at them as well.

“Naiads,” Percy repeated, “That’s it. I want to go home now.” Annabeth frowned. “Don’t you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us.”

“You mean, mentally disturbed kids?”  "I wouldn't say mentally disturbed more like...maniac behavior?" I offered feebly.

“I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human.” “Half-human and half-what?” “I think you know.”

Percy's face shuttered.

I knew. I felt a tingling in my limbs, a sensation I sometimes felt when my mom talked about my dad.

“God,” Percy said. “Half-god.” Annabeth nodded. “Your father isn’t dead, guys. He’s one of the Olympians.”

I took a breath. Of all the things that I could have dreamed about who my dad was, a god was not one of them. But, hearing Percy say it out loud settled an uneasiness in me that I didn't know I had. Knowing more of the truth now and in a way it made me feel better.

“That’s...crazy," Percy exclaimed in disbelief even though he is the one who uttered the truth.

“Is it?"Annabeth promted.

"What’s the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they’ve changed their habits in the last few millennia?”

“But those are just—, " he faltered trying to collect his thoughts.

“But if all the kids here are half-gods—," Percy tried again. “Demigods,” Annabeth interjected. “That’s the official term. Or half-bloods.” “Then who’s your dad?” 

Her hands tightened around the pier railing. It was clear we were treading on a sore spot. “My dad is a professor at West Point,” she said. “I haven’t seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history.” “He’s human," Percy pointed out dumbly. I rolled my eyes. “What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?” “Who’s your mom, then?” I asked quickly trying to change the subject. “Cabin six.” “Meaning?” Annabeth straightened. “Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle.”

“And our dad?” Percy asked hopefully. “Undetermined,” Annabeth said, “like I told you before. Nobody knows.”

“Except our mother. She knew.” “Maybe not, Percy. Gods don’t always reveal their identities.” “My dad would have. He loved her.”

I winced at his hopeful tone.  Annabeth gave him a cautious look. Like she didn’t want to burst his bubble.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe he’ll send a sign. That’s the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens.” “You mean sometimes it doesn’t?” I asked surprised. Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. “The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don’t always... Well, sometimes they don’t care about us, Percy. They ignore us.”

I thought about some of the kids I’d seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. I’d known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn’t have the time to deal with them. But gods should behave better. My father should be better.

"You might have a better chance since...," She trailed off looking at me incredulously, "How old are you, Cassie?" She asked.

"Ummmm, eleven," I said fidgeting with my feet, "we're, uh, what's it called? Irish twins?" She nodded her head in confirmation. "It seems like your dad visited your mom twice. Which gods do not do often." She shrugged, "but I doubt it'll change anything."

“So we're stuck here,” Percy said. “That’s it? For the rest of our lives?”

“It depends,” Annabeth said. “Some campers only stay the summer. If you’re a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you’re probably not a real powerful force. The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it’s too dangerous to leave. We’re year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they’ll ignore us until we’re old enough to cause trouble—about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you’d know them. Some don’t even realize they’re demigods. But very, very few are like that.”

“So monsters can’t get in here?” I questioned skeptically.  Annabeth shook her head. “Not unless they’re intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside.” “Why would anybody want to summon a monster?” “Practice fights. Practical jokes.” “Practical jokes?” my brother repeated exasperated.

"That actually would be kinda funny," I mused. Percy looked bewilderedly in my direction. I shrugged my shoulders innocently at him. He knew what I was like, I don't know why he's acting surprised now.

“The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm.”

“So...you’re a year-rounder?” Percy asked more cautiously this time. Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt, she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke’s, except Annabeth’s, also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring.

“I’ve been here since I was seven,” she said. “Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I’ve been here longer than most of the counselors, and they’re all in college.”

“Why did you come so young?” Percy continued.  She twisted the ring on her necklace. “None of your business.” “Oh.” We all stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence.

“So... technically I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?” Percy questioned, “It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D’s or Chiron’s permission. But they wouldn’t give permission until the end of the summer session unless...” “Unless?” I piped up. “You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time...”

Her voice trailed off. I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn’t gone well. “Back in the sick room,” Percy said, “when you were feeding me that stuff—” “Ambrosia.” “Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice.” Annabeth’s shoulders tensed. “So you do know something?”

“Well...no. Back at my old school, we overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn’t have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?”

She clenched her fists. “I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won’t tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal.”

“You’ve been to Olympus?” I asked in awe.  “Some of us year-rounders—Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others— we took a field trip during winter solstice. That’s when the gods have their big annual council.”

“But...how did you get there?” Wasn't it in Greece? That must have been one expensive plane ticket. “The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor.” She looked at us like she was sure we must know this already. “You are New Yorkers, right?” “Oh, umm well yeah.” But as far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided to just let that go.

“Right after we visited,” Annabeth continued, “the weather got weird as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I’ve overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn’t returned by the summer solstice, there’s going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping...I mean—Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course, she’s got the rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something.”

Unfortunately, I didn't but I wished I could help her. It seemed like something really bad was about to go down. But, what could I do? I was just some nobody with what seemed like major daddy issues.

“I’ve got to get a quest,” Annabeth muttered to herself. “I’m not too young. If they would just tell me the problem...”

Strangely I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. Annabeth must’ve heard Percy's stomach growl because she told us to go on, she’d catch us later. We left her on the pier, tracing her finger across the rail as if drawing a battle plan.

Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. I noticed something that I didn't notice the first time, a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, and mischievous smiles. They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers. Nobody paid much attention to us as we walked over to a spot on the floor and plopped down.

The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact. I wondered what happened to make that large of a scar on his face.

“Found you two sleeping bags,” he said. “And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store.” I couldn’t tell if he was kidding about the stealing part. We both thanked him and set up the supplies.

“No prob.” Luke sat next to Percy, pushing his back against the wall. “Tough first day?” “We don’t belong here,” Percy said. “We don’t even believe in gods.”

“Yeah,” he said. “That’s how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn’t get any easier.” The bitterness in his voice surprised me because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy. He looked like he could handle just about anything.

“So your dad is Hermes?” I asked trying to change the subject. He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second I thought he was going to stab me or something, but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. “Yeah. Hermes.”

Oh great apparently everyone had daddy issues in this place.

“The wing-footed messenger guy." “That’s him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That’s why you’re here, enjoying cabin eleven’s hospitality. Hermes isn’t picky about who he sponsors.”

I blinked and stared blankly at him. I don't think Luke meant to call us nobodies. He just had a lot on his mind. But I couldn't help the feeling that he really did mean it that way.

“You ever meet your dad?” Percy asked.  “Once," he said leaving a lingering silence. Okay, clearly we should stop asking about his dad.

Luke looked up and managed a smile. “Don’t worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they’re mostly good people. After all, we’re extended family, right? We take care of each other.”

Luke seemed like one of the nicest people I've ever met. He seemed to understand how lost we both felt, and had welcomed us into the cabin. He’d even stolen us some toiletries, which was one of the nicest things a stranger had done for us.

"Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me, us being ‘Big Three’ material. Then Annabeth...twice, she said I might be ‘the one.’ She said we should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?” Percy asked.

Luke folded his knife. “I hate prophecies.” “What do you mean?”

His face twitched around the scar. “Let’s just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn’t allowed any more quests. Annabeth’s been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he already knew her fate. He’d had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn’t tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn’t destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until...somebody special came to the camp.”

“Somebody special?” “Don’t worry about it, kid,” Luke said. “Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she’s been waiting for. Now, come on, it’s dinnertime.”

The moment he said it, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, I knew it was a conch shell, even though I’d never heard one before.

Luke yelled, “Eleven, fall in!”

The whole cabin, about twenty of us, filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course, I was dead last behind Percy. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down.

We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods—and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.

In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.

At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven’s was way overcrowded. Percy and I had to squeeze uncomfortably close together to fit.

I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur. Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, with the only thing marking them as siblings being their gray eyes and honey-blond hair.

Clarisse sat behind us at Ares’s table. She’d apparently gotten over being hosed down because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends. My eyes drew to Markus, who was again sharpening another blade.

His eyes locked on mine for a brief moment and to my surprise, he smiled at me. Like a real genuine smile, not a smirk or a sneer, a smile. I quickly looked away as my heart lept in my throat.

I was so confused, this dude was acting weirder than weird all day then smiled at me like were buddies. He acted like a new person every time I saw him.  I cast all thoughts of Markus from my mind. Whatever his deal was I couldn't think about it right now, I had bigger problems to deal with.

Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. “To the gods!” Everybody else raised their glasses. “To the gods!”

Some people laughed as my voice cracked, "To the gods" a beat later and my face flushed with embarrassment. If there was any way to not draw attention to myself I was failing spectacularly.

Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, “Speak to it. Whatever you want—nonalcoholic, of course.”

I looked down at my glass skeptically. I didn't know if Luke was serious and I didn't really feel like looking stupid again but I caved and said, “Cherry Coke.”

And low and behold the glass filled with frickin cherry coke. Percy had the genius idea to ask for blue cherry coke, and the soda turned a violent shade of cobalt. I smiled and quickly changed my drink to match.

Percy broke into a crooked grin and ruffled my hair, "Look at you, trying to copy me."

I huffed trying and failing to smooth my hair down. 

“Here you go, guys,” Luke said, handing both of us a platter of smoked brisket. I filled my plate when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion. I wondered if they were going for dessert or something.

Percy paused as he was about to take a big bite. “Come on,” Luke told us. I looked at Percy and shrugged getting up to follow Luke. 

As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll. Luke murmured to us, “Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell.” "You’re kidding," Percy said dryly as he reached my side.

The look on Luke's face warned me not to take this lightly, but I couldn’t help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food. I wondered if that's what they lived off of? Did they even eat food?

Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. “Hermes.”

Percy went next and I went last.

I wish I knew who to talk to.

Finally, I made a silent plea. Dad, please give me some sort of sign. I'll be looking out for it. I scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames.

When I caught a whiff of the smoke, I was expecting to gag and get nauseous over the smell. But it smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn’t have gone well together, but did. I could almost believe the gods could live off that smoke.

When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.

Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. “Yes, I suppose I’d better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is this Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels.”

A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table. I resisted the urge to look back at Markus. “Personally,” Mr. D continued, “I couldn’t care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have new campers today. Peter Johnson and Catalina Jones.”

Chiron murmured something. “Er, Percy Jackson and Cassie Jackson,” Mr. D corrected. 

“That’s right, siblings. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on.” Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo’s cabin led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s’mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn’t feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home.

Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag next to Percy's.

My fingers curled around the Minotaur’s horn. I was so overwhelmed. I found out Greek gods were real, I thought about my mom, but I tried to think good thoughts: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite. When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly.

That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood. I wish I’d known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.

chapter 8 >>>

[thesuperduckling24]

i figure i’d respond with some of my own favorites from seasons i’ve watched!! your choices are all absolutely top tier tho

(note: i’m doing this in chronological order of release date, not watch date cause i’m gonna be so fr i do not remember in what order i’ve watched shit)

fantasy high freshman year: gorgug is also top contender for me, if only because both the "are you my dad?" and his parents being super cheerful and also fucking menace artificers is so so hilarious. fabian also gets an honorable mention though, i Love lou wilson and "rich boy gets friends who care about him" is so so delightful to me. also fabian’s "papa!" lives in my head rent free as a stim lmao

escape from the bloodkeep: god, it’s hard. matt mercer as my most beloved cringefail warlock man leiland, but also weird-creature lover ranger sokhbarr, but also the wettest oracle efink murderdeath, but also supportive wine mom lilith!!! honestly if i had to choose i think i’d pick lilith, solely because i adore erika ishii so so much. lilith is slaying and i’m so excited for you to see where the story goes!!

(i haven’t actually watched fantasy high sophomore year because the livestream format kind of scares me, but with the announcement of junior year i’m gonna try and get into it cause i gotta get caught up!)

unsleeping city: only watched season one as well, but i gotta say that my favorite is absolutely one hundred percent ricky matsui, mr march himself. in general you’re gonna see i have a bias towards zac’s characters but they’re just. so funny! the bit about bringing forth the darkness in his heart and there just Isn’t any cracks me up every time. shoutout to siobhan with misty moore though! so fancy and distinguished :D

misfits and magic: god i love brennan as a player. evan kelmp my beloved. i really don’t have any words i just think about evan kelmp sending a kid to hell and laugh sometimes. so so so good.

the seven (currently watching): i’m only at the second episode or so but god i love katja. horse girl who is just so so awkward around people but deeply deeply loyal to her friends (and of course her horse) my utterly beloved. also the moment where her dad tells the servants to get her anything she wants when all she wants is him back home is. man ;-;. big shoutout to izzy and ostentatia though, utterly obsessed with the accent and also the deep love for her family.

starstruck odyssey: oh god this one is so hard for me. starstruck is like my Favorite d20 season and they’re all just such good characters in this one. barry and the barries are so so delightful to me. rich boy gunnie just Immediately fucking his space adventure up is so beloved to me. sundry sydney my most especially beloved cyborg girl, emily and murph as a cyborg duo meant literally everything to me and i adored her arc of discovering herself and finding her own purpose. and, of course, norman "skip" takamori, brain slug extraordinaire. "i got my proldier’s license right here!" *high kick to fire my straight down gun boots*

a court of fey and flowers: brennan as a player my utter beloved, but my h(e)art was stolen by none other than the lords of the wing. i fucking love birds and emily and lou’s duo of "cousin! cousin? cousin!!!" was just so endlessly entertaining, i was in tears over the chair scene. yes yes, pining and yearning are all good and well, but the flouncy nature of chirp featherfowl and rakish audacity of squak airavas truly stole the show for me

neverafter: god i love pib. pib was catered Specifically To Me, cause that little guy is a Tabaxi Rogue played by Zac Oyama, three of literally my favorite things in dnd. lou’s pinocchio voice was fucking hilarious, though, the nat20 whale screeching scene in burned into my ears forever and ever.

ravening war: to no one’s surprise, i fucking loved colin provolone. ultimate straight man to brennan’s bullshittery, and also deeply hilarious that the guy specifically built around lying and keeping secrets couldn’t do it half as well as zac just chilling there. raphaniel and karna are tied for the shoutout, though, because brennan and aabria are such good storytellers and it’s always fascinating to see that poured into a single character and how it plays out.

dungeons and drag queens: so so torn, all of the questing queens were utterly fantastic. i think my favorites were either gertrude or twyla, though; gertrude because bob’s passion for theatrics and performance gave her and her magic such life, and twyla because jujubee got so so invested into the game and into the story that it just compelled me to keep watching her specifically.

mentopolis: there’s no picking a favorite here. the prefrontal pi’s were all utterly brilliant to me. i loved leaning into all the noir tropes, from the hardy gumshoe always looking for his next case to the femme fatale who ends up in a wonderful marriage with an ironclad prenup, and everyone in between. still not over dan fucks and his diamond hard nuts, though.

who are your favorite pcs on dimension 20? (either as a whole, per season, whatever you want!)

oh gosh, that's such a difficult decision! i might go based on seasons i've seen? and as a disclaimer: i love every single pc, everyone plays so well on dimension 20 and i love the choices people make, this is all just my opinion!

fantasy high freshman year: god i love gorgug in this season, he was such a goofy guy, and i love him. he honestly was what made me switch to playing more barbarians in my own gameplay

fhsy: fig was sooooo good in this season, the stuff with her and ayda, all the skateboarding away, and just her coming into her own as a person hit very hard for me.

the seven: ostentatia wallace was so good, and izzy was so fun at the table! i'm so excited to watch her in coffin run and in burrow's end. just yelling "i love you" at her dad and all the cleric shit was amazing, and i loved every second of her.

unsleeping city: i've only seen the first season, but i loved kugrash so much!! him being rat jesus was too funny, but he also had his heartbreaking moments. he was a very well developed character and murph played him so well

crown of candy: it's a tie between 3, which i know is so bad, but they are liam, lapin, and theo. they each are just so fantastic and i love them all so much. liam was so sweet, and then when he was a war guy, that was so good too! him and primsy <3. lapin was fucking hilarious, i don't care what anyone else says. his banter with theo was unmatched, and the last episode with him was heart-wrenching and i loved every second of it. theo is also so good. casting knock on the door!!! the banter, sprinkle, the protectiveness all of it!

ravening war: god i love colin and raphaniel so so much! they are such a duo. but so are colin and deli! but then deli and karna! but then karna and amongeux! god, that season was full of top players and i probably couldn't choose one rn.

starstruck oddyessy: god i loved gunnie! the ball is rolling up is in my vocabulary now, and i honestly enjoy everything that lou wilson does, he's phenomenal. also skip is fucking hilarious in the beginning, when he's learning how to talk, it makes me giggle all the time

neverafter: tbh i loved everyone in this season! my top favs were definitely ylfa and pinocchio though. lou's voice was fucking crazy but it was wonderful. his arc with his stepmother slayed. ylfa is a character that i relate to a little too much probably, but she is so wonderful. her and the wolf are crazy. i watch way too many edits with ylfa clips, it's probably something i should work on haha

escape from the bloodkeep: tbh i love leiland! i'm only on episode three but he slays figuratively and literally (though not much literally lol) matt mercer is a great player and i love everything he does!

i'm so sorry that this was so lengthy lmao, can you tell that i like dimension 20 and dungeons and dragons???

[sepublic]

Through the Looking Glass Ruins!!!!!

         …

         SO! Onto other things first…

         WRATH IS BRAXAS’ FATHER!??!!? HOLY SHIT, Wrath is a canonical dad, I’d always expressed my… OH MY GOD WRATH IS DAD! And of BRAXAS, that sweetie… How is Braxas such a sweetie with a father like HIM, also-

         Wrath was in casual wear? Either he has a day off, or he got fired by Belos/Kikimora after drawing Luz a map to Eda in Young Blood, Old Souls! Either way this guy has a sudden new level of NUANCE that I am reeling from, and yes I checked, that really is Wrath according to the credits! Dang this puts everything in a WHOLE new light…!

         AMITY HAIR OHMIGOD IT LOOKS SO ADORABLE SHE’S SELF-ACTUALIZING I AM FUCKING SCREAMING HOLY SHIT OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD, it’s PINK and not green… They acknowledged it, Emira did! And they CHANGED IT I AM LOSING MY FUCKING MIND OVER THIS-

         She looks so BEAUTIFUL and I love the kind of foreshadowing with the bookends of our first shot of Amity having her hair down, and now it’s changed! And she looks adorable and EMIRA AND EDRIC BEING GREAT SIBLINGS I LOVE IT SO MUCH! This… THIS is everything I wanted! I was resigned to not much of them but HELL YEAH they’re being good siblings and we get a look at their rooms, we see them doing MAKEOVERS together this is everything from my favorite fanon content and MORE,

         Also Edric has a date?! Emira says ‘their’ mom… Unless the Golden Guard has a mom, DARN! Not gonna lie, I half-expected a big twist at the end that Edric was dating the Golden Guard, who was doing some sort of reconnaissance as his unrecognized normal self and/or screwing around with the Blights even further, but in a GENUINE sense… But then who knows Kikimora could be posing as GG’s ‘mom’, this is a stretch anyhow-

         JUST HELL YEAH Blight Twins! Blight Twins being sweet and mischievous and supportive of each other, Blight SIBLINGS being siblings, Emira being an older sister and giving advice! And AMITY, Amity mentioning how much Luz has changed stuff, I love that they acknowledge it openly how her life has completely shifted, and now… NOW…!

         No necklace! Red leggings! PINK HAIR?! Is this why Amity in the intro hasn’t been updated yet… She was getting TWO updates, so the animators decided to only animate a change after this final update?!

         King and Gus are also friends it seems, and they even recorded some fun together! I’m surprised at how much Bria and the others mock Gus’ illusion skills… Obviously Belos is kinda terrible but like; I don’t think he’d set aside an entire subset of magic into Illusions without reason! Also that nightmare trip… I LOVE IT, I love Gus applying the creativity of illusions in their ability to completely warp and distort someone’s sense of reality! And I called that dragon-thing being an illusion!

         A graveyard… I wonder if the Gallderstones (is that how it’s spelled) have any relevance or if they’re just neat? I hope Mattholomule and Gus help hide the Looking Glass Graveyard… Damn, that’s another Death reference with Gus, huh! Is it culminating in his respect for the dead, or will it continue further with Gus being a necromancer, or an Oracle who can commune with the deceased, and he has their respect as someone who treats them properly?!

         Also not to get dark but… What if all those Illusionists are dead because of Belos? I’m JUST SAYING…! And not gonna lie, every time someone insulted Illusions, I kept imagining the Illusion Head just suddenly waking up and feeling like there’s a disturbance in the force, as well as a weird compulsion to beat up some Glandus kids. It’d be even funnier if he had beef with the Construction, Plant, and Abomination Heads as well!

         Speaking of which, more confirmation on Construction Magic being related to earth! Glad to see Bria give us a look into that, which furthers my idea of Belos using construction magic… Also dang, Bria and the Glandus Kids really are the parallels/foils to the Detention kids! You’ve got the short ‘nice’ girl, the tall lanky kid, the furry… But the Glandus Kids start off looking nice and cool, but turn out to be rather nasty!

         Meanwhile the Detention Kids seem like bad news and delinquents, but no! They’re just demonized and actually very kind and chill! The Detention Kids are looked down upon, the Glandus Kids are appraised… The Detention Kids are dual-track, the Glandus Kids are singular; Glandus Kids from, well, GLANDUS, Detention Kids from Hexside… One’s ‘mischief’ is actually very neat and cool, the other’s is literal grave robbing.

         I guess that’s how the bleeding statues got past the censors- It’s technically just an illusion! Also more insight into how Glandus works with its Survival of the Fittest mentality, I wonder if we’ll get confirmation on which coven heads came from there, how that might influence them as adults…

         What is Glandus like, is it more whole-heartedly accepting of Belos’ rule, hence its harsh ideals? Was it made after Hexside? Does Bump hate it for being so cruel like that, or is it just school bias? And dang poor Mattholomule, I always had a feeling he sort of felt and knew that he wasn’t much, so he accepted and compensated by deliberately doing whatever he can for power…

         They confirmed he’s from Glandus, and I appreciate this new look at him! This new leaf turned… Hot take but he’s honestly not as bad as Boscha, his stint with Gus was a one-time thing that Gus was able to live with! And that seems pretty good to set them up as friends! Speaking of Boscha, Willow was injured by pixies? And the last time we heard of pixies, they belonged to Boscha and caused the school to get shut down… Did BOSCHA DO THIS I SWEAR SHE IS DEAD TO ME-

         (Also she’s mentioned in the credits for this episode but I don’t remember hearing her? I might’ve gotten distracted with so much other things.)

         Gus! I like the insight into his relationship with Illusions, and I appreciate how he’s considering other forms of magic… But this hesitation might just serve to reaffirm his believe in Illusions, which is okay! It’s all about choice… And yeah, it seems Gus also has a case of impostor syndrome like King, no wonder they get along so well! I love the glimpses into Gus’ house and the confirmation that he has a library card, no Perry though alas…!

         I appreciate how Gus feels overlooked, like he has no real substance, which is how his Illusions reflect a desire to draw attention, but also the idea that there’s nothing real beneath them… Again, very much like King! And Gus, he’s not a powerhouse like the rest, he’s SKILLED and smart, but strength isn’t his forte, it’s not brute force he operates on, but cleverness! Trickery, I like it…! It’s a nice callback to his last A-plot episode, SVSF, where instead of fighting Mattholomule physically, Gus’ solution is to think outside the box and pull the alarm!

         You go kid, not relying on brute strength but showing that some clever tricks and thinking are just as valid! Kinda wonder if this episode is lowkey a discussion on masculinity for young boys, especially with Gus growing older with puberty, though the latter is mostly because his actual VA grew… But maybe the writers rolled with that and incorporated it, or it’s just a very neat coincidence! Also, it is me or did Mattholomule’s voice change? And the gag that Gavin’s dad looks identical to him, even moreso because he’s NOT supposed to have a moustache… That’s great!

         Malphas! Love this reference to a classic demon, I wasn’t sure if Malphas was the librarian with glasses whom I’ve always headcanoned as a father figure to Amity… But maybe it’s actually this bird dude! He seems adept in Bard magic, and I love the reveal of his true crow appearance… Guess those theorists were right that the one-eyed figure is from the Forbidden Stacks! Also Malphas NOT COOL with Amity, but I’m glad Luz changed his mind, and I wonder how that adventure looked…

         Which- DAMN, the RSD with Luz! She looks so UTTERLY BROKEN when Amity mentions doing stupid things, and she didn’t mean it like that, but Luz just looks so completely shattered and you can tell she wants to cry but instead she bottles it up and tries to take it in stride, and that plays into her trying to overcompensate for her mistakes AGAIN… SOMEONE GET IT TO HER HEAD that she doesn’t need to! I’m scared for Luz, and I was SO scared this episode would end on a bad note…

         BUT DOAHLDdFAEONDKFHN LUMITY KISS LUMITY KISS! ONE-SIDED BUT THEY FINALLY FUCKING KNOW AND AMITY IS LIKE WHAAAAT AND I WAS WAITING FOR IT AND I COULD FEEL IT HAPPEN AND GAY KISS! GAY KISS ON-SCREEN!!! And the way Luz just FLOPS to the ground on her knees AAHJJFFKHGGK and no Alador nor Odalia to ruin this, UTTERLY PERFECT and the twins WATCHING OOOHHHHGGGG YYYEEAAAAHHH-

         This is EVERYTHING I ever wanted!

         What an AMAZING episode with wonderful characer beats and reveals! Again, Amity’s growth as a character, that brief insight into how Luz as a person is very chaotic and sometimes frustrating for Amity and forces her to reevaluate, but ultimately it’s good and Luz DOES try her best, and Amity clearly wanted to make things up for Luz and apologize, they’re BOTH doing things, just the little moments!

         Also, Alex Lawther voices Philip Wittebane! He has long hair and a vaguely british accent, he’s… He’s Belos isn’t he? And they got a new VA because having him voiced by Matthew Rhys would be really spoiler-y right? He’s got the long hair and he’s a nerd… And with how he talks of finding a way back home, maybe Belos really DOES just want to return home, after all? He talks of making a way back home…

         And we see a glimpse of the Portal, so it might’ve brought him there? Or did Philip succeed in making it, and that was his blueprint designs? Did he arrive by Titan’s Blood? What happened to the portal if it brought him there, or if he made it? Why the scar, why near Eda’s house, partially buried?

         Was it lost before he could finish his work, and Philip got side-tracked into something else… Perhaps going on a crusade, on behalf of a curse/demon that possessed him? A demon that killed King’s father…? Was the portal broken and he had to discard it, but then it naturally healed- Or did it just need to recharge, maybe Philip DID make it back home, WHAT IS THE ANSWER?! Is there some sort of doppelganger for Philip, is BELOS his doppelganger?! What is THIS WHAT-

         WHAT AN EPISODE!

[gatesofember]

Will headcannons?

tbh most of my headcanons are very flexible and I like to experiment with writing Will in different ways so I may not hc all of these at the same time but these are some hcs I’m fond of:

I have a lot of hcs about his mom and I’ve made several posts about her before but the basic gist is: she was born to a conservative family in the Texan bible belt and her parents cut her off when she got pregnant with Will before marriage. She worked several jobs to make ends meet until she had her big break and became a famous country star. Also she’s bi.

She’s not a perfect mother but she loves her son and Will worships the ground she walks on

Will is a year round camper but he also spends time with his mom a lot. It was hard when he lived with his mom because she went on tour a lot so either he’d be left with a housekeeper or he was homeschooled while he traveled with her.

Another part of the reason he’s a year round camper now is he was kind of an outcast in normal school and didn’t have many friends because he’s nd and other kids just didn’t get him

Also he just feels really responsible for his siblings now that he’s their counselor and he feels guilty leaving them behind.

Will is bi/pan and he never really questioned that about himself since his mom is bi too

Will is either a trans man or nb/trans masc and he knew from a young age. His mom is totally supportive.

Will is autistic and so is his boyfriend so they just GET each other

Star Wars is one of his special interests, like to the point that he has encyclopedic knowledge of various weapons and star destroyer classes

Part of the reason he comes across as such a sweet pure ray of sunshine is because he has severe rsd and he’s terrified that if he messes up everyone will hate him

Another reason is he feels like he has to hide his anxiety and put on a smile for the sake of his little siblings and the other young campers

In his eyes, Lee and Michael were perfect counselors and brothers and he feels like he has to be exactly like them or else he’ll disappoint them (really they were just normal teenagers and made plenty of mistakes)

So Will tends to bottle up his emotions and when it gets to be too much he just goes somewhere to be alone and cries

Sometimes people find him and he hates when that happens because he feels like he’s burdening them with his emotions

When people ask him why he’s crying he usually lies and gives a fake reason because 1) he’s embarrassed, and/or 2) he doesn’t actually know why he’s crying

Really he’s crying because he’s overwhelmed but he doesn’t know how to express that

Will is bad at expressing himself in general. He bottles his emotions up so much that he’s never learned healthy ways to deal with them or even how to identify what he’s feeling

Sometimes he gets angry and wants to lash out at people. He usually holds back, but sometimes he just lets it out, and he always just ends up feeling worse afterwards because he feels guilty for hurting someone and like a failure because he couldn’t control himself

Basically he has issues with emotional regulation

Will isn’t actually bad at archery or music, he just says he is because he compares himself to his siblings and his mom

He’s a really good runner. CHB sometimes has footraces and everyone hates them because Will always wins.

Will is a plant gay and he has a little garden of medicinal plants growing in the infirmary window

He has prophecy powers. Not as much as Rachel, but more than the typical demigod, mostly because he also sometimes has visions while awake. Sometimes it’s just flashes, or he just gets this feeling that something is going to happen right before it does.

Like that part of the hidden oracle that’s like: “‘Nico’s about to pass out,’ said Will. ‘no I’m not,’ said Nico, then he passed out”

This lends to him being a pretty good fighter. He seems like he has really fast reflexes because he actually knows what his opponent is going to do before they do it.

This is really annoying in conversation sometimes because he has a habit of talking over people and it seems kind of disrespectful but really he just knows what you’re about to say and sometimes he doesn’t realize you haven’t said it yet. He’s learned to slow down a bit now to make sure you’ve actually finished talking before he responds.

[pricemarshfield]

moments like these

A Figayda angst/hurt/comfort fic. Requested by @sapphic-tuesday even though they only requested it because I love Figayda. (ily bestie) Read on AO3 here.

Prompt: Figayda, angst, hurt/comfort, “You don’t need to stay.” “I don’t need to. But I want to.”

The forest is dark and damp and the worst fucking place Fig has ever been, and she's running as fast as she can to get away from herself. She'd point out how it's way too on the nose if she had any breath left, but as it stands, it's all she can do to keep putting one foot in front of the other, slower and slower.

Eventually she has to just collapse into the nearest bush, hope somehow that's enough stealth even as the crack of the branches seems to echo out for miles and miles. There's a long, long beat, where she thinks, just for a second, that maybe she's done it. Maybe the other her isn't too perceptive, either.

She hears an oddly pitched laugh from right behind her ear, as though she isn't lying on the ground, and when did the branches tangle around her leg? Where'd her bass go? Why did none of her friends even seem to care that someone else took her place--

Fig wakes up with a start, sits up, hits her head against her ceiling which is, of course, the living room floor. Her horns scratch it a bit, but thankfully, her mom won't ever see it. Her crystal says it's 3 in the morning when she checks it, and fuck, she's gonna be stuck in here for awhile if she can't pass back out.

She could send a quick text to the Mordred group chat (the manorlings, despite Ragh vying for 'OWLBEAR HYPE HOUSE') and ask if anyone's up to let her out, but then there'll be questions about why she's up, so she just concentrates on mage hand until she nails the chord and the ceiling opens.

The house feels too empty with everyone asleep, too stifling when she can't make any noise, but there's not exactly anywhere else she can go. Her days of sneaking out in the middle of the night to go to concerts aren't nearly as fun now that she misses her friends the whole time. Also, now people recognize her for being one of Solace's biggest stars or whatever, and that's just kind of a hassle when she's not in the mood for attention.

The living room couch is an old, cracked leather thing, moved from Jawbone's apartment. It's not comfortable in any traditional sense, but there's a groove in it that fits her perfectly, and that's nice, in its own way. Sometimes she misses the couch in the old house. It got burned to hell in the attack on prom night, though, so. The whole house did, honestly; when she went home after everything, the window in her bedroom was shattered, glass all over her bed so that she had to pick up each piece, vacuum up what small pieces she couldn't see. She still woke up with a couple cuts on her legs that she didn't have before, but it was home, even if the posters and the pink wallpaper were both singed, even if the purple comforter she'd had since she was a kid didn't smell like it used to.

The old Faeth house never really felt like home after her horns, sure, but Mordred...

She does like it here. Loves it, when everyone's crowded around the table, Adaine arguing with Kristen about some minute difference in casting, Jawbone telling a wildly off-color story to a confused-but-interested Aelwyn, Sandra Lynn making sure Ayda has enough food on her plate while she blinks back fiery tears.

But it doesn't change the fact that she lived here for all of a day before spring break, and right now the hallways and secret passages and tall ceilings all feel ominous, not exciting anymore.

She turns on the light before her mage hand dissipates, scrolls through the games she has on her crystal. Most of them are things she's had on here back when she liked unicorns and glitter and all those girly things that she never got around to deleting.

It's something to do, at least.

The bright colors are nostalgic in just the wrong way, and she makes it through two minutes of matching pop rocks and cake slices before she's scrolling through the games again, on-edge for no goddamn reason.

"Fig?"

Part of her relaxes against the couch before she's even finished processing the voice as Ayda. "Hey! I didn't think you were staying here tonight."

"I wasn't," Ayda says, looking at her with an expression she can't read at all. She's in a deep blue chemise, like she'd been sleeping before she walked through the enchanted door into Mordred. "I--may I sit?"

"Yeah, of course," Fig says, patting the spot next to her. "Always, babe."

Ayda cries a little as she sits, and Fig wipes the tears away. The first time she tried, when she was a normal tiefling and didn't wear the title of Archdevil, it stung a little, like stepping into a too-warm bath. Now, it feels just like the hint of warmth against her hand, uniquely Ayda and not at all painful. (Which is also uniquely Ayda, to never freak Fig out even when she's in this shitty mood.)

"So," Ayda says. "I was in Leviathan, as I needed to--well, still need to, I've merely decided the task isn't as important--I'm getting sidetracked."

"Yeah," Fig says, and when Ayda stiffens, says, "Not bad! Not a bad thing! It's cute."

"Oh," Ayda says. "I--sorry," and bursts into tears again. Fig wipes them away, kisses her cheek just 'cause she can, kisses the other one because she can feel Ayda's face get even warmer.

"No worries," Fig says, too late, because she's not--this is still new to her. "So what's going on?"

"As you know, I am a divination wizard, though not an Oracle like Adaine, our best friend." Fig nods. "But sometimes my dreams have--not prophecies, but looks into the present, or even occasionally the past."

"Okay," Fig says. "Is there, like, a slumbering demon lord underneath Mordred?"

"No," Ayda says. "I asked a ranger I know in Leviathan to check before he left on a journey to Sylvaire. Unrelated to the Nightmare King. I checked, just to be sure, because I am sure none of us want to deal with that again."

"Mmhm," Fig says, willing herself to keep breathing slow and easy and not tense up like she wants to. It's just Ayda talking about preventing further Nightmare King stuff. The Nightmare King doesn't even exist anymore, they're Cassandra, they're cool. "So, uh, what'd you see in your dream?"

"You," Ayda says. "That isn't uncommon. I dream of you often. You're in more of my dreams than not. Is that strange? Should I not have said that?"

"Not strange," Fig says, sure her cheeks are red rather than pink. "Just--I'm flustered, okay, give me a second."

Ayda nods at her, not smiling but face relaxed in a way that suggests the same feeling. Fig grabs her hand just to ground herself, squeezes it once. There's a moment before Ayda squeezes it back, like she's thinking about whether it's the right thing to do.

"Totally normal," Fig says, just in case.

"Good," Ayda says with one long exhale. "I was worried."

"You know, it doesn't matter to me if what you do is 'normal'," Fig says. "I like you whether what you do is normal or not!"

Ayda nods. "I want to finish my thought, but after that I want to kiss you. That was the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

"You could kiss me and then finish the thought?"

"I would forget," Ayda says, like she doesn't remember everything, like Fig is enough to distract her. Fig can't quite meet her gaze, then, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. She squeezes her hand again. Ayda squeezes back immediately. "Um. I'm distracting myself. What was I talking about?"

"Your dream."

"Right. Thank you, Fig. I dreamed about you, and I think it may have been--it was as though I was standing at your bedside. I know it was a dream and not sleepwalking, because I can't actually stand in your room--it's too short and I don't want to set your house on fire. But you seemed upset, and while I don't know if that was real or a dream or not, I couldn't--I couldn't just sit in my room and Leviathan without checking."

"Oh," Fig says. "Um. I'm fine."

"Hm," Ayda says. "You know, you were the one who told me that if people say they're fine, it very rarely means they're fine. I don't understand the logic of it at all, but I trust your insight."

"It's stupid," Fig says, and then, in a twist, bursts into tears herself. "God. It's stupid, I don't even know why I'm upset? Like, it's literally nothing, nothing is going on, I'm just dumb--"

"You are not dumb," Ayda says, and Fig hates herself all the more for the panic she can hear in her voice. "You have taught me so much, and if it matters to you, then it's not stupid. Fig?"

"Yeah," Fig says, voice embarrassingly choked up. She clears her throat as best she can, which isn't very well, since she's still actively crying. "Yeah, I know."

"I don't know what you know," Ayda says. "But I know that when I cry, you wipe my tears away, and I'm going to do the same for you, unless you want to stop me, in which case I won't."

Fig doesn't move, lets Ayda wipe away her tears even though it makes her want to cry more, someone being nice to her right now. "Thanks."

"Any time," Ayda says with the weight of a promise and not at all like the platitude most people would mean. "Do you want to talk about it? It's okay if you don't. I often don't want to talk about the things I'm going through when I'm still going through them."

"I don't," Fig says, because the idea of explaining the nightmare and Mordred and her old house being destroyed and feeling so, so unmoored and stuck all at once makes her want to tear her own hair out. "I don't--you don't need to stay. I'll be okay. If I'm not--if I can't talk about it, you don't need to stay."

"I don't need to stay," Ayda says, carefully, and Fig grips her hand tighter without consciously meaning to. "But I'd like to. If I can."

"I meant it when I said always," Fig says, still not looking at Ayda because she can't.

"Do you want me to?"

"Yeah," Fig says. "I always want you to stay."

Jawbone walks into the room on his way into the kitchen, sees two teenagers holding hands and crying and slightly-burning his couch, and decides he can just get water from the bathroom instead of the kitchen. He's not one to interrupt a moment.

[mikauzoran]

Nathaniel and Adrien: Redemption (One-Shot)

@magician-of-esperance asked for Nathaniel and Adrien. Thanks for the request! This was a fun one. ^.^

Summary: A chance encounter makes Nathaniel realize that maybe he misjudged Adrien.

Read it on AO3: Nathaniel and Adrien: Redemption

There was about half an hour before school started, so Nathaniel decided to take advantage of the opportunity to work on his comic.

He took a seat on one of the benches along the inner wall of the courtyard and opened his sketchbook.

He was trying to come up with a new villain design, and he’d decided to use Majora’s Wrath from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask for inspiration. He’d add unique details and make the end result his own, but the character design of Majora’s Wrath offered a good base to start from.

He took out the reference picture he’d printed and smoothed it, setting it down on the blank page facing the page where he was working so that he could easily look back and forth between his sketch and the reference.

He’d been at it for about fifteen minutes when he was rudely interrupted.

“Do you like Legend of Zelda?”

Nathaniel looked up into the tentatively smiling face of Adrien Agreste.

Internally, he cursed.

Adrien was the last person Nathaniel wanted to deal with so soon after being summarily rejected by Marinette for the ditzy, blonde jock slash literal supermodel.

“Yes,” Nathaniel responded curtly, hoping that Adrien would get the message that his intrusion wasn’t welcome and move on.

Instead, Adrien’s face lit up, and he took a seat beside Nathaniel. “Me too!”

Nathaniel had to try hard to contain a grimace.

“What’s your favourite game?” Adrien asked enthusiastically.

“Probably Wind Waker or Breath of the Wild,” Nathaniel muttered.

Adrien nodded in approval at Nathaniel’s choices. “Those were both really cool. I loved all the innovations. The graphics in Wind Waker were especially amazing.”

A brief silence settled between them, and Nathaniel realized that Adrien was (eagerly) waiting for Nathaniel to ask him which game he liked best.

Nathaniel almost didn’t, but then he thought of what Marinette and Ladybug would think of him being rude to the new kid who was obviously trying hard to make friends.

Internally, Nathaniel sighed.

“Which ones are your favourites?” He tried not to sound as put out as he felt.

Adrien nearly started to bounce in his seat in his joy at successfully carrying on a conversation.

“I actually like some of the older games best,” he informed Nathaniel exuberantly. “Oracle of Seasons and Link’s Awakening kept me busy for entire days at a time. My absolute favourite, though, is Majora’s Mask.”

Nathaniel nodded. “It’s a good game. …What did you like about it?”

An embarrassed blush spread across Adrien’s cheeks, and he looked down at his feet as he twisted the right one back and forth in a nervous gesture.

“The structure, actually. I really like the three-day cycle that repeats again and again.”

Nathaniel quirked an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

Adrien shrugged. “It’s comforting. It’s safe inside the time loop. If you mess up, you can start over, and, if you miss something, you can just get it on the next go round.”

Adrien’s teeth sank into his bottom lip, and he hesitantly looked up to meet Nathaniel’s gaze. “I’m not sure if people know this, but my mom disappeared a couple months ago.”

Nathaniel’s eyes went wide because he had not known that, and how on earth did Adrien act so normal and happy and nice with that kind of rubbish going on in his life?

“After it became clear that she wasn’t coming back right away and we weren’t going to find her, I sort of started playing video games a lot and really immersing myself in their worlds. Majora’s Mask was one of my favourites because the time loop is so stable.”

Adrien winced, averting his eyes again. “This is probably really weird. It was just really nice to have something that made sense. Every day in the game proceeds according to the script, and I knew where I could find any of the characters at any given time on any given day. It was nice to have that kind of certainty.”

Tentatively, Adrien looked back at Nathaniel (who was sure his face was a mixture of horror and stupefaction).

“Sorry. I’m not sure if that makes any sense.” Adrien forced a smile—the same smile as usual, only Nathaniel saw it for what it was now—and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“No. It’s okay,” Nathaniel rushed to assure. “It makes sense that you’d want something you could rely on when your world was flipped on its head like that.”

Adrien’s fake smile softly melted into something more genuine. “Oh, good. Sorry. I didn’t have friends besides Chloé before I started coming here, so I’m not very good at having conversations yet. Nino says I say weird things sometimes, so I’m trying to work on that.”

Nathaniel nodded, trying to ignore the way his cheeks were heating up along with the realization that Adrien was kind of adorable.

“I don’t think you’re weird or anything,” Nathaniel insisted. “Most of the time people think I’m the weird one.”

Adrien’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really? I’ve always thought you were cool.”

Oh my God. Adrien Agreste thought Nathaniel was cool.

Nathaniel’s voice squeaked a little as he suggested, “Maybe you could come over sometime and we could play video games.”

Adrien’s face fell. “My father doesn’t let me leave the house, so I don’t think I can do that. I’d like to, though. Do you maybe play any games online?”

Nathaniel nodded. “Yeah. A couple. We could definitely find something to play together.”

“Awesome!” Adrien’s whole face glowed with joy.

The bell rang, and Nino came over to walk to class with Adrien, effectively ending the conversation.

“It was nice talking to you,” Adrien remarked in parting with a smile and a wave.

“Yeah,” Nathaniel agreed, surprised to find that he genuinely meant it.

Maybe Adrien wasn’t so bad after all.

In fact, Nathaniel could kind of see why Marinette liked him.

[alyjojo]

Family Ties ⛪️ - May 2024 - Leo

Overall Energy: Queen of Pentacles

For most, this feels like your energy. You’re pretty separate from your family, or they are, I do get some people with issues right off the bat…they may not be the most supportive, close, or involved. You could be a single parent, someone that’s focused on your independence and career, not so much concerned with the family and its dramas. You’re good on your own, you can handle your shit, and you’re probably happier that way - on some level. But the guilt gets you every time. It’s a heavy burden on your shoulders, having to show up for people who have hurt you or let you down - I’m hearing “countless times.” Due to…your own sense of what family should be, maybe guilt trips from others, maybe you just do it for Mom. She seems to be the best relationship with you, you’ll show up for her. Maybe she wants to meet up with everyone else and you’d just rather not. You could be under a lot of pressure and where are these people? Not caring. So why should you?

If not you, this Queen of Pentacles could be someone in particular you reunite with periodically but would rather not, all of these feelings may just refer to one person. It could be a stand-off that’s affected the whole family, some are closer with that person, and you’re closest with Mom (it seems anyway.)

Mother: The Empress, The Fool, 4 Wands

Oracle: Patience 😌 - Jupiter Virgo

69 - Precision

The desire to do things precisely is useful as long as it does not devolve into rigidity.

A few different stories with Mom. She loves being your mom in all of them, for one, but for some that’s may not have been planned at ALL. Dad could’ve been a one night thing or a very short affair, I’m even getting her leaving while still pregnant - for someone. And magically, a baby came out of that. I’m also getting you being a possible “miracle baby” or born via…well I heard “nitro” but Google says “in vitro” and it’s probably that 😋 It’s possible “Dad” is more of “donor” in some cases, even possibly a surrogate, or she may have been one for a family member - like a sibling. Or she helped raise a siblings kids, maybe her siblings too. Mom seems to have had/has fertility struggles in some cases, I’m seeing she wishes there were more. Even if there’s two or three of you, she wishes there were more. She may have lost a baby in the womb, more than one even, and my heart goes out to her 🙏

Being a mother is her calling, it’s what she was made for, even with whatever her job is - it may still be something more domestic. At home daycare for someone. A chef/baker. A decorator. A gardener. Something probably run out of the home, and it could be a side gig as well, something she’s really passionate about, and good at. She may have been able to quit her day job in order to really focus on something that lights her up inside. Or any of these things may be you, and she just understands your situation very well, you tell her everything. When she does something, it’s crafted to perfection, whatever it is, she may be a Martha Stewart of many talents. Very nurturing and loving of you, you are her pride and joy, and she’s always available for you to vent to, or to help solve your problems. She has a wealth of knowledge and genuinely wants stability & happiness for you ❤️

Father: Knight of Wands & 6 Swords rev

Oracle: Health (sideways) - Sun Virgo

66 New Start

Sometimes we must realize that what we have done needs to be discarded and we must make a new start.

For some I’m getting Dad being a problem-child turned problem-adult, with not much growth in between. 666 is here showing possible addictions, awful habits, things he continues returning to time and time and time again - even though it does not work out for him. In some cases, this is literally affecting his physical health, especially issues of the addiction variety, his health is going down…he really needs to wake up (or grow up) and pay attention. Will he? I’m not sure 😕 In some cases this may absolutely be mental health related, there could be some kind of damage from drugs or long-term use of something that’s caused problems…he could possibly heal to some extent, if he stops now. Right now. For some it may be too late - some kind of damage is irreparable - but not fatal. Not yet, and not if he turns things around. Wheel of Fortune rev and The Fool rev shows he has not done that, he’s very immature and foolish with some of his decisions.

In someone’s case he may simply be a donor that’s not worth knowing, or you can’t somehow; and if health history is what concerns you there, I’m seeing the only real concerning history is what he’s done to himself - it’s not on you to worry about genetically. If you’ve insisted on meeting him or being around, you may have found that out the hard way.

For a third group, it’s possible you reconnected with him when *you* were going through a reckless & crazy phase in your life, thinking he may support you or something, you could’ve just shown up at his door one day and kinda made him be more involved on some level. If so, it changed your whole life, but it also may be part of the 5 Cups attached to you, and you may regret it now. Maybe because of how other family members responded, or something stupid Dad did, or maybe you did, something with him has hurt you.

Siblings: Judgment & 9 Pentacles

Oracle: Escape - Mars Pisces

76 - Cycles

The wind blows, the wheel turns. We go through cycles just like Nature because we are a part of Nature.

Sibling relationships are complicated. Again, some may not have made it to birth, Judgment can show more than one even. Escape & Cycles would show something just going wrong, it’s not any particular thing. Not that I can see 🙏 Some of you are only children and hate it, you feel like you don’t have a friend to party with or tell all of your secrets. And for those with siblings, they may be the kind that are in and out of your life, there could be a large age difference or circumstances that separate you. Like Dad had a couple of kids with someone else, and you don’t even know them. Or a sibling is just so far removed from the family scene, they’re off doing their own thing independently, you see them rarely and aren’t very close. You do wish you were closer, or that you had siblings to be close with. They may be the ones you feel guilted to come around for most often, or you could just feel sad because you show up but it’s like they don’t even care, they’re always too “busy” or something.

Grandparents: 5 Wands & King of Wands rev

Oracle: Flattery ☺️ - Venus Gemini

Birth 🍼 - Venus Cancer

78 Recharge

When the pace of life becomes too hectic, know to slow down, be mindful, and go with the flow.

These grandparents either have issues with your parent/s or you, it is King of Wands after all. If there are siblings, there may be competition involving them, like your grandparents clearly play favorites, or they’re more involved with Dad’s other kids than they are you. They’re fake nice, if they’re nice at all, and they have a tendency to know exactly how to piss you off. There’s a real instigating energy, some person or people just like to start drama, bring it up, purposely trigger others to get a point across, they’re petty af. Some of you may have never known them at all, because of drama involving your parent. If you do know them, at least one of them has a way of always making you feel like you’re not good enough, putting you down, being very negative and assuring you that you’re doomed to fail in some way. I think they’re intimidated by you, but I have no idea why. They make you feel like a failure, but also pretend to flatter you? Backhanded compliments for sure. Some never made an effort in the first place, but maybe they pretend they care online or some shit, you know they could do more and don’t. For some it’s just you with the issue, they made you very angry, there’s a history of drama, and maybe it’s always been that way - either way, you’re not close and Spirit is validating your difficult experience with them. It’s possible for someone that the “good one” passed on before you were born, or small, and you wonder how much you’d have loved them from the stories you’ve heard.

Spiritual Ancestors/Guides: Page of Wands & Strength

Oracle: Egotism 🤴 - Mars Leo

46 Nurture

For self-care, try loving and nurturing yourself as you would a child or a pet.

You could have a reactive sort of nature, one that is aggressive, quick to pop-off, jumps to conclusions…this is saying to rein it in. Strength is The Empress, restraining a lion (you), showing that it’s necessary to tame your inner beast. For your own sake. You may approach things from a place of ego, right/wrong, and don’t care what battle you’re battling so long as you’re RIGHT. But right isn’t important, how you treat people is. FIRE 🔥 comes with passion, and passion is synonymous with anger. You can’t have one without the other, and it can be a very good thing, just avoid bringing down Towers. The Tower rev clarifies, you could stick your foot right in your mouth if you aren’t careful…because not everyone is out to fight you, or prove a point, it’s incredible how many people simply do not care. Look at you like you’re crazy for feeling impassioned about something that maybe could be kinda minor - in retrospect.

Nurture is showing you to redirect your Strength into things that help you grow, because The Empress calms the lion - so should you nurture and love yourself into a state of mind that is peaceful, so that reactive behavior isn’t even wanted - you could be doing better things with your time. Beautifying your world, doing the things that help you to grow and expand your world, changing up your appearance maybe. Nothing DRASTIC. Page of Wands gets so excited to do the things, but they do not make a plan whatsoever it’s just “I discovered avocados yesterday and I’m obsessed, fill my house full of them.” And not knowing wtf to do with 50 avocados 🥑 all ripe at the same time. Why that’s the example…idk. It’s good to have fun, it’s not good to take things too far. It’s good to stand up for yourself (if necessary), it’s not good to impulsively go around knocking down everyone else’s Tower because you felt a way that day. Spirit is saying for your own peace, growth, and possibly finances, you need to get a handle on “your mouth.” At the bottom shows to wait in silence and use your intuition before making decisions or even talking about them. It takes a quiet space & focus to really tune in to you, and you never know what’s going to come up in the meantime. I would assume good stuff. Mom may have a particular way of calming you down.

[silver-renjun]

Cafe 7 Dream: Jaemin

Word Count: 2, 443

Warnings: violence, mentions of death, stabbing 

Read the prologue before reading this!  

You headed into you 8 am class late as usual. After pulling out your notebook from your bag, you threw yourself down on the desk.

“Busy night, y/n?” Jaemin asked. You and Jaemin didn’t really talk that much at all. At the cafe, Jaemin was always in his own world, and in class he just stared at the board, though you doubted he actually remembered anything from the lectures. It was strange that Jaemin started a conversation with you, but it was also strange that you were resting on the desk. No matter how exhausted you were, you took notes, albeit sloppy. 

“I had 3 essays to write. Two of which I didn’t even know existed until Haechan texted me for my work,” you replied.

“You should be more responsible, y/n. I need someone reliable to cheat off of,” Haechan said. You rolled your eyes at his reply and groaned. You didn’t have the energy to argue with him. 

“You should just rest, y/n. I’ll take notes for you and we can review them after class today,” Jaemin said. He smiled at you, but you were fast asleep.

After class, Jaemin shaked your shoulder to wake you up.

“y/n! y/n! Everyone already left the class. It’s time to go,” Jaemin whispered in your ear.

“Where are the other guys?” you asked with a breathy voice.

“They’re at the cafe already. I’m sure they’ll be fine without us. Let’s go to the library.”

Jaemin helped you up your seat and packed your books in you bag. He even offered to carry it for you, but you declined. Jaemin held your hand as the two of you walked over to the library. He was still worried about how tired you were and didn’t want you to fall.

The library was filled with students trying to study. Jaemin led you to a secluded corner in the back. 

You dropped your bag down and asked, “are you sure they’ll manage without us in the cafe?”

“You’re the one who should be drinking an americano, not the one making it.”  Jaemin smiled at you and reached out for your hand. “Don’t worry about the cafe right now.” 

Jaemin lectured the content of the class to you. He was a natural at explaining everything. Even when you had a question about the topic, Jaemin was able to answer them with ease. As you copied down your notes, you were surprised to find yourself understanding the content better when Jaemin was teaching you.

At the end of the session you said, “You take such good notes! And remember everything from class too! I’m impressed. We should totally do this more often.”

“Well I still have to work at the cafe to pay my tuition, but I’ll definitely help you out, y/n.” 

“Yeah, working at the cafe is my destresser. I wouldn’t want to give that up,” you chuckled. “Maybe you could come over to my place after work and we can study then.”

The next day, you were late to class once again. You rushed over to your seat, but this time you didn’t pull out your books. You knew Jaemin had you covered, so you plopped your head down on the desk for some rest. 

“y/n, I need you to start taking this class seriously,” Haechan said. “I need to pass, you know.” 

You knew that replying to Haechan was just provoke him into arguing with you, so let his comment slide. 

“You’re super late this time, y/n. I was almost certain that Renjun’s vision about your death had finally happened,” Jisung said.

Jisung’s remark was just too strange to ignore. Your head shot up and you gave Jisung a raised eyebrow.

“What the hell does that mean?” 

A look of realization took over Jisung’s face before he looked down at the floor. “Sorry about that guys,” he whispered. 

The other boys all exchanged uncomfortable glances as if they were trying to figure out who would explain what had been said about you. Finally, Jaemin broke the silence.

“We can talk at the cafe.” The boys had slightly less uncomfortable looks on their faces, but they still appeared to be worried about something. You decided to not stress over it. Your priority was catching up on your sleep. 

After class, you and the dreamies headed out to the cafe and started preparing before customers arrived.

You were wiping down tables when you asked, “so is anyone going to explain to me what happened this morning?” You knew you were going to be working with Jaemin, and that boy was like a rock when got to work.  This was your only opportunity to get answers.

“Look, you’re not going to believe us at all,” Mark started.

“We’ve got magic powers,” Haechan said. 

“You see y/n, Jisung’s a wizard. He makes love potions so people will fall in love with our cafe,” Jaemin explained. While he was talking, Jisung pulled out a pink liquid from under the counter and waved it at you. You had no energy to question them so you just let Jaemin continue.

“And Jeno, he’s a water spirit. Do a little trick for us Jeno,” Jaemin said. Jeno formed a ball of water in his hand and shifted it into different shapes.

“What the-” was all you could muster up. “That water just came out of thin air! And you’re controlling it!”

“Like I was saying, y/n, it’s all magic.” Jaemin smiled at the look of wonder on your face. “Next up we have Renjun. Care to explain yourself Renjun?”

Renjun groaned before saying, “I’m an oracle. I see the future. And your future has an attack in it. I didn’t see you die like Jisung said, but since you’re a human, you’re probably going to-”

“Alright that’s enough,” Jaemin said, cutting Renjun off before he could tell you more about your fate. You were so amazed by Jeno’s abilites that you weren’t even fazed by what Renjun had said.

“What about you Jaemin?” you said with a smile.

“I’m human and so is Mark. We know our way around magic pretty well though,” Jaemin said with a self-satisfied grin.

“And Chenle and Haechan?” you asked, eager to learn more.

“None of your business,” Chenle replied harshly. Chenle’s tone snapped you out of your amazement and made you serious about your work again. Jaemin, like usual, didn’t talk much during his shift, so you would have to wait until the cafe was closed to get more answers.

“Hey Jaemin,” you said as you were heading out the cafe. “Does tonight work for you?”

The boys all looked at each other with wide eyes. They had no idea about your study plans with Jaemin.

“Any night works for me,” Jaemin replied as he followed you out the cafe. You could hear the giggles of the boys even when you were standing outside. Jaemin looked at you with an embarrassed smile before holding your hand and following you home.  

At your apartment, Jaemin got to lecturing you once again. He made sure you understood every topic covered in class in full detail. You were still amazed by how good of a teacher Jaemin turned out to be. 

After he finished talked Jaemin said, “well that’s everything we learned today. Got any questions, y/n?”

“About the coursework, no. About magic, yes.”

“Magic happens to be my strong suit, so ask away,” he replied with a smile. 

“Well Chenle and Haechan didn’t really explain their powers. Do you know what they are?”

“Nope,” Jaemin said, shaking his head. “Chenle’s family is pretty influential in the magic world, so revealing their powers is kind of a security risk for them. Whatever Chenle does, I bet he’s pretty strong at it though.” Jaemin paused for a second. “As for Haechan, he hasn’t really gotten his powers yet. He’s kind of touchy about it since most people get their powers by this age.”

You nodded your head in agreement, though you had no idea how it all worked.

“So what about you Jaemin?” you said in playful tone as you poked his shoulder.

“What about me?” Jaemin replied, mimicking your voice and poking you back.

“What’s your relation with magic?” you said with a smile.

Jaemin’s face became serious. He took a minute to think before replying to you.

“It’s a family thing,” was all he said. You decided to not press him any further about magic. 

“You know, Jaemin, it’s really not that late. If you’re down, you could stay and watch some Netflix. I’ve got some leftover pizza in the fridge too.”

“That’s a great idea! I know so many good dramas that are on Netflix!”

You microwaved a few slices of pizza while Jaemin picked out a show to watch on Netflix. It turned out, alongside having a coffee obsession, Jaemin was also obsessed with period dramas. He talked nonstop about the characters and kept on playing episode after episode. It wasn’t until you two had finished the first season at 1 am did Jaemin say, “it might be getting a little late now.”

He looked over to you for a response, but you had already passed out on the sofa. Jaemin stared at your sleeping figure and admired your beauty.

“Since you’re sleeping I might as well tell you this now. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the confidence to tell you this when you’re awake. I really like you, y/n. I think you’re the most amazing person in the world. I’d give anything to be with you.”

Jaemin sighed and went to sleep on your floor. Unknown to him, you had actually been listening the entire time. 

It became a habit for you and Jaemin to study at your place after work. Jaemin would lecture you for a while, and then you would order delivery food to thank him for helping you. After watching Netflix, Jaemin would sometimes even sleep over at your place. 

One night, you and Jaemin were cuddling on the sofa while watching a drama. Jaemin looked over a you and said, “There’s some things I should tell you, y/n.”

You smiled, expecting Jaemin to confess to you. What you heard was not a confession of love.

“You wanted to know about my connection with magic, so here it is. My mom used to sell plants, mushrooms, stuff you would use in potions. I would go foraging with her in the forest so we could find things to sell. Our customers were kind to us, they would even give us part of the potions they made. One day, this fire demon came into the store and gave my mother a potion to drink. She collapsed on the floor. The fire demon killed her and used her blood for a sacrifice.”

Jaemin began to cry as he thought about what had happened to his mother. You pulled him into a tight hug and rubbed his head.  You felt sorry for Jaemin, who had to live his life in so much pain. 

After a few more study sessions, Jaemin finally pulled himself together and asked you out.

“I really like you, y/n. I think you’re the most amazing person in the world. I’d give anything to be with you.”

“That’s the same thing you said when I was sleeping. You’re so cute,” you said, kissing him on the forehead. 

Jaemin stared at you with wide eyes and said, “wait you heard that? You knew I liked you and you didn’t even say anything?” 

You laughed at Jaemin before turning on his favorite show and cuddling with him. 

The next day at the cafe, you were supposed to be working with Jisung, but he had gotten sick. You and Haechan were taking over for him. 

“Hey y/n, you’ve never seen the potions room before, right?” Haechan said. You nodded in reply. “It’s crazy in there. You totally have to check it out.”

You followed Haechan into the back of the cafe where all the potions were. You were amazed at the amount of potions there was in the back room. Haechan grabbed a vial off a rack and handed it to you. 

“You should try this one y/n! It’ll make you feel so energized!” Haechan said.

You opened the vial and drunk all of the strange liquid inside. Unlike what Haechan had said, you began to feel sleepy and collapsed on the floor. When you looked at Haechan for help, you noticed that he had a knife in his hand. 

“Be good for me and don’t make any noise, okay?” Haechan said before slashing your skin with the knife. You couldn’t help but cry with all the pain you were feeling. You slowly became more tired until you passed out. 

When you woke up, you found yourself in a hospital bed. Jaemin was standing beside you and held onto your hand.

“Oh my gosh! y/n, baby, you’re alive!” Jaemin said before tearing up.

“What happened?” you asked.

“Haechan poisoned you. He cut you for your blood. He used it for a ritual to summon his powers. He had already transformed before we could even help you. Haechan’s a fire demon.”

You wanted to say something, but you had no idea what to do. The whole situation was just like what had happened to his mother. You and Jaemin were both thinking the same thing, but neither of you wanted to say it. 

A few days later, you were discharged from the hospital. Although you felt fine after your rest, Jaemin was the one who was truly hurting. Jaemin stopped going to class and the cafe because of Haechan. He just stayed at your apartment. 

“Jaemin, you need to forgive him. I’m not hurt. I’m completely fine!” you argued. 

“I can’t forgive him! That bastard nearly killed you!” Jaemin yelled at you. 

“Whether you like it or not, you’ve got to start living like a normal person again! You can’t just run away from your problems!”

Jaemin began to laugh.

“You’re right, y/n. I’m going to make that scumbag pay for what he did.”

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