#posting this to hopefully give me the motivation to actually finish it and also gauge if anyone is actually interested???

[subway-boss-jericho]

Hey all! Announcement stuff!

Thank you to everyone who has been very patient with me. I swear to god i could turn into one of those Ao3 authors thats like "hahaha sorry i havent updated in so long i died and then came back to life and then i had to work 7 jobs" and im being so fucking brave about it!! ANYWAYS THATS NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT!

Tomorrow is the 1 Year anniversary of steady tracks chapter 1! 🥳(and also my birthday. yes that was on purpose)

So! I wanted to give you all some updates and stuff to look forward to because oh god it sure has been an entire fucking year since I uploaded stuff and I refuse to feel bad about it but my brain is trying so hard to make me! I am working on chapter 2. Progress has been terribly slow because of severe life events, thank you for your understanding.

So!! What's next? Well, over the summer I am really fucking hoping to finish chapter 2. I know I keep saying this but literally i stg. I'm going apeshit. do you know how hard it is to think about something for an entire year and never have the time, motivation, or energy at the same time to make it exist?? fucked up!! Before that though, I have a few things.

I TOLD you all that I would talk about an AU of mine, whichever was highest voted in that strawpoll I did, and then surprise i fuckin didnt do that. I would very very much like to do that! The problem, I realized, is that I operate super hard on a reactionary basis so I am not prone to talking about anything that is mine until prompted about it or given permission. Fucking, Wack. This is my house. I should be cringe and free but nooooo. Anyways, because of this, I am planning on doing 2 things -> Actually tell you guys about spirit keeper! You all voted for him back when, and especially with that ✨Fucking, Gorgeous✨ commission from Fronomeeps I got (for me birthday :]) I really really really want to do that. And post my art more. and shit like that. seriously i need to get out of my head or I'll explode. someone needs to scream about how cool these stories are with me or I'll dissolve. -> I am thinking of doing a day long event where I stream an Aggie/(Magma?) where I draw my AUs and let people hop in to join in (as long as it stays on topic!) as well as answering as many asks as I can about my many aus and basically setting you guys up to trick me into infodumping. Because let me tell you i have a year and a halfs worth of words in my head and i am 100% confident ingo and emmet enjoyers would really like to hear them. So I wanna do a big ask party Q&A and really get things rolling!! Hopefully with drawings and doodles involved! as a celebration for myself, and as a way to open up to the greater fandom (Please leave a comment if you think that sounds cool, I'm trying to gauge interest because if i went all out and no one showed up it would be Extremely Depressing!)

ON! THAT! TOPIC!!! I am actively (literally interspersed with as I am typing this) making a UQUIZ about all of my significant AUs. For the record, there are 23 results on this quiz. I currently only have 3/23 final results completed, but it is my active focus over the weekend to finish as many of those as I can to try and complete the entire thing within a week or less. Also poking at my phrasing here, when I say my significant aus I Mean It, I have more than 23, but these 23 are the ones with stories tangible enough to start somewhere and elaborate on. I have about 10 that I would consider my main AUs, but some of the smaller ones are huge sleeper favorites.

SO YEAH!!! PLEASE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE INTERESTED!! I really wanna do fun stuff and get to know people in the fandom more than just. that person who wrote 1 chapter of a cool fic that one time. I have so much more to offer and I struggle so much to offer it. Please draw me out of my shell, I wish to enter the fandom sphere 🥺

thank you for giving me a great year <3 ((and hopefully the next one will be better <3))

[gabriel-landeskog]

uhhhhhhhhhhh unedited sneak peak of new vampire!au nate/cale fic under the cut? 

Nate sits down hard on the sidewalk. “You should be afraid of me,” he says quietly. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Cale says. 

Nate shakes his head, refuses to meet Cale’s eyes. “But you should be,” he whispers. “If you know what’s best for you.”

“I know,” Cale says. He gets down on a knee and wipes some of the blood away from Nate’s mouth with the sleeve of his sweater. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.” He holds his hand out and Nate takes it, drags himself up and follows Cale to his car. 

The drive back to Nate’s house is silent, save for the steady drip of blood from Nate’s fingertip onto the floor of Cale’s car. Nate doesn’t even seem to notice, staring blankly out the window until they reach his driveway. 

“Thank you,” Nate says, turning to face Cale as Cale puts his car in park. “For everything.”

Cale shakes his head. “You don’t need to thank me.” He leans over and brushes a soft kiss to the corner of Nate’s mouth, feeling brave. “I love you,” he says, and Nate looks stricken by the words. “I love you,” he says again, firmer this time. “I just wanted you to know.”

“Don’t say that,” Nate says. His eyes are wide, still streaked with black and red. “You can’t say that, not after tonight.”

“It’s too late now,” Cale says, and Nate growls low and grabs his face and kisses him hard, kisses him and kisses him until all Cale can taste is blood in his mouth, and then springs back, eyes wild. 

“You shouldn’t,” he says, and he’s out of the car and in his house in a blur of color before Cale can scarcely open his mouth to reply.

[gemstoneslesbian]

I love you Matt hcs so much! So much inspiration for mine too!

Have you got any post-cannon hcs? (Maybe angst/Whump one? But that’s not so important I would love to hear any ^^)

Thank you sm!! :D

All right SO, my main niche in the fandom is fleshing out the Ace Attorney prison, examining the relationships between all the characters there, fleshing everyone out, considering their character arcs, etc. It’s definitely something I put a lot of thought into and get excited about ^^

I imagine there being three main prisons:

Prison A

The canon prison shown in Ace Attorney Investigations: 2. Prisoners are allowed one animal companion, there’s a supplier with influence over the warden (and, imo, the guards as well), it’s overall a prison that can be interpreted as more relaxed--with limited corruption, due to the fact that, in my opinion at least, Sirhan Dogen wouldn’t put up with much BS. Although he can’t control everything, Dogen has a decent amount of power that he uses to make his prison livable.

Prison B

This is the opposite of Prison A. Damon Gant is in charge, but in a different kind of way; after being Chief of Police for so long, he still has a lot of power and connections, and many officers hold respect and / or fear towards him. The prison is a hierarchy of power and control with a lot of corruption, and anyone who doesn’t work for Gant is in danger.

Prison C

The women’s prison. Dee Vasquez has the upper hand here, due to her outside connections with the mafia. She handles things in a more manipulative, underhanded kind of way--isn’t so much focused on the prison at large, but moreso on securing her own matters. She uses protection or exploitation sparingly, and when she does, she deflects attention off of it as much as possible. While the prison isn’t as horrible as Prison B, it’s not as safe as Prison A.

Now that the environment has been established, time to get into the details about Matt:

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Matt Engarde went to Prison A.

In Ace Attorney, fame and riches seem to make little difference when it comes to putting someone behind bars. However, the game does show that it can add complications, and affect things to a certain level. With that said, here’s how I imagine things went over with the arrest:

Things are a whirlwind of chaos and fear and pain at first, but it doesn’t take him long to get a deal set up with the prison. Sometime within the first week of his imprisonment. Thankfully, this is done quickly enough that his assets haven’t been transferred to his parents, yet.

His sentence is 10 years. No death penalty or life sentence, because the deal is that, for each year that Matt Engarde is alive and healthy, the prison receives $500,000. This would give them ample reason to take measures to protect him from De Killer.

Matt doesn’t have an endless amount of money, and he also doesn’t want to be stuck there forever. In his mind, hopefully De Killer would be behind bars or dead by the end of those 10 years, and if not... well, he’ll figure it out when he gets there.

He’s given the cell down the hall from Sirhan Dogen, the infamous assassin. This scares the HELL out of Matt at first, but the guards assure him that it’s for his own safety:

However, since he’s placed in this cell before the deal is made, there was an ulterior motive as well. Due to the fact that Shelly De Killer is another infamous assassin, Warden Roland considered it a possibility that he’s one of Dogen’s outside contacts. If Dogen were to rat out Matt’s location to him, the prison would be prepared to capture and arrest De Killer, and it would be confirmed that they had been contacts.

Obviously, Dogen could rat him out no matter which cell he’s in, but it’s more convenient to place Matt there as bait since the hallway is monitored so heavily--they’ll be prepared to restrain both De Killer and Dogen if/when that time comes.

If the deal were made beforehand, he likely would have been sent to Prison B; even though it’s a harsher atmosphere, no one in there is presumed to be a contact of De Killer’s. While he could have been transferred at this point, it’s decided that they’ll stick to their regular plan, just with added precautions and safety measures.

Matt, although suspicious, never has any sort of confirmation that he’s being used as bait--at least, not until years later.

BUT ANYHOW.

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Interactions and Reputation

I get into it a bit in this fic*, but the gist is this:

There’s no point in continuing to act charming when everyone knows it’s BS, and any chance of Toughness or Good Standing he could have had are kinda... shattered by his frequent (very loud) panic attacks late at night.

For the first year, he doesn’t bother trying to make friends. He doesn’t care about them, they won’t care about him, and he’s not interested in playing a tug-of-war with power dynamics when he knows he won’t always necessarily come out on top. So he’s kind of a loner here. Occasionally entertains himself by picking fights.

*(Spoiler warning for AAI2 in the fic I linked!!)

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Character Arc

From this point, I can see it going in several different directions. I have two different fic AUs where things turn out differently in each one, and I also have an extensive role-play I did with a friend of mine. In terms of imagining his “canon” life and his future, I definitely learn towards the events that transpired in the role-play, so I’ll focus on those.

(My friend and I made a post analyzing his personality and character arc, so most of the things I’ll mention here have been mentioned in this post in greater detail. HOWEVER the post is EXTREMELY long and also contains major spoilers for AAI2. So if you want to avoid spoilers and also want a summed up version, feel completely free to just read the summary below!) (oh also, with relation to the post I just linked, tw for?? a variety of common triggers)

I should mention that this might not be COMPLETELY spoiler-free, but I do avoid saying the spoilery name. It’s hard for me to accurately gauge what is and isn’t revealing, since I already know all the spoilers haha.

And, without further ado:

-Everything about his world has been turned upside-down. Instead of being adored, he’s despised. Instead of being the one with power, he’s the one under the thumb of others. Instead of a life of comfort and privilege, he’s confined to small, uncomfortable areas, and is barely paid anything for his labor. Additionally, he could be killed at any moment at any hour at any location--and this is something he’s forced to endure for years on end. The entire situation is incredibly stressful and traumatic for him.

-About a year after his arrest, a guy moves into his cell with him. Things align in just the right way that a friendship of some sort is formed between them: the guy is friendly, pretty, relatable, into some of the same hobbies he’s into, and he has power within the prison walls. It’s beneficial to form a friendship with him... and the guy isn’t annoyed with him for his (now much less-frequent) panic attacks, but rather, shows sympathy.

-Neither of them particularly trust one another, but they enjoy each other’s company.

-Humans need comfort, and Matt is no exception. Under the intense trauma and stress he’s enduring, it’s all too easy to form some sort of bond with the nice guy who dances with him and pets his hair and holds him.

-It’s important to mention that Matt is rendered unable to do his usual power & control shit. And he especially can’t get away with that kind of stuff when his new cellmate shows up. The guy is Very Alert to underhanded behavior (due to his own underhandedness + the fact that he’s dealt with one too many bastards), and is quick to call Matt out on even minor things. So Matt’s options at this point are either:

a.) try his manipulative shit and lose any small amount of power or comfort he may have had, with an added risk of retribution

b.) resist all forms of connection / interaction with other people, and just be miserable and alone and scared all by himself

c.) be friends with the guy WITHOUT being a shady douche, and getting to enjoy the comfort and benefits that provides

-So... YEAH. Long story short, he makes friends with the guy. And, also, lowkey catches feelings for him.

-Matt also makes friends with Simon Blackquill a couple years later (and that has its own backstory)

-His previous ways of moving through the world do not work at all here. In the end, Matt’s main goal is to get what he wants, and to feel good. With the circumstances, he has to completely change his approaches in order to meet that goal.

-Matt may be cold and uncaring towards other people’s emotions, but it’s clear that he does have very intense emotions. He shows much more vulnerability and pain now than he used to, because doing so makes him more sympathetic to his friends--but he also needs to learn to not be as manipulative about it, and to actually consider the other person’s emotions instead of making it all about himself.

-He does ultimately decide to make the overall changes necessary for healthy interpersonal connections, since it’s in his best interest to do so. It’s not easy, and he hits plenty of road bumps along the way. It definitely dredges up a lot of shit, a lot of painful emotions; he’s extremely self-protective, and genuine vulnerability is hard and frightening.

-The tl;dr is that he’s dragged through a healing arc, kicking and screaming the entire way.

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That’s what his life in like in prison, overall! There’s a ton of aspects and details, but I figured it’d be best to cover the basic storyline ^^

I also have thoughts on how things would go after he’s released from prison.

‎

‎

...OH SHIT I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO MENTION THE SHELLY THING LMAO

I’m gonna make a post where I detail out what happens, and then link it here when I finish.

Edit: Here it is!

[dyde21]

Cafe Half-Caff 1: The Orientation

Hey there! This is the first chapter of my new PJO Percabeth series. It’s going to be a pretty long one based off the plan forming in my head. Absurd amounts of fluff, and hopefully antics ahead. I will be cross posting this to my FF.net account under the same name. This first chapter is a little shorter to gauge interest, and I will be continuing it, but please let me know if you enjoy it so far. It’d help motivate me. =P Anyway, enjoy!

XxXxXxXxX

Percy shoved his hands just a little farther into his sweatshirt pockets as a shiver racked his spine. He was really starting to regret not bringing the jacket his mom had recommended. Nestling up in the corner of the doorway, between the glass pane and the slight lip of the brick wall, Percy tried to hide from the wind chill. 7:30 was far too early for orientation. In fact, if he wasn't so desperate for this job he would have seriously considered just looking for another job. Clearly anyone who could schedule an appointment like this had to be heartless.

Pulling out his phone, he stared at the screen through the slight fog of his breath.

7:02

Great. Only 28 minutes left to go.

He had spent the past night at his mom's, partially because she wanted to give him some advice to actually keep this job, and partially just because he missed her. Moving out had made him miss her more than he thought he would.

Unfortunately, his mom had gotten a call early that morning that owner of the candy shop she worked at wanted to meet with her, mentioning a promotion. Which meant that she wouldn't be able to drive Percy to work like she had promised, so he could either walk there on his own, or be dropped off early. He had opted for the later, hence finding himself waiting around in the crack of dawn for orientation from some cruel person who would subject him to this.

Mentally, he made a note to never get picked up by his mom again, he refused to lose access to his car. There was no way he would suffer this ungodly fate again. He also made a note never to visit Canada. Any place this cold couldn't be that great.

Sliding down the wall, he got settled in the corner as he pulled his knees up to his chest and shivered in the breeze. It was slowly getting warmer, but his breath was still visible in the fall morning. A yawn escaped his lips as he pulled his hood more over his head. Shifting his weight to get a little more comfortable in his cranny, he let his eyes slide shut.

He wasn't exactly used to waking up this early. He figured he wouldn't pass out, but resting up just a bit before orientation would probably be a good thing. He needed all the energy he could get, especially considering he wasn't the best at learning new things quickly and he desperately wanted to make a good impression.

He would just close his eyes for a moment, that was it.

What Percy hadn't expected to happen, was to feel something nudging his foot. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see a pair of shockingly gorgeous gray eyes and curly blonde hair staring back at him with an amused smirk.

“You drool when you sleep.” Was all she said before she stood up again.

Quickly wiping away the drool on his face, mentally dying on the inside Percy quickly scrambled to his feet. “Uh- sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'm just waiting for...”

“Orientation, right? I take it you're Percy Jackson, the new guy?” The voice asked, the amused tone still in her voice. “I'm surprised you could sleep in this weather.” She offered, stepping back.

Percy ducked his head, hoping the rosy color in his cheeks looked like wind chill versus the blush that was currently dominating him.

Of course the person training him had to not only wake him up, but also be almost criminally attractive.

“It's early.” He muttered. “I haven't gotten up this early... ever.”

The blonde just laughed, her laugh sounding like wind chimes to Percy. Utterly unfair. She held out one of the two cups she held in her hand. “Here's a peace offering for calling you out so early. I don't know what kind of coffee you like so I got you hot chocolate. I hope that's okay.” She said, her voice trailing off slightly at the end in a hint of worry.

Taking the cup gratefully, Percy took a sip.

“Wait! It's a li-” She winced as she saw Percy flinch. “A little hot...” She finished.  

Ignoring the scorching pain and increasing numbness in his mouth Percy smiled. “Thank you... uh...”

The girl's eyes widened as she realized she hadn't introduced herself. Offering her hand, she smiled a bit sheepishly. “Annabeth Chase. I'm one of the two managers here.”

Percy shook her hand, impressed with her firm grip. He quirked an eyebrow. “Manager?” He muttered a bit subconsciously.

A challenging smirk crossed Annabeth's face. “Is that a problem?”

Quickly shaking his head Percy raised his hands in a show of peace. “I'm just impressed. I think we're the same age, and you're already a manager.”

“I've been here for years.” She replied with a slight shrug, though Percy saw the proud grin she was trying to suppress. Looking him over for a minute, she tilted her head slightly. “22?”

“23.” Percy replied.

“Same here.” She offered, before a shiver wracked her spine. “Let's get inside. I'm not like you, I don't enjoy sleeping in the cold. I prefer the nice heater we have.”

She fished out a set of keys as she unlocked the door, holding it open for him.

Quickly ducking into the cafe, Percy looked around curiously. He had only been in there twice before. Both times swarming with customers. Once to drop off his resume, once for an interview with a girl named “Reyna.”

The cafe was pretty simple, but elegant. Most of the outside walls were glass planes, and various booths littered the walls. A spread of tables dotted the floor, all with the chairs upside down on them. The far back wall had the three registers, and the wall of various prepackaged coffee beans. One side of the counter was a massive display case that usually contained various pastries and other food. Behind the display Percy could see what looked like a kitchen window, and the echoes of some sort of kitchen beyond it.

The color scheme was a earthy green and black, very sleek and pleasant. Not too fancy, but also nice enough.

Subconsciously taking another sip as he looked around, Percy winced as he burned the roof of his mouth again. Right. Lava was in his cup.

“It looks completely different in the morning without all the people here. Much cleaner and organized, I wouldn't get too used to it though.” Annabeth offered as she unwrapped her scarf and moved behind the counter. “You coming? Or are you deciding what to order.” She teased.

Percy had jumped at her voice, momentarily forgotten she was there. Luckily he hadn't squeezed too hard because he really didn't want to spill burning coffee all over himself on his first day. He had made enough of an impression already.

He followed her a bit nervously towards the back, starting to feel some nerves set in.

Annabeth lead him to a small room off to the side of the back. Inside was a table, some lockers, a sink, and a fridge. It was small, but organized well. It felt bigger than it was, much like the front of the shop.

“This is the break room. Your locker is the top right one. You can bring a lock if you like, but we all trust each other here. Nothing's gone missing yet. Well, aside from some food from the fridge. I'd put your name on that.” She offered, a light-hearted smile on her face.

Annabeth quickly deposited her bag into her locker.

Quickly pulling off his hoodie, Percy bunched it up and put in the back of his locker. When he freed his head, he could have sworn he saw Annabeth's eyes staring at him for a moment, but a heart beat later and she was looking down at a phone so he figured he was imagining it.

He dumped his keys in the locker as well before he closed it, turning around to find Annabeth leaning against the table.

“I heard good things about you from Reyna. I'm sure you know this, but she's the other manager. Also the only person aside from the owner who has been here longer than me. A bit of advice, I'd try to stay on her good side. She's a nice person, but she takes her job seriously and will do what it takes to keep this place as successful as it has been. You do good work, and you'll be treated well.” Annabeth offered with a friendly smile.

Nodding, Percy made a mental note of that.

“But... I read that this is your 5th job this year?” Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow with a relatively neutral expression.

Percy's head drooped again. Great. Lifting it, he looked back at her with a sheepish grin as she scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I have... bad luck. Trouble has a way of finding me, or so I hear. I promise you I will work hard.” He said a bit too earnestly. He needed this job. He couldn't go home to his mom with bad news again.

Annabeth studied him for a moment carefully. “I believe you.” She said after a moment. She nodded to herself, as if satisfied with the answer to another unspoken question. “We'll just have to keep you out of trouble then.” Pulling out a bag from another locker, she tossed it at him. “You said you were a medium, right? Put that on and meet me in the front. There's a bathroom over the-” Her voice trailed off.

Percy raised an eyebrow, in the middle of shimmying the new shirt on, his old one discarded onto the table. Realizing he probably should have just stripped his shirt off in front of his new manager, he quickly pulled it down. “Sorry! I'm sorry. I just wanted to be quick...”

“It's” Annabeth's coughed once. “It's okay. I just wouldn't do that around Hazel.” She offered, turning and walking away quickly.

Percy could have sworn her cheeks had looked a little pink. He paused for a moment to drop his head against the lockers with a soft thud. He had known his manager for all of 10 minutes and he had already screwed up so many times. If he made it through the day it would be a miracle.

Quickly following his new manager out, he saw her starting to flip the chairs back down so he joined her.

“Normally you most likely won't be opening, but it's easier to teach you the ropes before everyone gets here. Easier to answer questions, the like. Speaking of which, please ask questions. I'd rather answer your question, than clean up your mess.” Annabeth explained, a smirk on her face.

Percy nodded, setting down another chair. “So... Reyna mentioned I was a waiter?” He asked, a bit confused. Most cafe's didn't have waiters of this size.

Nodding, Annabeth motioned for him to follow as she moved back behind the counter.

“You'll be a waiter/cashier. We usually get pretty busy during the days, so when things are hectic we'll have you be a runner. We also may have you be a cashier if it's slower or we need the extra hands at the registers.”

Percy nodded, a clearly a bit nervous. Handling money was a scary prospect for him. He saw Annabeth purse her lips for a moment before she scooted over and gestured. “Here, it's not that bad. I'll teach you the ropes.”

About ten minutes later, Percy had managed to successfully enter three orders. Annabeth beamed next to him, clasping a hand on his back. “Good job. You'll get the hang of it in no time, and we won't leave you stranded while you learn. I'll be here if you get stuck or have questions.” She promised.

Grinning in return, Percy turned to face the blonde. “You're a really good teacher. I'm not sure many other people could have taught me that.”

Annabeth just scoffed. “Give yourself more credit. You're smarter than you think.”

Before Percy could reply, there was a knock on the door. Instantly his heart sank to his stomach. He wasn't ready for the day yet.

Sensing his distress apparently, Annabeth just laughed. “Don't worry. It's just Leo and Hazel. One of our chefs, and one of our bakers respectively. They have to get here early to prep for the day.” She explained, moving over to open the doors and let them in.

They had both been in the middle of some conversation when they froze and saw him.

“Hey there new guy! I'm Leo. Don't worry, I'll take you under my wing.” The Latino boy said happily as he walked in, offering a big grin and a wave.

The younger girl walked up closer, offering a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you, my name is Hazel. You're the new waiter, right?” She asked, with a slight tilt to her head.

Nodding, he highfived Leo who seemed to be holding out for him, before turning to Hazel. “Yeah. My name's Percy. Nice to meet you.”

Hazel just nodded. “By the way, what's your favorite pastry?” She asked, a slight glint in her eye.

Percy was caught off guard, but thought for a moment. “Probably those bear claws. The ones with the apple in them?”

Hazel nodded, still beaming. “I love those too! That's good to know.” She said, a slight wink before she headed towards the backroom with Leo.

Annabeth just grinned. “Don't worry, you'll love them. Leo's a bit crazy but he's a good cook. Hazel is also a bit young, but our best baker. Her treats are to die for. If she offers you one, never say no.” Annabeth said with a laugh.

Percy nodded. “Right.

Reaching under the counter, Annabeth handed Percy a half apron. “Here, this will be useful. Today will be just you and Jason. But it's also our slowest day of the week so we shouldn't have too much traffic. Speaking of which...” She trailed off as she moved to let two more people into the shop.

A blonde boy and a girl with a feather in her hair both entered the shop.

“Oh! You must be the new boy. I heard Reyna talking about you. I'm piper, pleased to meet you.” She said, offering a handshake. Immediately she walked over to one of the espresso machines and started making something.

“Piper, we're not supposed to make ourselves drinks.” Annabeth warned half-heartedly.

“Don't worry, I'm making you one too. Besides, you owe me this, calling me in early and everything.” She said.

Annabeth just rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. Seeing Percy's amused, and slightly confused expression the manager decided to explain. “We've been friends since high school. That's why she doesn't show me any respect. She's also the primary cashier usually, and works the espresso machines.”

“When she's working, our job is pretty easy. She's quick and customers love her so our lines are shorter.” The boy offered. Offering a firm handshake he continued. “Jason. I think I've seen you around campus. Swim team, right?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Percy nodded. “Yeah. You... soccer, right?”

Jason nodded as well. “Yeah.”

Annabeth clicked her tongue. “Swim team.” She muttered to herself, as if she had answered a question that had been plaguing her.

Piper walked over, and whispered something that had Annabeth's cheeks turn red and had her swat her best friend's shoulder. “I could have you fired for that.”

“Nah.” Was Piper's only response.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, taking the drink offered. “No respect. Don't pick up those habits from her Percy.” She warned, half teasing.

A grin crept on Percy's face. It seemed like this place would be pretty fun. Which was a relief, considering he planned on sticking with this job as long as fate would let him.

“Anyone else coming in today?” Jason asked as he returned from the break room, tying his own half apron around his waist.

Annabeth thought for a moment. “I think Reyna wanted to drop by at some point and check in on how Percy's doing. Frank has mid shift, he'll be by later. Aside from that, other than the evening crew, it's just us.”

Still standing there a bit awkward, Percy perked up as he smelled something amazing starting to come from the back room.

“That'll be Hazel's magic. She's a magician in the oven, I swear.” Jason offered, sniffing the air himself.

Laughing slightly, Percy felt his nerves ease ever so slightly.

“We're opening up in thirty.” Annabeth announced, returning from her office with a clipboard. “Percy, come with me. We have some more paperwork for you to do. Jason, take care of front prep please? Piper help him out.” Annabeth instructed as she moved Percy back towards the break room.

They all offered some form of acknowledgment as Percy saw begin some well rehearsed routine.

About twenty five minutes of tedious paperwork later, Annabeth finally straightened the stack on the table before she put it away. Offering him a sympathetic smile, she cocked her hip. “That's done with finally. Now you can legally work here and all that. And...” She checked her watch. “Just in time.”

Leading him back out, Percy was surprised by the different atmosphere in the cafe. There was the subtle smell of a mix of baking and food from the back kitchen area that made the place more inviting. Coffee was boiling from the front, and all the tables had been wiped down and looked ready to go. Jason was sweeping a bit, and Piper was filling out some log near the registers.

“Here we go.” Annabeth said, glancing over at Percy.

Apparently the sense of dread and fear that washed over him was visible as he felt Annabeth rest a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it's going to be okay. Jason will have your back today, and we're all here if you need help. You'll do fine, don't worry. I'll cut you some slack today.” She said a playful tone masking a genuine promise.

Percy felt his nerves calm down to a dull throb and nodded. He could do this. He wouldn't screw this job up like the others. Too much was riding on it, and he was honestly looking forward to working with everyone.

Moving to the front, Annabeth offered him one last friendly grin before she flipped the close sign to open.

“We're open now. Good luck everyone.”

XxXxXxXxX

That’s the end of the first chapter! Kinda short for what you can expect, but I’ve been super eager to get this out. I really hope you guys like this, and some of you get as excited for this as I am! Thanks for reading and please look forward to the rest!

[bodtsfreckles]

Bartending - Secret Santa for Cosmicrhetoric

Here is my super late Secret Santa for CosmicRhertoric for Yulemaas! I had had some issues over the holidays, but thankfully CosmicRhetoric was super understanding and nice!! I actually have another story to post for her, but it’s not letting me format it correctly for some reason but hopefully it will be up by tomorrow!

~

It wasn’t the overarching stench of cheap alcohol or the loud, unoriginal music assaulting her ears that was infuriating her. No, Manon was used to those hindrances. After three years of working as the bartender at her grandmother’s bar, she had become accustomed to the perfumed booze and an always replaying track list. What was irritating her was the absolute boredom that she had been wallowing in for the last five hours.

She had gone through all of her normal boredom exercises; washing the glasses, stacking the glasses, restacking the glasses, and then hoping the glasses would fall if only to give Manon something to do. Despite her attempts, her own watch betrayed her when it still showed that she had two hours until last call. Her freshly done nails clacked against the stained bar top, and she mused if their fine point would one day wear down the bar’s cheap varnish.

She let out an undignified sighed and slouched a bit into her own barstool. If her grandmother caught her sitting down on the job she’d probably find herself unemployed; but for once her boss wasn’t working in her office. She was instead out of town, surely meeting with other shady business owners with their own ulterior motives. Manon herself was a tad peeved when she had learned she was not allowed to accompany her grandmother, but bit her tongue when she realized this meant her free reign over the bar. Her grandmother’s absence truly was a double edged sword; when she was present, there were sure to be dangerous patrons, but that’s what made the bar so lively and interesting. Now she was left with just the sad drunks who had nothing better to do with their insignificant lives.

Manon gave one final glance around the dimly lit establishment before pushing herself off of her seat. Coffee, she thought, coffee will make tonight more bearable. In one of the night’s small mercies she found the pot where Sorrel had last left it and in acceptably clean condition. Manon had never been the caffeinated bartender of the group, instead leaving that role to their resident blonde and new mother, Asterin. Unfortunately for Manon, Asterin was also the only one who knew how to use the outdated contraption and was also not working tonight. With the birth of her first child, Asterin had been picking up less and less shifts at the bar, and while Manon loved the little devil baby she wasn’t against offering up a halfhearted curse at it for stealing her cousin away from work.

She grimaced at the oddly shaped buttons before pouring in the coffee grounds and choosing ‘start.’ With nothing better to do she watched, albeit impatiently, as the coffee began to pour into the pot, meaning she had done at least something correctly. She was content to watch the pot fill up until she heard the cheesy bells attached to the front door begin their song as the heavy door barely opened and slammed shut. Manon whipped her head around to see who was invading the dull pattern of her night, expecting to see an already intoxicated man who had been kicked out of one of the nearby more respectable bars. Instead she found herself blinking to make sure she was seeing correctly.

In the small alcove of their entrance stood a small, sopping wet dark haired girl, shaking from the cold rain. She was obviously trying to wipe her muddy boots off on the mat, but eventually had to relent against the thick caking of dirt. Manon walked forward to her normal position at the bar to get a better look at the petit girl as she dropped her umbrella in the unused bin. She watched the newcomer who was coming towards her with peculiar interest, not breaking her stare even as the soaked girl walked towards her bar top. Manon noted the particular limp in the girl’s step as well as how she kept her head low, even as she climbed into the bar stool.

Never one for politeness, Manon sat back in her stool, sizing up the stranger instead of engaging in the tedious greetings that were expected of her. The girl was still dripping all over the chair and floor, and had not looked up from her lap despite the menu hanging high overhead. Manon could easily see how thin she was through the clothes that stuck to her, but could not gauge her appearance behind the black mop of hair that hung in her face. The clothes she wore were finer than typically seen in this side of town, but not overly flashy or branded. After a few more moments of useless staring she looked down to fiddle with her nails since the girl was evidently not going to order. Only a few mere seconds later she felt a noticeable stare burrowing into her and peaked up to see the girl looking directly at her with dark piercing eyes.

The girl quickly snapped her head back down at Manon’s awareness, but didn’t stay down as long, this time glancing up at Manon to just barely meet her eyes. Manon smirked at the girl, and to her credit didn’t waver as much as she expected her to. The girl blinked up at her with curious eyes and pursed lips, sitting idle for a few more moments before finally making a move.

“Hello,” she started in a voice much too meek for her inquisitive staring. Manon found herself beginning to frown at this but quickly schooled her face into its normal, apathy laced expression. “Do you serve coffee this late?”

They didn’t, but she already had the coffee brewing for herself so she decided to make an executive exception out of her own curiosity towards the new female.

“Most people don’t order coffee at one in the morning,” Manon stated as she grabbed two mugs. The girl most certainly did not miss her hidden questioning.

“I’m not able to drink,” the girl offered as she pushed some of the hair out of her face. Manon squinted at this detail as she made herself busy. With a better look at her face she could see the girl still retained some of the baby fat on her cheeks which was only noticeable because of how stick thin the rest of her body was. Manon noted that the girl was pretty for an older teen, but not a woman yet. As Manon grabbed the beeping coffee pot, she decided that the girl was probably underage instead of pregnant, not that Manon cared enough about her age to kick her out. There were much worse things the authorities could bust the bar for than underage patrons.

She set a filled mug before the girl along with prepacked packs of sugar. Manon watched as the girl simply placed her shivering hands around the steaming mug and lightly smiled in a small appreciation.

“Thank you Miss…” she trailed off and looked at her name tag, “Miss Manon,” she finished.

Manon huffed at the formalities, but didn’t stop to correct her, “If you’re going to address me by my name isn’t it fair if I know yours?”

The girl tilted her head at this, pausing only for a moment to consider, “I’m Elide.”

At least she now had a name for the slip of a girl. She nodded her head a tad in response before tasting the coffee. She barely managed to not spit it out as she forced herself to swallow the thick, sour syrup that she had created. In a slight of embarrassment she silently thanked the Gods that Elide was only using the coffee to warm her hands, not believing Elide would manage to down the coffee as she had. Trying to lose the taste from her mouth, Manon decided to move the conversation along.

She looked over the counter at Elide now messing with her boot and decided to start there, “Did you mess up your heel?” Manon asked and took a fake sip of coffee. Her questions broke away from her solitary nature, but aided her in her abolishment of boredom.

Elide looked up at Manon, more relaxed than when she first walked in. “I, um, broke my ankle when I was younger.”

Manon rolled her eyes again at Elide’s fabricated timid nature. It was probably because of the shady bar, but it only painted a larger target on her back for a drunk man to go after. Though it was a different answer than she was expecting, Manon had believed that the heel of her shoe had simply come unattached; not that it was an actual injury. The crippled ankle only made Elide seem weaker, which was not a shining quality in this area of town. Maybe it was the late hour, the lack of human interaction, or maybe even the coffee, but Manon didn’t drop the issue.

“You need to drop that meek act of yours, it doesn’t work and it’s certainly not charming.” Manon retorted flatly. Elide’s eyes widened a fraction and a bit of redness rose to color her cheeks, but Manon continued anyway. “You’re smart enough to know you stick out like a sore thumb in this place, so you should be smart enough to know that seeming weaker just makes you seem like an easier mark.”

Elide looked down for a moment, but didn’t argue back. Eventually she looked back up to meet Manon’s eyes, “I missed my train,” she admitted, “and this was the closest place open to the station.” Elide’s face flushed in her own embarrassment, but Manon couldn’t help but note how the pink in her cheeks was appealing to her eyes.

Manon didn’t miss how Elide avoided her rebuking, but it did make sense; the bar sometimes saw a few day customers who used the subway system, but never this late at night. She gave some thoughts into Elide’s possible employment but didn’t ask after it.

“Is there another one running tonight?” Manon asked, not that she would admit it to herself, but she was a bit concerned about Elide walking home considering her ankle, the weather, and the area.

Elide looked up at one of the many clocks adorning the walls and her eyes widened a bit in surprise, a look that Manon admitted she found pleasant, “Yes, actually mine is in just a few minutes, I didn’t realize the time.”

Manon shook her head a bit at Elide’s unawareness, but felt a pang of unease at being left alone for the rest of the shift. She couldn’t deny she found herself enjoying the girl’s company, but quickly abandoned those invading, but unhelpful thoughts. She looked back up to see Elide pulling out her wallet to which Manon declined

“That coffee was an abomination upon this world, I’m not going to charge you for it,” she stated, too tired to actually ring up the coffee anyway.

Elide gave a small smile before thanking her as Manon cleared the cups. She heard the Elide get out of her chair and pause for a moment, but Manon—never one for goodbyes—didn’t turn back around to see her leave.

After the mugs were set to soak she noticed the tip left for her at Elide’s seat, in which she found a grossly overpaid tip as well as a small note written in possibly the worst handwriting she had even laid her eyes on:

Thanks for the coffee, even if it was an ‘abomination upon the world.’ I was wondering if you would like to meet up for some real coffee sometime?

Thanks for the hospitality, Elide L.

Manon let herself smile for a short second and realized that maybe working alone had its perks after all.

~~~

Alright so this is my first time writing in a while, and I don’t love it but I fiddled with it as much as a I could. I felt like I couldn’t get Manon’s voice down she’s too edgy but I love her.  Also, I don’t know how to format stories on here, it’s kind of weird. The one I’m posting tomorrow I like a lot more, but I hope this is okay!