#so the one ive been using is literally a sock that i cut a hole out of and sewed to make places for fingers JFJJFFJFJ

[celifin]

Finally ordered more stylus so that i can draw!!!! Lets hope i dont lose these ones as well HHFJDJD

[thomothysdoodles]

1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 20, 23, 26, 17, 28, 31, 32, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67,, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98

I am so sorry, I literally have no idea what came over me

Wow Lulu you really said ‘let’s ask this bitch EVERYTHING’. I love it tho lmao. Since it’s long imma put it under the cut tho

4. How did your elementary school teachers describe you?

“A pleasure to have in class, a bit lost in their mind, if they committed and focused more they’d excell but they settle for good grades”

From elementary to high school lol

5. Do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

I like soda cans

6. Pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

Somewhere between tomboy and grunge I think

8. Movies or tv shows?

Tv shows

9. Favorite smell in the summer?

Sunscreen and freshly baked bread

11. What do you have for breakfast on an average day?

A cup of milk with some cereal or biscuits. For the past month I’ve been following the keto diet tho, and I usually are some ricotta with peanut butter for breakfast

12. Name of your favorite playlist?

“Sad but vibing” lol

14. Favorite non chocolate candy?

Strawberry lollipops

17. Most frequently worn pair of shoes?

A black vans pair, I bought em in August but the left one already got a hole on the front 😤

18. Ideal weather?

Cloudy but not too windy or cold. I just don’t like the sunlight in my face

20. Preferred place to write?

On my phone’s notes app lol, I’ve got almost two thousand notes in here

23. Strange habits?

I hide stuff in my room with no apparent reason. I’ve got money stashed around my room in four different points lol

26. Favorite activity to do in warm weather?

Given the chance, I like to race with my bike to get some refreshing wind

27. Favorite activity to do in cold weather?

Cozy up in a blanket and watch some tv

28. Five songs to describe you.

Karma— AJR

Ultimately— Khai Dreams

Putting a spin on Slow Dancing in the Dark— egg

Mars— YungBlud

Gotta be a Reason— Alec Benjamin

31. What outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

Black jeans, black sturdy boots, and a silly little hoodie lmao

32. Top five favorite vines?

‘DONT FUCK WITH ME, IVE GOT THE POWER OF GOD AND ANIME ON MY SIDE— AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA’

‘Let me see what you have!’ ‘A KNIFE!’ ‘NO!!!’

‘Hey bro, what do you wanna eat?’ (‘The souuuls of my enemies’) ‘A bagel’ (‘NOOO’) ‘..two bagels.’

FR E SH A VOCA DO

‘Two shots of vodka..’ *pours half a bottle of vodka*

35. Average time you fall asleep?

I am terrible at this. I love sleeping but I also love feeling ✨ unbothered ✨ doing whatever I want in the middle of the night. So, never before 3am usually

37. Suitcase or duffel bag?

Suitcase

38. Lemonade or tea?

Tea

40. Weirdest thing to happen at your school?

I dunno how weird it is, but I always found peculiar that there were cigarette butts on the ceiling of the bathrooms. Like, seven feet tall ceilings. How did those cigs get there??

41. Last person you texted?

My best friend to tell her that my sister found a way to let me watch supernatural on American Netflix >:3c

42. Jacket pockets or pant pockets?

Jacket pockets

43. Hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

Hoodie and/or jean jacket

44. Favorite scent for soap?

I dunno. Talcum powder I think

45. Which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Superhero

46. Most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

Tee and boxers. Sometimes socks too

48. If you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

Umh. Clementines maybe. Easy to peel, sweet but also not, sometimes with seeds.. and some people loathe the little white stripes they have and they spend hours peeling those away

49. What saying or quote do you live by?

“Like any / unloved thing, I don’t know if I’m real /when I’m not being touched.” —Natalie Wee

50. What made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

My best friends always make me wheeze, it can be the stupidest dumbest thing ever, I’m really fucking easy to amuse lol

51. current stresses?

My driver license my driver license my driver license my driver license my driver license my d

52. Favorite font?

I have no idea. This one? Lol

53. What is the current state of your hands?

Good. I just cut my nails, I really wanna put some nail polish but my dad comes back home tomorrow and he always looks me weird when I put it

55. Favorite fairy tail?

The little mermaid

56. Favorite tradition?

A tradition I have with my friends is that when we celebrate someone’s birthday, we go to the thrift shop and buy them stupid stuff to wear or put on. On my birthday a couple days ago I had to wear playboy bunny ears and a black glittery bow tie lol. Once I bought my best friend a tiny pirate hat, and for another my friend took a boa with pink feathers lol

57. The 3 biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

Mmmh

I’m having a hard time with my parents since I dropped out of uni but I think I’m starting to overcome it finally

When my parents were about to divorce and in was dreading the idea of moving from this city

That time in middle school I spent a couple weeks at the hospital to run a bunch of neurological tests

58. Four talents you’re proud having?

I’m pretty good at multitasking

It’s very difficult to enrage me (yes I consider it a talent)

I can juggle lol

I can read in moving cars/trains etc without getting sick :D

59. If you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

“What the f—“

61. Favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/ etc?

“Happiness isn't in the having. It's just in the being. It's in just saying it.” Aka Castiel’s love confession (OF COURSE I WAS GONNA SAY SOMETHING DESTIEL RELATED)

62. Seven characters you relate to?

No specific order:

Dean Winchester

Eric Derekson

Jake Peralta

Doug Eiffel (👀)

Tony Stark

Klaus Hargreeves

Diego Hargreeves

63. Five songs that would play in your club?

Anything from P!ATD

Bang!— AJR

Natural— Imagine Dragons

Anything from Set It Off

Maniac— Conan Gray

64. Favorite website from your childhood?

I didn’t use computers in my childhood lol

66. Favorite flower(s)?

Fresias 💕

67. Good luck charms?

I used to keep in my pocket a little hazelnut my dad gave me once telling me that it was a good luck charm. I took it away tho. I dunno, maybe my rings

68. Worst flavor of any food of drink you’ve ever tried?

I have to admit I never tasted it, but the smell of truffle literally makes me gag, so that

69. A fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

Apparently your love language is both the one you give AND want love, and also the one you most lacked growing up. So. Mull that over.

70. Left or right handed?

Rightie

71. Least favorite pattern?

Holey ones. Make my sight go double

74. At what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an Advil of ibuprofen?

A seven I guess. I usually try to sleep off anything I have, I hate to take medicines, and loathe to call the doctor lol

75. When did you lose your first tooth?

Around.. six I think?

85. Fairy tails or mythology?

Mythology forever

86. Cookies or cupcakes?

Cookies 🍪

87. Your greatest fear?

That the other shoe will drop and I’ll be alone and lonely

88. Your greatest wish?

To have enough stubbornness to do what I wish to do without getting demoralized so easily

90. Luckiest mistake?

Me and one of my best friends got to know each other through other common friends, and once they both couldn’t come and we ended up spending the day together. We had lots of fun, but we also got drunk and I lost my mcfreaking watch lmao

92. Lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

Lamps

94. Favorite season?

Winter ❄️

95. Favorite app on your phone?

Tumblr! (And the music one. And the podcasts one. And— jk lol)

[buckyskorpion]

50 Questions tag!

i was tagged by @buckyland​ so thank you kat i am trying to procrastinate and this is PERFECT

1. What is the colour of your hairbrush? pink and purple pastels 

2. Name a food you never ever eat. peanuts bc im allergic lmao

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold? too warm! im a sweaty bitch

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? watching a jamie genevieve makeup tutorial and wishing i had her accent because she sounds so sexy... scottish people man

5. What is your favourite candy bar? does this mean chocolate bar or like lolly bar..... chocolate would be a mars bar and lolly bar would be redskins

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? absoLUTELY state of origin game 2 last year baby 

7. What is the last thing you said out loud? “oi shit heads do you want a coffee?” i am a stereotype

8. What is your favourite ice cream? COOKIES AND CREAM YES ME AND KAT AGREE

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? coffee

10. Do you like your wallet? i technically dont have one my cards just be loose in my bag 

11. What was the last thing you ate? omg a bacon egg tomato and cheese brekkie roll it was DIVINE

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? yes a bunch of sleep singlets, shorts, fuzzy socks, and a jumper

13. The last sporting event you watched? the last nrl game the dragons played before the season got cancelled

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? sweet and salty baby

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? my boss because i left my bag at work which has my nintendo ds in it and i wanna play animal crossing (dont ask why it was in my bag) 

16. Ever go camping? YES i literally camped overnight in my backyard last night and i camp every year when i go to splendour with my mates (big music festival in byron bay) 

17. Do you take vitamins? no and i should because im iron deficient lmao

18. Do you go to church every Sunday? oh bitch since i turned 18 and could legally say no to my crazy catholic parents i havent been to a sunday mass since. i do go for big events tho like lent, easter, christmas, etc. 

19. Do you have a tan? big no

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza? this is hard but i would say pizza just because ive been to the hospital 3 times eating chinese food bc of sneaky peanuts and pizza has never done me wrong like that

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw? if its with alcohol, yes. if its not, straight from the bottle baby

22. What color socks do you usually wear? black or pink. i only have Useful socks which are black and one pair of Fun socks which are pink 

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? um every time i drive sorry popo

24. What terrifies you? being unremarkable. being forgotten. being left.

25. Look to your left, what do you see? my coffee, paw paw cream, my airpods, my scrunchie collection, my lamp, my meds, and my sunglasses (my bedside table is a mess) 

26. What chore do you hate most? dusting 

27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? nothing.... i am australian this just be my life hahaha

28. What’s your favorite soda? soda is such a funny word to me but anyway my favourite is sprite

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive? depends, mostly drive thru and eat in the carpark vibes tho

30. What is your favourite number? 4 or 14

31. Who’s the last person you talked to? my sister and her boyfriend

32. Favourite cut of beef? i hate red meat but i will eat it in spaghetti bolognese so i guess mince

33. Last song you listened to? number one fan by MUNA - its a BOP

34. Last book you read? in the middle of reading killing commentadore by haruki murikami as i have been for the whole of 2020 lmao

35. Favourite day of the week? friday 

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? no absolutely not my brain hurts just thinking about it

37. How do you like your coffee? double shot espresso with almond milk or double shot espresso just black 

38. Favourite pair of shoes? my doc martens because im ~quirky

39. The time you normally get up? during normal time i was waking up at 7:30 but now its anywhere between 9-12 lmao

40. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? sunsets absolutely 

41. How many blankets on your bed? three

42. Describe your kitchen plates. one full set of white ones, one full set of those blue ceramic looking ones, one set of fancy white ones with embellishment, one set from ikea that im allowed to use because i smash shit

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment? just did the washing up and loaded the dishwasher from lunch, so spotless because i have issues with dirty sinks lmao. coffee machine is pride of place, and the light above the stove stopped working last night so its kinda dark

44. Do you have a favourite alcoholic drink? t e q u i l a!!!!! or a pinot grigio

45. Do you play cards? hmm i play drinking games haha not really cards tho unless its with my family

46. What colour is your car? silver

47. Can you change a tire? yes because once i was taking an exit off the motorway at 110km/h and something fell off truck which i didnt see so i drove over it and ripped giant holes in both tires on the right side of my car and almost DIED lmao 

48. Your favourite state? state of being? asleep. state in australia?? nsw dUH. state in america?? i pretend i do not see

49. Favourite job you’ve had? my job i have now! disability carer, i love the girl i care for with my whole heart and i would die for her

50. How did you get your biggest scar? i have the stupidest scars ever, my biggest scar is probably the big ones on my knees from when i was running away from this girl on camp who locked me out of our shared room and i fell over and cut my knees and hands up sooooo bad lmao

[writehardwhumpharder]

Carson drabble - follow up to gunshot wound, leaving the hospital

Since I don't have an OC description for Daniel yet he's Carson's best friend, lives in the apartment directly above Carson's. They have known each other since college about 4-5 years. He's 27, about 6'1, broad shoulders, muddy blonde hair cut short, green eyes, friendly, social, and caring. Owns a book shop in town. Little bit of a book nerd like Carson.

Carson didn't wake up when the ambulance arrived. He didn't wake up when they took him to the hospital. He didn't wake up when they cleaned and stitched his wound. He didn't wake up when they put him in a private room. And he didn't wake up as his friends hovered around his hospital bed anxiously for the next three days.

Needless to say, everyone was worried, doctors were confused. The gunshot wound caused him to lose a fair bit of blood and required urgent medical attention, but after that, when things slowed down, they didn't understand why he was still unresponsive. He spiked a high fever the first night, a side effect of taking in massive amounts of other people's life energy. Souls just aren't meant to be mixed together like that. So when they chalked it up to an infection, they weren't entirely wrong.

Riley was tense with worry and felt like she couldn't fully breathe until Carson's best friend Daniel was finally informed of what happened and rushed to meet them. The atmosphere in the room was somber and quiet except for the rhythmic beeping of Carson's heart monitor. If things weren't so dire, he would have laughed at the sight.

"No need for the long faces guys. He's fine." He said, sinking down into an empty seat by the bed, noting it's tragic use of flashy patterns and 90's pastels.

Morris chose that moment to walk in holding a couple cups of coffee. Anger flashed across Riley's face at how nonchalant he was being. The doctors had no explanation for his apparent coma and had already begun whispering about potential brain damage.

Daniel sighed, trying to be sensitive after the scare they'd had. "He does this sometimes. I swear he'll wake up in a day or four good as new."

Riley and Morris exchanged hard looks. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

"He used magic right? Probably a lot of it?" Daniel said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Riley nodded.

"We aren't sure exactly what he did. But the suspect suddenly went down, practically paralyzed. And Carson fell a few seconds after that."

Danny considered that for a moment, humming in thought. "Soul magic is a delicate and intimate form of magic. Along with healing skills, I've heard rumors of some of the stronger soul magicians having the rare ability of... mental manipulation."

"You mean mind control?" Morris said, failing to hide his surprise. "Just how dangerous is this guy." The older cop set his cup down on the window sill and ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit.

"Relax. I've seen him practice it a few times and he managed to stop my cat from knocking the remote off the kitchen counter for maybe three seconds before he lost control of her. He probably just left him stunned for a moment."

A groan interrupted them and Carson shifted under the covers. They all whipped their heads toward him. He wasn't exactly awake, but he wasn't unconscious either. The nurse told them to let him wake up on his own so the three of them sat in impatient silence as Carson slowly blinked his eyes open. They moved around the room, never settling on one particular thing.

"Those chairs are hideous." He muttered, voice horse from lack of use. Daniel smirked at the statement. "Is there any food? I'm starving." Carson said.

Apparently he didn't mean hospital food because Carson immediately went to work removing his IV and unclipping the heart monitor from his finger. His clothes were neatly piled on top of a dresser that was more for decoration than actual use.

"A little privacy please."

"Wait a second, you can't just leave. You've been unconscious for three days." Riley said.

"Yep, three days of solid rest and now I'm ready for some lunch. Let's go, just as soon as I get my clothes on." He said, giving them a harsh stare that implied he was waiting for them to leave. Riley and Morris didn't move, still looking concerned and a little bit annoyed.

"Really, you should have a doctor clear you." Morris said.

Carson rolled his eyes and carefully maneuvered his hospital gown so that he could put his pants on underneath, then took that off and was about to replace it with his button down shirt when he encountered a problem.

"Oh... right." He looked down at his shirt, they hadn't thrown it out but what was once a light grey was now stained a dark reddish brown. There was also a small hole on either side where the bullet went through. Now that he thought about it, his shoulder was awfully sore, but if he didn't move it he felt almost okay.

Before Carson could attempt to leave the hospital shirtless in middle of October Daniel produced a backpack from beside his chair. "I gotcha buddy." He smiled.

"You're the best."

Carson riffled through the bag, Daniel had packed a few shirts along with clean socks and underwear. He recognized most of it as his own but there was one oversized T-shirt thrown in there that definitely belonged to Daniel. Getting it over his shoulder would be no easy feat but damn did it look comfortable. Carson pulled it out of the bag and his friend gave him a knowing smile.

It turned out to be loose enough that the pain of slipping his arm through the hole was only unbearable for a few short seconds until it settled into a steady throb. The nurse had left a sling for him to keep his arm immobile while his shoulder healed.

"Okay I'm ready." Carson declared.

Riley looked him over and stifled a laugh. His dark jeans still had blood stains on them, the T-shirt was two whole sizes too big, his arm was strapped into a sling, oh and he had maybe the worst case of bedhead she had ever seen.

"Not so fast." Daniel added before smoothing Carson's hair into something that resembled its usual style. "Now you're ready."

They all headed out into the hallway. Carson staggered a little, still a bit dizzy. The bright lights in the hallway assaulting his eyes didn't help. Daniel caught his elbow to steady him and left it there which made it a little easier for Carson to insist he was fully recovered. After signing some papers he was free to leave. It was a sunny day but the wind made it feel colder than it really was. Carson's jacket had to be draped over his injured shoulder, making it a little less effective.

Riley and Morris walked a few steps behind. They had been there with him when he got shot, rushed him to the hospital, and waited three agonizing days to find out whether he was going to be okay or not. But now that his friend Danny had arrived they almost felt like they were intruding.

"They have sort of an... odd chemistry." Morris commented quietly.

"Yeah I noticed. But I guess we shouldn't be surprised Carson's friend is equally as strange as he is." Riley said.

"I meant-"

"I know what you meant."

The two detectives had some work to do at the station but Morris offered everyone a ride first so they all piled into his car. He was going to drop them off downtown by some restaurants that were within walking distance of their apartment building but Carson was suddenly too tired to go out.

"Take out it is then. Do you mind waiting a sec while I run in and grab some things?" Danny asked politely. Morris shrugged and waited outside the local deli while he ordered a couple sandwiches. When he got back Carson was leaning his head against the window with his eyes closed, pretty close to dozing off by the looks of it. A few minutes later they arrived at their apartment building and Daniel had to drag a very tired and reluctant Carson out of the car while carrying literally all of his belongings for him as well. Leaving the hospital must have used up a lot of his energy because Carson had apparently given up on doing things like standing or walking by himself. Though he somehow woke up enough to thank Morris and give a quick wave as the honda civic peeled away from the curb, disappearing into traffic.

[jflashandclash]

Traitors of Olympus IV: Fall of the Sun

Eighteen: Thalia

Love Bites (But Not Literally!)

             Saying Thalia’s insides felt jumbled would be like saying you might want to wear sunglasses if you’re going to look directly at Apollo’s chariot during his peek time.

           They finished up their separate forts. Axel had removed their door barrier and tried the door a few times to see how thoroughly the Lemnians had barred it. Considering they heard something being bolted into the door, she imagined facing these creeps was becoming more and more of a heroic task set out for two other heroes, maybe child of Hephaestus or Athena. She wished Annabeth were here. She could think of the tragedy the children of Dionysus would write about them now, titled: Lieutenants of Artemis and Kronos, Murdered by a fandom.

           They discussed pretending to have fallen in love with Phil and Hypsi. Thalia even tried, excited by the prospect of wringing the guys’ neck. Apparently, such inspiration made her flirtation come across as disingenuous and “homicidal” to Hypsi and Phraxa. Pft. They’d never flirted at a concert before.[1]

           So, Axel and Thalia sat on either side of half-a-massage table (that had been split in half for makeshift shields) with a sheet from the cabinet pinned to the ceiling as high as Axel—with his six foot Oh-My-Gods inches—could reach.

           Not that Thalia found his height attractive, but being around preteen girls didn’t lead to the most vertically advantaged tent making.

           Earlier, Thalia had been pondering out how to tell Euna that Artemis said girl-to-girl relationships were still a no-go, something that both made Thalia happy—since girl-to-girl romances should still be considered romances and taken seriously—but also disappointed, since Thalia was interested in Euna and wasn’t sure how she felt about potential loopholes. That already left the Lieutenant of Artemis questioning her feelings on being a huntress.

           Of course, she was terrified for Euna. Euna had seemed… broken when they spoke at Camp Half-Blood, and—despite Axel’s assurance that time moved differently here—time could also be moving differently on whatever path that psychotic talking head was taking Euna.

           “Time,” Thalia demanded.

           There was a small tear in the sheet where the ends met the top of their table divider, making a tiny hole in their oh-so-impenetrable wall. Axel hesitated, then slipped his hand through, so his wrist was visible.[2]

           Like last time, she kept telling herself it was to check to see how far away Euna could have gotten. It was, she growled angrily, eyes flicking to that stupid half-empty glass of pink liquid before looking back to their divider.

           This was not to look at his hand or touch it.

           His index and middle finger were missing most of his nail. Although the healing springs must have cleaned up the blood and wound, it was weird to see a fingertip with scarred skin instead of a nail, especially with how long, sharp, and feline his other nails were. (When checking the time previously, she’d made him lower the Mist on his fingers, since she accidentally cut herself on one.)  

           That must have hurt way more than he feigned.

           Thalia took his hand to twist his wrist into better view. She wanted to annoy him, to make him complain that she was being childish or bratty, to get into an argument and agree how much they disliked each other.

           He was in mid-comment, “—ventilation shafts are way too small to squeeze through.” He did little more than grunt when she bent his arm further. “No secret passages found on your side?”

           Stupid Axel with all of his stupid plans and ability to stay focused.

           “Nope, fresh out of secret passages. Any other brilliant ideas?” she snapped, hoping it sounded mean instead of desperate.

           Eleven minutes had passed. Thalia’s head felt like it was swimming. This feeling could get worse? Hypsi said this would become unbearable in fifteen minutes!

           His laugh sounded pained. “Thalia—”

           “Lieutenant,” she tried to distance their names, but felt like her comment had come out weaker than she wanted.

           “Maybe it’s because Luke told me how you used to flirt with him, but you’re really bad at pretending to hate me.”

           Thalia growled in anger, “I told you that I didn’t drink that stupid potion—“

           Axel squeezed her hand. Her heartbeat skipped to see that they’d enlaced their fingers, without her even realizing they were moving. His calluses were rough, like hers and the gentle pinch of his remaining claws was comforting, reminding her of the cute paws on Artemis’ silver wolf pack.

           The wolf pack.

           The Hunt.

           A dulled sense of panic made her tremble.

           “Thalia,” Axel said gently, “Even without… current circumstances—” She could hear him squirm on his side of the table. “—we’re still friends. You pretending to hate me or be mad at me isn’t going to help. Though… you might undo the healing spring’s work if you keep bending my wrist like that.”

           He tapped his two fingers without nails against the top of her hand.

           “I don’t have to pretend to be mad at you,” she whispered, glaring at his hand. She tried not to think about how he was seated on the other side. They’d agreed to stay on opposite sides of the rooms. That worked when they were searching around for other potential exits. Also without intending to, they both sat as close as possible once they were done searching.

           Thalia clenched the grip on her bow with her other hand. Axel had instructed her to shoot him with a knock-out arrow if he tried to come to her side of the room, with the warning that he’d had much more of the potion than she had. But, what if she came to his side of the room? Would he be able to fend her off when he’d run away from Hypsi like a little kid?

           Not that she would admit to drinking any of the potion. Or having any problems. She just wanted to go over there and sock him in his dumb, ruggedly handsome face for almost dying by the hands of a hidden monster and almost drowning and getting them into this mess.

           “Axel,” she said.

           “Leonis Caput,” he offered.

           After hearing his chuckle, she realized he was teasing her for the “Lieutenant” thing. “Shut up,” she said.

           “Yes, Lieutenant.”

           “I’ll break your wrist.”

           “I’m sure you will.”

           She rolled her eyes. “You asked about why I didn’t side with you guys, uh, during the Titan War.”

           “Yes…” his voice was soft again.

           Thalia frowned. She wished she could play with her choker, but knew she should keep her hand on her bow.

           “When I woke up from being a tree, Percy was the first person I saw. He brought me back. He and Annabeth updated me on the years I’d missed and taught me how to be a person again. They told me about how Luke had sold his soul to evil or whatever. Camp Half-Blood was the first safe place, outside—outside of being with Luke and Annabeth… that I could call home. It was safe. Before that, I was always running and hiding, either from my mom or other monsters…”

           She took in a shaky breath. “Even if I wanted to fight against my dad, or how the gods treated their children, Luke’s path wasn’t the way to do it, and I couldn’t turn my back on my new family. How would you feel if Pax joined Camp Half-Blood?”

           “I’ve been trying to convince him to for months now,” Axel said, sounding defeated. “As he’ll tell you, he’s like a parasite that’s impossible to get rid of. And he knows I’ll never join Camp Half-Blood.”

           “You guys are so weird,” she said and sighed. “You won’t join Camp Half-Blood, but you’d become a hunter or join the legion?”

           “The legion was different…”

           Thalia felt a spike of resentment tighten her chest. She knew for whom Axel wouldn’t mind compromising his beliefs. Normally it made her happy to think of Reyna finding a guy who properly cared about her…

           “And I still think being a hunter would be incredible,” he said.

           She snorted. “How long before you fell in love with Lady Artemis?”

           “With you around?” he teased. She could see the sheet tremble as the shadow of his other hand traced the cloth. Then he flinched and withdrew his hand. “Sorry. This is…” He cleared his throat. “Difficult.”

           Thalia felt her cheeks get red. “At least our wall has a hole in it.”

           “Yes, so we can plan our escape,” he said with that same hint of amusement from earlier.

           “Our super successful escape that doesn’t result in us being captured by non-combat creeps,” she grumbled. “Augh, this is just embarrassing.” Thalia checked the time again, groaned, and pressed her face against their enlaced hands.

           Axel let out a soft noise. “Thalia, don’t…”

           “Hey.”

           “Mm?”

           “It’s been thirteen minutes,” she said. While she knew time was moving faster in their section of Tartarus—or the Labyrinth?—than outside, it felt like Kronos was making each second take forever as one last middle finger to Thalia—or at least a slow moving “second” finger.

           Axel swore under his breath. She could hear him pop his cheeks, a cute, self-conscious noise. His nails dug into her hand for a tense moment, piercing her skin, before he released her and stood up. His silhouette loomed behind the sheet, the shadow of his ears perked and alert.

           “Axel?” she asked uncertainly, lifting her bow.

           “I’m going to try to get them to open that door,” he said, lowering his voice. He picked up the second half of the table—propped alongside the one they’d been leaning against—and lifted it up as a shield. Thalia flinched as a piece of their boundary line disappeared. “This is around the time they thought we’d break, and, even if they don’t believe you with Phil, Hypsi seems to think I looked at her.”

           Axel took a step forward. With the second half of the table gone and the sheet too short to touch the floor, his feet and the animalistic arches of his calves came into view. Thalia could feel her heartbeat pounding in her head. She thought about the humanoid monsters she and the other girls tracked down.

           Before she could stop herself, she asked, “Axel, do you think you could survive if a huntress hunted you as prey?”

           He stepped to the edge of the sheet and half-peered around with a devilish smile. “After we get out of here, you’ll have to find out, huntress, won’t you?” His golden eyes glistened. “I should warn though, it’s hard to force a predator to stay prey.”

           Axel began to push the sheet back and froze. One of his towels was coiled around his shoulders, the other wrapped around his waist. Now that she was looking at it, the spa garb and table-shield made him seem weirdly domesticated, like Disney decided he looked too militaristic with his lion pelt and leather skirting and replaced them with some last minute, bad CGI cover-ups. She found herself staring—as she’d struggled not to before—at the horrific scarring along his hip and that annoying V indent of muscle along his abdomen.

           Stuff Thalia might have typically observed with the same interest as a math review book, at least as a huntress. That’s what she kept reminding herself, though his presence made it difficult not to think about how attractive she’d found Luke or Apollo before she joined the Hunt.

           Axel cleared his throat, puffed up his cheeks, popped them, and looked away. The hand he had on the sheet trembled. “Tha—Lieutenant. I need your help making this sound convincing.” His voice was low as he took a difficult step away from her, towards the door.

           Thalia reflexively leaned forward. She was terrified to realize that she’d let go of her bow upon seeing him. She scooped it back up, slung her quiver over her shoulder, adjusted the towel she’d wrapped around her chest for extra coverage, and approached him as casually as possible.

           Each step felt like it came with little Huntress of Artemis chastity road signs of Danger this way! and Hot Man Ahead! Proceed with Caution and maybe speed readers that just said SLOW DOWN in place of a mph.

           Was he having as many problems as she was? He looked so calm.[3]

           Keeping her bow between the two of them made Thalia shake with effort. This whole thing was so stupid!

           “How can I help?” she choked out.

           Axel was trying to keep his eyes on the door. His shoulder and back muscles quivered as much as his hands. He walked up to the entrance. “Assuming they open the door, we need to strike fast—”

           “Yea, I know the combat plan, Cat Breath. How can I help with Hypsi?” she hissed.

           “Stand here.” He vaguely gestured to the wall beside the door. A good tactical spot for sniping anyway.

           Thalia complied, trying her hardest not to touch him as she got into position.

           He chuckled painfully. “Normally, I don’t let emotionally compromised people go into battle.”

           She rolled her eyes. “Are you serious right now?”

           Again, Thalia told herself to wait on pummeling Axel until after the potion wore off. She had so much excess, pent-up energy, she was in perfect condition to wreck Phil and the Lemnians. Smashing people’s faces in was the perfect distraction from… this. Something to use as a strength and not to mark her as “comprised.”

           “You’re not the one I’m worried about bursting into Mayan love poetry,” Axel said.

           Thalia choked on a laugh. “You have Mayan love poetry memorized? Who are you? Apollo? Is there even that much of that?”

           Thalia pictured Axel reciting a romantic haiku and giggled.

           Axel mumble something in Mayan before saying, “Shut up.” His cheeks were bright red as he glared at the door. “Hypsi!” he called, much louder.

           “Axel!” Thalia hissed wearily. He never said what else she could do to help.

           Axel balled his fist, pressed it firmly against the doorframe closest to her, and leaned down until his head was about six inches from the door. With how he’d leaned down, if he turned to her, their faces would be at the same height. If he took one sidestep to the right, or if she ducked under his arm to tiptoe left, Axel’s arm would be positioned perfectly at the crook of her neck, and his face…    

           Thalia went silent. If her cheeks could get hotter, she was pretty sure they could melt the door down.

           While they still weren’t touching, this was the closest they had stood since taking the potion. They’d agreed to keep more distance…

           Thalia was annoyed to catch his cinnamon-chocolate scent.

           “Don’t hit me until this is all over with,” he whispered, “Me crying out in pain or being interrupted might shatter the illusion.”

           Shuffling sounded outside the door. There was some whispering. Thalia wondered what the Lemnians had been doing this whole time, though couldn’t focus on it while staring at how Axel had braced his arm.

           “What?”

           Hypsi’s voice was shaky, like she’d still been crying. If Thalia could have broken her eyes away from Axel, she’d have rolled them at the Lemnian’s tears. Sure, get really upset that a guy you tried to force to love you didn’t really love you. (Shocker.)[4]

           Axel took a deep breath. “I know… we haven’t known each other well for very long,” he said, loud enough to project through the door, but quiet enough not to blow out Thalia’s ear drums. “And I know these emotions are sudden, and that… that I shouldn’t want you, that I shouldn’t feel this way… and that they’re coming from… from magic…”

           Thalia wanted to flick Axel’s nose. Maybe she’d been out of the romantic business for a long time, but this didn’t sound the best way to woo a girl. When they got back to camp, she’d have to tell Piper and Calex to give him pointers, else he was doomed.

           Then she noticed how his eyes kept trailing to her.

           He wasn’t talking to Hypsi. Thalia swallowed. His arm was straining against the wall to keep from touching her, just like he was struggling not to keep eye contact.

           “You were right. This… is unbearable. I’m slipping. I just want to touch you, to give you the hugs you never got when you were feeling insecure or vulnerable. To remind you of how amazing you are for handling all the incredible things that you brushed off as being part of your family, or being who you are. I know you don’t need me, and you already know you’re strong, but I…”

           Axel’s voice broke.

           Thalia’s stomach felt like it decided to dive into a trampoline park without her permission.

           “Sorry,” Axel whispered to Thalia. His jaw clenched. While keeping his fist firmly against the door—as another barrier, Thalia realized—Axel leaned his head to the side, pressing his forehead to her shoulder.

           Her breath caught. Thoughts clogged to a halt. She tried to think about Artemis, about her huntresses, the wolves, the camping, the wild, Luke—she tried to think about how much it hurt to have someone she loved so much betray her and become a monster—

           She tried to remember this was one of her friends, someone Reyna had a thing for, someone she didn’t want the troops of Artemis to hunt down in vengeance and that didn’t need her death (by the hands of a vengeful goddess) on his conscience. What would she do if this were happening to a friend? Maybe one of her sister-huntresses reaching out for emotional support to get through some horrific trickery?

           Thalia awkwardly patted Axel’s shoulder, in the best, most platonic there, there motion she could muster. And to not curl against him and ask for that hug, since she definitely didn’t want or need that.

           And he’d been talking to Hypsi to get out of here. Not her.

           Thalia glanced at his wrist. They were at the fifteen minute marker. For a startled moment, she realized her eyes felt warm and wet.

           “Yes?” Hypsi said softly on the other side of the door.

           “I need out of this room right now,” Axel’s voice was still soft, but it was enlaced with an inner, threatening growl.

           Whispers erupted on the other side of the door. With how close she and Axel were, and how excited the Lemnians were talking, she could make out what they were saying.

           “Phil! Phil! It worked!”

           “I don’t know, Hypsi. What if he’s faking it like the girl?”

           “No—that’s almost verbatim how Medea’s How To pamphlet said he’d feel. I mean—yea, he knows he drank the potion, and it came with the warning of amorous side effects may vary—“

           “I don’t know…”

           “You’re just sad the girl’s potion ended up being a dud.” That was Phraxa.

           “Either that, or she just realized you’re too gross to like even with a love potion,” Hypsi’s voice was lighter, the tears were gone. She sounded hopeful.

           Maybe this would work.

           “Come on,” Phraxa continued. “The lightning rods are installed in the hallway, so the girl can’t hurt us. If he’s a Mayan sorcerer, he can’t perform magic without any fire. We’ve got the nets all set up. If they end up still rejecting us, we’ll just hack them into pieces and toss them into the river—”

           Axel punched the door, making a thud loud enough to make Thalia jump.

           “Hypsi, let me out. I can’t handle being in here any longer,” he said. The undertone of his voice took on that gravely quality.

           Hypsi giggled. “Oh! He sounds impatient!”

           “I’ll get the drill,” Phraxa said.

           Thalia guessed the noncommittal grunt came from Phil. “Okay, fine. Everyone else, stand by to decapitate a hero if they come out fighting.”

           There came a cheer from at least five or six other voices.

           The door shuddered with the sound of some power tools.

           Axel and Thalia released sighs of relief.

           He turned his head to look up at her. They should have been getting ready to rush the Lemnians. They may have been outnumbered, but both Thalia and Axel agreed these weren’t exactly primed warriors. Even if they were, they’d rather go out fighting than be captured (again).

           Ready to be decapitated? Axel mouthed, nuzzling against her shoulder. The hairs of his goatee tickled her skin, making her heart leap.

           She wanted to tease Rather that than hear your Mayan poetry, but she couldn’t bring herself to tease him. Maybe to knock his lights out for all those… nice and horrifically inappropriate things he had said (though, only to trick Hypsi, right?) but she couldn’t do that yet since she needed him conscious for this fight.

           The door gave a loud thump as it came loose from some exterior barrier. The knob jiggled.[5]

           “Oh, jaguar warrior, you locked the door,” Hypsi sang.

           Axel stood up straight, his eyes glistening with excitement. He squeezed Thalia’s shoulder and picked up his table-shield and makeshift table-leg-club.

           Thalia felt like a normal girl would be offended by how easily he’d withdrawn from her shoulder, since the love potion must have taken full effect. However, Thalia could sense the same thing he could while she prepped her bow with an arrow: beating the snot out of these jerks would be the most romantic outing either of them could possibly go on at that moment.

           Axel carefully unlocked the door. “Ready for me to take you, Hypsi?” he asked.

           Thalia could see him choke back a laugh. She did the same at the double entendre.

           What they saw when they opened the door was not what they were expecting.

           One moment, they could see Hypsi standing there—looking relatively normal in her chiton, though she was now armed with two daggers—with two people in imposing mechasuits behind her. One held a crossbow trained on the door, the other held a net gun. Phil grumpily leaned against the wall, almost out of sight, gripping a sword.

           Looking at the suits, their table-shields felt a little unprepared.

           Before the door was open enough for Axel to lunge forward, someone down the hallway screamed in alarm.

           A familiar voice let lose a crazed, boisterous laugh. “Trying to use love spells on me?”

           The person in the mechasuit with the net gun repositioned to whatever bigger threat was down the hall.

           Axel didn’t have a chance to take advantage of the distraction. A silver greyhound with ruby eyes slammed into the mechasuit, knocking Ms. Net Gun to the floor.

           Before the person with a crossbow could fire at Argentum, Thalia shot a knockout arrow at the second mechasuit. While it didn’t damage the armor, it did ruin their aim, their cross-bolt harmlessly slamming into the wall.

           The second mecha suit didn’t have a chance to reload as a golden greyhound knocked them to the floor.  

           At the same time as this onslaught, a golden bolt struck Hypsi’s shoulder from down the hall. She went rigid, noticed something, and sprinted out of sight, all while shouting, “Wait—fly! Your wings are so beautiful! Nothing could compare! My love for you, I must declare!”

           Thalia was ecstatic that Axel hadn’t burst out like that.

           Phil was half-way through drawing his sword when a tall boy with a black scarf and a red-and-black beanie nailed him over the head with one of the pink punch pitchers. The glass shattered, spilling the love potion all over Phil’s head. Before waiting to see if that was enough to take out the creepy Lemnian, Calex followed through with a solid punch to the side of Phil’s head.

           Phil crumbled onto the floor.

           Calex dusted off his hands on his Camp Half-Blood sweater and unslung his golden bow from his back. He beamed at Axel and Thalia. “Hallo! Lovely day to be seeing you in an inter-dimensional plane.”

           He poked his head back into the hall to shout, “I win! You’ve gotta get rid of this rubbish.”

           Clatters and panicked shouts came from the location.

           Reyna just sounded annoyed when she spoke back. “There’s a lot of it,” she sighed, then, louder, “Aurum, to me! Argentum, stand guard!”

           The golden greyhound took off down the hallway while the grey one stood by the door like one of the Lemnian sculpture sentinels. From the looks of it, one mechasuit wearer was unconscious and the other had crawled away.

           Calex returned his grin to them. “We had a running bet on who would find you first and who would need to find your gear. The first bloke we threatened at the front said they were in two different places.”

           Axel clapped Calex’s shoulder, beaming with—Thalia blinked—pride? Thalia suddenly felt like she was intruding on a moment where a commanding officer distinguishes a soldier for his bravery, or, really, a moment of bromance.

           “Thanks, Calex. And you used to be worried that you wouldn’t be a commendable hero.”

           Calex glanced away in pleased embarrassment, noticing Thalia. His eyes widened, and he glanced from Thalia to Axel. He took a step back, pointing between the two of them in confusion.

           Thalia felt her chest constrict again. Yea, it was taking every fiber of her being not to walk up and bump her shoulder against Axel, but it shouldn’t have been that obvious. There was no way Calex could tell—

           They were both mostly naked.

           Thalia felt her cheeks go bright red again. Another boy on the Eye Gouging to-do list.

           An understanding hit Calex, making him snap his fingers. “Ah, right. Love potion. But, how did you two—and why—?”

           The smile fell off Axel’s face. “Fix us,” he hissed with more desperation than she’d ever heard from him.

           Thalia felt dumb for forgetting who Calex’s father was.

           Calex put a hand to his beanie, examining them. “Um, I’ve never… taken away someone’s—”  

           “Do it,” Thalia snarled, taking a threatening step towards Calex. The motion brushed her shoulder against Axel’s, sending a tingling sensation down her spine. Axel went rigid.

           “Can’t you two…” Calex shrugged. “Wait it out?”

           “No!” they both said at once. If they tried that, Axel would be spouting out Mesoamerican sonnets and she’d end up killing him, since there was only so much punching he could handle once she resorted to that to avoid hugging him. And to save his self-respect, since no one should know love poetry.[6]

           Calex tentatively touched his bowstring, giving Axel a critical stare. “Aphrodite tried to seduce you, mate,” he said skeptically, “and you can’t handle a love potion?”

           Thalia was about to yell at Calex to hurry up, but paused.  “Is that why she cursed you?”

           Axel frowned. “Better story to tell when we’re not under the influence.”

           He turned back to Calex. “I hated Aphrodite, and she wasn’t a brave, beautiful punk warrior that I’d been told amazing stories about since I was fourteen,” Axel hissed. “And the Leonis Caput wanted to murder Aphrodite, not go on some weird date-hunt thing because he knows she’d be into it.”

           Thalia’s head spun, trying to gauge how old Axel was and exactly how often he had conversations with a murderous cat-creature in his head. Good reason to join the huntresses of Artemis—when all the guys you like end up being partially possessed. “Luke had been telling you stories about me since you were fourteen?” she asked.

           Axel puffed up his cheeks and popped them. When the jaguar warrior blushed, Calex looked like he couldn’t decide if this was hilarious or disturbing. “Right,” Calex said, pulling back his bowstring. “Let’s shoot you two.”

           A burst of grey energy exploded to life on his bow. The volatile vortex tightened and solidified into a scarily thin, black metal arrow.

           Calex paled. Sweat broke out on his brow as he struggled to pull the bowstring to full draw. He took aim, point blank, at Axel’s heart and paused.

           Axel didn’t flinch. He kept his eyes locked on Calex’s. One of his hands slipped down to link a pinkie with Thalia’s.

           This felt wrong. Thalia suddenly wondered if they should be reversing the potions effects or if the potion just wanted her to think—

           “This is a bad idea,” Calex said, his arm shaking. “A leaden arrow might… might make you incapable of being friends. And…”

           Calex dipped his point to the floor. Slowly, he relaxed his arm. The black arrow dissipated into smoke.

           Argentum growled.

           “Calex,” Axel said in a tone similar to the greyhound.

           Thalia felt the same, wanting this over with. Not that it should matter, but the crashing down the hall had stopped.

           Calex shook his head. “We can’t have you two hating each other on this trip. Let me try something else. I think I can… hyper accelerate the effects? It might make you feel like rubbish for a bit.”

           Axel nodded. “Just… please don’t not shoot me this time.”

           This time, when Calex drew his bow, the bolt was fiery white and gold, sparking madly. There was no hesitation or struggle in Calex’s stance. This seemed natural for him. He drew his bow and immediately fired.

           Axel may have mentally prepared himself to be shot.

           Thalia hadn’t.

           The arrow split. The second half arched and struck Thalia in the chest.

           For a moment, she thought Calex’s arrow would be fatal. Because the arrow had glistened like a mirage of light, she thought it wouldn’t hurt.

           The force of the impact made Thalia stumble back. Her chest felt like someone had jammed a knife into the impact spot and twisted it to crack open her ribcage. Instead of going through her or vanishing like she thought the arrow would do, the arch of light liquefied and burrowed into the wound, like a flaming snake that wanted to fill her insides until they splintered.

           Everything shook. Thalia felt like she’d been hit with a falling anvil. Emotions stuck on fast-forward: the months of seeming isolation with the huntresses, the guilt and shame of wanting to betray Lady Artemis and abandon the way she honored Zoe, her once-tranquil solitude turning into a maelstrom of loneliness and ache, finally reaching the catharsis of getting over Luke’s treachery while crumbling under the distance between she and Axel and the fact that they could never be together and the pain of knowing he only wanted her because of some stupid love potion and what could have happened if she’d joined Luke’s side of the war and the confusion and—

           Thalia could hear Axel collaps to his knees.

           She crumbled soon after.

           Tears streamed down her cheeks. Thalia clutched at her chest, wishing she could tear the liquefied arrow out.

           “Holy Maiden Artemis,” she gasped, “Love bites.”

           From the brief glimpse she got of Calex, he had slung his bow over one shoulder, leaned against a wall, and folded his arms. “You two still want to thank me?” he asked, watching them—with some concern—withering in anguish.

           Axel had curled into a ball, but managed to withdraw one hand for a thumps up. “Thank you,” he choked out.

           Thalia nodded in begrudging agreement. She couldn’t imagine living all of that in real time.

           The pain eased. Her breathing returned to normal as did her heartbeat. When she glanced over at Axel, she no longer had that annoying butterfly feeling or empty wanting. Instead, she saw an embarrassed friend straightening out of a crouched position with as much dignity as he could muster.

           And fumbling to grab his towel when it slipped to the floor.

           Thalia was relieved that her genuine reaction was, “Axel! Gross!”

           Axel gave her a relaxed smile once he was covered. “Sorry to offend your eyes, huntress.” He stood fully and offered her a hand. “Things don’t need to be weird between us, right?”

           Thalia snorted. She glanced at Calex, who had respectfully become engrossed looking down the hallway. She took Axel’s hand—glad again that it felt no different from taking that of a huntress—and said, “Just don’t tell anyone I gave you CPR, and we’re good.”

           Axel blinked as he helped her to her feet. “You gave me CPR?”

           Thalia scowled, feeling her cheeks redden form embarrassment that had nothing to do with the potion. He was joking, right? “You didn’t know!? Between the drowning and the electric shock—why do you think I’ve been calling you Cat Breath all day!”

           After Hypsi and the others completely disarmed them, Thalia hadn’t trusted Hypsi or the others to touch Axel and her electrical surge was what made him need CPR. But—she thought he’d politely pretended not to remember.

           “Is… my breath that bad?” Axel asked, cupping a hand over his mouth to check. He frowned self-consciously.

           Thalia remembered his soft scent of spices and chocolate, but she wasn’t about to admit to that, especially after the day’s events. “Yes,” she said firmly.

           “Leonis Caput, you need a tracking device on your clothing,” someone said from the doorway.

           Thalia jumped when Reyna jammed Axel’s clothing, lion pelt, and weapons into his arms. He startled.

           Reyna turned to Thalia. “Huntress,” she greeted, offering Thalia her clothing and weapons in a much gentler fashion. Aurum trotted up, proudly shouldering their supplies packs.

           There was no anger in Reyna’s voice, but, from the scarily controlled tone and hardened expression, Thalia suspected Reyna knew everything that happened, or Reyna thought she did.

           Thalia took a deep breath. Reyna wasn’t an idiot. If Thalia judged her humor correctly…

           “I had to give Axel CPR because he got his ass kicked by a slime pup. Would you say Cat Breath is an appropriate nickname for him?”

           A terrified moment of silence passed, but Thalia knew Reyna was awesome. There was no way—

           Reyna’ face cracked into an appreciative smile. She looked relieved.

           Axel looked mortified, clutching his towel to himself as Calex choked back a laugh. “I—um—”

           “Get dressed, Cat Breath,” Reyna commanded. “We need to make up time in our hunt for Euna.”

           “I—” Axel started.

           Calex patted the stunned boy’s arm, then dragged him out the hallway to find a different changing room. “Looks like you’ve got a new name for the rest of the trip. Let’s see if it catches on the surface world.”           

               The moral of this story is, don’t consume food or drink from strangers in their creepy Grecian bathhouses. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!

So Many Footnotes:

[1] Jack disclaimer: Depends on your concert. Metal heads? Utter gentlemen and gentleladies that know how to have a good brawl. Punk concerts? Prepare to be punched in the dick.

[2] Mel immediately called out what play-within-a-play this is referencing. Our conversation, “A lion keeping them apart.” “Despite wanting to be ly-ng on each other!” Pax *cry laughing* Jack *applauds Mel’s pun*

[3] MelBetaComment: “Just don’t look too far down.”

Jack: *ehem* “I can neither confirm or deny Mel’s assumption until I’m several oceans away from a certain Mayan warrior.”

[4] I’d like to think, “Shocker” is one of Thalia’s favorite expressions.

[5] Definitely wrote “the door knob giggled” in my original draft. Mel took it literally and was quite confused.

[6] False. Jack should know love poetry *wink*