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summerbummin · 4 years ago

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Headcanons about Apollo and his former lovers from TOA

Naomi Solace 🎤

-Her and Apollo met when she was singing at a dive bar, he bought her a drink and they had a whirlwind summer fling

-They loved hitting up karaoke bars together and wowing everyone with their singing talent

-She really liked Apollo’s car and they’d did a lot of things in there (including conceiving Will lmao)

-One time when they were making out Naomi climbed into Apollo’s seat and her butt accidentally hit the steering wheel and HOOONK

-They jolted in surprise, then delved into hysterics, anything they had going on dying down as they laid their heads against each other’s shoulders and laughed so hard their ribs hurt, until Apollo suggested they used the back seat and things got going again lol

-Once Naomi said Jesus Christ in like response to smth, Apollo replied actually I’m Phoebus Apollo and Naomi was like what? And Apollo was like whaaaaat and Naomi just moved on bc she had other things to deal with lol

-Apollo ended up saying goodbye and leaving at the end of summer and a few weeks after he left Naomi realized she was pregnant and was like well shit

-She’s from the south and people there can be p judgmental about pregnancies outside of marriage, but Naomi never let them get her down, she actually met this great support group of women who helped her out and are still good friends even now

-Apollo eased her labor pains when she was giving birth to Will (and that’s why the kid has such good medical powers), but Apollo disguised himself as a nurse, not wanting to stress her out because the ex who she thought had no idea abt the baby was here, with her, holding her hand while she was gave birth

-Naomi brings Will up with love and kindness and she just wants the best for her sweet boy, but she gets concerned when Will talks about some weird things he saw at school and he gets pegged as the “weird kid” and is picked on by his classmates as a result

-Naomi would’ve fought those kids but Will told her it was fine, mama! His stuffed animals were his friends

-Will loved those stuffed animals and got really attached to them, so Naomi taught him how to sow them up when they started fraying and that’s the first thing that made Will want to be a doctor (when Will told his siblings this story they started calling him Doc McStuffins lol)

-Apollo didn’t tell Naomi he was a god and she didn’t find out until Apollo sent a satyr to bring Will to camp once he was old enough

-Realizing she had a fling with a greek god was a bit of a shock but Naomi dealt with it gracefully and gave Will the biggest hug before he left, making him promise to be safe and write to her as soon as he got to camp

-Naomi’s career as a country alt singer got a lot more successful after her whole thing with Apollo because he put a blessing on her, her voice was beautiful she just needed help getting noticed so Apollo nudged some influential people in the music industry towards her on his way out (he kinda felt bad about leaving so abruptly, even if it was just a fling, he tries to make it up to his ex-lovers with things like this)

-Naomi actually ends up writing a sad country love song about Apollo after he left, she titled it Suburn, not knowing how fitting the title is until years later, it becomes one of her most popular songs

-Naomi travels a lot for her career, touring around Texas and some nearby states, and that’s why Will stays at camp year round, but they write to each other frequently and love each other sm

-Naomi doesn’t date much since she’s always busy with her career and traveling, she’s just not ready to settle down yet, she’s happy living as a free spirit and a single mom with a wonderful son

-Naomi is 100% supportive of Will’s sexuality and loves Nico to bits (Nico is a little awkward around her at first bc he’s not used to affection lol)

-She tells Nico stories abt Will when he was a kid, whipping out photo albums and everything and Will is like mom s t a h p ur embarrassing me in front of my bf and Nico is reveling in how red his face gets

Latricia Lake 🎶

-she met Apollo when he was posing as a street performer for fun on the streets of the college town she worked in

-she put a tip in his guitar case and complimented his playing and his voice, Apollo was pleased by this and complimented her in turn, saying she must know her music which made Latricia laugh because she is a professor

-the two of them hit it off and start dating, spending hours talking about music

-being the god of music, Apollo could tell when people really loved music, feeling loved in return, and Latricia was one of those people

-being a college professor, Latricia was a bit older than Apollo’s usual lovers (she’s like in her mid to late 20s) and Apollo looks like 21, so he jokingly starts calling her a cougar just to tease her (when he’s so full of shit bc he’s over 3 thousand years older than her)

-Apollo attended some of her lectures, watching from the back of the room and her students were like ooh who’s that hot guy and she was like my bf and their jaws dropped bc daaamn ms lake way to go (Apollo found those reactions very amusing lol)

-There are many times when Latricia considers smacking that smug smirk off Apollo’s face, but she refrains and smacks his ass instead

-Apollo claims Latricia only loves him for his pancakes bc he made them for her the morning after their first time as a way to get her to keep him around lol (and it worked a little too well)

-When Latricia got pregnant Apollo told her who/what he really was and that was a bit too much for Latricia so they stopped dating but Apollo gave her the briefing about demigod children, powers, monsters, camp half blood, etc before he left

-One day when her sitter had to cancel on her she brought Austin to her class and all the college kids thought he was so cute that Latricia started bringing him around more often, Austin was just a baby but she could tell he loved the attention by the way he was gurgling lol (like father like son)

-Latricia is p busy since she’s a professor but she always makes time for her son and she has been teaching Austin about music since he was a kid, he grew up surrounded by it and that’s why he loves it sm (that and being a son of Apollo)

-On his 10th birthday there was a really nice new saxophone with a ribbon at the foot of his bed (a gift from Apollo) Austin always thought his mom bought it for him and Latricia just didn’t correct him

-Latricia sent Austin to camp half blood when he told her he saw a monster at school, he was only 11 but Latricia would rather be safe then sorry

-Latricia actually met someone while Austin was at his first year of camp, Austin was a little unsure around the guy at first but more out of awkwardness than anything the guy was lacking

-Austin and him bonded over “being boys” as Latricia put it (they blew up hot dogs in the microwave together) and the man soon had her son’s stamp of approval

-They ended up getting married the next year and Austin played the saxophone at their wedding

-Latricia was the first subscriber to his YouTube channel and showed all her coworkers and students her son’s videos, she’s a proud mama

Darren Knowles 🏹

-gay (obviously)

-he loves the outdoors and the crisp cold weather of Canada

-met Apollo when he saw him checking out the flier he had pinned up advertising his archery classes, Darren asked if he was gonna join and Apollo not so subtly checked Darren out over his sunglasses and was like well now I’m def joining

-Darren lowkey thought Apollo was a dumb American tourist at first and Apollo keeps telling him he’s not American and Darren is like uh huh

-Apollo is such a flirt during class and actually misses a few shots bc he too busy staring at Darren lol, but that does give the opportunity for Darren to come and “correct” his stance

-Darren is determined to be a professional with his students but he ends up caving because Apollo is just,, so cute

-Then when they start going on actual dates he finds out Apollo isn’t some dumb blond and is actually really intelligent and educated and Darren is like oh no my weakness, guys who are goofs but not dumb and also hot (Apollo be checking all of his boxes lol)

-Apollo told Darren he was a god while drunk off his ass one night and Darren didn’t believe a fucking word, Apollo just rolled with the drunken nonsense thing the next morning and didn’t tell Darren again (until Kayla)

-Darren lives alone but he’s always wanted a family, he was kicked out by his parents for being gay and he knows if he was a parent he would never treat his child like that, he’d love them unconditionally like his parents should’ve loved him

-Apollo magically created a child for Darren after the man confessed to him how much he wanted a kid of his own

-Darren was happy but like really confused because h... how? And Apollo is just like magic~ which explains fuck all

-Apollo tells him he has to leave now, he was having to leave soon anyway because of some trouble brewing back in America, but that he wanted to do this one last thing for Darren before he left

-he tells him to have take care raising the baby and to send her to cbh’s address when she starts attracting monsters, then poofs away, leaving Darren with a baby in his arms and wondering what the hell just happened

-Darren does raise Kayla with love and care just as he said he would, she grows up hiking through the woods with her dad and learning archery along with other wilderness skills (Artemis would really like her)

-Kayla has her aspirations for the Olympics pretty early on and Darren admires his daughter’s ambition, at first he thinks it’s just her being a kid but then later on as she keeps getting better and better he’s like damn she might actually be able to do it

-But then ofc monsters come and Darren drives her down to New York, lying through his teeth to the border guy who surprisingly lets him through without a problem (Apollo may have insured that but shhh)

-Darren sees her off at the barrier of Thalia’s pine tree and they say goodbye with a hug that lifts Kayla off her feet, there’s promises to write and reminders to practice her archery and take care of her bow and such before Kayla is escorted into camp by some other campers

-Darren managed to keep a hold of himself while saying goodbye but as soon as he’s back in the car he’s fucking bawling, all the way back to Canada because he’s gonna miss his little girl sm

-Darren has had some boyfriends but a lot of them end up jetting as soon as he tells them he has a kid ripp

-He does eventually land a good man and they’re going strong, even when Kayla, who was like 10 at the time, threatened to shoot him in the nads if he hurt her dad

-Darren and shows up to every archery match Kayla has in the future and promises to be there cheering for her with a big ass sign that says THATS MY DAUGHTER when she eventually reaches the Olympics

Bonus!

Georgina’s Mom 🎨

-She was an art student in community college

-She was on her own because her parents refused to support her “unrealistic” career choice

-She met Apollo at a party at some college dorm and they both got super smashed bc college parties be like that

-They had a one night stand that both of them mostly forgot about in favor of their hangovers the next morning

-until Hello!! You have a kid!

-She is most likely dead given that Georgina was led to the waystation by a ghost

-But Georgina has two new mommies now who love her very much (and an awkward dad)

#naomi solace #latricia lake #darren knowles #trials of apollo #toa #pjo #apollo #apollo pjo #will solace #austin lake #kayla knowles #georgina #georgina pjo #headcanons

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couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name · 5 years ago

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how would you do a percy jackson adaptaion?

okay, so I know this is a controversial opinion right off the bat: I really don’t think it should be an animated series.

A large part of the appeal of the series is that it’s a fantasy series set very very firmly in reality. Literally, apart from the camps, you could go to every location hit in the books. Riordan mentions specific streets, buildings and landmarks, and that was cool when I first read them. I remember being a kid and waiting for him to set a scene in a place near where I lived! I remember trips to New York and being able to envision an epic war happening in the streets. So I think any adaption needs to be live action just to keep that same feeling alive, while I’m not knocking on animation, I just feel like taking the story out of real life would make it loose a little of the charm. Like, the scene where Manhattan is completely frozen in time? It would be haunting to see that in real life, but I feel like it would be less impactful if it didn’t…you know…look real? The series should be done in a way that makes you truly feel like you could just turn a corner and walk straight into a snake woman going about her day.

Now: another large part of the appeal of the series is how funny it is, but a lot of that…is Percy’s inner monologue. He doesn’t actually voice most of it, there was even a book where Annabeth described him as being quiet. So, I think the best way to work around this: make it Interview With A Demigod.

Imagine it’s got an interview with a vampire-esque setup- and this even works because within the riordanverse, the books canonically exist because Percy sat down with a ‘camp scribe’ and had his quests recorded. So, like, this isn’t even entirely out of left field. But just imagine, a college-aged, maybe a little older Percy, I can see it so clearly in my head, he’s wearing a sweatshirt that at first glance looks like it says NYU but a trained eye will see it actually says NRU for a camp jupiter easter egg, he’s sitting in some dinky little diner (maybe it can even be a monster donut or something with a clever greek myth related name) with a guy who’s recording the conversation on some old-ass tape recorder that keeps acting up but they can’t record on a phone because of the whole technology thing. Every now and then it’ll cut back to them to get some great Percy thoughts out there. They open with older Percy saying the ‘look, I didn’t wanna be a halfblood’ and then explaining where he was when the whole mess started. Once he get’s to “was I a troubled kid?” the screen fades from older Percy to 12 year old Percy getting in a fight with Nancy and her gang, and the voice over says the ‘Yeah, you could say that’ part as we see him get threatened by the principal to behave on the field trip. Boom, we’ve got an opening. Lowkey….I’m seeing Jordan Fisher as older Percy, but I’m not 100% married to the idea.

And before anyone tries to argue that showing an older Percy would spoil he’s not gonna die in last olympian- like, reading the books, we all knew he wasn’t going to die. It was a first person narrative and he was consistently speaking in past tense lmao like we Knew he was gonna make it. We still enjoyed the series. It won’t ruin anything.

I want part of the score of the adaptation to be instrumental versions of songs from the musical, I think that could be a sweet nod to that team.

They really need to nail camp halfblood. I know that goes without saying, but in order to keep the pacing of the story decent we can’t spend as much time falling in love with it like we got to with the book. The book is like, 24 chapters and the quest starts at chapter 12- for a movie or tv show, that’s just gonna feel like it’s dragging. So, the insanity of the camp needs to smack you in the face right away, and then it needs to endear itself to the viewers quickly after that. Don’t try to ease the viewers (or Percy) into the mythology is real thing, rip it off like a bandaid. He’s on his way to meet Chiron and Mr. D for the first time and even if he’s not comprehending what he’s seeing, there’s nature spirits and harpies all around going about their day. Hestia waves at him and then disappears into the flames. Hecate kids can be seen casting a spell on the porch of the Hermes cabin. The Stolls are seen pranking some Aphrodite kids. He sees someone surely die on the climbing wall but then you hear a faint ‘I’m okay!’. The Apollo kids put a rhyming curse on another cabin. Pure chaos all before he gets the ‘so, gods are real’ speech. And then after that…show how warm Luke is to him at the cabin and at dinner. Show the kids all goofing off at the campfire and really make it clear that they’re children. Show the strawberry fields rolling in the wind and Percy sitting on the beach. The whole couple weeks where he’s searching for powers and learning greek and latin with Annabeth can be a montage. Make it clear how hurt and scared he is when he finds out he needs to leave.

It needs to really get you feeling how Percy’s feeling, every laugh, every tear, every moment of fear or confusion needs to shine clear through. Like…think of Spider-Man Homecoming, the Washington monument scene. All things considered, it’s not the most high-stakes scene we’ve ever seen in that franchise, and when it cuts to the kids in the elevator, they’re worried but not quite freaking out, but that scene feels very high stress to watch because the movie is good at getting the viewers to feel what Peter feels. A Percy Jackson adaptation needs a touch like that, because Percy’s a very emotional kid and that’s what a lot of the scenes hinge on.

Lowkey- I’d love it if the casts of both the previous movies and the musical had cameos or bit parts (the movie cast did Nothing Wrong, it was the rest of that team). It’d be hilarious to see, like, Jake Abel as the owner of the poodle, or Logan Lerman as Older Percy and the reporter’s waiter that keeps trying to get in on the conversation, or Brandon T. Jackson as a satyr who’s still stuck grooving out in the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Kristen Stokes as a nature spirit, Chris as one of the ghosts stuck in the waiting room of DOA Records, just like any of those casts having small parts would be fun and sweet.

There should be a lot of easter eggs for the bigger riordanverse. Promotions in the background for the new Tristan McLean movie. Gabe’s got a true crime documentary about the missing Grace children playing during his poker game. Mr. D is reading a paper about Rachel Dare’s father’s newest project. At some point while they’re still in New York they pass the Kane family’s mansion or whatever it was called. Annabeth keeps a picture of little her and Magnus on her nightstand. The barest of hints about the Triumvirate. Seeing kids in camp jupiter gear in some background shots, just out of notice of our main characters but implying the camps are going through similar problems (BITCH….if we got a titan’s curse adaptation…and we had a shot of Thalia in the foreground….but in the background we saw a blond boy in purple with a golden sword….well I would simply loose my Goddamn mind).

And show us how easily the mist lets things blend in, too- like, everyone thinks ‘Monster Donuts’ is just a normal chain, it’s just on an average street block, but if Percy looks through the window he can see who’s behind the counter. Show someone swindling some guys in a park and you have to look twice to realize he’s a gegeines. Like…how people are still trying to find all the background ghosts in haunting of hill house. I would LOVE to see a bunch of background monsters and mythical beings just going about their day as much as the mortals are while the gang’s questing.

The effects need to be fun. The whole story needs to be fun, but one weird thing about the past movies are that like…in their attempt to make it gritty, none of the fantastical things happening on screen actually felt that exciting. We need bright colors and interesting choices, consistently cool action shots, a liveliness that makes you feel like you’re in the center of the action. I have absolutely no doubt Disney easily has enough funds to pull off great effects.

The characters need to be….in character lmao. Annabeth needs to be cocky and bratty with the skill set to justify it. Percy needs to be a sweetheart who pretends to be hardened because that’s what people assume he’s like. Grover needs to have dry humor and a Too Old For This Shit attitude whenever percabeth start bickering. Luke needs to be nice and friendly but in a specific way that you can look back after the betrayal and see he was trying to groom everyone. Sally needs to be loving, protective and strong. Chiron needs to feel defeated and determined at the same time. Mr. D needs to….be Stanley Tucci lmao

Also, I’d love if the adaptation could expand more on things that got brushed along in the books- Percy and Beckendorf’s friendship, Silena and Clarisse’s dynamic, make Nico’s crush on Percy a little more obvious, give Rachel some more development. One thing that haunts me about the books is Sally never found out that Gabe hit Percy. Absolutely they don’t need to make the abuse explicit, but I also personally feel like a lot of Percy’s mindsets throughout the series are somewhat a result of Gabe, and I’d like if that got, you know, acknowledged. Maybe in the scene where he figures out Gabe abuses Sally he could say ‘does he hit you too?’ or something to that effect. They could also go more into detail about Annabeth’s family, give Zoe some more depth….like the possibilities I’m screaming.

Okay this is already long and I’m getting tired but I can so clearly see a great adaptation in my mind….Disney please come through….It’s what we deserve….

#percy jackson #disney #rick riordan #pjo #hoo #toa #asks #molly mumbles

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clovis-enthusiast · 5 years ago

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Lotsa Clovis headcanons that you can pry from my cold dead hands

Keep in mind that these are just MY HEADCANONS! None of this is canon unless specifically stated! Feel free to agree or disagree. I juts rlly love my boy and his cabin and will gush about them for hours if given the chance.

Since there is a lot, I’ll put them under the cut so as not to clutter ur feed with my rambling! So uh click ‘keep reading’ to see me babble about my all time favorite character! Hope u enjoy if u read em and always feel free to send me a message about ur own headcanons! (I’m always thinking of more, so this post might be updated every once in awhile!)

He is very French. He was born in France and lived there for a short while before he and his mother (the reason I say mother instead of parent is because it was hinted at in canon that he has a mother. my go to name for her is Camille) moved to the US due to monster related problems. (He has a French last name. Something like Valois is my go to.)

French is his first language but because he moved to the US when he was quite young, he is very fluent in English. He often switches between the two languages when he’s EXTRA sleepy without noticing leading to a lot of confusion (and you can bet that he DEFINITELY swears in French because not many people at camp can understand him when he does. Those who do have a newfound respect and fear for him.)

He was initially a longtime member of the Hermes cabin even though pretty much everyone could guess who his godly parent was.

Was DEFINITELY a part of Luke’s army at one point due to the fact that he looked up to Luke as the older demigod had always treated him like a little brother, AND his godly brother Morpheus was also on Kronos’s side of the war. However, Clovis did not stay with them for long once things began to get bad and returned to Camp Half Blood with time. (Morpheus and Clovis now have a strained relationship.)

Best friends with Lou Ellen Blackstone of the Hecate cabin. They were both temporarily on Luke’s side of the war and were held with suspicion and distrust when they returned to camp, so they tended to stick by each other while the other campers warmed back up to them. Because of this, they are now very close and are always goofing around (much to the annoyance of the other head counselors aside from the Stolls, of course.)

Definitely had a thing for Nico di Angelo in the past. As the two boys are both the sons of underworld gods, Clovis had already felt a certain tug towards him. When he heard Nico’s story from the camp’s rumor mill (thank Lacy and Mitchell for that one) he became utterly infatuated. Over time, his curiosity turned more into a little crush which then became a BIG crush, but as neither Clovis nor Nico are really all that great with normal human interaction, the son of Hypnos’s flirting techniques sort of went unnoticed. That’s why Nico seems to be the only one being pulled into Clovis’s dreams at any given time despite Clovis being a ‘very strong dreamer.’ The truth is that Clovis has full control over who enters HIS dreamscapes. He tries desperately to impress Nico and help him out wherever he can, but when Nico eventually chooses Will to be his boyfriend, Clovis, though a bit sad that his first crush in a long time didn’t share the feelings, is VERY supportive. He loves to tease Nico about how hopelessly head-over-heels the broody teenager is over his sunshiney boyfriend. And if the two were ever to break up for whatever reason in the future? Well, Clovis is definitely still up for a shot.

Clovis and Nico are still VERY close. Clovis is one of the only people that Nico feels comfortable enough to be himself around and often confides in him whenever his negative thinking gets the best of him. Clovis also plays a big part in Nico regaining the memories of his past when he’s ready which he will forever be thankful for. The two obviously spend a lot of time together in dreams and greet one another in a warm fashion whenever they come across each other by chance at camp. This confuses literally everyone because literally no one has ever seen them interact before?? How are they friends??

Has HISTORY with Drew. No one is really sure what kind of history (it seems as if there was a little bit of memory erasure throughout the camp on the situation... hm...) but most people speculate that the two shared a romantic relation at one point in time. Turns out, they were NOT compatible, and the whole thing went up in flames. Drew still holds a huge grudge against Clovis who acts as though he could honestly care less. He still treats her politely though there have definitely been some not-so-subtle nasty looks cast across the campfire towards her direction before.

Also very close with Lacy and Mitchell from the Aphrodite cabin. Lacy feels terrible about Drew’s trash-talking and rumor-spreading and eventually works up the courage to say hi. They became fast friends, and Lacy definitely has a bit of a puppy-dog crush on him, but she is much too young for Clovis. He sees her as a little sister and allows her to put makeup on him, do his hair, and even tries on dresses and such just to make her smile. Mitchell, on the other hand, became friends with Clovis out of spite in all honesty and ended up liking the sleepy blond a lot more than he thought he would. He might have a teeeeeny tiiiiiny crush on him. Don’t tell Lacy.

Close with Pollux of the Dionysus cabin. Pollux sees a lot of Castor when he looks at Clovis which is a huge comfort to him. The two counselors have a lot of deep talks late at night, and Clovis always makes sure that Pollux is sleeping well without being haunted by nightmares. Dionysus would never admit it, but he is very thankful that someone cares that much about his only son.

Good friends with Rachel Elizabeth Dare surprisingly! He helps her out often, and the two like to sit and chat about mythology, artwork, and prophecies in the big house and at the campfire.

Has allies and friends in high places. Due to his powerful dreaming, he’s been to quite a few strange places and met quite a few strange people... or you could call them the gods, I guess. He knows a lot of the gods and goddesses from all kinds of mythologies (though obviously more of the Greek ones than anything) and they seem to like him well enough for some reason. (Probably because he’s one of the only demigods who doesn’t want to strangle them and doesn’t mind listening to them complain about petty godly things.) He often has little chats with them where he keeps them updated with the going ons of Camp Half Blood and they keep him updated about... godly drama. He kinda lives for it tbh. It’s part of the reason why he’s so informed about the gods.(Annabeth is maybe just the tiniest bit jealous.)

He’s a year round camper because it would be much too dangerous for him to go back to living with his mother. He stays in contact with her via dreams, letters, and Iris messages though!

MUCH more powerful than he lets on. He just doesn’t like conflict.

One of his most frightening abilities is the ability to summon terrible creatures from people’s nightmares and use them to fight. He doesn’t like to do this as it can be very traumatizing for the people he uses it against, AND it’s not always a guarantee that the nightmare creatures will obey him.

His other more battle-ready powers are the ability to put an entire battle field into a deep slumber and memory alteration/erasure. He can use his memory alteration/erasure on monsters of weaker defenses AND demigods (though he feels much more comfortable using it on monsters.) He uses these powers to alter how monsters/enemies perceive demigods. Because of this, there are quite a few friendly hellhounds and scythian dracanae wandering about the camp. All of his powers are VERY draining and take a lot of concentration in order to work as intended. He will often sleep for days after a battle because of this.

He is also capable of fighting whilst asleep. In fact, his senses are heightened, and he tends to perform better this way. He also heals much faster while he is asleep.

It is speculated that he will either grow wings from his head or his back, but it will not happen until he grows older. It’s a rare trait that few Hypnos kids (and Thanatos kids) develop, but due to Clovis’s power level, everyone is pretty much waiting for it to happen.

He can change his appearance at will in his dreams, but his aura is still the same, so he can still be identified pretty easily by people who know him personally. (As a side note, his eyes pretty much change color on their own to reflect the mood of the dreamscape he’s currently in. Gold, emerald, and violet are the most common colors. His true eye color is blue.)

Doesn’t really care about gender all that much. He has absolutely no problem with people referring to him using any pronouns (she/he/they) and is quite comfortable with himself in general. Many demigods who are questioning their gender comes to talk to him about it, and he’s always open to hearing them out and giving them advice.

VERY bisexual. Likes girls, guys, literally anyone who can keep him awake and interested for more than five seconds.

The unofficial official camp therapist.The role used to belong to Will Solace, but the truth is that the son of Apollo is much more comfortable dealing with physical ailments and problems he can fix medically than he is with dealing with feelings and mental ailments. Clovis is a very good listener despite the popular belief that he’s too busy nodding off to actually hold a conversation with properly and has a very calming aura that helps people feel safe enough to be vulnerable with him.

The go to babysitter of camp. Due to his Hypnos kid vibes, he is able to keep even the most rambunctious demigod and satyr children under control. His nap times are legendary.

VERY big on respecting people’s privacy and boundaries. He tries his best not to enter any dreams uninvited, and he never talks about what goes on in people’s dreams ever. He also NEVER looks into people’s memories without their permission. He makes sure his siblings follow these guidelines strictly.

He literally lets anyone come into the Hypnos cabin at any time to get a good rest. The cabin has an open door policy.

New campers are often allowed to stay with the Hypnos cabin if they’d rather not face the chaos of the Hermes cabin.

Contrary to popular belief, his cabin is actually NOT the messiest cabin. The Hermes cabin wins that one though they’re followed closely by the Ares and Hephaestus cabins.

He and his siblings are some of the closest in the camp. They meet up and hang out in each other’s dreamscapes and have family nights. Clovis is the oldest AND is a head counselor, so he is very protective and responsible when it comes to his siblings.

Gives AMAZING massages. Leo and the entirety of the Hephaestus and Ares cabins are regular customers. Fight me.

Actually a very good strategist when it comes to battles and such given that he’s awake enough to actually communicate his ideas. If you get them on your Capture the Team game, you’re already doing good. Annabeth and the Athena cabin love the competition, and they’re nearly unstoppable when they work together with him.

Clovis suffers from TERRIBLE narcolepsy, even for a son of Hypnos. It’s gotten him into a lot of bad and dangerous situations such as falling asleep mid battle, mid conversation, and even in the bath once when he was little. He has developed a fear of heights and water due to his condition.

Holds a lot of frustrations towards himself. Frustrated that he ever turned against the camp that offered him a home, frustrated that he couldn’t help Jason restore his memories, frustrated that couldn’t help more in the war against Gaea, just... frustrated. He tries to sleep off these negative moods because he doesn’t like to bring people down.

Absolutely not opposed to cuddling with people who are okay with it (he always asks first!) It’s a surefire way to get a good night’s rest since you’re so close to him, plus he’s very soft and warm!

Has a good singing voice, but just isn’t confident enough with it. He pushes through his insecurities to sing lullabies to those who really need them though. His lullabies are unmatched.

Adores cats with all of his heart due to their lazy and relaxed nature, but he knows that he could never be able to care for one well enough.

ALWAYS wears pajamas. Like all the time. Chiron has given up on enforcing the dress code. He also made sure to have custom made camp bracelets instead of necklaces to be sure that none of the Hypnos kids are choked/strangled by them if they happen to fall asleep in a bad place or position.

Lives in the past. Old movies, old music, old slang, you name it. I mean, he practically sleeps for the majority of his life, so it’s not all that surprising that he’s a bit behind the times. He thinks the modern age moves much too fast for him to keep up with.

The demigods of camp take turns making sure Clovis and his siblings are taking care of themselves. Walking them to the showers and dining pavilion, making sure they get a little sunlight each day, and the bare minimum of training.

He is the best boy.That is the only FACT that I do not accept criticism on. Thank you.

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lukecastellandeservedbetter · 4 years ago

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7. Lightning Strikes Twice In The Same Place

a/n: and I’m back!! (kinda). I’m still in the process of moving, I’m currently in a hotel room, posting this on really shitty wifi. Updates will be more regular when I’m settled.

read the others!: Masterlist

Luke was tired, and cranky, and genuinely did not want to be at the campfire.

But after Jason had his vision of Hera, of all people, and Piper got dragged in with a similar vision in Hera’s cabin, Chiron heavily suggested Luke appear at the campfire.

Despite everything, even Chiron couldn’t deny that Luke was one of the best warriors at camp.

So there he was, still at the fire, watching people singing How Grandma Dresses For War, goofing around, the Apollo cabin breaking out the lyres.

He kept glancing at Jason, furrowing his eyebrows. The boy seemed a little confused a lot of the time. He was young too, maybe a year younger than Percy? That would make sense, if he is who Luke is nearly certain he is.

Gods usually didn’t have more than one child with a mortal. Connor and Travis were the only exception to the rule, as far as he was aware. Castor and Pollux didn’t really count, since they had been actual twins.

Whatever little Luke knew about Thalia’s brother, he knew less about her mom. They didn’t talk about their moms, they weren’t important in the grand scheme of things.

But something told Luke this wasn’t just a godly parent connection.

He also could be completely off his rockers and exhausted and looking for connections that weren’t there because of the amount of stress he had experienced in the last three days, trying to find Percy, trying to keep Sally notified, trying to keep peace between the cabins without the tension relieving activity of capture the flag even though he was pretty sure he just caused more tension since any campers that were in the war didn’t trust or like him much, and relayed the information to the new campers.

“By the gods Luke, you’ll burn a hole in his head if you keep looking at him like that.” Connor commented, leaning back while eating a roasted marshmallow.

Most of the campers anyways.

“Oh shut up,” He rolled his eyes.

“Why’s the new kid on your radar?” Travis butted in, settling in on the other side of Luke after being dragged into a dance with an Apollo camper. “Think he’s cute?”

Luke contemplated telling the Stolls. They were pretty good at secret keeping- they had to be he supposed with the amount of pranks they pulled on everyone -but Luke wasn’t even sure it was considered a secret yet, just a theory.

The Stolls exchanged looks. Luke wasn’t even falling into the bait. They both sat up and glanced around.

“What’s going on?” Connor asked quietly. “What is it?”

Not to mention the incident with the fountain of Iris, Luke had gotten pretty good at pushing away the feeling of Kronos locking him in his own head, seeing his reflection and never being quite sure enough if he was actually looking at him. The job helped, Sally and Percy helped, Beth helped. For a moment he had felt normal.

But this couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?

It certainly wasn’t the first time he could’ve sworn his eyes were gold. In fact, if you looked closely, his eyes still had a gold undertone, a parting gift from the Titan King himself. Luke would never be able to escape his past.

“Luke,” Travis put a hand on his shoulder, and Luke reached for the sword he’d left back at the Big House.

Thank gods, otherwise Travis would be a Stoll-Kabab.

Travis and Connor weren’t serious often, but they could certainly tell when their older brother was off. He’d become an open book since Kronos.

“Luke, what’s going on?” He whispered. “Is it Jason?”

“Do you know his godly parent?” Connor butted in.

Before Luke could answer, Chiron came over, Piper and Rachel following suit, making an announcement about Hera, Jason and the quest he inevitably had to go on. Before they could inquire further, Rachel was reciting the Great Prophecy.

The second one that is.

Eight half-bloods will answer the call,

To Storm or Fire the world must fall,

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

With a brief latin interruption from Jason, a camper brought up a rather good point.

“Why isn’t he claimed then?” Someone shouted.

“He is claimed,” Chiron corrected grimly. “Jason, show them.”

Jason held out his arm, showing off the eagle, that same uneasy expression on his face. Luke watched him look to Piper before pulling a coin out, flipping it.

In an instant, Jason was holding a javelin, and everyone was gushing over it.

“I want one!” Someone from Ares Cabin shouted.

“It’s so much better than Clarisse’s electric spear.” Someone else commented.

Luke watched Jason look at his spear thoughtfully and his eyes widened, grabbing Travis and Connor and pulling them down moments before lightning flashed over their heads.

Before Connor and Travis could comment on Luke’s instinct, Chiron urged Jason to announce his godly parent.

“Jupiter- or, Zeus, rather. Lord of the Sky.” Jason announced, looking back at his tattoo.

“You don’t look particularly surprised,” Travis observed.

Luke leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, narrowing his eyes in thought. “He reminds me of Thalia.”

“Thalia?” The Stolls repeated, looking at him.

Luke nodded.

Before they could prompt their brother to explain, Rachel was reciting Jason’s personal quest.

Child of lightning beware the Earth,

The giants revenge the eight shall birth,

The forge and dove shall break the cage,

And death unleash through Hera’s rage.

It was clear now if it wasn’t before- the Second Great Prophecy was in the first phase, and Jason was meant to lead it.

After volunteering to go, Leo immediately made a mad dash for the forest- not a great start. Piper didn’t seem thrilled about the claiming but it certainly solidified her spot on the quest.

Piper and Jason went their own ways after the quest was assigned, and everyone was slowly trying to get back into the spirit of the fire.

Luke looked to the sky, lost in thought.

Why couldn’t things be easy, just for one night?

He went back to the Big House, going to his room and collapsing onto the bed.

He needed to get some sleep.

It was going to be a long time until he got a real bed again.

#Luke Castellan's Second Chance #luke castellan #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #pjo #hoo #Heroes of Olympus #Percy Jackson

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saltyaro · 5 years ago

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You know, I’ve been replaying the Ace Attorney games lately. At first I was bored and out of nowhere, I redid Dual destinies just because I hadn’t in a long time. Which led me to play the first game again (mainly for the Edgeworth case I love it so much tbh) and I’m now replaying Spirit of justice.

And...I can’t help but absolutely love those games because. It’s just so easy to hc everyone - and bu that I mean absolutely everyone important - as arospec! In canon, Phoenix does have one (1) romantic relationship at one point but I’d like to point out that one crush in your life does not make you alloromantic. Given the context I’d say either greyro or heteronormativity? I guess he can’t really be demiro but he could also be recipro (with the context again. Recipro does sound particularly consistent though). He doesn’t have any other romantic stuff even hinted at him! Pearls wants to believe Maya and him are dating but it always makes them 100% uncomfortable (the age gap people. Also, siblings dynamic). Pearls is kinda brainwashed by TV but hasn’t ever expressed interest in romance for herself, even her older self.

Edgeworth doesn’t have any interest in romance either. And I know he’s often shipped with Phoenix (I learnt about that quite recently actually-) but...even outside of my “I’ll make everyone aro if I can” motto, I...never shipped them romantically, even before I learnt of aromanticism. I like their dynamic, and how it’s implied Edgeworth opened up more (to everyone) after his trauma got relieved a bit. I want him to act like a stupid kid around his friends. Like, I can acknowledge Phoenix and him have a special bond, but someone special doesn’t mean it’s romantic and. Edgey’s emotional development got stopped after he parted with Pheonix and Larry so there’s that to consider too. This is the kind of bond of trust that can’t be broken and I find it beautiful, but I’m also pretty sure it would be unhealthy to only rely on one person, regardless of the nature of the relationship.

Apollo? Doesn’t have a romantic subplot. I guess there’s Junie who’s got a thing for him but he doesn’t reciprocate - and I relate to him not even being aware of it lmao. He’s so oblivious around romance, if he’s not arospec who is.

Athena? No romance in her life. She’s a lot like Phoenix (in her past trauma and her reason for doing the things she does) and I love her. Also, if someone ships her romantically with Simon, then I hate that person and will steal their bed. They’re like siblings and have like, a 10 years gap.

Trucy is the sun and doesn’t know what romance is. She’d use it as a magic trick and burn it/make it disappear into her magic panties (actually please do that Trucy, I beg of you).

Well, I could also mention like, Gavin, I guess he’s just a flirt but I don’t think it really means anything, romantic-attraction-wise. He’s also too cool to be straight to i’m going to make him aro. Though I don’t have a consistent HC for him outside of “not straight” if I’m being honest.

And it’s not even like romance doesn’t exist in the AA universe! Larry’s the straightest guy to ever straight (he’s harmless but outside of that...) and the cases often have romantic subplots and all. Well, not *that* often, and it’s generally the cause for murder but still. It’s a thing, it exists. Also we have a canon WLW in Dual Destinies and she’s one of the rare romance-havers not to be a culprit! She’s not the best, like she def has anger issues, but it’s all explained and understandable. She also loves her brother very much and deserves good things and therapy.

ALSO

I really, really love the dynamic of Phoenix’s found family? You have Maya, Trucy, and Pearls (and I guess Athena and Apollo are part of it too but they arrive later and have less interactions so). Pearls is Maya’s cousin, but otherwise, no one has any blood relationship in their little family. No romance needed. Phoenix adopted Trucy (and is apparently doing a great job) and babysits Pealrs and Maya. They’re all free of doing whatever they want, and they know they’re always going to come back together. It’s a found family but, not the “nuclear family” way, you know? Maya definitely isn’t acting as Trucy’s mother, and more like Phoenix’s sister I guess (Trucy and Maya do lack canon interaction but I always felt like said interactions were implied). I love their little family and the freedom in it. It’s just so healthy.

The last thing, not aro related, but still great and why I love those games-

Mental illness. I’m not saying it’s great rep, I don’t think it is, but...it’s just, so refreshing that you have characters with mental illnesses and issues that aren’t bad people. They aren’t the culprits, and, like in real life, are more likely to be victims. The diagnostic is never given in the game, but Edgeworth’s trauma? Not mocked. He definitely has PTSD, and, his fear of earthquakes? Wondered about, but not mocked. I guess that’s part of the reason I always go back to his case in the first game: to hear someone you care about, someone you trust, tell you: “I believe in you. I know your mind has been lying to you the whole time, and I’m here to say it’s okay. Those are just lies. Even when you stop believing in yourself, I’ll still believe in you.” That’s just so powerful, I can’t help but feel emotional every time. Add to that the fact that this bond isn’t romantic and. Yeah.

For Athena’s trauma, it’s the way it’s displayed I really love. Her game is much more recent, and it shows. She just blacks out when her PTSD gets triggered and no one shames her for that. Even though no one knows what’s happening inside her head for the longest time. She needs to be brought back to her senses, to be grounded. It’s not like she gets to have therapy on screen or anything, no character really gets a lot of time off the courtroom anyway, but given the context, I found she was treated in a very sensitive way.

The last example I can think of, is a character with DID. I say DID, but I doubt that’s good rep, and that’s probably not the way people with DID experience life, but that’s what’s said in the game so...Anyway, they’re a witness and, if you know how AA games work, the real culprit is *always* a witness. And you know how in pop culture, people with multiple personalities are often treated as villain, with the “hidden personality” no one knows about, not even the person, and this hidden personality is a murderer? I was sooo afraid the game was going to go that way. They even did hint at it, with giving the character the “hidden personality”. Except, the “hidden personality”, much like all of the other people of the system, is...100% harmless. And just that was so refreshing. Which goes to say a lot about the state of the rep for mental diversity. I don’t know the reality of experiencing DID, but in the game the witness interacts with themselves, and everyone in the court speaks to each individual differently, and the witness isn’t treated as delusional.

Those characters are accused wrongly of murder, when in reality they haven’t hurt a fly. And exonerating them is key to solving the case at hand. I don’t know who’s responsible for that, but I’m extremely grateful to them. To explicitly have your main character, the character you’re playing, clear the name of the mentally ill characters? It’s a blessing and not something you would expect from a game that named one of its recurring characters “Larry Butz”.

Anyway, I guess I am kinda trying to convince some of you to play those games (and goof about it with me) in this post. Even though it wasn’t my initial intent. If all of this isn’t enough to convince you - play those games for the awful puns. The characters’ names are terrible. Also I know I mentioned romance existing but weirdly enough it wasn’t annoying? Probably because it’s actually downplayed a lot. It’s only relevant as a plot device and it’s just like. Stated. Not dwelved deeper into. Those games are great for when you’re romance tired.

#my post #fandom #aro hc #long post #I can't believe I'm getting back into AA #when i'm already in the middle of getting back into saint seiya #i'm going to seriously lack time with school #oops I know this is an aro blog but I'm way too passionate #and had nowhere to speak about it #though I'm sure this not-aro part will resonate with some of you!#hope you don't mind i just get really excited about those games at least once a year

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glamrockmonarch · 6 years ago

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Summer Lovin’ - Ben Hardy Fluff

Request: Hey I sent a request a few weeks ago I just wondered if you received it? It was about Ben taking the reader in cute ass date (go carting or something really fun) and to an American diner like something out if grease and he keeps hold of her hand all day and is super attentive and sweet. (Thank you @littlehopelessdreamer47 for this request because it is so cute I needed it! And I’m so sorry it comes so late :S)

A/N: It’s a bit longer than I anticipated... but I think it’s cute af so proceed!.

Ben pulled his red jacket on and turned around in time for you to come back from your room with your bag and denim jacket in your arm, not quite certain that you would need it for that day’s date.

You smiled at the sight of your blonde boyfriend, he looked handsome as ever with his casual outfit and hair combed to the back and to the side as he finally let it grow out after having wrapped shooting for his last film. He also had the appearance of a kid who was about to follow his mother into the playground across the street.

Of course, you were still not sure what the two of you were doing this day, he had basically called the night before and asked to see you in the morning. He arrived early and you were still in the shower so he had to chat with your roommate for a while before you were ready to go out with your hair pushed back by a ribbon, curled at the ends in what you would call record time. You felt cute in your white summer dress and sandals, hoping for a sunny day in London was a lot, but up until now, it had been worth the morning prayers to Apollo.

“Are you excited?” You inquired as you came up to him, being received by his strong open arms. “What do you know that I don’t?”

Ben pursed his lips and his pointy chin looked more prominent but a side smile cracked his expression and he chuckled as he leant down to capture your lips in a tender kiss.

“Can’t a man treat his girlfriend from time to time?” He said in a soft playful voice, his hands squeezing your sides as he looked up from your pink lips to your e/c eyes. “I missed you so much these past months… next time you have to come with me!”

You rolled your eyes at his comment. You admitted to him a good month into shooting that you missed him like hell, his remedy had been to get Joe to send you a cardboard cutout of himself. Yeah, Joe did and jokingly he also added that you should update Ben via IG about your adventures with this little “gift”. For months you had been feeling like a child, thankfully distracted by the task at hand: placing Cardboard Ben on benches, sitting him on the London underground, taking him to a night out at the club and making it look like he was drinking with you, getting on the London Eye with him when Rami was in town so you and Lucy took him on the cheesiest tour around town to visit the classic tourist attractions (although he had already seen half of them).

“I have a job to do over here, you know?” You laughed and put your hands around his elbows, looking deep into his green eyes. “Maybe next time we could get on the same project…”

Ben let out a laugh and took a step back, going for the door as he blabbered about not liking musical theatre.

You were glad to follow him, Ben pulled you behind him by holding your hand in his. The two of you made your ways downstairs and left the apartment building to find an oddly warm day developing outside.

“I really don’t get it, you have such a lovely voice!” You complained as you started walking towards the stairs leading to the underground.

“Everybody knows you’re the voice in this relationship Y/N. Don’t try to change it!” He warned you, walking side by side now.

A smile spread across your face and you pulled his arm closer to your side as you leant onto his side. Ben pulled his arm out from your grasp and wrapped it around your shoulders, pulling you closer.

“Alright, where are we going?”

You looked at your boyfriend once you went down the stairs leading to the underground, feeling a sudden chill run down your spine as you left the warmth of the sunshine behind in favour of the shadow provided by the ceiling.

“Well, you will see!”

And oh, boy did you see! Ben took you on a long ride through the underground, changing at a few stations and making a run for it once when you thought you would be left behind by the crowded car. You finally made it before noon and you could not stop laughing at Ben when he pulled you inside a large building where you then found out you were going to be driving go-Karts.

“Ben no!” You laughed, following him to the desk at the front as he greeted the person in charge.

“Ben yes!” He turned his head back at you and beamed with joy.

The blonde had made a call the day before and clearly, the people at the establishment were expecting you. He had to agree to take a picture with one of the young girls working there and as you were showed some helmets he answered some of the girl’s most pressing questions about what it had been for him working so close to Roger Taylor.

“Are you ready to lose?” Ben wondered, picking out a dark blue helmet for himself.

You put the bright yellow one you picked out for yourself against your hip and stuck your tongue out at him.

“Hell no! You’re going down Hardy!” You pulled your bag’s strap off your shoulder and shoved the bag onto his chest, starting to walk towards the karts parked on the side of the large track.

“Hey, not fair!” Ben called back, looking down at your bag and wondering what to do with it as his instinct told him to run behind you.

It was a long day at the track for the two of you. At first, you were taught the basics about the karts, they were absolutely not for children, these small cars would not go as fast as a formula 1 car, but they could run quite fast. You were told to change gears and look out for the breaks as you should not go too fast once you were in the curves. Between jokes and laughter, you and Ben had a slow first lap around the track.

The everlasting joke throughout the day was that Ben had chipmunk cheeks with the helmet on. It was hilarious and distracting, you would not admit: he looked cute.

Although you would have loved to spend more time there, you had to leave at some point and after goofing around the track and having a couple of races your stomachs begged for attention.

“I cannot believe it, I must have hit the brakes or something…”

Ben made up excuses as to why you had won on the last race. Both of your faces were still marked with lines from the cushions inside the helmets.

“Suck it up, you’re a big boy!” You poked his ribs with a smile and watched him laugh at the tickling. “I’m hungry.”

Ben took a jab at you, “suck it up, big girl!”

Narrowing your eyes at him you put out your bottom lip, feeling honestly disappointed in him for not agreeing with you that he was hungry too.

He mended it a second later when he pulled you through the street and said he knew just the perfect place to go eat.

You walked along and had a laugh while listening to your boyfriend talk about his new friends from his last project. It seemed he had had a great time and this always lifted your spirit: knowing he was happy and living his life on a positive note, enjoying his time working as much as his time between projects.

You were asked by the blonde about your own gig, while he was away you prepared to appear on the West End production of Les Mis as Eponine (at last!), which was a big accomplishment since landing the role of “whore number 2” was your usual best when auditioning for the production in past seasons, but on this one...yeah, on this one you had worked your ass - or better put: your vocal chords with your vocal coach during the break to help you improve your technique and support higher notes with as much power as you usually could. The role of Eponine was in the bag, your coach said it himself, and when Ben got the news from you he was so proud he could not help but brag about your talents with his cast members in the midst of shooting.

Ben heard everything about your first rehearsal and how you were bored out of your mind when you had to give the book by Victor Hugo a read (again) in order to get a better understanding of your role on the play.

Once you started talking about the other cast members you reached a large building with wide windows around the front. A snort escaped you and Ben turned his face to grin at you.

“Care to come?” He extended his arm and opened one of the double doors for you, allowing you in as you rolled your eyes and twisted your tongue inside your mouth with great amusement. “I thought you’d like it here.”

Ben’s sweetness had been evident all day, he had been the most thoughtful man! His hands gripped on your waist as you walked in front of him, and he followed with a happiness that he could only ever achieve while being with you, his best friend, confidant, and not least importantly: lover. It bothered him sometimes that other men stared at you, or even went as much as to stare you up and down while he was around, so he made sure you were secured in his arms at most times.

“You’re tickling me!” You complained about a playful tone to your voice. “I like this booth, come on!”

Ben sat across from you and the two of you smiled at each other without saying a word for a moment. The place was decorated in a retro style like an American diner brought back from the ’20s. The black and white tiles on the floor, the thick frames all over the walls… it all seemed casual and relaxed, you did not need more than a second to love the place, although it was a bit far from where you lived.

“Love, I can’t live like this anymore,” Ben shook his head with a line forming between his brows, suddenly you felt your heart drop.

“What?”

“You are thirty minutes away from me when you should be at arm's length -at most!” He complained.

You processed his words so slowly you could almost hear the dial-up sound coming from your head.

Ben held your hands in his, smiling.

“Just move in with me already?” He cocked a brow, pleading with his eyes.

You looked at the menu on the side of the table and pouted.

“Maybe if you help me finish a large order of fries and…” you paused for dramatic effect as you cocked a brow at him, “a milkshake.”

Ben bit his lip and stared at you before re-adjusting himself on his seat and nodding.

“I’d finish a half-pound burger for you, but if that’ll do?” He looked away in search of a waitress and put his arm out to call her to your table, “it’s game on!”

“Actually...I want to add the half-pounder pretty boy, see how you handle that.” You played along.

Ben winked at you, of course, it was not the best meal to keep Ben’s “Angel” body, his coach would kill him when he found out Ben had eaten this kind of food, but God Bless him...he deserved a treat and what was the point of coming to such a nice place if you were going to get a water and a salad?

Tuning out Ben’s conversation with the waitress you only managed to catch him asking for two straws on your milkshake and a glass of water for each.

“This place is wonderful, Lucy had us all come here for her birthday, you’re gonna love their cake and -”

“Hey, Ben?” You nodded at his words but wanted to tell him something real quick. He stopped talking and hummed as a positive response. “you know I will move in with you, right?”

“Of course, I know!” Ben shrugged with a look of cockiness. “Cause you love me. ANNND, I’ve got you wrapped around my finger!” He made a gesture with his hand, rolling his index in the air with a smug grin.

“Oh!” You rolled your eyes, “no, no, no, no! Don’t get it twisted Hardy!” You shook your head and leaned forward and halfway across the table, “I am the one accepting this deal!”

Ben huffed and turned his head to the side, looking around for a second before he licked his lips and leaned across the table too.

“But I am the one punching way above my weight!” He stared you in the eyes. “I mean look at yourself! I’m dating freaking Eponine? What’s next, the Witch of the West?”

You pouted to try and hide your smile.

“I am the one sitting over here with the unofficially adopted son of a rock legend.” You argued, “besides, your career is taking off! I am shocked you even speak to me still…” You put a hand on your chest over your heart.

Ben let out air through his lips and rolled his eyes.

“Drama queen.” He muttered.

“Takes one to know one.” You said equally low.

The two of you gave each other serious stares for a moment before you leant forward and delivered a peck to the tip of his nose.

“Love ya.” You mumbled, Ben’s hand cupped your cheek in an instant ready to put an actual kiss on your lips, although he knew it would only leave him wanting more. Much more.

“Ditto.”

#ben hardy #requested #requests #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy fluff #ben hardy x you #summer lovin'

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ourpickwickclub · 7 years ago

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My Day at the Blind Auditions Season 9

While we are patiently waiting for the Voice to premiere, I thought I would share my experience from the last day of season 9 blinds (I sent this to another blog afterwards but they never published it}. My husband had a business trip in LA for the week and when I found out the blind auditions were being taped I suggested that maybe I should take a mini vacation and go with him. My teenage daughters joke about my obsession with Gwen and Blake but they actually have no idea how bad it really is and would be mortified if they found out I was actually writing this haha! And bless my husband, he just thought I wanted to spend some time with him!

It’s quite the process just getting into the studio. Our little group was the last to get seated but it was worth the wait since we were seated just to the right of Adam. The seats were perfect because Blake pretty much was turned and facing Gwen the entire show…right in my line of sight. When watching the show on tv, there we were every time they did a close up of Adam. I thought I looked like an idiot grinning from ear to ear but my daughters said, “ahhh you look so happy”…they don’t know just how happy I was to witness how stinkin’ cute Blake and Gwen are in real life! I mean they literally could not take their eyes off each other.

When they introduced the coaches, Adam came out first and then Gwen. When Gwen came out, Adam bowed to her before giving her a big hug and then motioned to the crowd for louder applause…it was cute. One thing that was very evident to me during the whole show was just how close Adam is with not only Blake but with Gwen (and Apollo…more on this later). And then I was expecting Alicia to come out but they announced Blake next. I was hoping for another “twirling” scene but what happened was even sweeter. Gwen was standing in the middle of the stage and when Blake appeared she opened her arms as wide as she could and he just walked straight into them never breaking eye contact and both of them just beaming at each other. Blake bent down and nuzzled his face into her neck and they just swayed back and forth like that for the longest time. In fact, when they announced Alicia, they were still hugging it out. And then they all came together for a big group hug. Blake walked Gwen to her chair, kissed her hand, and then went and sat down as the makeup crew came out. I almost yelled out a hello to Danilo and Gregory!

Gwen is a Beauty. I see why people say she just glows…because she just does! I see why Blake can’t stop looking at her…heck I couldn’t stop looking at her myself.!

Right before the first singer came out, Blake, who is leaning so far over I’m surprised he didn’t fall out of his chair, gives Gwen a little wave and then winks at her…I had to stifle a sigh. Meanwhile my husband is fascinated with all the lighting in the studio and trying to point stuff out to me. I’m thinking to myself, “Dude, don’t talk to me about lighting right now cause I’m getting blinded just looking at these two!” So, after the first contestant leaves the stage, Blake jumps out of his seat and comes and stands in front of Gwen’s chair and just casually rests his hand on the desk and she immediately covers his hand with hers. It looked like that was just naturally what happened whenever he came over. Always touching. I mean they were always touching. I know we have photo evidence of this but dang Blake likes to kiss her on the forehead…a lot.

In general, the one thing that surprised me the most was how much talking goes on between the coaches as they try to win over a contestant. I mean it’s like twenty something minutes with each contestant…it’s crazy but fun to watch. After each contestant they take a break and Gwen kept going backstage. When Gwen was gone, Adam and Blake were looking up videos on their phones and showing each other and just cracking each other up. Not kidding, they were like little kids goofing off. For the most part, during each break Alicia was on her phone and did not interact a lot. When all the hair and makeup people come out, you could tell that everybody is just good friends and they all have a good time together. It was interesting to me how many times the producers and crew came over and talked to Blake…nobody else really, but a lot of people want to be around that guy.

About halfway through the show someone brought Apollo out during a break and I realized that’s why Gwen kept going backstage. He would just quietly sit on her lap never fussing or wiggling about…he was shy and so sweet. The first two times Apollo came out, Blake had producers around him so we didn’t see any interaction. Adam on the other hand was so cute playing with Apollo and you could tell that Apollo was comfortable with him just by the smiles and giggles he was giving Adam. I was able to see up close how sweet he was with Apollo and how much he adores Gwen…a side we don’t get to see on the actual show. Adam was trying to get Apollo to hit the big button and when he finally did, the audience burst out in applause. I say this because they used this very scene when they edited the show. This was the episode where Alicia first introduced the puppet. At the end of the episode they do an out take that looks like Adam is trying to get the puppet to push the big button when in fact that was actually Apollo that Adam was talking to!

Maybe I just see what I want to see but every time Gwen would speak, Blake just looked so proud and happy. At one point Gwen and Adam were battling it out over Jozy who sang “American Women” and Blake kept interrupting Adam to sing Gwen’s praises but they didn’t really show much of that on tv. More upsetting to me was the speech that Gwen gave to Jozy that never got any air time. I waited through all the blinds to hear her speech knowing how important it was to Gwen’s narrative in her life right now but they didn’t play any of it. Maybe it was because Jozy picked Adam over Gwen. Or maybe it was because we have heard her speak about living in color before (in other interviews but not directly on the Voice)…I don’t know. I just know that it was a sweet and beautiful moment when Gwen became emotional as she talked about her “Journey” over the last year and a half and how she felt that she was on the show to help someone else along their journey and to share this light that she was living in. She went on and spoke to Jozy for a few minutes. It was after this when Adam says “How do you fight against an angel…but with all due respect, I’m going to fight her!”

After Jozy, during the break both Gwen and Blake went backstage.

All the teams filled up except Alicia’s team. One of the producers came out and said that normally at this time they would excuse us, take a break and the next filming session would start. But since they were so close to finishing, they asked us to stay. Yay for us…sad for the afternoon group who they were sending over to a game show. Lesson for the future…make sure you request tickets early in the week of filming because they wrapped up filming a day and a half early. We saw a lot of people who got turned away (more than they showed on tv) just waiting for Alicia to fill her team.

At one break, all the coaches left the stage so our whole row decided to use the restrooms (you have to get permission and be escorted out of the studio by an intern). As we were walking backstage we passed by the area where all the makeup and hair people were hanging out. And lo and behold who is hanging out with them but Blake…eating…you guessed it…chips and dip. I was literally two feet away from him. I forgot my husband was there for a sec as I contemplated reaching out to touch him! The girl behind me asked him for some chips and he held out the bowl with a grin but dang if they didn’t push us along and on our way! For those of you asking…yep he is so dang cute and unexplainable just how gorgeous he is at the same time, The man is a giant and in person he his super skinny…but that smile,,,and those dimples…and blue eyes…dang.

So finally, Chris Blue comes out and seals the deal with Alicia. I get why the other coaches were a little peeved. It kinda felt like they were holding Chris back for drama purposes. The producers knew what they had…they put out quite a few average singers before Chris came out. I got the feeling Alicia was told that there was a superstar coming and to wait for it. Just my opinion.

So after the teams are full we had to do all the applause shots. They would turn each chair one at a time while we all applauded and then they would do different combinations of chair turns along with all the coaches randomly saying “who do you pick as your coach” and so on. It was all very fascinating to watch. When they wrapped up, Apollo comes out and Blake and Gwen are playing around with him…cutest thing ever! I don’t know what drew my attention away from them (maybe those darn lights haha) but suddenly my husband is elbowing me in the ribs as he says “Hey Look…they’re KISSING!” Bless his heart…I almost missed it! Now that the show is over…screw the lipstick…Blake was giving her a proper kiss on the lips. i died.

These two are in love. I’ve been married to my best friend for 30 years and I know that Look! As we were leaving my husband turns to me and says, “We are totally doing this again!” Oh I hope so.

Love You Guys!

Bee

Wow! This is seriously the best Voice report I have ever read! I am reading it over again. Thank you so much for this! ❤️❤️❤️😘 I think you meant Season 12 but that's ok! I love you! -L

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counselor-piper-mclean · 8 years ago

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Bianca di Angelo headcanon time (but not like Nico’s sister, his daughter)

Me and my amazing, beautiful friend @seapercabeth came up with this fanfiction which I was supposed to write like a year ago, but my school wasn’t accepting that so yeaaaah~ I am gonna do it now, but I wanted to make a small headcanon for that ff I am supposed to write. It’s about the main character, you’re all welcome. And stay tunned of couse!

She is their child, like the blood that flows in her veins is a mixture of Will and Nico's, she has their DNA

Of course she was born different way than kids usually are

A gift from the gods, let's just stay at that

Likes dancing a lot, singing indeed

She has inherited the powers of both of her parents, but mostly Nico's

She was sent to Camp Half-Blood in a really young age, cca 8

First she use to stay only for the summer with her parents, but she got use to the camp so much, she started staying whole years

She didn't really go home after she reached the age of 12

Her home was now camp half-blood

She truly missed her fathers but she felt, like the camp was the true place she has to stay in

Never met the other children of the seven

They all basically lived in camp Jupiter so she had no chance of meeting them

She usually slept in the Hades cabin, even she is a part of Apollo cabin too

Was the leader of Apollo cabin and also the Hades cabin, even tho she was the only one in that

She continued the work of her father, Will, taking care of the injured ones

She basically became the camp doctor

Then she started sleeping in the infirmary because she always had so much work, she forgot to go and get a proper sleep in her proper bed

She had two moods, Will mood when she was all happy, bubbly and helpful and Nico mood when she suddenly became edgy, dark and really not interested

Nico mood didn't happen really often which was good, but when it did, her whole style changed

She usually wore short jean pants with the CHB shirt but when she got her Nico mood, she went all black

Nico gave her his skull ring when she stayed in the camp for the first time whole year, so she remembers them

When she got older, she got also really stubborn and had a lot of fights with her parents, mostly Will

He wanted her home, she refused to go home

Also, did I mention she had a little brother?

Yes, somewhere among all the madness she also had a little brother, brought to them the same way she was

His name was Felix and he was this little Nico clone but also with Will characteristics

She loved her little brother so much, it cannot be described in words

She came home, few times a year, but not for long just to see her little brother and parents

Even she knew she had so much home, she still didn't change her mind of leaving the camp

At the age of 15 she became the head counselor of the camp, so more responsibility was laid upon her shoulders

She went to few small quests but nothing major happening

At the age of 16, her parents decided to come to camp for the summer, what made Bianca really happy because she finally could spend some quality time with her parents and her little brother, who was growing up so fast

They didn't tell her one small detail, that everyone from Seven is coming as well

So it was a pretty big shock for Bianca when she met 10+people staring at her in the Big house

Everyone knew Bianca, Bianca knew no one

Okay, maybe auntie Hazel and uncle Frank, but she met them like 5 times in her life when she was a small child, so no major memories of them as well

Chiron gave her a really important task of being their guide for the summer, which was basically him give her a time-off and letting her spend time with her family and friends

She wasn't sure of that, not sure if she wanted it to happen but she had to listen to Chiron

It was pretty hard for her to spend time with people she barely knew, didn't feel really comfortable around them even they were really friendly

Too friendly for her

They asked a lot of questions, saying how much she looked like Will and all

With Will, she had more of a friendship thing going on. Of course, sometimes he had acted like a true parent to her, but since she was little, he was acting like a friend. They've been dancing together, singing and he was the one who taught her the basics of first aid. He use to hug her around a lot. They also pranked Nico a lot of times. When they were around together, they were basically goofing around.

With Nico, she had a more parent-child thing going on. We know, Nico was always cold as rock and he seemed to be in a constant bad mood. It was him who has been doing more of the parenting stuff. He listened to Bianca, gave her advices when she needed one. He was also the one who had to have the "oh so important" talk with her when it came to that. And even tho, everyone knew him cold. He was actually really comforting towards his children. He hugged Bianca a lot, even kissed her which was a uter shock to the Seven. Bianca was his daughter who he had to keep safe no matter what. And even tho he didn't say it out loud, only Will knew, that he was oh so so proud of his little girl.

Bianca Reyna di Angelo

Felix Paul di Angelo

Sunshine - Bianca ; Little moon - Felix

#Will solace #Nico di Angelo #pjo #hoo #boo #solangelo #headcanons #pjo headcanon

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fly-pow-bye · 7 years ago

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Powerpuff Girls 2016 - Home, Sweet Homesick

Written by: Haley Mancini, Jake Goldman

Written and Storyboarded by: Alicia Chan

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

I'd make a joke about how I'm sick of something here, but I don't think it would fit.

This episode starts with a bad guy committing a crime, and the Powerpuff Girls coming in to save the day. Seems like an ordinary Powerpuff Girls episode if such a beginning wasn't so rare in this reboot. In this case, it's Reboot Jojo robbing the bank on his hover-scooter, causing some property damage along the way.

Of course, the Powerpuff Girls come in and beat him up. Surprisingly, not only does this scene exist, not only does it not have any hit flashes, but he's lying in a bruised state in the end of it! Sure, some of the hits look like Jojo is selling it too early, but baby steps.

The Professor smoothly drives his car where this carnage is taking place, and tells the girls it’s almost time for a two week stay at Camp Big Dipper. Buttercup shrugs, calling it a nerd camp. The nerdy little red smart person that apparently isn't as good at coding or math than her sisters, on the other hand, is super excited! To her, it's going to be a huge academic institution, with all of the greatest minds of tomorrow! Maybe there's even going to be some pop quizzes!

They do this entire conversation while they’re still punching Reboot Jojo to the ground, his body a lightly bruised mess. Reboot Jojo doesn’t seem to mind too much; it's just a normal day for him. He even takes the time to call the camp a "super nerd camp" after Blossom explains what it is. This doesn’t end well for him, as I'm sure she'll call him a bad monkey.

Or she could break his hand, complete with a bone cracking sound! This whole scene seems to exist only to show that, indeed, this is a show about kindergarten first grader school-without-grader superheroines who fight crime. The rest of the episode doesn't really do that, and with all the Monster Punch Girls Down and Superheroine In Distress situations, that's not necessary bad.

After Blossom makes Rorschach proud, and a terrible impression of an opera singer singing "SPACE CAMP", the Professor and the Puffs arrive at Camp Big Dipper. The Professor won't be going with them, much to the chagrin of Bubbles, who practically turns into a demon demanding he'd come with them. They throw away this joke pretty much immediately, for this episode’s benefit, as Buttercup carries Bubbles out of the scene. The Professor tells the girls that they can call or text him any time.

While Bubbles is still sad from the previous scene and has to be carried by a bored Buttercup who thinks this is all "lame", Blossom can’t wait to check out everything in this space camp! She hopes it's going to be full of learning and advanced rocket science, inspired by her idol of the week, Dr. Wendy Q. Dallen. Last name and a middle initial. I don't know if she's supposed to be a reference to anything.

Unfortunately for Blossom, and only Blossom, the attractions are all fun fare for the kiddies: a jumpy house with a moon theme, a bumper car ride where the cars are shaped like Mars rovers, and a petting zoo with animals that are made to look like aliens. There's even an attraction that just involves a guy in a spacesuit with a sign that says "kick the moon man". The show itself takes it time to point out how rediculous this is.

Bubbles and Buttercup immediately start liking camp now that it's not as much of a nerd camp as Blossom made it out to be. Blossom isn't liking it, and wants to talk to the camp director about how everyone is goofing off.

Camp Director Joey: Did someone say GOOFING OFF?!

Because the show hasn't established enough that this space camp is lame to Blossom, we get Joey, a jokey camp director voiced by Robbie "Cousin Oliver" Rist. At least, I think; the credits only credit him as an additional voice, but they don't say who voiced him. He looks like a cross between David Bowie and Donny the Hell-Horn. More like the latter than the former. Outside of one scene in particular, when this guy is on screen, you want him off. Even Bubbles and Buttercup realizes this eventually, so it's probably intentional.

Blossom literally gets thrown into the audience of a laser light show with this guy talking about how everyone is ready to have lots of moon fun! The reboot goes out of its way to do the most predictable joke they can do with that, though sparing us the actual butt. Blossom booes him asking for real science, and Joey outright asks who's booing him. Bubbles and Buttercup try to save face by saying she meant boo-yah. Yeah, I'm sure that's what I mean when I boo this show.

At night, we see Blossom sitting on the porch of the cabin they're going to stay in, sad that everyone is having fun but she'd rather not have fun. She decides to text the Professor about how everyone is having fun but she'd rather not have fun. Unfortunately, there's no good cell phone reception at the camp, ruining both of Professor Utonium's suggestions.

A week passes by, and Blossom has done nothing but read her Dr. Wendy Q. Dallen book. They really put a lot of importance on that name, because she's the reason why Blossom looked forward to this place. It's not another co-worker insert as far as I can tell, which is a shock. Bubbles and Buttercup show up with glitter crafts and garbage crafts, respectively, and Buttercup tells Blossom that she should just have fun.

Camp Director Joey: Did someone say FUN?!

Did someone say running gag? He talks about a big carnival, but Blossom is not interested. That sounds like too much fun. She wonders why Dr. Wendy Q. Dallen would even want to be associated with this place with its fun and games.

Blossom wanders around to find a locked road to an abandoned rocket museum. She opens the doors, and she finally finds things that she's interested in: models of rockets! She even finds a life-size scale Apollo rocket model. She can go inside it like a real rocket! It even has all the buttons like a real rocket! It's just like a real rocket!

Blossom decides, in this lifelike simulation, to press the buttons to launch a rocket. Blossom even outright talks to herself about how she read about Apollo rockets, so people don't need to ask how a 6 year old knows how to launch one.

It turns out, this isn't a fake rocket, it's an actual rocket donated by NASA. She is instantly strapped in, and gets to experience 3gs of force as the rocket escapes the Earth's atmosphere. I guess nobody was really interested in that rocket museum. One would think someone would say "what does this button dooo?" and cause the camp to get sued for launching someone's kid into space.

The other kids see this rocket launch, and just see it as something cool. They even get the parts of the rocket that fall off raining on them later in the episode, and nobody wanted to investigate.

Blossom initally loves seeing the sights of space, until seconds later, when she realizes it's just so lonely out there.

She looks out the window of the rocket, and she starts hallucinating a Space Joey. Just like in that classic movie, RocketMan, Blossom is clearly going nuts from the isolation. Soon, she'll be making paintings using the ketchup and mustard on the ceiling. Nah, I'm just kidding.

Being the David Bowie-like person that he is, Space Joey starts to sing a song. Of course, it's a parody of the David Bowie's Space Oddity, right down to starting with "can you hear me, Captain Bloss?" To be honest...it's really good. I am not kidding, this is one of the few legitimately good moments this show has brought me.

We have scenes of Blossom slowly flying around in the lonely rocket. We have some good singing from Space Joey; it helps that Robbie Rist is also a musician. We even have Space Bubbles and Space Buttercup show up to tell her the fun they're having back on Earth. Hopefully this reboot can give us more of this in the future.

The screen shows an old video, not triggered by anything but plot convienence, showing Dr. Wendy Q. Dallen at the same space camp in her younger years. Blossom sees that it's always been a fun camp, and that it inspired her to further her advancements in astronomy. This reinterates the message of this episode: there's a time for learning, and a time for fun. This is actually the same lesson Painbow had, and this episode can't be further in both content and quality.

With the song and video, Blossom finally realizes the lesson of the episodes, and decides to go home. She flies the rocket back to Earth.

Blossom is reunited, who reveal that they missed her so much, they read her Dr. Wendy Q. Dallen book. Joey shows up again, apparently not worried at all that a kid just wandered into an abandoned place and went into a rocket that just flew into space. It's a good thing she was able to survive in a vaccuum, even if she never needed that ability! Buttercup tells him not to ruin the moment.

The episode ends with a pan to the stars, with some shooting stars. Hopefully they're wishing there's no monster attacks while they're at camp. Considering how rare that seems to be, it's likely they don't need to make those wishes. Maybe they should wish for more episodes like this.

Does the title fit?

Not really. Bubbles is initially homesick because the Professor isn’t coming with her, but that’s as close as that title gets. Blossom is more sick of the camp not being as “scientifically accurate” as she thought it was. There was a moment where Blossom looked at a picture of the Professor and her with sad eyes, but that’s as close as we get.

The TV Guide description is a flat out lie, too; Blossom never worries about her schoolwork in this episode.

How does it stack up?

This episode has an actual good song number, and a good use of a lesson that was done extremely poorly before.

The only issue is that it's not really a episode that requires superheroes. As said before, it's not a big issue. A lot of the worst aspects about this reboot revolves around the show's premise. The one scene that does follow that premise is practically unneeded in the episode, but may have been needed when it comes to the reboot as a whole.

I was originally going to give up on this series after the Season 1 finale, but I decided to keep going. I decided to keep going because, well, it wasn’t right to stop at People Pleaser. There’s two kinds of episodes that don’t make me regret that decision: awesomely bad episodes like Snow Month that give me lots of material to work with, and episodes that are surprisingly decent. Yes, they exist, and this is one of them.

Next week, the show will take a look back to the past...and probably not learn anything.

← Buttercup vs. Math ☆ Memory Lane of Pain →

#fpb ppg 2016 #fpb reviews #ppg 2016 #powerpuff girls #cartoon network

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nerdarchy-blog · 5 years ago

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In my last piece I wrote about one of the modules I wrote back in the Mesozoic era. “After all our 12 year old minds, while imaginative, couldn’t spin a coherent narrative. I still have a dungeon I wrote back then called Torth. It’s… um… well, the Plan 9 of modules. Made no sense.” Within hours, the stalwart and suffering editor sent to me “I am curious about Torth! Although my opinion of Plan 9 is colored by Ed Wood, which I’ve seen several more times than the actual Plan 9 haha.” [NERDITOR’S NOTE: That’s me!] However, by that point the semester was concluding, work was piling up, and I couldn’t do it. Now the semester is done (I earned 2 A’s and an A-) and here I am sitting on the couch writing about something I wrote some 40 plus years ago. Get off my lawn.

A mockup from the author for Torth: Castle of Evil. Pretty cool if you ask me! Check out the gallery at the end of the post for the creator’s original cover, maps and notes. [Art by Erol Otus]

Torth: Castle of Evil

I started this while I was still the Dungeon Master for my first module, B1: In Search of the Unknown. For those who don’t know this module it was the first Basic Box Set module even before B2: Keep on the Borderlands. While B2 had all the monsters filled in, B1 didn’t. What the writers did for this one was they’d describe the room and leave space for the DM to include Monster then Treasure. So this kid got to enter whatever monster they wished whether they made sense or not. In one room would be a couple of goblins while the next room over (a 20 ft. x 20 ft. no less) would have a red dragon. My player (the Dave I mentioned last column) didn’t care. Kick open the door, kill the monster, collect the treasure (never mind how much people could actually carry), do whatever was in the room (ooh, pools!) then repeat. Yes, that was Quasqueton, stronghold of Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown!

I added a third level to Q, which featured an underground lake with an island on which were the barracks for all the off-duty monsters. There was a bugbear barracks, a room for vampires…you get the idea. That was me trying to figure out a reason for the monster placement.

After that it was Dave’s turn to DM and I played my first character, Apollo. We played almost every night. During study halls or after going home after gaming I started writing what I thought would be my magnum opus! It needed a name. One afternoon when we weren’t playing the Monkees were on TV. One of them was Peter Tork. I changed the name a little and so the module had a name: TORTH!

I started by drawing one third a map, wrote about the rooms, then more map and so on. Oh, this was great stuff! Killer! No character could possibly survive! Plot? What’s that? Dave also wrote some of the dungeon and I asked people who had no idea about the game for trap ideas as well. Torth eventually had three levels, two of which had giant underground lakes (one on top of the other??) with 200 total rooms and was finished on June 10, 1980. I even bought a report folder for it to make it more official and traced the umber hulk picture for the cover. I made the umber hulk the proper colors even though some of the umber hulks appearing in the module are orange. Don’t ask — I’m already embarrassed enough.

Eventually Dave and I learned that a new kid in the school, I’ll call him Rodney, also played D&D! Well, he wanted to learn anyway. He was and still is a goof ball and was enthusiastic about playing. As Dave and I were now experts at the game…hey stop laughing! Ahem, experts at the game, we would teach him. And where would he learn? TORTH!

You can see this train wreck coming, can’t you?

Not being one to make things easy on himself, and with the new AD&D Player’s Handbook in hand he decided to create a 1st level half-elf fighter/cleric named Pantalian. I, with the brand spanking new Monster Manual, was determined to try all of these new monsters.

The adventurers needed a reason, no matter how flimsy, to enter this dungeon. I reproduce it here, word for word, misspellings and all. On the word for word stuff I’ll insert my comments in italics. Because.

CONTENT WARNING — rape

****************************************************** Many years ago, when orcs ruled the countryside, a magic user came. He enslaved the orc tribe the green foot and made them build him a castle. The orcs were also forced to build new homes for poor people of the towns they destroyed. The castle was dug deep into the cliff side of a mountain. (So… it was a cave? A castle?)

This good magic user, ruled the countryside fairly the townspeople loved him dearly.

Many a cleric and Magic user came to him to study and for advise.

Soon Torth was getting old, and said he needed an heir. He adopted a boy by the name of Rascen. A few years later, the old wizard died, and left everything to Rascen.

Rascen, like his stepfather, was a good man. He trained to be a druid. (As one who lives in a fancy cave castle does.)

One day while holding the passover feast, the holy grail appeared. This brought pride to Rascen and his people. (Ummm. Yeah.)

While holding Court a beautiful girl came and stated a powerful knight was disturbing her. Her name was Rachel. Rascen himself slew the knight, and fell in love. (Fell in love with whom? The knight?) Soon Rascen asked Rachael to be his wife. She consented.

A few years, later a son was born. They named him Carnan. He grew up to be a magic-user after his parents died. But Carnan was evil. Carnan ruled harshly until one night, the castle mysteriously caught fire. He was said to be killed, along with other evil clerics and magic users. (Ok, the cave castle caught fire. HOW???)

The townspeople lived in harmony. A knight named Maskoth was appointed mayor. He ruled fairly.

One night, Maskoth disappeared, only to be found the next day, totally insane. He was babbling something about Liches or other evil. He died a few years later of mummy rot disese. This was the first evil. (ooh — scary!)

A sage said there would be six evils on the town. No one believed him. Soon a mysterious beggar came to town. A few days later he killed the captain of the watch. This was the second evil. (Damn mysterious beggars!)

After that, a good cleric came to town, and was told of the two evils and went to the castle, never to be seen again. A month later, bones were found in the woods near the castle. On them was a holy symbol. Scholars doubt this carnage was the cleric, but the people knew it was. This was the third evil. (Scholars studied this???)

The month after the finding of the bones, ghouls, mummies, zombies, wights, wraiths and ghosts plagued the town for one week, killing many. This was the fourth evil. (Okay — this is a town. By this point, there can’t be many people left, and those who survive, why did they stay?)

One night later, a girl named Josephine disappeared. She was found the next day, brutally murdered and raped. This was fifth evil. Now the windows of the castle are scarlet, as if a fire was burning inside. (I was a screwed up kid going for shock value. Also, what windows? There are no windows in the cave castle!)

A few days later all the infants and old men were killed. Evil swept the town. The chapel was burned! The monastery pillaged! This was the final evil. (Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! Oh wait.)

Now the sage stated that evil will kill us all if it is not removed, and that the source of the evil was the castle. “A fighting man would be needed” stated the sage. That night he died of mysterious causes. (As one does in these tales.)

One night a merchant was passing on a road that is near the castle. He claims he saw a hooded figure in a rear window looking, staring out. The figure was all white, had glowing eyes, and burnt, shabby clothing. (WHAT WINDOWS?) That was last night. Go now to the castle and defeat the evil inside.

(Yeah. Go. Defeat…whatever.)

*****************************************************

Pantalian and his NPCs died very quickly. He was reincarnated five times. He lasted longest as a troll. Then one day his character sheet vanished. Turns out someone we both knew tore it up and flushed it down the toilet. Rodney to this very day blames me for this and in revenge he and the other person destroyed my character’s painstakingly kept journal. However, I was not the culprit. Doesn’t matter, he still blames me.

How did Pantalian die so quickly? Well, here’s a few rooms, typed in exactly as scrawled back then, mistakes and all. The first room the characters will encounter after entering the castle would be room 17, which was a 20 ft. x 40 ft.

“The room is dingy. In the southeast corner is a 10 ft. circular iron cylinder. It has elvish runes on it and cannot be read except by the evil. They tell the history of evil. (That must’ve been small type!) When the door is closed, the lid pops open, orange smoke issues forth and 2 lemures pop out. 7 hp, 13 hp. 1 potion of flying, ring of skeleton, 900 sp.” (The ring would reduce the wearer to a skeleton instantly, no save, just dead.)

It was Pantalian and an NPC fighter. Lemures were devils with 3 HD and regeneration. Only blessed objects could kill them. Of course a brand new player wouldn’t know this, nor would they possess such an item. Or be aware of regeneration. So the lemures just kept coming and Rodney, being the jock type, wasn’t about to run away!

Splat!

He created a second character specifically to go in and drag Pantalian’s body out. He was then resurrected and the second character became an NPC, a half elf fighter/magic-user. Neither lasted long. I decided the player needed help. I know! A magic weapon! I gave a gnoll a longsword +5 Defender. And again, Pantalian fell. His NPCs, as he now kept several, managed to kill the gnoll and get the sword for him. It helped against the night hag in the next room. Seriously.

The true shame of Torth was the way it was designed. This was supposed to be the castle of a good wizard but the map is a jumbled mess. Nowdays if I were to make that map I’d say chaos magic twisted it into its current form. Back then I just figured that dungeon maps were supposed to be mazelike. The Ruins of Undermountain proved me right. Again, I was a kid and hadn’t any experience writing.

Since that time D&D writing improved vastly. Jennell Jaquays introduced the concept of sandboxing an adventure with her Judge’s Guild pieces. Narrative plots began having some depth. Maps began to usually make sense. Also the players, me included, became more experienced along with the game as it developed.

Torth’s ending had the Heart of Evil which had absolutely no reason for existing except as a McGuffin for the character to reach and destroy. Of course in a linear sense it was in the last possible place.

“194 — The Heart of Evil. On the heavy door is a tarnished plaque that says “The Heart of Evil.” (As the major quest targets always do.) If the leader of the party is good, the door only opens on a one (if hit by an evil person.) (Huh?) When the door is open, the outcropping is seen. The two sides emit an orange yellow glow. This is the heart of evil in the castle, placed here by Balzebul. (Why???) This outcropping pulses, for it is alive. AC -2 Hit Dice 5. 21 hp. If the “heart” is threatened, it will summon 5 manes or other devils. When somebody is killed in this room, the heart grows brighter (that is only if a good person is slain, if an evil thing is slain in this room, it dims) Good slain — it gains 1 hp. Evil slain — loses 1 hp. (Fair enough but why only one?) If there is an evil person is in this room during melee, there is a 75% chance that he or she will turn against the good in the party. (Before you ask, there were many rooms that changed the character’s alignment. And every 13-14 year old kid plays chaotic neutral, no matter what their declared alignment.) When the heart is killed, all evil in the castle dies and disintegrates. A cherubim comes to warn the adventurers to leave, for in 12 hours the castle will crumble into dust. (When heart dies the yellow orange glow leaves) (It doesn’t help or anything. It just comes in, makes its grand proclamation and leaves.) Also if the heart is threatened, it will generate an evil energy field. If a good character goes in, they lose 1-4 hp per round. (Oh, by the way, it has protection from good sort of.) 1000 exp for killing the heart.”

Hearts of Evil can be pretty innocuous looking!

Sigh. When I wasn’t available to DM Dave would DM for me. Eventually, near the end of the first level a magical slide appeared taking whatever character Rodney was playing by that time directly to the island where the Heart of Evil was. No devils popped up but he had a major time beating on the thing before it died. And so ended the only time Torth was ever played, with over two thirds of it avoided.

Why write a column about this aside from the editor asking? I write a lot now between this, my monthly column at Transgender Forum, my blog and other things. Whatever a person creates, be it art of some kind, writing, song or whatever they leave a piece of themselves in it. That’s why no two artist’s works are alike or no two authors (not counting intentional style stealing.) Torth took me quite some time to write during a tumultuous time in my life.

It was around this time that my inner demons, which I later understood to be my misplaced gender identity, really began to plague me. Also around this time I started studying martial arts as I was tired of the beatings I received at the hands of bullies. Add to that I was a late bloomer and while all the other kids were hitting puberty, I wasn’t. I dreaded puberty as I knew it would make me exactly what U didn’t want to be: a man. All of this and more all swirled in my head. My only real escape then was gaming, especially D&D.

As I wrote above, when someone writes they bring part of themselves and that includes D&D adventures. I have since that time written over 100 D&D adventures for my players or for others to run. I haven’t read Torth since, well, 1980 or 81. I’ve kept it in my pile of D&D papers or with my modules since then and it’s moved with me many times. I started reading it for this piece and I had to stop. Yes, some of what’s written is Ed Wood bad or worse. That’s not what stopped me, nor was it the poor penmanship, as it was all written in longhand (in pencil!).

I stopped because what I read was a howl of anguish (cliché, I know) from a child who knew they were different, couldn’t understand how or why and whose life was changing and out of control. I was lashing out at whatever caused me pain. I can tell when Rodney started playing. Rodney was a goofball and is still a great friend but he was also a jock. He would become a champion wrestler, attend VMI and serve as an officer in the Army like all men in his family before him. He was everything I wasn’t. Unconsciously, I lashed out at him through the module. There were many times in Torth where the characters were magically transformed, just as I wished I could be.

So yes, Torth was a train wreck but so was I. In many ways I’m still that child struggling against all I am. However I now understand who I am and have the power to change what I don’t like. Rodney and I still play D&D every other weekend on Roll20, as he lives in Michigan. And he still brings up Torth every session. Other players live in Philly, Maine and one here in State College. They’re going through Keep on the Borderlands — my selection. It reminds me of a far more innocent time when gaming was just gaming, yet also a lifeline to other worlds. Sometimes an orc is just an orc after all.

Be well.

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Original cover for Torth: Castle of Evil

Grid map of the Castle of Evil dungeon

Dungeon Master’s notes for Torth: Castle of Evil

Torth Updated!

Step back in time with our resident old school D&D creator to explore Torth: Castle of Evil! (warts and all) #staynerdy In my last piece I wrote about one of the modules I wrote back in the Mesozoic era.

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placetobenation · 8 years ago

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July 3, 2017

From the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Booker T

We are shown a video package on the Big Cass/Enzo Amore feud.

The live show starts with Enzo Amore coming down to the ring as Cole tells us he will beat his former partner, Big Cass, at the Great Balls of Fire PPV. Enzo tells us all of what he has been through this year and it happened when Cass had his back. He then accuses Cass of looking past him as Enzo talks about getting up every time he gets knocked down. Enzo then talks about not being the biggest, baddest, or strongest but is one of the toughest to step into the ring in a long, long time. He then tells Cass about not pretending who he is and that he is grateful for all of the kids wearing his merchandise as it helps him put food on the table, which is why he keeps getting up after being knocked down and that makes him believe in himself. Enzo then says Cass is nothing more than a “seven-foot catchphrase” that he (Enzo) wrote himself. Enzo then tells Cass not to get surprised when his next merchandise check reads “zero dimes” and will change when his shirt says “asshole.” Enzo’s music hits then he picks up the mic and says they were brothers but now that is dead due to Cass but that boot to his face gave him new life as Enzo calls himself an army of one and compares himself to Tupac Shakur because “all eyes are on me.” Cass is then shown watching backstage when Charly Caruso asks for his thoughts. Cass says he never heard someone talk for so long without actually saying anything then says he is where the money is and promise to beat him at Great Balls of Fire but Enzo attacks from behind until several officials break it up.

Enzo showed a lot of passion in his promo and as a result the crowd bought what he was saying and got behind him. Plus, it was nice to see Enzo get a bit of revenge against Cass by attacking him backstage. They’ve done a great job at humanizing Enzo since Cass turned on him and he has delivered on the mic. Right now, they have something with this feud.

Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Nia Jax & Alexa Bliss

Nia overpowers Bayley to start. Bayley tries to fight her off then tags out. Sasha shoves Nia into the corner then dropkicks Nia outside. Nia shoves Bayley off of the apron into the barricade then hits a running knee smash as Sasha checks on her partner before the break. We return with Alexa working a chinlock on Sasha as Cole tells us that Bayley was taken backstage during the break and is now out of the match. Sasha fights back against both women but misses a double knee smash in the corner. Nia tags and hits a backbreaker then drops a pair of elbows as that gets two. Sasha gets out of a bearhug but gets tossed soon after that. Alexa is in and beats on Sasha. She yells how this is her division but misses a knee drop. Sasha fights back then kicks Nia off of the apron. Alexa attacks from behind and tries for a DDT but Sasha escapes and puts on the Banks Statement and Alexa taps out before Nia could make the save (10:11) *1/2.

Thoughts: This was not a good match. The action was clunky and it did nothing to make you want to see Alexa vs. Sasha this Sunday at Great Balls of Fire. The questionable handling of the Bayley character continued too, sadly, as if they are trying to rebuild her by heading down this path it will most likely fail.

Kurt Angle is in his office on the phone. Braun Strowman tells Angle what will happen when Reigns is unable to compete in the ambulance match. Angle says he heard Reigns will be ready but Strowman tells him he is wrong then demands competition. Angle tells Strowman the matches are all set but Strowman tells him he will have competition by the end of the night.

A video package of the Samoa Joe/Brock Lesnar feud is shown. It included promos from both men too. Great work here for a match that they have built up quite well. A match to look forward too this Sunday. Cole then tells us that both men are here tonight for an exclusive interview. Good stuff here.

Cedric Alexander comes out to the ring. He feels like a broken record due to always telling Noam Dar & Alicia Fox that he is through with him. Cedric then wants Dar to come out so he can send him back to Fox with a “magic neckbrace.” Dar comes out as does Fox then we get a match.

Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar w/ Alicia Fox

Cedric beats on Dar to start. He heads outside then Fox steps in front of him to protect her man. Dar blocks a satellite headscissors with a kick then goes to work on the arm. Fox gets on the apron to distract Cedric but that fails as Cedric hits Dar with the Lumbar Check and the win (2:10) 1/2*.

Thoughts: They really need to end this feud. Its been awful and the Dar & Fox pairing are doing nothing but dragging down the Cruiserweight Division.

We are shown clips from last week’s Miz TV with the Ball Family which leads to another episode this week as Miz addresses what happened last week.

Miz TV with Maryse and the Miztourage. Miz, sporting a cool white suit, talks about bringing the ratings last week then gets cheered by saying Lonzo Ball will be the biggest bust in NBA history then makes sure to get booed by dissing former Phoenix Sun Steve Nash. Miz then calls LaVar ball an embarrassment and a raving lunatic. He also cannot believe that LaVar wants Ambrose to represent the Big Baller Brand as Ambrose is nothing but wasted potential. Miz put over the promise he had when first arriving to the WWE, calling him the next Roddy Piper. However, we instead got “wacky” Ambrose as Miz keeps saying that Ambrose cannot handle success, stating he caves under pressure. He then says you can laugh all you want at the jokes but there is no bigger joke than Ambrose, who now comes out with a mic in his hand. He thought we’d never see Miz TV again after last week’s trainwreck but also said Miz was true in what he said. Ambrose also said he loves jokes and thinks it would be hilarious if they had a match right now. Heath Slater & Rhyno come out as Slater he was the last man to beat Miz in the ring and never had an Intercontinental Title opportunity in his eight years with WWE. Slater then talks about wanting to be able to provide for his kids. Miz tells Ambrose he will get a rematch when he says so before making fun of Slater for being a hick from West Virginia and is about to leave but Kurt Angle comes out. Angle tells Miz he decides who competes. Miz tells Angle to go discuss his personal problems with Graves then tells Angle he will put up the title Sunday and all he does is have to pick an opponent. Angle says both as he tells Miz he will have to face Slater now then Ambrose at the PPV this Sunday as Miz is in shock as we head to commercial.

I liked the segment here. Miz cut a good promo on Ambrose, ragging on him for not living up to his potential, then he got some comeuppance by being forced to defend the Intercontinental Title against Slater despite not being prepared to wrestle.

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: The Miz (c) w/ Maryse, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel vs. Heath Slater w/ Rhyno

Ambrose is on commentary. Slater gets two off of a rollup then they take it to the mat as Ambrose makes fun of the Miztourage. They trade headlocks then Slater gets two with a backslide. He gets two with another rollup before going back to the headlock. Miz catches Slater with a knee smash but Slater fights back in the corner. Slater yanks off Miz’s shirt then hits an inverted atomic drop for another nearfall as Miz regroups outside as we head to commercial. The action returns with Miz now in control as the back of his pants have split. They brawl on their knees until Miz spikes him with a DDT but that only gets two. Miz guillotines Slater before tossing him outside where Rhyno fends off the Miztourage. Ambrose is on commentary asking who came up with the Great Balls of Fire PPV name, saying its awful, as Miz gets another nearfall in the ring. Miz then uses the It kicks but Slater ducks the last kick and pancakes Miz as both men are down. Slater is up first and runs wild. Miz rams him in the corner but Slater escapes and rolls him up for two. Slater gets another nearfall as the crowd is into this match. Miz comes back with a clothesline in the corner then poses. He heads up top but Slater runs up and hits a powerslam as the crowd goes nuts. Axel distracts the ref from the apron as Rhyno yanks him off and they brawl with the Miztourage getting the upper hand then Miz hits Slater with the Skull Crushing Finale for the win (12:47) **1/2. After the match, Miz tosses Slater outside to get beat up by the Miztourage but Ambrose runs out for the save. Ambrose chases Miz away then the Miztourage attacks him. Miz is back inside and yells in Ambrose face before hitting him with the Skull Crushing Finale.

Thoughts: Solid match as the crowd got behind Slater at the end and even bought some of the nearfalls. This match also did a lot to try and establish Axel & Dallas as more than just goofs. They laid out everyone at the end and it makes the Miz act more dangerous. It also appears that the Miz/Maryse conflict is over for how as they were on the same page.

Replay from last week when Strowman launched Reigns off of the stage and against the ambulance before putting him inside where Reigns is driven away.

Apollo Crews is texting someone backstage when Titus O’Neill walks in and tells Apollo he has an opportunity to be a star tonight by facing Strowman. Titus tries to convince him that Strowman made Kalisto and to take the match, even coming up with a new “Crews can’t lose” catchphrase that both end up singing as the segment ends with Crews agreeing to face Strowman.

Goldust is in the ring sitting in a director’s chair. He promises to show us his latest masterpiece titled the “Shattered Truth” before thanking us “little people.” Goldust then thanks R-Truth for being so naive as without that none of this would be possible. We then finally get to this film as its clips of Goldust jumping Truth before the bell last week but made up as a film trailer. The film ends and we see Truth eating popcorn in the ring behind Goldust before he beats him down. Goldust heads up the ramp after getting tossed outside as Truth is the one standing tall. I liked the segment. Goldust is showing off how his mic skills as they are slowly building up the feud between former partners. Although, you can say its overkill with two former partners currently feuding on the same show.

Angle is in his office. Cesaro & Sheamus enter as Angle tells him during Sunday’s Tag Team Title match against the Hardy Boyz they will have a 30-Minute Iron Man Match. Both men are actually pleased with the stipulation and said since they are in peak condition they want some action. Angle suggests Cesaro face Strowman but he wants Balor due to what happened last week. Angle then makes the match. The big news here is that the RAW Tag Team Titles will be defended in an Iron Man Match.

Before the match, Hawkins says he should be facing Strowman and giving him a run for his money. He then says last week’s crowd in Los Angeles did not believe in him and wants the “dummies” in Phoenix to get it right and asks if they think he will lose tonight, as they cheer, but Rollins takes the mic away and asks the crowd if they think Hawkins needs to shut up as they cheer then Rollins knocks him down.

Curt Hawkins vs. Seth Rollins

Hawkins charges but gets kicked then eats a ripcord knee smash as Rollins picks up the win (0:09).

Thoughts: Easy win for Rollins to give him some momentum heading into the PPV.

After the match, Rollins addresses Wyatt and says he knows he is here then addresses his comments about everyone needing to be saved. Rollins says he does not ignore his sins, he embraces them as it makes him the man he is today then tells Wyatt this Sunday there will be a cleansing of his mystique when it’s proven that he is not a god. After that, the only question remaining will be whether or not Wyatt is a man or a coward. This promo was fine I suppose but the entire point of the Rollins/Wyatt feud is not enough to make me care. Its a directionless program.

Now, we get a split screen interview with Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman. Joe cuts off Cole’s and says no one wants to hear his questions so he has one of his own for his opponent. Joe has a question for Heyman but Lesnar tells him he’s not facing Heyman this Sunday. Joe then tells the “champ” he will address him later. They both trash talk each other as Lesnar promises to walk in and out as the champion while Joe says he has beaten him at every turn then lists off the guys he has choked out in his career such as Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, and Samoa Joe. Joe then says why are we doing this as he yanks off his mic then starts looking for Lesnar backstage as Lesnar and Heyman cannot believe he is doing this. A few officials like Adam Pearce and Jamie Noble try to stop him but he does not listen. Joe then tells off Angle, who has several security members behind him, and finds where Lesnar is but is pulled back by everyone as he screams about how he will put Lesnar down, yelling “Come on, champ!”

Just a tremendous segment. The cocky, dominant champion remaining calm and reminding the unafraid challenger whose boss while the challenger reminds the champion that he has beaten him at each turn and constantly proving that he is not afraid. This is a money program and I would gladly pay the full PPV price to see this match. I really hope they continue this feud after the show as it is that good but it seems unlikely at this point.

Neville vs. Mustafa Ali

Neville takes Ali down then they mix it up for a bit as Cole brings up Ali’s feud against Drew Gulak, who is against high-flying. Ali uses his agility to escape from the corner and gets a nearfall with a crossbody. Ali heads up for the inverted 450 but Neville cuts him off and heads up top where Ali lands on his feet during a super back suplex attempt. Ali gets a nearfall with a floating DDT then drags Neville in position for the inverted 450 but Neville gets up and pushes him off as Ali crashes into the barricade. Neville heads out to roll Ali inside then roughs him up in the corner. He mocks the crowd then goes back to destroying Ali. He flapjacks Ali then mocks the crowd again but takes his time as Ali fights back. Ali tries his rolling neckbreaker but ends up getting clotheslined then Neville puts him away with the Rings of Saturn (6:22) **1/2. Neville refuses to break the hold after the bell then finally does before yanking his belt away from the referee. Cole then tells us that Neville vs. Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship will take place on the Great Balls of Fire Kickoff Show.

Thoughts: Good action. These two had more time and a better match the RAW after WrestleMania 33 but still entertained tonight. Ali’s offense is impressive but at the end Neville once again looked dominant as he heads into Sunday with some momentum.

Bray Wyatt is shown walking through a desert as we will hear from him after the break. We return as Bray is shown in the desert telling us that he decided to give the world independence and that he is the chaos that fuels the fire. He keeps talking and talking then tells Rollins this Sunday he will get to look into the face of a god for the first time and it will burn.

I thought the promo was nothing more than jibberish and the segment itself overproduced. The Bray character is past its point of usefulness in the company. He never wins the big matches or feuds and has been saying the same stuff for the past four years. Its stale and this delivery is wearing on people.

Charly asks Alexa Bliss if her loss tonight will foreshadow what will happen on Sunday. Alexa plays it off that she gave Sasha the win to give her a false sense of security and its all part of her strategy. Charly isn’t buying that so Alexa then disses Charly for only being able to hold a microphone while she is the RAW Women’s Champion. I thought Alexa did a good job here and liked how Charly stood up to her obvious false claim that she lost her match tonight on purpose.

Finn Balor vs. Cesaro w/ Sheamus

The Hardy Boyz are on commentary for this match. Balor starts off by working a side headlock. Cesaro catches him and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Cesaro cuts off a comeback with a clothesline then works the arm. Balor rolls through a sunset flip and hits a basement dropkick before chopping away in the corner. Balor hits a few stomps as the Hardy Boyz keep putting him over on commentary. Sheamus distracts the ref then Balor himself gets wrapped up in that as it allows Cesaro to attack from behind. Balor fights back but gets dumped outside as we head to break. The action returns with Cesaro in control. He deadlifts Balor for a gutwrench suplex as that gets two then works the arm. Cesaro misses a corner charge but catches Balor and turns that into a suplex as that gets two. Balor continues to kick out of pinfall attempts as Cesaro gets pissed. Cesaro tries for the Neutralizer but Balor escapes then hits a double stomp as both men are down. Balor is up first and runs wild. He takes Cesaro down on the outside with a dropkick then hits a running soccer kick from the apron. Back inside, Balor hits a sling blade then sets up for a shotgun dropkick but is distracted by Elias Samson. Balor then charges but Cesaro pancakes him and hits an uppercut as that gets two. Cesaro hits a running uppercut in the corner but Balor takes him off the top with an enziguiri. Sheamus distracts the referee as Samson trips up Balor then the Hardy Boyz run out to even things off. Balor sends Cesaro to the floor with a backdrop then flies out with a tope con hilo. Cesaro comes back to slam Balor off of the apron as the crowd starts a “this is awesome” Chant as everyone is hitting big moves on the outside. Balor then dropkicks Cesaro into the barricade and rolls him inside for the Coup de Grace and the win (15:07) ***.

Thoughts: Good match that picked up at the end. However, with most of the commentary focused on the Iron Man Tag Match at the PPV, I do not know why you had Balor win this match. To go even further, with the way these guys have been booked on TV lately, they should have just put them all in another six-man tag match.

Back from break, an ambulance backs into the arena. Strowman then comes out and heads to the ring as he is demanding competition. Strowman says there are few things in this world he likes more than hurting Reigns. He then calls him out for being too stubborn to stay down and that he will leave Great Balls of Fire the same way he did last week, in the back of an ambulance. However, Reigns is not here and he wants competition before demanding Angle send someone out. We get Titus O’Neill in a suit telling Strowman that he is a big man with a plan but everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. He then promises a Titus Worldwide special match as Strowman will be facing a tough, hungry man who will prove that monsters can be defeated.

Braun Strowman vs. Apollo Crews w/ Titus O’Neill

Crews ducks a clothesline then hammers away. He escapes from the corner but runs into a big boot. Strowman then yells about Crews not being able to beat him before sending him to the floor. Crews rolls inside then Strowman cranks his neck. Strowman yells at Titus before kicking Crews outside then Titus tries to fire up his client. Crews slaps Strowman from the apron and snaps his neck off the top rope. Crews hits a pair of enziguiris then takes him down after a pair of basement dropkicks. Crews tries a standing moonsault but Strowman kicks him in midair was Crews flies across the ring. Strowman then picks up Crews and hits a running powerslam but pulls him up at two then hits it again and does the same thing. Booker then yells for Titus to do something as Strowman hits a third powerslam for the win (4:33) *1/2.

Thoughts: The match accomplished what it should have by putting Strowman over as a force and positioning Crews as a babyface who is not afraid to stand up to anyone. The moonsault spot was great.

After the match, Strowman continues his assault on Crews. Titus stands up on the apron then heads inside as the two jaw at each other. Titus then fires away but runs into a clothesline and hits him with a powerslam. Strowman heads out and tosses Crews over the barricade then takes him to the ambulance. Strowman opens the doors and tosses Crews inside and pats the back for the driver to take him away. However, the ambulance does not move as Strowman is getting pissed. Strowman then goes to the driver’s door and peaks inside to open it up as Reigns comes out and punches him in the face. Strowman fights back and throws Reigns against the ambulance and then onto the stage. Reigns fights back and drives Strowman into the screens before spearing Strowman off of a stage and through a table. Strowman is then on his feet near the ambulance as Reigns is on the stage as the show ends. I liked this segment as these two guys have great chemistry together. They had a nice brawl to close out the show.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I thought this was a good show. The top two matches at the PPV have been built up quite well and they had some strong promos and segments throughout the show. Great Balls of Fire looks like a promising card and the build for Joe vs. Lesnar has brought us some of the best TV segments in quite some time. Tonight made me excited for the PPV and showed that while not all of the feuds are interesting or even good, the RAW brand does have some direction.

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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