#sorry i don't update that often. I've been working on my book

[fangirlsfavoritebardboy]

Jaskier and Geralt were taking a bath in their room at a local inn after a big monster hunt that left both of them covered in blood and general monster filth.

Now, Geralt had never been too concerned about his body in front of Jaskier. The bard had bathed him before, after all. Perhaps, it was the proximity that they were at, or the fact that instead of the bathwater shielding him from the bard, they were sharing it like a blanket, but he had never felt so exposed.

Geralt became overly aware of his scars from battles new and old. They were the signs of a warrior, and yet, they made him scarier and rougher. They were something his bedmates seemed far too interested in like he belonged on display in a freak show. They were so close that Geralt was sure Jaskier had already studied them, memorized them, stared at him like the freak he was.

Geralt snapped out of his spiral when the bard's arm splashed the water. He had a rag in hand and was scrubbing his skin. As he cleaned himself, Geralt saw things he had never really noticed before.

Jaskier had his own scars. He had cuts and nicks from snapping instrument strings on this forearms and fingers. He had small cuts on his shoulders from running into bushes and thorny vines. He shifted his leg, and Geralt noticed the scarred-over scabs on his knees that he sustained from falling, though if they were from adulthood or childhood, Geralt wasn't sure.

The bard finished his bathing and tossed the rag into a bucket of soapy water. He turned around and stood up to leave.

It was then that Geralt realized he had never seen Jaskier without a shirt. He had seen him with unbuttoned ones, sure, but never fully off. Jaskier was usually picky about his privacy.

But as the bard left the tub and grabbed a towel to dry off, Geralt couldn't help but stare at his back. Along Jaskier's shoulder blades were two long, faded scars. They were straight and with precision like they were from a doctor or surgeon.

They were on the same places Geralt knew vila and fairies kept their wings.

"What happened to your back?" Geralt found himself asking without thinking.

Jaskier paused, already dry and pulling on his pants. After a beat, he resumed as normal and said nonchalantly, "I was deformed when I was born. My parents had a surgeon fix it."

The bard slipped on a sleep shirt. He descended into bed and kept his back to the witcher.

It was a simple reply, but Geralt was left speechless.

[olderthannetfic]

Do you have any idea why authors of multichaptered works INSIST on putting things like "Good news! We're about X of the way to the end folks" and "Sorry folks! I keep thinking it's almost done but then a new chapter happened and it's not going to be done as soon as I thought"? Like, are they fishing for compliments? Like, the fic is getting read. It has subscribers. Ppl are leaving comments. Do they think ppl WANT it to be over? I mean, these are writers we're talking about. So they were naturally readers first and presumably still are. So the concept of fellow readers not wanting what they enjoy to end shouldn't be such a novel concept to them! So why remind us and remind us and remind us that we're closer to the end? If the chapters are already numbered, we can see it thanks! We don't need a reminder! And if the chapters are written like "5/?" we don't WANT to know when the story is going to end! And the apologizing because there's more story? It's so unbelievably infuriating I have often just closed the tab because I was so mad I didn't want to read anything by someone so moronic (or fake-modest or fishing for compliments) anymore. So many writers seem to absolutely have no awareness or understanding or respect for the concept of a reader being immersed in a story. In published multichaptered books, you don't find little author's notes full of unfunny self-deprecating jokes and anecdotes and life updates at the start AND end of every chapter. You're immersed in the story and eagerly going from chapter to chapter. But sure, chat about anything and everything under the sun and completely break the hold your storytelling had on me! Author's notes are not a chat room. It's for stuff that affects the story or a heads up about a tag that hadn't been in the tags until that specific chapter but warrants a warning. Ugh to be honest lately I've completely stopped reading author's notes. From weird "haha see what I did there" after the most achingly written pining and temporary heartbreak scene, to smug and inane and ridiculous declarations of "X and Y switch because I believe in equality" as if it's a moral issue instead of a very real life preference for many men who sleep with men, author's notes are just idiotic most of the time. I will only read them by authors I trust, who will add a quiet few lines about the translation of a Latin phrase, or a link to pictures of a real-life place they featured in a poignant scene. Otherwise they just make me wring out my hair and who needs that. And for the crowd that LOVES to get offended: No I don't mean this is gospel. I mean this is MY experience. And since I'm clearly not one of a kind because no one is, there's bound to be others like me. So authors who WANT to keep ruining the mood they managed to craft can keep doing it -- most of their readers probably don't mind! The authors I trust though (the ones whose notes I will read, and whose notes have never ruined the mood for me) never do that anyway. But this is a heads up to those who are interested in finding out what makes SOME readers tick, because there's a first time learning about something for everyone. Thanks for letting me vent!

--

[kindlyanni]

Hello 👋

New reader here! Of both of your comics, though I admit I'm more into The Witch Door. Funfact: I don't know why, but my brain keeps calling it The Witch Next Door... which wouldn't be totally wrong, in a way, but still.

I've never really been into vampires, but the story going on in Transfusions Book 2 is getting more and more interesting, so I'll keep reading it ^^ And I'm fascinated by the dedication throughout all those years, almost fifteen years!, along with the evolution of the storytelling, the style itself, the layout, etc. That's impressive.

I'm also very glad to read stories set in Finland, which isn't a place I've come across often in mainstream media. I like to discover a new country this way.

Now, I've got a few questions, some maybe silly, sorry 😅

1. Is coffee like a thing in Finland? Or is it your own habit showing up? Because your characters sure drink a lot of coffee every time! I am used to a certain drinking coffee habit in my own country, although I'm a tea person, but I don't know, it seems to be a very, very strong habit there.

2. I prefer waiting for chapters to be completed to read them. Is there a way to know when one is done? Do you announce the last pages on this blog?

3. I love the incorporation of Finland folklore and myths in The Witch Door! Would you happen to have any book recommandations in English to learn more about it?

4. Is there or will there be a physical copy of The Witch Door at some point? (No, I'm not well into it at all, that's not true...)

Thank you and have a nice day, night, or whatever time is it when you see this :)

Hi there!

I get that vampires are not everyone's cup of tea. I am glad to hear people like TWD, as it's the newer and probably less known webcomic of mine. :)

Is coffee a thing in Finland, you ask? Finns consume the most coffee per capita in the world, according to some studies, or we're in top 2 at least. ~4 cups/day average. In Finland coffee breaks are mandatory at work places. In Finland coffee is a form of socialising, of hospitailty. If someone comes over you at least offer to make coffee for them. Many Finns drink coffee several times a day. Fun fact, I started drinking coffee when I turned 30. Didn't like the taste before that. I make 3 cups after waking up and take my time drinking it. I try to take breaks from drinking coffee every now and then though. Jousia drinks a lot of coffee, like a lot. It's because he also works when he's sleeping so he's always tired, but at this point it's a bit of an addiction.

Sometimes.... I usually make "chapter ended" posts on instagram, because I don't post weekly updates there, but I could start making those kind of posts on here too, it makes sense. If I just remember to do that. But you'll also know when chapter is over when I start posting chapter extras between chapters. :)

Unfortunately I don't know any Finnish folklore/mythology books in English. If someone else does, feel free to drop recommendations in the replies!

I can't say. I don't know. I might put together pdf's at some point!

Thank you, have a nice day as well :)

[owlsinathens]

Hi guys!

I'm writing and pinning this just in case anyone's been wondering why I haven't updated Castle Black or One by One.

There seems to be a recent trend to hate Alf's portrayal of Theon even more than usual (whyever anyone would is beyond me, tbh), because he's white, and liking him as Theon or portraying Theon as white in fic is being racist.

This is, not sorry to say, ridiculous. I absolutely love POC Theon headcanons and think they are completely valid and often great, alas... I don't write them. I love Alf as Theon. And because of that I have been getting anons on here for weeks now, telling me to kill myself or die in a ditch. I have been told to stay away from the ASoIaF fandom because it's "not for racists like me", and to be honest, I've had it, at least for now.

I'm not saying I won't finish both these stories, I definitely will, but I don't see any point in posting more chapters at the moment. There is little reaction*, so I have to assume there's little interest in my writing, which, according to those anons, "still stinks of the show," even when I work my arse off to write only book canon.

So. That's it from me for the time being. Do take care out there, this fandom has gone to absolute shit and brings me no joy at all right now.

*Thank you to those of you who did show interest. If any of you want to know the rest of those two stories and don't feel like waiting for updates for some time, drop me a PM.

[tarysande]

On Grief. And On Friendship. On Memory. And Love.

When my grandmother died, we didn't have a traditional funeral. We didn't wear black. We didn't sit around, solemn and silent. We told stories. We ate food she would have liked and drank Bailey's with cream. We got to do it together, of course, and we got to cry and hug and mourn and laugh and sing.

I'm sure all of us have heard some version of the phrase "online friendships aren't REAL friendships." I know I have. I've never understood it, either. For me, in all my neurodiverse glory, online friendships are often MORE REAL. Where else can you meet people and immediately jump into all the things you have in common? All the shared loves and hates and hyperfixations? Where else can you just bypass small-talk and, as Anne of Green Gables would say, find bosom friends so quickly? I've met so many online.

I honestly don't remember when I met Sara/@dearophelia. When I look through my tags, I know it's been at least seven years. I'm certain it's been longer because she definitely had username changes. And I am total shit at remembering username changes. More than once, I've told myself I should keep a spreadsheet. I'm pretty sure I've known her almost as long as I've been on tumblr, and that's more than a decade.

When Sara got sick, I finally used that tumblr function that notifies you whenever a blog updates. I wasn't around tumblr as regularly, but I didn't want to miss anything Sara might say. I hoped that one day I'd get the notification that everything was clear, she was in remission.

I didn't. Today, I got what will be the final notification from her blog--@vhenadahls sharing the information that Sara passed away. That there wouldn't be anymore updates. No more reblogs. No more snarky comments in the tags or gushing comments in the tags.

If this were a room and everyone who loved Sara, who enjoyed her fanfic (with or without knowing the woman behind it!), who has listened to her playlists, who played ME3 multiplayer with her, who was in any way touched by her in a way that brought their lives joy, it would be so full. We would all have stories to share. We'd all have memories to relive.

This room would be decorated with labradorite and pink and fat birbs and cats. There would be so much music--Taylor Swift and Halsey and Florence and the Machine and Hozier and so many many others. There would be a million fabulous selfies on the walls of Sara's huge smile and her vulnerability and her bravery. There would be gaming knickknacks and D&D dice and tarot decks and crystals and magic and books on every surface. All her faves would be represented. And it would still only brush the surface of how vibrant she was and how deeply and enthusiastically she loved what she loved.

If this were a room where we could also add all the characters she created, whose stories so many of us loved ... well, it would have to be awfully big. Sara wrote a lot of stories for a lot of fandoms.

And if this were a room where we and her characters were gathered, but we opened the doors for all the characters and stories that Sara helped inspire, helped grow, encouraged and enabled, well, I know a whole lot of my characters and stories would be here, too. I'm sure I decided to create Rose Trevelyan because of some conversation Sara and I had where I was imagining Rose Vakarian-Shepard grown up.

Sara, I'm really sorry I didn't get to finish the Vakarian-Shepard stories before you left. Most writers write for themselves, sure, but often they also write for specific readers. Sara was always one of mine, but I don't think she knew it. I lived for her gushing tag-comments. I loved when she was always so quick to jump in with prompts.

I'm honored that I was someone with whom Sara shared her original fic work. (She also once shared an absolutely horrifying scene with Garrus and Shepard's clones that she cut from Nora's story because it was just TOO AWFUL. In fact, she shared it with me BECAUSE IT WAS SO AWFUL and she knew I'd appreciate it.) In my heart of hearts, I wanted Sara to finish that original story and publish it. I wanted us to be part of each other's group of writer-friends (you know, you always see them thanking each other in their books). Hell, I wanted to have a small press at some point just SO I could publish Sara's stories. I believed in her THAT MUCH.

I love Sara's stories. I love her playlists. I love her blog, with its hodgepodge of interests and loves. I love her imagination and creativity and attention to detail. I love that I can still visit that mind by reading the bounty of work she left behind.

I mean, she made me wholeheartedly buy into a relationship between Shepard's mom and ZAEED.

Sara was one of the constants in my online life over the last decade. Even if we hadn't chatted for a while, I always knew we could pick up again like no time had passed (thanks, ADHD). As I write this, there's a little chat circle on the bottom right of my tumblr screen with her avatar in it and I can't bear the thought of hitting that X button and never seeing it pop up again.

Sara struggled and loved and fought and overcame and breathed and was brave. Not just in the past few years, when she was sick. As long as I knew her. And she didn't let anything stop her. She snarled in the face of it all and wrote stories so beautiful they broke my heart and then pieced it back together again in the same paragraph.

I miss her. I will always miss her. But I'm so happy I got to know her as long as I did. She'll live on in my memories, in my stories, in the characters she helped inspire. She'll live on every time I look at my favorite tarot deck--she was the first person I yelled at when I bought it--and when I see fat birbs and cute-maybe-evil cats. And if that's not REAL friendship, real love, I don't know what is.

[malsfefanfics]

Edelgard and Marianne?

Hey, so that line Marianne says about Edelgard in CF before the timeskip haunts my brain on the daily.

"Thank you for taking the time to join me, your Majesty."

"I couldn't possibly turn down such an invitation. Though I'm surprised that you invited me to tea to begin with, I am grateful all the same."

Marianne nodded, and started pouring them both a cup. "I'm glad to hear that." She glanced over her shoulder, staring at one of the hedges that surrounded the gazebo. "And Hubert is still not going to join us?"

Edelgard held back a snicker. "So you noticed him as well."

"He's not as hard to notice as he thinks he is."

"Oh, now he'll be working harder to make sure he's absolutely undetectable until the last moment."

"So long as he doesn't scare the horses, that's fine."

The two shared a laugh and continued their conversation. Updates on animal care. Training reports. Books they'd been reading in what little spare time they managed to get. Edelgard, much to Marianne's surprise, had been catching up on a romantic novel about a devoted cleric and a third prince of an ancient kingdom. Quite fantastical, but truly enchanting. Marianne hadn't read much herself, but she was learning to paint from Bernadetta and Ignatz. The three of them were having a great time.

Just as Marianne was enjoying the time now.

It was rather nice, getting to see the Emperor relaxed and enjoying herself. From what she knew at the start of the school year, Edelgard rarely allowed herself a moment of repose. And the few times she did, she was often surrounded by others. It felt more forced. As though she were wearing a mask.

Well. She had been. But not what Marianne meant.

Edelgard finished her cup and reached to pour more. "Marianne? Might I ask you something?"

"Of course," Marianne answered. "Anything."

"Why did you invite me for tea. You never had before."

"Oh. Um...." Marianne traced her finger along the rim of her cup. She knew it was coming. "I...noticed the other day, while heading to the stables. You seemed panicked about something. And frozen in place."

"....I see." The Emperor set the pot down carefully. Her jaw stiffened slightly. "I....I saw a rat. On my way back from putting my horse away for the evening."

Marianne blinked. "A...rat?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Silence passed over them, barely broken by the sound of birds flying in the air above.

Edelgard sighed. "I'm sorry. I had a bad experience with rats before. So they make me...uncomfortable."

"Oh!" Marianne shook her head. "Please, don't apologize! I completely understand. If anything, I should apologize for bringing it up."

"You don't need to, Marianne," Edelgard assured. "Still, now I am curious. Was your invitation for tea a ruse to check on me?"

"Um...y-yes." Her face flushed. "I just...I've never seen you look so unsettled. I was worried. You and the others have done so much for me, so... I wanted to repay that kindness somehow."

"You needn't try to repay anything, Marianne. We do what we do because we care about you."

"And I care about you too," Marianne said. "That's why I wanted to check on you. You are the Emperor of Adrestia. But you're also our friend. You deserve to feel safe. And happy. And if I can do something...”

Edelgard's face slowly became as pink as the roses on the table. "You've done more than enough, Marianne." She reached out, gently taking her hand. "But...if you wouldn't mind indulging me. I would love to do this again."

Marianne wasn't sure, but she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat.

"I would love to."

[mermaidsirennikita]

But Books, Though: A Blogger Intro

Hi! I'm Caroline. I read a lot of books. 99% of these are currently romance novels. That could change, but it hasn't in a while. Sometimes, you will see my opinions on things like TV, movies, niche topics. Sometimes, you will see a reblogged post. Mostly... it's books.

Update: I am a Pango Ambassador! What is Pango? It's a website for buying and selling used books (forgive me if that's the exact language of their ad, it plays a lot for me because the Internet Knows All).

If you wanna try it and save money, use code DIFFICULTWOMANREADS for $5 off your first order of $10 or more. Do I get an affiliate kickback? Yes. But it's in the form of Pangobucks, enabling me to buy more books to rant about. Use it or don't, totally up to you!

I like Pango because a) I find that more of the sellers on Pango are actual people versus chains b) it's easier for me to tell the condition of the book I'm getting and ask questions c) I've found a LOT of collectible romance novels there. And, big one: they have a tagging system and categories by genre. Which means you cans search everything from thrillers to historical romance Makes it way easier to find niche books.

Even if you aren't a collector, though, I think it's a great way to be a little more sustainable and pick up physical media you could always sell again or trade in to your local used bookstores. (Highly recommend doing that! It's fun!)

I'm a big used books girly in general because it's a great to save money (often cheaper than ebooks for mass market paperbacks especially) and... I don't know. I love a good find.

Quick Links:

My rating system

My ARC review tag

My Bookstagram

My StoryGraph

My book recs tag

^ This is for all rec requests I get, as well as book reviews wherein I would recommend the book (all books I recommend are 4 stars or higher on my rating system, unless otherwise noted).

There will be repetition, as I rarely leave a rec request hanging and don't often remember to link back to previous asks. Also, new books happen! I also don't currently have subcategory tags breaking them up. I'm sorry. Eventually, I'll try to do that, but... it would definitely require some work, as I've been recommending books on here for literal years :).

[svsss-fanon-exposed]

Honestly it may not be your intention or of other people in the conversation but some comments around the sqq light eyes post have really rubbed me off the wrong way. I'm saying this with all the respect in the world and acknowledging your post about how you don't condemn harassment, but even before with the curly haired binghe and overall in danmei fandom it feels overly judgey towards westerners. Like these physical characteristics being a result of "whitewashing" when there's examples of official art or asian artists (the ZeldaCW art you linked) being some of the earliest examples. Most of us don't know Chinese, many don't even speak english and have to rely on MTL. I really appreciate this work you're doing and going to the original source, but I'm not into the gatekeeping tone some people are taking. Like, AHA! I knew this and actually all the people who don't are stupid for regurgitating fanon like it's canon. I'll be honest, there's plenty of fanon I don't like nor agree with, and I also make dumb mistakes myself (it's me, I'm one of the people who'd forgotten the hand scar came from jin lan woops). Sorry if this is too long or overly rambly, also feel free to ignore it. I mostly wanted to share this as a PSA that tone matters, be kind to others, and that preserving canon is not justification to regard people who go with fanon with a high brow. Regards, a non white non asian ESL 3rd world country svsss fan that's been in the fandom for a couple years (I point that out because I've seen way too many times any criticism be attributed to butt hurt white americans).

Thank you for your message!

When I make my posts here, I try my best for a neutral, informative tone, but between neurodivergence and linguistic issues, I’m not always certain exactly how it comes across. Perhaps a bit too blunt, perhaps the academic or formal tone I often use may seem stuck-up… really, I don’t have the best sense of it, though I do try quite hard.

I want to provide information here. This is to provide information for a few types of people: those who wish to maintain canon accuracy, and those who wish to know where an idea might have originated whether or not they care about canon accuracy in their own works.

Some people will hold canon as the most important. Others don’t particularly care. Some prefer fanon. How one interacts with fandom is entirely their own decision. My blog here isn’t trying to tell people they’re wrong. Or tell people that I’m better than they are, or that those who didn’t know something was fanon, or who enjoy fanon, are stupid or otherwise less than those who follow canon.

Fandom is supposed to be fun. I do this because I like analyzing things. Because it might be nice to have a record of details to see where trends came from. Even some things, I haven’t been sure about myself until doing the research, and some I’ve been mistaken on too!

Things can get muddled up. Especially when the wiki is updated with fanon information. It’s not hard for something to be thought of as canon when it isn’t, especially if trying to quickly reference something without reading the book again. No one is better than anyone else for what they do and don’t know about a fictional book.

And when it comes to design choices, there’s no need to jump right to whitewashing. A knee-jerk reaction is common in fandom spaces to anything that may be “problematic,” but sometimes a design is just a design. I only went into more detail on the post regarding LBH’s hair texture because that’s something i have experience with, and it’s not something widely known about that there are differences.

At any rate, there’s no reason to be unkind to others. People should be having fun in fandom. Those who wish to stick to canon should respect those who don’t care to, even if it’s not for you.

My posts are not meant to create a moral judgement against anyone.

If you’re using it for anything but information, then you’re using it the wrong way.

I don’t have the best eye for tone, but I will continue to do my best to maintain neutrality, and informativeness. Everyone who makes conversation on my posts, just because you knew something and others didn’t doesn’t make you better than them. It just means you knew something. Just because you didn’t know something, that doesn’t make you worse— it just means you didn’t know.

Let’s not moralize this sort of thing.

Enjoy the novel, enjoy the adaptations and interpretations that you like.

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 17: PIGS FLY

A belated happy birthday to Percy and anniversary to Percabeth. I would have liked to have finished this book by now, it was the original goal in mind, but work's been murder on me and I've been lucky to keep my updating consistent as is.

Almost done with one whole series though! Like, just take a moment and bask at how far this has come already, and still with tons to go! I'm so excited I feel like I could fly!

PJOPJOPJOPJO

"Pigs fly?" Magnus read blankly, imagining a cop car sailing through the air as the next weapon of choice for a monster.

"You fly?!" Alex yelped, before she sat back in her seat with an actual look of embarrassment for once. "Sorry, reflex."

"How often does someone say the words, pigs fly to you, that you have a reflex for that?" Thalia asked in concern.

"More than you'd think," she chuckled.

Back at the Plaza, Thalia pulled me aside.

Percy threw his hands up to cover his face.

Thalia just stared at him, unimpressed.

"Sorry, reflex," he smirked as he slowly dropped his hands.

"Mock me all you like," Alex sniffed, "at least I know how to throw hands the right way."

"What did Prometheus show you?"

Reluctantly, I told her about the vision of May Castellan's house. Thalia rubbed her thigh like she was remembering the old wound.

Thalia ground up her teeth and resisted the urge to do the same thing now. That burn mark on her leg had vanished when she'd come out of the tree. She remembered standing in the mirror and seeing her skin smooth from every old scar.

She'd been pissed at her father for that. His blessing that had molded her into another person, somehow years older yet not nearly as much as she should have been with the passing of time.

"That was a bad night," she admitted. "Annabeth was so little, I don't think she really understood what she saw. She just knew Luke was upset."

"Kids absorb more than you think they do Thals," Annabeth said softly.

"Yeah, I got that the second time around," Thalia nodded. She'd done nothing to protect Annabeth from that, but a part of her was relieved for it. It made the following weeks of Luke's anger and Annabeth not questioning it make retroactive sense, rather than just thinking the kid was blindly going along with this new rash behavior.

I looked out the hotel windows at Central Park. Small fires were still burning in the north, but otherwise the city seemed unnaturally peaceful. "Do you know what happened to May Castellan? I mean—"

"I know what you mean," Thalia said. "I never saw her have an, um, episode, but Luke told me about the glowing eyes, the strange things she would say. He made me promise never to tell.

"I see that worked out great for you," only Annabeth could have told her that without making her feel like she should be devoured by her own wolves.

"Yeah, my life's been pretty swell since then," Thalia nodded, only half mocking.

What caused it, I have no idea. If Luke knew, he never told me."

"Hermes knew," I said. "Something caused May to see parts of Luke's future, and Hermes understood what would happen—how Luke would turn into Kronos."

Thalia frowned. "You can't be sure of that. Remember Prometheus was manipulating what you saw, Percy, showing you what happened in the worst possible light.

Percy glanced from Thalia to the book and back several times. She wasn't wrong. The most disturbing part of that to him, in the large array of options he had, was the moment he'd just shared with her. Of course Prometheus could have conjured that whole thing from thin air, or just that face-melting moment where the Titan had flopped what had really been on the god of messangers face and nothing else.

Either way, he had nothing to decide but the miserable feeling of what he was supposed to do with the outcome, a god's mess. As usual.

Hermes did love Luke. I could tell just by looking at his face.

She'd seen it in the brief time Jupiter had been wooing her mother. Like all of Zeus's flings so irresistible to whatever wrath Hera might bring upon them for it, he had loved Beryl for that brief time. Bringing her gifts and smiling at her. He'd looked down at Jason in his crib with that same proud, and worried face Hermes had given Luke. Zeus- Jupiter she now realized, had loved his son, and known what was in store for his fate too. Could it really be called love to stand by and do it all, outcome be damned?

And Hermes was there that night because he was checking up on May, taking care of her. He wasn't all bad."

Magnus nodded in silent agreement he probably was the reason she still had food in the house and managed any sort of home care.

"It's still not right," I insisted. "Luke was just a little kid. Hermes never helped him, never stopped him from running away."

Thalia shouldered her bow. Again it struck me how much stronger she looked now that she'd stopped aging. You could almost see a silvery glow around her—the blessing of Artemis.

Thalia smiled with a sense of pride, that Percy, the strongest male hero she knew, thought that of her. That someone so clueless easily acknowledged how well she fit into the place she'd chosen for herself.

Gods did that just make the headache continue to split her in half about leaving Jason behind a second time when she got back. A part of her wanted to ask Percy's advice on this, and Annabeth's, but a smaller part of her thought she should ask Jason first considering he was the motive of her considering giving this up, while the rest of her was still telling those annoying little siblings to shut up and they didn't need her anymore and she'd made a vow and she was happy with this life! Wholly Zeus her head hurt!

"Percy," she said, "you can't start feeling sorry for Luke.

"When can he start then?" Annabeth was not even slightly proud of the way her voice shook with anger but unable to stop it. "I'd personally love a timetable for when that's allowed!"

"Don't be smart with me," Thalia frowned. "We were in the middle of a war Annabeth, you know as well as I do he needed to stay focused on the matter at hand-"

"His 'feeling sorry' is what saved-" her shout was cut off by Percy's. The whine in the back of his throat, the way he grabbed a fistful of hair and closed his eyes against the pain.

"Sorry, sorry," they both murmured, throwing each other one last distasteful look before silently agreeing to let it go while the rest of them slowly exhaled.

Percy slowly let his eyes flutter back open as he looked miserably between the pair in self-loathing. He was really tired of being the person standing in the way of Annabeth's old life. This was obviously something she long needed to talk to Thalia about, and his stupid brain couldn't handle it!

We all have tough things to deal with. All demigods do. Our parents are hardly ever around. But Luke made bad choices. Nobody forced him to do that. In fact—"

She glanced down the hall to make sure we were alone. "I'm worried about Annabeth. If she has to face Luke in battle, I don't know if she can do it. She's always had a soft spot for him."

Annabeth gave her sister a scathing look that would have sent anyone else running out of the room, possibly through one of the walls and finishing those off. "I can handle myself fine thank you!"

Thalia grinned back, but it wasn't the supportive gesture she'd once used guiding her arm to practice their techniques. It felt mocking. Like she was about to reach over and pat her on the head as a love-sick Aphoridte kid.

Blood rose to my face. "She'll do fine."

"Thank you!" Annabeth gestured to him so hard she whacked him in the face. Neither girl noticed. Percy was left to rub his lip he was positive would have been a little swollen if not for his curse.

Nobody bothered pointing out to her Percy wanted her to be fine. Percy hated Annabeth's puppy crush on Luke more than anyone, and that was probably a little more denial talking than faith in her consecutive inabilities in previous situations to 'do fine.'

But they all valued their tongues staying safely in their mouths to much to tell her that.

Magnus swallowed in mild fear to keep going, but the awkward silence just kept growing, and Thalia looked away first. An indulgent elder watching Annabeth fondly fumble with no idea when she'd get the hang of it but confident she would. The kind of look he'd assume would be on Artemis's face watching a girl get her heart broke, because she should have seen it coming.

"I don't know. After that night, after we left his mom's house? Luke was never the same. He got reckless and moody, like he had something to prove. By the time Grover found us and tried to get us to camp . . . well, part of the reason we had so much trouble was because Luke wouldn't be careful. He wanted to pick a fight with every monster we crossed.

"When I tell you we heard rumors of a cyclops den passing through and how fast he started marking every building for its possible lair," Thalia trailed off with a superior laugh.

Annabeth flushed with anger. She'd helped Luke every step of the way, feeling important as they analyzed possible locations. She'd seen it as another lesson she'd took to heart. Gods, Thalia's anger at him had somehow gotten worse over the years to be mocking this now! "You could have just left us there then if that's how you felt!" She scowled. Thalia had followed them into every building, silent and shield drawn.

Thalia spluttered, a tinge of red in her face. Anger, or embarrassment at realizing how much she'd actually hurt her little sister with this attitude they weren't sure as she only managed to say, "I would never-"

"Knock it off you two," Percy said sharply, pressing his knuckles tight into his temple and massaging the spot the only sign of this affecting him. "We've got how much of this crap left? I really wanted to finish this today, please-" his voice broke too. In exhaustion, but a little more emphasis on that plea too. He cared about both of them and this was just getting more miserable to watch with each hurtful comment.

"Okay," Annabeth promised, taking his hand gently from his forehead and holding it in her own again.

"Yeah, sorry Perce," Thalia agreed, but she pulled her knife out and began jabbing at her pants again in simmering frustration. This was far from over, and she had no delusions this fight had an endgame. She didn't see how the two of them would ever resolve past this. Annabeth was probably secretly grateful she was out of her life most of the time now because of it.

Annabeth didn't see that as a problem. Luke was her hero. 

Was her hero, Annabeth fought to swallow those words, that idea that had passed. Faded with some time. She didn't even believe in the ideal of heroes anymore, someone who always did the right thing for all the right reasons. There was no Greek Hero who got a happy retirement with zero regrets in life. Her tight hold on Percy's hand went white-knuckled. He just laced their fingers together without question.

She only understood that his parents had made him sad, and she got very defensive of him. She still is defensive. All I'm saying . . . don't you fall into the same trap. Luke has given himself to Kronos now. We can't afford to be soft on him."

Annabeth swallowed a very large and bitter pill as she did admit to herself all of that was true. She'd only come to the conclusion of all of that for herself this morning.

She wanted to finish vindictively reminding her that giving Luke a chance had been what saved them all, that Thalia acting like Luke was a lost cause right along with everyone else in her life hadn't mattered in the end, but she instead squeezed Percy's hand and took a calming breath. Percy was right. She needed to talk to her later to resolve this. Throwing each other's past into Percy's wasn't helping anyone.

I looked out at the fires in Harlem, wondering how many sleeping mortals were in danger right now because of Luke's bad choices.

"You're right," I said.

"Sweet music to my ears," her laughter sounded very forced, but she spoke to him normally enough, the tease lacing her voice as usual with one of her closest friends.

"Hey Will, you got a guitar around man?" Percy smiled in revenge. "I'd be happy to keep singing for her if that's what she wants?"

Thalia gave him a look of horror and betrayal. She had really hurt Annabeth, he might have gone through with it too.

"No Percy, I cannot pull a musical instrument out of my ass," he chuckled.

"Darn, have to hit pause on it for now then," he shrugged, giving an oh-so-innocent and playful smile back to Thalia while she hastily waved Magnus on. He only reluctantly did so because he didn't want to draw Oceanus back in here if Alex suggested they just go see if the fridge could produce that next.

Thalia patted my shoulder. "I'm going to check on the Hunters, then get some more sleep before nightfall. You should crash too."

"The last thing I need is more dreams."

"I know, believe me." Her dark expression made me wonder what she'd been dreaming about.

Jason had watched the entire exchange between the trio with sorrow for being useless and able to offer nothing of help, even if he wanted to. He was jealous of how Percy mediated the pair. He really wanted to know if Thalia was having nightmares about what he was going through on the opposite side of the country and his war, but that was ridiculous. She'd promised she didn't even know he was alive and he believed her.

She felt the burning sensation of his eyes on her and gave him an exhausted smile. She wanted to do something right around here. "Saw Artimes in battle, and it was going poorly," she said with a catch in her voice. "One was a vision of my- our mom, that drunken night she hit a tree. She was muttering about Zeus, and of course I couldn't do anything to stop her, but every part of me wished I could reach out and grab that steering wheel from her hand. I saw a girl fighting with her aunt and deciding to run away from home right into a monster, but of course I couldn't head out and explain to her what she was heading towards like I usually would have, my fight was there. Whole bunch of stuff Jase, that just made me miserable and exhausted as I woke up."

The god's design, or perhaps a latent curse of being a half-blood they could blame on their parents. Their dreams, their abilities, everything that made them unable to be sound asleep on that sidewalk too, but instead owning up to their moral obligation to fight.

Jason nodded in understanding and didn't press her for more.

His thirst for knowledge obviously not quenched, but he turned away, Thalia was surprised to feel someone else get her attention. Annabeth had released Percy, and gently took her hand, squeezing, offering her an apologetic smile. Her nightmares had been going no better, and she'd woken up crying in pain from her shoulder.

Thalia instantly smiled and squeezed back apologetically, and just like they had for years now, Luke settled back where he always did, locked in a safe tight box out of the way in the corner of their mind.

It was a common demigod problem: the more dangerous our situation became, the worse and more frequent our dreams got.

"Seriously, who is the god of dreams, and where's the nearest pitchfork," Alex said in complete commiseration for them, and wanting to have a word about not keeping her mother out of her own.

Annabeth and Nico exchanged awkward looks before deciding it might be best just to not answer her right now. Thalia opened her mouth, clearly having woken up on the chaotic side of the bed with no reservations, and Annabeth kicked her in the shin as her blessing of a cousin quickly moved on. They all knew Will had the best sense alive to not even entertain answering her, Percy thought in relief.

Jason, of course, was just pouting he didn't get the name of another god to add to his collection. They suspected he spent every night falling asleep trying to memorize mythomagic cards anyways.

"But Percy, there's no telling when you'll get another chance for rest. It's going to be a long night—maybe our last night."

"Hells yeah Thalia," Percy nodded and offered her a high-five. "Last night on earth and we spend it living the dream."

She laughed and high-fived him right back across Annabeth's face. She sighed with a long resigned look, wondering what it was like to have normal friends. Frankly, nobody in camp could even be considered. The closest she might ever get was Magnus.

I didn't like it, but I knew she was right. I nodded wearily and gave her Pandora's jar. "Do me a favor. Lock this in the hotel vault, will you? I think I'm allergic to pithos."

"Something not to be taken lightly moving forward young man," Alex said primly. "Well have to get you an epi pen, and perhaps restrict you to homecooked meals where we can better control your future culinary intake."

"I said pithos, not pistachios," Percy rolled his eyes.

"That's worse! You can't go antiquing with me!" She pouted.

Percy looked mildly concerned what antiquing was and really didn't want to ask further questions.

Thalia smiled. "You got it."

I found the nearest bed and passed out. But of course sleep only brought more nightmares.

I saw the undersea palace of my father. The enemy army was closer now, entrenched only a few hundred yards outside the palace. The fortress walls were completely destroyed. The temple my dad had used as his headquarters was burning with Greek fire.

There was a not so small part of Percy that still wished he'd stayed down there. Avoided this prophecy, the Styx, and proved to Triton and Ampthtirte why he was his father's son and fought to keep that from happening. If he could have just saved one undersea life it would have been worth it to stay behind.

I zoomed in on the armory, where my brother and some other Cyclopes were on lunch break, eating from huge jars of Skippy extra-chunky peanut butter (and don't ask me how it tasted underwater, because I don't want to know).

"Everything's tasted normal down here actually, it probably does to them too," Magnus offered.

"I want to know how big that jar was multiple cyclopses were eating from the same one," Jason said, imagining one with approximately the same weight and height as him.

"Think bigger," Percy promised. The storage rooms for those things must house a sea witch too.

As I watched, the outer wall of the armory exploded. A Cyclops warrior stumbled inside, collapsing on the lunch table. Tyson knelt down to help, but it was too late. The Cyclops dissolved into sea silt.

Percy felt his heart freeze in place. He'd never wanted to know what would ever happen to Tyson if he got hurt!

Annabeth laced her fingers through his, brushing her thumb across the back of his hand. His lungs were starting to hurt, he still hadn't taken a breath, his eyes solely on the book, but he knew it was her. And not because it would take someone cutting off Thalia's hand to force this. He'd just know her touch anywhere.

Enemy giants moved toward the breach, and Tyson picked up the fallen warrior's club. He yelled something to his fellow blacksmiths—probably "For Poseidon!"—but with his mouth full of peanut butter it sounded like "PUH PTEH BUN!" His brethren all grabbed hammers and chisels, yelled, "PEANUT BUTTER!" and charged behind Tyson into battle.

Then the scene shifted.

"Tyson-" Percy sounded terrified. His little brother had proven to be indestructible on more than one occasion, but all he could see in his eyes were those scars on his back from the sphynx. He could be hurt. He could be next.

Annabeth squeezed his hand again and he finally took in a much-needed breath, then another, as he shook his head and tossed that fear into the nearest volcano where it could blow itself up too. Tyson was smart, and strong, and if his dad wouldn't give him a chance he'd take this opportunity to show them all.

I was with Ethan Nakamura at the enemy camp.

"Nope, no, go back to Tyson," Magnus groaned at the words out of his mouth. He was half tempted to hand the book to Alex. She was so awesome at managing a level of hateful cadence that sat right on the edge of mocking joy to keep them all invested and in the right mood. He just kept picturing this backstabber's knife pulling away from Annabeth covered in blood over and over and he probably sounded like a whiny toddler.

He took a glance at his cousin real quick before he asked just to see her not bleeding and not turning green, to see her smiling at him. Encouraging, but not demanding he keep going right this second. He was suddenly really jealous of all her half-siblings in her cabin as he took a ragged breath but kept reading at his own pace.

What I saw made me shiver, partly because the army was so huge, partly because I recognized the place.

We were in the backwoods of New Jersey, on a crumbling road lined with run-down businesses and tattered billboard signs. A trampled fence ringed a big yard full of cement statuary. The sign above the warehouse was hard to read because it was in red cursive, but I knew what it said: AUNTY EM'S GARDEN GNOME EMPORIUM.

"Oh the good old days when Percy and Annabeth ran away from the circus and Grover was tagging along calling you guys idiots," Jason nodded.

"The first monster we ever killed together," Percy agreed as he gave her a kiss on the temple.

"The second time I had to save your butt," she grinned.

"The third time you-"

"Nope, no, we're not sitting around watching you two flirt, again," Magnus groused before reading on loudly.

I hadn't thought about the place in years.

"I'm pretty sure Grover thinks about it every once in a while," Jason muttered. The place he'd found out where his Uncle Ferdinand had died had seemed important to him at the time.

It was clearly abandoned. The statues were broken and spray-painted with graffiti. A cement satyr—Grover's Uncle Ferdinand—had lost his arm.

"Please tell me you don't mention that to Grover," Jason winced.

"Why would that ever come up?" Percy asked in mild concern. He certainly didn't go up to him after every nightmare and give him the details.

Part of the warehouse roof had caved in. A big yellow sign pasted on the door read: CONDEMNED.

"Where's Clarisse with her wrecking ball," Will agreed.

"I only wish she'd been off doing this secret mission. I actually would have told her about this nightmare if I believed for even a second she would," Percy nodded.

Hundreds of tents and fires surrounded the property. Mostly I saw monsters, but there were some human mercenaries in combat fatigues and demigods in armor, too. A purple-and-black banner hung outside the emporium, guarded by two huge blue Hyperboreans.

Ethan was crouched at the nearest campfire.

Percy scowled, his blood boiling at once. He wished this was a 'normal' kind of nightmare and he was about to watch a monster chase this guy around before eating him. By the tone of Magnus's voice, Percy was pretty sure he wouldn't even be that freaked out by the nastiest monster Percy could pick either.

A couple of other demigods sat with him, sharpening their swords. The doors of the warehouse opened, and Prometheus stepped out.

"Nakamura," he called. "The master would like to speak to you."

Ethan stood up warily. "Something wrong?"

Prometheus smiled. "You'll have to ask him."

One of the other demigods snickered. "Nice knowing you."

"Was it though?" Thalia asked blandly.

"Can't say I've enjoyed the experience," Percy huffed. Imagining this guy with friends though, maybe a mortal family somewhere out there agitated his mind. What else had Ethan given up besides his eye to get where he was?

Ethan readjusted his sword belt and headed into the warehouse.

Except for the hole in the roof, the place was just as I remembered. Statues of terrified people stood frozen in midscream.

"Got to wonder if the Hyperboreans are a fan of her work," Jason shivered.

"Or if they're possibly responsible for the iceberg that sank the Titanic," Alex nodded.

"That was a stretch," Annabeth frowned.

"I don't put anything past Canadians, I don't cut them slack," Alex sniffed.

In the snack bar area, the picnic tables had been moved aside. Right between the soda dispenser and pretzel warmer stood a golden throne. Kronos lounged on it, his scythe across his lap.

Percy looked a little miffed because if he had a throne, that's where he'd want it placed too. Kronos shouldn't be having good ideas like that.

He wore jeans and a T-shirt, and with his brooding expression he looked almost human—like the younger version of Luke I'd seen in the vision, pleading with Hermes to tell him his fate. Then Luke saw Ethan, and his face contorted into a very inhuman smile. His golden eyes glowed.

"Asked, and answered," Nico murmured. Luke had postulated about how proud he was being at the heart of all this, but he didn't think that young Luke yelling at Hermes would have done the same.

"Well, Nakamura. What did you think of the diplomatic mission?"

Ethan hesitated. "I'm sure Lord Prometheus is better suited to speak—"

"But I asked you."

Ethan's good eye darted back and forth, noting the guards that stood around Kronos.

Will looked so sad to hear that. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of willingly being somewhere where you feared for your life talking to your leader. Who would put themselves through that?

"I . . . I don't think Jackson will surrender. Ever."

Kronos nodded. "Anything else you wanted to tell me?"

"N-no, sir.

"You look nervous, Ethan."

"No, sir. It's just . . . I heard this was the lair of —"

"Medusa? Yes, quite true. Lovely place, eh? Unfortunately, Medusa hasn't re-formed since Jackson killed her, so you needn't worry about joining her collection.

Jason looked blankly around the room. "How does he know that? How on earth does he know it was Percy who killed her? Does his half-blood scent linger every time he kills a monster?"

Percy grinned. "I imagine him and Medusa in Tartarus bitching about me, personally. All the monsters I send down there have a hate club, and I'm on buttons."

Annabeth sighed and face palmed how proud he clearly was of that idea. She didn't bother wasting her breath explaining the darkest part of the world had no time for such light-heartedness. She did picture a few balloons with the camp half-blood logo being popped in celebration and grinned to herself for a second at Joe Bob only being allowed to throw tiny darts instead of more flaming cannonballs.

Besides, there are much more dangerous forces in this room."

Kronos looked over at a Laistrygonian giant who was munching noisily on some french fries. Kronos waved his hand and the giant froze. A french fry hung suspended in midair halfway between his hand and his mouth.

"Whew," Jason mock wiped sweat from his brow, "for a moment there I thought Kronos meant the ice giant and I was afraid he'd lost his ego!"

"Where is that on the body? I'll stab it, no questions asked," Percy sighed.

Thalia leaned around Annabeth and tried to jab Percy in the part of his skull she was pretty confident was close enough before she swatted her away with a distasteful look for the joke at both boys.

"Why turn them to stone," Kronos asked, "when you can freeze time itself?"

His golden eyes bored into Ethan's face. "Now, tell me one more thing. What happened last night on the Williamsburg Bridge?"

Will would have rather heard about Kronos getting stabbed in the throat than that continuing to be brought up. It really did hurt fresh every time.

Ethan trembled. Beads of perspiration were popping up on his forehead. "I . . . I don't know, sir."

"Yes, you do." Kronos rose from his seat. "When you attacked Jackson, something happened. Something was not quite right. The girl, Annabeth, jumped in your way."

"She wanted to save him."

"But he is invulnerable," Kronos said quietly. "You saw that yourself."

"I can't explain it. Maybe she forgot."

"I can't get Annabeth to forget the one time I burnt the popcorn," Percy scoffed. It didn't feel great to be on the same page as Kronos about something, but the fact was he could all to easily hear the disdain for that idea before Kronos even spoke it.

"And look what happened, now you believe me about proper timers on the microwave instead of just mashing that 30 second button," Annabeth nodded approvingly.

"She forgot," Kronos said. "Yes, that must've been it. Oh dear, I forgot my friend is invulnerable and took a knife for him. Oops. Tell me, Ethan, where were you aiming when you stabbed at Jackson?"

And there it was. Of course Kronos hadn't missed a beat, the Titan was probably a great dancer! He would likely leave the rest of his army to burn and drag Ethan out by his foot still demanding the answer to this.

Ethan frowned. He clasped his hand as if he were holding a blade, and mimed a thrust. "I'm not sure, sir. It all happened so fast. I wasn't aiming for any spot in particular."

"Is he, protecting you?" Magnus's voice was a painful combination of hope and dread. Did the guy have even a sliver of regret for all the suffering he'd caused? Or was this some secret vendetta and he was planning on killing Percy for himself?

"I honestly don't think he knew," Percy shook his head, even with a confused stare of his own. "No offense Magnus, but I've said it before, the heat of battle makes it so you don't think about every move." He tapped the side of his temple instead of gesturing at the books for some strange reason to make his point.

Magnus nodded in a way he understood what Percy meant, even if he had no factual idea what Percy was talking about outside of these books.

Kronos's fingers tapped the blade of his scythe. "I see," he said in a chilly tone. "If your memory improves, I will expect—"

Suddenly the Titan lord winced. The giant in the corner unfroze and the french fry fell into his mouth.

Kronos stumbled backward and sank into his throne.

"Woah," Alex said, sitting up instantly with completely undivided attention.

Magnus really didn't need the extra pressure of all of her attention on him, the way Annabeth had tensed up and his own common sense were more than enough, but his voice still went a little shaky for a few sentences despite his internal scolding.

"My lord?" Ethan started forward.

"I—" The voice was weak, but just for a moment it was Luke's. Then Kronos's expression hardened.

He raised his hand and flexed his fingers slowly as if forcing them to obey.

Annabeth felt herself go numb, like her mind was actively trying to detach itself to save her from feeling the full brunt of pain that should have caused.

Even through that, she felt Percy's arm tighten around her, his hand coming up to brush her hair. It didn't feel fair, that comfort and safety she felt. While her sister crossed her arms and scowled at the book like Magnus or Percy's own dream was trying to trick her. That she got this and the eventual peace of mind Luke wasn't suffering anymore under this torture if she could just hang on until then.

And she would.

It only hurt so much, hearing it fresh through Percy's memories because it only confirmed for her what she'd known all along. How much Luke had wanted to change, wanted to fight this. It was a good kind of hurt, even knowing it had all been in vain.

"It is nothing," he said, his voice steely and cold again. "A minor discomfort."

Ethan moistened his lips. "He's still fighting you, isn't he? Luke—"

"Is that, common knowledge," Jason asked with deep interest. "Or- huh. I always wondered what happened after you guys left that mountaintop, and Ethan was the only one there besides those Telkahines to witness if Luke and Kronos were having some sort of-"

"Enough Jason," Thalia's voice sounded harsh. It probably had something to do with the fact that everything hurt.

"Nonsense," Kronos spat. "Repeat that lie, and I will cut out your tongue. The boy's soul has been crushed. 

Annabeth knew the feeling. Her soul might as well have been crushed under that sky. She'd been walking around with a faulty, unstable structure of a soul for a long time since as she learned to do repairs there.

I am simply adjusting to the limits of this form. It requires rest. It is annoying, but no more than a temporary inconvenience."

"I'll show him a temporary inconvenience," Alex scowled. "Shove my fist so far down his throat and then hope he's allergic to nuts as I pull back out-"

Will gave a slight cough, which was the flimsiest reprimand possible, but Alex was great at taking a hint like that.

"As . . . as you say, my lord."

"You!" Kronos pointed his scythe at a dracaena with green armor and a green crown. "Queen Sess, is it?"

"There's a queen of those things?" Will asked in disgust, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around his stomach to hide their favorite target of ripping people's guts.

"Not for long," Nico promised. He'd put this thing's head on a plate just for making Will look like that.

"Yesssss, my lord."

"Is our little surprise ready to be unleashed?"

"Why he gotta be vague even in dreamland?" Magnus frowned. "Who's he mincing words for?!"

"He does know Percy and plenty of half-bloods are likely seeing this," Annabeth reminded gently. "It does suck to see him being cautious." Her dreams had mostly been filled with painful flashes she could never focus on long enough, a torture in itself. Chiron trying to convince his brethren to help, her mother attempting to reason with the other gods on how best to cripple Typhoon and being ignored, that sort of thing.

The dracaena queen bared her fangs. "Oh, yessss, my lord. Quite a lovely sssssurprissse."

"I don't believe her," Percy scowled, wondering what was going to happen when a pig and a snake got crossed and imagining some horrible flying monstrosity somehow that shot venom and had tusks and could kill him twenty different ways instead of the usual ten.

"Excellent," Kronos said. "Tell my brother Hyperion to move our main force south into Central Park. The half-bloods will be in such disarray they will not be able to defend themselves. Go now, Ethan. Work on improving your memory. We will talk again when we have taken Manhattan."

"Oh, so, never," Nico said with interest. "Always nice to know how long you can put a conversation off for."

"Nico over here finding all the secrets to enjoy life today," Alex chuckled.

"I like to think we're all getting something out of this," Nico shrugged with a little smirk.

Ethan bowed, and my dreams shifted one last time.

"Did you have a gut feeling it was one last time?" Jason asked, his voice instantly falling into rambling territory again as he smiled. "Actually, your dreams have been coming in threes lately! I wonder if it's because of your heightened battle fatigue, or perhaps the curse increased your extra sense that allows this as well, or-"

"I'm going to get a pillow and smother him," Percy decided.

"Do it gently," Thalia sighed, "I'm not banking on him coming back from the dead a second time."

Jason closed his mouth and looked around to make sure there weren't actually any pillows to be used against him in here. The only ones available were the couch cushions, but he wasn't going to bet his precious air that Percy wouldn't rip those out from under his butt to try.

I saw the Big House at camp, but it was a different era. The house was painted red instead of blue.

Alex spluttered on a laugh and Magnus couldn't help but join in.

"How often do they repaint that?" Will asked in his own delight. "Is it due for another? Because I vote orange!"

"You're going to make kids blind when the sun hits that thing," Nico sighed.

"I was going to ask you guys that," Alex caught her breath back and grinned at Annabeth as her last hope. "Where do I vote to make it tie-die rainbow?!"

"I'll be sure to bring it up with Chiron when we get back," Annabeth chuckled.

The campers down at the volleyball pit had early '90s hairstyles, which were probably good for keeping monsters away.

Which only increased the laughter another fold with everybody joining in.

"I need a photo of Chiron with an afro," Thalia wheezed. "I won't even use it for blackmail, I swear!"

"I guarantee the Aphrodite cabin had a whole closet dedicated to butterfly clips," Annabeth nodded.

"Every girl was rocking The Rachel, and every guy had frosted tips, I needed no further evidence why camp survived up to Thalia's tree," Percy nodded.

Chiron stood by the porch, talking to Hermes and a woman holding a baby. Chiron's hair was shorter and darker. Hermes wore his usual jogging suit with his winged high-tops. The woman was tall and pretty. She had blond hair, shining eyes and a friendly smile. The baby in her arms squirmed in his blue blanket like Camp Half-Blood was the last place he wanted to be.

"Has anybody dropped off a baby there like at a firehouse?" Magnus asked in concern.

"Not that I know of," Will frowned, his mind boggling who would raise the tot. Chiron seemed like the only viable option, and he was now picturing him in archery class with a second quiver and that blue blanket sticking out.

"It's an honor to have you here," Chiron told the woman, though he sounded nervous. "It's been a long time since a mortal was allowed at camp."

"Don't encourage her," Hermes grumbled. "May, you can't do this."

"Obviously about to do something a god told her not to do," Alex said with a pained smile. "Damn Percy, I know you hate to hear it, but you were destined to be just like Luke. In all the good ways, anyways."

Annabeth gave her a distasteful look. It sounded like kind words but still somehow insulted Luke.

"Yeah, yeah," Percy sighed. It still gave him vertigo how much May Castellan reminded him of his mom. Posideon had wanted to send him to camp and she'd refused. Hermes was over here telling May not to do something, and things obviously hadn't turned out well for her.

With a shock, I realized I was seeing May Castellan. She looked nothing like the old woman I'd met.

She seemed full of life—the kind of person who could smile and make everyone around her feel good.

Yep, just keep drawing those parallels universe, Percy wanted to scream and slam the book shut. He couldn't get enough of them!

"Oh, don't worry so much," May said, rocking the baby. "You need an Oracle, don't you? The old one's been dead for, what, twenty years?"

"Longer," Chiron said gravely.

Hermes raised his arms in exasperation. "I didn't tell you that story so you could apply.

"Why, did he tell her the story?" Magnus asked in concern. It didn't seem like a random funfact a god would drop.

"Also, he called it a story?" Jason arched a brow in fascination. "Either he doesn't know Hades did it, or damn, they're really more detached than even I thought and it's getting beyond depressing."

Annabeth and Thalia exchanged depressed looks.

To their surprise, Percy answered. "Yeah, honestly guys, none of that surprises me. My mom probably asked my dad something about clear sight too, maybe the gods explain it if they're lucky, and we know the gods don't know when curses get thrown around every time, otherwise Hades would have been able to find Deaduls from that bird brand thing Athena gave him."

Both boys nodded, they got way to wrapped up in the moment sometimes.

It's dangerous. Chiron, tell her."

"It is," Chiron warned.

"And that's why Chiron's lived all these years," Will nodded wisely.

"Does he take every order given to him by the gods? Dude needs some more fun in his life," Alex sniffed.

"He escaped his family of constant fun, I think he likes being a little more settled and calm at camp," Nico reminded. He could appreciate the old soul who just wanted to be left alone for hours on end, a feeling he'd been deprived of for days. Even in company he'd grown to like. He'd never even had a social battery before all this and it was way over-taxed.

"For many years, I have forbidden anyone from trying. We don't know exactly what's happened. Humanity seems to have lost the ability to host the Oracle."

"That's somehow worse than the original curse," Thalia said in disgust. "I can't believe Hades never warned anybody what he did, even to brag about it!"

"And have Apollo's wrath rain upon him and start a mini-civil war?" Will sighed. "No, Hades would probably be pleased if he ever found out another immortal's lover fell prey to this curse after what was done to his."

Nico smiled in surprise at Will acknowledging his dad's cunning side, and even more at Thaila conceding the point.

"We've been through that," May said. "And I know I can do it. Hermes, this is my chance to do something good. I've been given the gift of sight for a reason."

'Not this reason' bile rose painfully in the back of Annabeth's throat. She hated Zeus so much in this moment it didn't even feel like it should all be contained inside her. This was his fault for trying to prevent the prophecy by outlawing children as if he wouldn't break that the moment he felt like it. He'd taken it out on other gods because he feared of history repeating itself like he'd overthrown Kronos. So of course he'd inevitably created his own downfall in this domino of effects that Luke and Percy completed.

I wanted to yell at May Castellan to stop. I knew what was about to happen. I finally understood how her life had been destroyed. But I couldn't move or speak.

"You think Luke ever had this dream?" Will asked, his voice rough with emotion for this poor family. "Think Kronos showed it to him?" He'd almost wish it for him, to give the guy some kind of closure on what happened to his mother, but surely this had only added fuel to the flame of his hatred.

Annabeth and Thalia exchanged miserable looks because, they didn't know. And that always hurt worse.

Hermes looked more hurt than worried. "You couldn't marry if you became the Oracle," he complained. "You couldn't see me anymore."

That was a weirdly selfish but kind of sweet complaint, Alex thought in surprise. It continued to intrigue her how many times the gods kept saying this was the mortal they wanted to love and cherish forever, when she'd never fathomed before all this a god would bother to have a child without a selfish motivation of breaking them free of a prison.

May put her hand on his arm. "I can't have you forever, can I? You'll move on soon. You're immortal."

He started to protest, but she put her hand on his chest. "You know it's true! Don't try to spare my feelings. Besides, we have a wonderful child. I can still raise Luke if I'm the Oracle, right?"

"No," Magnus said bluntly, but a gentleness to his voice. A doctor with to much experience giving someone months to live. No, she could not do it, and they all wished she hadn't tried.

Chiron coughed. "Yes, but in all fairness, I don't know how that will affect the spirit of the Oracle. A woman who has already borne a child—as far as I know, this has never been done before. If the spirit does not take—"

"It will," May insisted.

No, I wanted to shout. It won't.

Percy shivered, and Annabeth put her arms around him to hold him tight. He rested his head on hers for a moment as he felt the chains of this dream melt. Some part of him still felt what Luke must have every day for a time. How evil all of this felt, even just the act of showing him this knowing he couldn't do a thing to stop it, the worst torture to put him through.

But he took a breath and got a whiff of her lemon scent and knew the gods couldn't be all bad, not so long as they could go through this together.

May Castellan kissed her baby and handed the bundle to Hermes. "I'll be right back."

She gave them one last confident smile and climbed the steps.

Magnus asked dully, "can I take this moment as proof; that confidence cannot take you over the finish line?"

"Sure, but it doesn't mean don't do it scared either," Alex shrugged.

Which really kind of freaked the others out for a moment as they realized they had no idea what Alex was willing to do without caring about the consequences.

Chiron and Hermes paced in silence. The baby squirmed.

A green glow lit the windows of the house. The campers stopped playing volleyball and stared up at the attic. A cold wind rushed through the strawberry fields.

Hermes must've felt it too. He cried, "No! NO!"

He shoved the baby into Chiron's arms and ran for the porch. Before he reached the door, the sunny afternoon was shattered by May Castellan's terrified scream.

I got up so fast I banged my head on somebody's shield.

"Got to make you wonder how the rest of that day went," Nico said bluntly. His father had dumped him in a river and then a hotel to get away from it. How long had baby Luke been left in Chiron's lap while May continued screaming to this day in different spirits? How long until someone remembered to collect the baby and then think of no better option but to leave him with her? Who kept restocking all the ingredients in that house just to watch them go bad?

"I imagine that day went not well and kept stretching for the next twenty-something years," Percy said miserably. A part of him still wanted to yell at Hestia and Prometheus and whatever other god decided to keep showing him this crap! Why was it whenever he needed answers he was told to wait, but he kept getting all of Luke's miserable life beamed into his head lately?!

"Ow!"

"Sorry, Percy." Annabeth was standing over me. "I was just about to wake you."

"With a shield to the face?" Jason didn't sound disapproving exactly, to Percy's dismay, more just curious how that would have gone. Percy was already imagining her banging on it like a gong too.

"No, that was just bad luck, his specialty," she shrugged.

She just got dubious looks from the others, though more for the fact of why she was holding anything when she should have been on bed rest.

Not that a single one of them was insane enough to think to tell her that, not if they wanted to keep their jaws from being dislocated.

I rubbed my head, trying to clear the disturbing visions. Suddenly a lot of things made sense to me: May Castellan had tried to become the Oracle. She hadn't known about Hades's curse preventing the spirit of Delphi from taking another host. Neither had Chiron or Hermes. They hadn't realized that by trying to take the job, May would be driven mad, plagued with fits in which her eyes would glow green and she would have shattered glimpses of her child's future.

Alex repressed hard the disturbing question swimming to mind of what would happen to the next person who tried. Chiron had said he'd forbidden anyone from trying before May Castellan. Had the girl, that cursed Oracle, warned him of the curse placed upon her? And what of the next girl...the one who kept having dreams of Percy and Luke and all this prophecy...

But Rachel had been fine. In this room chilling with Percy. So that had all worked itself out fine.

Unless she'd just been having one of her good days.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied.

Annabeth gave him a look that very plainly said she'd like to hit him in the face with that shield again, on purpose.

He just grinned back, mildly apologetic, and she rolled her eyes and moved on.

"What . . . what are you doing in armor? You should be resting."

"Oh, I'm fine," she said, though she still looked pale. She was barely moving her right arm.

"Because that's the definition of fine," Will said with a grimace. He still had not managed to duplicate himself into twenty other versions to keep an eye on every kid in camp though, plus a few extra to enjoy leisure and fun since this happened, so really, he had no one to blame on this happening but himself.

"It's Percy's definition of fine," Annabeth sniffed while her boyfriend gave her a miserable smile.

"And we all know we should take Percy's grasp on the English dictionary as biblical," Jason said with pure sarcasm.

"Open to interpretation, exactly," Annabeth nodded in appreciation.

"Gods, they've already come up with their own secret language, we're doomed," Thalia groaned while Percy nodded in agreement.

"That nectar and ambrosia fixed me up."

"Uh-huh. You can't seriously go out and fight."

She offered me her good hand and helped me up. My head was pounding.

"Takes one to know one," Annabeth said with pride. She'd know Percy's headache face anywhere. He had so much tension in his jaw it could snap another bridge.

Outside, the sky was purple and red.

"You're going to need every person you have," she said. "I just looked in my shield. There's an army—"

"Heading south into Central Park," I said. "Yeah, I know."

I told her part of my dreams. I left out the vision of May Castellan, because it was too disturbing to talk about. I also left out Ethan's speculation about Luke fighting Kronos inside his body. I didn't want to get Annabeth's hopes up.

Their light banter shifted instantly to a gap between them falling from nowhere. Not large, either could jump over it if they wished, they just leaned back anyway to give each other space from that.

"Do you think Ethan suspects about your weak spot?" she asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. "He didn't tell Kronos anything, but if he figures it out—"

"We can't let him."

"I'll bonk him on the head harder next time," I suggested.

Jason gave a breathy laugh as he closed his mouth back and Percy shot him a smirk of understanding. Some advice was universal.

"Any idea what surprise Kronos was talking about?"

She shook her head. "I didn't see anything in the shield, but I don't like surprises."

"Agreed."

"No surprise birthday parties, got it," Alex nodded seriously, she did not need a sword at her throat for some sparklers thank you, no matter how tempting the idea sounded just to test both of their reflexes.

"So," she said, "are you going to argue about me coming along?"

"Nah. You'd just beat me up."

Percy laughed right along with everybody else. He'd always love this feeling and do anything he could to get back to it, no matter how many fights he had to remember for this.

She managed a laugh, which was good to hear. I grabbed my sword, and we went to rally the troops.

Thalia and the head counselors were waiting for us at the Reservoir. The lights of the city were blinking on at twilight. I guess a lot of them were on automatic timers. Streetlamps glowed around the shore of the lake, making the water and trees look even spookier.

"They're coming," Thalia confirmed, pointing north with a silver arrow. "One of my scouts just reported they've crossed the Harlem River. There was no way to hold them back. The army . . ." She shrugged. "It's huge."

"Because that's a shrugging kind of statement," Magnus frowned.

"Oh I'm sorry, let me try again," Thalia rolled her eyes, cleared her throat, and said, "the army, it's huge!" Then she gasped dramatically and mock sobbed.

"Thank you," Magnus nodded.

"See, I think the Hunters and Campers would respect you more for that, everybody loves the emotional one who cries at everything," Alex mockingly agreed.

"I know sarcasm when I hear it Alex, and I don't care," Magnus crossed his arms, fully aware she was the only person he could ever pretend defiance at and it still somehow looked dainty in his own mind.

"We'll hold them at the park," I said. "Grover, you ready?"

He nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be. If my nature spirits can stop them anywhere, this is the place."

"Yes, we will!" said another voice. A very old, fat satyr pushed through the crowd, stumbling over his own spear. He was dressed in wood-bark armor that only covered half of his belly.

"Leneus?" I said.

"I note the question mark behind his name," Magnus laughed in surprise. "Now you're questioning if you remember it right, or just that he's there? I'm at both!"

"Nah, just the second, I could never forget that grass stain in his fur," Percy smirked.

"Don't act so surprised," he huffed. "I am a leader of the Council, and you did tell me to find Grover. Well, I found him, and I'm not going to let a mere outcast lead the satyrs without my help!"

"He's...almost got you there Percy," Nico looked so bewildered at how close the old goat was to being right on some level.

"Yeah, I almost have a gut feeling about how this is going to go now, but that might just be him rubbing off on me," Percy said.

Behind Leneus's back, Grover made gagging motions, but the old satyr grinned like he was the savior of the day.

Which caused another round of laughter throughout the room.

"Oh, it's been far to long since we got to hear Grover being as rotten as you Perce," Will managed.

"You just haven't heard the best of him," Percy grinned. Grover had threatened to eat more than one of Mrs. Dodd's assignments back in the day, even if he'd never managed to say it to her face.

"Never fear! We'll show those Titans!"

I didn't know whether to laugh or be angry, but I managed to keep a straight face. "Um . . . yeah.

"Herculean effort right there," Annabeth nodded in admiration.

Percy grinned, it was the first time hearing his name hadn't annoyed him in a while. Now if only she somehow had that way with saying Luke's name.

Well, Grover, you won't be alone. Annabeth and the Athena cabin will make their stand here. And me, and . . . Thalia?"

Jason found it an odd moment of hesitation for Percy. Obviously he knew he couldn't order her to help, but he thought Percy had enough confidence in their friendship he could just ask her without thinking twice. He certainly would have assumed it of them.

She patted me on the shoulder. "Say no more. The Hunters are ready."

I looked at the other counselors. "That leaves the rest of you with a job just as important. You have to guard the other entrances to Manhattan. You know how tricky Kronos is. He'll hope to distract us with this big army and sneak another force in somewhere else. It's up to you to make sure that doesn't happen. Has each cabin chosen a bridge or tunnel?"

The counselors nodded grimly.

Annabeth still remembered the array of looks on their faces as she wondered if she'd see them all again. The edges of revenge had some wear and tear on Jake's sharp face, Drew had looked fierce and tried to stand taller than anyone. The Stolls had been standing next to each other, as usual, but there had been something grim in their smiles that made her blood chill. Katie had looked like she was fighting back tears as she adjusted her bag, and she hadn't even seen Will there. Maybe he'd been delegating from his tent, maybe one of the other Apollo kids had assumed battle command and they were sharing. Pollux had stood apart from everyone. Eyes downcast, gripping a canteen. She knew he'd gone with the Demeter cabin. She knew he'd helped in every way he could.

She knew none of it had felt like enough.

"Then let's do it," I said. "Good hunting, everybody!"

We heard the army before we saw it.

The noise was like a cannon barrage combined with a football stadium crowd—like every Patriots fan in New England was charging us with bazookas.

"I feel like that's one of those normal nightmares you've never bothered to mention," Alex grinned. That was a little to specific for Percy to have no reference.

"I'm not a big enough sports fan to care what colors they were wearing," Percy shrugged.

At the north end of the reservoir, the enemy vanguard broke through the woods—a warrior in golden armor leading a battalion of Laistrygonian giants with huge bronze axes. Hundreds of other monsters poured out behind them.

"Positions!" Annabeth yelled.

Her cabinmates scrambled. The idea was to make the enemy army break around the reservoir. To get to us, they'd have to follow the trails, which meant they'd be marching in narrow columns on either side of the water.

At first, the plan seemed to work.

Jason nodded without surprise. Annabeth would of course come up with a strong strategy for the beginning and Percy would help conclude this with one of his on-the-fly insane ideas. He just wished he'd gotten to hear the in-between, the planning stages. Gods he wished he could sit on this book and ignore everybody else trying to stop him from picking apart her brain. Maybe he could guilt Thalia into distracting them for a bit when this book was done and have some fun over a sheaf of charting paper with Annabeth if he was lucky.

The enemy divided and streamed toward us along the shore. When they were halfway across, our defenses kicked in. The jogging trail erupted in Greek fire, incinerating many of the monsters instantly. Others flailed around, engulfed in green flames. Athena campers threw grappling hooks around the largest giants and pulled them to the ground.

In the woods on the right, the Hunters sent a volley of silver arrows into the enemy line, destroying twenty or thirty dracaenae, but more marched behind them. A bolt of lightning crackled out of the sky and fried a Laistrygonian giant to ashes, and I knew Thalia must be doing her daughter of Zeus thing.

"Please do pause and share your powers of deduction there Sherlock," Thalia rolled her eyes at him pointing out something so minor.

"You weren't using them on me, so I knew it was you and not your dad," Percy shrugged. He had like, a fifty-fifty shot of being right anyways.

"Ah, thank you, proceed." She grinned.

Grover raised his pipes and played a quick tune. A roar went up from the woods on both sides as every tree, rock, and bush seemed to sprout a spirit. Dryads and satyrs raised their clubs and charged. The trees wrapped around the monsters, strangling them. Grass grew around the feet of the enemy archers. Stones flew up and hit dracaenae in the faces.

Magnus decided he had a lot of mixed feelings about that he needed to sit with for a while. Nature had always meant kindness to him, as he remembered his mother weaving through the trees and smiling every day no matter the sky above. He never felt to cold or to hot sleeping under the shade of leaves in parks every night.

This description, this long-shattered world view was still something he was trying to adjust to no matter how many days later. The fact that something so deeply ingrained in the good of his life had a violent side that could fight back, if for a good cause.

The enemy slogged forward. Giants smashed through the trees, and naiads faded as their life sources were destroyed. Hellhounds lunged at the timber wolves, knocking them aside. Enemy archers returned fire, and a Hunter fell from a high branch.

One of many moments Thalia wasn't proud of. That she couldn't stop and check on every girl to make sure they still had breath, that she couldn't have taken her friend's place in that spot but instead tried to make up for it by being everywhere on the ground, the central target.

"Percy!" Annabeth grabbed my arm and pointed at the reservoir.

Which Magnus was grateful for as he tried to pull himself out of his own mind. This kind of violence he hated to be immersed in, that he'd be running out of so fast nobody would have time to call him a coward.

The Titan in the gold armor wasn't waiting for his forces to advance around the sides. He was charging toward us, walking straight over the top of the lake.

Percy huffed and made a grumpy, annoyed little frown. Nico was pretty confident it was because a Titan had tried that before it had crossed Percy's mind to attempt.

A Greek firebomb exploded right on top of him, but he raised his palm and sucked the flames out of the air.

"He can't do that to the sun, right?" Magnus asked with dread in every syllable why this guy hadn't just turned around and caused this planet's destruction already.

"Probably," Percy shrugged without much concern, "but where would be the fun in that?"

"Hyperion," Annabeth said in awe. "The lord of light. Titan of the east."

"Bad?" I guessed.

"Next to Atlas, he's the greatest Titan warrior. In the old days, four Titans controlled the four corners of the world. Hyperion was the east—the most powerful. He was the father of Helios, the first sun god."

"Bad," Jason repeated, just in case Percy had missed any of that. Better to keep it on his level.

"Yes, thank you," Percy's grin was fuelled with adrenaline that made Jason's skin crawl. "Guess who's going to need the lesson the sun also has to set, and I'm not even going to put on stupid ram's horns."

"Pity, I bet Grover would have fashioned you some if you asked," Alex said.

"I'll keep him busy," I promised.

"Percy, even you can't—"

"Just keep our forces together."

We'd set up at the reservoir for good reason. I concentrated on the water and felt its power surging through me.

Nico sighed, really wishing he could get some more kind of deep dive experience out of that answer. He'd love to know Percy's process and how he might be able to replicate that without exhausting himself trying to do something similar like walk across a shadowy abyss.

The truth just seemed to be Percy had natural talent, something he couldn't study and practice and get better at.

I advanced toward Hyperion, running over the top of the water. Yeah, buddy. Two can play that game.

"Maybe even three if Tyson tried hard enough," Jason smirked.

"I wish," Percy agreed, while Thalia looked a little green at the implications of walking on water. The clearer she could see to the bottom, the more likely she'd rather just stay on shore and hope for the best.

Twenty feet away, Hyperion raised his sword. His eyes were just like I'd seen in my dream—as gold as Kronos's but brighter, like miniature suns.

"The sea god's brat," he mused. "You're the one who trapped Atlas beneath the sky again?"

"It wasn't hard," I said. "You Titans are about as bright as my gym socks."

"Are we still talking your Meriwether uniform?" Alex asked with interest. "With tie die shirts and shorts? I'm hoping they provided the vibrant socks as well. That's almost a compliment Percy."

"Note to self, compare Alex to my socks later," Percy nodded to himself.

"Oh you have no idea what you've done," Annabeth told her in misery. Alex, of course, just grinned at the challenge of the crazy kind of socks she'd try to get Percy into.

Hyperion snarled. "You want bright?"

His body ignited in a column of light and heat. I looked away, but I was still blinded.

Instinctively I raised Riptide—just in time. Hyperion's blade slammed against mine. The shock wave sent a ten-foot ring of water across the surface of the lake.

My eyes still burned. I had to shut off his light.

I concentrated on the tidal wave and forced it to reverse. Just before impact, I jumped upward on a jet of water.

"I'm getting Ares flashbacks," Magnus was blinking too like he was struggling to keep one god in mind. Percy had fought to many by now, they tended to blur together.

"Yeah, I walked so they could run or something like that," Percy grinned.

Magnus just shook his head and didn't bother to correct him. He was almost right that time. Besides, he liked the idea of the gods running from Percy on sight if they started to annoy him after a certain set number had been defeated. Maybe this would be it.

"AHHHHH!" The waves smashed into Hyperion and he went under, his light extinguished.

I landed on the lake's surface just as Hyperion struggled to his feet. His golden armor was dripping wet. His eyes no longer blazed, but they still looked murderous.

"You will burn, Jackson!" he roared.

"Been there, done that," Percy mock yawned, shifting his weight so much in his seat like he was on the ride of his life. "Try another volcano."

"Please do not," Annabeth grumbled, taking his hand again.

Our swords met again and the air charged with ozone.

"You two are probably single-handedly pushing that whole glacier melting problem into overdrive," Will sighed.

"I'll go up to Antarctica and freeze them over again on vacation," Percy said in mild apology. The whales complained all the time in the ocean about their migration patterns feeling off and he didn't want to make that worse.

Jason shivered, and the others chuckled like he was just playing up the joke, so he just smiled along and repressed deep the dark feeling he had about that joke.

The battle still raged around us. On the right flank, Annabeth was leading an assault with her siblings.

Magnus tried his best to swallow his concern and not blurt out if Annabeth was okay. If she was lagging behind, short of breath, if her arm felt like it was on fire and she'd rather rip it off just after a short burst of using it. She was obviously fine and didn't need her cousin-

"How were you doing?" Percy turned to her in concern. He'd seen her running around at the time so he at least knew she was still alive and he could keep his focus.

"I was fine seaweed brain," she grinned at him. "Very tired and hurting like everybody else, but still moving around."

"That's not the gold standard wise girl," Percy sighed, but didn't bother to argue the point further. She was alive, they weren't in the heat of battle right now, and it was just another argument with her he'd lose.

Magnus was studying the pair with relief. He might not have been the family she needed, but it was always good to see her with the one she'd chosen.

On the left flank, Grover and his nature spirits were regrouping, entangling the enemies with bushes and weeds.

"Enough games," Hyperion told me. "We fight on land."

I was about to make some clever comment, like "No," when the Titan yelled.

"Percy, what would we do without your witty comebacks? Your sass? Your, your pizzaz!" Alex laughed.

"Be very bored listening to this I'm sure," Percy chuckled.

A wall of force slammed me through the air—just like the trick Kronos had pulled on the bridge. I sailed backward about three hundred yards and smashed into the ground. If it hadn't been for my new invulnerability, I would've broken every bone in my body.

"You wouldn't have any bones in your body left," Jason observed like he'd personally pulled out every bone in someone's body before.

"Yeah," Percy groaned, he'd kind of wished for it at the time as he rubbed at the spot on his back.

I got to my feet, groaning. "I really hate it when you Titans do that."

"Are you the pig in this situation," Magnus frowned as he fidgeted with a few pages in nerves. He really hated all of these Titan fights!

"I probably smelled like bacon after that," Percy shrugged, but the feeling didn't sit right as he kept shifting his weight around.

Hyperion closed on me with blinding speed.

I concentrated on the water, drawing strength from it.

Hyperion attacked. He was powerful and fast, but he couldn't seem to land a blow. The ground around his feet kept erupting in flames, but I kept dousing it just as quickly.

"Stop it!" the Titan roared. "Stop that wind!"

"Oh, well, since he asked so nicely," Thalia scoffed. She could still vividly recall feeling that wind pulling at her clothes and making even her aim difficult to keep straight, and just somehow knowing in her bones it was Percy. He was over there causing mayhem. She was still so proud.

I wasn't sure what he meant. I was too busy fighting.

"I think Percy finally won the summary competition," Will sighed in dismay. "Sorry Nico."

"Eh, he beats me at everything cool, what's one more," he shrugged.

Percy just looked blankly at the two and clearly didn't think they were funny.

Hyperion stumbled like he was being pushed away. Water sprayed his face, stinging his eyes. The wind picked up, and Hyperion staggered backward.

"Percy!" Grover called in amazement. "How are you doing that?"

Doing what? I thought.

Then I looked down, and I realized I was standing in the middle of my own personal hurricane.

Magnus shook his head slowly from side to side as Percy once again broke all laws of sanity. If he hadn't met this guy in here, all doey-eyed and forgetful, he'd probably be the scariest freaking person Magnus had ever known. If he wasn't sitting there, juiced up smile on his face like he was on the best ride of his life while his cousin smiled with nothing but deep affection on her face for him, he would have thought this guy was a monster and run for his life, rather braving the depths of the ocean alone than wondering what he'd do.

Percy was just smiling like a friendly guy willing to offer directions to any pedestrian who happened to be lost in New York.

Clouds of water vapor swirled around me, winds so powerful they buffeted Hyperion and flattened the grass in a twenty-yard radius. Enemy warriors threw javelins at me, but the storm knocked them aside.

Alex threw back her head in delighted laughter at this controlled chaos. "Percy, you might be asexual, because you are not fucking around!"

Percy laughed along, a pure noise right from his belly as he felt the energy flowing through him so clearly. He could taste it on the back of his tongue, he felt like he could hold up the sky without breaking a sweat. This is how his dad must feel all the time when he wasn't withered away by a war.

"Sweet," I muttered. "But a little more!"

Lightning flickered around me. The clouds darkened and the rain swirled faster. I closed in on Hyperion and blew him off his feet.

"Ah, the do as I say, not as I do stance," Annabeth said in mild delight. She needed to make sure he stayed grounded and not to over-excited about this.

"He didn't even have it coming half as much as, others," Percy agreed with a wild smile. She grinned right back. She knew exactly what he hadn't said and the two just shared in this moment.

"Percy!" Grover called again. "Bring him over here!"

I slashed and jabbed, letting my reflexes take over, Hyperion could barely defend himself. His eyes kept trying to ignite, but the hurricane quenched his flames.

I couldn't keep up a storm like this forever, though. I could feel my powers weakening. With one last effort, I propelled Hyperion across the field, straight to where Grover was waiting.

"I will not be toyed with!" Hyperion bellowed.

"He's so right," Alex cooed in a poor, pitiful baby voice. "He deserves to have someone play imagination with him instead! Much more possibilities to go off of!"

"Please keep all gods and Titans and whatever adjacent beings away from her, please," Magnus groaned, eyes shut, well aware he was talking into the unknown and nothing was listening. It honestly was more for his sanity than worried Alex couldn't handle it too.

He managed to get to his feet again, but Grover put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play.

Leneus joined him. Around the grove, every satyr took up the song—an eerie melody, like a creek flowing over stones. The ground erupted at Hyperion's feet. Gnarled roots wrapped around his legs.

"What-" Magnus's voice cracked with stress right as he tried to read the next word too. Oh gods. It was really happening. He'd had the creepy thought before about Grover using nature to do this kind of crazy stuff, but he had no earthly clue what was about to come out of his mouth and that ground next and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Magnus," Annabeth said gently, as if to a startled pegasus colt who would take off the second she broke eye contact. "Do you need a pass?" She'd hate it if he was feeling overwhelmed by all this.

He hesitated. It would be the second time he'd done this. He was the only one who'd had to do this. But you know what? He was really tired of having his world thrown into his face. "Yeah," he sighed, passing the book to Alex. He just. Really couldn't with whatever Grover was about to do to a Titan. Even if it didn't work.

She took it without hesitation and kept reading like nothing happened. Magnus flashed his cousin a miserable smile of gratitude. He knew these guys. They weren't going to mock him for being to weak to handle this crap. He'd just needed a breath to step back.

"What's this?" he protested.

He tried to shake off the roots, but he was still weak. The roots thickened until he looked like he was wearing wooden boots.

"Stop this!" he shouted. "Your woodland magic is no match for a Titan!"

But the more he struggled, the faster the roots grew. They curled about his body, thickening and hardening into bark. His golden armor melted into the wood, becoming part of a large trunk.

Magnus was more grateful by the word he wasn't trying to gasp and splutter this out like he was having a stroke. He didn't know how he was ever supposed to go back up to the world and stare at a tree again without having a mental breakdown of what was inside it. A nature spirit? A Titan?!

The music continued. Hyperion's forces backed up in astonishment as their leader was absorbed. He stretched out his arms and they became branches, from which smaller branches shot out and grew leaves.

The tree grew taller and thicker, until only the Titan's face was visible in the middle of the trunk.

"You cannot imprison me!" he bellowed. "I am Hyperion! I am—"

The bark closed over his face.

Grover took his pipes from his mouth. "You are a very nice maple tree."

Magnus made a painful noise in the back of his throat like he was choking on a sob. He couldn't even eat pancakes again without being force-fed this moment by his brain!

The others just kind of sat there awkwardly with no clue what to say. Alex wished this was the weirdest thing she'd ever heard, but honestly, she was far more impressed. Maybe she'd have Grover teach her how to do this in secret though.

"Tell me about it man," Percy nodded in understanding, brushing the hair out of his eyes. It was only sweaty in his mind. At the time his hair had nearly been plastered to his scalp from being physically exhausted. Which was weird. Had the Styx opened up his pours extra wide so his now invincible muscles could sweat better- right later. "You think I ever saw this coming from the same skinny kid who used to get peanut butter and ketchup sandwiches stuck in his hair." He really appreciated Magnus at times like this, to remind himself his mom would probably be freaking out the same way if she ever heard all the crazy stuff he got up to and why he was doing this, to keep the rest of the world alive. Not just the adrenaline rush of beating up this jerk. That was just a bonus.

Magnus nodded and decided not to try verbalizing how insane this was. He really, really just wanted out of this place, to sit under a tree again until he had no choice but to relax and feel something was normal.

Several of the other satyrs passed out from exhaustion, but they'd done their job well. 

Jason would have prayed to any god he thought was bothering to listen for guidance on why he felt a connection to that, why he could taste those words on his own tongue, but he also felt not to deep down it would be a lost cause. More like a habit he wanted to fulfill, like fiddling with his coin or eating at a certain time every day. Something about the fight Percy just had with Hyperion had been so familiar, yet so disconnected...

And looking around the room he suddenly knew exactly why. He hadn't had backup. With whatever fight he'd once similarly endured. He'd likely been the driving force, just like Percy, but nobody had come to his aid to help him defeat that dude with Ram's horns.

He had no evidence for this, no real fact to back it up from his mind. Just his gut.

It made him feel a disconnect from what he was hearing like he hadn't felt since Dionysus was first shown sloshing it up around Camp.

The Titan lord was completely encased in an enormous maple. The trunk was at least twenty feet in diameter, with branches as tall as any in the park. The tree might've stood there for centuries.

Alex had to stop and catch her breath from excitement. Gods, the magic in their blood, the feats they could achieve, and none of them were prancing around with godly might to do it! She wished she could rip her pants off and run around in a field of satyrs!

The Titan's army started to retreat. A cheer went up from the Athena cabin, but our victory was short-lived.

Because just then Kronos unleashed his surprise.

"What, could possibly be worse, than that?" Magnus asked, voice cracking on every other word.

Alex gave him a sad look and decided not to ask if he wanted the book back. He'd clearly forgotten the chapter title. No flying pigs had shown up yet. She now expected an army of them, all possibly able to shoot laser eyes and likely with roosters steering them dropping golden eggs and maybe even a few mad cows too if Kronos got creative.

"REEEEET!"

The squeal echoed through upper Manhattan. Demigods and monsters alike froze in terror.

Grover shot me a panicked look. "Why does that sound like . . . It can't be!"

"Deja vu," Thalia shivered in remembrance. She'd smelled fresh pine in her nose and backed away in terror from a steep gorge, snow crunching under her boots only in her mind as she'd looked wildly around. She'd gotten a good whack across the face by a frost giant for her distraction that had sent her into the nearest tree.

I knew what he was thinking. Two years ago we'd gotten a "gift" from Pan—a huge boar that carried us across the Southwest (after it tried to kill us).

Nico tapped his chin for a moment before telling Will, "he's still doing it too. That just sums up a gods gift so well."

"Percy's out here making the rest of us look like we're all just along for the ride," Will chuckled. Annabeth and Thalia gave halfhearted laughs, leaving Jason and Alex to exchange a look and know they were missing something. Magnus was still having a mental meltdown about every tree he'd ever pass to realize they'd moved onto a new trama.

The boar had a similar squeal, but what we were hearing now seemed higher pitched, shriller, almost like . . . like if the boar had an angry girlfriend.

"I'm now imagining the Minotaur's angry boyfriend seeking revenge on you someday too though," Alex nodded to herself. "You've opened up a door here Perce you probably shouldn't have."

Percy swore to himself that if Alex continued this line of thought for one more word he'd take Magnus into another room and they'd have the most boring, normal conversation in the history of ever just for a real break from this insanity. They'd talk about drywall, their favorite colors! Any mundane topic he could think up! Mercifully, Annabeth stepped in and kept her focus where it needed to be while the two exchanged one last look, knowing this wasn't going to get better any time soon.

"REEEEEET!" A huge pink creature soared over the reservoir—a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade nightmare blimp with wings.

"The fact that this thing would look out of place next to Goku and Pikachu is kind of hurting my brain too though," Annabeth nodded.

"I'm pretty confident there is a pink pig anime somewhere out there actually, even if it isn't household name worthy," Percy shrugged.

"A sow!" Annabeth cried. "Take cover!"

The demigods scattered as the winged lady pig swooped down. Her wings were pink like a flamingo's, which matched her skin beautifully, but it was hard to think of her as cute when her hooves slammed into the ground, barely missing one of Annabeth's siblings. The pig stomped around and tore down half an acre of trees, belching a cloud of noxious gas. Then it took off again, circling around for another strike.

"Yep. That is a, flying pig alright," Will said with the slow confidence of a farmer on a hot day promising you didn't want to eat the beans.

"I'm just happy it really wasn't me, I was kind of worried I got turned into one," Percy nodded.

"Don't tell me that thing is from Greek mythology," I complained.

"Afraid so," Annabeth said. "The Clazmonian Sow. It terrorized Greek towns back in the day."

"Let me guess," I said. "Hercules beat it."

"Nope," Annabeth said. "As far as I know, no hero has ever beaten it."

"Awesome!" Alex cheered. "Percy's finally going to get immortalized for something cool!"

"Helping put a Titan in a tree wasn't cool?" Percy looked a little pouty. "I mean, I'm pretty sure Hercules didn't do that either."

"I'll put that on a t-shirt for you and Grover," Alex agreed, "but this! Someday some kids going to say, how did Percy beat this thing? That's cool!"

"Yeah," Percy found himself grinning in agreement without hesitation now. It did sound kind of cool when she put it that way. Maybe he should consider writing one of those kids books they were always mocking him about.

"Perfect," I muttered.

The Titan's army was recovering from its shock. I guess they realized the pig wasn't after them.

"Sounds about right," Jason nodded. Kronos wouldn't warn his own forces about his attacks.

We only had seconds before they were ready to fight, and our forces were still in a panic. Every time the sow belched, Grover's nature spirits yelped and faded back into their trees.

"That pig has to go." I grabbed a grappling hook from one of Annabeth's siblings. "I'll take care of it. You guys hold the rest of the enemy. Push them back!"

"But, Percy," Grover said, "what if we can't?"

I saw how tired he was. The magic had really drained him. Annabeth didn't look much better from fighting with a bad shoulder wound. I didn't know how the Hunters were doing, but the right flank of the enemy army was now between them and us.

I didn't want to leave my friends in such bad shape, but that sow was the biggest threat. It would destroy everything: buildings, trees, sleeping mortals. It had to be stopped.

"Retreat if you need to," I said. "Just slow them down. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Jason tried to shake off his lingering sense of his lost life and smile all the same at Percy always somehow saying the right thing. Those felt like the confident words of a leader, competently delegating. It was jarring, but always in a nice way to find himself making mental notes of Percy's prowess in battle.

Before I could change my mind, I swung the grappling hook like a lasso. When the sow came down for its next pass, I threw with all my strength. The hook wrapped around the base of the pig's wing. It squealed in rage and veered off, yanking the rope and me into the sky.

"Jeezus, and your arms weren't just taken along without you!" Magnus yelped, finally another coherent thought coming to mind and it was the usual, how was this guy alive?

Percy rotated his shoulder and grinned at Annabeth. "I mean, I wasn't going for sympathy pain, but-"

She smacked him and called him a seaweed brain. Alex took the silent opportunity to offer the book back to Magnus if he wanted it. He swallowed and did take it back.

He'd adjust, he kept telling himself. To every weird, insane, and crazy thing that kept happening in Annabeth and Percy's life. He'd keep walking through it until he came out the other side, again. He somehow made the best friends that way.

If you're heading downtown from Central Park, my advice is to take the subway. Flying pigs are faster, but way more dangerous.

"Even while on a death ride through his city we can't get this guy to say a bad thing about New York," Thalia said, her voice laced with misery for this sickening mental image she was being put through. Gods she wished she'd gone without details of this!

Jason swiftly jumped in as he gave Percy a stern look, "you'll only grow stronger if you admit your faults! Say the subway smells, say you saw new piles of trash in the street you'd never noticed before, something!"

Percy thought about it for a moment before deciding, "the pink feathers made it look like someone was celebrating Valentine's Day at a really strange time of year."

"I give up," Jason sighed.

"Never took you for a quitter," Percy chuckled.

"I know when to be reasonable and draw the line," he sniffed.

"Yes, yes, you're both awesome in your own special way," Thalia sighed to cut them off. She had a feeling they planned on going like that until she said otherwise, since she was the one to start this interruption and was least likely to want this to continue. The faster this pig got turned into pork chops, the better.

The sow soared past the Plaza Hotel, straight into the canyon of Fifth Avenue. My brilliant plan was to climb the rope and get on the pig's back. Unfortunately I was too busy swinging around dodging streetlamps and the sides of buildings.

"One of Percy's brilliant plans finally has a flaw in it?" Nico raised a brow in mock shock.

"Maybe I'm learning and growing from my mistakes in the past, adapt, overcome, um, something else smart," Percy said with an awkward smile. He knew full well what Nico was really not saying in that. He hoped the guy knew he'd really never try to involve someone else in his crazy plans again, he'd been happy swinging to his death alone away from the rest of his friends...until he remembered he'd left them to deal with an army- and gods why couldn't Kronos have just kidnapped him and settled this on Neptune or something! He probably deserved being slammed into at least a few of those buildings!

Another thing I learned: it's one thing to climb a rope in gym class. It's a completely different thing to climb a rope attached to a moving pig's wing while you're flying at a hundred miles an hour.

Thalia was rubbing her knuckles into her sternum to try and convince her heart to keep beating at a normal pace. No matter how hard she dug, it wasn't doing the trick. The sickening rush of nausea just kept growing more powerful at the idea of those buildings flashing by so fast, with nothing beneath her feet...

It was so weird for Percy to not hear her mocking him about being better at something. He scrambled in his mind, wishing he could say something to her that would somehow make this bearable, but this seemed like one of those times where silence might have been the better answer since he couldn't dare her out of laughing from this situation.

We zigzagged along several blocks and continued south on Park Avenue.

Boss! Hey, boss! Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blackjack speeding along next to us, darting back and forth to avoid the pig's wings.

"Watch out!" I told him.

"For, you?" Magnus asked blankly. Why was the flying horse showing up next to the flying pig the least crazy thing in this particular chapter of Percy's life?

"For the sow Magnus," Percy said not unkindly. "I don't know if horses are color blind, and he's probably not used to having other traffic in the sky aside from pigeons."

"That's- Percy, color blind doesn't mean-" but he stopped in exasperation when Percy just started laughing and Magnus grinned as he realized Percy had gotten what he wanted.

Hop on! Blackjack whinnied. I can catch you . . . probably.

"Such instilling confidence," Will groaned. It really did seem a miracle more every page how he wasn't a ghost haunting camp.

That wasn't very reassuring. Grand Central lay dead ahead. Above the main entrance stood the giant statue of Hermes, which I guess hadn't been activated because it was so high up. I was flying right toward him at the speed of demigod-smashing.

"Stay alert!" I told Blackjack. "I've got an idea."

Oh, I hate your ideas.

"Don't we all," Magnus said like that should be a universal truth.

"Nope, just you," Alex said brightly. To his horror, Annabeth sheepishly nodded. The others all kind of shrugged. Magnus missed the days when the homeless people had made him feel normal.

I swung outward with all my might. Instead of smashing into the Hermes statue, I whipped around it, circling the rope under its arms. I thought this would tether the pig, but I'd underestimated the momentum of a thirty-ton sow in flight.

"I don't think my mom could make those calculations," Annabeth muttered.

Just as the pig wrenched the statue loose from its pedestal, I let go. Hermes went for a ride, taking my place as the pig's passenger, and I free-fell toward the street.

"There's a metaphor somewhere not to deep in there about how Hermes treats his kids and cabin and junk," Alex said mostly to herself.

"One deep dive at a time, lets finish first with Percy and why he's not locked up for everybody's safety," Magnus shook his head.

In that split second I thought about the days when my mom used to work at the Grand Central candy shop. I thought how bad it would be if I ended up as a grease spot on the pavement.

Then a shadow swooped under me, and thump—I was on Blackjack's back. It wasn't the most comfortable landing. In fact, when I yelled "OW!" my voice was an octave higher than usual.

"I sounded like Blackjack when we first met," Percy groaned,* resisting every temptation in the world to clutch at himself now in that remembered pain. "Wouldn't be surprised if he called me a mare."

"Oh sweet revenge," Alex chuckled, confirming to Percy at least she'd be passing this along to his friend for future payback.

Sorry, boss, Blackjack murmured.

"No problem," I squeaked. "Follow that pig!"

The porker had taken a right at East 42nd and was flying back toward Fifth Avenue. When it flew above the rooftops, I could see fires here and there around the city. It looked like my friends were having a rough time. Kronos was attacking on several fronts. But at the moment, I had my own problems.

The Hermes statue was still on its leash. It kept bonking into buildings and spinning around. The pig swooped over an office building, and Hermes plowed into a water tower on the roof, blasting water and wood everywhere.

Then something occurred to me.

"Then it occurred to you?" Annabeth looked around at him in newly minted concern. Jason really did want to study how she kept managing to do that a refreshing new way each time. "Launching yourself at the statue wasn't even part of the initial goal?"

"I got lucky," Percy shrugged.

Annabeth groaned and the two started bickering again over what should even count as a full plan. She clearly wasn't taking well to the fact that Percy had taken off without one even in mind. Jason would have stolen Percy's pen and started scribbling notes on his arm if he would have thought it would do any good, hearing the two speak their mind like this, but Thalia finally interrupted with the reminder she'd turn the two of them into flying goats that gravity wouldn't defy if they didn't shut their trap.

"Get closer," I told Blackjack.

He whinnied in protest.

"Just within shouting distance," I said. "I need to talk to the statue."

Now I'm sure you've lost it, boss, Blackjack said,

"Honestly a fair assumption," Annabeth sighed one last time. She couldn't believe she was agreeing with a horse, yet another creature of Posideon. Percy had way to much influence on her life.

but he did what I asked. When I was close enough to see the statue's face clearly, I yelled, "Hello, Hermes! Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Kill Flying Pigs! Begin Activation!"

"What was so wrong with, defend city?" Annabeth couldn't stop herself arching a brow and demanding of him. "The pig was attacking the buildings of the city Percy."

"I was preoccupied!" He gestured at the book like she'd missed the enormous wild pink Pumba. "Being literal usually works best with me!"

"My wording was fine," she had to grumble anyways. No wonder she was still getting reports back from the city status were still running around! There was no logic to trace in them defending from flying pigs!

Immediately the statue moved its legs. It seemed confused to find that it was no longer on top of Grand Central Terminal. It was, instead, being given a sky-ride on the end of a rope by a large winged sow. It smashed through the side of a brick building, which I think made it a little mad. It shook its head and began to climb the rope.

Percy couldn't help another laugh. It wasn't him being smashed through buildings, it was Annabeth's genius plan to save his butt, it was Blackjack following him all these years like a loyal best friend that had gotten him this far. He really was just a piece of all this, and maybe that stupid prophecy constantly hanging over his head was just exaggerating everything.

I glanced down at the street. We were coming up on the main public library, with the big marble lions flanking the steps. Suddenly I had a weird thought: Could stone statues be automatons too? It seemed like a long shot, but . . .

"Faster!" I told Blackjack. "Get in front of the pig, Taunt him!"

Um, boss—

"Trust me," I said. "I can do this . . . probably."

Oh, sure. Mock the horse.

"Well we can't mock Percy right now when he's using the reflex part of his brain, arguably the best part," Alex said tragically.

"And I always said the food part of my brain was the most important," Percy chuckled.

Annabeth was to busy rolling her eyes and smiling to herself at the warm, loving feeling as she again reminded herself that he'd apparently remembered she existed before any food or reflex he might have had and probably wouldn't have butted into this one, but the two managed to taper themselves off from far to much practice of sniping and reading and repeating.

Blackjack burst through the air. He could fly pretty darned fast when he wanted to. He got in front of the pig, which now had a metal Hermes on its back.

Blackjack whinnied, You smell like ham! He kicked the pig in the snout with his back hooves and went into a steep dive. The pig screamed in rage and followed.

"Have I mentioned lately that Blackjack's the best?" Alex chuckled.

"No, you've been to busy praising Mrs. O'Leary," Percy said with a sly smile. "That's going to cost you a lot of donuts later dude."

"I'll take my punishment with dignity dudette," she chuckled.

Thalia was turning greener by the second and wished they'd stop mentioning food.

We barreled straight for the front steps of the library. Blackjack slowed down just enough for me to hop off, then he kept flying toward the main doors.

I yelled out, "Lions! Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Kill Flying Pigs! Begin Activation!"

The lions stood up and looked at me. They probably thought I was teasing them. But just then:

"REEEEEET!"

The massive pink pork monster landed with a thud, cracking the sidewalk. The lions stared at it, not believing their luck, and pounced. At the same time, a very beat-up Hermes statue leaped onto the pig's head and started banging it mercilessly with a caduceus. Those lions had some nasty claws.

I drew Riptide, but there wasn't much for me to do. The pig disintegrated before my eyes. I almost felt sorry for it. I hoped it got to meet the boar of its dreams down in Tartarus.

"Percy over here rooting for true love in the face of all this," Will grinned in delight.

"Yeah, I might be a secret sucker for those Hallmark movies," Percy chuckled. He'd seen his mom and Paul watching one to many to not believe the two monsters wouldn't work out their happy ending.

When the monster had completely turned to dust, the lions and the Hermes statue looked around in confusion.

"You can defend Manhattan now," I told them, but they didn't seem to hear. They went charging down Park Avenue, and I imagined they would keep looking for flying pigs until someone deactivated them.

"Where's the nearest meat packing plant out there?" Magnus asked in concern. "I'm imagining something horrible happening to them worse than the usual process."

Alex lit up like her butt had caught fire as she launched off with, "or maybe they're still out there, chasing down their dream of one last adventure, one last flying pig to defeat! That Hermes statue longs for his own identity and name and rebrands himself Semore, and names the two lions-"

"And Alex is cut off from caffeine permanently," Percy said in exhaustion. "Do to me what you must now while I can heal in the ocean."

Alex scoffed. "Please, you'd need ten energy drinks to get on my level."

Hey, boss, said Blackjack. Can we take a donut break?

I wiped the sweat off my brow.

"Wait, you can still sweat?" Jason asked in fascination. "I'd have thought the Styx sealed your pours shut or something."

"I wouldn't even be a mammal anymore," Percy said in mild concern as he stared at his arm. "That's right, right?" He looked around back at Jason for confirmation from an old PE class he hadn't paid attention to. "Mammals have hair, make milk, sweat to cool off?"

"Sure, I'm not an expert but I'll confirm," Jason snorted.

"I wish, big guy, but the fight's still going on."

In fact, I could hear it getting closer. My friends needed help. I jumped on Blackjack, and we flew north toward the sound of explosions.

This time when Magnus handed the book to Alex, he really let himself look at her so he could meet her eyes in a smile. Just a small moment of thanks she took in stride with a wink as they moved on to the next catastrophe.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

* This is in reference to TheRichmaster, who made the detailed comment about how Percy probably mistook Blackjack for a mare on the Andromeda for his voice being so shrill. I'm sad RR didn't make a callback joke to that, make it an old retcon. He really could just make a book with some character's side quest fixing old mistakes like that and it would be a new hit.

[konigsberg]

(This is like 5% ask and 95% compliments) I have to extend all my love and thanks over Midnight Ocean! I’m on my third re-read of the story (and I’m severly dyslexic, so reading the entire thing multiple times is the most I’ve read probably in my entire life!). You are so beyond dedicated to your writing and I can’t thank you enough for it <3 Your story keeps me on my toes, all of the characters are SO rich and nuanced, all of their relationships, conflicts and imperfections truly shine in your work. I’m affraid your work has spoiled me for fanfiction, i keep thinking ”but damn… this isn’t Midnight Ocean levels” and then go and continue my re-reads. Once it’s complited, by the gods, I’m going bind it by hand in leather.

I’m beyond excited for the upcoming events when ever they happen: Hades finding out about Zagreus, whatever Persephone has got cooking up, their first true ”I love you” and of course the removing of the pall. (And events yet unexpected by me!!)

What is something you’ve been waiting to write and see readers react to? (As much as you can tell obviously)

Can’t begin to describe how much of a joy MO has been and continues to be. I look forwards to updates like the rising of the moon. Genuinely from the bottom of my heart, thank you <3

Thank you so much! It always means a lot to hear someone enjoys MO enough to reread it, let alone want to bind it. It's brought me a lot of joy to write, and getting to share that and know others appreciate it is really amazing.

I'll go ahead and answer the rest under the cut to avoid spoiling things.

And of course, as I was typing the spoilers turned... sort of major so lol beware?

I've gotten to a few parts I've been waiting and waiting to write recently, but they won't be posted to Ao3 yet (Moros Silly Boy Behavior, Alcmene's Return, Nemesis' Box Reveal, the joys of using Eros' book). But the really, really big ones I haven't gotten to yet are of course things that readers are most excited for, too, like the Hades meeting, Olympus' reaction, things like that.

A few I don't think people mention a lot, though: Theseus™, (maybe big spoilers for people who aren't familiar with mythology, though I think this has been mentioned in the notes) Theseus' whole deal with both Medea and Heracles (and how that then is meant to foil Thanatos' dynamics), Heracles for that matter, also...... Ares' return to the story... the DILF energy we need in these trying times.

Hades and Thanatos' relationship is one I've thought about so much over the years, and I'm so excited to finally get to put that on the page and see people respond. Demeter is also such an important figure in all of this that often gets ignored both by me and others, and she'll be very, very fun to finally include. The continuation of Hermes' background arc stuff...

Something only me and like two random people are invested in: the continuation of Moros bullshit. My poor little meow meow, my perfect uwu foil to my other perfect uwu baby (Thanatos). My silly rabbit, here to cause problems and help Zagreus establish more independence if entirely unintentionally etc. And Moros' goofy little romance arc, that will be fun.

Also, the actual proper Cupid & Psyche Moment, y'know, the big part of the narrative. Sometimes people ask if it will happen, really expressing that they can't see it as even a possibility in the MO narrative, or others express total unfamiliarity with the plot of the myth so they don't know about The Moment at all (part of why I'm reluctant to clarify What Moment lmao)... I'm eager for that, though I know it will result in people being very, very angry at me.

I don't think this is tooooo spoilery because I think it's been made clear it will happen, but Eros showing up will be so fun, not to mention Psyche! Actual Psyche lol! We can't have a whole narrative about soul porn without the OG soulfuckers.

Oh, Hypnos too. And Pasithea who has unwittingly had her marriage present (the Eros book) lowkey highjacked.

Sorry this mostly turned into incoherent babbling. I hope it's both not too spoilery, but also answers the question lol? Either way, thank you again!

[skinny2tb]

€d vent and life update:

Sooo... I'm really upset rn because I managed to fast for 5 days without anyone noticing and it felt GREAT. I mean it's kinda sad that my parents just simply don't care anymore. They used to encourage me while I was in recovery and actually getting better but oh well that's how it is sometimes I guess. I once weighed 43kg that's why I originally went into recovery and as I began to gain some weight back they just assumed my €d was magically cured. But that just wasn't the case and here I am once again. Without anybody noticing or actually caring. Sadly my eating disørder is even worse this time and I'm feeling no will to live anymore.

Anyways, I'm thinking of another liquid fast right now because as I said I'm really upset that I just broke mine 20mins ago with some leftover noodles (230 + 55kcal for the cheese) and I'm freaking out atm because I'm afraid I'll gain weight after eating those. But I can't work out because my parents and their friends are downstairs and I don't want them to hear me doing some exercises. Although I know they probably wouldn't even care.

Lately I've been pretty busy studying (literally lol) because of my finals this and next week. I've already completed three out of four and I just have to pass the math test and honestly I'm shitting myself even thinking about it. But as for the others I'm pretty confident.

My hot guess:

• english: 1-2

• french: 1

• german: 2-3

• maths: 4?

Only thing I know is that this years final math exam will include exponential functions which I hate.

I also wanted to say hello to everybody new following me, just wanna let you know I do appreciate it<33

Btw I managed to book my first ever nail appointment for next week and I'm kind of excited?? Let me know if you guys have any cool design recommendations. So far I really fw acrylic, stiletto shape, classy french nails with some gems and tiny rhinestones..

(not my pic btw)

Prom is also coming soon so ofc I'm hella nervous because I haven't fully opt which of my two dresses I'll wear but eitherway it's gonna be navy blue with sparkly details and an open back. And when I tried the dresses on infront of my mom I could clearly see the disbelief in her face of how thin I have gotten again. She didn't say anything tho. I just looove the feeling of clothes that have gotten too big on you and would slide down your body if you didn't use a belt or hairtie.

Yeah, also there's this cute guy in my class. Same age and we went to the same elementary school but back then we had nothing to do with each other. You're probably asking what that has to do with me. Well, at the beginning of the school year when I was the new girl in my class he asked me to go to prom with him and I agreed but now I'm scared, because I do know and everybody always tells me that he has a huge crush on me. But I just can't handle that much affection yk?? The dance course will also start in a few weeks and we both can't look each other in the eyes... Everytime I think about him I'm like what do you even like about meee, I mean why me when there's a bunch of other beautiful girls, right? But well, what can I say at least I pull? Seems like I got that shy rizz*~*

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally happy but at the same time I feel like I don't deserve this kind of love. He's so good looking too with his hazel eyes, big lips and dark brown hair, plus he's way taller than me. So literally my dream guy? I even got to see his abs and stuff when our class went on a trip to a water park. Since then I'm head over heels.. I catch him often secretly staring at me but as soon as I gaze in his direction he pretends to be busy doing other things, like sir I SAW THAT

Ugh, I'm sorry that was pretty much about my personal shit but also pretty much needed.

(Lastly I wanna say that you guys DESERVE recovery and if you feel like you or anybody you know might suffer from an eating disørder don't hesitate to see professional help. You're loved♡)

I'll probably post again in a minute cuz I'm bored rn and want to avoid a b¡nge.

[theoasiswinds]

Update time!

Hey darlings! I have 2 commissions left and then I am all caught up! Super excited, sorry I haven't been posting a lot of art here, a lot of work I've recently done is private. I've only had time to sketch and do commissions, I've been busy with a mom routine.

Anyhow for update, my surgery for now is being postponed, since we found out my son also needs a small surgery. It's nothing major I believe he has his pre-op today. And then we'll find out when he will have his surgery. And I need to be there for him 100% and once he is healed and ready to be his happy energy filled self again, I'll schedule my surgery.

Now an update on my health, I still have issues with the endometriosis, but since I changed my diet and mind you, I still eat forbidden foods when I'm weak... Not often but stress makes me want bread.... I'm weak. ... Ahem. But for sure I've had no coffee since I posted about the diet change, that's a big one since the medicine stays in my gut longer to be more effective so that helps with my thyroid and i feel so much better, also changing my diet has helped my the autoimmune and my stomach isn't as swollen any more, and my feet and hands aren't swollen anymore, and bigger plus, it's rare for my hands to shake as before so I can do more traditional art again without worrying about shaking hands. I don't have pain every time I eat and that's helped with the endometriosis since there is less pressure, so that's really cool. Still need surgery, but it's not as painful therefore not as urgent.

As for my book, I'm still working on it and also have ordered some custom merchandise for it like stickers, keychains and magnets, but I'm actually looking into making my own stickers because I want high quality big huge stickers..... So I'll be dabbling into that soon hopefully. And do special MPO gift give away as well.

Again sorry for not posting as much art as before, I do hope everything goes smoothly enough to post more art and fan art as well.

As always you guys thank you so much for all your support! It means so much to me and my small family!

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

So with Clementine Book Two coming out in October, I decided to do another reread of Book One. Though, I'll be honest, the bigger reason for this reread was out of spite; I follow Tillie Walden on instagram, and while I don't go on there often, I usually check her page when I do so I can see any new artwork or Clementine updates. Her latest post is from one of her other graphic novels, and I guess I just... don't get it.

I don't understand why people are like this:

This is on a post that has nothing to do with the Clementine comics. As for ones that are about Clementine-

Those are just a handful from a few Clementine-related posts, but there's so much of this all over Tillie's posts and I don't understand.

What does this accomplish? Other than making you look like an asshole? Like... no one is impressed by this. No one is applauding you for repeatedly commenting "lol we didn't want a forced gay romance ew," which by the way? Repeating that in every single paragraph you comment? Tell me you're homophobic without saying you're homophobic, y'know?

There are legit criticisms to be had of Clementine Book One- The pacing is all over the place where it starts very slow and then goes into whiplash mode after Amos dies. Georgia as a villain is a weak point in the story. Clementine naming her leg after Kenny is a bit icky considering in canon, he physically and verbally abused a disabled person with a brace on his leg in S2. I don't think there was much thought behind that decision past "Hey, the fans like Kenny," and I think that's worth pointing out as "Hey... maybe don't?"

Some of the dialogue is a bit stilted, but some of it is actually pretty good. My personal favorite is when Clementine and Amos are fixing a roof-

Amos: Lord, this roof is... Clementine: ...fucked? Amos: SHH, don't say that! It's... troubled.

I'm sorry- that's funny! And it actually says a lot about who these characters are and the kind of friendship they have.

And yeah, Ricca is just okay. She's clearly the love interest, and I'm hoping we get more development of her character. And yes, the "baby" thing is still weird.

There's a lot about the art style that I'm not crazy about, specifically Clementine's face and expressions, and I hope to see an improvement in that for Book Two.

And then the obvious: Clementine leaving because she was unhappy and felt everyone thought she was a liability doesn't match up with the end of TFS.

I don't think it's mean to say that Tillie wasn't the best fit for this project, but that's on Skybound. They're the ones who reached out to her and hired her. I think Tillie's a great artist and her graphic novels have great queer, wlw representation in them. Just because she wasn't the perfect fit for Clementine that doesn't mean she's bad, it means that maybe she should've been considered for a different project.

And honestly...? Y'all, Book One isn't THAT bad. It's not great or anything, but the comics can't take the games away from you. If you want to say canon ends with the TFS, then that's where it ends. That's where it ends for me; these comics are more of a "what if" scenario than anything.

No one is forcing you to accept this as canon, and if you're so pathetically butt hurt over the existence of a comic that you feel like you have to go on Tillie's instagram, the artist who is only doing the job she's obligated to do, and comment shit like this on every. single. post-

Maybe, just maybe, you need to go outside. I'm serious.

This isn't the only comment about grooming on Tillie's posts, or that I've seen on reddit. Like... do you understand what grooming actually is and how serious it is? Or are you just using it as a buzzword that you know is bad and triggering as a means of insult and convincing others that she's bad, too?

Also, I don't think you really understand how creativity and writing work. Maybe it's just me, though I doubt it, but when I create characters or write already established characters in my fanfiction, they all have a piece of me that's apart of them. My life experiences and who I am as a person influences everything I write, and that bleeds into the characters, for better or worse.

What, you think Louis having a random pillow collecting problem was something I just pulled out of my ass? No, it's because I have a pillow collecting problem! Do you know why I've always had a such a hard time writing for Violet? It's because I see a lot of myself in her and that scares me and I'd rather just not unpack all of that, okay?

I mean, how many times on this hellsite have you come across someone saying, "lol my otp is just Person A is my type and Person B is the one I project onto" and it has thousands of notes because, on some level, we all get it.

Tillie has talked about Ricca before and like most creative people, she's drawn from her own life to create her characters. Ricca isn't some self-insert character just because they both wear glasses, I'm-

You are just being an asshole! I just- I'm getting pissed off because this shouldn't even be a thing. WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS? WHO HURT ALL OF YOU?

I love Clementine, too! She's important to me! I have replayed TWDG more times than I can count! I was pissed about the comics in the beginning! You can go back on my blog and I probably said stupid shit, too!

But Clementine isn't real. She's a fictional video game character. She isn't going to reward your bullying or white-knighting because she doesn't exist. You're not doing this because you're a "true fan" that loves Clementine. Honestly, if you were a true fan, you would know that if Clementine was real, she would find you and this behavior disgusting. Tillie Walden is a real person and I don't give a flying fuck if you hate her work. By all means, hate the comic! Criticize the comic and Skybound for continuing the series, but leave Tillie out of it.

And I think the part that sucks the most is it doesn't matter what I say, you can't rationalize with irrational people intent on being assholes so they're not going to stop.

I guess what I'm trying to show with all of this is when Book Two comes out, and y'all start reading it and making posts... please don't be these people.

Whatever you may feel about Clementine Book Two, try to remember that Tillie Walden is a real person and she's just doing the job that Skybound hired her for. Tillie's an artist just trying to live her life in Vermont with her wife and their cats, and she's gotta deal with all of these people harassing her posts. She can't even post something non-Clementine related without a bunch of #notmyclementine shit in the comments.

I don't even know what else to say... Uhm, I guess if anyone from those screenshots sees this, then... I don't feel that bad about calling you an asshole. We all learned in kindergarten to treat others the way we want to be treated, but maybe you were sick that day, I don't know. Go outside. Get your life together. We have a short time on this planet and maybe you should try to actually accomplish something while you're here. Eat a kitkat or something👍

[chaikachi]

Hi, Chai! I've been following you for a bit, mostly for the RG content, and I've recently seen you talk about your other non-RWBY interests when I realized that I'm really curious on what other media do you like? (Be it shows, movies, music, games, books, etc.)

Oughh this is a very good question. I'll put them under a read more cause I have a feeling I took this question too literally and it might get just a little bit long because of that. 💦

I'm generally very passive with the media I consume and only draw as much RWBY as I do because RG has had me in a vice grip since V8E1 and isn't letting go anytime soon. 💀 But I do engage with lots of other stuff too! This isn't an exhaustive list, just ones I like lots or re-watch often enough.

Anime

I probably watch this stuff more than anything else. My favourite of all time is probably The Eccentric Family, both seasons. The art direction and the messages of the story just hit very hard for me and I re-watch it pretty much every year. My second favourite is Kekkai Sensen (i prefer the first over second season as they switch directors).

As for others enjoy:

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood

Silver Spoon

Yona of the Dawn

Snow White with the Red Hair

Kyousogiga (recommend if you liked Kekkai Sensen)

A Lull in the Sea

Chaika the Coffin Princess [Now why does that name sound so familiar 🤔]

Anohana

Been really enjoying this season's shows and am looking forward to the Winter 2024 lineup (Dungeon Meshi and Yubisaki to Renren at the same time!!)

Shows

Dragon Prince

The Owl House

Good Omens

Games

Nier (2010),

Transistor

Pyre

Zelda Series (Ocarina of Time & Spirit Tracks are my favourites)

Nier: Automata

Honorary mentions to Grand Chase (an old MMO i used to be obsessed with), Avalon Code (a niche DS game that I really liked), Fire Emblem Awakening (a classic) and Animal Crossing (that I played like it was my day job in 2020).

Movies

Can only think of two live actions and the rest are animated/anime 😭

Stardust

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Howl's Moving Castle

HTTYD (1 & 2)

Kubo and the Two Strings

The Wind Rises

From Up on Poppy Hill

Penguin Highway

Books

I don't read as much as I did when I was a kid, but my top three are probably Runemarks, Howl's Moving Castle, and Stardust (I like the last two a lot because I liked their movies).

Webcomics

Used to be really into these and wanted to write my own before Webtoon kinda... gentrified the entire industry. But hey, I can still talk about some of my favourites!

Shaderunners (queer heist in a roaring 20sish setting)

Witchy (queer south East Asian inspired fantasy adventure)

Kochab (sapphic story between a skier that gets lost and meets a fire spirit I think? It's final updates are going up this month!)

Lady of the Shard (all time favourite. queer polyam lovestory between a goddess and her acolyte. Complete. I reread it every year, I love it so much. The rest of the authors work is also great, you might know them from Cucumber Quest).

Then lastly...

Music

I mostly listen to indie/folk more than anything else, with a bit of jazz/R&B thrown in for flavour. Favourite artists are probably:

San Fermin

Flock of Dimes/Wye Oak

Of Monsters & Men

Maggie Rogers

Florence & the Machine

Paper Kites

Matthew and the Atlas

Halsey

This list obviously isn't exhaustive because I have the memory of a goldfish but those are the highlights that came to mind at least.

Sorry for the long list, but thank you for the question!! It was fun to put all these in one place.

[justynakulisa]

On art and literature, and why it's not just "content"

Forgive me in advance for the incoming salt, but this is a rant I've been sitting on for ages. A tweet I saw* only cemented my need for the aforementioned rant, so here we are.

A bit of context first. I worked at a bullshit, huge corporation for almost 6 years; after that, I've moved on to a corporation that's way smaller and involves some actual work rather than bullshitting for 5 days a week, but it's still a corporation. That's a background experience I'll be relying on, mixed with observations of the absolute hellhole that LinkedIn is, with a sprinkle of mainstream media attitude. For the sake of clarity, I usually refer to art and literature as "art", but I'll be using art&lit in the post. With that out of the way, LET'S DIVE IN.

If there's one thing that's aplenty in every corporation, it's the amount of self-affirmative spam you receive every day. Department status updates, newsletters no one reads, trainings and videos to watch, and so on, and so forth. And it is, regardless of the corp and the type of spam, called "content". It's an apt name for it, because it's neither art, nor anything useful. Just a barrage of words some poor soul had to put together. Oh, I'm sorry, not a poor soul. A content creator.

I can say I'm a content creator at my day job. I write software documentation and manuals. It requires some thought and some effort, it's not a bullshit job I could ignore without any negative consequences to me or the company or the world at large. But it's not art I create there. It's content. It's got no artistic value whatsoever except maybe for explaining concepts in an easy-to-understand way. The companies themselves have got no qualms about calling that type of fruit of their employees' work "content". That at least doesn't bother me. "Content" is an adequate term for repetitive, artless form of work that require creating something out of nothing.

But when the same term is applied to art&lit, when artists and writers are called "content creators", I grow spikes like a porcupine.

I understand why it's easy to use those terms. They're easy, umbrellous enough, and carry their meaning well. It encapsulates people who don't do art&lit, but dabble in education, design, what have you. But the results of their work isn't content as it's seen at its core and at its roots.

You churn out content daily and often without effort. Those instagram accounts posting variations of the same photo every day? That's content. A book written for 3 years and edited for the next 2, full of gorgeous prose and magnificent storytelling, or a painting that took weeks to finish? That's not content. That's art. And people who let it into the world by effort of their hands are artists.

That line of thought brings me back to that tweet I linked earlier. "Media consumption" is just as dehumanised, nebulous term for experiencing art&lit as "content creation" is to refer to the act of writing and painting/drawing. It assumes the interaction with content at the speed and rate it's created. Which is: fast. Then faster. And faster and faster, until both you and artists end up in an ever-rushing cycle of more, more, more. (I already ranted about streaming and the effect it's got on media, so I'll stop myself from doing it again ;)). But, FOMO, anyone? I'm sure all of us have experienced it at least once at some point. Corporations and mainstream media have got a way of slithering into our lives and taking terms and things that make us happy for themselves. They also tend to flatten nuances, limit imaginations, and produce countless iterations of the same trope if only they realised it was popular. (Side note: it's very obvious in traditional publishing when agents and editors seek stories centred around a motif for some 5 years after the first book with that motif made a breakthrough. That's something to talk about for another time, though.) And after all traces of what made an idea unique and brilliant, after art&lit have deteriorated into simple content, then both terms truly become equivalent.

I don't think that simplification is something we as a society should condone. 

___

* - as often happens, given tweets' fleeting nature, this on too no longer exists. (should've made a screenshot, that's what). it had something to do with commercialisation of entertainment and the push for new films and shows and stories be published faster and faster as a never-ending stream you cna drown in. or so i think, at least.

[gffa]

Oh my word, thank you for such a lovely, detailed reply to my ask about comics???? I was expecting to be redirected to some links or blogs, which is ofc great too, but thanks so much for taking the time to type out and formulate all that for me?? I’ve never actually read a comic before so your first paragraph was a bit mind blowing (I had no idea comics worked like that, I thought each comic was like a chapter in the same book ahaha). I also had NO idea about the different eras but it already makes so much of what I’ve seen from the fandom make so much more sense, so thank you for that! (It’s reminds me, like, where people in history never bothered to write down stuff they thought was obvious bc it was obvious to them and then people came along and went ???, so following with this metaphor, thank you for making me “???” lol)

Anyways, sorry, super rambly ask, but thank you so much for taking the time and effort to reply so succinctly and also thoroughly, and also explaining what pieces of media are significant and why so… like seriously, that was so nice of you and I’m??? Ajahwjehrh??? Thank you sssm, once my exams are over I’m definitely gonna have a new media obsession :)

Aww, you're very welcome! I'm glad that I could help ease the way for you! As someone who started with Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond as my first real understanding of these characters (cultural osmosis doesn't count!), it was kind of a hard leap into comics, trying to understand how all of this fit together. To be fair, I don't want to give the impression that there's no coherency in comics from one author to another--it's very clear that a lot of authors are big fans of other authors' runs or they're building on stuff that came before their own run, but I emphasize the lack of consistency between authors because you absolutely cannot rely on that consistency being there, even if it often happens. You cannot pick up a comic from 20 years ago and expect the story to be exactly the same, because it's constantly being retold--authors want to be able to tell flashback stories at multiple points in the timeline, like take Dick Grayson, that "Robin & Batman" series I recommended is a retelling of their early days, of how Dick came up with the Robin costume, and it changes things (like gave him pants this time around, which I'm fine with) and I love that we can get retellings, because now I get to choose if I want to read that one or one of the older ones! We get a lot of really fun new stories able to be told, updated versions that weren't written back in the 1940s with different social norms, and I think that helps keep the comics fresh and interesting! And you're not wrong that some comics are like a different chapter in a single book! That's what Star Wars comics are aiming to be (well, within their own three distinct continuities) or what a lot of non-mainline DC/Marvel comics are like. It's just the main shared world superhero comics are a constantly shifting landscape! (To be fair to fandom not talking about a lot of this, it's also because the different eras are HELLA complicated to talk about if you haven't been reading comics regularly and broadly for 20+ years, like I had a solid grip on things until I left, and now I've been back for five months and I'm STILL fuzzy on just what Dawn of DC even is. It's hard to talk about stuff when you have a fuzzy idea of something, enough to pick up a comic and read, but can't explain high level detail in a post that would take you an hour just to write out all the weird little connections that lead up to an event!) But also thank you for letting me know your level of familiarity with cultural osmosis and what you're interested in getting into! Often times it's hard to know, "Okay, do I have to explain the different Robins or has cultural osmosis taught you enough that we can skip straight to the finer details?" because I love writing out broader views of the characters, but I don't want to patronize someone who is just looking for recs for starting places when making the jump to comics! I want to drag you guys in, but sometimes that requires tailoring things a bit more to where a given person is at/how much they know/what they're specifically intrigued by! Give me more info and I won't shut up in trying to reel you in. :D