#sugar rush thalia

[my-pjo-stuff]

I'm bored, so here are my headcanon for how the PJO characters would act in an amusement park

-Percy and Clarisse are on a single-minded mission to ride all the rollercoasters they are. They do not care what they have to do to achieve it. Or what it takes to achieve it before the other. -Annabeth has a fully planned and mapped out timetable and route planned for the optimal experience of the park in relativation to the cost of the tickets. -Silena and Beckendorf vanish 10 minutes in and are having a very romantic date. -Grover is too scared to go on any of the rollercoasters, so instead he keeps on the ground with Thalia who's scarred of the heights. -Luke is relaxed af just following around the kids on their rides and stealing the souvenirs they want from these overprized shops. -Alabaster is having the sugar rush of his life from too many slushies. Someone call an ambulance, please. -Ethan never visited an amusement park before and his mind is BLOWN. -Chris is also just chilling out like Luke; the two are probably the most relaxed ones there ngl. -Nico and Bianca are both very excited for the house of horrors and end up doing it a BUNCH of times. -The gods wanted to do a family trip, it ends up in disaster. Apollo is disowned now. Hestia dipped 30 minutes in and joined up with the kids.

[odd-cinderella]

I HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS AN ENGLISH VERSION OF AKB48′s “SUGAR RUSH” BY MEXICAN SINGER THALIA! 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

[forevfangirlwrites]

What about another nurse Percy one where Percy gets injured or sick and has to go to the hospital so Annabeth is meeting all his work friends for the first time. You don't have to write this, just thought I'd ask. I love your writing :)

Annabeth does not run. She eats Taco Bell and watches Youtube.

But right now, she’s running like her life depends on it, phone clutched in hand, still lit up, still displaying the last message she looked at.

She bursts through the doors haphazardly enough to immediately catch the attention of the ladies at the front desk.

“Mo…” her voice breaks and she can’t breathe enough to finish her sentence.

Her panic must shine through because Mo gives her a small smile. “Down the hall and to the left, dear, but he’s—”

She doesn’t wait for the rest, just beelines towards the hall. She finds the room quickly enough, but the sight before her sucks all the air out her lungs.

Luckily, she doesn’t have to keep looking because her vision quickly becomes blurry with tears, enough to obscure the view of Percy lying in a hospital bed.

Somehow she stumbles forward, to his side, immediately reaching for his hand.

“Excuse me, no one is allowed—”

The doctor who just walked in cuts himself off at the sight of the tears streaming down her face.

She quickly swipes at her eyes and tries to formulate words to explain herself because there is no way she’s leaving her boyfriend’s side.

But before she can say anything, another person rushes in.

“Annabeth!”

“Thalia!”

Percy’s coworker and cousin, the only person she’s met so far (and the one to send the text that caused her to run), greets her.

“Hey,” she says in a surprisingly gentle tone. “It’s okay, he’s—”

“Who is this?” The doctor cuts in. “Wait, is she—”

“Yep,” Thalia responds before he can finish his sentence. “The girlfriend Percy doesn’t shut up about. She’s pretty cool.”

And then realizing maybe introductions are in order, she continues. “Dr. Zhang, Frank, meet Annabeth.”

Franks smiles. “Nice to meet you, Annabeth!”

She nods back, far more concerned with the condition of her boyfriend. “You too,” she replies. (Though now that she knows who he is, she does remember Percy talking about him).

Hopefully he has the answers she’s looking for since Thalia’s text didn’t tell her anything beyond the fact that Percy was unconscious. “Dr. Zhang,” she starts, “is he—”

“Frank! We need you in—” The newcomer pauses at the doorway. A nurse from the looks of it, her eyes immediately land on Annabeth. “What…” she trails off.

“Hazel, meet Annabeth, Percy’s girlfriend.” Frank introduces.

Hazel, another name she’s heard from Percy, smiles as sweetly as Percy described. “Oh hi! Percy’s told us a lot about you!”

Thalia rolls her eyes. “You mean he doesn’t stop talking about her.”

“Is he okay!?” she cuts in, completely breaking up the flow of the conversation.

She doesn’t mean to be rude, but she has no idea what the hell is up with her boyfriend and it’s killing her.

Everyone stops to look at her. Her cheeks heat up under their gaze and she rushes to explain herself. “I’m sorry! It’s just no one has told me what’s going on and he—”

Her voice breaks because she can’t bring herself to say that seeing him lying on a hospital bed instead of working around it is breaking something in her.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Frank says, walking up to her. “I should have mentioned. He’s going to be fine. He passed out unexpectedly, turns out it was from a lack of nutrition.”

“What?”

“He’s supposed to keep track of his blood sugar! He’s had diabetes his entire life, he knows this. Plus, he’s literally a nurse whose entire job is to keep track of shit like this.” Thalia stops to glare at Percy. “Even if he has a long overnight shift.”

“Basically,” Hazel cuts in. “We gave him an IV drip and forced him to rest because he’s in no condition to even drive home. But he’s fine.”

Annabeth nods, feeling the bulk of the worry leave her. Percy is okay, he’s alright.

“Are we having a party?” His voice is a little groggy but her head snaps towards him. Seems like Thalia’s scolding had an effect. “Annabeth?”

She can’t respond, partly because he looks illegally attractive for someone who has passed out and partly because he’s awake and okay.

“No, we’re discussing how stupid you are,” Thalia replies bluntly.

“I will have a word with you,” Frank threatens as he leaves with Hazel who just offers a small smile.

Thalia shakes her head and heads out as well. “Listen, Kelp head,” she says as she goes, “we have work to do, don’t make it harder by fainting on us.”

It sounds rude but Annabeth feels the sentiment.

He turns to look at her when Thalia is gone. “Are you going to yell at me too?” he jokes.

She doesn’t know what to say.

“Please don’t ever do that again,” is what comes out in a faint whisper as the relief floods in because he’s okay.

He sits up at the sight of the tears once again coming to her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he says, looking actually sorry as she cradles her face in his hand.

“Just…be okay.”

He nods. “I will be, I promise. I’ll never do that again.”

She just rushes forward to hug him, finally calming down at the sight of her boyfriend awake and well. He buries his face into her shoulder, and she relaxes more, already making plans to get him a large pizza when they get home.

“Besides,” he mumbles into her shoulder, arms looping around her body. “I don’t want to see you cry, unless it’s for more.”

Yep, he really is fine if he’s making her cheeks red.

A/N: I’m so sorry it took so long to write this prompt! I honestly wasn’t sure how to write the concept well because I know very little about medical stuff and I didn’t want it to be anything too serious either. Hope you liked it! And thank you for sending in a prompt!

[thejudgingtrash]

(unedited and I’m not a native speaker so please point out if you see something odd!)

One day (1,4k)

A quiet day. The air was warm and dry. The wind chimes sang the melody of the clouds and the invisible currents. The paint of the old house was brittle. It would take days to repaint it, if a professional painter would take the job it would tear through savings. But the money was tight, and Percy knew that he had to put his efforts into elsewhere. The hand he was holding reminded him of that. The green on the wood that was decades old could be blown away to reveal the natural layer underneath it. The old Colonial stood in front of them, proud and almighty, but it was nothing more than a lie that has been fed through generations.

The lawn looked nearly identical to the last time Percy had visited. Wild. Unkept. A fight of nature taken back what was rightfully its. And it was he that had mown it to keep it in somewhat of a shape. The old swing had been removed as it was broken beyond repair. It laid in the basement, waiting for a small child to beg for its usage once again.

Attempts to make her move into something smaller and easier have failed. In some cases, it triggered her, and she began to scream and cry. The hands that were thrown weren’t of violence. They were of despair and the deepest pain. That was the sign when Percy knew he had overstepped his welcome. But the misunderstood clouds of sorrow and deep hatred passed and revealed her other side. The motherly side. The sunny side that loved to live and love.

Percy Jackson had returned. It was his semiannual visit to Westport, Connecticut. The youth had vanished from his face, although not entirely. It was a weird state where old and young stood in front of each other. The youth wanted to remain, but the adulthood came to claim its place. A not so young man who had both legs fully integrated in life rang the bell that gave a soft jingle and knocked on the turquoise door.

It swung open after a while. “Oh, hello Percy!” May smiled. She recognized him. Relief. There were times when she did not. “Is it time again?”

“Hello May,” Percy greeted her and entered. Little steps followed him.

The house had been decluttered. May had a knack for keeping everything she deemed interesting and never threw it out. Percy would come with the big blue bags and make her decide what items were necessary and which she wanted to keep. It upset her. But she understood it. At least Percy hoped she did.

“I have made cookies. I might have burnt them a little bit. Oopsie.” Her gaze shifted to the right into another twinkling pair of eyes.

May got on one knee. Her morning dress was clean this time and not burned and pungent like the many times before. “Luke!” she cried with big eyes. “You’re back!”

Her hands grabbed the soft cheeks. “But you are so small,” she whispered. It broke Percy’s heart. “Weren’t you taller?” May Castellan tilted her head and the silver hair fell down her shoulder. She had aged. It had been more than a decade ago, closer to two.

“It’s me, grandma May. It’s me, Theo,” the young boy said.

“My son, May. Do you remember?” Percy asked her.

A wondrous expression rested on her face. “You have become a big brother,” she remembered slowly. “A little girl!”

Theo began to grin and proudly showed his two missing front teeth. “Yes, I’m a big brother now! Ari is so pretty!”

“When will I see your little sister?” May asked and clapped her hands in excitement.

The fact that Annabeth was against a visit with young Ariadne as a safety measurement was something that Percy just couldn’t voice. He knew his wife was right. And still his consciousness made him do these visits. The aged demigod couldn’t save her son, but he refused to fail May Castellan. So, he visited her. Only for certain amounts of times, of course. He never blamed Annabeth and Thalia for staying away. He never blamed Nico for bringing him to this place for the first time. It was destined and running away from the Moirai was never the best option. That was something that had been etched into his mind since he had been a young boy of twelve years in his first year at Camp Half-Blood.

“You will see her soon once she’s grown a little bit more,” he deflected.

“I bet she is a pretty baby. Just like Luke was.”

“Yes. Yes, she is,” Percy said. Was the air getting stuffier? Or why did he feel the tears coming? His chest was heavy and filled with regrets. He blinked the pesky wetness away.

Fatherhood made him come to realize more. It made him understand more. Patience. Love. Forgiveness. It made him understand the complete and utter injustice that was the broken shell of May Castellan. The living contradiction. More dead than alive, a broken record. A mother that was yearning for her son. A mother that was screaming for her son. A son that would never return home again. A mother that couldn’t see that her son would never return home again. Yet the broken fragments of her mind would never let her rest. It would never make it easy for her until she would have her last breath. And what lied beyond that was something that Percy could not imagine.

The wicked ways of the ancient forces. The same gods that had blessed her, had thrown her into despair. They had turned their backs. Even her former lover. A tunnel of sadness where only in certain times and particular angles an illusion of light shone through. That was May Castellan.

The three moved into the kitchen where Percy let his son only eat two cookies and for once little Theo listened to his father. May Castellan didn’t lie, she really had burnt the cookies. But the younger Jackson was too polite to not eat some and thanked May as she wanted to give him more.

“Shall we clean the yard, May?” Percy proposed like he always did.

“Oh yes!” agreed May with glowing eyes like she always did.

He would mow the lawn and trim the bushes and May would take care after the roses. She loved the roses. The roses, the tulips and the sweet lavender that the bumblebees loved to dance around. All reminders of a better and safer time. Times that had passed as flowers would wither in mere moments. Especially those that were unkempt.

Theo played with Rhodius, the son of Blackjack, another young and wild pegasus that let the young boy sit on his back. The Jacksons had used him as a means of transportation. Percy eyed them closely as he did a little bit of yard work. Rest assured; the Pegasus was an excellent babysitter.

After an hour and a half of work, the adults sat down on the porch. Percy brushed the sweat off his forehead. May rushed into the house and brought out glasses of orange juice. Percy tried to not pull a face as he came to realization that she had confused the salt and sugar containers once again. “Luke, my boy,” May said. A dreamy expression rested on her face as she watched young Theo play and chase after the trained legs of the magical creature.

“Percy, when will Luke come back? When will I see my boy?” May asked and turned around to him. Her eyes. They were glazed. The cerulean eyes were so full of life yet mirrored death. Were it the tears or were it the wretched prophecy and the following illusions of the future that haunted her ever since? He would never know. How could he ever know?

“When will my Luke come back?” she cried.

Stomping through the grass. Theo stood in front of his father and saw the heartbroken Mrs. Castellan.

Theo looked up to his father. Even the small boy knew that May Castellan was sick. Slowly dying of a broken heart that could never be mended. Slowly dying of the visions that haunted her and had driven her into her unsafe state.

Percy had subconsciously pressed Theo’s hand as the child sat down on his father’s lap. Percy looked apologizing into the sea green eyes that mirrored his. Only the gray ring and the gray dots that looked like they have been splashed with a paint brush reminded Percy of his mother. His wife. His dear Annabeth.

His heart was heavy and the frown on his face aged the demigod even more. The white in his hair had come back. The streaks had been thicker even.

“One day, May. One day,” he said. One day, he promised.

[prongsies]

Star-Crossed ⁕ Chapter Five

←Chapter 4 |  Master list

“Good morning” Fred greeted when he neared his siblings in the Great Hall, smiling at their first breakfast back in Hogwarts. George, who was in the middle of an argument with Lee over Puddlemere United and the Chudley Cannons, trailed off behind him, sitting next to him as their debate continued.  

Fred rolled his eyes when Ron, who had been scoffing down forkfuls of pancakes, joined the conversation. Passionately defending his dear Chudley Cannons even if it meant debating against his own brother. His eyes scanned the room, expecting Thalia to hop in the debate and side with George, when he realized she wasn’t anywhere near them.

His eyes drifted over to the Slytherin table where she would often sit to talk to her cousin, Draco Malfoy, but she wasn’t there as well.

“She had an early start today” Hermione said, sipping pumpkin juice from her goblet. “Went to the library over half an hour ago”

“Thanks, ‘Mione” Fred smiled, stuffing a couple of sandwiches into a plastic bag he kept for people purchasing some of their joke products, before rising from his seat.  

George, who was clearly winning the debate by miles, stood up as well, bidding the two boys good bye as their called out to him, saying their debate was far from finish – Fred doubts it.

The two rushed to the library, hiding the plastic bag in their school robes, while avoiding the piercing glare of Madam Pince who seemed suspicious of their presence. They smiled innocently at her as they watched her slip into an aisle, breathing out a sigh of relief when they were out of her sight.

They ventured through bookshelves in search of Thalia, to see her in a secluded area, stacks of books and a sheet of parchment sprawled in front of her. They joined her, peeking over her shoulder to see her listing down different ingredients.

“What’s that” Fred asked, startling Thalia. She turned, glaring at him for sneaking up on her, but motioned towards the vacant seats beside her anyway.

“Ingredients” She replied simply as she set her quill down, capping her ink jar before situating her full attention to them, “I had this idea last night before I went to bed... of an ingredient to add to your Puking Pastilles – was it?”

The two nodded.

“I wasn’t sure if it was safe so I got to looking” She presented the list to them, reciting all she had written, “So far it’s onion juice, honey, sugar, dandruff, rotten eggs, pus, and... octopus’ powder”

“The thought of those ingredients together makes me want to puke right now” George pinched the bridge of his nose, grimacing. “Disgusting”

“We’re kind of running low on funds though” said Fred bashfully after a couple of minutes, reading through the list again sadly, “Octopus powder is kind of expensive – I don’t think it fits our budget”

“I’ve got it covered, Freddie” Thalia cut him off, reassuring him with a smile, “I’ve sent a copy of the list to this store I know of in Diagon Alley – they should arrive tomorrow”

“We’ll pay you back” Fred promised, receiving a shake of the head from Thalia.

“No! No, please don’t” She waved her hands frantically, “consider it an investment to your shop”

George started to protest but Thalia interrupted him, “It’s alright. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to tell me, yeah?”

The two nodded, still hesitant, but let it slip.  

Thalia checked her watched, surprise lacing her face when she realized it’s already ten minutes before her first class. “Shite, we need to go”

She rushed to pack her belongings, nearly spilling her ink in the process. She thrusted the parchment to Fred, nearly tripping over her own feet as they followed her out the library and into a shortcut she’s been using ever since she discovered it in the Marauder’s Map.

“You’re lucky you don’t need Potions N.E.W.T.s” Thalia mumbled as the passageway became colder, and indication that they were nearing the dungeons.

“S’not like owning a joke shop is a stable career choice, Lia” Fred joked as he laughed softly, following her as she turned right, watching as she pulled out her wand to illuminate their way, “It’s not so much a win, isn’t it?”

“Not really, no” George replied as he pushed open the back of a portrait into a deserted corridor, hopping off the one-foot drop onto the floor. “It’s a cliff we hopped off unprepared, sadly”

Thalia thanked him when he helped her down, brushing her robes off the dust it collected while in the passageway. The three rushed towards the classroom, thankful that Professor Snape hadn’t arrived. Joining Lee Jordan who had reserved seats for them, they pulled out their cauldrons from their bags – which Thalia charmed skillfully with an Undetectable Extension Charm.

The classes silenced when the door slammed open, watching as Professor Snape sauntered into the room, his copy of Advanced Potion Making in hand as he greeted the class good morning. He hummed in acknowledgement of the mumbles of greeting he received in return as he stopped in front of his desk, allowing his eyes to scan the students in his room. “Expect your N.E.W.T.s to be much more... difficult than your O.W.L.s”

“I take it some of you...” Thalia noticed Snape’s eyes stop on Fred and George pointedly, “were lucky to have passed Potions, so don’t expect me to make it easier for you these next few years”

He cleared his throat. He ventured towards the back of his desk as he flipped open his book, clearing his throat before facing them once more, “You will be making the Draught of the Living Dead today. Can anyone tell me its purpose? Yes, Ms. Pallas”

Thalia, who was absentmindedly staring at the blackboard behind Snape, jumped at the sound of her name. She cleared her throat as everyone turned to look at her – some, snickering behind their hands, “It, uhm, it sends the drinker into a deathlike sleep”

“If you could name the key ingredient, Ms. Pallas, Gryffindor will inherit 10 points”  

Nearly every Gryffindor in the room turned to her with a hopeful expression, waiting patiently for her answer, “The valerian root, sir – it's known to be a natural sedative”

Snape nodded at her answer before turning to the blackboard, listing down the ingredients they needed along with the procedure they had to follow. “You are given one hour to brew this potion. I expect to see a pale pink concoction by the end of this hour. You may begin”

Thalia was quick to retrieve the ingredients she needed from the cupboards, maybe grabbing some extras that weren’t in Snape’s list, before returning to her table. She began following the procedures, altering a few to fit the descriptions given in previous researches she had done in her library.  

She knew far too well school books authors tend to alter procedures when publishing their works, so she decided to abandon her book and go from memory – praying that what she had read from their personal books in their study would be sufficient enough for her to brew it perfectly.

“Why are you using 13 Sopophorus beans?” George asked, peeking towards Thalia’s station to see her beans lined up in front of her as she crushed them one by one”

“And how did you manage to get the bloody juice out?” Lee whispered incredulously beside her, making his point in proving the impossibility of juicing the beans by trying to slice one in half, watching it fly across the table towards Fred.

“Crush it with the blade” She advised.

Lee, although confused, followed her instructions, whispering a thank you as he continued working silently on his own. Thalia was thankful she happened across the book Sleep Draughts for the Sleepless in their library – an old book which had detailed procedures for draughts of different effect, without such, her potion wouldn’t have turned the pale pink it is now.

“How’d you do that?” Fred asked, confused as to why his potion’s color resulted far different than hers despite following the procedures. Thalia peeked over to see his potion, which had turned a dark shade of purple, and George’s which turned hot pink – close enough.

“Ms. Pallas,” Her attention was called once again. She turned to see Professor Snape standing at their desk, an eyebrow raised in her direction, “Since you seem too distracted by Mr. Weasley’s presence, I assume it’s safe to say you are finished?”

“Yes professor” She replied, stepping aside to allow the professor to look into the cauldron. He hummed as he surveyed the color, producing a leaf from his pocket which he dropped into it. Thalia watched as it disintegrated as soon as it touched the potion, sighing in relief when Professor Snape turned to her with a look of approval.

“I trust you’ve done your research?”

Thalia nodded.

“Another ten points to Gryffindor. You are dismissed, Ms. Pallas”

˚✧₊⁎⁺˳✧༚

“I swear, you’re the only student Snape genuine likes in Gryffindor” commented Fred once they exited the classroom. Thalia had waited for them after she was dismissed early, effectively missing Snape’s snarky remarks towards Fred, whose potion managed to freeze over.

“No surprise there, innit?” said George, “I mean, who wouldn’t like Thalia?”

“You flatter me too much, Georgie!” Thalie exclaimed teasingly, shoving George by the arm, who simply laughed. He draped an arm over her shoulder as ventured along the main corridor, on their way to their Transfiguration class, talking about how much a shame it was that Lee didn’t take share that class with them.

Professor McGonagall was already there when they arrived, sending a brief smile towards Thalia from her seat when their eyes met. The classroom, emptied off its usual rows of chair and tables, was had wooden mannequins with a carved circular target on their chests. The board, littered with illustrations of wand movements, was perched in the middle of the room for everyone to see. Thalia felt excited for whatever lesson they would have today, knowing it would be a performative discussion.

When more students started piling into the classroom, Professor McGonagall stood and instructed them to group themselves into threes, waiting as students rushed across the rooms towards their peers. At this, Thalia looked up towards Fred and George, receiving knowing smiles as they gathered to form one group.

“You will be learning the Incarcerous Spell today, a spell conjuring thick ropes to bind their target” Professor McGonagall started, walking to face a mannequin.

“We all love a good binding” Fred whispered towards Thalia, who snickered at his innuendo.

“All you have to do is point your wand at the target” the professor raised her wand, looking towards the class if she has their attention, “Then say loudly and clearly – incarcerous" with a flick, a thick rope shot out from her wand, wrapping itself around the mannequin”

“I doubt it’d be able to move now” George whispered into Thalia’s other ear.

“You’ll get us in trouble” Thalia giggled as she slapped the two away, just as they were leaning in to tell another joke.

“Take you time” said Professor McGonagall as she motioned for the students to try the incantation on their own, stepping to the front to watch their progress. “Remember to annunciate”

Thalia stepped forward towards their group's mannequin, mainly to get away from Fred and George who wouldn’t stop snickering, before raising her wand. “Incarcerous” She uttered, surprised when a rope actually wrapped around the wooden figure.

She moved aside with a smile, gesturing for Fred and George to try it out themselves.

They stepped forward, wands readily raised as they uttered the spell simultaneously, both releasing ropes that wrapped atop Thalia’s. The brunette cheered as the three of them finished, grabbing both their arms in a semi-hug.

Contrary to popular belief, Fred and George Weasley were good in Transfiguration – amazing, honestly. Thalia found it such a shame people would underestimate their skills, confining them into the ‘twins who did nothing but play jokes on people’. Truly they wouldn’t be able to create those products if they weren’t excellent at magic – and Thalia was a witness to the wonders they could create.

“Brilliant, Ms. Pallas – Weasleys" Commended Professor McGonagall as she stopped by their group, surveying their work. It was a surprise to her they had done it in one go, considering all their other classmates haven’t fully conjured a rope yet. “Now, I want you three to create a wordplay with the incantation. Surely, there is something else you can conjure”

Her attention snapped as a scream broke into the room, excusing herself as she rushed towards a Hufflepuff student whose rope managed to bind her.

“Incarous!” Fred exclaimed, pointing at the figure once Professor McGonagall left, expecting something to come out of his wand.  

George stepped forward as well, shouting “Incaro!”, then giggling with Fred when nothing happened.

The two continued their shenanigans, cutting off letters from the incantation one by one until they were shouting “i” out loud – much to their classmates' amusement.

Thalia stepped forward to perform a spell she had heard before, raising her wand as she let the foreign incantation roll off her lips, “Incarcifors!”

She was surprised her aim was redirected towards the stool near the statue, transforming it into a wooden cage which entrapped the mannequin in its place. Collective ‘woah’s were heard in the room at what Thalia had done, all surveying the cage she had managed to make the stool into.

“Excellent, Ms. Pallas!” said McGonagall in astonishment, circling the cage to survey her work. “twelve points to Gryffindor!”

Thalia grinned, immediately turning to look at Fred, who – to her surprise – was grinning towards her already.

Master list | Chapter 6→

STAR-CROSSED TAG LIST:

@elf-punk @bloodorangemoonlight

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Also saw you're doing requests so yay!!. Any chance of jercy bakery au? Love your work sm hope you have a great day ☺☺

My Darling Anon how dare you make me fall more in love with Jercy???????? I squealed when i saw this and then promptly started writing even though i should be studying for my (ironically) Greek Mythology test.

i hope you love it because if i fail at least i know it’ll be worth it :) Also this was honestly supposed to be a quick drabble and it somehow ended up as 1,5K+ words so??? #isanyonesurprisedthough

Masterlist

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Jason Grace smiled as the birds beside his head chirped and then swiped his phone to cut off the amusing sound. His fiery friend, and co-worker thought it was hilarious to steal his phone and change his alarm tone every few weeks. Usually it was something inane and silly like a cartoon laugh track or just a repeating “It’s time to get up BakerBoi” that gets increasingly louder. He had arrived to work with a scowl on his face only to see the shit-eating grin of Leo Valdez waiting at the door.

Now Jason stumbles out of bed, letting his limbs loosen as he pads softly to the bathroom, feeling cool tile and a winter breeze on his exposed skin. He loves mornings like this, when the world isn’t quite awake, and the sky hasn’t decided what colour it wants to be for the day. He knows in is baker’s bones that it’ll be cold and rainy, but he has time for a morning jog before the world starts crying.

“Good morning boss,” A bright eyed, fidgeting Leo greets as he steps into the bakery.

Jason had been there at seven thirty, pulling down the café chairs and cleaning the counters. He already had a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies and about three different types of muffins in the oven. The bread was waiting for the busy hands of Leo and Hazel who somehow always seemed to make heavenly fluffed, soft rolls and the deliciously crusty baguettes. Hazel jokes that it’s the New Orleans blood that flows through her veins. They’re all half inclined to agree.

“Morning Valdez, I like the alarm this week.” He tosses a grin over his shoulder before going back to his icing ritual. Mix, taste, mix, ice.

“I figured you would old man. Even though i much prefer my ASMR food audio from last week. What’s the specialty today?”

“We need to get beignets out and the pain au chocolats before the breakfast crowd. Also the fruit stuffed pastry twists and the honey bread have to be prepped before we open so we can bring them out hot in time for the brunch crowd. Specialty today is a new thing I’ve been working on. Blue blondie doughnuts with Oreo cream filling and sugar glaze.”

“Gods boss, you tryna give people heart failure?”

“Just trying to insert some sweetness into the world,” He winked.

Before Leo could give an undoubted snarky reply a bubbly head of dark brown curls and glittering eyes popped around the door.

“Goooood morning everyone,”

Jason couldn’t help the smile that graced his face at her cheeriness, “Hello Miss Levesque, glad to see a prettier face around here,”

Leo made a strangled noise of indignation from the other side of the kitchen but didn’t get the chance to voice his offense before the last member of their little group walked in.

“Ah there you are Miss McLean, I do wonder how you arrive with Hazel and still manage to get in after her.”

She gave him an exasperated look, “I have to say goodbye to my girlfriend before I come in Boss. You’re the one who banned couple calls in the bakery.”

“Well maybe if we didn’t have to hear you and Annabeth explicitly planning your night’s activities I wouldn’t have had to do that.”

Piper just rolled her eyes and went to grab her apron and a cloth to wipe down the tables.

"Everyone ready?" He asked, from the door of the kitchen an hour later.

"Ready for the storm boss," They all yelled back, as they did each morning.

"Then let's roll like thunder," He grinned, flinging the doors to Ambrosia Bakery open.

"Oh thank the heavens, I could smell the goodness from here and it was a struggle to keep the drool in," One Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano breathed in deep.

"Good morning my favourite customer," Leo smirked from behind the counter.

"Jason tell your bread boy to stand down before I make him,"

"Is that an invitation?" Dark eyebrows wiggled in amusement.

"That is a threat," She growled.

"Well mark me down as scared and h—"

"Valdez I swear if you finish that sentence I'm putting you on wash-up duty for the next week."

A faint "you got it boss" followed Jason into the kitchen, where he allowed himself to smile. It was an ongoing amusement that Leo flirted with Reyna and in return she came up with increasingly terrifying threats.

"Jason, your sister is here to see you" Hazel said, gently shoving him out the way so she could take over rolling the pastry.

"Get the doughnuts ready for the fryer I'll be back soon, thank you!"

He maneuvered around a blushing Leo who had icing on his nose and a suspicious lipstick stain on his cheek, finally making his way to the confectioners stand.

"What's up loser?" He said by way of greeting.

"Hey you're only allowed to call me that if you come baring nice things." Thalia Grace frowned.

"I am nice things," He pouted.

"Not even on your best day." She snorted, "I want to know if you're coming to the gala this weekend. I need a date to steal extra bread-sticks for me."

"Why can't I just make you bread-sticks and we can sit in your lounge and watch bad reality TV?" He groaned

"Because I have to show face or the sponsors aren't going to sponsor. Besides you need a night out. You're gonna start smelling like bread if you don't take a break."

"It's insulting that you think I wouldn't want to smell like breadsticks."

She laughed at, that ruffling his hair, "Just be ready by seven. You better be wearing a suit."

And with that his sister had grabbed her daily croissant and cappuccino and vanished into the drizzling day.

Before he could make it back to his safe haven beside the ovens and marbled counter-tops a flash of black hair caught his eye.

Turning around he couldn't contain the grin that tugged at his lips; standing by the counter already staring intently at the newest creation was Jason's favourite customer.

"Hello Percy Jackson,"

"Jason," A dazzling smile revealed pearl white teeth and the tiniest dimple on a cheek the color of rich toffee.

"I see you've already found Neptune's Tridoughnut,"

A bright laugh escaped a wickedly beautiful mouth, "Oh I love that. How'd you come up with that one?"

Jason smiled softly, debating whether to tell the owner of the 5-Oceans Conservation Company that he was the muse behind all of his latest creations, hence the variations of green and blue.

Instead, as he did every time Percy asked, he lied, "My sister went to an opening ceremony for a new exhibit at the Education center all about Mythology so I thought I’d offer my services and well, they were a hit."

Piper who was walking past at that exact moment coughed something that sounded suspiciously like "Liar" but with a pointed glare she disappeared behind the counter.

"That sounds great. Guess I'll have to recruit you for all my functions," He winked, a small smirk playing at his lips.

Jason cursed his pale cheeks and hoped the blush he now sported wasn't too noticeable, "What can I get you besides a specialty doughnut?"

"Can I get one banana and walnut muffin, a dozen chic chips, and I'm gonna go see mom this afternoon so maybe a couple of caramel pastry twists and some blueberry muffins?"

"Sure. I guess Estelle is off her carrot cake faze?" He laughed, remembering how Percy had to stop at the bakery twice a week to grab carrot and pecan mini cakes just for his little sister.

"Ugh she's onto wanting fruit in absolutely everything now so my mom has been frantically buying boxes of peaches, strawberries and apples to cut up and send with her for lunch at school." Green eyes rolled in fake annoyance.

"Well if she likes fruit things maybe she should try the raspberry and orange pastry twists?" He pointed to a display stand piled with various pastries coloured by blackberry jam, apricot pieces, kiwi slices and mango syrup.

"I could kiss you right now!" Percy exclaimed rushing towards the display, unaware that the baker was frozen to the spot.

I could kiss you, could kiss you, kiss you, kiss...

Jason's brain had short-circuited, his neurons too busy having a dance party with his hormones to process the world.

I could kiss you.

A lazy, unconscious smile took over his face as he stood there in the middle of his bakery, arms slack, head lolled, and eyes crinkled.

"Jason?" A faraway voice called.

"Jason? Hello?"

And suddenly a hand was waving in front of his vision trying to get his attention.

He pulled himself out of his reverie, blinking back into existence, "Right yes the pastries"

"Didn’t get enough sleep last night?" Percy teased, slugging him softly in the shoulder.

He snorted at the implication, "Unfortunately I'm a bit of a grandfather. Sleep early, rise early."

"Oh guess you like morning activities then,"

He sputtered, head snapping up to stare into twinkling eyes, "N-no, I just meant—"

"I'm kidding Mr BakerMan," That brilliant, bright laugh again, "I know you're a homebody. Your sister likes to tell me how boring you are."

He huffed at that, "We'll see if she gets her pear tarts this weekend."

"Speaking of this weekend," A sly grin played at Percy's mouth, "Are you coming to the gala?"

"Yea," He sighed, "Thalia says she needs me to steal bread-sticks ."

Sea green eyes widened before Percy burst out laughing. In a matter of moments tears were streaming down his face.

If Jason wasn't so smitten with that gorgeous smile and those mischievous eyes he may have been inclined to laugh too. But Percy Jackson was a vision he half believed only his dreams could conjure.

When the laughter had mostly seized Percy wiped his eyes and managed to gasp, "That sounds exactly like something Thalia would ask. When we worked on the marine life project together she always stole the mints from every CEO’s office because she said they had enough money to buy a mint factory, they could afford to replace a single bowl."

"Yep, her life goal is to end capitalism. I swear if it wasn't for Annabeth, Thalia would be walking into office buildings with a sack like some reverse Santa Claus where she steals the office supplies and fruit bowls."

"Well I can't wait to see you stuffing your pockets with bread-sticks on Saturday so I guess I'll see you then," He gave another dazzling smile.

"Yea, and say hello to little Estelle for me. Tell me how she likes the pastries."

"Don't worry I'm sure I'll be back soon with a long list of request."

"Can't wait." He grinned.

Percy chuckled, "Me neither, see you Friday." And then he was gone.

Oh gods, Jason thought, how am I ever gonna survive Percy in a suit?

***

Spoiler alert past-Jason: you didn't.

[forestfairy72-blog1]

Like Breathing

[Ao3]

A Fresh Start

Annabeth could barely think over the music. The reggae baseline was pounding at what most would consider an inappropriate volume for a small café. The bored-looking barista clearly did not fit into this category. She had picked the venue for Piper’s benefit. A quick google search for vegan-friendly coffee shops had led her here, to the Cerulean Café, even though Piper was veggie rather than vegan. It was a not what she had expected; faux-rustic or pretentious, instead it had a cute homey feel. Every table had a few mis-matched chairs around it, differing materials but in the same colour story which her inner designer approved of. Annabeth’s table was next to the window, looking out onto a window box full of brightly coloured plants.

The barista glared at her from behind the counter, clearly annoyed that she was yet to order despite having been sat at her table for nearly fifteen minutes. It probably didn’t help that she had cleared some dirty plates off the table so she could sit down since there hadn’t been a vacant table. His gaze caused her face to heat up slightly. Annabeth rationalised that the shop managers hadn’t used the space effectively, if she had been the one designing the layout there could be another three tables, none of which would be blocking the fire exit, unlike the current set up.

Impatiently, Annabeth ran her fingers through her hair. Piper was always late. She didn’t know why she expected today to be any different. Just like that Piper appeared at the door, a whirlwind of denim, feathers and bags. She scanned the room the look for Annabeth and rushed over as soon as she spotted her.

“Ahhhhhh! So good to see you!” Piper squeezed as if to make up for four months of missed hugs. Annabeth beamed as she hugged back, her frustration dissipating more with every second she was back with her friend.

“Right back atcha McLean. Can I get you a coffee?” “Don’t worry about it.” Piper began to rifle through her many bags for her wallet. “Nah, I insist. It’s the least I can do.” Annabeth’s smile faltered for just a moment but luckily Piper didn’t notice. “Bullshit.” Piper scoffed, “But I will treat you next time.” “Flat white with 2 sugars?” Annabeth asked. “A woman after my own heart!” Piper fake swooned.

Annabeth approached the counter with the cheeriest grin she could muster, ready to face the scowling Rasta hat wearing barista. The guy clocked her and instantly plastered his own smile on. “Hi there! Can I get a flat white and an Americano please?” She asked, struck by how easily the guy switched into customer service mode. Maybe he was just happy that she was actually buying something. The café was pretty full still, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have anything to do. “Absolutely! Can I interest you in anything else? One of our home-baked cakes perhaps?” “Ooh… What would you recommend?” “Well, I’m partial to the banana bread.” “Sounds great! I’ll take one of those and a lemon drizzle please.” Annabeth handed over the money and turned to look back at her friend. Piper was casually scrolling through her phone while she was waiting. Every once in a while she would click on something of laugh quietly to herself. Her friend’s presence made Annabeth feel lighter already. She thanked the barista as he placed her many dishes on to a tray and then carried them over to the table. “You are a jewel, thanks.” Piper smiled as she unloaded her coffee from the tray. Annabeth halved the two cakes and swapped over plates so they each had a part of both treats. “How cute is this place? I can’t believe I have never come here before! Loving the blue theme.” She indicated to the cups, saucers and plates which were also mismatched all in similar shades of blue.

“Yeah, it’s really adorable. Kind of reminds me of that place we went to in Soho when you came to visit me at school.”

“Yes! Oh my god that place did the best pancakes! Do you think it’s too late for me to order pancakes?”

Annabeth just laughed at her friend and agreed it was too late for pancakes. The pair began some small talk as they ate and drank – how Annabeth’s journey had been, how things were going with Piper’s PR internship, how Jason was adjusting to his sister Thalia going on the road.

“It was so sweet of Thalia to let me stay in her room while she is on tour. I really appreciate it.”

“Babe, you know she would’ve killed me and Jason both had we not done everything we could to get you here.”

Annabeth could believe it. She had met Thalia nearly fifteen years ago at summer camp and the pair had somehow managed to remain friends after all this time. They were sisters in all but blood, that curtesy extending to Jason, Thalia’s younger brother. In the years since becoming Piper’s boyfriend that had only doubled down. When Annabeth had first called Thalia to say there had been a… change in her living situation… she had to all but beg her friend not to cancel the rest of her band’s tour dates and come back east.

“Well I just don’t want to seem ungrateful. Having somewhere to stay was the first big step. The next of course is finding a job. Do you know of anything going?”

“What kind of thing are you looking for? Are you thinking of going for something design-y like an internship or…?”

“No. I need something that is going to pay bills. I cannot afford an internship right now.” Well that was certainly part of the reason. Piper noticed Annabeth twitch slightly at the mention of design.

“I mean I saw a sign in the window here saying they are looking for a barista/waitress. What about that?” Piper walked over to the notice board and returned with the flyer. “It says to ask for Grover at the desk. You could be a waitress!” Annabeth paused for a moment while she pondered this. She knew very well how to put on a customer service persona from her time in retail helping to fund her school experience.

“I mean the worst thing they can do is say no. I’ll go ask the guy up there.” Annabeth rose from her seat, drank the final gulp of her coffee and approached the rather grumpy looking man at the till.

“Hi, may I speak to Grover please?” She smiled as brightly as she could as she said it. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror lining the wall behind him, realised that she looked a bit demonic so tried to tone it down.

“You are already.” Grover tensed up at this. “Is everything okay with your food and coffee?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Annabeth rushed. “I was wanting to ask for an application.” He physically relaxed at her response, gave her a big grin and pulled out a form from behind the till. Clearly he had expected to have an ‘I want to speak to the manager’ conversation.

“There you go, the boss mentioned there have been a couple of applicants so interviews will be Friday. It’s pretty straightforward – if you think you have any experience which is going to be particularly helpful make sure you make it stand out. Good luck!” Grover smiled, Annabeth returned to her table, feeling ever so slightly guilty for thinking of the guy as grumpy when he had been incredibly pleasant. She shot Piper a thumbs up as she headed back to the table.

The pair of them grabbed their things and left the café, thanking Grover as they left.

-    -    -

The walk to the apartment did not take long, though it would have been much shorter had they not each been pulling a large suitcase topped with Piper's many bags, filled with flyers for some event she was promoting through work. While it was a pain in the neck in the short term, Annabeth couldn’t help but feel conflicted. She was getting a fresh start, but it was sad to think that her whole life was neatly packed into these two cases.

Dalinver Bay was a small coastal town about an hour outside of Manhattan. Ideally Annabeth would have wanted to go west and join Thalia, but she would only have been a distraction. Escaping her woes by partying across California sounded much too self-destructive and she was pretty sure she maxed out her quota for self-destructive behaviours this decade. Besides it was incredibly kind for Piper to let her stay

“Well here we are!” Piper sang, pulling out her set of keys and opening the front door.

“Damn. You are living large Piper!” Annabeth exclaimed as she pulled he case into the large foyer.

“You say that every time you come here.”

“Yeah, that’s ‘cause it is still true every time I come here!”

Annabeth was no stranger to money. She had attended private school, her mother was a regular in the Upper East Side social circle but there was money and then there was money. It was Piper’s turn to blush now. She didn’t like to advertise it but as the child of one of Hollywood’s most sought after action stars and the head of a fashion empire she was obviously very well off.

The apartment was three bedroomed, each being en suite, and had several other rooms spread across two floors including a guest bathroom, kitchen, lounge, gaming room and a room nicknamed the library which was full of books ranging from rare classics to summer reading fodder. The whole interior had a chic, minimalist vibe and had obviously been decorated by someone who had created many a show home. But there were still flavours of Thalia and Piper throughout the house, be it Piper’s artifacts from her father’s side or rock memorabilia Thalia had scattered around the place, including the band’s debut album’s platinum record hanging in the foyer so it would be the first thing any guest would see.

Between the two of them they took two trips to hoist the heavy suitcases up the spiral staircase to Thalia’s room. After having plonked it on the floor they headed into the lounge. There was an L shaped sofa and a love seat both facing the large tv mounted on the wall. Each of the sank down onto the black leather sofa and let out a sigh. The lifting had been heavier than expected.

“So…” Piper began then paused. “Do you want to watch tv?”

“Sure.” They stuck on some mind numbing trash and sat curled up on the sofa for a long time. The silence between them was a comfortable one but Annabeth couldn’t help but think that hadn’t been the question Piper wanted to ask. She was waiting for the full story. Things must have seemed so good when Piper had visited back in February. SO why had Annabeth had called hysterically crying three days ago? Why she was taking a leave of absence from school? Why she did pale at every mention of her family? Why she had left… everything?

But she couldn’t answer.

Not yet.

So instead she snuggled in closer to her friend and before she knew it she dozed off. Ot was the best sleep she’d had in a year.

-   -    -

By the time Friday had rolled around Annabeth had applied for seven waitressing jobs, three cleaning positions, four admin assistant posts, and even one of those advertisement jobs where you have to throw a massive plaque around telling customers where to go to buy over priced sports equipment. But hey, beggers can't be choosers. As she walked the now familiar route from Thalia's to the Cerulean Cafe her heart was jack hammering. She had been in two days ago to drop off her application and make use of their complementary wifi to send off her many applications. The walk should only have been twenty minutes but she had to stop every so often and take in a deep breath to calm herself down. It wasn't her first job interview. Annabeth had been employed every summer since she was sixteen. Bsck then however she had always had a safety net. Now she had to rely on herself. Asking for help from her friends would be mortifying, especially after everything they were already doing for her and hell would freeze over before she turned to either of her parents for help.  

She was stood outside the door. All that was left to do was go in, get through the interview telling as few lies as possible and get out. She pushed the door and stepped inside, feeling the calm atmosphere of the room wash over her. It was amazing seeing the difference between the place first thing in the morning when it was empty as opposed to the bustling experience she had shared with Piper.

"Hello?" She called out when she realised the room was completely empty. "Is someone there?" "Miss Ramírez-Arellano?" Came a woman's voice from the kitchen area. How her heart beat faster. She regretted it the second she had handed in the application. But what else was a girl to do? She didn't want to risk being tracked down so she couldn't use her own name. Reyna was going to be on tour with Thalia for the next two months anyway so what she didn't know couldn't hurt her. Now that she was faced with the repercussions of such an obvious lie she realised just how stupid she had been. First of all, she was white. Secondly -

"Yes." Annabeth finally called back before her thoughts could derail her. She had made the bed, now she had to lie in it. The woman came round to shake her hand. Annabeth would have placed her in her late forties, but something about her kind smile made her appear younger. If it weren't for the grey streaks in her otherwise brown hair she could pass for younger still.

"I'm Sally Jackson. Walcome to the Cerulean Café!" She gestured to the room around them. It was obviously in the midst of being set up for the day since she had been asked to come in before the place officially opened for the interview to take place. "Shall we take a seat?" Annabeth nodded and followed her to a table near the kitchen so Sally could keep an ear out for the timer to tell her the scones were ready.

“So, I saw on your application that you have worked in customer service. Did you have waitressing experience through this post Miss Ramírez-Arellano?” Sally Jackson asked Annabeth. It was a simple question so Annabeth should have been able to answer with the simple obvious answer but the name game was already throwing her.

“Not really, but I am a fast learner Mrs Jackson.” Annabeth smiled. “I have been practising at home and can carry three plates at once. I am dyslexic so I know that I’m going to have to learn the menu by heart which I can happily do, I have a great memory-“ Annabeth felt her cheeks redden. Now she was bumbling like an idiot, plus she was pretty sure she was sweating through her shirt.

“That’s okay, the thing I care about most is that you are friendly and welcoming to the customers. Please call me Sally, rather than Mrs Jackson. Also, can I call you Reyna? I am not fond of too much formality, if you can’t tell by the place” Sally laughed and Annabeth nodded. “We change the specials every day but the rest of the menu is seasonal, so it only changes once in a while. How comfortable are you with technology? The till is basically an iPad – my son set it up because I’m useless at that kind of thing. He is also dyslexic so it is on a pink background.”

“I can work with that! The black on pink helps everything stay in the right place.”

“That’s what he says!” Sally sighed slightly and continued reading down the application form sat between them. “So, what is it that has taken you out to the Bay?”

“I- uh” The real answer would be too long and painful. Annabeth had expected to be asked it but not quite so soon. She still hadn’t really figured it out yet herself so was surprised when the words started flooding out. “I’m uh, taking a little break from my studies” that was true “to pursue a love of surfing!” That was not. “Yeah, I just can’t get enough of the waves! So I uh, thought a place like this would be ideal…” Annabeth trailed off and suddenly felt compelled to look anywhere in the room but at Sally Jackson’s face.

The woman pursed her lips and looked Annabeth up and down, considering her carefully.

“Okay.” She straightened up a little and locked on to Annabeth’s eyes. “I am going to ask you five questions. I want you to answer them honestly, and the job is yours. After that I won’t ask any more. Are we clear?”

Annabeth felt her heartrate quicken, her nerves coming back all at once. “Yes.”

“What is your name?”

“Rey-“

“I said honestly.” Sally’s face did not change at all. “I don’t care what we put on your name badge, and I’m sure you’ve got your reasons for giving a fake name but if we are going to work together, I need honesty.”

“It’s Annabeth, Annabeth Chase.”

“Okay Annabeth. Whatever you are running from - is it drugs? If it is drugs here is where our conversation ends I'm afraid.”

“God no!” Annabeth spluttered. “I can assure you I have no interest in drugs.”

“Good. Will whatever it is keep you from being able to work?”

“Not at all.”

“Is it going to impact my business or my family?”

“No.”

“Can you start Monday?”

Annabeth stared at her, trying to work out if Sally was joking or not. “Yes.”

“Perfect” She clapped her hands together. “Grover is going to be delighted, he’s been desperate for some more wait staff to keep things going smoothly. Come on and I’ll give you the tour.”

“That’s it? You don’t want to know anything else?”

“That’s it.” Sally smiled softly. “This café was built on trust. I trust my employees and they trust me. If I were to force you to tell me every decision or experience that has led you here, you would never trust me and we wouldn’t be able to work together. The most important thing to us here at Cerulean Café is family – we are all one big family. The job is yours if you want it. Under the condition that you never lie to me again.”

“I promise, Sally.” They were three simple words, but the weight Annabeth put behind them felt like a vow, one that she would not break.

“So, come on then.” She rose to her feet and Annabeth followed suit.

The tour was very straightforward. She had already seen the shop floor which Sally now explained the fairly straightforward numbering system for. Annabeth remembered it as if the room was split into quarters and then there was a circle inside of each. Sally informed her that there was no table thirteenfor some superstitious reasons which she managed to not laugh at. Annabeth felt a bit bad for criticising the lay out of the café as Sally explained how it had been arranged for optimal ease for disabled patrons, inspired by her favourite regular who Annabeth was bound to meet soon.

“I’m really looking forward to Monday now!” Sally beamed. “But just a piece of advice. We have a few regulars who are the nosy type. Whatever story you decide you want to tell you better get it straight before you start because they will be asking questions.”

“Okay.” Annabeth nodded.

“And there is no way you are getting around trying to pass yourself off as Reyna Ramírez-Arellano – I’m assuming you are staying with her? She is known in the area so that just wouldn’t go un-noted. Besides, are you going to remember that when we are slammed with customers and you are being called for? It needs to be something a bit closer to home.”

A light bulb went off in Annabeth’s head. The name her step-brothers had called her before they could say her name.

“Abby. Please put it as Abby on the rota.”

“You got it Abby.” Sally added her to the bottom of her shift rota board and walked her to the door. “I need to finish getting set up for opening. You’ll have some training to do on the job, but Grover will get that sorted out for you and you’ll meet most of the team on your first shift. Remember blue top, black bottoms and hair up. See you Monday!”

“Monday!” Annabeth echoed and stepped out of the café and onto the bright street.

She whipped out her phone and began texting Piper to share the good news. She got a job! Things finally were beginning to resemble a fresh start.

[avengers-nextgen]

All Things Grow I

“The news is so depressing,” Nathaniel grumbled clicking off the television, “everything’s all about the bad stuff happening in the world. Uhm hello? I experience it first hand people!”

“It’s what’s engaging unfortunately,” Wanda sighed having been watching it too, “the only way to attract an audience.”

“Yeah, well it sucks.”

“You sound like my brother,” She laughed.

“He was smart.” Nathaniel remarked. “Not to mention I can hardly turn on the tv without politics showing up every five seconds. I can see the headline, ‘local senator eats out at family restaurant. Guess what he eats.’”

“Shrimp, a cup of self righteous wine, and a bunch of carbs.” Fox glanced up from her tablet. “What? I pay attention sometimes.”

“You have a habit of being really quiet and then scaring people when you talk.” Nathaniel explained.

“My bad.” Fox wasn’t apologizing at all, instead she was storing that info away to be used later. “Welp, I have work to do so have fun being depressed.”

“She’s a wray of pitch black,” Nathaniel snorted.

“We have to go.” Nathaniel glanced over his shoulder hearing Enzo’s voice from the hallway.

“What’s he carrying on about?”

“Bianca and Enzo are trying to convince the others to go to a hockey game.” Wanda explained. “I think Scout’s going. He finds it mildly interesting, and Orion looked the sport up on YouTube. He’s going in hopes there’s a fight.”

“I’m not surprised.” Nathaniel sighed. “Are there tickets for everyone?”

“I believe so.” Wanda frowned, “Piper made sure to get extras.”

“Great. Then I guess I have something less depressing to do.” Nathaniel decided. “Enzo!”

“Yeah?” The boy scampered out of the hallway dressed for the cold rink.

“I’m coming along.”

— — —

“Churros.” Thalia didn’t even care about the size of the stadium. She’d spotted the concessions right away and so had Penny.

“Mountain Dew.” Penny grinned.

“More like Mountain Dew not drink it.” Chloe frowned. “You’ll have to pee every five minutes.”

“I have perfect control over my bladder.” Penny glowered. “Right Arthur?”

“Yes?”

“That’s a really uncomfortable question.” James mumbled. “And you just...agree?”

“Hey, I’m not about to start an argument.” Arthur whispered back.

“We are not going inside yet.” Enzo stated. “We are waiting like good people.”

“For who?” Siyanda asked, holding Thalia’s hand to keep her from running off.

“My friend.” Enzo said.

“There they are.” Bianca pointed out the blonde kid in the crowd.

“He’s small.” Sage remarked, “How can he play hockey if he’s so skinny?”

“Not he,” Enzo corrected, “they, or them.”

“What-oh shit. Sorry.” Sage winced.

“Not scoring any good big sister points today are we?” Piper teased.

“Shut up.” Sage glowered. Enzo ignored their banter and waved his friend over.

“Max, this is my family.” Enzo stated. “That’s Nathaniel. Nathaniel say hi.”

“Hi,” Nathaniel smiled kindly and waved.

“That’s Piper and that’s her best friend Gen. They’re weird. That’s Siyanda and her girlfriend Thalia. She likes food so guard it. Then there’s James. He’s really cool even if he looks scary. Then there’s Fox and she’s just...honestly I don’t know. Penny is fun you’ll like her. Arthur and Chloe are twins. Bianca you’ve met.” Enzo smiled.

Max seemed to relax a bit upon seeing a familiar face and waved at her, “Heya.”

“This is Alex she’s really nice and we all love her.” Enzo teased, “and this is my sister who is Alex’s girlfriend and she’s not as scary as she looks.”

“She’s pretty scary.” Max admitted.

“Nice to know I still have that effect.” Sage smirked.

“Oh! Almost forgot.” Enzo interrupted. “That’s Scout. He’s kind of shy but he knows nearly everything about everything. Next to him is his boyfriend Orion.”

Orion waved casually trying to seem as normal as possible. With the help of Scout and Piper he’d managed to cover his green face with paint for one of the teams. He’d made sure to wear gloves and dress warmly too.

“Well it’s nice to meet everyone. Enzo talks about you guys a lot. He says you’re all really cool.” Max smiled. “Anyways, I think the game is gonna start soon so we should get our seats.”

— — —

The group took up a section of the stands sticking close together and watching the players warm up with curiosity. Max was rattling off statistics to Scout and Enzo who both listened intently.

“If there isn’t a single fight I’m going to be mad.” Sage admitted. “I want to watch some losers knock each other out.”

“For once I agree,” Fox shrugged.

“Ew. Don’t ever say that again.” Sage frowned.

“I got churros!” Thalia grinned proudly having two in each hand.

“You’re sharing,” Siyanda reminded her plucking one from the Asgardian’s grasp.

“I know. You can have the fresh ones. But only because I love you.” Thalia stated.

“Oh she can have churros but I can’t?” Penny pouted.

“We have to limit your sugar intake.” Arthur reminded her. “Or you’ll be asleep halfway through once you come down from the rush.”

“We could always leave her in the stands.” Chloe remarked dryly. James stifled a laugh.

“Okay that’s just rude.” Penny rolled her eyes.

“Hush. They’re gonna do the preshow.” Bianca bounced excitedly in her seat. Sure enough the lights dimmed and color beams danced across the ice.

“Like a kid in a candy store,” Nathaniel snorted, setting a hand on Bianca’s shoulder to still the girl.

With the display of color and the excited announcement of players taking the ice the group was completely enthralled. Each seemed to pick a favorite player right away just based off of attitude and facade.

When the game started both Sage and Fox were pleasantly surprised by how physical it was. Players were slammed with sticks, pushed into walls, and shoved about with ease. Orion seemed to be the only one aside from Thalia who could easily follow the black speck ricocheting across the ice.

James’ brain went into tactic mode as did Bianca’s. The girl was rattling off strategies to Max who nodded in agreement. Siyanda studied the keeper’s finding their reflexes very impeccable.

Nathaniel boasted that with his aim he could have scored early on but Enzo was quick to shush him as tension built into a push on the attack. The buzzer sounded and the crowd yelled excitedly.

“Can you imagine hockey with rockets on the skates?” Piper grinned evilly.

“People would die, Piper.” Gen reminded her.

“But it would be so fun to watch!”

“I’d participate in the sport.” Orion smiled. “Seems exhilarating.”

“Not the smartest idea,” Alex warned knowing very well that Piper could and would test rocket skates on Orion.

— — —

At one point a fight did erupt which ended up being almost everyone’s highlight of the game. The gloves flew off and the men went at it swinging wildly. Even the refs took a bit of a beating.

“Max, do you ever fight anyone?” Thalia asked.

“No. I do school and club hockey which both give strong penalties for it you fight,” They said.

“Bummer.” Sage sighed. “I’d have enjoyed this as a kid.”

“The women don’t really fight,” Scout stated, “they’re much more socially sophisticated about the game.”

“Thank you captain encyclopedia,” Piper teased.

“Only trying to clear the air,” Scout shrugged.

All in all the game ended in a draw which was fine since none of them had a particular team to root for. Thankfully for Thalia the end of the game meant she could finally take that bathroom break she’d been waiting ages for.

“Gotta say I’m glad I came to watch this,” Nathaniel groaned, stretching his arms happily overhead.

“How’d you get into the sport?” James asked.

“Since I was little. My uncle got me involved, he’s from Canada, and then my parents indulged it. They don’t talk to him anymore though,” Max shrugged, “but I’ve liked it for as long as I can remember.”

“Nice.” Orion grinned. “Mind giving me a big stick I can hit people with?”

“Orion, you can get a big stick outside.” Scout rolled his eyes.

“It’s not the same.” Orion argued.

“Big stick energy.” Nathaniel mumbled and Piper and Penny were goners. The two dissolved into laughter which lead to tears.

“I don’t understand,” Thalia frowned having returned from the bathroom.

“My aunt showed me as did uncle Peter. It’s a meme: Big dick energy, except they made a parody of it.” Siyanda explained.

“Big dick energy? Seriously?” Scout huffed. “There’s nothing amusing about that at all. It makes no sense.”

“Just...drop it.” Arthur sympathized. “Let’s get going shall we?”

“Sure!” Enzo nodded. “See you at School Max. You have a ride don’t you?”

“Yeah I’m good.” Max nodded. Enzo gave his friend a quick fist bump before scrambling up the steps of the stadium to follow his family.

“I say that was a success.” Nathaniel decided.

“More or less.” Chloe corrected. “Let’s not forget that joke of yours.”

“It was legendary. Don’t be so bitter about it.” Piper laughed. “Man, Nathaniel I adore you.”

“You too kiddo.” Nathaniel smiled.

“We have Bianca right?” Alex asked glancing about. “And....we lost her.”

“Oh yeah she’s in the gift shop!” Enzo smacked his forehead. “I’ll be back.”

“From now on we have to do a headcount.” Nathaniel decided. “We cant afford to lose anyone. Not my little ducks.”

“Quack.” Sage glowered.

“That’s the spirit.” Nathaniel smiled.

“Anyone want quackers?” Thalia asked. It was a stupid joke but the look of pride on her face was enough to draw laughs from everyone else. Siyanda kissed the blonde’s cheek good naturedly. “I told you I was funny Si!”

[andromedahawking]

NaNoWriMo Day 5

8,333 words! And the website refuses to make my daily progress bars green because fuck you, apparently. Here’s today’s stuff! (Italics mark yesterday’s work)

“What?! Dude, run! Run, run! Get going!” Maria exclaimed. “You’re not gonna make it if you don’t book it!”

“I know that already!” he said, already breaking into a jog. He sprinted across the courtyard, then vanished into the sprawl of buildings. Typical. He casually tosses out this information, as if he has more time to cross the campus than he actually does, and then he starts running. Honestly, if she were him, she wouldn’t even bother sticking around to chat, she would just start running at full tilt for the science building. But then, that wouldn’t be very much like Adrien. The dork. She smirked, turning away, and started walking towards English.

—

That evening, when she got home from work (and holy shit, work was a story and a half today, she would need at least a couple of strong drinks to simmer down from that before she went to bed tonight), she was greeted with an unexpected notification in her messages.

16:38 Tatie: Hey, can I ask you something?

What was Tatie doing texting her? Like, not the group project chat, but her specifically?

18:12 Maria: Sorry for the late reply, just got home. What’s up?

Tatie: Oh, no worries! I wasn’t expecting an immediate response. Anyway, I wanted to ask you: I know we haven’t really interacted too much yet, but would you be willing to meet up on Friday night for drinks?

What? Drinks? On a Friday night?

Okay, this was going to be an interesting conversation. Tatie was asking to go out for drinks? First of all, huh? Second of all, why?

Maria: Um, I don’t see why not… But I am a bit thrown, to be honest.

Tatie: Yeah, I kinda figured. I just thought it might be nice to get to know each other since we’re working on the History project together. Y’know, instead of just having each other filed away as ‘the chick who’s doing the thing with me’ in our heads.

Okay, valid point. They hadn’t really done much besides say hi to each other when they passed in the halls, and it was a tiny bit awkward to be working with her without a little more social interaction to make things go smoothly.

Maria: Okay, I can get behind that. Where were you thinking of meeting up?

Tatie: Do you know Lac de la Lune?

Maria: Yeah, I go there sometimes when I’ve got spare cash. That works.

Tatie: Good! Shall we meet there at, say, 19?

Maria: Sure! If I get there first, booth or table?

Tatie: Booth! I love the booths there.

Maria: We’re gonna be fast friends, Tatie.

Tatie: I hope so~

Okay, yeah, this was going to be fun. This was a good decision.

—

For the uninitiated, Lac de la Lune was a place that was a little more high-class than just a place Maria went “when she had spare cash.” Lac de la Lune was a special occasion place, reserved for things like birthdays or days that went exceedingly well. She went maybe once every two months, because that was all she could really afford.

That told her one thing about Tatie: if she was suggesting Lac de la Lune as a place to just get together for a few drinks, she had more cash to play with than Maria did. Not that that was a problem or anything, it was just something that she might keep in mind for later. That wasn’t weird.

Friday was also a good day to get together, because it was the one day when she didn’t have anything to do. No work, no school, no nothing. She could plan whatever she wanted without consequence. She had been thinking about maybe getting together with someone in the afternoon to hang out, so this was really a timely arrangement. After a couple of stiff drinks, she went to bed with a tiny smile tugging at her lips. She was actually kinda looking forward to tomorrow…

—

The sun woke her up nice and late at quarter to 9, and she spent another half hour enjoying the warmth of her bed before getting up to get breakfast. To her pleasant surprise, Thalia had already left for school of her own accord. Good, that girl needed to start relying less on her big sis to get her up and going, she was 15 years old already.

Feeling like indulging, she made herself scrambled eggs for breakfast, with two slices of buttered toast, and some coffee with a lot of cream and a pinch of sugar, just the way it was meant to be for a morning like this. She took her time eating, sipping her coffee slowly, looking out the window at the morning clouds, watching the cars on the road glide by with an almost lazy energy. The clouds were nice and puffy today, and there were some lovely cirrus ones way up high above the thicker packs. She checked the weather, and the forecast said it was supposed to be pleasantly cool, with a high of 20° Celsius hitting around 16, then a low of 12° late at night. She could get behind that. That sounded like a nice day to her.

After she finished eating, she decided to go out into the town for a little while. She ended up drifting down to the bookstore, where she bought two new books, and spent a couple of hours at a café reading the first one. Then, around 14, she went into Pleasant Hill and caught a movie that she’d been wanting to see for a little while now. The popcorn was delicious, and the movie was pretty great. By the time the sun was starting to sink in the sky, she was feeling just as good as she had been when she woke up.

She killed her remaining time window shopping in the malls near the bookstore, making preliminary notes for what to get Thalia and her friends for Christmas presents. She had been good with saving this year, so she could probably afford to get everybody something on the nicer side, which would be great to see.

Finally, it was half an hour ’til 19. She made her way down to Lac de la Lune, and as she’d expected, she arrived first. Typical of her, just socially anxious enough to arrive early every single time out of some unfounded fear of being late. But hey, that meant she secured a booth before the dinner rush had a chance to steal it away, so really, who was the winner in this scenario and who were the losers?

Tatie showed up at ten ’til 19. Maria looked at her, and instantly felt underdressed. Tatie had gone to the trouble of putting on nice makeup, curled her hair a little, and was wearing a nice sparkly shirt and a cute skirt. Meanwhile, here she was, in her usual button-up shirt and blue jeans. Very classy. Very.

“Hey there!” Tatie said, sliding into the booth. “How are you today?”

“I was better before I saw how nice you look,” Maria confessed. “Now I feel like I should’ve dolled myself up a little before coming here.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you look lovely,” Tatie said. “I take these sorts of things a little more seriously than most people anyway, you’re not the only one who’s told me that before.”

“Okay, that makes me feel a bit better,” Maria said. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m doing pretty good!” Tatie said, smiling brightly. “It was such a gorgeous day outside, I felt bad that I spent most of it at school instead of going out or something.”

“That’s exactly what I did,” Maria said with a small laugh. “I spent all day just out on the town, got a couple books, saw a movie. It was really nice.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Tatie handed her a menu. “So, tell me, what drinks do you usually go for here?”

“I’m generally a White Russian kind of gal.”

Tatie smiled crookedly. “I like it. I usually go for the brightly coloured cocktails, myself.”

“Those are pretty good too. I don't really branch out too often with my drinks, though, I have a few that are tried and true already.”

“Understandable.”

They ordered their drinks, as well as food to go with it.

“I need to come here more often,” Tatie said after they ordered. “I really like the atmosphere.”

“I wish I could come here more than I do," Maria said. “It’s just a tiny bit on the expensive side for me, so I have to plan accordingly for that.”

“Oh, does your job not give you too much money to play with yet?” Tatie asked.

“Pretty much. I have enough to have decent spending money after bills and everything, but not quite enough to make this somewhere I can go without a good reason.”

“Aw, that kinda sucks.”

“One day I’ll have a better salary, then I can go here whenever I want.”

Tatie laughed at that. “I like it! Maybe then we could make this a frequented spot.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Maria said, smiling. “But now I’m curious—if I’m the one who can’t afford to come here the most often, where do you get your money from that lets you come more?”

“My parents, mainly,” Tatie said. “I try to self-sustain, but unfortunately, there’s not much in the way of entry-level jobs that would give me enough cash to come out here. And technically, I’m already out here on their dime, so…”

“Where do your parents live?”

“We live in Raleigh. I’m living in our summer home in Moraga right now.”

“Okay, first of all, jealous. You have a summer home? All the way out here in California? When you live in North Carolina?”

Tatie laughed. “I’m sorry! My parents really liked it out here, but they settled in Raleigh before I was even born!”

“Okay, so what do your parents do that let them afford a summer home out here?”

“Well, Daddy’s an architect, and Mom’s a college professor. She teaches German.”

“Ah, I see now,” Maria said. “So I’m guessing your dad makes a lot of money?”

“Compared to Mom, yeah.”

[somescenecatholic]

I MADE A NIGHTCORE AND SLOWED THING+ lil question thing

this is literally my fav song so ofc i did tht!!

EEK WELL I HOPE U ALL LIKE IT X333

also where did tht taco random XD thing come from and why did everyone thing bacon, muffins, waffles. tacos, pizza, and ice cream were the funniest and best thing in the world-

LIKE TACOS AND ICE CREAM ARE GREAT (cotton candy+chocolate is best combo) but cmon they didn't die for your sins 🤨

LIKE IT GOT KINDA ANNOYING WHEN EVERYONE WAS LIKE

ahahahaha MUFFINZ!!!!! heehee

but now it's literally gen z humor if u put the vine boom and the circle and arrow thing 😭😭 really shows how far we have evolved

and I find it kinda cute N O W but, 9 yr old me was annoyed when their mom blasted It's Raining Tacos around every other friday 😭😭😭

ANYWAYS THTS ABT IT RAWR X333

(they are NOT THAT GOOD COME ON PPL PH MY GOSSH-)

THEY LITERALLY FALL EVERYWHERE

[veraxhilde]

13, 17, 30

13. what’s a weird headcanon you have for each of your muses?

WE’RE DOING THIS AGAIN CAUSE I CAN

but VERA has the oddest collection of ingredients, just because her spells call for odd ingredients. but since some are so rare and hard to come by, she sells them online. she’s one of those people you can order spells from by telling her your problem and have her cast it for you and then ship it. it’s small, and she weeds out the crazies from the people who actually need it, but she gets a bit of money for herself that she keeps on the side.

ANGEL is never seen without a hairpiece of some kind. back in sugar rush she had all kinds of pieces that her candles would sit on, but now she just wears headbands or barrettes or clips by themselves. it makes her seem cutesy-er than she is and makes it more surprising when you find her shitfaced.

though SHEN is super energetic at times, it’s stems mostly from him spending so much time being still. he was a statue for a good majority of his life. he’s eighteen because that’s the time he’s spent with an actual dragon form. but he was a stone statue of a spirit for a long time before then. which is why when he sleeps, he goes very still. doesn’t make a noise, doesn’t twitch, and barely looks like he’s breathing. which is probably terrifying for simon whoops.

DEXTER is actually the shittiest reader. he didn’t spend a lot of time on the isle reading, and any books he did find we’re rather battered. his mother read to him mostly when he was younger, and no one taught him after she left. he picked up some words and eventually figured it out, and he’s a lot better now. but he still struggles with it and hates when he gets called out to read aloud in class.

as a human, RONAN shares a lot of the same ticks as his cat form. for example, he hates it when people touch his feet, generally doesn’t like people bopping him on the nose, doesn’t like getting his hair wet, and there is a spot right behind his ear that is super sensitive and if you were to scratch it, or you know just get close to it, then he will absolutely MELT. his ears and the area around it is all just super sensitive.

might’ve mentioned it earlier but now i’m not sure, so THALIA hates wearing shoes. it has to do with the fact that she doesn’t like it when her feet hurt, but she likes it better when her feet are solidly on the floor so she can feel grounded and have that connection to the earth. absolutely ditched her heels twenty minutes into the dance and fought ursula barefooted.

even though he travels a lot, SAMMY never gets tired of exploring some place new. he’s picked up on quite a few languages as he’s traveled, but the place he wants to travel to most is space. he’s surrounded by a bunch of alien kiddos and he just knows that space would be the sickest travel destination he could ever reach. so his dream is one day to go to space and see where all his ohana is from.

17. do your muses get along together?

well, a good number of them are friends with each other, but i think vera is the one who knows the rest of them some way or another. thalia shows mild interest in shen cause of his magic, and only deigns to give vera her attention because she’s roommates with her sister and because her magic interests her. thalia’s the only one who i am unsure if she would get along with the others.

30. most importantly, are you having fun playing each one of your muses?

absolutely!! i love them all a lot, and i really love this rp a lot. this rp is kind of my escape on most days and i love all the people here. i love playing my muses and i love all of their connections.