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gothfield-official · 3 years ago

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My Top 56 Yugioh GX Unhinged moments

The fact that vampires are casually confirmed to exist including an entire vampire/human war backstory where all of them died and there was only one left and then she died. Also she had the ability to turn people into dolls and duplicate herself

Professor Banner was an actual rotting corpse and a homunculus and even though he had no genitals in the original the 4kids version censored his crotch implying that he has genitals in the english version. Once judai beats him he turns into dust and then for some reason his corpse that he’s kept in a coffin in his little science lair turns into dust too and there’s just banner dust everywhere. Then his pet cat eats his soul.

Professor banner puts chazz asuka and fubuki in planets after stealing their souls. The planets are inside his alchemy book? I think? Banner and Judai go in the book? By doing this he awakens chazz’s love for asuka somehow.

No one ever actually finds out professor banner is dead besides judai sho and chumley, they just think he’s missing and even then Judai is the only one that knows he’s a fucking ghost

North Academy’s entrance exam is an extreme and life threatening gauntlet of finding cards on a fucking iceberg and then you go inside the iceberg and the school is a fucking wild west town with a pyramid with a giant spire inside of it and also the sky is visible from inside the iceberg also you have to duel 50 people

The little belowski has weed superpowers which are so powerful that he needs to be kept in an underground island inside the island also for some reason you can see the sky from in here too. He was somehow left on duel academy’s doorstep as a baby despite the fact that duel academy is a fucking island in the middle of nowhere

The fact that duel spirits are never actually explained to us

Judai commits genocide in order to make a card

The big bad guy of season one is literally a man we have never met or heard of up until the last 3 episodes where he shows up and he’s a fucking old man in a test tube metal gear thing and headmaster samejima is like “oh fuck it’s board director whats his name” like THAT MEANS ANYTHING TO US and then judai beats him and snaps his old man back like a twig

Duel academy island has an active volcano

Judai collects all the knock off millennium items over the course of season one and then proceeds to do nothing with them and the show never explains what they are or how they work and they’re never shown again after season one including the amulet which some duel spirit lady gave judai half of and told him to tell the person that had the other half (fubuki) that she was alive and waiting for him and then judai never did that

(That fucking amulet was built up to be important like it’s a part of judai’s character design in season 1 basically and all it does is protect everyone’s souls from camula’s soul sucking card in one episode and that’s it. It keeps shining randomly in duels throughout the first season but there’s no reason for it and then it’s gone after season 1)

That time Crocodile Jim somehow lost his eye as a child after falling off a cliff and into a river and an old man put a new magic rock eye in its place and then gave him a vague prophecy about having to save his friend with that eye and something about the tail of a comet and then he straight up fucking vanishes into thin air leaving this little boy alone in the middle of the australian outback

Saio killing multiple mr t’s to save judai by running them over in a truck, almost running over judai and also committing an act of terrorism by blowing up the kaiba tower in like 2 episodes. The fact that the kaiba tower was destroyed is never addressed maybe they were prepping for it to look different in 5ds idk

Judai gets hit by a comet in the middle of the ocean and is somehow transported to the moon io of jupiter where he is greeted by his OC who tells him about his destiny and gives him some official duel monsters cards of his OCs before he duels an alien robot and then is sent back to earth

After Judai disappears at the end of season 3 he comes back in the first episode of season 4 on a comet and nearly kills sho

Hell Kaiser dies of actual literal heart failure in the other world due to shocking himself too much with his bdsm (the d stands for dueling) shock collars and then somehow washes back on shore of duel academy island because he’s too popular to kill off forever lmao. Also in season 4 sho says that it wasn’t the shock collars that were hurting his heart it was the pain of using such a powerful deck (which physically shocks you as well… somehow…) but like… honey no, the shock collars weren’t doing nothing to his heart.

Kaiba sent cards into space for literally no reason

EVERYTHING ABOUT BASTION MISAWA. Lolicon. Femdom kink. Furry. He joins a cult because all his friends forgot he existed. He fucking strips naked and disappears after self actualizing and then shows up in another dimension before fucking off again to his femdom furry wife.

The duel monkey. I am legally obligated to mention the duel monkey

The fact that duel academy abandoned their entire animal research lab after judai beat the duel monkey but, like, didn’t take any of the animals out they literally just left them down there like eh they’ll figure it out

That guy that steals Johan’s sapphire pegasus with a lava lamp egg lookin thingy that can somehow trap spirits and slowly suffocates them to death and we literally see a duel spirit die which CAN HAPPEN? The fact that after Johan beats him we see all the duel spirits he killed and then they fUCKING KILL HIM LIKE THEY TURN INTO WHITE ENERGY LOOKIN STUFF AND COVER HIM AND HE STARTS SCREAMING AND THEN HE DISAPPEARS????

(The lore reveal in this ep that if you rip a card in half that kills the duel spirit means that Kaiba canonically killed a blue eyes white dragon)

When that guy who crowler hired and then turned into one of the seven stars gets eaten by dark ghost thingies screaming as he is dragged away to whatever horrible shadow realm TWICE and both times jaden and everyone else watches and is just like :) no thoughts head empty that guy never shows up again

That time that Chazz casually set up and lured amon onto his two helicopter lifted platforms so they could duel above a river that wasn’t even that deep and then chazz almost fucking drowns after he loses

The fact that Chazz almost drowns twice in the series and the first time it’s because he crashed his yacht offscreen

So many fucking people go missing on this island. Fubuki. All the students Banner and test tube grandpa kidnapped to experiment on (?) for the seven stars and banners own alchemy experiments, i guess including Yusuke Fujiwara but not really because he disappeared doing his own thing? Chazz in like ¼ of season 1. Professor Banner himself technically. Tarzan. Bastion on two separate occasions. Amon, the son of one of the most powerful conglomerates in the world. The entire school during season 3.

A student goes feral for like 6 months and becomes a Tarzan because he kept fucking up his random sandwich draws and also his card draws i guess but the sandwich thing is more important. He trains to get better at randomly drawing and somehow this actually works. He is only found and brought back because he stole the one good sandwich at duel academy too many times. Even though he comes back, at an indeterminate point in time between season one and two he goes feral again

DINO DNA

(Ok but like seriously Kenzan gets mad at Jim for disrupting dinosaurs sleep by digging them up like KING THAT’S EXACTLY HOW YOU NEARLY BROKE YOUR LEG IN TWO THEY HAD TO OPERATE QUICKLY SO THEY USED THE DINOSAUR BONE YOU FOUND TO SAVE YOUR LEG, EVER SINCE YOU’VE HAD DINO DNA??? THE DOCTOR SAYS IT MAKES YOU STRONGER THAN THE AVERAGE JOE????)

In season 4 Kenzan can’t be turned to darkness because he’s not 100% human (just like how he couldn’t be brainwashed by aliens in season 2) so Mr. T shows him his past life as a dinosaur? It’s unclear if this is real or just a fantasy made up to give Kenzan anxiety and therefore an in for darkness but anyway he shows Kenzan as his past life dinosaur eating another dinosaur (I think it’s a triceratops) which unsettles Kenzan greatly then Mr. T reveals that the dino bone in his leg just happens to be from the dino he ate in his past life and the grudge it and all the dinosaurs carried all this time EAT KENZAN ALIVE ok they don’t actually eat him it’s just the feeling of being eaten alive which is still fucking insane and then we never revisit that kenzan’s just gone til judai saves everyone lmao

(ppl give kenzan shit for this like you didn’t know dinosaurs ate each other dude but I think it’s more that he’s upset that he had to hurt something he loves so dearly and also knowing dinosaurs ate each other vs being the one to do it and see it up close and personal is way different and disturbing. Kenzan defense hour staring me apparently)

The season 4 villain reveals that the universe is a literal card like the big bang theory but it’s a duel monsters card and I thought this was supposed to be a metaphor but it’s yugioh and i feel like i’m giving it too much benefit of the doubt also apparently they do stuff with this lore in like zexal or something idk man

That time a gothic lolita haunted doll had another spirit enter her because one dude ripped a card in front of her spot in the obelisk blue dorm lounge which by the way she’s like a pvc anime figurine looking girl like i think they were trying for a victorian doll look but that’s not what I was getting yall got some freaks decorating the obelisk blue dorms but im here for it. Tyranno Kenzan falls madly in love with her and actually pretty much every guy she meets in the episode besides Judai has some feelings for her (Sho clearly also likes her, Bastion is jealous of Kenzan) Her plan doesn’t even make any sense like she has Kenzan fall in love with her and then drags him out to the woods to send him into despair but every time we cut to him he has a goofy smile on his face and is giggling about her? What is despair to this girl? Anyway Judai duels her and she turns back into a normal doll and Kenzan has no gf we hate to see it king

The fact that the season 4 villain and the haunted gothic lolita doll basically have the same origin/motivation

That time a guy sold his soul to the actual grim reaper in order to draw better in yugioh. For some reason north academy had the yugioh card of the grim reaper that functions exactly like the real grim reaper and this is just common knowledge like Chazz was at north academy for like 3 days and he’s like “oh yeah the grim reaper card I know about it”

When head teacher Napoleon and Professor Cronos dueled to see whether or not the red dorm would be torn down and every time Cronos lost life points part of the dorm would be destroyed and every time Napoleon lost life points the dorm would be rebuilt and they fucking wonder why duel academy’s going bankrupt

During season 3 when everyone’s getting their energy sucked out after dueling and somehow electromagnetic waves are involved and apparently those make reptiles go apeshit so every time there’s high EM activity jim cook’s crocodile karen and tyranno kenzan go apeshit to the point where Kenzan can only make rawr noises and at one point both of them punch themselves in the face and knock themselves out to stop

Professor Banner/Daitokouji is a cat boy homunculus/ghost chaotic neutral alchemist

That time Judai got kidnapped for like a week by a pirate and everyone immediately accepted that he was gone forever

That time that Judai had a bunch of near death hallucinations because he hadn’t eaten or drank anything in a week and imagined the duel monkey now turned regular monkey as each of his friends for a clip show episode and this is resolved by him drinking half a bucket of water and eating 2 bananas.

Mizuchi’s powers are wild she gives 4 people the power to control the elements of earth, lightning, ice and fire, turns dudes into cards, makes a bunch of magic mirror projections of herself to taunt judai, and creates a weird barrier around domino city so that the duel spirits can’t leave? Did the light give her all this or did she have all these powers along with being able to tell the future like Saio?

Mizuchi turns herself into a digital ghost to protect Saio better which is basically just giving him judgy looks on his laptop and then showing up at the end to stop the satellite from firing on Kenzan and Neos

That time Kenzan astral projects into his spirit form of a Tyrannosaurus and joins Neos who is real and tangible now to destroy the satellite that’s very very very slowly destroying the earth. When Judai plays the field spell Neo Space in his duel with Saio it takes him to actual real space where Kenzan is and no one acknowledges the fact that Kenzan is a fucking dinosaur in space. Also even though Kenzan has literally met and talked to Neos before he still thinks Judai is kind of insane for talking to duel spirits after this

After Edo loses to Saio in a brilliant flash of light he turns entirely white then turns to a pile of sand then reappears normally colored in the palm of the hand of the statue of the goddess of light or something which slowly lowers him into a pit of lava that Saio either had retrofitted specifically for this purpose or that the blue dorm already had for some fucking reason. Either one is just as likely as the other.

When Chazz has to duel his brother with only low level cards and he doesn’t have any so he needs to make a new deck and instead of going to the card shop like a normal human being Professor Banner tells him there’s a haunted well that people throw their shitty cards into and he should just jump down there and get some.

Apparently the darkness in Martin’s heart is greater than the darkness in Amon’s heart (either that or Yubel was fucking with Amon to strengthen the darkness in his heart) because we find out Amon was abandoned as a child to slowly starve to death alone until he was adopted by the Garam conglomerate and despite the fact that he is extremely smart and capable and the best person for the job he’s dedicated himself to his younger brother who is the true heir to the conglomerate by blood I guess even though it should be his and there’s this great resentment for his brother to the point where he almost killed him once (bc it’s not yugioh without an adopted older brother almost killing their baby brother) but because he owes the Garam family his life he’d do anything for it and Martin’s darkness is. He’s sad his parents are divorced. :(

(Professor Napoleon canonically fucks and that’s something you’re just gonna have to cope with)

For some reason Edo and Hell Kaiser do a fun little role play in the other world where Edo acts as Kaiser’s butler in order to trick some goblin soldiers it’s so extra. Also when the other goblin goes up to meet Kaiser he’s like “welcome to my cyber art dojo” and he has the poster of the cyber end dragon there. Does Hell Kaiser just bring that poster with him everywhere and he hung it up? Did this run down mansion in the other world just happen to have a cyber art dojo and poster? (This isn’t a cinema sins moment i just think its v funny)

That time there was a zombie apocalypse

The fact that duel academy has this super expensive Kaiba corp dimension gate technology and they keep it on their fucking tennis court for some reason

DUEL PHYSICISTS

That time that the dark magician girl’s duel spirit physically manifested herself in the real world and then nearly started a riot at duel academy because she lost a duel to Jaden

The fact that a micronation sent a death laser satellite into space just for fun because the prince is way too into satellites and then he immediately loses the keys to his death satellite because he lost to Saio in 0 moves

That time an ancient egyptian prince crossed time and space in his flying boat in order to duel Jaden only it turned out he sucked at dueling and everyone was just humoring him because he was the pharaoh. Then Jaden teaches him how to duel and he’s so happy he asks Jaden to come with him to the afterlife to duel with him more… how he came back from the dead is never explained

That time a bunch of LARPers stole the plot device from our protagonists then they dueled chazz and summoned themselves and it turned out that they WEREN’T LARPers they were actually duel spirits and once Chazz beats them they lose their corporeal form and the episode ends with them living with chazz as his new duel spirit roommates. We never see them again.

The fact that in the dub Grandpa Muoto says Yugi left to buy groceries 3 years ago and never fucking came back

That time Fubuki and Asuka have a duel to see if they’ll be a sibling idol duo or not and Fubuki enters the arena by flying around on wires dressed like Austin powers and then Alexis comes in riding on a giant goose shaped carriage.

That time the Ra dorm head teacher was so depressed none of his students were living in the yellow dorm anymore (because at this point bastion had gone missing for the first time and kenzan was basically living with Sho and Judai in the red dorm) that he dressed up as a food truck worker and tried to bribe his students back with food and also dueling with a deck themed around making curry.

That time Chazz started a cult and then left it and destroyed it with a second cult basically

The foriegn princess who was also a student at Duel Academy who played a frog deck who claimed she could see duel spirits and that her cards all appeared as hot guys to her and got all horny about it but chazz and judai think she’s fucking nuts because they only see the normal ass solid vision holograms of frogs until the very end of the episode where judai sees one and it’s like a frog but with a crown on so was she crazy or not. Or both.

#yugioh gx #ygo #yu-gi-oh #shitpost #i have some for 5ds and zexal but those lists aren't nearly as dense as gx's #unhinged #also im not sorry for using dub and sub names that's just how i roll #also also I know the number isn’t 56 but tumblr fucked up my formatting so it should be 56 #the ones in parentheses are meant to be sub points

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ginazmemeoir · 3 years ago

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Since it's Krishna's birthday I couldn't help but write his birth story. So here y'all go, you're welcome. Oh also fun fact about Janmashtami : it always rains tonight. It might be just a drizzle, but it always rains tonight.

Devaki’s screams rent the air as she pushed and kept pushing. This was the eighth time she was giving birth to someone. The prison guards could hardly be bothered, and instead laughed at her like hyenas, their mere gazes leaving marks on her skin. Vasudev covered the prison bars with a flimsy cloth, and went back to assist his wife.

She was crying when Vasudev returned back. He bent down by her side, supporting her, and was about to go in front to assist with the delivery when Devaki squeezed his hand and stopped him. Panting, she said, “I don’t know if I want this child Vasudev.” Vasudev was stunned upon Devaki’s proclamation. She had given birth seven times, all sons, and six times had watched them being murdered by her own brother, the brother who had loved her more than any brother could love a sister. The seventh time, Vasudev had quietly given the baby to his first wife Rohini and instructed her to head to Gokul, where his friend Nanda lived. They had simply lied to Kansa and cited that Devaki had miscarried.

How cruel fate was. The couple had watched six of their children murdered in front of them in cold blood, not even a day old. The seventh, they did not know of his fate. Of his first words or his favourite food or the way he laughed. And yet, this eighth child carried hope. This child would be their salvation. Devaki continued “I cannot bear to watch another child snatched away like that Vasudev. Please I’d rather this child die on my womb, or I die while giving birth so at least I don’t have to watch him die. Please Vasudev, I cannot do this anymore” cried Devaki, tears raining down her once lustrous bronze skin, her once luxurious locks lying limp and lifeless by her side like her soul. “No Devaki. I cannot imagine the pain you endure, each time you push another life from inside you, but know this – this child is our salvation. This child is the reason six of our children were murdered. This child is the reason we sent our seventh son into hiding. This child is the reason we have wasted away in this prison for years. Devaki this child must live. Our child must live to avenge the deaths of our children. To avenge us. This child must live if the universe carries even a shred of mercy for us. For Devaki I would sooner kill both of us than watch another child tortured by your brother.” Vasudev’s eyes burned with an intensity Devaki hadn’t seen in a long time. Most of the time they were sad or scared, reminiscing their past. Their married bliss had ended the day it began, with her brother imprisoning them over a prophecy. Vasudev’s words breathed new life into Devaki. She would not let this child die. She would live. She would make sure the child lived. And she would make sure she heard her brother whimpering in agony as her child crushed his skull open.

The gods had given a prophecy. Devaki and Vasudev’s eighth child would be the death of Kansa. And Devaki did not want to prove the gods as petty liars.

With a final push and a scream, that was thankfully masked by a loud thunderclap, Devaki expelled her child out. Vasudev cut the umbilical cord with a flint stone he had dipped in cheap somaras which he had stolen from the guards yesterday, and cradled the child in his arms, lying beside Devaki, giving this child his parents’ touch one final time, the shared breath and heat warming him. He was dark, dark as the rainclouds that had gathered over the entirety of Brijbhumi that day, as the moonlit night that held secrets and wonder. A small glow emanated from his body, barely lighting his immediate surroundings. The couple kept looking at their son, prerplexed, and the baby looked back at them. He had big soft eyes, and instead of crying, he just looked up at them and gave a small laugh, reaching to grab his mother’s hair. Devaki’s tears fell on his face, as she kissed his forehead and hugged him tight. She then looked at Vasudev, and they understood what had to be done. Vasudev took the baby, and opened his prison door. Turns out if you get drunk with the guards ever so often, they don’t notice things like missing keys.

Vasudev stepped out, and half thought that he and his son were going to be hacked into pieces, but the entire cellar was quiet. The whole world seemed to hold its breath, time itself felt suspended. Only minutes ago the guards were cackling, and yet they now slept a deep slumber. Vasudev quickly stole a dagger, and placed the baby in the laundromat’s basket, covering him with a heavy warm cloth. He exited the prison quarters and entered into Indra’s wrath. The clouds overhead boomed with thunder, and rain covered everything as far as the eye could see. Unperturbed, Vasudev kept walking eastwards, until he reached the Yamuna. He looked for a boat, searching the banks of the usually idyllic river, which now coursed with the strength and vigour of the mighty Saraswati, and yet found no boat to carry him and his son. Time was running out, and his son’s life outweighed a safe passage for him, he could already imagine Kansa’s men running towards him. Vasudev then did the only thing he could – let the river decide his life. He walked into the river, determined to reach the other side. The yojana wide river divided Mathura and its outskirts from the countryside – where his son was to find sanctuary. Vasudev kept walking, and the Yamuna’s waters kept rising and rising. The heavy rain pelted Vasudev, and he kept his swaddled baby on his head in his basket. The spaces between the bamboo basket refused water from filling in. Somehow, he reached the middle, when he felt the water threatening to reach his chin, the river hell bent on drowning him and his son. No mere river was going to stop the descendant of the mighty Shuri, the prince of the Vrishnis today though. Vasudev held his breath and kept swimming forward, the basket safely above the surface of water. Surprisingly, there were no crocodiles in the river. Vasudev had only swam a bit further when the river level started lowering and lowering, until it reached his waist. Vasudev was perplexed, the river was usually the deepest at this point, then why did it suddenly lower down to below his waist? Lost in his thoughts, Vasudev almost missed the giant creature slithering towards him, and that is when he realized he and his infant son were about to be devoured by a sea monster that liked toying with its prey. The creature reached Vasudev, its smooth obsidian scales emitting a green glow, extending to its full length, spreading out its thousand hoods and shielding Vasudev and his son from the merciless rain. Had he not known better, Vasudev would’ve thought it was Adi Shesha, the thousand hooded snake, upon whose infinite coils Narayana rested. Time was running out, and Vasudev picked up speed, the serpentine creature slithering along. Climbing out of the river, he kept picking through the wilderness and hamlets, the creature’s presence scaring off any hungry predators.

At last, Vasudev glimpsed the village of Gokul. Overjoyed, Vasudev rushed down the hillock, which was dotted here and there by the occasional cow. He entered the safety of the village, his frayed nerves calming down, and started searching for Nanda’s home. Even though he was the village chief, his house was tough to spot, the only thing differentiating it from others was a larger gateway and a bigger courtyard. Surprisingly, Nanda was already standing at the gates, waiting for him. Vasudev rushed up to him, and began to speak when Nanda asked, “Vasudev, how did you come here? How are you barely wet?” Vasudev looked behind him, and found the creature had returned. Maybe it was scared of society? “There’s no time for that Nanda. I have come to entrust my last son to you,” said Vasudev, as he hastened to enter Nanda’s home. There was a lantern in front of each room, and the large house was empty except for the cows in the outside stables. Vasudev kept searching along the corridor, until he found Nanda’s wife’s room. He expected to see his elder son sleeping with her, but instead found her snoring loudly, with a baby lying beside her. Vasudev quietly placed his son beside her. The baby started crying, clutching onto his father even as he laid him on the bed. Vasudev quietly removed his hand from his grip, and sang him a lullaby. It was about a bee returning to its hive after a busy day in the meadow. He had never got a chance to sing this lullaby before. Devaki and he and spent each day perfecting it in prison. The baby quietened and went to sleep, and Vasudev left, his vision blurry, when he was stopped by Nanda. “Wait here.” he said. Nanda then returned from his wife’s room, his baby with him, and handed it over to Vasudev. “Here you go Vasudev. You may take my daughter home with you.” Vasudev looked at Nanda with disgust. Was his friend so lowly that in favour of a son he would condemn his daughter to the confines of a prison, frequented by a monster that would kill her the moment he got to know? “I know what you were thinking, and I would never do that Vasu” said Nanda, sensing his friend’s thoughts. “Yashoda gave birth to her yesterday, and hasn’t seen her since. I took her to Goddess Gauri’s temple the same day, to seek her blessings. I can’t explain what happened Vasu, but I heard Gauri. She spoke to me and she instructed me to give her to you when you came. Why do you think I was waiting for you outside?” “Oh come on Nanda, you’re just making up stories now.” said Vasudev, even more repulsed now. “Why would I lie Vasu? Is this what you think of me, a murderer? Trust me Vasu, Gauri Devi spoke to me, she told me to give my daughter to you! Who are we to defy the will of the gods?” Nanda reassured him.

“The gods don’t care about us Nanda. They stopped existing for me when they made me watch my sons’ heads being bashed against walls or crushed by hammers. But even so I will take your daughter. Maybe Kansa might spare a girl?”

Saying so, Vasudev took Nanda’s daughter and vanished into the night, heading back to his prison. Even though the babe wasn’t his, he had already named her – Maya – after this night, an illusion, a reality that felt like a dream. He did not know what fate awaited this girl, but at least his boy was safe for now.

Maybe the gods did have a plan. A plan that was tucked away under Yashoda’s arms in the tiny hamlet of Gokul, snuggling against the only mother he would ever know.

#india #hinduism #hindu mythology #mythology #bhajan #kanha #janmasthami #krishna's birth story #vasu #story time

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rosiehunterwolf · 3 years ago

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wait

(storm section inspired by @ambrosial-tea)

Prompts: Home and Memories

Word Count: 5,901 (hey i think i'm actually starting to get these back to a more reasonable number XD)

Characters: Lloyd and Garmadon

Timeline: Between episodes 13 (Day of the Great Devourer) and 18 (Child’s Play) with some flashback scenes

Trigger Warnings: Abandonment

Summary: Lloyd’s not so great at being patient. It’s not his fault though- maybe he would be better at it if waiting didn’t always end up being so disappointing- if people actually kept their promises. But this time’s going to be different, he knows it. His father will come back for him. And Lloyd’s going to wait.

As long as it takes.

Since I already got two bingos on the sparks board, I decided to switch it up and change to the warm board!

Read on FFN.net

Read on Ao3

Tumblr work under the cut

In the aftermath of the battle, Lloyd only had one thought on his mind.

Cheers and whoops from the citizens of Ninjago City- and the ninja themselves- rang through the air as the realization that the Great Devourer was dead hit them. Lloyd hardly noticed, though. Gripping the handrail at the edge of the building, he peered out over the city. He was around here somewhere. He had to be.

“We did it!” Kai cried, grabbing Lloyd’s hand and raising it high in the air. “We saved the city! The Great Devourer is dead!” We? Lloyd glared at him, although the fire ninja didn’t even seem to notice. My dad was the one who seemed to do all the saving.

“Ultra!” Cole cried as the dragon landed on the street near the foot of the building. Racing towards the fire escape, the ninja hurried down the stairs and over to the dragon. Cole threw his arms around Rocky’s snout, the others not far behind. “You’re safe, bud!”

As the ninja and Nya laughed and caressed the dragon, Lloyd hung back, feeling lost. This wasn’t right. They couldn’t go on celebrating when someone was still missing.

“Where’s my dad?” he burst out, his voice sounding a lot shakier than what he had hoped for. “I don’t see him anywhere.”

The others exchanged glances. Lloyd hated the way they looked at each other, trying to decide what to tell him, because he obviously wasn’t good enough to know what they were really thinking.

Nya walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and bending over slightly to put herself more at his level. Her eyes sparkled with regret. “Lloyd-”

“Sensei Wu?”

Jaws dropped at Cole’s exclamation, and they jerked their gazes towards where he was pointing. Sure enough, Uncle Wu was sitting in the middle of the street, in a pile of green Devourer goo, looking lost as he pushed himself to his feet. Lloyd closed his eyes, letting his breath out slowly. So at least one of his mistakes had been fixed.

“He’s alive?” Jay gaped. “He’s alive!”

Kai grabbed Lloyd by the wrist, half-dragging him over towards their sensei as the ninja tackled him into a hug. Lloyd reached out to put a hand on his uncle’s back, but paused. He had no place here. Don’t get me wrong, I love the ninja, but… I was never supposed to be part of this. I’m only here because my uncle is their sensei, because I’m their beloved green ninja.

Wu pulled back from his students, grinning- only for his smile to falter as his dark eyes met Lloyd’s red ones. He tilted his head in that odd, knowing way of his. Lloyd wanted to break the contact, but couldn’t.

“Your father is gone, isn’t he.” Not a question, but a statement.

Lloyd let his gaze drop to the ground, remaining silent. His uncle reached a hand out for his shoulder but stopped short when Lloyd flinched away.

“Yeah, and with him, our golden weapons,” Kai growled. Nya elbowed him, hard, and he yelped, rubbing his side and scowling at her.

“Weapons or not, we will see him again,” Wu told him, “of that I am certain.”

“Yeah, only because your dumb prophecy says so.”

Wu flinched. “Lloyd-”

“Do I really have to fight my father someday, Uncle Wu?”

He sighed. “One day, nephew, that time will come. But I can hope that it is not for many, many years to come, when you are much older and stronger and wiser. Until then, we must not linger on the future. You ninja have done well today. You should be proud of yourselves, celebrate your victory for a little while.”

“Don’t worry, bigshot.” Kai ruffled his hair. “You’re the chosen one. And we’re the best teachers there are! You’ll be more than ready by the time the final battle rolls around.”

Lloyd clenched his teeth. Why couldn’t any of them see? He didn’t want to fight his father. He couldn’t. His father had come back for him when the Serpentine had trapped him, even when everyone else had lost hope. His father had been the one to comfort him about their futures, the one to protect him, the one to fix his mistakes with the Serpentine. So what if he had taken the golden weapons? If it weren’t for him, they’d all be inside the stomach of a giant snake right now. Were the ninja really so quick to forget that?

They didn’t know him like Lloyd did. Even his uncle had never seen the side of him Lloyd had seen. His father was a good man who had made bad choices. Couldn’t the same be said for Lloyd? If he had changed, why couldn’t his father?

Don’t worry, dad, he vowed silently. I won’t fight you. I’ll find a way to fix this. To make this right.

You see if I don’t.

---

Lightning illuminated the small room, dazzling Garmadon’s tired face as he carried the blanket over to the couch. Sitting down, he gazed out the window, the pattering sound of rain against the glass both comforting and incredibly lonely at the same time.

He sighed, turning towards the hallway. “I know you’re there, Lloyd.”

A small boy slipped into view, a stuffed dragon hugged tightly against his chest and his wispy, whitish-blond hair a mess as he blinked shyly up at him. “I’m scared of the storm, Daddy.”

Garmadon shook his head, scooting over on the couch and patting the space beside him. Lloyd needed no further encouragement, running up to him and hauling himself up to sit beside him. Lloyd burrowed himself against Garmadon’s side, and he made sure to pull the edge of his blanket a little tighter around his son.

Thunder rumbled loudly, and Lloyd whimpered, gripping tighter onto Garmadon. He waited a moment for the boy to relax before speaking.

“So. Mind telling me what it is you find so scary about storms?” Lloyd fidgeted. “They’re so loud! And the lightning- I don’t want it to get me, Daddy.”

Garmadon chuckled. “So you’re scared of a little noise and lights, eh? Somehow, I didn’t quite expect that from you.”

Lloyd yelped as another rumble echoed through the air, this one seeming to shake the house with its ferocity. Lloyd’s dragon slipped out of his grip and he quickly snatched it back up.

“It’s just a process of nature, son. There’s no need to fear it. We are safe here.”

Lloyd glanced up at him with wide eyes, and Garmadon sighed.

“It’s like a dragon, Lloyd. The storm is a big, restless dragon who’s bored and wants to play. The thunder is his roar, and the lightning is his fire breath.”

Lloyd’s eyes glowed, and he shuffled anxiously against Garmadon’s side. “Well, maybe it’s not that scary anymore…”

Garmadon huffed a laugh. “Dragons. That’s all it ever takes with you, isn’t it?”

Lloyd murmured something inaudible, nestling his head in Garmadon’s lap. They sat there together in the silence of the room, and long after Garmadon had thought his son had fallen asleep, he suddenly spoke.

“Daddy?”

“Hm?”

“Why did you and Mommy fight?”

Garmadon breathed out slowly. “Lloyd, you know it’s not nice to listen to people when they don’t know you’re there.”

“Sorry.”

“Look, son. There are some things in this world that are more complicated than you will ever know.” Seeing the confused look on the boy’s face, he elaborated. “Sometimes, people say things they don’t mean. Sometimes, mommies and daddies need to take a little break from each other.”

“Is that why you’re sleeping on the couch?”

“I suppose so. But it’s only for one night, Lloyd. We’ll sort things out tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Garmadon gazed out the window again, running a hand through his thick hair. He tried not to think about the dark roots he had spotted there earlier, staining his deep chestnut hair the color of darkest night.

That was something no one needed to know about yet. The red eyes had already been hard enough on Misako, especially when their son had inherited them. He tried not to think about what that meant, either. The venom wasn’t hereditary, was it? Lloyd showed no signs of the snappishness he had felt as a youth. On the contrary, the child was pure of heart and bright of soul, one of the sweetest people he had ever met. Garmadon couldn’t understand how he had gotten so lucky.

“Did I do something to make you and Mommy fight?”

“What?” Garmadon started suddenly. “Heavens, child, no.” Taking Lloyd’s chin in his hand, he titled it towards him so that they were looking each other in the eye. “Honey, none of this is your fault. This is Daddy’s mistake, not yours. We both love you very much, you know that, right?”

Lloyd nodded, sniffling as he wrapped his arms tighter around him. “Can I stay with you tonight?”

Garmadon rested a hand on his head. “Whatever you need, my son. I will always be here for you.”

---

“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, what were you thinking?” Kai ripped the sword off of his back, sending it to the ground with a clatter. “We told you to stay on the bus, and what did you do? Go after a bunch of pirates?”

“Yeah, kid.” Cole crossed his arms over his chest. “You could’ve been seriously hurt.”

Lloyd glared at them. “I was only trying to help! You never let me do anything!” “Because you’re not ready!” Kai put his hands in his hair, yanking on it in frustration. “Augh, can’t you see? We’re only trying to protect you! What good is all this training if you don’t even make it to the final battle?”

“Lloyd,” Zane said more gently. “You need to take things one step at a time. One day, you will be ready to fight beside us. One day, but not today.”

Lloyd looked away, pushing down the bubbling anger inside of him. This didn’t matter. None of this mattered. If the ninja wanted to treat him like a baby, fine. It didn’t matter what they thought.

All he cared about was his father. He needed to impress him. Make him proud.

“Lloyd? Do you understand?”

“Yes, Zane,” he muttered, avoiding the nindroid’s gaze and instead choosing to kick at a rock. The ninja exchanged hesitant glances, but they didn’t press him further.

Nya sighed. “It’s been a long day. What do you say we get back to the Bounty, and-”

“Sorry! You snooze, you lose!”

The group whipped around towards the Bounty, where the thrusters were powering up as several Serpentine peered at them over the guardrails- as well as a familiar dark figure.

“Dad,” Lloyd breathed, lunging forward- only to be stopped by Nya’s strong arms. He squirmed against her, but she wouldn’t relent.

“Lord Garmadon!” Kai cried. “He stole our ship! I can’t believe he stole our ship!”

“Come on,” Jay groaned. “We just got it back! Can’t it go five minutes without being taken?”

“The Bounty belongs to us,” Cole warned. “We fought for it, fair and square. Give it back, Garmadon.”

The Dark Lord gave a dry laugh. “Like I’d give anything to you.”

Lord Garmadon’s head turned- freezing as he made eye contact with Lloyd. The same eerie red of his own eyes reflected back at him. He longed to say something, anything- but his mouth was dry and words refused to come. He hoped his father could tell what he was thinking, anyway.

Please don’t leave. Stay here. We can work something out. We’ll fix everything between us.

Please don’t leave me again.

For a moment, something that looked like doubt flashed in his father’s eyes, and Lloyd felt hope soar in his chest. My dad might actually- he could-

“You’re getting stronger, son,” Garmadon said, “but never strong enough to defeat me. Give up and turn back now, before it is too late.”

No. Lloyd felt himself fumble as the Bounty rose into the air and flew away, taking his father further and further from him. No, he couldn’t be leaving him again, this had been his one chance to get his father back, to earn his love, but Lloyd had blown it.

I’m sorry, dad. I wasn’t good enough. I let you down.

It won’t happen again. Next time, I’ll try harder.

Next time, I’ll make you proud.

---

Their apartment was quiet that night. As Kai and Nya washed dishes in the kitchen- it was their night for clean-up duty- the others crowded around the TV in their tiny living room, playing video games with the volume low. Their usual yelling was diminished to nothing more than hushed whispers.

Behind them, Lloyd was curled up on the couch, already out like a light even though it was only seven pm. The boy was undoubtedly exhausted from the fight with the pirates earlier in the day, Kai thought crossly.

It took him a moment to realize Nya was staring at Lloyd, too. “Kai,” she asked slowly, working her jaw. “Is Lloyd okay?”

“Why,” he asked quickly. “Is he hurt? Did something happen? Man, I told him not to-”

“No. I mean… do you think he’s been acting a little… odd, lately?”

Kai frowned, turning to look at the boy. His brow furrowed as he slept, the corners of his mouth twitching downward slightly. “I guess. He’s probably just tired from all the training. We’ve been working him pretty hard, as of late.”

“Yeah,” Nya nodded, although she didn’t look like the answer truly satisfied her.

If Kai was being honest, it didn’t feel right to him, either.

---

Misako stormed into the room, dropping Lloyd into his lap with a huff. “That’s it, he’s your problem now.”

Garmadon looked up at her questioningly. “What happened?”

“What do you think happened? He bit me again! So, get him to stop.”

“What makes you think I would be able to make him stop?”

“I don’t know, but the fangs come from your side of the family, so it’s your responsibility now.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know, you’re a smart man, you’ll figure it out! I’m going to go make some tea. Good luck.”

Garmadon stared after her but was pulled out of his thoughts as something sharp chomped down on his hand. He glanced down at Lloyd. “Oh, mister. What are we going to do with you?”

---

When Garmadon returned home the next day, there was a plump green dragon plush stuffed beneath his arm. He handed it to Lloyd, who was sitting on the floor, playing with his wooden blocks as he sucked on his pacifier. “Here. Next time you feel the impulse to bite someone, bite this instead.”

Lloyd eyed the plush with interest, reaching out for it with grabby hands and clutching it around its middle, pulling it close. Spitting out his pacifier, he began to babble to the dragon, blocks forgotten. Garmadon picked up the pacifier, eyeing it closely and sighing as he caught sight of the puncture holes.

When he glanced at Lloyd, the boy was chomping down on the wing of the dragon. Garmadon rolled his eyes, crouching down next to him. “Hey, what is it with you and biting things you like? C’mon, bud.” He gently pried the wing out of his mouth. “You’re going to hurt him- uh, it- hey, don’t you think your little dragon friend needs a name?”

Lloyd stared thoughtfully at the stuffed animal. “Buhbuh.”

“No, no, no, he needs a noble, dragon-ly name! Like Blaze, or Windracer, or-”

“Buhbuh,” Lloyd said firmly.

“..Buffy?”

“Buhbuh.”

Garmadon sighed. “The fierce and mighty Buhbuh? That’s what you want?”

Lloyd cheered, hugging the plush tight. “Buhbuh!”

The name wasn’t the only thing that stuck. Over the following weeks, Lloyd fell in love with that dragon. Everywhere the toddler went, Buhbuh wasn’t far behind. In his playroom, in the crib, in the car, at meals, even in the bathroom. Misako had spent twenty minutes one night trying to wrestle the toy away from him before he took his bath.

It had solved the biting issue, at least, although Misako often muttered that he had just traded one problem out for another. He dismissed her worries, telling her that Lloyd would grow out of his dragon phase eventually.

Although, that certainly wasn’t happening anytime soon. As Lloyd got older, he only got more and more intrigued by the creatures. Suddenly, everything had to have dragons- his pajamas, the shows on TV, his pull-ups, and his many, many toys. While his biting habits faded, as soon as he learned to walk, he was tottering around the house, roaring and flapping his arms like wings. Even as his collection of dragon toys and figurines grew, however, Buhbuh was always his favorite.

Garmadon should’ve known better than to think the carefree times would last forever, though. Ever since Lloyd had been born, he had been so much happier- and he was certain that the presence of his son was slowing the spread of the venom. But it wasn’t gone. It was a curse that the damned snake had forced him to bear forever.

He wanted to put it off as long as possible, though. He was happier here than he had ever been in his life, and he didn’t want to lose all this.

He knew if anyone could help him, it was his brother. Wu understood how much he loved his wife and child. He knew how badly he wanted this. He would do whatever he could to help. His teas and meditations had always been helpful in the past, and he hoped this time wouldn’t be any different.

“Do you have everything, dear?” Misako asked, helping him slip on his coat.

He lifted the duffel bag in his hand. “All in here. I’m ready.”

A sharp tug on his pant leg distracted him. He glanced down to see Lloyd, sniffing miserably. “Daddy, why do you have to go?”

Garmadon crouched down next to him. “It’s only for a few days, pumpkin. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Why?”

Garmadon sighed. “Daddy’s been feeling…” he glanced at Misako, at a loss, but she only shrugged. “… A bit under the weather lately. I’m going to pay a visit to your Uncle Wu so he can help me with my… impulse control.”

Lloyd blinked at him, and Garmadon smirked, realizing that every word he had just said had gone straight over his son’s head. He ruffled his hair, standing again. “Don’t worry about it too much. You’ll be fine. Your mother will take good care of you.”

As he turned towards the door, he stopped at the sound of sniffling. Turning back to Lloyd, he wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve. “Hey. It’ll be alright, okay? Daddy will be back soon. You can even call me tonight.” Glancing around, he spotted Buhbuh sitting on the end table and grabbed him, pressing him into Lloyd’s arms. “Buhbuh will take care of you when I’m gone, okay?”

Lloyd hugged Buhbuh tighter. “Okay.”

“Don’t worry, Lloyd. Buhbuh is the best protector there is. And remember, I’m the one who bought him for you. Whenever you see him, you’ll know that I’ll always come back.”

---

“Lloyd, steady!” Jay cried. “We’re wobbling too much!”

Kai yelped, gripping onto Cole’s leg, where he was struggling to balance on Zane’s shoulder. On the nindriod’s other side was Jay, and on top of Cole, Sensei Wu balanced, unfazed. Below them all, Lloyd stood, trembling under all their weight.

“Uh, guys, are you sure this is a good idea-”

“Ahhh! Watch out, we’re going to fall!”

The ninja screamed as they fell to the ground, landing in a tangled pile of limbs. Lloyd quickly wriggled his way out from underneath them, and the others extracted themselves more slowly, groaning.

“You gotta find your balance, Lloyd,” Cole said, rubbing his shoulder where Kai had landed on it. “You have the strength to lift us, but you’re not focusing enough.”

“Well, maybe I’m trying!” Lloyd snapped. “I don’t see you down here lifting all that weight!”

Kai frowned. “Lloyd, Cole is only trying to help.”

“Well, maybe I don’t need help. You’re putting too much pressure on me! I could do way better on my own!”

Sensei Wu put a hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “Perhaps it is time for a break. Let’s get you a drink of water and rest for a bit, then we can try again.”

Lloyd begrudgingly shuffled after his uncle, grumbling under his breath. Kai watched him go with a furrowed brow.

“What’s got the kid acting so irritable lately?”

Jay shook his head. “I don’t know. But he’s starting to get on my nerves. It feels like he’s just being stubborn for the sake of it.”

Zane frowned. “Maybe he’s right. Maybe we are putting too much pressure on him. Supporting the weight of all of us is probably asking too much for a nine-year-old boy, green ninja or not.”

Cole shook his head. “This is the same kid who put a crack through Dareth’s floor. If he can do that, he can lift us. I know he can do it. But he just seems… distant.”

“We’ll keep an eye on it.” Kai waved his hand, turning back towards the training space. “But we don’t have time for his moodiness now. Lord Garmadon is out there somewhere, and he’s not going to wait around for us to sort out our issues.”

---

“Uh, come on boy, we gotta catch up with the ninja, I’m not gonna fall behind again- woah!”

Ultra let out a mighty roar, careening forward with a mighty flap of his wings and sending the reins shooting out of Lloyd’s hands. He only just managed to snag them before they hurtled over Ultra’s heads.

“Easy boy, easy! Look,” he sighed, letting a hand rest gently on the dragon’s off-white scales. “We’re never gonna win this race and save the dojo if you and me don’t learn to work together. Besides, I’m the green ninja. I’m meant to ride you, anyway. Imagine how impressed the others will be if we come back and I’m riding you like a pro! We can rub it in their faces what a natural I am with dragons, heh. What do you say?”

Flame’s head snorted, letting out a puff of smoke, which wasn’t the most reassuring answer.

“Hey, wait a minute.” Lloyd squinted, staring at the vehicles racing through the canyon below them. There was the familiar shape of the Ultra Sonic Raider, but above it-

The ship appeared to have undergone some design changes, but there was still no mistaking the vast, furling sails or the dragon figurehead. The Bounty was in the race.

His father was here.

Lloyd’s heart skipped a beat. His father was here- he could see the black figure now, helping some of the Serpentine to point a cannon at the Ultra Sonic Raider.

Ultra tensed beneath him, but Lloyd hesitated, holding the mighty dragon back.

His dad was trying to hurt his friends. Lloyd didn’t want to get in his father’s way, but…

He couldn’t let him do this.

Lloyd gritted his teeth, digging his hands into the reins. “Okay, Ultra. Let’s put a stop to this.”

Ultra roared, diving towards the Bounty so sharply that Lloyd had to grip onto the saddle for dear life to keep himself from flying off. “Get out of the way!” he yelled at his father. Garmadon lurched back from the cannon, eyes widening, but it was too late. Ultra was already slamming into the ship, sending both himself and the Bounty spiraling.

Snapping up the reins, Lloyd pulled back, steering Ultra up, narrowly avoiding crashing into the ground.

“Woooo! Nice going, Lloyd!”

Kai’s cry sent a flare of warmth through his chest, but it quickly dissipated as his gaze fell on his father, who was barking at the Serpentine as they hurried to get the ship going straight again. He had made the right choice- the only choice- but at his father’s expense.

A wave of panic suddenly hit him. He couldn’t mess this up. He had been given another chance to make his father proud of him, and he couldn’t let this one slip between his fingers.

“C’mon, Ultra, let’s show ‘em what we got!” With a jerk of the reins, the dragon was shooting through the air like a bullet. Lloyd steered him up, and Ultra did a graceful loop through the air, followed by a swift corkscrew.

Lloyd blinked, surprised at how easily his dragon was listening to him. Usually, Ultra was as stubborn as possible, but apparently he enjoyed putting on a show as much as Lloyd did.

“Quit fooling around, Lloyd!” Cole cried from the Raider. “We gotta win this race, and we need your help!”

Lloyd glanced back at the Bounty, but his father wasn’t even looking at him, just waving the Mega Weapon around as he yelled at the Serpentine. Lloyd sighed, guiding Ultra towards the guys. This obviously wasn’t working.

As the Raider sped over the rocky ground below them, it slowly shifted into a softer, lusher landscape- and then came the snow. Lloyd stuck his tongue out, letting a flake land on his tongue.

“Birchwood Forest!” Kai cried. “Oh, we’ll never get through all these trees to catch up!”

There was a roaring of an engine behind him, and Lloyd glanced back to see his father coming in the Bounty, not too far off. I still have a chance! I can still impress him!

“Let me find a shortcut,” he called to the ninja. “Ultra! Up, boy!”

Scanning the woods below, he quickly eyed out a path, then swooped down with Ultra, racing through the trees. “Follow me!”

The turns were sharp, and Lloyd barely avoided crashing into the trees on more than a couple of occasions. But he didn’t, Ultra’s movements swift and precise below him. Lloyd let out a whoop of exhilaration. He was finally getting the hang of this! Ultra was listening to him! Taming a dragon was no easy feat, his father would have to be proud of him now-

Suddenly, Ultra let out a pained cry, and before Lloyd could process anything, the dragon was being yanked backward and plummeting towards the ground. Lloyd screamed, clutching onto the saddle, and Ultra threw his wings around him, sheltering him as they hit the ground with an almighty crash.

---

Lloyd groaned, blinking stars from his eyes as something bumped against his cheek. When it finally came into focus, he saw Wisp’s head staring at him, grunting in concern.

“I- I’m fine, boy,” Lloyd huffed, grabbing at the dragon’s muzzle for support as he pushed himself to his feet. “What in Ninjago just happened? We were doing so well, now we’re going to lose the race!”

Ultra groaned, raising his left foot and shaking it, where chains clanked loudly.

“No, no, no-” Lloyd raced over, examining the cuff and finding long, curved bones secured tightly around Ultra’s ankle. “The Skulkin! They sabotaged us! Those scheming, no good boneheads!” Lloyd yanked desperately at the chains, trying to get them to budge. “Augh, now we’re never going to win the race, and my father will never-” Lloyd cried out as his hand scraped against the sharp edge of the bone. Immediately, Flame’s head was at his side, nosing him away from the cuff and whining softly as he gently licked Lloyd’s scratched hand.

“I… I just wanted to make him proud,” Lloyd sniffed, burying his face against Flame’s scales. The fire dragon felt comfortingly warm in the cold of the snowdrift.

Rocky’s head butted him softly, before carefully taking the edge of the cuff between his teeth and crunching down on it, shattering it into a dozen pieces. Lloyd sucked in his breath, giving Rocky’s muzzle a quick hug before clambering back onto Ultra’s back.

“If we hurry, we can still catch them now! C’mon, boy, we have a lot of ground to make up for!”

---

Lloyd didn’t win the race, but by the time the finish line came into view, he could see the ninja crowding around the golden winner’s cup, cheering. In front of them, Garmadon was yelling at the referee, insisting that he had won and that the ref had made a faulty call.

Lloyd’s breath caught in his throat. His father was right here. Closer than he had been since the defeat of the Great Devourer. Part of Lloyd wanted to run up and hug him, but he knew he couldn’t. That wouldn’t last. He needed something more permanent.

His eyes strayed to the Bounty, resting a little way behind the Dark Lord. With his father out yelling at the ninja and the race staff and all the Serpentine left behind in the Glacier Barrens, the ship was empty.

If Lloyd took it back- his father wouldn’t be able to fly away again. He’d have to stay. They could talk, work things out. As soon as he could get his father to stop running and just listen, he knew he could get through to him.

Lloyd eyed his father warily, but Garmadon was too distracted to notice the giant dragon behind him, as were the ninja. Quietly, Lloyd instructed Ultra forward, and the dragon padded across the ground, climbing up onto the deck of the Bounty.

“That’s not even street legal!” Garmadon was yelling. “My ship was clearly-”

“Your ship?”

His father whipped around, and Lloyd froze as they stared at each other for a long moment.

Please. Please, please, please. Lloyd reached a hand out. “Dad-”

Police sirens sounded behind them, and suddenly two officers hopped out of the car. “Alright, Garmadon, you’re coming with us.”

“Wait!” Lloyd cried, slipping off of Ultra and landing on the ground mere feet from his father. “Dad, it doesn’t have to be like this. You can-”

A screeching of tires, and suddenly Skales was pulling up in his bus. “Look who needs who now!”

Garmadon scowled, turning to go. Lloyd’s brain screamed at him. This was his one chance to stop him. If he did nothing, who knew how long it would be until he got to see him again?

Lloyd lunged forward, grabbing Garmadon’s wrist. The man looked back in surprise. “What are you-”

“Dad. Please. Don’t go.”

Garmadon fell silent, staring at him for a moment. Time seemed to stand still.

Then Garmadon was yanking away, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, son. We both know I can’t do that.” In two steps, he was aboard the Serpentine bus and speeding away.

No. Lloyd felt tears well in his eyes. There were others here, and Lloyd hadn’t cried in front of anyone in a long time, but he couldn’t bring himself to care anymore. His father had been right here. He had touched him.

“Way to go, bud!” Kai whooped, running over to him, the other ninja close behind. “You got the Bounty back- hey, woah, what’s wrong?”

Lloyd quickly tried to cover his eyes, but Kai was already crouched down next to him, pulling his arms away and gently wiping at his tears with the sleeve of his gi.

Jay put a hand on his back. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

Lloyd shook his head, sniffling. “I just… I thought… my father, I thought he would… I thought if I could make him proud, he would stop leaving…” Lloyd choked on a sob, burying his face in Kai’s gi. “Why does he keep leaving? Why does everyone leave? What did I do wrong?”

“Oh, bud,” Kai whispered, running hands through Lloyd’s hair gently. “This is what’s been upsetting you, hasn’t it?”

Lloyd whimpered miserably, and Kai hugged him tighter- his grip so firm, so protective, that it made Lloyd think maybe everything could be okay again, eventually.

“You look at me,” Kai demanded, tilting his chin up. “None of this is your fault. You hear me? None of it. All the people that left you were jerks who didn’t appreciate how amazing you were. They don’t deserve you. We don’t deserve you. But you’re our true family, Lloyd. We will never, ever do what they did.”

“You hear that?” Cole punched him lightly in the chest, his voice sounding suspiciously choked up. “You’re one of us, now, green bean. You can’t escape us, whether you like it or not.”

“Your father will never understand this, Lloyd.” Jay gestured at the group with his hands. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way. You deserve a father who will be there for you, one whose love is not clouded by dreams of vengeance. But that’s how things are. So you’re stuck with us, instead.”

“I’m sorry he couldn’t be here, Lloyd,” Zane murmured. “But we are. And we love you. So if there’s ever something bothering you, talk to us about it. We want to do everything we can to make you feel wanted.”

Nya crouched down next to Kai. “You and me against the world, bud. Remember that? We’re not giving up on you. Ever. So your father can stuff it-”

Zane elbowed her, and she grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. Now’s not the best time for that. But you get my point. I’ll fight stupid destiny for you, Lloyd Garmadon. We all will.”

Lloyd’s eyes welled up again, but this time the tears were happy as he collapsed against them. Five pairs of arms hugged him back, warm and strong and safe.

His father had left again. But that wasn’t what was important right now. His true home was here, with the ninja.

And he had hope it always would be.

---

Garmadon gazed down at the bundle in his arms. His posture was stiff and unnatural, his rough hands as gentle as possible as they supported the weight.

This was easily the most precious thing he had ever carried.

Lloyd stared up at him with wide, curious eyes. Every curve and inch of him was perfect- and he was his. Garmadon could see himself in the curve of his son’s nose or the outline of his jaw, Misako in the shape of his eyes or the hue of his skin.

He still couldn’t believe it.

It had taken Misako hours to convince him he wasn’t going to hurt Lloyd, and now, here he was, carrying his son for the first time.

His son. He loved the way that sounded.

Garmadon shifted his grip slightly, and suddenly Lloyd began to fuss. Garmadon glanced to Misako for help, but she simply shook her head, smiling.

At a loss, Garmadon cradled Lloyd closer to his chest. “Shh, shh, Lloyd, it’s okay. Daddy’s got you.”

Lloyd stopped almost immediately at the sound of his voice, cooing in wonder as he reached a chubby little hand out. Garmadon bowed his head, closing his eyes and letting Lloyd trace his fingers gently across his face.

Garmadon felt the tension ease from his shoulders. This was a person. A living, breathing being, and he and Misako had created him.

Nothing in the world could’ve ever prepared him for the wonderful gift of fatherhood. This was one thing in his life he vowed not to mess up.

“You’re safe, little one,” he murmured. “I will always be here for you.”

#ninjago #ninbingo #my fic #rosie writes #ninjago lloyd #ninjago garmadon #and... there goes my fluff streak #XD #im sorry for those of you who like garmadad because i keep running him into the ground don't i #i do like him i swear #it's just... the angst is too tempting #maybe i'll write something fluffy for him one day #i actually cried writing this one oops #thanks for reading!#reblogs and comments greatly appreciated!

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furiosity-wills-the-cat · 4 years ago

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Chara, the fourth Blook cousin:

A crack theory that accidentally become way more serious than it should have because it somehow, despite my best efforts, ended up making sense

Brought to you by my idiot conspiracy brain (affectionate) and by encouragement from my Tumblr followers

Under the cut for the sake of your dashes and sanity

Ok here we go my very elaborate accidental theory, because in order to answer the complex questions simply you must first make simple things more complex or something

First, you need to know that Chara became a Blook cousin by adoption.

All of the Blooks are adopted.

Ghosts are not born into families, they make their own.

Got it? Great, because we’re about to start running

so first, im gonna make surprisingly uncommon claim in this fandom, and I am going to say that undertale ghosts are all dead

I’m taking the tiny details we know about ghosts and sprinting with them to new places

Ghosts also do not have souls I decided

Undertale souls do not work the same as souls in traditional mythology

So every ghost is soulless Unless and Until they become corporeal

Evidence: Monster souls cant exist without bodies, and ghosts are monsters, therefore ghosts cannot have souls without bodies

Further evidence: Asriel doesnt steal blooky’s soul, blooky is unkillable, we have no concrete evidence that blooky has a soul

What about mettaton? He only has a soul after he has completely committed to being corporeal and to a specific body.

Also maddy and mettaton are both only killable while corporeal

Im also connecting the dots we have about souls in a new creative way so let me live for a second

Additionally, i am going to claim that there are a lot more ghosts than just the blooks, some evidence given below

Theres like actual scientific knowlege of ghosts in the undertale verse which seems unlikely if theres literally only three or four

The underground is so much bigger than you think, theres that giant forest in snowdin, a large town in the ruins, the huge city of new home, who knows how much space in the large open areas of waterfall etc. Its really really big okay

Also based off evidence of blooky, we can conclude that ghosts can turn invisible whenever they want to and/or haunt objects to hide

So I personally think that ghosts are, generally speaking, extremely reclusive

And the blooks are just a special exception, a beautiful family, amazing for them

So anyway im going with typical ghost lore for now, for the sake of ease, so im gonna say ghosts generally come from monsters who are particularly restless or unsatisfied when they die

HOWEVER i dont think they remember being monsters or anything before being a ghost. They just kinda fizzle into existance with a fully formed personality and immortality while being unkillable and feeling vaguely uneasy

ALSO i personally think that chara was a ghost for a long time before they became a blook by adoption

Based on game lore, i think ghosts can possess any inanimate object and just kinda wear it? But it takes a lot of strong emotion to become corporeal

And chara is the super weird exception because they were a human not a monster.

They dont have a soul (i headcanon that their soul got destroyed when asriel died)

And they KNOW this, which is a huge part of why they kinda just... give up

Because they lost their ability to fulfill prophecy

Also, without a soul, they lost their ability to reset, so for the first time since falling underground, theyre subject to the relentless march of time

But theyre still weirdly strong and powerful and more emotional

ALSO they DO still remember being a human but they catch on pretty quickly that other ghosts dont have memories and because chara is stupid they just lie to fit in

Theyre too tired to explain themself, they just want to be alone and feel awful

Now back to ghost lore

Emotions are a lot harder for ghosts??? I decided

And they dont know why,, they tend to blame it on the soul thing

But realistically its actually more of the immortality thing making actions not have consequences and/or or not having a body so they cant have a sense of touch or have physical effects of emotion

They all know that ghosts just tend to be way more floaty and bored and numb

And thats part of why the blooks are so special

Maddy’s rage and Mettaton’s yearning and Napstablook’s misery are like... not great all of the time...

but theyre also way way more emotion than most ghosts have,,, they are just a family supporting each other, being as functional as they can,, just an emo(tional) ghost family

most ghosts barely do anything except like stare at walls but the blooks have their snail farm and that helps them have purpose and it is good

And they hold each other accountable and it is nice

So anyway chara just chills and is in a depression coma for a few decades before the blooks find them and are like “our child/baby cousin”

and they raise them for a cool minute

They are all very protective of the new baby emo blook

And chara doesnt get therapy but at the very least they once again have a family, and they decide they want to try to become corporeal eventually just like mtt and maddy

So anyway chara starts hanging out in the ruins a lot more and they finally tell the blooks theyre leaving to go become corporeal in the ruins

This is actually because they are trying to hang out with toriel

because they miss their mom ;;

but chara’s not gonna admit that to anyone, especially not to themself

And because theyre still repressing their emotions constantly and pretending to be fine, they cant become corporeal

And they hang out in the ruins for a long time because they feel guilty lying to everyone about everything

They still feel like its their fault that all the monsters are stuck underground, because they were SUPPOSED to save everyone and they COULDNT and it HURTS

But again, they are doing too much repression to use this guilt to become corporeal,

so instead they just kinda hide and watch toriel from a distance and cry

Blooky visits them the most, thats why blooky is chilling in the ruins so much at the start of the game

Theyre just there to visit their shy baby cousin ;;

Ofc they wont tell frisk about this because chara wants space and privacy and blooky respects that

but maddy and mtt also visit them a lot

Oh also when mtt and maddy start dissapearing, blookys mental health plummets as their family and support system starts to dissolve

Blooky was actually doing extremely well (for a ghost) for a long time, i headcanon,

but theyre doing the worst theyve been in a long long time during the game, because of family issues

So anyway, chara dissapears when frisk shows up, and maddy assumes this is becaude frisk hurt their fragile feelings

Maddy spends hours desperately searching the ruins for chara and cant find them and assumes that they had their heart crushed and went to hide and disappear in a depression coma for another few decades, and thats part of why maddy is so furious with frisk

Like,, to be clear, maddy is still jumping to conclusions and throwing blame around with no proof, but also, its a logical conclusion to come to

And mettaton has already disappeared too and been gone for a while, too, by this point, so it hurts even worse

But anyway, what actually happened to chara is that;

Because chara is a human ghost, not a monster ghost, normal ghost rules dont apply to them

And they can possess living things too they find out

Maybe they knew it a long time ago, maybe its a new discovery, but for whatever reason they end up possessing frisk and theyre like “what the heck”

And frisk still has most of the control

But now chara is like,,, “this is my chance, im a human again, gotta save the world for real,,,”

and they cant explain this to anyone without revealing their past

so they just chill in frisk’s mind while being super crypic and trying to figure out how it works

Pacifist route, this is pretty much exactly what happens

They manage to help frisk save the day

And in my headcanon, the no mercy route is started by frisk who is scared when faced by monsters attacking them

And then chara, who was aready hiding in a semidepression coma for a while, immediately transitions to a panicked “gotta protect this body, gotta protect my chance to be human, i died and threw away my chance to save everyone the first time, i CANNOT lose this chance again”

And so the combination of both frisk and chara is the genocide run

Because frisk kills in self defense, and whenever frisk hesitates, chara jumps in

Also theres leftover feelings from the whole asriel incident

Because again, ghosts come from monsters who died unsatisfied

And chara’s main source of unsatisfaction is how they were trying to get asriel to kill people before he died and then he didnt

So thats a strong strong feeling ruling them

So anyway by the time they both realize how bad its become they figure its too late and also the amount of LOVE has made them numb

And thats when chara who, despite everything, still has idiot hero complex and thinks they need to save the world

So, while panicking, they step in at the very end, and erase the timeline and delete everything

And also to clarify

They DONT HAVE this power at any other point in the game

Because, guess why

They become corporeal

Just like maddy, the no mercy route is the only thing that gives them strong enough emotion to spontaneously become corporeal

So they become corporeal and as soon as they have a soul again and can reset again, they just erase everything

Ok back to fluff

Post pacifist route, they are still a non corporeal ghost

They can still float around and look just like the other blooks

And it takes them a while to open up about things, but they do end up moving back in with blooky so that blooky isnt completely alone

And also they do way better with a family

Also they can float through the mountain and talk to flowey down below and bring him news

And now that they know about him, they can bond with him and explain that they dont have a soul either but that doesnt mean theyre worthless

Oh ALSO

The other dead humans dont have ghosts

BECAUSE

ghosts only come from restless dead MONSTERS

and chara is the weird special exception

Because they were a monster when they died

They became a ghost and asriel didnt because they were way more restless and stressed than asriel was when both of them died

Like sure, asriel felt awful, but chara was the one who was way more like “this is my fault, i CANT die now, the world NEEDS me”

So anyway

charablook the emo tween ghost and asriel flowey the eldrich goat daisy are siblings once more and they hang out and eventually they are okay and have a family again

Thank you for reading, this has been my thoughts on a crack theory that accidentally went too far

This isnt even everything, maybe i’ll make a part two eventually, but i promised to have this post out like two days ago, so i wanted to post SOMTHING

Anyway leave your thoughts if youd like

Im not looking for people to disprove it, i already know its crazy, i dont think it was intentional by the game writers, but i do think its a fun concept

thats the fun of it, so if anyone wants to run with it im all for it lol

Thanks again! Have a nice day!

#no mercy #as a warning tag #chara undertale #napstablook undertale #fic tag #meta #analysis #crack theroy #undertale #i didnt edit this very much #so if there are any major typos or parts that didnt make sense #or were illegible #feel free to let me know so i can clarify

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disgustingtrash · 4 years ago

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God of war thought vomit

Pls don’t bully me for all of my half baked

“ theories “ or my HORRID spelling...

Why did the giants break the Atreus healing/killing kratos drawing so much? Change of prophecy? Faye not wanting to accept it ? Thor was at the giants place and ruined wanting to take kratos life for himself? Most of the drawing is ruined and we can’t see what else is to happen beside Atreus healing/killing Kratos. Not only is most of the drawing ruined but it is also COVERED!!! It’s covered by a curtain. Why? Why would whoever ruined the drawing want to cover it up? A change in fate so last minute the giants tried destroying the evidence but they were rushed for some reason and covered hoping no one would find it? Why is it covered!!!!! Another thing , the door that leads to the highest peak. That bit is smashed in , so I assume the room was just a room maybe for worship or was created by Faye to tell a story. At some point tho the door is created and we miss the part that is smashed in. The part is smashed for a door, than why is the Atreus kill/heal part also smashed? For what purpose? Every other part of the mural is fine beside a few non interfering cracks but the kill/heal is almost all gone. Another door to somewhere? Hidden secrets perhaps

Atreus and Kratos healing drawing. Healing? Is Atreus donating some of his own soul to his father to revive him? Or is Atreus stealing kratos’ soul?

We fight freya in her Valkyrie form! Talks about how she wants her wings back, and how much she wants to kill kratos. Maybe if kratos kills thor she gets real pissed and talks w Odin saying that if she gets her wings back she can kill kratos.

The giants called Faye their guardian and she would “ return” in their time of need but she didn’t really guard or protect shit. shit. Maybe her ashes will revive the giants since they were all glittery. The return of Faye could also mean just re uniting with her people as ashes. Could as be that she left the guardian of giants role bc she chose a life with kratos hence the argument with the giants. OR could also be the guardian of giants with Atreus , who is part giant and will let the giant race live on.

Kratos killed the sisters of fate in his own land, he can change his fate how ever he wants. Kratos is not of Norse decent so he is not bound by the fate everyone there is ( if fate does exist in cold ppl world ) , perhaps fate of Norse lands did not expect Kratos who is not bound to their rules of life progression. Kratos can fuck up Norse mythology however he wants.

What if Faye was the one who made all the drawings in the ending room? We know she knew that they got there since her gold pathing is on the rocks. Nowhere BUT in the end is kratos mentioned, I would think some random god from another land fucking everything up would be very important to write down somewhere but it isn’t. Unless I’ve missed lore , the only place kratos is told of is in the ending drawings. Maybe the giants did not see kratos coming , and only Faye knew? The room is opened with all the carvings made by the dead giants , maybe Faye was the last and when she got to the giants land she tore down the past depictions of ragnork and re made them to include kratos since he did make ragnork happen like 100 winters early or something like that. This would explain the broken wall where kratos is seen held in the lap of Atreus. She was making the drawings in a rush and couldn’t complete the rest of the wall.

Pls go to the end of this specific “ theory “ I kinda debunked it 😔😔

Can tyre time travel??? I feel like I should remember something like this :/ In tyre tomb we see the Greek pot with kratos depicted on it , him and the blades. So I’m gonna guess this is by the time kratos is the new god of war ( 28 yrs old according to the wiki ) and ppl r worshiping him ( like how they worship all gods). If Tyre was alive when kratos was the god of war surely Tyre must’ve been young when he died since kratos is like what? 50? And Atreus is 10 or 12? So all of the messy shit must’ve happened when kratos was traveling to Norse lands. But that dosent make sense since everything is talked about as if it was forever ago. So... did kratos time travel??? Bc in game he thinks time travel is crazy but is somehow around for all dis other shit. Tyre being able to time Tavel dosent explain how kratos is so young in GOW4. Just remember kratos IS super fucking old and cannot die from old age despite not being immortal. If I remember right Zeus was like “fuck you

* stab *, now you aren’t immortal lmao “ .

:/ now this “ theory “ is very dumb, pls ignore 😌 don’t wanna remove tho so I can come back incase something else is reviled

Not really a theory , but I think Atreus is gonna have a good/ hero type arc. A lot of people r making it out for him to be evil and that makes a ton of sense seeing real Norse mythology, but I think kratos will be a better dad and instill some yummy good people traits into Atreus. This has no evidence which is why I’m not calling it a theory!

About the actual giant drawing itself , what if kratos is putting something into Atreus instead of Atreus bestowing something upon kratos? What if Kratos is giving up his life for Atreus? Not likely since the body is very weak obv .Another thought , what if Atreus is sharing knowledge with the corpse who I’m assuming is kratos even tho my only evidence is 1- Atreus sad and 2- beard. OOO what if kratos is gifting Atreus his god powers? Making Atreus Loki and the god of war( I guess the Greek god of war but beside the point ). So the world servant is Loki’s son. And the drawing kinda looks like the world serpent even though I believe it’s words and not a snake let me throw some shit out there. What if this is not kratos ( or is idc ) and Atreus is using the body as a vessel to birth the world snake? Maybe stealing the persons life to bring about the ending or ragnork in the form of snake ?

It might not be kratos on da wall. The skirt color is off , looks like he’s kinda wearing an eye patch ( unless his eyes were gauged out ) , and his missing foot. But you go “ it was smashed out! We can see it!” Perhaps not. If you look at the leg , the smashed bit is LINED!!! His missing leg is definite and inked , unlike the arm which was smashed out since it lacks the defining outline. I don’t know of anyone with a missing leg or is super close with Atreus that he’d be crying over it tho. Also , on the farther leg from us , it looks like on the inner thigh there is a tattoo, unless this is like a pouch idk if Kratos is hiding a sexy sexy leg tat. To add , we never see kratos shirtless in GOW4 , or without shoes or pants and in the drawing he’s both pantless , shoeless and shirtless.

This is also not a theory , just over thinking. What if Atreus never turned out to be a warrior? What if he took more of tyres path gathering knowledge and not fighting skill. Would kratos still love him? Faye WAS a warrior. Atreus eventually becomes very useful and is super strong by the end of the game since we murdered baulder together. But like... what if Atreus just didn’t? Does kratos love Atreus cause he’s his son or because he becomes capable? Ik I’m digging to far In but I love hurting myself with ‘ what if’s ‘.

#god of war #god of war ragnarok #god of war 4 #god of war 5 #god of war theory #Atreus #kratos

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scribeofmorpheus · 4 years ago

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Himmeløyne [8/?]

Pairing: Loki Odinson x Reader

Catch Up Here | Masterlist

Warnings: Odin being a God-King...which is code for ‘dick’.

A/N: I haven’t slipped back into my narrative voice for this series completely, but I am happy to bring this old boii off the shelf. Mention of Hela...because, why not.

Taglist is open! Reblog, comment or leave a like please ☺

~Y/N

Loki’s kiss still burned on your lips as you stormed through the endless labyrinth of hallways in the palace.

You had never heard him speak so candidly, sorrow and desire mixed as one.

“You've bewitched me,” His words beautiful, but too much.

Bewitched? You looked down at your hands, blue slivers of magic casting a glow. Had he done the same to you?

And then, while your mind raced and your palms shook, you heard them. Deep in the echoing chamber of Odin’s throne room, Heimdall and Odin spoke with the freeness of men promised secrecy.

You hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. But by the gods, any distraction was welcome.

~Heimdall

“—I do not think I can keep this from her any longer,” Heimdall said, his hand placed where Y/N’s had been days prior. He told himself he wasn’t going to ask for much. Just getting to see his daughter grow as a warrior and woman was enough. But he had been a fool thinking a drop of water could keep him from dreaming of the oasis.

The more he observed her, watched her, the more he began to want more. To know who she had more of; him or Sigrid.

Odin warned, “You remember what the Oracle said, old friend.”

“Her vision already came to pass,” Heimdall was begging now. “I’ve lost one. I cannot lose another. Not when she is safe within our walls. Safe here.”

“No place is impregnable to violence,” Odin sighed, his head too heavy for his neck this night. “I already took a risk in allowing my son to train her. If he knew what she was…” Odin’s eyes trailed to the door, holding a breath for a moment.

Heimdall set his helmet on the floor and took the knee by Odin’s steps, “Please, Allfather. I cannot keep this lie any longer. I cannot pretend as though my heart doesn’t ache when I see her. And ache all the more when I must remove myself from her presence. She is my daughter. What would you give to have your daugh—”

Odin’s eye flashed with anger not seen since his youth. His stave crashing down in the throne room. Heimdall lowered his head.

“I will say this only once,” Odin rose, his shadow growing to a giant behind him. “Y/N is no guest here. She is our prisoner. I allow her to stay because I am King. Daughter of yours or not, she will always be a threat to my son. Her very presence has disrupted the peace. Loki has already begun to dig too deep. If he discovers it was his magic the Jotuns tracked to Midgard…” Odin wavered. “My son is too important. He cannot learn the truth. Of himself or what Y/N truly is.”

“Odin,” Heimdall’s voice shook. He felt smaller than he’d ever been. “I beg of you. When you ordered me to never look for Sigrid, I did it to protect her. To keep the prophecy from coming to pass. And she died all the same. Without ever knowing how I truly felt for her.”

Odin’s heavy hand of sympathy found its way to Heimdall’s slumped shoulders. He dared not say anything, but Odin’s hand made him feel crushed.

“I am sorry,” there was actual regret in Odin’s words. “But if it came to it, I would take her from you as Sigrid had been. Such is the weight I bear. The weight of King. To protect my son, I would destroy your daughter. It is for this reason that I cannot allow you to tell her the truth—to love her as only a father could. It is the smallest mercy I can give. And the only mercy I will allow.”

For the briefest moment, in all his years, he hated Odin, body and soul. He feared what he would have done had he been wielding his sword.

Heimdall set his jaw, ready to leave, when a cluttering noise rippled from behind the throne room doors.

He thought of Sigrid and the flowers in her hair and he knew. Somehow, he knew she had heard them. He had felt his daughter’s presence, he had wanted her to hear. If he couldn’t tell her the truth, the next best thing he could do was show her.

“I too am sorry, my King,” Heimdall repented.

~Loki

“Have you found her?” Loki asked his mother through their telepathic connection.

Frigga looked exhausted, “No, but the palace guards are still searching. It’s a large place, she’ll turn up.”

“It’s been hours,” Loki bit his inner cheek. His magic prickling erratically under his skin. He was frustrated and worried and a little dejected from the fact Y/N had run from their kiss. Now she was missing and the palace felt less like home than it had in years.

Frigga moved her hands in an effort to comfort him. She stopped herself when she remembered they weren’t actually in the same room. She sighed, “This is all my fault.”

“Don’t say that mother,” Loki rushed to comfort her. “Never say that. If you didn’t meddle—if you didn’t fight to have her stay I never would have—”

Never would have what? Loki thought to himself.

“You never would have known love,” Frigga finished his sentence. She smiled warmly, but her joy was contained; restricted to her weak smile.

“You knew?” Loki looked up in surprise. Then, he scoffed at himself for being so easily fooled, “Of course you knew.”

“Son,” Frigga fidgeted, eyes cast down. “Maybe we should let her return to her world. She is mortal after all. You can never be together the way you desire…not for as long as you imagine, anyway.”

“No!” Loki’s heart raced. “Her home is here now!”

“Does she feel the same way?” Frigga asked. “Butterflies cast the most vibrant colours across the reeds, but if you keep them in captivity, they die quicker. And the flowers they could have touched never bloom in the next season.”

Loki furrowed his brow, not in the mood to listen to fables or parables, “Y/N belongs here. With me!” His eyes grew wider. “With us! Sif and Hogun and Volstagg and Fandral—and I can’t believe I’m saying this but—Thor too.”

“Brother, there you are!” Thor jogged over as if he’d been summoned by Loki’s words. “We think we know where she went.”

Loki cut his connection to his mother and gave Thor his full attention. “Where?”

“Midgard,” Thor grabbed both of Loki’s arms and shook. “She went back home. Heimdall used dark magic’s to find her. He went after her.”

#loki #loki x reader #loki imagine #loki x y/n #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #thor #mcu #odin #angst #himmeløyne

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intothewickedwood · 4 years ago

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Once Upon A Time Rewatch: 5x21 Last Rites

I can’t even remember the flashback for this episode, if there even was one. It probably should have been a Robin Hood flashback for his death to have made more of an impact. Because he’s literally just been pointing out really obvious things and nothing else for pretty much the whole season. 

Zelena worrying for her sister! I live for this!

How’d Arthur escape?

Yes, Hades much threatening holding a baby. Very scare. 

Oh dear.

When will they learn not to stop letting Sleepy guard things?! 

Sleepy: “Sleepy. I told you, it’s Walter.” That’s interesting that Sleepy doesn’t like to be called Sleepy and prefers Walter. The Dwarfs seemed so desperate to get back to their EF lives in season 2.

Snowing reunited! God, I missed those 2 together!

Finally, a grandma Snow hug! Haven’t had one of those in ages! 

Zelena’s like “and f**k you Regina! My boyfriend’s a God. How’s that for a happy thought?!”

Oh yeah. Forgot Arthur killed Hook the first time. Well, technically the second time?��

Arthur looks more like Hook’s brother than Liam or Liam II. Not to mention a closer accent. I feel like I read a fic or something where they were brothers somehow. Don’t get me wrong though, I prefer Liam. 

Okay, Hades was definitely manipulating Zelena here. He knew she wouldn't let him turn himself in, he just wanted to pretend he was willing to.

“The olympian crystal. Very powerful, very dangerous and I’ve waited a long time to use it.”

I’m sorry but that olympian crystal looks like a big old, jagged freaking- anyway back to the rewatch! 

Where was he keeping that giant dildo of death anyway? Do I even want to know??

Zelena does not look like she’s into it.

*sigh* why didn’t they just make Hades Robin Jr.’s father? I remember thinking and hoping he somehow was. 

Belle’s father refusing to wake Belle from the sleeping curse just to keep her away from Rumple. What the hell?! He’d just let her stay like that forever? Because we know people don’t age during sleeping curses and Rumple is immortal. Jeeeez! He does not respect her agency at all!

Oh my God! Hades was whipping Hook?!........ Dat’s kinky.

Cruella: “Oh, back up!....Seriously, back up.” The number of times I’ve referenced this xD! 

Oh my God guys, how can anyone get through that many books?! And its too many damn pages for any man to understand.

Your brother stopped your heart for a sparkly strap on? Wow, what a family.

I wonder how old Hades and the God’s are. Are they older/the same age as Gothel? According to Hades he’s been around for at least a few 1thousand years. Also, is Poseidon his brother too? Is Ursula his niece? That’s cool. I like that headcanon.

So according to one of Ouat’s wikis: ‘Kronos was originally the ruler of Mount Olympus, as well as the father of Zeus and Hades. Zeus was poised to become the next ruler after Kronos' reign ended, but this enraged Hades, who stole the olympian crystal and used it to obliterate Kronos. Zeus, however, defeated Hades and banished him to the Underworld.’ I must have missed that bit. And Poseidon is listed as Kronos’ son and Ursula his granddaughter.

Robin Hood: “Regina, you are my future.” Oh dear.

Do y’all think that lost soul dragging Arthur is Milah though? Like, “get off my man! He’s mine, bitch!”

Emma’s like, “omg my dead bf’s posting me sexy dildo pics from hell. He’s so sweet.”

Guys, don’t leave the baby alone.

He definitely knows Regina and Robin are there. They’re talking so loudly!

Sorry, Emma but I love Zelena effortlessly throwing people about. I still think she’s more powerful than Emma and Regina. No one could dispel her protection spell. Definitely the most powerful telekinetic possibly out of any other character. Did you see her move that tree as a baby?!

Hades, please don’t kill Zelena’s sister! 

Oh no! The jagged sparkly dildo of death has an electric shock feature! Very kinky.

Lmao!!! I’m sorry but Robin’s death scene looks so funny! It’s shot so weirdly!

Well, Robin byeeeeee. Remember all those times he stood in the background and said nothing except the occasional “you were the evil queen” and “look there are trees here!” or of course, the already established “this place is deserted”. Fun times.

Regina be like, “show me those hands! Show me those jazz hands!” A very appropriate reaction if I do say so myself.

Okay but seriously. Did Robin not think about his 2 kids? Why didn’t he just push her out the way and run? Why didn’t Regina use her magic at all? This could have been so easily avoided but I think it was necessary for Regina’s character development and the plot. I think they ran out of things to do with Robin, and it was becoming more and more unrealistic that a character like Regina was in love with a character like him, in my opinion. She became a completely different character around him. Not all happy endings involve romantic love. I like that she remained single. Also, Robin never really made connections with the other heroes. He barely spoke to them. Literally, I think he only spoke to Hook twice and Emma once! I think Charming once too and I’m not sure he ever spoke to Snow. Maybe once in early 3b. I think that’s why, to me, he felt so disconnected from them. It would have worked a lot better if he was a villain all along, seeking vengeance on Regina for his wife’s death.

God, Hades! Zelena just wants to live in her little farmhouse, watching her daughter play on the swings and bunnies hop around while drinking tea in their magical enchanted garden!

Oh my God, if I was Zelena I would scream. Too many people in her head! Tbf if I was Zelena, I’d throw that giant dildo through the window and let Emma have it for herself as Hook intended.

Get lost Hades! Honestly, this is when I stopped being a serious Zades shipper. Before this I was a hardcore fan! But he tried to force her to kill her sister! He even says, “If you won’t, I will.” That’s going too far!

All Zelena ever wanted was love! I’m glad she finally recognizes that. She thought she wanted the material things her sister had but it was familial love that she never got from her adoptive father and only got a short taste of from her adoptive mother that she truly craved.

She chose her sister!

I hate that they made her kill Hades! Why couldn’t someone else do it?

Omg look at the sisters hold each other! I am going to die!!

Well, it’s nice that Arthur and Killian are getting along now, considering this is literally all Arthur’s fault. Somehow, after this episode, I can’t bring myself to hate Arthur as much as I did before. 

I guess the prophecy could still come true. He could repair the broken kingdom that is the Underworld.

I feel like this was addressed in a DVD extra, but does Arthur or Cruella end up ruling the underworld? I feel like it was Arthur, but my heart wants it to be and says it is Cruella and her lover the Blind Witch. 

Wow, Dumbledore and Harry look so different at King’s Cross in the afterlife. Is the horcrux in Harry destroyed??

Zeus, you horny bastard, we all know you probably slept with every character in ouat at some point. And we also know you’re a hardcore CS shipper!

Zeus looks so young lol. Why?

Hook: “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?" Zeus: “Of course it is happening inside your head, Hooky, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Sorry. I had to.

Poor Roly :(. He’s an orphan now. I hope someone adopted him. I’m surprised Regina didn’t.

Zelena what kinda drugs are you smoking to call the baby Robin?! Dear God. Pistachio would have been better! I’ve probably said this before, but I inadvertently called her name would be Robin. In my group rp, my Zelena kept referring to the baby as “baby Robin.” if you can gaze into the future (Future, future) You might think life would be a breeze (Life is a breeze) Seeing trouble from a distance (Yeah, go Bec) But it's not that easy xD. I’ve been rewatching That’s so Raven with my mama and thus far I’ve been having more precognitive dreams than my already bananas amount.

Why do villains always crumble to dust/vanish, especially in this show: Maleficent (twice, I think), Pan (twice), Zelena, The Snow Queen, Hades, Split Queen, The Black Fairy. I don’t get why they do that.

Thank God that flipping red filter is gone! Good riddance! 

The Underworld arc wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the Dark Swan arc. It was actually much better than I remembered. I enjoyed it, even! How did I not pay attention to all the Zelena gold in this arc?! 

Anyway, excited next week for Davis Bloome- I mean Hyde! 

#ouat #once upon a time #regina mills #killian jones #emma swan #the evil queen #captain hook #zelena #zelena mills #ouat rewatch #ouat rewatch 2019

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commenter2 · 4 years ago

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God of War plot ideas

I have been working on this for awhile but never had reason to finish it until now with the teaser for GOW Ragnarok coming out in 2021. Though it looks like GOW Ragnarok will be the last game of the Norse storyline, I still decided to leave this as a story for 2 more potential games, something the creators should consider doing given that that a lot of interesting things happen before and during Ragnarok in the real myth.

I can see the events of the second game happening near the end of Fimbulwinter where Kratos and Atreus have been living somewhat peaceful lives while still training to prepare for any godly foes, Atreus now knowing a few new skills like having the ability to heal Kratos a bit in battle or has learned to use Spartan Rage. Its also shown that Atreus has started acting a bit more like a teenager from acting out a bit more at Kratos and others to maybe showing that he has a crush on a girl that has moved into the area who also has a dislike for the Aesir.

This peace however ends when Atreus’s dream from the end of the first game occurs as Thor appears at their house, HOWEVER he is not there for revenge or on the wishes of Odin. Thor says that ever since Kratos killed Baulder, Odin has gone crazy about the coming of Ragnarok and it is driving him and the other gods nuts as well as make him unpredictable so Thor plans on checking on a few key elements that hint at the coming of Ragnarok and doing what he can to prevent them from occurring, thus slowing down the day of Ragnarok. He needs help however with a few of them and since Kratos started all of this he ask/orders them to aid him, and in exchange he help them avoid Odin. At first Kratos is hesitant given his past with gods but eventually agrees to help, maybe after having trouble fighting off a dangerous god.

Throughout the game Kratos and Atreus travel across the realms checking on several factors that are predicted to happen before Ragnarok like checking out the Fenrir wolf, the ship of the dead Naglfar, and the “roosters” of Hel to name a few. However each time they get to there target, said target almost starts another sign of Ragnarok and Kratos and Atreus have to stop it, which they do but with consequences that makes Ragnarok more unpredictable then before. For example I can see Kratos fighting Fenrir where he gives him a limp or breaks some of his teeth as a result or they accidently make the ship of the dead leave its port with some passengers and a few damages here and there.

Of course Kratos and Atreus also deal with monsters and other gods out to kill the ones who killed Baulder and/or effecting the signs of Ragnarok like Váli, a god in Norse myth literally made to get revenge for the death of Baulder, who could be the foe they had trouble fighting I mentioned earlier. I should quickly note that there are two Vali in Norse myth so I should say that this Vali is the son of Odin. Other enemy gods I could think of are Hod the god of darkness and winter who is the twin of Baulder,and the still vengeful Freya. Just like in the last game we would still get more info on the minor side plots that were in the previous game such as further exploring what happened to Tyr, go over Freyr the missing king of Alfheim some more, signs of there being Giants around the realms, and Atreus showing more signs of his Loki side maybe showing up after meeting that girl I mentioned earlier who could turn out to be Sigyn, Loki’s wife in Norse myth.

Eventually Thor, though clearly shown to be angry at Kratos’s actions throughout the game, give the duo one more task which is helping him kill the World Serpent. Kratos and Atreus refuse to do this, which finally causes Thor to snap and thus start a boss fight. However several factors occur during the fight like The World Serpent fighting Thor but causing the landscape to change, Freya appearing to try and Kratos, and Atreus trying to fight off Thor while also convincing Freya to stop this. Eventually Thor wounds the world serpent who retreats but not without getting wounded himself and also leaves but the game doesn’t end there as maybe a Giant appears to help out the serpent and the ones the resurrected him.

Because of this Odin makes his appearance and quickly kills the giant but after seeing Kratos, Odin tries to kill him as payback for causing Ragnarok. Freya tries to stop Odin saying Kratos is her kill, but he uses some magic to knock her out where Odin kills Kratos using the weapon Freya had ready for him. Maybe like in Fallen Order you could try to fight Odin but you always lose ? This is the final straw for Atreus as this finally makes him transform into Loki, symbolizing this by “giving birth” to the World Serpent, which in my opinion is what is going on in that image on the prophecy wall in GOW 2018. With his true self released and the realization that the Giants HAVE been reborn due to Faye’s ashes, Atreus-Loki and the giants walk to Asgard to start Ragnarok ending the game, but not before seeing Kratos’s body twitch a bit as a shadow is seen near his body.

The third game is the whole shebang.

The game could open with Kratos waking up in Valhalla where though he enjoys the beauty of the place, he tries to get out the area but before he can get a chance he is quickly identified as the guy who started Ragnarok and the warriors there start to fight him, starting the training level. Odin then makes a quick appearance there to fully destroy Kratos’s souls but before he can, Kratos disappears.

Turns out Freya brought him back to life and apologizes for trying to kill him as well as having a hand in turning his son against the gods but Kratos surprising forgives her as all he care as all he cares about is saving his son and stopping him from destroying to world like he did in God of War 3 with Freya taking up the role of Kratos sidekick. This could work as with Odin killing Kratos with Freya’s weapon, this fulfills her promise of killing him and she never said she couldn’t bring him back to life afterwards.

Throughout the game Kratos and Freya, along with Brok and Sindri on occasion and maybe a few new allies, travel the realms and partake in battles trying to not only to prevent Ragnarok from destroying the world but also try and save Atreus who Kratos believes can be saved. One idea for a new possible idea is a Vanir god since they would probably like Kratos’s reputation of putting the Aesir in there place, Heimdall is a fun choice given his popularity or Freyr who could finally be found if not in the 2ndinstallment of the Norse trilogy.

Since this is the finale then this game would obviously answer the big questions of the series if none have been explained in the 2ndinstallment game, like having a part of the game explain how Kratos got to this land. Maybe this could happen during a mission where Kratos has to go back to Greece to get the Blade of Olympus as it is key in destroying Atreus’s Loki side ? This game should also obviously explain what finally happened to Tyr. One idea I have for a possible story is how Tyr much like Kratos was able to get to the Norns (who are like the Greek Fates) but only to glimpse the future, and seeing Kratos is key to a better, peaceful future he created several events in the 2016 game so that this can happen. I know this isn’t a great idea but its something. Also maybe Thor does fight the world serpent again but this time the one Loki gave birth in the previous game where they fight and the World Serpent is sent back in time as mentioned in the 2016 game

Eventually Kratos, his allies, the Aesir, and Loki’s forces will all end up on Vigrid (the name of the final battlefield) where a huge battle will commence and after doing a few things to aid his allies (like maybe killing Thor in a rematch if that doesn’t happen already) Kratos will finally fight Odin. Kratos obviously defeats him but maybe in a bit of a twist, he spares his life after realizing how similar fighting him was like when he fought his father but this time its Odin who kills himself, accidently of course by doing something out of fear that leads to his own demise like maybe charging Kratos with a spear only to miss and be killed by Fenrir like in the prophecy. FINALLY Kratos and Atreus meet on the battlefield and the two fight each other, maybe the fight could have stages but eventually using the Blade of Olympus or maybe the Blades of Chaos Kratos is somehow able to destroy Atreus’s Loki part and releases the true Atreus who has been struggling to get free but as a consequence Kratos get severely wounded.

Maybe the game and the series ends on a note where Kratos dies but not before making peace with Atreus, Freya, and the others for causing all of this and dies happily and Atreus deciding to travel the world with Mimir as the new God of War but like Tyr trying to end conflict, and maybe trying make the gods of other mythologies care more about humanity.

Would you like to see any of theses things happen in the 2021 game ? What do you hope will happen ?

#god of war #god of war ragnarok #playstation #playstation 5 #video games #kratos #atreus #mimir

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danwhobrowses · 4 years ago

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One Piece Chapter 986 - Initial Thoughts

That’s some good juice there, though I still have some reservations Chapter 986 has its translations at last and it’s time to see what made the editor cry

Spoilers for Chapter 986, Support the Official Release

Dang they did Pound dirty like that, he finally reunites with his family and they are just put into such an overload that they bounce in disbelief

We begin with Kin’emon and Denjiro strangely having done a full rotation around Onigashima to meet up with the other Scabbards, I guess only half of their unit raided each side of the dome

Kanjuro’s limp body lay as nostalgia gets the better of the Scabbards, though I still am not sure I believe it, why show the cut hand? If he is dead (his paintings did disappear) then I’m fine with that too, it’s just dead bodies don’t tend to “POF” when being walked past...okay so maybe the week has gotten to me, turns out Kin dropped his hat over Kanjuro’s head, still reserve that he may not be dead yet

Izo here though to lift spirits, saying you’ve survived worse though...The Payback War leads to questions but that is a red flag

Back to Kaido’s ultimatum though, it’s unsurprising that Orochi’s men would join Kaido, they weren’t really one for respecting the Kurozumi, though the Oniwaban and Mimawari do seem to have doubts, interesting too was how Kaido acknowledged and respected if the Samurai refused to join him

Hyou however is about to throw fisticuffs over this dishonour, it does make me wonder though, could I really fault Orochi’s forces for choosing to live under a strong banner than die for an honor code you could still personally live by?

Things are not looking good for Nami and Carrot, who have been collected by Big Mom’s new homies and probably gonna be used as bait, I would have to guess that someone steps in for them, Sanji is the obvious choice but how’s about Robin, or Brook! He can Soul King those Homies away and he and Franky have been AWOL for months

Meanwhile Shinobu becomes accounted for as she charges in to rescue Momo

The Kozuki heir himself is given a lifeboat by Kaido though, his growing disappointment in Momo reaching a point where he doesn’t even want him to be Oden’s son, so he gives him the chance to leave that shadow, In a way it’s the same ultimatum as Orochi’s forces: dishonour your culture to live, or die

Yamato is getting kept up to speed too, now they know that Oden’s bloodline lives on and so do his retainers. I wonder if it changes them in any way, they wanted to ‘be Oden’ partly to achieve Oden’s will because they thought nobody else was left

The cuffs actually come off at last, seems that Luffy still needs to focus a little to use his Goken Armament, but at least we won’t faff about with that. It’s strange that Yamato as strong as they’re implied was so surprised by it too

News of Luffy and Yamato’s presence though has begun a convergence, Ulti and Who’s Who pictured (wonder where Drake, Maria and Pay-Pay are), Usopp and Chopper are now going in to save Momo from what looks like the storage room, Chopper seems to imply they’re around the numbers so that means God Usopp’s gotta slay some giants

We get a Supernova shot as well; Law be sneakin’, Kid looks a bit bloodied but having fun and Zoro is still not trying to exert himself. Only ones missing are Killer, Drake, Apoo and Hawkins for it to be all the Wano Supernovas (unless Bege somehow ends up in Wano from the cover story)

Thinking of Luffy and his parents, Momo refuses Kaido’s life boat, declaring himself to the world and finally cementing his goal, he wants to be Shogun, and he basically does it the same way Luffy does his Pirate King speech

Kaido did not like that though, and the crowd laugh at his ‘foolishness’, but as a blow is about to be made Yamato’s cuffs blow up! Kaido really wasn’t kidding

So of course, as any child would if they discovered that their parent had legitimately imprisoned them with explosive cuffs, Yamato denounces Kaido as their father. Though they are really choked up about it, the last panel of their hand is weird too

Luffy with the nicknames, Yama-o. I dunno if it’s some joke, Yama is a god of death but that’s as far as my knowledge goes XD turns out it’s just the same a Tora-o, so it’s Yama-guy. Luffy respecting them pronouns even though I’m not certain if Yamato still identifies as he, would be an SBS one for clarification

Luffy does that badass bait and switch ‘the raid has started, but not for us!’ - From the Back come the scabbards as Jack is given a blast from the past

Izo quickly disarming King was surprising, Neko disarming Kaido was even more

Mid Brag though Kaido sees it, the image of Oden before he was last cut, he still tells his men to be ready but he’s off the balcony already thanks to Kin and Denjiro’s lunge

Sunacci In Fucking Deed!

A big chapter of course, we are officially starting the raid now But it is still very crowded, and we haven’t even seen Brook and Franky, let alone Caribou, Apoo, Jimbei, Robin, Sanji, Hiyori, Drake, Marco, Perospero or Killer in this chapter. Straight off the bat I am still unsure if Orochi or Kanjuro are dead, I feel there may be more to it, but maybe the Nine Scabbards prophecy by Toki wasn’t for Orochi but for Kaido, and it is he who will know the brilliance of the dawn? This chapter mainly belonged to the Scabbards and Momo, the latter finally gaining his courage in the face of death. The Luffy and Yamato stuff was a bit simple, I am still not on Team Yamato for Nakama and Luffy getting their name wrong feels like it could be a hint (I can’t remember, has Luffy every gotten the name of a future crewmate wrong?) but who knows at this point Usopp and Chopper have Numbers to deal with, Law, Kid and Zoro are walkabouts, Nami and Carrot are captured, Sanji nowhere to be Stealth Black’d, it’s not even by the slightest bit evenly matched given that two Yonko are here. And while I expect Shinobu to make it to Momo, I don’t expect Kaido to be killed by the Scabbards like that.

But alas, I did not cry at this, maybe there’s some hindsight required or maybe the editor is a bit soft, we had a similar thing with a My Hero Academia chapter which while tense was not tears level for me. Ah well, good chapter all the same.

Oh, and mercifully no break, colour page incoming as well, time for Oda to wack us out again with unusual colour schemes

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flightfoot · 6 years ago

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Memories of Godly Selfishness Ch. 3

So this took awhile, what with the carpal tunnel (which I still have. It sucks. But I couldn’t resist writing this any longer).

It got pretty crazy long, (13000+ words) so I am actually using a Read More this time. At least if something happens to my blog at any point, it’s still on AO3 and FFN.

Hope you guys like this! I worked hard on it!

When the world cleared, we were in the center of a large room, with giant thrones circling us. I recognized the place immediately, even with my failing memory. The Olympian throne room. I glanced at my golden throne. I wanted to stare at it for longer and wallow in self-pity at what I used to have, but something tore my attention away from the gleaming golden seat.

Kronos has a way of doing that.

“Finally!” he bellowed. I heard Annabeth breathe in sharply. She stared at him, looking confused and shocked. Meg was decidedly less surprised, looking somewhat bored as she looked over at the Titan. I really shouldn’t be surprised. Unless she’s already familiar with a threat, Meg’s rarely intimidated by them.

The titan continued. I wished he had been nice enough to pause so that people in the future rewatching a memory of the event could talk and look around more. “The Olympian Council - so proud and mighty. Which seat of power shall I destroy first?”

“This is a flashback, isn’t it?” Annabeth asked quietly, refusing to tear her gaze from the body of the young man Kronos was inhabiting. I felt like I should know why she looked like she’d been sucker-punched, but as usual, the memories refused to surface. “Percy told me about the one he and you two went into.”

I frowned. Percy had stepped out of our tent to go eat, but he’d be back soon. I hoped he didn’t panic when he found the three of us in this weird trance. I marshalled my thoughts. Worrying about Percy’s reactions wouldn’t change anything. I needed to stick with the here and now. Or there and then, I supposed.

“It looks that w-” I cut off, as a young man stepped forward from beside Kronos. My eyes had been drawn so thoroughly to the Titan, that I had somehow overlooked him. “My lord,” he said warningly. I looked around, trying to find who he was warning Kronos of. I spotted younger versions of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, looking scared, but determined.

Ah. This must be when the final battle with Kronos had taken place. I recalled now how we gods had raced here after defeating Typhon, determined to defend our thrones, hoping that we weren’t too late... only to find a satyr, two injured demigods, and one dead child of Hermes instead. We never were able to find out the details. Zeus didn’t care much for a full report. I’d love to attribute that to him recognizing how much Percy, Annabeth, and Grover needed to grieve quietly and not wanting to press them, but I knew the truth. He didn’t want to dwell on how mortals had had to defend our thrones, our very existence. Even worse, they had defeated an enemy that we had struggled with. Sometimes it seemed like every decision that my father made either tied back to his inability to stop himself from chasing every pretty girl that crossed his path, or his desire to avoid looking weak.

I was curious on how exactly those three had managed to defeat Kronos, but even as I looked forwards to seeing exactly what happened, a knot formed in my stomach. My last two ventures into memories - first my own, then Percy’s - had resulted in me learning some uncomfortable truths, or in some cases, accepting some uncomfortable truths I had always known, but had tried to push down. I did not regret learning those truths - I REFUSED to ignore other’s pain anymore - but it made me wary of what I’d be forced to face this time. I doubted that whatever force decided when and what flashbacks to present would give me a break. I only hoped that my companions were spared any more pain. The first flashback into my memories had shaken Meg deeply. I wished to be the only one negatively affected by these experiences.

Looking over at our Annabeth, still staring at Kronos, barely breathing, I doubted that the universe would fulfill my wish.

“Shall I destroy you first, Jackson?” Kronos asked. He sounded mocking, almost bored. “Is that the choice you will make - to fight me and die instead of bowing down? Prophecies never end well, you know.”

“Hey!” I interjected. I knew how painful prophecies could be, but I couldn’t let this stand. I was the god of prophecy, after all. “A lot of prophecies sound worse than they-”

“Shh!” Meg exclaimed, clapping a hand over my mouth while glaring at me fiercely. Percy was talking. I’d missed the first part due to my interruption. “-you don’t have his skill.”

I may have missed the first portion of that statement, but I knew a challenge when I heard it. Kronos sneered, morphing his scythe into a sword. Ah. Percy had been clever. Get Kronos to use a weapon that Percy had more experience with, rather than one where he didn’t have a clue what fighting style to expect.

past!Annabeth gasped. “Percy, the blade!” she called. “The hero’s soul, cursed blade shall reap.” I wasn’t sure what she had figured out about the prophecy. I liked to pretend that I understood more about what prophecies meant than I actually did. This had the unfortunate side effect of meaning that I couldn’t just ask around about how a prophecy was fulfilled exactly, for fear of looking dumb. I’d never found out what exactly every part of the Great Prophecy referred to, nor the Prophecy of Seven. I made a mental note to ask about the Prophecy of Seven later. I had a guess as to how it was fulfilled, but it would be nice to have confirmation.

“Wait!” past!Annabeth yelled as Kronos raised his new sword. I had no idea why she thought Kronos would obey her, but considering all that she had accomplished, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had had a trick up her sleeve. Alas, she didn’t. Kronos whirled, a maelstrom of steel and Celestial bronze. Percy managed to fend him off, though I didn’t know for how long he could keep that up. Meanwhile, the young man who accompanied Kronos engaged Annabeth. I wished I could remember his name, but as much as I wracked my brain, nothing came up.

Kronos backed Percy up against Hephaestus’s throne. As Kronos slashed at Percy, determined to cut him in two, Percy leaped upwards onto the seat. “Get off there!” I yelled, forgetting for a moment that this was a memory. I heard the tell-tale whirring and clicking of the throne’s defenses being engaged. Luckily, Percy heard them too. He leaped off of the throne and over Kronos’s head, clearing the seat just before it let out a blast of electricity. Kronos wasn’t so lucky. One hit him in the face, causing him to fall to his knees and drop his sword.

I didn’t cheer. No way it was this easy.

past!Annabeth kicked her own opponent out of the way and ran towards Kronos. “Luke, listen!”

Luke. That was the name of the man whose body Kronos had stolen. I remembered now. He had helped start up the Second Titan War, recruiting demigods and lowering the Camp’s defenses by poisoning Thalia’s tree. More importantly, he was the one who had dragged my sister over to Annabeth as she struggled under the weight of the sky, forcing her to either take up the burden, or leave a maiden to die. I waited for the surge of anger that usually accompanied that memory. It never came. I was still unhappy with him for all the pain he had put my sister and the demigods through, but I appreciated his reasons better now.

But Luke was gone. Only Kronos remained. He flicked his hand, sending past!Annabeth flying across the room. She hit her mother’s throne and crumpled to the ground.

“Annabeth!” Percy screamed.

Annabeth’s former opponent got to his feet, standing in Percy’s path. Percy would have to go through him to get to Annabeth. I almost felt sorry for his opponent.

Grover played his music for all it was worth. Grass sprang up in the throne room, roots creeping up the marble. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to accomplish, but I hope he’d finish it soon. I doubted that he would get much time.

Kronos got up off the floor, though he still couldn’t stand. Instead he kneeled, attempting to call his sword to him. It didn’t move.

“Nakamura!” he groaned (ah, so THAT’S what his ally’s name was! ... I still didn’t remember him.) “Time to prove yourself. You know Jackson’s secret weakness. Kill him, and you will have rewards beyond measure.”

His secret weakness? I was about to ask, though I felt like I SHOULD know what it was, when Meg beat me to it. “What secret weakness?”

Annabeth dropped her gaze to Meg, looking relieved to think about something besides whatever had been bothering her for the last few minutes. “Percy had the Achilles’ curse. He was invulnerable everywhere except for one spot, but a strike at that spot would kill him.”

She finished speaking just in time. Percy started reasoning with Nakamura. If I’d been a god, I would’ve said it was a lost cause, that he was wasting his breath trying to talk out the situation with someone who had already sided with the baby-god-swallower Kronos. Since I’d been human, though, I’d tried that approach myself. Sometimes it had even worked. I hoped that Percy had the same luck.

“Look around you, Ethan. The end of the world. Is this the reward you want? DO you really want everything destroyed - the good with the bad? Everything?”

That wasn’t ENTIRELY accurate. Kronos wanted to destroy Western civilization as we know it, putting himself as ruler. But he didn’t want to destroy the world, or even humanity. In that respect, he was better than Gaea. Barely. But I didn’t think that Percy cared for semantics. It would be the end of the world as HE knew it at least. Especially since he, his friends, and most especially, Annabeth and his mother would almost certainly not live to see the sun rise on Kronos’s world.

While Percy was talking, Grover had inched his way to Annabeth, the roots growing thicker, until they were nearly a foot tall. Ethan seemed distracted, mulling over what Percy had said.

“There is not throne to Nemesis,” Ethan muttered. “No throne to my mother.”

“That’s right!” Kronos called, attempting to stoke the flames of Ethan’s vengeance. “Strike them down! They deserve to suffer.”

Not that Percy was giving up that easily. “You said your mom is the goddess of balance. The minor gods deserve better, Ethan, but total destruction isn’t balance. Kronos doesn’t build. He only destroys.”

Ethan looked around, taking in the destruction that had ALREADY been wrought. I held my breath. The next minute would determine where this conflict went. Ethan swayed a little to Grover’s song, and then blinked.

He charged... but not at Percy. He charged at Kronos, swinging his sword at Kronos’s neck. I wanted to cheer, but I knew it couldn’t be THAT easy. Sure enough, his sword broke, a shard of it piercing his own armor.

Kronos stood up, his face a mask of fury. “Treason,” he snarled.

Grover kept right on playing, covering Ethan with grass. I presumed that he was either trying to hide Ethan, or trying to give him some protection. There was no way it would work - ultimately it was just grass, and Kronos was a Titan - but I knew he had to try. I knew a thing or two about trying to save people, even though it was hopeless. Even though I had already failed.

“Deserve better,” Ethan gasped, trying to impart a last message to Percy. I went very, very still, reminded of another demigod who had tried to drill in a message in his last moments. ““If they just... had thrones-”

Kronos stomped his foot down beside Ethan, shattering the floor. I watched numbly as the son of Nemesis tumbled through the open air down to Olympus. My mind replayed his last message. He wanted thrones for the minor gods. Recognition. Respect. That was all. We could have done that earlier, way, WAY earlier. But we chose not to. While some of us had campaigned for certain gods to be given thrones - especially our own children, or ones we’d imbued with divinity in the first place - few of us cared about giving recognition beyond our own chosen ones. We were proud and selfish like that. It had taken Percy strong-arming the gods to agree to even that small a concession, that small a recognition that they were gods too, and deserved to be treated as such.

Kronos smiled while looking at the hole he had created, amused by Ethan’s impending death. “So much for him.” He raised his head, resting his gaze on Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. His smile widened. “And now for the rest of you.”

Grover had made his way over to Annabeth while Kronos was busy disposing of Ethan, and was currently feeding her ambrosia. It was helping, but she was clearly not going to be back to full fighting shape for several more hours at least.

The roots Grover had summoned wrapped around Kronos’s feet, but he ignored them. They would have to be a lot stronger to even inconvenience Kronos to a notable degree.

Kronos and Percy fought through Hestia’s hearth, kicking up coals. Only small sparks remained in the Hearth, not enough to hurt either Kronos or Percy. We came so, SO close to disappearing, to the flame of Olympus being snuffed out forever. Kronos lopped off the armrest of Ares’ throne (I cringed slightly at that, imagining my own glorious throne being abused that way) and backed Percy up against his dad’s throne. “Oh, yes,” Kronos cried, savoring his impending victory. “This one will make fine kindling for my new hearth!”

They fought, blades clashing wildly. Percy got in one good hit, cutting a gash through Kronos’s armor, but not piercing his skin. Percy was a truly EXCELLENT fighter. I feared that it wouldn’t be enough.

Kronos stamped his foot, slowing time to a crawl. Percy moved in slow motion, vulnerable. Kronos could have killed him right then, but luckily for Percy, he was the type to brag and monologue. If he had been Caligula or Nero, the fight would already have been over. The more powerful someone is, the stronger their power over their opponent, the more stupid and careless they tended to be. They refused to take their weaker opponents seriously. Gods, Titans, Giants, Monsters - we were just as susceptible to arrogance and hubris as any mortal. And when it catches up to us, we fall just as hard.

“It’s too late, Percy Jackson. Behold.”

He pointed towards the hearth, the coals glowing at his command. I hated to see my aunt’s, HIS DAUGHTER’S hearth under his control. It was a violation of who she is, of what is. This was her home, the home of all us Olympians. He had no right to control the flame.

Nevertheless, white smoke erupted from the coals, forming into images. Nico, Sally Jackson, and a man I didn’t recognize fought off enemies together, though from their numbers, I doubted they could keep it up much longer. Hades fought behind them, summoning zombies, fighting Kronos’s army with his own. Even with his efforts, Kronos’s army kept pressing forwards, inch by inch. Manhattan fared badly, mortals running in a panic, cars smashing into one another. While no one was specifically targeting them, Kronos’s forces weren’t trying to avoid them either. I heard many humans screaming in pain and fear. Some were too far gone for that, simply laying limply on the ground as they were tread over by dozens of feet. If they weren’t dead before, they were now.

Such sights were not new to me. I’d watched scenes like this, and many scenes even bloodier, from this very hearth. But after all I’d witnessed and experienced, it made my stomach churn. How could I have once ENJOYED this carnage, this suffering?

The scene shifted, showing a different scene of destruction. This one more familiar. After all, I had been part of it.

A pillar of storm approached Hudson Bay. Gleaming chariots encircled it, tiny figures letting loose flashes of light. I spotted the tell-tale streaks of my golden arrows and my sister’s silver arrows, firing into the vortex and exploding. Slowly the cloud parted. Panic coursed through me as I looked into Typhon’s hideous face, his horrible visage morphing constantly. Once I caught a glimpse of amber snake eyes flecked with gold.

“The Olympians are giving their final effort,” Kronos laughed derisively, sneering at the image. “How pathetic.”

Zeus threw a thunderbolt at Typhon, sending a blinding light throughout the world. I shuddered. When he had thrown that bolt during the fight, I had panicked and thought it was meant for me, for just a moment. I had known that Zeus wouldn’t be so stupid as to punish me during such a fight, not while so much was at stake, but fear isn’t always rational. Even now I flinched at the sight, fearing a shock I knew in my head wouldn’t come. That didn’t stop my heart from hammering.

Meg seemed to notice my distress. She took my hand and squeezed slightly. I took several shaky breaths. Everything was fine. Or would be fine. This had already happened. Zeus was fighting an enemy, not searing my essence.

The smoke cleared. Typhon staggered slightly, but remained standing. That had been Zeus’s strongest attack, the strongest of any of us. We were doomed.

Yet we had survived. How?

Someone had come. Someone had helped. I squinted at image, trying to discern each of the combatants. Someone was missing. Someone who came later...

Typhon stepped into the Hudson River, the water not even coming up to his knees.

A conch horn blew. Not my favorite instrument, but now it was music to my ears.

The Hudson River erupted around Typhon, churning out massive waves. Poseidon burst out of the water on his chariot, his aura glowing a brilliant blue. He swung his trident, ordering the water to form into a massive funnel around Typhon.

“No, NO!” Kronos yelled in shock and horror. I savored his expression.

“NOW, MY BRETHREN! STRIKE FOR OLYMPUS!” Poseidon bellowed, his sea-green eyes gleaming, his raven hair shimmering with water droplets. I looked back at Percy’s own, oh-so-similar features. Seeing Percy’s relieved and proud expression, a suspicion niggled at the back of my mind. He had been hoping for this.

“Annabeth,” I asked slowly, a smirk spreading across my face. “What convinced Poseidon to finally help?”

“Percy climbed onto his father’s throne a few hours before this in the hope that he could talk to his father that way and ask him to help fight Typhon. The Seaweed Brain had started smoking by the time he got down.

I was surprised that Poseidon hadn’t instinctively incinerated Percy the instant his butt touched the seat. If Thalia had tried that trick, I doubted that Zeus would have shown the same restraint.

Percy had been partially responsible for even our victory over Typhon. Of course he’d helped out by doing something that could easily have gotten him killed, and then argued with a god, an act that could ALSO have gotten him killed if his father had been touchier. He was just as suicidally brave as Jason had been, for daring to argue with Zeus.

Poseidon’s army burst out of the water, surrounding Typhon. Leading the charge was a large Cyclops that looked vaguely familiar. “Tyson!” Percy yelled. I blinked. Percy’s younger brother? He was about five times taller than he normally was and covered in battle armor. I may normally have hated Cyclopes, but I was glad to see Tyson and his brethren.

The Cyclopes ensnared Typhon with the long black chains they wielded. He roared and struggled, but eventually he fell. Poseidon threw his trident, impaling him in the throat. Ichor spewed from his neck, a geyser of gold.

All us gods struck at Typhon while he was down. This had been the first real opening we’d had. We had doubted that we’d get another. I grinned like a loon as I stared at Artemis. She shot him in the eye with a dozen silver arrows, blinding him. I was just happy to get a good view of my sister again.

Meg let out a loud guffaw. I followed her gaze to where she was looking. I began laughing too. I’d forgotten that I’d managed to set Typhon’s loincloth on fire.

Finally, Poseidon opened up a portal to Tartarus, sending Typhon down into the depths of the abyss.

“BAH!” Kronos screamed. He slashed his sword through the smoke, dismissing the image.

“They’re on their way,” Percy taunted. “You’ve lost.”

“I haven’t even started,” Kronos replied, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

He ran at Percy. Grover threw himself into his path in an effort to protect Percy, but Kronos simply tossed him to the side. Grover was a GREAT protector. I silently promised myself to give him something nice when all this was over, if I became a god again.

Kronos and Percy continued dueling. Less than a minute in, and Kronos disarmed Percy, sending Riptide clattering across the floor and into one of the fissures of the floor.

I knew that Riptide would reappear in Percy’s pocket in a minute or so. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like he HAD a minute. Not for the first time, I wondered how Percy had survived this.

“STOP!” past!Annabeth yelled again. I hoped that she had a better plan this time. I certainly had no ideas on what those three could’ve done to even survive the next few minutes, much less defeat Kronos.

Wait... those three defeat Kronos? That didn’t sound quite right. Someone else had intervened.

Kronos whirled around, slashing at Annabeth with his sword. Annabeth caught the strike on her dagger hilt. I whistled in admiration. That was a TRICKY move to pull off.

She stepped closer to the Titan, blades locked together. “Luke. I understand now. You have to trust me.” She said through gritted teeth.

Was she really relying on Luke breaking free from Kronos’s control? That seemed like a shaky proposition. Even if he did, what if he decided not to help them? He’d tried to kill them before.

Kronos roared back at her. “Luke Castellan is dead! His body will burn away as I assume my true form!” I thought I detected an undercurrent of fear in his voice. And his expression... he was lying.

HE WAS LYING

Annabeth’s plan might work!

Kronos pushed back on their locked blades. Inch by inch, his blade came closer to Annabeth’s neck.

“Your mother,” Annabeth grunted, straining to hold him back. “She saw your fate.”

“Service to Kronos! This is my fate.”

I caught the change immediately. This is MY fate. This wasn’t Kronos talking, not entirely. Luke was there! She was reaching him!

“No!” Annabeth’s past self cried, tears filling her eyes. I heard a quiet sob from beside me. I looked at our Annabeth. Tear tracks stained her cheeks as she stared at the scene, not daring to miss a moment. I wanted to comfort her, but I had a feeling that this scene would have to finish first.

past!Annabeth continued talking to Luke, trying to draw him out. “That’s not the end, Luke. The prophecy: she saw what you would do. It applies to you!”

What was she talking about? I turned the Great Prophecy over in my head.

A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze

I nearly smacked myself over the head. The prophecy didn’t SAY that the half-blood of the eldest gods was the hero! It could be anyone! Though Annabeth seemed convinced it was Luke.

I frowned. it definitely LOOKED like Luke had chosen to raze Olympus. Yet it still stood.

Then again, it said that ‘a single choice shall end his days’. Perhaps his choice would come just before he was set to die?

And a third question... what was the cursed blade?

“I will crush you, child!” Kronos roared.

“You won’t,” Annabeth replied, resolving sounding through her voice. “You promised. You’re holding back Kronos even now.”

Promised what? I glanced at our Annabeth again. She barely seemed to be stopping herself from sinking to the floor. I resolved to ask her later, delicately. I had a feeling that she would NEED to talk about all this, even if she didn’t WANT to.

“LIES!” Kronos screamed, pushing her harder. Annabeth lost her balance. Seizing the opening, Kronos struck her across the face, sending her skidding backwards. Images of Piper being struck by Incinatus’s hoof flooded my mind. I rushed over to past!Annabeth, checking her for breathing. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found it, and then felt very silly. Annabeth had obviously survived, because she was in here with us. Somehow, I couldn’t make myself quite believe that.

Kronos loomed over Annabeth, sword raised. As blood trickled out of her mouth, she found the strength to croak, “Family, Luke. You promised.”

Kronos staggered, staring at the knife Annabeth was holding, then at the blood dripping from her face. “Promise,” he murmured. It wasn’t Kronos’s voice.

He started gasping for air, as if he had just surfaced from a long stint underwater. “Annabeth...” Luke continued, stumbling forwards, as if he didn’t quite have control over his own limbs. “You’re bleeding...”

“My knife,” Annabeth attempted to raise her dagger, though I wasn’t sure why. She was in no shape to take on the Titan. The knife clattered out of her hand and onto the floor. She looked over at Percy imploringly. “Percy, please...”

Per y rushed forwards, picking up the knife as he went. He knocked Luke’s sword out his hands. He barely seemed to notice, much less care. He stepped closer to Annabeth, but Percy intervened.

“Don’t touch her.”

Kronos’s voice growled. “Jackson...” Then he gasped, and his voice turned back to Luke’s. “He’s changing. Help. He’s... he’s almost ready. He won’t need my body anymore. Please-”

“NO!” Kronos bellowed. He looked around for his sword, spotting it in the hearth. Percy tried to stop him, but Kronos knocked him roughly to the side, causing his head to clang against Athena’s throne. I winced. He’d probably have a concussion after that, and with both him AND Annabeth in such bad shape, I didn’t know how they could possibly defeat him, unless Grover pulled off a miracle.

“The knife, Percy,” Annabeth muttered, barely clinging to consciousness. “Hero... cursed blade...”

Then it clicked. Luke was the hero. The cursed blade was Annabeth’s knife, though I didn’t know HOW it was cursed. And as for the choice...

Suddenly I heard a scream of pain. Looking at Kronos, I saw that he had attempted to pull his sword from the hearth. I say ‘attempted’ because somehow the barely-lit flame in the hearth had started burning vigorously, heating up the sword and the coals until they glowed red. Judging by his burnt and blistered hands, he had foolishly attempted to pick it up.

An image of Hestia flickered in the ashes, frowning at Kronos disapprovingly. I grinned. Just because Hestia wasn’t a fighter, didn’t mean she couldn’t help out.

Luke turned away from the hearth and collapsed to floor. “Please, Percy...” he begged.

Percy struggled to his feet, still carrying Annabeth’s knife. He advanced towards Luke, killing intent filling his eyes.

Luke read his expression. “You can’t... can’t do it yourself. He’ll break my control. He’ll defend himself. Only my hand. I know where. I can... can keep him controlled.

Luke glowed, similarly to how I tended to whenever I was getting emotional. There wasn’t much time. Kronos would assume his divine form soon. Whatever decision Percy made, he’d have to make it quickly.

Percy raised the knife, ignoring Luke’s words. Then he glanced over at Annabeth, realization stealing over his face.

“Please,” Luke groaned. “No time.”

Percy hesitated, then turned the knife around, presenting the hilt to Luke. He took it carefully.

Grover yelped. “Percy? Are you... um...”

I filled in the rest myself. Are you really listening to this guy? If he betrays you again, the world’s doomed.

Luke unstrapped the armor on his side, exposing his left armpit.

His hand shaking as he did his best to maintain control, Luke stabbed himself. He howled in pain, his eyes glowing, his skin shining brighter and brighter. For a heartbeat I thought it was too late. Then the light died down. Luke remained on the floor, dying, but fully himself.

A loud sob echoed from behind me. Our Annabeth furiously wiped her tears, but they just kept pouring down. I gingerly put my arm around her, wanting to offer some degree of comfort, but unsure how she’d take the gesture. She didn’t acknowledge my existence, continuing to watch Luke with bloodshot, puffy eyes. These were his last moments. As painful as they were, I could understand why she didn’t want to miss any of them.

Luke’s eyes cracked open, revealing a brilliant blue. For an instant I was catapulted back to Caligula’s ships, seeing another blond-haired, blue eyed young man dying in front of me.

“Good... blade,” he croaked.

Luke stared at Annabeth. “You knew. I almost killed you, but you knew...

“Shh. You were a hero at the end, Luke. You’ll go to Elysium.”

He did. Normally he probably wouldn’t have made it that far - heroic last deeds are great and all, but they DO judge the rest of the person’s life - but Hermes insisted, and Hades was in a good enough mood to agree to his request.

Hermes... something niggled at me. A lump of guilt swelled in my chest, though I didn’t know why. There was something I’d overlooked, something I’d ignored. I couldn’t quite place it though. No matter. If it made me feel this bad, then it would almost certainly come up later in this flashback.

Luke shook his head at Annabeth. “Think... rebirth. Try for three times. Isles of the Blest.”

He wasn’t being greedy. He wanted to prove that he was a good person and right the mistakes of his past. I could empathize with that.

Annabeth sniffled. “You always pushed yourself too hard.”

“Did you... did you love me?”

“There was a time I thought... well I thought...”

She looked around, as if realizing that she was still here, still alive. “You were like a brother to me, Luke,” she said softly. “But I didn’t love you.”

He nodded, looking unsurprised, then winced in pain.

“We can get ambrosia,” Grover chimed in. “We can-”

I knew the truth, as did Luke. “Grover. You’re the bravest satyr I ever knew. But no. There’s no healing...”

He coughed again. I could sense his life coming to a close. He only had a couple minutes left.

He gripped Percy’s sleeve, desperate. “Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don’t let it... don’t let it happen again.”

Percy looked down at Luke, sad, but resolved. “I won’t. I promise.”

I promise.

Another promise made to a dying man, a plea to the living to try and make the world a better place, to continue the work that they could not. This was why Percy had made his wish - no, his demands. He was trying to fulfill Luke’s dying wish, to keep his promise. Luke and Jason... they may have been different in many ways, but both of them had attempted to change how demigods and gods acted for the better. Both had passed the torch on to someone else to complete what they had started. Percy had fulfilled his promise to the best of his ability. I would have to fulfill mine.

Luke nodded. His face went slack. He died quietly, the air punctuated with quiet sobs.

Minutes later, all of us Olympians came bursting into the throne room, ready for a fight. Instead we found three grieving teenagers and one dead demigod, sprawled out on the ground.

Poseidon was the first to speak. “Percy... What... what is this?”

Percy stood up, turning to face all the gods. “We need a shroud,” he declared, his voice cracking. “A shroud for the son of Hermes.”

I remembered how I had felt the first time bursting into the room. I’d been afraid it was too late, and I had almost imagined that I could feel myself weakening. Then we had actually arrived. I watched myself take in the scene, relief breaking across my godly self’s face. I didn’t know what had happened, and frankly, at that moment, I didn’t care. The conflict was over, the threat dealt with. It was in the past now, so there was no need to worry about it.

Others were more affected. As the Three Fates gathered up Luke’s body, summoning a shroud to cover him in, Hermes stepped forwards. “Wait,” he called. I heard George and Martha quietly murmuring, “Luke, poor Luke.”

Hermes slowly approached his fallen son, the hero who had made many, many bad choices, but who had chosen to save Olympus, to save his family, in the end. I was under no illusion that he cared for us gods, but the way he and Annabeth had looked at each other... they had chosen to be family. Almost killing her had been the final straw. As much as Luke hated us gods, his love for Annabeth, his desire to protect her, had overridden even Kronos’s control. As a god, when I’d first found out about Luke siding with Kronos and recruiting demigods to his cause, I had dismissed them as simply being bad people. Now I could see more nuance. There were reasons behind the rebellion, reasons I had refused to acknowledge for fear of upsetting my worldview. Now I was more open to listening. I also wished to uphold the promise Percy had made. This would NOT happen again.

Hermes knelt by Luke’s side, gently unwrapping his face and kissing his forehead, murmuring a final blessing to his beloved fallen son.

“Farewell,” he whispered. He stepped back, allowing the Three Fates to take Luke’s body to its final resting place.

past!Annabeth’s knees finally gave out, the stress, exhaustion, and pain of the day catching up with her. Percy caught her before she could hit the ground. Unfortunately, he’d grabbed her by her broken arm, causing her to scream in pain.

“Oh gods,” he said, his eyes wide. “Annabeth, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right,” she replied. Then she passed out. It reminded me of how I had passed out after the prophecy had been extracted from Meg back in Indiana. She could afford to pass out now, so her body had promptly done so.

“She needs help!” Percy cried, panicked.

“I got this,” I heard a familiar (and oh-so-handsome-sounding) voice replied. I watched my godly self step forwards, smiling brilliantly.

Ah, right - I’d forgotten that I had helped. I tensed. Last time I had remembered helping, I had forgotten what a jerk, what an utterly STUPID asshole I had been. I expected more of the same.

I was pleasantly surprised. “God of medicine, at your service.” My godly self passed his hand over Annabeth’s face, instantly healing both her smaller injuries, such as cuts and bruises, and her larger ones, such as the broken arm. Annabeth adjusted in her sleep, looking far more comfortable.

My past self grinned. “She’ll be fine in a few minutes. Just enough time for me to compose a poem about our victory. ‘Apollo and his friends save Olympus’. Good eh?”

I couldn’t help it. I snorted. Beside me, Meg started giggling.

“Thanks, Apollo,” Percy replied, clearly bemused. “I’ll, um, let you handle the poetry.”

At that, our quiet chortling grew into full-blown laughter. Even our Annabeth joined in the laughter, her eyes still watering with grief at what she had relived. It was just SUCH a mood whiplash, my future self cheerfully healing Annabeth, pretending that he had largely been responsible for saving Olympus, and declaring that he would write a victory poem. It was so silly, so far removed from the somber atmosphere of the room. It was exactly what we had needed after witnessing Kronos’s defeat and the deaths of Ethan and Luke.

For the first time in a while, I saw some value in the silly arrogant facade I had displayed to the world. Perhaps I didn’t need to throw away that side of myself entirely in order to be a good person and keep my promises to my fallen friends. Lightening spirits helps people cope with even the most miserable tragedies. I thought back to how Leo coped with stress by acting sillier than usual and cracking jokes, breaking people out of their misery and redirecting them from their worries. He had had the right idea.

But there was time for humor, and there was time for serious talk. Now, while the gods were milling about and Percy was looking after the unconscious past!Annabeth, was the best time to finally talk with her.

I looked at her carefully, trying to find the best way to broach the subject of what we had just witnessed. I didn’t wish to upset her, both because she’d been through enough, and because she could easily drop-kick me into next week if she so chose. There’s a reason why I referred to her as “the blond scary one.”

Turns out I didn’t need to. Perhaps Annabeth had sensed my questions, or simply needed to get things off her chest, because she started explaining.

“When I was seven, I ran away from home. My stepmother never liked me that much, and she never believed me about spiders crawling into my bed at night. I had only been on the run for a few days when I ran across Luke and Thalia.” She smiled fondly at the memory, chuckling. “I’d run across lots of monsters, but had managed to evade them. When I heard people moving around in the warehouse I was hiding in, I thought they were monsters. I hid until they got close and then leaped out, trying to bang whatever creature it was with the hammer I had found. I nearly took Luke’s head off. They said they were monster hunters. Luke gave me that dagger, saying that I could be a part of his and Thalia’s family, that they wouldn’t fail me like our families had failed us. That’s what cursed the knife. Luke broke that promise.”

I swallowed thickly, keenly aware of all the gods - myself and my brethren - milling about the room. We had failed Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth. We had failed our children as a whole. Annabeth didn’t even sound upset or judgmental. It was simply a statement of fact.

I steeled my resolve. I had to know.

“Why did Luke turn against the gods? Why did so many join him? Tell me how we failed. Tell me what we refused to see. Please.”

Annabeth was quiet for a moment, searching for words. Hesitantly she said, “I’m not sure of all the details on how and why Luke turned, and all the demigods had their own reasons. But they boiled down to this, as far as I know:

Luke blamed Hermes for not trying to help cure his mom’s insanity, for not helping to protect and comfort her when she flew into her insane fits. In short, for never BEING there. I’m not sure what caused him to shift his view of the gods from being negligent, to being flat-out evil. Maybe it was just seeing all of his friends and family at Camp being ignored. Luke was at Camp Half-Blood for five YEARS before he turned, Apollo, and he was camp counselor of the largest cabin for most of that. So many kids arrived who never got claimed. They arrived, hoping to have a parent, to at least be ACKNOWLEDGED. But most of them didn’t get that. Their divine parents didn’t CARE enough about them to even acknowledge their existence. That’s why so many half-bloods wanted to go on quests, even though it was dangerous. It wasn’t for ‘glory’ - well, not for most of them, at least. It was in the hope of finally having their divine parent acknowledge them and say they’re proud of them. The children of minor gods had it even worse. Very few of their parents even bothered to claim them, since they’d have to stay in the Hermes cabin anyway. For them, it wasn’t only THEMSELVES who were ignored, but their parents too. That’s why so many minor gods and demigods rebelled - they thought it was the only way to stop being ignored, to be treated like they MATTER, even if only as an enemy.”

So that was it. I couldn’t even pretend to be surprised. I’d been told this before, I KNEW this. It was part of why I was always prompt on claiming my kids (so long as I remembered that I’d had them), why I rarely gave them quests that were too terribly dangerous, and why I showed them I was there and that I cared about them, even if just by visiting in their dreams.

But it wasn’t enough. I had taken care of my own children, but had turned my eyes from all the other demigods’ plights. It took the demigods standing up for themselves and demanding better in order for change to be enacted.

I glanced over at Meg, who suddenly found her shoes utterly fascinating. I remembered her questions about her mother, asking why Demeter had never shown up, had never tried to help her or father. At the time I was only thinking of her case. But she wasn’t the only demigod who had lost their mortal parent, or had run away from them, had discovered that they had a godly parent, and yet that parent didn’t even care enough to claim them as their offspring. I thought back to when I had first met the small garbage waif, thinking that she might be a feral demigod, with no training, no parents, no friends, no family, no support network to speak of. At the time I pondered the idea in a detached kind of way. Now it seemed utterly horrifying. Had I really been so callous, not seeing how messed up it was that a twelve-year-old had no parents and no support, even while monsters hunted her due to who one of her parents was?

How many other ways had I closed my eyes to the world?

“I’m sorry,” I said at last. “I should have pushed for all the demigods’ parents to claim them sooner. I should have made sure that cabins were available for all the children of the gods, not just us Olympians. I should have taken a more proactive role in guiding all demigods to safety, instead of just concentrating on my own children. I know this isn’t worth much now, since Percy already took care of it pretty well, but I’ll try to hold the other gods to their promise, along with keeping it myself, of course. There will be no more Ethans or Lukes.”

Annabeth looked up at me and gave a small nod.

Meg broke the silence. “What promise?”

Ah yes. Meg wouldn’t know, would she? “Well you see-”

The world blurred around us, fast-forwarding. When it resolved, we were still in the throne room, but all the gods were sitting down, thrones fully repaired.

“It seems that you’ll get to see for yourself,” I told my young protector.

past!Annabeth was back to full health. She strode over to where Percy was standing. She leaned in close so she could whisper to him. Being the busybody I was, scooted over towards them so i could overhear.”Miss much?” she whispered into his ear.

“Nobody’s planning to kill us, so far,” he whispered back.

Why would he think we might plan to kill them? Why would we kill heroes who had helped save... oh. Right.

Several years ago, after sis was kidnapped and then rescued, we had the winter solstice summit. We debated killing Percy and Thalia to prevent the Great Prophecy from coming true. None of us actually voted FOR killing them thankfully, but it was still a serious consideration. I voted against killing them, but thought that Artemis was freaking out a bit too much when she yelled at the council for considering killing the demigods and saying that she would reward them. Now I saw why she reacted that way.

My eyes wandered over to my sister, sitting majesticly in her silver throne. I held back a sob. I’d seen her earlier when the gods first came bursting in, but had focused on the issues at hand. Now though I kept on staring at her. My wonderful, brilliant sister - she’d seen what I had refused to, understood what I had only started learning as a mortal. She understood the value in mortals, understood them AS PEOPLE, and not only as subjects.

As Zeus droned on, Meg approached me. She didn’t say anything, but her expression looked sad, and kind of nervous. Once she noticed me watching her, she turned her gaze towards the thrones, searching. It finally rested on a throne made of apple-tree branches, and the goddess in it. She looked over at me. I answered her unspoken question.

“That’s your mother, Demeter.”

She stared at her mother quietly while Zeus declared the rewards that the various mortals and monsters would receive for their service in the Second Titan War.

After a couple minutes, she spoke, though I wasn’t sure whether it was intentional. She murmured to herself, “Mom... why didn’t you come for me? Dad loved you so much, but you didn’t help him. You didn’t help me. Everyone says you love me, but if you love me so much, why won’t you see me?”

Seeing her so downcast, my heart clenched. I wanted to give her some measure of comfort, so I did the only thing I could think of. Slowly, giving her plenty of room and time to pull away if she wished to, I wrapped her in a hug. She stiffened for a moment then relaxed. I thought I felt a small droplet of water on my side, where Meg was pressing her head. I didn’t comment, only pressing her more tightly to me. We stayed like that for several minutes, me offering what small amount of comfort I could.

At last she pulled away, surreptitiously wiping her face. I pretended not to notice, only giving her a small smile.

“PERCY JACKSON!” Poseidon bellowed. All of us jumped at that, directing our attention back to the Olympian Council.

Percy walked over to his father, kneeling at his feet.

“Rise, my son,” Poseidon declared. Looking around at the assembled council, he asked, “A great hero must be rewarded. Is there anyone who would deny that my son is deserving?”

Of course there were no dissenters.

“The council agrees,” Zeus confirmed. “Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the gods.”

“Any gift?” he asked.

At the time when this had first happened, I didn’t scrutinize his expression closely. I thought I knew what he was going to ask for, so why bother?

This time I looked more closely. He seemed slightly confused, not understanding what was going on.

Zeus, naturally, made the same assumption that the rest of us did. "I know what you will ask. The greatest gift of all. Yes, if you want it, it shall be yours. The gods have not bestowed this gift on a mortal hero in many centuries, but, Perseus Jackson—if you wish it—you shall be made a god. Immortal. Undying. You shall serve as your father's lieutenant for all time."

Percy just stared at him, uncomprehending. "Um . . . a god?"

Zeus rolled his eyes. "A dimwitted god, apparently. But yes. With the consensus of the entire Council, I can make you immortal. Then I will have to put up with you forever."

Ares seemed rather happy at that. "Hmm," he mused. "That means I can smash him to a pulp as often as I want, and he'll just keep coming back for more. I like this idea."

I snorted. Of COURSE that was the first thing he’d think of. Though I thought he was being overly optimistic. Percy bested him as a child with only a few weeks training. He was more likely to get smashed than Percy.

"I approve as well," Athena added. I noticed that she was looking at Annabeth while she spoke, not Percy. I snorted. I had a distinct feeling that her agreement had less to do with her feeling that Percy was deserving, and more from her wanting to keep him away from her daughter. Well THAT had been successful.

Our Annabeth walked towards Percy, taking in his expression. He glanced back at past!Annabeth. Only then did I notice how devastated she looked. I could read that expression well enough, the expression of knowing you were about to lose someone close to you. I had worn it many times.

She’d really thought there was a chance she would lose him, that he would become a god and leave her forever. Power, immortality, eternal youth - who could deny an offer like that?

But I understood now. I still wanted to become a god, don’t get me wrong. But it was a RESPONSIBILITY now, rather than simply wishing to rid myself of the discomforts and terrors of mortality. I understood why Percy had made his choice.

I smirked slightly, knowing what was coming. This would be EPIC.

Percy looked Zeus right in the eyes. “No.”

Everyone fell silent, unable to believe what they were hearing. At last Zeus spoke, a dangerous edge to his voice. "No? You are . . . turning down our generous gift?"

I flinched at his tone. It usually meant pain for whoever it was directed at. But Percy didn’t seem overly intimidated.

"I'm honored and everything," he said. "Don't get me wrong. It's just . . . I've got a lot of life left to live. I'd hate to peak in my sophomore year. I do want a gift, though. Do you promise to grant my wish?"

Zeus pondered for a moment. I don’t know what he THOUGHT Percy was going to ask for, but he certainly didn’t anticipate the truth. "If it is within our power," he replied.

"It is," Percy said. "And it's not even difficult. But I need your promise on the River Styx."

I was still AMAZED that Zeus agreed to Percy’s wish BEFORE finding out what it was.

"What?" Dionysus cried. "You don't trust us?" He sounded indignant. I laughed at that. Like MOST of us trusted each other. I could reasonably count on Hestia, Artemis, and Hermes when it counted. The rest of the Olympians? Not so much.

"Someone once told me," Percy said, looking at Hades, "you should always get a solemn oath."

“Guilty,” he replied, shrugging. I had a feeling that there was a story behind that one. Maybe I’d get that later, but for now I focused on the scene in front of me.

"Very well!" Zeus growled. "In the name of the Council, we swear by the River Styx to grant your reasonable request as long as it is within our power."

At least he put in that stipulation. Though I had to wonder who decided what was reasonable.

Thunder boomed, sealing the oath.

Percy finally asked for his reward, now that it was guaranteed that the council would have to grant it, so long as it was not unreasonable. "From now on, I want to you properly recognize the children of the gods," he said. "All the children . . . of all the gods."

All the Olympians shifted uncomfortably at that, including my own godly self. We didn’t like being confronted with how much we had messed up, and it looked like Percy was doing just that.

"Percy," Poseidon asked, "what exactly do you mean?"

"Kronos couldn't have risen if it hadn't been for a lot of demigods who felt abandoned by their parents," Percy replied. "They felt angry, resentful, and unloved, and they had a good reason."

Zeus grew angry, his nostrils flaring. I was still amazed Percy got through this without some sort of punishment for his insolence. "You dare accuse—"

Percy cut him off. I had thought that Jason defending me to Father was the most insane defiance a demigod had shown to Father in the past several millennia, but rewatching this, I was quickly reassessing that opinion. "No more undetermined children. I want you to promise to claim your children—all your demigod children—by the time they turn thirteen. They won't be left out in the world on their own at the mercy of monsters. I want them claimed and brought to camp so they can be trained right, and survive."

"Now, wait just a moment," my godly self interjected. I felt a brief stab of shame. I had objected to Percy telling us what to do. The fact that he was RIGHT only made things worse. Even then, I’d known that Percy’s request was a good one. I just didn’t want to acknowledge how BADLY we’d messed up for the past several thousand years, and that one of our children knew better than we did, and was braver than we were. Than I was. Privately I agreed with him, but I would never have had the courage to do what Percy was doing.

Percy ignored my past self. A wise decision on his part. "And the minor gods," he said. "Nemesis, Hecate, Morpheus, Janus, Hebe-—they all deserve a general amnesty and a place at Camp Half-Blood. Their children shouldn't be ignored. Calypso and the other peaceful Titan-kind should be pardoned too. And Hades—"

"Are you calling me a minor god?" Hades bellowed. Honestly, he was SUCH a drama queen. Wouldn’t even wait for Percy to finish his sentence.

"No, my lord," he said hurriedly. "But your children should not be left out. They should have a cabin at camp. Nico has proven that. No unclaimed demigods will be crammed into the Hermes cabin anymore, wondering who their parents are. They'll have their own cabins, for all the gods. And no more pact of the Big Three. That didn't work anyway. You've got to stop trying to get rid of powerful demigods. We're going to train them and accept them instead. All children of the gods will be welcome and treated with respect. That is my wish."

It was a good request, one that should never have had to be made, and one which we STILL didn’t entirely follow through on. Calypso was never pardoned. None of us had pushed for it. It was on the bottom of the agenda, since her staying on her island was unlikely to cause us problems. I had a feeling that Artemis would have pushed for her release, but by the time we’d dealt with everything else Percy had asked for, Zeus was getting spooked by Gaea stirring, and Artemis didn’t want to upset him more than she had to. Watching over her Hunters was a higher priority than pushing for Calypso’s freedom.

Zeus snorted. "Is that all?"

"Percy," Poseidon warned, "you ask much. You presume much."

If he thought THAT would deter Percy, he CLEARLY hadn’t spent enough time watching his son.

"I hold you to your oath," he said. "All of you."

The world suddenly distorted. For a moment I thought we were going to be pushed forwards in time again. Then the world resolved itself. I looked around, puzzled. Nothing appeared to have changed... and then I came face-to-face with Percy. Not younger Percy, OUR Percy. I calmly took stock of the situation and greeted him with a calm nod. Anyone who says that I yelled and jumped a foot in the air is CLEARLY lying and is attempting to slander my good name.

“Wha-?” He looked around, confused. “What is- ANNABETH?” He yelled, rushing towards her. “PERCY!” she cried. He gave her a fierce hug, separating from her a few moments later.

“This is a flashback, isn’t it?” He asked her. “When I walked in, I saw you, Apollo, and Meg sitting next to each other. When I called your name and you didn’t respond, I panicked and ran over to check on you. I must’ve gotten sucked in when I touched you.”

She nodded, “Yes, it is. It started when... when we faced down Kronos in the throne room.” Her voice cracked. Percy looked at her, understanding spreading across his face. “Annabeth...”

Suddenly all of us were jerked towards the front of the throne room. It soon became apparent why. Annabeth, Percy, and all the other mortals were filing out of the throne room. We were forced to keep within a certain radius of the memory-holder it seemed. We followed them out of the palace.

Hermes stood in a sideyard, a melancholy expression on his face as he examined an iris message. past!Percy looked over at past!Annabeth. "I'll meet you at the elevator."

A wave of disappointment washed over me. I’d wanted to see more of my little brother, but it seemed that we would be forced to go the other way.

past!Annabeth studied his expression. "You sure?" she studied his face. "Yeah, you're sure."

As Annabeth walked off, I followed her, sighing. Then I was jerked to a stop by an invisible leash. Confused, I looked back towards my brother and past!Percy. They had stayed put, along with Meg and the present Percy and Annabeth.

Ah. When Percy entered the memory, control must have transferred over to him. I walked back over to Percy and Hermes, curious about what Percy would talk to him about. ‘Sorry I gave your son the means to commit suicide,’ is always an awkward conversation starter.

For a moment, I didn’t think Hermes had noticed Percy. Then he started talking.

"Amazing," my brother said, turning towards Percy. "Three thousand years, and I will never get over the power of the Mist . . . and mortal ignorance."

"Thanks, I guess,” Percy replied, not seeming to know how to feel about that.

"Oh, not you. Although, I suppose I should wonder, turning down immortality."

"It was the right choice."

For him, it HAD been the right choice. He wanted to stay a part of the mortal world, to be with his friends and family... and his girlfriend, of course. As a god, there were so many rules and limits on what you could and could not do with mortals, so many expectations, that it would be difficult for him to be part of his loved ones’ lives the way he wanted to be, to BE there for them.

But it didn’t have to be. The only rules that prevented us from mingling with mortals, becoming part of their world, becoming close friends instead of simply having short affairs with mortals, were expectations from other gods, and rules handed down by Zeus. He didn’t like it when we became too close to mortals, ESPECIALLY if we treated them like equals. I always suspected that he didn’t want mortals to begin seeing us as equals, and by extension, seeing himself as being just a person, rather than a divine ruler who must be unquestioningly obeyed. Now I thought there was an additional angle. Keeping us from becoming too close to mortals, from becoming great friends with them, also limited our support networks to other gods, keeping it restricted mostly to our family. Zeus was able to keep a closer eye on us that way, than if we all had our own circles of mortal friends.

Maybe I was getting conspiratorial. Still, anything that increased Zeus’s level of control over us and his power overall had to be considered.

My brother looked over at Percy questioningly, but not unbelievingly. I was getting the feeling that he actually understood what Percy was talking about. I should have paid more attention to my little brother in recent decades. It seemed like he had started figuring things out that I had only begun to learn after being sent down as a mortal. "Look at them. They've already decided Typhon was a freak series of storms. Don't I wish. They haven't figured out how all the statues in Lower Manhattan got removed from their pedestals and hacked to pieces. They keep showing a shot of Susan B. Anthony strangling Frederick Douglass. But I imagine they'll even come up with a logical explanation for that."

"How bad is the city?"

Hermes shrugged. "Surprisingly, not too bad. The mortals are shaken, of course. But this is New York. I've never seen such a resilient bunch of humans. I imagine they'll be back to normal in a few weeks; and of course I'll be helping."

I had always been amazed at mortals’ ability to carry on with daily activities even something catastrophic had occurred, or was about to happen. As I lived as a mortal, however, I was beginning to understand. Those things were still worrying, but most mortals couldn’t afford to simply run off and mope and wail about how horrible and terrifying everything was. So instead they coped as best they could, continuing to act like normal. It made a weird amount of sense. Daily life carried on regardless.

Hermes WAS helpful in helping mortals make sense of the divine sorts of catastrophies though.

“You?” Percy asked. I suppose no one had informed him of Hermes role in this sort of thing.

"I'm the messenger of the gods. It's my job to monitor what the mortals are saying, and if necessary, help them make sense of what's happened. I'll reassure them. Trust me, they'll put this down to a freak earthquake or a solar flare. Anything but the truth."

I was startled by the bitterness in his voice. I hadn’t really paid much attention to how Hermes handled this aspect of his duties. Now I wished I had. I wanted to understand why he sounded like this. I had a sinking feeling that I had let down another brother, my most beloved little brother.

Percy had more to say. "I owe you an apology."

An apology? I didn’t even know that Hermes and Percy had talked before.

Hermes seemed to know what Percy was talking about, but didn’t trust his apology. He gave Percy a cautious look. "And why is that?"

"I thought you were a bad father. I thought you abandoned Luke because you knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."

Knew his future? How did he...?

Then I remembered. A woman Hermes had a fling with had attempted to become the Oracle. I had been happy that someone else had attempted it, hoping to finally have a new host. My old Oracle had already been dead for twenty years at that point. I had been disappointed when it did not take properly, but was not overly concerned beyond that.

I should have paid attention. I should have gone to him, comforted him. I knew how much it hurt to have someone you love be broken, be killed.

But I hadn’t.

I’d failed him too.

May would have still gotten glimpses of the future. I surmised that Hermes had put together the pieces based on the pieces of her insane ramblings. He’d known what would befall his beloved child, and had kept the burden to himself. Who would he share it with? Who could he trust that much?

We really were one screwed-up family.

"I did know his future," Hermes said miserably.

I knew that tone of voice, that look on his face. It was the same one I wore whenever I thought of my role in Daphne’s and Hyacinthus’ deaths.

"But you knew more than just the bad stuff—that he'd turn evil. You understood what he would do in the end. You knew he'd make the right choice. But you couldn't tell him, could you?"

Hermes stared at the fountain. "No one can tamper with fate, Percy, not even a god. If I had warned him what was to come, or tried to influence his choices, I would've made things even worse. Staying silent, staying away from him . . . that was the hardest thing I've ever done."

I knew better than anyone that you can’t change fate, that trying was folly. I’d had to watch horrible things happen to people I cared about. Even if you did somehow succeed, the consequences would be...

Some sort of mental block slammed down. A cold trickle of dread and guilt filled my stomach. There was something there. Something I didn’t want to remember. I knew I should try to break through it, try to break through the barrier, but I couldn’t bring myself to try. If even as a god I had blocked this out, how bad WAS it?

“Apollo?” Meg asked, her, Percy, and Annabeth giving me worried looks. I suddenly became aware of the sweat dripping down my face, of my ragged breathing. I composed myself, giving them a shaky smile. No point in worrying them. Besides, I needed to focus on Hermes. I needed to understand what my little brother had gone through.

"You had to let him find his own path and play his part in saving Olympus."

Hermes sighed. "I should not have gotten mad at Annabeth. When Luke visited her in San Francisco . . . well, I knew she would have a part to play in his fate. I foresaw that much. I thought perhaps she could do what I could not and save him. When she refused to go with him, I could barely contain my rage. I should have known better. I was really angry with myself."

I knew that feeling. It was easy to lash out when angry and scared. I had contemplated murdering the Seven when they came to visit me and Artemis on Delos, even though they weren’t at fault for the situation and were actively trying to fix it. Lashing out at others felt better in the moment than accepting that you are powerless to change the situation, to give up hope of someone being able to create a better ending.

"Annabeth did save him. Luke died a hero. He sacrificed himself to kill Kronos." Percy was doing more to try to help Hermes, to support him than I had in the past several decades.

"I appreciate your words, Percy. But Kronos isn't dead. You can't kill a Titan."

"Then—"

"I don't know," Hermes grumbled. "None of us do. Blown to dust. Scattered to the wind. With luck, he's spread so thin that he'll never be able to form a consciousness again, much less a body. But don't mistake him for dead, Percy."

I hoped that he, Gaea, and the Giants stayed gone for a REALLY long time. These kids had already lived through two wars, and were living through a thrid one. Please, let them have a break.

"What about the other Titans?"

"In hiding," Hermes said. "Prometheus sent Zeus a message with a bunch of excuses for supporting Kronos. 'I was just trying to minimize the damage,' blah, blah. He'll keep his head low for a few centuries if he's smart. Krios has fled, and Mount Othrys has crumbled into ruins. Oceanus slipped back into the deep ocean when it was clear Kronos had lost. Meanwhile, my son Luke is dead. He died believing I didn't care about him. I will never forgive myself."

Self-loathing coated his every word.

We were the same, and I had refused to see it. I had thought I was the only one suffering from such guilt and heartbreak, the only one who hated himself for his failures. I thought there was something fundamentally wrong with me. Something broken.

But it wasn’t just me. Hermes was going through the same thing, and I hadn’t seen it. Hadn’t known. I hardly saw him in recent centuries, and when I did, it had barely even occurred to me that Hermes could be going through similar problems.

Both of us his the true depths of our pain, our shame, our guilt. Neither of us opening up to each other, sharing the burden. He at least seemed to be facing his guilt and sadness, rather than just pretending it wasn’t there. I had hidden behind a facade my whole life, trying to fool everyone into thinking I was fine... including myself.

How many of us had hidden our pain from each other, from ourselves?

At least Percy was still trying to help. "A long time ago," he said, "you told me the hardest thing about being a god was not being able to help your children. You also told me that you couldn't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they made it."

I smiled. We really were alike. Both of us had learned that lesson.

"And now you know I'm a hypocrite?"

"No, you were right, Luke loved you. At the end, he realized his fate. I think he realized why you couldn't help him. He remembered what was important."

I wasn’t entirely sure where Percy got that from. As far as I could tell, Luke didn’t mention his father at all. I guess he was trying to make Hermes feel better.

"Too late for him and me."

"You have other children. Honor Luke by recognizing them. All the gods can do that."

That I agreed with. It was his dying wish, his dying plea. To make things better for his siblings, for all the children of the gods.

Hermes's shoulders sagged. "They'll try, Percy. Oh, we'll all try to keep our promise. And maybe for a while things will get better. But we gods have never been good at keeping oaths. You were born because of a broken promise, eh? Eventually we'll become forgetful. We always do."

He sounded so defeated. I couldn’t blame him. Sometimes it seemed like things never changed.

Yet I knew that Hermes was wrong. We didn’t always forget. I had never forgotten Daphne or Hyacinthus, forgotten my roles in their deaths. I had never wanted to, despite the pain it caused me. I refused to forget my great loves.

That was it. We immortals were not so inherently different from mortals. We could learn, change, grow. We just rarely saw the need to. We convinced ourselves that we were perfect and infallible, knowing in our hearts that it was untrue, but thinking that we were the only ones who were like that, who were broken. We told ourselves and each other that we couldn’t change, that it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Until someone disrupts the status quo.

Someone like Percy Jackson.

Someone like Jason Grace.

Someone like myself.

The demigods had taken their turn. It was time a god tried to change things, to make things better.

"You can change."

Hermes laughed. "After three thousand years, you think the gods can change their nature?"

"Yeah," Percy said. "I do."

So he’d been doing this for awhile. It wasn’t just me he believed could change, HAD changed. He believed in all the gods’ ability to change. He believed in us more than we believed in ourselves.

I wondered where he got such faith, considering everything he’d been through at the hands of the gods.

Hermes seemed surprised by that. "You think . . . Luke actually loved me? After all that happened?"

"I'm sure of it."

Hermes stared at the fountain. "I'll give you a list of my children. There's a boy in Wisconsin. Two girls in Los Angeles. A few others. Will you see that they get to camp?"

I smiled. It was a long road to make things better, but Hermes had taken the first step. He was willing to try. He wanted to try.

"I promise," Percy said. "And I won't forget."

"Percy Jackson," Hermes said thoughtfully, "you might just teach us a thing or two."

“You already have,” I whispered.

The world blurred again. I blinked, and we were back in the tent at Camp Jupiter. Percy, Annabeth, and Meg had also started stirring, getting up from where they had been sitting.

Percy pulled Annabeth into a hug.

A minute later, they separated. I asked the question that had started burning in my mind during Percy and Hermes conversation. “Percy... why did you believe that gods could change. WE didn’t believe that, so why did you?”

“Because you’re people. Mortal or immortal, god or human, you’re still a person. And people can change, even if you don’t believe you can.”

He paused for a moment, sadness flickering in his expression. “I knew another immortal once. He didn’t think that he could change either.”

Percy let out a laugh. It sounded almost like a choked sob. “He was a Titan. We called him Bob, but you’d know him as Iapetus.”

“Iapetus?” I asked, searching for the name. “Wait... one of Kronos’s brothers. You BEFRIENDED him?!”

“Not at first. First time I met him he’d just broken out of Tartarus. We were in the Underworld when we met. I was badly injured and couldn’t defeat him. So I dragged both of us into the River Lethe. I kept myself dry, but Iapetus’s mind was wiped clean. When we straggled onshore, He asked me who he was. I told him he was my friend Bob. He was nice and friendly. He even noticed I had a wound and healed it. We left him in Hades palace, to do what he wanted with him.” Percy’s voice sounded like Hermes’ now, bitter and self-loathing. “I’d told him we were friends. But I didn’t think about him after that. I never asked how he was doing. Turns out, Hades’ made him a janitor. As far as I know, the only one who looked after him, who cared about him, was Nico.”

Percy drew a shaky breath, steeling himself for the rest of his story. “Nico asked him to help me, if he could. When Annabeth and I fell into Tartarus.”

My jaw dropped. “Wait, WHAT?!” I screamed. “I had to have heard you wrong. Did you say you and Annabeth were in TARTARUS?! As in, the prison for evil immortals? The place monsters spawn from? The place where GODS fear to tread? THAT Tartarus?”

“Yep,” Percy sighed, looking very, very tired. “That’s the one.”

“HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!”

“Because of Bob,” he said simply. “I mentioned Bob to Annabeth as we were walking through Tartarus. He heard me say his name, and jumped into Tartarus without a second thought. He wanted to help us, because he thought we were friends.”

“I used him,” Percy continued, his voice taking on a guilty tone. “I said we were friends, and used that to manipulate him into helping us. I even convinced him to kill his own brother, just by asking him if we were friends, and then telling him that he was a good titan, but that Krios was a bad one. I asked him to decide what to do. He killed Krios, so he wouldn’t hurt his friends. So he wouldn’t hurt us.”

Percy’s voice grew lower, shame dripping from every word. “We met up with arai. They told Bob what I did. That I destroyed his memory. That I had stolen his life, left him to scrub floors. I couldn’t deny that. I still tried to say I was his friend. But I knew I was lying. I’d only convinced myself we were friends, just because I needed him. I only cared about him when I could use him to get what I wanted. Just like Hercules. Just like the gods.”

He inhaled a shaky breath, exhaled, and continued. “He left us. He didn’t attack us for tricking him. He just left. I fought off the arai as best I could, but it wasn’t enough. As I was dying, I begged Bob for his forgiveness, and to help Annabeth at least. I didn’t expect him to help. I didn’t deserve it. But I needed to say it at least.”

“And he came back.”

“He remembered the truth, but he still helped us, KNOWING that I had lied. Because he wanted to keep his promise to Nico. He guided us through Tartarus, to a good giant. Damasen. Damasen healed Percy, but was too afraid to try to leave. He thought it was a fool’s errand. Still, he helped us with supplies, gave us shelter for the night, and only asked for stories and company in return.

“He took us all the way to the Doors of Death. He ran into some of his brothers there. They thought he was on their side still. They would have welcomed him with open arms if he had turned us over to them. Instead he bluffed and got us safely past them. We talked afterwards. He said that he had remembered what his brother was talking about, when he talked about Bob’s past. But he wasn’t sure whether he wanted the memory. I told him that he could choose what to keep of Iapetus, and what he wanted to maintain as Bob. That his future was what mattered. He told me that “the future” was a mortal concept, that he wasn’t meant to change, even as he called me his friend. But if he had been the same, then we would never have become friends. Annabeth and I would have died already.”

He closed his eyes for a moment. I sensed that whatever came next would be especially painful. He opened them and continued the story. “We had to ascend the elevator through the Doors of Death. In order to do that, someone had to press the button for the elevator down for twelve minutes, all while fighting off Tartarus and his forces.”

“Wait...” I interjected, hoping that he misspoke, even as the sinking feeling in my gut said that he hadn’t. “You meant Tartarus’s forces, right?”

Percy let out a wild, hopeless laugh. “Nope. Tartarus made himself a physical body and tried to kill us personally.”

WHAT.

“HOW ARE YOU STILL HERE,” I screamed. I thought being stranded in Tartarus was bad, but facing down Tartarus himself while WITHIN Tartarus? That was a new level of suck.

He gave me that bitter, self-loathing look again. “Because of Bob and Damasen. Oh, and a skeleton kitten Bob found and named Small Bob.”

At this point, I didn’t have the energy to be surprised at them finding a skele-kitten. It was the least weird part of this story.

“I wanted to press down the button to let Annabeth, Bob, Damasen, and Small Bob escape. But he insisted on pressing the button. Those three sacrificed themselves so that we would escape, knowing that they’d be absorbed by Tartarus in the end. He asked me to tell the suns and stars hello.”

Tears shone in Percy’s eyes. “I guess I didn’t know for sure whether immortals could change, back when I told Hermes I believed they could. But I do now. If a Titan like Bob could change, then other immortals can too. Even ones you never thought were capable of it. Ones who thought that THEY weren’t capable of it.”

I stared at him and slowly nodded. If even Titans could change, then we gods had no excuse. And if any of the gods protested that change was impossible, I’d tell them Bob’s story, along with my own.

We would be better.

We had to be.

#trials of apollo #the trials of apollo #lester papadopoulos #percy jackson #annabeth chase #meg mccaffrey #toa #the last olympian #fanfiction #apollo

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ciestessde · 5 years ago

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Phantasma Magica Ch. 10

STORY SUMMARY

Clockwork and the Observants send Danny to Hogwarts on a special mission. But, cryptic as ever, that Old Stopwatch never actually told him what would happen on it!!! “All you need to do right now, Daniel, is stay focused on your mission. And remember, the-” “‘The Lions with the time-turner, lightning-bolt scar, and hair like fire are friends; watch out for the rat; and the black dog is not a threat.’ Yeah, you’ve only repeated that a few dozen times today.”

Next → ← Previous (First)

*Knock-knock* “You may come in.”

Lupin entered. Dumbledore stopped his pacing and sat behind his desk. … He was frowning.

“Thank you for coming, Remus.” “I assume this is about Danny,” Lupin sat in the chair Dumbledore provided him. Dumbledore nodded, his eyebrows furrowing. “I’ve given much thought to what you’ve told me about him. You claim the phantasm is… friendly. However, you also acknowledge that phantasms survive--” his tone darkened “--off of eating souls.” “Yes. That’s what Danny told me. However, Danny eats substitute souls…” Lupin trailed off. Dumbledore was nodding.

“... I… understand your sympathies for the boy. And I agreed not to pursue him. However.” Dumbledore’s eyes seemed to actually burn. “Unlike a werewolf… a phantasm is a continual threat to my students’ safety. What if he were to run out of these ‘substitutes,’ for example? Would he hunt the dementors and break our tenuous peace with them? Eat the Hogwarts’ Ghosts?” Lupin didn’t have an answer for him. “And as you have said yourself, this is the first -- the only -- time we know of that anyone has had a remotely civil interaction with a phantasm. I trust your judgement that the boy does not MEAN us any harm. But we have no way of knowing that that will last.” They sat in silence for a while.

Dumbledore sighed. He looked pained. “... I’m sorry, Remus. I won’t attack the boy. “But I cannot allow him to remain here unsupervised.”

Few things felt better than floating lazily through the air on a warm Spring night. Danny felt sorry for the humans: stuck inside, having to study for exams. When the weather was just turning warm… Not that he was able to completely relax. His meal trips for Sirius and 2nd-Hermione took up a bit of time. But on the whole… Danny was actually getting bored again. … As in, REALLY bored! Which was NOT something he thought he’d be when he first arrived at this crazy school. But he’d explored every inch of it! Or, he thought so, anyway; the place was practically a maze. But if there was any part he’d missed, he’d have to congratulate whoever built or hid it (if he ever met them). Because of that boredom, though, Danny resorted to something he never thought he would: He had started studying school subjects for fun. Which, granted, magic subjects were inherently more entertaining, but the textbooks were still somehow just as boring to read as normal ones! The two subjects that interested him most were Astronomy (of course) and History of Magic. (The teacher of that class -- aside from being a ghost??? -- was still extremely boring, but the history itself was actually pretty neat.)

He also started visiting Buckbeak to get the hippogriff more comfortable around his presence, just in case the appeal didn’t work out. The chances of which were… pretty good, if Draco’s returned good mood was anything to go by. Turns out the bully’s father really was influential, and he certainly didn’t keep it a secret that the creature’s execution would be because of that influence. In fact, he seemed pleased by it. Danny had gotten tired of pranking Draco himself, but the boy’s attitude about Buckbeak grated on his nerves so much that he bribed Peeves (with some items from the Hogsmeade joke shop) to do it for him. … It worked… for… a few days, anyway. ...Which was pretty good concentration, for a poltergeist. When a letter arrived saying that an executioner would be attending the appeal, Danny took that as a sign that his plan would probably have to be used, after all. He made sure there was a space ready for the creature in the big room under the castle (called the “Chamber of Secrets,” he found out from Hermione), destroying the basilisk carcass and making a nest for him. He hoped the trip through the ground and walls wouldn’t freak Buckbeak out too much when the time came…

But really. An executioner? To an appeal? For the “crime” of scratching a kid’s arm?! It was like this “Ministry of Magic” WANTED him to hate them!

The Trio, oddly enough, actually seemed to think their chances of winning the appeal were pretty good. He wished he could share their optimism. They were visiting Hagrid almost every evening at this point -- using Harry’s invisibility cloak, of course. If nothing else, the company and constant reassurance was keeping Hagrid’s spirits up.

The appeal took place the same day of the students’ last exams. Which meant that they wouldn’t find out the ruling until after they had finished. Or, in Danny’s case, that he had to keep one eye on Hagrid’s hut during the Divination exam. He would have just floated next to the hippogriff for the whole day, waiting to make their escape, but… It was just too tempting!

He actually sat in on two other, earlier, exams: The Astronomy test, to see how he compared. (He might not actually have been able to take it -- but he was proud to say that, if he could’ve, he would have gotten “top marks!”) And the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam -- because it was a magical obstacle course, which… it was just FAR too entertaining to pass up watching!

But he didn’t watch the Divination exam for the entertainment value. He needed to know whether it was actually possible for humans (magical or not) to see into the future. Because if they could… it meant that the Observants -- Clockwork’s bosses -- weren’t the only ones with that power. He wasn’t sure how, but he thought that might be useful information, in the future…

But, uh… The answer seemed to be a resounding “no.” Every student that came up to tell her what they saw in the crystal ball… A few of them took it seriously, but most seemed to just be making stuff up. And the teacher, “Trelawney”… was falling for the stories hook, line, and sinker! Danny stayed until the last student ONLY because it was Harry. Who, indeed, did what everyone else did and made something up.

”Well? What do you see?” prompted Trelawney, dressed in her usual ridiculous beads, bangles, and spangled shawl -- looking like a glittery insect with her giant, thick glasses. “Er -- a dark shape… um…” “What does it resemble? Think, now…” “A hippogriff.” “Indeed!” She scribbled something on her parchment. “My boy, you may well be seeing the outcome of poor Hagrid’s trouble with the Ministry of Magic! Look closer… Does the hippogriff appear to… have its head?” “Yes,” Harry stated firmly. “Are you sure? Are you quite sure, dear? You don’t see it writhing on the ground, perhaps, and a shadowy figure raising an axe behind it?” “No!”

‘What the heck is with this teacher? She’s been leading the students into “making” these doom-ridden predictions the ENTIRE exam!!!’ “No blood? No weeping Hagrid?” “No! It looks fine, it’s -- flying away…” ‘C’mon, Harry. I know you want Buckbeak to be fine, but if you’re going to make something up to pass, make something up that will, y’know -- get her to pass you.’ But the teacher sighed and said, “Well, dear, I think we’ll have to leave it there. ...A little disappointing,” ‘Really, though? Are ALL predictions bad? Can’t the Universe give GOOD visions?! What kind of “prophet” ARE you?!!!’ “... but I’m sure you did your best.”

Harry packed up and turned to leave, Danny about to phase out through the wall, when-- “IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT.” Danny reeled around, almost attacking her -- The lady’s voice had become loud and harsh, and her body had gone rigid. Her eyes were unfocused, and her mouth sagged. But as soon as Danny realized what was going on -- he paid extra close attention!!!

“THE DARK LORD LIES DORMANT, TRAPPED BEHIND LIGHTNING. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE DUSK… THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND RELEASE HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT’S AID, BRINGING TERROR WITH HIS LIGHTNING PRISON. TONIGHT… BEFORE DUSK… THE SERVANT… WILL RELEASE… HIS MASTER…”

Trelawney’s head fell onto her chest, then snapped back up, and like that -- it was over. Harry tried to get some kind of explanation from her, but she didn’t seem to remember what had just happened. And Danny was inclined to believe she wasn’t faking it, because during that little episode… She had been radiating time aura.

… Also, it was just the kind of vague, unhelpful wording the old Stopwatch LOVED to use when giving any hint or warning. Because, really? “Trapped inside lightning”? “Release his master”? How was that helpful?!?! ‘Well…’ Danny tried to decode the message on his way to Hagrid’s hut. ‘I guess this means my vacation is over. “Lightning prison”... ‘That probably means Harry. The “servant” MIGHT be Pettigrew…?’

Deciding it would be better to keep a closer eye on Harry for the night, Danny turned around. If he had learned anything from his training under the Master of Time, then he knew that prophecies were meant to be broken! But when he got to the Gryffindor common room, it was to see the Trio headed out with grim looks on their faces. He whispered to Hermione (who was used to him appearing at her ear), “What’s going on?” “Buckbeak lost the appeal,” she whispered.

He followed them down to the hut. ‘I have a bad feeling about this, but… No point trying to change things until I know what to change…’ Hagrid was trembling and pale when he answered the door. “It’s us,” Harry hissed. “We’re wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off!” “Yeh shouldn’ve come!” But he let them in, anyway. Rifling through his cupboards, he asked, “Wan’ some tea?” “Where’s Buckbeak, Hagrid?” Hermione asked hesitantly. “I -- I took him outside.” His hands were trembling as he poured, spilling milk all over the table. “He’s tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an’ -- an’ smell the fresh air -- before --” The milk jug slipped from his trembling hands and shattered on the floor. “I’ll do it, Hagrid,” Hermione offered, moving to clean up the mess. “There’s another one in the cupboard,” he said, sitting himself down in one of his giant chairs.

While Hermione cleaned, Danny decided to help in the little way he could. He couldn’t steal Buckbeak away just yet -- he needed the officials to see it was him, or they might -- no. Or they WOULD just accuse Hagrid of hiding/freeing the creature. So for now, all Danny could do was find the spare milk jug in the cupboard. But when he looked-- There, hiding inside an empty jug -- in a place NONE of them would’ve thought to look (the man’s specialty, it seemed)... Was the rat form of Peter Pettigrew. ‘Knew I had a bad feeling!’

Danny snatched him, quickly phasing outside so that no one could hear his squeaking. “Don’t even think about it,” he growled to the invisible, writhing rat in his hand. It just writhed harder. “If you keep squirming…” He let his hand get colder and colder, “I’ll just have to freeze you in place.” The squirming stopped, but the rat still trembled.

Danny heard voices. It was Dumbledore, a couple older men (one of whom he recognized as the Minister) -- and a man with an axe. ‘Oh, great…’ He would have to steal Buckbeak AND keep hold of Pettigrew, now. Danny took a deep breath. ‘Okay. I can do this. We have a plan… Please stick to the plan, guys…!’ They did. He heard the backdoor of the hut open, and the Trio’s footsteps quickly moved to a place farther away from the hut. The officials were almost there. Dumbledore’s presence made Danny a little nervous, but… No time.

He turned visible with a roar. The four wizards jumped, drawing their wands, and Hagrid stumbled out of his hut. Once he had their attention, Danny wasted no time in freeing Buckbeak. He burnt the rope tethering him to the pumpkin patch, grabbed the hippogriff around the neck, and was just spreading his energy into him to turn them both intangible when-- -- Dumbledore snapped out of his shock.

“Irretio idolon!”

It was just like he remembered -- though the memory was fuzzy. Except he noticed something about the spell he didn’t have the chance to last time. He wasn’t holding anything last time.

It wasn’t just as though he were trapped in a net -- he was trapped in a net that kept him from touching anything else.

Which meant he was forced to let go of Buckbeak… And Pettigrew.

~~~~~

If you like this, please REBLOG! (Updates every Wednesday until completion.)

Also, if you like my writing, check out my collection of one-shots here! I write a story at the request of you all every Wednesday. (Look here for info on how requests work)

Other places you can find this fic: Fanfiction.net/~ciestess ArchiveOfOurOwn.org/users/Ciestess/profile Deviantart.com/Ciestess

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#Harry Potter #Danny Phantom #phantasma magica #phicc #atrieisan

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airadam · 3 years ago

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Episode 146 : Rise.

"Put on the wings of the morning and fly."

- Capleton

It somehow feels like an awful long time since the last episode - the new job has been keeping me extra-busy and the speed of world events just seems to keep accelerating. Sadly, one of those events was the passing of Biz Markie - another legend lost too soon. I've selected one of his most famous tracks to close the episode, but I hope you enjoy the fifty or so minutes before that as well.

Twitter : @airadam13

Twitch : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Above The Law : 100 Spokes

Air Adam trivia : I own four copies of this on 12"! I had a beat-juggle routine with one of the remixes, and in the old days, you couldn't just hit "instant doubles" on Serato - plus the records do wear out! The original is the better track for a straight listen though, with Cold 187um handling the production and the first verse, with the late great KMG bringing his trademark low-key style to the second. This is more easily available on the excellent "Time Will Reveal" album - which I actually have twice on vinyl, and once on CD...

The Rattler Proxy : Death Machine (Jokers of the Scene Remix)

I don't know if this will be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a track I've been playing heavily since I first heard it on one of Victoria Rawlins' Twitch sets. If you've got great headphones, or big speakers, you'll be amazed at how the low end comes in and envelops you after the long ambient intro. The Rattler Proxy were a Greek duo who broke up last year, but this remix of one of their 2014 releases feels like a lasting classic to me.

Semi Six ft. Tha Essence & 5'4 : Heaterz

Fellow Polo enthusiast and Detroit native Semi Six is back with a new EP "Assorted Fries", and brings a couple of spitters along for the ride on this single. Atlanta's Tuamie provides the crispy-clean instrumental, and the whole track is no hook, pure bars.

Elzhi : Light One, Write One

Last year saw the release of Elzhi's third solo LP "Seven Times Down Eight Times Up", which follows the old-school tradition of having the same production personnel from beginning to end - in this case, JR Swiftz out of Brooklyn. Always a skilled writer, El gets busy over the nice soulful jazz/vocal sample and classic boom-bap drums.

* as an aside - you only have to get up as many times as you fall down...

Capleton ft. Method Man : Wings Of The Morning

I remember having to look up the meaning of the title; it's shared with a 30s film, but originally from the Book of Psalms. This is a winner from the era when US artists began to collaborate with reggae and dancehall stars - with results of varying quality, it has to be said! It shows how well it really can be done, with Capleton's Rastafari lyrics and deejay style meshing with the characteristic grittiness of the sound of Wu-Tang's Method Man. The piano sample will be familiar to many, hooked up by Stuart Brown, and the drums are rugged enough to do justice to the vocalists. The 1995 "Prophecy" album was a strong release, and this was one of the best cuts from it.

Lone Apostrophe : Take Me

Manchester's own Lone Apostrophe is a true student of beatmaking, and his new "Webs" collection is a great pickup for anyone with an attachment to the golden age of the boom-bap. Those echoed/delayed horns take you back to mixtapes in 1993...a mood.

1982 ft. Skyzoo and Jared Evan : Summer In New York

If ever there was a track that announced the title before you hear it, it might well be this one! The combination of Statik Selektah and Termanology is also known as 1982, and their compact new release "The Summer EP" is headed up by this sunny track, which is definitely lifted by Jared Evan's hook .

Nas ft. Cordae and Freddie Gibbs : Life Is Like A Dice Game

"When I finish this shit, sure to be a hit..." I was extremely surprised to see this one pop up recently! Many years ago, there was an unreleased Nas track with the same title, ropey sound quality but as dope as you'd expect. It was recorded around the time of "Illmatic", and leaked on the underground but never made an official release. Apparently, Spotify recently asked Nas if he'd resurrect it and so the production was re-done (by Hit-Boy) and he brought in Freddie Gibbs and Cordae to join him for a memorable recording. This deserves to be the hit Nas predicted it would be over twenty-five years ago.

Sadat X ft. Jigmastas : Don't Get It Twisted (PUTS Remix)

One of those great independent 12" releases that illustrate why the streaming services aren't (at least yet) in a position to replace a collection built over years. This remix by People Under the Stairs was on the B-side of the "Plan X" single, and pairs up Sadat X with Kriminul of Jigmastas - as you'd expect, the original was produced by DJ Spinna.

Tanya Morgan ft. Kooley High : So Good

Sonically, seasonally appropriate once again - this 80s soul club-sounding cut has summer written all over it. Tanya Morgan (Donwill and Von Pea, if you didn't know) will be releasing their fifth LP "Don and Von" in August, from which this is the second single. The North Carolina crew Kooley High come along to deepen the MC roster for this one, which whets the appetite for the album perfectly.

Buckwild : Mad Ammo (Instrumental)

A vintage SP-1200 beat from the disk boxes of DITC's Buckwild, as originally heard when it was dug out and rhymed over by Celph Titled on the "Nineteen Ninety Now" LP.

REMI ft. Konny Kon : Good Mates

I'm glad Michelle Grace Hunder put me up on the latest (and final) album by this crew out of Melbourne, not least since I happened upon a Konny Kon guest appearance I might otherwise have missed! "PTSD in the hood runs undiagnosed" - isn't that just the truth? Remi and Konny spit raw reality on their verses, with Sensible J on production. Definitely peep the "Fried" LP.

Pete Rock ft. Pharoahe Monch : Just Do It

We go back to the "Soul Survivor 2" collection for this track - not quite up to the mark of the first, but still an excellent LP. Only great producers can make a beat as sparse as this and make it sound complete, not unfinished. The spaced-out keys on the hook are an added bonus, a nice bit of additional polish. Pharaohe Monch can sound good on pretty much anything, so when he gets quality material like this then it's an easy win.

Roots Manuva ft. Ricky Rankin : Bashment Boogie

I've been meaning to play this one for years - originally thought it would be one to open a show with, but I think it works well enough here! One of the early tracks on Roots' critically-acclaimed second LP "Run Come Save Me", this one bumps along with a digital flavour (Lotek on the beat) as he tells the story of getting ready to go out of town for a jam. One of the great artists ever to come out of the UK scene, Roots drops plenty of references that the home crowd will get, and it still stands up twenty years after release.

Khadejia ft. Product : Here We Go

A slightly obscure track, despite all the personnel involved! This was on Funkmaster Flex's "60 Minutes of Funk - The Mix Tape Volume III" release, and he produced it along with Wyclef and Jerry Wonder. I believe this is Khadejia's only headline release, but she's got a fair few features in her discography, including "Can't Help It" by Royal Flush which I love. Accompanying her are the duo The Product, whose releases I must say passed me by at the time! They borrow a classic Boogie Down Productions lyric and build around it for a nice little jam.

Flamingosis : Jet Skis & Hennessy

Flamingosis just has that knack of cooking up instrumentals that make you feel great. This selection from "Flight Fantastic" is no exception, and perfect for a summer's evening.

Biz Markie : Nobody Beats The Biz

What can I say that hasn't been said about this certified classic from a recently-departed giant? Well, maybe I can give you some trivia gems you may not have been aware of - it's got to be one of the most-sampled Hip-Hop tracks of all time, the title/hook is based on commercials from an 80s electronics chain in NYC, and Biz bought every copy of the Lafayette Afro Rock Band record containing "Hihache" (used for the drums here) from one shop to replace Marley Marl's scratched-up copy! A legendary track from the "Goin' Off" LP, which will be played as long as this culture lives.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!

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reactingtosomething · 7 years ago

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Kris Reacts to Game of Thrones: 702, “Stormborn”

How One Becomes What One Is

The Setup: I (Kris, aka @omeletsforpepper) am not the only one of us who keeps up with Game of Thrones, but I am going solo for reactions to it this season (until maybe the finale). This could change, but my plan is to pick out a theme (not necessarily “the” theme) of the week’s episode, and discuss in depth just one or two scenes/sequences that involve it.

SPOILERS for and through season 7, episode 2 of Game of Thrones after the jump.

They’re making the whole “pick a theme” thing pretty easy, aren’t they? The title of this week’s episode is, of course, one of Danaerys Targaryen’s many epithets. What distinguishes Stormborn as an honorific from Mother of Dragons and Breaker of Chains is that it was bestowed upon Dany for the circumstances of her birth, rather than earned through her own actions. It suggests both that she emerged from elemental chaos and that elemental chaos — or, specifically, elemental wrath — is a part of her.

Before we get too far into the story on Dragonstone, though, let’s do a quick rundown of other characters and moments concerned with the idea that, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse, the characters can’t get away from Who They Really Are, Deep Down.

“That’s Not You”: Arya briefly reunites with Nymeria, and asks her to come home, but is rebuffed. This obviously makes her sad, but then (as explained by the showrunners in the post-episode featurette) Arya remembers what she told her father when he described what kind of lady Sansa was trying to be way back in season one: “That’s not me.” Nymeria has become more direwolf than any of her siblings. Winterfell isn’t home for her anymore. (So does the show want us to wonder if it will really feel like home for Arya?)

“I Never Asked for It”: Jon admits out loud to the gathered lords and ladies of the North that he doesn’t want to be king. (I love this.) Jon’s has always been a soul of duty, even if early on it was obscured by a giant chip on his shoulder. And he seems to have burned through most of the pride that made his life difficult in the first two or so seasons (dying will do that to a guy), so that Jon’s character development has involved not only learning and growth, but a cutting away and a letting go of things that burdened the man he’s Meant to Be.

“Reek, Reek, it rhymes with…”: Not a line in this episode, but one clearly invoked by Theon’s re-traumatization in the face of Euron’s attack. More than anyone else’s, Theon’s core has dramatically and irrevocably changed over the course of the show. He is no longer a proud Greyjoy, heir to the kraken. He’s what Ramsay Bolton made him. Some enthusiastic but shallow speechifying from his battle ax of a sister was never going to be enough to change that.

So, back to Team Targaryen. The war council between Danaerys, Olenna, Ellaria Sand, and Yara Greyjoy was an exciting moment indeed, in Game of Thrones history specifically and in genre TV history generally, however each of us may feel about the relative wokeness of any given creative involved. (You can probably assume that we will not be reacting to Confederate here, unless it somehow turns out to be the best thing ever.) And a sit-down between Dany and Olenna was bound to be fun.

And yet…

Okay, look. I know we’re all supposed to have loved season 6, but a problem I had with it was that Dany didn’t really seem to learn anything. She didn’t have an arc so much as a straight line up, from an admittedly low starting point. Which would have been fine if she had at least picked up new insights or tactics along the way. But she didn’t. Her first big Triumphant Moment of the season — the burning of the Dothraki khals and the reclamation of yet another title, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea — relied almost entirely on an old trick: her immunity to fire. It’s a good trick! But not one that required Danaerys to challenge herself intellectually or emotionally. More to the point I made last week, it was not a trick that did anything to demonstrate Dany’s suitability for a throne. This was a brute force affair, pure shock and awe. It’s a good way to win a battle. Not a proven way to win a war, much less to rule in peace.

(Even Tyrion Lannister, skeptic and pragmatist extraordinaire, was won over less by Danaerys’s abilities as a queen than by the sight of Dany riding Drogon out of the fighting pits. By her sheer charisma, conviction, and force of will, and the raw physical power those traits have made available to her in the form of dragons.)

Then came the cutting of George R. R. Martin’s “Mereenese knot,” ending with Dany’s dragons raining fire on her enemies in Slaver’s Dragon’s Bay. First there’s the logistical plot hole: How is Daario Naharis, a man of little aptitude and even less interest in politics, supposed to enforce Dany’s laws when not only her dragons, not only her Unsullied, but also her Dothraki — the ground force that finally gave her the edge she needed to beat the Sons of the Harpy — are all with her in Westeros? More importantly, this was, again, just a Bigger and Badder version of a move Danaerys has played before, when she freed the Unsullied. Trade sharp words with an out-of-his-depth aristocrat, surprise him with FIRE!

Victory didn’t require Dany to grow over the course of the season. It required her being unburdened (in a more literal and less interesting way than Jon has been unburdened over the years), and even more simply it required her to be in the right place at the right time — mostly “accomplished” through her abduction by that khalasar — to acquire more military assets, and thus the leverage to do on a larger scale than ever the one thing that’s always worked for her:

Being a dragon.

Being a dragon not in a literal sense, of course, but in the sense that Olenna Tyrell means when she gives Danaerys what is probably not very good advice. Olenna doesn’t endorse the Mad King, but we know that on the level of what she’s willing (if not always able) to do, she’s almost as cutthroat as he was. Having seen that she failed to out-think Cersei, we also know better, or should know better, than to believe Olenna has some special strategic genius that’s beyond the likes of Dany’s other advisors (who are, after all, how Dany’s gotten this far). What she is, and she more or less says this herself, is a survivor. (A Tyrell, a thorned rose, Growing Strong.) And mere survival isn’t what Dany is after.

Still, we also know that Olenna sees people for what they are. Joffrey was a monster. Sansa was a girl out of her depth in the court. Cersei is a menace. And: “The lords of Westeros are sheep.” (She’s counting on that, in the form of men like Randyll Tarly.) “Are you a sheep? No. You’re a dragon.” Which is to say, You’re a Targaryen. Your house words are Fire and Blood. You were born to fuck shit up.

We’ll see how well that plays when Jon Snow arrives to talk dragonglass and, probably to his and especially Davos’s alarm, R’hlloran prophecies. But it will certainly be tempting for Dany to return to form now that she’s lost her Iron Fleet. (What’s not explicit is whether Grey Worm’s force was traveling with Yara and Ellaria’s, but almost certainly not, which again poses some logistical questions. Would Euron really miss another big-ass fleet that has to go in the same direction, only even further, and past the Iron Islands to get to Casterly Rock?) I suspect that Tyrion and Varys will both counsel Dany against rashness. And I suspect that Dany will ignore this advice, because Olenna told her to. I don’t think I should hazard a plot guess further than that; the show still has some sharp reversals up its sleeve. (Sand Snakes, we hardly knew ye. No, really, we hardly knew you, because the show never really knew what to do with you.)

But the telegraphed character beat — Yeah, that’s right, I am a dragon — would be unsatisfying, especially if it’s what leads to victory, again because it doesn’t involve Dany learning anything about being a queen. And more superficially, because it wouldn’t be a new story beat. It would not be a surprise or a subversion. It would not be what we all committed to this show (or book series) for after Ned Stark’s head rolled. Be a dragon isn’t advice Danaerys needed to hear. Being a dragon is what she’s done all along. (Being a storm would be a change of rhetoric but not necessarily a change of substance.) So, the two questions I’m left with:

Does the show intend that Being a dragon really is Danaerys’s path to ultimate victory?

And if, as I hope, it does not, what will Danaerys have to learn to be instead?

Just one extra thought this week: I’m glad they’ve had their fun with their gross-out match-cuts, but can they, like, stop now?

#Game of Thrones #Stormborn #Daenerys Targaryen #got spoilers #got season 7 #Fire and Blood #Kris #reaction #TV #Kris reacts to GoT

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comicteaparty · 6 years ago

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October 18th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on October 18th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT. The chat focused on The Origin Story by Carolin Reich.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing The Origin Story by Carolin Reich~! (https://tapas.io/series/The-Origin-Story)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

one of my favorite scenes is actually really depressing XD but i really like the small part of a scene after cosima beats joreal and velver passes by her looking for her. https://tapas.io/episode/974705 something about the illustration on this page is so expertly crafted. like, you can just take one look and see cosima is in shock and kind of dead instead, and the fact its conveyed in such a brief and brillaint way amazes me.

Superjustinbros

Hi there!

RebelVampire

hey SJ

Superjustinbros

Glad to be here

RebelVampire

feel free to share any scenes that you were found of.

Superjustinbros

https://tapas.io/episode/1182515

Here's a pretty silly one

RebelVampire

yes! i really liked the relationship between chaze and his brother. theyre so different in personality. and you kind of have to wonder what happened in the past that caused his brother to leave home and essentially leave chaze in charge. cause chaze is not exactly whod i was as a king necessarily XD

Superjustinbros

Heehee X3

Pretty much

RebelVampire

did you just like it for the silliness or was there something else?

Superjustinbros

the silliness

RebelVampire

any part of the silliness that particularly entertained you or just the whole package?

Superjustinbros

I'd say the "head shake" bit

RebelVampire

yeah thats definitely a great illustration right there~!

Superjustinbros

Indeed

And giant draco daddy

RebelVampire

yeah i liked how the dragon was treated more like a pest than as a dragon XD

Superjustinbros

Dragon jsut wants his pumpkins for Halloween

RebelVampire

in the meantime, another scene i liked was in the elven court where velver did manipulative mumbo jumbo towards nocturne by playing to her fears on being the proxy for chaos. that was just some beautiful a-ok emotional stake driving right there. though i do wonder how much of it was on purpose or if velver was being a jerk. but i like the fact that i dont know for sure because it keeps velver as a bit enigmatic

Superjustinbros

https://tapas.io/episode/1152958 Ooh, so there's some type of modern tech in this world too?

RebelVampire

ummm, well in that part of the world its just cause cosima brought her phone

Superjustinbros

lol right

RebelVampire

another scene im fond of is when nocturne she tells Chaze "nope you gotta figure out how to get yourself out" after freeing him. Chaze has some really great expressions. But i also like the story itself turns my expectations on their head by having Chaze really actually mostly figure out how to escape himself.

Superjustinbros

Yeah that's a good scene

RebelVampire

speaking of head turns, and not so much a scene, but i like that cosima orchestrated her own escape from the brothel and noped out. like im used to stories where the protagonist misbehaves only a fraction (like explore the brothel after being told no dont do that). but cosima just nopes out of there and heads for home, which is a fitting reaction for someone her age.

Superjustinbros

Yeah.

At least it's appropriate for Cosima's age.

Since I see lots of story make the young characters far more intelligent/capable for someone their age

RebelVampire

yes, so i like that she decided to try and nope after all. granted it backfired as it should have, but still the attempt was made

mathtans

I will be another... 15-20 minutes. FYI.

RebelVampire

kay take your time. well be here but i hope you can make it.

mathtans

I liked the rattling off of "chosen one" artifacts like mascots and silver crystals and then be all, if I don't get those, then nevermind.

Superjustinbros

Oh hey Math(edited)

RebelVampire

oh yeah i forgot about that moment in the larger scheme. but that was a really great moment. and again, kind of a more realistic reaction in a sense. cause i think those sorts of things are what ppl expect if they get told theyre the chosen one.

QUESTION 2. Throughout the comic, Velver seems to be up to his own sorts of goals. What do you think Velver’s goals even are? Are they personal, or is this the will of the supposed Church? What do these goals have to do with manipulating the elves to war with the merpeople? What outcome do you think people are hoping to achieve by starting it? Who is Kader, and what’s their intent with Cosima/Riga? Do you feel Velver is loyal to Kader, or is Velver playing the field to achieve his own ends? Lastly, how does Velver know Jorel, and why did Jorel call Velver a traitor?

i will try and tackle the last one first. i feel as if velver must not have always been part of the church by the fact hes a traitor. instead, he joined the church later when he saw the people he was with were "evil." though personally i feel like jorel's group wants to stop the prophecy a different way versus what the church is up to? but this is mostly based on the fact i cant necessarily picture jorel as part of this so-called church

i could be wrong and its totally opposite and the hunters dont realize velver is a double agent who hates the church

im gonna go out on the limb and say i think velver is playing both fields and trying to decide for himself what the best outcome is. and that while he's doing kader's bidding for now, he ultimately is after something else that makes following kader necessary.

Superjustinbros

I second the "prophecy a different way" part, seems like a possible reason.

RebelVampire

i definitely also feel that kader is definitely for sure evil. cause something about the breaking of strings and velver's reactions makes me pretty sure they're a tyrant. XD which makes me pretty sure that they actually dont care about light beating the dark. they just want cosima's powers to do cool power things. maybe take over a kingdom

actually thatd make sense for why they want the elves and the merpeople to war

let the elves and the merpeople tire themselves out

then swoop in with cosima/riga saying "were here to take over"

insta win

Superjustinbros

I mean who doesn't want to rule over a kingdom

mathtans

Okaaaay, hiiii. Busy week, didn't get all the way through "Destiny", but very impressed by the German origins here. Gonna scroll up and make random remarks now.

Re: The scene after the dead parents, yeah, that whole section somehow rang really true, the whole "my parents will be so annoyed I don't want to have to deal" morphing into the "what is even my life now". Also, kudos on illustrations in general.

RebelVampire

yeah. i like that it continues as well to when cosima got caught by the hunters. and she just sits there like "what is life what do i do"

mathtans

I'm not at the brother scene yet. ^.^ Did not expect the dragon thing. I wonder how people who do the swimming/water thing end up with dragons, that we associate with the air.

Yeah. I mean, not only are your parents dead, you come face to face with their killer. Yipes.

Yeah, Cosima's portrayed well as a teenager.

RebelVampire

i did wonder that too. we havent seen the merpeople yet in the sense of their city, so maybe they actually live above water unlike all past precedent merpeople or something

i did think it was ironic

but i also thought it was ironic anyway cause how does chaze of all ppl have a dragon XD

mathtans

Velver's an interesting cookie. Joining up later makes sense, particularly if that made him a "traitor" to some. I feel like he's his own agent, rather than working for anyone else... not necessarily that he's trying to engineer the best outcome either, just that he thinks he has some role to play, prophecy wise.

Superjustinbros

I wonder what the merpeople even look like

unless they already appeared and I jsut missed it

mathtans

Seahorses are called dragons of the sea, right? Maybe that's how they hatch.

RebelVampire

chaze is a mer person

Superjustinbros

ooh

RebelVampire

as is his brother XD

Superjustinbros

Okay then X3

RebelVampire

and i guess thats possible if the dragons are secretly just sea horses

mathtans

I think Velver's been reading the ancient runes. I also have my own crazy theory...

Namely that which one of them is good/order or evil/chaos hasn't necessarily been decided yet. Velver's pegging Cosima for the former, but it could be the other girl, so he's goading her too.

RebelVampire

oh thats a really good theory. that either one is capable. cause i mean tbf chaos doesnt have to be evil nor does order have to be good

mathtans

It's like, "I'm going to start a war, and let's see which of them handles it better".

Superjustinbros

lel

mathtans

It also might explain why Jorel wanted Cosima dead, he (or others of his kind) have pegged her as the chaotic one.

RebelVampire

could be

tbf maybe jorel wasnt even ordered to kill cosima

maybe hes just like velver and think he has his own role to play

Superjustinbros

Maybe so

RebelVampire

and he chose the psycho role

mathtans

Could be. I'm not sure I totally buy he's a psycho though... he's strangely ordered in his thinking. It's like, I gotta do this, and this, and tie up loose ends. He just, I dunno, has no soul?

(Maybe that's the same thing.)

RebelVampire

i mostly label him psycho cause he heartlessly killed her parents XD

mathtans

OH, hmmmm... what if Velver and Jorel were originally the rebirth of order and chaos, and they messed it up, so now it's up to the women? How old are they anyway?

Rebel: Fair.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Many of the events of the comic come about for one reason: Cosima and Nocturne are destined to fight according to a prophecy and past precedence of their past selves. Do you think The Origin Story about Riga and her sister is true, or do you think there’s some critical information missing from it? Do you believe the prophecy is destined to come to pass, or are Cosima and Nocturne going to find a way to avoid fighting each other? Why do you think Cosima was kidnapped as a child but not Nocturne? In present times, what do you think will happen when Cosima catches up with Nocturne? Do you think Cosima will learn to control her powers inherited from Riga better, or will they ultimately be her undoing? What about Nocturne? Will she overcome her own issues regarding the prophecy?

i dont think that old. but i mean i guess its possible. though they must of messed up real bad cause neither velver or jorel killed each other.

so im saying it now cause of that flashback cosima had at some point (which i dont remember where). i think this is one of those situations where what ppl believe is a lie. someone else hurt riga and someone kept turning the new incarnations against each other. and eventually it devolved into a myth and such, as myths tend to do

mathtans

Well, the killing each other is just how things are now, once it's all escalated. ^.^

There's probably key missing information... maybe they're actually TRIPLETS.

RebelVampire

dun dun dun without the 3rd sister there are no negotians. jsut blind filled rage

mathtans

Yeah, there has been some interesting flashback/imagery stuff. Like when she reached for someone, and the image shattered and it was Velver (if memory serves).

I wonder if Cosima's friends have a role to play too. Maybe in a big twist, it was really one of them.

RebelVampire

they definitely have a role to play. they are suspicious af, though idk if you got to that part yet

mathtans

Ahh, if they appear in "Destiny" then no. I only got to the bit after Velver and Jorel talked. (I feel like they're related, incidentally.)

Speaking of though, the plot has been very clever in rolling out it's cast. Gradual enough to come to terms with each new character, but teasing others that end up with bigger roles later on. I'm reminded of an early scene when Velver was spying on Cosima - and Nocturne was spying on him. Layers.

RebelVampire

yeah i really like the pacing on it too. i dont have to spend an immense time memorizing a billion names at once.

Superjustinbros

At least the names aren't too hard to memorize.

mathtans

I'm still horrible with names. It's a gift.

I imagine it scans differently too when you're seeing it as it comes out versus binging, but I felt like the pacing was done well for the cast.

Superjustinbros

i feel ya Math (edited)

RebelVampire

on the side topic of nocturne, i feel like left to their own devices she and cosima wouldn't fight it out to the death. instead theyd be all sister bondy bond, have some tea, etc. so i think for sure its not they themselves who bring the prophecy to pass, its the plans of others who try to grab at the power and turn them on each other. but i also think cosima and nocturne will be obstinate and keep hugging each other screaming no

mathtans

I'm not so sure about that. Mainly because they might not always have control over their bodies. Like when Cosima went crazy on Jorel for self preservation. Could happen again with unintended consequences.

Nocturne probably also resents Cosima for growing up without so much responsibility, maybe also for having actual parents who aren't apparently trapped in crystals.

(...is reading a bit further in the background btw...)

RebelVampire

idk if nocturne would resent cosima for it. cause i mean, at least nocturne's parents are still probably alive in their crystals and werent viciously murdered. though youre right that riga may have other ideas about their bonding and just take over. but then again riga seems to know what velver is up to so riga might not act either.

the bigger danger on seeing nocturne i think is seeing the queen of elves

cause shes the one who might not take kindly to cosima XD

mathtans

Well, yeah, once Nocturne learns of the murdering that might change things. ^.^ There's a lot of variables in play I suppose.

That said, I will willingly ship Nocturne with Cosima's friends.

RebelVampire

LOL i dont think i can get behind that ship. mostly cause i expect cosima's friends to die. :"D

mathtans

That light haired girl is kind of precious though, with her theories.

I wonder what she'd make of seeing the town.... ... and now I'm picturing her at the brothel, I shouldn't do that.

Also, shipping all the girls in the brothel.

RebelVampire

yes those are more acceptable ships. the brothel girls are probably safe. and head brothel girl has a whip.

also i found it, that scene with cosima's friends being super suspicious. it was actually in puppeter

https://tapas.io/episode/915705

mathtans

Right, the fact that they knew Jorel. I thought that was weird.

It's fine though, I'll still ship them with each other! All the ships!

RebelVampire

yeah. whatever organization jorel is from theyre clearly from

QUESTION 4. Among the larger threads rests a plethora of other possible curiosities to be solved. Who exactly were Cosima’s parents? Were they working for someone from the beginning, or did they somehow get wrapped up in everything? Who are Cosima’s friends considering they lament that their comfortable lives have changed since Cosima left? Who is Jorel, and why are his orders to kill Cosima? What is the deal with the elves trapped in crystals? As far as the plot goes, how might the Hunters affect what’s going on in general? What about Chaze? Will he be able to stop the war, or is his destiny meant to be something greater than that? In general, what are your theories for the future? What do you think or want to see happen?

mathtans

Are they from that organization though? Because if so, they know where Cosima is. Why bother sending Jorel.

RebelVampire

i think jorel is more firmly acting on his own

since the friends didnt know of any death order

mathtans

He was saying he couldn't go back without being sure she was dead though, or someone would be upset.

I think.

RebelVampire

so maybe the friends didnt get the message? and theyre going to show up going wtf guys

mathtans

Holy Hannah! Kader's more psychotic than Jorel, she doesn't even kill directly. (Just got caught up.) Like geeeeeez.

Rebel: Maybe. There was the implication that they could return as well.

I suspects events will prevent that, but they thought it was an option.

RebelVampire

maybe. idk. i need more data in this case. i still think jorel is working more on his own though. cause maybe the person who was gonna be upset is actually gonna be upset regardless. and be like wtf jorel why did you kill riga you dolt

but yeah kader is psychotic, or at the very least tyrannical

velver did not necessarily make a good switch

i really want to know whats up with the elves in the crystals. like was there a spell that backfired and the queen just doesnt care O_O

mathtans

Maybe, yeah... also that mention of having the same problem in another 10 years makes me think once again that if the battle doesn't happen the spirits move on again. Or something.

Yeah, maybe the elves in the crystals had a disease? So it's like suspended animation? Because it was mentioned that there were fewer elves than merfolk.

Or maybe they just couldn't make enough food for the city, so this means fewer mouths to feed. Swords apparently grow in the crystals, but I guess vegetables don't.

RebelVampire

maybe it is a disease. or maybe this is actually why riga was kidnapped. cause riga caused it and jorel's group was like "welp we found riga. did you see that giant crystal explosion?"

im not sure what mention youre talking about with the 10 years thing tho

i must of missed it

mathtans

The most recent update. Third panel from the end.

Riga likes making crystals. Everyone needs a hobby.

RebelVampire

hmmm from the phrasing i feel like the implication is more that nocturne will kill riga? and kader will have to wait a decade for riga to be reborn again so they have to restart the kidnapping process. but i could be wrong.

mathtans

As to the future, I really don't think I can call it. Too many moving pieces. I also wonder a bit if maybe the Circle's hiding elements of the prophecy, accidentally or otherwise.

Ahh, I see... no, that's possible. Doesn't necessarily negate the Velver/Jorel reincarnation issue though, maybe the host doesn't need to die.

(Yes, I'm back to that theory.)

RebelVampire

its a possible theory. though like i say theyd really have to mess it up for this to be a thing. i do think parts of the prophecy are hidden

though maybe its a bit of both

in that theyre purposefully hiding some of it

but then theres parts that they just missed

and are gonna go through their archives and go "oops"

mathtans

It was censored by the clerics.

Incidentally, just want to shout-out here too for the translator. I noticed the comic's originally in German, and gets translated. Can't be simple coming up with the terms like for the "virtual loop" forest.

(Maybe the original German prophecy got translated so many times it's being misinterpreted. )

RebelVampire

i am curious what the original german says now XD

mathtans

I can't speak German. They have neat words for things though.

Okay, final theory. In a massive plot twist, Cosima's cat app saves the day. All the outside world needed was technologies to unify the different groups.

Oh! And shout-out to some of the fun cartoony poses. I feel like those would be fun to draw. (Or maybe not draw, but see once drawn?)

RebelVampire

haha i did kind of hope it would go that way tbh. that by the end the worlds recombine and they figure out that technology is awesome and puts less pressure on the whole magic business.

so i mean if cosima's cat app requires this to happen, so be it

mathtans

I wonder if there's anywhere for her phone to charge. Or if she can use magic for that.

RebelVampire

i wonder if vampire guy we saw briefly who seemed to be from cosima's world has the cat app

that would be hilarious. has all these great goddess powers, uses them to recharge her phone

mathtans

It's the simple things in life sometimes.

RebelVampire

well if cosima visits the brothel again, she cant disappoint. theyll want to see that cat app again

mathtans

Yis. That will be after the Origin Story... the Sequel Story.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Carolin Reich, as well, for making The Origin Story. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Carolin Reich’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/The-Origin-Story

Carolin Reich’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CarolinReich

Carolin Reich’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A212D0X

Carolin Reich’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ensyis

Comic Tea Party- Thursday Book Club

Next week’s Thursday Book Club will be about A Drift of Souls by Davpow. For participants, you have the next week to read as much of the comic as you would like~! We hope to see you on Thursday, October 25th, from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat in #thursday_bookclub!

Comic’s Main Site: https://adriftofsouls.com/

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