#travis of course can choke

[flints-silver]

coming out as a jeff hater

[arsenysworld]

No Pickles, No Problems

April Ludgate x Male Reader

Y/N wasn’t sure how he ended up in this situation. He wasn’t even that hungry, but April had insisted on dragging him to Paunch Burger after a long day of avoiding work at city hall. Now, he found himself staring at the towering Big Mac in his hands, feeling his chest tighten—not from the grease, but from the green abominations peeking out from under the bun.

“Uh, April?” he murmured, shifting uncomfortably.

April leaned against the counter, scrolling through her phone, her ever-present smirk plastered on her face. “What, did they forget your precious extra napkins or something?”

“No, it’s… it has pickles,” he whispered, glancing nervously at the cashier a few feet away.

April froze mid-scroll. Slowly, she turned to face him, her eyes narrowing. “What do you mean, pickles?”

“I—I’m allergic to pickles,” Y/N admitted, voice so quiet she had to lean closer to hear. “Like, my throat could swell up, allergic.”

April blinked, and for a moment, Y/N thought she might just laugh it off and tell him to man up. Instead, her expression darkened, and her smirk twisted into something far more dangerous. Without a word, she grabbed the offending burger out of his hands.

“April, it’s fine, I can just—”

“No,” she cut him off, her tone sharp enough to slice through steel. “They had one job.”

Before he could stop her, April stormed toward the counter, her combat boots thudding against the floor. The few customers in the restaurant turned to watch as she slammed the Big Mac down with a force that made the soda cups on the counter tremble.

Travis, the cashier, looked up from his phone, startled. His expression shifted from bored indifference to pure terror as he met April’s withering glare.

“He. Ordered. No. Pickles,” she said, enunciating each word like a knife being sharpened.

Travis blinked at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. “Uh, I-I can fix that,” he stammered, his voice cracking.

“You’re damn right you’re gonna fix it,” April snapped, leaning forward until her face was mere inches from his. “Because if he eats a pickle and drops dead, I’ll make sure you’re the one explaining to his mom why her precious son kicked the bucket in your crappy restaurant.”

Behind her, Y/N tugged at the sleeve of her leather jacket. “April, it’s not a big deal—”

She spun around, silencing him with a look. “Not a big deal? Do you want to die choking on a pickle? Huh? Because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life avenging your death like some sad, goth widow.”

Y/N’s face turned crimson. “Uh… no?”

“Exactly,” she said, turning back to Travis, who was frantically assembling a new burger. “Get it right this time. No pickles. Not even a hint of pickle juice. Do you hear me?”

“Y-Yes, ma’am,” Travis squeaked, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

When the new burger was handed over, April inspected it with the intensity of a forensic investigator. After a long moment, she nodded. “Good. You live to serve terrible food another day.”

As they left the restaurant, Y/N glanced over his shoulder to see Travis slumping against the counter, visibly relieved.

“Was that really necessary?” Y/N asked, biting his lip to suppress a nervous chuckle.

April shrugged, casually slipping her hand into his. “Of course. No one messes with my boyfriend. Not even fast food morons.”

Despite himself, Y/N felt a shy smile tug at his lips. “Thanks. For, uh, sticking up for me.”

April smirked, leaning closer. “Don’t get all mushy on me, nerd. Now eat your pickle-free burger before I throw it in the trash.”

Y/N laughed softly, his chest feeling lighter. She might have a dark sense of humor and a terrifying streak, but April cared in her own unique way.

And that was more than enough for him.

@fandomnerd9602 @jacenradio7 @6rookie-writer0110 @multi-fandom-enjoyer

[terrence-silver]

I thought for Halloween spooky scariness it might be fun to ask a broad question that could apply to pretty much any of TIG's characters:

"What would a nightmare starring [insert name of TIG character here] look like?"

Is it a dark noncon? A hunt through the woods? Pure unadulterated stalking? YOU DECIDE... if you want to that is!

(my top characters of love to read about are, predictably, Cash, CK Terry and Valek, but any and all you feel like writing for would be amazing!)

---

― For Jan Valek, you dream of what seems like a distant funeral pyre. Or perhaps a burning stake. You don't quite see or deduce who's tied to it and set aflame amidst the silent crowd of hoods and robes but the shape seems eerily familiar, speaking to you with a voice you know. Almost seductive. Almost lulling. Beckoning. So tender. Like an old yet loving friend's re-assuring, inviting caress. You walk past the spectators on the foggy cobblestone square the and unto the burning, blackened wood stacked up high into a colossal, looming pile without blinking or even feeling any pain. Any sensations. Whoever's there in the center of the red inferno of crackling embers embraces you with both arms as the church bells on the forum strike noon. You feel strangely at home swallowed by the flames. Maybe this isn't such a nightmare after all?

― You're buried alive. You know you are. You're awake for it. Alive, when you rightfully shouldn't. You can breathe. Experience every sensation. Every vestige of claustrophobia. The fear. You realize your muffled cries will never be heard by anyone and that you'll undoubtedly die down here, choking due to lack of air. You even realize scratching the surface of your coffin is futile. That you're not getting out of here, from the oppressive, strangulating pitch blackness. Kicking, screaming and fighting it will get you nowhere, the same way when you feel a calm, focused hand reach out from beside you a grasp your fingers, you're fully aware they're Jack's. Jack Blaylock, Timothy Calloway is in there with you. You're in here together. Trapped for all eternity. You figure, that's exactly the way he'd like it too. Wouldn't surprise you if he personally orchestrated this himself.

― With Gus Travis, you live in a house floating on the cold sea. And it's much like any other suburban, family house, really. It has a fridge, and a kitchen, a living room, a bed, carpets, decorative throw pillows on the couch and all the mundane knick knacks, commonplace any family apartment should have, making you realize nothing's amiss --- nothing at all --- as you explore the winding corridors of your abode floating on the waves, your neighbor nobody in particular but the vast expanse of water, grey, not unlike the winter coastline before the stormy tempest. You hand your husband his slippers and a beer. Maybe set him up with lunch. You wash the dishes. Clean, polish and organize them, ever so diligent. This place, it has just about everything, except a front door and a way out, you realize too late as he's fucking you up against the wall.

― Cash? Well, there's eyes in your walls and they're everywhere. In every crack. Every corner. Every hidden nook and cranny. Like an infestation of bees nesting in the skeletal scaffolding of a cellar or a basement. They don't ever blink and they're blue. The light, icy cerulean type in shade. You know they're his eyes. How could you not? They're unmistakable. You're well acquainted with them by now because they don't never go away. You also know they belong to a face and not merely floating in the abyss, but it's not a visage you ever see, hidden behind layers of concrete and bricks he's observing behind of, like a veneer. He's always there, of course. Never closes his lids to rest or take a break. Watches you dress, undress, eat, sleep, shit, piss. Your world is a quiet world. A dark world. Never disturbed. Never shaken. But, you're never alone and that frightens you.

― Oh, a nightmare starring Terry McCain is positively Kafkaesque because the world is black and white --- entirely monochromatic --- like in an old detective movie and you realize the absurdity of it all even as it unfolds and as you're being effectively questioned in what's a stereotype of every interrogation room you've ever seen. Sharp light overhead, handcuffs around your wrists, a metal table, you and the Detective asking the questions. You don't know why or when, but a fellow uniformed colleague of his comes forth carrying an entree of meals even though you've never asked for anything and he has the mannerisms of a waiter in spite of his badge and nametag. The desk of your cross examination is littered with dishes and plates and a hand lights a candle between you and McCain. Someone pours you wine. What's happening?

― You're General Taligaro's bride but that part hardly constitutes the nightmare; it's the notion your matrimonial gown of ceremony consists of all the trinkets of his conquests --- your cape is made of the sown together scalps of all the virgins of the realm, your necklace human teeth, ears hang attached off of the belt that adorned the waistline of your dress like so many pearls, your bodice a boney ribcage held together with golden string and jewels; the spoils of so many wars --- you're a gruesome sight to behold as you're led to him to complete the ritual of union and you feel just as gruesome --- demonic --- all stickiness, blood, gore, stench and carnage. The picture of all of the backstabbing, machinations and kinslaying on display as he lifts up your veil adoringly, looking at you like you're the most beautiful, ravishing creature in all the kingdoms.

― There's a telegram you couldn't open for a week now and it frustrates you to no end. It sits there on the table like a silent yet harrowing obligation you can't shake off and no matter how much you may try, the envelope refuses to rip open, it refuses to be cut, scissors are like butter against its paper yielding no result and even gnawing on it with your own teeth like an animal doesn't help. Attempting to burn it is a useless endeavor too, almost like the damn thing's fireproof. You know these are news of Terry from overseas. You can tell by the official stamping and by who's delivered it to your doorstep. You know something bad has happened. You can feel it. But, your inability to do the laughably miniscule task of actually opening it, almost as if your hands had no strength in them whatsoever kills you.

― It's the 80's and you can tell by the front row of unhinged bleached perms and sharp shoulder pads lining the perimeters. It's a bidding. An auction. The subject of interest being a live human heart on display. You. You have no body. No arms. No legs. No head. Just a heart --- a beating, fully conscious organ on a pedestal in front of a crowd of hundreds on stage. Terry Silver's right there. Of course he is. Dressed to the nines, fully in his element, like he doesn't seem to be bothered at all you lack your basic physical attributes. Even in your nightmare, you think this is a very on the nose metaphor but it doesn't make your helpless predicament any more terrifying as the auction host slams his wooden gavel against the cathedra. Going once, going twice, sold --- somehow, perhaps unsurprisingly, Terry outbid the King of Burma for you, because of course he did. You're handed over lovingly to him like something he owns. He bites into you like an d'oeuvre.

― With old man Terry, you're attending an awkward party. Everyone's artificial, everyone's putting up a front and everything's an act. The social tension is hardly the worst of it, of course. Somewhere mid-mingling, you accompany him back inside of the manor away from the gaggle of the chipper crowd and into the nearest bedroom featuring a closet of immaculately organized suits that would put a high-end catalogue to shame. For some reason, he's decided to change his attire. In watching him undress and a firm lipped, stony faced assistant helping him into a new suit you also watch him peel off his own skin and throw it aside like a fleshy, useless rag promptly collected by a manservant until your Terry's nothing but red, gaping flesh and nerve endings. He walks out like that, practically flayed with you underarm and everyone smiles. They complement the host's wonderful finger food.

[toastful]

Something Humorous

I don’t normally post jokes here, as I am an intellectual, but today, I’m feeling a bit humorous. Here’s something I came up with about dear Taylor Swift. (This is all in jest of course. I hold no ill towards Taylor…)

Me: *Calls Ms.Taylor Swift on her personal phone*

Taylor: *Picks up telephone* Hello?

Me: Hello, is this Ms. Taylor Swift? *chokes back laughter*

Taylor: This is she!

Me: *chokes back more mischievous chortles* Is the engine of your Flacon 7x private jet running?

Taylor: *From the comfort of her private yet, flying to pick up some crisps from a distant 7-11* Yes..?

Me: *about to deliver quite an unexpected zinger*

Well… you better go catch it!! *has a sensible chuckle about it*

Taylor: …

Me: Bazinga.

I hang up the phone and giggle to myself, having successfully bazinged THE Taylor Swift!

Before I can finish my chuckle, Travis Kelce bursts through my front door and strangles me to death with his bare hands. I die.

THE END

[a-french-coconut]

Travis Stoll (Part 5)

The ride to New York is fortunately devoid of monsters trying to eat them or hunt them for their personal entertainment.

Unfortunately for his dearest friend, it means that Travis needs to find someone to bother relentlessly.

"Wiiiiill"

"Willy"

"William"

"William Andrew Solace"

"I never told you my middle name you stalker."

"Irrelevant to this conversation. Mine's Jeffrey by the way."

"Liar."

"Fine, it's Gertrude."

"I wish that was true."

"Your grandmother is named Gertrude, I'm sure she would love to know that you find her name funny."

"Travis I need to answer me truthfully."

"Never darling."

"Have you ever stalked me ?"

"Of course."

"You're insane."

"Mmmh, how's Nico ?"

Travis cackles gleefully at the the gurgling noise Will made choking on his apple juice.

"I'll do you one better, how's Katie ?"

"Irrelevant again. Don't think you can distract me."

"I'll be sure to tell her that next time I see her."

"Please don't, she's getting really better at creating her own freaky plants."

"I'd pay to see you get eaten by a carnivorous flower."

"You're way tastier than me, it'll go for you before me."

They banter for a while before Argos calmly ask them to shut up until they arrive.

That is until Will begins a conversation with him and Travis is left gaping at the ultimate betrayal he just witnessed.

He spends the rest of the trip pouting and mumbling about traitorous living lamp and the good old times where you could kill a giant and nobody batted an eye.

When Argos finally stops in front of Central Park, Travis practically flies out of the car, Will taking his sweet time just to annoy him he's sure.

After bidding many goodbyes, Argos finally leaves them, the Strawberry Delphi car disappearing in New York.

"Where are we going now ?"

"Can't you enjoy the fresh air for a while ? Look around and get out the most of this trip !"

"You don't know."

"I don't know. But it can't be that hard, we could just walk until we get some creepy, about the entering the lands of the dead vibe."

"That's your brilliant plan ? Walking ?"

That's when finally Travis registers what Will is wearing.

His usual flannel.

Orange, and frankly atrocious, cargo shorts.

Flip flops.

Travis stares for a long time at his friend's feet, too much time for it to be considered normal.

"Will you've got to be fucking kidding me !"

"I've been wearing them since we left Camp, Travis !"

"Flip flops ! On a quest !"

"Well if you had such a problem with them, you should have told me that at Camp.", Will crosses his arm pettily, a light amusement dancing in his eyes.

"How did Kayla even let out ?"

"Irrelevant."

Travis rolls his eyes at his friend's antics and takes his arm.

"Come on doctor, we have a door to find."

"Lead the way, mon ami." (mon ami : my friend in French. I head canon that Will is French)

It takes them the whole day to find the door.

Just because the dryads of Central Park were bored and wanted some distraction. Not only that, some of them are still angry at demigods for hurting their trees during the Battle of Manhattan.

When they finally stand in front of a grand rock, the sun is setting.

Next time Travis comes to New York, he's leaving with that damned park and its blasted spirits burnt to the ground.

"Katie probably wouldn't like that."

"She'll get over it."

"Sure. I'm not healing you when she inevitably stabs you."

"Whatever. Behold the Door of Orpheus !"

"How do we open it ?"

"You have to sing Staying Alive while dancing the Macarena."

"Orpheus didn't know the Macarena, why would it open his door ?"

"Flawless logic doctor, as always. Just sing some of your healing hymns, it should open it."

Will begins to hum softly, his hands glowing golden at the incantations.

When his voice gets louder, his whole body is glowing and yellow flowers erupts from the ground at his feet.

A loud rumble echoes, the rock disappearing to reveal a tunnel going straight to darkness.

"Enjoy the sun while you still can, sunshine. We're going underground."

Will sighs, takes a little moment to feel the sun heating up his skin then follow the son of Hermes in the tunnel.

part 6 posted !

[insertlovelyperson]

I know we all talk a lot about missed opportunities in The Quarry. If you could make three specific changes (new paths, relationship tweaks, game mechanics, whatever, added or adjusted dialogue, whatever) to make it a better game and narrative, what would they be?

There’s soooo much other than what I said in my last post,  (I know you said top three 😩 but I hold all these equal):

1- Nick’s infection status being determinant.  Dude really drew the short stick in terms of screen time (maybe not the shortest but pretty close) because he’s taken out of the story so soon. I would really have liked to have the infection in chapter 3 alternate  between Abi and Nick depending on your choices. Like maybe when they’re talking in the woods and they hear the werewolf, you are given the option as Abi to either ‘run’ or ‘don’t move’ (with maybe a bit of dialogue before to muddy the choices “Is it a bear? Does that mean we should play dead?”), and if you ‘run,’ Abi gets infected instead of Nick. I would also just like… more of the counselors to turn in general?? The only ones that don’t are Abi, Ryan, and Kaitlyn… but I really wished we’d gotten that.

2- Have all the counselors act ‘negatively’ while they’re turning. We obviously get this with Nick (+Emma and Jacob to an extent), but I wish the game fully capitalized on the opportunity to make the other counselors a little more ‘wolfy’ when they’re turning. Particularly Dylan, Laura, and Kaitlyn. First of all: it would’ve been cool if Laura’s infection status was determinate so the game could provide some contrast to how she acts when she’s turning verses when she isn’t. Maybe when she’s not infected, she doesn’t get the opportunity to choke out Jedidiah, and she has noticeably less hostile dialogue options (compared to the ones she could potentially get while not infected). With Dylan—if infected at the radio hut—he gets ‘bitter’ and ‘aggressive’ dialogue options on his way to the scrapyard with Kaitlyn. As is already in the game: the two of them are talking about Ryan. He’s literally conversing with the other leg of the game’s love triangle (who the player may have chosen to kiss instead of him), and he’s lamenting about the fact Ryan ran off with another girl around an hour ago. I don’t know—it just feels like a missed opportunity to not have the dialogue between the two change depending on infection status (while still keeping everything in his ‘exploding’ scene in the crane the same). With Kaitlyn… it’s a little harder because she can literally only get infected in the last rung of the game. Maybe make her dialogue a little more snappish toward Dylan, and give her more reckless choices when fighting Caleb (more opportunities to initiate combat without the silver shell).

3- The final confrontation with Silas should’ve been in the lodge. They should’ve had a way to get Laura, Ryan, and possibly Travis (they should’ve also provided an opportunity to kill him in Hackett House without killing Ryan or Laura) back to the lodge. And depending on the infection status of the surviving counselors, the fight with Silas is either helped or hindered. Were Dylan and Kaitlyn infected? Cool, now you’ve got Silas plus two other werewolves to deal with—and you might not want to kill these ones. Did they lock Caleb in the fridge instead of killing him? Awesome, now a werewolf Nick (and possibly Jacob) are also trying to kill you! I think they could also provide an opportunity to make the time of infection matter. For example: I think Dylan canonically takes the longest to turn after he’s bit (it’s like… 4 hours?). If you have him infected in the crane rather than the radio hut, maybe that makes the fight a little easier because you can use him as a ‘human shield’ (that sounds awful lol). Or maybe the game provides an opportunity for Kaitlyn and Dylan to get infected by Caleb before locking him in the freezer, and now you’ve got two human shields. And of course, the rest of the uninfected counselors get an opportunity to reconvene at the lodge before the fight starts, perhaps paying homage to the final scene in Until Dawn? Perhaps?? 

Honorable mentions:

Have Max able to survive his swim to shore

Kaitlyn going with Laura to Hackett house

All of the counselors are able to turn by the end of the game

Laura and Max reunion (without killing Ryan)

Actual payoff to the Kaitlyn/Ryan/Dylan love triangle

More Abi and Emma (just… in general. They kinda become a side characters in the second half of the game—wish they had more to do while Kaitlyn and Dylan are in the scrapyard—would be cool to see a route that has the both of them taking on Caleb assuming the game then provides the ability to kill off both Kaitlyn and Dylan in the scrapyard)

Have a way to have Kaitlyn choose between taking Dylan or Emma to the scrapyard with her

Let Kaitlyn choose whether or not she takes Abi to the scrapyard if Dylan is killed by a werewolf Emma

More angst from Ryan after killing Chris. It’s kinda built up to be this big emotional thing and then he’s completely fine after.

Let Jacob tag along through the Hackett house with Ryan and Laura

Chase scene out of the scrapyard playing as Kaitlyn if Dylan turns inside the crane 

An actual ending. Fuck that podcast. Should've gone the Until Dawn route but instead of the police interviews, it's a trial. And at the end, you find out if they were found guilty or not (or if everyone's dead, then you get the podcast. As punishment.)

[ameagrice]

Capsize

chapter twenty-six | actions have consequences

percy jackson x fem reader

“What is it, Mary?”

The house’s quietude was knocked off-kilter by Travis’s words, his whispering. The bubblewrap around your heart threatened to pop.

Nothing. The word sat on the edge of your tongue, and you wanted nothing more than to let it fall off. But that wasn’t true.

A summer in a different country would have once been your dream. But this summer had killed it, and hurt you, and you wished more than anything in the world you could just forget it all. The events of the last six weeks wrung your organs out in one uncomfortable, painful, bloody mess.

You felt empty.

In typical Chiron fashion, he’d taken to get a hot drink for you. The night had turned cool, and in your denim shorts and a t-shirt, you’d been feeling the chill for too long. Your backpack sat by the coffee table, slightly ripped on the side from where you’d fallen, but otherwise unharmed. The same could not be said for your poor, scratched legs.

You’d shocked Chiron by your sudden, unexpected arrival into camp in the dead of night. You’d scared Travis by asking for him. Percy still resided in Manhattan with his mom, and you hadn’t wanted to bother them. But you’d needed someone, and you couldn’t think of anyone better at the time.

The blanket around your shoulders weighed heavily on you. You could scarcely speak, though you’d been trying.

“It’s just…”

Travis’s patient, brown eyes were riddled with sadness, and you hated it.

You sighed and said quietly, “I don’t know. I’m so tired.”

“You’re here, now. You’re okay.”

What you hated the most was the way his words got choked at the end. You’d upset him.

“You don’t have to stay with me. I’m sorry for waking you up. Go back to bed, Travis.”

“If you think I can sleep knowing you’re here like this, think again.”

You appreciated his concern. But you felt like a fake. Had your summer really been that bad? Compared to some peoples’, no, it hadn’t been. But thinking logically, it wouldn’t have hurt if it wasn’t bad. And it had hurt.

Things with your dad never had been simple, or even somewhat good. But they’d been manageable, and without a mom, and before camp, it had been your normal. But you’d experienced camp and overheard things, and knew now that being pushed around and treated the way you had been was not acceptable.

Somewhere in your backpack was your dad’s business credit card, most likely now cut off. But it had helped while it could.

“Hot cocoa,” Chiron announced gently, setting the large mug down on the coffee table in front of you.

The mug he set down sent your mind into a frenzy. All you were capable of thinking about, and all you could see were glass shards splashing up your legs as it they bounced up from the floor, and your stepmom’s flowers being walked all over.

You’d worn leggings for weeks after.

“Thank you,” you uttered, but didn’t pick it up straight away; there wasn’t much fancy in being burned.

The clock read three o’clock. Exhaustion filled every part of your body.

“Can I stay here tonight?” You asked nobody in particular, pulling a thread on the blanket. “I cant go to my cabin yet.”

“Of course, child,” said Chiron.

You didn’t leave that house for three days.

—

You woke up with a crick in your neck, and the most embarrassing thing since you fractured your ankle…

Drool on your cheek.

You sighed, wiping it away with a grimace. You didn’t have to look at Percy to know he had a grin on his face.

“Stop it,” you said.

“I’m not doing anything!”

But then he snickered, and you knew that was a lie.

“Where are we?” You looked around. Whenever you’d arrived, the animal had stopped, and the others were climbing off. It swung its head and chewed on a cactus.

Percy turned around. In the middle of nowhere, you seemed to be. The buildings were run-down and empty and dark inside, and the signs on the fronts were worn with the paint chipping away.

“Gila Claw, Arizona,” he said.

You watched the boar take a sip dirty water and belch, then it turned around and took off running towards the mountains in the distance.

The mountains…

“Am I hallucinating?” You said, turning everyone’s attention on you. “Or are the hills…not hills?”

“What are you…?” Thalia narrowed her eyes, coming to stand beside you. She shifted on her feet when she realised. “Oh my Gods.”

“They’re cars!” You flayed your hands, palms-up. “It’s a mountain of shi—”

“Something tells me we’re not going to find a rental car out here,” Thalia said. She looked at Grover. “I don’t suppose you’ve got another boar up your sleeve?”

Grover tilted his head back, and sniffed the wind that blew. He put his hand in his jacket pocket and pulled out a fist-full of acorns, and promptly threw them to the desert floor. In the very dim light from the stars and moon, you had a thought, and slung your bag down from your shoulders to dig around.

You flicked on your flashlight when you found it, and Grover nodded in appreciation.

“That’s us,” he explained. You shone your light on the acorns. “The six of us are those acorns there.”

“Which one am I?” Percy asked.

You couldn’t help it. “The little deformed one.”

He elbowed you in the side and you shone the flashlight in his eye.

“That cluster right there,” Grover through another handful. “That’s trouble.”

“A monster?”

Grover looked uneasy. “I don’t smell anything, which doesn’t make sense. But the acorns don’t lie. Our next challenge…”

Grover leaned over and placed his hand on the end of the light, shifting the beam. It highlighted the mountains of rubble and scrap metal in heaps around you.

You decided to camp for the night and explore in the morning. It wasn’t safe in the dark, and your admittance that something was making you feel off wasn’t helping the situation.

Out of their backpacks, Zoe and Bianca pulled out sleeping bags and pillows from their backpacks. You watched from the ground, cross-legged, gob-smacked and utterly confused. How did all that fit in there?

It got cold pretty fast, so Grover and Percy took it upon themselves to collect scrap wood from the old buildings and put it all in a heap. Thalia zapped it with her spear and started a fire.

Despite the peaceful company from your friends, and the warmth from your sleeping bag, it was a struggle to ignore the weird feeling down your back, and the feeling of something settling in your bones. Something wasn’t right…

Despite the slight fear that you might accidentally cut yourself in your sleep, you left your knife beside your sleeping bag just in case, and your backpack on the other side.

“The stars are out,” Zoe said.

She was right. You tilted your head back to look up at the sky; cloudless, and scattered with stars so bright you were for a second breathtaken.

“It’s pretty,” you muttered.

“It’s amazing,” Bianca agreed. “I’ve never actually seen the Milky Way.”

“This is nothing. In the old days there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution.”

“You talk like you’re not human,” Percy said.

Zoe scoffed. “I am a Hunter. I care what happens to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?”

Her words, for some reason, sparked memories of your summer, before you’d ran off to camp.

Grass so brightly green it almost looked artificial, warmed by the sun. You’d lowered your head to lay and watch an ant on the edge of a blade of grass.

You thought of the small cove you’d found in a desperate bid to get away from the house, and the way the sea splashed up the sides of the rock, completely in your own little world.

“For you,” Thalia corrected. It brought you to the present. “Not thee.”

“But you use you for the beginning of a sentence.”

“And for the end. No thou, no thee, just you.”

Zoe threw up her hands. “I hate this language! It changes too often!”

Grover sighed. A look at him confirmed he still looked lost, and a little like he was longing. “If Pan were here, he would set things right.”

Zoe nodded and hummed sadly.

“Maybe it was the coffee,” Grover said. “I was drinking coffee, and then the wind came. Maybe if I drank more coffee…”

“Grover,” Percy’s voice brought you to clear attention, as he always did. Listening to his voice was like listening to your favourite song. “Do you really think that was Pan? I mean, I know you want it to be.”

“He sent us help. When we needed it most. I don’t know why or how. But it was his presence. I just know it. And after this quest, I’m going back to New Mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. It’s the best lead we’ve gotten in two thousand years. I was so close.”

Your heart ached for Grover. And you had no idea where the words came from, but you let them come anyway.

“You’ll find him, Grover.”

Said boy looked over at you, shocked. “You think so?”

You nodded. “I know so. If anyone can do it, it’ll be you. You’re in touch with all this nature stuff more than anyone I’ve ever met.”

He smiled a little, leaning back to look at the sky again.

And then, the moment was ruined.

“What I’d like to know,” Thalia said, her voice pushy. She looked to Bianca, trying to hide in her sleeping bag. “Is how you destroyed one of the zombies. There’re a lot more of them out there. We need to figure out how to fight them.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just stabbed it and it went up in flames.”

“Maybe it’s something to do with your knife?”

“It is the same as mine,” Zoe said. “Celestial bronze, yes, but mine did not have that effect on the warriors that way.”

“Maybe you have to hit the skeleton in a certain spot,” Percy suggested, sitting up.

You leaned on your elbow, watching the exchange. Bianca looked extremely uncomfortable.

“Never mind,” Zoe told her. “We will find the answer. In the meantime, we should plan our next move. When we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a road, we can hitchhike to the next city. I think that would be Las Vegas.”

“No!” You jumped. “Not there!” Bianca said. She looked insanely freaked out, like she’d witnessed something she couldn’t explain. And maybe she had.

“Why?” Zoe frowned.

“I think…I think we stayed there. Me and Nico. At least for a little bit. And then…I can’t remember.”

“Bianca,” your eyes shifted to Percy. He spoke slowly and carefully. “The hotel you stayed at. Was it called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?”

Your heart skipped a beat, eyes widening. You remembered that place too well.

Bianca’s eyes widened. “How could you know that?”

“Oh, great.”

“Wait,” Thalia said. “What is the Lotus Casino?”

“We got stuck in there a couple of years ago,” you said, gazing around the group. “Me, Percy, Grover and Annabeth. It felt like a few hours but actually it’d been five days. It speeds time up without you realising.”

“No,” Bianca said. ���That’s not possible.”

“I used to think a lot of things weren’t possible,” you sympathised. She stared at the ground. “But look where we are now.”

“You said somebody came and got you out,” Percy urged. “What did he look like? What did he say?”

“I—I can’t remember. I don’t want to talk about this, please—”

Zoe sat forward, eyebrows pulled in concern. “You said that Washington D.C. had changed when you back there last summer. You didn’t remember a subway being there.”

“Yes, but—”

“Bianca,” Zoe said. “Can you tell me the name of the president of the United States right now?”

“Don’t be silly,” Bianca said, and gave the right answer. But you knew where this was going.

“And who was the president before that?” You prompted.

Bianca thought for a while. “Roosevelt.”

You felt the line between your brows. “Theodore or Franklin?”

“Franklin. F.D.R.”

Zoe looked lost for words, and you just couldn’t understand how this had happened.

“Bianca, F.D.R. was the president, like, seventy years ago.”

“That’s impossible,” she said. “I’m not that old.” She turned over her hands like they should have shown her real age.

Thalia’s voice was sad. “It’s okay, Bianca. The important thing is you and Nico are safe. You made it out.”

You made it out. Your stomach churned.

“But how?” Percy continued, oblivious to the internal pain in you. “We were there for only a few hours and we just about made it out. How could you have escaped after being there for so long?”

“I told you!” Bianca looked about to cry. “A man came and got us out.”

“But who? Why did he do it?”

Before she could answer, a blazing light so bright it burned your eyes came from down the street, the headlights of a car. You all moved out of the way as it stopped in front of you. You had your dagger in hand at the ready.

The back door of the slim, white limo opened right in front of Percy. As he went to step back, the point of a sword was suddenly at his throat. You immediately jumped into action, shoving the door wider and drawing your dagger against the flat edge of the sword the way Travis had shown you, pushing it away slightly.

With a fierce face—or, what you hoped was fierce—and hard eyes, you stared down the very man who got right under your skin.

“You,” you spat. If looks could kill.

He smirked. “You,” Ares replied. He pushed the sword against your dagger with little effort, and you couldn’t help but move back slightly. From the corner of your eye, Percy drew his own sword, standing right behind you.

“What’s the matter, Jackson?” Area taunted. “Need your girl to protect you?” His eyes moved behind you. “At ease, people.”

Wraparound shades hid the god’s eyes, but for that you were thankful. He looked the same as he had the last time you saw him: tall and broad-shouldered, visibly and physically stronger than you. In a leather biker’s jacket, black pants and combat boots, he wouldn’t have usually been somebody who you messed with. But something about Ares continually struck a match in you, and you couldn’t help yourself. There was no fear with him, only anger and determination.

He snapped his fingers, and everyone’s weapons fell to the ground. Instantly, his sword shifted under Percy’s chin, lifting his head tilted.

“This is a friendly meeting,” Ares declared. “Of course I’d like to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never behead my enemies in front of a lady.”

“What lady?” Thalia voiced from the back.

You felt the change in attention. “Well, well. I heard you were back. Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. You’re not hanging out with very good company.”

In any other situation, you might have spoken out about what Ares thought of you and your friends. But with his sword at Percy’s throat…

“What’s your business, Ares? Who’s in the car?”

Ares smiled, like he enjoyed the attention. He pushed Percy away, sword point now at the ground. “Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Especially them,” he nodded in Bianca and Zoe’s direction. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who was in the car. “Why don’t you all go get some tacos while you wait? Only take Percy a few minutes.”

“We will not leave him alone with thee, Lord Ares,” Zoe said firmly.

“Besides,” you snapped, waving your hand to the broken building. “Are you blind? Taco place is damaged beyond repair.”

Ares snapped his fingers again, and behind you the taco shop sprung to life. Neon signs lit in the windows, and a warm smell began to drift from it. Boards flew off the door and the ‘closed’ sign flipped to ‘open’.

You were unable to see his eyes, but knew he was looking right at you. “You were saying, miss attitude?”

“Go on,” Percy said. You met eyes. “I’ll handle this.”

“You heard the boy,” Ares teased. “He’s big and strong. Go on. He’s got everything under control.”

Grover caught your wrist and pulled you with him.

You looked over your shoulder. Ares pushed Percy inside the limousine.

“This is awesome,” Thalia said. Inside the taco shop, tables were set up and some song played quietly.

“Believe it or not,” you said, walking around the counter. “I’ve never tried tacos before.”

Thalia’s jaw dropped. “What’s wrong with you?”

You huffed a laugh. Bianca and Zoe were looking at pictures on the walls, while Grover munched on a piece of…was that tablecloth?

“My dad just never let me try anything like that. He didn’t like it, so I couldn’t like it either.”

“That’s…weird.”

“You’re telling me.”

All of a sudden, the music cut off, and the air grew cold and dark. You were suddenly outside again, amidst all the junk and piles of trash.

Grover bleeted in shock, and you stumbled on air.

“What the…?” Thalia turned in a circle.

Bianca and Zoe shared looks with you.

Everyone was confused.

“What did she want with you?” Bianca said. You frowned, until he stood beside you.

Percy’s eyes were shifty. “Oh, uh, I’m not sure. She said to be careful in her husband’s junk yard. Not to touch anything.”

Your eyebrows knit together. “Why would she give us a warning? The gods never give us warnings.”

Zoe hummed in agreement. “The goddess of love would never make a special trip just to tell us to be careful, Percy. Just…watch how you go. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray.”

“For once I agree with Zoe,” Thalia said. “You can’t trust Aphrodite.”

“So,” Percy said. “How do we get out of here?”

“That way,” Zoe pointed ahead. “That way is west.”

“How can you tell?”

“Ursa Major is in the north, which means that must be west.” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, yeah,” Percy nodded along. “The bear thing.”

“Bear thing?” You frowned.

“Show some respect!” Zoe said. “The bear was a worthy opponent. A fine bear.”

“You act like it was real.”

“Guys!” Grover interrupted. “Look!”

Between all the walking and talking (and staring at your feet because the dark was giving you the heebie jeebies in all the rubble) you’d come to the very front and tallest pile of rubble. Piles upon piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight before you; tons of shields and broken swords, stray metal sheets and bronze chariots. More modern stuff sat between the older pieces, like washing machines and computer monitors.

“Woah,” Bianca said, “that stuff looks like real gold!”

“It is,” Thalia said grimy. You didn’t get why she was looking so tentative of it all. The feeling you’d felt for a while now got stronger. “Don’t touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods.”

“Guys,” you said. “Can we just go?” Maybe getting out of the place would help your feeling to go away.

“Junk?” Grover ignored you. He knelt down and picked up the prettiest tiara you’d ever seen, the diamonds on it glittering like you’d never seen before. “You call this junk?” The tiara was cut in half like someone had hacked it with an axe.

Just looking at it made you want to pick something up, stuff it in your bag and take it home with you.

Grover bit off a piece of the tiara and chewed. Your jaw dropped. It was like a crime to humanity. “Delicious!”

Thalia swatted it from his hands and hissed, “I’m serious! Put it down!”

“Look!” Bianca raced through the rubble and down the hill. “A Hunter’s bow!” The picked it up. The second she did, you saw as you walked closer, it shrunk into a tiny hairpin. “Like Percy’s sword!”

“Leave it, Bianca,” Zoe said grimly. “Everything here is here for a reason. It is defective or cursed.”

“I don’t like this place,” Thalia said, coming up beside you.

“You think we’re gonna get attacked by killer refrigerators?” Percy joked, laughing with Grover.

You’d learned, being a demigod, not to underestimate anything, and if you were warned about something to always go by the rules. But…there were just so many pretty things amongst the trash, that eventually you couldn’t help yourself, and neither could Thalia or Percy.

Thalia found a shield she liked, and Grover ate some leftover rubble. Percy picked up a guitar, and you plucked up a silver, gem-encrusted crown on your head. You kept it on your head even as the end of the rubble piles began to come to an end, and the road was right ahead.

But…between you and the road was a huge mountain that stretched lengthways, bigger than the other piles of thrown away belongings you’d walked through.

“What is that?” Bianca gasped.

It looked like rows of silver columns.

“Are they…feet?” Thalia asked, narrowing her eyes. Everyone exchanged looks. “Let’s go around. Far around.”

“But the road is right over there,” Percy pointed out. “Let’s just climb over.”

Ping.

You spun around, hand tight on the handle of your dagger. You pointed it at Grover. “What are you doing?” You hissed.

“I don’t know. I…uh, don’t like fake feet?”

“Come on,” Thalia groaned. “Around.”

After several minutes of walking away from the yard, you reached black asphalt, and could take a deep breath.

“We made it out,” Zoe breathed. “Thank the gods.”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

A sound like something was crushing all the metal together filled the air, and goosebumps ran the length of your body. The awful feeling you’d felt for so long now only got worse.

You spun around. And couldn’t believe your eyes.

Your mouth was agape as you looked it over. A giant, hundreds of feet tall, had risen from the junkyard. Half of his face was melted off, and the bronze giant wore full greek body armour. He was as tall as a skyscraper, and you swallowed. Hard. His joints squeaked with disuse and rusting.

“Talos!” Zoe gasped.

You whipped your head in her direction. “Who?!”

“One of Hephaestus’s creations,” Thalia answered, but didn’t take her eyes off the giant. “But it can’t be the original. A prototype maybe. A defective model.”

Something you’d never heard of before.

The giant didn’t like the word Thalia used: prototype.

He lowered his huge hand to the sword belt it wore and drew his sword. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard and your stomach clenched.

“Someone took something,” Zoe turned. “Who…”

Her eyes lifted to your head. To your hair, specifically. Where you’d forgotten...

The crown you still wore.

You’d been wearing it for so long, you hadn’t even felt it.

“I’m sorry,” you rushed. “I just forgot.”

Thalia pulled a face. “You just forgot?! After I said not to take or touch anything!”

“Yes! Okay, I’m sorry!”

There was no time to do anything other than run. Talos took one large step toward you, making the ground shake under your feet.

“Run!” Grover yelled.

Against any other enemy, running might have helped. But this thing covered miles in one step.

So you split up.

Thalia held her shield up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung his sword, taking out power lines that sparked as they were cut and fell.

Zoe shot arrows that whistled as they flew by the giant, but it made no difference to the situation. He advanced, and you were frantically thinking of anything you could do. Surely there had to be a way to dismantle the thing, or something?

You ended up hiding behind a chariot with Percy and Bianca, three of you breathing deeply. Percy turned his head to look at you and made an exasperated sound.

“Why are you still wearing that thing!” He reached up and pulled it from your hair. It snagged, and you reached up to untangle it. You didn’t think he meant to hurt you, but he pulled it and pieces of your hair flowed off with it. Percy launched as far as he could in the giant’s direction.

It kept advancing.

“Someone else must have something!” He said. “Otherwise it would have stopped there. Bianca, that bow?”

“No!” She said. But her voice quivered.

“Give it back!” Percy exclaimed. “Put it down!”

“I…didn’t take the bow. Besides, it’s too late!”

“What did you take?!”

A massive creaking noise sent horror skyrocketing through your body, and you all moved instantly. Percy tore down the hill, Bianca in front of you and you at the back. The giant’s foot smashed where you’d been hiding.

“Hey, Talos!” Grover yelled from somewhere in the distance.

The giant paid him no mind, and simply stared down at you and Bianca.

Grover played a song on his reedpipes. The downed power lines began to flick and shift on the ground before rising in the air. One of them wrapped around the giant’s ankle and roped up his leg, shocking him.

“Come on!” Percy yelled to Bianca and you. Only you moved.

You slowed to a stop, unable to find your words. Bianca pulled her hand from her jacket pocket, tears in her eyes. A tiny figurine sat in her palm. “It’s the only one Nico doesn’t have!” She explained.

“How could you think of mythomagic at a time like this? Throw it down, maybe it’ll leave us alone.”

She dropped it reluctantly, but nothing changed.

The giant carried on after Grover, stabbing its huge sword into the ground. Grover danced around it to get away in panicked movements. Scrap metal made an avalanche over Grover, covering him completely, and your heart ached in your chest.

“No!” Thalia yelled. She pointed her spear and shot pure electricity at the giant. He collapsed, knees buckling where he’d been hit. But it rose almost immediately. He raised his foot to stomp, and that was when you noticed it.

“For maintenance only…” you muttered. “Guys, I’ve got an insane idea.”

Percy’s wild gaze met yours. “Anything.”

“There’s maintenance sign on its foot. I’m thinking if I can get in there, there might be a way to disable it.”

“How?” Bianca said. “You’d have to stand under its foot. You’ll be crushed!”

“Distract it,” you ordered. Percy looked at you like you were crazy. “I’ll just have to time it right.”

“No.” Bianca’s jaw tightened. “I’ll go. It’s my fault we’re in this situation.”

You threw your arms out in front of you. “I didn’t realise I had a decades-old crown on my head! If anyone’s at fault here, it’s me, and I’m going to fix this!”

Bianca kneeled down. You took the chance to run after the giant, a million thoughts going through your head. Something clasped your ankle and you met the ground hard. Percy yelled something behind you. Your chin burned and your eyes watered, and Bianca pressed something into your hand.

“If anything happens, give this to Nico,” she said, eyes watering. “Tell him…tell him I’m sorry.”

Your face dropped, and you could only watch as she stood and started to run. “What…? Bianca! Hey! Hey!”

She charged at the monster without a second thought. Everything in your body screamed at you, aching in a way it never had before. It was painful and unbearable, and you scrambled to your knees. Hands came under your arms, pulling you up. You could only watch after Bianca. She jumped at its foot, hanging on for dear life. Zoe yelled at her, and she responded to Bianca’s orders by shooting an arrow at the giant. It simply flicked it away, unbothered.

Percy ran next. He stabbed it, creating a gash in the metal, and it raised its foot.

It was like you couldn’t look away.

Even though it hurt terribly.

Bianca got inside. Percy was thrown across the road into a pile of metal. You walked towards them, praying and praying and praying to anyone up there for help. You muttered it, begged for it.

And nothing came.

“Go Bianca!” Percy yelled, as the giant hit itself.

He staggered around, and that excruciating feeling got worse. Bianca was still inside. The giant’s ankle hit a power line, and he was electrocuted. And if he was, Bianca was.

It fell back, and bit by bit, fell apart.

The giant crumbled from the top down. When it was completely apart, you all screamed for Bianca. You shredded your hands pulling pieces of metal apart in search of your friend, and you looked until your eyes burned with the morning sun.

You’d given the directions.

You’d set her there.

You’d stolen what wasn’t yours, and brought this upon yourself.

“We can keep searching!” Percy urged. “We’ll find her!”

The sunlight burned your skin and your eyes, and you narrowed them to watch your best friend. Standing on a pile of metal, you wanted to throw up. There was no way to explain how you felt. Only that you hoped to never feel this way again.

“No we won’t,” Grover said quietly. “This is how it was supposed to happen.”

“What do you mean?”

Grover looked up with big, watery eyes. “The prophecy. One shall be lost in the land without rain.”

What had you done?

You looked out over the desert.

In your eyes…

You’d killed Bianca di Angelo.

It’s midnight here and I’m tired. How do you guys feel about this chapter? Poor Bianca :(

Taglist: @bl6o6dy @embersparklz @lilyevanswhore @rottenstyx @rory-cakes @i-am-scared-and-useless-bisexual @marshmallow12435 @lantsovheiress @distinguishedmakerpandapatrol @twsssmlmaa @gayandfairycore @padsfirewhisky @emu281 @charlesswife @jessiegerl @crackerphobic20 @mata0-0mata @jccc1000

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: It's family time! -Danny Words: 2,295 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Matilda' -by Harry Styles

XXIX: Not the Reunion You Wanted but the Reunion I Needed

Ara's surprised to see her two parents pick her up from camp. The first thing they do is hug her so tightly that she feels like they're about to break her in half. 

"Guys—the windpipes!" She chokes out.

Sally's crying, and Ara doesn't know what to say to make it better. She wishes she could ease the woman's mind, but lately, words of wisdom aren't coming to her in handfuls.

"S'alright," she mumbles, gently rubbing her mother's back.

"Hi, sweetheart," Paul pinches her cheek lightly. "Ready to go home?"

The trip back is quiet. Usually, Percy and her talk, and their parents listen. Today, all she does is stare out the window while her dad tells her about the school she'll attend next year.

It's hard to come to terms with how weary she is. Life is not simple and she's barely halfway through ninth grade. Things change, you fall for people when you least expect it, and then you build an entire life around... What? The idea that nothing will vary but it won't feel the same way twice?

Sally goes directly to their apartment to tidy up the kids' room before Ara gets there, and Paul asks if Ara can check the car before going up. She feels there's more to this than just a regular check-up, but she stays either way.

The girl opens the trunk and takes a look. "What's wrong with it?"

"The breaks are stiff. No cushion."

Ara stares blankly at her dad. "Cushion?"

"When the car stops it screeches," he rephrases.

"Which side?" Paul points to the left. Ara glances at the tire, then shrugs. "Could be the brake pads or the cylinder thingy."

"You can fix it?"

"'Course I can. I'll take a better look tomorrow," she gives him a brief smile. "Is that it?"

Paul steps forward and places a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know you like helping, but here you are our daughter and nothing else. Understand?" Ara nods. "Good. How've you been?"

"Well... I guess I could be better." 

Ara tries to be strong, but she cries as soon as she locks eyes with her father. Paul is the only person she feels is safe to cry to. Sally needs her to be calm, the camp needs her to be brave. But Paul? He just wants her to be his daughter.

They grew fond of each other fast, Chiron always felt more like a teacher and didn't fulfill the requirements to be a father figure. Ara used to think that she would never know what having a dad felt like, but when Paul entered the picture, everything changed.

They had been a beautiful family for a year and a half, and she'd loved every second. Now that Hera has stolen an important piece of them, Ara is angry and frustrated, and the worst part is that she doesn't feel allowed to be, part of her thinks it's her fault.

"We'll find him," Paul rubs her back. "It's only a matter of time, and time moves fast when you keep yourself busy."

Ara hiccups. "I-I don't want my mom to see me like this..."

"I think she needs to see you like this," he retorts. "She thinks you're bottling up your emotions."

"I just don't want her to think... that I'm not strong," the girl sobs.

"You're fourteen, Ara, you don't have to be strong all the time," he guides her into the building. "Let us worry for you."

Tomorrow will be my fourteenth birthday, and today is the first time I'll be a real player in Capture the Flag. Rest assured that I'm planning to win. There's a problem, though, Percy and all of my friends from the Hephaestus cabin are playing against me.

"Hey, Connor," I approach trying to look tough. "Hope your loyalty isn't compromised..."

"What do you mean, Jackson?"

"Lily plays opposite tonight," I raise my eyebrows.

He looks a little worried, maybe he thinks I'm charmspeaking him. I wouldn't do that, but I do think it's fun that he thinks that. "Don't know what you're talking about."

Travis walks past us. "She's talking about your fat crush on Saggio..." 

Connor laughs nervously, his skin glows silver. "That's crazy!"

"Listen, we all know it. Except for Lily. Maybe."

"Don't worry, Birdy," Travis walks past us again. "I'll keep an eye on him. And you."

I snort. "Good luck."

After dinner, Sally enters Ara's bedroom and sits on her bed. "Would you like a bedtime story?"

Ara fidgets with her blanket. "Do I really have to go back to school?"

The woman sighs and rubs Ara's leg over the blanket. "We should be together."

"What if that puts you in danger?"

"Ara, I love you as much as I love Percy, and as your mother, I want you around no matter what."

"But the camp—"

"You can go on the weekends. But you need to attend school, and you need your parents. Chiron agreed."

"Chiron wants me out of camp because of the stupid prophecy," the girl blushes at her own outburst. "Sorry."

Sally continues in a calm manner. "Well, that's all the more reason. I want to spend as much time with my daughter before her untimely demise."

"That's not funny, Mom," Ara makes a face.

"You know what's funny," the woman gives her a playful look. "I don't think I ever heard you ramble about a boy like you did tonight."

Ara groans, falling back on her pillow. "Mooom..." 

"It was like the time you found that bronze dragon, and all you wanted was to—"

"He's called Festus now," Ara informs her. "It means Happy. Leo named him—he also named my lion Pollo. Leo thinks it's funny. He's weird..."

"You like that he's weird?" Sally smiles knowingly.

"A little," Ara blushes. "Don't tell dad."

"He's just sorry that you're no longer a little girl..."

"Well, if it makes him feel better, I decided not to pursue Leo," she replies.

Sally frowns. "Why?"

"Mom, it would be so much work. I don't have time to—"

"Are you marrying him?" Sally raises a brow.

"What? No, of course not!" Ara exclaims.

The woman chuckles. "Dating is not rocket science, Ara. You should try to have fun with it."

Ara stares at her mother. "Like it's a themed park?"

Sally eyes her with worry. "How long has it been since you did normal teenage things?"

The girl shrugs. "I went to the mall a few days ago..."

"The one where you found the lion?" Her mother asks pointedly.

"Okay, fine. I've never had a 'normal teenage experience'. Bit impossible to achieve being who I am."

"Promise me you'll find ways to have a good time, at least," Sally puts a strand of hair behind Ara's ear. "Don't feel pressure to do anything, all I'm saying is, you're safe in the mortal world. Try to enjoy it."

To be honest, Ara's not sure she remembers how to enjoy life.

She believes she's safe here, though. Even now that things got hard, her parents don't blame her for what's happening. She loves them and she wants to be a good daughter, so she's willing to let go of most of her guilt and try to be happy for them.

Yet... she can't stop feeling uneasy. Nothing has felt right ever since she turned fourteen.

Beckendorf made a special armor for his group that works like a chameleon's skin. Silena and Annabeth asked me and Lily to find them.

"Here!" My friend seizes me by the back of my armor, almost choking me. We're a good team, Lily and I.

Luckily for us, the boys didn't hear me dying, they were too focused on the dangers ahead. 

"Myrmekes," Percy mutters.

"Holy Hephaestus!" I stand up from behind the bushes. 

Both boys jump in alarm, Percy knows right away what I'm thinking. "Don't get any closer!" He and Lily say at the same time, both scowling.

"Look at it!" I exclaim in disbelief.

The thing is the size of a refrigerator, all gold with strange ridges on the sides and a bunch of wires sticking out at the bottom. The ants turn it over: It's an automaton's head. I gasp and try to walk towards it, but Percy pulls me back. 

"Easy, Dr. Frankenstein!"

"A head..." I say in awe. "A dragon's head!"

"It's a sign from Hephaestus," Beckendorf agrees in astonishment. "We have to stop them."

"What? Why?"

Before we can do anything, Silena and Annabeth stop us. Beckendorf sneaks away when they get distracted, and the Myrmekes get him. See, if I had gone after the head, this wouldn't have happened, but no one listens to the little girl.

To save our friend, I pull out the metal detector I built a summer ago (Percy and Lily look at me as if I'd planned this from the start) and turn it on. The thing goes crazy right away, there's a huge trail of mud on the side of the hill, so it's easy. We find the rest of the body in less than ten minutes. 

My friends help me get the dragon's head down, and Annabeth says she's not ready to try this out, so Percy replies something pretty cheesy.

"Get out of the way!" I scoff, squeezing between them. Gods! Falling in love distracts people from what's important. 

Annabeth asks Silena for her dagger and opens the dragon's panel on the back of its head. 

"Well, those who don't know anything about machines, step aside," I kneel next to the automaton's neck, eager to put it together. "Hello, baby! Are you ready to come back to life?"

"Ara..." Lily crouches beside me. "Keep in mind that this thing's unstable, okay?"

"It's a machine," I roll my eyes. "Just needs an adjustment and it'll be good as new..."

"There's only enough time to activate it," Percy reminds me.

"Okay, well, you guys are being super helpful," I reply sarcastically. "Hephaestus wanted Beck to find this. We're safe."

I take off my helmet and study the loose wires. Annabeth leans down next to me and helps me where she can. We work together to reattach the head, and our hands end up greasy and bruised.

"It's done?" Lily asks.

I share a look with Annabeth and nod. "Think so."

Percy asks how to turn it on and Annabeth and I point at the two large rubies. Its eyes have to be turned clockwise. My brother makes a couple of sarcastic comments that I prefer to ignore.

"Everyone take cover," without further ado, I turn its eyes.

I watch as the machine comes back to life. The best thing ever created in camp is in front of me, and I finally understand what Hephaestus means when he says that it's possible to build perfect things.

The earth shakes as the dragon gets up, bathing us in the dirt. As a way of celebration, it shoots a column of flames straight into the sky. "Fire!" I exclaim delightedly.

"Well," Percy stammers. "It worked."

The dragon looks at him and comes to sniff us. I'm beyond happy, but my brother looks terrified. I see him grab his sword and I spring into action. "Hello! Hey, cutie!" The creature watches me closely. "Listen, there's a son of Hephaestus in trouble!" The dragon tenses and waits for instructions. I look at the others smiling. "See? He'll help."

"How do you know that?" Silena asks unconvinced.

"I don't!"

"Perfect," Lily groans. "We're letting the crazy one lead the mission. Beckendorf is so lucky..."

We guide the dragon to the ant nest, but I refuse to leave it alone. 

"Ara, stop being so frustrating!" Percy snaps at me.

"I don't want it to get damaged!" I complain.

"I'll stay with her!" Lily offers. "If things get hard I'll drag her ass away from the forest—Go!"

Maybe it's because she's Annabeth's sister, but Percy feels comfortable leaving me in Lily's care, except maybe when it comes to training. Though he can't deny that all the muscle and height I've gained it's thanks to her and Michael.

"Our parents will kill me if you die, so don't!" Percy warns me. 

"Mike's going to kill us..." Lily says grumpily.

We spend the next twenty minutes decapitating Myrmekes (my sword is really good at it) and helping the dragon up the hill. It's a miracle we don't get splashed with their acid.

"You had to obsess over the wild dragon!" My friend yells from behind me. "I'll need a nap after this..."

"You can sleep during my birthday if you like!" If we survive.

After the dragon tears down the roof of the nest and drags our friends out, what I was fearing starts to happen: the dragon melts with the acid the creatures are throwing at it. 

Beckendorf yells at us to get away from it, I do it only because I trust he'll save it. When we're out of reach, he yells a command and lightning shoots out of the automaton, electrocuting the ants around it.

Beckendorf tells me it was a bad idea to activate it and insists that it's too unstable. I'm forced to accept that maybe he's right once the dragon charges at us. I follow Beckendorf to the top of a small cliff and watch the automaton, its behavior feels strange. 

What if it's following us because he's waiting for instruction? Suddenly, to me it looks like a puppy following its owner, excited to play. "Beck..." I start, but he doesn't want to listen.

"Now!" Exclaims my friend, and he pushes me so we land together on the dragon's back.

"Wait!" I urge him. "It doesn't want to hurt us!"

"He tried to toast your brother's face!"

"He's energetic!" I insist. "Can't you feel it?"

Beckendorf seems to understand what I'm talking about, but he still rejects my idea. "It's too unstable, Ara."

"But—"

"We'll come back for him," he promises. "For now, it's better to deactivate it."

I really don't want to, but I trust Beckendorf, he would never lie to me, so I give in. "Ugh!" I yank open the panel. "You do it!"

Beckendorf rips out the cables from inside the dragon's head and I try not to feel guilty as the dragon's eyes turn off and it freezes up in place.

I tell myself it'll be okay. Beck promised we'll come back soon.

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @ash-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles

[thatonewatching]

Church Boy-Cruel

"Travis, I don't mean this in... that way, but I love you." I admitted. "You do?" he asked. "I mean, yea." I choked out. "I... love you too, Sally Face..." he retorted, letting tears fall from his face. I sent everyone else out of the room and grabbed my mask and buckled it. "Sal, can you not wear that around me?" he asked, tired. "Travis..." I muttered. "Sure..." I obliged. 

Unbuckling my mask and holding it in my hand, I stared down at Travis. His hair was messy and disheveled. His olive skin was soft and bruised, band-aids covering what he considered imperfections. His amber eyes were scarred with remnants of guilt, sadness, and disappointment. 

"You ready to go?" I ask. "Yea..." he answered, faking a smile to reassure me. "C'mon." I said, reaching my hand down for him to grab. 

Travis' POV:

I grabbed onto his hand and pulled myself up. I needed a shower; I feel disgusting and dirty. "Thanks, Sally." I muttered, letting go of his hand. "Of course, Trav." he said, smiling sweetly. 

*Time Skip*

We got back to the apartment; Sal drove because he was the only sober one. Once we arrived, I walked into Sal's room with incredible speed. We quietly snuck back into his room and he let me change into some of his clothes so he could wash mine and I could wear them home. 

Sal's POV:

I grabbed him some clothes that were big on me. He changed and I went down to the basement with our clothes. I dug out David's because he won't, and put mine and Travis' in. I started it and looked through the Lost and Found for a second. 

I found this pretty necklace. It was a cross. "Megan..." I muttered, knowing that I needed to visit her soon. I grabbed it up and put it around my neck. It's safer on my neck than my pocket, if it was in there, I'd probably lose it. 

So, I went back to my room. Travis was in the bathroom and had locked the door. "You okay in there?" I called. "Yea! I'm fine!" he answered, happiness lacing his voice. "You sure?" I asked again, just wanting to make sure. "I'm fine, Sal." he reassured. "Just gonna get a shower, I feel... dirty..." he said, disgust hinting in his voice. 

"Alright, be quick." I suggested, walking to my bed and plopping down. The shower turned on and the metal hooks that hold up our shower curtain rattled. I held Gizmo for a while, petting his soft fur as his purrs vibrated my chest.

Travis' POV:

I told Sal I was going to get a shower. I turned on the water and let it get to the right temperature before stepping in. He told me to be quick, so I planned to just...wash up.

I stepped in and felt amazing as the hot water hit my sore body. Today had been a nightmare. Except now, I couldn't escape by waking up or reminding myself that it was a dream and all in my head. No, this was real and what had happened today could never be taken back. 

Never. 

I looked down at my body. I looked at the little pieces of fat that everyone swore wasn't there, the way my legs looked, and how I looked as a whole. I grabbed a washrag and started viciously scrubbing my body, especially where he touched. I washed my hair with a shampoo that smelled like Sal does.

It reminded me of him.

I took in the scent, scrubbing my scalp as my hair stuck to my forehead. 

*Time Skip*

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. Looking around the bathroom, I noticed that I hadn't brought my clothes. I walked out of the bathroom and into Sal's. "Hey, Sal. Forgot my clothes." I informed him, grabbing the clothes off his bed and readjusting my towel because it felt a little loose. 

"Oh! Hey, Trav!" Sal said, quickly sitting up and grabbing his bedsheets. "Are you okay?" I ask, watching as his ears and neck turned bright pink. "Mhm!" he assured, giving me a thumbs up as his eyes darted all over my body. "Okay..." I said, walking back to the bathroom. 

Sal's POV:

I was about to lie down when my door creaked open, and I heard Travis' voice. "Hey, Sal. Forgot my clothes." he informed, grabbing the clothes off my bed. He readjusted his towel and I lost my shit. His hair was sticking to his face and dripping water all down his chest. "Oh! Hey, Trav!" I responded, trying not to make my nervousness too obvious. "Are you okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Mhm!" I reassured, taking in every part of him I could. 

"Okay..." he said, smirking and walking out. 

The scene replayed in my head, and I mentally scolded myself for being so weird. His blonde hair was shiny, and his stomach was skinny. I could see his defined collarbone and a minimal amount of his ribs. His arms were scrawny yet muscular. I could see where his body dipped into the spots only meant for that special someone and it drove me crazy knowing that the only thing separating me and it was a thin piece of cloth. 

My heart may have skipped a few beats when he walked in.

He went back to the bathroom and returned a few minutes later in his clothes. He was wearing a tight white T-shirt and some basketball shorts that I hadn't grown into yet; I gave him a pair of pink fuzzy socks I always wore when it was cold. "You ready for bed yet?" I ask, crawling into the covers and burying my face into the pillow. "Yea, see you in the morning." he said, walking out of my room. 

"Where are you going?" I ask, sitting up quickly. "The couch?" he answered, his words coming out as more of a question than a statement. "Just sleep in here. I'll sleep on the couch." I offered. "No, it's fine." he assured. "Or..." I started, wanting to just shrug off the idea altogether. "Or what?" he asked, intrigued. "Or we could just sleep together..." I suggested. 

"I guess." he obliged, walking to the bed and climbing in next to me. Before I lay down, I made sure that I had set my alarm. Once I was sure I had, I lay down and pulled the covers over myself. Travis was facing me, but he had his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted. 

"Sal, are you still awake?" Travis whispered, slightly opening his eyes. "I am, yea." I whispered back. "Can I talk to you?" he muttered, averting his eyes. "Of course, Trav. You don't have to ask." I assured, smiling sweetly at him. "Why..." he started. 

"Why is cupid so cruel?"

(Originally posted March 20th 2023 on Wattpad)

"Church Boy." - Cruel - Wattpad

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 79

Erina? Yeah ... what came? What fresh hell ... a paternity test? Apparently Matt is Sam's father ... oh boy ... Matt trying to stress that he's YOUNGER than Sam ... XD ... Sam: "Papa ... did I make you proud?" Wow ...

They cut Ashley off before she could finish her plug and it made her choke on her own spit.

"Beauregard's Interrogation Brew" ... XD

Ah yes ... the team building exercises ... how's THIS gonna go?

To long rest or not long rest ... that is the question ...

Chetney wondering if Nana Morrie grants wishes ... no, more like DEALS ... oh yes, the classic Faustian Pact ...

The bush people in the tree garden? Oh boy ... FCG: "So you're trimming people?" Eeeeeeeeeh ... O.O

Oh yeah ... Peepers ... that thing ... "weird xenomorph rabbit" is pretty accurate in my mind ...

So ... Chetney wants to be YOUNG again ... just to be "hot as shit", apparently ... cultivated and curated chest hair and a serious moustache ... yeah ...

I love how they're ragging on Liam being away by making funny jobs at Orym spending all yesterday working out ...

Fearne's complicated upbringing ... hmmm ... wait ... is that a PHONE? Matt immediately makes Travis take psychic damage got his character as punishment ... LOL

Nana wants to "plot" with FCG ... and being very creepy about it ... yeah ...

Oh, new rooms? Made to measure but in a creepy way ... Travis: "Like AI generated bedrooms?" Oh yes ... Matt takes thr idea and runs with it to disturbing effect ...

Door? Fearne has a sentient talking door for her room ... of course she does ...

Catching up with Birdie ... oh, and now she's fishing for "The Truth" ... hmmmmmm ... where's THIS going?

29 on an Insight check? Whoa ... wait, FEARNE is thr group's lie detector? I mean it makes sense, but ...

Mr Nesbitt!!! Yay! Nice to see a familiar face ... I love that freaky thing so much ...

Ah, the garden ... yeah ... creepy weirdness abounds as usual ... no doubt this will be put to use for the games ...

Here we go ... truth time ... aha! Backstory! Okay ...

Hold on, was that dude Fearne's daddy?

Fuck ... he was ... oh boy ... and it was a union of "great import" ... yup, so Ollie wasn't her father, but he WAS her daddy ... yup ... who? Athion Zathuda ... the Sorrowlord of the Unseelie Court? Man ... that freaky Arch Fey guy is Fearne's baby daddy! Holy shit!

Yeah ... that is A LOT ... I mean A LOT ...

Well yes, this was probably the best way Fearne could have grown up under the circumstances ... is she actually one of the most well adjusted of the group after all? Weird thought, but I like it ...

Awwww ... reconciliation of sorts, that's sweet and we'll take what we can get ...

Oh, Ashton and Orym having a private heart-to-heart? This should be interesting. Even if Ashton does think Orym's just taking him off to quietly kill him ... XD

Ah ... meta humour ...

Wow, so ... Orym's really going EASY on him here, clearly ... Orym: "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good." WOW ... that is AWESOME advice ...

We really don't get enough of THIS friendship ... I really like this dynamic a lot ...

Is Allura about to get a bit loose jn a drink-based way? Is that where this is going?

I agree with Chetney, that was indeed a "dope flex" ...

Whoa ... are we gonna get some Allura backstory? Awwwww ... her "little lion" ... love the little nod to Kima ... :3

Imogen takes off the Circlet? Wow ...

Of course Chetney's thinking about sex. What did we expect?

Fearne has an announcement? Okay ...

Nana has DONE SOMETHING with FCG's memories in order to plot this thing out? Oh boy ... this is a worrying implication for what's to come ...

And that was SCARY, Nana ... plus the talking together, what the bright blue FUCK was that? O.O

Here we go, Fearne spills the beans ... so Fearne is actually royalty ... Laudna: "Wait, THAT was your takeaway?" Meanwhile this is an additional connection to Otohan and co ...

Imogen: "What if we're stepsisters?" Fearne: "Oooh, exciting!" Orym: "We may have to KILL THEM."

Sammanar? Hmmmm ... yeah, we're definitely off on a weird tangent ...

Oh, so Nana knows all about the Sorrowlord ... znd apparently HE knows about Fearne ... great ...

Sammanar is another one of the five Arch Fey lords ... and "a bit of a prick" ...

Dusk Hunger, the Blade of the Black Flame ... wow ...

So they're showing Nana the Shard, eh? Okay then ... oh, so it "smells like" Fearne? Interesting ... wait ... is Fearne a remnant like Ashton then?

And now they're showing her the Harness too ... Nana: "Hungry goes the Bastards of Time." Okay ...

"A bit of the Old World"? Hmmmm ...

Fearne is still wary about taking in the Shard and I don't blame her at all ...

Ooooh ... Fearne got SASSY with Allura there ... XD

Oh, so Allura's giving us a little info on the Moonweaver ...

Sam's flask is very on the nose this week and nearly derails the whole discussion ... XD

Allura has some lore on Nana? Intriguing ...

Taliesin invokes Disney witches for insight on a 21 and gets some Whispers ...

A fruity aroma? And s gathering of critters? Where's THIS going?

Magic items to be earned? Intriguing ...

Weird tea ... okay ... are they about to be drugged up to their eyeballs?

Which first, then? Honesty? Okay, then ...

Wait, where the fuck are they now? In the jungle? What the hell? A chasm? Yikes ...

A brass monocle? Hmmmm ... the first item ... the Monocle of True Essence? Oh, they have to find it? Okay then ...

The chasm only listens to honesty? Hmmm ...

Fuck, now they're falling into the pit ... and NOW Matt chooses to go to break? Ye gods ...

Falling into a stanky rooty pit, then ... oh, this is NASTY ... charming place, clearly ...

Are they alone? Get sniffing, Chet. 6 ... oof ... Nice going, wolf boy ...

Telling a truth makes step grow? Interesting ...

Meanwhile looking for the lens ...

Imogen is scared to meet her mum again. Hmmmm ...

LEECHES!!! LEECHES!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! SHIT!!!

Both Laudna AND Delilah want the Shard? Oof ... and while Imogen loves her, Delilah being able to watch them creeps her out ... ouch ...

Wow, look at that, there's like a whole city down here ...

Orym is very lonely ALL THE TIME? Boy ... and then FCG just lays down dom existential dread ...

Laudna climbs the steps onto the bridge. Oh, balance check ...

Orym wonders if Chetney's actually his dad ... whoa ... that is ... awkward ...

Ashton was the cause for the robbery going bad that caused his own accident and how he ended up the way he is ...

FCG casts Light ... they start searching with real purpose now ... cue perception and investigation checks ...

Fearne thinks they're ill equipped and they're going to fail on saving the world ...

Chetney fears being rendered obsolete in his field of toy making expertise ...

Orym and Imogen are climbing now too.

Whenever FCG kills something it calms hom znd helps him relax? Yeesh ...

Imogen doesn't know if she WANTS to save gods who don't love her ... meanwhile Laudna believes they could just quit from this whole path anytime ...

Orym spots a faint green glint ... he may have spotted it? Okay ... look into that ... he takes a chance and does a leap out into the open ... with Imogen's help he lands where he intended to ... okay then ...

Bingo! There's the monocle! Nice one, wee man!

So everybody's just trying to climb out now? Is that going to work?

Fearne likes to mess with them all a little when they sleep. Nothing bad, just little curiosities ... that's ... an awkward one ... but it does fit with her character ...

Well, they're getting there ...

Ashton worries that all of them are capable of killing at least one of the others ...

Orym has all the faith in the world in all of them, but is also pulling a Batman to find each one's weakness in case it's needed too ... yeah ...

FCG worries he relies too much on the Changebringer but that she might not actually be on their side after all ...

Weird buoyant balloon mushrooms? What the fuck? Holy shit, that actually works? Crap ...

Imogen is disappointed in Fearne for not taking the Shard, and Laudna agrees.

Orym misses Dorian ... how is that any kind of revelation?

Matt is regretting the mushrooms now as it completely derails the session into gales of laughter ...

Liam: "I love it when we pervert Matt's narrative! It's true!"

Pate is not capable of deep truths, apparently ...

Ashton hates that he fucked up Fearne's life and wishes he'd died instead ... oh man ...

Wow ... Chetney is just a whole MESS of neuroses, isn't he?

Eagle things? What the hell is THIS shit? Oh, these are just WEIRD ... but they're helping, at least ... so ... that was it, then? Hmmmm ...

Wait, that was FCG's idea? Kind of ... hmmmm ...

Yes. Check for leeches ...

Oh boy, the monocle has a card ... oh, that's sweet ... oh yeah, Orym should DEFINITELY have that with his crazy perception ...

I agree, Chetney should have a hug ...

What's next? Communication? Okay ...

And now they're underground ... some kind of low hanging cavern? Hmmmm ...

A thunder wasp hive? Seriously?

A beautiful purple scarf ... torn into three pieces ... wait, so now Ashton, Imogen and Chetney are LITERALLY BLIND?!!! What the fuck? And now they're just GONE ... now at the ends of each of the platforms ...

Matt makes Travis swap seats with Marisha ... znd freaks him out while he does it ...

This is a COMPLETELY UNIQUE game situation ... for fuck's sake this is gonna get SO BAD ...

Great. Now there are FUCKING WASPS out here too ...

Now FCG is being AGGRESSIVELY STUNG ...

This is a genuinely RIDICULOUS thing we're witnessing here right now ... seriously I am just sitting here watching this in stunned silence while it gets INSANELY stressful ... snd now Chetney's going into the bug swarm ...

And now Chetney's wolfed out ... but still blind ...

FCG is VERY BADLY STUNG right now ...

Laudna is now sending Pate to kill the wasps ... or not. Hmmmm ... apparently that isn't allowed ...

Oh my gods this is INSANE ...

And now Chetney's getting stung TO FUCK ... Matt is making Travis ROLL BLIND ... 18? Oh thank fuck ...

I can't ... I just can't at this point ... it's BEYOND DESCRIPTION right now ...

Thank fuck THAT is over ... Sam: "Travis Willingham, this is your lower intestine."

And now we have to do this AGAIN ... crap ...

Laura's looks SO MUCH WORSE than Travis' did ... crap ... but it's the Witches working together ... along with Chetney ...

Talk about a bizarre tabletop gaming version of a trustfall ...

It's a good thing Laura and Travis trust each other so much, clearly ... gods, this one is going SO MUCH more smoothly than the previous one ...

No, not now ... damn you, Matthew! No wasps!

Oh wow ... Ashley gives Laura her plush Mister for luck ... Awwwwwwwwww ... :3

Shockflare? Oh, that's FRICKIN SWEET ... nice trick, Imogen ...

Balls ... they're THUNDER wasps ... not fair ...

Oh thank gods that is over at last ... that got so stressful at the end ...

So now it's Imogen and Fearne helping Ashton ...

Wow ... so far they're doing BY FAR the best at this ... oh wait ... yeah, may have spoken too soon ... aaaaaaaah ...fucking hell now it's stressful again ...

Taliesin: "This is the weirdest thing I have ever done in my life." Sam: "I don't think that's true."

Damn it, not the bloody wasps again ...

Ashton is now Raging to beat hid way through the wasps ... FUCK!!! He is now OFF THE FUCKING LEDGE!!! Oh, nice save, but blind ... dear fuck this is TERRIFYING!!! Shit, now he's just FALLING INTO THE FUCKING VOID!!! AAAAAAHHH!!!

Roll a 20, Taliesin! Shit!

Balls ... that was a fail, then ... is he gone? No ... poof, he's back with them. At least that wasn't really anybody's fault, it was just pure bad luck ...

Wait ... are they SERIOUSLY gonna try that again? With NO safety net this time? Come on, you can't seriously ...

Orym is going to go with Chetney and Imogen guiding him? I can't take it any more ...

ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GIVING THEM A TIME LIMIT ON THIS MATTHEW?!!!

I fucking HATE THIS GAME!!!

Holy shit Orym you are a fucking SUPERSTAR!!! Amazing ...

Ooh, fancy stuff ... a magic scarf? Fancy ...

So what's left ... Trust? Okay ...

Deep Fey Realm forest ... ruins all around ... intriguing ... nasty brambles everywhere ... and a big well in the middle ...

Three altars? Somewhere in the ruins? Hmmm ...

Always a catch ... who are THESE guys? Dopplegangers? What the hell? Two of them are going to be replaced?

And that's IT for the night? SERIOUSLY, Matthew? You sadist ...

Next one is gonna be interesting, clearly ...

[dragneto]

For the wrapped ask: 16, 17, 18, 28, 29, 30 (sorry I'm greedy) <3

all excellent questions, and thank you very much for being curious enough to ask <3

16: What’s your most common “additional tags” tag?

Ooh, interesting. in no particular order, I think Developing Relationship was used pretty often, along with Introspection, Set in a Previous Simulation (for that one fandom specifically, of course), and, uh… Masturbation. :D

17: Your favourite character to write this year?

Hanno Tauber, always. but my single foray into Midnight Mass fic made Father Paul a very close second <3

18: The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Riley Flynn from my fic …in vitam aeternam, mostly because of the situation he was in, and because his experiences are so incredibly specific that I found them difficult to cover. that’s not to say it wasn’t fun, though, the dialogue cadence was easy and enjoyable! and I got to read a lot of Catholic stuff to prepare for it.

28: Favourite work you wrote this year?

This feels like a… difficult one to answer. :( I’m going to say… a tie between The Old Witch and the Good Man (The Quarry, Travis & Laura) and cave-in (Dark, Jonas/Noah). I love them for wildly different reasons—for the former, it’s because of the fun I had writing a time loop fic with unconventional formatting, and for the latter, it’s creating the emotional catharsis that I wanted these two to have at that time in their lives.

29: Favourite line/passage you wrote this year?

Hmm. you know, I keep coming back to this, from staring and a-shakin’ like a leaf (1899, Ramiro/Ángel):

Ángel choked a noise that might have been ‘quiero’ or ‘Ramiro’, and it didn’t matter which he said, or whether he had truly said anything intelligible in any language; he could speak and he could walk and he was not lying dead somewhere in a shadowed corner of Prometheus with pieces of his hand splattered across his own face, broken bits of flesh and bone glued to his skin by a hot spray of blood from a sidearm that shouldn’t have been on Prometheus in the first place, its wielder snarling righteous bloody fury and prepared to mete out divine justice at any cost, too focused on a dangling slab of meat to see the snarling wolf behind it; the same look Ramiro had seen on Tove’s face, judging him for passing his own judgement, for making an impossible call that was really not all that impossible to make when the only other option was to watch the rest of Ángel splinter and spray across the wall.

there was just something really fun about delivering a very important piece of backstory in one incredibly long run-on sentence. :)

30: Biggest surprise while writing this year?

I don’t know if I can say that anything truly caught me by surprise, but I did learn lots of neat HTML tricks that I was able to use to spice up some fics with unconventional formatting. so I’d say that was very fun. :’)

[chalkrevelations]

I'm rummaging back through footage of old SYTYCD performances, as I am wont to do when I can't focus too hard on anything, and every single time it amazes me how much the entire trajectory of this show from S3 onward becomes Nigel Lithgow working as hard as he can to make up for the travesty of Travis Wall's S2 loss to Benji Schwimmer, That Smirking Asshole.

I mean, 1) yes, they only start pushing Travis to the forefront as a choreographer in S5, but they're laying the groundwork for it from S3, if you pay attention. And 2) sure, I'm glad Nigel realizes what bullshit that S2 final outcome was, but it's almost funny how much the show becomes a vehicle for Travis's career in response. Because fuck America and their horrible taste, that's why! (lol)

But maybe most importantly, 3) from S3, they clutch so tightly to their chosen narrative on everyone - from Las Vegas onward - that it SQUEAKS in DISTRESS several times when strong performers can't be contained and end up breaking free of their assigned edit. This is, in fact, why Brandon is the top contestant of all time, (followed by Joshua, who they tried to frame as some kind of dancing bear instead of the cross-trained performer he actually was) because even though Brandon didn't win his season, he (with the help of Janette, who deserves AWARDS for how she backed up her partner in the only way that mattered - on the DANCE FLOOR) shoved their chosen edit for him back at them and down their throats, where I continue to hope they choked on it.

Anyway, don't get me wrong, I completely agree with the decision to bully the entire course of a 17-year-series toward bolstering Travis Wall, because I love his work. Bravo, Nigel - it's the best decision you ever made on this show, besides shading Mia for opening her homophobic mouth about Brandon. But it's still kind of fk'n funny.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

HEART'S FATE - CHAPTER 14

*Warning: Adult Content*   

"So, it's a sort of family tradition, then?" Skylar West asks, rinsing the soapy dish Martin Hunter hands him and setting it in the rack to dry. Martin nods. 

"Basically. We get together, have a big meal, a bonfire, drinks, for the adults, obviously, music, games. That sort of thing."

"Like vikings?"

Martin glances at Skylar, wondering where he gets his information. 

"Sure, like vikings."

Skylar laughs. 

"I love it. And I'm invited?"

"Obviously. That's why..." 

Martin glances down at the soapy water, feeling oddly shy, like he’s back in high school trying ‘and failing’ to ask Parker Raine to go out with him. 

"That's why I brought it up."

By a stroke of luck, Martin’s children, Flora and Miguel Hunter's twelfth birthday just happens to fall close enough to the full moon for Flora's Shifting celebration to double as a birthday party. 

It may or may not serve as Miguel's Shifting celebration, too. 

While girls mature a little faster than boys, twins or triplets tend to stick together. 

Travis, Noah and Martin Shifted at thirteen. 

Travis was the only one of them who'd been truly ready but Noah and Martin would have rather eaten dog food than be left behind. 

Whether Miguel will feel likewise compelled remains to be seen.

"I'm honored you asked," Skylar says. 

His careful tone makes Martin think there's a 'but' coming and he flinches. 

"It's fine if you can't come," Martin adds, quickly. 

"I just thought..." 

"What time?"

Martin looks over at Skylar and finds him watching him with a kind, if amused, smile.

"What?"

"I said 'what time?' I'd love to come."

"You... would?"

“Absolutely. Flora and Miguel are wonderful young people with promising futures. Of course I'd love to celebrate that."

"Oh," Martin replies. 

He lowers his gaze again as he fishes for the next dish in the soapy water but the sink is empty. 

He glances at the drying rack and sees that it's full. 

Time flies when you're agonizing over what to say next. 

"Thanks. I mean... I hope you can make it. Flora and Miguel, all the kids, actually, they respect you a lot."

"And like me, too, I hope," Skylar asks, laughing. 

Martin turns away, just in case the warmth in his face looks like a blush, which it's definitely not.

"They love you," Martin says, as he wipes down the countertops with a rag. 

"I mean, they love having you here. It's a positive change."

When Skylar doesn't reply in a reasonable amount of time, Martin turns and finds him watching him keenly.

"And what about you?" Skylar asks. 

"You always put the kids first but your feelings matter, too. Do you mind having me here?"

Martin turns away again and resumes polishing the counters, which are already clean. 

"Not at all. You're saving my butt."

"Saving it for myself, maybe."

Martin inhales some spit and chokes, something he seems at risk of doing quite often in Skylar's presence. 

Martin hears the sink running as he coughs and turns to find Skylar holding out a glass of water for him. 

He takes it, manages to down it in a gulp without dying and blinks at him through watering eyes.

"What?"

Skylar frowns. 

"I simply mean that if I'm saving your butt, my motives are selfish. This arrangement benefits me as much as it does you."

"Oh," Martin answers, not knowing what else to say.

Martin: ‘I swear this man will be the death of me. 

It doesn't help I find him increasingly attractive the more time we spend together and not just physically.  

Sure, Skylar West has a perfect body and a face that would make Greek Gods jealous but he's also kind and charming and interesting, too. 

He's perfect, definitely too perfect for someone like me and it's dangerous to even imagine otherwise. 

Which I may have been doing off and on, now and then, whenever Skylar’s weirdly ambiguous words put strange thoughts into my brain.’

"So, this celebration," Skylar says, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter as he watches Martin catch his breath. 

"Is it a formal occasion? Should I bring a gift?"

Grateful for the redirection, Martin shakes his head. 

"It's just a family gathering, really. Nothing formal."

"Wonderful," Skylar says, smiling as his eyes meet Martin’s. 

"I look forward to it."

                                                          ⁂

Aside from hoping Flora ‘and maybe Miguel’ have a wonderful ‘Shifting  Celebration’ Martin is not looking forward to it at all. 

Inviting everyone had been hard enough, despite having given in to his cowardly impulses and contacted most of his family through email or text, rather than by phone. 

The only person he'd called directly was his mother, who had sounded almost painfully happy to hear from him and broke down in tears when Martin gave her the good news. 

Everyone could come, some putting their own lives and important plans on hold just for the sake of it. 

To combat Martin’s guilt, he had to remind myself that they weren't doing it for him but for Flora. 

It would be held at Dane's house and Martin had specified that 'mixed-company' was welcome, meaning not all attendees were privy to the knowledge they feasted alongside Wolves and that non-Wolf guests were welcome, at least for the first phase of the celebration. 

They would gather in the afternoon, eat, drink and make merry until sunset and enjoy a grand feast. 

Later still, after the uninitiated had gone home, Flora would Shift and they would celebrate as Wolves. 

The kids grow more excited with each passing day and Martin’s dread grows proportionally, so that by the morning of the celebration, a fine October Saturday, they're jumping with joy and Martin is jumping out of his skin at the slightest provocation.

"Need any help?" Skylar's voice at Martin’s back startles him and the icing-laden cookie he’s transferring to a plate flies out of his hands and lands icing-side-down on the floor.

"Daddy." Nico wails in protest. 

"You ruined it."

The cookies are Nico and Rio's contribution to the feast and Martin in the middle of helping them prepare the treats for transport.

"Sorry, sorry," Martin apologizes, scooping up the unfortunate cookie and grimacing at the little sample of floor detritus embedded in the sugary topping. 

Oh, great. Time to vacuum yet again.

"It's okay. This one will be mine. I'll save it for later, and there'll still be plenty for everyone."

Nico crosses his arms and huffs, on the verge of irrational tears, when Skylar comes to the rescue.

"Why, these are beautiful." he says, leaning over to admire the cookies. "Works of edible art. Did you get them from a French bakery?"

Skylar winks at Martin over the top of Nico and Rio's heads. 

The cookies look like exactly what they are, cookies baked and decorated by a pair of seven-year-old boys. 

Rio Hunter giggles. 

"No, silly Mister Sky. We made them."

"No! Really?"

"Really," Nico insists, tears and the dropped cookie forgotten. 

Martin steps back, happy to let Skylar work his charms and watches as he deftly configures the cookies on the covered plate. 

Minutes later, Nico and Rio dash away, off to their next game and hopefully to burn off the sugar high before they leave for the party. 

Apparently, the making of icing required a lot of taste tests.

"You seem on edge," Skylar says as he helps Martin carry the cookies, a case of sparkling cider and a bowl of potato salad vegetarian, for his brother Monty out to his van. 

"Do you not get on well with your family?"

Martin winces. 

"No. We're all fairly close but... Well, there were some... difficulties surrounding the separation with my wife and I wasn't my best self."

"Ah. They haven't forgiven you?"

"No, no. They have. It's just that they want me to move on and I... I guess I'm not ready."

"Romantically?"

Martin looks up at Skylar, a denial on his lips but he nods, instead. He can't exactly explain the whole Mate-bond issue without outing himself and/or convincing the young art teacher, that he’s crazy. 

"Yeah. Pretty much. They just want me to be happy."

"I see. I can't wait to meet them all."

Martin checks his watch and feels his heart speed up, fueled by high octane anxiety.

"No time like the present," Martin says. 

"Let's get the kids ready, and we'll go."

"Yes. Let's," Skylar agrees, smiling. 

Martin gives himself a mental kick. 

He'd included Skylar so naturally, maybe he’s the one who needs to be careful not to get used to having him around. 

Some minutes later, Flora, Nico and Rio dash downstairs and out to Skylar's van. 

Miguel descends at a slower, more reluctant pace, looking about as enthusiastic for the whole thing as his father feels. 

Guessing the reason, Martin pulls him aside.

"Hey, mijo. Have you made up your mind?"

Miguel shrugs half-heartedly. 

Martin wraps his son in a one-armed hug and kisses the top of his head, his other hand holding a bag of overnight things for the kids. 

"You know I'm with you, whatever you decide. Just go with your heart, okay? If you're ready, you're ready. If not, you'll get your own Shifting Celebration."

Miguel Hunter nods sullenly but appears to cheer up a little, nonetheless. 

The ride to Dane and Julian's place passes quickly and they arrive to see two huge, pavilion-style tents erected in the meadow outside the little cottage, one with an outdoor kitchen, grill and long tables and the other enclosed by cloth walls, probably a place for those staying the night to sleep and change. 

Milling about beneath the open tent are Martin’s parents, his siblings and his sibling's mates, children and friends, close to thirty people, including them.

"Which ones are you related to?" Skylar asks, eyeing the crowd with raised brows.

"Most of them," Martin says, laughing. 

"That's my mom and dad, Astrid and Joseph Hunter and my brothers Dane and Monty. The two by the grill are my fellow triplets, Travis and Noah and those are my sisters Freya, Sasha and Ingrid over there." 

Martin points out each in turn and grimaces as he sees that they've been spotted. 

While the kids rush to greet their uncles, aunts and cousins, Martin feels as if each step is weighted with lead as Skylar and he walk towards the gathering. 

Setting the potato salad among the many other dishes covering the tables, he force himself to smile and greets everyone. 

The smiles on the faces surrounding him are genuine and he begins to relax but when Martin’s father pulls him into a warm, wordless embrace, something inside him breaks a little.

Martin: ‘He's a good, kind man and the kind of father I strive to be. 

Without speaking, he speaks volumes, telling me exactly what he wants me to hear, above all, that he loves me. 

I'm desperate for that love but it's a gift I don't deserve.’

Joseph Hunter releases his son and wipes his eyes. 

He looks older than when Martin saw him last and his hands shake a little.

"It's good to see you, Martin," he says, taking a deep breath and smiling before turning to Skylar. 

"And who is this strapping young man? Won't you introduce me?"

"Dad, this is Skylar West," Martin says. 

"He teaches art at the kids' school. Skylar, this is my father, Joseph Hunter."

Skylar shakes Martin’s father's hand. 

"A pleasure to meet you, sir. And please," he adds. 

"Call me Sky."

Then Skylar West reaches over and slips his arm around Martin Hunter’s slim waist. 

A ring of familiar faces express varying levels of surprise but none come even close to matching the shock and ‘no doubt clearly visible’ on Martin’s own face.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 17/06/2023 (J Hus/Drake, Nathan Dawe/Joel Corry/Ella Henderson)

Content warning: Alcoholism and Drake features

Dave and Central Cee hold on for a second week with “Sprinter” at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and welcome back to a human-written episode of REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

This may be a particularly tired episode - I am kind of exhausted but surely the charts can fix that! Right? That’s how that works, right? Yeah, it’s probably the opposite but as always we start with notable dropouts, which are songs exiting the UK Top 75 - what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week is a tad less busy than last, but we still do have a somewhat impressive list here, consisting of “Hits Different” by Taylor Swift - already! - as well as a few older songs that had returned recently, those being “Maria Maria” by Santana featuring The Product G&B and “Creep” by Radiohead. We also bid farewell to “Haven’t You Ever Been in Love Before” by Lewis Capaldi, “MATHEMATICAL DISRESPECT” by Lil Mabu (good riddance), “I Wrote a Song” by Mae Muller, “Search & Destroy” by Drake and “If We Ever Broke Up” by another Mae, that being Stephens. Yeah, I’m not really complaining about any of this.

So what’s filling the blanks? Well, we have returns for “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic at #72 for whatever reason and thanks to his regular concert-related return, “Seventeen Going Under” by Sam Fender is back for a week or two at #29. Elsewhere, we see boosts for “Give it to Me” by Matt Sassari at #64 - I’m kind of surprised that one’s getting anywhere - “Closer” by Bou featuring Slay at #48 (joy), “Sittin’ on Top of the World” by Burna Boy at #43, “Heaven” by Niall Horan rebounding to #40 thanks to his #1 album, “UNHEALTHY” by Anne-Marie featuring Shania Twain at #36 (her first top 40 hit in 20 years), “Satellite” and “Late Night Talking” by Harry Styles at #31 and #30, “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals at #25 (seriously), “Waffle House” by the Jonas Brothers at #22, and quite fortunately, “Good Love” by Hannah Laing and RoRo at #13. We also have a welcome addition to the top 10 with “Padam Padam” by Kylie Minogue at #9, becoming her first top 10 hit as a lead artist since 2010’s “All the Lovers” hit #3, and she has like 30 to a morbillion others, including her feature Taio Cruz’s “Higher” in 2011, which peaked at #8, but that song also had Travie McCoy of the Gym Class Heroes on it so maybe it’s best we don’t acknowledge its existence.

This week’s top five on the UK Singles Chart consists of “REACT” by Switch Disco featuring Ella Henderson and the late Robert Miles at #5, “Giving Me” by Jazzy at #4, “Miracle” by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding at #3, “Who Told You” by J Hus featuring Drake debuting at #2 - more on that later - and of course, “Sprinter” by Dave and Cench at the top. With all that out of the way, it is now time for our batch of new arrivals and… it’s a bit of a mess? Let’s just get through them.

NEW ARRIVALS

#75 - “So Much in Love” - D.O.D

Produced by D.O.D

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from D.O.D, the Manchester DJ best known for “Still Sleepless”, which is a song I still quite like. I didn’t exactly have any expectations but yeah, this is about just as good. It is funny to think that D.O.D is cribbing from the same vocal loops as Bad Boy Chiller Crew did with a song of the same name, but he definitely does more with it, including the tense chopping of the vocal amidst church organs in the beginning with really ramps up the melodrama to a level that seems appropriate for how relentlessly hard the hardcore kick ends up going in the drop. In fact, I think I ended up talking myself into liking this a great deal more than I initially did, probably because it hit some kind of nostalgia receptor, but the raspier vocal and the juicy bass synth really did convince me on this, especially with the choking percussion and the ambient release in the bridge that may have church organs, but they’re pretty jerky, and amidst a lot of janky distant synths, which fits for a song about desperately trying to return the relationship to the good old times. By the time it got to the breakdown using what sounds like an audience cheering and an alarm siren, it really hit me that this is an excellent dance song. I’m glad to know that the uniqueness of the more independent dance hits from last year is continuing on into this year, and this kind of wacky garage house track can add yet another song to that burgeoning list, it’s great.

#69 - “VULGAR” - Sam Smith and Madonna

Produced by Sam Smith, ILYA, Cirkut, Omer Fedi, Ryan Tedder and Jimmy Napes

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from Sam Smith after their album rollout and well, we’re never stop hearing from Madonna, yet this collaboration makes perfect sense. If Smith wishes to go the “Unholy” route - which proved profitable - the next logical step is ugly transgression with, well, the Queen of Transgression. I am kind of underwhelmed by this, honestly, considering the snippet ended up sounding weirder than the actual song. We start with intense strings and obnoxiously pitch-shifted vocals as I kind of expected, before getting into a bassy minimal groove - which I also expected - and man, I think the problem is I expected too much of it. I still like the song, with its staccato verses and grinding industrial plucks and sound effects, as well as the refusal to actually “work” as a pop song, but apart from the drop with eerie strings, cacophonous house percussion and an overwhelming bass that really is hurt by the stop-and-start rhythm of the chorus. I’d argue Madonna actually performs better here than on “Popular”, particularly because this brand of more avant-garde electropop has been her brand for the 2010s before it was Sam’s, and she actually kind of dominates the song by the end, which makes complete sense since Sam doesn’t work well here - they feel a bit too hollow and sensitive in their vocal tone to make sense on a track that needs an Arca remix. I still did end up liking this song, even on pure novelty, but I really wish it went somewhere edgier and more actually challenging.

#66 - “Mona Lisa” (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) - Dominic Fike

Produced by Will Yanez, Beat Butcha, Kenny Beats and StarGate

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from Dominic Fike, though I heard he was acting in an insufferable HBO series… so it makes sense that he’s back with yet another song from the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack.This one has self-aware cover art, which makes me automatically hate it since you had millionaire rappers on the official soundtrack and they were absolutely fine with using their image for Spider-Man, so for this little indie pop lad who sounds like a nose piercing personified could probably use it for some momentum without, you know, making fun of it. It’s needless to say, I think this is terrible, with a weak falsetto vocal loop and obnoxiously Lauv-esque acoustic guitar strumming that… becomes a house song, for some reason, and it really caught me off-guard whilst also sounding incredibly unfitting, especially with some of the most unlikeable Auto-Tuned vocals I’ve ever heard in this brand of alt-pop. Not even the chorus is all that catchy, with both the shoddily-mixed percussion and his incomplete vocal inflections sounding like a rough demo. Let’s not get into the condescending lyrics before this gets embarrassing since this is just awful.

#59 - “Take Two” - BTS

Produced by SUGA and EL CAPITXN

You know, for a boy band that is “on hiatus”, it hasn’t really been a while since we last heard from BTS. This song is a one-off single celeb rating the 10th anniversary of the group’s formation, thanking their fans through this song being supposedly dedicated to them, but really, it reads like a generic breakup if you translate the lyrics. I’m sure they mean something extra for the ARMY and of course lyrics that don’t resonate won’t kill a song, especially not one with a nice watery guitar lick, co-produced by one of the members - SUGA - which is cool - to make the lovely platitudes seem particularly breezy and cute, which fits for the guys’ high registers and incredibly dedicated delivery, with all the boys selling everything as hard as possible in a very pop fashion, which becomes a problem in that kind of mess of a chorus, wherein the compression definitely does not do wonders for either half of the overly loud and overwhelming hook, with extra vocal riffing to add even more to the mix, and it sounds pretty bad, which is disappointing since outside of the chorus, this isn’t bad at all - it just devolves into really cheap-sounding advertisement music for the refrain. I actually really like the melodic rap delivery from j-hope and RM, and the way they trade spoken-word verses with SUGA in the bridge is a nice, intimate touch, with SUGA’s lyrics more specifically referring to the fans in a really poetic fashion if the Genius translation is to be believed. It’s a shame that these good elements don’t necessarily make a good song, but I don’t think it’s the boys’ fault, it could have just used some extra time in the vault to ensure it actually sounded right before release. I feel like I have to say this - nothing against the boys, absolutely screw military conscription - but I did not have a headache before listening and I now very much do, that’s all I can say.

#58 - “How Does it Feel” - Tom Grennan

Produced by Carl Falk and Ryan Linvill

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from Tom Grennan, but this is his last pre-release single before he released his album What Ifs & Maybes - on the day of me writing this - so I was excited to hear if he could finally fully impress me. “All These Nights” got close, but Grennan has always been so close to making an actually great 80s pop rock pastiche… and God damn it, he might have just done it, because this is an insanely fun bop, and one that’s also kind of toxic to boot. He sounds pathetic belting amidst the Infectious guitars and flat synthpop drums, promising that he’s changed and he’ll make the relationship work, but sounding absolutely not enthused about it. The call-and-response between the Auto-Tuned drizzle of “Just tell me something” before the verse starts with “I don’t know what to tell you” is great, and the sing-songy chorus where he acknowledges how this is far away from actually apologising and mending wounds is just the icing on this petty, condescending cake. His breathy, smug delivery makes this sound just that more like a complete douchebag anthem, and the refrain of “How does it feel?” seems particularly just like a complete dick move, and I’m embracing all of it, with the rapid staccato harmonies of the second chorus and the killer anti-climax that is that chorus, as well as those twinkling synths that back its second half. I’d prefer a bridge with a bit more to it, or no bridge at all, but the drum fills and fuzzy ambiance does grant it some extra oomph that I appreciate. I even think that unlike most Tom Grennan songs, it wouldn’t work better as a heavier track since it needs its breeziness to be as pissy as it is. So, yeah, by being complete unlikeable, Tom Grennan has won me over. What does that say about me? Oh, Liam Payne co-wrote this? That makes way too much sense.

#45 - “Dial Drunk” - Noah Kahan

Produced by Noah Kahan and Gabe Simon

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from… okay, who the heck actually is this guy? So, Kahan is from Vermont and he makes folk music, and since the UK is latching onto country, I suppose rootsy Americana is to follow, with his recent reissue of his album Stick Season generating his first genuine breakout hit on the charts with “Dial Drunk” and, well… I’m not a fan, but I’m sure the kids like it. I don’t like it primarily for very shallow reasons - the drums are mixed in a way that sounds too dusty and distracting, and I just can’t really stand Kahan’s kind of nasal voice and delivery, which is a shame because he paints a good picture in  his songwriting, which is a narrative about an alcoholic regretting his actions when he uses someone he’s no longer in a relationship with as an emergency call once he’s arrested. It definitely has the jerkiness and uncertainty of an alcoholic, including a dialogue between him and the police in the bridge which was actually pretty compelling… and yeah, I’ve talked myself into liking it again, except not as much this time, primarily because I still don’t necessarily like how the song sounds, even if the guitar solo’s pretty nice and as are the harmonies. It’s still just a bit grating and kind of unlikeable to actually work for me, and the chorus feels way too consistent for its content, but it’s definitely a decently written and composed song, just not one that I’m particularly feeling.

#23 - “0800 HEAVEN” - Nathan Dawe, Joel Corry and Ella Henderson

Produced by Nathan Dawe, Joel Corry and Punctual

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from - who am I kidding? These people are charting constantly, and rarely with an actually good song, though to be fair, it just happens that all three have actually had a song that impressed me for the first time just recently, as “Oh Baby”, “Dance Around It” and “REACT” are all great tunes, so I had some element of hope, but I was still expecting it to be pretty generic and well, it is, but it has a very cheesy Eurodance element to it, especially with the conceit of Heaven having a phone line, which Ella sells way too seriously - and that is a good thing… in fact, screw it, I like the song as a whole too. The flubbery synth lead sounds farty and obnoxious in the best way possible, and the percussion actually has some frenetic energy to it that I really appreciate detail-wise, before tunnelling into the Eurodance club drop it was made to have. I do have to say - it’s not particularly impressive lyrically, in fact the sole verse and pre-chorus are kind of cringeworthy, and the song structure is of course not particularly impressive, with its wham line already being corny before being interrupted for the drop. Does that mean I don’t like it? Far from it - the drop bumps, Ella sounds great and the song gives me a wave of Clubland TV nostalgia, and to be fair to the usually bland producers here, there is some nice ambiance and detail, especially in the outro with the recorded phone call. Some extra effort was put into the atmosphere of this one, and it went a long way. Good song.

#2 - “Who Told You” - J Hus featuring Drake

Produced by P2J, E.Y., Gaetan Judd and JAE5

Well, it’s been a Drake since we’ve Draked from Drake, but I’m definitely more excited about the production here, given P2J and JAE5 sounds like an incredible duo, and J Hus has slid on production particularly from JAE5 before, so I had high hopes… and, well, it’s not what I expected, definitely being a bit more percussive with its jazzy pianos and quasi-Afrobeats rhythm amidst stray chipmunk vocals… and yeah, J Hus is not great here. He’s never been great at songs about women or partying, so he feels completely out of his element trying to adapt his unique delivery to a very fitted rhythm, so his performance is just awkward and honestly embarrassing with his corny sex raps and just repeating himself in the first verse. It’s not like Drake sounds any better - he’s just off-beat, referencing his own songs in his fake accent and taking random left-turns into melodic flows whilst being way too shoddily mixed for the sheer length of his demo-sounding verse. The squeaking guitar that arrives during his verse sounds just as unfitting as Drake does, and for whatever reason, there’s a second J Hus verse, and he sounds a bit more energetic but again, his unhinged delivery doesn’t fit on tighter grooves like this, even when a bit more melodious as he tends to be. It’s why he’s always on looser instrumentals, so this just feels like an okay beat given to a duo that can’t really fit it all too well, since in the arms of maybe a Wizkid, this could end up a lot better. Oh, and Drake should continue to be embarrassed about every little thing he does until eventually he becomes this shameless deity figure that only exists as a figment of our imagination and is a distant memory in everyone who remembers the past wrath of Aubrey Graham.

Conclusion

It’s not getting Worst of the Week though, as that goes to “Mona Lisa” by Dominic Fike, though J Hus and Drake bag the Dishonourable Mention. The rest is mostly decent, but I really did love listening to “So Much in Love” so D.O.D. gets the Best of the Week, and as much as I’d want to ensure that both positive titles went to dance songs, I think Tom Grennan just pips the trio to the post with “How Does it Feel”. Overall, a surprisingly good week, and I have no idea what’s ahead of us until Olivia Rodrigo returns, so for now, thank you for reading and I’ll see you next week!

[chasingpj]

𝐀 𝐒𝐞𝐭-𝐔𝐩

"We should go pick the strawberries over there. Percy and Y/n can work on the ones here."

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 3,887

warnings: none?? pls let me know if i missed anything

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story click here

a/n: hi hi! I was supposed to post this yesterday, but oops. I don't have much to say. again, it's a little bit of a slow start just because I want to introduce characters and establish relationship dynamics before getting into the good stuff. anyways, i hope you like it! i love hearing feedback so don't hesitate to reach out to me!

Part One Part Two Part Three

When you were stressed or needed to be alone with your thoughts, you often found yourself in the strawberry fields, either helping collect the harvest or simply sitting on the grass patches nearby. You usually preferred being in the fields alone, peacefully listening to the chirping of the birds and cicadas while inhaling the scent of sun-baked strawberries. However, there were times where you did stumble upon the company of the girls from the Demeter and Aphrodite cabin. You didn't mind hanging out with them, always amused at their banter and choice of conversation. They were always bubbly, taking advantage of the leisure activity to gossip and have girl talk, and it was nice, even if you were just listening.

Today was one of those days where you weren’t alone in the fields. Standing alongside Silena, Katie, and your half-sister, Lou Ellen, you find yourself zoning in and out of their conversation. Their chattering and giggling serve as background noise as you focus on cutting the strawberries from their stems to carefully place them in your basket.

"Who do you think are the cutest boys at camp?" You hear Silena ask when you decide to tune back into their conversation. A silence falls amongst the group; Katie and Lou Ellen were suddenly hesitant to speak. You look up, waiting for one of them to break the silence because it definitely wasn’t going to be you.

"I know what you're doing! You're trying to find out our crushes," Katie points her finger at Silena accusingly. Lou Ellen nods,

“Yeah, we know your tricks, Silena! You’re gonna try and set us up with people.”

"What? No!" Silena denies, but the smirk on her face said otherwise. "I'm just asking in general! You can find someone cute and not have a crush on them,” she points out. The three of you weren’t convinced at Silena’s claims, and the silence returns. You turn back to what you were doing, not really wanting to trap yourself in this conversation, and you decide to leave the pressure of confession to Katie and Lou Ellen.

"Okay.” Katie turns her body to face you. You hesitantly meet her gaze, already knowing what she's going to confess. "... this might be weird, but I think your brother is really cute," she admits, giggling nervously as she looks at both you and Lou Ellen. You scrunch your nose, shaking your head while Lou Ellen joins your reaction as she gags theatrically. The confession didn't surprise you, but it still felt weird to hear it.

"He's ugly!" You exclaim. Silena laughs, her head thrown back as Katie gasps at your insult about Atticus. Even though this wasn't the first time you've heard this from girls at camp, you still found it strange. Even your mortal friends have told you that they think your brother is adorable. You’ll never admit it out loud to anyone, but you were aware that your brother definitely wasn't ugly. Obviously, he wasn't if almost all of your friends had to mention his appearance at least once. Not only was Atticus conventionally attractive, but he was also a natural flirt, so he got attention from girls fairly easily. So much so that before your mother claimed you, Connor and Travis Stoll swore you guys were going to be claimed by Aphrodite.

You've only seen him flirt a handful of times, usually with the wood nymphs and playfully with the girls from the Aphrodite cabin. It was strange seeing girls flirt with him and giggle at all his stupid jokes because that “smooth” Atticus they meet is so different from the Atticus you saw. The Atticus you got to see was a clumsy dork that obsessed over Harry Potter and had a habit of bursting into song whenever he was bored, most often singing his own rendition of a song from a broadway musical or of a rock song from the 90s.

"No, he isn't! His facial structure is amazing!” Katie gushes. “And he's tall and has broad shoulders. He's also really funny!" You and Lou Ellen stare at her with a straight face before simultaneously bursting into laughter.

“He’s a dork!” Lou Ellen chokes through her laughs, and you nod, agreeing with her.

"Hey! I get where Katie is coming from! As his sisters, you guys are biased. Of course, you’re gonna say he's ugly," Silena points out, and you sigh,

“Live with him in the Hermes Cabin for a couple of weeks, and when you see him in his natural state, you won’t find him cute anymore,” you joke. Katie shakes her head,

“I don’t believe you. I bet he’s even cuter! You’re calling him a dork, but jokes on you, I like dorks,” she says playfully, crossing her arms over her chest, and you smile at her.

“To each their own, I guess.”

"What about you? Who do you think is cute?" Silena asks you. You side-eye the other, and you feel your face heat up. You really didn’t want to be the target in this conversation. Turning back to the bushes, you answer her question with a shrug of your shoulders. Silena scoffs, "there has to be someone! We have a good group of guys to choose from at camp."

"I mean, yeah…" you trail off hesitantly, and you feel the stares of the girls as they wait for your answer. You knew they weren't going to let this go, and so, you sigh softly, taking a moment to find the courage to confess. "I guess Percy is cute-"

"Y/n!"

Your breath hitches in your throat, and your shoulder tenses up at the sound of the familiar voice. It was too much of a coincidence that Percy showed up the exact moment you were speaking about him. The girls laugh at your reaction and your cheeks somehow become hotter as Silena smiles at you knowingly. If she didn't sense your crush before, she definitely sensed it now. Snapping your gaze away from her, you find the courage to turn around.

"Hey, Percy," you say, smiling sheepishly. You fiddle with your fingers as you take in his appearance. Percy was wearing his orange camp half-blood shirt and cargo pants. His cheeks were a little flushed at the summer heat, and you assume he probably came from training. As usual, his dark hair was slightly disheveled, and you couldn’t help your lips curling into a soft smile.

"Hey, I've been looking for you. You left these on the dock," he says, presenting the black pouch filled with your crystals in his hand. You gasp softly as you take it from him.

"Oh! Thank you. I can’t believe I forgot them," You shake your head at yourself as you put them in your strawberry basket in the meantime. You didn’t understand how your forgotten crystals never came to your mind once, especially this late in the day.

"No problem. I think they’re all in there," he smiles at you before acknowledging the girls standing behind you. "Hey, guys.”

He furrowed his eyebrows as they giggle amongst themselves. They murmur a few things to each other before turning their gaze to him again.

"Percy, I wanted to ask who do you think is the prettiest girl at camp?" Silena asks as the girls move to surround him. You're stomach flutters crazily with nerves, and you cringe, feeling embarrassed even though Percy was oblivious to the motive behind the question.

Percy looks around him, shifting his weight from one foot to another,

"This… feels like a trap,” he says slowly, making the girls giggle.

"It's not! We just want to know. Anyone, in particular, stands out to you?" Silena steps closer to him.

"Any crushes?" Katie asks.

"There has to be someone, right?" Lou Ellen smiles.

"Um… I- why are you guys asking so many questions?" He mutters, his shoulders tense up as he avoids the stares of the three girls practically towering over him.

"Guys, leave him alone," you laugh shortly. "You don't have to answer all that," you reassure him, cutting through their little circle as you squeeze between Silena and Katie.

You stand beside Percy, the girls deciding to step down and return to their original places. Silena smiles, and you can't tell what she's thinking, but you knew that the smile playing on her lips made you nervous. You awkwardly exchange a look with Percy, noticing that he was just as flustered as you were.

"You know… I noticed that those bushes over there get a lot of sun," Silena says, breaking her silence as she turns to Katie and Lou Ellen. She points at the bushes about three rows from where you were all standing, and Katie nods,

"We should go pick the strawberries over there. Percy and Y/n can work on the ones here." Silena gives you a smirk, winking at you before turning around and taking the other girls with her.

You resume your strawberry picking, chewing on your button lip. You were hoping that he didn't witness Silena wink at you because if he did, it was then way too obvious that the girls spontaneously set up this. There's a silence for a moment, and you feel your palms start to sweat as you try to figure out what you were going to say to him.

"Where's Ambrose?" Percy asks softly, and you glance over for a second, watching as he picks the strawberries beside you.

"Oh, uh, he ran off a little while ago with my brothers. They're probably playing somewhere." You smile, remembering how Ambrose wasted no time, running over to Alabaster and Ernest the moment they had offered to play with him.

"... how do you play with a ghost dog?" Percy gleams, amused at the idea of playing with Ambrose considering he couldn’t touch many things.

"There's a process where you can offer things to his spirit, so he has a few toys that he can play with," you explain. “He and I play with his toys all the time, but he’s with my brother’s right now, so they're probably wrestling."

"What? Really? I wouldn’t want to wrestle Ambrose,” Percy admits as a short laugh comes from his mouth.

"Yeah, me neither. He would definitely win if we did. Once he was so excited to see me; he jumped on me and knocked me down no problem,” you shake your head. “I think he forgets how big he is, and he ends up getting carried away sometimes.”

You look up from what you were doing, unexpectedly meeting Percy’s green eyes that resemble the color of the Caribbean sea as the sun shines into them. The butterflies in your stomach return, and you’re trying not to focus on the fact that the other was already looking at you. You look elsewhere, suddenly too shy to look at him, but your eyes couldn’t help but flicker back to his face. From this close, you noticed things about him that you didn’t see before, like the scattered freckles on his face, his long eyelashes, and his slightly chapped lips.

“I-” he stops himself suddenly, and your eyebrows furrow. The tension between you both was something you've never felt before. You didn't understand why Percy looked dazed, staring at you as if he found you to be the most captivating person in the world.

You open your mouth, but before you could speak, you see something moving at the end of the bush row. Breaking your gaze with Percy, you notice Silena's focusing intensely on you and him. It suddenly dawns on you that the strange tension was because she was working that love magic that all the Aphrodite children can do. She smirks when she sees that you’ve noticed her, and you swore you saw her mouth a “you’re welcome.” The tension suddenly falls as she hides behind the bushes right as Percy turns around to find out what you were looking at.

You giggle nervously, “um, yeah. Anyways... Ambrose can put up a fight,” you say, trying to revert to the original topic because you really didn’t want to discuss what just happened. You give him a second to get himself together, Percy looking a little disoriented after being under Silena's look magic. He blinks a few times before turning abruptly toward the strawberry bushes. A nervous chuckle leaves his lips, and his hand comes up to rub the back of his neck. He shifts on his feet and nods,

“Yeah, I can imagine.” He clears his throat, his voice coming out a little higher than he had intended it to be. You bite your bottom lip, trying to refrain from laughing, and you hum softly in response.

The two of you sat in silence for a bit before your conversation had picked up again. Surprisingly, even after being unknowingly manipulated by Silena’s magic, Percy moved on quickly from the awkward tension. You found it was easy to talk to him, the two of you chatting as if you didn't just meet yesterday. The two of you talked and laughed a lot, sharing funny stories from quests or about your mortal parents.

You’ve never been a closed-off person, and you were able to share things easily with people, so the conversation flew naturally. You guys talked about the weird perks of your powers. One of the weird perks you shared is your ability to see and communicate with ghosts, and you end up freaking him out with the many stories of your paranormal experiences.

You weren't sure how long you were talking to him, but time felt like it flew by, and eventually, your baskets were filled with strawberries as you finished picking the row. The sun was lower in the sky, and you assume that it was almost time for dinner. You figured you should find your siblings, and Ambrose and Percy had mentioned that he had plans to climb the lava wall with a few of his friends. So you guys placed your baskets in the drop-off section where they package the strawberries, exchanging a short “see you later” before parting ways.

☆’.･.･:★:･.･.’☆

The last thing Annabeth was expecting to see today was an out-of-breath Atticus bursting into her cabin, but there he was. She jumps in her seat at the sudden bang, the sound cutting through the silence. Her gaze snaps from her book to the door, concerned for a second as Atticus looks panicked. He lets himself in, scoping out the room in search of something.

"What are you-?"

"Have you seen Harvey?" Atticus asks, frantically looking for his familiar. Harvey is a black-footed ferret that was given to him by his mother. When you guys found out that Ambrose was for you, Atticus was pretty bummed. He was jealous that your mother had given you such a cool gift, and you had assumed that she had seen how upset he was because a few days after Hecate officially claimed you, Atticus received Harvey as a present. The morning he met Harvey for the first time, Atticus was thrilled to wake up with the ferret casually sitting on his chest.

"I'm sorry, Harvey? I don't know a Harvey?" Annabeth turns in her chair to face him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"My ferret, have you seen him?" Atticus drops to his knees, looking under the beds and the nightstands. He just saw him jump into the back window of the Athena Cabin, so he was sure that Harvey was hiding somewhere.

"Um, no?" Annabeth rolls her eyes, finding it rude that he has barged in as if he lived there. Suddenly, a small animal jumps from the top of the bookcase beside her and right on her desk. Annabeth yelps, getting up from her seat quick as Harvey snorts, and he clumsily runs across her papers before prancing across all the desks that were lined against the wall.

"Harvey, what are you doing?!" Atticus exclaims as he moves to stand up. He attempts to meet Harvey at the last desk, but Harvey jumps out of his reach just as he closes his fist to grab him. Harvey zooms across the room, forcing him to play a one-sided game of tag that Atticus was definitely losing. He occasionally slips and stumbles, the snorts that leave his snout starting to sound like mocking laughter.

"What's wrong with your rat?" Annabeth jokes as her eyes follow Harvey around the room.

"He's a ferret," Atticus corrects her, mumbling under his breath. He sighs as he tries to catch up with the animal, failing miserably as not only was he crazy fast, he was able to find the smallest corners to hide in.

"Similar family," she shrugs, smirking at him. "And you didn't answer my question."

Atticus sighs, getting on the floor to try and grab Harvey, who’s tucked in the corner under one of the beds. He squints at the small animal, not sure why he’s acting this way when Harvey was curled up on his desk, peacefully taking a nap about 20 minutes ago.

"He does this sometimes. I don't know. He wants to play, and then he causes chaos," Atticus grunts, almost grabbing Harvey, but he runs out of his reach once again. Atticus groans as he sits back on his heels, pinching the bridge of his nose. He decides he might as well take a breather since he's been chasing him for the past 10 minutes, and he considers that he should stop entertaining him since Harvey obviously saw this as some game.

He sighs softly, choosing to forget about Harvey as he looks over at Annabeth. Her gray eyes are fixed on him as she leans against the edge of her desk. Her curly blonde locks are pulled back in a messy low ponytail allowing the front strands to frame her face prettily. Atticus smiles as he admires her, taking in her appearance before she starts telling him off.

"You look pretty like that," Atticus compliments, his heart skipping a beat as their eyes meet. He watches as her expression softens for a second, her eyes wide at the random compliment. Atticus smirks softly, not surprised, as her face suddenly darkens into a scowl. If Annabeth felt anything for him, she was good at hiding it.

When Atticus had first arrived at camp last summer, Annabeth and he spoke here and there. Their conversations were brief but pleasant, and Atticus found himself wanting to talk to her more often. As his crush for her grew, he had taken it upon himself to harmlessly flirt with her, hoping she’d get the hint that he was interested.

"Like what?" She asks, her chin up as she moves to stand up straight on her feet.

"With your hair in a ponytail like that. It's cute.”

"Hmm. Thanks for letting me know, so I'll never do it like this again,” she says in such a serious tone that made Atticus laugh. There it is. Annabeth was always quick to shut him down, and she never failed to make witty comebacks. He was pretty certain that it was just banter, but it made it hard to tell if she was maybe into him. But he never failed to notice how occasionally, she’d momentarily be lost for words or have a flustered look on her face before it hardened as it did a moment ago.

"You'd be pretty regardless, Chase.” He feels his knees start to ache, and he sighs as he gets back up on his feet.

"Don't call me that," Annabeth says abruptly.

"What? Chase? What do you prefer? Annie? Beth? Anna?" He teases.

"I prefer Annabeth, thank you." She gives him a tight, sarcastic smile, and a short laugh comes from Atticus’s mouth.

"That's not fun, though…" His hand comes under his chin as he studies her. He ponders for a second, trying to come up with a name that he can personally call her. Annabeth shifts, avoiding his gaze as she looks elsewhere. She was weirded out that the other was looking at her for so long, and she tried not to show how flustered she actually was. She grunts,

"What?! What are you look-"

"Goldilocks," Atticus blurts out, his finger pointing into the air as his face brightens, thinking he’s an absolute genius for coming up with that name. Annabeth shakes her head,

"Don't call me th-"

"It's been decided. I will call you goldilocks. No one else can call you that," Atticus cuts her off, the same proud smile plastered on his face even though Annabeth’s eyes narrow dangerously at him. Atticus takes a step back hesitantly. At first glance, she didn’t come off as intimidating, but Atticus knew better. He was always sure not to push her too far because he was completely aware of her ability to kill him.

Atticus suddenly remembers Harvey, noticing how the sound of his little feet pattering along the wooden floor ceased a while ago. He scans the room finding Harvey standing on his hind legs a couple of feet away, calmly watching them. Atticus still couldn’t understand why he had acted so strangely. Familiars couldn’t talk, obviously because they’re animals but their actions are never out of vain. They’re usually trying to tell you something if they’re acting strange, and it takes a while to put the pieces together since there is only so much they can do. After thinking for a second, it dawns on Atticus that Harvey purposely made him come to the Athena Cabin so that he can talk to Annabeth. He smiles to himself, walking toward Harvey. He didn’t run away this time, allowing Atticus to put him on his shoulder.

"He just stopped,” Annabeth points out, her head tilting to the side.

"Probably got tired?" Atticus makes an excuse for him, not wanting to admit that Harvey had decided to be his wingman today. "Sorry for barging in, by the way," he apologizes. “I saw him jump in from the window, and I was worried he’d break something.”

"Whatever. Don’t do it again.”

"Got it. Well, I'll see you around, Goldilocks. Happy studying.” Atticus turns on his heels, hearing a scoff coming from Annabeth as he walks out of the cabin.

"When did I ask you to be my wingman?" Atticus asks Harvey as he walks off the steps of the Athena Cabin. He reaches up, his index finger petting the top of his head. "You're crazy, bud... But she is cute, isn't she?" Atticus laughs, Harvey snorting as if he agrees with him.

masterlist

[lovesomehate]

Need more scandalizing love marks.

Everyone is going to the beach. The Hacketteers, Chris, Kaylee, Caleb and Travis.

Everyone's enjoying the day and Laura has a bit of a wardrobe malfunction and needs to go buy a new swimsuit and Travis goes with her.

It was really supposed to be a quick shopping trip. So what if they come back and there happens to be very obvious marks; bites, scratches, hand prints on them. Of course Laura didn't give a shit. So sorry Max, though the other girls are clamoring about it and giving congrats. Travis doesn't have a shirt with him cause he forgot it, so he has to put up with extra congrats, laughs and admonishing from the guys.

((a guy later tries to flirt with her despite the marks and just takes it as her being a wild girl. Laura just rolls her eyes and indicates her body saying something like "You couldn't even do a fraction of what my man's done and does to me."))

I can imagine Travis being in earshot and like taking a sip of beer or something when she says that to the guy and he just chokes 😂😂😂😂 he was not expecting that.

BUT HELL YEAH SHAMELESS TRAVIS X LAURA MY ONE TRUE LOVE