#which makes it abundantly clear that percy's problem is that he's not getting what he needs to do well not that he doesn't care

[dreamstar-moonlight]

👆👆👆

The himbo, malewife, goofball -fication of percy jackson is such a crime by both the fans and riordan. It has made Mr not like percabeth as a couple because in all posts and in later books annabeth is such a girlboss, while Percy's dumb and can't fight his way out of a paperbag without her. All the posts are about how annabeth will be an architect and percy would love to be a trophy husband.

Even the humor in the books went from Percy's sharp wit and snark to 'my pancakes can't drown because I'm a son of poseidon.'

And now this recommendation letter bullshit.

Honestly now I'd wish percy just separated from annabeth (but they remain best friends.) He stays home with his family, becomes a camp counselor, helps young demigods, holds God's accountable and eventually becomes a social activist. (I also dislike him doing something marine biology related. It's clear he hates academics but he always wants to help people. Him helping demigods and mortals is such a wholesome profession for him.)

I fully agree with the first half of this, though I slightly disagree with part of the latter.

The later-series and fanon mischaracterization of Percy is at least a solid 50% ableism minimum, full stop. He's being warped into a very stereotyped ADHD character and the exact reason why he's being characterized as "dumb" is because of ableism. Percy is a very intelligent character! That's exactly why he's so in sync with Annabeth and they're such a strong duo! It's just generally Annabeth is more book/academically smart.

I disagree with where you say he hates academics - because that's one of the common misconceptions about his character. Percy doesn't hate learning or academic subjects! He's not even bad at them! We know explicitly that when he is in an accommodating environment he is interested in learning and gets significantly better grades! Percy only dislikes school because it is generally an environment that systematically he struggles with. It's literally just he has a learning disability (two, actually)! That's it! When his learning disability is accommodated for he does well! It's almost like that's what accommodations are all about! We know this from the first series! It's discussed pretty in-depth! Percy isn't a dumb character and he doesn't hate learning, he's just been let down by school systems so much that he's inherently distrustful of them. If they actually accommodate him though then he does just fine!

And that's exactly what CHB was all about and why New Rome University was supposed to be such a big thing for him! CHB is a learning environment geared for demigods. NRU is a demigod college. Both inherently imply an environment meant to cater to and accommodate students with ADHD and dyslexia! They are both systematically structured to be able to accommodate him! Heck, CHB and CJ even both address in the wider themes of the series a metaphor about how ADHD and dyslexia are commonly seen as childhood disabilities, and how it can be more difficult to find accommodations into adulthood because of that attitude but those disabilities don't just go away - that's why CHB is a summer camp but they talk about how demigods outside of CHB don't often fare well. The metaphor there is those who are not getting help or accommodations are struggling. Because that's how that works! This is a fully intentional metaphor from the first series! CHB is never framed as being perfect for demigods, because one of the entire central conflicts of the series is Percy and Luke going back and forth about this flawed system meant to help and support them but still letting people fall through the cracks. The "claim your kids by 13" thing is a metaphor about how acknowledging a child's disabilities (and possibly getting a diagnosis) earlier/as early as possible means they will have more time to learn and build up resources and support for themselves to be able to use later in life. One of CHB's major flaws is that it can accommodate demigods to a certain point, but it can only do so much before those demigods have to leave (the metaphor being accommodating school systems when those disabled students do not have any other forms of accommodations in their lives.)

And that's why Camp Jupiter was framed as being so revolutionary for Percy because it had an environment acknowledging that this is not just a childhood disability, adults with ADHD/dyslexia exist too and still need and deserve accommodations, AND is a place where those accommodations are available. That's why Camp Jupiter and NRU are treated as such special and important things to Percy, because it's essentially Percy being shown this type of thing can and does exist and it is available to him. It is an option he never thought was possible. Percy never thought he'd be able to go to college because he would not be able to go through school without accommodations, but NRU proves otherwise.

The part that's absolutely stupid is Rick then proceeded to retcon NRU so that apparently it's not a full college and Percy still has to take classes at normal mortal college which DEFEATS THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF NRU EXISTING. Rick has fully retconned that demigods struggle past the ages of 16-18 when they're on their own (see above elaborated metaphors) and in doing so we have fully killed all symbolism in literally all of that. It's so stupid. And by having the plot of the CoTG trilogy entirely be that Percy is not actually allowed access to NRU in the first place because he is a son of Poseidon and has to do extra to even be accepted is stupid!

All that to say, I agree the marine biology feels like a huge cop-out and a disservice to his character by reducing him to just a son of Poseidon. The literal only reason why it's the default option people take for him is because oh, fish thing, fish guy. But I feel like everyone ignores the really obvious answer for what Percy would want to do which is - writing. Both his parents are writers/authors and he clearly admires that about them. Percy likes telling stories! He canonically is already a published author in-universe! That's what the books ARE in-universe! The first series fully exists in their universe and Percy is the author! This is explicit canonical information! Percy canonically has help physically writing it down (accommodations) but he is still the credited author! Percy is a writer! Already! Canonically! Why are we making him a marine biologist he already has a profession that ties into his character significantly more. Like you said, Percy likes helping people. That's what the books in-universe are supposed to be for! It's point blank at the beginning of the series! Book one! The thing everybody quotes all the time! The books exist because it is Percy trying to give advice to other demigods who don't know what's going on yet! It's Percy's writing down his experiences to help new demigods understand and contextualize their experiences so they can understand themselves better and figure out what's going on - WHICH IN ITSELF IS ALSO A METAPHOR ABOUT ADHD/DYSLEXIA! Because the core of the series has and always will be built around ADHD/dyslexia! Percy as a protagonist EXPLICITLY was created so that ADHD/dyslexic kids could see themselves as a hero!

Sorry that all was a very tangential rant but my point being: Absolutely. Percy in newer stuff in the franchise and in fanon is horrifically mischaracterized in ways that are functionally either fully ableist (shoutout TSATS for just outright claiming Percy is intentionally lazy and skips school out of disinterest, which is like the number one ableist attitude towards kids with learning disabilities) or a complete erasure of Percy's disabilities. Also I think he should be a writing major not a marine biologist.

[fallin-4-ya]

three rules / f.w.

three rules

fred weasley x reader

summary: being best friends with ginny weasley came with three unbreakable rules, the main focus of them being no dating her brothers. so, naturally it was inevitable that the most infamous rule breaking weasley caught her eyes.

warning: none! (gif not mine credit to owner!)

requested? yes/no

words: 1.9k

By the time y/n was in her fifth year she had caught the attention of not only one redheaded Weasley, but two. Her spritely attitude and fun-loving nature had quickly gained the attention of Ginny Weasley, a Gryffindor two years below her. The girls got on so well, they practically became inseparable. Ginny, never knowing a sister even if one hit her in the face, found solace in y/n because of her warmth and kindness. Y/n loved Ginny as much as she could, and took her on to be the little sister she never had. It was often difficult to find one without the other, or even one not in ten feet of the other. But, there was one tiny problem. Y/n fancied Fred Weasley more than she cared to admit. And there was one thing that was no-no in Ginny and y/n’s friendship, no fancying each other’s siblings.

Ginny had made this abundantly clear the during their first year of friendship. No relationships with her brothers. Not Fred, not George, not Ron, not Percy. (‘Even though I doubt any girl in their right mind would go for Percy.’) They were all off limits; and it seemed her brothers had the same rule applied to them as well, because if one of them were to look at you Ginny would go on a rampage about how ‘she was her best friend and she deserves way more than you lot’. Ginny was so serious in fact, she had a set of three very specific rules to follow:

1.     No going on a date with a Weasley

2.     No kissing a Weasley

3.     You must tell Ginny if you break rule one or two

Y/n couldn’t be totally mad at Ginny, after all she was just trying to look out for a friend. Yet, y/n couldn’t help but to let her eyes wander when Fred walked into a room or snap her head in his direction every time he spoke a word. She had it bad.

1.

It was only a matter of time before y/n found out Fred felt the same way about her, as she did for him. it was the beginning of the school year when he asked her in a quiet hallway after charms class if she would like to be his date to Hogsmeade the following weekend.

‘Are you mental?!’ y/n nearly shouted due to shook, ‘Your sister will kill us both, what about the ru-‘

Fred silenced her, placing a finger over her lips, ‘Ah, y/n, what’s life without a little rule breaking.’ She stared at him intently for a moment before Fred continued, ‘I’m going to take the silence and pensive thinking as a yes. See you on Saturday.’

And how unfortunate it was, how you two had such a wonderful time. Sneaking around Hogsmeade, looking over their shoulder and around corners for the sight of Ginny. The rush of adrenaline was nothing she had felt before.

They drank butterbeer together in the far, far corner of The Three Broomsticks, went to Zonkos in big puffy coast and hats to conceal their identity and took all of the side streets to get where they wanted to go. There was something about trying to keep their date a secret that made it even more fun.

They were two peas in a pod, bouncing of each other’s energy. They both agreed at they would meet the following weekend for a second date. Either one of them could contain their excitement. The feelings they shared were undeniable and the two wanted nothing more to make them work. The only trouble with this, is that they had to find a way to make it work without Ginny finding out, or at least until they were ready to tell her.

2.

They didn’t share their first kiss until after their second date. Fred dropped her off at her common room after their day at Hogsmeade, gazing longingly at one another. Y/n was the first to speak, ‘I had a great time today, Freddie.’

‘I had a great time, too.’ Fred smiled at her. He paused and took a deep breath, ‘I fancy you, y/n. I really do.’

Y/n smiled wide, ‘I fancy you too, Fred Weasley.’

The whole world around them stopped, and for a single moment it was just the two of them. Fred leaned in gently, taking her face in his palm. His eyes flickered down to hers, asking permission. Y/n closed the gap softly, lips dancing on one another. Everything felt right. Until it didn’t anymore.

Y/n pulled away with a gasp, ‘Fred! What are we doing? We just broke rule number two, as if breaking number one wasn’t enough. Which means that we have to follow rule number three and tell Ginny. Or we’re dead for sure, I’m telling you!’

‘You and these bloody rules,’ Fred laughed. ‘Why on earth do you care so much anyway?’

‘Not so sure,’ the girl sighed. ‘I just don’t want to make Ginny upset. She came up with them when she was twelve, you know.’

‘Then,’ Fred said with a devious grin. ‘Let’s not make her upset. After all, you’re only in trouble if you get caught.’

Y/n smiled at Fred widely, before taking his collar and pulling him in for another long kiss. Maybe Fred was right, you are only in trouble if you get caught. So, the start of their very secretive relationship began. They would pull one another into a quiet hallway to steal a kiss, slip into an empty broom closet to snog and only held each other’s hands when the castle got dark.

From sweet nothings, to stolen kisses. Everything was hushed, swept under the rug. Perhaps if they acted as if the silly rules didn’t exist, then they didn’t. Ginny had suspected not a thing coming from the two of them, until one day she didn’t on a fateful spring day.

3.

The flowers had just begun to bloom at Hogwarts. The days got longer and the weather became pleasant and warm once again. It was all Fred’s idea. The two were going for a quiet walk by the black lake, out of sight from wandering eyes; talking about nothing and everything. It wasn’t until, he leaned in for a kiss when the two heard a scream from behind them. The turned simultaneously, becoming face to face with the last person they wanted to catch them.

Ginny.

Her pupils tripled in size and her mouth was shaped into and oh position. Y/n went into panic mode, trying to calm the situation down. ‘Ginny! We can explain!’

Ginny scoffed at the two, ‘Yeah, you think?! What the hell? We’re you two actually snogging.’

‘For your information, Ginny,’ Fred intervened. ‘That was only a peck. We’ve snogged plenty of times before and trust me, it doesn’t look anything like that. Just ask her about that date at Hogsmeade.’ He winked at y/n.

‘Freddie, you’re really not helping.’ Y/n responded in a hushed voice.

‘Right,’ Fred nodded.

‘First of all, gross. Second, you broke the rules!’ Ginny yelled. ‘All of them! One, two and three!’

‘Ginny, look,’ Y/n stuttered, afraid to say the wrong thing. ‘We, well I- We were going to tell you! We just didn’t really know how.’

Ginny huffed, scratching the hair out of her face in frustration. ‘Didn’t know how to tell me what, how you broke the rules? The ones we shook on in second year! If you’re shagging my brother that’s fine, but you didn’t have to keep it a secret!’

She then threw her eyes towards her brother, ‘And you Fred. I’m so telling mum!’

Fred looked down at y/n who looked as if she was going to burst out in tears at any moment. He sighed, ‘Look Gin, don’t be mad.’

‘Mad?’ Ginny questioned, ‘Why on earth would I be mad?’

Fred looked at her like she had ten heads, ‘Not mad? Never would have figured out that.’ Sarcasm drooled from his tongue.

‘I’m not.’ Ginny stated simply. ‘Honest.’

Y/n looked up at her, ‘What? What do you mean you’re not mad, you basically just threw a fit if I’ve ever seen one?’ She looked a mix of relieved and vengeful.

‘Well, yeah, you guys broke the rules. And the initial shock was something. Blah, blah, blah. But, truth be told I’m happy you guys did. You see, I have about a lot of galleons wagered on you two, and if you waited just a few more days, they would have been Ronald’s.’ Ginny said, her arms crossed and shrugging her shoulders.

Fred and y/n looked at each other, mass confusion consumed them both. Fred turned to his sister with the most bewildered expression on his face. ‘Galleons?’ he questioned.

‘Yes galleons, Fredrick. Do I need to clear your ears out?’ Ginny stared blankly at the couple in front of her, who still wore confused expressions in their faces. She huffed, ‘Oh honestly, you two. Don’t act like you don’t know?’

‘Gin,’ y/n started. ‘We really don’t know what all this is about.’

Ginny shared eye contact between them, trying to figure out if they were being serious or not. She shook her head slowly, ‘You guys seriously don’t know, do you?’ Fred and y/n simultaneously shook their heads. Ginny gulped hard, ‘I actually don’t know how to say this. Well you see, me, George and Ron all had bets on when you two would get together and by the looks of it, I just won fifty galleons.’

Y/n looked at her with almost a blank expression, ‘So, you guys knew all along?’

‘Of course not. I will admit, you guys were doing really well with sneaking around. But, have you seen the way you two look at each other? You guys look at each other the way Ron looks at food. Anyone could see it.’

Fred turned to his girlfriend, who was blushing furiously, then back at Ginny. ‘So, you’re happy we broke the rules?’

‘My dear brother, you breaking the rules was inevitable. It was really only a matter of time before y/n cracked. The rules were only there to delay the future.’ Ginny laughed, putting a hand on y/n’s shoulder. ‘My best friend and my brother, doesn’t this practically make us sisters? Besides, it means you can come spend Christmas and summer holiday with us!’

Y/n found herself smiling uncontrollably, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of her back. Ginny’s lips tugged into a lopsided grin, ‘Y/n, you will come stay with us, won’t you!’

‘Of course, Gin! As long as your brother doesn’t have anything to say about it.’ y/n poked Fred in the ribs with her elbow.

‘How could I possibly say no.’ Fred said, planning a kiss on y/n’s lips.

Ginny began making puking noises, pulling them out of their moment. ‘Just because I said I was happy you guys are dating doesn’t mean you can do all of that in front of me.’ Fred rolled his eyes, giving her a shut it and nudging her shoulder. This wasn’t going to be half as bad as they thought.

(‘I told you she wasn’t going to be mad.’ ‘Oh, shut it.’)

[thejudgingtrash]

can we pleeeease talk about how rushed the whole Nico and Will relationship was? They talked for 2 minutes, don't see each other forever and boom they're together. Like ??? When did that happen? Certainly not in the books? (okay I haven't read the books in ages, but it felt so forced and extremely rushed or is it just me? I'm queer myself so I'm all for LGBTQ+ representation, but that's not it)

Alright let’s tackle this! Sorry for answering so late, I always answer asks that will be longer super late ^^ anyway. I’ve sorta received this ask twice but the other one has more focused on Nico with a little bit Solangelo on the side so I’ll just fully tackle the Solangelo side on this one.

I have three simple issues with Solangelo.

Age

Substance

Fandom

Alright. Let’s start off with the first point or problem. Age. Or rather time. As in timeline. Because we all know that Rick Riordan basically spins a wheel whenever it comes to his timeline and I won’t go fully into the maths because I’m terrible at it and I’m not in the mood for embarrassing myself in that metier. Anyway, let’s proceed. My question is: what is their canonical age? The one from Will and the one from Nico?

I’ve caught glimpse in a group convo at the fact that Will was supposed to be 18 actually if you pay close attention to pjo? And I mean Nico is like 15 or something? Which is also sorta wrong? Because Riordan made him younger than Hazel who was 14 in the Herpes of Olympus saga. 14 and 18 is a fuck no from me, son. I guess Riordan forgot that HOO essentially took place in two days or something.

Riordan aging his characters down or rather refusing to let them age (looking at you, Percy and Annabeth!) because it doesn't convenience him isn’t something new. So, should they be mathematically speaking have that much of an age gap, yeah. That is problematic. That’s Frazel level kinda problematic. Even worse. I know that people are more inclined to look past age gaps in same-sex relationships but I always wondered why? There’s still a disproportionate level of maturity + a mighty power imbalance. So yeah. Watch out for that. Also they’re kids. So there’s no need in tying the knot and popping expensive champagne for their wedding just yet.

I mean I don’t have a problem with the time traveling aspect as in Nico still being mentally and physically a kid/teen. A little odd, sure. It’s not like Nico and Will are Edward and Bella and Nico’s goth ass is mentally aging along and stalking Will’s sorry self. It’s still weird because it’s so unbelievable? Nico is barely struggling finding his way into the modern world, chills at Hades and calls it a day? Now that’s something I have an issue with. I need more struggle. I need more vocab mix-ups. Nico’s brain exploding at the modern world. The difference between the 1940s and the late 2000s is massive. That isn’t just oh, weird little haircuts and why are women wearing pants, it would be not being able to comprehend things and questioning every new little object. Will could’ve been an amazing support character for such an arch, buuuut I’m deviating from my actual point. The timeline/age-line in the Riordanverse is for sure more on the concerning part for all new characters + OG side characters.

Second point. Substance. The thing you’ve touched in your ask.

How and when did Nico and Will become a thing? My memory is terrible and I’m too lazy to browse the wiki. The only thing I remember was Will being a nagging bitch in Blood of Olympus after Nico essentially said “I've got to move on and be who I am, I just don't belong here, I hope you understand, we might find a place in this world someday, but at least for now... I gotta go my own way...” to Percy who just went ??? That marked the beginning for this ship. Basically. I think. Well... I said before in my Percabeth ship roast (more like ship analysis, I have to redo that, that was way too mild and unfunny, omfg): most of the romance is in your head because there’s barely anything romantic in Riordan’s books to begin with (which we all should actually be thankful for!). This applies to essentially every goddamn ship in this series but especially Solangelo. Holy fuck. Y’all are pulling out the wildest stuff out of your ass based on... what exactly? I mean props for creativity!

It is abundantly clear to me at least, that Riordan didn't write Nico with the intention of being gay. There was no real indication in the Percy Jackson series (and I refuse to believe that he was this sort of mastermind, that plotted about doing all of this behind Disney’s back to get the gays and latinos in. There’s a market for everything and diversity was a coming trend in the 2010s).

One could say: Hey! Isn’t it great that Nico wasn’t labeled as being gay? It normalizes homosexuality and makes sure that the lgbtq+ community isn’t something abstract but rather folk like me and you. And to that I’d say yes, I mostly agree if the follow-up arch is believable and plausible. Which it isn’t in my opinion. We jump from the Heroes of Olympus saga to The Trials of (Mo)Lester I mean Apollo and we’re having this HUGE jump? From barely knowing each other to being soulmates, sitting next to each other, hanging out, going on in their business, having the picket white fence, two kids, three dogs, living in a gentrified neighborhood and baking cherry pie on Sundays? HOW IN THE ACTUAL FUCK DID ALL OF THIS HAPPEN?! That is incredibly rushed. 

Aren’t...you shippers....Mad? That’s so cheap? I’d say so? Wouldn’t you like to have more pre-existing relationship and plausible development? With Percabeth you at least have a five book long progression, Solangelo is Riordan basically taking a dump on your plate and forcing you to eat it. And no, Riordan teasing the last Apollo doesn’t count.

Additionally, wouldn’t it be way better to still have a character say “Yeah, I’m gay. Pass me that salt, will ya?” without it being gimmicky or a foil or something for woke points? Just showing kids: “Hey, if you think this is a label that suits you, it’s fine! It’s perfect even! No worries!” (Also, the “coming out scene” with Jason and Cupid wasn't it, my loves. That was horrifying and insulting imo).

I mean. Show and tell are powerful tools in narration and telling more than often resolves unnecessary conflict/dialogue. And whereas season one from Percy Jackson had barely anything in that direction with Nico’s identity, season two didn’t make it any better. And season three is a complete cluster fuck.

Yeah. For me, the ship is super rushed.

Final point. The fandom.

I have to inter-subjectively state that Solangelo shippers are fucking crazy. I know Percabeth shippers (including me, helloooo) and especially the Annabeth stans for some odd reason are insane, but Solangelo shippers take the fucking cake and then some. There’s already a disconnect between the age groups in the fandom and it’s clear that more of the older teens and adults center around the Percy Jackson story and some in the Heroes of Olympus sequel, but from what I’ve seen the Trials of Apollo fandom is super young and on a whole different level. Might be the reason why facing some criticisms seems harder, because the minute you open your mouth to say something about Solangelo, you have people attacking you left and right. Chill guys, it’s not that deep? And it’s definitely not a personal attack on you. After all, I don’t know who you are and tbh Idgaf. 

Talking about the lack of substance, fanon will automatically come in and fill the gaps. Which is fine and something we all do, but I really have to wonder about the levels of extremes that some take?

We all center around certain tropes and what not and while the trope and dynamic behind Solangelo isn’t particularly something for me, I really have to ask why people are behind it. Don’t get me wrong. My question is touching on more on M/M fetishization because I think that is mostly the driving force for some people rather than liking the actual ship? I see more people projecting things into Nico and Will and it’s really turning their characters into something they aren’t? Especially with Nico, who gets turned into this 5 ft. UwU punk princess which is hella strange???

All in all, I don’t have anything against the ship apart from it’s overrushed nature and Riordan’s wacky timeline. Do whatever you want with it (apart from fetishizing and sexualizing the ship), no one’s stopping you from liking it. But I do believe there are some things to look out for, especially in the fandom.

Take it easy, guys.

[phykios]

honesty and promise me, part 3 [read on ao3] [co-written with @darkmagyk]

Several more weeks and hookups later, Annabeth thinks she should probably come clean. Some people might bury it deep, and for sure, Annabeth’s considered it, but, well. It is kind of embarrassing that she didn’t know Percy’s name at first. Stuff like that doesn’t usually bother her--she’s had nameless one night stands in the past, and despite Thalia’s ribbing, she knows that Thalia doesn’t really care either. It’s just that, you know, he’s Thalia’s family, and they’ve seen each other a few more times, and they are planning to continue to see each other a few more times in the future. Or more than a few times. 

Anyway, she kind of feels like she owes it to him. Like he deserves this small nugget of truth, payment for all the times he’s fucked her blind. It’s nagging at her, and she hates feeling like she owes anyone anything. 

Piper certainly seemed to think so, when Annabeth had told her over their monthly brunch date.

“It’s just common courtesy at this point,” she said. “Like, what if you guys end up married and then sell your story to Hollywood, they cast my dad as the male lead, and it comes out in interviews that you didn’t know his name for like a month? He’s gonna get the wrong idea.”

Annabeth wasn’t sure which part was more ridiculous: the movie, Piper’s dad being involved, or them being married.

Anyway, sharing some of her avocado fries, Piper had reminded her that being mean wasn't very punk rock, shutting her up effectively.

She’s out on site in the Lower East Side, taking measurements for plots of land, writing down sun angles and measuring the wind velocity between the brick buildings, when she gets a text from him. 

I’m on a break and I’m starving 😩 Want to grab something to eat?

It’s 2pm on a Thursday and he wants to grab something to eat. If Annabeth didn’t know any better, she’d say that that sounds like a real, honest-to-goodness, bona fide date. (Meeting up at and subsequently leaving bars together does not count as a date, she’s pretty sure. Neither do the booty calls.) He’s been getting a little free with his texts, that boy, sending her selfies and memes and questions about her day, and now this? An invitation to their first, actual date? She should block him on principle, just for the sheer audacity.

sure, wya

520 8th, text me when you get here 😁

That’s another thing: Percy loves his emojis. If this is going to continue, they’re going to need to have a serious talk about that. 

She doesn’t need to text him when she gets there; he’s already outside, leaning on the stone edifice of the building like a particularly jacked rent boy in his tight t-shirt and broody look, cigarette between his fingers. The sweatpants sort of ruin the image, though. He looks particularly comfortable in a way that warms Annabeth right from the inside out. “You know, when Nico said you smoked, I honestly didn’t believe it.” she says, not even bothering to say hi. 

He looks up from his phone and smiles, the sun behind his teeth. “Hey!” 

“Hey, yourself.” She doesn’t even hesitate--she plucks the cigarette out of his hand, taking a drag off it herself. “You been smoking for a long time?”

“Who do you think taught Thalia how?” He raises an eyebrow, bemused. “Is that a problem?”

It is, but it’s not like she can tell him that without losing some of her credibility. “Wouldn’t smoking fuck with your cardio?”

Percy shrugs, conceding. “A little. I used to be a lot worse, but I just can’t quite kick the habit. It’s mostly a stress thing, anyway.” 

“Rough practice?” she asks, putting just enough effort into her lip wobble to make it abundantly clear that she’s making fun of him. “Were the other boys being mean to you because of your tights?”

He grins at her, saucy. “Annabeth Chase, do you really think that NYCB rehearses here? In the Garment District?” But he laughs before she can stammer out an answer (and thank God, she’s lived here three years and can barely keep the boroughs straight, let alone the neighborhoods). “I just wrapped up teaching a class. I don’t have to be at rehearsal until 5, I was thinking we could hang out? Bryant Park?”

A first date at the New York Public Library. She almost hates to admit it, but Percy Jackson might be kind of her dream man. “I believe I was promised food,” she sniffs, but she does hold out her hand, and when he takes it, lacing his fingers through hers, she’s sure that he can feel her heart beating, palm to palm. 

Twenty minutes later they’re settled on a bench in the corner of the green, Annabeth halfway into a ham sandwich and Percy juggling a salad and an iced coffee. He’s been regaling her with tales from the more exciting side of ballet, a side she hadn’t even imagined could actually exist. “So by the time I land in Paris,” he says, taking a sip of coffee, “the guy’s foot has swollen up to, like, twice its original size, and when I finally managed to find some wifi to check my phone, there’s, like, eight missed calls from my mom and my agent, and an email from her that just says ‘READ THIS,’ in all caps, and of course the article is in French, which I didn’t really speak at the time, and I was so stressed that my ADHD made it so I couldn’t even read the Google translation, and I had to ask someone to translate it for me.”

“Oh my god,” she says, struggling to keep it in.

“And that’s how I found out that I’d been moved up to first cast in Le Corsaire, from the poor barista at a coffee shop in Charles de Gaule!” He laughs. 

“That’s insane,” Annabeth says. “And the show was the next day?”

“It was that night! I had to haul ass to the opera house and get warmed up, because I was going on in about four hours. You should have seen the looks on everyone’s faces when I stumbled in, I’m sure that they all wanted to kill me.” Percy chuckles, taking a bite of leafy greens. “Now I wasn’t just the twenty-year-old upstart American, I was the twenty-year-old upstart American who skipped town when I wasn’t supposed to.”

“How did it go?”

“Killed it, of course,” he says, deservedly smug. 

Despite her best efforts, she’s absolutely entranced; he’s a great storyteller. “I bet you break that story out at parties all the time, don’t you.”

He laughs. “Whatever gets the donors to open their checkbooks, right?”

“I can’t believe you lived in Paris. I’ve always wanted to see it.” She’d had a few chances to when she was in college, the semester she’d studied abroad in Rome, but she just never got around to it. Just another item on her long, long list of regrets, placed somewhere between the sketchy burrito from last week and not telling her mom to fuck off earlier when she’d had the chance. “If I were you, I’d never leave.”

Percy shrugs. “It was amazing, I won’t lie. But towards the end I just really, really missed it here. All my family is in NYC, you know? My mom, step-dad, and my sister live here, and Thalia and Nico and Hazel, too. I tried to come back and visit whenever I could, but being away from them was really hard.” There’s something soft and inviting in his expression when he says, “I’m really happy to be back home.”

“What are they like?” Annabeth asks. “Your family. Your non-mob family, I mean.”

He rolls his eyes, but he grins another one of those blinding grins, too. “My mom is the most amazing person you will ever meet. Not only did she support my dance habit, she did it as a single working mother who had to raise an angry, ADHD asshole of a son who didn’t always appreciate her. I don’t even want to know how many hours she had to work or how many scholarships and grants she had to track down in order to pay for me to go to SAB, but somehow she made it work, and managed to write her novel at the same time. She married my step-dad the summer I turned sixteen, and my baby sister was born the next year.” 

Even Annabeth, cynical and black-hearted as she is, has to smile back. The love he has for his mom is so palpable, so tangible, she can practically see him glowing. “And the…” What had Thalia called them? “The ‘Cousin Consortium’?” 

At that, Percy laughs, full-bellied, unrestrained. “The name was Nico’s idea. I didn’t really have many close friends when I was a kid, apart from my buddy Grover--he had to wear this really gnarly leg brace and I liked to dance, so you can imagine how much we got picked on--but we were all really close growing up, since our dads were all assholes. They may have left us emotionally scarred, but at least we had each other’s backs the whole time.”

This is a very Percy thing, she’s starting to realize: he can not and will not hold back on his feelings. He simply refuses to. Where most guys might try to hide or downplay their affection for their friends, Percy’s is written all over his face. Maybe it’s a byproduct of doing ballet, but he’s so unashamed of his love for his friends and his family and his art, that maybe Annabeth kind of wishes she could be included in that love too, if it always feels this warm and joyful. 

“I think it’s amazing that you guys are so close. I only had the one cousin when I was growing up, and we didn’t really talk all that much,” Annabeth says, almost without her permission. Something about him, it’s just so easy to talk to him. He makes it safe to open up.

“The med school guy, right?” 

Annabeth nods. “Magnus. Fifth generation Harvard student. We’re all very proud.” 

Ugh. Even she has to wince at the false cheer in her voice. Percy gives her a half-smile, sympathetic and soft. “Harvard not really for you, then?” he asks, picking up the threads of a long and complicated story, and one that she absolutely does not want to get into right now. Or ever, if she can help it. 

“More like I wasn’t really for Harvard.” Which wasn’t entirely untrue. She had been good enough for the university in Cambridge, Mass--good enough for two degrees and graduation with honors--but she had never been good enough for her mother’s capital-H Harvard. Never good enough for her mother at all, really. 

Percy takes her hand. His fingers are cold from his iced coffee. “Hey. It’s their loss,” he says, with a sincerity and an intensity that makes her blush.

Every part of her wants to pull away. His thumb is rubbing against the joint of her finger, soothing and sweet, and she thinks she may break out in hives from it. “Damn right it is,” she mumbles. 

He is so nice. So nice and hot and sweet. Objectively, what she’s about to do is a terrible idea, and might torpedo a really good thing that they have, but if she doesn’t come clean now her own guilt is going to drive her insane.

“Okay, I have a confession to make.” Percy raises his eyebrows, slurping the last dregs of his drink. “When we met… and then when we hooked up the first time… I may have… thoughtyouwereJason.”

He blinks. “Pardon?” he asks, mumbled around the straw.

Annabeth buries her head in her hands. “Please don’t make me say it again.”

“You… thought I was Jason?”

“Well,” she sputters, glaring at him through her fingers, “you were being all bro-y with Thalia!”

He is valiantly trying to hold in a smile. “You know, I distinctly remember telling you my name that morning.”

“I was really hungover,” she whines, “and you were shirtless and making breakfast so I wasn’t really… paying attention.”

“For a whole week?”

This is so embarrassing, why couldn’t she just keep her stupid mouth shut? “Yeah.” She slumps her shoulders, stuffing her hands into her jacket pocket. “Sorry.”

She’s not entirely sure what she expected: at best a couple of weird looks and a tentative promise to meet up later that would end up not working out, at worst she thinks he’ll just get up and leave her here at Bryant Park. Either way, they’d be doomed to months of awkward interactions, until eventually they wouldn’t be able to be around each other, and Thalia would have to pick a side--and Annabeth’s seen what Thalia does to people who cross her family. She’s seen Thalia beat a dude to pulp for calling Nico the f-slur. Picking Percy over Annabeth? That’s nothing.

So when he starts laughing, Annabeth is completely at a loss. Slowly, at first, then all at once, he’s laughing so hard his shoulders are shaking, and he has to put down his salad so it doesn’t topple over onto the grass. His head is tilted back in joy, the grey, late afternoon light adamant that Annabeth can see all of his features clearly, from his screwed up eyes to his bright, white teeth to the single dimple in his cheek.

Of course, even his laughter is hot. Asshole. 

“You thought I was Jason!” He shrieks.

Annabeth crosses her arms, scowling. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I really don’t mean to laugh,” he giggles. Annabeth can feel her own giggle rising in response, and she ruthlessly quashes it. “I can definitely say I’ve never heard that one before. You do know Jason is blond, right?”

“As a matter of fact, I did not. Besides, you and Thalia look exactly alike.”

He scoffs. “No we don’t.”

“Uh, yeah you do. You, Thalia, and Nico are all basically clones of each other.” 

“Okay, Captain Glasses, whatever you say.” He rolls his eyes, but there’s no heat behind it.

“I’m sorry,” Annabeth feels like she has to say again.

He cocks his head. “For what? For thinking I was Jason? He’s a pretty cool guy.”

“No, for,” she blushes again. All this blood rushing to her head can’t be good for her. “For sleeping with you when I still thought you were Jason.”

Percy scoots closer to her, throwing her a grin and slinging his arm over her shoulders. Without even realizing that she’s doing it, she settles in beside him like she’s been doing it her whole life, slotted up against his torso, tucking her booted feet beneath her legs. “I am choosing to take that as a compliment,” he says, smirking. “You couldn’t resist my charms, even when you thought I was a brogrammer.” 

Annabeth can’t help herself. She kisses him, wiping that smug grin right off his face, and when she finally retreats, after what feels like hours, he looks so dazed she could probably keep calling him by any name she wanted and he wouldn’t even realize it.

After their lunch, they meander for hours, headed in a vaguely southerly direction, holding hands the whole time, a steady, uninterrupted flow that took them all the way from Midtown to Greenwich Village. He tells her about his first day at ballet school; she tells him about her favorite monuments. “There are two architectural environments in America,” she says, ranting, speaking with enough force that she might forget the feeling of his hand in hers, “endless dead suburbia, or cities where every single building is either a concrete or a glass block--and not even Brutalist concrete, just shitty, poorly designed, paint-by-numbers concrete. It is an absolute travesty of modern government that they don’t fund any public works projects anymore.”

“That’s why all the gardens and stuff?” he asks.

“Nowadays everything is built by the lowest bidder. At least I get to add some beauty back into the city.”

“I know what you mean,” Percy says. “Paris is practically overflowing with public works, you almost forget about it sometimes.”

She sighs. “You’re so fucking lucky. Paris is so beautiful and everything in New York is just hideous.”

“Aw, come on,” he says. “Not everything. What about the Empire State Building, or Central Park?”

“Well, obviously, those,” she says, just a teensy bit flustered, but she’s not about to give up the argument without a fight. “I just mean like, normal, every day buildings: offices and apartments and stuff. It’s all so samey and boring.”

He looks to her right, pointing at the building they are passing. “What about this one?”

She turns.

If she had known they were headed this way, she never would have taken them past here.

“It’s… okay, I guess,” she mumbles, staring up at the arched windows, pedimented doors, and Rococo details of Miss Minerva’s Private Pre-College Prep School. A shudder goes down her spine, like someone walking over her grave. “There are better Beaux-Arts buildings.”

Sensing her discomfort, he picks up the pace, and changes the subject.

Finally, he stops outside a nondescript building, turning to face her. “This is me,” he says, a little bit mournfully, squeezing her hand. “Are you okay to get home safely?”

This man is ridiculous; it’s not even dark out. “I think I can manage a few blocks,” she says, lightly swatting him. “Isn’t it kind of early for you, though? It’s only four o’clock.”

He flushes faintly, one hand coming up to rub at his neck. “Uh, well, I always give myself a little extra time--you know, time blindness and everything.”

“You baked in extra time in case I wanted you to walk me home, didn’t you?” She mock-gasps, secretly delighted. “Scandal!”

“Guilty,” he grins. “You’ve been to mine so many times, I was curious.”

She just barely stops herself from laughing out loud at the very idea of Percy coming to her apartment--as if. Thalia hasn’t even been to her apartment. Nobody knows where she lives, none of her neighbors know who she is, and this is entirely by design. “Cut me some slack; a girl’s gotta have some mystery. Can’t make it too easy for you, can I?”

“I have a feeling you’ll never make things easy for me,” he says, white teeth gleaming.

“You better believe it,” she smiles back. “Now that I’ve foiled your plans, are you going to be too bored?”

“Oh, I’ll think of something,” he shrugs. “I’m very resourceful when it comes to boredom.”

Inspiration strikes, and she grasps his hand, pulling him down the alleyway. She almost hates to admit it, but she has something of a Pavlovian response when it comes to hanging out with Percy. Annabeth has come to expect some really excellent sex whenever the two of them meet up, and maybe spending all afternoon with him has made her a little bit horny. 

She presses him up against the brick wall, hidden from the street by the long afternoon shadows, and kisses him. His hands flounder for a second, before coming up to rest on her shoulders, this thumbs tapping against the base of her neck, fingers fluttering on her jacket. It’s an intimate touch, kind of chaste and very respectful, and he holds her with precision and grace. He wouldn’t do anything she wouldn’t want to. This is a date with no expectation of sex on his part. But Annabeth does not want grace right now, spooked by the ghost of her old school. She does not want precision. She just wants him. She just wants to keep him on his toes, keep him interested, blow his mind a little. 

She just wants to blow him, to be honest. 

He squeaks into her mouth as her hands fly to his belt, deft fingers practically ripping it off of him in an increasingly familiar motion. “H-hey,” he says, squeezing her shoulders, “this is--”

“Do you not want me to?” she asks, one hand playing at the top line of his underwear. 

“No--I mean, are you sure? I’m-I’m okay with this, I just want to--”

“I know.” She kisses his cheek, then drops to her knees. “But we’ve got some time to kill, don’t we.” 

Afterwards, when she’s finished with him, Annabeth wipes her mouth, and he whimpers. 

“Ho… holy shit,” he pants, flushed and trembling. 

She tucks him back into his boxers, doing up his fly. “There we go. That was better than being bored, right?”

He nods wordlessly, swallowing, shaking. His eyes are glassy and glazed, stupid like he’s just shot out his brain through his dick.

In the short time they’ve been together (though, honestly, this might be the longest relationship she’s ever been in before… and they haven’t even broached the “dating” conversation yet) Annabeth has been on the receiving end of several different Percy looks. His face will light up with joy when he first lays his eyes on her, so happy to see her (though she can’t really fathom why), glinting like the sun on the water. His eyes will narrow, glaring, even as he furiously tamps down on his growing smile when they start arguing over something stupid, like Annabeth’s affinity for olives. He’ll grin at her, knife sharp and slanted, licking his lips and looming over her after she comes down from yet another orgasm via his mouth or his hands.

Percy looks at her now like someone took a bat to his head, and instead of seeing stars, he sees little miniature Annabeths flying around. 

He pulls her to him and kisses her, entirely too sweet for what she’s just done to him, but that is also a very Percy thing. And when she leaves him with a final kiss on his cheek and squeeze of his ass, she can feel that look burning a hole through her jacket, following her down the alley and around the corner, and she finds that she doesn’t mind the weight of it at all.

[thanakite]

I'm now concerned about the number of racial issues that could come into play with Annabeth's background in the new Percy Jackson series. I'm super excited she is black and hope Athena is too, but also Annabeth ran away from home at 7 years old because she felt her dad treated her like a burden/nuisance and differently/worse than his other children, her step mother didn't like/resented her, and her half-brothers didn't like/were afraid of her all for things outside her control and then didn't try living with them again until she was 12. The whole thing was already not great when she was white but now that she is black it's going to add a whole host of other layers of issues if that is the case still (which it largely needs to be since it plays into so much of the plot), but if she is black and her dad isn't? Bad news. If her step-mom is white? Bad news. If Athena is white and her dad is black? Bad news. Even if everyone one (her mom, dad, step-mom, and half-brothers) is black there is the potential this will get tangled up in a bunch of different racial issues, all of which would be gravely important to address, like they will have to work to make it abundantly clear the relationship was bad not because of racial issues but because she is a demigod and could still run into problems with it

It was already was problematic with the books since a 7 year old running away from home for 5 years because she wasn't treated well by her father, step-mother, and half-brothers because she was half-god and they were isn't good at all but add in potential racial issues as to why they felt that way and it only becomes worse because then it can also be about her race vs theirs OR just be assumed as a negative portrayal of black blended families. Unfortunately, as I have stated, this background plays a continual role in the plot, so it would be difficult to change in a way that makes it better not worse without having major impact on the plot

Honestly, best case scenario at this point is they gloss over it and only vaguely reference it and what happened and why, otherwise it really could be a whole can of worms

Fingers crossed we get black Athena and some of the other gods too though, there are easy explanations as to they wouldn't be white despite being Greek, and again it is more important that the kids look like these gods because it is continually brought up as part of how someone is related to someone else, so it isn't important that Annabeth had blonde hair and grey eyes, it was important that she looked like her mom and the other children of Athena, just as it wasn't actually important Percy have black hair and sea green eyes, just that he looks like his dad

Hate to even bring up Harry Potter, but it is like the issue the movies ran into where they continually used the words from the books that he looked like her father but with his mother's eyes and the proceeded to have close ups of his eyes and his mother's eyes (both when she was younger and older) easily displaying different eye colors, it wouldn't have mattered that Daniel Radcliffe's eyes were blue and not green if the actresses who played his mom also had blue eyes because it will make the same point

The way characters are described in books doesn't matter as much as how their appearance connects then to those around them. The Hunger Games Movies never discuss the whole thing with Katniss and Gale (and her father) all having brown hair while her mother, sister, and Peeta having blonde hair because it wasn't overly relevant, and likely decided to have her have the brown hair not just because it was how her hair was in the books, but also because sneaking around, hiding, avoiding getting killed by people looking to kill you, etc. All in woods, jungles, etc. Would be much more difficult with blonde hair as it wouldn't blend as well into the colors there, but if they had focused more on the issue of attempting to convince the Capitol and the public that Gale was her cousin or the obvious differences in appearance she would note between Peeta and Gale or the differences in personality and appearance between Katniss and Prim then these features would have mattered more, otherwise not so much

[otdderamin]

Analysis Critical Role C2 Ep014 Molly's Backstory Part 1: Separating Molly and Lucian

This post is part 1 in a 7-part series examining everything we learned about Molly's backstory in Critical Role Campaign 2 Episode 014. They are meant to be read together in sequence, but 9 pages seemed a little long for Tumblr, so I've broken them up into separate posts. You can also find links to this series, as well as further reading, on my Molly Index.

Separating Molly and Lucian

While working on my analysis of Critical Role C2 Ep014, it became clear that I would have to make a choice about how to refer to the Molly we know vs. the former owner of his body. My instinct was to call our Molly "Molly" and the former owner "Lucian." But I was worried that was perilously close to dead-naming. So, I started talking to trans friends about it that could act as sensitivity readers. The general consensus was that separating them was appropriate, but it was my NB friend who works closely with mental health who hit on exactly why: We're not talking about a trans or NB character, we're talking about a character with generalized dissociative amnesia, and that is an entirely different set of needs.

For trans and non-binary people, changing their name is part of reclaiming their identity, and building who they are vs. who other people told them they were. The identity others constructed for them was often harmful to them. This is why dead-naming is a problem: it prioritizes an identity other people gave them over their own identity, which removes their agency. Bryce, for example, was always who Bryce feels they are, and not any previous identity they were given before. Any previous name they were assigned never really stood for who they were. (If Molly is nonbinary, changing his name was not part of reclaiming his identity in this way.)

But Molly does not consider himself to be the same person as Lucian. This is closer to how people with DID experience the world. Whatever personality is operating at the time is the valid identity and has their own personality, name, pronouns, and often memory. Molly has no idea who Lucian is, and he doesn't care. Lucian's life is as irrelevant to his as the former owner of his swords. Molly reiterates that five times in EP014 alone, and Taliesin emphasizes it three time in Talks Machina 2018-04-17 for CR C2 Ep014.

Lucian lived a full life. He had a personality, ambitions, beliefs, baggage, friends who loves him, and at least two names. Two years ago, he died from a ritual, buried in the dirt. "That person is dead and not me. That's just a person who had this body. They abandoned it, it's mine now." ([5] CR C2 Ep014 2:20:16) Molly was born two years ago in the dirt. He has his own distinct personality, ambitions, beliefs, baggage, friends who love him, and a few spare names he's fed people. "Molly is not missing any time or memory. Molly's two years old. Molly is not missing anything at all. Molly's fine." ([6] TM 2018-04-17 0:36:58)

"This is was, 'I am made of nothing but decisions that have led me to be this person, and if you think I need to add a bunch of decisions to be more complete, or if a bunch of stuff that happened in my past is more important to who I am than who I am now, that's wrong. That's just- That's fucked up and stupid. I mean, that's madness.' You get to decide who you are, and he has very much decided who he is." ([7] TM 2018-04-17 0:39:24)

When dealing with anyone with a complicated identity, you need to listen to them and honor what they're saying. You don't get to override what someone is telling you they need just because it makes you feel better about your own baggage and hang-ups. Molly has very firmly asked us to call him Molly and to treat him as his own person. By extension, that other person is Lucian or Nonagon. They are separate and distinct people who have never met each other and have never shared the same consciousness.

Part 1: Separating Molly and Lucian Part 2: Cree Part 3: The Tomb Takers Part 4: The Ritual Part 5: Molly Awakens Part 6: Disciple of The Moonweaver Part 7: Weird Blood Powers

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References

Transcript Critical Role C2 Ep014 0:13:00 Molly’s Backstory 

Transcript Talks Machina 2018-04-17 Alpha 0:35:07 Molly’s notion of identity

 Scenes run:

1. CR C2 Ep014 – There is no before 2:01:19 to 2:01:47

2. CR C2 Ep014 – Do you really not want to know your past? 2:04:48 to 2:05:30

3. CR C2 Ep014 – This is mine 2:08:45 to 2:09:18

4. CR Cr Ep014 – Someone else's baggage in my head 2:09:45 to 2:10:05

5. CR Cr Ep014 – That person is dead and not me 2:20:16 to 2:20:30

6. TM 2018-04-17 – Molly isn't missing anything 0:36:58 to 0:37:11

7. TM 2018-04-17 – The Notion of Identity 0:39:00 to 0:40:42

8. TM 2018-04-17 – How did Molly feel about Nott's insistence? 0:52:28 to 0:53:44

1. CR C2 Ep014 – There is no before

2:01:19 Fjord:

"So, before you woke up in the dirt, nothing?"

2:01:21 Molly,

slightly agitated: "There is no before. Whatever happened before is not me. It's not part of anything-" He sighs with frustration.

2:01:28 Nott: "Like your life reset somehow? Or you just don't remember?"

2:01:36 Molly, internally struggling: "Some asshole got buried in the dirt. Fuck him. I am enjoying what I'm doing. I want nothing to do with that. Anything that came before, I was happy to just leave it be."

 2. CR C2 Ep014 – Do you really not want to know your past

2:04:48 Nott: "Question. Go back two- two beats. You said, 'Who care about what happened before.'"

2:04:56 Molly, incredulously with an "obviously" gesture: "Yeah."

2:04:57 Nott: "Do you really not want to know your past? Answer truthfully."

2:05:05 Molly, very pointedly, looking annoyed and frustrated: "I really don't. I… Whoever that was… came to that end. And I want nothing to do with that. Whatever it was, it doesn't feel good when I- the moments when something creeps through, I don't like it. I don't want anything to do with it. I was happy. I… I liked the circus. The circus was great."

 3. CR C2 Ep014 – This is mine

2:08:45 Molly, very pointedly, looking really annoyed again: "Okay. Here's the thing that you're not catching: that wasn't me. This is mine. I don't want anything from that other person anymore. That person is someone else. I don't want anything to do with it.

 4. CR Cr Ep014 – Someone else's baggage in my head

2:09:45 Molly: " I… I don't want anybody- I don't want to remember anything, I don't want anybody else's baggage in my head, I don't want anybody else's problems, thoughts, ideas." Tapping the table for emphasis, "I like this person right now, is a good person, is a fine person, is a happy person."

 5. CR Cr Ep014 – That person is dead and not me

2:20:16 Molly, firmly: "Let me make this abundantly clear: my name is Molly. That person is dead and not me. That's just a person who had this body. They abandoned it, it's mine now."

 6. TM 2018-04-17 – Molly isn't missing anything

0:36:58 Taliesin: "This is- I'll get into it, but yeah. I have a lot of people say things like… 'Molly's missing time or missing memory.' It's like, Molly is not missing any time or memory. Molly's two years old. Molly is not missing anything at all. Molly's fine."

 7. TM 2018-04-17 – The Notion of Identity

0:39:00 Taliesin: "I am a… I am a big fan of the notion of identity, and sort of playing with the notion of how we think of ourselves. And I will admit, in my past, what can politely be described as an intense nervous breakdown was one of the best experiences I ever had in my life."

Brain: "Yeah; yeah, yeah."

0:39:24 Taliesin: "And really kind of was… It was fascinating kind of going through a process of like, 'I'm just going to get rid of a bunch of stuff that's not working for me, and just take on a bunch of stuff that is, and I'm good with that. And that's kind of… That's definitely… And you can see a bit of that in Percy, but it's definitely… kind of the function of Mollymauk's character there, is that… is he doesn't care who Lucian was. He's not… It doesn't matter if he was a good person or a bad person. It's, 'I'm me now, and I have decided this is what I'm doing.' This is was, 'I am made of nothing but decisions that have led me to be this person, and if you think I need to add a bunch of decisions to be more complete, or if a bunch of stuff that happened in my past is more important to who I am than who I am now, that's wrong. That's just- That's fucked up and stupid. I mean, that's madness.' You get to decide who you are, and he has very much decided who he is. And there's this little tangent, and wherever it leads, good or bad, is possibly to someone who… or to a person who's going to change- want to fundamentally change who he is and overwrite a lot of that. That's yeah, no. He wants nothing to do with it."

8. TM 2018-04-17 – How did Molly feel about Nott's insistence?

0:52:28 Brian: "Taliesin, Megan Hannah wants to know, 'How did Molly feel about Nott's insistence that he should learn about his past? He got a little nasty with her towards the end of Zone of Truth.'"

0:52:42 Taliesin: "I think I said exactly how Molly felt about that."

Travis: "Yep."

Brain: "Yeah. 'Was he actually angry with her or was he just fed up with answering everyone's questions?'"

0:52:49 Taliesin: "Uh, I think he was- I, uh… What is the phrase? It is… I don't wanna… It's very much like… From Molly's perspective it's very much like a nice, innocent child of appropriate age, say 13 or 14 years old, going up you when you were young and going, 'Why don't you dress more like a boy?' I mean like, 'Why don't you go fuck yourself. You're adorable." Like, not anger, but it was very much the, 'Oh, what a patronizing thing to say. Wow, your parents really didn't raise you right, did they?' Yeah, it was very, 'Go fuck yourself!' Yeah. It was, but… still friends but definitely, 'Oh no. Oh no…'"

Brian: "Yeah. Did people often ask you when you were younger if you were a pyramid?"

Taliesin: "Uh, they asked me if I was boy or a girl on occasion, but yeah, no. Pyramid?" Deadpan, "No. Never. Never."

[darrilshrugged]

The Thin Man & The Ranger - Ch. 2

I enjoyed writing that first bit of the Vex/Percy - 1930′s murder mystery mashup that I kept going.

I had plotted out some of the fun scenes, and then realized that I actually had to put in some explanation of the plot. So this is a lot of exposition, but sets up some story, and has a few little moment to toss in.

It’s just a lot of fun to write again and play with these characters, about whom I care so much.

Enjoy if you wish, or not.

It is also posted here, if you like.

The bar where they met Lyra was in the flashier part of the Duskmeadow, among several similar establishments that created a more festive environment than one would expect for an area associated with Vax's Matron of Ravens. They slid through the crowd of lively patrons to join Lyra at a table near an open window, which allowed the cooler outside air to balance the humid warmth of the crowded establishment.

 Lyra appeared even more agitated than before, rubbing at an area of the table that must have been stained or sticky. Whatever substance she was attempting to get rid of had begun to stain cuffs of the cloak she wore over her earlier outfit; the cream wool becoming a gummy brown. She continued to fidget as they sat down. They exchanged greetings again, and ordered a round of whiskeys from a prompt dwarf attendant.

 "I've been thinking since we met before, and I feel really, really, bad for assuming you were here for me, and dumping all my problems on you. You probably have other important things to do here and while I'm happy to see you, and catch up on what you've been doing - you don't have to help with finding Uncle Randy and proving that he couldn't kill anyone. It's not your concern and I shouldn't have assumed - "

 Vex stopped the rolling boulder of words with an raised open hand. "Lyra, we told you we would try to help. We are here already. Tell us what's happening, and if we can be helpful, we'll do what we can." Percy nodded as well, and Lyra took in a deep breath, a sip of her newly-arrived drink and filled them in on the situation.

 It seems that Uncle Randy, as a trade representative to Vasselheim from Emon, had taken a leave of absence from his post a few weeks back, leaving notes for her, his only relative in the city, as well as some business associates, that he would be visiting several other settlements around Issylra, to help reset terms of trade agreements to those more favorable for the rebuilding capital of Tal'dorei.

 "Is his leaving the city and traveling on his own unusual?" Percy asked as he rolled his glass in his hands, active fingers indicating his active mind.

 "Yes and no. He hasn't traveled much these past few years, since coming to Vasselheim, but before that, he was a very successful traveling merchant."

 "Sounds like a very patient and practical negotiator." Vex remarked, with a hint of admiration.

 Lyra shrugged, her cloak falling off her shoulders and draping onto the floor, wet with mud and spilled drinks. "He does have a bit of a reputation for driving a hard bargain with other traders, and being less than friendly sometimes. I mean - I love him, and I'm sure he loves me, though he never says it - but I don't think he has many friends amongst the other trade guild members here. . ." She took another large gulp of her drink and coughed around her next words "or maybe friends at all. He can be a little temper-y".

"That's totally understandable, dear. Now this dead woman, is it possible she did something to  make him lose his temper?"

“No! No. At least, I don't think so. No" Lyra had sat back, straighter now than she had been in quite a few minutes as she told them about her uncle. Vex leaned in with a more concerned tone.

"Don't get defensive, Lyra. We have to ask questions if we're going to help."

Lyra looked between their faces, Vex's open and leaned forward towards her. Percy, who nodded, and tracked his eyes to meet hers, as scanned the rest of establishment, arrayed past her shoulder. "Yes," he said, meeting her look, "Who was this woman to your uncle. A subordinate, you said?"

Lyra coughed out a laugh, a somehow unpleasant sound from the usually pleasant and upbeat, if unsure, wizard. "I don't know if Wilfrieda Wolff was every subordinate to any man, at least not for very long."

She told them, over another round of drinks, about the dwarven woman who her uncle referred to as an assistant. From the sound of things, and Lyra's own unsubtle inferences, Wilfrieda Wolff was many things: A wily negotiator, a personal assistant, a book-keeper for the guild, and possibly Uncle Randy's lover.

Lyra's descriptions and anecdotes about the woman, made it abundantly clear that she held a mix of dislike and grudging appreciation for "Ms. Wolff" as she called her. Harsh feeling or drink turning the title in to an emphatic, buzzing "Mizzz Wolff". Her depiction left them with the impression of a heady woman, skilled at working with all types of people, and relentless in pursuit of an objective. 

She was also more than free with intimating that Wilfreda, while not what she would have called classically attractive, possessed an inviting and sensual nature that she had seen used on more than her Uncle. "She has - had- this effect on people, especially men. Not magical, I'm sure, but it might as well have been sometimes. I didn't really like her -  mostly how she seemed to have a close relationship with Uncle Randy, and I feel a little bad about that I guess - but she did what she had to in order to get what she needed done, and I guess I liked it sometimes that she was this small women outfoxing overconfident men?"

Both women at the table tacked their eyes to the man sitting with them, who finished another long sip of his drink. "Don't you look at me. I have long known well enough to be respectful toward, or terrified of, very capable women."

He felt his wife's hand give three quick squeezes to his own under the table. A private signal of theirs, of wordless affection and reassurance. "If this Wolff woman was as assured as she you make her sound, than possibly she had made enemies?"

Lyra's brows closed together in thought for a moment. "I'd more than bet that she made some people mad in negotiations, or making cuts at the trade guild warehouses when work was slow, but she always seemed to keep things from getting too personal, even when she was charming the actual pants off of that elf merchant that visited from Kraghammer - wait! She did have some things that got personal!"

She went on to tell them about a rough-dressed man that she had seen with Wilfrieda a couple of times near the Quad Roads area of the city. She had seen this man, a stocky human with wide, heavy features, grab Wilfrieda around the shoulders, talk with her intensely, and walk with her to the former location of the Velvet Cabaret, now an establishment with a less-than-stellar reputation in the Duskmeadow. Another time, just last week, according to Lyra, she had seen Wilfrieda and the man, and Wilfrieda had dismissed him by shoving a satchel into his chest and walking away. 

Lyra denied several times that she had been following Wilfrieda, though it appeared that she sometimes did. When Wilfrieda had left the man this last time she had almost run headlong into her, and that Wilfrieda had seemed less composed than normal, although she didn't have an opinion as to the other woman's mood - she may have been scared or angry.

Lyra was continuing on that she suspected this man may be a criminal of some sort, and the Wilfrieda may have had a lawless history of her own, when things began to happen around them, all at once.

Percy had been keeping his eyes on the general area, paying special attention to the busy bar and those milling about nearby. He was aware of a dark-skinned man in most of the uniform of a Bastion of the Quad Roads approaching the table. The man's gloves and helm were absent, revealing a weak jaw with a prominent knot on the left side, as if it had been badly broken and healed poorly. It made his already ugly features even more uneven.

 By the time he had made his weaving approach to them, Percy and Vex had already tensed for action; feet pulled back and flat under their chairs, ready to move. Vex's left hand slipped from her husband's toward the dagger in her boot, as his right flowed to the butt of the pistol in the cross-draw holster on his left hip. The off-duty Bastion placed one hand on Lyra's shoulder, more to steady himself than threaten the woman, and he stared across at Vex'ahlia and Percival, his eyes darkly lidded.

 "I know you." He slurred, tongue either heavy with drink, or positioned oddly in his rearranged jaw. "You're friends of that criminal Goliath, the blonde fancy lad and the red-haired monster that did this to me." He gestured generally at his face. "You're gonna take me to 'em, or you'll answer questions in the oubliette".

 He had barely finished his drunken threat when a meaty hand fell on his own shoulder, making him the middle part of an odd chain, with a startled Lyra the bottom. The Bastion tried to step back and turn his head, but found a large body pressed against his, and whined in discomfort from what was obviously increasing pressure on his shoulder.

 ''Hello there, Tjarks. You using your off-duty time bothering these friends of my mate Phillip?'' The half-orc pit-fighter gave a tusky smile to those at the table and began steering the quickly sobering bastion back into the crowd of patrons. He called  back them over his shoulder as he shoved the interloper toward the front door. ''You can put your steel away, this one will bother you no more, and next round's on me.''

 Vex and Percy sheathed their respective weapons, which Lyra finally noticed with some dismay. Kern returned shortly after, followed by another round of drinks. After exchanging niceties and getting an update on the successes of their friends Pike and Grog at the Crucible, they asked Lyra to describe her mystery man that she had seen with Wilfrieda Wolff. Kern thought over his drink a minute, then asked for a more detailed description of the man's clothes and mannerisms before excusing himself to "Ask a few people worth asking".

 "How do you know him?" Lyra asked, confused and more than little intoxicated. 

 "He's fought Grog in the Crucible the first time we came to the city. They fought a second time, and maybe flirted some". Vex answered without looking at her, watching along with Percy as Kern circulated around the end of the bar, talking to a few men and women hunched over drinks. 

 Percy scoffed. "Grog bit most of his lip off and pummeled his groin repeatedly, if I recall."

"That's how Grog flirts, darling."

"Remind me never to flirt with Grog."

"If you start, I may be the one pummeling your groin."

Percy slipped his hand back into hers. "I love you too, dearest."

By the time Kern came back to them, a few minutes later, Lyra had hit her tipping point, and had gone from tipsy to drunk. She looked as she was trying to follow the conversation, then dropped her head to the sticky table. Kern told Percy and Vex that the description matched a somewhat-known small-time hustler known as Relli. He was known to fence stolen goods, and sometimes go in on a blackmail scheme, but from what Kern had gathered, wasn't much of a danger, unless cornered or truly desperate.

Kern said that he would continue to ask around for them, if they wanted, and they accepted, letting them know the location of the inn where they were staying, and if they could not be found, to leave a message for them or for Lyra at the Slayer's Take guildhall. They parted with handshakes all around, except for Lyra, who Percy half-walked, half-carried to the Take, and left in the care of the attendant on duty.

The Lord and Lady of Whitestone then strolled slowly back to their rooms, full of love and drink. Neither wanted to admit to the other the hint of guilt they felt; that working on a problem like this together was as much, if not more, fun than any quiet honeymoon they could imagine.