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lets-try-some-writing · 7 months

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Implications

Jazz liked to think he was pretty smart and capable of standing his ground. He'd been a spy for almost every big political player, gotten involved with the army, and messed around in pretty much every under the table association. When Orion asked him to join up and support the war effort, Jazz saw no reason to decline. He knew his friend... until he didn't.

Since the new guy came in, Jazz decided he values his life more than honesty.

Previous part here.

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Jazz was always a mech who lived by the rule of knowing everything so that he could act in response to anything. He liked to present himself as if he were ignorant or uncaring of the situation through the use of cheerful tones, but that was largely just to blend in. He was no fool. He knew the moment Orion was named Prime that things were going to go to slag. So he prepared, he cleared his history, pulled up his contracts, and got ready to fight or flee. He only chose to stay because Orion asked him to. How could he ever say no to his dear friend? Especially when peace seemed to be somewhere on the horizon in light of agreeable peace treaties beginning to form in spite of the Senate's efforts to continue the war.

Things were looking up despite the fact that the war still raged. There was light at the end of the tunnel, and Orion even seemed to be truly hopeful. But of course, that was when everything had to fall apart. Jazz was dutiful in his work, but someone was even better than he was at breaking and entering. How else would Orion have been stolen from his berth without so much as a whiff of where he had vanished to? The Autobots of course panicked, Ultra Magnus did what he could to keep the army in line, and the Decepticons pushed their advantage in light of Orion's disappearance. Jazz did all he could to hunt down his missing leader and friend, but to no avail. Wherever Orion was, he had completely dropped off the map.

Then Orion came back and promptly fell to pieces. Jazz was hardly able to see his friend before he was shipped off to containment to ensure whatever was happening to him didn't spread. But what Jazz saw was enough for him to know that Orion was not well... and he likely wouldn't be ever again. He was only able to sneak in to see Orion a few times, but that was all he needed.

"Hey Rion... are you in there buddy?"

"Jazz? Are you here with us?"

"Yeah I'm here. Is there somebody else in the room I should know about?"

"The voice... it speaks, questioning, asking. It wants answers. I try to answer, but I am not fast enough. It takes what I don't tell it."

"Is the voice what is making you like this?"

"I... do not know. It is curious, callous. It wants something, it wants all of me. But it does not seem to be malicious."

"Can we get rid of it?"

"No. It is already too late. It is here, burrowed deep. We will both die if you try."

"There's gotta be something we can do Rion. I am not letting you die here."

"There is... no choice. Either it lives, or we both die. It is too deep, too close to finishing its work. It does not have many questions left..."

"..."

"Once the questions end, it will have no need of me... I don't want to die in this room, alone with its voice in my mind."

"..."

"When it is time... will you let me die out of this place?"

"Yeah... I can do that Rion. I can do that."

Jazz came a few more times over the following deca-cycles. He snuck in through the vents in the dead of most mecha's recharge cycles and sat by Orion's side as his friend deteriorated. He got thinner, sickly, and more lifeless with every passing cycle. Eventually he stopped being able to talk much, only murmuring about how much it hurt. Jazz did make attempts to understand what exactly was afflicting his friend, if only so that he might have some comfort when Orion did offline. He never got anything of note aside from the pain being contributed to 'the voice'. It reached a breaking point when Orion sat up for the first time on the edge of his berth, his optics unfocused and fluid dripping from his vents.

Jazz knew what he needed to do. He had a promise to keep.

Without informing anyone, he used what authority he had to have the facility cleared. At that point, he gently took Orion's stick thin servo in his own and laced their digits together. No words were spoken as he guided his unsteady friend through hallways and rooms until they exited the bunker Orion was being kept in. They left Autobot territory and Jazz guided Orion toward the only place he could think of where his leader would possibly appreciate his final resting place to be. Jazz had every intention of guiding Orion deep into the last standing spire forest and remaining nearby so that the former archivist could rest in peace. However halfway through the journey, Orion stopped, and for the first time in deca-cycles, he seemed focused.

"Rion?"

"I don't want you to watch. I don't want you to see what we will become."

"I am your friend, Rion. I'm not about to leave you alone out here. You deserve to have someone nearby when-"

"Please. I do not wish for you to see the voice finish its work."

Jazz was unable to object as Orion wobbled past him, dragging himself in the general direction of the forest. Jazz grieved, but he did not show it as he stayed put, watching Orion's spark signature on his radar and waiting for it to go out. The moment it did, he allowed himself a klik to lament before he gathered himself and returned to the Autobots. He took his time, and when he arrived, he and the others who loved their leader grieved together. It was a rough few stellar cycles, but Ultra Magnus kept the army together and the Decepticons were even being somewhat amicable in ongoing peace arrangements. The loss of Orion Pax was still brutal and ached horribly, but Jazz, Ratchet, and the others were finally beginning to get themselves together again when someone far too familiar looking crossed the border.

Whoever it was looked like Orion if he were pumped full of protomatter and cranked up on battle protocols. The mech was huge and looked deadly even from a distance. Yet, he had Orion's face, his colors, and his voice. The mech came forward and called himself Optimus Prime, quickly presenting the Matrix of leadership. He explained in perfect almost clinical Iaconian that the reason he was presumed dead was due to the Matrix reforging him. He tried to write all of the oddities off as the Matrix doing its work and the process of being remade taking a great deal out of him, hence his slow arrival. The Autobots as a whole were skeptical, but the Matrix combined with the newcomer's almost immediate skill and his memory which matched Orion's had them accepting him quickly.

Jazz was not among that number.

He saw Orion's state, he escorted Orion to the middle of nowhere to die for Primus's sake. There was no way Orion hauled himself down to Primus's core to get the Matrix. It was impossible, not to mention the tallest tale Jazz had ever heard. The results and spectacular leadership the Prime presented were undeniable, but Jazz knew that whoever he was... he was not Orion. Optimus was quick to pick up on that fact, and the moment the Prime realized that Jazz, Ratchet, and a few select others did not fully buy his story, he became... unsettling. He held his persona with godly expertise around all others, but with Jazz and Ratchet, the two who doubted... he seemed to let himself go a bit. At first it was small, but those things grew larger with time.

Optimus's ability to blend in matched that of a master spy. He always performed perfectly in public or any area that was not checked for security by the Prime himself. He was dutiful, always keeping a kind smile or a stern expression plastered on his stolen face. His voice never wavered and he forever held himself with a complete air of calm... one that felt so fake to Jazz as to almost be suffocating. Optimus's EM field was chilled, static in a way. There was emotion there, but it was strange, unreadable, and largely left those who bothered to feel it on edge. Most chalked it up to Optimus being a Prime, but Jazz knew better. It certainly did not ease Jazz at all when Optimus purposefully extended his field when they were together. It almost felt like he was being tested with how closely Optimus watched him during those moments.

There was also the matter of how the Prime held himself. He was highly calculating, so much so that Jazz doubted he had any actual emotion in him at all. The Prime moved with determination wherever he went, but his motives were totally alien. Every action was carefully selected, and poor responses to things Optimus did always had the Prime adapting at record speed. It did not take much for the Autobots to accept him, especially when Optimus led them to war. But of course, around Jazz and Ratchet, Optimus purposefully did things that should have been beyond the bounds of normal. He twisted in ways which shouldn't have been possible just to gauge their reactions. He would poke and prod, clawing at their plating to watch their reactions. There was always a new and somewhat malicious test for him to run whenever he returned from war. Jazz came back to find Ratchet warding off the Prime with a scalpel once. And there was even an occasion were Optimus purposefully dug a blade into Jazz's leg just to watch him try to act normal around the others.

No one else suffered Optimus's abuse. No one else had to deal with the oddities. Outside of Ratchet and Jazz, Optimus was the perfect leader they needed. Well, mostly. Megatron seemed to know that Optimus was no Orion Pax, and the warlord threw away any idea relating to peace in response. He was dead set on killing the Prime, and honestly, Jazz couldn't blame him. He didn't know what Optimus was, but he most certainly was not any brand of Cybertronian Jazz was familiar with. But whatever the case, things were tolerable, and Optimus seemed to have some goal that aligned with Cybertron being brought to a peaceful state. So Jazz let him be and followed orders.

Then Optimus brought back a sparkling.

It was so out of left field that he and Ratchet were flabbergasted by the whole thing. More so when they took one look at the sparkling and knew he was just. like. Optimus. The little one acted just like his Sire for his first few vorns of life, always listening, always watching. It was frightening for Jazz to walk in to see Optimus glaring at Bumblebee with what almost seemed to be anger or hatred. Then whenever Bee cried, Optimus would tell him to quiet and Bee would stop immediately. It was terrifying to witness, even more so when Optimus brought back suspicious vials for Bee to feed from and began taking the sparkling out to the battlefield to do things Jazz did not want to know about. Optimus was focused on his creation to the point of attention falling away from Jazz and Ratchet nearly entirely. It was a small mercy, but it hurt to watch Bumblebee begin to act like a regular Cybertronian and express genuine emotions only to then suffer Optimus's treatment. The Prime treated his sparkling horribly by any standard.

Always uttering angered words, always glaring, never offering physical affection or words of affirmation, never so much as praising Bumblebee for performing well. It was as if Bumblebee was expected to succeed. Not only that, but the few times Bumblebee acted out of sorts, Optimus would beat or otherwise hurt the poor youngling until he returned to himself. More than once Ratchet did his best to stand up to the Prime in Bumblebee's defense. But Ratchet did not see the coldness in Bee's optics that Jazz did. Bumblebee was most certainly more normal than his Sire and far less monstrous, but he was still Optimus's sparkling. He never cried at the abuse, he never even seemed upset about it. The youngling accepted it all with grace, and that seemed to be what caused Ratchet to break.

The medic tolerated Optimus for his work, but seeing Bee hurt so often seemed to be a sore spot for Ratchet. Eventually, he tried to take Bee away. Jazz watched it all but did nothing to intervene. It was not his place, and he had long ago decided he enjoyed living. That belief was only confirmed when Optimus dropped out of the fragging celling as Ratchet tried to grab Bee and flee. Jazz did not stay to watch, but his horror only grew when Ratchet began to get sick mere cycles later.

When they locked optics, they both knew. Green fluid, voices in the processing units... Whatever had been done to Orion was now being inflicted on Ratchet. The medic couldn't even end his own life, not with Optimus hovering around him at all times under the guise of 'caring for his oldest friend'. Even Bee did not seem concerned. If anything, Bumblebee looked happy with every passing cycle. Still, Jazz lingered, hoping beyond hope that Optimus wasn't as bad as he seemed to be. That somehow this was all just a bad situation that would come to an end... it had to... right?

It did not.

Six stellar cycles after it began, Ratchet vanished off the face of Cybertron while the sickness was at its worst. Jazz hunted him down, but he wished he hadn't. The thing that he saw barely looked like Ratchet as it fed on raw energon like an animal. Scattered plating and organs were strewn about, and Bee eagerly seemed to be bringing over more crystals for the thing to consume Standing beside it was the one and only Optimus Prime who observed with what could have been glee as the thing's mandibles crushed through crystalized energon shards. That was when Jazz knew.

These were monsters. Optimus Prime was not the only one, and he had proven he could spread. It didn't matter what cause he fought for or how good a Prime he was. This was unnatural. And so Jazz did the only thing he could think of. He ran toward the one mech on the planet who knew what Optimus was and hated him enough to possibly put him down.

He ran to Megatron.

"MEGATRON! This is Jazz! Special operations agent for the Autobots! I need immediate evac!"

"Why would I ever help and Autobot?"

"It's Optimus! He's SPREADING!"

"Soundwave, get that mech on board the Nemesis, no matter the cost!"

If there was one mech who could save their kind from whatever Optimus was, it would be Megatron. Jazz had to believe that Megatron could.

Ratchet was already gone. How many more would follow?

#transformers #maccadam #transformers prime #optimus prime #bumblebee #ratchet #megatron #jazz #pretender au #alternate universe #eldritch abomination #jazz cant catch a break #poor guy is screwed #welp #time to write the next part!

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skylarkking · 4 months

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I've been whacked with the valveplug stick again and I have headcannons for some of the Lost Light crew.

🔞 under cut

I'm gonna start off by simply listing the characters I know currently (I've read up to the issue where overlord first appears but have read other snippets scattered on the internet) and the list will begin with my favorites:

Rung

Definetly into BDSM

Uses interface as therapy

Despite being a fucking tiny adorable nerdy twink he knows how to work big bots

His glasses sometimes fall off during sessions and when they do he's often too blissed out or focused on the other bot to care

He is a moaner and makes all sorts of sounds that bots are obsessed with

He has tried everything and anything

He attended one of Ratchet's orgies during Ratchet's college years as a Party Ambulance

He and Froid DEFINETLY had angry interface before and you can't tell me otherwise

Rodiumus

Legit a horndog

This mf gets so worked up that throughout the day he has to step aside and take care of himself

He's a bottom who tries to play top and FAILS miserably

Drift and him are fuck buddies (you can't tell me otherwise)

He's capable of gentle and intimate interface with someone he loves, but due to his inexperience and somewhat childish attitude (not his fault I mean he's essentially a guy in his 20s) he prefers quickies over that

After interface he sometimes forgets about aftercare

Drift

Way hornier than he lets on

Loves to have his neck bitten

When he is in heat he is either gonna top every bot in his reach and make them beg through tears or he's gonna beg Ratchet with tears in his optics. I'm sorry I don't make the rules here

I think when he was a Decepticon he was Hella into knifeplay

And I mean HELLA into it

Like this bitch would pop a boner if someone licked a sword or some shit

He bottoms for Rodimus mostly but in a sort of bossy bottom sort of thing

Ultra Magnus/Minimus

This guy.... this guy may act like he's only into vanilla shit, but I fucking GUARENTEE he's a freak

He's fragged Swerve before (size kink when he's in the Magnus armor)

When he's in the Magnus armor sometimes the connections for his own spike and the armor's get wired wrong and he has to "adjust himself" (like human amabs have to do with their dicks)

Out of the Magnus armor he secretly feels extremely vulnerable and anxious when it comes to interface because of how tiny our little dill pickle is

Side note: give him a fucking HUG DAMMIT! HE NEEDS IT!

Swerve

If any of the bots would fuck a human, it would be this bastard

He'd also have human kinks (like mommy/daddy kink [thanks @archie-sunshine for rotting my brain with that idea])

Despite being a motormouth I think he can easily be silenced by a pair of thick thighs around his head

Side note: I think minibots have WAY HIGHER stamina verses their larger counter parts, so swerve will be going at it for a loooooong time

Secretly has a stash of human porn in his bar

Magnus has found said porn once and for a week Swerve was on edge in keeping his secret

Skids

Since he can learn anything really quickly I think this bastard can master the art of seduction

Like he could simply give a bot those bedroom eyes and BAM! He's fucking

He's a massive cuddler after interface

Has fragged Nautica at LEAST 15 times

When he overloads his headlights sometimes flick on by accident

Ratchet

Oh you cannot TELL ME this guy hasn't had a kinky past

Party Ambulance is fucking cannon and no one can tell me otherwise idc if it's only a fan thing ITS CANNON AND ILL FIGHT GOD ABOUT IT

Not as horny as he use to be but when Drift or Rodimus get their heat cycles you better fucking BELIEVE he's on the case

A true master of aftercare

Really into bondage

These are only a few lmao I have SO MANY MORE

#transformers #headcannons #mtmte #valveplug #hi mom

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fandomsnstuff · 7 months

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@taznovembercelebration

Day 4: forget/sweet

Can a dream be recurring if it's different every time?

Read it on AO3

Taako's laying on a grassy hill, watching stark white clouds drift through the perfect blue sky above him. It's transitioning from summer into fall, so it's not too hot, nor too cold, and the leaves in the tree above him are just starting to yellow. He knows if he sits up, he'll see a small town far below him, and his aunt's cottage behind him. He spent a lot of good afternoons on this hill in that one blissful year he lived here. He's been here in his dreams a lot in the last few months.

"You still sleeping down there, Koko?" It's not his aunt's voice, he knows that much, but it does funny things to his heart when he hears it. He's taken to calling his companion The Dream Voice. He thinks she's the one who's been bringing him into these dreams, but he doesn't know why.

"I don't think you can sleep in a dream."

"Sure you can," a foot knocks against his. "There was one time I kept waking up, like at least five times, and then I woke up for real and realised it was a dream in a dream in a dream."

Her voice always sounds like it's right next to him, and he can feel her presence there, but he's long since learned not to look. The first few times he had this dream, it was a lot of confusion and static that made him wake up with a migraine. They've gotten a lot more peaceful since.

"That's fucked," he says.

"Yeah, well," he hears the shuffle of clothing and grass as she adjusts her position, "I've been through worse."

"Bummer."

She huffs a breath of laughter. "Thanks."

They sit in silence for a while. A gentle breeze blows through, knocking a few leaves out of the tree. They float gently to the ground and land between him and The Dream Voice.

"I think Lucretia's sending you on a mission soon." He hears tearing as she fidgets with one of the leaves. "Last one."

His brow furrows. "Really?"

"Mmhm. Just one more relic."

Taako whistles. "Damn. Could've sworn there was one more after."

"Nope." She mumbles, "she took care of her own."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

They're silent again. He can hear her tearing the leaves to little pieces.

"No, idiot," she flicks his temple, "after all of this, when you're done at the Bureau, when… when you- when everything is safe."

"What are you going to do after this, Taako?"

"When I wake up?"

Taako blinks up at the sky. "I don't know. I guess I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"Maybe you could start up your show again."

"I'll have to prove my innocence first."

"You could also find a better boyfriend."

Taako scoffs and sits up, "my boyfriend is perfectly fine, thank you."

"He's the grim reaper!"

"So what? You don't know him!"

"Of all the people and beings that you could possibly date, you just had to get all goo-goo eyed for the grim reaper when-" her voice dissolves into static on the last part.

"I don't even know what you just said, but I know it's bullshit. I have a comeback on the tip of my tongue and I don't know what it is, but it's fucking good! So keep that in mind!"

The Dream Voice sighs, then laughs. "Stupid," she mutters to herself, a smile audible in her voice. "I knew the second I saw that motherfucker with his face on, he'd be a thorn in my side."

"More like a thorn in my backside."

"Eugh!" Taako laughs loudly as she shoves him. "Gross! Don't say that shit to me!"

He wakes up in his bed, still smiling. He gets up and pulls himself through getting ready. He makes breakfast, toast for himself, oatmeal with berries for Merle, and an ungodly amount of eggs, scrambled, for Magnus.

"I had a dream last night," Magnus says, "that I was in a world of all dogs."

"Were you also a dog?" Merle asks.

"No! So I was the only one who could provide all the pets, and I got suffocated under all the dogs. It was great. That's how I want to die."

"I had a dream," Merle says, "that I was in a massive greenhouse with a big, beautiful sunflower down the other end. But to get to it, I had to walk past all these other plants that were just reaching-"

"Okay, that's enough!" Taako says, standing up and picking up dishes, "time to go!"

"What about you, Taako?" Magnus asks. "Any interesting dreams?"

He drops the dishes into the sink unceremoniously. "I don't remember my dreams. Let's get out of here before the Director sends someone down here to get us."

The next night, after games and sacrifices and liches and red robes, they're camping in the woods. Usually he'd struggle a bit to sleep in the wilderness, especially with their supposed red robe enemy with them, but Taako's had a long day. He's out like a light.

He has the dream again.

"Sooo," she says, "how'd it go?" She sounds a little smug, but he's too drained to think about why.

"No one died."

"Well-"

"Okay, Magnus kinda died, but it was only a little. We'll un-mannequin him when we get a chance."

She laughs, and rests her head on his shoulder. It's a comfortable weight. "I'm glad you're okay."

"That's one way to put it."

"Taako?"

"Hm?"

"I'm pretty sure a lot of crazy shit's gonna happen tomorrow, so I just… I want you to follow your instincts."

He snorts. "Yeah alright. Sure."

"And trust Ba- the red robe. He's trying to help."

"I barely remember half the stuff you say on a good day, but I'll keep it in mind."

"I'll find a way to remind you."

They sit together for what feels like forever. As always, the clouds drift by, the leaves in the tree rustle, and a gentle breeze keeps them cool. When the world around them starts to waver and fade away, his companion squeezes his hand. "Good luck, Taako," her voice distorts and fades as he wakes, "I'll see you soon."

He wakes up to mannequin Magnus leaning over him. "The red robe says we gotta go."

"We have less time than I thought," the lich says, looking up at the overcast sky, "and we need to make a stop before we go up to the Bureau."

"Alright," Taako stands and stretches as Magnus shoves his stuff into a bag for him, "let's get this shit over with."

As they walk through the woods, he tries, as always, to remember what The Dream Voice said. But it was gone before they even set out. He knows she said something about the red robe, but he can't remember for the life of him what it was. All he can remember is her arm linked with his, her head on his shoulder, and "I'll see you soon."

He wishes he knew who she was.

#taz #taz fic #taako #lup #taakitz

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petergirl10 · 7 days

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Character Profile: Jonathon Young / Nikola Tesla

youtube

Damian Kindler (creator, executive producer & writer): Tesla's one of our favorite characters. He's a fan favorite, he's a writer favorite, he's an actor favorite.

Christopher Heyerdahl ("John Druitt/Big Foot"): I love that character. It's always so much fun watching a Tesla episode...

Ryan Robbins ("Henry Foss"): I think as far as vampires go, Tesla's probably the coolest vampire out there. I'm not just saying that because he's on our show, but I think the way Jonathon plays him makes him a very cool, very relevant vampire. He's not a stereotypical...He's not what you see. He's really done something really interesting with Tesla. He's very bright, very intelligent. Not to say the other guys aren't bright and intelligent, but you know what I mean. He doesn't sparkle.

Jonathon Young ("Nikola Tesla"): I've played Nikola Tesla on stage before, in a very different show, that really was a historical drama about his life, so my job in that play was to do research, collect anecdotes about him, and then try to create a portrait that came from that.

Christopher: He's known for playing Nikola Tesla and doing a great job. He's an extremely talented, one of our great talents in Canada. He's an amazing actor. He's one of those people who has a special gift. He's gifted physically, he's gifted intellectually, he's very graceful, and very specific in all his movements, and it's beautiful to watch. So, when they were talking about this character, Nikola Tesla... but he's going to be a vampire, I thought, "I don't know. Will Jonathon even be interested? I mean, this sounds kind of silly." You know, he's taking a character that he knows inside out, and we're going to make a vampire out of this? But at the same time, Jonathon has the look of a vampire. He has these amazing teeth, and they're very vampiric in many ways. I just thought he'd be perfect, and anyway, he'd probably have a hell of a lot of fun with it.

Jonathon: It became clear right away that the Sanctuary Tesla isn't so much interested in a imitation of a historical character, and I think that what's in the script is that he loves ideas above all else, he loves himself above anyone else, that he's intensely competitive, and that he has an arrogance about him that puts himself ahead of everyone else. Of course Tesla's ultimate goal is, you know, world domination.

Magnus: You're mad, Nikola.

Tesla: No! The Philadelphia Experiment was mad, but this... is progress.

Martin Wood (executive producer & director): One of the cool things about season three is we bring back Nikola Tesla, now the non-vampire version of Nikola Tesla.

Tesla: Well, I hope you're all happy now. I'm ordinary.

Martin: It's funny because everybody loves Tesla as a vampire, and the problem is, when you have a character that everybody loves the way they are, as soon as you start changing them, everybody goes, "You can't do that! That's our favorite guy! He does that!" You know, it's crazy.

Tesla: Here's to the glorious vampire race, once mighty, now extinct.

Amanda Tapping (executive producer, director & "Dr. Helen Magnus"): He's left de-vamped. He's left with this other gift, which he will call his incredible magnetism, I'm sure, but he... Yeah, it's a different Tesla, and it's a Tesla struggling to sort of figure out what this gift means, and how he can use it.

Tesla: Well... I can work with that.

Jonathon: I think, like Tesla, I thought it was an opportunity for something new. I mean, that's how Tesla ends that whole episode. He's totally despondent, but then, that "I can work with that" moment is because I think he sort of looks at everything as a game, and an opportunity to work things to his own advantage, so I think his mind started turning right away, and for me, I mean, I think that one of the great joys about acting is that, even though I'm playing the same part, every time I come on set, it's always new, so... I... I felt confident that the writers have a master plan in mind, and that this was a detour that was going somewhere.

Magnus: Nikola, the door!

Martin: What happens in season three is he's magnetic, and he can do some fun tricks, but it's not as cool as being a vampire, so we may end up making him back into a vampire at some point.

Amanda: But I can just say that we've shot an incredible scene that changes that too. So... literally just shot it. I still have the blood on my hands.

Tesla: I'm back, baby. And it feels so good.

Damian: There's different types of Nikola Tesla stories. There's the "we get a message from Tesla, and he's in trouble, but not the kind of trouble we think, which leads to other trouble, and he's got the..." It's the "hidden agenda" Tesla stories.

Tesla: Well, I did say S.O.S. in my message.

Henry: "Trapped in a cave with nasty bugs" would have been much more helpful.

Tesla: I'm just looking for a way to turn this pointless ability into something extraordinary.

Henry: It makes sense, in an evil way.

Damian: Then we have the sort of story where Tesla's involved because he's a genius, and there's something epic, and weird, and crazy happening, and we require a genius to help us, and make us feel kind of crappy about ourselves with his genius. That's another story that Tesla's often involved in. We have a Tesla story about the past, when we see The Five in Victorian England, and even Edwardian England, and Tesla's part of that, because he was part of the group from back in Oxford days, in the late 1800s. And then there's a Tesla story that comes closer to the end of season three, where he doesn't have a hidden agenda, but he definitely kind of gets in over his head seeking knowledge.

Tesla: Helen, we're surrounded by the greatest trove of vampire knowledge the world has ever seen. It's killing me. I'm being robbed of my last great discovery. I've spent my life trying to piece together my ancestry.

Damian: And it's nice, because he's the sort of character who can really, you can stretch, and pull, and put in different positions. He's definitely not a bad guy. He's definitely not a pure-of-heart good guy. He's just this wonderful, colorful fly-in-the-ointment, you know, amazingly annoying, amazingly useful, brave, egomaniacal, funny, critical, mean-spirited, lovely, loyal.... you know, kind of character. We love him.

Tesla: You were good, but I was better.

Jonathon: Each script gives a lot of humor to Tesla with those things in mind. That's why he's so fun to play, because he... like I said before, he thinks of everything as a kind of game, or a competition.

Tesla: Your shaggy friend is still refusing treatment, and frankly, I'm insulted.

Will: Oh, right, yeah, because I forgot, this is all about you.

Tesla: I have spent weeks creating a working treatment for the Lazarus Virus, and in the end, the creep in the room with the hair doesn't want to take his medicine! It's personal, and we both know it is.

Jonathon: He doesn't care about the effects of, you know, being completely rude, or completely outspoken, and in his mind, he's number one, right?

Damian: Tesla and Magnus have one of those relationships that is hard to define, and I believe that's mainly due to the fact that they're both so old.

Tesla: Helen Magnus. Kiss me and I'll save your life.

Magnus: And if I don't?

Tesla: It's been over 60 years. Just plant one on me already.

Damian: I think that Tesla, he just abhors boring people.

Magnus: Nikola Tesla, you always did know how to get attention.

Amanda: It's so much fun to play it, but I can't describe it. It's... it's this crazy friendship, with this very, you know, unabashed sexual overtone to it, from both of them.

Magnus: You've always been like this, haven't you? Selfish and arrogant, putting your own desires before everyone else's.

Tesla: I brought you here for two reasons. Because only you can help me finish what I'm working on, and because I love you.

Magnus: Yes, so you keep... What?

Tesla: I always have.

Damian: And the thing that's the most, you know, kind of fetching about Magnus to him is that she's anything but boring, and I think that's what makes her attractive to him.

Amanda: When you've known somebody for that long, and they know you as well as Tesla and Magnus know each other, I think it's almost like that sexual tension is just explosive, but nothing can happen because it's, like, "Then would we still have that tension?"

Magnus: Oh, shut up and help me.

Tesla: My God, you look sexy with a gun.

Damian: I think that Tesla and Magnus probably at some point had some kind of thing that went on, because she admires the giant brain. He has a giant brain, but he's just too much of an oaf, and Magnus has way better taste than that, so I think it's one of those, over the 160-year period, you get to have those little trysts and not worry about them, although you still have to work with the person.

Tesla: You felt... genuine concern for me. Admit it.

Magnus: Nonsense.

Tesla: Oh... You still like me, it's so obvious.

Magnus: You tried to kill me.

Tesla: Well, but you know, we all hurt the ones we love.

Jonathon: Well, first and foremost, they're old friends, and I think it's based on competition. It's based on rivalry and respect, and, of course, of love of ideas and love of adventure. I'm always bringing up memories of adventures.

Tesla: You know, this reminds me of when we were in Egypt looking for Tut's tomb, huh? Oh, those wild early days. No ground-penetrating radar, no satellite imagery.

Magnus: We were barely better than graverobbers.

Jonathon: I mean, I think that Helen Magnus has Tesla under a kind of spell.

Tesla: Well, I did say S.O.S. in my message.

Henry: "Trapped in a cave with nasty bugs" would have been much more helpful.

Tesla: I'm just looking for a way to turn this pointless ability into something extraordinary.

Henry: It makes sense, in an evil way.

Tesla: You were good, but I was better.

Tesla: Your shaggy friend is still refusing treatment, and frankly, I'm insulted.

Will: Oh, right, yeah, because I forgot, this is all about you.

Jonathon: He doesn't care about the effects of, you know, being completely rude, or completely outspoken, and in his mind, he's number one, right?

Damian: Tesla and Magnus have one of those relationships that is hard to define, and I believe that's mainly due to the fact that they're both so old.

Tesla: Helen Magnus. Kiss me and I'll save your life.

Magnus: And if I don't?

Tesla: It's been over 60 years. Just plant one on me already.

Damian: I think that Tesla, he just abhors boring people.

Magnus: Nikola Tesla, you always did know how to get attention.

Amanda: It's so much fun to play it, but I can't describe it. It's... it's this crazy friendship, with this very, you know, unabashed sexual overtone to it, from both of them.

Magnus: You've always been like this, haven't you? Selfish and arrogant, putting your own desires before everyone else's.

Tesla: I brought you here for two reasons. Because only you can help me finish what I'm working on, and because I love you.

Magnus: Yes, so you keep... What?

Tesla: I always have.

Damian: And the thing that's the most, you know, kind of fetching about Magnus to him is that she's anything but boring, and I think that's what makes her attractive to him.

Magnus: Oh, shut up and help me.

Tesla: My God, you look sexy with a gun.

Tesla: You felt... genuine concern for me. Admit it.

Magnus: Nonsense.

Tesla: Oh... You still like me, it's so obvious.

Magnus: You tried to kill me.

Tesla: Well, but you know, we all hurt the ones we love.

Tesla: You know, this reminds me of when we were in Egypt looking for Tut's tomb, huh? Oh, those wild early days. No ground-penetrating radar, no satellite imagery.

Magnus: We were barely better than graverobbers.

Jonathon: I mean, I think that Helen Magnus has Tesla under a kind of spell.

Tesla: Maybe a little tighter. You know, just to be safe.

Magnus: If you were any more transparent, you'd be invisible.

Jonathon: Whether or not there... was romance, I think should remain a secret until it's revealed, but there's clearly always the potential for that, but if anything, that makes the friendship that much more interesting and magnetic.

Amanda: It's an interesting... They're both incredible geniuses, they're both incredibly stubborn, and they both love each other deeply, though both of them are loathe to admit it.

Tesla: You have a Sasquatch for a butler, and you travel the world with history's most notorious murderer, and now you don't feel safe? Helen, green is not a good color on you.

Magnus: Don't be ridiculous.

Tesla: She's intelligent, powerful, remarkably well-preserved for her age, everything I look for in a woman. And unlike someone I know, she's actually interested in me.

Magnus: I'm not engaging in this childish conversation.

Tesla: The more you deny it, the truer it is.

Damian: I think Tesla's always had a deep, deep place in his heart for Magnus, but knows that he is never going to be the love of her life, that tall, bald, and homicidal Jack the Ripper is going to be the one that's got her heartstrings.

Magnus: We'll all meet back here with our keys.

Druitt: That leaves you and... Nikola. Your tests are marked for the same area.

Tesla: I guess your father liked us best as a couple.

Druitt: Helen, if you can wait, I...

Magnus: I'll be fine.

Tesla: Such chivalry.

Druitt: If any harm comes to her, accidental or otherwise...

Tesla: I have no reason to do her any harm, but you, I'm finding more reasons by the minute.

Magnus: Honestly. I am surrounded by adolescents.

Jonathon: Definitely the deepest animosity between Druitt and I, and it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. You know, what kind of jealousy there is there.

Christopher: Nicky's a pain in the ass, really. I think that if he saw the arse end of Nikola Tesla, he'd be a happy man.

Tesla: The power in that vial, it could change history, create any kind of future we choose.

Druitt: We?

Jonathon: It comes down to showmanship, too, I think. Who really is the most... Who has the most power, I think. Or who can go to the most extreme place. I mean, Druitt is such an extreme character with such darkness in him.

Tesla: Guess who's still standing?

Magnus: John?

Druitt: Hello, Nikola.

Jonathon: And when we first met Tesla, that was certainly the way Tesla was introduced, was that he was the darkest, or had the most capacity for evil.

Christopher: At the same time, there's a wonderful... respect and camaraderie to these two, that...

Tesla: John, really. He's not worth it, pardon the pun. If you kill him, he can't help her.

Adam: Same old Johnny.

Tesla: Shh, please.

Jonathon: We saw a more human side to him, as we have seen with Druitt, too. But again it comes down to... competition, and I think past grudges too.

Tesla: Nice move last time we met, Johnny. Took me a while to get over it.

Druitt: Not long enough, old boy. Care for another helping?

Jonathon: It's qualities of Tesla's that Tesla sees in Druitt, that Tesla reacts to the strongest, so it's when he... I mean, I think that that's true in life. When you actually take apart what it is you don't like so much about someone, often it's qualities that you have, so I think his arrogance, and his power, and, uh, his, of course, special bond with Magnus.

Magnus: Hand it over.

Tesla: Very well. But really, I have to say, when I imagined the splendor of the entry hall, an architectural site thousands of years old, a veritable marvel of art and design, and to think that the first witnesses to this spectacle will be Huey, Duey, and Screwy? Really, Helen, my heart sinks you chose them over me.

Magnus: Don't be bitter.

Tesla: But I do it so well.

Jonathon: Well, I think Tesla has such disdain for ordinary humans, and takes great pleasure in making that known.

Tesla: I want my life back. Look at me, Helen. I'm reduced to parlor tricks and Morse code. I can't even get out of a cobweb without help from these chumps. What am I now, human with... with benefits? It's pathetic.

Jonathon: And at any chance he can get, I think... making fun of how pathetic and weak regular humans are.

Tesla: You, I like. You, I don't know.

Will: I'm Dr. Zimmerman. I work with Dr. Magnus.

Tesla: Protégé. Well, the mission's necessary disposable item.

Magnus: Stop this, Nikola.

Robin Dunne ("Will Zimmerman"): Will and Nikola have an interesting relationship, I think. I don't know if you can even really call it a relationship. Definitely from Tesla's point of view, I'm sure he just sees Will as just some pathetic little human who, you know, is something of an annoyance. He kind of treats him as though he's a child.

Will: And you just happened to get trapped by them. God, that's so weird.

Tesla: Yeah, down, Junior. I didn't know they were here until they tried to make me part of the architecture.

Jonathon: As far as Tesla's concerned, Will's just not in the same class, and needs to be reminded of that, on a daily basis, to keep him in his place.

Will: Retrieve the Source Blood, and it's a grand slam?

Tesla: One thing at a time, Dr. Expendable.

Jonathon: I think because Will is so resilient too, and puts up with so much, because he believes in his work. I mean, as far as I can tell, Will believes in his job, and is devoted to Magnus, he becomes a great foil for Tesla's arrogance.

Will: You know what I say? I say you got yourself into a little bit of trouble, and you dragged us into the mess, too. So stop whining about it.

Tesla: I thought helping people was part of your job description.

Will: Yeah, people. You, Professor Hidden Agenda, not so much.

Robin: His opinion of Tesla is that Tesla's a guy who's in the Tesla business first and foremost, always has a secret agenda, doesn't ever do anything that doesn't benefit him in some way.

Tesla: Unprotected platinum coils? Wolf-boy... Have a word with him about power efficiency.

Magnus: I doubt Henry planned on this kind of re-purposing.

Tesla: That's no excuse.

Ryan: Tesla and Henry have an interesting relationship because I don't think Tesla respects Henry very much at all, and I think despite himself, Henry can't help but respect Tesla and admire him. I think Henry admires the guy, and hates him for being so clever.

Henry: Yeah, I get how you could generate a signal by clenching your kegels or whatever, but how did you get the range?

Tesla: Oh, you obviously didn't do any aerial mapping on your way in. Had you, you might have noticed the amplification properties of the local terrain.

Henry: Parabolic focus point. Okay, then wouldn't it be secondary signals...

Tesla: Hey, shh, shh! Slop. You'll hurl yourself, and I'm feeing far too tired to feign concern.

Henry: You're welcome. Jackass.

Ryan: It's the last guy in the world Henry wants to, you know, learn from, or look up to. I think he just despises so much about him. I mean, you can go back to that whole vampire/werewolf thing, where those are just two... They just never get along, historicity, ever.

Tesla: The Cabal have been planning this move for decades. I've had two days, a crappy lab, and Tiny Tim for an assistant, so please cut me some slack.

Henry: If you think working with you is a party, think again, Vlad!

Tesla: Good, you finally showed up. Quit your whining and get to work.

Jonathon: And he's got to work with Wolf-boy, in the lab, with the crappy antique tools that Magnus keeps around. I mean, I think when Tesla gets angry about something, especially if it's a mistake that he's made, he immediately blames somebody else, and I've found that fuels a lot of scenes is that often Tesla's just angry at his own predicament, or his own error, and that fuels a bunch of rage at someone else.

Tesla: Never bore your audience.

Damian: That, to me, is Tesla. "Never bore your audience." That's him. That's a very definitive moment. He's about to do something brave, but in his mind, it's like, "Well, I'm only doing this because God forbid anything should be dui and uninteresting." And he's about that. He's a genius, and geniuses are like that. A lot of criminals are geniuses because they're just bored silly living inside the rules of society, and Tesla's like the ultimate criminal genius.

Christopher: I think he's an enjoyable... an enjoyable person to dislike.

Amanda: He's the character you love to hate, and you love to love, because he's just so out there. Yeah, yeah, and he has become one of the most popular characters on the show, and for very good reason, not only because the actor playing him is so incredible, but because this character is such a fully realized... dink. You just love him. I don't know if I can use that word, but I'm gonna.

Tesla: Yeah, well, since when did I become the responsible member of this group? The big hairy one can answer the phone. I'm not missing out on this.

Druitt: You're absolutely determined to come with us?

Tesla: Of course I am.

Druitt: If you insist.

Tesla: Son. Of. A. Bitch!

Jonathon: That's what makes him so fun to play is... his ability to say absolutely anything.

Tesla: No, we mustn't forget our most important achievement of the day. My resurrection.

Magnus: Oh, here we go.

Tesla: Sweet, sweet resurrection.

#nikola tesla #sanctuary #transcript #Youtube

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cult-of-the-eye · 6 months

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MAG 86 here we goooo

Ok so I actually listened to this like a few days ago but I never got round to looking at the transcript but HERE I AM

God this is the blanket never did anything one

He says tucked in so fucking menacingly like Jesus Christ man

TIM MY LOVE

I can't get that one post out of my head that says how Tim was the furthest from being taken by the Eye cause he keeps tripping up on pronunciations and stuff in statements that other archival staff wouldnt honestly it's such a genius take

Oh shit this is getting really long I'll add in a read more

God I love how he's rebelling in every sense, he's doing the bare minimum, he's literally warning people away from it

It's kind of interesting the way he always thought the statement stuff was stupid but in the whole of season one and a lot of season two he managed to hide his distaste pretty well, like even when he lashed out at Jon about the Prentiss incident, he still didn't say that the statements were stupid, but he's saying it behind his back - maybe some part of him knew that Jon needed the statements to work and some part of him still felt for him enough to not point that out

He's kinda dramatic with it as well but I feel like in more of a self aware way than jon

You can feel his distaste honestly the statement just sounds wrong coming from him, which is interesting cause I didn't think that about when Martin did it

So he's mad at the fact that he put effort into a job that he wasn't even that comfortable with in the first place and now he's trapped in? Not about the monsters??

Jesus Christ Tim being a bit of a dick to melanie

HE BLAMES MARTIN????? Damn bro you weren't there how could you tell he didn't do it properly??

I think he's mad at himself for not being there and deflecting it on to martin

She likes that it's quiet!!! That's cute

Martin's not big on change AH neurodivergent vibes

All the archival staff are literally queer and neurodivergent you can't change my mind

Also the fact that he thinks that's the biggest reason why martin doesn't want Melanie around, not the Horrors and the same reason as Tim

I think Tim is refusing to think that Martin might see the situation in the same way as him because if he does then it means Tim's way of dealing might not be the best way and that's an unacceptable thought to him

Suspicious and resentful - my man is self aware I think he knows the way his path is going (hurtling towards destruction) but is too stuck shaking his fist at god to try and get out or he's sort of known his whole life that this is where he was supposed to end up, a terrible fate created by his own two hands that dug their own way down to rock bottom and he's just so tired of trying to do anything about it that he's just accepted it

SASHA OH GOD

Wow seeing firsthand the effects of the stranger, the way neither Tim nor Melanie can remember the real Sasha, but Tim has to live with the fact that he didn't notice and Melanie has to live with the fact that she did, but can't prove it

WHO AM I EVEN SAD FOR

AUGH I THOUGHT SOMEONE MADE THAT UP I DIDNT KNOW IT WAS CANON OH GOD

He lost his FRIEND and he DIDN'T REALISE and he STILL DOESN'T KNOW THE WHOLE TRUTH AUGH

Oh I wonder why he left the tape running? I'd think he would've forgotten to turn it off but if so I feel like he'd have that shocked moment of remembering which he didn't

Maybe he wanted proof of the conversation? Maybe it was a warning to anyone listening to the tapes? See firsthand how terrible it is at the Magnus Institute so you don't work here? I dunno

Ha I had to ask my lovely mutual @melandrops to explain what a marker was

Oh god honestly this statement fucked me up I completely understand why people hate it I hate it

I was so scared of the dark as a kid and the idea of being reduced to that state of lack of awareness and vulnerability is actually terrifying

Also the dude dying in the blanket???? Ew ew ew

Love the fact that tma doesn't just go with a oh shit I forgot a torch so it was pitch black kinda horror but the I brought a torch, I even brought spare batteries but it still did nothing which in my opinion is even scarier

Oh god her whispering the blanket never did anything that was horrifying

Melanie was actually so good at giving the statement girl really got into it

I was also talking to @melandrops about archivist!Melanie cause I think that would be really interesting... she'd definitely bring a more proactive vibe to the role...

It's interesting to think that Melanie and Jon hated each other at first sort of because they're so alike? It's like the we are made of the same stuff (derogatory)

Love how she just checks out the dead guy

The way she's denying it even though she's literally had paranormal experiences before that's so Jon core she would be a great archivist

JON????

Oh shit I just realised he's labelled as Archivist...when did that happen??

That's so funny he's like bitch maybe I do have reason to kill you

Hmm nice touch of Melanie being like do you guys not want me cause I'm a girl?? Is this misogyny??? Good guess but unfortunately it's worse

It's quite nice that Jon's trying to save her even though the meetings about helping him and her quitting would mean he'd lose the one informant he might have in the institute

Shot in the leg by a ghost in India????

Ha Tim hates you and Martin's probably being watched

Love how Tim's hatred for Jon is so visceral and known that they don't even bother watching him

I bet Elias would delight in knowing about Martin's little crush on Jon and how Jon actually hated him in season one and then how their relationship progresses he'd thrive on the drama and the angst the little bastard

Ok ok it's good that he's on the right track, he guesses it was elias

Wait the whole murder was on tape... WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT TAPE??? DID ELIAS TAKE IT??? COULD IT BE USED AS EVIDENCE???

YES MELANIE IS BEING CAUGHT UP (info style) BUT ALSO NO MELANIE IS BEING CAUGHT UP (web style)

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elettralightwood · 2 years

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Everyone, please, stand up and give a round of applause for the birthday boy, our one and only Consul, the hero of many wars, one of the best Shadowhunters of his generation, an amazing and loving father and husband and brother: our sweet, caring, special boy Alexander Lightwood.💙

"It’s the world that needs to change, and we’re going to be the ones to change it."

"We change the Clave,” said Alec. “From inside. We make new Laws. Better ones."

He knew Alec enough by now to know the conflicting impulses that warred in him. He was conscientious, the kind of person who believed that the others around him were so much more important than he was, who already believed he was letting everybody down. And he was honest, the kind of person that was naturally open about all he felt and wanted. Alec's virtues had made a trap for him; these two good qualities had collided painfully. He felt he could not be honest without disappointing everyone he loved. It was a hideous conundrum for him. It was as if the world had been designed to make him unhappy.

It was part of the dichotomy of Alec that had caught Magnus unaware and left him fascinated - that Alec seemed old for his age, serious and responsible, and yet that he approached the world with a tender wonder that made all things new.

Alec knew who he was. He knew what he had done and what he had fought for, and he knew what he would fight for in the future. And he knew exactly who he loved.

Alec, with his heartbreaking contradictions, shy and brave, relentless and tender.

"But that's what you're doing, isn't it? You're part of the fight just as much as the Shadowhunters on the ship—and I know you can take some of my strength, I've heard of warlocks doing that—so I'm offering. Take it. It's yours."

"If I’m a hero of war, so is he."

"Anyone who says women are weak is afraid they’re too strong."

"I hate it when straight guys think all gay guys are attracted to them. I’m not attracted to every guy any more than you’re attracted to every girl."

"Iz," Alec said tiredly. "It's not like it's one big bad thing. It's a lot of little invisible things. When Magnus and I were traveling, and I'd call from the road, Dad never asked how he was. When I get up to talk in Clave meetings, no one listens, and I don't know if that's because I'm young or if it's because of something else. I saw Mom talking to a friend about her grandchildren and the second I walked into the room they shut up. Irina Cartwright told me it was a pity no one would ever inherit my blue eyes now." He shrugged and looked toward Magnus, who took a hand off the wheel for a moment to place it on Alec's. "It's not like a stab wound you can protect me from. It's a million little paper cuts every day."

"No one blames her." "That never matters," said Alec. "Not when you blame yourself."

He deposited Chairman Meow on the ground, and the cat moved over to Alec, and rubbed against his leg. “The Chairman likes you.”“Is that good?” “I never date anyone my cat doesn’t like,” Magnus said easily, and stood up. “So let’s say Friday night?” A great wave of relief came over Alec. “Really? You want to go out with me?”

"All I did was think about being worthy of coming home to you"

He’d always assumed that storybook moments like these were meant for Jace, Isabelle, anyone but him. Yet here he was.

"You never called me back," he said. "I called you so many times and you never called me back." Magnus looked at Alec as if he'd lost his mind. "Your city is under attack," he said. "The wards have been broken, and the streets are full of demons. And you want to know why I haven't called you?" Alec set his jaw in a stubborn line. "I want to know why you haven't called me back."

"I did not make a pie,” Alec repeated, gesturing expressively with one hand, “for three reasons. One, because I do not have any pie ingredients. Two, because I don’t actually know how to make a pie.” He paused, clearly waiting. Removing his sword and leaning it against the cave wall, Jace said warily, “And three?” “Because I am not your bitch,” Alec said, clearly pleased with himself.

"Just because you said dragon demons were extinct—" "I said mostly extinct." Alec jabbed a finger toward him. "Mostly extinct," he said, his voice trembling with rage, "is NOT EXTINCT ENOUGH."

"Izzy. My sister. She told me you liked me. Liked me, liked me.”

"The Institute has a very old magic woven into its walls. I shall now use it to commune with my mother, wherever she might be found." He put his hands around his mouth and bellowed at the top of his lungs. "MOOOOOOOOOM!"

"Check you out,' said Magnus. 'My famous boyfriend, inspiration to the masses."

#tsc #shadowhunters #the shadowhunters chronicles #alec lightwood #alexander lightwood #happy birthday alec #happy something

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paradoxcase · 7 months

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@longroadstonowhere:

i don't think ortus knew enough about the creche flu and everything to say anything to gideon about it, and he also seems like the type to go 'well, i have my suspicions, but knowing these things doesn't actually change our lives so why bother telling someone' (basically i think he'd be likely to avoid potential confrontation)

Oh, yeah, I didn't mean like I thought he felt guilty about not telling Gideon the truth, just that he felt guilty about letting Aiglamene and Crux convince Harrow to run the whole Weekend and Bernie's thing instead of doing something like getting help from another House, or maybe even just telling her that he knew what had happened and offering his help. I'd actually sort of been assuming that it was Harrow's idea in the first place, maybe because of the history given at the beginning of this book where Harrow lists the reasons she didn't want help from another House, but now that Ortus mentioned it, I feel like it's probably more likely that Aiglamene and Crux convinced 10-year-old Harrow of those things rather than Harrow having an opinion on them herself, and I'm guessing Ortus was probably too afraid of them to argue with them on this point

@wandering-minx:

There is a line in GTN where Harrow says "the ninth house is me" to Gideon implying her duty is to Harrow. So I read this line as Harrow's way of saying Gideon was loyal to her in a round about way that wouldn't invite delving into their relationship.

"You are sworn to the ninth house and the ninth house IS me" *

Oh, yeah, that could very well be it. That's kind of funny, if so, though, because then when she says that everything she did was for the Ninth it means something very different than when she says that everything Gideon did was for the Ninth

@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess:

Pretty sure Colum never came back. The thing that was Colum was still all mouths for eyes when its neck was snapped. Abigal gets to a big question that hangs over these books: where is everyone else, since John obviously didn’t resurrect more than maybe a few million souls. Could something be getting ‘backed up’? Looking forward to seeing how this is explored…

@illfuckthefuckoutofyou:

Colum very likely had his soul completely destroyed. He's not in the River, and he either no longer exists, it's stuck in some other liminal dimension, or is in Hell.

I'm referring to this part:

It seems to indicate that he returned to his body and died there. But if he didn't return, I don't think there's any reason to believe his soul was destroyed, it's probably still in whatever place it went to when Mayonnaise Uncle siphoned him, which I think is likely not the River, but in this universe souls don't get destroyed just because they don't have a body to return to, and anyway, Colum's body was in no worse shape than, say, Magnus and Abigail's, and their souls are perfectly fine. And if Hell is at the bottom of the River, and Colum's soul never went to the River in the first place, I don't think it's possible for him to be there, either

Do we have any kind of accounting of how many souls are in the River, versus how many people have died in this universe? I would think that the number of people who died before the Resurrection and were never resurrected would probably be dwarfed by the number of people who have lived and died in the 10,000 years between the Resurrection and the start of the story, no? 10,000 years is a long time

#the locked tomb #harrow the ninth #longroadstonowhere #wandering-minx #wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess #illfuckthefuckoutofyou

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forthedancingandthethriving · 5 months

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A prince slowly paces back and forth, inside the castle. Outside, the coronation area was being set up.

He wore a black suit, with a purple dress shirt underneath. Black dress pants and shoes finished off his look, complimenting his dark blue fur. He wasn't exactly a Russian Blue cat like his predecessor, but it didn't matter. He just had to be careful about how he walked in the light, he didn't want any yellow or orange appearing.

He adjustes his outfit before turning his head, seeing his 'father's' former attendant approaching. She had been more than happy to come back now that the 'son' was here.

"Your Highness, everything is nearly complete," she says, her tail flicking gently. "We haven't gotten word back from the other royals, though."

He puts on a sad yet understanding smile. "I don't blame them. After all my father has done, they are no doubt going to be suspicious of me." He sighs softly. "We must simply let them come to their own conclusions."

She nods, a warm smile on her face. Their new king would be far better than the old one.

○●○

"I still find it hard to imagine he managed to find someone to have a child with.."

Prince Damien hums softly as he approaches the royals of Haromnia. His eyes flick over all of them and the others they brought. They all seem surprised, yet pleased.

"Well, would ya look at that." Queen Alina places a paw on her hip, her formal dress suspiciously close to that of a pirate's. "The lad is real!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Damien." Queen Melody smiles. "Apologies for none of us being here sooner.."

"Ah, it's fine." Damien shakes his head, holding up a paw. "Considering all my father has done, it's not exactly hard to believe that you all wouldn't really trust the letter."

King Magnus chuckles. "Well, we see you now. Hopefully, you'll do big things, Damien."

The soon-to-be king smiles. "I hope so too."

As the group began to talk and discuss, Damien spun the story he'd spun so many times before. His father had him with a commoner, his mother. Yet she grew sick and pleaded with Umbra to take Damien, and the king reluctantly agreed. However, Umbra was ashamed of having a child out of wedlock and hid Damien, and the prince preferred to stay hidden because of his father's behavior and actions. Only the court knew of his existence, but even then he was limited in his interactions with them.

"I remember always listening to Tonio's music.." Damien smiles wistfully. "I hope that maybe he'll return and I can apologize for what my father had done.."

"What had he done?"

"It's.. not my place to say." He didn't want to admit that he didn't know. It was the one thing he couldn't figure out as he integrated himself into this world.

As they continue to talk, getting to know one another, a black cat walks past. He wears nothing blue, a black tunic, brown pants, and brown shoes, but all the monarchs and the Songbird present have their ears flick toward him. Damien has to force his ear to flick.

Unus. He thinks, watching the Muse head over to find a seat.

This would be interesting.

As he nods and parts ways, heading over to the stage to make sure the final preparations, when a ginger tabby clad in black steps in front of him.

"Pardon me, your highness."

Damien narrows his eyes before his ears perk upwards, and he puts on an elated face. "Tonio! I never expected you to come back!"

Tonio chuckles, though his tail is up, as if on alert. He supposes it makes sense. "Well, with Umbra finally out of commission, I believed a homecoming was due, no?"

The prince smiles somberly. "I feel a bit down knowing that only now you've felt safe to return." As he walks away, he turns his head a bit. "Hopefully I'll do well enough for you to feel safe to visit."

As the prince walks off, Tonio merely narrows his eyes a bit.

○●○

It went off without a hitch. Damien was crowned king of Devos, and he was pretty sure that he went deaf from all the cheering. All the monarchs and those they brought were more than happy to congratulate him, all clearly happy to have a competent ruler now.

Just how much did they hate Umbra? Damien thinks, flicking an ear as he shakes King Bolero's paw.

As he pulls away with a smile, he stiffens as something speaks in his mind.

I have high hopes for you, Prince Damien.

A black cat walks past, and Alina grins. "Ah, that's probably Unus. He loves to be all cryptic like that."

King Damien chuckles. "I figured."

His tail flicks. Unus seems to be important. He shouldn't forget that.

As more come to congratulate him, his eyes catch the light, and turn to a dark yellow rather than a crystal blue.

Everything was perfect. Now for the first step of his plan.. figuring out where the dead was kept here. Then maybe, finally, he could get rid of that accursed ClearAll his sister seemed to care about so much.

Life would be better off without death anyway.

#program: disc #oc: queen alina #oc: queen melody #oc: king magnus #oc: tonio #unus muse of darkness #fanfiction: my writing!#!posts!#king damien

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thelostgirl21 · 2 years

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Alec Happy Cat Lightwood...

If you listen close enough, you can probably hear him purr...

At this point, if you told me that he used to be one of Magnus' cats in a past life, I'd be tempted to believe you!

Great! As I'm writing this, my brain literally has to come up with the utterly insane scenario of one of Magnus' cats falling in love with him (blame it on those gorgeous cat eyes and feline body language that they can read so well!) and deciding that, in their next life, they're coming back as something more compatible!

They just don't have a choice regarding what type of (half) human-blooded creature they'll return as in the Shadow World, and so they wind up being a male Shadowhunter with no memories of their past life.

That would be such a crack fic!

And would take Alec's pure instinctive delight when he saw Magnus' cat eyes for the first time to a whole other level if some part of him still connects with his previous life on a subconscious level, at least.

More seriously, though... I have so many questions...

Like...

What was the description of that scene in the script, or the direction they gave him on this scene?

Is rubbing his head on pillows post-lovemaking like that something that Alec typically does?

If so, what was Magnus' (inner) reaction first time he saw it happen?

If not... Has he gotten so used to Magnus' cat eyes that he's now instinctively compensating for the sudden missing feline aspect of their sexy times together?

Did Magnus ever come to the conclusion that Alec Lightwood is essentially the human Shadowhunter version of a cat?

I mean...

He's got a slender, strong body with long, agile limbs.

He's a deadly and silent predator that moves gracefully in the shadows, and seems perfectly at ease in his environment.

He will hang out alone on the roof, balcony, or just outside the window to sulk and/or process things...

... and get off that roof by jumping and landing on his feet (with the help of a rune, obviously).

He doesn't like to be touched, or even leisurely spend time with other people, except by, or with, a very select few people that he deeply trusts.

And obviously, only if he's in the right mood for it.

As a result, friends and family never exactly know what to expect when approaching him...

Is he going to hiss at them, turn around, and proudly leave while pretending they and their issues don't exist?

Silently stare at them while plotting his next murder?

Or spontaneously go in for a hug and cuddles?

He likes to pretend he's doing fine on his own and will get easily annoyed if he feels like you're constantly checking on him and smothering him with attention...

... but will be the first to freak out and go on a hunt to find you if you ignore him and his requests or go suddenly missing too long.

Yeah, apparently he could do just fine without you one moment, but won't be able to live without you the next! It's a struggle!

He'll just sniff the breakfast you brought him in bed, and touch and observe the food without eating it if he's unhappy you woke him up or interrupted something he'd rather be doing...

Basically, Magnus Bane himself is a great big cat that likes cats, understands cats, knows how to gain a cat's trust (no matter their efforts to pretend they're not interested in interacting with you... while nevertheless contradicting that statement by periodically coming to scratch at your door...), and Alec Lightwood is apparently a large Shadowhunter-shaped cat.

I mean, look at him! I'm thinking either Magnus isn't paying attention because he's totally used to it (which would answer one of my questions...); or he's not noticing because he's just stuck in his identity crisis and unable to focus on the present...

... including the big cuddly kitten next to him that, BTW, looks so upset later when Magnus suddenly gets up from the bed before he has a chance to reach out for him and get a few more cuddles out of him.

Which brings us back to square one!

I've really got so many questions about this...

#Malec #Alec Lightwood #Magnus Bane #Alexander Lightwood #Shadowhunters #the mortal instruments #Alec Cat Lightwood #Be it #Alec Happy Cat Lightwood #or #Alec Grumpy Cat Lightwood #Alec is apparently always a Cat Lightwood #My posts #My thoughts #My stuff

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halothenthehorns · 9 months

Text

Chapter 2: I BATTLE THE CHEERLEADING SQUAD

Just because I'm taking the whole entire month of September and the majority of October off, here's the first chapter in honor of Will's birthday! I do still promise regular updates will resume on Halloween day and then proceed every Monday!

PJOPJOPJO

Alex came in the next day with a bright pink jacket tied around his shoulders in a very classic posh way, wearing a matching polo and green slacks with accompanying colors on his loafers, while sporting rose tinted sunglasses upon his head, at the bottom of the ocean. All of his green hair was swept to one side, and Magnus's heart skipped a beat, his toast falling into his lap jelly first to splat on his pants. Alex would be the most sophisticated guy on the golf course and still somehow make it look like the most useless sport in that getup.

"It's he/ him pronouns," Alex announced as he casually walked to his seat like he was ordering his plate of huevos rancheros for breakfast.

The book had been in the seat beside Magnus, like anybody was insane enough to think of taking that seat from Alex. The plain black somehow accentuated the look when he picked it up. He brushed his hand over the blue four on the spine with hunger to see what was so dark about this one.

"Um, it's my turn to read," Magnus said in a daze, and it was a good thing he'd managed that before Alex looked at him because then he lost the ability to speak. Hopefully it was temporary.

"Well hurry up and eat then," he dropped the book at his feat and dug into his own food, "or I'll happily read twice."

Magnus couldn't figure out why that was a bad thing for a moment, and yet his breakfast vanished faster than Percy's. He pretended the others were laughing at the chapter title and not his idiotic ass as things picked right back up as usual with these strange book descriptions.

Thalia sighed one last time and looked at Jason and the array of books that might contain his past. She really wanted to skip this one, ie delay it permanently by hearing of some of her little brother's times. She was obviously the only one though as everybody turned attention to Magnus for the next part. "I really hope that's not a euphemism for something Percy, or Annabeth's going to be very upset with you," Thalia rolled her eyes.

"I'm just hoping this isn't some elaborate pyramid scheme," Jason grinned, "Percy has enough trouble already."

"Boooo!" Percy called at him, even giving a thumbs down. "Man, that was the worst one yet!"

"Deadly pompoms! I knew those things were no good!" Alex nearly lost half his eggs he was laughing so hard.

Will made a deep noise of contentment, almost a purr to be hearing so much laughter first thing in the morning.

The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school.

"And here I thought that was number three on your list, at minimum," Jason snorted.

"Percy, there's not a world record for that, nobody's competing with you for this," Magnus agreed with a chuckle, but it was sort of depressing too. The school system was hard enough without this guy blowing literal budget holes in the teacher's planning.

"It has to happen though, remember?" Percy gave them a very sardonic brow. "If it doesn't happen, the world will end early! I still have another year of life!"

"And it won't be a pretty one," Thalia muttered. The Labyrinth was one of the quests Annabeth talked about least. Whatever had happened this summer, she was almost as ill prepared as Percy.

But there I was Monday morning, the first week of June, sitting in my mom's car in front of Goode High School on East 81st.

Goode was this big brownstone building overlooking the East River. A bunch of BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars were parked out front.

"I still don't speak car," Nico finally spoke up, hesitantly. A part of him still expected everyone to turn and yell at the sight of him.

Percy gave him the strangest, most awkward smile yet, like he had no idea how to even look at him after yesterday.

Then Percy gave himself a sharp mental smack. Nico and his maybe, hopefully not crush that he'd said was gone was ten times less strange to deal with than Alex being...Alex. So he answered almost as casually as ever, "they're 'middle class' cars," he used air quotes and everything. "Not some swanky private school with Maserati's and Porsche's, and not broken windows and running on faith rather than fume cars."

"Ah," Nico nodded his thanks, and sat back in his seat. His arms were crossed low over his stomach, hands in each sleeve like a monk today like he was trying to be as invisible as possible.

But he wasn't hiding behind the couch today to listen in like he'd originally intended. He'd actually spoken at all, which was more than Will had thought he'd do. The only backfiring going on was he'd either missed breakfast or eaten alone, and Will filed that away for when lunch came up.

Thalia and Will exchanged a pitiful look and kind of hoped Percy pulling mad gymnastic abilities or something would kick in soon, for once. Adrenaline distracting Percy from killing them all would be better than this awkward stiltedness.

Staring up at the fancy stone archway, I wondered how long it would take me to get kicked out of this place.

"What's your record?" Magnus asked into the slightly awkward silence that he'd tried to keep reading through.

"Two weeks," Percy sighed. "In my defense, I really thought that teacher's cat was a demon, and the milk didn't hurt it!"

"Well now you get a chance to do one better, be expelled before you even attend," Alex said plenty cheerfully for all of them.

"Just relax." My mom didn't sound relaxed.

"Do as I say, not as I do," Thalia nodded sagely.

"Okay mom," Percy rolled his eyes so hard it looked like it hurt, "thanks I really needed that translation."

"Don't mock your mother Percy, she's a good woman," Jason laughed, but Magnus kept reading before that could escalate, these were not the kind of jokes he'd ever find funny.

"It's only an orientation tour. And remember, dear, this is Paul's school.

"Ah, nepotism used for good, that's a new one," Alex said in surprise.

"It was a public school, it's not like he bribed anyone to let me in," but Percy didn't sound that confident. If a Blowfish library wing popped up, he didn't think he could blame the Mist.

So try not to...you know."

"Destroy it?"

"Yes."

"All relationships go through their own trials," Thalia said with barely suppressed mirth. "This is just a very great, early indicator if Paul's going to last in this family." She knew he did, but that didn't mean she couldn't laugh about it.

"Better than the usual cheating and lying bullshit adults deal with I guess," Percy grudgingly agreed.

Paul Blofis, my mom's boyfriend, was standing out front, greeting future ninth graders as they came up the steps. With his salt-and-pepper hair, denim clothes, and leather jacket, he reminded me of a TV actor, but he was just an English teacher. He'd managed to convince Goode High School to accept me for ninth grade, despite the fact that I'd gotten kicked out of every school I'd ever attended. I'd tried to warn him it wasn't a good idea, but he wouldn't listen.

"Not a great teacher then," Will looked very disappointed. "He should take his students observations into account, especially these budding adults."

"He actually loves to tell this story about his favorite essay that helped one guy into a great college he never would have applied for," Percy defended, and the ready response surprised him. He paused with a smile at all the memories over the winter and summer of how often Paul had been over, how easily his mom continued to laugh, how Paul never talked down to him like a delinquent from day one. "I think he was just trying to show off he could, though it wasn't nearly as impressive than if he'd gotten me a C in class," he finished with a chuckle Chiron still had the guy beat out on one point.

I looked at my mom. "You haven't told him the truth about me, have you?"

"How would that conversation even go?" The bitterness in Alex's voice could be missed by no one, clearly that wasn't a happy story.

"Historically, not well," Percy agreed in a quiet, gentle voice. He knew the others all envied him for his awesome mom, but that had come hand in hand with Gabe through the majority of his life. Gabe might not have known the truth, but he'd been a part of it.

She tapped her fingers nervously on the wheel. She was dressed up for a job interview—her best blue dress and high-heeled shoes.

"For what?" Will asked. The general question still held a hint of intrigue coming from him, the way he always talked to everybody. Like it was a vitally important question he couldn't wait to know the answer of, Nico smiled.

Percy didn't seem to hear that part, he just glanced at Will with his own proud smile and said, "publishing company. She was done with the first draft of her book, but wanted to check out some of the footsteps before she, um, buffered it? Or maybe buffed it? I'll be honest, I'm not sure what she meant," he finished sheepishly, addressing everybody in general.

It didn't seem to bother Will, and Nico marked that for future reference, trying to scratch off a list in his head of defining what he might have a crush on Percy about, and what he just admired about him. In a group, it was probably weird to expect someone's soul attention.

"I thought we should wait," she admitted.

"So we don't scare him away."

"You should definitely build up to something like that," Magnus agreed as if totally off hand. "Try jumping out of the closet at him a few times, maybe a few toned down side quests like trying to get past a murderous dog with a rubber ball, just to see how he takes to it."

"I should start with the one about how Grover got his mango chutney recipe," Percy mock agreed. "Crashing a wedding and piranha sheep are surely the best way to explain, this," he finished with a vague wave around being trapped at the bottom of the ocean.

"I'm sure orientation will be fine, Percy, It's only one morning."

"Great," I mumbled. "I can get expelled before I start the school year."

Alex laughed raucously Percy said the same thing he did, and he grinned along with him and even offered a high five which he happily air slapped.

"Think positive.

"The country ran out of schools and the universe can stop mocking me for this?" Percy sighed.

"There's the bright side," Thalia snorted.

Jason wasn't so convinced that every school would ban him for his record though. He started rubbing thoughtfully at his tattoo, but as always no real memory would connect to that random thought.

Tomorrow you're off to camp! After orientation, you've got your date—"

"It's not a date!" I protested. "It's just Annabeth, Mom. Jeez!"

Percy blushed the color of Rachel's hair, but Magnus readjusted the book to hide his slight hesitation over his continuing wasn't snickers like the others. He, stupidly, wanted to offer, something. Some dumb warning of a 'you better treat her like a lady,' when it was obvious Percy was head over heels in love with her from the beginning.

Uncle Fredrick was obviously kind of useless in that department though, and Chiron seemed the next closest thing and obviously had higher concerns. He just thought his cousin should have some family show support, but then, she probably forgot he'd existed already and this was just as dumb as it could be of him.

"She's coming all the way from camp to meet you."

"It didn't work out with Fredrick again?" The harshness in Magnus's voice was doubled from his own thoughts, and obvious by dropping the familial title.

"She stayed the rest of the school semester with him out there," Percy said cautiously. "She sent me an Iris message every few weeks about the goings on, they were being a lot more understanding when there was a monster attack, and it weirdly didn't happen as much as she thought it would. You know, she just missed Camp and came back earlier, she still called it her home." He finished with a carefree smile.

Will kept the comment to himself she'd showed up at Camp twice. One time had only been through word of mouth, Clarisse had made a passing comment about her being back while getting her ankle wrapped. Judging by her tone, she'd been expecting to find Annabeth in the medical cabin, though Will hadn't seen her. The second he'd only passed her leaving her cabin with a book bag and going up the hill to leave again. Her passing in and out of her home was not exactly his business to share.

Magnus gave a hesitant nod, but Jason wasn't so ready to let it go as he pondered over that. He'd originally balked at the idea of San Francisco being a dangerous place. Nico had said he found another camp in California he hadn't shared with anyone else. The obvious dots being connected only gave him the usual headache, but he still hoped that somehow, someway, he might have made Annabeth's time with her mortal family just the slightest bit easier no matter how foolish it probably was.

"Well, yeah."

"You're going to the movies."

"Yeah."

"Just the two of you."

"Mom!"

She held up her hands in surrender, but I could tell she was trying hard not to smile.

"She must be really nervous about that job interview," Thalia really was trying her hardest not to snicker. "You're lucky she didn't somehow slip into another baby story about you next." She was doing a terrible job by the end.

"Stories you still owe us by the way," Alex only teased, he knew Percy didn't owe them any of this and could leave to read these alone whenever he wanted.

He showed he wasn't going to be doing anything like that when he only groaned loudly and covered his ears to mock ignore them instead until Magnus kept going.

"You'd better get inside, dear. I'll see you tonight."

I was about to get out of the car when I looked over the steps of the school.

Paul Blofis was greeting a girl with frizzy red hair. She wore a maroon Tshirt and ratty jeans decorated with marker drawings. When she turned, I caught a glimpse of her face, and the hairs on my arms stood straight up.

"No," Alex began in awe.

"Way," Magnus barely finished since his mouth was hanging open quite a bit.

"I mean, we knew you'd have to run into her again eventually," Jason agreed. "Nearly killing her on the Hoover Dam couldn't have been the only time," she'd been perfectly comfortable in here beside Percy and still gave him the creeps with the way she'd watched him and pegged him an outsider. "I just expected her to pop up at Camp."

"Yeah, um, small world," Percy agreed with all the blurry confidence he could.

"Percy?" my mom asked. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," I stammered.

"Very believable," Alex snorted. "I think you need to start taking some acting lessons from Rachel."

"I'll get right on that when I'm done freaking out about her existing," Percy sighed.

"Does the school have a side entrance?"

"Down the block on the right. Why?"

"I'll see you later."

My mom started to say something, but I got out of the car and ran, hoping the redheaded girl wouldn't see me.

"And yet you're going into the exact same place she is," Jason pointed out in exasperation. "I don't get it, are you avoiding her or trying to get her alone to talk?"

"Avoidance, definitely," Percy was squirming in his seat like a burrito was about to be launched at his head. Annabeth and Grover were the only two who had ever overlapped with his normal life. Rachel just popping up like that set all of his instincts on edge like a monster was going to appear any second...wait. Gods, did he help defend Rachel from the cheerleading squad?! Agh, and there was the headache!

What was she doing here? Not even my luck could be this bad.

"Percy," Will said to him as if in fear he had a concussion for not remembering this. "Your luck is historically the worst."

"Exhibit A," Nico muttered, trapped at the bottom of the ocean with no memory.

Yeah, right. I was about to find out my luck could get a lot worse.

"I swear that should have just been the summary plastered on the back of these books," Percy groaned.

Sneaking into orientation didn't work out too well. Two cheerleaders in purple-and-white uniforms were standing at the side entrance, waiting to ambush freshmen.

"Were they smoking?" Jason asked with weirdly serious concern.

"Didn't smell anything," Percy shrugged. "The blonde one was kind of cute, but way to intense, she had that fake smile that gave me the creeps," Percy shrugged.

Thalia smacked him upside the head, hard, and called him an idiot, while looking at Jason in concern. Beryl had been a chain smoker, but she hoped he wasn't trying to connect plastic girls with the smell of cigarettes in general and he was just being an idiot too.

"Hi!" They smiled, which I figured was the first and last time any cheerleaders would be that friendly to me. One was blond with icy blue eyes.

The other was African American with dark curly hair like Medusa's (and believe me, I know what I'm talking about).

"Hmm, yes I suppose, but does this girl also make a mean burger?" Alex asked.

"And is she going to have a weird obsession with turning you into a statue," Magnus added uneasily. They hadn't gotten any repeat monsters yet aside from the gorgon coming back, so maybe this was how Medusa looked now and found a way to hide her gaze?

Both girls had their names stitched in cursive on their uniforms, but with my dyslexia, the words looked like meaningless spaghetti.

"Welcome to Goode," the blond girl said. "You are so going to love it."

But as she looked me up and down, her expression said something more like, Eww, who is this loser?

The other girl stepped uncomfortably close to me. I studied the stitching on her uniform and made out Kelli. She smelled like roses and something else I recognized from riding lessons at camp—the scent of freshly washed horses. It was a weird smell for a cheerleader. Maybe she owned a horse or something.

"In New York?" Will couldn't imagine the miles of acres from camp and where he'd grown up cramped around all those buildings.

"We have suburbs you know, it's not all Times Square," Percy shrugged.

"Or maybe her dad owns one of those cop horses, or maybe she can turn into a horse," Alex nodded along. "There's really just no guessing here."

Anyway, she stood so close I got the feeling she was going to try to push me down the steps. "What's your name, fish?"

"Fish?"

"That's actually a very fair question with a really interesting answer," Magnus grinned like Percy's was a mistake anyone could make. "Classification of what a fish is is so broad most scientists don't-"

Percy used just a tiny bit of his power, but enough he splashed Magnus in the face with just a few twitches of his finger. "Smart ass," Percy's laugh had them all grinning along.

Magnus brushed his damp hair aside and kept going while Will admired how easily Percy could fit in anywhere he wanted. He was positive Percy's internal thoughts of how he never fit in couldn't be too accurate of his time in mortal schools, he just never wanted to fit in there, considering it was the opposite at camp.

"Freshman."

"Uh, Percy."

The girls exchanged looks.

"Oh, Percy Jackson," the blond one said. "We've been waiting for you."

That sent a major Uh-oh chill down my back. They were blocking the entrance, smiling in a not-very-friendly way. My hand crept instinctively toward my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide.

"That is one of my favorite sentences," Alex snorted grandly.

"And I use it without mercy!" Percy pulled it out now and waved Riptide around like a writer on a mission.

Then another voice came from inside the building. "Percy?" It was Paul Blofis, somewhere down the hallway. I'd never been so glad to hear his voice.

The cheerleaders backed off.

Nobody had much more than halfhearted confidence these were just regular mean girls slinking off because a teacher was around. Maybe, if it wasn't for that blasted chapter title they could have fooled themselves for a while longer. Now they all just sat there waiting anxiously for Magnus to get to a half-time show that would probably end with confetti and death to a lot of innocent people.

I was so anxious to get past them I accidentally kneed Kelli in the thigh.

Clang.

Her leg made a hollow, metallic sound, like I'd just hit a flagpole.

"First the French guy, now prosthetic leg girl?" Thalia couldn't help but tease, "are you just out here fighting everybody with a disability Percy?"

"I have no problems throwing hands with you," Percy wagged the pen cap dangerously close to her nose.

"Besides, he's never tried to fight Chiron," Will easily slid in to disengage. "I'm just chalking it up to more of his bad luck."

Magnus quickly kept reading before that could escalate anyways.

"Ow," she muttered. "Watch it, fish."

I glanced down, but her leg looked like a regular old leg. I was too freaked out to ask questions. I dashed into the hall, the cheerleaders laughing behind me.

"There you are!" Paul told me. "Welcome to Goode!"

"Hey, Paul—uh, Mr. Blofis." I glanced back, but the weird cheerleaders had disappeared.

"Percy, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"I've done that too, and I'll take Bianca and Nico over those girls," Percy shivered.

"Um, thanks," Nico muttered in surprise, but then Percy winced and groaned, looking around in confusion, and Nico realized Percy wasn't literally talking about the time he'd talked to Bianca's ghost, but was making a morbid joke in general about them being children of Hades. His usual way of laughing off everything that Nico had always equally admired and been so conflicted about, because sometimes it made him come across as an idiot. He didn't know where to place that on his list.

"Yeah, uh—"

Paul clapped me on the back. "Listen, I know you're nervous, but don't worry. We get a lot of kids here with ADHD and dyslexia. The teachers know how to help."

I almost wanted to laugh. If only ADHD and dyslexia were my biggest worries. I mean, I knew Paul was trying to help, but if I told him the truth about me, he'd either think I was crazy or he'd run away screaming. Those cheerleaders, for instance. I had a bad feeling about them...

"Lots of people have bad feelings about cheerleaders," Alex agreed wisely. "Usually because they accuse you of stealing their phone and throw a bucket of piss at you after you got them expelled."

The book fell out of Magnus's hands while everyone felt the awkward silence, but Will got out first, "um, that was a little too specific Alex. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" He asked casually.

There was only a hint of blood lust in there, but just enough Magnus swiftly decided he heard nothing and nobody was going to get the chance to say otherwise.

Then I looked down the hall, and I remembered I had another problem.

The redheaded girl I'd seen on the front steps was just coming in the main entrance.

Don't notice me, I prayed.

She noticed me.

"Rachel is a very observant girl," Thalia rolled her eyes at him. "She'd pick you out if you were in the mascot costume."

Percy believed her, and it still kind of freaked him out. The mascot was a roadrunner too, and he still didn't think he'd escape this.

Her eyes widened.

"Where's the orientation?" I asked Paul.

"The gym. That way. But—"

"Bye."

"Percy?" he called, but I was already running.

"And you're worried Paul's going to run away from you guys," Nico said mildly, just a little more confidant than the first time.

"Wouldn't be fair of me to have him do all the work, here I am putting in effort too," Percy grinned back with an even shorter hesitation than last time.

I thought I'd lost her.

A bunch of kids were heading for the gym, and soon I was just one of three hundred fourteen-year-olds all crammed into the bleachers. A marching band played an out-of-tune fight song that sounded like somebody hitting a bag of cats with a metal baseball bat.

"I seriously worry about the neighborhood you grew up in," Jason said, with no joke.

Percy had no nice response for that. By the time he came downstairs all he usually found was blood.

Older kids, probably student council members, stood up front modeling the Goode school uniform

"Ugh, I'd get expelled just for getting out of wearing a uniform," Alex gagged.

"Rachel didn't make it look to bad," Magnus said to be fair. He'd trade the stupidest bowtie every day just for a chance at something that kind of routine, normal, mundane.

Alex must have heard the wistfulness in his voice, because his voice went just a hint gentler than usual. "Mm, I've seen worse."

and looking all, Hey, we're cool. Teachers milled around, smiling and shaking hands with students. The walls of the gym were plastered with big purple-and-white banners that said WELCOME FUTURE FRESHMEN, GOODE IS GOOD, WE'RE ALL FAMILY, and a bunch of other happy slogans that pretty much made me want to throw up.

"Glad it's not just me," Thalia raised a hand, the other pressed theatrically to her stomach.

None of the other freshmen looked thrilled to be here, either. I mean, coming to orientation in June, when school doesn't even start until September, is not cool. But at Goode, "We prepare to excel early!" At least that's what the brochure said.

"And we always do what the brochure says," Will nodded saintly.

"Gods, please never give Camp a brochure," Percy muttered, he was terrified what Mr. D would put in there.

The marching band stopped playing. A guy in a pinstripe suit came to the microphone and started talking, but the sound echoed around the gym so I had no idea what he was saying. He might've been gargling.

"His warm up I guess," Alex said, "most people just do the classic picturing underwear thing, but I never could figure out why that would make you less nervous. Naked people usually cause more stress."

"I can't even begin to imagine what would make you nervous to begin with," Jason admitted, "let alone what you would do. Probably rip someone's head off."

Alex considered for a moment laughing that off, but then in a rare moment of vulnerability, he glanced at the book, and said honestly, "being trapped."

At least Oceanus wasn't trying to take away his identity, but the mystery of why only his abilities seemed gone while among the Big Three's kids bothered him greatly.

The reality still hit them plenty they were trapped. Even if it wasn't unpleasant, that didn't make it great. They all just made it better for each other with laughter instead.

So Alex finished with a snarky remark true to form, "and look at you all, not a single headless person! Let alone nearly headless!"

Magnus snorted fantastically beside him just like always before he kept reading, so the others just let it pass with a light chuckle too.

Someone grabbed my shoulder, "What are you doing here?"

It was her: my redheaded nightmare.

"How often do you dream of her?" Thalia had tried for sisterly concern, but ended with to much laughter for it to hold.

"Oh gods," Percy buried his face in dread and decided he would have to personally put these books through a shredder and then burn the scraps if he wanted to live when all his memories were back.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," I said.

Her jaw dropped like she couldn't believe I had the nerve to remember her name. "And you're Percy somebody.

"You told her your name was Percy Gotta-go," Jason easily recalled, "I can't believe she'd forget that, it's quite memorable."

"Not everybody always has a toilet on the brain Jason," Percy rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't have to if your life wasn't trash Percy," Jason smirked.

"Boys!" Will groaned. Magnus very quickly kept reading, and Thalia sighed in relief. They were all getting a little to comfortable with each other down here.

I didn't get your full name last December when you tried to kill me."

"Look, I wasn't—I didn't—What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I guess. Orientation."

"You live in New York?"

"What, you thought I lived at the Hoover Dam?"

It had never occurred to me. Whenever I thought about her (and I'm not saying I thought about her; she just like crossed my mind from time to time, okay?),

"Yeah, okay Perce," Thalia was obviously about to engrave this passage in stone so that Annabeth and Rachel could laugh at him forever with it and he sighed as he knew there was nothing he could do to stop her.

I always figured she lived in the Hoover Dam area, since that's where I'd met her.

"A reasonable assumption," the eye roll Jason added to that didn't help Percy believe him even before he said, "considering you traveled there from New York!"

"Not everybody travels the country in a week on a magic train provided by a homeless God named Fred," Percy said back in exasperation. "Unless she's some weird, rich version of Annabeth who just sporadically wanted a tour there, it makes sense!"

The others were to busy snickering he'd still managed to bring up Annabeth during this to stop them for a second, but before Jason's chuckle could subside and he did manage Magnus loudly kept going without prompting this time or they'd never finish this one dam chapter.

We'd spent maybe ten minutes together, during which time I'd accidentally swung a sword at her, she'd saved my life, and I'd run away chased by a band of supernatural killing machines. You know, your typical chance meeting.

"That is definitely going to be the next poster for a romcom. Call it Hauling Ass," Alex paused to give a very suggestive look at Percy that made him squirm. "You're a construction worker building the historic monument, she's a southern bell dragged there by her father-"

"Dude!" Percy finally protested. "Write whatever the hell that's manifesting into on your own time! And leave me out of it!"

"I hope this guy's never introduced to fanfiction, his brain would rot," Magnus muttered, making Alex laugh harder than ever, which wasn't very encouraging to Percy. It took every ounce of self control for Alex to suppress the question if Sally ever mentioned that stuff, but when Magnus kept reading, he persevered. He could ask Sally on his own time anyways.

Some guy behind us whispered, "Hey, shut up. The cheerleaders are talking!"

"I bet that guy's one of their girlfriends," Thalia rolled her eyes. "Hope she gives him a thumbs up for sucking up."

"Hi, guys!" a girl bubbled into the microphone. It was the blonde I'd seen at the entrance. "My name is Tammi, and this is like, Kelli." Kelli did a cartwheel.

Will gave a little applause just for the girl/ maybe monster being able to do that, it looked hard when he watched others try.

Next to me, Rachel yelped like someone had stuck her with a pin. A few kids looked over and snickered,

"I swear it's a staple kids will laugh at anything in an auditorium," Nico muttered, the noise always carried and sounded mean no matter who was doing it.

"I don't laugh at everything," Will gave him a very exaggerated pouty frown that Nico fought hard not to grin back at. He lost that battle, and he couldn't say that about many fights.

but Rachel just stared at the cheerleaders in horror. Tammi didn't seem to notice the outburst. She started talking about all the great ways we could get involved during our freshman year.

"All the normal things a half-blood could want," Percy gave a mock yawn to show how much he'd listened to that. "Like volunteer work that looked good on college applications and where the study hall was. I didn't hear anything about where the fire extinguisher was."

"I'm surprised they don't have your name engraved on it just for being there," Thalia agreed.

"You'd have to pull an active miracle to get a college education at your rate," Jason muttered for himself, because he felt bad Percy probably was going to be denied that with his record.

"Run," Rachel told me. "Now."

"Why?"

Rachel didn't explain. She pushed her way to the edge of the bleachers, ignoring the frowning teachers and grumbling kids she was stepping on.

I hesitated.

"Why?"

Percy winced as all six of them yelped that at once. Jason was already winding up for a rant as he began, "do you have any clue how useful that is? She can see through the Mist which you're repeatedly fooled by-"

"Paul," Percy's answer was sharp enough to stop him cold. He really hadn't gone into this trying to make the guy already disappointed in him and his mother look bad and everything that was about to happen because he couldn't have one normal day!

There was a beat of silence. "Sorry," Jason said.

"Yeah, it's fine," Percy sighed, letting it go as fast as it had happened.

Tammi was explaining how we were about to break into small groups and tour the school. Kelli caught my eye and gave me an amused smile, like she was waiting to see what I'd do. It would look bad if I left right now. Paul Blofis was down there with the rest of the teachers. He'd wonder what was wrong.

Then I thought about Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and the special ability she'd shown last winter at Hoover Dam. She'd been able to see a group of security guards who weren't guards at all, who weren't even human. My heart pounding, I got up and followed her out of the gym.

"I'm getting, follow her to the ends of the earth vibes already," Alex chuckled.

"Stop writing fanfiction about them," Magnus muttered to him, "Annabeth would not approve."

"I bet she'd get a laugh out of it," Alex insisted.

Percy was wincing and muttering uncomfortably though, and since they had no idea how she factored into Percy's life it was probably safer not to push his buttons about what they did get up to until all was said and done.

I found Rachel in the band room. She was hiding behind a bass drum in the percussion section.

"Are these monsters sensitive to noise?" Jason asked eagerly.

"Either that or it's a really good spot to grab lunch," Percy shrugged.

"Or the first place she found, you triangles," Thalia said in exasperation. "She's an untrained mortal!"

"Right," they both agreed sheepishly.

"Get over here!" she said. "Keep your head down!"

I felt pretty silly hiding behind a bunch of bongos, but I crouched down beside her.

"Obviously," Alex rolled his eyes. "Everybody knows you should hide in the brass section, that's why they're the ballsy ones." He concluded with a wink at Thalia, "and I mean that totally gender neutral."

"I'm sure they've never heard that joke before," Jason scoffed.

"Did they follow you?" Rachel asked.

"You mean the cheerleaders?"

She nodded nervously.

"I don't think so," I said. "What are they? What did you see?"

Her green eyes were bright with fear. She had a sprinkle of freckles on her face that reminded me of constellations. Her maroon T-shirt read HARVARD ART DEPT. "You...you wouldn't believe me."

Magnus had seen in person how much that could mess a person up. It still really bothered him he didn't know what to go back and do with this kind of information. Telling the homeless mortals who went on about metal angels they weren't crazy would only put a band aid on the grander problem.

"Oh, yeah, I would," I promised. "I know you can see through the Mist."

"The what?"

"The Mist. It's...well, it's like this veil that hides the way things really are. Some mortals are born with the ability to see through it. Like you."

She studied me carefully. "You did that at Hoover Dam. You called me a mortal. Like you're not."

"So she's always been that perceptive," Jason murmured in appreciation. Her gift truly was special, he wished he could pin down why he felt like he had a name or something attached to this odd power of perception and sight she had.

I felt like punching a bongo. What was I thinking? I could never explain. I shouldn't even try.

"Don't be so down on yourself Percy," Thalia frowned at him in surprise. "You're really not as stupid as we all like to say you are."

"Thanks Thals," Percy rolled his eyes and waved at Magnus.

"Hey," she grabbed his wrist, "I mean it."

He looked at her and saw she really was being serious. "Um, thank you," he was probably blushing just a bit. "I really didn't have a clue what I was doing though."

"Never stopped you from trying to do anything," she released his wrist with an eye roll of her own, resisting the urge to try and smack him in the face with his own hand. No way would she be fast enough to do that in the water.

Percy grinned at her. Coming from anyone else, even Annabeth, he'd have thought they were lying just to make him feel better. Thalia knew exactly how he felt, because she tended to have the same self-doubts.

"Tell me," she begged. "You know what it means. All these horrible things I see?"

"Look, this is going to sound weird. Do you know anything about Greek myths?"

"Like...the Minotaur and the Hydra?"

"Yeah, just try not to say those names when I'm around, okay?"

"And the Furies," she said, warming up. "And the Sirens, and—"

"Okay!" I looked around the band hall, sure that Rachel was going to make a bunch of bloodthirsty nasties pop out of the walls;

"We have yet to see that actually," Alex had the audacity to eye the walls in betrayal. "I'm starting to think Chiron and Grover lied to you about that, it's only ever caused Zeus to make thunder at ominous moments."

"Why push my luck?" Percy asked in exhaustion.

but we were still alone. Down the hallway, I heard a mob of kids coming out of the gymnasium. They were starting the group tours. We didn't have long to talk.

"All those monsters," I said, "all the Greek gods—they're real."

"I knew it!"

I would've been more comfortable if she'd called me a liar, but Rachel looked like I'd just confirmed her worst suspicion.

"First Tyson, now her," Will sounded like he was pretty impressed with Percy's ability to help take first steps into this world. "You're blunt and get to the point, but don't try to scare them, let alone impress them. All you're really missing is the orientation video to explain the rest."

Nico snorted in delight beside him and Will smiled with pleasure.

"Yeah, yeah," Percy was shaking his head in exasperation at all the praise. "Been and done the whole TV show routine, not looking for round two."

"One slow news day and I'll bet that reporter will be back around," Will said confidently, mock framing Percy with his hands. Percy flipped him off and said, "show that on TV!"

Magnus loudly kept reading before they got too sidetracked among the chuckling.

"You don't know how hard it's been," she said. "For years I thought I was going crazy. I couldn't tell anybody. I couldn't—"

Thalia tugged at the links in her bracelet with the same feeling of uselessness Magnus felt. What were they supposed to do, post a billboard with a number to Olympus Hotline?

She imagined for a moment borrowing these books when they were done with them, maybe giving some mortal a sense of salvation if they read it like this was some fairy tell, Sally apparently might be some help with that. A world they could never be a part of, but at least wouldn't think they were crazy for.

She glanced at Percy with guilt though and decided she might have to tweak a few details.

Her eyes narrowed. "Wait. Who are you? I mean really?"

"I'm not a monster."

"Well, I know that. I could see if you were. You look like...you. But you're not human, are you?"

I swallowed. Even though I'd had three years to get used to who I was, I'd never talked about it with a regular mortal before—I mean, except for my mom, but she already knew. I don't know why, but I took the plunge.

"I'm a half-blood," I said. "I'm half human."

"And half what?"

Just then Tammi and Kelli stepped into the band room.

"Half-fish," Alex supplied as if poor Rachel had really been left in the lurch.

"Paul is only his step dad Alex, keep up," Magnus smirked.

The doors slammed shut behind them.

"There you are, Percy Jackson," Tammi said. "It's time for your orientation."

"They're horrible!" Rachel gasped.

"A blonde, a burnet, and a red head walk into a band room-" Alex began.

"If you make one more joke about this I'll put you in the perconcussion section," Percy mispronounced with a hard look at Magnus not to correct him.

"Who says I don't already know how to play the bongos?" He challenged back.

Percy sighed in defeat, he really should have known better by this time.

Tammi and Kelli were still wearing their purple-and-white cheerleader costumes, holding pom-poms from the rally.

"Well those are going to be covered in blood and monster dust here soon," Nico said confidently.

"Don't forget the fire," Will nodded, "he can't leave school without it."

Percy groaned, as much because they were right as his head ached in pain, and because he believed they were right.

"What do they really look like?" I asked, but Rachel seemed too stunned to answer.

"Oh, forget her." Tammi gave me a brilliant smile and started walking toward us. Kelli stayed by the doors, blocking our exit.

They'd trapped us. I knew we'd have to fight our way out, but Tammi's smile was so dazzling it distracted me. Her blue eyes were beautiful, and the way her hair swept over her shoulders...

"Percy," Rachel warned.

I said something really intelligent like, "Uhhh?"

"And we can officially ear mark the moment Percy hit puberty," Jason mock clicked a pen to jot that down.

"When he sees Annabeth again it's officially going to be a, treat," Magnus sighed, gods he did not want to hear his cousin described by a male teenager.

"I can and will make your lives hell without drowning you," Percy pleasantly reminded.

Jason pretended he couldn't hear him and was still scribbling, making sure Percy could hear words like, "needs the talk," and, "date do's and don'ts," so Magnus very loudly kept reading over that before Percy acted on the urge of breaking his fingers like he was obviously considering.

Tammi was getting closer. She held out her pom-poms.

"Percy!" Rachel's voice seemed to be coming from a long way away. "Snap out of it!"

It took all my willpower, but I got my pen out of my pocket and uncapped it. Riptide grew into a three-foot-long bronze sword, its blade glowing with a faint golden light.

"I hope Rachel didn't have to many nightmares about that," Percy sighed, still fidgeting with the cap uneasily. It took a lot of concentration to constantly remind himself the adrenaline dump was all in his head and there was nothing to kill in here.

Tammi's smile turned to a sneer.

"Oh, come on," she protested. "You don't need that. How about a kiss instead?"

She smelled like roses and clean animal fur—a weird but somehow intoxicating smell.

"Note to self, nobody spray Grover with roses, then he'll be unstoppable," Thalia nodded for herself.

Rachel pinched my arm, hard. "Percy, she wants to bite you! Look at her!"

"Well that would get anyone's attention," Jason rubbed his arm and studied the book in concern.

"Are they vampires?!" Alex's eyes went comically wide. "Are we really about to get vampires up in here?" He looked ready to lunge for Magnus's throat to see for himself.

"Note to self, keep the fangs away from this one," Thalia said in concern.

She's just jealous," Tammi looked back at Kelli. "May I, mistress?"

Kelli was still blocking the door, licking her lips hungrily. "Go ahead, Tammi. You're doing fine."

Tammi took another step forward, but I leveled the tip of my sword at her chest. "Get back."

She snarled. "Freshmen," she said with disgust. "This is our school, halfblood. We feed on whom we choose!"

Then she began to change. The color drained out of her face and arms. Her skin turned as white as chalk, her eyes completely red. Her teeth grew into fangs.

"That is so cool!" Alex really did reach over to steal the book, but Magnus hugged it close and shuffled as far away as he could on his end of the couch. Alex turned pleading eyes to Percy, "did you at least get an autograph?"

"I'll start a book of monsters just for you," Percy said, rather nonplussed at Alex geeking out over something else wanting to kill him. It really was par for the course at this rate.

"A vampire!" I stammered. Then I noticed her legs. Below the cheerleader skirt, her left leg was brown and shaggy with a donkey's hoof. Her right leg was shaped like a human leg, but it was made of bronze.

"And that somehow made them cooler," Magnus agreed with Alex's yelp. "I'll give them this, it's original."

"They don't need compliments Magnus, they need decapitation," Nico reminded in exasperation.

"They can have both," Will said fairly. "I'm sure Kellie and Tammi appreciate compliments once in a while, it must get exhausting with how popular vampires are now adays to hear themselves described wrong."

"I just hope Percy doesn't ask if they sparkle," Thalia sighed.

"Uhh, a vampire with—"

"Don't mention the legs!" Tammi snapped. "It's rude to make fun!"

She advanced on her weird, mismatched legs. She looked totally bizarre, especially with the pom-poms, but I couldn't laugh—not facing those red eyes and sharp fangs.

"Then you need more fun in your life," Alex told him, he was still laughing plenty at this development.

"Cheerleader vampires, I'm surprised that's not a book of its own," Magnus agreed.

"A vampire, you say?" Kelli laughed. "That silly legend was based on us, you fool. We are empousai, servants of Hecate."

"Mmmm." Tammi edged closer to me. "Dark magic formed us from animal, bronze, and ghost! We exist to feed on the blood of young men. Now come, give me that kiss!"

"Maybe they shouldn't lead with the gross details of their existence if they want a smooch," Jason frowned, clearly unimpressed as he flipped his coin around.

"Dating is weirdly hard, kudos for trying their own approach," Percy shrugged, "it just didn't work on me."

"Liar," Thalia waved to the book where he'd yet swung his sword.

"I was caught off guard, not considering it!" He insisted.

"Uhhu, that's exactly what I'm hearing, not that Rachel had to save you," Thalia reminded.

Percy tried to splutter some denial together, but Magnus saved him the effort.

She bared her fangs. I was so paralyzed I couldn't move, but Rachel threw a snare drum at the empousa's head.

"Exhibit A your honor!" Thalia crowed.

"I want this case dismissed! Objection!" That was the only lawyer speak Percy knew though and sat back in his seat with a sigh at the accompanying laughter.

The demon hissed and batted the drum away. It went rolling along the aisles between music stands, its springs rattling against the drumhead.

Rachel threw a xylophone, but the demon just swatted that away, too.

"I would pay all of the money for her to throw a tuba next," Alex said with a disturbing kind of gleam that usually meant he'd be trying this himself eventually.

"You would make a great one man band act," Magnus agreed. Alex would be the only person who could make a guitar riff and then bash a monsters head in and still get a tip.

"I don't usually kill girls," Tammi growled. "But for you, mortal, I'll make an exception. Your eyesight is a little too good!"

She lunged at Rachel.

"No!" I slashed with Riptide. Tammi tried to dodge my blade, but I sliced straight through her cheerleader uniform, and with a horrible wail she exploded into dust all over Rachel.

Rachel coughed. She looked like she'd just had a sack of flour dumped on her head. "Gross!"

"First Annabeth, now her," Jason chuckled. "Does the value of a thank you just not mean anything anymore?"

Thalia stepped on his shoe, and he yelped in pain. She raised a brow at him and asked, "now where's my thank you for shutting you up?"

He tucked his aching toes behind his other heel and decided against answering like the smart kid he was.

"Monsters do that," I said. "Sorry."

"You killed my trainee!" Kelli yelled. "You need a lesson in school spirit, half-blood!"

"Anything but math club, anything but math club," Percy crossed his fingers and leaned forward in his seat.

"Technically attempted murder is not math club, so wish granted," Thalia sighed.

"He could start a junior detectives club, help the local police solve crimes," Will grinned.

"They'd arrest me on sight," Percy reminded with a huff.

Then she too began to change. Her wiry hair turned into flickering flames. Her eyes turned red. She grew fangs. She loped toward us, her brass foot and hoof clopping unevenly on the band-room floor.

"I am senior empousa," she growled. "No hero has bested me in a thousand years."

"Yeah?" I said. "Then you're overdue!"

"As leader of the squad, you'd really hope she'd be more prepared for the time restraints of multiple responsibilities," Alex said in mock disappointment.

"High school life is hard and stressful enough, Percy will help her balance some of it," Magnus reminded, and by that he meant cut her into evenly squared pieces of monster dust.

Kelli was a lot faster than Tammi. She dodged my first strike and rolled into the brass section, knocking over a row of trombones with a mighty crash. Rachel scrambled out of the way. I put myself between her and the empousa.

Will's adams-apple bobbed as he nervously swallowed. There were a few training scenarios where you had to defend someone on the ground pretending to be unconscious while a 'monster' attacked. Percy got in repeated trouble for those from him and Chiron for always taking more hits than he should.

Kelli circled us, her eyes going from me to the sword.

"Such a pretty little blade," she said. "What a shame it stands between us."

Her form shimmered—sometimes a demon, sometimes a pretty cheerleader. I tried to keep my mind focused, but it was really distracting.

"The first monster I've heard that seems to have adapted to your ADHD perk," Magnus said nervously. He wondered if it would work on those who wouldn't be naturally attracted to a pretty girl, or was the scent a universal lull no matter the case?

"Gods, please don't start trying to classify us with ecosystems and Latin names," Percy sighed, "I avoided biology as much as calculus."

"Poor dear." Kelli chuckled. "You don't even know what's happening, do you? Soon, your pretty little camp in flames, your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. It would be merciful to end your life now, before you have to see that."

Percy's blood boiled at just the hint of that threat, making the water heat up around them all. Thalia tugging at the collar of her shirt caught his attention fast enough and he took a deep breath to settle himself, but that headache was back in full force. Chiron had warned an attack coming this summer on his camp. Whether Kellie knew something about it or was just taunting him, he needed to find out.

From down the hall, I heard voices. A tour group was approaching. A man was saying something about locker combinations.

The empousa's eyes lit up. "Excellent! We're about to have company!"

"Why is that a good thing?" Nico asked with growing dread. Monsters weren't usually psyched to have a mortal audience.

Percy didn't seem to hear anything at the moment but the words of the book, his attention laser focused and Riptide now fully in hand. They all sat uneasily in place and hoped this fight wrapped up quickly before he lost track of the fact there were no empousa in here to kill.

She picked up a tuba and threw it at me. Rachel and I ducked. The tuba sailed over our heads and crashed through the window.

"You got your tuba Alex," Jason half-heartedly reminded now.

"I wanted Rachel to throw it," he sighed with disappointment. "That's okay, I can imagine it landing on Kellie just fine without the book."

The voices in the hall died down.

"Percy!" Kelli shouted, pretending to be scared, "why did you throw that?"

"Oh shit," Magnus groaned, guessing exactly what she was doing. It really didn't seem fair Percy kept getting blamed when it was the monsters destroying the school and he just happened to be there. And he'd thought little of the justice system before this mess.

I was too surprised to answer. Kelli picked up a music stand and swiped a row of clarinets and flutes. Chairs and musical instruments crashed to the floor.

"Stop it!" I said.

People were tromping down the hall now, coming in our direction.

"Time to greet our visitors!" Kelli bared her fangs and ran for the doors. I charged after her with Riptide. I had to stop her from hurting the mortals.

"Percy, don't!" Rachel shouted. But I hadn't realized what Kelli was up to until it was too late.

Thalia tightly pinched the space between her eyes with defeat. Once again, she couldn't imagine chastising Percy for doing exactly what she would have done. He really would have made a great Hunter.

Percy still didn't seem to hear what the problem was now. He was tapping his feet rapid fire on the ground, tightening and loosening his grip on his sword with his urge not to swing it on anyone in here.

Kelli flung open the doors. Paul Blofis and a bunch of freshmen stepped back in shock. I raised my sword.

At the last second, the empousa turned toward me like a cowering victim.

"Oh no, please!" she cried. I couldn't stop my blade. It was already in motion.

Just before the celestial bronze hit her, Kelli exploded into flames like a Molotov cocktail. Waves of fire splashed over everything. I'd never seen a monster do that before, but I didn't have time to wonder about it. I backed into the band room as the flames engulfed the doorway.

"Paul," Percy muttered in a daze, shaking his head and finally coming back to himself in here with concern. He remembered Paul talking about some kid who accidentally started a trash fire when he'd tried to stub out a cigarette and Paul had gotten him off with a warning. He'd used that story as a way to assure Sally accidents happened and her accident prone son wouldn't be blamed for something like that.

That fire alarm had been really loud going off and still had nothing on the dread filling him at the shock, the horror on Paul's face. He'd almost rather it be Gabe sneering at him and calling him a freak.

"Percy?" Paul Blofis looked completely stunned, staring at me from across the fire. "What have you done?"

Kids screamed and ran down the hall. The fire alarm wailed. Ceiling sprinklers hissed to life.

In the chaos, Rachel tugged on my sleeve. "You have to get out of here!"

She was right. The school was in flames and I'd be held responsible.

Mortals couldn't see through the Mist properly. To them it would look like I'd just attacked a helpless cheerleader in front of a group of witnesses.

There was no way I could explain it. I turned from Paul and sprinted for the broken band room window.

Percy swallowed the bitter smell of smoke, the screaming and his own self-loathing for all the problems he caused. Paul would probably dump his mom after this, another screw up.

I burst out of the alley onto East 81st and ran straight into Annabeth.

"That's almost a step down from her usual grand entrances," Alex noted with mild disappointment. "I half expected her to show up and stab them for flirting with you."

"I don't know what you're talking about, her timing is still amazing," Percy grinned in delight just like he always did when the slightest exchange between them was revitalized in his mind, but there was something off about it than usual. He didn't glow and straighten up in his seat. He was starting to ask himself what the heck had possessed Annabeth to kiss someone so wholly not at her level.

"Hey, you're out early!" she laughed, grabbing my shoulders to keep me from tumbling into the street. "Watch where you're going, Seaweed Brain."

For a split second she was in a good mood and everything was fine. She was wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt and her clay bead necklace. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her gray eyes sparkled. She looked like she was ready to catch a movie, have a cool afternoon hanging out together.

Then Rachel Elizabeth Dare, still covered in monster dust, came charging out of the alley, yelling, "Percy, wait up!"

Annabeth's smile melted. She stared at Rachel, then at the school. For the first time, she seemed to notice the black smoke and ringing fire alarms.

The black singes on his shirt and wild look in his eyes probably caught on right about then too, Thalia winced. It was kind of sweet though, that Annabeth always smiled first at the sight of him and then everything else kicked in.

She frowned at me. "What did you do this time? And who is this?"

"Oh, Rachel—Annabeth. Annabeth—Rachel. Um, she's a friend, I guess."

I wasn't sure what else to call Rachel. I mean, I barely knew her, but after being in two life-or-death situations together, I couldn't just call her nobody.

"Why would you call her Annabeth?" Alex asked glibly.

"I have a cyclops who will chase you for a hug and I'm not afraid to use him," Percy answered.

"Hi," Rachel said. Then she turned to me. "You are in so much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation!"

Police sirens wailed on FDR Drive.

"Percy," Annabeth said coldly. "We should go."

"I want to know more about half-bloods," Rachel insisted. "And monsters. And this stuff about the gods." She grabbed my arm, whipped out a permanent marker, and wrote a phone number on my hand. "You're going to call me and explain, okay? You owe me that. Now get going."

"But—"

"I'll make up some story," Rachel said. "I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!"

She ran back toward the school, leaving Annabeth and me in the street.

Percy remembered her maroon shirt flapping around her and the slight burntness of one strand of red hair like she'd been too close to the fire too. A part of him wanted to go back in there with her. Maybe for once give Rachel and Paul that explanation they both deserved.

Annabeth was already walking off though. He could see her in his mind, her ponytail whacking him as she stalked away like he'd brought one of those empousa out to introduce instead of a mortal girl who had helped him out because he'd ruined her day too by attracting monsters.

He sighed, and knew he'd followed her. He'd follow her anywhere.

"Hey!" I jogged after her. "There were these two empousai," I tried to explain. "They were cheerleaders, see, and they said camp was going to burn, and—"

"You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?"

"She can see through the Mist. She saw the monsters before I did."

"So you told her the truth?"

"She recognized me from Hoover Dam, so—"

"You've met her before?"

"You didn't tell her about that?" Magnus asked in surprise. "No wonder she's so short with you."

"It was the highlight of the last book," Alex agreed in shock.

"Why would I tell Annabeth about nearly dying on a dam, or on a mountain, or in a museum?" Percy asked in exasperation. "There were evil skeletons chasing us across the country, Nico made them vanish!"

"I'm suddenly grateful somebody recorded your thoughts instead of you trying to explain all this," Jason frowned. "You are horrible at telling stories, including the one you just tried to tell Annabeth."

"I didn't ask for any of your opinions on this!" He snapped and slammed back into his seat.

"This chapter's almost done," Magnus promised, "hopefully, we um, get a change of subject."

"Um, last winter. But seriously, I barely know her."

"She's kind of cute."

"I—I never thought about it."

"That was probably the correct response," Alex still gave him a tragic look like he should be wearing a dunce cap. It was sort of funny to Alex, Annabeth was so instantly jealous of the first girl she ever saw Percy around. Weren't the Aphrodite kids at camp all over him? It would be interesting to to see if that was her real problem and it wasn't something else this had just brought up.

Annabeth kept walking toward York Avenue.

"I'll deal with the school," I promised, anxious to change the subject. "Honest, it'll be fine."

Annabeth wouldn't even look at me. "I guess our afternoon is off. We should get you out of here, now that the police will be searching for you."

Percy crossed his arms and glared at the cracks in the floor he'd caused. He felt like a shmuck, now ruining everybody's day around him too. There was no more laughter or jokes to be had because of him too.

"It's alright Percy," Will promised, "you remembering this can't be any more fun than the monster attacks."

"Thanks," Percy muttered, trying to unclench his jaw from how instantly stressed he felt from Annabeth being mad at him.

While Thalia shifted protectively beside him, wishing she could tell Annabeth to take a chill pill. The boy didn't know how to flirt, let alone find anyone other than her attractive.

Behind us, smoke billowed up from Goode High School. In the dark column of ashes, I thought I could almost see a face—a she-demon with red eyes, laughing at me.

Your pretty little camp in flames, Kelli had said. Your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time.

"You're right," I told Annabeth, my heart sinking. "We have to get to Camp Half-Blood. Now."

Magnus handed the book over to Alex with a wince. So much for his concern Annabeth would be the one to need someone in her corner, now he felt like he should be fleeing the scene.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

Here at last! Oh the things to look forward to in this book! My personal favorite is the three parter of the Demon Dude Ranch. Let me know what you're looking forward to?

#pjo #reading the books #fanfiction #Percy Jackson #Thalia Grace #Jason Grace #nico di angelo #will solace #Happy birthday will solace #alex fierro #Magnus Chase #HDYSG's

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