#i don't know what joke Magnus told
Text
When Jeannemary Chatur opened her eyes she expected to see The Ninth sitting across the lyctor laboratory. What she saw instead was the face of Abigail Pent smiling warmly down at her, Issac and Magnus over either shoulder. Jeanne's heart jumped into her throat at seeing Issac wanting to jump up and hug him, but when she fully processed the adults standing there it was an icy fist around her oesophagus. Jeanne refused to let tears well up, fighting down the emotion until Abigail folded her into a hug. When Abigail pressed Jeannemary's feverish eyes against her cool clavicle, the tears would not be stopped.
Jeanne cried like the child she never truly was, not even noticing the absence of Isaac and Magnus as her arms wrapped around Abigail like a vice. Jeanne tried to stop speaking, but apologies would not stop falling from her lips between sobs. “It was my fault Abigail, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. I promise I didn't mean it. I was just angry. I promise I was just angry, please don't be mad. Please don't leave again, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.”
Abigail gently moved Jeannemary back to look her in the eye, gently stroking her hair and rubbing a cool thumb over her temple. “Jeanne, darling, what are you talking about?” Abigail asked, voice gently coaxing. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“But I do,” Jeanne wailed, unable to meet Abigail's eyes, focusing on the steady movement of her ribs expanding and contracting with breath. “When you hushed Issac at the dinner I got so angry. And then after that when you told him to not get our key, I just thought... I wished that you weren't there. I wished that we could've existed without you hovering over our shoulders. Stopping us from doing anything you thought was dangerous.”
Abigail opened her mouth to respond, but Jeannemary cut her off. “Whatever was in the facility felt my emotions. It knew that I was angry. So it's my fault you died, if I hadn't gotten angry you and Magnus wouldn't have been attacked. I stopped loving you for just a moment, and because of that you died and-”
Abigail hushed Jeannemary with a gentle thumb over her lips, strong workers hands gentle on her mandible. “It wasn't a ghost and it wasn't spirits Jeanne. My darling sweet girl, it was the Seventh. The thing pretending to be Lady Septimus. When I was down in the facility, I found traces of her. Traces that were old. When you and Issac called, we tried so hard to answer but she blocked us.”
Abigail paused for a breath, marshaling her thoughts before continuing. “I know it's hard to believe, but I do remember what it's like to be a rebellious teenager,” Abigail said, lightly tweaking one of Jeanne's earrings. “I know you can only imagine me as a teenager using stone tools fresh from the resurrection, but I wasn't young that long ago. You're 14, which to me is so very young. But you're also the oldest you've ever been. The oldest you ever will be. You look in the mirror and see a young woman, fully capable of making her own decisions because you were never able to be anything else. I look at you and I see a child in the horrid throes of puberty. I can't help but want to wrap you and keep you safe Jeannemary.”
“I don't need to be kept safe!” Jeannemary snapped, anger damming the flow of tears. “You were the one who needed protection. If we had been with you, if you hadn't been so worried about our safety, maybe we could've beaten them. Or maybe they wouldn't have attacked at all. But because you decided that the Fifth was going to annex the Fourth, control the Fourth, you died. And Issac died trying to avenge you! Your choices cost you your life, which was terrible but it was your own life to lose; but they also cost Issac his life, and I can't forgive you for that.”
Abigail reared back, letting the metaphorical slap land clearly. “I'm sorry Jeanne. I'm sorry for getting you wrapped up in the mess that we made. If I had known, not what would happen, but that it would harm you and Issac in any way, I never would've taken that first step off the shuttle. Because while my final cause was the lyctor... my true death came when I was foolish with that first step.”
“Why did you take the step at all?” Jeannemary asked, honestly curious. “Why follow directions from someone that you didn't know had your best interests at heart?”
Abigail worked her hands in the air between them, like kneading dough. “Because, that first step, and every step after was to be in pursuit of my passion. I didn't take the step because I didn't love you or Isaac or Magnus. I took it because I thought I was safe. I was never hurt before, and so I thought I wouldn't be hurt now. I thought that someone with a better vantage must've been looking out for my safety before asking me to embark on some foolish errand. But they weren't, and I was complacent in my mortality.” Abigail took both of Jeanne's hands in hers, stroking her thumbs over Jeanne's knuckles.
“Who did you think was looking out for you?” Jeannemary asked, looking down at Abigail's hands, shoulders losing some of their tension.
“I know it's probably quite silly,” Abigail began, “But I thought the Emperor must've been looking out for us, for all of us. There were strange energy signatures coming from Teacher and the other priests, so I thought that they must've been communicating with him somehow. But, I was wrong, if he was watching he didn't see fit to save me.”
“He's the King Undying, he's God,” Jeannemary protested. “Why wouldn't he save you? Why would he let any of us die? He asked for us, so he has a duty to save us doesn't he? Maybe he'll bring us back once this is all over.”
Abigail did not have the heart to share her suspicions with Jeannemary about why the Emperor would let her die, or why he would not put forth the effort to save the Fourth. “He might try that,” Abigail allowed, “He is God, but he was a man, with all the fallibility that entails. Sometimes people with too much power don't realize how to use it for the good of those under them. But that's a conversation for tomorrow, let's go and see Issac and Magnus.”
When they saw Magnus and Issac, Issac had an arm thrown over his eyes in teenage grief. “Magnus... Maaagnnnuuuusssss, that's a terrible joke Magnus.”
#tlt fic#Gideon the ninth spoilers#jeannemary chatur#abigail pent#i don't know what joke Magnus told#give me your best terrible joke
36 notes
·
View notes
Text
Why didn't you say something??❤️- Leo Valdez x Poseidon Cabin reader.
Yo, I am SO sorry this took me so long to make, It's just been a very busy break which is a big contradiction.... ps I am so sorry for this SHITTY writing.
Summary: reader doesn't like pda but leo does, and I mean, just read it. I am soooo sorry if this is not what you wanted
Warnings: Cursing, kissing, maybe some dirty jokes?? Angst but it's fluffy. maybe some ooc characters bcs I'm reading magnus chase rn
It had been a few months since you and Leo had started dating, and you were, addmitadly kinda worried about it. Don't get me wrong, you were so happy about it, Leo was the best boyfriend you could ever ask for, but he was extremely a bit touchy. You loved leo, butt you just didn't like touch that much. Like, a high five, a kiss on the cheek, and maybe a hug every now and then, but you weren't an all around PDA person. Leo, on the other hand, loved it. He always had a hand on you, on your shoulder, your thigh, your ass. And even though you weren't exactly shy when you wanted something, you really didn't want to insult Leo, so you just went with it. But you eventually got tired of it. So you went to the best person you could think of; Percy.
" Yo, Seaweed Brain!" You called out "Percy c'mere" Percy turned around, and you walked over to him.
"What's up y/n/n" he said patting your head. You swatted his hand away.
"Hey! No touchie." You said.
"Right," he said lowering his hand. "What's up" you sighed
"So you know how I'm dating Leo right?" Percy rolled his eyes.
"Yeah"
"And you know how he loves... PDA?" Percy nodded.
"And you know how, I... don't?" Percy finally seemed to understand.
"Is he not listening?" He asked. "Because if he's not respecting you I can drown him." Percy warned.
"No no no no no! It's not like that," exclaimed. Percy's head tilted to the side. "I- I uh- I haven't told him." You admitted. Percy's expression turned exasperated.
"Dam y/n! What do you want me to do about that?" He asked
"I don't know! Give me older brotherly advice maybe?" Percy considered this.
"Tell him." You looked at him exasperated.
"Oh my gods thank you that's never came to mind." You said sarcastically.
You walked away and sat in your cabin. You didn't know what to do. You were a fucking big 3 kid, a child of poseidon! You had fought millions of monsters. But you couldn't tell your boyfriend how you feel.
~T-t-t-time skipppppp~
Leo POV
Leo was nervous. He didn't show it, but he was. And it was because of y/n. He loves his s/o, he really does, but lately he has noticed that you didn't respond to his affection like you used to. When he put an arm around your waist, you didn't squeeze back like you used to. Oh my gods did I do something wrong? DO THEY WANT TO BREAK UP?
Leo was frantic. So he did the best thing he could think of. He went to Percy.
"Yo seaweed brain!" Leo whisper yelled as he broke into cabin 3 at 3:00 in the morning. "Wake up!" Percy squirmed.
"What the fuck do you want?!" Percy replied.
"Shhhh, don't wake up y/n" Leo said. Percy grumbled some colorful words that would impress even Arion. "Um, is y/n okay, because I noticed that they aren't as touchy as they used to be and-" Percy cut leo off.
"Leo I swear did you come in here to tell me about your lovers quarrel because I DON'T KNOW!"
Leo emerged from there very wet.
Dam, Leo thought. Leo was scared, and he had been scared his whole life. He list other people, and he most definitely did not want to lose you. So he did something that was the worst decision he could make. He stopped being so touchy.
Reader POV
"Percy? Percy?" You called.
"What the fuck do you want this time." Percy said not even saying hi.
'Damn, I must have annoyed him.' You thought to yourself.
"Dam Perce I just wanted to ask a question.'" Percy looked unconvinced. You continued "has Leo said anything about me, because he seems less touchy and-" you get cut off
"Get the fuck away from me."
Okay I am so sorry for this but uhm, I have been so busy and I dint have a lot of time so I will post this really quick just to get something out there and if this gets 20 likes I will put out part 2 as fast as I possibly can.
#pjo hoo toa#x reader#fanfic#pjo#percy jackson#heroes of olympus#connor stoll x reader#leo valdez x reader#percy jackson x reader#percy and annabeth#annabeth chase#Chb x reader
171 notes
·
View notes
Text
As I see the word around me turning pink (or, in some cases, purple), I've decided that it's time to make a sequel to that tma post. Yes, I'm at episode 20. No, I'm not okay (I promise). Perhaps, I need therapy. Anyways, enjoy:
The Magnus Archives but I've met the fandom (and am even more confused)
There's an Archivist (you have to use the capital letter if you want to survive), his name is Jon,sometimes Jonathan and sometimes Jalapeño.
He is also somehow the author of the podcast, and the guy speaking. I don't know how. Nothing feels real anymore.
Apparently, he brings the romantic side of the podcast. I'm glad. He should think about bringing the "makes sense" side too.
#JusticeForMartin2024
Get. Sasha. And. Tim. Some. Fucking. Representation.
There's Gerard Keay, who doesn't have anything to do with Gerard Way (I checked), and I love him.
He's also very dead. My point still stands.
WHERE IS THAT FUCKING HOMOPHOBIC VASE WHY DON'T YOU WANT ME TO UNDERSTAND YOUR INSIDE JOKE, WHY?
There's a guy named Evan Lukas, whose name reminds me of another guy. Was it James Lukas? Peter Lukas? George Lukas? Not a single idea.
Five people told me to be scared of the Mikes.
Who are they?
Is that a sect? A typo? A secret level you unlock once you understand what that vase joke refers to?
There's a secret link between everything.
Is it that every one of the stories involves being scared of something, and being alone?
Wait. Nevermind. That's a horror podcast, people are usually scared in these. I'm trying to be logical here.
I miss Gerard Keay.
OH WAIT WAIT SORRY I DIDN'T TELL Y'ALL THAT JALAPENO CAME OUT OF HIS RECORDING CLOSET TO TALK TO A MADAM. THAT REALLY DISTURBED HIM AND HE HAD TO LOCK HIMSELF AGAIN TO RECOVER, BUT I'M PROUD OF THE PROGRESS HE MADE
Michael is not okay. Do they need help?
I don't know their pronouns, and people answered with really disturbing and unhelpful things. Could someone help?
I kinda like Michael. Even if they're blonde.
Unless they're part of the Mikes. I have a bad feeling about the Mikes.
Uhh lots of blood, spiders, worms, death, spooky nights, people being alone, eyes everywhere, insanity, blood sacrifices, the Unknown, and evil books.
Oh, and drugs. Very important, the drugs
Leaving you with that, hope I didn't miss a very important point. May the stars shine in your direction, or whatever.
#tma#discovery of the tma universe#jonathan sims#martin blackwood#gerard keay#and every spooky thing that deserves to be tagged there. wahoo.
48 notes
·
View notes
Note
maybe prompts for reader insert with mtmte rodimus having a trauma nightmare and the reader waking him up/comforting him...? 👉👈
Rodimus X Reader
Oops Rodimus hurt/comfort
Rodimus hasn’t been sleeping well lately. You thought it was because he was working way too hard, but you really didn’t know.
Everytime you’d suggest he go to the medbay or maybe even Rung, he’d just grin at you. “What? I’m tip-top shape!” Before you could say anything else, he’d rush off.
You’d talked to Ratchet about it, but Ratchet told you that if Rodimus refused to come in, there wasn’t too much he could do. Though he would join you in pestering him.
When it was time for you to sleep, you decided to check in with Rodimus. You knocked on his door and heard panicked mumbles. “Rodimus? Roddy?” You asked through the door.
When you heard more whimpers, you barged into the room. There was Rodimus, tossing and turning on his berth. Fear was present on his face. You crawled up onto his berth, then onto his torso. You took his face in your hands and shook him a little. “Roddy, wake up honey. Come on.”
Bright blue optics snapped open as he sat up quickly. You fell to his lap with a grunt and he looked around with a terrified look in his eyes. When he looked down and saw you, his vents exhaled.
“Y/N? What are you doing in my room?”
You pushed yourself up. “I heard you mumbling. I was worried.” His face still had traces of fear, though a lot less. “You were having a nightmare?”
“No. I don't get nightmares- I’m the captain.” He puffed his chest out as he joked.
While it was funny, you frowned a little more. “Rodimus. Please- Talk to me. I’m worried for you.” Your tiny hand grabbed his giant servo.
Rodimus’ optics dimmed slightly as he laid back in the berth. “I- yeah. I guess I’m having a few nightmares.”��
“Do you… want to talk about them?”
Rodimus shook his head. “No. I don’t think so.”
“M’kay.” You began to get comfortable on his chest.
“Wh-what are you doing?” A pink tint flushed his face.
You grinned up at him. “I’m tired too. I’ll be your guardian angel, ‘kay?”
Rodimus felt a small smile climb on his face. He placed his servo over your body gently like a blanket and offlined his optics. You both soon quickly fell into a comfortable sleep, with no nightmares to wake either of you up.
In the morning, Ultra Magnus barged into Rodimus’ room. “Rodimus, you’re late fo-” he cut himself off when he saw you both sleeping soundly, smiles on your faces. He sighed and shook his head with a smile also on his faceplates. “Young bots these days…”
#fluff#rodimus x reader#rodimus x reader implied#ultra magnus#nightmares#comfort#hurt/comfort#rodimus prime#mtmte#maccaddams#tw nightmares#rodimus#more than meets the eye
149 notes
·
View notes
Text
Something I find interesting is Travis wasn't actually the one that said Magnus threatened to kill Lucas if he ever saw him again
That was a joke Griffin made about Magnus still being trapped under the mirror, and it was directed at MAUREEN, not Lucas
The closest other things to that were these two parts from ch7 and ch11
The first screenshot, Lucas is like nowhere near them at that point
And I guess the second screenshot kind of canonizes the joke Griffin made? Because Lucas referenced it and Magnus was like "no promises" but some people treat it as this whole big thing when honestly it really wasn't
And while I'm typing this I thought of something else so two prawnderings in one !
I really don't think Magnus actually HATED Lucas past the confrontation and it was more of like a heat of the moment thing and also the fact Lucas did what Magnus couldn't - bring a loved one back
He treated him like. normally in every exchange after that
Gonna talk about the San Diego liveshow and I KNOOOWWWW it's ambiguously canon but also even then still like. You know. Would Magnus really let Lucas put a brain spike in his and his friends' heads and put them in the fucking Matrix if he wasn't at LEAST neutral on him
(Also the "anymore" implies they let him do science to them at other points too)
I seriously do not think Magnus actually had real beef with Lucas after tck and some people in the fandom reaaaallyyyyyy play it up and their relationship is kind of this whole game of telephone in the fandom because from what I've seen everyone is entirely uninterested in relistening to Crystal Kingdom or the two liveshows Lucas is in
And some act like Magnus genuinely wanted to kill him when in the San Jose liveshow he was like EXPLICITLY told to kill Lucas and then he didn't
#guys they became friends after story and song trust#admittedly i played magnus' “hatred” for lucas up in my fic but shhh shhhhh shhhhh#taz balance#magnus burnsides#lucas miller#prawndering
18 notes
·
View notes
Text
Chapter 10 and 11 of Harrow the Ninth
I wonder if this scene in the library with Magnus and Abigail is based on something that Harrow actually experienced in Gideon the Ninth that Gideon wasn't aware of, because it happened during the part of the book when they were separated? Although, I'm not sure why Harrow is in the library in this scene. If she was looking for something in there, that's never mentioned, and I'm sure she wasn't there to listen to Ortus recite the Noniad. I think at this stage in Gideon the Ninth, Harrow was actually making a thorough sweep of Canaan House and drawing maps and marking down and labeling all of the locked doors. But in this rendition, they've already been given the facility key and told that they're meant to go down there, and no one has said anything about locked doors to them yet
Not Harrow calling Magnus a moron! I'm so sorry, Magnus
Honestly enjoying Ortus's passive-aggressive sass in this chapter
Yes, I got that one. Why save this for this book, though? Magnus finding an ancient Lyctoral dick joke carved into the wall of the men's room would have fit in perfectly with the ambience of Gideon the Ninth. Also, I like how apparently Magnus started this interaction by talking about this dick joke and then Ortus somehow turned that into a conversation about the Noniad
That probably means that that question has an interesting answer. I wonder what it is
I like that we're now getting more details on what Abigail's designation as "speaker of the dead" actually means, even though she was killed at the end of the second act of the first book and I figured we'd never get to find that out
Or at least you do when your cavalier is Ortus. It's kind of interesting that no one said or did anything in Gideon the Ninth to indicate that they thought Abigail and Magnus being married was weird, and we only found out it was weird at the end of the book reading the essay about the relationship between cavaliers and necromancers. But I guess maybe that just comes down to Gideon not knowing anything about what that relationship meant, so if anyone else had reacted she probably wouldn't have noticed
I also like how Magnus is the kind of guy who's like "by the way Abigail is my wife. Have I mentioned that Abigail is my wife? Because she is definitely my wife. Wife wife wife"
I like how Harrow doesn't like the Noniad, but she has read it, and can give a precise play-by-play of this particular scene, including how many lines each of these events takes. I guess there's not much else to do in the Ninth House
I wonder if Abigail did say something like this to her in actual fact. In Gideon the Ninth, when they were preparing to go to the anniversary party, Gideon described Harrow as being afraid, but thought that it didn't make sense for it to be social anxiety or something like that, and in spite of the fact that she told Gideon that she was suspicious of the food, she didn't seem to be suspicious of the food at the actual event. So I wonder if it was because Abigail had said this to her during a scene that Gideon wasn't part of
Still not sure what this is about. Someone is trying to have a baby? Is it somehow related to Gideon's birth? It honestly sounds a bit like Mercy but that doesn't seem right
Please, Ortus, "Heroes are passé, you see", "I'm certain your studies have kept you from the full breadth of the classics", you are on a roll here. I can't decide if he is mocking Harrow's comeback, or if this is a thing where Harrow is giving herself a hint that this is all her imagination and these kinds of lines don't actually happen in real life events
"She"
Yeah, it's interesting, in this whole conversation they have, Harrow is yelling at him, and he's just being outwardly submissive and polite but also being passive-aggressive and showing that he's smarter or more educated than Harrow in some respects, and that just makes her madder, and there's like, no exit strategy for this conflict. Whereas, when Gideon found Harrow in a bone cocoon in the basement and Harrow tried to argue that she was fine and knew what she was doing, Gideon was just like "no, shut up, you're being dumb" and "don't die in a bone" in a completely forthright way, and eventually Harrow was like "...yeah, ok". Ortus would have been like "I'm sure you know exactly what you're doing and keep your physical health in mind at all times, my lady" and then Harrow would have yelled at him some more
Not sure what to make of Harrow sleepwalking to go try to kill Cytherea a second time. Was this caused by the haunted sword? Does Harrow just unconsciously hate Cytherea that much for making Gideon sacrifice herself?
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
Some random SVE headcanon:
(cw: a little NSFW, I think. There's barely mention here, but I warned you, just in case)
Can you imagine what an awkward situation it would be if the Farmer needed to tell someone about Mr. Qi, and how you met him? They had to tell about a mysterious stranger who rewards them for completing his challenges and all. And either Magnus, or Marlon, or even mages and adventurers from Castle Village need information about this person for some reason (in my headcanon, they don't know about Mr. Qi, he is very mysterious for them, and they may even consider him a threat). Now think about how the Farmer will explain this. "I put a rainbow shell in a box, then a beetroots in the mayor's refrigerator, and then a solar essence in the mouth of a dead dragon/dinosaur in the desert, now I'm a member of the gambling club and that's how we met." What the actual fuck?
Not to mention the "milk" situation on the 100th floor in the Skull Cavern, there's a whole new level of awkwardness here:
Camilla: "So tell us more about this Mr. Qi."
Farmer: "Well, I already told you how we met in Calico Dessert, but it was not the last meeting. On my journey, I came across a note that said 'someone is waiting for me at floor 100 in the Skull Cavern'. And... It was him again."
Lance: "Skull Cavern? I have heard that the place is teeming with iridium ore, and also that many adventurers have not returned from this dangerous place."
Farmer: "Yeah, this place is no joke, but I did it! It was a pain in the ass, but still worth it. So, I met Mr. Qi and he praised me for passing his test with dignity, without a crafting ladder."
Magnus: "Hmmm, interesting. Please continue."
Farmer: "Well, he praised me, and offered me to drink his weird milk. Disgusting and goopy stuff, but I became much stronger, and..."
Alesia: "Wait wait, hold on. He offered you what?"
Farmer: 'Uuhhh, iridium milk. He said it was from a snake."
Alesia: ...
Alesia: "A milk... from a snake?"
Farmer: "Well, yes. And what?"
Magnus: "... You telling us, that a stranger gave you his milk...from a snake? And you drank it?"
Farmer: "I mean, yeah? What's wrong with..." *Realizes how it sounds WITHOUT context*
Farmer: .......
Farmer: "Wait, no, I- I can explain..."
Everyone: ..........
Camilla: *Laughing her ass off*
Marlon: "... We REALLY need to talk with you about stranger-danger."
#sve#stardew valley expanded#sdv#stardew valley#sve camilla#sve alesia#sve lance#sdv marlon#sdv wizard#sdv rasmodius#sve magnus#God what a long post#But I can't get rid of these thoughts#shitpost i guess#sve headcanons#the adventures of the disaster farmer#sdv mr qi
246 notes
·
View notes
Text
Cu-wip-osity tag game >:D
@cash-n-prizes really told me to get my ass in gear and WELL, here I am so here we go!
rules: reveal the titles of the documents in your WIP folder and tag as many people as there are documents. let others ask questions about the ones that interest them, and post snippets or explain the contents as you see fit!
Tagging: there are too many people to tag and i don’t talk to that many people sooooo whoever wants can tag in. Trust me, I cannot tag that many people for this.
And Then there were three - SH, Angel & Baaabe
Roses n’ Thorns - Darlin/Quinn (past) - Darren(Darlin) used to be in a band with Quinn called Rose n’ Thorns. Yes, I did in fact write Darr being in a band with Quinn into his actual backstory, fuck timelines and canon, I do what I want.
Spell slot - Lovely(electro)/Vincent
Gotcha bitch! - Darlin/pack - poly Shaw pack - Darren (Darlin) has a breakdown when the pack throws him a surprise birthday party
In the face of eternity - Lovely(Vampire)
Who’s ya daddy? - SH/Milo (ft. Colm) - Sadhil (SH) realizes that he and Milo have daddy issues, except SH used to work for Milo’s daddy.
Pretty Girl(gn) Walk - Angel/Darlin/David(minor)
Self-portrait - Gavin/FL - Gavin has too many hobbies but this new one is fun.
Stellar Collapse - Starlight
Fed to the Wolves - David/Darlin
The importance of Couch sharing - Poly Shaw Pack - David/Darlin/Asher/Milo
Backup Generator - DAMN Polycule & Lovely(Vampire)/Vincent
Extra Lessons - Sam/FL/Darlin
Come Back to Haunt - David & SH
Do you have an appointment? - Sam/FL - R18
Hate to see em leave, Love to watch em go - Poly Shaw pack - Asher/Milo/David/Darlin - Asher and Milo talk about David & Darren (Darlin) behind their backs but they’re specifically talking about their behinds - R18
Sweet Dreams (are made of this) - Sunshine/Elliott
Dahlia Empowered Records & Profiles Department - audio project - Magnus Archives parody but make it Redacted
Honestly…no - David/Darlin
A Pack of Idiots - Poly Shaw Pack:
"I'm in love with Asher." David said.
The room went quiet after that as Sadhil and Milo's eyes locked onto their alpha in disbelief–more specifically disbelief in the fact that David actually said the very thing that everyone in the pack would joke about when they saw him and his beta together in any capacity. The key word there being 'joked' because no one actually expected it to be true. Sadhil had the mind to question the statement further but got beat to the opportunity to speak.
"Well no shit, Sherlock." Darren replied. "Took you that long to figure out?"
Now eyes were going back and forth between Tank and David, the bigger wolf looking at the usually quiet shifter in bewilderment as they met his gaze with nonchalance. The investigator could already feel the tensions rising and if they knew both of their fellow pack members well enough then there'd be more to this.
"What do you mean, long enough?"
"–Darr means," Milo is the one to speak up this time, cutting off Tank from making anymore frank remarks and riling the other man up, "that we can all tell."
"What?”
Running Memories - Darlin focused
Can You Roll a Charisma Check? - Lasko/Listener (pre-canon listener) - Lasko finds out that someone new has joined his DnD group and he’s definitely gonna have to roll high if he wants to impress them
Out for Blood - Sam/Darlin - R18
What if we all dated each other? - DAMN Polycule
In-Spectre - Yes I know that’s name of an anime, I’m being funny - SH/Milo:
"Why don't I take you dancin' some time?"
"You got two feet shorter than myself there, toots. You think you can keep up?" Sadhil smirks.
Bad Dog - (Dom) Darlin/ Sam - R18:
"Course not." The vampire huffs. "I know you better than that Darlin."
"Do you really, doc?" Darren smiles as crosses his arms and slowly strides over to Sam from across the bar with a sly grin. "Because I know for a fact that there's a side to me you haven't met yet and he wants to make you beg like a hungry mutt."
Sam Collins has never in his life wanted anything more than just to let his mate have their way with him right now. He doesn't have time to question why when the one thing racing in his mind is to let Darren use and abuse him like a bone for his wolf to chew on, and he'll be damned if he doesn't let tonight be the night for that to happen.
"Where?"
"As much as I would like to fuck you in one of the stalls here, I want your ass on a bed where I can have it to myself tonight."
Broke Back Mountain - Sam/Huxley
Ghostly Touches - Lasko/SH/Milo - R18
Don’t Hold Your Breath - DAMN Polycule
Two Birds - David/Darlin
Worth of Chance - SH & Colm
Sway - Vincent/Lovely
Heart Strings - Asher/Baaabe/Darlin
Keeping Track of Things 1 & 2 - Darlin/Sam (feat. BE & Fred)
Reset Button - Lovely(Vampire) & Sam
Ghosted - SH/Sam/Darlin
Parks & Recreation - Darlin/David
Anyways, have fun~
#redacted asmr#redacted audio#redactedverse#redacted fandom#ask meme#ask#ask game#inbox#redacted fanfic#redacted fanfiction#redacted asmr fanfic#redacted audio fanfic#writing wip#wips
24 notes
·
View notes
Text
untied spell | Alec Lightwood
words count: idk sorry
gender neutral reader! x Alec Lightwood
warning: angst, my fav
summary: the nigh of Max's party at Bane's, a truth was revealed, a painful one, yours
English is not my first language loves, trying my best, enjoy :)
"dear, so glad you came" Magnus welcomed you inside the house, his sharp eyes the first thing that reminded you you were in trap.
"how could I not come, after all, it is Max's party" a sigh escaping your lips as Magnus closed the door behind your back.
"here" he handed you a drink, his mouth close to your ear "I know you and Alexander aren't in the best of terms now but I beg of you let's enjoy the evening"
a light of amusement crossed your face "what the high warlock of Brooklyn says.." a gulp as the drink slide into your throat.
as Magnus looked at you make your way into the living room he couldn't help but sigh "this is going to be a disaster".
as soon as your eyes met Izzies a calming wave washed over your body "so glad I found you" you admitted as soon as the dark haired reached for your arm to interlock with hers.
"So glad you found the right member of the Lightwood family you mean"
you couldn't help but glare as she put her hands up in surrender "alright, got it, I'm sorry".
finding out you were not the only Herondale left was one thing, discovering your younger brother was Jace Wayland was a total different matter.
you would have be the happiest to hear the news if not only the closest friend you had didn't hide it from you.
"for your own good" Alec had said, but it just made you want to throw up.
"you don't have a clue on what's good for me" you had replied the night you had found out.
safe to say, you avoided the man since.
you and Izzy went for the bar, ordering the strongest they had with only a thought in mind, the time of your departure.
"why hasn't Max still arrived?"
"Alec was meant to take him but he's running late"
"as usual" you felt the need to add, as you sipped from your second drink, it was strong.
when you turned to the door again you saw him, his place steady, his eyes hard, all that gloomy act and Alec was still Alec, a ferocious dog without teeth.
"let's go great Max" Isabelle dragged you toward the small circle as you looked at everyone but him.
"my little hunter!" exclaimed the girl hugging the boy thigh as you smiled down at him "guess you'll be my next right arm huh?" you joked ruffling his hair.
"you bet since everyone seems to die when they get close to you" your head shot in Alec's direction, your eyes as thin as those of a fox "what did you just say?"
the man shook his head, looking around for support, "what do you mean?" he asked.
you were about to bark back when Magnus stood between you two, his voice louder "ah! it is a great party, let's leave the celebrated to it".
eyes glaring while you sighed hard, "need another drink".
the rest of the evening went down better than expected, Alec seemed to respect your boundaries, in fact, you were able to avoid him for most of the night.
it wasn't until you saw Clary shot for the bar on the left that something just switched.
"i have to go" you told a tipsy Isabelle as you left the couches, your steps taking you to the terrace when you noticed a door slightly open, someone laying on the floor.
your feet stopped as you regained consciousness, what was going on?
only when you made your way inside the room you spotted a terrified Jace on the right.
"Jace! what is going on?" you asked reaching for who you had recognized was Maryse Lightwood laying unconscious on the floor.
"she tried to kill me!" he spoke, his voice harsh yet panicked, "Maryse?" you asked, too unlikely to be true.
"yes!" he half screamed as he approached you, his eyes wet with tears and his jaw hard.
he was in pain and it pained you too.
your brother, was in pain, your brother, was in pain.
you didn't know how you arrived to that conclusion but suddenly, as bright as day, the culprit's name flashed before your eyes.
Alec.
Alec was the reason your brother was in pain, the reason you yourself were.
you marched out of the room, a surprised Isabelle crossing your path as she got in.
"y/n!" she called for you, but it was late now, you were already half way to the terrace when you spot him.
Lost gaze as he was stearing at the night sky, his back facing you.
he felt someone approaching and was quick to turn around: "y/n.." he had the time to say before you pushed him backwords, hands searching for the daggers behind your back.
"y/n!" he screamed now, his eyes blank as he was glaring at you.
"hiding my brother for me is a thing, but hurting him?" you half screamed, daggers now in view.
then, the unexpected happened, his lips lift into a dark smile as he chuckled "what am I? the bane of your existence?" he laughed.
you were taken aback, losing your steadiness as you stumbled back, his body swinging forward as he took the daggers out of your hands, hitting the ground hard.
"what is going on with you?" Alec asked but you couldn't help but hear "Just say it, we both know what your problem is".
your heart roared as you jumped on him, fist swinging, as he tried to block you as best as he could.
"you know nothing about me!" you screamed.
"I do, I always did" he spoke, as you fell on the concrete, his body steadying you as he positioned himself above you.
"you are not mad at me because I've hidden Jace is your brother, you are mad because you are a worthless piece of shit, the weak of the family and the soft hearted", your hands burning as you were trying to get free, "all this time and you were just trying to run away from your feeling, from your feelings for m-"
"no!" you screamed as your feet kicked him on the back, the boy crawling to the floor.
you looked like an animal, a beast as you jumped to Alec's lap, your fist white as you aimed for his face.
"you have to stay away from me!" you screamed, gatting the dagger from the ground as you pressed it to Alec's throat.
your eyes watery as ho looked at you sympathetically.
"y/n!" you heard a voice as you suddenly snapped out of it.
your hands trembling as you throw the dagger away, looking at Alec on the ground, his eyes soft, in pain.
"I'm sorry" you mumbled, quickly getting on your feet again.
Magnus rushed forward as he touched your shoulder softly, "I'm sorry he was-", "he was saying things I-", "I'm sorry".
you felt like throwing up.
"Alec!" Maryse rushed forward, kneeling on the ground, "what happened?"
"I'm fine" he breathed, his eyes glued to his opponent's face.
"y/n" the boy spoke, getting on his feet "are you alright?".
"have you all lost your minds?" Maryse barked, shooting for Jace who was now standing behind you and Magnus.
"you almost killed me!"
"do you all hear what she is saying to me?"
"Jace" Clary touched the man's shoulder as Simon entered the room.
"what is wrong?" he asked, "Maia is by the bar if you are wondering" Clary blunted stern.
"something's wrong" you heard Magnus whisper as he left your side, making his way inside the apartment.
"don't you ever spoke to me again" you stated with gritted teeth, eyes wet with tears as Alec looked at you with that same very eyes.
"don't be ridiculous" he answered.
you turned your back as you left the crowd, your brother trying to reach you but failing.
you had just touched the door's knob as Alec held your arm forcing you to turn around.
"reason with me" he pleaded "let's be logical".
"I can't!" you answered with a ferocity that broke the man's heart.
"you know why" a string seemed to unlace inside your head and your vision cleared again, but it didn't change the fact that it was obvious now, at least to you.
"y/n" he breathed.
"we know why" and you left the room praying for the night to end painlessly.
part 2?
masterlist
mia
© 2023 of Mia (arosesstorm). All Rights Reserved.
#alec lightwood imagine#imagine#fanfic#netflix#alec lightwood#alec lightwood bane#alec lightwood x reader#gender neutral fanfic#gender neutrality#gender neutral reader#gender neutral sub#shadowhunters fanfiction#shadow and bone#shadowhunters#the shadowhuter chronicles#shadowhunters edit#shadowhunters tv#shadowhunters incorrect quotes#magnus bane#isabelle lightwood#clary fairchild#shadowhunter#x reader#x you#reader insert#angst
193 notes
·
View notes
Text
One of the things I love most about the Balance finale that's different from the finales of the other campaigns is that after the last scene, they added a bit where they step out of the story to joke a little more about how it's over and to officially say goodbye as themselves out of character. And what makes that work that wouldn't have worked with the other campaigns is the fact that in the very first episode, right before they got into it, Griffin set up the whole "let's step into the imagosphere here" like, setting up that this is a story that is being told and not just a story that is happening. And the fact that during Balance, more than any other campaign, they routinely stepped out of character to talk and goof which really gave it a more storybook feel, very Princess Bride like. So ending it with them stepping out of character to talk is a really satisfying piece of circular storytelling, and I love circular storytelling. It's literally the best. That's also what I love most about Magnus' scene with Julia because it ends with Magnus about to tell the whole story again from the beginning and Griffin finishes the scene with saying "Magnus rushes in" for the last time.
Of course, the finales of the other campaigns are really good too, and I love them a lot and appreciate and am grateful for the fact that they didn't do that with the others because it would have been super weird and not great since they weren't set up for it at all. And that's honestly one of my favorite things about the McElroys storytelling. They know when is the right time to do certain things to make the story better and when those same things wouldn't work and just leave them out. Including when they should joke and when they should be serious. And the fact that they don't go back and rerecord scenes except for like, two very specific examples that didn't have to do with knowing when to be serious, so they're almost always aware and don't step on each other when they want to have a serious scene and AAAAAHHHHH
They're just really thoughtful players and storytellers, and I lost the main point of this post, so now there's two main points: the McElroys are amazing storytellers because they don't step on each other and are aware of when to be serious especially since their main jobs are basically to be comedians and they know when it's appropriate and adds something to the story and when jokes need to leave the room and the McElroys are amazing storytellers because they know when to use certain storytelling devices to add to the experience and when those same devices wouldn't work AND the not so secret third thing: circular storytelling is literally the best thing in the world and I love when people use it
142 notes
·
View notes
Note
(I'm not explicit but TW/SA)
Hi Dani darling, I'm in bed a little sick because of the high temperatures in my country (fuck everyone who doesn't believe in global warming) and you see, sometimes I watch crime videos on YouTube and I was watching one about female actresses crimes, about coercion and SA, I got to thinking about Max's work at TLND.
Will Max and Rafe ever find out about Joshua Rain? I understand that parents have secrets, to take care of themselves. But these types of secrets always come to light. My mother has told me things after ten or fifteen years, when I am ready to know and understand them. When it is inevitable that you will find out.
And I was thinking that Max is working at the same workplace as Joshua, and I remember that Shinyun was going to do everything possible to stop Joshua from getting any more jobs. And maybe she has made a difference. But if we're honest, Joshua is a man. In the modeling industry. And Joshua was a really talented man, from what Magnus tells us, he was creating something incredible. And society tends to forgive abusive men if they are talented. They never really lose.
Maybe he's downgraded, but I don't think they've been able to completely remove him. And Joshua must blame Magnus and Shinyun for what happened. I wondered if Max will ever hear his name passing by or see him at an event and Shinyun tell him not to approach him, if she will have to explain to him that she did everything she could to make Joshua disappear.
I don't know, it just came to my mind because I'm sick looking at the ceiling. You probably haven't thought that much in that idiot Joshua.
I'm just overthinking. I miss reacting to TLND💔
Hi lovely.
I hope you are feeling better. High temperatures fucking suck. It was the same here in mid January. But things are a little better now. Hope the climate improves for you too!
This is a great question!
In my head, no, Max (or Rafe) doesn't find out about Joshua. It's not necessarily a secret that Magnus/Alec keeps. But more like, it has nothing to do with the kids. Sometimes telling people things they don't need to know can actually do more harm than good. So, no, Max doesn't know.
I can see Magnus telling his children about Camille though. That makes sense to me and that's something Magnus might feel comfortable doing much later on.
As for Joshua, well, I'd like to think he really fucked off. I know the patriarchy sucks and accountability is a joke. But I do see that things are changing slowly (not fast enough but still). He could be like the Kevin Spacey of the fashion model. Never to be seen again. He's probably doing some stuff still, but no one knows and no one cares. Good.
PS - Even if Joshua disappeared, it doesn't mean he stopped being abusive. He's probably harassing someone somewhere else, someone who can't probably speak up or get away. This was why it was CRUCIAL that they reported him. But we know that didn't happen sigh (impunity is free and readily available for men like him sigh).
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fic writer interview
Tagged by @bitterflames, thank you!
How many works do you have on AO3? 21, a number that surprises me every time by being both more and fewer than I think it should be
What’s your total AO3 word count? 186, 378 (again, feels like this is both way too many words and also not as many as it ought to be)
What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Moonlight as My Guide (The Untamed)
The Naming of Small Things (The Untamed)
Continuing Professional Development (The Magnus Archives)
Noli me tangere (The Magnus Archives)
Spin Me Right Round (The Untamed)
Nothing suprising here, given the ridiculous size of those two fandoms, but I am always charmed by the love CPD gets, given it's mostly me making jokes about a librarianship conference I went to once
Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Aaaagh, I wish I did? I'm bad at thinking of things to say! I think I do better at responding in small fandoms where I know/know of most of the commenters and 'thank you for being on this small liferaft with me' feels like an appropriate sentiment
What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? I don't really do angst-angst, but The Winding Roads They Led Me Here is probably the most obviously not-a-happy-ending thing I've written?
What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? I am surveying my corpus and learning that wow, I write a not inconsiderable number of things about learning to live when you don't really want to? Shan't be analysing that too closely, tyvm, but I do remain pleased with the way And Green the Ground Below and Breathe In For Luck came out. For sheer straightforward glee at the ending, it's gotta be never knew a part of you / you didn't set in ink
Do you write crossovers? No, I imagine crossovers at great length and then make no moves towards writing anything down (see: the sprawling Nirvana in Fire/Vorkosigan series Entity that gets passed around between me and several friends, which consists entirely of one of us going 'hey have you thought about if X met Y?' and then yelling about that for several hours straight)
Have you ever received hate on a fic? lol, only from the one person who told me 'toxic xiyao' was ruining MaMG, which is very funny to me because that's kind of the point in that fic
Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yeahhhh but I find it very difficult. A long, hard process, in fact. As for 'what kind', uh, mutually obsessive D/s dynamics pretty much covers it, I think
Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge
Have you ever had a fic translated? Yeah! Someone on Wattpad was translating MaMG into Spanish, though idk how far they got
Have you ever co-written a fic before? No because I am very secretive about showing people my writing until it's 'presentable' and I think that would kill me
What’s your all-time favorite ship? [Douglas Richardson voice] Sir is fickle and changeable [/Douglas Richardson voice], but I think the ship I have spent longest actively contemplating is proooobably MCS/Jingyan?
What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? All of themmmmmmm. (No, I would really like to do more with the Langya Hall prequel fic, but I think it's currently beyond my confidence as a writer so...)
What are your writing strengths? Fraught conversations and minute observations of body language, my beloved
What are your writing weaknesses? Plot? I don't know her. Pacing? A distant acquaintance at best
What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I doubt I ever would, because I'm not confident in the spoken forms of any language I quote-unquote 'know', and I also find the 'multilingual character uses non-English endearments for their beloved' trope to be...a little painful, but I'm not averse to the idea on principle, though I suspect it requires more skill than people generally think to pull it off well
What was the first fandom you wrote for? hhhhh fucking. Sherlock Holmes (ACD stories), I think. Maybe the Psmith books by PG Wodehouse? I think it's for the best that the fic I wrote as a teen is marooned somewhere on LJ
What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? I'm not going to do it, because it involves way too much compartmentalising not to set off my RPF squick, but god those sad boat men from The Terror are compelling and would bring me nicely back into my wheelhouse of repressed Victorians and also the Navy (I think I never actually finished writing anything for the Hornblower fandom back in the day, but my god it was not for lack of trying)
What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? usually my most recent fic tbh (in this case, Make A Mercy Out of Me, which is, uh, unrepentant Disguiser smut and therefore of interest to like. three people worldwide, but that's fine)
tagging: @tallangrycockatiel, @goingsparebutwithprecision and anyone else who's interested and hasn't already been tagged
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
The second part of the book begins, and I am already done with the whole quote that starts the part:
I love you as one loves certain dark things
— Pablo Neruda, “Sonnet XVII”
Because it isn't even a whole quote, not even a one I can find in this form, and it's not even the whole verse. This erases the whole meaning to fit into this loving certain dark things narrative, especially considering the actual following verse:
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I also don't know what translation Clare got that from because all I can find is the latter one. ANyway. We continue with Maia and Jordan, and Jordan can go fuck himself:
→ To begin with this, fucking hell. This refers to the ending scene of chapter 4 where Maia has a flashback to trauma Jordan caused.
He pulled her closer. He was shaking. She felt the heat of his strong body against hers as his hands slid down her back. “Maia,” he whispered. He started to lift the hem of her sweater, his fingers gripping the small of her back. His lips moved against hers. “I love you. I never stopped loving you.”
You’re mine. You’ll always be mine.
Her heart hammering, she jerked away from him, pulling her sweater down. “Jordan — stop.”
He looked at her, his expression dazed and worried. “I’m sorry. Was that not any good? I haven’t kissed anyone but you, not since…” He trailed off.
She shook her head. “No, it’s just — I can’t.”
“All right,” he said. He looked very vulnerable, sitting there, dismay written all over his face. “We don’t have to do anything — ”
She groped for words. “It’s just too much.”
And this fucking idiot thinks it's because he might be a bad kisser. Maia has nothing to apologize for, and I'm already sick of this chapter trying to flip this dynamic over to where Maia owns Jordan a goddamn thing.
→ The whole "I don't want to be friends" and Maia acting shocked is stupid because Jordan has come onto Maia plenty of times already that she should know what he actually means. This is all idiotic.
Then die.
This could've been said also by Jace, Simon, or Magnus because all the jokes are tonally and in terms of content always the same. Ha ha, two straight boys kissing. Funny.
We skip to Clary exploring the place Jace has brought her to and rummaging through a wardrobe.
Morgenstern men love heteronormative clothing for women who wear gear meaning also pants.
→ A scene that never happened but would've been a great callback to the previous book if it was written out.
→ Hopefully Clary would remember things that happened just a while back with a visual reminder. Also → "It had been a clear day in early October.."
The last time the box was mentioned was in City of Bones where it is told that the box held "with the medals were one or two photos, a wedding ring, and a single lock of blond hair. Sometimes Jocelyn took the box out and opened it and held the lock of hair very gently in her hands before putting it back and carefully locking the box up
again."
Which makes me question whether Clary then knew what the contents of the box actually were since there are no metals or a wedding ring. Which is fine, but what is not fine is that the box goes unmentioned for forever and once it makes an appearance, Clary is suddenly in the know of the contents and the contents themselves differ drastically from what was previously told. Continuity where?
Here Isabelle is an outlet of Clare's bias. Different characters of course can have different opinions and preferences, but because other characters like Lucie also keep talking how brown (hair color) is ordinary and boring and how the writing keeps coming up with ridiculous similes and metaphors for every other eye color/hair color than brown or dark, it's obvious. Even more so when a little later down here Isabelle thinks blue eyes are more interesting than black.
Meaning faerie men possibly far older than her? Shadowhunters who? Who are these Isabelle's sexy ex-dates when none is ever mentioned or makes an appearance and the premise is that the Lightwood kids have grown up pretty secluded in the New York Institute because of their parents' exile?
So Isabelle thinks she would be more interesting if she had blue eyes instead of black ones. Because appearance is what makes to interesting, not your character. Pretty on point for the narrative.
Just call her Jocelyn. You just did.
→ ...and saw Jocelyn looking at her. Jocelyn opened her mouth...
Or if you must, this order makes more sense:
→ ...and saw Clary's mother looking at her. Jocelyn opened her mouth...
→ No need for any of these. This is Isabelle's PoV, we know this is what she can observe.
→ Isabelle rolled her eyes at him and turned around/away etc. Then paragraph division and the description may commence.
Cut back to the Boredom Crew.
Thank you for the clarification. Otherwise I might have confused him to some other shared father??
Jace has not shared that look with anyone ever because the only people with shared secrets and in the know have always been Jace and Clary because the narrative is jealous of Jace having that kind of relationship or bond with anyone else.
Also Clary has not known Jace long enough to say "in a very long time."
→ Is he squinting?
→ No need for this, it's her PoV. Stop overexplaining.
→ Or: "His look was calculating: he was deciding what he was going to allow Jace to do, how much leash to give his "brother."
#Maia Roberts#Jordan Kyle#Isabelle Lightwood#Clary Fray#Jace Herondale#City of Lost Souls#CoLS Chapter 8
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
Chapter 6: NICO BUYS HAPPY MEALS FOR THE DEAD
Even when Percy looked moments away from torturing Will just to get an answer out of somebody what happened on this quest, Nico licked his lips nervously before he could start anew. Would it be awkward to ask if it was all in his head every time he got this book it seemed like a worse than usual chapter?
Then he read the new title and sunk low in his seat, waiting for the bombardment of freaking out that would ensue about his next death entrapment of them all.
"Well that was very considerate of you, but I have questions," Magnus tried to begin as politely as ever. "Do they prefer chicken nuggets or burgers? What toys were available?"
"When it says buy, like where did you get the money?" Alex asked with diabolical interest. "Did you ask your dad for it? Try to pay them in drachmas? Mythomagic cards?"
"I'm over here hoping he didn't threaten the cashier with that sword," Jason admitted.
Nico was only blushing a tiny bit as he smiled at them. "Um, a bit of all three." He'd tried to ask Hades for money and information, but hadn't even made it past the front gates of his palace before he was bared by the fury's telling him now wasn't a good time.
Minos had helped him with the details among his own research and he'd just stolen the rest.
That unfortunate incident with the chicken nuggets and the dog chasing him out of the car would not be discussed.
At least I got a good night's sleep before the quest, right?
"Do you jinx yourself on purpose?" Thalia asked him in concern. "Like, you do know when you throw questions like that out into the universe, you're just going to get slapped with the opposite answer."
"I'm starting to get that, yeah," Percy mock rubbed his cheek.
"Will it stop him from doing it?" Alex snorted.
"Nope," Magnus sighed.
Wrong.
"So, should I just start wishing for a horrible night's sleep?" Percy groaned.
"Percy, I don't think anything can fix, whatever this mess of your life is," Jason told him with nothing but sympathy.
"I've already tried shock therapy, so I'm out of ideas," Thalia agreed cheerfully.
That night in my dreams, I was in the stateroom of the Princess Andromeda. The windows were open on a moonlit sea. Cold wind rustled the velvet drapes.
"There is either a really inappropriate dream about to take place, or a nightmare with monsters and dead people," Magnus shivered at that setup.
"My money's on both, Luke's nighttime routine with one of those bear twins," Alex rubbed his hands together. Magnus mock vomited over the side of the couch, though for a moment they weren't sure if he was faking it.
Luke knelt on a Persian rug in front of the golden sarcophagus of Kronos.
In the moonlight, Luke's blond hair looked pure white. He wore an ancient Greek chiton and a white himation, a kind of cape that flowed down his shoulders. The white clothes made him look timeless and a little surreal, like one of the minor gods on Mount Olympus. The last time I'd seen him, he'd been broken and unconscious after a nasty fall from Mount Tam. Now he looked perfectly fine. Almost too healthy.
Percy shivered with the kind of forbidden knowledge nobody could joke away. Somewhere inside his head was the answer to that mystery, and as his stomach churned while he looked down at his own shaking hands, he didn't think he was going to like the answer he'd inevitably get.
"Our spies report success, my lord," he said. "Camp Half-Blood is sending a quest, as you predicted.
Nico really hated that word, traitor. He knew everybody at camp thought he was one bad day away from being one himself. He'd really never gotten to know Silena that well to be calling her anything.
Our side of the bargain is almost complete."
They were already to late, Jason frowned in concern. Their quest hadn't even started and Krono's forces were almost guaranteed through the maze at their convenience. His heart thudded painfully in his chest as he imagined the camp in ashes- No, surely Thalia and Will weren't that good of actors. They'd be more than mildly distressed at this if that were the case. Annabeth's quest had come through, somehow.
Excellent. The voice of Kronos didn't so much speak as pierce my mind like a dagger. It was freezing with cruelty. Once we have the means to navigate, I will lead the vanguard through myself.
"The sarcophagus doesn't grow legs, does it?" Magnus asked in concern.
"Let's be more concerned if he's almost about to leave the coffin," Alex shook his head sharply. "What the heck kind of deal was struck to cause that?"
There was no answer except Thalia playing with her bracelet. She was grateful they didn't seem to connect Luke's life force with Krono's, it was such a twisted bit of magic she couldn't stand to link the two herself.
Luke closed his eyes as if collecting his thoughts. "My lord, perhaps it is too soon. Perhaps Krios or Hyperion should lead—"
No. the voice was quiet but absolutely firm. I will lead. One more heart shall join our cause, and that will be sufficient. At last I shall rise fully from Tartarus.
"Who the heck is that special last someone going to be?" Alex wasn't really joking even as he laced his voice with sarcasm. "Is it going to be some sweet underdog story about an invisible person finally feeling seen by Luke? Is it going to be some mad powerhouse?"
"We really need to take away whatever the heck is feeding his imagination," Percy told Thalia as he watched Alex.
"Or bottle it and use it as a weapon," Thalia agreed.
"But the form, my lord..." Luke's voice started shaking.
Jason shivered right along with him. Was it terror? Excitement? He didn't know which was worse, but any answer wasn't going to be great for Percy.
Show me your sword, Luke Castellan.
"I didn't even think this guy had a last name," Percy jolted in surprise. "I thought he was just born Luke Evil, or Luke Son of Hermes, and just dropped it to Luke."
Thalia didn't even have the heart to smack him for being an idiot. Sooner than she'd like, Percy would know all to well what came attached with the last name of Castellan.
A jolt went through me. I realized I'd never heard Luke's last name before.
"Annabeth never cursed it in front of you," Alex agreed, "we didn't get to hear Chiron chasing him around and yelling it."
"Now we just need to know his middle name, surely then somebody can do an evil spell to curse him or something," Magnus agreed.*
"We're not the fae folk Magnus, that's not how that works," Thalia couldn't help but snicker at him, keeping to herself Luke's middle name was Oro in case anybody wanted to try.
It had never even occurred to me.
Luke drew his sword. Backbiter's double edge glowed wickedly—half steel, half celestial bronze. I'd almost been killed several times by that sword.
"You've almost been killed several times by being in school too and we don't go around reminding you of that," Will said.
"Yes you do, frequently!" Percy yelped.
"It was a silly detail Percy, we assume everything's tried to kill you at this point, including the kitchen sink with lava in it," Magnus rolled his eyes.
It was an evil weapon, able to kill both mortals and monsters. It was the only blade I really feared.
Nico's hand twitched uncomfortably to his own sword that could do the same. That was branded the same. The only difference was his blade had never tried to kill Percy. He hoped that distinction would be enough nobody would try to disarm him if the truth of what he carried came out.
You pledged yourself to me, Kronos reminded him. You took this sword as proof of your oath.
"Yes, my lord. It's just—"
You wanted power. I gave you that. You are now beyond harm. Soon you will rule the world of gods and mortals. Do you not wish to avenge yourself? To see Olympus destroyed?
A shiver ran through Luke's body. "Yes."
Thalia knew in that moment she could hear that a thousand more times and it would still hit her fresh and raw every time. It just wasn't the same person to her. Luke might as well have died instead of her and come back as someone else.
The coffin glowed, golden light filling the room. Then make ready the strike force. As soon as the bargain is done, we shall move forward. First, Camp Half-Blood will be reduced to ashes. Once those bothersome heroes are eliminated, we will march on Olympus.
"It's an honor to be so bothersome we have to be eliminated before the gods," Percy said with all the snap of a dragon.
"C-compliments?" Will agreed hesitantly.
There was a knock on the stateroom doors. The light of the coffin faded.
"Does Kronos only talk to him?" Alex asked with his head tipped to the side. "Like, imaginary friend style?"
"I can't imagine why, I'm surprised there isn't a speaker attached to his lid so the whole ship can hear him monologuing," Jason rolled his eyes.
Luke rose. He sheathed his sword, adjusted his white clothes, and took a deep breath.
"Come in."
The doors opened. Two dracaenae slithered in—snake women with double serpent trunks instead of legs. Between them walked Kelli, the empousa cheerleader from my freshman orientation.
"This book stays rated K right?" Magnus asked with mild concern for their joke from the beginning of the chapter getting another uncomfortable piece set in.
"How should I know? How do you rate monsters turning to dust, because it's pretty traumatic to any age from where I'm sitting," but Percy looked just as queasy why she'd walked in like this was a red carpet ceremony.
"Hello, Luke," Kelli smiled. She was wearing a red dress and she looked awesome,
"The highest amount of praise a teenage boy can give," Thalia snorted.
"Oh gods, please nobody ever tell Annabeth I called an empousa awesome before her," Percy groaned, causing a round of snickering he really didn't approve of.
"You told her she was going to do awesome on this quest," Will reminded fairly without dropping his smile. "I think she'd give you a pass on the demon that's supposed to be hot."
but I'd seen her real form. I knew what she was hiding: mismatched legs, red eyes, fangs, and flaming hair.
"What is it, demon?" Luke's voice was cold. "I told you not to disturb me."
Magnus mock wiped sweat from his brow Luke was disgusted with her. Now they'd just get death threats and insults...though it did make him wonder why Luke apparently didn't have an attraction to her like Percy had.
Kelli pouted. "That's not very nice. You look tense. How about a nice shoulder massage?"
"I wouldn't let that thing near any part of my body," Jason shivered. "I'm not banking on the fact she'd just drink from my neck."
"Good instincts," Alex approved.
Luke stepped back. "If you have something to report, say it. Otherwise leave!"
"I don't know why you're so huffy these days. You used to be fun to hang around."
Thalia would have rather been slapped than realize she'd ever think the same thing as Kellie, and yet the sick feeling in her gut only seemed to settle in at home. How long exactly had these two been hanging out for her to claim this?!
"That was before I saw what you did to that boy in Seattle."
"Oh, he meant nothing to me," Kelli said. "Just a snack, really. You know my heart belongs to you, Luke."
"My heart belongs to my snacks too," Alex frowned. "Whatever she did to that boy in Seattle has to be something alright."
Magnus had a very concerning look on his face as he struggled with the idea of whether he wanted to know details of that or not. What could she have done that was so awful even this guy deemed it too horrible?
"Thanks, but no thanks. Now report or get out."
Kelli shrugged. "Fine. The advanced team is ready, as you requested. We can leave—" She frowned.
"What is it?" Luke asked.
"A presence," Kelli said. "Your senses are getting dull, Luke. We're being watched."
She scanned the stateroom. Her eyes focused right on me. Her face withered into a hag's. She bared her fangs and lunged.
"Eep!" Magnus jumped in his seat no matter the lack of harm that was coming to him. "Can you die in your dreams!"
"Gods I hope not, I've had enough close calls," Percy was rubbing his chest in here plenty to prove it had been real enough to him too.
I woke with a start, my heart pounding. I could've sworn the empousa's fangs were an inch from my throat.
Percy's trembling fingers brushed over his thumping pulse one last time too. Not a reminder he needed, but when did he ever get a say in those?
Tyson was snoring in the next bunk. The sound calmed me down a little.
"I would have thought it was the ocean," Thalia snorted.
"To each their own, hopefully Annabeth snores," Jason snickered.
I didn't know how Kelli could sense me in a dream,
"I really didn't question that to much," Magnus admitted, "or I'd just fall back down the rabbit hole of wondering how she even existed."
but I'd heard more than I wanted to know. An army was ready. Kronos would lead it personally.
"So what specifically in that would you like to know less about?" Alex frowned. "Because I'm personally interested in any details I can get how to stop that!"
"The part about what they'd be wearing while doing it," Percy rolled his eyes.
"But the details make it!" Alex looked personally wounded.
All they needed was a way to navigate the Labyrinth so they could invade and destroy Camp Half-Blood, and Luke apparently thought that was going to happen very soon.
I was tempted to go wake up Annabeth and tell her, middle of the night or not.
"Regardless of those pesky, man-eating harpies inflicting curfew huh?" Will chuckled.
"Percy is the reason the curfew exists," Jason said in exasperation.
"Nuhu!" Percy yelped. "The Aphrodite kids, or heck the Hermes kids are far worse about that!"
"You're the only person in your cabin, so you get all the blame," Thalia reminded with a smirk.
"So are you," Percy shot back. He felt instantly bad for it though, as Thalia winced and looked away. Clearly that was a bit of a sore subject to her, she probably would have preferred if he'd reminded she was responsible for all of the trouble Artemis's Huntresses got up to when there.
Then I realized the room was lighter than it should have been. A blue and green glow was coming from the saltwater fountain, brighter and more urgent than the night before. It was almost like the water was humming.
I got out of bed and approached.
No voice spoke out of the water this time, asking for a deposit. I got the feeling the fountain was waiting for me to make the first move.
"You're grasping a fountains nonverbal cues better than anything Annabeth has ever actually said to you," Magnus snorted.
"Note to self, teach your cousin sign language too," Alex chuckled.
I probably should've gone back to bed. Instead I thought about what I'd seen last night—the weird image of Nico at the banks of the River Styx.
"You're trying to tell me something," I said.
No response from the fountain.
"It's perfectly normal to talk to inanimate objects," Will said innocently. "It's when they start talking back you should be worried."
"How many cups of coffee has that taken?" Nico asked slyly.
Will blushed and decided against answering.
"All right," I said. "Show me Nico di Angelo."
I didn't even throw a coin in, but this time it didn't matter. It was like some other force had control of the water besides Iris the messenger goddess.
Nico still disliked this coming up as much as ever, because he could never ask what the heck was going on. Would his sister have had different abilities than him, was this a manifestation of using the Mist like Thalia could? If she could send messages to Percy, why couldn't she do the same for him?!
He knew the answer though, no matter how many warnings she would have sent about not trusting Minos and to stop what he was doing, he most likely wouldn't have listened until something else had happened, like Percy saving his stupid life. Again.
The water shimmered. Nico appeared, but he was no longer in the Underworld. He was standing in a graveyard under a starry sky.
"It's good to get out and check the scenery every now and then," Alex nodded as if this had been a serious concern of his.
Thalia twirled her bracelet around and decided Nico might not want to know the Huntress's own ideas of his sister looking down on him from those stars. They might not all get a constellation, but they were a part of Artemis up there.
Giant willow trees loomed all around him.
He was watching some gravediggers at work. I heard shovels and saw dirt flying out of a hole. Nico was dressed in a black cloak. The night was foggy.
"Really setting the mood I hear, all you're missing is the ominous fire," Alex chuckled.
"I avoid human sacrifices if it's not convenient," the morbid joke slipped out only after a moment of hesitation. He finally got the reaction he was expecting too, Alex laughed.
It was warm and humid, and frogs were croaking. A large Wal-Mart bag sat next to Nico's feet.
"Which I really hope isn't left there when you're done, or somebody's going to end up on Grover's shit list," Jason grinned.
"One of the very few lists I strive to stay off of," Nico promised.
"Is it deep enough yet?" Nico asked. He sounded irritated.
"Nearly, my lord." It was the same ghost I'd seen Nico with before, the faint shimmering image of a man. "But, my lord, I tell you, this is unnecessary. You already have me for advice."
"I want a second opinion!" Nico snapped his fingers,
Will hummed with appreciation on that. "You should have like, three at minimum before making whatever life-altering decisions go into digging up holes."
"Next time you'll be the third," Nico promised, not bothering to hide his amusement.
and the digging stopped. Two figures climbed out of the hole. They weren't people. They were skeletons in ragged clothes.
"Cooool," Alex grinned. "How long have you been at this? And you've already got minions at the tip of your fingers!"
"Um," Nico kept finding himself grinning in surprise somebody said cool in regards to him. "Just that past month. It used to take a lot of effort to concentrate and resurrect them without passing out."
Will couldn't help a frown at the end, watching Nico with concern how somebody could say that casually. Who had been there for Nico when he woke up? Just some old ghost?
Nico just saw the frown, and the concern, and swallowed anxiously if he'd finally freaked Will out. Alex interrupted with, "Sweet, and you could do it down here?" Alex was starting to eye the walls in a bit of a concerning way.
"Probably," Nico shrugged nonchalantly. "There's plenty of skeletons in the ocean to pull from if I wanted to try, though it's easier pulling them from the soil for some reason."
"Please do not," Magnus did not care his voice cracked, it seemed to encourage Nico to move on just that touch faster.
"You are dismissed," Nico said. "Thank you."
"Politeness!" Will chuckled. Nico felt a tiny breath of relief come loose he'd rather not dwell on. He didn't need anybody's opinion.
The skeletons collapsed into piles of bones.
Percy still looked mildly disturbed, but it was definitely at the bottom of strange things he'd seen.
"You might as well thank the shovels," the ghost complained. "They have as much sense."
"Maybe we should thank the shovels too," Thalia sniffed. "I actually do owe my shield a thanks or too for saving my hide."
"I knew a guy who named his vacuum," Percy shrugged.
"That ghost sounds like he's being disrespectful on purpose," Jason frowned. "He's no different than them, just floating there. Is he saying he shouldn't be thanked for all his advice?" His creepy, murdery advice Nico shouldn't be around.
"It wasn't part of the ceremony, just something, I wanted to do," Nico said with a sad smile. He didn't have any specific memories of his mother encouraging manners or anything, but he liked to think that would have made her smile. It had just felt like the natural thing to do.
Nico ignored him. He reached into his Wal-Mart bag and pulled out a twelve-pack of Coke. He popped open a can. Instead of drinking it, he poured it into the grave.
"There had better be some serious reason you're wasting perfectly good Coke," Percy told him tragically.
Nico gave him an awkward smile he couldn't say yes. It hadn't gone remotely as planned. Did Percy consider everything he did a waste?
"Let the dead taste again," he murmured. "Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."
He dropped the rest of the Cokes into the grave and pulled out a white paper bag decorated with cartoons. I hadn't seen one in years, but I recognized it—a McDonald's Happy Meal.
He turned it upside down and shook the fries and hamburger into the grave.
"In my day, we used animal blood," the ghost mumbled. "It's perfectly good enough. They can't taste the difference."
"I will treat them with respect," Nico said.
"What's the difference? The grease, I mean, Greek of it all?" Alex snickered at his almost pun.
"The principal," Nico grinned. "It adds that little bit of extra mph," he even sprinkled his fingers like his sister was adding a last dash of cinnamon.
"Mmm, the perfect ingredient then," Alex laughed as he even smacked his lips.
"At least let me keep the toy," the ghost said.
"Be quiet!" Nico ordered.
"Well now you're just not being nice Nico," Percy grinned. "You should always bring enough of those for everybody."
"You can be quiet too," but there was nothing but an exasperated sigh in Nico's voice for knowing he could never make Percy Jackson do that.
He emptied another twelve-pack of soda and three more Happy Meals into the grave, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. I caught only some of the words—a lot about the dead and memories and returning from the grave. Real happy stuff.
"All we're missing is the ball pit," Percy tried to say without sounding too queasy.
The grave started to bubble. Frothy brown liquid rose to the top like the whole thing was filling with soda. The fog thickened. The frogs stopped croaking. Dozens of figures began to appear among the gravestones: bluish, vaguely human shapes. Nico had summoned the dead with Coke and cheeseburgers.
"That is some serious mojo my dude," Magnus told him. He didn't think he sounded that terrified that somebody he now knew, like actually in person, treated this as their casual Saturday night. It was more strange to him than the idea of having a roof over his head again.
"There are too many," the ghost said nervously. "You don't know your own powers."
"As much as I don't trust this ghost, I don't think it's great he's the one cautioning you over that when he's just begging you to do some wild stuff," Jason frowned.
"Yeah, yeah," Nico muttered inaudibly. Like he needed another person to tell him what an idiot he'd been for having Minos around.
Jason heard the reluctance in his voice, he realized he'd said something wrong, but he wasn't sure what. He glanced awkwardly between Percy and Nico, who had been more awkwardly still trying at stilted conversation and avoiding each other all morning, and then Will who looked as confused and concerned as he felt. He felt a flash of sadness for Nico, it didn't seem like he'd made many great friends since his sister's death, he certainly never went around mentioning someone he'd rather have down here who would know what had upset him.
"I've got it under control," Nico said, though his voice sounded fragile.
He drew his sword—a short blade made of solid black metal. I'd never seen anything like it. It wasn't celestial bronze or steel. Iron, maybe? The crowd of shades retreated at the sight of it.
"I've been meaning to ask about that," Alex looked so eager, they could literally not predict what was about to come out of his mouth. "Where'd you get the sword? Does they have a name?"
"Um," Nico looked more baffled at his sword being called a they. Was Riptide a they? "It doesn't have a name, and it's a long story," he sighed. "It involves a clown, a fish, and I'm pretty sure Phil hasn't forgiven me for wrecking that statue, so, later."
"You mean, a clown-fish?" Percy tried to correct.
"No, no, fish, clown, two separate dudes," Nico shrugged.
It wasn't even the top twenty weirdest things any of them had tried to wrap their heads around. Alex still looked very much like he was going to protest until he got this story in detail, but Nico was trying to keep reading and had once again masterfully maneuvered out of sharing his own autobiography Alex was clearly after from all of them.
"One at a time," Nico commanded.
A single figure floated forward and knelt at the pool. It made slurping sounds as it drank. Its ghostly hands scooped French fries out of the pool.
"I really want to say eww here," Thalia looked far to intrigued to sound right anyways, "but I'm more curious what would happen if anybody other than a ghost drank that."
"To clarify, it takes you chanting, right?" Magnus asked with a heavy frown. "Because if I start shoveling fries, a burger, and a coke all at once and swallow, I will blame the consequences on you."
"I promise not to chant over your food while you're eating," Nico said with a little to much of a wicked smile to encompass that promise he'd never chant around him. "Seriously though Thalia, it wouldn't have an effect on anything but a ghost, the ritual just gives them back their human form. So, unless you lost it, it would just taste normal."
"Huh," she grinned, very curious if Artemis knew about this ritual and used it to commune, or if the gods even needed such a thing and could freely interact with any ghosts from their past that lingered.
When it stood again, I could see it much more clearly—a teenage guy in Greek armor. He had curly hair and green eyes, a clasp shaped like a seashell on his cloak.
Percy wondered how self-centered it was of him to feel very awkward that an obvious ancestor of his had been the one to get to drink.
Then Alex laughed enthusiastically and ruined the idea it was just his idea. "I'm really getting the impression why Percy thought you wanted his soul though just from this moment. What are the odds of that one Nico?"
Nico looked like he was going to keel over from stress rather than answer.
Percy swooped in anyways, pigheaded or not, "a child of Poseidon got to the water fountain first, it's a matter of pride!"
Alex just gave one last chuckle and was clearly going to let it go, while Nico took deep breaths and fought back tears of shame how stupid obvious his obsession had been. How Percy wasn't cringing in disgust away from him as far as he could he didn't know.
"Who are you?" Nico said. "Speak."
The young man frowned as if trying to remember. Then he spoke in a voice like dry, crumpling paper: "I am Theseus."
"Cool!" Jason yelped like he'd just gotten the best birthday present and the rest could all stay in their wrappings. "Can you summon back any hero of old?!" The idea of being able to converse with The Caligula for any length of time and ask him about all his rulings and advice sounded like a dream!
"Not exactly," Nico said sullenly. If he could just call his sister up like this whenever he pleased, he liked to think he wouldn't always feel so alone.
Jason didn't ask any further questions, though it was obvious he really wanted to.
No way, I thought. This couldn't be the Theseus. He was just a kid. I'd grown up hearing stories about him fighting the Minotaur and stuff, but I'd always pictured him as this huge, buff guy. The ghost I was looking at wasn't strong or tall. And he wasn't any older than I was.
"That was just depressing," Will frowned. The age of manhood back then had been like fifteen or something. In theory, they all knew the heroes of old had been about the age they were now.
To hear it described so vividly though only emphasized the idea no demigod in history had really gotten an easy life.
"How can I retrieve my sister?" Nico asked.
Theseus's eyes were lifeless as glass. "Do not try. It is madness."
"Does a ghost telling you something's mad make that better or worse?" Magnus asked.
"I'm going to leave that up to the ghost your questioning," Alex shrugged as if this were an every day occurrence for him.
"Just tell me!"
"My stepfather died," Theseus remembered. "He threw himself into the sea because he thought I was dead in the Labyrinth.
"Tragic," Jason said with sympathy.
"Now see, why couldn't my life parallel that story," Percy huffed.
"Because if Sally pushed Gabe off the roof she never would have discovered her passion for the arts," Thalia tragically reminded.
I wanted to bring him back, but I could not."
Nico's ghost hissed. "My lord, the soul exchange! Ask him about that!"
Theseus scowled. "That voice. I know that voice."
Percy felt like there was a mosquito bite on his brain. Something he longed to scratch at but knew he shouldn't or it would just get worse.
"No you don't, fool!" the ghost said. "Answer the lord's questions and nothing more!"
"I know you," Theseus insisted, as if struggling to recall.
"How did Theseus die again?" Magnus asked wearily. "Does dying affect your memory?"
"Very much so," Nico sighed. "They're specters who forgot themselves without the ritual, and even then, it won't all come back."
"And, um, let's just say it wasn't a happy ending I'd want to end up with," Percy said with a wince. He remembered stories about sons of Poseidon mildly better than others and hoped his powers never failed him when he was thrown into the ocean.
"Right," Magnus agreed reluctantly, realizing he probably shouldn't ask again unless it was about the original Perseus.
"I want to hear about my sister," Nico said. "Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?"
Will's laugh was nothing but sympathetic. "I'd help you out no problem Nico, with anything other than this."
Nico smiled. Will had already said as much, but it was still nice to hear.
"Win her back?" Jason couldn't help but fret over that word. "Is the labyrinth a game and you win a prize?" The dread in his voice made it sound like one he didn't think he'd participate in if given the chance.
"There are many things to discover down there," Nico answered as cryptically as possible.
Theseus was looking for the ghost, but apparently couldn't see him. Slowly he turned his eyes back on Nico. "The Labyrinth is treacherous. There is only one thing that saw me through: the love of a mortal girl. The string was only part of the answer. It was the princess who guided me."
"We don't need any of that," the ghost said. "I will guide you, my lord. Ask him if it is true about an exchange of souls. He will tell you."
"A soul for a soul," Nico asked. "Is it true?"
"A part from the absolute ick factor of that being discussed," Alex said cheerfully, "are we going to get details on how that would work?"
"No," Nico said flatly. The little he'd gleaned from Minos had put him off this idea until his last desperate attempt with nothing left to lose. He would not be sharing what he'd considered doing to Daedalus' soul to retrieve Bianca's with it.
"I—I must say yes. But the specter—"
"Just answer the questions, knave!" the ghost said.
Suddenly, around the edges of the pool, the other ghosts became restless. They stirred, whispering in nervous tones.
"Anything that makes a ghost nervous and I am out," Magnus muttered.
Then again, Nico obviously made them nervous, so maybe that was a little to broad. He still wasn't happy about whatever was coming next, he knew that much.
"I want to see my sister!" Nico demanded. "Where is she?"
"He is coming," Theseus said fearfully. "He has sensed your summons. He comes."
"It's not Hades is it?" Alex asked, sounding far to much like that's something he wanted to happen. "I am honestly expecting him to show up any time now to scold you for messing with this stuff, all the underground talk, the ghosts, it fits perfectly!"
"It was not Hades," but Nico wasn't going to elaborate any more than that. He was not looking forward to that stupid ranch anymore than he was that stupid cavern with Pan.
"Who?" Nico demanded.
"He comes to find the source of this power," Theseus said. "You must release us."
"The one occasion I will always agree the pronoun game is the worst," Alex shook his head with disgust. "Just say his bloody name!"
"He forgot the name of the ghost following Nico around he obviously knows, he might not know whoever it is that's about to show up, just that he doesn't want to be around him," Jason offered halfheartedly.
The water in my fountain began to tremble, humming with power. I realized the whole cabin was shaking. The noise grew louder. The image of Nico in the graveyard started to glow until it was painful to watch.
"Stop," I said out loud. "Stop it!"
The fountain began to crack. Tyson muttered in his sleep and turned over. Purple light threw horrible, ghostly shadows on the cabin walls, as if the specters were escaping right out of the fountain.
In desperation I uncapped riptide and slashed at the fountain, cleaving it in two. Salt water spilled everywhere, and the great stone font crashed to the floor in pieces. Tyson snorted and muttered, but he kept sleeping.
"Man, that was like, the coolest thing too," Alex pouted.
"Hopefully Tyson can fix it," Magnus offered.
I sank to the ground, shivering from what I'd seen. Tyson found me there in the morning, still staring at the shattered remains of the saltwater fountain.
"Nico," Will managed through numb lips. "What happened?"
"I got caught," he shrugged with the kind of nonchalance of this being an everyday occurrence.
Then again, they were all presently kidnapped, so maybe it wasn't such a traumatizing thing the second go around. Better company here anyways.
Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist.
"Where Luke was tied up and this problem was resolved in a timely manner for once?" Magnus sighed.
"I'm starting to get worried about your active delusions man, what are you eating over there," Percy shook his head. "If ever something went that easy, I'd be convinced I was being had."
I'd packed my knapsack—thermos with nectar, baggie of ambrosia, bedroll, rope, clothes, flashlights, and lots of extra batteries. I had Riptide in my pocket. The magic shield/wristwatch Tyson had made for me was on my wrist.
"At least they packed the essentials," Will said in relief, but then continued in a rather concerned tone, "but what about the snacks?"
Nico fought hard to smother a snort of mirth as he looked at this blonde guy in shorts and flip-flops. This was probably his first time ever leaving camp down here. It was all so innocent it almost hurt him.
It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue.
Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Meanwhile, we could be heading underground.
"And they're all jealous of each other," Alex chuckled.
"Are you nuts?" Will looked at him scandalized. "We were all thanking our lucky stars we weren't heading to the place that didn't have grass! We all pitched in and held a thank you seminar Percy and Annabeth were at camp to do this quest!"
"Thanks man," Percy sighed. At least he knew Will was joking that time...or he'd somehow hadn't been invited to a seminar about him and he really wasn't upset about it.
Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt.
Percy recalled watching that with a dull sense of confusion. Like that was something his mom would have been doing, not a girlfriend. His eyes had flickered to Annabeth at the time, who had been staring at the rock as if it were going to move and crush her any moment. He'd reached over and zipped a pouch on her backpack left half open without her noticing like that would be of any help.
It had felt silly and stupid at the time, he was really grateful she hadn't noticed then, and the book not mentioning it now.
Since we had no idea what we would encounter, he was dressed as a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs.
"One of these days I just want you to not though," Thalia grinned. "The amount of people who will just think he's walking around in the weirdest outfit ever would be so much fun."
"We'll get him a cane so everybody will be to awkward to look long too," Percy agreed indulgently.
Chiron, Quintus, and Mrs. O'Leary stood with the other campers who'd come to wish us well, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided we needed to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case.
"What do you mean? That sounds like the best sendoff ever," Jason smiled. "You get to come back and see all the improvements they made, like a then and now skeleton in the works!"
He seemed to be missing the detail they were doing all that in case they didn't come back, and nobody had the heart to correct him.
Annabeth was doing one last check on her supply pack. When Tyson and I came over, she frowned. "Percy, you look terrible."
"The standard morning greeting," Percy sighed.
"He killed the water fountain last night," Tyson confided.
Alex clasped his hands as if blessing the book for that particularly strange sentence.
"What?" she asked.
Before I could explain, Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears you are ready!"
"It is criminal he is that excited first thing in the morning, let alone about this," Will sighed.
"He's probably lacing his morning hay with coffee beans," Nico agreed.
He tried to sound upbeat, but I could tell he was anxious. I didn't want to freak him out any more, but I thought about last night's dream, and before I could change my mind, I said, "Hey, uh, Chiron, can I ask you a favor while I'm gone?"
"Of course, my boy."
"Be right back, guys." I nodded toward the woods. Chiron asked an eyebrow, but he followed me out of earshot.
"Last night," I said, "I dreamed about Luke and Kronos." I told him the details. The news seemed to weigh on his shoulders.
"I feared this," Chiron said. "Against my father, Kronos, we would stand no chance in a fight."
Chiron rarely called Kronos his father. I mean, we all knew it was true.
"You didn't until he told you," Thalia snorted.
"I assume other kids around camp actually look up the myths. I just wait to live it all out in person," Percy shrugged.
Everybody in the Greek world—god, monster, or Titan—was related to one another somehow. But it wasn't exactly something Chiron liked to brag about. Oh, my dad is the all-powerful evil Titan lord who wants to destroy Western Civilization. I want to be just like him when I grow up!
"How I imagine every rich brat talks to be honest," Magnus scoffed.
"It's a good thing Chiron lives off the saddlebags on his back then and is nothing like them," Jason chuckled.
Thalia smiled to herself they had no idea they'd met a rich brat, and Rachel would have been laughing right along with them.
"Do you know what he meant about a bargain?" I asked.
"A bargain is offering one exchange for another, usually with one person getting a much better deal," Magnus smirked.
"Now if only you knew the definition of shutting up, then we'd have it made," Percy chuckled.
"I am not sure, but I fear they seek to make a deal with Daedalus. If the old inventor is truly alive, if he has not been driven insane by millennia in the Labyrinth...well, Kronos can find ways to twist anyone to his will."
"Maybe Daedalus is insane, and Kronos will twist him all the way back into being sane, and then you swoop in and rescue him," Alex offered.
"That sounds like a lot of twists and turns," Percy sighed. "Any chance we can just skip to the part where he's on our side?" Then Percy winced for reasons beyond him.
"Then we'd lose out on all your brilliant commentary," Will mock pouted.
"I could live without some of it," Percy huffed. He most certainly wouldn't have advertised his every embarrassing mistake for starters.
"Not anyone," I promised.
Percy smiled with pride for that, until he noticed Thalia's uneasy little wince. He settled quietly into his seat beside her and didn't draw attention to that which Nico had read over without a single bit of surprise.
Chiron managed a smile. "No. Perhaps not anyone. But, Percy, you must beware. I have worried for some time that Kronos may be looking for Daedalus for a different reason, not just passage through the maze."
"What else could he want?" Magnus frowned. "How many things can he get from one dude."
"Hercules has defeated everything in the past," Percy reminded in exhaustion just thinking about him. "It's more than possible Daedalus had more than one thing going on."
"What else would he want?"
"Something Annabeth and I were discussing. Do you remember what you told me about your first trip to the Princess Andromeda, the first time you saw the golden coffin?"
I nodded. "Luke was taking about raising Kronos, little pieces of him appearing in the coffin every time someone new joined his cause."
"Still disgusting and terrifying by the way," Will promised as if anyone had forgotten that.
"And what did Luke say they would do when Kronos had risen completely?"
A chill went down my spine. "He said they would make Kronos a new body, worthy of the forges of Hephaestus."
"Kronos clearly needs to get caught up on all the AI movies proving why that won't turn out like he wants," Jason snorted.
"Indeed," Chiron said. "Daedalus was the world's greatest inventor. He created the Labyrinth, but much more. Automatons, thinking machines...What if Kronos wishes Daedalus to make him a new form?"
"He could tell him no," Alex said stoutly. "That powers within anybody's control!"
"I don't think it worked out so well with that evil king," Magnus reminded uneasily. They didn't yet know what had happened to him and his son from that, but going by the history of all these Greek stories, he was guessing, not well.
That was a real pleasant thought.
"If pleasant means bone chilling," Thalia muttered, getting her own flashes of that all over at just the thought of that reveal.
"We've got to get to Daedalus first," I said, "and convince him not to."
Jason frowned as he wondered how far Percy would be willing to go to convince him though. What level of favor would Percy consider to get Daedalus on his side? Would he kidnap the inventor and drag him back to camp just to keep him away from Kronos against his will?
Chiron stared off into the trees. "One other thing I do not understand...this talk of a last soul joining their cause. That does not bode well."
"Must be a pretty special soul to complete such a ritual," Alex said with an almost serious face for a moment before following it up with, "so I guess that leaves Percy out."
"He's got you there," Magnus snorted, "New Yorker's are one in a million."
Percy laughed along at them downplaying this, as well as trying to take some comfort perhaps if his was the soul needed at least that meant this would never happen.
I kept my mouth shut, but I felt guilty. I'd made the decision not to tell Chiron about Nico being a son of Hades. The mention of souls, though—
Magnus and Alex exchanged surprised, uneasy looks for that. They already knew Kronos would be begging to get Nico on their side by any means necessary, but if Percy's guess was right and he was somehow the child of the prophy meant to help drag Kronos's soul the rest of the way out...well they already knew Minos was evil and could be up to something far worse. What if all this talk of helping bring Bianca back was just practice to get Nico ready for something far worse?
What if Kronos knew about Nico?
"We still haven't gotten clarification how anybody knows anything around here," Will shook his head as if this were a mild concern, "no sense in useless worries until then." He bit back the exclamation Nico would have been safer at Camp in the meantime whether anybody knew his parentage or not only because Kronos was no longer a threat. He'd just have to come up with other arguments.
What if he managed to turn him evil?
"He's literally hanging around with an evil ghost and still making morally ambiguous almost good decisions about not wanting to murder people," Jason reminded with a casual shrug. "I like his chances."
"Thanks," Nico muttered in surprise.
It was almost enough to make me want to tell Chiron, but I didn't. For one thing, I wasn't sure Chiron could do anything about it.
"I'll give you that one," Will agreed briskly. He didn't exactly do a stellar job of the campers already under his care.
"Even the best marksman has a limited range," Thalia said with a bit more sorrow. Even if Chiron couldn't have done anything, he surely would have appreciated a heads-up just in case he could later.
I had to find Nico myself. I had to explain things to him, make him listen.
"Strapping someone in a chair for a lecture is worse than anything Kronos would do to him," Magnus reminded.
"I'd offer snacks?" Percy said.
"Nico?" Magnus let him pass judgment.
He considered for a moment, his stomach in knots over the last time he'd let Percy make him listen. It had only opened a whole other can of worms he was still processing.
So for now, he waved his hand and said, "I'll consider it."
"I don't know," I said at last. "But, uh, something Juniper said, maybe you should hear." I told him how the tree nymph had seen Quintus poking around the rocks.
"Which I'm still mildly offended you didn't do yesterday," Jason scowled, "or her, when this happened!" The safety of their home was not something that should be trifled with!
"Juniper's not great with people," Percy reminded, "and I've had, like, a million other things on my mind!"
"Which is 999,999 more than he usually does," Thalia smirked.
Chiron's jaw tightened. "That does not surprise me."
"What does surprise him is when we spend Father's Day hiding his arrows from him and call it advance practice," Will chuckled. He realized after the fact he was probably being a little to nonchalant about this when he got some strange looks for that, or they just didn't think it was funny. Probably the first though.
"It doesn't sur—you mean you know?"
"Percy, when Quintus showed up at camp offering his services...well, I would have to be a fool not to be suspicious."
"Fair enough," Percy huffed, he still thought somebody could have at least gasped.
"Then why did you let him in?"
"Because sometimes it is better to have someone you mistrust close to you, so that you can keep an eye on him.
"I always hated that saying," Alex scowled, "the adage only works in enclosed spaces to know what your enemy is doing intimately, and even then if they're clever enough they'll pull a wool over your eyes. Otherwise, it's safe to be as far away as possible. Or just kill them."
It wasn't much of a guess which Alex leaned towards.
"There's a certain strategy in both," Jason passively said.
He may be just what he says: a halfblood in search of a home. Certainly he has done nothing openly that would make me question his loyalty. But believe me. I will keep an eye—"
Annabeth trudged over, probably curious why we were taking so long.
"What, is she jealous Percy's having a conversation without her in it for a change?" Alex chuckled.
"She's probably convinced Percy will monopolize himself into being Chiron's new favorite," Magnus mock agreed.
"Percy, you ready?"
I nodded. My hand slipped into my pocket, where I kept the ice whistle Quintus had given me. I looked over and saw Quintus watching me carefully.
He raised his hand in farewell.
Our spies report success, Luke had said. The same day we decided to send a quest, Luke had known about it.
"That's happened the last few quests though where he's up to date," Magnus shook his head. "Can't explicitly blame that on him."
"Take care," Chiron told us. "And good hunting."
"If he asks you to bring him back a skin, tell him to get in line," Alex mock waved.
"You too," I said.
We walked over to the rocks, where Tyson and Grover were waiting. I stared at the crack between the boulders—the entrance that was about to swallow us.
"Well," Grover said nervously, "good-bye sunshine."
"Hello rocks," Tyson agreed.
"Hopefully not the last thing they agree on," Jason said with a wayward smile.
And together, the four of us descended into darkness.
"Real happy, go-getter of a last sentence there," Nico shook his head as he passed the book along to Will.
"At least you never leave camp angry at anybody," Alex offered. "By the rules of writing, that would spell trouble with a capital death."
"My life is not an actual book," Percy told him blankly.
"Well the narrator sure isn't reliable enough for this to be a biography," Magnus smirked. "How many times did you say you're voice has cracked from puberty break?"
"And we're moving on!" Percy yelped.
PJOPJO
*There are no canon middle names for any characters in the series except Will, and it kind of drives me nuts.
#pjo#Percy Jackson#Jason Grace#Thalia Grace#alex fierro#Magnus Chase#nico di angelo#will solace#percabeth#solangelo#fierrochase#percy jackon and the olympians#battle of the labyrinth#mcdonalds#reading the books#big three kids
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
20 Questions Writer Meme:
I was nominated by the lovely @ashilrak to participate in this. Answering the these questions was a fun- a little walk down memory lane and a reminder of how much I've grown.
1. How many works do you have on ao3?
47!
2. What's your total ao3 word count?
189419
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Mostly Percy Jackson at the moment! I've written snippets for The Magnus Archives and Danny Phantom. I've also contemplated writing for Marvel for a while.
4. What are your top five fics by kudos?
1. A God in Chains (3151)
2. At the Armrest of a God (3149)
3. we both have bad taste in men, but at least we have each other (2073)
4. cookies aren't the only hot thing here (1713)
5. you and i until eternity (1705)
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
Complicated answer. I did in the past until I dealt with some harrassment/negativity with a previous fandom. It scared me away from interacting with any that I didn't really know on my own fics. I've found a lovely new community, so I'm trying to respond to comments more to show everyone how much I appreciate them.
6. What's the fic you wrote that has the angstiest ending?
I actually had to skim a few of my fics to remember their endings, lol. My answer is probably:
another flower in a garden of tragedies
Or
Of New Blood and Old Hyacinths
7. What's the fic you wrote that has the happiest ending?
I've written a lot of fluff with happy endings, so I'll just answer this with the fic with my favorite ending.
"we both have bad taste in men, but at least we have each other" is a win for the lesbians and was just so much fun to write. I've gotten a lot of requests for a continuation of it, and I've had some ideas, but nothing enough to put to paper.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
Lmao, yes. I've orphaned about 7 fics from a previous fandom because of the toxicity of the fandom (My Hero Academia). It was everything from demanding updates to trying to 'cancel' me for no reason but because they didn't like how I portrayed a character. On my most recent fics, there hasn't been much overtly negative- just jokes/comments that don't land well. Overall, I'm happy with my new community.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Yes, lmao. I write hedonistic shit that would make even the most stone cold nun blush. Looking through my fics makes me realize I really enjoy temple/altar defilement.
10. Do you write crossovers?
None yet, but I'm not opposed! I enjoy reading them when they tick all of my boxes, but I will admit, I can be pretty picky.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
None that I know of, but I wouldn't be surprised.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yes! Just one. I thought it was very sweet and adored the fact that someone liked my writing enough to spend time translating it.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Just one, but I'm very open to doing more! I've written in a rouns robin, but I think I would prefer doing a full co-write with one or two other authors.
14. What's your all-time favorite ship?
Very hard, but probably spideypool. I've had a Spider-Man fixation for about half my life, and I simply love Deadpool. Besides spideypool, probably perpollo or jonmartin.
15. What's a wip you want to finish, but don't think you ever will?
I don't think I have one? I have 4 wips currently. One has an ending well in sight. Another has 15k words already, and I refuse to let all that go to waste.
16. What are your writing strengths?
Descriptions and pacing! I've been told a few times that people enjoy reading my au's because I don't infodump all at once, I make the gathering of information feel natural and comfortable. I personally love my visual metaphors.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Time management. I'm generally very busy and get easily distracted. Getting myself to sit down and actually write is a pain.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
I try to write around using another language if I don't know a native speaker who could help me. Writing in German would be no problem for me (I studied it in college), but I would shy away from anything else.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Attack on Titan (I was in 8th grade, lol). I published it on Wattpad, and it did fairly well before I deleted it.
20. Favorite fic you've written?
This is almost impossible to answer, but I loved writing "And Spring Will Come Again." It was for a fic exchange that I pinch hitted for. I went a bit overboard with the nature imagery and metaohors, but I had fun researching folklore + mythology. Anything that requires research is very fun to me.
I, sappho-of-space, hereby nominate @celestialepiphany .
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
Thank you @dangerliesbeforeyou for tagging me, im mentioning all kinds of media bc I love to rant, I have a lot of love in my heart and I have trouble choosing just 8: (im making this on mobile hope it's readable).
Howl's moving castle (2004)
My first experience of gender envy, gender fascination, gender emulation for Howl, at a time I didn't even know that gender was a thing because I was like idek 7 years old.
Kiss of the rabbit god (2019)
A short movie, stumbled onto it bc of Tumblr. You honour, I simply love it.
Shrek (2001)
I'm not being ironic I'm very serious about this one. My mom used to braid my hair weekly when I was little and I constantly played this one, I know it by heart and I'm not joking. I freaking love this movie. Same goes for Mulan, Beauty and the beast, Charlie and the chocolate factory, and the whole Shrek franchise up to the 3rd one. (Gotta watch Puss in boots 1 and 2 tho.)
V for vendetta (2005)
This is a shout-out to 14 years old me who might have at some point based their personality around this movie or maybe they didn't, who's to say. I'm not sorry. Kinda still like it tho.
Corpse bride (2005)
There is an independent cinema in my hometown and they did run it often over the years. Bestie I don't know how many times I went to see this movie with my mother as a child. Recently learned about the Jewish origins of this myth and im a lil upset about the stolen storyline without the context. But some will say it's a Burton movie and they're right.
Valentine's day (2011)
First movie I went to see alone with my friends, I was like 12yo. Rewatched it again like 2 years ago, yeah it ain't that great but it's the memories right.
Father and soldiers (2022)
The last movie that made me cry. I hate war movies but my friends convinced me to go because it was less than 2 hours and I've been mad at movies being more than two and a half hours lately (looking at u House of Gucci, Doctor Strange 2) yeah, I cried my eyes out. It's not a perfect movie but the message is great and very moving. I don't like the English title because the original/French title directly refers the name of a group of African soldier recruited by France in its colonies during WWI -> "Les Tirailleurs" (if I remember well, the soldiers were recruited in every colonies but they left Africa from the Senegal and so all these soldiers are referred as Senegalese regardless of their actual origins). The English title is more fitting thematically wise I'll give you that.
Fulmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009)
Knew about it, was recommended by a dear mutual of mine on this very hellsite and yeah, ppl keep saying it's good because it just is.
I told sunset about you/ I promised you the moon (2020-2021)
If you read my tags u know how I rant about this show often. Watched it 2 years ago thanks to someone i follow on Tumblr (but im not really sure who it was anyway if you're a mutual thank you sm). My first foray into BL (back when I didn't even know what it was) and I couldn't be happier that I started with this. I don't have enough words to praise it. (currently writing a post about it tho, stay tuned for whenever I get around to finish it (tell me if u wanna know when it's up), big up to Bad Buddy and To My Star too)
Honoured mentions bc I started making a list and had more than 8 and couldn't not mention them:
Other movies: O'brother, Love and Leashes, God's own country, Jackie Brown, The big lebowsky (idek if I like this movie but I needed something to base my personality around when I was 15yo)
The book The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo, I'm gonna keep my rant about how the English title is a misunderstanding of the book locked and not even start it.
Alice isn't dead and The Magnus archives (although they're podcasts and I haven't quite finished them, the first seasons are exquisite)
Welcome to Night Vale, I have a lot of episodes to catch up on (currently working on that) started listening like in 2016 then stopped around idek 2 years ago. Some of these episodes are masterpieces ( some I know by heart: Guidelines for disposal, Love is a shambling thing, What happened at the Smithwick House, If he had lived, and The Pilot ofc)
the ballet Swan Lake (1995, 2012) by Matthew Bourne. I don't have enough words. I'll just say it's on youtube.
.....and many more im not think abt rn
*acts surprised* this became a real long post, real quick
(That's why I take a lot of time to answer those lmao, shout out and thank you to the ppl who tag me in these and then I take a lot of time to answer)
Tagging these people and anyone who wants to do it can mention me: @sherlockig @dontbesoevil @lordmeowdemort @namelessbeing @hairbackc0llarup @comrademichael @johnlockdynamic @lovelywickedsoul @frenchsiren
#tagged#ask game#yeah this could have gone on for a lil while#i have some ive yet to answer but its coming#i have many rants locked if u wanna know about them just ask#thanks for tagging me#platypustalks
20 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
birsiyahinciyagmuru-blog
Bir siyah inci yağmuru
iggyalfi2319
Paradoxical being
litandroses
lit and roses;
keriarentikai
[Insert clever title here]
milathosdaily
until we're both dead