#I always try to sort them from south to north - but I have to start with Øst(city) because she's the capitol and in charge

[ifindus]

Norwegian Regions - Regional flowers and landscape.

Østlandet (city) - Blåveis (anemone hepatica), county flower of Akershus. Low hills covered in forests and fields with many cities around the Oslo fjord.

Østlandet (rural) - Skogstjerne (lysimachia europaea), county flower of Innlandet. Steeper hills and valleys with vast spruce forests.

Sørlandet - Solblom (arnica montana), county flower of Agder. Beaches and islands and rocks, very coastal with inland forests.

Vestlandet - Revebjelle (digitalis purpurea), county flower of Sogn og Fjordane. Fjords and steep, green mountainsides.

Trøndelag - Reinrose (dryas octopetala) county flower of Trøndelag. Several valleys with forests and fertile farmland centrered around the Trondheims fjord.

Nord-Norge - Rødsildre (saxifraga oppositifolia) county flower of Nordland. Steep mountains straight into the sea, less vegetation.

[leidensygdom]

Okay, I will try to explain this topic as well as I can. I will preface this with the fact this comes from personal experiences, and that they may not apply for everyone who has ties to this culture, but let's get to it:

What's the issue with Fortune tellers / "Exotic" circus performers, sexualized belly dancers and other forms of orientalism/Romani depictions?

So, as someone in the TTRPG world (specifically, the DnD community), this sort of trope is seen quite a lot. From the portrayal of Vistani (which has been tried to be fixed, but not... too well), to player characters in home games, as well as popular canon characters and podcasts, it's got quite normalized. Most of these tropes are based on Romani, which is a widespread ethnicity present all across the globe. Now, it feels almost strange to call it orientalism, given how Romani have been in Europe since the Middle Ages, even though they do have roots outside of Europe.

Romani face one of the biggest diaspora in the world: You will find Roma people under many names in very different countries, with cultures and traditions that can clash heavily. Their numbers can range from few hundred in some countries, to over a million in those they have a biggest presence. My own experience is tied to Spanish Roma, known as Gitanos, which is where my mother's side family comes from.

Gitanos are a widespread group, although they're most numerous in the southern part of Spain, Andalusia, where their presence has shaped the culture. Flamenco is thought to have been born from Gitano culture, and it has been adopted as a staple of the Andalusian identity, and the whole of Spain. Gitanos are hard to understand as their own ethnicity in Spain: There's been centuries of Gitanos and Spanish people mixing, and the average Andalusian is quite tan to start with (given Muslim presence there has also been pretty firm). It means it can be hard to "clock" a Spanish Romani person from a non-Romani one. It means you can find Romani people most would consider white, at least by Spanish standards. Most of the discrimination Gitanos face is cultural (and the whole ordeal can be a bit harder to explain from a more US-centric view).

Now, even when Gitanos have influenced Spanish culture a lot, they still face plenty of discrimination. They are one of the most marginalized groups out there. Laws have discriminated against them for centuries, on and off, which have put them in poverty. And poverty often develops into criminality, which has only seeded the idea that Gitanos are criminals, "lowlies", the bottom of society, "uncivilized", etc. Now, here comes a bit of my own experience with this.

My entire family is Andalusian, but both sides moved from there (the south) to Catalonia (north-east) in order to find a job during the Francoist (fascist) dictatorship. I won't get much into the specifics of the Catalan vs Andalusian beef because that's a bit of a massive topic too, but the important thing here is: My mother's side is Romani. My grandma faced some horrifying forms of discrimination, including the theft of her first child during the fascist dictatorship, which was taken from her by nuns (who ran hospitals at the time) to be placed into a "proper" family. (This is something that happened repeatedly at some hospitals during these times).

Now, she had two other children: My mother and my aunt. My aunt remained closely knit to Romani culture, and took part in it, which included marrying a Romani guy. She always did her best efforts to be part of it. I know she was into some culturally-related dances, which included some forms of bellydancing (which is also partially tied to Roma culture). But my mother decided she'd rather cut ties with her culture and become "civilised", by abandoning said culture.

This isn't too uncommon for Gitanos, to be honest. I've met a few people who come from similar backgrounds through my life. One of them was in university, where a fellow classmate gave an oral exposition about how his family had done a great job at "becoming civilised" by cutting ties with their own Roma roots. My university was a fairly progressive space, but no one batted an eye at that: The sheer hatred of Roma culture runs so deep even people who normally abhor racism and xenophobia consider Gitanos to be worth the hate.

There's a social pressure to do that, too. Everyone "knows" Gitano are criminals. I can't really even begin to explain how deeply does this sort of discrimination run. Roma are amongst the most hated minority groups in all of Europe (as well as most of the world). You will find that even in very leftist circles. People will try to erase the fact Roma have their own culture, and just make the world equal to "criminal", call them gy***** (which is a slur, btw), and detach them from being an actual culturally (and often racially) distinct group.

Now, this is only empowered by how media has taken our culture (it is almost hard for me to call it "our", given how much my mother ensured to take that away) and made it into a bad trope. Growing up, I was told my aunt was a sexual deviant who partook in indecent dances. Bellydancing is often seen as something very sexual (Wasn't, in origin), very unfitting. In media, bellydancers veer on the side of being a f*tish, and the common trope is the "bellydancer who seduces people in power for their own benefit". There's also the whole idea of shady fortune tellers and other magical tropes, that sort of weird mysticism that falls rapidly into orientalism. The idea that Roma will hex you, curse you, place an "Evil Eye" on you. And also the idea of travelling circus, people who perform in them being again full of that alluring exoticism, but beware! For they will enchant you, steal from you and run some massive criminal schemes on the way.

Now, when every tie a culture has on media is portrayed in a negative light, it's much harder for that culture to recover any sort of respect from the general populace. And that includes even people who are part of said culture, or people who have been removed from it. It has taken me so many years to unlearn a lot of these biases and realize where it has come from, and now I'm far too distant and far away from my grandmother to actually ever significantly connect to my heritage.

I've had the opportunity to witness what Romani culture is actually about, as I used to live with my grandmother during summers. A lot of the "mysticism" she took part of was actually about wards and protection. A lot of them were actually medicinal in nature, even if others were more superstitious. Red thread in the forehead for sickness and protection to curses, parfums (which contained alcohol or other antiseptics) on wounds, that stuff. My aunt was never a "sexual" deviant, she was keen on recovering and partaking on traditions from a culture that is slowly disappearing. The entire "promiscuous" idea is bullshit, Gitanos place a massive amount of power to marriage and loyalty. I had the luck to witness my cousin's marriage, which was a festivity like none other I had seen in my life, a colorful spectacle full of the most delightful attires, and my mother was whining the entire time over about how it was all an "uncivilised circus".

Now, this is why representation in media is key. Roma culture is broken into a thousand pieces and lost with every passing day. When someone decides to write an ambulant circus performer/fortune teller clad in exotic clothes full of golden jewellery, writes them as a criminal and makes the entire thing extremely sexual, they are feeding into the negative stereotypes about Roma.

Now, there's a lot of people who aren't even aware what culture does that trope even actually come from. I've seen people draw characters clad in Romani attires (often in, uh, rather pin-up or sexual contexts) and claim they're inspired by "x piece of media", where the trope is portrayed in the first place. I literally saw someone make a drawing in that way and call it "inspired by x (non-Roma) artist" instead of acknowledging where does all that come from.

I'm not asking people to not portray Roma people in media. Far from that. I just wish representation was better. Good representation is key towards making a culture seen in a more positive light, and teaching other peoples about it, and making people from said culture resonate with it. The very few times I've seen positive representations of Roma I've felt a bit of that connection with something that was taken from me. I want people to do a bit of research before giving a try to a Roma-coded character. Make an effort to not make Roma always the morally dubious fortune teller, the exotic alluring circus traveller, the bellydancer seductress. It's hard for Romani to produce widespread mainstream media because of how impoverished most communities are (because of the systematic discrimination Roma face all around the world), so the least non-Roma people can do is to be kind when they use their voice to talk or represent us.

I know this is a massive post, and I'm tagging it as "long post" for that reason, but I hope it is helpful for people. Feel free to ask or add your own experience if this is something that resonates with you too. Ask away if you want. I've been wanting to tell a bit my own personal experience, as this has always been a hard spot for me, and even if just a handful of people read this and understand what is this all about, I think it will have been worth it.

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 18: CHIRON THROWS A PARTY

Alex started shouting reading in delight, and only continued in that way, "and we all know Chiron's family throws the best parties!"

Annabeth was a third worried about Oceanus, a third worried about Percy, and a third worried about her eardrums as she gently tapered, "but Chiron's throwing the party. Perhaps he has something planned more mellow, with hot chocolate and Dean Martin."

"Odd time for a party if so," Magnus offered in peace.

Thalia was mildly impressed Alex couldn't get a hint off Annabeth about even rainbow afros in the near future. She really had her shit together.

Alex frowned at Annabeth killing her vibe but nodded and continued reading a touch more in the normal hearing range.

Midtown was a war zone. We flew over little skirmishes everywhere. A giant was ripping up trees in Bryant Park while dryads pelted him with nuts. Outside the Waldorf Astoria, a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin was whacking a hellhound with a rolled-up newspaper. A trio of Hephaestus campers fought a squad of dracaenae in the middle of Rockefeller Center.

Those who had never been to New York just heard landmarks and monsters being smashed together like wrong puzzle pieces. They understood the gravity of what they were hearing, simply because of the look on Percy's face. As if every new crack he'd traveled over was a new vindication he sought.

I was tempted to stop and help, but I could tell from the smoke and noise that the real action had moved farther south. Our defenses were collapsing. The enemy was closing in on the Empire State Building.

The sense of gravitas in Alex's voice always did sound like she should have all attention around the campfire. Even those who were in the know had a way of listening in and left breathless at what was going to happen.

We did a quick sweep of the surrounding area. The Hunters had set up a defensive line on 37th, just three blocks north of Olympus. To the east on Park Avenue, Jake Mason and some other Hephaestus campers were leading an army of statues against the enemy. To the west, the Demeter cabin and Grover's nature spirits had turned Sixth Avenue into a jungle that was hampering a squadron of Kronos's demigods. The south was clear for now, but the flanks of the enemy army were swinging around. A few more minutes and we'd be totally surrounded.

"We have to land where they need us most," I muttered.

That's everywhere, boss.

"We've only just started this one and the horse already gets the gold star," Jason looked pretty proud of Blackjack earning that.

Percy nodded seriously. "Right, so, our options include splitting the island in half and hoping Kronos takes the part that doesn't have the Empire State Building-"

"Pass," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Or shutting the hell up, Jason, to see what we do about it," Percy concluded.

"I'm sort of leaning towards the first option though," Thalia said honestly, "like honestly, I'd just kind of like to see you try."

"You're all hopeless," Nico said in true bafflement how they'd survived this night.

"We're all heroes," Percy reminded with pride, "hopeful, hero, hhhh-" he stammered on another H word.

"Hobgoblins," Alex offered.

"Humanitarians," Magnus grinned.

"Honorable, hopeful, heroes," Jason offered, immediately getting back on Percy's good side as he gestured to him with a nod of thanks.

Alex huffed and called them all a bunch of hobgoblins before she continued.

I spotted a familiar silver owl banner in the southeast corner of the fight, 33rd at the Park Avenue tunnel. Annabeth and two of her siblings were holding back a Hyperborean giant.

"There!" I told Blackjack. He plunged toward the battle.

"No offense to Annabeth in the slightest," Will couldn't help but say through only slightly gritted teeth, "but that's really who you thought needed the most help?"

"No," Percy dismissed at once her injured shoulder had any play in this thought...even if he wouldn't deny it either. "I came to ask her like I would Chiron on top of that hill where forces needed me most."

I leaped off his back and landed on the giant's head. When the giant looked up, I slid off his face, shield-bashing his nose on the way down.

"RAWWWR!' The giant staggered backward, blue blood trickling from his nostrils.

"Does it taste like an Icee?" Alex grinned.

"I didn't lick it!" Percy yelped in disgust.

"Your loss," she shrugged.

I hit the pavement running. The Hyperborean breathed a cloud of white mist, and the temperature dropped. The spot where I'd landed was now coated with ice, and I was covered in frost like a sugar donut.

Alex laughed in delight that further sweets just reinforced her idea of these guys showing up in the next imagining she had of visiting Canada in a complete Willy Wonka mayhem.

"Hey, ugly!" Annabeth yelled. I hoped she was talking to the giant, not me.

"Both?" Magnus smirked.

"No Magnus," Annabeth chuckled, "I meant the giant."

"I don't know, the two looked pretty similar right then, that's not a great defense," Thalia smirked.

"You weren't there, shut it zappy," Percy huffed.

"I don't need to be there to know how you look covered in donut powder, I've witnessed that mess," she chuckled.

Blue Boy bellowed and turned toward her, exposing the unprotected back of his legs. I charged and stabbed him behind the knee.

"Just as planned," Annabeth told Will.

"You planned on Percy descending from above to stab that thing while you distracted him?" He asked in disbelief.

"He's very handy that way," Annabeth shrugged. "I wouldn't have even been surprised to see him tame that pig."

Will couldn't even be mad if they were joking. The two did work best together.

"WAAAAH!" The Hyperborean buckled. I waited for him to turn, but he froze. I mean he literally turned to solid ice. From the point where I'd stabbed him, cracks appeared in his body. They got larger and wider until the giant crumbled in a mountain of blue shards.*

"Why was that somehow more disturbing than turning to dust?" Magnus asked.

"More visually destructive," Alex said with relish.

"They won't turn to dust and vanish as fast," Nico agreed.

Magnus's frown grew as he realized they were right and decided to set aside for now why that did deeply bother him about all these monsters.

"Thanks." Annabeth winced, trying to catch her breath. "The pig?"

"Pork chops," I said.

"Good." She flexed her shoulder. Obviously, the wound was still bothering her, but she saw my expression and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Percy. Come on! We've got plenty of enemies left."

She was right.

"Mmmmm," Annabeth closed her eyes and savored that.

"About the enemies, you only get to enjoy that half as much for not being fine in the shoulder," Percy huffed.

"Mm," Annabeth mocked, trying to sound just as savoring with a serious face.

The result caused them all to snicker like idiots.

The next hour was a blur. I fought like I'd never fought before—wading into legions of dracaenae, taking out dozens of telkhines with every strike, destroying empousai and knocking out enemy demigods. No matter how many I defeated, more took their place.

Percy had been fighting for his life since page one of this mess.

This felt like more. Heavier. Nine times out of ten Percy was outside of Camp facing down these threats, but this time Camp had come to defend his home, and it didn't feel like there was an end goal in sight this time of running them all out. Even if they won this day. More would always take their place.

Annabeth and I raced from block to block, trying to shore up our defenses. Too many of our friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing.

Will fidgeted with the beads of his camp necklace. He officially had more than Micheal at the end of last summer. The assortment of colors always stood out on his neck when he looked in the mirror, like flashes of eyes he'd never see again.

As the night wore on and the moon got higher, we were backed up foot by foot until we were only a block from the Empire State Building in any direction. At one point Grover was next to me, bonking snake women over the head with his cudgel. Then he disappeared in the crowd, and it was Thalia at my side, driving the monsters back with the power of her magic shield. Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere, picked up a Laistrygonian giant in her mouth, and flung him into the air like a Frisbee.

Annabeth used her invisibility cap to sneak behind the enemy lines. Whenever a monster disintegrated for no apparent reason with a surprised look on his face, I knew Annabeth had been there.

But it still wasn't enough.

Jason felt as if he were being held captive by his own mind. The sounds and smells flashing by to fast to get a real grasp on, the emotions that kept peaking and rolling back out of him while he sat in a green bean bag at the bottom of the ocean. He knew every flick of the wrist Percy had made, but everything felt a step off from truly connecting he felt a little madness creeping in what the heck his old life really was until he forced himself to focus on Alex reading with her whole self, Percy's manic grin, Thalia lounged out in her seat still fiddling with her bracelet. This was real, at least. These weren't moments a god could take away from him again. He wouldn't let it happen.

"Hold your lines!" Katie Gardner shouted, somewhere off to my left.

The problem was there were too few of us to hold anything. The entrance to Olympus was twenty feet behind me. A ring of brave demigods, Hunters, and nature spirits guarded the doors.

Alex's voice shook rarely, but it did now as she realized this was Rachel's drawing, again. Just popping up in Percy's near future. And she was on her way there...somehow. She kept it together well and barreled through the moment, still reading with a thrill in her voice for the idea of being in that action, but Magnus saw it.

I slashed and hacked, destroying everything m my path, but even I was getting tired, and I couldn't be everywhere at once.

Behind the enemy troops, a few blocks to the east, a bright light began to shine. I thought it was the sunrise. Then I realized Kronos was riding toward us on a golden chariot. A dozen Laistrygonian giants bore torches before him. Two Hyperboreans carried his black-and-purple banners. The Titan lord looked fresh and rested, his powers at full strength. He was taking his time advancing, letting me wear myself down.

Alex felt the internal urge to puff up and hiss. To transform into a chimera and use all three heads to deal with this. To throw a slushie with some human teeth in all their faces. This entrapment down here really was starting to affect even her creativity when that's all that came to mind before she just audibly grumbled for a moment before moving on.

Annabeth appeared next to me. "We have to fall back to the doorway. Hold it at all costs!"

She was right. I was about to order a retreat when I heard the hunting horn.

It cut through the noise of the battle like a fire alarm. A chorus of horns answered from all around us, echoing off the buildings of Manhattan.

I glanced at Thalia, but she just frowned.

"Not the Hunters," she assured me. "We're all here."

Alex threw Annabeth a look of fond excitement. She'd known all along the party ponies were coming but had tried to tamper her expectations they weren't going to until the end of the chapter and perhaps only a handful of them would be there with more paintballs.

This, sounded like fun.

"No international league heading in?" Jason asked her, knowing the real answer, still imagining girls in kilts and bows showing up for his own amusement.

"Not unless I was finally unbanned from Saskatchewan," Thalia shrugged. "Long story," she promised at the many confused faces.

"Then who?"

The horns got louder. I couldn't tell where they were coming from because of the echo, but it sounded like an entire army was approaching.

Alex grinned. She read giddy, with such mayhem and delight it would have been infectious to Ethan or possibly even Kronos himself to get hyped about his own demise coming. Annabeth, at least, got a moment to smile and imagine Luke with that old challenging smile on his face to hear of an enemy being thwarted.

I was afraid it might be more enemies, but Kronos's forces looked as confused as we were. Giants lowered their clubs. Dracaenae hissed. Even Kronos's honor guard looked uneasy.

Then, to our left, a hundred monsters cried out at once. Kronos's entire northern flank surged forward.

I thought we were doomed, but they didn't attack. They ran straight past us and crashed into their southern allies.

Percy was already blinking like he was trying to get the dust out of his eyes. The monsters had already started to blur together by that time. The slightly different shades of their skin and the little details they each had in their armor had faded to nothing in his mind but where next to swing his sword. Seeing them run right past him, flee and then explode on their allies' own weapons, coating the streets in glittering sand that was dispersed moments later as more took their place amid those horns really messed with him and put in perspective while an entire army just watched in terror really had made him feel small for just that moment.

A new blast of horns shattered the night. The air shimmered. In a blur of movement, an entire cavalry appeared as if dropping out of light speed.

"Yeah, baby!" a voice wailed. "PARTY!"

A shower of arrows arced over our heads and slammed into the enemy, vaporizing hundreds of demons. But these weren't regular arrows. They made whizzy sounds as they flew, like WHEEEEEE! Some had pinwheels attached to them. Others had boxing gloves rather than points.

"Centaurs!" Annabeth yelled.

"So, I think the Party Ponies have arrived," Will said conversationally.

"And they're going to smash everything in their sight charged on the power of awesome!" Alex yelled like a child high on soda and cursed knowledge. They were already resigned to pissing off the ocean titan and letting her have her fun.

The Party Pony army exploded into our midst in a riot of colors: tie-dyed shirts, rainbow Afro wigs, oversize sunglasses, and war-painted faces. Some had slogans scrawled across their flanks like HORSEZ PWN or KRONOS SUX.

"That's going to be my license plate one day," Alex declared, reading each new thing as if a treasure trove of a lifetime. Maybe Loki Sux instead.

Hundreds of them filled the entire block. My brain couldn't process everything I saw, but I knew if I were the enemy, I'd be running.

"I'm so disappointed in your brain," Jason groaned. He wanted every messy detail of this just as bad.

"I am too," Percy nodded. He knew his friends loved this kind of stuff and really was sorry he couldn't give them better visuals. Stupid brain.

"Percy!" Chiron shouted across the sea of wild centaurs.

"Chiron and Percy, parting the sea of wild centaurs and creatures to get to each other," Thalia gave a mock sniff. "It's such an amazing story of mentor and mentee-"

"I'm going to turn you into a manatee," Percy scowled.

He was dressed in armor from the waist up, his bow in his hand, and he was grinning in satisfaction.

"I half imagined him showing up to this in his tweed jacket," Nico admitted.

"He's worn that once guys, while pretending to be a real teacher at my school," Percy chuckled.

"What do you mean a real teacher?" Annabeth looked at him in disappointment. "He's literally the trainer of all hero's seaweed brain."

"Like, grading papers, and Paul- no, but- boring, no," Percy groaned that wasn't right either and waved at Alex to just get back to the fun stuff.

"Sorry we're late!"

"DUDE!" Another centaur yelled. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!"

"That centaur knows how to live," Alex nodded in agreement.

"We haven't slayed one monster in here," Percy agreed in mild disappointment. "Guys, do we talk to much?!"

"Yes," they all agreed, not that it was going to stop a single one of them.

He locked and loaded a double-barrel paint gun and blasted an enemy hellhound bright pink. The paint must've been mixed with Celestial bronze dust or something, because as soon as it splattered the hellhound, the monster yelped and dissolved into a pink-and-black puddle.

Alex's laugh was subdued at best, even for that badass moment though. She couldn't recklessly laugh at that harm done anymore without picturing Mrs. O'Leary crossing her paws over her nose in Percy's apartment. Even Magnus couldn't have a vindictive laugh over this happening to a monster dog with that look on her face.

"PARTY PONIES.'" a centaur yelled. "SOUTH FLORIDA!"

"As opposed to North Florida?" Jason asked blankly.

"Bet the Flordia Georgia line is an epic meet-up spot?" Percy shrugged.

Somewhere across the battlefield, a twangy voice yelled back, "HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"

Will pressed his hand to his heart and started humming something. Nico just thought what a lovable dork he was no matter the song.

"HAWAII OWNS YOUR FACES!" a third one shouted.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Annabeth tried hard to hitch up a mock sob, but it came out to much as a laugh to be anything more than adorable to Percy.

The entire Titan army turned and fled, pushed back by a flood of paintballs, arrows, swords, and NERF baseball bats. The centaurs trampled everything in their path.

"Run, wild horses, run!" Will said with a static kind of energy that got the others just as hyped as Alex could. He'd been running around trying to ensure the sick and injured had gotten inside first, he'd been snatching up supplies so fast the Stolls would have been proud, he'd been having to deal with his own chaos and really hadn't even been aware these guys showed up until one tapped him on the shoulder and offered help. He was pretty sure it was one from Colorado and had still instantly said yes without question.

"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos yelled. "Stand and ACKK!"

Alex really drew that noise out too, making it sound wet and painful, leaving no one in doubt Kronos had not managed to finish saying the word attack.

That last part was because a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him.

The lord of time disappeared under a giant blue butt.

Through an effort Hercules would never bother with, Percy refused to let himself laugh at that like most everyone else did as Annabeth bit her lip. He was pretty sure that should earn him a free pass for laughing at something inappropriate in the future. Jason might even laminate it for him.

We pushed them for several blocks until Chiron yelled, "HOLD! On your promise, HOLD!"

It wasn't easy, but eventually the order got relayed up and down the ranks of centaurs, and they started to pull back, letting the enemy flee.

Thalia's face was flushed with joy, still panting just a bit from her laughter at Luke's stupid face vanishing under an icy ass like he wholly deserved, the ghost of adrenaline she hadn't properly felt in days still pumping through her. Once this high had worn off she'd been so exhausted she'd nearly fallen asleep climbing some stairs!

"Chiron's smart," Annabeth said, wiping the sweat off her face. "If we pursue, we'll get too spread out. We need to regroup."

"I mean, yeah, but," Alex gestured to the book and the chaos being taken away.

"I'll personally sign you up for the next scavenger hunt at Camp, nothing gets more chaotic than that," Annabeth promised.

"Deal," Alex shrugged without further ado.

"But the enemy—"

"They're not defeated," she agreed. "But the dawn is coming. At least we've bought some time."

I didn't like pulling back, but I knew she was right.

"How to sum up them dating," Will and Nico said at once before they both busted out laughing. Annabeth and Percy exchanged unamused looks at this somehow continuing long past the point it was funny, but as constantly proven, they knew when to pick their battles.

I watched as the last of the telkhines scuttled toward the East River. Then reluctantly I turned and headed back toward the Empire State Building.

We set up a two-block perimeter, with a command tent at the Empire State Building. Chiron informed us that the Party Ponies had sent chapters from almost every state in the Union: forty from California, two from Rhode Island,

"Rhode Island slacking," Alex sniffed. "It's right next door!"

"They're, congressional appointments, of centaurs," Magnus said in fascination. "Like, they sent some by population? Is there a centaur president?"

"Ah, no," Annabeth shook her head with a smile. "Don't overthink it cuz."

"Right," he chuckled, imagining that would be Chiron anyways and he already knew what a hectic leader that guy was.

thirty from Illinois . . . Roughly five hundred total had answered his call, but even with that many, we couldn't defend more than a few blocks.

"Just topple over one unoccupied building, that's all I'm asking for," Alex crossed her fingers hopefully. "Brick launcher grenade gun!"

"They could too," Jason said with mingled dread and delight for that idea.

"Dude," said a centaur named Larry. His T-shirt identified him as BIG CHIEF UBER GUY, NEW MEXICO CHAPTER.

"Are all the Hells Angels just secretly centaurs? Is there a centaur gang?" Percy asked.

"The only turf war they'd have is best licorice supply runs, I think we're safe from that," Annabeth shrugged.

"That was more fun than our last convention in Vegas!"

"Yeah," said Owen from South Dakota. He wore a black leather jacket and an old WWII army helmet. "We totally wasted them!"

Chiron patted Owen on the back. "You did well, my friends, but don't get careless. Kronos should never be underestimated. Now why don't you visit the diner on West 33rd and get some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer."

"Root beer!" They almost trampled each other as they galloped off.

"I got it," Thalia snapped her fingers, "they argue over which brand is better and that's why they all have to live separately!"

"How many brands of root beer are there?" Percy asked blankly.

"3,192," Alex said without hesitation.

There was a long pause before nobody decided to ask how serious that answer was.

Chiron smiled. Annabeth gave him a big hug, and Mrs. O'Leary licked his face.

"Ack," he grumbled. "Enough of that, dog. Yes, I'm glad to see you too."

"Chiron, thanks," I said. "Talk about saving the day."

He shrugged.

Nico smacked the side of his head. "I finally figured out where you got it from!"

"Yeah Nico, after the second time you've saved the world, it is kind of not a big deal," Percy shrugged.

Nico wouldn't know. He'd only kind of helped once.

"I'm sorry it took so long. Centaurs travel fast, as you know. We can bend distance as we ride. Even so, getting all the centaurs together was no easy task. The Party Ponies are not exactly organized."

"Noooo, say it ain't so!" Magnus chuckled.

"I mean, they're about as organized as Percy's camp, aka being held together by an awesome speech and the thrill of surprise attacks," Alex nodded. "I think it works."

Percy kind of wanted to be offended, but like, she wasn't wrong.

Percy kind of wanted to be offended, but like, she wasn't wrong.

"And a sense of family, loyalty, duty?" Annabeth prompted with a frown.

"Don't forget the duct tape," Thalia chuckled as Will hid his wince. Maybe Annabeth wouldn't admit they'd been fighting family amidst those monsters, but he didn't forget.

"How'd you get through the magic defenses around the city?" Annabeth asked.

"They slowed us down a bit," Chiron admitted, "but I think they're intended mostly to keep mortals out. Kronos doesn't want puny humans getting in the way of his great victory."

"So maybe other reinforcements can get through," I said hopefully.

"What other reinforcements are there?" Jason asked critically. He didn't mean to sound so sharp, but he did all the same. There was an electric storm still simmering in his brain that felt like it was zapping every part of him from the inside if he tried to concentrate on any blurry idea to long and it was giving him a serious headache.

Chiron stroked his beard. "Perhaps, though time is short. As soon as Kronos regroups, he will attack again. Without the element of surprise on our side . . ."

I understood what he meant. Kronos wasn't beaten. Not by a long shot. I half hoped Kronos had been squashed under that Hyperborean giant's butt, but I knew better. He'd be back, tonight at the latest.

"Well there goes my master plan," Alex sighed. "All those years of practice training that guy to squash things with his ass, wasted."

"Have no fears Alex, you'll move onto your next passion project soon," Magnus said with complete confidence.

"Yeah," she agreed with a longing sigh all the same.

"And Typhon?" I asked.

Chiron's face darkened. "The gods are tiring. Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday. Typhon smashed his chariot, and the wine god went down somewhere in the Appalachians.

Nico spluttered on a painful sounding laugh. "Even Chiron calls him the wine dude?"

"The wine god," Will corrected in a posh voice. "And I'm sure Mr. D's threatened to turn him into a table a few times for it."

No one has seen him since. Hephaestus is out of action as well. He was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia.

"I really hope some mortal thinks that's an asteroid bringing the dinosaurs back," Percy laughed.

"Percy, no," but Annabeth stopped with a sigh and let him have his fun.

He will heal, but not soon enough to help. The others still fight. They've managed to slow Typhon's approach. But the monster can not be stopped. He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow. Once he and Kronos combine forces—"

That's all they'd been hearing of this problem from the start, and it somehow just got worse every time they heard it. Even if, beyond all hope, Percy had somehow stopped Kronos with one stupid decision, how the heck had that been stopped?!

"Then what chance do we have?" I said. "We can't hold out another day."

"We'll have to," Thalia said. "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter."

She looked exhausted. Her jacket was smeared in grime and monster dust, but she managed to get to her feet and stagger off.

Annabeth had watched her go with such a tight pain in her throat she wondered if she'd accidentally swallowed some monster dust. Thalia hadn't even glanced back at her. She'd gone off to do her next task with the stoic, stiff shoulders of Luke watching them fall asleep and promising to get more firewood.

"I will help her," Chiron decided. "I should make sure my brethren don't go too overboard with the root beer."

"No such thing as too much fun," Alex huffed.

"I'd believe you'd find it even before the Party Ponies," Annabeth agreed.

I thought "too overboard" pretty much summed up the Party Ponies, but Chiron cantered off, leaving Annabeth and me alone.

"That was strategic," Annabeth huffed how unsubtle he was. She owed him a good nerf arrow.

"I know right, he just got there and he's already running off again," Percy huffed with a frown what on earth he meant by it. He would have thought Chiron would want to stay and chat for more of an update.

She cleaned the monster slime off her knife. I'd seen her do that hundreds of times, but I'd never thought about why she cared so much about the blade.

"Not really something I ever would have questioned," Alex shrugged. "I notice you never clean your blade Percy. Just because it's magic doesn't mean it might not like a good polish every once in a while."

Percy rubbed awkwardly at his nose and had nothing to say to that.

Jason suddenly felt the strong smell of polish in his nose and had an odd deja vu moment of being in an armory doing just this and smiled. He turned eagerly to Nico and asked, "how do you polish your sword?"

Nico grinned and started talking about more deadly rivers that could probably do worse to you than wipe your memory or kill you, like put gravel in your shoes or something worse, but Percy was distracted from listening by still watching Annabeth until someone shut the pair up.

She'd spent the entire time fiddling nervously with her hair, a long lost look in her eyes. He finally let the impulse win and traced the side of her neck with a question in his eyes. What the hell had she been through while he'd been away?

Annabeth caught his fingers and smiled but shook her head. Not now. That was okay. He'd wait as long as she needed.

"At least your mom is okay," I offered.

"If you call fighting Typhon okay." She locked eyes with me. "Percy, even with the centaurs' help, I'm starting to think—"

"I know." I had a bad feeling this might be our last chance to talk, and I felt like there were a million things I hadn't told her.

Athena, her stoic, absent mother, was far from her highest concern, Annabeth shook her head. Though of course her brain had been able to process plenty of concern all around. Chiron darting in and out and around everyone while sparing her a smile first had been that way since she'd arrived. Her dad was on the other side of the country, safe away from the monsters, from her.

It had been Percy she'd wanted, and him who had stayed right there.

"Listen, there were some . . . some visions Hestia showed me."

"You mean about Luke?"

Maybe it was just a safe guess, but I got the feeling Annabeth knew what I'd been holding back.

"I always just assume Annabeth can read your mind and has just been politely not informing you," Magnus nodded.

"That's not polite," Percy frowned.

"Um, or possible," Annabeth gave them a strange look.

"Right, that too," Percy waved off.

Maybe she'd been having dreams of her own.

"She's been having dreams about your dreams?" Will asked excitedly. "Dreamception?"

"This is somebody's nightmare around here," Nico rolled his eyes.

"Yeah," I said. "You and Thalia and Luke. The first time you met. And the time you met Hermes."

Annabeth slipped her knife back into its sheath. "Luke promised he'd never let me get hurt. He said ... he said we'd be a new family, and it would turn out better than his."

"Which, isn't going well," Magnus said in the kindest, most respectful voice anyone could make that sound.

"Right on the money," Annabeth nodded slowly as she leaned back into Percy's side, fingers still linked together. She really didn't know what she'd do without him in all this.

Her eyes reminded me of that seven-year-old girl's in the alley—angry, scared, desperate for a friend.

Thalia bit back a miserable sigh at how much she'd failed her too. Never on purpose, but enough that she wasn't in this moment and felt every hammer swing she deserved for it in the heart.

Annabeth sighed and gave her a good hard nudge with her foot. She wasn't going to let Thalia keep blaming herself for all that happened since then. There was enough to go around.

"That I can't face Luke," she said miserably.

"Hey, look how well you know me though," Thalia said with a genuine smile.

"Yes, your faith in me is everything," Annabeth said with a sad, sarcastic smile.

Thalia tipped her head and looked back at the book with the unsettling feeling this was about to get worse.

I nodded. "But there's something else you should know. Ethan Nakamura seemed to think Luke was still alive inside his body, maybe even fighting Kronos for control."

Annabeth tried to hide it, but I could almost see her mind working on the possibilities, maybe starting to hope.

Thalia let out a puff of breath and looked into her miserable eyes. "I'm not happy to be right you know."

"Well that's always good to know," Annabeth nodded as the two watched each other for a few moments before looking away.

"I didn't want to tell you," I admitted.

"But you did," Annabeth said in relief, just for him. He kissed her temple and couldn't think of anything else to say, but it was more than enough for her.

She looked up at the Empire State Building. "Percy, for so much of my life, I felt like everything was changing, all the time. I didn't have anyone I could rely on."

I nodded. That was something most demigods could understand.

'Most, but not him,' Will shook his head. He'd wondered a lot during this if Percy really knew how good he had it, the best of both worlds in his parents, all three of them.

"I ran away when I was seven," she said. "Then with Luke and Thalia, I thought I'd found a family, but it fell apart almost immediately. What I'm saying . . . I hate it when people let me down, when things are temporary. I think that's why I want to be an architect."

"To build something permanent," I said. "A monument to last a thousand years."

She held my eyes. "I guess that sounds like my fatal flaw again."

Most everyone around Camp knew that that was 'her thing.' Her go to if someone had a project, her specialty. Someone who was even paying attention could probably even piece together that was her fatal flaw.

Percy was still the only one she ever talked about this with. The one who made her feel like she could tell him anything and he'd never judge her for it. He'd shared his mortal spot with her. How could she ever be afraid to share anything with him?

Years ago in the Sea of Monsters, Annabeth had told me her biggest flaw was pride—thinking she could fix anything. I'd even seen a glimpse of her deepest desire, shown to her by the Sirens' magic.

Annabeth had imagined her mother and father together, standing in front of a newly rebuilt Manhattan, designed by Annabeth. And Luke had been there too—good again, welcoming her home.

"I guess I understand how you feel," I said.

"Liar," Annabeth chuckled.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. He knew he'd never understand every part of her, but he did try.

"But Thalia's right. Luke has already betrayed you so many times. He was evil even before Kronos. I don't want him to hurt you anymore."

Annabeth pursed her lips. I could tell she was trying not to get mad.

"And that was going so well," Jason said in surprise. She hadn't even pulled her knife back out.

"Yeah, first time for everything," Percy agreed in surprise.

"And you'll understand if I keep hoping there's a chance you're wrong."

I looked away. I felt like I'd done my best, but that didn't make me feel any better.

Annabeth struggled to swallow as his hand held hers tight enough to never let go. Gods this somehow kept feeling worse the longer they were dragged over each letter.

Across the street, the Apollo campers had set up a field hospital to tend the wounded—dozens of campers and almost as many Hunters. I was watching the medics work, and thinking about our slim chances for holding Mount Olympus. . . .

And suddenly: I wasn't there anymore.

I was standing in a long dingy bar with black walls, neon signs, and a bunch of partying adults. A banner across the bar read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOBBY EARL. Country music played on the speakers.

"Friends in Low Places?" Magnus nodded without surprise. It was barely even a shock to his system Percy had just been yanked out of his own head to deal with another gods mess.

"Does any other country song exist?" Percy chuckled.

Will opened his mouth with a pained look at the pair before closing it slowly, knowing that rant would fall on deaf ears.

Big guys in jeans and work shirts crowded the bar. Waitresses carried trays of drinks and shouted at each other. It was pretty much exactly the kind of place my mom would never let me go.

"In public?" Thalia said in understanding.

"Places where alcohol and those outfits are in one room," Percy huffed. "Mostly the alcohol!"

"We need to get him drunk one of these days, just to see if it'll finally be the thing to piss of Sally," Thalia rolled her eyes.

Somebody was clearly in a terrible mood. "Pass," Percy said at once. The stench reminded him of Gabe without even bothering to indulge the other stupid part of that.

I was stuck in the very back of the room, next to the bathrooms (which didn't smell so great) and a couple of antique arcade games.

"Oh good, you're here," said the man at the Pac-Man machine. "I'll have a Diet Coke."

He was a pudgy guy in a leopard-skin Hawaiian shirt, purple shorts, red running shoes, and black socks, which didn't exactly make him blend in with the crowd. His nose was bright red. A bandage was wrapped around his curly black hair like he was recovering from a concussion.

"So he blended right in like a sore thumb," Nico said, blinking spastically at the setting.

"Accurate," Percy nodded.

I blinked. "Mr. D?"

He sighed, not taking his eyes from the game. "Really, Peter Johnson, how long will it take for you to recognize me on sight?"

"About the same time as when he gets his halo," Alex rolled her eyes.

"About as long as it'll take for you to figure out my name," I muttered.

"Oh, so much never!" Magnus laughed, clasping his hands together in mock praise.

"An infinite amount of never, that's the answer to some riddle out there," Percy laughed along.

"Where are we?"

"Why, Bobby Earl's birthday party," Dionysus said. "Somewhere in lovely rural America."

"It's not a very lost Lestragonian is it?" Nico asked, vividly remembering their names had a similar ring.

"Don't stereotype Nico, lots of normal people have names like Earl, and they're just your everyday pieces of crap," Will rolled his eyes hard. If they were going to make jokes about the South he might as well get his digs in with another classic country song coming to mind.

"I thought Typhon swatted you out of the sky. They said you crash-landed."

"Yes, but Chiron never said where," Jason agreed. "Why wouldn't he land in a bar? Makes sense to me. Bars have wine."

"They're not magnetically drawn to their domain when they crash land," Annabeth sighed.

"Yeah, but I bet you anything if Hepahsuts had drawn me in for a one-on-one, I'd find myself in a very tiny tool shed with him throwing saws around and complaining about their dullness matching mine," Percy sighed.

"Your concern is touching. I did crash-land. Very painfully. In fact, part of me is still buried under a hundred feet of rubble in an abandoned coal mine.

"Huh," Percy and Jason said together with interest they'd been wrong.

Annabeth just smiled and rolled her eyes at these idiots.

It will be several more hours before I have enough strength to mend. But in the meantime, part of my consciousness is here."

"At a bar, playing Pac-Man."

"You sound a tad jealous," Alex chuckled.

"Eh, I prefer Street Fighter eating my quarters," Percy shrugged. There was a retro arcade not far from one of his favorite movie places he didn't get to visit enough, but his high score was still in the top ten.

"Party time," Dionysus said. "Surely you've heard of it. Wherever there is a party, my presence is invoked.

Percy yelped and covered his ears at the idea of such a future pain in his ass. "I take it all back! Alex and anyone else is forbidden from ever throwing me a party!"

"Awww, come on Perce, I promise to keep him in the back with an arcade machine," Alex looked like a kicked puppy.

Percy's heart instantly crumbled. "Yeah, well, fine, but nobody had better involve singing."

"Deal," she instantly agreed. She winked at Will though when he looked away, who instantly grinned back.

Because of this, I can exist in many different places at once. The only problem was finding a party. I don't know if you're aware how serious things are outside your safe little bubble of New York—"

"Safe little bubble?"

"Come on Percy, you'd know this was a trap if he wasn't delusional on all that partying," Thalia shook her head at him.

"Yeah, yeah, one thing is normal in this crazy world," Percy huffed.

"—but believe me, the mortals out here in the heartland are panicking. Typhon has terrified them. Very few are throwing parties. Apparently Bobby Earl and his friends, bless them, are a little slow. They haven't yet figured out that the world is ending."

"Don't know what he's on about, sounds like the perfect time to throw a party," Alex chuckled.

"Yeah, that tracks," Jason nodded without surprise.

"So . . . I'm not really here?"

Magnus couldn't even be upset and surprised that Percy had legitimately thought he'd just been yanked off the street like that. Considering where he'd woken up without memories. It really wasn't that far-fetched.

"No. In a moment I'll send you back to your normal insignificant life, and it will be as if nothing had happened."

"Yes please," Percy sighed. He might even be grateful for a memory wipe!

...unless Dionysus had gone to far. That actually seemed likely.

"And why did you bring me here?"

Dionysus snorted. "Oh, I didn't want you particularly. Any of you silly heroes would do. That Annie girl—"

"Annabeth."

"The point is," he said, "I pulled you into party time to deliver a warning. We are in danger."

There was another long, awkward pause where even Alex looked disconcerted because she hadn't caused it this time.

"As opposed to?" Percy finally asked into the silence.

"Um, Norwegia? Do they have anything bad going on right now?" Nico finally answered.

"To hell if I know!" Percy threw his hands up, long overdone with these gods making no sense and expecting him to keep up.

"Gee," I said. "Never would've figured that out. Thanks."

"Can't say he never helped guide you," Will chuckled.

"Yes I can," Percy huffed.

"It would just be a lie?" Will tried in vain.

"No Will, I know full well when I'm lying," Percy smirked.

He glared at me and momentarily forgot his game. Pac-Man got eaten by the red ghost dude.

"Erre es korakas, Blinky!" Dionysus cursed. "I will have your soul!"

"Appropriate reaction to be honest," Jason nodded.

"Competitive streak, locked and loaded," Percy pointed at him accusingly.

"I, well maybe, I don't know," Jason frowned before he shrugged and decided against arguing the point. He had a strange feeling he'd once strangled someone with a controller, but he wasn't sure if it was a monster or not and that was kind of bothersome.

"Was nobody going to translate that awesome Greek cuss so I know what I'm saying when I use it?" Alex pouted.

"He said go to the crows too," Nico offered with the same helpful smile as the first time.

"Oh, I see, now I know where she got it from," Alex grinned at Annabeth, who didn't bother to look embarrassed as she shrugged.

"Um, he's a video game character," I said.

"That's no excuse! And you're ruining my game, Jorgenson!"

"Jackson."

"Whichever!

"No, no, Percy Jorgenson should very much be discussed more. What's his life like?" Magnus chuckled.

"Going to Giants games, living his best life I assume," Percy sighed.

Now listen, the situation is graver than you imagine. If Olympus falls, not only will the gods fade, but everything that is connected to our legacy will also begin to unravel. The very fabric of your puny little civilization—"

The game played a song and Mr. D progressed to level 254.

"Ha!" he shouted. "Take that, you pixelated fiends!"

"Um, fabric of civilization," I prompted.

"And Pac-Man is a part of that, gosh Percy, let the man prioritize his way," Jason grinned.

"I'll set Blinky on you, don't test me," Percy promised.

"Yes, yes. Your entire society will dissolve. Perhaps not right away, but mark my words, the chaos of the Titans will mean the end of Western civilization. Art, law, wine tastings, music, video games, silk shirts, black velvet paintings—all the things that make life worth living will disappear!"

"This is not news," Thalia frowned as she looked from the book to Percy. "He didn't really think you were tempted by Prometheus did he?"

Percy shivered, something tight lodged in his throat. He couldn't breathe for several moments as his head swam, that stupid jar leaping to mind strapped into the backseat of a car-

Annabeth put her arm around his shoulders. She held him close as he leaned into her for the stability he desperately needed right now as his head swam without the rest of him.

She ran her fingers gently through his hair until his breathing labored into something more even and Alex kept going without question.

"So why aren't the gods rushing back to help us?" I said. "We should combine forces at Olympus. Forget Typhon."

He snapped his fingers impatiently. "You forgot my Diet Coke."

"Gods, you're annoying." I got the attention of a waitress and ordered the stupid soda. I put it on Bobby Earl's tab.

"Is that illegal?" Magnus frowned. "It feels like that should be illegal."

"I honestly don't think anyone here knows," Will admitted. None of them were exactly law-abiding citizens on the regular.

"Fair enough," he nodded.

Mr. D took a good long drink. His eyes never left the video game. "The truth is, Pierre—"

"Percy."

"Posey," Thalia offered with a smirk at Percy, who groaned in dismay. He just knew she'd find a way to tell his dad he'd once accidentally called him that.

"Nah, got to give him one thing, he's never called Percy a Polly," Alex said in delight. "I was thinking Peitro though, or Picholo."

"I'm so glad I wasn't named after an instrument," Percy frowned and knew he owed his mother yet another thanks in his life.

"—the other gods would never admit this, but we actually need you mortals to rescue Olympus. You see, we are manifestations of your culture. If you don't care enough to save Olympus yourselves—"

"Like Pan," I said, "depending on the satyrs to save the Wild."

"Yes, quite. I will deny I ever said this, of course, but the gods need heroes. They always have. Otherwise we would not keep you annoying little brats around."

"I feel so wanted. Thanks."

"You really should," Annabeth was blinking at him like a new riddle to solve. "I don't think he's ever said that out loud. You must have done something during the battle to really get his attention Percy." Short of creating an ocean of Diet Coke, she couldn't think what he'd done to earn this audience.

Percy realized he hadn't yet mentioned the bit where Dionysus had pulled him aside and basically told him he'd cured Chirs and he was sad his son was dead. It was one of those things he was used to the others all knowing. He'd kind of become Mr. D's fall guy for the entire camp after that he supposed. The good and the bad.

"Use the training I have given you at camp."

"What training?"

"You know. All those hero techniques and . . . No!" Mr. D slapped the game console. "Na pari i eychi! The last level!"

"And that means?" Alex asked eagerly, this time looking around at Nico expectantly.

Nico grinned in a way that already made Will blush before he said, "that one's something more in line with what Will would call Hera."

"Ah, fantastic update, thank you," she chuckled while Will sighed without much regret that was never going to die.

He looked at me, and purple fire flickered in his eyes. "As I recall, I once predicted you would turn out to be as selfish as all the other human heroes. Well, here is your chance to prove me wrong."

"Yeah, making you proud is real high on my list."

"Like, right up there with getting kissed by an empousa," Thalia said in a really good simpering act.

Percy high fived her in agreement and Annabeth really kept telling herself she should move so they'd stop doing that across her face.

"You must save Olympus, Pedro!

"Remind me to send Pedro a thank you gift," Percy rolled his eyes.

"Sounds like you might have to learn some Spanish, personally I'd just take credit for it," Jason shrugged.

Leave Typhon to the Olympians and save our own seats of power. It must be done!"

"Great. Nice little chat. Now, if you don't mind, my friends will be wondering—"

"There is more," Mr. D warned.

"Oh thank gods," Magnus clutched at his shirt over his heart. "This just wasn't dire enough yet!"

Alex patted his shoulder and knew in that moment he'd love a good theater camp.

"Kronos has not yet attained full power. The body of the mortal was only a temporary measure."

Annabeth licked her suddenly dry lips as her eyes darted around like she expected to find an angry mob with pitchforks appearing out of nowhere. It made no rational explanation, she kept trying to scold herself, but that did no good. She half expected them all to laugh at her, to throw in her face they'd known all along that Luke was just a pawn, a means to an end, and he'd deserved this.

None did, and she started feeling dizzy with her own relief until Percy put his arm around her in turn until she caught her breath and her eyes stopped burning so bad. Gods she missed Luke so much.

"We kind of guessed that."

"And did you also guess that within a day at most, Kronos will burn away that mortal body and take on the true form of a Titan king?"

"And that would mean . . ."

Dionysus inserted another quarter. "You know about the true forms of the gods."

"Yeah. You can't look at them without burning up."

"Kronos would be ten times more powerful. His very presence would incinerate you. And once he achieves this, he will empower the other Titans. They are weak now, compared to what they will soon become, unless you can stop them. The world will fall, the gods will die, and I will never achieve a perfect score on this stupid machine."

Alex read all of that without to much surprise. It really was a constant case of, 'how could this get any worse?' and then she got her answer and just moved on. It had kind of been the track record of her whole life anyways.

Nobody was really up for arguing the point with her. It's not like it was new information anymore than, 'Percy needed to save the world or we'd all be dead.'

Maybe I should've been terrified, but honestly, I was already about as scared as I could get.

Jason mock rummaged around in his pockets. "Hang on, I have a meter I need to check for that."

"Where haven't I threatened to shove that yet?" Percy tapped his chin, before he snapped his fingers. "Ah, into your belly button!"

Jason theatrically covered his stomach with a horrified expression and the two idiots chuckled for a moment while Thalia and Annabeth exchanged bemused looks.

"Can I go now?" I asked.

"One last thing. My son Pollux. Is he alive?"

Alex really hated herself for the emotion that gripped her voice. That her mind flashed to her father for just a second, then Loki, before she slammed her fist into an already destroyed washing machine in her mind that made something fall out with a clunk to scatter those stupid images away. She knew what she was telling herself, it wasn't denial, it was just anger it wouldn't go away.

I blinked. "Yeah, last I saw him."

"I would very much appreciate it if you could keep him that way. I lost his brother Castor last year—"

"I remember." I stared at him, trying to wrap my mind around the idea that Dionysus could be a caring father. I wondered how many other Olympians were thinking about their demigod children right now.

Will caught Percy's eye and held it to let him know he wasn't alone. That he'd really felt that, been thinking it too. He'd wondered how useless his prayers were while sending them to his dad. The fact that Mr. D even bothered to pull one camper aside to check in, in his own way, really made him believe for a moment that even if he hadn't gotten an answer, his prayers had been heard.

Or that Pollux hadn't been making any.

And he wasn't sure which it was.

"I'll do my best."

Magnus heard that as, when he went to visit his cousin there, he should expect to see a pudgy blonde kid chilling at a cabin alone. The one with grapevines all over it probably. Percy's best wasn't always the solution to everyone coming out alive, but it was as close as he'd ever expect.

"Your best," Dionysus muttered. "Well, isn't that reassuring. Go now. You have some nasty surprises to deal with, and I must defeat Blinky!"

"Nasty surprises?"

He waved his hand, and the bar disappeared.

"Would the gods stop doing at least that," Percy heard it in his own voice, tried to reign in the reverberating power that could easily topple the room they were in, but man was it heard. "If they know something helpful, next time start with that!"

It took every bit of his concentration not to form his hands into fists and draw Riptide and figure out how to go back to his subconscious or whatever and at least break that stupid machine!

"I don't think their brains are exactly linear like ours Percy," Annabeth reminded patiently.

"Then I'm going to start the conversation by setting three alarms so they think they're running out of time and actually tell me this stuff while the first two to go off! The third one's because I'm positive I'll actually want them to stop talking by then," Percy sighed.

"Good plan. Hope it works out for you," Annabeth sighed right with him at whatever god he decided to test this theory on.

I was back on Fifth Avenue. Annabeth hadn't moved. She didn't give any sign that I'd been gone or anything.

She caught me staring and frowned. "What?"

"Um . . . nothing, I guess."

"That really was nothing to you too," Magnus sighed. Just another day in the life of Percy Jackson, being dragged across the country only in his head to have a conversation with the wine dude who also wasn't really there!

"I know the important things in my life," Percy grinned.

I gazed down the avenue, wondering what Mr. D had meant by nasty surprises. How much worse could it get?

Magnus felt the urge to cover his eyes and whimper pre-monster arrival. Just to get it out of the way now.

My eyes rested on a beat-up blue car. The hood was badly dented, like somebody had tried to hammer out some huge craters. My skin tingled. Why did that car look so familiar? Then I realized it was a Prius.

Paul's Prius.

With every new descriptor Alex's voice had gotten a little quieter, a little more shaken. This wasn't her spooky, telling ghost stories over a fire voice where she tried to make herself sound scared to up the mood. She was legitimately upset at realizing Percy's parents could be hurt much more than some dents in the hood of a car, and Percy was as touched as he suddenly was panicked. It was a very strange feeling that stole his spurt of action but left him feeling sick with the need to do something.

I bolted down the street.

"Percy!" Annabeth called. "Where are you going?"

Paul was passed out in the driver's seat. My mom was snoring beside him. My mind felt like mush.

The fact that she was asleep was of interest to note to those not in the know, but not enough to do more than exchange surprised looks.

Rachel was on her way there, and she'd be asleep for whatever message she wanted to deliver. That was yet another disaster on the horizon while he was processing this one with his face an entire mask of pain.

How had I not seen them before? They'd been sitting here in traffic for over a day, the battle raging around them, and I hadn't even noticed.

"We don't come with built in radars Percy," Annabeth gently reminded as they held each other's hands so tight. "I've tested."

Percy gave her a shaky smile, his mind a complete mess he expected to collapse any second. They'd possibly have to start this all over again and build himself back from the ground up. But she kept smiling back and didn't let go, so that was okay.

"They . . . they must've seen those blue lights in the sky." I rattled the doors but they were locked. "I need to get them out."

"Percy," Annabeth said gently.

"I can't leave them here!" I sounded a little crazy. I pounded on the windshield. "I have to move them. I have to—"

"Percy, just . . . just hold on." Annabeth waved to Chiron, who was talking to some centaurs down the block. "We can push the car to a side street, all right? They're going to be fine."

My hands trembled. After all I'd been through over the last few days, I felt so stupid and weak, but the sight of my parents made me want to break down.

Percy had been scared plenty of times over the course of this, but it was usually coupled in with adrenaline and determination and anger. The kind of grit that made him defeat the next monster, gave him the strength to know that even if he hadn't saved everyone from his past at least he'd never forget them again and try not to make the same mistakes.

This is how Kronos could have defeated him all along, he could feel it in his bones. Yet mortals were beneath his notice, and so she'd sat by untouched but always there at the heart of all this.

Chiron galloped over. "What's . . . Oh dear. I see."

"They were coming to find me," I said. "My mom must've sensed something was wrong."

"Most likely," Chiron said. "But, Percy, they will be fine. The best thing we can do for them is stay focused on our job."

Then I noticed something in the backseat of the Prius, and my heart skipped a beat. Seat-belted behind my mother was a black-and-white Greek jar about three feet tall. Its lid was wrapped in a leather harness.

Percy glowered at the book in the kind of way that made Alex confident he wanted to throw the book in her hands out of the ocean and possibly her along with it if she held on to tight. She ignored it best she could and relied on Annabeth and Thalia to remind him why that was a bad idea. She'd actually never done something like that before, but hey, first time for everything.

"No way," I muttered.

Annabeth pressed her hand to the window. "That's impossible! I thought you left that at the Plaza."

"Locked in a vault," I agreed.

"How do you put something in a vault wrong Thalia?" Jason decided not to let that moment pass without a tease.

"When Percy's involved," she said with a straight face. "It was his magic item and he set me up to fail."

"I'm sure you deserve it for something," but Percy was so jittery he couldn't think straight, couldn't think up one instance over the past where she'd messed with him. All his mind could latch onto was his mom, dropping him off at another new school with another hopeful smile, the songs she'd hum while she was baking, the dark circles under her eyes and the sense of joy radiating off of her for a good night's work. Gods he'd be lost without her.

Chiron saw the jar and his eyes widened. "That isn't— "

"Pandora's jar." I told him about my meeting with Prometheus.

"I thought it was a pithos?" Jason felt the strain in the room and strived to do what Percy did best, give a little levity to it. "You told him about Prometheus giving you Pandora's Pithos Percy, remember how pithy that sounded?"

Maybe word play wasn't everyone's cup of tea in amusement, but he at least got a few smiles and eye rolls for his attempt, which made all the world to him to feel like he hadn't failed.

"Then the jar is yours," Chiron said grimly. "It will follow you and tempt you to open it, no matter where you leave it. It will appear when you are weakest."

"Forever?" Magnus frowned. "Like you have a new Riptide? Man, talk about something in serious need of a regift."

Percy had the brief thought that he should give it to Rachel. She'd probably paint over it and make it look more fun and tempting to open, but she'd also been dealing with hopeless situations with much more style than he'd ever have so she just seemed the obvious choice.

He got a pained spike to his brain for the thought and his eyes flickered to Annabeth with guilt instantly so he decided not to voice any of that.

Like now, I thought. Looking at my helpless parents.

I imagined Prometheus smiling, so anxious to help out us poor mortals. Give up Hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient.

Anger surged through me. I drew Riptide and cut through the driver's side window like it was made of plastic wrap.

Alex grinned at all the mayhem Percy's sword could cause he didn't indulge in nearly enough. "Did it have that smooth feeling like when scissors glide through wrapping paper?"

"Yeah, actually," Percy's smile was a tad diabolical and Annabeth swallowed in horror how many cars were going to be broken into when those two teamed up.

"We'll put the car in neutral," I said. "Push them out of the way. And take that stupid jar to Olympus."

Chiron nodded. "A good plan. But, Percy . . ."

Whatever he was going to say, he faltered. A mechanical drumbeat grew loud in the distance—the chop-chop-chop of a helicopter.

Rachel's insane deal to go to a finishing school all so she could have a chat with Percy hadn't been mentioned in a few hours, what with the constant battles and deaths and centaurs appearing, but boy did they not get a choice now but to think of all the problems, implications, and disasters that were about to happen!

On a normal Monday morning in New York, this would've been no big deal, but after two days of silence, a mortal helicopter was the oddest thing I'd ever heard.

He'd felt it in his chest, the reverberating machine that disrupted his world overtaking the rest. The ground hadn't actually been shaking, but he'd been so loopy from seeing his parents he wouldn't have been surprised to see drinks shaking and windows rattling like the arrival of that machine had smashed them back together.

A few blocks east, the monster army shouted and jeered as the helicopter came into view. It was a civilian model painted dark red, with a bright green "DE" logo on the side. The words under the logo were too small to read, but I knew what they said: DARE ENTERPRISES.

"Did you, ever get a ride in that Percy?" Will's voice was choppy as he strived for his usual cheerful voice but knew it sounded fake. Gods that helicopter crash had been terrifying. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to sit through another action movie with an explosion again without shivering at the heat and noise.

My throat closed up. I looked at Annabeth and could tell she recognized the logo too. Her face was as red as the helicopter.

Trouble and danger afoot, Nico didn't even roll his eyes in surprised annoyance this time because of course Percy looked to her first.

"What is she doing here?" Annabeth demanded. "How did she get through the barrier?"

"You're asking me?" Percy looked so wounded and confused as he sat deep in his seat.

"I'm asking her as soon as I can," her scowl was more light and playful than anything, but Percy felt like he was in trouble for some reason.

"Who?" Chiron looked confused. "What mortal would be insane enough—"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Thalia answered with pride.

"Yeah, not something I'd brag about right now," but Jason couldn't help begrudgingly sounding the same. She really was something, charging into the unknown for her friend. It was as admirable as someone could be.

Suddenly the helicopter pitched forward.

"The Morpheus enchantment!" Chiron said. "The foolish mortal pilot is asleep."

I watched in horror as the helicopter careened sideways, falling toward a row of office buildings.

Even if it didn't crash, the gods of the air would probably swat it out of the sky for coming near the Empire State Building.

I was too paralyzed to move, but Annabeth whistled and Guido the pegasus swooped out of nowhere.

You rang for a handsome horse? he asked.

"Come on, Percy," Annabeth growled. "We have to save your friend."

"Well don't sound so happy about it Annabeth," Alex said with a strained smile she still tried hard to make casual. "You should be used to this by now!"

"It was Rachel's turn for this, wasn't it," Magnus groaned as he watched Percy get up to take the book. "Gods, is there a ticking clock on this? Are you guys going to have to rescue me by association?"

"Possibly," Percy said sheepishly.

Annabeth waited patiently until he got back beside her before swatting him on the back of the head with a very calculated scowl for trying to scare her cousin.

To her surprise though as Percy flipped to the next chapter as if nothing had happened, Magnus just sighed as if he were already resigned to it. He obviously knew Rachel was fine and they had rescued her. He really was taking this much better than she ever would have dreamed.

PJOPJOPJO

*This was legitimately one of the stand-out kills for me from my first reading of the series and I tried to analyze why upon this reread and I think I've narrowed it down to this reason. Instead of dust like every other monster, it's imagining the pain and anger frozen on the monster's face as he collapses to blue shards that stayed there until they melted long after the fight was over. Something about deviating away from the usual formula I guess?

[ms-m-astrologer]

Transiting Mars enters Gemini

Saturday, July 20 - Wednesday, September 4, 2024

“Mouth warrior.” That’s a description of this placement from an article in The Mountain Astrologer 20+ years ago. My son (who just graduated from law school) has natal Mars in Gemini, so I can attest that “mouth warrior” is absolutely, perfectly correct. The man loves to argue.

With Gemini, there are always at least three problems (regardless of what’s in it). One, the energy tends to fluctuate; two, things tend to take place only in our heads, not in real life; three, we make very good plans but we don’t act on them. How does this play out in Mars’ areas?

Physical strength - we think we’re stronger than we actually are. Or, we think we aren’t as strong as we actually are. Gemini is the sign of fine motor skills, and we can work on that kind of dexterity. Some of us will put some energy into strengthening our minds.

Energy levels - here is where the fluctuation really shows up. Rarin’ to go one moment, tired as hell the next.

Sexuality - they talk a good game, all right. This position is good for experimentation and role-playing.

(Side note: yes, this is short, but remember that this is my son’s natal Mars - and the only thing grosser than imagining your parents “doing it,” is imagining your kids. Ew ew ew.)

How we go after what we want - elaborate plans. Very elaborate. We aren’t as bothered about a short, straight path, as Mars usually is. We try to talk our way into what we’re after (and out of trouble).

Mars/Gemini is a good chance for us to learn how to speak up - how to think ahead, to look before we leap - and to have backup plans.

A couple days or so on either side of these aspects, should do. Mars is beginning to slow down a bit, and in fact enters its retrograde zone on October 3. Use the Mars/Gemini energy to plan ahead!

Sunday, July 21 - Mars/Gemini trine Pluto Rx/Aquarius, 0°53’. Plans! How strategic can we get?! There is a lot of mental energy - this is the day of a Full Moon, and we are fizzing and popping.

Friday, August 2 - Sunday, August 4:

Mars/Gemini (8°30’) semi-square Chiron Rx/Aries (23°30’)

Mars/Gemini inconjunct Ceres Rx/Capricorn, 9°04’

Mars/Gemini sextile North Node/Aries, trine South Node/Libra, 9°27’

Mars/Gemini (10°28’) semi-square Eris Rx/Aries (25°28’)

Minor obstacles. We may recognize this, and try to work around them.

Monday, August 12 - Friday, August 16:

Mars/Gemini (15°23’) sesquiquad Pluto Rx/Aquarius (0°23’)

Mars/Gemini conjunct Jupiter/Gemini, 16°40’

Mars/Gemini square Saturn Rx/Pisces, 17°42’

Just wow - this is a hugely ambitious time, but our timing is off, and we feel held back and restrained. Sort of like trying to get the car started, but the motor turns over a couple of times and then stops. Curbing our impatience is mandatory. Think and plan in the longer term.

Friday, August 23 - Saturday, August 24:

Mars/Gemini sextile Mercury Rx/Leo, 22°43’

Mars/Gemini sextile Chiron Rx/Aries, 23°10’

Overflowing with good ideas. We may not be able to do anything about them right now (Mercury and Chiron are retrograde), but if we can somehow “hold that thought” we can use the information in the future.

Wednesday, August 28 - Mars/Gemini sextile Eris Rx/Aries, 25°22’. This is where the Mouth Warriors will really step up. “Fighting words.” Having a good physical outlet will help with this.

Monday, September 2 - Wednesday, September 4:

Mars/Gemini square Neptune Rx/Pisces, 28°59’

Mars/Gemini inconjunct Pluto Rx/Capricorn, 29°57’

What a crappy way to end the transit - Mars as the apex of a yod, inconjunct both Neptune and Pluto. (And guess who has this in her chart, except different signs?) The wider wirld thwarts our olans and schemes. Adjustments need to be made, and if we’ve worked on making the most of Mars/Gemini, we’re ready for them.

[kit-williams]

Barn Anon. Bet Space Marines give other Space Marines a discount price. They know for sure which human businesses aren't to be trusted. I headcannon that Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors have construction companies of their own where the humans are more for admin and communication with human clients. They're in high demand but they'll give a bit more priority to fellow Space Marines.

Your Space Marine effortlessly plucked the heavy bag of groceries from your hands. He refuses to let you hold anything more than the carton of eggs that you're currently holding. You raise your eyebrow at the sight of an Imperial Fist moving about the back porch. Your Space Marine nudges you along, a soft hum from him as he steers you straight to the kitchen. You're aware that your own Space Marine is a bit of a social butterfly with his fellow Space Marines but this is the first time you've seen this particular Imperial Fist. They tend to stick to the south side of the state. You live in the north.

Your Space Marine puts the bags on the island, patting you on the head before he heads out to speak to the Imperial Fist. You tilt your head curiously when you see the Imperial Fist pointing at certain parts. You had off-handedly mentioned to your Space Marine that you feel like redoing your back porch now that some of the wood flooring is starting to wear down. You are aware that the porch was build a decade before you bought the house and it seems it's time for a new look for it. You didn't think he would take it this seriously.

You had included him when you looked over various contractors and at some designs online. It was only polite given how he lives here most of the week. He does disappear a few days a week but that's normal for Space Marines. He had expressed his preferences design wise but was visibly unsatisfied with the contractors you found. He had said something to you but you couldn't understand a single word. He disappeared soon after that rather one-sided conversation and later that night you heard two set of heavy footsteps. Now you realize that he found human contractors insufficient and sought to find one that was more to his standards.

When he comes back in from the back, you teasingly tell him that human contractors would be out of business at this rate. The Imperial Fist outside clearly heard as you would hear a bark of laughter from outside. Your Space Marine only shrugs. You're his human, of course he would make sure you get the best.

Post

Uh 100% I was thinking about writing this in for some of Orn trying to get a discount from another Iron Warrior on lumber in exchange for chopping down some trees on the readers property.

But you've brought it up. Thing is this goes into the business of payment if he is with a company that does employ humans then of course some sort of cash would be exchanged but it's always cheaper than human contractors but then again you need to have an Astarte to even get in contact with them.

I think there is also a side payment in terms of far more bartering on the Astarte's half as given they were so use to getting whatever they wanted they probably have their own exchange system in lore when dealing with other Chapters.

You pat the gold armor of your blue helmed Lion as he treats you like a child but you're a young adult capable of handling everything but your Astarte treats you like a child. He seems a bit nervous about things... you've done your research and you can hardly find any information on your boy except that he is very friendly with Imperial Fists.

You can tell your boy does enjoy to provide and protect as it seems he is very caring but very distrusting of certain organizations it seems. He drew a symbol on a piece of paper for her to watch out for but you tell him there aren't any symbols like that but you'll be the first to let him know if you do see it.

[dipperscavern]

Hi Dippy!!! Idk if you’ll even see this as it’ll probably get buried in your inbox, but I’d love a fortune telling!!! Also I hope your ankle is ok!!!

I’m 5’7”, with brown eyes and curly brown hair. I have a heart shaped face and very prominent eyebrows. I’m bottom heavy lmao (small chest, wide hips, big booty/thighs). I’m very introverted and a homebody, but once I get to know someone I really come out of my shell. Personality wise, I’m very loyal and I’m not afraid to voice my opinions. I don’t have much of a filter and sometimes say things without thinking them through. I like to think to think I’m funny too, but who knows. My favorite color is purple. My friends and I love going to movies, trying new restaurants, and swimming at the lake. I love cats (I have four). Education is really important to me and I’ve always been a good student. It’s paid off because I start grad school soon!!! I’m also really into sports - I like going for nature walks/hikes and I play tennis. I like watching football too. I also love to read (particularly historical fiction or murder mysteries), listen to podcasts, try out new baking/cooking recipes, and watch tv of course. I’m very close with my family and they’re my number one supporters. My favorite quirk about myself is probably that I like metal music, because I sort of look/dress preppy and live in the South! I hate the cold, so I’m not sure how I would survive in Winterfell… 😵‍💫

hi!’ don’t worry about being lost in the sea of my inbox, 1k requests r my top priority — n thank u for checking up on me!! ANYWAYS. let’s see… 🔮

i knew it, as soon as i saw u… allow me to consult my partner! i clap twice and my royal toad, toad mater, floats down into the room starfish position from an unforeseen place in the ceiling. once he’s eye level with me, he croaks, and i nod. he is then lifted back into the darkness.

ANYWAYS. i see you with the wolf of the north, lord cregan stark. cregaj is the same way with his introvert personality! u guys are very respectful and almost quaint while betrothed, but the more you get to know each other, the more your respective personalities come out. not afraid to voice ur opinions!! this is literally one of cregans favorite attributes in a woman. and not having a filter woukd crack this man UPP. everyone says they’ve never seen their lord stark so�� prone to smiling. but it’s all thanks to you, and your inability to read the room (cregan helps you out when necessary). u saying you had cats just made me think of the headcannon that cregans allergic to cats, but would never admit it (thinks allergies dotn exist and that he’s too tough for them😐). and education!! do u KNOW HOW KUCH CREGAJ WOULD LOVE A WELL EDUCATED LADY?!?!?! A LOT!!!! not only does it help you thrive as lady stark, your kids would be sooo intelligent & well educated too. when complimented on it, cregan gives u 99% credit <3

[lostfirefly]

Life Must Have It's Mysteries (Ch.4)

Nobody asked me, but the thought of sending my beloved couple on a new journey didn't let me go. Welcome to a new adventure! No idea how many chapters there will be :) Pain continues leading me to art :)

English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :) Masterlist is here.

Description: Our heroes sneak into Baroque Works Castle and stole the map!

Warnings: Fun, fluff, a little scolding, adventure! Shitty shit again:)

Words: 4403 (sorry again)

Buggy x OC from my “You’ve Got the Same Dream as Me” series.

Taglist: @gingernut1314, @operationroots, @hey-august, @rorywritesjunk, @yujo-nishimura (I hope you still like it!)

The title is taken from “Life Must Have It's Mysteries” by Hans Zimmer (OST Inferno).

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

“Run? Run? Where? That big baby is blocking the road we came!” Catherine was in a slight panic, pointing her finger at the big man.

“Then we'll find another one!” Buggy grabbed her arm and dragged her along. All Catherine could do was yell “oh, my God.” 

They reached another hallway and started looking around. Buggy pulled her behind a column and covered her with his body. 

“Catherine, now would be a good time to turn on your whole brain and think about where in houses like this your favorite Egyptian pharaohs could have made an extra exit. Mister 4 doesn't have powers, but if he hits with his bat, it won't be good.”

“Mister 4? What a stupid name!” She exclaimed.

“Seriously? Now?” He looked at her, trying to read the answer in her eyes to this stupid expression.

They heared the sound of a lot of footsteps, which were getting closer and closer. 

“Where to go?” Buggy asked, looking at Catherine. 

“I... I don't know!!” She grabbed her head. 

“Catherine, please, focus!” 

“Uh, wait. Wait! If this house was built on the pyramid principle, the building should be oriented on the south pole-north pole axis. Typically, emergency exits in such buildings were in the south. But given that they mixed up east and west, the exit should be on the north side of the building.” 

“Then let's try the north way.” He peeked out from behind the column and checked the path. “Clear, let's go.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her along again. 

“Oh, my God! I’m tired of running!”

They had reached the turnoff when a man's voice came from outside.

“Buggy the Clown!”

The man who had a number three on his head made from his hair stood behind them. The man with the number four on his clothes also approached him. 

“You know him?” Catherine asked and looked at Buggy with wide eyes. 

“Uh, sort of.” He shrugged his shoulders. 

“I haven't seen you since prison.” Said the man with the number of three. 

“Holy crap! You know, you should definitely tell me about this!” Catherine punched Buggy in his shoulder. 

“Is that what you want to talk about right now?” Buggy looked at her and gently shoved her behind him, as Catherine searched with her eyes for a way forward. 

“Holy shit!” She squealed. 

The man in ballet clothes appeared from the other side of the hallway. 

“Why does he look so... How he looks like…” She asked, pointing at the man with two figures in the shape of swans on his shoulders.  

“What are you doing here? I thought we talked about this last time.” Said the man with the number of three.  

The question 'what' was read in Catherine's eyes as she shifted her gaze from Buggy to the men. 

“You won't believe! I took the wrong road.” He smiled and made two small steps back. 

“Yes, it's very obvious. You were clearly on your way somewhere, and then suddenly… you're standing in the middle of the hallway of our headquarters.”

“Well, uh. What can I say, Mister 3? That's me!” Buggy chuckled.

“Mister Three? Who comes up with these stupid names?” Catherine screamed loudly, rolling her eyes. “And you're probably Mister 2, judging by the originality of the names here.” She pointed a finger at the man in ballet clothes. He looked surprised. 

Mister 3 glanced at Catherine. “So, Buggy, why are you here?”

Buggy slipped his hand into the pocket of his denim jacket. Mister 3 spread his legs slightly and stretched out his arms, which began to turn to wax.

“Fuck me!!!” Catherine goggled at his wax hands. “What the fuck is that?”

Mister 3 made a sudden movement with his hand, creating a long wax lasso, and wrapped it around Catherine's leg. 

“Let her go!” Buggy said loudly, taking three knives out of his pocket. 

“Oh my goodness, Buggy! Would you at least say that you carry such things with you?”

“Catherine, shut up, please!” He hissed at her. 

“Oh! Now I see who is she!” Mister 3 jerked his wax lasso sharply, knocking Catherine to the floor and pulling her towards him.

“Fuck!” Buggy abruptly dropped the knives, separated his both arms and grabbed Catherine by the belt on her pants. 

Catherine forcefully began to pull her leg out. “Damn!! I'm so sick of your fucking devil fruits! Let me go!” 

Mister 3 pulled Catherine back toward him. She jerked her leg sharply, and she managed to free it. She quickly stood up, and Buggy’s hands pulled her back to him. 

He attached his hands, took her hand and began to lead her behind his back. “Catherine, on the count of three, run.” He said quietly. 

“How? That ballet dude blocked the way! And what about you?” She asked with concern in her voice and squeezed his hand. 

Mister 3 began turning his hands into wax again.

“I said run. I'll deal with him. And don't let him touch you with his right hand.” Buggy pointed with his eyes at Mister Two and began to pull Catherine away from him with his hand. 

“No, please. I’m not going wit..” She whispered. 

“One… Two... Three!”

Catherine reluctantly let go of his hand and ran quickly. Buggy turned around and sent his knife towards Mister 2, who tried to grab Catherine at that moment. He dodged and she managed to sneak past him. 

She ran two hallways and stopped. 

“Fuck! Fuck!” Catherine felt the paper in her hands. She didn't even notice the map shoved into her hand. “Fuck, Buggy, where are you?” She looked hopefully in the direction from whence she had come running.

Catherine looked around and saw the outline of a door in the wall. She quickly walked over to the drawing, running her hand over it. 

“The exit!” 

She waited briefly for a few seconds, taking two deep breaths. 

“Oh, Catherine, you're going to regret this!” She held onto the wall with her hand and quietly walked backwards. She walked through one hallway when suddenly she saw a small flash. 

Catherine ran forward sharply and slammed into Buggy.

“You're alive!” She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank God! Are you hurt?” Her eyes surveyed his face. 

“What's going to happen to me?" He hugged her.  "Are you okay?”

“Yes!” Catherine ran her hands over his shoulders. “I saw the flash. I thought you.. What was that?”

“Well.. A failed attempt to launch my Muggy Ball.” Buggy scratched his head.

“Your what? What the hell is that thing?” She hit him lightly on the arm.

“Not now, Catherine, not now. Okay. Where do we go next?” 

“I saw the door over there!” She pointed in the right direction. “I'm more than sure it's the exit which we are looking for!” 

“Well then, let's run that way! Hang on!” 

He threw her on his shoulder again and ran in the direction she pointed. They reached the right place. Catherine jumped off his shoulder and began to run her hand over the drawing. “How on earth do you open?”

They heard the sounds of approaching footsteps again. 

“Catherine, hurry!” Buggy took the knives in his hand again and placed them between his fingers.

She was walking from side to side, clutching her head. “Wait! If there's a Shen in this building, it's also a sign of eternal protection. Eternity is infinity, right?” She looked around the wall. “Buggy! Up there! See the little stone at the top! And here, if you look closely, is a drawing of infinity on the wall. We need to guide this stone through that drawing.” 

“Look, baby, if your theory's wrong, you will have a chance to sit in those places from where I escaped.”

“You know, we're going to have a lot to talk about.” She said, periodically glancing over his shoulder towards the sound of footsteps.

Buggy detached his hand and sent it up to a tiny stone that stuck out of the wall. He ran it in the pattern Catherine had pointed out and brought the stone to the floor. 

“Now what?” He asked, looking back toward the sounds that were getting closer and closer. 

“I didn’t install these doors, Buggy! I don’t know how they open! Let's try pulling it!” 

They put their hands on the door and tried a few times to move it sideways. 

“It's not working!" She clasped her hands. " You know, when I decided to start a relationship with you, I didn't think I'd end up in a fucking prison from which, as it turned out, my boyfriend escaped!!” She kicked at the door with all her might in frustration.

They heard a heavy sound.

“It's open!!! It opened!!!” Catherine screamed happily.

“See? You being a little evil has helped us again!” He clicked his tongue and winked.

“Screw you, fucking clown!” 

“Yeah, yeah! You’ll yell at me later! Hurry!” Buggy took Catherine's hand and pulled her into the passage.

Just as they ran for the door, it closed. 

“Well, now I suggest we run for the house exit!” He threw Catherine on his shoulder again and ran down the dark corridors. 

They got out onto the street, climbed over the fence and ran to the car.

“Hell, yeah, Cathie-pie, we're on our way to the treasure!!” Buggy shouted cheerfully as he got into the car. 

“That's all great, but you owe me new sneakers now, Buggy the Clown! That wax man stole one sneaker from my favorite pair.” She showed one socked foot. 

⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭

They were on the road for a little over an hour.  

“Okay. We are now somewhere between Little Garden and Whiskey Peak. Our next stop is in four hours. Good thing you and I stocked up on food and booze.” Catherine threw the map and notebook into the glove compartment of the car, put her feet up on the dashboard, looked at him and stroked his red and white striped bandana. “Hungry?”

“Nah.” 

Suddenly they heard a pop from under the hood. 

“What the fuck?” Buggy stretched his back and tried to understand where the sound was coming from.

“What happened?”

“I don't know!” He jerked the gearshift lever. 

The car went a few more meters and stopped. 

“What the fuck?” Buggy turned the keys in the ignition, pressed the clutch and gas pedals. “Fuck!” He jumped out of the car and looked under the tires first. 

“What's wrong?” Catherine got out of the car. 

“I don't know!!” She could hear the irritation in his voice. “Cathie-pie, push the black and red button near the steering wheel, open the hood for me.”

Catherine climbed up to the steering wheel through her seat. “Done!”

She went back to him. He opened the hood and started checking every detail. 

“Look at you. Checking your car. God, you are so sexy right now.” She leaned on the car and smiled. 

“Please, Catherine! Not now!” He barked loudly. “Shit. The cable and the strap came off.”

“Can you fix it?”

“Fuck! Just fuck!” He slammed the hood, then kicked the radiator grille. 

“What are you so nervous about?” She moved closer to him and wanted to hug him. 

“I said not now!” He yanked her arm away with a growl, stepped back a little, kicked the front tire twice, and leaned his head into the car. 

She tiptoed over to him and put her hand gently on his back. “Buggy Bear, what's wrong?” 

“Could you please don’t call me that!” He barked loudly, walked towards the trunk and sat on the ground.

Catherine tiptoed behind him and sat down on her knees next to him.

“What happened?” She put her hand on his shoulder. 

“It never works out!” He whispered and was almost sobbing. 

“What?” 

“Nothing ever works out. He would have always succeeded…” He continued mumbling to himself. 

She crawled on her knees a little closer and hugged him. “Are you talking about the one whose name we don’t mention? Nah, it wouldn't have worked out for him. You know why?” She stroked his head. “He doesn't have our tandem. Look at how good we are. You and me. We stole the map from these… Moron Words or whatever they are. We've gotten so far together. Because you're in charge of strength and defense, and I'm in charge of brains! What's he got? Nothing. So you're the winner, my little bear.”

She put her head on his shoulder and took his hand. 

“I'm sorry.” He wrapped his hand around her waist.

“Oh, never mind, it's okay.” She looked at him and stroked his cheek. “Can I call you Buggy Bear again?”

“I don’t even understand why I allow you to call me that. You know that I’m against this nickname with every fiber of my soul!”

“And you perfectly know that I don’t care.” She pecked him on the lips. “So what's up, my blue-haired hero? How long will it take you to fix the car?”

“Well, it's gonna take two or three hours for sure. I want to check all the details under the hood. But I'm afraid we're not going any further today.”

“Well, we'll just spend the night here.” She looked around. “There's not a soul around. There's a sandy hill for our two old backs to lean on. We'll make a fire, and I’ll make your favorite hot dogs. Pretty cool, huh?” 

While he rummaged around under the hood, Catherine found a small amount of twigs and looked in the trunk for matches.

“I found some papers here, I'll take some for the fire, ok? Oh, wow! You got newspapers from years ago." She took the newspaper in her hands and straightened out the sheets. "Hah, Orange Town News. Look at this. So much interesting stuff was going on three years ago. Exhibitions, concerts, even fights. Oh, look! The page with the headline "Wanted”. Sounds intriguing! Well, well. What do we have here? Wow! So many faces.”  

Buggy tensed and quickly moved towards her. “Hey! Give me that!”

Without looking up from reading, she took two steps along the ground. “Someone with the name Mihawk. Oh, he's cute. Kuro. Why are they looking for the butler? Did he steal an expensive tea set since they give so much money for it? Arlong. Oh, I remember that name. Bug...”

“Catherine! Give it to me!” He snatched the papers from her hands. 

“...gy the Clown??!!” She looked at him with surprised eyes, and it seemed she even stopped blinking. “It's you!”

“No, it's not me. This is a different Buggy!” He began to fold the newspaper.

“Are you taking me for a fool? Believe me, the world couldn't handle two Buggies. It would just collapse instantly.” Catherine hit her palms, showing an explosion. 

“For the last time, it's not me!!”

“Yes, it's you. No offense, but I don't mistake you for anyone else thanks to one of your distinctive features.” She jabbed her finger at the picture in the paper. “You know, I'm getting more and more questions. There's a $15 million bounty on your head! What have you done that's worth so much money?”

“Doesn't matter.” He threw the newspapers back into the trunk, and walked back to the engine. 

“My little Bear!”

He was annoyed. “You could have asked first what you can take in the trunk and what you can't. After all, I can have my personal stuff.” 

“Oh my God!" Catherine rolled her eyes. "You're an emotional hurricane today, Buggy!” 

“Could you please.. listen to me for once in your life! I don't want you to know. Is it clear?” He hissed through his teeth.

“What did I do? It's just a fucking newspaper. Stop overreacting!”

“Oh, fuck you!”

Catherine stood next to the car and waited about fifteen minutes, then quietly approached him and gently placed her hand on his back. “My love, let's talk. What happened? Why did you react like that?”

He didn't answer. 

“Are you not gonna talk to me at all?”

Buggy silently removed her hand from his back and continued to mutter something to himself.

“Oh, well, the hell with you, fucking clown. Our drama queen got mad over some nonsense!” Catherine barked back at him, turned around and went to the place to prepare a fire pit.

She sat on the sand near the sand hill for an hour, drawing lines with a stick on the ground. She looked at Buggy, who was walking from trunk to hood, occasionally swearing at the engine.

Catherine exhaled, stood up, and slowly walked over to him. "How's it going?" 

He didn't answer anything.

“Are you still offended? I'm sorry if I said or did something wrong. I was just a little surprised to see your face there.”

“Uh-huh.” 

“But I don't care about that poster if it scares you.” She took another half step toward him, putting her chin on his shoulder and gently rubbing his head. “Bzzz… What are you doing?” 

He exhaled heavily, looked up at her, and started laughing. 

“Why are you laughing?” She asked and spread her hands in confusion.

Buggy turned his back to the hood and pulled her closer to him. Catherine immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. 

He looked into her eyes and smiled. “How do you make it, so I can't be mad at you for more than ten minutes?”

“Ten minutes? Oh, come on! You didn't talk to me for an hour. And sometimes at home, you sulk at me for two hours! You always walk from corner to corner grumbling, and at this moment you look like a sullen cat!” She made a grumpy face imitating him. 

“My little shit!” He took her hand and kissed it. “I’m sorry!”

“Oh my gosh! I will probably someday make the Earth rotate against its axis. Buggy the Clown apologized twice in one day!” She pressed her forehead against his and said quietly. “We did good today, yeah? We had two fights in less than an hour. We're going for the personal record.”

“I.. did--”

“Oh! Don't worry, my silly clown.” Catherine stroked his head and kissed him on his cheek. “This is a relationship. This shit happens sometimes. We're just getting to know each other better, that's all. Besides, if life with you was like a world of pink ponies, I'd go crazy.” 

He kept his eyes on her for a long time, slowly running his hands down her back. “Why are you with me? I think you could have found someone better th..”

“Ts!” She pressed her finger to his lips. “I told you. I don't need anyone else. I found the best guy who made to keep my heart beating. Why does it bother you?” 

He only shrugged his shoulders.

“Alright, we’ll talk about this later. Okay! I’ll grab a beer and gonna make a fire now. I'll grill sausages for your favorite hot dogs. And if you're not mad at me anymore, finish up here and come to me, okay?”

He nodded. 

“Love you, my Hurricane Buggy!” Catherine pecked him in his nose. 

“Love you too, my cotton candy.”

She brought beer from the trunk, made a fire, and glanced at him from time to time while she fried sausages. “Are you coming? It's almost done.”

He closed the hood, shook off his hands, took a plaid from the car, came to Catherine and heavily exhaled, collapsed on the ground next to her. 

“Tired?” She ran her hand over his head. 

“Nah.”

“Do you want mustard or ketchup on your sausage?”

“Both!”

“Then open the ketchup for me, because I can't do it.” Catherine tried to open the bag with her hands. 

“Give it to me.” He took the ketchup packet from her hands, pulled a knife out of his denim jacket pocket, cut off the tip, and handed the open packet into Catherine's hands. 

"Mmm, delicious." Buggy slowly licked the remaining trace of ketchup off the knife several times.

Catherine looked at him, froze for a second, feeling goosebumps run down her back. "I hate you!"

He looked at her questioningly. “What for now?”

Catherine put a sausage in a bun, sprinkled it all generously with mustard and ketchup, and put the hot dog in his hands. 

“Here you go, my blue-haired hero.” She opened two bottles of beer. “How's your hot dog? Tasty?” 

Buggy nodded and sipped his beer. Catherine watched him happily eating the bread and sausage, and ran her hand over his bandana. 

She couldn't resist and kissed him on his cheek five times. “You're so cute!” 

He immediately became red as his nose. 

Finishing the hot dog, Buggy set the beer on the ground and threw the plaid over Catherine's shoulders. 

“Let me in here!” She spread his legs, rolled over his foot with an "ouch!” and heard “baby, why can't you sit like a normal person”, sat down between them and pressed her back against his chest. “That's much better.”

He hugged her instantly. 

“Look at this! So beautiful!” Catherine ran her hands over his arms. “Why haven't we done this before? Sometimes we should just go somewhere in the desert. Make a fire, eat sausages and look at the stars. Just you and me.”

“If you want to, and it will make you happy, we will do it. I’ll do anything to make you the happiest girl in the world, my Cathie-pie.” Buggy took her hand. “See that bright star over there?” He pointed at the sky with their hands holding together. 

“Yeah.”

“That's Sirius.”

“Really?”

“Honestly? I have no idea.”

Catherine laughed, then suddenly sighed heavily and ran her fingers over her wet eyes.

“What's wrong, my cotton candy?” He asked with concern in his voice.

“I.. I  don't know. I thought how sad that my parents had died. I miss them. They would have loved you.”

“I don't think your parents would approve of a relationship with a freak with a big nose.” Buggy answered quietly and ran his fingers over her arm.

“Don't say those terrible things about yourself. You are handsome, funny, you take care of me. You love to surprise me. Although you're noisy, overdramatic and sometimes your surprises are ve-e-ry strange.” Сatherine sighed heavily again. “I would really like for you to meet.” She felt how he hugged her tightly and pressed his cheek to her temple. “My mom would be happy for me. After all, her daughter found a mysterious man who’s worth 15 million dollars.”

“Please, don't!” Buggy rolled his eyes.

“What? I'm.. I'm curious. You told me about your trainings on the island and everything else. But you didn’t tell me why you cost a lot of money. Although, I would give more money for you! 15 million isn't enough. 3 billion is fine. And I would also include you in some powerful organization. You would be the most important person there. But if you don't want to tell me, it's okay. Just for your information, I think it's cool. And by the way, you look so hot in that poster.” Catherine took his bottle of beer and took a sip. “What if you really are some kind of scary pirate? I've loved stories about them since I was a child. My father used to tell me a lot of tales about them. You know, we sometimes spent the whole evening in bed rereading "Treasure Island".”

He kissed her temple. “Now that explains a lot.” 

“Oh! Wait, wait! What if somewhere in the port of Cairo your ship is docked. And someday you will show it to me, and then you will take me somewhere far far away.” Catherine smoothly pointed into the distance with her hand.

“Cathie-pie, baby, please. Stop.”

She kept silent for a moment. “Do you think we're gonna find that blue diamond?”

He exhaled and put his chin on the top of her head. “I don't know. I hope so. But even if we don't, it'll be one of those stories that we will remember when we grow old. Together.” Buggy quietly accented the last word.

“Judging by the gray hair on your temples and eyebrows, you will grow old before me.”

“Little shit! I'm not much older than you!” He kissed her temple twice.

“Don't you think this reminds you of that adventure we had? The day I found out about your chop chop thing. We were sitting in the desert by the fire.” She ran her finger over his knuckle.

“Of course I remember. That evening when I had my first click.”

“What?” Catherine looked at him in surprise.

His face changed as he realized what he had said. “Fuck! I let it slip.” Buggy seemed a little bit scared.

“Did you fall in love with me then?” Catherine didn't take her eyes of him.

“No, I fell in love with you later. You pissed me off then. Because you were always being hysterical and nagging me. But that day, I didn't understand why a nice girl like you cared about me. And you still do that. And I still don't understand it, though.”

“Well, because you saved that nice girl from a scary man and she couldn't ignore it. Then you saved that nice girl again. And then again. And then somehow that nice girl ended up falling head over heels in love with you. And just you to know, that girl loves taking care of you.” She stroked his cheek and squinted her eyes playfully. “First click… That's interesting. Can I ask?” 

“Oh, no! Please, stop asking "when did you fall in love with me" questions.” Buggy looked at her with puppy eyes.

“Why? I'm so interested! Okay, I'll ask you later!”

She invited him with her finger to tilt his head closer to her and kissed him on the lips. She broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. 

“You're not leaving me, are you?” Buggy asked with a note of fear in his voice.

“Of course no. I'm so glad I met you, my silly clown. And I'm so glad you didn't let me go home.” She tucked her legs in, curled up, snuggled comfortably under his armpit and covered him with the plaid. “I love you so, so much, my Buggy Bear.”

“You tell me that every day, cotton candy. Aren't you tired?”

“Oh, shut up, I'll say it as many times as I want.”

[aut2imagineart]

This is a sort of blast from the past a bunch of my earliest drawings were reimagining of creatures from author Dougal Dixon's speculative biology books, in particular Man After Man which sparked my interest in the concept of posthumans. As much as I've enjoyed drawing them I've moved away from them to try to create my own ideas. That said is was nice to draw them again to see how my skills have improved since I started. Anyway, here's a brief rundown of the species shown here (they include labels I made for them). Woodland Dwellers (Orks of the west): fierce hunters who's lack of specialization allows them to adapt to most environments. They're also resistant to most natural poisons/toxins. Aqatics (Merfolk of the oceans): skilled fishers who can breath in and out of water. They've developed a tradition where they mark unique traits and significant life events with ritualistic scaring. Forest Dwellers (Dwarfs of the south): colorful and arboreal, they are remarkably strong for their size to move swiftly through the trees. Over generations, they've manipulated the growth of vines to create living pathways throughout the forests for themselves. Tundra Dwellers (Giants of the north): towering nomads who lead quiet lives traveling across the Arctic circle. Their great strength enables them to hunt exceptionally large prey who's blood they adorn their faces with after each successful hunt. Plains Dwellers (Elves of the east): Swift and long lived, they transverse the grasslands on long powerful legs while dark skin, large ears, and hair running down their backs allow them to tolerate intense heat. Initially herbivores, given bladed hands, replaceable teeth, and larger stomachs for eating grasses, they have since incorporated meat into their diet. Coupled with a longer lifespan, they became the first posthumans to redevelop culture. If I was to do anything with these guys (and gain the rights to them somehow), it would probably be a survival game similar to Ancestors: a human odyssey where you go through their evolution into sapience. Man After Man belongs to Dougal Dixon.

As always, comments and critiques are welcome.

[dnangelic]

Does Daisuke have a preference in sports or physical activity beyond his usual phantom thief shenanigans? Does Dark enjoy anything similar?

@remunporium

hmmm! i can give a few different forms of answers to this so let me start by saying in any sort of school / public setting daisuke usually tries to hide his physical capabilities as a phantom thief. there are things like his grades in PE being poor or himself landing really nasty falls when he could easily save himself because he's always trying so hard to not look conspicuous, but he also gets caught up in things like being picked for active roles in school stageplays/performances that requires stunts anyways, so he "flubs" up practice nonstop then does perfectly fine during the real thing.

these are just examples of him sucking on purpose though (and sometimes he really does suck on clumsy accident, like not paying attention and falling flat on his face, or falling flat on his face because he's stealing someone's wallet back from a pickpocket,) obviously he's got stellar acrobatic capabilities overall and has a surprising amount of strength for someone with his build, (this post covers it well, really, nobody's allowed to forget daisuke climbed an entire ferris wheel with his bare hands lmao) but if it's an actual sport you want to see him enjoying, then he's probably going to pick swimming.

group oriented activities generally stress him out, and frankly he'd probably stress out any group he was with too - he's got that sad, awkward 'last kid picked for PE' energy and always does all his heists alone!! this rules out 99% of sports for him. swimming does away with all of that group necessity, and he's canonically a good swimmer too- has to be since his parents trained him for anything. (even though thanks to transforming and wiz trying to cover for him, everybody at his school thinks he almost drowned one time.)

most of daisuke's physical 'skills' he feels only should apply to his 'work,' so on top of the social anxiety ruling out, the range of things he enjoys doing alone is left extremely small - and really, if he actually has that much freetime and is feeling restless, (daisuke is almost always sleep deprived, he should be asleep, just like me fr) then he's probably going to be flying, which is also dark's preference outside of pulling a heist.

dark needs the thrill of pursuit on occasion, but on others he and/or daisuke just want to cruise. azumano is beautiful, and it's even more beautiful from above, so as the freaks(singular) with wings they'll just go for a nighttime flight in the sky, sometimes heading over to tokyo since that's where a lot of daisuke's friends (as in, my muts' muses,) are, and it's supposed to be close by. (azumano is a fictional province, but it's imagined around east japan, not too north or south.) otherwise, dark has even less interest than daisuke in actively participating in sports or anything; he's never gotten to try anything in the past and he doesn't expect himself to ever be able to anytime soon, so it's a moot point for him.

he's still, of course, very flashy and plainly skillful anytime he does manage to get his hands on something to mess around with - for example, hand him a basketball and he can keep it spinning on a single finger without any trouble, he can juggle quite literally anything, and he had no issue twirling a glass shoe around on his finger for fun while he chat with someone else in one of the light novels or catching arrows with his bare hands or dodging piano strings laced up in some woods purely by ear. dancing, forms of it like ballroom, waltz and tango would be something he could deeply enjoy --- but those require a partner, and that loops back to him not usually having the freedom to pursue any of that.

that's about it, i think. dark n daisuke's jock alignments are very very low LOL but that's because their heists nearly kill them all the time and push their physical capabilities to the extreme! if it's not the usual phantom thief shenanigans then this boy should be in bed, but sometimes you'll see him in the sky anyways because what's the point of bearing the burden of black wings if you can't indulge in the occasional gift and itch of flight. 🦅

[smidgen-of-hotboy]

Our Angel of Brahma, pt. x

This is my second time trying to post this, and I think- I think this may the point where I draw the line with the weird fucked formatting Travelers. Hellsite does not like it when I reach the character limit (and I'm tired of fighting it, curses...) CW for: mentioned animal abuse, mentioned assault towards a disabled character, genocide, homelessness. if there is something else you would like warned for, please reach out to me.

@ceaseless-watchers-special-girl @ananxiousgenz @demonic-panini @the-private-eye @gwenlena

SOUND: COMMS BEEPS. RECORDING BEGINS.

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

I apologized to Iris for my outburst a few days ago. They accepted it without any questions. I still feel guilty, but they aren't willing to drag this out any longer. 

The twins are off probation but they still need supervision. Talia goes out with them most days as part of her physical therapy. It's good for her. But she always comes back so tired and wiped out from just walking that she takes days to recover. We don't get days though. We don't know when New Kinshasa is going to change its mind on us again. Today they can give us an early curfew, and the next they can turn the Guardian Angel System on to target everyone old enough to remember the Angel. We don't have a damn clue what they're planning or going to do next...

Uh- this week on Brahma: the Rats gang in the north and the Rats gang in the south are at odds with each other. If the situation escalates any further there's going to a be a damn turf war. Ten years of relative peace and now they're at a tipping point? 

(BAIRD SIGHS)

I remember when a mischief of Rats scurried on to our block a few years ago. Charlie, Talia, and I had run a couple of them off years and years prior. And most knew better than to come looking for trouble down our block. Most everyone that was taken care of by Mrs. Darius or taught under Mr. Eber at some point or another knew not to come poking their nose around looking for trouble. But this mischief was new. They didn't know who's grounds they were stepping on or what apartments they were looking to squat in. 

When those new kids started making a mess of the streets and tried running circles around the market, I went and took care of them myself. Josie and Hank were so worried for me, but when I got back I just told them that it was no big deal. Just a bunch of homeless kids that needed a place to stay. I wrangled them into place and got them all sorted and now they’re running chores for old-timers like Hank and slipping messages to the other Revolutionaries across Brahma. 

Yesterday’s Rats weren’t those same kids though. The twins complained about a group of teenagers mucking around the old daycare. Josie and Iris couldn’t parse much of what they said so they’ve asked me to try talking to them and Talia one on one. And from what I understand, the girls were upset because the Rats kept calling them “Goodies”, and Talia was mostly ignoring them pretty well until one of them chucked a rock at her and Mischa. So now I gotta get involved in another rat problem and either rough ‘em up and shoo ‘em out, or knock enough sense into them they start behaving better. 

(BAIRD GROANS)

And honestly, I wanna do neither. I told Hank and Josie back then that I wasn’t scared but really. I was scared shitless. Those kids were easy to talk to though once they realized I’m like them. I’m not a fighter. I don’t go in fists-a-swinging right off the bat. That was always more Talia and Charlie then me… but, Talia can hardly walk most days, and Charlie’s gone. Josie is too busy distributing aid at the rec center, Hank is retired, the twins are afraid of them, and Iris is coordinating with the Old-Timers. Everyone’s either too old, too busy, or too young to deal with problems like these. 

(BAIRD TAKES A DEEP BREATH AND LETS IT OUT SLOWLY. HE STRUGGLES TO CLEAR THEIR THROAT)

In other news on Brahma: Ester is now taller than I was at ten. Meaning that I really was just short for being a ten-year-old. Hallie is as tall are Charlie was, but they’ll both probably need another year before they’re as tall as Talia was at their age. I don’t know much about Hank and his life before the Galatic Civil War, but I’m almost certain he came from one of the Solar Planets. Why in any Goddess good name he chose to stay in the Outer Rim and chose to stay on Brahma of all places, I don’t think I’ll ever understand. 

(BAIRD COUGHS, BEATS THEIR CHEST, AND COUGHS SOME MORE)

Good grief… I need to ask Iris about something to soothe my throat. Debris keeps falling from New Kinshasa. It burns up before it hits the Dome and can do any real damage, but when I was last in the market, I was talking with one of the vendors and she said her neighborhood was afraid of another Cleansing. The last one was… six years ago? That sounds about right. And the one before that was when New Kinshasa leveled a quarter of Brahma in one day. It still gives me chills just thinking about it. 

SOUND: COMMS BEEPS. RECORDING ENDS.

SOUND: COMMS BEEPS AGAIN. NEW RECORDING BEGINS.

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Well, that went better than expected. 

I paid a visit to the squatters at the old daycare. The youngest looked to be about nine, the oldest gave me a black eye–

IRIS:

They did a lot more than that, now hold still while I stitch your face back together.

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Oh c’mon Iris– can’t a guy catch a break? Do you think it’s gonna scar at least?

IRIS:

If it does, no one will notice unless they look for it. 

(IRIS GETS LOUDER, AS IF THEY PULLED THE COMMS CLOSER)

For the record: Baird’s brow split open because the Brat was wearing a ring. Baird does have a black eye, but that’s nothing a bit of pain meds can’t help him cope with. 

(BAIRD GAGS)

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

No thanks, I’ll pass. I can cope with the pain. 

(IRIS SNORTS)

IRIS: 

And… There. All done.

(MOMENTS PAUSE)

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

You can let go of my face now. 

IRIS:

Right, sorry. You look so much like your parents and I just– I miss them. 

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Well it would kind of be a weird if I didn’t look a little bit like them…

IRIS:

Har-har– think you’re so fucking clever… you were saying though? About how it went better than you expected?

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Oh yeah. It did. I got punched in the face and the others got freaked out when I fell backwards because they didn’t know how to get rid of a dead body. One of them came over to check on me and I was mostly fine after they helped me sit up. 

The one who punched me didn’t apologize and I don’t need ‘em to. I asked them why they were squatting in the daycare and they said that they didn’t feel safe anymore at their old spot. Apparently the Rats North and South from here drove them out and they each found one another looking for some place to go. I talked to them and they agreed to pack their shit up and get out of the daycare, but they want my help finding someplace they can stay. 

(IRIS HUMS)

IRIS:

It sounds like to me, that we’re past a plausible turf war, and are stuck smack dab in the middle of it. I’ll have to bring this up at the next Meeting you know… How do you feel about going to your first Meeting with the others?

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Really! You mean that?

IRIS:

Yes. You’re an adult, I trust your decisions, and you have some experience from back when you helped run Talia’s little book club. Plus those meetings are so boring without someone there to keep you company. It’d be nice to have you around to take notes while I nap.

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

You’re such an ass, you know that?

(IRIS LAUGHS)

SOUND: COMMS BEEPS. RECORDING ENDS.

SOUND: COMMS BEEPS AGAIN. NEW RECORDING BEGINS.

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

What the fuck!

(IRIS LAUGHS)

No I’m serious! What the fuck was that for the last hour and a half! What the fuck!

IRIS:

Welcome to my world, Baird. I’ve been fighting those ding-bats for the last decade all on my own. They refuse to give me supplies to restock the only functioning Hanataba Clinic left because you live across town now, how are you supposed to take care everyone when you're all the way over in the Est Quarter? I would move back someplace closer if only you would fucking give me what I need! But no! Instead we run circles around and around, have the same passing contests between North and South, East and West, downtown and uptown, and no body fucking wins! 

(IRIS PANTS)

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Oh. I… had no idea. Really? It's been like this this whole time?

IRIS:

Yes! Baird what’s wrong? 

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Nothing it’s just… you would move back if they put effort into stocking the Hanataba clinic? You really would?

(A LASPE OF SILENCE. IRIS GASPS)

IRIS:

Oh no no no– no. Baird. Look at me. I would not leave you just like that. You’re my family. I gave up my dream to keep the clinic stocked because I wanted to be there for you and Cyrus. When Hanataba built the clinics, they left each one with a massive handbook covering all sorts of procedures. If the clinic was ever back to half functioning, I’d go back only to show someone else how to keep the lights on. 

(IRIS SIGHS)

But there isn’t anyone else, there aren’t more supplies, and the clinic’s generator was probably been siphoned for fuel years ago. 

(BAIRD MUMBLES SOMETHING INAUDIBLE)

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

What if… you weren’t the only Hanataba Clinician the Revolution had to rely on though? What if there was at least one other one? 

IRIS:

Come again? 

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Quid pro quo. You help me get the Rats off the street, out of the daycare, and I help you find someone else to train to run the clinic and justify getting it operating again. 

IRIS:

You want to use the Brats?

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Just the mischief that got ran off by the bigger gangs. I bet I could even talk them into running messages across the planet. Helping us organize a bit better. Make getting the word out easier… what’s wrong?

IRIS:

Nothing, it’s a great idea Baird…

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

But?

IRIS:

…but I think the Old-Timers won’t like it. They don’t like the Pests to begin with. 

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

Oh yeah no, they’ll hate this idea. But… I have to try. Right?

(FOOTSTEPS THROUGH AN EMPTY STREET. A FULL MINUTE PASSES)

IRIS:

Yeah. You have to try. I trust your decisions, and I trust you. 

BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY):

So, lets try together. 

IRIS:

Yeah… we’ll try together. 

SOUND: COMMS BEEPS. RECORDING ENDS.

- This recording takes place a few days after “Decade”. - Baird has mentioned Talia a lot and based off their descriptions it’s likely the neglect and abuse she took from the Constables 10 years prior left her disabled. If not that, in lasting chronic pain. - Baird’s cough does sound very concerning. They sounded awful in the first one (“Belief”). Dust that settles in the lungs can cause scarring. It must have progressively worsened over the years. If they’re alive today I would be shocked. - “Talia’s Book Club” whatever happened to it after Charlie was executed? - Baird’s reaction after attending his first Meeting with other Revolutionary organizers is so much like Eevees’. - Est Quarter: the East Quarter of Brahma. - Baird and Iris’ relationship has changed and improved so much since they were a kid. They’ve clearly grown a lot closer and have a lot of a love for one another. Did Baird’s plan ever get off the ground? Was there another Cleansing? -Frannie’s friend (Ms. Rita) messaged me back with an update on her search for Eevee Bell and Baird Bell. She recommended that I look back through her list for Baird since she said it would take her a week at most to gather everything she could on Eevee Bell. Doing a preliminary search on my own turns up nothing. I don’t know how or where Ms. Rita is getting her information from, and I don’t think I want to know either. The less I know the better (I think). - Though now that I’ve had time to think about it, I could ask her to look into the name Peter Nureyev. I’ve tried searching myself and I haven’t really found anything. Even with the information I’ve gleamed from Camilla and Eevee’s recordings, I haven’t found dick anything. Whoever he is (was?), he very effectively disappeared.

[starlitangels]

*singsong* Story Time with Star!

Alright y’all. So I only have one ex and idk if he even counts considering we were never officially together and officially went on like two dates but I still consider him an ex due to the amount of emotional effort I put into our relationship at the time

It was a senior-year-of-high-school-and-summer-right-after thing. And he was funny and goofy and fairly smart and kinda cute and we weren’t perfect for each other but we were young. And we never got together because I was moving 45 minutes south for college for a few years and he was moving an hour and a half north so it just wasn’t gonna work and we were both okay with that

Anyway during the two years I was living at college (my last couple years I moved back home because I didn’t have class every single day and I could commute cheaper than rent), his older sister and her husband moved like two streets away from us and my family has always liked theirs so we had them over for dinner a lot

Fast forward to my junior year of college when I’d moved back home, and he was going to be in town until the new semester started. I invited him to dinner with my family and his sister and her husband. I hadn’t wanted to put any pressure on it but apparently he was feeling some sort of pressure (for the record I did my due diligence and told him that it was meant to be casual with nothing behind it) because at the end of the night when we were by ourselves he essentially broke up with me despite the fact that we were never officially together and… he didn’t handle it very maturely (I’ve always been kinda mature for my age and we were like 20 or something so we were both kinda naïve in all this anyway)

A few weeks later a mutual friend of ours sorta found out??? Had been told??? Idk maybe I told him and just don’t remember—and he kinda knew more about my ex at the time and did his best to explain to me where my ex was mentally (which made a lot of sense I guess? Idk I spent most of that time Very Confused) and I was like “okay? Thanks for the info I’m still so confused I wasn’t trying to put pressure on any of this”

And everyone who saw how much the wounds on my heart were smarting were very adamant that he was the one who missed out

And three months after my ex “broke up” with me, he turned up with a girlfriend

Okay cool whatever. The way he’d handled parting our ways had stung like a b!+ch but it wasn’t the new girlfriend’s fault and I genuinely was trying really hard to be mature about the whole thing even though it hurt because I liked him—but I bore them no ill will. Especially not her

Fast forward two years and I met the man who is now my husband and he was… objectively funnier, handsomer, smarter, sweeter, interested in more of the same things I liked and I was so lucky but by the heavens do I apparently have a type because both of these boys are tall, scrawny, blue-eyed goofs although husband’s are arguably grey *dreamy stare just thinking about him*

I sent my ex’s sister and her husband a wedding announcement. I didn’t send him one

I haven’t seen nor heard anything about either of them since. So it’s been like over five years almost six I think?

Anyway, his sister, her husband, and their now three kids (who moved out of our neighborhood after the birth of their first child because they needed more living space several years ago) stopped by my parents’ house tonight while husband and I were there for dinner

And she told me that this guy had basically estranged himself and his now-wife from his family (it was his and his wife’s fault as well as his parents’ fault while his sister was kinda sidelines rolling her eyes because they were all to blame) several years ago and after those years recently actually got in contact again and apparently my ex’s relationship with his wife has a lot of unhealthy habits baked into it (and those seem to be mostly the wife’s fault but he’s enabling it by the sounds of things Idk I didn’t want to pry any more than that)

And while she’s telling us this I’m sitting next to the love of my life and the only thing going through my head is “I dodged a bullet, I dodged a bullet, I dodged a bullet”

She also showed us a picture and my ex was not looking very healthy (kinda sunken and gaunt)

And after they left I explained to my husband who she was and whose sister she was

And my husband goes “oh, that guy?! 😮”

And I’m like “yeah that guy”

And I think things suddenly made sense to him because when her family got there I wasn’t gonna introduce her as “hey babe this is my ex’s sister” because that seems so rude

And when my husband and I had a few minutes to ourselves I told him that I felt like I’d dodged a bullet and my husband says “Yeah but if you’d been the one with him it probably never would have happened.” (Fair and probably true) “But the things she was saying about the life he’s living don’t sound like anything you’ve said you want for yourself” (also true)

So I said “Well I dodged a bullet and he missed an opportunity.” Then said something like “but I also got lucky because I met you” and husband and I are much more compatible and have a lot more shared interests so really I do consider it luck

This concludes Story Time with Star. Hope y’all enjoyed being regaled by the tale of my one ex. Uh… the moral of the story is sometimes things work out for the better even if you think they never will because trust me there were times when I really wanted to share my life with someone and just couldn’t find the right one so patience is real good I guess?

Also when I met my husband I saw him getting out of his car and climbing my parents’ driveway to come pick me up for our first date (I was spying out the front door’s glass) and the first thought in my head was “Oh he’s cute!” And a few years of marriage later I still look at him and think that. He’s also ridiculously smart and silly and sweet and I adore him if y’all are looking for partners, find one that fits with you. Thank you that is all

[lhs3020b]

Eversion, by Alastair Reynolds

Let's try reviewing a book, shall we?

I just finished "Eversion" by Alastair Reynolds, and I have thoughts.

Oh, and everything will be spoilers after the cut...

Dr Silas Coade is the physician aboard the sailship Demeter, which is venturing north to investigate a mystery.

No, Dr Silas Coade is the physician aboard the steamship Demeter, which is sailing south to investigate a mystery in deepest Patagonia.

But no, no, Dr Silas Coade is the physician aboard the airship Demeter, which is shortly due to enter a fissure into the Hollow Earth to investigate a mystery far below the surface of the not-entirely-physically-plausible bauble-planet...

But no, no, no ... this isn't it, is it SILAS? You need to wake up before time runs out, entombed here below the ice-crust on Jupiter's moon Europa - Silas? Silas are you listening? Silas are we about to do this again, and what do you mean Dupin hasn't solved the eversion problem yet -

Cut

As quickly becomes apparent, Silas is apparently stuck in some sort of fantastical loop. Said loop appears to be linked to a story that he is attempting to write, in all iterations of it. The structure of the setting varies - the technology level goes up over each loop, but the nature of each loop is less plausible than the one preceding it. The very first loop is something that could believably have happened. The second loop is starting to stretch things a little - how did this crappy ship get all the way down to Patagonia? - but it's not quite jumped the shark, at least not yet. While it's subtle, the behaviour of gravity inside the Hollow Earth is wrong (there shouldn't be a "down" inside a uniform self-gravitating hollow spehere). Oh, and the shell-planet is also self-evidently absurd, though no-one living there sees it as such. The last, and obviously-delusional, loop is straight out of a '40s SF pulp magazine. (In fact it bore more than a passing resemblance to bits of Triplanetary Patrol by E.E. 'Doc' Smith, which I'm pretty sure was deliberate on the part of the author!)

There are several common features to each loop. Silas is always the ship's physician. Ramos has always suffered some manner of head injury. The Demeter, whatever class of vehicle it is, is always voyaging toward a mysterious destination that can only be reached through a fissure, though the nature of the fissure changes each time. In each stage, Dupin, the young mathematician, is always ill and is always working on a problem related to the concept of "eversion". Dupin's condition also progresses - he visibily deteriorates between each cycle, even though the delusions themselves reset. When the Demeter traverses the fissure, they find a bizarre, menacing construction called the Edifice, which appears to be of inhuman origin and whose purpose is not clear. They also find the wreck of another ship, the Europa, which apparently got there first. The crew of the Demeter discover they have been lied to. Disaster swiftly follows, ending with Silas's death.

Interestingly, in every cycle Silas has experienced some form of psychotropic disorder. Usually this presents as an addiction, which he is hiding from the crew (laudanum, then morphine, then the "Radium draught" from the Hollow Earth episode), though later on it takes the form of a supposed indoctrinal machine called the Plastic Educator. It is clear from these episodes that Silas does not have the full facts of his situation - or, perhaps, is hiding from them - though what exactly the real problem is remains unclear.

Also, there is always lightning.

Enter Ada Cossile. The mysterious woman is not present in absolutely every iteration of the cycle - she's notably absent aboard the Interplanetary Patrol spaceship - but when she is present, she acts both as a critic and somewhat of a temptress-figure to Silas. She critiques his writing, often quite harshly, but she also implies (or outright states) that the world that Silas occupies is a lie. She seems to know more than she should.

It slowly emerges that Cossile is trying to draw Silas back to reality, or at least what she views as reality. They are indeed on board a vehicle called the Demeter, except it is actually a lander from a spacecraft, currently trapped below the ice on Jupiter's moon Europa. It is close to an alien artifact known as the Edifice, and there is another wrecked ship - also called the Europa - nearby, as it appears that a second expedition was launched without the knowledge of Demeter's crew. Also, the crews of both have been abducted and are now trapped inside the Edifice, which is stated to be slowly mind-draining them toward death, and it's up to Ada and Silas to save them.

But the reality of the situation is simply too much, and Silas keeps fleeing from it into a hallucinatory fugue-state.

These are not the only revelations, though I have deliberately not mentioned a few points, so as not to spoil every surprise :)

Eversion is a page-turner - I found it hard to put down. The underlying mystery is interesting, and it poses some hard questions about loss and sacrifice - how much sacrifice is justified to save others? As is often the case with Reynolds novels, there's a theme of forbidden knowledge. It would have been better for everybody if they'd simply ignored the Edifice in the first place and no expedition to Jupiter had ever been launched. When Silas learns the truth, it doesn't make him happy, and in fact he's at his happiest at the very end when he abandons reality for the final time and goes to live permanently in what's implied to be his final fugue-state.

There are also - possibly - some unanswered questions. I'm not 100% convinced we've had the entire truth about who or what Ada Cossile was. There could be some hints that she too either does not know the full facts of her situation, or is presenting an edited version. There's one, brief scene in which Silas perceives her as something monstrous rather than alluring. Also, she's very keen that someone has to remain behind inside the Edifice and she's also very keen for the eversion problem to be solved - and who else might be interested in both these outcomes? After all, the eversion seems to be linked to whatever process via which the Edifice became damaged in the first place - a solution to the eversion could also be beneficial for the Edifice. One can wonder if perhaps it realised that the escape of some of its prisoners was inevitable, so instead it devised a "controlled crash" scenario where it's still able to get at least some of what it wants. (Dupin remains entombed within, and the Edifice has control of the wrecks of both the Europa and the Demeter. And with eversion solved, perhaps it can heal itself.) In this model, one has to wonder whether perhaps Ada has been influenced by the Edifice, or may indeed be an avatar of it? It's interesting that Silas seems to keep feeling a need to flee from her, even while he remains fascinated by her - perhaps on some level, he's sensed that something is "off" about her. It's also notable that Ada has a colour-motif associated with her - yellow! - and this is in a novel that is not generally heavy on strong visual imagery. (I also find myself reminded of the famous King In Yellow, a well-known proto-Lovecraftian work, though perhaps this might be a bit of a reach.)

Anyway, none of this is proved - perhaps Ada's story actually is the truth! - though I think a case can be made for it.

Overall I'd say that Eversion is an interesting, challenging novel, and definitely one worth reading.

[animeandcatholicism]

Radical Ideas

I always laugh when people say that someone is their "brother" or "sister" due to their ethnicity and for lack of a better term "race". It's so dumb because one, just because you share a language and a history does not make you somehow kindred and have inviolable bonds. I have more in common with people from the Midwest and the South than I do from my ancestral lands, the majority being Germany, Ireland and the British Isles in general.

The people who are of Slavic descent in These United States might share a common tongue with their distant relatives but not much else, maybe some religious and cultural practices but besides that. Even Hispanics and Latinos in the US who have family in their mother country, maybe one or two generations removed are different than how they would have been twenty, thirty years ago.

It's just weird that people become so insecure and fall into tribalism when it does not really benefit them or others to be like this. It really does not to try to be in one way in the home and one way in public, accept that you're going to both loose and gain traits from cultural exchange, it's a part of human culture that has been happening since ever. As long as humans have existed, cultural exchange and really change has existed. Trying to conserve something that simply doesn't exist or to propagate it, is extremely dumb.

For example, it's weird to have all African Americans embrace each other as one big "family" not only because they often and conveniently exclude groups like the North Africans like Egyptians and the Copts since they're "just Arabs" but, the collective history of all of these various cultures is so vast and complex that someone from Chad, another from Nigeria and finally someone from Ethiopia don't really have a baseline except, they're all from the African Continent. Their: culture, religion, languages and so much more are so distinct, that they're cousins in a general sense not siblings. Sure, geographic regions like how Europe has geographic regions (the Nords, Francs, Anglos, Slavs of all sorts) but, not this weird cope of a unified identity (I mean if the Island of England has England, Scotland, Wales and the Cornish, plus the fact that no one in England can really decide where the North starts and the South ends there's no way you have larger populations of larger land masses agreeing on a singular unified identity).

I believe this to be both a consequence of diaspora of various minorities and also a certain insecurity when attempting to affirm their own unique cultural identity. For example, I have a friend who's a Filipino and when he was living in Westminster, California (which is where a bunch of Asians of all stripes have settled initially as refugees) now have amalgamated into this weird monoidentity buuut, it's unique only to Westminster, it does not exist in the larger US or even the international community. When I lived in the Twin Cities, I worked at the postal service and again the Twin Cities are a big place for the relocation of refugees and asylum seekers. But, the Hmong stuck with the Hmong, the Ethiopians with the Ethiopians, Tibetans with Tibetans, ect. This was with the first and second generation and probably with the third generation things start to break down and they will integrate with the general population of the area, it's simple ethnographic trends. The only way you prevent this is with groups like the Amish where they simply refuse to integrate or they're just stuck in a relatively isolated area. In a rapidly connecting world people are going to adapt and you can't just set up these arbitrary barriers to make yourself feel special, then you'd be no better than those weird people wanting an ethnostate.

[fredheads]

I just think about Fred fp and gladys always hanging out together and being known as like the three musketeers at school and I think about all the gossip because of course fp and gladys can easily kiss and touch in public but everyone’s always had this watchful eye on Fred and fp because no one knew a friendship closer than theirs and sometimes it would get a little suspicious especially if Fred was doing his whole goofball “I can do gay things but comedically so no one will take it serious” thing

And I think about Gladys getting the brunt of a lot of shit too especially by the rich stuffy north siders who already looked down on her for being south side and looking so different from everyone else (leaning heavily into her punk era doing wild shit with her hair, gender fuckery, you know how it goes) but then she’s constantly seen with two boys, one of which at least is public she’s hooking up with, so of course everyone assumes she’s fucking Fred too which like… she is lmao but they make it so gross and seedy like “ooo bet she gets double teamed” and calling her all sorts of names and spreading nasty rumors and for as thick as Gladys’ skin is you can only hear so much negative shit about yourself before it starts getting to you on some level, fortunately for her she could get over it pretty quickly tho cuz she has zero interest in pleasing these people

And then of course there’s Fred who everyone’s confused by how he ended up in a southside sandwich (surely that must be a riverdale sex name…like the sticky maple or whatever it was lmfao) but he gets shit mainly from Artie about how he needs to be more picky about who he’s friends with but if the rumors ever got back to his parents…oh boy

But like even tho they were facing a lot they still had so much fun the three of them together and they were all so fiercely protective of each other it really was if you go after one you go after all three situation. And they’d have so many date nights just the three of them cruising around town hanging out at pops or the movies or the arcade or fps trailer or Fred’s basement in a cuddle pile Fred and Gladys trying to throw popcorn and candy into each others mouths while fps in the middle getting whacked in the cheek with debris or Fred and Gladys trying to get fp to dance to the jukebox at pops or them cramming into a photo booth to take pictures or them having a day by the lake and Fred carefully drawing fp and gladys while they sunbathe (well Gladys is working on her tan fps just passed out from exhaustion)

It was just a very nice time overall 🥰 despite the horrors lmao

SOUTHSIDE SANDWICH!!!!! GET OUT!!! but yeah 😂 everyone was so judgy about fp and gladys just existing but here comes freds happy little ass hanging around with them all the time and he's so popular and clean cut and wholesome and no one knows what that means!! So I'm sure the boys on the baseball team and whatnot were making snide remarks about fred for that but fred is not the kind of person to let anyone trash talk his friends so he would stand up for them 😤 but it was an uphill battle for sure. It meant a lot to fp to have fred in his corner tho cuz unfortunately he did sometimes care what kids at school thought of him or at least would believe and internalize the shit they said.... Gladys did not give a fuck but you're right just cuz they're calling her a dyke and a slut all the time and are technically right does NOT mean she wants to hear it from Ricky from second period 😡🔪 she could fight her own battles but one of the things she thought was so sweet about fred was how relentlessly he stood up for people 🥺

What was hardest for fred was standing up to his dad cuz u are right artie was not happy about what he was hearing about fred spending all his time w southsiders and being down in that part of town a lot... Cuz news travels fast in that town and rumours were flying among the adults too and artie was just opposed to the Southside in general but fred would try to argue that these are his friends and they can't help where they were born!! Artie thought fred was just in a rebellious phase and flaunting it but fred meant that shit with his heart, he can't be any other way....

Also only slightly related but recently I was thinking about gladys and mary being thrown together for seven minutes in heaven at a high school party and while they're making out in the closet Mary's asking gladys if she thinks fred is interested in her cuz she hates herself for it but she thinks he's kinda cute 💀 lmaoooo and gladys is like no i think you'd be cute together this does not pass the bechdel test fnfnngkdnfnf idk why this came to me but there you are

[mickimomo]

Also, I now have to ask you a random Oni question that doesn't require a drabble unless you wanna write that out: What's Oni's fave hobby/past time when she's not doing Hot Girl Priest Stuff? I know she has to have something she can relax and do in her downtime, right?

I cackled at Hot Girl Priest Stuff. 💀

Tbh, if Oni isn't sparing or practicing with weapons in the woods by herself, she's probably cracking open a book or wondering in nature (ex. exploring or hiking).

I'd imagined that dealing with people and trying to live up to her role as the priestess and vessel of Bast can be socially and physically draining. So, moments of solitude are definitely appreciated. Especially Pre-Namora.

I'd say Post-Namora, she still enjoys moments alone, but doesn't mind existing in silence or sparring with Namora either. I think Namora would expand her areas of exploration after realizing how much Oni thrives in nature. She'd take Oni to a few coral reefs, lakes, and rivers to see the flora and wildlife that live around them underwater.

Also, Oni definitely has a scrapbook filled with pressed and dried plants she's seen on adventures. It's the plant lover inside of her peeking out. Once Namora discovers it, she starts bringing her flowers and plant clippings to add to it.

Once they're married, I think Namora would build her a greenhouse of sorts and bring her plants from missions and special gift-obtaining expeditions. Oni often pretends that she hates gardening because that's technically her job with the Heart-Shaped Herb. However, with the greenhouse, she's more open to 'tending to the little plants her wife brings her from all over the world'. Namora just likes seeing her wife happy, so she's always bringing her things. 🥹

The blurb I thought I wasn't going to write, but I couldn't stop imagining:

"Eh... in lool? (my flower)"

"Mm?" Oni looked up from the book she was reading underneath a plum tree as Namora slowly made her way towards her.

"I got you something."

"You got me something?" She looked her over, taking note of her hands hiding something behind her back.

"Yes. A gift."

The vieled priestess closed her book and tilted her head at her wife. "Are you my gift?"

Namora's face purpled at the suggestion. "No." She looked away shyly. "Just close your eyes and hold out your hands."

"Aw. You're no fun, Amora."

The warrior rolled her eyes before refocusing on the priestess.

Her hands were held out, and her eyes were supposedly closed.

Namora squatted and waved a hand in front of her veiled face before gently placing a small potted plant in her palms.

"Can I look?"

"Mhm."

Oni slowly pulled the plant towards her face before gasping. "Wha- Where did you find these?!" She looked up at Namora. "I was just reading about Venus fly traps the other day."

"I know. You read seven books about carnivorous plants and kept talking about how much you wanted a venus fly trap."

"Yes, but these are native to the southeastern part of the United States. Like South and North Carolina. How did you-"

"-I went there at night with Attuma and Aj K'uk'ulkan." Namora offered a warm smile.

"Just for a little plant?"

"Nothing is little if you want it, in lool."

"But you got Attuma and the king of Talokan involved."

"I help them get things for their lovers all the time. How could they refuse to help me?"

Oni couldn't refrain from laughing at the thought of the three of them venturing around at night to find a tiny carnivorous plant. They must have fought snakes and gators and all kinds of things to get it for her.

"I almost wish I could have been there to see you all get it for me."

Namora clicked her tongue in feigned irritation, revealing a habit she had picked up from her wife.

"Eh?" Oni laughed as she grabbed her by the jaw and pulled her forward while she held her plant with her other hand. "What was that, warrior?"

Namora's cheeks purpled slightly. "P'atéen tíin juunaj. (Leave me alone.)"

"How could I ever leave you alone?"

The warrior felt her muscles stiffen as the priestess tugged her closer.

"Oni, not outside." Namora grunted as she crumbled on top of her, inhaling sharply as she was quickly flipped over and pinned to the ground with one hand and two legs.

Her lungs expanded with the faint scent of incense and plum as she looked up at her wife, her lilac veil billowing enough to reveal her soft two-toned lips.

Blowing enough to almost reveal her dark brown eyes that melted like chocolate in a fondue fountain whenever they rested on her.

By Chaac, she was in love.

"Why not?"

Oni's voice broke her from her reverie and Namora frowned at the pout in her voice.

"You can't remove your veil outside."

"Oh?" Oni leaned in, still holding her gifted plant close. "So, if we go inside, I can thank you properly for my gift?"

Namora turned as purple as her lover's dress before nodding. "If that is what you wish to do." She took in a small breath as her blush darkened. "Just saying thank you will suffice if you don't-"

"-Nonsense." The priestess whispered lowly. "There's so much I want to do to you."

Namora held her breath as her wife whispered a list of things she wished to do in her ear.

All Namora could do was gasp.

"Ok. Come on." Oni hummed before gently pulling away and getting up. "I wish to thank my wife properly."

Namora laid there for a moment, dazed as the veiled beauty walked away. "In k’áatech. (I love you.)" She groaned before getting up and slowly following Oni.

[esther-dot]

Lol, the truth is that your pessimist thinking really got to me, and at some point I thought that you are right. The show gave us the real ending, only blurred it so much for... reasons. Then I started thinking, alright, if this is the ending, how can we arrange it in the book context? Trying to make sense of all the mess led me to the crushing realization that, if Martin loves subversions, why would he have a fairytale ending? In such an ending, the prince/king always marries the princess and the kingdom is at peace.

In this case, Westeros will be destroyed through and through. So why did Aragorn become king in the end? I never understood that, much less because Aragorn never really wanted to become king. But he did, and he got the girl. Is ASoIaF the same? I don't think so. This is why I think that Jon will have his own kingdom, and Sansa, a queen in her own right and not because she will have married a man, will marry a king.

Seeing Jon's arc as a whole, it made me realize that he was always meant to be at the Wall. In his case, the show threw under the bus the FF storyline. Jon has saved them from extinction. He distributed them to the castles of the Wall; he made arragements for winter supplies; he made arrangements to save the people at Hardhome (this will happen in the books too, they didn't made it up); and he got killed because he realized that Ramsay's plans against the Watch threatened to overturn what he had built on account of the random escape of F!Arya (sincerest apologies to Arya's fans, this is not against her in any way). If you read closely, all his voluteers the night of his assassination were of the FF. They were perhaps the only ones in the hall who understood what was at stake with Ramsay's plans to make war on the Watch.

So, the FF storyline is extremely important in the book (and is a foil of what will happen to the Dothraki and Unsullied). After all this I think it is only natural that they make him their king at some point. And, knowing that they depend on him, when the time comes, book Jon will have a reason to go back to the Wall. He will not abandon them, not even for Sansa, because he knows duty and his duty is to them. (And it will be a nice pretext to reject the southern crown).

I am not sure that, in all this, some sort of punishment is in store for him because of his role in the invasion of Daenerys. This aspect really turned things upside down, and perhaps it was their way to increase the drama, send him to the Wall, and keep a part of the story for the sequel. But, if you remember, in 8.4, drunken Tormund celebrated Jon like a king, and this led to one of the best scenes between Jon and Daenerys in season 8.

In terms of foreshadowing though, there is much more to suggest three kingdoms in Westeros after the dust (or the ashes) of the events settles down. Perhaps in another post.

Thanks, Esther!

(continuation of this convo)

Oh, well obviously, by “as long as we’re having fun” I meant as long as I’m enjoying myself, it’s ok for me to cause you extreme suffering! (That is a joke). Your spec reminded me of the very interesting series of quotes we have about the New Gift:

"Who holds this land?" Jojen asked Bran.         

"The Night's Watch," he answered. "This is the Gift. The New Gift, and north of that Brandon's Gift." Maester Luwin had taught him the history. "Brandon the Builder gave all the land south of the Wall to the black brothers, to a distance of twenty-five leagues. For their . . . for their sustenance and support." He was proud that he still remembered that part. "Some maesters say it was some other Brandon, not the Builder, but it's still Brandon's Gift. Thousands of years later, Good Queen Alysanne visited the Wall on her dragon Silverwing, and she thought the Night's Watch was so brave that she had the Old King double the size of their lands, to fifty leagues. So that was the New Gift." He waved a hand. "Here. All this." (ASOS, Bran III)

(each time we get Brandon confusion sirens go off in my head!)

and

"What happened to them?"         

"They died or went away." Brandon's Gift had been farmed for thousands of years, but as the Watch dwindled there were fewer hands to plow the fields, tend the bees, and plant the orchards, so the wild had reclaimed many a field and hall. In the New Gift there had been villages and holdfasts whose taxes, rendered in goods and labor, helped feed and clothe the black brothers. But those were largely gone as well.

and

After. The word was a spear thrust. After the war. After the conquest. After the wildlings break the Wall . . .          His lord father had once talked about raising new lords and settling them in the abandoned holdfasts as a shield against wildlings. The plan would have required the Watch to yield back a large part of the Gift, but his uncle Benjen believed the Lord Commander could be won around, so long as the new lordlings paid taxes to Castle Black rather than Winterfell. "It is a dream for spring, though," Lord Eddard had said. "Even the promise of land will not lure men north with a winter coming on."    

If winter had come and gone more quickly and spring had followed in its turn, I might have been chosen to hold one of these towers in my father's name. Lord Eddard was dead, however, his brother Benjen lost; the shield they dreamt together would never be forged. "This land belongs to the Watch," Jon said.

(ASOS, Jon V)

and

Jon ignored that. "I have given you fodder for your horses, and once the stair is done I will lend you builders to restore the Nightfort. I have even agreed to allow you to settle wildlings on the Gift, which was given to the Night's Watch in perpetuity."  (ADWD, Jon I) it’s included in The World of Ice and Fire

and

Though in these days it is said that Lord Ellard Stark was glad to aid the Night's Watch with the Gift, and took little convincing, the truth is otherwise. Letters from Lord Stark's brother to the Citadel, asking the maesters to provide precedents against the forced donation of property, made it plain that the Starks were not eager to do as King Jaehaerys bid. It may be that the Starks feared that, under the control of the Castle Black, the New Gift would inevitably decline—for the Night's Watch would always look northward and never give much thought to their new tenants to the south. And as it happens, that soon came to pass, and the New Gift is now said to be largely unpopulated thanks to the decline of the Watch and the rising toll taken by raiders from beyond the Wall.  (The World of Ice and Fire - The North: The Lords of Winterfell)

The fact that this is an old Stark grievance and Ned and Benjen had plans to deal with it is very promising. Rectifying that old wrong, making the land safe and purposeful again, that definitely seems like it would fit really well as part of the endgame. I always liked the idea that Jon could take the throne, but instead makes it possible for Bran to be king to right the aftermath of the conquest (if we assume independence for Dorne as well, not just the North?), so if the followup to that is Jon getting to live out an abandoned dream…that’s beautiful! And it makes sense that Jon would be the candidate who can best keep peace between FF (those who settle South of the Wall, any who don’t) and the Northerners. (link)

So, I'm definitely with you as far as the potential for this being a sort of kingdom for Jon. It's the Watch's, it should be returned to the Starks, Jon has already set about fulfilling (in a totally unexpected way) Ned's hopes for it...I mean, I don't think it's far fetched at all to view that as part of the conclusion to the story.

And I also prefer Sansa being a queen in her own right! As a foil for Dany it would make sense, and there's this habit in her POVs to forget/downplay her claim/significance which can be read as a buildup to her rising to power in her own right as the story is critical of those who pursue / fight for power, and the best way to bring that home is to allow the person who doesn't chase after it to end up with it.

So, the FF storyline is extremely important in the book (and is a foil of what will happen to the Dothraki and Unsullied). After all this I think it is only natural that they make him their king at some point. And, knowing that they depend on him, when the time comes, book Jon will have a reason to go back to the Wall. He will not abandon them, not even for Sansa, because he knows duty and his duty is to them. (And it will be a nice pretext to reject the southern crown).

This really intrigues me because I do think Jon and the FF work as a juxtaposition to Dany and the Dothraki, and we know Dany is gonna bring the Dothraki with her to invade Westeros, and Jon has facilitated an "invasion" of the FF, but one that is humanitarian, for their own good as well as the North's. Rather than about conquering a people, it's meant to save them. So, it would make sense for Martin to go ahead and continue the comparison. We've already seen him branded as traitor because of what he's done with the FF, who knows what rumors will circulate next.

Actually, years ago, I read a meta by someone who since deactivated who talked about Jon as king of the FF. I can't find it now, but if I do I'll send it to you because you'd def find it interesting. (It's the same blogger who posted this, if anyone reblogged their meta?) It centered on this scene, if I remember correctly, because they may not kneel, by they are making the oath to Jon:

"Gave you my word on it, didn't I? The word of Tormund Giantsbane. Strong as iron, 'tis." He turned and spat. Amongst the stream of warriors were the fathers of many of Jon's hostages. Some stared with cold dead eyes as they went by, fingering their sword hilts. Others smiled at him like long-lost kin, though a few of those smiles discomfited Jon Snow more than any glare. None knelt, but many gave him their oaths. "What Tormund swore, I swear," declared black-haired Brogg, a man of few words. Soren Shieldbreaker bowed his head an inch and growled, "Soren's axe is yours, Jon Snow, if ever you have need of such." Red-bearded Gerrick Kingsblood brought three daughters. "They will make fine wives, and give their husbands strong sons of royal blood," he boasted. "Like their father, they are descended from Raymun Redbeard, who was King-Beyond-the-Wall." Blood meant little and less amongst the free folk, Jon knew. Ygritte had taught him that. Gerrick's daughters shared her same flame-red hair, though hers had been a tangle of curls and theirs hung long and straight. Kissed by fire. "Three princesses, each lovelier than the last," he told their father. "I will see that they are presented to the queen." Selyse Baratheon would take to these three better than she had to Val, he suspected; they were younger and considerably more cowed. Sweet enough to look at them, though their father seems a fool.

Howd Wanderer swore his oath upon his sword, as nicked and pitted a piece of iron as Jon had ever seen. Devyn Sealskinner presented him with a sealskin hat, Harle the Huntsman with a bear-claw necklace. The warrior witch Morna removed her weirwood mask just long enough to kiss his gloved hand and swear to be his man or his woman, whichever he preferred. And on and on and on.

As for Jon participating in Dany's invasion or burning of KL, I still think that's a major obstacle for King Bran. Like, how can he be freely chosen/work as a peace candidate, if his brother and/or cousin (depending on what is known), participated in that? I could easily believe that happened in the show just cuz they reordered events and wanted Jon and Dany to be together for their own purposes (hiding Dark Dany), so I'm not sold on the punishment idea either.

I'm loving reading all your thoughts and hope you continue to post about them!