#TO BE FAIR: they were definitely going to murder him. would have ended up dead anyway. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dichromaticdyke · 1 year

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GUYS I'M HAVING ANOTHER BOUT OF DIVINE MADNESS

i've been seing posts here and there expressing disappointment at aotd not giving us more answers about the lore of Salacia and the Whale Prophet and all that, and i agree, it's a bit disappointing to not know definitively what's going on with them.

BUT.

I THINK THE LORE WAS IN FRONT OF US THIS WHOLE FUCKING TIME.

if you liked my analysis of "Aortic Desecration," "SOS," and "Blazing Star," then hopefully you'll like my analysis (and HEAVY theorizing) of Dethklok's most enigmatic running theme—the "Murmaider" trilogy of songs.

okay strap in i'm probably gna sound like charlie day's pepe silvia rant. i'm gonna start just by breaking down the story of the "Murmaider" trilogy i'll also be skipping any lyrics in the songs that aren't directly connected to by analysis/theory (such as the parts where nathan is just listing different murder weapons or chanting "murmaider").

so, starting with murmaider. this is the only song of the trilogy to actually make an appearance in the show, with the other two being exclusive to their respective dethalbums, but even still, this song only plays for a few seconds, and it's just the chorus. this song appeared in "dethwater," the same episode that established dethklok's connection to the water. this episode also notably featured toki's guitar picking up the sounds of whales (something that would later be revisited when edgar noticed this in season 4 and began decoding the whales' messages).

There are no fingerprints deep underwater Nothing to tie one to a crime And if you seek vengeance All you need are instruments of pain

so the story being established here is pretty clear. some unknown protagonist that nathan is speaking to is going to kill someone underwater so that he can seek vengeance and not get caught.

But beware For when you quench your bloodthirst Others will seek vengeance on you And they won't rest until you're dead

nathan warns this protagonist that his actions will cause those related to the victim to seek vengeance on him. fair enough.

Hold your breath and swim and strain Smell of death, can't escape Blood will cloud, drift away Attract the murders of mermaids It's so cold, they all know What you've done, you can't run Vengeance is the law for thee A thousand leagues below the sea

this is where it starts to get interesting. the fact that those that are seeking vengeance on our protagonist are mermaids says to me that the initial victim was a mermaid. if not a mermaid, they were at least some kind of sea creature. otherwise, why would the mermaids care all that much? care to the point of vengeance? but the next portion sinks this theory for me.

You've been tracked, you've been seen Murdering the next of kin Ate their hearts, drank their blood Washed your fins in blackened mud

"murdering the next of kin" is very important. next of kin to what? or to whom? did our protagonist kill a mermaid/sea creature's child?

Now you swim, try to hide Heart beats faster from inside Thought it was a big charade Your life was ended by mermaids

so our protagonist tries to escape from the mermaids seeking vengeance on him, hiding in the water, but in the water, the mermaids are able to find him, and they kill him.

now let's look at murmaider ii: the water god. already, this song seems important, namedropping a god and all.

The gods watch over you And they consider what you've done But now you've hidden away to gain your strength Deep in a cave Your power is regained And your legacy has spread to the deepest of the sea The one that brought them vengeance That fights for his belief

now, this is where the theorizing really starts to come in. who is this that nathan is speaking to? this figure that nathan is speaking to here is a figure that has "brought [...] vengeance." specifically, it seems that they've brought vengeance to the gods that now watch over them. is this the same protagonist as in "Murmaider?" that seems impossible, as it's implied that that protagonist died. though that protagonist was bringing vengeance, but we're not sure whom to. we also don't know for sure if the mermaids who allegedly killed the previous protagonist are gods or work with gods. put a pin in this.

He can swim through matter He has poisoned teeth His tentacles have murdered His scream can kill the weak He's got explosives (check) Corrosives (check) A master of the art of murder Mermaids weep the blackened tears

despite this being in third person, this still is referring to the protagonist whom nathan is speaking to. this is a direct continuation of nathan speaking about his legacy as "the one that brought them vengeance / that fights for his belief." this is establishing the power that the protagonist has. anyway, mermaids crying blackened tears over this protagonist? seems important.

So you swim to a sunken ship Invited by a soul who bleeds from the lips The prophet, who beckons you, wades in the dark Speaks an ancient language, this language is of sharks

HEY LOOK A WATER PROPHET, THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR. however, this isn't the water prophet we're most familiar with—we're familiar with a whale (not a shark) whom is referred to with she/her pronouns (not he/him). but that doesn't mean this isn't important. put up another pin.

He says, "You're the one that I decree The one who can save us and set us free You've gained the power of a deity You have the strength to wake us from this sleep" [...] And the prophet gives to you this warning: "If this path is chosen you'll be met with strife For you'll be seen as an enemy of the sacred And the gods will curse you for the rest of your life" And you say, "I get by just fine (check) I've known much worse life (check) I've conquered dark times (check) They should fear my might (check)"

so this shark prophet, as i'll refer to him, is telling our protagonist that, because of their power, they will get the right to further divine powers so long as the protagonist uses this power to help..."us." however, in freeing the nebulous "us," this puts our protagonist in conflict with the gods and other holy/sacred beings. this doesn't dissuade our protagonist, having full confidence in his abilities and power.

So now you know then, go then Swim on through the cold then Harness your strength Because one day you may be called To meet the mighty gods Deep within the ocean And if you're not prepared Your soul will not be spared

OKAY BOYS, HERE'S WHERE IT'S GETTING FUCKING INTERESTING. our protagonist is told to lay low, gather strength, and wait for the moment when they will go up against the ocean deities. again, DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? don't forget this, but take out that pin from earlier. this protagonist is the same protagonist as in "Murmaider." he didn't die—his "life was ended," but given his divine power and strength, that doesn't necessarily mean death in the permanent sense. the mermaids were bitterly weeping about this protagonist, someone that they thought they had killed but whom is still alive, getting stronger, waiting...

Your eyes have gone black You'll never look back You'll never stop swimming You'll always be tracked Your life has transformed Your power has grown Your minions stretch for leagues For a bloodied coral throne A crown of murdered foes Will sit upon your head Those that wish to challenge you Will wish that they were dead The beasts of the sea will collect and submit Pray for your forgiveness and live as you permit

okay, pretty straightforward yet again. the protagonist is getting stronger, hiding away from the mermaids, gathering minions, killing those in his way. "the beasts of the sea will collect and submit." this is a warning.

And you say, "I am the water god You will bow to the water god You will live for the water god And you will die for the water god" [...] And the deities loom nearer They will find you

the power has gone to our protagonist's head. he is demanding fealty, proclaiming his own divinity, whilst the true divine beings continue to track him down.

okay. murmaider iii. let's look at the conclusion of this story.

The blackened deep The coral keep The dying king Will no one weep? Ruled in fury Incurred his debt This wretched prize Crown of regret Scavenger Savager Blasphemer Vile Violator Tormentor Murmaider Guile

once again, pretty straightforward. our protagonist, who had decided himself a water god, a ruler, is dying. he's been a vicious ruler, and he may have regrets over this, but he also may not wish to go back on anything he's done.

Within this dying sea The Murmaid Three arrive These witches have foreseen The end of everything

three hags with the power of foresight? damn that's crazy, i too love the three fates from greek mythology.

They say, "Your power blinds you Your DETH will find you Vengeance from your enemies Your kingdom crushed, your subjects bleed Refuse defiance Forge this alliance From the land (check), from the sky (check) And from the blackened fire"

so, the murmaid three are giving our protagonist a chance to avoid his fate of a vicious death. let's note, firstly, that the spelling DETH is important in mtl, as this is the spelling used when referring to the dethlights, and other divine power harnessed by dethklok. but looking past that because we haven't gotten to the analysis portion yet, our protagonist has already forged alliances with land and sky deities, just not from the deities of blackened fire. interesting, blackened fire is also a reoccurring theme in mtl, i wonder if that's important.

The end's approaching (We survive) Darkness encroaching (We survive) This nautic land (We survive) Our final stand (We will swim, check) We will swim (We will fight, check) We will fight (In the deep, check) In the deep

the protagonist doesn't seem to care about forging this alliance, instead choosing to fight.

The final dream The gleaming reef The silver light The murmaids sing The blackened fire The blazing sky The pluming ink The sea beast cry His final sleep But we survive

hey wow, namedropping "Murmaider," "Black Fire Upon Us," and "Blazing Star" all in one verse? damn that's crazy. anyway the protagonist fucking died, but "we" survives. i think the "we" is meant to be dethklok, like. just pretty clearly. nathan and dethklok have never been portraying anyone besides themselves in this series of songs, just singing to/about the protagonist.

anyway, i think this was all about salacia and the whale prophet, with salacia being our protagonist.

i think salacia, back when he was a proper god, fully fused with the four other souls, was a powerhungry god. at some point, he felt wronged by the whale prophet in some way or another, and he killed her child. the mermaids went to try to get vengeance on him, and they thought they killed him, but what they really did was separate the four souls from him, sending them into the doomstar.

salacia fled the ocean from her. now that he was so wounded and only at half his power and strength, staying in the water would allow the whale prophet to find him. this shark prophet in the story, though, is a figure that doesn't show up anywhere in mtl. but we know that salacia can change form, so, why not the whale prophet? though, yes, she wants vengeance too, but she also wants to see what he's capable of. she needs to know what she's up against, after all. she tells him just to rest up, wait for when she calls upon him. but he doesn't do that. he harnesses further power from her, using it to start a reign of terror.

eventually though, he realizes the truth of what/who she is, and he flees the water. out of the water, he no longer has connection to the whale prophet's power, and his own natural powers are dwindling. this would be around the time that he starts the tribunal in a final attempt to regain his lost power. the tribunal is his alliance with the land (check), and his attempt to seek power from the doomstar and the four souls is his alliance with the sky (check). that just leaves dethklok as the blackened fire. i'm not gonna go into a whole analysis of "black fire upon us" to prove i'm right, but they've been connected with the imagery of blackened fire for a long time...ughh i'll get into it in another post. but anyway, salacia doesn't foster an alliance with dethklok, instead using and harming them to get what he wants. the blazing doomstar endows dethklok with the power of the dethlights, and they use that power to send salacia back to the water, where the whale prophet devours him, finally getting her vengeance from what he'd done all those years ago.

this all might be a stretch. as i was finishing this, i was starting to think i was crazy, and maybe i am. maybe i'm way overthinking this, and we'll never truly know what the hell was going on with salacia and the whale prophet and all that god stuff. that's fine with me, tbh. but i hope you all like my little theory, this took me two hours to write once i thought of it while waiting for the bus.

#dichromaticdyke.exe #Metalocalypse #Army of the Doomstar #Salacia #The Whale Prophet #Dethklok #written in a fit of divine madness

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nicascurls · 3 months

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Breaking The Dollhouse - Chapter Five

Word Count: 1.6K

Summary: What would have happened if Junior survived and was taken by Tiffany from the hospital? What would that mean for Junior and Nica over the next year?

Notes: I'm sorry, this ended up taking way longer than I expected, I had a fair few personal issues that set me back.

Tags: @barclaysangel @fairchilds-glasses @streets-in-paradise @high-functioning-fang1rl @thedreemer-artrequestsopen

Nica leaned back against the propped up pillows of the bubblegum pink bed, defeated but still watching the locked door the whole time. It’s not like it was the first time she couldn’t sleep in that place. She had lost count of the amount of nights she struggled to sleep during that first month with Tiffany, often only falling asleep after hours of sobbing about her, what she then believed to be, missing limbs. Even after that there were nights where experiences would merge in her mind, the locked doors of that room feeling entirely too similar to the locked doors of her rooms at Harrogate and Lochmoor. Nights, where the fear got so bad Nica didn’t dare close her eyes out of fear of the door opening to reveal Doctor Foley.

But, somehow, this was worse. The dread and fear was unmeasurable. Junior hadn’t come to her room for the past two nights, ever since she told him the truth about his mother’s death, he was barely speaking during the day either. Simply enough for Tiffany to not grow suspicious or question anything and it was tearing Nica apart to not have a real chance to check in with him. It was clear that Junior wasn’t doing well, he looked exhausted, far more than just because of the heart episode. Nica doubts he has slept more than a couple of hours a night since then and she can remember the exhaustion that those episodes cause, she would often spend the next day in bed or lying on the couch when she was at home and Junior won’t even allow himself to lean back on the couch and won’t except any of Tiffany’s offers for snacks. She wants to help him so badly, but she can’t lose the feeling that Junior is like this because of her actions. What if he doesn’t want to talk to her again? She can’t leave him in this place! She has to find a way for him to trust her enough that she can get him out of this damn house and back to his friends and cousin.

It was almost 3am now and she’s debating allowing herself to fall asleep for the night, Junior would have come in by now if he was going to. Besides, if he did she would wake up to the sound of him picking the lock anyway.

‘Unless you don’t…’ the all too familiar voice suggested, ‘There’s gotta still be some of that drug in ya system. Ya definitely weren’t very aware when you were drugged in the booby hatch…’

Nica squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, as if she hoped blocking her vision would also block Chucky from being heard. But she knew that wasn’t the case. She just tried to focus on her breathing, slowly opening her eyes and counting her fingers one by one. Any task to keep her alert and help her remember what is real and what isn’t.

She’s trapped in Tiffany Valentine’s house. Real, and bad.

But it means she got out of Harrogate. Real, good.

She isn’t crazy and she didn’t kill her family. Real, also good.

Her entire family is dead. Real and awful.

The man who murdered them is currently possessing her. Real and terrifying.

She has Junior, she isn’t alone. Real. Thank the gods that’s real, and she is going to find a way for him to escape.

If- No, when he talks to her again.

Fuck it. He’s in the same damn house, she has to at least try and talk to him, be there for him, support him.

With that, Nica quickly transferred herself over to her chair and made her way to the locked doors. There must be something in this damn room she can use to pick the lock. She turned to scan her environment for anything useful when there was a sudden noise coming from the other side of the door followed by the rattle of the handles. Nica was able to snap out of her panic induced trance and hurriedly return to her position on the bed before one of the doors tentatively opened and Nica sat up again.

Junior.

Nica didn’t dare move any further, as if Junior was a scared kitten and would immediately change his mind and retreat back to where he emerged from. She simply gave him an encouraging smile.

Junior couldn’t handle it, he was so ready to be lectured, yelled at, told he was being childish but of course Nica wouldn’t do that. She’s already forgiven him. He simply lets out a small sob before practically launching himself into the woman’s arms.

“I’m sorry.” he choked out, “I’m so so sorry.” Nica immediately holds him tighter, quietly shushing him as she rubs his back. She had so much to tell him but she knew he needed a chance to let out everything he had been keeping in for the past few days first, for now she simply responds with, “You have nothing to apologise for Junbug. You did nothing wrong.”

It felt as if Junior was fighting to breathe, as if all the emotions and thoughts from the past days had burst through and were swiftly drowning him and the only thing keeping him afloat was Nica.

Once Junior’s breathing began to slow down, he dared to move back enough to be able to face Nica.

“But I did! I did do something wrong! I helped the person who killed my mom for fuck sake! He killed other people because of me!”

“Oh, honey, no.” Nica immediately reached out to place a hand on his arm. “You can’t blame yourself for that. You were hurting and he manipulated you. That certainly doesn’t make you a bad person.” Junior still couldn’t look at her.

“Mom would be disappointed in me.” It was barely a whisper when he said it, Nica shakes her head slightly in response.

“I don't believe that…”

“Dad did.” Junior couldn’t stop his voice from breaking as he spoke, a few more tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Oh, Junior..” Nica immediately pulled him back into a hug, stroking his hair. ��Is that why you didn’t come here for a few days?”

“I- I thought I deserved to be alone.”

Nica's heart might as well have shattered as she heard that, in fact, she’s not entirely sure that it didn’t. Her poor boy truly believed he deserved to be isolated from everyone because he was manipulated when he was grieving.

“Honey, no one deserves that and certainly not you.” She hesitated as Junior looked up at her, wearing a sceptical expression despite the tears still on his cheeks. “Okay. Mostly no one deserves that, but still not you. Never you.” Junior chuckled slightly as he wiped away the remaining tears with his sleeve.

“It sounds stupid now, but I had kind of been expecting you to be mad at me for ignoring you.”

It was Nica’s turn to chuckle then, “Not at all, Junior. Honestly, I thought you were mad at me, not that I would blame you. It was a horrible thing to tell you.”

“I’m really grateful you did though. It was such a painful thing to find out but… At least I know that mom didn’t want to die now.”

Nica gently places a hand over Junior’s cheek, guiding him to look at her, “I know I didn’t know your mom, but I've heard enough to know without a doubt that she loved you and would certainly have never chosen to leave you like that.”

“I- I had thought it was because of my dad cheating. I know it sounds bad, but even though I know that Tiffany was messing with my mind, I still think he cheated at some point. The way he would ignore mom-” He could feel himself getting mad and in an instant Nica’s hands were rubbing the top of his arms.

“Deep breaths, baby. Your body is most likely still recovering, it was a pretty intense episode you had and something tells me you haven’t been resting.”

Junior looked down sheepishly and directed all his attention to his breathing, “Not really,” he mumbled, “I couldn’t sleep.”

“And how much have you had to eat recently?”

“Not much”

Nica gave him a soft smile, “I thought that might be the case. There’s still snacks under the bed, help yourself, okay?”

The two prisoners spent the next hour catching up on any thoughts they hadn’t been able to share with each other over the past few days and they made their way through the remaining snacks. Nica herself only nibbled her food to make sure that Junior consumed far more, he needed it after all. Junior’s eyes had already begun to close by the time he had eaten his full, Nica was also struggling to stay awake. The worries that had been keeping her going the past few days had slowly evaporated the more time she spent with Junior again.

“Come on,” she uttered softly as she moved the remaining snacks back under the bed, “We should both try and get some rest.” She immediately saw Junior’s eyes widen at the idea of being alone again, “You can stay here if you want, Junbug.”

“Yes please.” Junior was already covering himself with a blanket as he lay down and Nica soon followed his example before turning off the bedside lamp.

“Nica…” Junior whispered into the dark.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. I just wanted to thank you.”

“For what?”

“Not being mad at me, telling me the truth- Just everything.”

“That’s what I'm here for, okay honey?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Now let's get some sleep. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Nica.”

#chucky #chucky 2021 #child's play #chucky syfy #nica pierce #junior wheeler #breaking the dollhouse #chucky fanfiction

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eddies-whoreee · 2 years

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Will you be continuing 'I can make you Scream?'

Ch.3 - The County Fair

Series Summary: There has been a recent string of your murders in your small town. Everyone, including you, is freaking out. You and your friends stay close together, as time goes on the murders get more and more closer to you and the people you know. Soon you find out that the killer is who you least suspect and everything is not what it seems. You find yourself in a situation that you never thought would be possible, how will it end?

CW : swearing, Tommy, and I think that’s it!!

Eddie drags you to the bumper carts, as you guys are waiting in line you feel a tap on your shoulder. You look back as does Eddie. "Hey sweetheart, see you downgraded to the freak" Tommy says with a laugh, you roll your eyes. "Fuck off Tommy this is getting real pathetic" you snap at him. "Oh, please the only thing pathetic is this beauty and the beast shit" he states gesturing at the two of you.

"You're the beast by the way" Tommy tells Eddie. "Hey, don't you have a girlfriend?" Eddie asks in a bitter tone. "Yeah? What about it" Tommy responds crossing his arms. "Why are you still worried about Y/n." Eddie questions giving Tommy a shove. You gasp slightly, Tommy is pulled back by someone. "Hey! Walk away or else" Steve tells him shoving Tommy out of line. Tommy scoffs fixing his jacket and walking off.

"You guys okay?" Steve asks worriedly. "Aww worried about me Stevie" Eddie replies with a smirk. Steve rolls his eyes, "more so Y/n" Steve tells him playfully shoving Eddie's arm. Stacey comes up hugging Steve from behind poking her head out the side of him. "He's a jerk" Stacey says with a huff. You all move forward in the line. As Stacey and Steve have their own conversation.

You can tell Eddie is more quiet that usual. "Hey Eds, you know if we were dating you would be a total upgrade, right?" You speak looking at him. His face lights up and a smile creeps on his face. "Ya think so? You know I'm a freak, and apparently a beast" he states in a playful tone. You wrap your arms around his waist looking at him, then his lips. "Those all can be good things" you state with a devilish smirk. His smile widens, "yeah, they definitely can" he replies as you lay your head on his chest. He gives the top of your head a kiss, breathing in your fruity shampoo mixed with your perfume. To him it smelled like heaven.

Finally it was your guy's turn after 15 minutes waiting. That may not seem like long but when you have two teenage boys with ADHD it's not fun. "Us against those dweebs" Eddie whispers in your ear, making you giggle. You guys get into your cart. You personally are scared of the bumper carts, you hated crashing in to people especially with Eddie, you let him take the wheel and he would crash into everyone. But you love seeing him having so much fun, how his face would light up and let out a devilish cackle when he bumped into someone.

"You guys are so dead" Eddie taunts Steve and Stacey. Steve rolls his eyes, "yeah all talk" Steve snaps back mimicking talking with his hand. You shake your head knowing what's to come. "Lord please help me" you mumble with a smile. The ticket guy makes sure y'all are buckled in correctly.

Then he walks back to the station before starting the ride. You tuck your head between your arms. Eddie was absolutely wild, total dare devil. It scared you but you knew he would die protecting you so it made you feel safe in a way. After about 6 minutes with Eddie crashing into Steve and Stacey every 2 seconds. It had you screaming and laughing. Eddie was having the time of his life.

When it stopped Eddie was panting like he ran a marathon. He threw his hands up and cheered. You untucked your head from your arms. "You are insane" you tell him with a laugh. Eddie unbuckles himself and you. He helps you up. "I'm never going on that thing with you guys again!" Steve says shoving you two playfully. "Hey! I didn't do anything, that's all Eddie" you exclaim pointing at Eddie. He laughs and nods, "all me big boy" Eddie state proudly. "You're an absolute menace" you tell Eddie, he snakes a hand around your shoulder. "You love it, sweets" he responds, you nod agreeing.

You guys walk past a couple rides before you gasp and grab Eddie's hand. Pulling him over to the Ferris wheel. "Eddie we have to go on" you tell him. He rubs the back of his neck and look down. "Why don't we do something on the ground" he debates. You scoff smiling smugly. "Is the Eddie Munson scared of heights" you gasp dramatically. "I am not!" He states looking at his shoes.

"You so are" you poke his chest. "I'm not! It just like it could get stuck" he mumbles lying straight through his teeth. "C'mon please, I don't want to go alone, wanna do it with you" you pleadingly ask. He looks at your puppy dog eyes and then the ride. He sighs rubbing his head. "Only because you ask so nicely" he gives in. You squeal excitedly jumping up and down. "thankyouthankyouthankyou" you speak out dragging him to the line. He smiles at your excitement.

You guys give your tickets and then get seated and tied in. You clap your hands happily, you turn to Eddie and he is holding on to the sides, looking like he's going to vomit. "Jesus take the wheel" he mutters. "You don't believe in God" you laugh out. "Right now I do" he tells you breathing out a sign. "Hey! Good luck man let's hope you don't fall" Steve yells out teasingly. "Shut up dude I'm gonna fucking kill you when I get down" Eddie shouts back at him. "If you do make it down" Steve yells back, laughing at Eddie's reaction. Eddie flips him off.

You put your hand on Eddie's lower thigh rubbing it soothingly as you guys are lifted off the ground. His eyes shoot down to your hand as his breath hitches. "It's okay just look at how pretty it looks from up here" you say admiring the sight of the fair. "Not as-" Eddie tries to speak out but you stop him.

"Please don't say 'not as pretty as you', that's really corny" you tell him and he laughs. "How'd you know" he asks, "you're like the personification of corny" you respond. He nods agreeing. "But it's really cute" you tell him. He gives you goofy smile, "ya think?" He asks tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy, you giggle and nod.

"Well then I'll keep being corny" he states, "good." You say laying your head on his shoulder. He smiles to himself, you admire the stars as the start to creep in. "You know it almost looks as if Hawkins isn't a shithole" Eddie speaks, making you laugh. "Yeah, it looks halfway decent up here, like there isn't animal feces and trash scattered everywhere on the streets" you say smiling. "Or an old drunk or crackhead yelling at you for 'spare change'" he mocks a old and creepy voice making you laugh. " 'it's for food' then you bring them food and they flip you off" you chime in.

"I always told you not to but you insisted" Eddie responds. "Yeah well a good 2 times out of 10 they took it and thanked me profusely" you state lightly smacking his chest. "You were always too kind for this town.. hell for this world" he says looking down at you. "The whole world?" You ask, "yep! So much you couldn't imagine or your little head would explode" he says mimicking a explosion. You giggle and snuggle into his chest.

"Remember that time in 5th grade, you made me and Steve go to the local park and pick up all the trash, you insisted, you said 'we are dying each day that we let the world go like this, one day there will be so much trash, it will run the world'" he recalls mimicking a high pitch voice. "Hey! I don't sound like that" you laugh. "No, much prettier."

He states leaning his head back. "You and your climate change and pollution" he says smiling at the memory. "You guys played along though" you chime in. He nods, "we were scared of being beaten" he speaks, you gasp dramatically. "I did not beat you guys" you deny, "you didn't exactly nurture us" he debates scratching the back of his head with a laugh. "Oh please! You and Steve were wild you needed to be tamed somehow" You state.

"Oh yeah? Who put super glue on Mrs.Dwight's seat in 3rd grade?" He asks, "who give a 3rd grader a F on a page about how much she loves her mother? I tell you she had it coming" you respond, both of you break out in a fit of laughter. The ride ends shortly after you 2 recalling old pranks and antic you did together. You guys exit the ride, laughing like fools. Stumbling and speaking gibberish trying to make coherent words but being stopped by laughter. Steve stands there brows furrowed confused and honestly concerned. He crosses his arms, "what are you two howling about?" He questions.

"You had a toupée because—holy shit!— because I wanted to be a hair stylist and you let me cut you hair!" You choke out pointing to Steve, trying to contain your laughter. Eddie is cackling as he falls to the ground holding his stomach. He bumps into you causing you to topple over sitting next to him dying of laughter. "Alright haha funny I was bald for 2 summers, it was hell!" Steve exclaims shaking his head as a smile appeared on his face. Eddie and you came down from your fit of laughter. Letting out wheezes, Eddie hops up still laughing a little helping you up. You guys dust yourselves off.

"Ooo, I want funnel cake" Eddie states, "duhh that a must have at the fair, let's go!" You tell him. "You coming?" You turn asking Steve, "uh, I'll meet up with you guys in a minute Stacey is pissed about something gotta see if she's fine" he replies frowning. "Ditch that bitch" Eddie calls out in a funny voice, you gasp slightly smacking his chest.

"Okay see ya" you say giving him a pitiful smile. He nods jogging off. You turn to Eddie with a smile, " 'ditch that bitch' really? I swear your like 4" you giggle. He shrugs, "she's always bitching, Steve is always stressed around her, I mean he sees her at school, then at the Family Video because god forbid she gets a job that's not with Steve, then she is up his ass everywhere he wants to go" Eddie rants shaking his head.

"Oh! And Steve better not go somewhere that's not his house without her or she'll have a fucking hissy fit like a fucking 2 year old!" Eddie exclaims. "Someone sounds jealous" you joke, "I'm tired is what I am, I just want my best friend back" he says with a grin. "Yeah, it's sucks but it's how life is gotta just wait it out" you sigh. "Wait it out?" He asks curiously. "There's no way, Steve and Stacey stay together till homecoming" you reply. He smiles and nods. Then your phone rings and it's your mom, you hand Eddie some cash and tell him to get the funnel cakes and meet you at the table. He agrees, you sit down at an empty table that's for the most part clean.

"Hey sweetie, do you know what time you'll be home?" She asks almost worried. "Uh probably another hour or so why is everything okay?" You question. "Just really worried the town curfew is in 2 hours" she says, "I know mom, but seriously do you think a curfew is going to stop a killer from slashing us in our homes? No one even listens to that anyways" you reply. She sighs, "just be home by 8 okay?" She states. "Okay I will bye mom love you" you tell her and she says the same.

As you hang up setting your phone down and putting you head in your hands that rest on the table. Someone pokes you on you sides, you shriek. Eddie comes up behind laughing. He sets the cakes down. "That not funny asshole" you say playfully slapping his chest. "Oh it is" he speaks sitting across from you. "I hate you" you playfully state a smile creeping up on your face. "C'mon you love me" he says playfully pinching your cheek. You swipe his hand away. "Oh look Steve's coming and he's alone!" Eddie happily exclaims. You turn you head seeing Steve on the phone walking up, indeed alone.

"Yeah? Well fuck you too!" He states angrily pressing the hang up button. You try your best not to laugh. So you just cover your mouth. "Trouble in paradise?" Eddie asks jokingly. "Paradise, my ass. She's a fucking bitch I swear, I can't deal with her anymore" Steve exclaims. "She calls her dumbass brother telling him I don't want to give her a ride home, which is true but she didn't even ask me! So he's tryna get all tough guy with me. Stupid cunt!" Steve yells lightly.

Eddie puts his hands on his shoulder, "it's okay, the time will come" Eddie whispers at Steve making him smile. "Guess you took 'ditch that bitch' literally" you say lightly laughing. "Fuck her and not the good way" Steve states making you furrow your brows. You push away your funnel cake as you are half of it and are full. "Sweets, you only ate a quarter of it" Steve says, "I'm full, plus mom is nagging me about getting home at 8, town curfew" you speak, obviously annoyed.

"That town curfew is great I'm mean all the Hawkins high kids in their homes, e-" Eddie begins to speak but Steve smacks him in the back of the head. Eddie furrows his brows looking at Steve and Steve shakes his head. Eddie just sits back. "You two are being weird anyways hurry up we have a thousand more ride we have to conquer!" You exclaim impatiently tapping the table. "Alright Jesus can a man enjoy his funnel cake" Eddie says. "Enjoy it but hurry up!" You reply smiling. Steve grabs your funnel cake and starts picking off pieces of it and eating it.

After about 6 more rides you guys are spent and ready to sleep. "You're going home first because Eddie wants to show me something at his house." Steve says getting in the car. You shrug to tired to even ask further questions. "M'lady" Eddie speaks open the door for you. You thank him when he enters the back seat. "Okay off we go" Steve says pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street.

You were asleep by the time you got to your house. You were woken up by a knocking sound. Your eyes flutter open. Eddie was holding you bridal style. "What are you doing?" You ask groggily looking around. "You fell asleep, tried to wake you up but you're a heavy sleeper" he responds. You hum, laying your head back down on his chest.

Not long after your mom asks who it is, Eddie responds. She opens the door and thanks Eddie for helping you in. He sets you down, "thanks Eds, you're the best" you tell him giving a kiss on the cheek. "No problem see you tomorrow" he says waving bye to your mom before leaving. Your mom closes the door and locks it. "When are you going to date him! I want grand babies!" She asks. "Ew mom slow down! I'm only 18 and you're already talking babies" you exclaim, furrowing your brows.

"But you do like Eddie, right?" She asks quirking a brow. You roll your eyes and turn away trying to hide your smile. "I'm going to go take a shower, byeee" you say jogging up the stairs to avoid the conversation. After a warm shower, you head to your room and pass out once you hit your bed.

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tar-maitime · 7 months

Text

found you, I'm not alone

Rating: T Characters: Maedhros | Maitimo, Fingon | Findekano Relationships: Maedhros/Fingon, fem!Maedhros/Fingon Additional: War of Wrath, reunions, angst, making plans for the future WC: 1.3k

Direct follow-up to "if you stay by my side"

Maedhros drifts in and out of consciousness.

Or maybe they’re dreams. She’s not sure. Some of it definitely can’t be anything but a dream - the moments when she thinks she registers Fingon beside her holding her hand, or talking (or shouting) at someone. That can’t possibly be real, can’t be anything but her mind having finally cracked. He’s dead, he can’t be here. Even if he were alive, he wouldn’t want to be here with her.

She thought he was there with her on the battlefield, but she must have hallucinated it in the midst of her pain. It’s impossible that he could’ve actually been there.

When she finally comes awake fully, she’s a little surprised. She’d really thought, when she first passed out, that that was it. It wouldn’t have been such a bad way to die.

Ah well. She’ll do whatever’s in front of her. She always does.

As she catalogues her body - the usual aches and pains, dull throbbing where the spear got her, much less of a sleep deficit than usual - she becomes aware that someone is holding her hand.

It’s impossible, but she would know that warm, firm grip anywhere.

She pries her eyes open and lets her head roll to the side, and he’s there. Finno is there. He’s perched on a camp stool next to the cot she’s on, hunched over and with both his hands wrapped around hers. He’s wearing clean clothes, not what she remembers from the battlefield, but he looks like he hasn’t slept in days.

The moment she moves, his focus sharpens on her. “Russë! You’re awake, are you all right?”

“Finno.” That’s all she can manage to say at first.

“Yes.” He’s holding back tears. “It’s me. I’m here.”

“...How?” Maedhros gets out. “How? You died, you were dead--”

“I came back,” Fingon says earnestly, squeezing her hand. “I came back for you. I got out of Mandos just in time to come over the Sea with the new army. I’ve been trying so hard to find you.”

Some of this is starting to sound familiar, like maybe it came up in that encounter on the battlefield that she apparently didn’t imagine, but Maedhros is still unclear on one point. “Why?” she asks. “I...I killed so many people, Finno, I killed people who used to be yours...”

“I know. I saw. I still love you anyway.” He says it like they’ve gone over this before, but Maedhros still doesn’t quite understand.

“How...why...Finn-Fingon, you shouldn’t have to. I’m not - this isn’t like after Thangorodrim, I’m not some broken little thing you can put back together; I’m a murderer. I’m the monster the Sindar tell their children about to make them behave.” She knows this for a fact. She heard some of the stories Elrond and Elros had been told about her, even though Maglor tried to shield her.

But Fingon’s jaw has that familiar determined set to it. “We went over this after Alqualondë, Russë. We’re both killers, and it’s terrible, but we love each other anyway. Do you really think my love for you is so little that this could stop it?”

“That’s not fair to you,” Maedhros murmurs.

Fingon pauses a moment. “If it had been you who fell in the Nirnaeth,” he says finally, “and I had somehow ended up joining in with your brothers, if I had done all that you have - would you then stop loving me?”

The mere thought is enough to make her recoil. The mental image of Fingon covered in elvish blood is nightmarish, world-rattling, but even so, it is unimaginable that she could ever cease to love him.

He seems to read her thoughts on her face, and gives her a soft smile. “You see,” he says, “it is not unfair at all.”

Maedhros considers arguing, but is too tired and in too much pain to do anything but accept it.

“What’s going to happen, then?” she asks, since now that they’ve established that Fingon’s love for her makes even less sense than it ever did, that seems like the next most important topic. “What happened with the battle? Wait - where are Kano and the children?”

“Maglor should be back soon,” Fingon reassures. “He only stepped out for a few moments, under great persuasion, so I don’t doubt that he’ll return any time now. We sent the twins to get some rest; they insisted on helping the healers who worked on you, and wore themselves out pretty well. And Ereinion hasn’t been by yet today, he’s been nearly run off his feet--”

But Maedhros interrupts, barely daring to believe the unspoken implication. “Gil-galad came?” she asks. She hadn’t meant to include him in “the children”, when he wouldn’t want it.

Fingon’s smile is warm with understanding. “Yes. He’s come to see you at least once every day, more often if he can manage it. There’s been a lot going on - well, actually...” He pauses, like he’s not sure how to phrase it. “The battle we were in ended up making it all the way to Angband. And the Valar showed up. And so did Earendil, they say he fought a winged dragon. And...it’s over, Russë. The war’s over. We won. It’s over now.”

Maedhros can’t blame him for having to take a moment to find the words. She can hardly believe what she’s hearing. War, in one shape or another, has defined her life for centuries. That, and...

“What of the Silmarils?” she finds herself asking, hating herself for it. “Do you know what has, what will become of them?”

Fingon grimaces. “They were recovered from Morgoth’s crown, I will say that much. Who has them now, I will not say, because I want you to stay resting in that bed and not leaping up to go chase after the accursed things. We are working on a plan to deal with them, with the Oath. Once you are stronger, we will bring you into the conspiracy.”

For a moment, Maedhros tries to picture a world, a life without the war and the Oath. She almost can’t. She hasn’t really believed she would live long enough to outlast them both since the Union fell apart around her. The last version of her to actually live in peace died in Angband.

“That’s good,” she says anyway, because it has to be. Then, “What will be done with us, with Kano and me? Uncle Finarfin might have been lenient thus far, but I’m sure Eönwë and the Valar will want to see justice meted out for the kinslayings.”

“They may want to,” Fingon says with a slightly dangerous calm, “but I will not let them. You deserve to rest, Russë, in whatever fashion you wish. We all do.”

“What if the way I wish to rest is in chains, as would be justified, or cast into the Void?” Maedhros asks, half-meaning it, but that’s less than she would have been before.

“Then i will simply have to talk you out of it.” Fingon squeezes her hand. “You would never truly rest in captivity or bonds, love, and you know it.”

He’s frustratingly right. Maedhros sighs. “What, then?” she asks. “Are we to go larking off into the wilds, settle down in some peaceful valley and build a, a little house and live off the land and hope that the ghosts of everyone we’ve killed and failed to save stay away?”

She means it sarcastically, but Fingon nods with full seriousness and says, “If you want to, then yes. Personally, I think it might be fun to try.”

And as much as she wants to, Maedhros can’t bring herself to disagree. She can’t quite picture that warm scene, a home for the two of them and maybe Maglor and the children if they want it. It’s almost entirely impossible. But she’s alive and the war is over and her once-dead husband is sitting here holding her hand and making her believe in things again - so maybe one more impossibility wouldn’t be such a stretch after all.

#silmarillion #maedhros #fingon #maedhros x fingon #russingon #war of wrath #roots of my tree #my stories #finally getting around to posting this now that m&m week is done

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mydysfunctionalvampirefamily · 4 months

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Dan don't be so casual!!! Your brother is worried about you!!!!

Goddamn Jessie please don't actually go sacrifice for your brother out of guilt.

Dan stop being so fucking casual!!!

Okay side note that has nothing to do with anything. But you can leave bullets inside people, it really depends on where they are. Usually the worst thing is the damage they caused moving. Though I assume the fact that they are silver does mean you should remove them from a werewolf.

Far be it from me to call Jessie a liar, but I do not believe for a second that if Lola tells him it's an unfair deal he is not still gonna take it.

"you wanna eat my ass, fine." tell me there were now kiss motions made on that please!

Why do we need fucking cop to convince everyone they need to get healed. 😂😂

John just being rational is once again the thing that works on Lola and her freak out and refusing medical attention.

😂😂 Aviva getting medical help out of pettiness.

Aviva, John would do anything for you, making a bit of ectoplasm is probably the least.

Oh John, my precious emotionally repressed baby, just casually using up dead bodies like you do.

The goblins taking good care of turkey tail. 😭

All this magic is crazy but really cool!!!

This fucking mouse though. His little hat is cute, but he is a LIAR!!!

John once again knowing exactly what to say to get to Lola.

😭😭😭 The mouse wants to save her! I take it back lil moussy.

Me and Aviva are on the same page! The cop wanting a drink with Lola!!! It's the grenadine, it has to be.

Grenadine with energy drink shots. This sounds like the idea you have once you're already way too drunk to function normal the next day and then you think this will stave off a hangover.

They're both going upstairs. 👀 They are gonna sleep in the same bed!

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

Fuck me, John. Why are you so good at talking to everyone for their benefit??? Like no offense but you're so bad in dealing with yourself.

Ohhh Jessie Jessie Jessie. Seems like a bad idea to insult an owl.

I love it when they role exceptional successes!!! Especially when it is when they're doing smth for someone else.

It's so interesting to finally see some stronger emotions with John. The excitement you hear when he talks about smashing his mom's signs is rare.

Sword in the stone-ing that bat into the windshield with everything that's going on, so petty. 😂

"Carl, this man is a werewolf, do you think he's gonna fuck off?" 😂😂 made me laugh out loud, and people looked at me like I was crazy.

He just ended Carl in one shot!

Sure, not feeling pain and going numb is definitely the healthy thing to do after cold blooded murder...

They're extra giggly today, are they nervous?

Also Tim is the irl Miles of that group, telling everyone to focus. 😂

Oh my God!!! They are not fucking around, Aviva just chopping a dead man's legs and hands off. (btw why just stop at the hands at this point and not go full arms?)

You know if you hear about a matter wizard and a wizard of space and time the matter wizard kind of sounds like a dweeb, but actually it's fucking badass.

I am screaming! Fucking Ramona, really thinking giving him a dad will stop him from this. Like she's smart, but she's fucking stupid.

Oh no Lola's worst moment is so awful, and so sad.

The sound of rolling dice is so good.

I hate Ramona so fucking much. She is delusional at this point thinking she's doing the right thing and all creepy calm. Why are parents the fucking worst?!?!

To be fair I like to hate Ramona though, I love hating awful parents.

This fucking magic dagger tho! And Dan himself too obviously but omg.

"I only remember things that are important." yikes!

We love a villain that believes they working for the greater good.

"Consequences are for lesser beings." woooooooooh I hate this bitch.

SHE'S JUST DEAD?!?!

Oh no of course she's not.

The fact that John really doesn't feel pain rn is really so much like his mom. He's on the edge.

Noooo Aviva can't die. 😭

Not the look of confusion, that is kind of sad.

Nope nope, I am in a store rn I cannot listen to this. Will continue listening when I get home

Jesus fuck! I was right to not listen to the last 15 minutes in the store. Good lord. 😭😭

I'm laughing and crying at the same time at Jessie just being gone.

Rob shut your fucking face 😭 (said lovingly obviously)

John casting a spell to finish all this, while having Aviva in his arms. STOP 😭

What??? *insert jlaw gif of what does it mean?!?*

What what what??? Ernie???? NOOOOOOOO Rob stop!! This is illegal!!!! What are you doing???

Okay... But this means there is gonna be a sequel right????

I will post some more thoughts later maybe, but I need to center myself because fuck me.

#path of night podcast #pon liveblogging #forgetting ashville #Episode 13

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wooahaes · 2 years

Text

cold hands, warm heart

pairing: vampire!junhui x gn!reader

prompt: hey remember when i made this post? so do i lol.

word count: 2.1k~

warnings: reader gets caught in a storm and breaks into jun’s house. kind-of pissed reader at their friends. short-lived fears of being murdered. vampire jun being clueless about technology. mentions of vampire minghao as a doctor [heavily implied jun has been around a lot longer than hao]. no drugs depicted but mentions of drugs/dealers in reference to jun calling dr. xu his “dealer” (bc he deals him bags of blood). blood mentions. also reader suffers from hypothermia and jun saves their ass. also like no proofreading i just want to post this rn.

daisy’s notes: no promises on a sequel of just reader n vernon taking jun to stuff at night/on cloudy days, but know the idea lives rent free in my head.

It was a dark and stormy night, and you were a pissed idiot lost in the woods.

All you had meant to do was go on one little nature hike. Something about getting more in touch with nature, just existing, yadda yadda--you’d fight every single person who told you it’d be a good idea to get away from “technology” and “life” this way. Some of them could absolutely demolish you, but you’d go down swinging at the very least--Seungcheol’s buff arms meant nothing to a pissed-off person. Your phone was dead, your belongings completely soaked (to say nothing about you--the rain was cold as fuck), and you were pretty sure your flashlight was going to die too to add a cherry on top of this fucking tragedy of a day. They’d find you eventually, you were sure--Vernon, your roommate, knew approximately where you were and that you wouldn’t have gone too far. If anything, help was probably coming in the next few hours.

But it was still fucking cold and you were miserable. The pains of not having a portable charger (Seungkwan borrowed it and Soonyoung lost it, the assholes). Even then, you were sure your phone was probably fucked from the water.

The only light at the end of the tunnel? An abandoned looking manor a little further up the path you had stumbled onto. The gates looked a little rusted, but you were sure you could pull them open with a hard enough tug. If you could break in, you could at least squat there until the rain stopped. It was better than being stuck out in the rain, at least.

While the front door was locked, you managed to find a window that was slightly ajar. It was annoying as hell to have to hoist yourself through it, the window a smidge too tall for you to comfortably do it--but, fuck, you would rather deal with throwing all three thousand pounds of your soaking wet clothes and belongings and body through a window than stay outside for another minute. Joshua Hong was going to get his ass kicked after all of this. You’d rank everyone mentally later on a scale from “could kill me” to “I could take them” once you got some rest.

Except... this place was definitely not abandoned. The outside sure as fuck was, but there was electricity. The study you had thrown yourself into had books that you were pretty damn sure came out within the past few years, along with a fair amount that were old enough to not warrant a title. Must be some sort of collector.

Oh, shit, that meant someone could call the cops.

You threw off your bag nonetheless. Maybe if you explained the situation (rain bad, might pass out if you didn’t start getting warmer soon because your fingers were going numb from the cold), whoever lived here would let you go with a “don’t come back, idiot,” once the rain was over. If they did, you could forgive the tacky decorations that were definitely not from this century. Despite the modern additions to the home (the books you’d seen, for one, and the working electricity, and you were pretty sure you saw a television in one of the rooms you peeked into), whoever lived here was apparently fond of Victorian decor. You couldn’t blame them, but they could at least tie things together a little more.

You pushed a door open and came into a dining room with a small spread along the table. Nothing too huge like you’d expect from lavish vampire novels where the idiot protag (you, in this case) showed up to a vampire’s house without realizing it, but food nonetheless. But you almost didn’t notice the man on the other side of the table, who had been pouring wine until you opened the door. He softly swore under his breath as he proceeded to directly spill it onto his hand and the tablecloth, before he looked back up at you.

“Who are you and how did you get here?”

You took one full step before slipping on the puddle of water dripping off of you, and immediately felt pain spiral through your body. Almost too fast to be real, the man had crossed the room, coming to check you over.

His hands were colder than yours, but his eyes were warm as he gently began to check you over. “Is it raining...?” He looked up to where the curtains were drawn in front of the windows. “You’re lost, then...”

You nodded. “It’s cold--”

“Oh!” He was already pulling you to your feet, “You’re freezing... Here,” he helped you toward the lit fireplace, not too far from where he was sitting. “Don’t sit too close,” he told you, pulling a spare chair over. He brushed the dust off of it before pushing you to sit down. “If you warm up too fast, you’ll go into shock. Let me bring you something dry to wear.”

He was being too nice now. He went from rightfully offended to concerned and caring, and you were starting to suspect you might actually get murdered. If you were going to get murdered, maybe he’d at least wait long enough for you to feel your fingers first. It’d give you a fighting chance, and you sure as hell weren’t going to go down without a fight. Yet the man soon enough returned to you with loose clothing that you were sure were both not his and picked out in a large enough size that they’d fit you loosely.

“I’ve had a lot of guests a long time ago,” he told you, setting down the clothing. “If this doesn’t fit, I should have something that does...”

You had to wonder what kind of guests showed up here when the outside of his house looked abandoned. The man disappeared, muttering something about having towels--that you should change while he fetched them for you. Despite how much your body didn’t want to move, you pushed yourself to change while he was gone, moving as quickly as you could. Minutes after you finally set back down with a groan, warmth slowly returning to your body, he returned--and you realized how he must have been waiting longer, just to give you your privacy.

“I called my friend,” he told you, draping a towel around your body, and then a blanket he had draped over his shoulder. “Are you able to swallow? You seem alert...” He crouched down, watching you a moment longer. “He said you should be fine with warm drinks...”

“Is he a doctor?” You stared at him warily.

And yet he smiled at your question. “He is,” he said. “He works in the hospital here,” he sat down next to you. “I’ll have to ask him if you’ll be fine with food...”

This man was way too friendly and helpful to not be planning to kill you, probably. Then again... if he wanted to harm you, why help you at all?

“I don’t have a need for it, so I don’t know what hu--you would need right now...”

You stared at this man. What the fuck was that supposed to mean.

He changed the topic. “Junhui,” he told you after a moment. “My name is Wen Junhui.” It was something he took pride in, at least, considering the way he straightened up ever-so-slightly. If you had to admit it, it was a little cute, but...

You blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Dude, are you, like, a vampire or some shit? Your hands are freezing.”

Which, admittedly, not also the smartest thing you’d done. You’d done a lot of stupid things that day and you could maybe blame it on the mild hypothermia.

He blinked at you. “You didn’t notice...” He said, and you just realized that this bitch had fangs.

Again, not your smartest moment. Or hour. Or day, for that matter. Might as well mark the beginning of “not your finest hour” at when you agreed to go fuck around in the woods “to get in touch with nature” after Joshua pitched the idea to you, the endpoint yet-to-be-seen.

“Maybe you’re more sick than I thought,” he frowned. He pressed the back of his hand against your face--just enough to gauge your body temperature before he pulled it away. “Most people notice sooner.”

Oh, great, and now you were an idiot in the eyes of the pretty vampire man. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

He giggled at you. “That’s okay,” he said. “That’s why I live out here, by the way. It’s actually quite shady--I can go outside during the day and not burst into flames.”

You raised a brow. “That’s real?”

“It takes a little time, but it is.” He pulled his knees in, looking at you in the cutest goddamn manner--how the hell was this man a vampire? Weren’t they supposed to be creepy? He just seemed glad to have some company. “If it’s cloudy, I can go outside for longer. It helps when I have to go into town.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” you shifted a little closer to the fire, “but, uh... Why do you go into town?”

“I like cooking.”

“But you don’t need food.”

“I like doing it,” he said. “So I have to get ingredients.”

“Why not just get them delivered?”

“You can do that?!” He stared at you, immediately picking up his phone. “I’m not good with technology,” he said to you, and turned his phone to show you texts between him and someone named “dr.xu [dealer].” Junhui pushed his hair back from his face, “Dr. Xu helps.”

You took his phone from him, looking over auto-corrected texts that this doctor man was somehow able to decipher. It probably came with knowing Junhui, if you had to guess. “Why does it say he’s your dealer?”

“Because he deals me blood.”

Oh. Oh no, he’s obliviously cute, too. “Maybe you shouldn’t call him your dealer.”

He blinked at you, head titled. “What?”

“Just... Just don’t call him your dealer. People will think you’re talking about drugs.” You started to look for a weather radar before you showed him the wonders of modern technology and things like grocery deliveries. The storm wasn’t going to clear up for a few more hours, from what you could tell.

“Oh.” He nodded. “I see.” He paused. “What happened to your phone?”

You frowned. “Probably destroyed by water damage. I’ll have to clean it with alcohol.”

“Why not rice?”

“That is bullshit and you shouldn’t believe anyone who says it now,” you pointed at him. “My friend had to get it fixed after rice got stuck in the charging port and it cost him more than cleaning it normally would have been.”

Junhui nodded, making a mental note of it. “You’re smart,” he said. “I think Dr. Xu said something similar.”

Something told you that Dr. Xu was likely the one keeping Junhui relatively modern, in terms of technology. The food on the table looked delicious, but everything from the last twenty years or so... probably went straight over Junhui’s head. It made you wonder how long he’d been around.

“So...” You hesitated for a moment. “Why do you need blood from Dr. Xu? Don’t you like.. feed on people?”

Junhui frowned. “Ah... It’s inconvenient. Most of my partners move on after a while. It’s draining. I don’t blame them,” he shrugged. “I’m used to it. The deal with Dr. Xu works better.”

“Is he your only friend?” You asked, immediately smacking yourself mentally for it.

He paused. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“You could be my friend,” he said. “If you’d like.”

Something about the way he asked warmed your heart. That shy look on his face, the timid smile he was giving you... You had to wonder how long he had been mostly on his own. When Dr. Xu came into his life, who was in it before then...

“I think I’d like that,” you said. Something about this pretty vampire man was endearing. Maybe it was how genuine he seemed to be after all: you stumbled into his home and he was here to take care of you, looking after you like he’d done it before. You introduced yourself at long last, watching the way his eyes lit up at the sound of your name.

He repeated it back, testing it on his own tongue. “It’s a pleasure,” he said to you with a smile. “It’s been a while since I’ve made a new friend.”

Well... You’d just have to fix that, wouldn’t you? You were sure that Vernon would like him--Vernon was into supernatural stuff. You’d just have to introduce him slowly before the enthusiast in him took over.

“Do you want to see the videos of cats that I found?”

... Okay, maybe you already like the cute vampire man a lot more than you thought. Hopefully this would be the start of something sweet.

general taglist: @wonuziex @twancingyunhao

#wooahaes.fic #seventeen imagine #seventeen x reader #seventeen x you #svt x reader #svt imagine #svt x you #seventeen fluff #junhui fluff #junhui x reader #junhui x you #wen junhui x reader #wen junhui x you #jun x reader #jun x you #jun fluff

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five-rivers · 2 years

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Ancestral 10

‘Syvyr’ wasn’t an easily translated word, for all that it was an important word. Viable translations included priest, seer, enchantress, fairy, sorcerer, spirit, ghost, scholar, doctor, and phantom. Avlynyse dictionaries often rendered it as ‘a person possessing magical powers, especially one capable of communicating with both the living and the dead, or with spirits.’

But any word that bound up in a culture had connotations and denotations aplenty. Gwensyvyr had been a syvyr; it was in her name. Being a syvyr was one of the possible admissions criteria for the College of Heroes. In the Reckoning of Titles practiced by the court, Syvyr was equal to Knight or Doctor. Avlynyse children’s fantasy often featured syvyrys on quests. The forests of Myrgyn were called the Wyduys Syvyryse.

Danny… fit the definition. It was, again, part of the joke behind his chosen name.

Being called a syvyr, being recognized as a syvyr, especially by a member of the royal family, was an honor.

That wasn’t why Danny’s still-slow heart rate had just sped up.

“You can’t tell our parents.”

Matthew’s brow crumpled. “What? Why? I know Maddie hasn’t been receptive to… anything traditional in a long time, but she’s doing that awful ghost hunting thing. She wouldn’t deny it out of hand.”

“That’s the problem,” said Jazz. “She wouldn’t deny everything, she’d just think that Danny was overshadowed.”

“Over– I’m sorry, is that a direct translation of avyrsydod? The direct inbryth gyse? Why would that be a bad thing?”

“Because they really hate ghosts.”

“They use it more like possession than spiritual inspiration,” explained Danny. “They’d want to drive out whatever ghost was doing it.”

Matthew sighed. “Of course they would. Have you, ah. Which of the honored dead is speaking to you now?”

“Speaking is… a strong word,” said Danny. Danny shifted back against the bed, unsure how much he should say. He’d spent so long keeping everything secret.

He felt the slightest breeze play across his knuckles, and looked down to see Gwensyvyr’s transparent hand resting on his blurry one.

“Okay,” he said, slowly. “Here’s what we know.”

Danny didn’t tell Matthew everything. He wanted to keep his ghost half, at least, a secret, and Matthew was being an adult and keeping things from them as well.

“We will have to do the trials after all, then,” said Matthew, rubbing his temples. “That’s going to be… Dangerous.”

“I assume you mean from something other than the murder attempts?”

“Yes,” said Matthew. “Andyr was supposed to be renovated, back when we were kids, but it never got finished. Grandfather kicked the company we’d contracted with out after your grandfather died. They were blamed for what happened to Leon.”

Gwensyvyr nodded sharply. “Rightly, it sounds like,” said Danny.

“Yes, well. The renovation was still never finished. I know that William was trying to convince Grandfather to change his mind about it before Vivian took the trials. Managed to get him to say maybe to this tiny company staffed by, uh, you won’t know them, distant cousins of ours, they clean up European castles, but…”

“But then this happened,” finished Danny. “Do you think the people from the renovation company, the original one, might be behind this? They could be trying to cover up something they did down there.”

“Possibly. Most of them would be quite old at this point.”

“Dead doesn’t mean gone,” reminded Jazz.

“That’s true,” said Matthew. “I’ll have to look into it.” His phone beeped, and he looked down. “It looks like our time is at an end. Your parents are coming back.”

“Did you notice,” Jazz asked Danny, later, “how he didn’t tell us the name of the company they contracted with?”

“Sure did,” said Danny. “But we didn’t tell him about the key, so that’s fair.” There was a feather-light tap on his shoulder.

Gwensyvyr smirked at him and started to trace letters in the air.

SKYPPA WYKBYLDYN GRUYP.

Skippa Construction Group.

“What, like the guy who was angry at Matthew earlier?”

Gwensyvyr nodded.

“Okay,” said Danny. “That’s a place to start.”

VIVIAN DYRYS FOUND DEAD, PRINCE MATTHEW DYRYS DECLARED REGENT, and JULIUS SKYPPA, ASSEMBLYMAN AND NOTED IMPORTER, FOUND DEAD IN ARGYNTYN HOME AFTER WARRANT FOR ARREST, read the headlines on the newspapers the next day.

SKYPPA SUICIDE NOTE CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ROYAL POISONINGS, SOME OFFICIALS SKEPTICAL, read the headlines later that evening. These headlines were followed in smaller print by CUPBEARER INNOCENT, HEARING TO FOLLOW.

At least Danny could read them. He rather wanted to break something.

Danny was allowed to return to Basym Hyws the next day, his vision mostly back to normal. The arguments made Danny wish the doctors hadn’t let him go.

Maddie and Jack were unmatched in the stubborn argument category, with Maddie believing that all ghosts were evil against all traditions of her home culture and Jack believing ghosts existed despite the general consensus of his. Then, too, there was the annual Christmas Debacle to consider.

On the other hand, Matthew had quite a bit of authority on his side, accompanied by faith, and the ever-infuriating thing known as ‘unsharable proof.’

Except, ghosts in general weren’t the main thing they were arguing about.

“I’m not saying they have to actually attempt the trials,” snarled Matthew. “They just have to be there to start with, because all available members of the royal family have to be there.”

“It wasn’t going to be like that for Vivian’s trials!”

“That’s because we had a reigning king! Having only a regent changes the rules! They can sit in the first room off the hallway for all I care, but they have to be there or else it won’t be considered legitimate!”

“None of us want to have anything to do with your government–”

“It’s your government, too!”

“-- why can’t we just sign something saying that?”

“Because I can’t change the law at a drop of a hat, Madeline!”

“I’m sorry,” said Danny, “we’re doing what?”

“We’re holding the Moon Masque next week,” said Irene, “in the Wyduys Syvyryse. Ah, that’s the ‘Sorcerers’ Woods–’”

“We do speak Avlynyse,” said Maddie, testily. “I think what Danny wants to know is why we’re holding a masquerade party in the woods while all these murders are still being investigated.”

Danny winced. He did want to know just that, but he didn’t mean it so… aggressively.

“It’s part of the preparation for the trials,” said Irene. “Some of the Assembly wanted to waive it, but after the aconite… the traditionalist faction was worried it was a bad sign.”

“Are you serious.” It wasn’t a question.

Irene pressed her lips into a flat line and met Maddie’s eyes. “Yes,” she said. “I am serious. There is some sentiment that the attempted poisoning was a reaction to trying to crown Matthew while skipping the trials. A bad omen, or a warning. Do I believe it? No. But that’s the way it is. You don’t have to jump down my throat about it.”Danny saw his mother’s eyes flare, and braced himself for another loud argument.

#danny phantom #ancestral fic #ectoberhaunt22 #ectoberweek22 #ectober 2022 day 1: forest

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jaytoons7 · 1 year

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Incoherent rambles about Crusher and stuff

I realized that you guys don't actually know much about his backstory and what happened to him post death.

Rambles under the cut (TWs: Mentions of murder, Toxic family, Gun violence):

General info

His real name is Richard Hughes (Only a small handful of people are allowed to still call him that). His nickname Crusher came from his general strength.

His age and birth year would be different depending on the universe (Although that can be said about most of my characters). In my timeline at least, He was born in the 1970s.

His birthplace and childhood home was in New York City (He still has a slight NYC accent).

Childhood

His family had been part of a powerful mafia for many years. His parents were very powerful people within it.

With that said, Crusher was basically robbed of a normal childhood. As soon as he was old enough to properly hold a weapon (At about 10), His parents immediately began training him to his limit.

He first killed someone when he was only 13, His parents practically forcing him to. Due to the trauma of this incident, Crusher refuses to use melee weapons, Since he used a knife to kill said person.

A year after that, Crusher's parents were killed by Toppats. Wilford found him afterwards and after seeing the shit he had to go through at such a young age, He took Crusher into the Toppat Clan.

Toppat Life

A lot of what happens during his time as a Toppat varies depending on the universe. So I'll just say some general stuff.

Crusher discovered he was gay at about 19, Considering he didn't have a lot of time to discover himself back at his old home.

He gravitated towards pistols as his main weapon. He even learned a few tricks while using them (Like twirling them in his hands).

He tended to downplay his own pain, Which Wilford grew more and more concerned about.

He was always welcoming and patient towards new and young Toppats.

He always gave his enemies a fair fight if they deserved it. He always tried to be an honorable opponent.

Although he was a generally calm and fun person to be around, He was the last person you'd wanna piss off. He could be really scary if he needed to be.

Relationships

He admired Wilford a whole lot. He saw him as a father figure of sorts, Although he's a bit too embarrassed to admit that.

His relationship towards Terrence was complicated, And also different depending on the universe. In Shifted Timeline, He's indifferent towards Terry. In Captured!Charles, He despises Terry.

He was extremely close to Right and Slice. He saw the two like little brothers and always tried to help them out in any way he could.

He was also fond of Reginald and Carol too. In the CC universe specifically, He tried to stick up for Reginald as much as possible.

Crusher was also friends with some OCs, Mainly Brutus and Morgana (Who belong to @smoresthehalloweenqueen )

When Crusher first met Danny (Who belongs to @capturecharlesau ), I wouldn't say it was love at first sight, Although he did definitely think Danny was cute. Overtime, Their relationship developed and the two started dating.

Deaths

Crusher actually has two canon deaths.

In Shifted Timeline, He was killed in a raid gone wrong. He was out helping some other Toppats before he got ambushed. He eventually succumbed to his injuries before he could be brought back to the airship.

In Captured!Charles, He was killed during the rebellion against Terrence. Terrence had grabbed Reginald and was about to run off with him, But Crusher stood in his way. Terrence responded by shooting him straight in the chest. He succumbed to his bullet wounds shortly after Reginald killed Terrence. Some Toppats think he died in the crossfire though.

Technically, Both deaths were caused by Terrence. The main difference is whether he was directly involved (And whether he actually meant for him to die or not).

Post Death

No matter what universe, Crusher ends up stuck in the ghost realm (Think where the dead leaders kinda are).

Nobody in the living realm can see, hear, or touch him unless they have the power to see and communicate with ghosts.

He wanders around to keep an eye on the Toppats, Especially Danny.

His tie back to the living realm may slowly be growing stronger...

#the henry stickmin collection #thsc #thsc oc #thsc au #thsc shifted timeline au #captured!charles au #thsc crusher #sir wilford iv #terrence suave #danny felizima #brutus dan gerbreaker #morgana price #jay rambles

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nerdychickshavemorefun · 2 years

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8 Brief Thoughts About Van Helsing (2016)

It's now been a good chunk of time since Van Helsing (Syfy) final season came out on Netflix, and I would like to take a look back at some things from the early seasons that had such great potential and were ultimately squandered. Maybe one day someone can take some of these good ideas and have another go at it.

As a preface, in general I think that if this show had taken itself a little less seriously, been a little less unironically 90s-comicbook-style edgy, and just had more campy fun, they might've been able to keep the plot from flying off the rails at the end of season 3 and maybe would've been able to keep the MC likeable enough that they didn't have to stuff her in a closet for over an entire season.

And now, 8 things that could have been good:

1. the idea of a reverse vampire (someone who can bite vampires to turn them back into humans). I love the idea of being able to walk up to a classic, arrogant Gothic style vampire who remembers the Crusades and thinks humans are basically cattle, and just absolutely wreck them thematically and literally with just a little ~nibble~

2. Combining the classic "zombie apocalypse with fast zombies" setting (with half-starved feral vampires as the fast zombies), with having actual, intelligent villiand (well, varyingly intelligent) who can have the usual villian hierarchies and dynamics. Like if the various bad guy factions of The Walking Dead were lightly fantasy flavored and also not meant to just further bash into your head that all humans are horrible terrible monsters.

3. On a similar note, just having a show in an apocalypse setting that says "Humans aren't the worst, actually, because the vampires definitely are, and you have to magically and horrifically strip a person of their connection to emotion and humanity to get that". And if that's the opposite of the writers intentions and I've read it completely wrong, then I think they might've chosen being edgy and nihilist over being interesting.

4. Diversity. Not just in the representation of bi women, lesbians, BIPOC actors and characters (I cannot stress enough how big a deal having a confirmed-in-season-one bi female protag was for 2016), but in the in-world diversity of vampire clans/subspecies.

4.5. The Sisterhood. Obviously.

5. Putting a SHOCKINGLY gripping murder mystery in the middle of the first season of your post-apocalypse fantasy show.

5.5. Making Christopher Heyerdahl the murderer. The man never misses when it comes to playing compellingly unhinged characters. If you want a show with a script and plot that doesn't do him dirty like season 4 did, watch the first season of Hell on Wheels.

6. Having your mid-level BBEGs Tragic Backstory be "I was into BDSM in the 1700s and I had HORRIBLE taste in choosing a new dom and now here we are". I'm sorry but that is glorious and I still can't fathom why they waited until we no longer cared about the character to reveal it. They could've played it for comedy, they could've played it for developing the character (trust/control issues etc), and instead we got to wave at it as it passed us by on its way out the window.

7. Lady Dracula instead of good old Vlady, and the Three Spouses of Dracula instead of three wives. Liked the idea, felt the execution was lacking (but, to be fair, it was equally as lacking as everything else plot related in the later seasons). Please, someone just give me a modern Carmilla in vampire fiction.

8. A short list of themes they could have developed or developed better with this setting and these characters, and chose not to:

Human capacity for empathy and connection, and how that relates to ones definition of humanity.

In what ways does the fact that "humanity" can be given or restored in this setting conflict with the characters' assumed definitions of humanity. Further, address the fact that almost every single vampire killed in this series was originally a person who didn't want to be a vampire, and who could have been a human again. What are the personal and moral implications of actively killing a vampire when you could have just as easily turned back? Is there any real difference than just killing a human at that point?

The line between love and obsession/possession and the toxicity therein. After they mentioned that most vamps have a very limited emotional range, I would have loved to see this theme played out more in the vampires who still have close familial or romantic relationships (or, uh, I guess both), especially when you have Phil to contrast it with.

Found family and redemption arcs. Oldies but goodies. The amount of these themes/tropes they did have within the side characters' stories was most of what made the later seasons watchable for me, but I sometimes think we all might've got over the fact that Julius used to eat babies just a little too quickly.

#van helsing spoilers #van helsing (2016)#van helsing syfy #vanessa van helsing #van helsing #van helsing series finale

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theoddcatlady · 10 months

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A Bachelor to Die For, Week Three

Week Two

Week three, I made it. God I just want to go home.

I did sleep better now that I wasn’t in the Queen’s Room, even though Tara snores loud enough to wake the dead. I saw Taylor slip a small orange bottle to Diana after the Friday elimination. I found out later it was a medication called Trazodone, which can be used for sleep.

This week we had a new task- create our dream date with Donovan. Plan everything from what we eat to where we go, within reason of course. I was lucky number one on the docket. I wanted more time to plan, but I wasn’t going to ask anyone to swap with me.

In the end, I stuck with what I would sincerely want to do, if I wasn’t dating a heart eating monster.

“Take out and movies?”

Donovan was clearly trying not to laugh as I handed him a stack of DVDs the crew gave me. “We were told to plan our dream date. Honest to god, this is it. Pizza, movies, snuggle on the couch… we don’t have to snuggle if you’re not into it though.”

Please don’t be into it.

“I think I won’t mind snuggling.”

Damn it.

“So I get to pick the movie?” Donovan asked as he began to sort through them.

I nodded as I sat down on the couch next to him. “That’s fair, isn’t it? I picked pizza for dinner, so you get to pick what we watch. When we do this again, we switch choices.”

Donovan grimaced as he picked up IT Chapter One. “Oh, no, definitely not,” He said, shuddering and practically tossing the DVD case across the room.

I couldn’t help it, I laughed. “Oh my god, are you scared of clowns?”

“Absolutely terrified. I’m not much of a horror fan either,” He admitted.

“Get too much of it in your every day life?” I asked.

Donovan paused for a moment before glancing up at me. “You could say that,” He said quietly before he picked up another DVD. “But I do like classics. The Princess Bride is a classic, right?”

“I think it is! I love that movie!”

The pizza was delivered by Monica, who winked at me and told me to ‘keep it up’. Apparently to whatever fucked up audience they’re going to show this to, I will have a lot of appeal.

“Half pepperoni, half cheese. I’m not sure what you like on your pizza,” I said as I pulled free a slice.

Donovan picked up his own slice. “I’m the boring one who likes plain cheese. I don’t get pizza often anymore though. I did when I was in college.”

“What did you study?” I asked, taking a bite.

“I was a psychology major. Graduated with a master’s. I practically lived off of pizza,” Donovan chuckled before he sneaked an arm over my shoulders. “Let’s watch the movie, shall we?”

I was stiff as a board for the first several minutes of the movie. Sure, I knew I was safe, but you try getting snuggly with a murderous Mr. Right.

I did relax though. Pizza, one of the best movies ever made, and by the time the credits rolled I was practically curled up against his chest. He was warm, he smelled good, I didn’t even realize I was doing it until Donovan moved. I cleared my throat and backed off. “I could actually watch that movie every day,” I said with a nervous laugh.

Donovan cocked his head to the side. “You’re afraid,” He said.

I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck. “I can tell when you’re getting pissed, you have a few tells, and I know no eliminations take place before Friday. But…” I swallowed. I couldn’t finish that sentence.

“Look at me.”

I looked up just in time to see Donovan change.

It is more than just the tail, there are some slight changes to his features when he shows what he really is- brow is more prominent, his eyeteeth and canines are sharper, there’s another set of eyes on his temples and all four are bronze in color with no pupils or whites. But that tail, the many jointed scorpion tail, that was still what had my attention.

The tail flicked closer to me. “This is what I really am, Paige. Child of monster and human. I can look and feel like the latter, but this always is beneath the surface,” He said.

My fingers trembling, I reached up and brushed my fingers his tail. It was cool, smooth. “Can I…” I didn’t need to finish the question.

Donovan’s eyes widened but he nodded. I ran my fingers up to near the tip. “Is this poisonous?” I asked as I tapped my finger against the final segment of tail, the one with the thorn like tip.

“No. It’s just very sharp.”

“No kidding,” I grumbled as I rested my hand against the back of it. Just a week before I watched as it tore out someone’s heart. And now here it was, inches away from me, passive and harmless.

Donovan finally pulled his tail away and it vanished, and there he was again, just a man. “I am what I am. I cannot change what is literally a part of my DNA… but around you, I feel… tame. The beast inside is quiet and I don’t have any desire to see you hurt.”

The mood was almost broken from where I could see Monica out of the corner of my eye, jumping up and down and holding back childlike glee. “Well, I suppose that bodes well for me. Give me a few weeks, we’ll see how I feel about you? You got to see me, learn about me for a whole week before I even saw you. And my first impression of you was terrifying.”

“I understand.” Donovan got up, brushing a few crumbs off his lap. “You know, I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about such a simple date, but it may turn out to be one of my favorites.”

I headed back to my room knowing I was going to live, but terrified about about who was likely going to die.

Diana’s date was next, and god this girl is going to win. She chose a date to a local coffee shop, they spent the whole time laughing and enjoying each other’s company. She was the only other person to see Donovan’s true form, during the car ride home. She didn’t touch his tail but instead touched his face, letting him know it was what on was on the inside that mattered to her. Clever way to word it, I gotta say.

Tara took Donovan dancing. They enjoyed drinks, they got quite passionate on the dance floor, and although there was a brief moment I thought Tara was going to make a break for it, she didn’t take it and instead kissed Donovan for quite a passionate moment.

Shannon’s date idea was quite sweet, if I’d picked a date out in public I probably would’ve gone with her idea. She went to a museum with Donovan, and they managed to catch a show at the planetarium. However, anytime Donovan attempted to hold her hand she jerked it away. She didn’t really engage in any conversation either. It was clear her mind was somewhere else.

Taylor… Taylor actually went third, but her attempt resulted in disaster.

It started with dinner, and it was going well. Taylor was calm, she cut back on her bad jokes and managed to be quite charming. Halfway through dessert she got up to use the bathroom… and then she didn’t come back after ten minutes.

We could see the irritation on Donovan’s face when he realized that Taylor pulled a runner. A quick questioning of the staff and it was revealed she’d asked to use the back way out, as the date she was on was absolutely bombing. She’d ditched her heels for sneakers she’d kept in her purse. Bruce swore so loudly his mic peaked and then the live feed cut out.

Shannon was hopeful. “Maybe she’ll get help for all of us,” She said as we headed back to our rooms.

Tara shook her head. “If she can outrun the crew and Donovan, I don’t care if she catches the next flight back to Britain. She got out, she doesn’t owe us shit,” She said.

I agreed with Tara. If even one of us got away, it would be amazing.

But Taylor didn’t get away. Shortly after midnight I woke up to hear her sobbing to Tara. I pretended to be asleep as they talked, but through my mostly closed eyes I could see Taylor’s ripped up nylons and a bruise forming on her face.

Taylor managed to get a bit of distance and was almost in the clear when Donovan caught up to her.

“I thought… I thought I was gonna die…” Taylor hiccuped, “But… but all he did was wrap his tail around me and growl like some wild fucking animal as he dragged me back to a car. He didn’t say anything, but god, Bruce told me I broke my contract. Tomorrow it’ll be me. Fuck, it’ll be me.”

The next morning at breakfast Shannon put one eye on Taylor and bolted back to her bedroom. Diana looked disappointed but still gave Taylor a tight hug and thanked her for trying. Taylor didn’t touch a crumb of food but I didn’t blame her. I didn’t know what to say to comfort her. This was a woman on death row and nothing could change that.

It was elimination time and Taylor looked so pale I thought she might faint. We all sat on the couch as Bruce impatiently tapped his foot.

“Where the hell is Sarah?” He grumbled.

“Her name is Shannon,” I said. God I hate this man.

“Well, one of you go get her,” He shooed us, “It’s time to eliminate a contestant.”

Tara snorted. “Oh, don’t even. It’s a fucking execution, you creep,” She snarled, wrapping an arm around Taylor’s shoulders.

Diana got up. “I’ll ask if she wants to come, but I won’t make her. If she doesn’t want to see this, that’s her choice,” She said, giving quite a nasty glare at Bruce before walking off.

I held Taylor’s hand as I saw Donovan walk in, leaning against the wall with quite the unenthusiastic expression. “I wish I could switch with you,” I whispered into her ear.

Taylor sniffled and muttered, “You try and I’ll beat your head in. You’re a great friend though, love. You too, Tara. I’m glad I got to meet you both.”

Tara shushed her and ran her fingers through Taylor’s braids. “I wish we could be friends for longer-”

She was cut off by Diana’s bloodcurdling scream.

I bolted after the sound, Bruce tried to grab my arm but I managed to shake him off. Donovan and Tara were right on my heels as we made it to the bedrooms. Diana stumbled out of Shannon’s room into the hall, white as a sheet and continuing to scream.

I ran into the room and saw Shannon’s body hanging from the ceiling fan, white sheets forming the noose around her neck. Her eyes were still open, staring lifelessly down at me from her blue face.

I sunk to the ground, legs turned to jelly. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t scream like Diana still was. I heard Tara turn her rage on Bruce, screaming at him for not keeping a better eye on the contestants and not realizing one was a suicide risk.

I was lifted off the ground and helped out of the room by Donovan. “You should lie down,” He murmured into my ear as he helped me to the Queen’s room.

That’s where I am now. Once again, I was top girl. Lucky fucking me. There was no execution this week, Taylor has another week. According to her, Monica pulled her aside and let her know the slate was wiped clean. As long as she doesn’t try to escape again, she has another shot.

Someone get us fucking out of here.

Week Four

#my stories

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halothenthehorns · 10 months

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Chapter 8: TYSON LEADS A JAILBREAK

Jason squinted down at the new chapter title like there was Mist obscuring it. The words made less sense the longer he stared. "Tyson leads, Tyson leads a- Percy what the hell did you get him into?"

"Tyson leads a what?" Alex demanded, looking very close to strangling Jason already for even hinting at teasing him.

Thalia leaned over his shoulder to finish, "Tyson Leads a Jailbreak? Yeah, no, I'm on Jason's side, you're a bad influence on that kid. Do we need to have another custody battle?"

"Tyson beat up cows and Canadians just fine without me telling him to do so," Percy crossed his arms, he looked almost proud as he leveled a look at Thalia. "I'm sure whatever this is was a great moment in history, revolutionary, and my little brother is helping, erm, the masses not be oppressed anymore or something. And I will bribe a jury to keep him full-time Thalia!"

"Because that's the right way to win a kid," Will stage whispered while Nico snickered in surprise beside him.

Thalia and Percy began actually bickering who would be a better influence on him though, and Magnus looked on in concern for several moments. "I think I liked it better when Percy kept rolling his eyes and wanted to ignore the chapter titles," he admitted to Alex.

"Are you kidding? This is world class entertainment! If we play our cards right, we might start World War III right here!" Alex was definitely placing bets in his head.

Jason finally had to give an almighty throat clearing and a stern look at the pair. He was pretty good at that when he shut off those questions and actually tried to be serious, like he had experience getting wily kids together. "No offense Thalia, but I think Percy wins by default, Tyson's old enough to get a say and he's going to pick Percy."

Percy not-so-silently cheered. "Now, on with the show?"

"Fine," Thalia huffed, "but I still insist nature spirits don't count and Artemis would consider letting me train him."

"Get your own little brother," Percy smirked before sticking his tongue out at her.

Thalia smiled like a good sport as her secret little brother she hadn't told anybody about finally started reading and she fought back tears for everything she'd done wrong regarding him. She was starting to get worried if she kept this bottled up much longer she'd do something drastic, like try to bathe a cat just to get some kind of battle out of her system.

She knew she should tell Percy at least, he wouldn't bat an eye at the multitude of problems that would arise when he found out she planned on murdering a god for what they'd done, but she wanted to give her friend a chance to breathe first. Get his memories back, actually have a chance at some normalcy back at camp with Annabeth before he got into this while she figured out details, so until then, she'd wait.

The good news: the left tunnel was straight with no side exits, twists, or turns.

"I'd actually prefer it if there were though, if something big is chasing me," Magnus said skittishly. "If you're smaller, you can take the turns that'll slow whatever's chasing you down."

"But we could also look over our shoulder and be vaguely comforted we couldn't see it yet instead of thinking it's just behind that corner," Percy said in his attempt at a wise voice.

"Yeah, man, that's, that's not better than an actual good reason," Magnus frowned in concern how this guy was alive, as usual.

The bad news; it was a dead end.

"The kind of news that trumps any good news anyways," Thalia said in fair compensation, to which neither of them disagreed.

After sprinting a hundred yards, we ran into an enormous boulder that completely blocked our path. Behind us, the sounds of dragging footsteps and heavy breathing echoed down the corridor. Something—definitely not human—was on our tail.

"Tyson," I said, "can you—"

"Yes!" He slammed his shoulder against the rock so hard the whole tunnel shook. Dust trickled from the stone ceiling.

"Hurry!" Grover said. "Don't bring the roof down, but hurry!"

"Grover's sure asking a lot of him right then," Alex pouted, "multitasking ain't that easy."

"And Tyson's not even ADHD," Percy agreed.

The boulder finally gave way with a horrible grinding noise. Tyson pushed it into a small room and we dashed through behind it.

"Close the entrance!" Annabeth said.

"Bossy, bossy," Alex huffed one more time.

"Someone's got to give the orders in those kinds of situations or everyone would run around in chaos," Jason reminded.

Alex was more of a deadly, solo, ninja assassin though if he'd ever stop wearing the brightest stinking colors, so nobody was surprised when he rolled his eyes at Jason.

We all got on the other side of the boulder and pushed.

"Teamwork makes the dream work though," Alex laughingly approved. "I knew you guys could move any problem if you just put enough brute force into it."

"If Alex suggests we just throw rocks at the next monster to kill it, I want you all as witnesses to prove it was justified to see I threw a rock at him first to prove why that wouldn't work," Percy chuckled.

Thalia flicked him in the forehead and fought off a laugh. "See, this is why Tyson should hang around me more, he gets all his violent ideas from you!"

"I resemble that remark," Percy agreed casually.

"I'm assuming he doesn't actually mean resent?" Magnus muttered.

"He does not," Alex agreed without concern.

Whatever was chasing us wailed in frustration as we heaved the rock back into placed and sealed the corridor.

"We trapped it," I said.

"Or trapped ourselves," Grover said.

I turned. We were in a twenty-foot-square cement room and the opposite wall was covered with metal bars. We'd tunneled straight into a cell.

Will let out a long, tragic whistle. "What in Hades did that mortal do to deserve getting a cell next to a literal hellish pit? Can you imagine that poor inmate lying awake at night, hearing any number of things through that wall, and yet being so desperate to escape and chance going in?"

"Or, on the flip side, monsters keep getting into just that cell to eat whoever's in there and going back to the labyrinth, so the prison just accepts that as the black hole cell and throws the ones in there they hope will vanish," Alex offered.

"Is it possible? Did Percy finally stumble across a place you're not going to try to vacation to?" Magnus asked him with a smidge of hope.

"Are you nuts? This is easily in the top five places I need to know every detail of!" Alex looked at him in hurt he'd assume otherwise.

"Yeah, should have seen that coming," Magnus sighed in resignation. The real question would be what would Alex get arrested for to get sent there.

"What in Hades?" Annabeth tugged on the bars. They didn't budge.

"Confirmed, Annabeth does not have super strength," Jason nodded to himself like he was compiling a mental list.

"Was that really something you were holding out for?" Percy asked with mild curiosity.

"Can't automatically disqualify it after she held the sky so long. I'm now marking that as strength of character," Jason shrugged.

Through the bars we could see rows of cells in a ring around a dark courtyard—at least three stories of metal doors and metal catwalks.

"A prison," I said. "Maybe Tyson can break—"

"Shh," said Grover. "Listen."

"I would almost rather not, though," Magnus admitted. He'd had to imagine all the time what prison sounded like and wasn't looking for any more descriptors.

"It, uh, it wasn't," but Percy didn't know how to answer that, other than just saying it sounded very weird. Like someone was trying to speak with construction equipment.

Somewhere above us, deep sobbing echoed through the building. There was another sound, too—a raspy voice muttering something that I couldn't make out. The words were strange, like rocks in a tumbler.

"What's that language?" I whispered.

Tyson's eye widened. "Can't be."

"I never considered Tyson might know a second language and that's why he's so minimal in English," Alex said in fascination.

"Do monsters get their own language?" Magnus asked awkwardly. What the heck was going on? Were they even in a mortal prison, or had the labyrinth dumped them out in some hellish monster prison?

"As far as I know, it's a pretty universal kill Percy Jackson language," Percy shrugged, but the look of intense surprise on Tyson's face made him nowhere near downplaying something was up.

"What?" I asked.

He grabbed two bars on our cell door and bent them wide enough for even a Cyclops to slip through.

"So is Tyson jailbreaking himself? That's not something anybody can be upset about," Will was only mock confused, but the slight notes of dread in his voice weren't fake. He was not looking forward to Kampê being described in vivid detail. He still had nightmares about her.

"Wait!" Grover called.

But Tyson wasn't about to wait. We ran after him.

"No easy task I imagine," Jason mock saluted him.

"Yeah, he's weirdly fast, must be all that peanut butter," Percy agreed.

The prison was dark, only a few dim fluorescent lights flickering above.

"I don't think it's an active prison?" Magnus said in surprise. Surely somebody else would have been spotted by now. That just made it creepier though, now he was wondering when the vengeful spirits were going to show up. He still hadn't ruled out monsters were lurking about and the cells were just for show.

"I know this place," Annabeth told me. "This is Alcatraz."

"Fascinating," Alex yelped.

"Growing less surprised by the second the labyrinth dropped you off there," Nico muttered while fiddling with his figurine.

"You mean that island near San Francisco?"

She nodded. "My school took a field trip here. It's like a museum."

"What the hell do they sell in that gift shop?" Magnus spluttered.

"I swear if it's jumpsuits and space food I'll move in," Alex snickered.

It didn't seem possible that we could've popped out of the Labyrinth on the other side of the country,

"Like, seriously, where was this magic path the last two bloody times you needed it," Jason agreed with Percy's very put out look.

"I'm sure if we tried to take the exact same route we'd end up popping out in the South Poll," Percy grumbled at all of his luck.

but Annabeth had been living in San Francisco all year, keeping an eye on Mount Tamalpais just across the bay. She probably knew what she was talking about.

"I just assume that in general," Will nodded. "If she started babbling on about brain surgery or rocket science I'd take her at word."

Nico repressed the urge to gag that literally everybody but him was in love with this girl.

"Freeze," Grover warned.

But Tyson kept going. Grover grabbed his arm and pulled him back with all his strength.

"Did that cause a sequel of the flying shoes?" Thalia asked in concern and admiration at Grover trying so hard. He was all heart, a true protector, even with someone he wasn't fond of.

"He would have fallen if Tyson hadn't actually stopped to catch him," Percy agreed. "I think it would have been easier to pull on the anchor of a cruise ship, but that's Grover for you."

"Stop, Tyson!" he whispered. "Can't you see it?"

I looked where he was pointing, and my stomach did a somersault. On the second-floor balcony, across the courtyard, was a monster more horrible than anything I'd ever seen before.

"Which is really saying a lot when you've met, how many monsters now?" Magnus preemptively put his hand on his stomach to hold it in place for what he might be about to hear.

"Not even a fraction of all of them," Thalia shook her head in sorrow she couldn't promise this would get any better over time.

It was sort of like a centaur, with a woman's body from the waist up. But instead of a horse's lower body, it had the body of a dragon—at least twenty feet long, black and scaly with enormous claws and a barbed tail. Her legs looked like they were tangled in vines, but then I realized they were sprouting snakes, hundreds of vipers darting around, constantly looking for something to bite. The woman's hair was also made of snakes, like Medusa's. Weirdest of all, around her waist, where the woman part met the dragon part, her skin bubbled and morphed, occasionally producing the heads of animals—a vicious wolf, a bear, a lion, as if she were wearing a belt of ever-changing creatures. I got the feeling I was looking at something half formed, a monster so old it was from the beginning of time, before shapes had been fully defined.

"That is the coolest stinking thing I've ever heard of," Alex said slowly, clearly savoring each word.

"How, do you kill, that?" Magnus looked sickened such a thing like shapes even existed now.

"She's how I'd have imagined the mother of all monsters if you hadn't described Echidna already," Jason admitted. "A little bit of everything."

"You guys have no idea how lucky you are just to be hearing about this thing," Percy sighed. She was the kind of monster that made him fleetingly wonder if he was going to wet himself and not care if he'd feel that liquid.

Will's breath came out sharp, the sounds of screams and the smell of that poison and the looks of fright and pain still on faces covered in shrouds coming all to easily back to mind as he fought off a shiver. Nico placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, waiting to be shrugged off, or for Will to scream in fright at the death kid touching him right now.

To his surprise, the opposite happened. Will relaxed under his touch, one last shake of his head, and then he smiled at him. It was a small, tired one, but he mouthed thank you like he'd needed that moment to be grounded. Nico slowly drew his hand back all the same, examining it carefully to make sure he hadn't grabbed a skeleton hand by mistake just in case. Nope. There was that scar on the pad of his thumb from the first time he'd handled his sword. It had been real.

"It's her," Tyson whimpered.

"Get down!" Grover said.

We crouched in the shadows, but the monster wasn't paying us any attention. It seemed to be talking to someone inside a cell on the second floor. That's where the sobbing was coming from. The dragon woman said something in her weird rumbling language.

"What's she saying?" I muttered. "What's that language?"

"The tongue of the old times." Tyson shivered. "What Mother Earth spoke to Titans and...her other children. Before the gods."

"You understand it?" I asked. "Can you translate?"

Tyson closed his eyes and began to speak in a horrible, raspy woman's voice. "You will work for the master or suffer."

"Is Tyson a human translator? Cyclops translator?" Jason asked, always pleasantly surprised to find out more things no matter how persistent that nagging voice in his head was still saying all this time later this wasn't normal.

Percy was clearly puzzled by the question, obviously never having asked, so Nico offered, "as far as I know it ties into that whole voice mimicry they can do. If the person whose voice they plucked it from can speak it, so can they."

"That is so stinking cool!" Jason and Percy both cheered.

Annabeth shuddered. "I hate it when he does that."

Percy looked chagrined while Thalia gave him an understanding nod. Annabeth was allowed to be excused from thinking that was cool after what she'd been through, and Percy had a tendency to forget because Tyson was his daily Cyclops reminder instead of her nightmares.

Like all Cyclopes, Tyson had superhuman hearing and an uncanny ability to mimic voices. It was almost like he entered a trance when he spoke in other voices.

"I will not serve," Tyson said in a deep, wounded voice.

He switched to the monster's voice: "Then I shall enjoy your pain, Briares." Tyson faltered when he said that name. I'd never heard him break character when he was mimicking somebody, but he let out a strangled gulp.

Then he continued in the monster's voice. "If you thought your first imprisonment was unbearable, you have yet to feel true torment. Think on this until I return."

"You've only seen him do that once," Thalia gave him a bit of a judgmental eyebrow. "I'm actually quite pleased to know they can be shocked out of doing that trance." Much like Annabeth, she found that distasteful even being used on their side considering it had once been done to her.

"Who's Briares?" Jason cut into the uneasy silence that followed. "I, um, didn't realize Tyson had other friends besides you." A prison isn't the nicest place to have a sleepover, but it was even more awkward to realize Tyson might have been homeless before when there might have been some monster friend with plenty of space he could have been staying.

"I have no idea," Percy didn't sound to thrilled about the idea either. Prison break, the chapter title had promised, like Briares was stuck there and Tyson was going to help get him out. What the heck was a monster so old and powerful going to be like he needed help?

The dragon lady tromped toward the stairwell, vipers hissing around her legs like grass skirts. She spread wings that I hadn't noticed before—huge bat wings she kept folded against her dragon back. She leaped off the catwalk and soared across the courtyard. We crouched lower in the shadows.

A hot sulfurous wind blasted my face as the monster flew over. Then she disappeared around the corner.

"H-h-horrible," Grover said. "I've never smelled any monster that strong."

"Cyclopes' worst nightmare," Tyson murmured. "Kampê."

"Like a canopy?" Magnus was sure he'd heard wrong. "That sounds way to relaxing and nice to be translated right."

"I'm not making it up!" Jason promised.

"Who?" I asked.

Tyson swallowed. "Every Cyclops knows about her. Stories about her scare us when we're babies. She was our jailer in the bad years."

Percy frowned and swallowed a tight throat. He'd never asked about Tyson's mom, how long he'd been homeless before they found each other. Like with Annabeth, Percy worried it wasn't the best circumstances.

That bit also made him a tad grateful his mom never tried to give him bedtime stories, he was to restless a child. He vaguely recalled her singing her favorite songs to him instead, and wondered if he could get a recording sometime so Tyson could fall asleep listening to that instead of stories about the worst jailer of all time.

Annabeth nodded. "I remember now. When the Titans ruled, they imprisoned Gaea and Ouranos's earlier children—the Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires."

"Can they not just be called heck-spawn? That's so much easier to pronounce," Percy sighed.

"Oh come on Percy, it's not that bad after you learned in school how to pronounce deoxyribonucleic acid," Will said bracingly.

"And now you're putting way to much faith in my education," Percy scoffed.

"The Heka-what?" I asked.

"The Hundred-Handed Ones," she said. "They called them that because...well, they had a hundred hands.

"The Greeks really didn't go out of their way to get creative with these names huh?" Alex said tragically.

"I'm, um, not complaining. Better than calling them the toe-to-head devourers or something," Magnus was definitely not wrapping his head around that right though. Were all the hands going to sprout out of his arms? Was he going to be a giant hand made of hands? Did that mean they were all thumbs and clumsy?

They were elder brothers of the Cyclopes."

"Looks like Percy's got some competition!" Magnus chuckled.

"Bet I'll win!" Percy said at once.

"It's okay guys, Tyson can have all the big siblings he wants, no need to fuss," Thalia mock playacted just because she was really tired of this being discussed.

Percy opened his mouth, a challenge on his tongue Thalia was just trying to move on from this because she didn't think she'd win, but he really saw her. The exhaustion in her eyes, the way she held herself like they were discussing Luke. Something about Tyson was really bothering her right now, and like Annabeth, he did forget her bad experience with them. So he quickly waved Jason on, but he kept watching her, and noticed how she didn't quite seem to want to watch Jason either.

"Very powerful," Tyson said. "Wonderful! As tall as the sky. So strong they could break mountains!"

"Cool," I said. "Unless you're a mountain."

"Might be cool for the mountains," Alex grinned. "I quite admire monsters that can break me."

"Only you Alex," Percy told him without surprise.

"Kampê was the jailer," he said. "She worked for Kronos. She kept our brothers locked up in Tartarus, tortured them always, until Zeus came. He killed Kampê and freed Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones to help fight against the Titans in the big war."

"And now Kampê is back," I said.

"Bad," Tyson summed up.

"I swear we could just plaster that as the chapter title and it would always be relevant," Nico muttered.

"So who's in that cell?" I asked. "You said a name—"

"Briares!" Tyson perked up. "He is a Hundred-Handed One. They are as tall as the sky and—"

"Yeah," I said. "They break mountains."

I looked up at the cells above us, wondering how something as tall as the sky could fit in a tiny cell, and why he was crying.

"Hopefully it's just a minor inconvenience, like his warden forgot to put a mint on his pillow," Jason said with an odd look at Percy. It seemed pretty obvious anybody would be crying to be in these circumstances. They were all holding it together by willpower and sarcasm.

"I guess we should check it out," Annabeth said, "before Kampê comes back."

"And that's why the child of wisdom is leading this charge," Alex snorted. "I'd rather wait until Kampê came back to do this properly!"

"You would," Nico said, never entirely sure how much Alex was kidding about that.

As we approached the cell, the weeping got louder.

"Do you expect noises to get quieter the closer you get to them?" Will asked in concern.

"I don't know, I've never tried being quiet at anything," Percy shrugged.

When I first saw the creature inside, I wasn't sure what I was looking at. He was human-size and his skin was very pale, the color of milk. He wore a loincloth like a big diaper. His feet seemed too big for his body, with cracked dirty toenails, eight toes on each foot. But the top half of his body was the weird part. He made Janus look downright normal. His chest sprouted more arms than I could count, in rows, all around his body. The arms looked like normal arms, but there were so many of them, all tangled together, that his chest looked kind of like a forkful of spaghetti somebody had twirled together. Several of his hands were covering his face as he sobbed.

"That guy, is very cool," Alex instantly decided.

"Helps he might not kill you upon first meeting you," Magnus agreed, though he was still reserving a scream for that in case they got double-crossed.

"Either the sky isn't as tall as it used to be," I muttered, "or he's short."

"Mist manipulation?" Jason offered awkwardly.

"Or he didn't get Ouranos's genes," Percy snorted.

Thalia rolled her eyes at the pair of them again, so at least that was still normal.

Tyson didn't pay any attention. He fell to his knees.

"Briares!" he called.

The sobbing stopped.

"Great Hundred-Handed One!" Tyson said. "Help us!"

Briars looked up. His face was long and sad, with a crooked nose and bad teeth. He had deep brown eyes—I mean completely brown with no whites or black pupils, like eyes formed out of clay.

Jason gave an impressed whistle.

"That's what impressed you?" Percy yelped. "You weren't even phased by the arms, but his eyes?"

"Eyes are the window to the soul Percy, and that just sounded cooler than spaghetti arms," he chuckled. His blue eyes flashed a familiar, cocky kind of way when he mocked him that nagged at Percy's mind for a moment.

"Run while you can, Cyclops," Briares said miserably. "I cannot even help myself."

"Yeah, why is that exactly?" Magnus stage whispered. "He doesn't exactly sound pinned down."

"Sometimes your head can be prison enough," Nico murmured sullenly. If Magnus hadn't seen his lips move, he wouldn't have been entirely sure he spoke at all. Magnus swallowed a sharp, bitter feeling on his tongue of understanding and didn't press farther.

"Sounds to me like he just needs a helping hand," Percy said casually and then even laughed at his own pun, so the others just rolled their eyes at him and moved on.

"You are a Hundred-Handed One!" Tyson insisted. "You can do anything!"

Briars wiped his nose with five or six hands. Several others were fidgeting with little pieces of metal and wood from a broken bed, the way Tyson always played with spare parts. It was amazing to watch. The hands seemed to have a mind of their own. They built a toy boat out of wood, then disassembled it just as fast. Other hands were scratching at the cement floor for no apparent reason. Others were playing rock, paper, scissors. A few others were making ducky and doggie shadow puppets against the wall.

"I feel like trying to watch him sign would give me a headache," Magnus seemed fascinated how he was able to function all of those fingers at once. He did good to walk and have a conversation without tripping.

"Like trying to listen to a song at mock ten speed, he'd just bang out everything at once," Alex agreed, but he sounded more impressed. He was probably imagining punching 98 people at once and giving himself a high-five.

"I cannot," Briares moaned. "Kampê is back! The Titans will rise and throw us back into Tartarus."

"Put on your brave face!" Tyson said.

Immediately Briares's face morphed into something else. Same brown eyes, but otherwise totally different features. He had an upturned nose, arched eyebrows, and a weird smile, like he was trying to act brave. But then his face turned back to what it had been before.

"Does every part of his body just go nuts?" Percy half laughed half asked. "Do his ears change out to bionics?"

Thalia smacked him on his ear to shush him.

"No good," he said. "My scared face keeps coming back."

"How did you do that?" I asked.

Annabeth elbowed me. "Don't be rude. The Hundred-Handed Ones all have fifty different faces."

"I don't think ignorance should be called rude," Will said fairly.

"It is if you ask to see all fifty faces at once," Alex said with a very disappointed face of his own he knew he shouldn't and yet very much wanted to.

"Must make it hard to get a yearbook picture," I said.

Thalia laughed against her will and agreed, "a face a mother doesn't have to love, she could just tell him to change it to another!" Then kept snickering at her own joke.

Percy sighed in relief, it was kind of depressing watching her try to be all responsible and lieutenant-y. He was already worried the Hunt was going to make her boring and stiff.

Tyson was still entranced. "It will be okay, Briares! We will help you! Can I have your autograph?"

"Does he have an autograph book?" Alex asked in surprise.

"I think we found his celebrity crush," Magnus grinned.

"My question is, can you get one of those on Alcatraz island? I'm still not sure what to expect in that gift shop," Will chuckled.

Briares sniffled. "Do you have one hundred pens?"

"I only keep up with one because it's magic!" Percy looked traumatized at the idea of collecting all of those.

"His hands move independently of each other though," Nico frowned at the odd question.

"Maybe each would want to write their own autograph," Will said, an odd bit of disappointment in his voice nobody got because he hadn't gotten an autograph when it was available.

"Guys," Grover interrupted. "We have to get out of here. Kampê will be back. She'll sense us sooner or later."

"Break the bars," Annabeth said.

"Yes!" Tyson said, smiling proudly. "Briares can do it. He is very strong. Stronger than Cyclopes, even!

"That's, pretty strong," Magnus agreed, but with a weary kind of frown. How much stronger than Tyson could you be without tipping the terrifying scales?

Alex was no more impressed, because if Briares could break out of there, then surely he would have by now.

Watch!"

Briares whimpered. A dozen of his hands started playing patty-cake, but none of them made any attempt to break the bars.

"This is just sad," Jason frowned. How long had this guy been a prisoner already?

Alex tangled up a few strands of hair in his fingers and gave a painful tug. The memory, the feeling of how hard it was to walk out a door wasn't something he'd had to think about in a few years, but then he'd been kicked out. He hadn't gone back in.

Hopefully, it wouldn't take Briares that to get such a forceful freedom.

"If he's so strong," I said, "why is he stuck in jail?"

Annabeth ribbed me again. "He's terrified," she whispered. "Kampê had imprisoned him in Tartarus for thousands of years. How would you feel?"

Percy couldn't imagine it. Even at his worst moments with smelly Gabe he'd had his mom, or being underground in that Labyrinth, he'd been with his friends. He'd been able to move, have a sense of freedom, know that he could leave if he'd ever wanted to even if it wasn't something he'd ever consider.

The Hundred-Handed One covered his face again.

"Briares?" Tyson asked. "What...what is wrong? Show us your great strength!"

"Tyson," Annabeth said, "I think you'd better break the bars."

Tyson's smile melted slowly.

"I will break the bars," he repeated. He grabbed the cell door and ripped it off its hinges like it was made of wet clay.

Alex made a noise of appreciation. He knew Tyson would enjoy doing that with him.

"Come on, Briares," Annabeth said. "Let's get you out of here."

She held out her hand. For a second, Briares's face morphed to a hopeful expression. Several of his arms reached out, but twice as many slapped them away.

"I've heard of people fighting with themselves, but geez, this is ridiculous," Thalia said with grudging admiration for how much control Briares must have over himself. He could defeat any enemy if she could find him twenty-five bows.

"I cannot," he said. "She will punish me."

"It's all right," Annabeth promised. "You fought the Titans before, and you won, remember?"

"I remember the war." Briares's face morphed again—furrowed brow and a pouting mouth. His brooding face, I guess.

"I think Briares is going to be a great influence on you," Jason said in a very unhelpful tone to Percy. "Maybe seeing someone actively change their face around will help you figure out what an angry face is."

"Fat chance it'll do any good," Percy scoffed.

"Lightning shook the world. We threw many rocks. The Titans and the monsters almost won. Now they are getting strong again. Kampê said so."

"Don't listen to her," I said. "Come on!"

He didn't move. I knew Grover was right. We didn't have much time before Kampê returned. But I couldn't just leave him here. Tyson would cry for weeks.

"Yeah, that's why you shouldn't just abandon someone," Will sighed while rubbing at his forehead.

"I think this is a great, helpful tool to learn," Nico grinned. "All we have to do to win any fight is tell Percy it'll make someone cry if we don't."

"We shall achieve this quest or it'll make us all cry!" Percy said in a triumphant tone, even hefting an invisible sword. Then he lowered it and gave them a spectacular eye roll. "Nah, doesn't have a good ring to it."

"One game of rock, paper, scissors," I blurted out. "If I win, you come with us. If I lose, we'll leave you in jail."

"That should have been the chapter title," Magnus busted out laughing in surprise. "I Win Rock, Paper, Scissors a Hundred Times."

"Thanks for the confidence," Percy grinned, though he suspected they were all going to call him a cheat.

Annabeth looked at me like I was crazy.

"There's a face he could never forget," Jason clearly wasn't going to let that joke go.

"It's my favorite one," Percy agreed fondly.

Briares's face morphed to doubtful. "I always win rock, paper, scissors."

"Why? Can he read hands better than Magnus?" Alex asked suspiciously.

"I'm not a palm reader," Magnus frowned.

"Shush, you know what I meant," Alex waved his fingers concerningly close to his nose, exposing the dried in clay still in the folds of his skin Magnus had shamelessly been watching when he thought he could get away with it.

"Then let's do it!" I pounded my fist in my palm three times.

Briares did the same with all one hundred hands, which sounded like an army marching three steps forward. He came up with a whole avalanche of rocks, a classroom set of scissors, and enough paper to make a fleet of airplanes.

"He cheated!" Will yelped. "He still has to only pick one!"

"Game sounds a tad more interesting though if you used both hands," Nico grinned. "Bit more of a strategy involved."

"This guy could play a whole game of chess by himself and not use half his hands," Will grudgingly agreed. "Somebody's got to make it a challenge."

"Then he came to the right place," Percy cracked his knuckles in delight.

"I told you," he said sadly. "I always—" His face morphed to confusion. "What is that you made?"

"A gun," I told him, showing him my finger gun. It was a trick Paul Blofis had pulled on me, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Percy, you cheated too," Will groaned in disappointment.

"And kids shouldn't play with guns, Paul is a terrible influence," Thalia rolled her eyes at Will to make him hear how ridiculous he was being.

He opened his mouth, then shut it again. What was he supposed to say? He should have used a sword instead?

"A gun beats anything."

"That's not fair."

"I didn't say anything about fair. Kampê's not going to be fair if we hang around. She's going to blame you for ripping off the bars. Now come on!"

"You're being a manipulative little shit," Thalia said approvingly. "You don't get enough credit for being able to do that."

"Annabeth gets all the good credit, I'm just the sidekick," Percy reminded cheerfully.

Briares sniffled. "Demigods are cheaters." But he slowly rose to his feet and followed us out of the cell.

"Not a great lesson I'd want to instill in him," Magnus said uneasily. The last thing Percy needed was this guy as a powerful enemy, and making all future generations of demigods his enemy.

"I saved his life, he can call me a sore loser and a poopoo head too if he and Tyson want to hide under a blanket and laugh about me," Percy shrugged.

I started to feel hopeful.

"And then all hell broke lose," Jason said with such calm confidence, nobody even realized that hadn't been in the book.

All we had to do was get downstairs and find the Labyrinth entrance. But then Tyson froze.

On the ground floor right below, Kampê was snarling at us.

"Is run the right word there?" Magnus tried hard not to whimper.

"Better than freeze?" Alex shrugged.

Percy was making a strangled kind of noise that wasn't a word at all, his eyes large enough he resembled a deep sea fish.

"The other way," I said.

"Unless Tyson wants her autograph too, then you might stop," Thalia shivered.

"Nope, sorry, I'd have to make the tough call on that and tell him no," Percy said only a tad frantically.

We bolted down the catwalk. This time Briares was happy to follow us. In fact he sprinted out front, a hundred arms waving in panic.

"Oh, good to know that's all it took," Jason yelped in something close to betrayal, but he also had half a mind to lash a rope to one of his arms and hang on for the free ride, so he wasn't that offended.

Behind us, I heard the sound of giant wings as Kampê took to the air.

"Is now a good time to discuss how exactly it's possible for dragons to take flight?" Alex asked critically. "Especially the European ones which are all heavy-armored tanky beasts, and you cannot tell me she's gliding in there."

"You know Alex," Percy tried to say as casually as possible, "I think we should shelve that, and save it for a quiet time when we've just dodged our own near death experience, not in the middle of one."

"Duly noted," Alex nodded.

She hissed and growled in her ancient language, but I didn't need a translation to know she was planning to kill us.

"I'm sure Tyson's feelings won't be to hurt," Jason snorted.

We scrambled down the stairs, through a corridor, and past a guard's station—out into another block of prison cells.

"Left," Annabeth said. "I remember this from the tour."

"I'd trust any direction that wasn't backwards," Will promised faintly.

We burst outside and found ourselves in the prison yard, ringed by security towers and barbed wire. After being inside for so long, the daylight almost blinded me.

Magnus winced along with him, because he didn't usually experience that very harshly, or he got over it weirdly quickly. He'd never considered that of any use outside of just hanging around making sure Hearth or Blitz didn't bump into anything, now he realized he might have been able to take in the area a split second faster than someone like Percy or Annabeth.

Tourists were milling around, taking pictures. The wind whipped cold off the bay. In the south, San Francisco gleamed all white and beautiful, but in the north, over Mount Tamalpais, huge storm clouds swirled.

The whole sky seemed like a black top spinning from the mountain where Atlas was imprisoned, and where the Titan palace of Mount Othrys was rising anew. It was hard to believe the tourists couldn't see the supernatural storm brewing, but they didn't give any hint that anything was wrong.

"Still want that picture-perfect moment Will?" Nico asked mildly.

"Ever notice how nobody takes pictures of hard times?" Will asked with a sad smile. "Maybe I would, do a before and after thing."

"You're insane," Nico chuckled with growing affection for his particular insanity.

"It's even worse," Annabeth said, gazing to the north. "The storms have been bad all year, but that—"

"Keep moving," Briares wailed. "She is behind us!"

"And you guys keep telling me I have bad timing," Alex said in exasperation. "At least I didn't want to stop and talk about the scenery!"

"You're trying to tell us you wouldn't stop and smell the roses while a dragon canopy is behind you?" Jason asked in disbelief.

"Roses are so cliché," he scoffed like that was actually an answer before waving him on.

We ran to the far end of the yard, as far from the cellblock as possible.

"Kampê's too big to get through the doors," I said hopefully.

Then the wall exploded.

Thalia's smile looked painful as she tried to smother a laugh, and was failing. "Okay, next, I want you to say, I don't want a million dollars!"

"It doesn't work like that, I've tried," Percy promised through a grit-tooth smile.

Tourists screamed as Kampê appeared from the dust and rubble, her wings spread out as wide as the yard. She was holding two swords—long bronze scimitars that glowed with a weird greenish aura, boiling wisps of vapor that smelled sour and hot even across the yard.

"Poison!" Grover yelped. "Don't let those things touch you or..."

"Or we'll die?" I guessed.

"Well...after you shrivel slowly to dust, yes."

"Because of course the giant every-monster gets poisonous swords! What next, a propeller hat? A backpack full or restores?" Magnus looked exhausted for Percy even hearing of this unstoppable beast.

Percy wondered when the heck his life had turned into something that made a horror movie sound bland. It didn't sound great when he decided always.

"Let's avoid the swords," I decided.

"That is possibly the wisest thing you've ever said," Thalia said, clearly impressed.

"You and Grover putting that one good brain cell to use at the right time," Jason snorted.

"Briares, fight!" Tyson urged. "Grow to full size!"

Instead, Briares looked like he was trying to shrink even smaller. He appeared to be wearing his absolutely terrified face.

"I'm very disappointed you haven't continued describing all these new features," Alex pouted. "Did he have a button nose? A wide forehead? Dimples?"

"You know, I really didn't think about it much," Percy grinned, "like Jason said, it was all in the eyes."

"Ha!" Jason gave a barking laugh before falling off into snickers for a solid minute before he could keep going while Percy stared on, pleased with himself he'd gotten him to laugh so hard. Jason definitely needed to stop thinking and counting so much and have a little more fun.

Kampê thundered toward us on her dragon legs, hundreds of snakes slithering around her body.

For a second I thought about drawing Riptide and facing her,

"And you have two great guys to help you throw rocks at this monster and everything," Alex smirked right at Percy.

He took in a deep breath and raised his hand at the giant white boulder still sitting in the middle of the room from where he'd nearly caved in the roof.

It didn't move, and after several silent moments of everybody watching blankly, Percy shrugged. "See, told you it wouldn't work."

"You weren't really trying at all, were you?" Alex asked tragically, as if actually offended Percy hadn't thrown a rock at him to really nail his point.

"My attention is a little split, try again later," Percy rolled his eyes.

Alex sniffed, he knew a dismissal when he heard one. "I remember what ADHD stands for you know," he grumbled, but Percy was back to staring at the book and chewing on the cap of his pen.

but my heart crawled into my throat. Then Annabeth said what I was thinking: "Run."

That was the end of the debate.

"I want you to remember this moment if you ever think of joining that particular club at Goode High," Nico told him conversationally enough. He hadn't even been in awe this time Percy had run like a sensible person or taken charge. He was just a guy running for his life like anyone.

"Yeah Nico, this is for sure the first thing I want coming to my mind joining any club," Percy gave him a bewildered frown.

There was no fighting this thing. We ran through the jail yard and out the gates of the prison, the monster right behind us. Mortals screamed and ran. Emergency sirens began to blare. We hit the wharf just as a tour boat was unloading. The new group of visitors froze as they saw us charging toward them, followed by a mob of frightened tourists, followed by...I don't know what they saw through the Mist, but it could not have been good.

"Stampeding elephant," Alex offered.

"Raining men?" Magnus asked.

"A very angry woman throwing snakes at people out of a bazooka," Jason said with a little to much confidence, his mind offering a weirdly specific image of seeing someone on the news talk about this...

"The boat?" Grover asked.

"Too slow," Tyson said.

"Not with Percy driving it!" Will yelped.

"I wasn't going to argue with Tyson, who knew if she was just getting started," Percy shook his head sharply. He hadn't exactly sat around and clocked his ability to move a boat faster than every monster.

"Back into the maze. Only chance."

"We need a diversion," Annabeth said.

Tyson ripped a metal lamppost out of the ground. "I will distract Kampê. You run ahead."

"I'll help you," I said.

"No," Tyson said. "You go. Poison will hurt Cyclopes. A lot of pain. But it won't kill."

"Are you sure?"

"Go, brother. I will meet you inside."

"It was never hard to guess who Tyson took the best influence from," Thalia chuckled, handing him a mock stack of documents. "I concede the case, you now have both kids all to yourself."

Percy gave her a tragic look as he mock-hugged them to his chest and pleaded, "you won't even offer child support?"

"Ha, ha, ha," she chuckled as she gave him a light push. Hopefully this would finally get him to let go of that stupid joke, and besides, she'd meant it anyways. How could she not admire the hero he'd been to Tyson the instant they met? It was who he always was.

I hated the idea. I'd almost lost Tyson once before, and I didn't want to ever risk that again. But there was no time to argue, and I had no better idea.

"Sometimes the best idea is blind trust," Jason agreed gently.

Percy wasn't sure he liked it when he heard Jason saying stuff like that, and not because he disagreed. It just sounded exhausting, like how Chiron sometimes sounded so old. Jason was his age, he shouldn't know all that.

Annabeth, Grover, and I each took one of Briares's hands and dragged him toward the concession stands while Tyson bellowed, lowered his pole, and charged Kampê like a jousting knight.

"Getting medieval times up in here," Alex grinned. "I told you to get Tyson a cyclops-sized horse Percy, this would have been perfect!"

"I bet Rainbow would come around if we'd had time to call," Percy agreed.

She'd been glaring at Briares, but Tyson got her attention as soon as he nailed her in the chest with the pole, pushing her back into the wall. She shrieked and slashed with her swords, slicing the pole to shreds. Poison dripped in pools all around her, sizzling into the cement.

Tyson jumped back as Kampê's hair lashed and hissed, and the vipers around her legs darted their tongues in every direction. A lion popped out of the weird half-formed faces around her waist and roared.

As we sprinted for the cellblocks, the last thing I saw was Tyson picking up a Dippin' Dots stand and throwing it at Kampê. Ice cream and poison exploded everywhere, all the little snakes in Kampê's hair dotted with tuttifrutti.

Percy couldn't describe the dread that filled him if he wanted to. He would have learned to run backwards or started a jousting tournament or anything if he'd thought it would help in that moment.

But he trusted Tyson. He said he was going to meet him and so he clenched his fist tight enough he could have held a hundred hands and told himself to get a move on, this is what Tyson needed from him right now. The ocean had been roaring in his ears like a cheer from their dad.

He didn't seem to realize, as usual, he was really causing the ocean to begin stirring around them.

We dashed back into the jail yard.

"Can't make it," Briares huffed.

"Tyson is risking his life to help you!" I yelled at him. "You will make it."

As we reached the door of the cellblock, I heard an angry roar. I glanced back and saw Tyson running toward us at full speed, Kampê right behind him. She was plastered in ice cream and T-shirts. One of the bear heads on her waist was now wearing a pair of crooked plastic Alcatraz sunglasses.

"I cannot believe Rachel isn't here to help me get a visual on this," Alex groaned. "You think Oceanus will let us take souvenirs when we're done, because I will fight someone for that paragraph to exist so I can make a sculpture of it!"

"I'm sure you can just rip out a page and stuff it in your shoe," Percy told him, letting himself be temporarily distracted. People were in his room. Vulnerable friends who he couldn't blast away. "In fact, I'll be starting a fire underwater soon enough to burn all these, so get your picks while you can." Like he wanted anybody else to suffer the nightmare that was his life when this was done.

"Hurry!" Annabeth said, like I needed to be told that.

"She's just a good leader like that, making sure you're all on the same page," Jason snickered.

"I'll shove that page up your nose, see if you can finish it then," but Percy couldn't help but force a laugh. He needed to hear Tyson was okay more than jokes right now.

We finally found the cell where we'd come in, but the back wall was completely smooth—no sign of a boulder or anything.

"Look for the mark!" Annabeth said.

"There!" Grover touched a tiny scratch, and it became a Greek . The mark of Daedalus glowed blue, and the stone wall grinded open.

Too slowly.

Tyson was coming through the cellblock, Kampê's swords lashing out behind him, slicing indiscriminately through cell bars and stone walls.

I pushed Briares inside the maze, then Annabeth and Grover.

"You can do it!" I told Tyson. But immediately I knew he couldn't. Kampê was gaining. She raised her swords.

Percy moved on reflex. He was flinging only in his mind, but the water reacted around him.

CRASH!

There was now a hole punched into the door at least, instead of someone's skull. Perfectly shaped for someone to fit their head through like they wanted to be Janus for Halloween. Percy's arm was still flung out like a follow-through on a hoop until Thalia gently stood up and grabbed him, lowering him back into his seat as he stuttered for unneeded air while Jason calmly finished like a cannon hadn't just gone off.

I need a distraction—something big. I slapped my wristwatch and it spiraled into a bronze shield.

Desperately, I threw it at the monster's face.

SMACK! The shield hit her in the face and she faltered just long enough for Tyson to dive past me into the maze.

Percy rubbed the empty space where that watch used to be with the smallest of regret. Tyson was alive, and he'd make him an even better watch with their new, even more deadly adventures on it when he got back.

I was right behind him. Kampê charged, but she was too late. The stone door closed and its magic sealed us in. I could feel the whole tunnel shake as Kampê pounded against it, roaring furiously. We didn't stick around to play knock, knock with her, though.

"Talk about one of the greatest punchlines of all time," Thalia said faintly. That had been close. Way to close.

"Would anybody begrudge me making one up for that though?" Alex grinned. "I bet nobody will see it coming."

"You go right ahead Alex, like we can stop you," Will chuckled.

We raced into the darkness, and for the first time (and the last) I was glad to be back in the Labyrinth.

"Someone needed to bring a photographer on these trips to commemorate all the happy times you keep glossing over," Jason said as he began to hand the book over. "I can't believe nobody commemorated that first and last time in one moment!"

"That's what we have you for Jason," Magnus smirked as he took the book. "You're our bookkeeper."

"That would have been much funnier if he was about to start his turn," Alex frowned at him. "Work on your timing Magnus."

"I'll get right on that," he agreed. Half of him wanted to sit in a daze and wonder if Alex had some implications of that, but his fingers were already grazing along for the next chapter. Was it to much to hope this quest would go a tad easier now that they had Briares on their side?

#pjo #percy jackson #thalia grace #jason grace #alex fierro #magnus chase #nico di angelo #will solace #percabeth #fierrochase #solangelo #battle of the labyrinth #HDYSG #reading the books #fanfiction

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