#and she just makes other people bully Percy? no way. she was the one shoving his head in the toilet!!! give her her violence back!!

[sochilll]

The PJO show is definitely not BAD, it’s very fun and cool, but tbh I dislike almost every single change they’ve made from the book lol

[demigods-posts]

ik its late but I have heard NOTHING about the "what is wrong with you!?" from Percy, right after annabeth pushes him in the water and right before he gets claimed (episode 2). you are the perfect person to do a deeper analysis, and if you already have or something and I just missed it, let me know! :)

It is so cool that you think of me as the perfect person! Thank you so much @seaweedpuff301! As for my thoughts:

Before this point in the show, Percy has interacted with Annabeth four times:

"He's the one. He must be."

"You drool in your sleep."

I Become One with the Plumbing - Bathroom Scene

Annabeth adjusts the straps on his armor.

The first two times he hears her speak, it is clear she is set on figuring out who he is and how he can benefit her. This is further proven during their third interaction (the bathroom scene) when she watches Clarisse and her cabinmates bully him instead of helping him fight. Annabeth verbally admits that she's only looking out for herself. Then, we get that scene with Luke when he also confirms it by essentially saying that Annabeth is desperate to make something of herself and hovers over newcomers to see if they will be her ticket out of camp. So when they prepare for Capture the Flag, and she tells him to accompany her, he fully expects her to be as closed off as she has always been.

Except, she takes him by complete surprise when she pauses their conversation to adjust the straps on his armor.

She did not have to do that, but she did (!!) because she knows firsthand that the world is not kind, especially as a demigod, and demigods cannot be caught slacking. It’s a very brief moment, but it shows that deep down, she does care about other than herself. But it’s one step forward and three steps back when after he breaks Clarisse’s spear, she takes off her hat and reveals to Percy that she watched him get bullied yet again. And then it’s three more steps back when she expresses remorse before shoving him into the camp lake.

At this point, he knows that being a demigod goes way deeper than he initially thought and that Annabeth does care about people other than herself, but, for some reason, would rather shut everyone out and shove people in the nearest body of water than act like it.

Annabeth has officially become the most aggravating and confusing person Percy has ever met.

[jesslockwood]

Photo Opportunities

Word Count: 2.7k

Pairing(s): Tom Holland x Actress!Reader

Warnings: FLUFF with a slightly (barely) suggestive sentence towards the end 

A/n: damn I can't write anything except actress reader? smh but this is for @londonspidey ‘s sit-com Writing challenge (ik I'm early lol) but I was so excited I wrote the whole thing in one go lmao the prompt is bolded!

Calling yourself a fan was an understatement. You were obsessed with anything and everything marvel. And oddly enough, you could after today say you were in the club. It wasn’t a public fact yet, until later that day actually, at the Marvel panel at comic con that you were being announced as the actress for the character, Felica Hardy and no one else knew except for the people who cast you and your best friend who signed an NDA. You were technically still a known actress for your roles on television mainly as Thalia on the PJO Disney + series and a couple of still decently sized films. 

You were currently wrapping up signing autographs for fans of yours for today. Your team had planned it out so it wasn’t suspicious that you were at the con with a few of your castmates scattered doing other junkets and press so people wouldn’t guess who they were acting as the cast for new marvel projects. 

You had been planning to go meet your best friend, who wasn’t in the industry before getting a text that she bought you both a photo-op with someone and she wouldn’t tell you who. You couldn’t only assume it was a marvel actor that you would indeed, freak out. 

Y/b/n: btw I brought you a mask. I get the wig lol.

You: please tell me it doesn’t cover my full face. Also, how are we posing?

Y/b/n: I bought as many photo ops as I could so a lot of different ones, And if I tell you the poses it’ll spoil it.

You: is this with the money I pay you to be my assistant with? Lol fine I’m omw with security

Y/b/n: maybe… 

Y/b/n: and they’ll need more backup security for who we’re getting a photo op with than you do for your hellfire.

You roll your eyes before taking your stuff and exiting the booth, before heading out the backways with staff security and your detailed security for the day. You only had security because you wanted to explore the con when you weren’t needed.

Your best friend had also been your assistant for the con weekend, but you didn’t want her to be confined to you the whole three days so when she could, you would let her explore it, at least she could experience it as a fan, right?

When you made it to that part of the building, you wanted to wait in line with her, which your security didn’t agree to so she texted you when there were about five people ahead of her. She was one of the last in line, with you asking her to be kind, so others would get their chance to be first with whomever it was. 

When she texted you and your detailed exit, getting a few stares and others taking their phones out to either take photos or tweet, you wave at them before joining your best friend in line.

“Here,” she says before handing you none other than a black cat mask before she puts on a red wig. 

You glare at her slightly trying to not make a scene, before putting it on. 

“I’m assuming you're Mary Jane?” you laugh figuring out that it had to be someone from Spider-Man.

“How’d you- never mind.” She laughs with you.

She then explains how she’s going to pose for your five photo ops, joking in between how she should “get a raise for this”.

You catch sight of him before sucking in your breath. This was either going to go down amazingly or terribly, there was no in-between with you. 

“Excuse Me, are you Y/n Y/l/n?”

You turn around and are met by some fans who were standing in line behind you.

“I am! How’s your con going?” you ask politely to the two of them.

“It's going amazing! We love you as Thalia! Could we maybe get a picture? Only if it’s okay?”

“Of course! Thank you for supporting me!” your best friend grabs their phone to take the photo, before you take off the mask, and stand between the two fans, and your best friend snaps a few photos. 

“Thank you so much! And Are you fans of Tom?”

You start slowly walking back to catch up to the line. 

“Yeah, I love him as Spiderman, but I also enjoy his other roles. He's very talented, I'd love to work with him one day!” 

“Have you seen him in Uncharted?  We love Him as Nathan drake!”

“I have, he was amazing per usual! How are you two posing with him?”

They show you their innovative pose. You laugh and tell them it's great before you have to wish them goodbye before heading up for your turn for the photo op. 

“How do we want to pose- hang on, I recognize you!”

You freeze slightly before your friend mouths for you to flirt. You look down at the mask in your hand before getting into character and saying “Of course you do Spidey, I'm always causing you trouble.” you put on the mask and wink. 

He seems slightly stunned, laughing, feeling like he’s seen you somewhere, not only because he found you extremely gorgeous, while in his peripheral vision he sees his brother/ assistant, Harry waving like a madman on the side. 

Your friend directs you both through the poses, first, one both him putting “webs” onto you as she looks over his shoulder, the second one, both of you kissing his cheeks, the third, all jumping in the air in your best superhero poses, the fourth one she gets a photo op alone and the last one she gives to you,

“Seriously, who are you?”

“Your Wildest dreams, baby,” you say, taking off the mask. 

Your best friend yells “freestyle” from the sidelines before Tom dips you, gently, with you shocked, holding the mask out with your free arm and the photo captures that moment. 

 He gently helps you stand back up fully, not before you drop the mask.

“Nice moves Spider-Man.”

“Not so bad yourself, Black Cat.”

You laugh before, taking off with your best friend, well more her dragging you to the printing station leaving the mask behind. Tom picks it up before shoving it in his back pocket to hopefully give back if he could find you. 

-

`You were sitting in the green room, trending on Twitter before you were actually supposed to be trending on Twitter, and god knows where else.  

Someone had snuck a video of you and Tom, up till him dipping you, and a video of you interacting with the fans in the line.

Your Y/b/n was currently reading off some tweets out loud

“‘A kind queen we stan.’  I agree, I also agree with ‘Date her if you can't date me tom!!!’.

‘THALIA AND PETER PARKER??? My two fandoms have collided.’ same, same. Oo this one says, ‘if she ain’t playing black cat I will sue marvel.’ I'm dying at the reply ‘She needs to post the photos or I'll sue her!’. This one’s funny, ‘she could squash him like a bug in heels but he liked his queen like that.’.”

She pauses watching you texting.

“Y/n? Y/n?”

“What? Sorry I was only half listening. I was texting my publicist. She said to stay on the DL until tonight. 

“Well we should get food, you haven't eaten since this morning.”

“By the way, your show has shot to number one on Disney +. Also, you have like three times the followers you had before, probably cause you're trending on every platform, even Tumblr!”

“Wow you should just become my social media manager now.” you joke trying to ease the joy yet weirded out feeling in your stomach.

“Does that come with a raise? Because after today I've spent way too much of what I'm paid.” she jokes back.

-

After finishing his photo ops Tom asked Harry who she was and to find out. By the time he finished autographs for the day, Tom and Harry walked to the panel room in the back for announcements, one that included him for the new Avengers movie, while Harry gave him the rundown.

“So she’s an actress, she plays Thalia on Disney plus’ Percy Jackson series, and that's her most known project. The other girl with her is her assistant best friend, and now she's trending everywhere. People dug up some old photos of her being a marvel/Spider-Man fan, so there's that. And she's here at the con for the rest of the weekend. She's doing photo ops tomorrow at one, and yes she's single from what I gather since you were looking at her like this.” he makes a weird face before tom smacks him.

“And plus you have time in your schedule to get a photo op with her, that is if you eat lunch quickly.”

That gave Tom an idea. 

“Harry I’m going to need you to book me one, oh and help me find a Spider-Man costume!” He says, before leaving harry to do ‘assistant’ work. entering the green room for the announcements, watching them announce a new movie.

“We are so excited to announce to the Marvel Universe, and spider-verse-” that perked tom’s ears, “-directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, and today we are announcing our amazing Miss Felicia Hardy, please give a warm welcome to the stage, Your Black Cat!”

You suddenly emerged in an aisle way, dressed in all black with a leather jacket, black ankle boots, and of course black sunglasses indoors.

The music is marvel music until it suddenly changes after a recorded laugh from you into “I can’t be tamed by Miley Cyrus”.

You start owning the music while saying hi and touching fans’ hands. You decide to take off your sunglasses and throwing them to a fan, for them to keep, before getting on stage.

“What a Performance from the one the only Y/n Y/l/n!”

You laugh, being met with the loudest applause you had heard all con before being handed a Mic. 

“Thank you but I'm a terrible dancer.” You Joke.

Tom was staring at the screen stunned. You had been the black cat all along. You were in the marvel universe and spidey one,  so he'd definitely be seeing more of you. The hard part is that you seemed so genuine when you talked, interacted with fans and was no doubt, stunning. 

“Better close your mouth or the flies will get in.” Tom turns around to find the voice of none other than his friend slash bully, Sebastian Stan, along with Anthony Mackie.

“Looks like the kid has a crush!” Anthony laughs, pointing to the screen you were on.

“I-I don’t! I don’t even know her!” Tom tries to come to his own defense, hopelessly.

“She’s got you whipped already don’t even deny it.” Harry comes in, joining the teasing of one, Tom Holland.

“Maybe we can invite her out for drinks tonight, then fanboy over here can meet her, and then probably scare her off!” Anthony mentions.

“You haven’t looked on the internet? They’ve already met.” Seb says, before showing Anthony twitter. 

Anthony stands there slightly shocked before bursting into laughter.

“Well, she’s damn well a keeper for Tom since she obviously likes him.”

A staff member peaks their head in the green room to tell Tom he’s up next.

“Well, that’s my cue to leave you two!”

On the other hand, you were on an adrenaline high from being on stage, and seeing all the fans. You knew tomorrow was going to be crazy, as you expected people to book your photo op left and right since the announcement. 

You had decided to decline an offer from your fellow marvel universe castmates, Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie, which they so graciously told you that whenever you��re free, the offer still stood. 

You had gotten to your hotel room seeing your phone blowing up on the social media apps for the second time that day. 

You responded to the important stuff, before heading to bed, knowing it was going to be hectic.

-

You had been right, it was absolutely insane, the number of people who showed up. You had fully booked all your time slots for photo ops. You had seen so many people dressed up in marvel cosplay, ranging from Loki to Ironman, even some people dressed up as your character, which was wildly insane to see.

You had been nearing the end of the line and had enjoyed every moment with the fans, and you couldn’t wait for your autographing session later that day, to truly get a chance to talk to the fans and connect with them and how they felt about you being their beloved Black Cat. 

After a few more photos, posing how they wanted, you see a fully dressed, head to toe, mask and all, Spider-Man. You had seen some spider-mans but most took off their masks to snap a picture. The person was the last in line. 

“Hey Black Cat.” The southern American accented voice tells you, seeming very familiar. 

“Hey, Spider, what poses do you have up your sleeve?” you ask kindly.

“I bought a few, Cat.” they laugh.

“Okay, You can do whatever a spider can right?” you pull out a line out of the comics jokingly.

“I can do flips if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Is that some kind of nerd pick-up line? Because it’s only kind of working.” you laugh. 

“I really can, but this is one.”

He gets down on one knee, holding a black cat mask instead of a ring. The photographer captures the shocked expression on your face.

“I- Don’t- What- Spider I-” 

“Ow My feelings…” Suddenly their voice changes into a British accent before they pull off the mask to reveal-

“Tom?”

“I guess you don’t have a spidey sense darling?” The photographer captures the moment without warning eating the moment up. 

You laugh at that. 

“I guess you found out my true identity Spider. And it’s nice to officially meet you, Tom.”

He laughs, just as nervous as you, he notices he has gotten closer to you and a strand of hair loosely is blowing in your face, so naturally, he pushes it behind your ear. Another snap of the camera can be heard. 

“NOW KISS!” a voice belonging to your best friend yells from the side, mid-eating a churro.

You both laugh really hard at that.

The both of you calm down, slowly leaning lost in the moment. The camera snaps again. You both look at the photographer weirded out, and they just shrug.

“Wait can you actually do a flip?” you ask, pulling away, not wanting prying eyes aka the photographer, to pry in your business. 

“I can, though I’d show you later, maybe in the greenroom?”

“That sounds naughty, but, sure.” you joke around. 

He laughs before, you both take off from the area going to grab the photos.

-

After spending most of the day together when you could, you get Tom’s number, before heading back to your hotel room. He texts you as soon as you get back. 

Spider: I had fun today, minus finding our assistants making out.

You: we should ‘snog’ too, it’ll gross them out ;)

You: I had fun too btw. Are you leaving tomorrow?

Spider: lol we should. And yeah an early flight, 6 am to be exact. Hbu?

You: Yeah me too... another day another dollar lol

Spider: ill miss you, Cat.

You: stop talking like we’ll never see each other again lol. As a matter of fact, come to my room, we’re watching a movie!

Spider: alright, I’ll order snacks. 

  You sigh smiling at your phone. You haven’t felt this giddy in a long time.

Your phone pings with a few Instagram notifications.

Tomholland2013 has started following you.

Tomholland2013 has tagged you in a photo.

You open Instagram to find the photo of him “proposing” to you posted.

“Ow, my leg, my- feelings...Welcome to the Universe, Cat.” the photo is captioned. You decide to post, the photo of him dipping you.

“So what do you say, Spider? Wanna help me pull off the Heist of the Heist of the Century?” you caption it, Before getting comfortable to watch a movie. 

What an opportunity ;)

Tags:

@lolooo22 @webmeupspiderdaddy @harryhollandsgirlfriend @spideyspeaches @greenorangevioletgrass @queenofthepouges @sheranatic111 @keithseabrook27

[knuffled]

just practice - chapter twelve

thanks for reading! i promise i didn’t mean for it to be so angsty, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions or whatever the idiom is. anyhow, i hope you enjoy it, and it would mean a lot if you took the time to reblog or comment on AO3! i have been replying to every comment chapter 8 or 9!

read on AO3

The January sky was gray. It was not late, but darkness had already fallen. Snowflakes fell in a flurry, only briefly illuminated when passing beneath a street lamp. It collected on the roadside and turned to slush beneath the wheels of cars passing by. There was something about driving in the dark that had always appealed to her. Something about the gentle whirring of the motor, the luminescent lights on the dashboard, lurid in their juxtaposition with the velvet dark, and the effortless way the wheels glided against the tarmac had a way of putting her at ease.

The scenery was similar to the night of New Year’s Eve but duller. Grayer. The image of Percy, wreathed in a halo of moonlight, arose again unbidden in her mind’s eye, but there was no sight of the moon tonight. The clouds had seen to that.

She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the not-kiss. Ever since that night, the sense of lack had never left her. It carved a hollow for itself in the center of her chest and consumed anything that trespassed its event horizon. Like a black hole, not a void.

Annabeth had spent nearly everyday agonizing about the feeling and what it meant, but it defied any attempt to be known. All she could decipher was the sense of dissatisfaction, like hunger, that gnawed at her, but there was no urgency to it. It merely sat there, an immovable object. She found it grating, but not enough to where it compelled her to act. So she tolerated it.

She pressed her lips into a hard line and pulled into the Seneca Falls high school parking lot. She was late, like always. Percy’s meet had started nearly a half-hour ago. Annabeth stepped out of her car and ducked her neck behind the collar of her jacket as she jogged to the front door.

It was dark inside the school. Only half of the lights in the hallways were lit, and those that were flickered erratically. Annabeth followed the signs posted to the wall, guiding her to the pool. She was baffled by the fact that it took her nearly five minutes to find the pool, at the far end of the building. But eventually she drew close enough to hear the noise of the crowd rumbling from behind closed doors.

Annabeth opened the door tentatively to peer inside and was immediately accosted by the smell of chlorine. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. There was a heat going on. She prayed that it wasn’t Percy’s. Otherwise, the entire drive down to Seneca Falls would have been for nothing. Annabeth craned her head further inside, trying to make out the competitors, but she was too far away to tell.

When the heat ended, she released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding and slipped inside. On her way to the bleachers, she scanned the crowd and felt a rush of relief when Piper waved to her from the fourth row. She had to squeeze past a family to reach Piper, and the seat was uncomfortable when she sat down. The screwheads dug into her thighs, making her grimace.

“Please tell me I didn’t miss Percy’s heat,” Annabeth said.

Piper popped a cheeto in her mouth and shook her head. “Nah, you’re totally fine. Want some cheetos?”

Annabeth shook her head. “Those things have texture like cardboard.”

“More for me then,” Piper said, shrugging. “I was worried you weren’t going to show.”

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “I just had some stuff to deal with after school, and then it started snowing like crazy outside so I had to drive slower than normal.”

“Is it that project or whatever for Mrs. Dodds’s class? Jason has been complaining about it all week,” Piper asked.

Annabeth shook her head. “Taking AP Chem with that harpy is like getting your fucking teeth pulled. I just needed to review something for the english paper with Edmonds.”

Piper sighed melodramatically. “Still, so diligent. Truly a model student.”

“Fuck off.”

Piper balled up her now empty bag of cheetos and shook her head incredulously.

“I seriously can’t believe you aren’t feeling even a little bit of senioritis. Jason’s like that too. A pair of freaks, the two of you are. Mayhaps it has something to do with the fact that you’re both blonde. Seems to give one a proclivity for masochism.”

“I thought that the fact that we both unironically enjoy running stupidly long distances would have tipped you off about that by now,” Annabeth said lightly.

There was a pause before Piper cleared her throat conspicuously and said, “So what’s new with you, Annababe?”

“That was a real smooth transition there, Pipes,” Annabeth said.

Piper rolled her eyes and said, “Fine, you win that round. Happy? We can go back to the part where you were answering my question now, please.”

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there’s nothing new on my end,” Annabeth lied.

“How are things going with Percy?”

Annabeth snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you going to ask me that everytime you see me?”

“Yes, now spill.”

“You know? You can be a real piece work sometimes, McLean.”

Piper threw an arm around Annabeth’s shoulder, grinning, and pulled her in close to press a kiss to Annabeth’s cheek, making her scowl.

“I bully you out of love, darling.”

Annabeth gave her a weary look. “So you admit that it’s bullying.”

Piper waved a hand dismissively. “Semantics, shemantics.”

“How come you never harass Percy like this?” Annabeth grumbled.

“Oh, I do,” Piper said brightly. “All the time, in fact.”

“Really? And what does he say when you do?”

“He usually comes to me on his own, funnily enough,” Piper said pointedly. “Though, I will admit that it has been a while since I’ve had the chance to have a proper talk with him.”

“I know this might boggle your mind, but some people appreciate privacy, Piper,” Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

Piper opened her mouth, undoubtedly to say something clever, but Annabeth’s attention was pulled away by the fact that Percy was lining up in front of the pool. Three of his teammates stood in front of him, and it took Annabeth a moment to figure out why.

“Wait, he’s doing a relay?” Annabeth asked. “I thought he was doing freestyle, like always.”

“Fuck if I know,” Piper said, shrugging.

“State is next month,” Annabeth said, frowning. “What is he doing?”

Although Annabeth knew how intensely he practiced, she was still taken aback by his decision to not compete for the event he was doing at State: freestyle. She tried to glean some insight from his body language, but she found herself quickly distracted when Percy interlaced his fingers and stretched his arms away from himself, making the muscles of his upper back flex in response.

All at once, she found herself hyper-aware of the fact that practically all of his body was up for display. Her face flushed immediately, but she couldn’t force herself to look away. She’d seen him compete at meets countless times, but there was something different now.

Since when had his shoulders been so broad? How had she never noticed the beautiful curve of his spine or the sharp line of his jaw when he set it in concentration?

Over the years, Annabeth had heard her fair share of vulgar comments made by girls in her school about Percy’s physique. It wasn’t uncommon for many of them to show up at swim meets just to ogle at him. She had always found their behavior disgusting and objectifying. More than anything, it angered her that people talked about her best friend like that without even knowing him, like he was just a slab of meat. Annabeth had even snapped and chewed them out for it on more than one occasion.

Now, however, Annabeth couldn’t help understanding where those comments had come from, even though they were repulsive. She could no longer deny the fact that her best friend was gorgeous, even when he stood among other swimmers. Some of them were more physically impressive, sure, but Percy was imposing in his own right, trading impractical bulk for something more lithe and graceful. The untamed intensity that competition teased out of him was just the cherry on top.

Annabeth caught herself staring and immediately felt nausea and self-loathing rolling through her. She was acting like a fucking creep.

“Well, that might be the first time I’ve ever seen you checking Percy out so shamelessly,” Piper said, smirking.

Annabeth turned to her sharply, her face prickling. “I-It feels gross. Like I’m one of those groupies that show up at his meets just to perv on him.”

Piper snorted and said, “Annabeth, you’re nothing like them. You actually know him, for one thing. Besides, it’s not wrong to check out your boyfriend, you know.”

Annabeth mustered an uneasy smile and nodded. She tried not to squirm in her seat and to focus on the race instead, but her skin was hot. Uncomfortably so.

The first members of the relay stepped and took their places on the platform. Once they were settled, the official blew his whistle and they dove into the water. Westwood’s first swimmer did well, managing to stay in second place before handing it off to his teammate. She didn’t really pay much attention though. As long as there wasn’t too big a gap between first and second, they were fine. Percy was anchor for the relay and he was fast enough to make up that distance if push came to shove.

Still, Annabeth couldn’t help thinking that there was something off about Percy. She couldn’t say what it was, but he looked more tense than normal. As a competitor, one of the things Annabeth envied most about him was how relaxed he was at meets. Annabeth always had to wrestle with anxiety, but Percy had confessed to her that he barely ever felt nervous. If it was there, his focus was so finely honed that it didn’t even register to him. This was the first time that she had seen him look so jittery at a meet.

Her suspicions were only further solidified when Percy finally dove into the water. Usually, he barely disturbed the water when he breached it, but this time the water burst like he had belly flopped. It wasn’t a great start but they were still in second, so as long as he didn’t panic, there was no need to worry.

But he looked oddly sluggish. There was something wrong with his form. It lacked its usual effortless finesse and looked almost awkward. He slipped into fourth place by the time he kicked off the opposite end of the pool, and it didn’t look like he would be able to recover the distance.

Annabeth slid to the edge of her seat and worried her lip, praying that Percy would be able to figure something out, but at the end of the relay, Westwood finished in 5th place.

Percy stood there with a hand pressed against the pool wall and stared into the water blankly, his shoulders hunched. Eventually, one of his teammates helped pull him out of the pool, but they all looked as confused as Annabeth felt. This was uncharted territory for all of them.

His teammates look at one another, at a loss for words, before his coach pulled him away and had a hushed conversation with him. Annabeth couldn’t make out what they were saying over the noise of the crowd, but Percy’s posture never changed. His coach gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder and left to go deal with the team. Percy stood there for a few seconds before eventually dragging himself into the changing room.

Annabeth turned to Piper, hoping for an explanation, but she only reflected the worry Annabeth felt herself. They made their way down from the bleachers and waited at the entrance of the changing rooms. They had to wait for longer than she’d expected. Even though Percy had been the first to enter, he was the last to leave. When he did finally exit the locker room, his hands were curled tightly around his swimming bag and his hair was sopping wet, like he hadn’t even bothered drying it.

When he noticed them, he mustered a weary smile. “Ah, look! It’s my two favorite girls.”

Annabeth and Piper exchanged glances before Piper cleared her throat and softly said, “How are you feeling, Perce?”

Percy stopped smiling and pressed his lips into a thin line. “Not so hot, honestly.”

“Is there anything we can do for you?” Piper asked.

Percy rubbed at his eyes with his palms and shook his head. “Um, no— I-I’m just tired. I’ll be fine once I get some sleep.”

“You just had an off day,” Annabeth ventured. “It happens to the best of us.”

He set his jaw and looked away from them. “I really don’t wanna talk about it.”

Annabeth balled her hands into fists. She was utterly useless in situations like this. The situation only felt worse when Piper remained uncharacteristically silent. This was supposed to be her forte, not Annabeth’s — if she didn’t know what to say, Annabeth was screwed.

Piper glanced at her, trying to communicate something, but Annabeth didn’t know what she was trying to say. They stood there for a few more moments before Piper deflated with a sigh and shoved Annabeth towards Percy without warning, making Annabeth stumble.

“Well, I suppose I’ll let the girlfriend handle this,” Piper said with affected cheer. “Gotta go pick Jason up from the library anyhow.”

Annabeth turned to glare at her, but she paused when she caught the tick of Percy’s jaw when Piper said the word ‘girlfriend’. The gesture stoked the flames of helplessness burning inside her to even larger blaze. Annabeth turned to Piper in one last desperate attempt to ask for help, but Piper had already turned on her heels and walked away.

It seemed that Piper had thrown her to the wolves. Annabeth balled her hands into fists and tightened her jaw, feeling utterly lost. Piper was expecting too much from her. She didn’t know what the fuck she was supposed to do. She didn’t even know where to begin.

She tried looking at Percy for some insight, but he just looked utterly dead inside. There was something so wrong about that, like someone had extinguished the sun.

The floor squeaked underfoot when she shifted on her heels and wracked her brain for some combination of words that wouldn’t make the situation worse. It took all of thirty seconds for her to realize that she wasn’t going to come up with anything, so she decided to start with something easier.

“C’mon, let’s go to Martha’s,” Annabeth offered. “I’ll even buy you a milkshake.”

Percy dragged a hand across his face and said, “I’m exhausted right now. I just wanna go home.”

Annabeth shook her head. “I can’t let you do that. You’ll just spend all night beating yourself up if I let you go.”

Percy didn’t disagree with her, but he didn’t decide to go with her either. Annabeth screwed her eyes shut and exhaled fully. Then, she stepped forward and took his hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. It was enough to get Percy to actually look at her for the first time all night. She was struck by the fragility she saw in his eyes. No, fragility wasn’t the right word. More like vulnerability, more raw, more open.

“Look, I just don’t want you to be on your own tonight, okay? But if you really do want to go home, I won’t stop you,” Annabeth whispered.

There was a pause before Percy murmured, “Martha’s is fine.”

She almost asked him if he was sure before she thought better of it. “You should dry your hair or you’ll catch a cold again. It’s pretty brutal outside.”

Percy nodded and set down his swimming bag and dropped to a crouch. He tried to unzip the bag to find his towel, but the zipper was caught on something and wouldn’t budge. He tried to get it to work three more times, each attempt more violent than the next, until he stopped and sat down, shoulders hunched.

“It’s not working,” he said blankly. “Why isn’t it working?”

Annabeth crouched beside him and gently tugged the bag out of his grasp, saying, “Here, let me.”

It took her a few seconds to figure out part of his swimming trunks were caught under the zipper. Getting it out of the way took longer than she would have liked, but eventually she managed to tease the bag open. Once she did, she rummaged in the bag for the towel buried at the bottom and turned back to Percy with victorious smile.

“Took some work, but I managed to-” Annabeth’s smile dropped.

Tears were flowing silently down Percy’s face, and he bit his lower lip to keep it from quivering. Before her mind could catch up with her body, Annabeth dropped the towel and threw her arms around him. His breath hitched at first, but then he melted into her embrace and buried his face in the crook of her neck. It hurt to feel his tears straining her shirt and the spastic way his shoulders shook behind her palms.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. Just let it out. I’ve got you,” Annabeth whispered.

“I’m s-sorry. The stupid zipper. It- It wasn’t working,” Percy sobbed.

Annabeth ran her hands down his back, hoping it would be at least somewhat soothing. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s alright.”

“Can’t even open a fucking bag right,” Percy said tightly. “God, I’m so fucking useless.”

Annabeth pulled away and held him by the shoulders. “Hey, that’s not true.”

Percy looked away from her, coating her hands in tears. “It is.”

“It isn’t,” Annabeth said firmly. “You’re exhausted and having a really shitty day. It’s okay if you couldn’t open your backpack, alright? It’s not your fault.”

“Of course it’s my fucking fault,” Percy said, voice cracking. “I-I let them all down, Annabeth. They were counting on me, and I fucked it up like I always do.”

It took her a second to realize he wasn’t talking about the backpack anymore.

“You had an off day, Percy. It’s nothing to beat yourself up about. I can guarantee that none of them will blame you for it, I promise,” Annabeth said.

“And how would you know that?”

“Because I’ll kick their fucking asses otherwise, that’s how.”

That tore a watery laugh from him before he slumped back against the wall. Annabeth hovered near him, unsure of what to do. Percy rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand and took a deep breath.

His voice was more steady when he said, “I’m supposed to be the captain. I’m supposed to be reliable. They put their trust in me, and I let them down.”

“They trust you for a reason,” Annabeth said. “They know how hard you work, how much you have given for the team.”

“But I still failed them when it mattered most,” Percy muttered.

Annabeth sighed and brushed her hair out of her face. “Literally none of them think that. They were just worried about you. I could see it in their eyes.”

When he remained silent, she added, “If one of them were in your shoes and had an off day at a meet, would you think they had let you down?”

“They aren’t captain,” Percy argued.

“So just because you’re captain, you have to be absolutely flawless, all the time?”

Percy opened his mouth before closing it again and looked down at his lap. Annabeth ground her teeth together. What could she do to make him understand? Why did he always hold himself to such unreasonable standards? He always shouldered too much responsibility, but didn’t he realize that, at some point, he would have to run out of things to give? Not even Percy could carry the world on his shoulders forever, but he would be damned if he didn’t try.

“Sometimes I wish people would stop putting their faith in me,” he whispered.

“I know but it’s not entirely their fault. There’s just something about you that makes people want to follow you,” Annabeth said.

Percy shook his head and said, “I don’t understand what they see in me. I’m not special. I can’t be who they need me to be. I wish I could. I really, really do. But I can’t. I just can’t. Even today, I lost us the relay because I couldn’t shut my brain off and focus. I just can’t stop thinking about the-”

“Can’t stop thinking about what?” Annabeth asked, frowning.

Percy swallowed and turned away from her. “It’s nothing. Just ignore what I said.”

A spark of anger that rushed through her. “No, that’s bullshit. You don’t get to do that. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I-It’s not a big deal.”

“Then you should have no trouble telling me,” Annabeth said.

When he remained silent, she crossed her arms over her chest and said, “I’m literally not leaving until you tell me what’s going on. Even if that means staying here all night.”

When Percy looked up at her, the mix of fear and resignation in his eyes reminded her of a lamb being led to slaughter. A lump formed in her throat. Since when had things gotten so difficult between them?

She forced herself to take a breath and said, “I’m your friend, Percy. I’m not going to hurt you. So, please, just talk to me.”

There was a pause before Percy ran his hands through his hair, almost violently, and nodded. “I- I can’t stop thinking about New Year’s Eve.”

Annabeth furrowed her brow. “What about it?”

Percy looked down at his lap and clenched his shirt with one hand, right at the center of his chest.

“I almost kissed you.”

His voice had been so quiet, Annabeth had almost missed it. It took her a few seconds to process what he had said and what it meant.

“And that’s why you’re beating yourself up so much?” Annabeth asked, trying not to gape.

He looked up at her sharply and said, “I almost stole your first kiss, Annabeth. You deserve to have it with someone that you actually like, not wasted on a stand-in like me.”

“Percy, first kisses are not that big a deal,” Annabeth said exasperatedly.

“They are to me,” Percy said quietly.

Annabeth didn’t know how to respond to that. Honestly, the whole conversation made very little sense to her. She couldn’t understand for the life of her why this was causing him so much anguish. Besides, there was that comment he had made, about being a stand-in. It was technically true, but there was just something wrong about it.

“The worst part is that I wanted to,” Percy whispered. “Even though I knew from the start, at that moment, I didn’t care. I almost did something awful to you.”

There was a brief pause before Annabeth exploded.

“Christ, boys are so fucking stupid sometimes.”

Percy looked up with wide red-rimmed eyes, surprised by the hostility in her voice. Annabeth pulled him by the collar of his shirt so that they were face to face, close enough for her to see the dried tracks his tears had left on his face, and dropped her voice to a deadly whisper.

“Listen to me very carefully: you didn’t almost ‘steal’ anything that night. I could have stopped the kiss at literally any point if I hadn’t wanted it to happen. It was just as much my decision as it was yours, okay? I’m a person, not a fucking mannequin. Stop treating me like one.”

Annabeth set her jaw and glared at him, daring him to challenge her, but Percy held his breath and nodded once, slowly. She stared at him for another second before she turned to pick up the towel. Her hands were trembling. Annabeth was surprised at how angry she was. She dropped the towel twice because of it.

She turned back to him and said, “Turn around.”

Percy blinked owlishly before he did as she commanded. Annabeth took a moment to run her fingers through his hair. It had dried some, but it was still wet. Annabeth started to towel dry his hair, and Percy flinched, almost immediately, like she had expected.

He caught her wrist and peered up at her. “You don’t have to do that.”

“God, Percy, just shut up and let me take care of you for once,” Annabeth said, sharper than she would have liked.

A beat passed before Percy nodded reluctantly and turned around. Annabeth took a moment to swallow and returned to her task. She took her time. There was no rush, after all. Nowhere they needed to be. Nothing they needed to do. Nothing to stop them from being who they were. So Annabeth tried her best to do with her hands what her words could not.

She was careful with him. Thorough. Gentle. Tension drained out of him, allowing his shoulders to open up, and he leaned into her touch unconsciously. The repetitive motions lulled her senses and the world felt less sharp. The dim lights in the hallway flickered erratically and hummed like a droning bee. His hair was soft and tickled her fingers. She wondered if any of his former girlfriends had known that. They probably had. They probably knew more than she ever would.

“Annabeth?” Percy whispered.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. And— thank you. For everything.”

Annabeth hummed in acknowledgment. A beat passed and Percy’s lips pulled upwards in a half-smile.

“It’s been a long time since you’ve gotten mad at me.”

“You sound far too pleased about that. Am I going to have to kink shame you or something?”

That tore a tired laugh out of him, and Annabeth smiled. Now, with her work done, she threw the towel back into his swim bag and stretched in place. Percy’s back was still facing her. Annabeth knocked her forehead lightly between his shoulder blades and grinned when it startled him. He turned around and raised an eyebrow.

“How are you feeling?” Annabeth murmured.

“Um, better, I think?” Percy replied. “Definitely more relaxed.”

“I- I didn’t make things worse right?” Annabeth asked tentatively.

“No, you helped,” he said quickly. “More than you probably know.”

Annabeth swallowed and looked down at her lap. “Okay, good. Just making sure.”

There was another pause and then Percy asked, “Should we go home?”

Annabeth met his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go home.”

[simons-calling-the-127-squad]

A Sight for Sore Eyes-Lucas

Credit to the original owners of the images.

Warning: Bullying and Violence

Soulmate Au: you are unable to the color of your soulmate's eyes until you meet them.

This story takes place in the junior year of high school.

You heard him sigh before answering, "Yeah, come grab it."

You went to his room and grabbed it from his hand, "Thanks bubby you're the best."

"Yeah, yeah I know. You need to find yours instead of always using mine though."

"I will. Eventually." You laughed.

You went back to your room and finished getting ready, after you got done you had to wait for all your brothers. Your parents didn't trust you walking to school alone. They also didn't trust your siblings or you to drive even though you all had your permit. You had three brothers. Two of them were older and twins and one that was younger. You didn't mind though all of you loved each other, even if you got on each other's nerves.

As your older brother, Oakland, finally walked out of the room you mumbled, "And they say women take longer than men to get ready."

Percy and your younger brother, Wolf, laughed right next to you.

"Hey, I don't wanna hear it. It takes a while to get this perfection ready," he said dramatically flipping his hair.

You rolled your eyes and started walking out of your house saying bye to your parents. Your brothers and yourself started walking to school. All of you made jokes with each other. You ended up seeing a bluebird and got distracted though.

"Guys, look at the bird," you said pointing at it, "That's a pretty blue."

"Blue? I see only brown," Oakland said.

"It's both brown and blue," Wolf and Percy spoke up.

"Well we can't see both colors because we haven't found our soulmates yet," you said sticking out your tongue.

Right after you said that a boy purposely bumped into you, "Watch it, nerd."

You felt your anger rise but you left him alone and just glared at him. Your brothers yelled at him to watch where he was going next time, he just ignored them though.

"It's fine," you said through clenched teeth.

"He needs to stop doing that. Someone needs to put him in his place," Percy said, clenching his fist.

"Perce it's okay, y'all taught me how to fight remember?" You said.

"You’re not gonna fight him unless he messes with any of us or if he throws the first punch though," Oakland said, getting a little irritated at both your brother and you.

"Let's just get in the school," Wolf spoke up.

"Agreed," The three of you said simultaneously.

You all went into the school, talking. Wolf spotted your crush, Lucas, and started teasing you about it. You told him to shut up and walked him to his class while Oakland went with his friends and Percy went with his soulmate, Alicia.

When you got to Wolf's class you hugged him, "Try to have a good day Wolfy."

"Don't call me that," he glared at you, " And I will. You try to too. Don't get into a fight please."

You laughed, "I won't try to."

You walked into your class and sat at the back. You pulled out your earbuds and started to listen to music and read, hoping no one would bother you. You didn't really feel like talking to anyone today, not even Y/B/F. You felt a presence sit next to you. You glanced at the shoes to see that it was, in fact, Y/B/F. You liked to just listen to music and read so you got good at sensing people and telling who it is by their shoes. You took out one of your earbuds and slowly put your bookmark in your book.

When you looked up you saw that Y/B/F was looking at you expectantly, "Yes?"

"I heard that Jaxon ran into you again." She raised her eyebrow expecting you to say something.

"Yeah, so?"

"You have to stop letting him do that stuff. Have your brothers take care of him, do something!" She practically shouted.

"Shhh, quit being so loud. Like Oakland said it's fine until he either messes with any of my brothers or throws the first punch."

"Then what are you gonna do? Take the beating. He's like ten times bigger than you."

"If it comes down to it you'll see. Now I'm gonna continue to read," you said, already putting your earbud back in and starting to read.

Eventually, everyone came into the classroom and you had to put your book up and your earbuds away. You sat there through the whole class taking notes and doing the work that was assigned. In no time you got done with the work and went back to reading. You could sense that something bad was going to happen that day but didn't know what or when. Finally, the bell had rang and you put everything up. You waited for Y/B/F and went to your next class with her.

---

The bell for lunch finally rang and you and Y/B/F were out of the classroom as fast as it had. Jaxon was in that class, he sat next to you and would never stop bothering you unless one of his friends, like Lucas, told him to stop. You could never stand Jaxon even when you were little. It got worse as the years went on though. You grabbed your lunch and went to the table that your brothers were sitting at, except, Wolf was missing. Y/B/F had come and sat down after you had.

"Where's Wolf?" You asked, concern evident in your voice. Both of your brothers shrugged. You looked around the room and noticed that Jaxon wasn't there either. Immediately you felt panic rise. You hurriedly stood up ignoring your brothers and Y/B/F asking what's wrong. You walked out being really quiet to see if you could hear anything. You didn't even realize that they had followed you out of the cafeteria. You walked down the hall and turned the corner to see Jaxon had Wolf by the collar of his shirt, pinned against the lockers.

You rushed forward saying, "What in the devil's balls are you doing Jaxon?!"

Wolf looked over surprised and then relieved to see you. Jaxon didn't even look your way. Instead, he shoved Wolf even more and said something low enough that you couldn't hear. He reeled back to punch Wolf. You rushed forward getting in between them and catching his fist, he had let Wolf out of his hold and stared at you furious that you had stopped him.

"I wouldn't have done that if I was you, nerd," he snapped.

"What are you gonna do hit me?" You asked, sarcastically, rolling your eyes. After you said that he pulled his hand out of your grip and went to hit you. You ducked, making him hit the lockers behind you. You grabbed him and pinned him against the lockers.

"You shouldn't have messed with my brother," you said through gritted teeth. You kneed him in the gut. He would've doubled over if it wasn't for your hold on him. You pulled your fist back and punched him in the jaw. People gasped around you. You let him fall to the ground after and backed up. He got up right after though. You stood in your fighting stance knowing what was gonna happen. He went to punch you again, you blocked it though. You kicked him in the side, he grunted in pain. You heard Wolf in the background yelling at you to stop. You got distracted momentarily because of it. It was perfect for him to land a punch on your jaw. You tasted blood, he had busted your lip. This made you even madder. You kicked him in the stomach, making him double over. That was what you wanted. You grabbed his head and kneed him in it.

It took him a second to recover until he tackled you on the ground, your head bouncing off the floor. This barely fazed you though, it happened every time your brothers sparred with you. You grabbed his head and slammed it on your own. You flipped both of you, now you were on top of him. You reeled back and hit him two more times, in the face before you got up. He rolled and spit some blood out.

"Never mess with my family again," you said, glaring at him, "Do you understand?"

He grunted out a yes. You had broken one of his ribs, you knew that because you heard and felt it snap. You walked over to Wolf satisfied with his answer. "Are you okay?" You asked, checking his face for any bruises or scratches.

"I'm fine, he didn't hurt me," he reassured you, "Mom is gonna kill you for getting in a fight."

You laughed, "As long as you're okay I don't care."

Y/B/F looked at you shocked, "Wh-How- I don't understand," she sputtered out.

"I have three brothers. We all spar sometimes and they teach me new fighting tactics." You shrugged acting like it was no big deal. "Now, I'm hungry, let's go eat."

The blood taste had thankfully gone away when you sat down to eat. The rest of the day went by smoothly and Jaxon had to go to the hospital. Everyone looked at you a bit differently after the fight. You weren't the quiet shy bookworm in the back of the class anymore, even though you still were, but instead, everyone just saw you as the only person that had taken down the big "bad" Jaxon.

---

The next few days nothing really interesting had happened. The principals nor any teachers had asked you about the fight at all. Apparently, Jaxon had told the nurse that he fell down some stairs. Jaxon had missed a few days because of the fight.

"Y/N, stop staring at Lucas," Y/B/F had said. You must have zoned out.

"I wasn't," you tried defending.

"Uh-huh," She said, obviously not believing you.

"Look I may have a crush on him but it's never gonna happen. He's a jock, I'm a bookworm. I also took down his friend." You explained to her.

"Okay."

The bell finally rang. Everyone left the classroom except for Lucas, Y/B/F, and you. Y/B/F came up behind you, after you grabbed your stuff, and pushed you into Lucas, "GET SOME" she had yelled.

She ran out of the classroom. Both you and Lucas blushed. You looked up, right as the awkwardness had settled, into his eyes. The eye contact was so awkward, not to mention you were still in his arms, but when you looked into his eyes you saw a color that you had never seen before. You saw the color brown for the very first time in your life and it was beautiful to you.

"Ummm," he had said.

"Oh, right," you said remembering that you were in his arms. You stood up and didn't say anything. Silence had fallen over you. Neither of you knew what to say. You were embarrassed and could feel the awkwardness in the silence. "I gotta go," you finally said, rushing out of the room.

You caught up to Y/B/F in the next class and smacked her arm. She just laughed. "Soooo?" She asked, dragging out the o part.

"So what?" You asked, irritated.

"So how'd it go?" She asked.

"Embarrassing and awkward," you replied.

"Are you guys soulmates?" She asked, trying to get straight to the point.

You sighed, "Yeah, yeah we are."

"That's great!" She practically yelled.

You shushed her. You grabbed your earbuds and your book. You couldn't believe that she had done that.

---

That night you had told your brothers about what had happened. They all laughed saying that she did you a favor, which she did but it was still how she did it that bothered you.

The next few days you had avoided Lucas and you thought he was doing the same to you. You both hadn't talked to each other or even looked in each other's direction. This went on for about a month. Today though Y/B/F missed school. You were pretty mad at her for it. You were walking down the hall with your earbuds in, music and books were the best to you. They transported you to a different place, in a way. You weren’t really paying attention until you bumped into someone.

“I’m sorry!” You apologized, hurriedly. When you looked up you saw that it was Lucas. It looked like he tried talking to you, so you took out an earbud, “What?”

“I said don’t worry about it. At least it’s you bumping into me.” He laughed, you blushed. Even though you tried telling yourself that he wasn’t your soulmate, that maybe your eyes had made a mistake, you still couldn’t get over your crush on him.

“I thought you tried avoiding me,” you blurted out, right after you said that you put your hand over your mouth. He looked confused at first then laughed.

“I did at first,” you knew it, you felt your heart start breaking, “I didn’t want to make the second time talking so embarrassing and awkward like the first time.”

“Apparently, that won't stop it from being at least embarrassing,” at that both of you laughed.

“We gotta get to class. Wouldn’t want the bookworm to be late, do we?” You laughed at that.

“Shut up,” you laughed. He ended up walking you to class. You both talked the whole way there, of course you got some odd looks since he was popular and you weren’t. You found out some things that you didn’t know about him and he found out a few things about you too. One thing you found out was that he works out every morning and evening. That would explain why he was so good at sports. After class ended you met up with your brothers and Alicia. Surprisingly though Lucas was standing with them.

“What’s going on over here?” You asked, suspiciously, looking between Lucas and your brothers.

“Well, he is your soulmate and we’re your brothers,” Percy said, you gave him a confused look.

“Every older brother needs to meet their younger siblings soulmate,” Oakland finished, your eyes widened catching on.

“Please, don’t give him the brother talk,” you begged. Everyone laughed.

“They found me and wanted to get to know me. Since we are soulmates,” Lucas reassured, your heart fluttered at hearing him call you his soulmate, it was going to take a while to get used to.

---

The next day was Friday thankfully. No one knew that you and Lucas were soulmates except for his friend, WinWin, and obviously your brothers, Y/B/F, and Alicia. The only thing people knew was that you and him were becoming friends which was weird. Both of you would get rude comments from people about it until you glared at them. No one forgot the time when you beat Jaxon in the fight. After school Lucas went to your house and hung out. He always brightened up everyone's mood even if they had a bad day.

Lucas’ phone started ringing. He looked to see who was calling and picked it up after, “Hello? Okay. That sounds good. See you when you get back. I love you too mom. Bye.” He hung up at the end.

“What was that about?” You asked, genuinely curious.

“My mom just wanted to call and say that her and my dad would be out of town for a few weeks.” He informed you.

"Okay," you replied, his parents would go on business trips leaving him alone for weeks.

"Maybe I could stay here for a few days," he joked.

You chuckled a little. Even though your parents were strict you knew they liked him enough to let him stay for a day or two. "We can ask them if you want."

"I doubt they'd let me stay." He said, putting his arm around you.

You scoffed, "We may not be officially dating but they like you enough to let you stay. I have no doubt about that."

"Speaking about that, Y/N will you officially be mine?" He looked down at you smiling.

You looked up, "Really?"

"Really."

"Then yes!" You answered excitedly. He chuckled at the reaction that you gave. It was one of the first times that he saw you excited about something that wasn't in a book.

He continued to stare at you and you stared back. Slowly he started to lean down to kiss you. Both of your eyes closed as he was getting closer. Your lips brushed against together, then someone barged into your room making both of you jump apart.

"What do you want Wolf?" You asked, a bit irritated.

"To tell you both that dinner is ready," he said, he walked out of your room right after he said it. You rolled your eyes getting up with Lucas. You both walked into the dining room holding hands. You looked at each other and smiled.

"We're officially together," you announced with a big smile.

"About time," Oakland commented. You stuck out your tongue at him, while Lucas just chuckled.

---

The next day Lucas and you went on an actual date. You both had a blast. Your parents had let him stay the night and the next few. Lucas gave you his hoodie on Monday morning. When you walked into school everyone was shocked to see you in his hoodie and holding his hand. The second you walked into the school everyone stared so Lucas faced you towards him. He leaned down and slowly started kissing you in front of everyone. When you broke apart your face went bright red and you buried your face into him. He chuckled at your actions.

The next few years went the same way. People never messed with you again. Lucas and you were happy together and in the time that you graduated, high school both Oakland and Wolf found their soulmates. Percy and Alicia got married. Life was going well for everyone.

-😝

[moist-astronaut]

things my friends and I have said over the last year

“I’m verbally illiterate” “Isn’t that called dyslexia”

“I’m going to chemistry and I’m gonna light myself on fire” “No” “Damnit let me burn like the witch I am!”

“Don’t worry it’s not anti-Christ it’s just anti-government”

“I’ve been getting migraines everyday and I’m considering chopping my head off” “But that would kill you” “Two birds one stone!!”

“I swear to god I will hug you” “My house is 5 miles away and my doors are locked” “Your locks are FEABLE”

*writing an email* “Bitch comma”

“Ok but I could be a top” *laughing* “What I totally could be!” *laughing and crying for literally 6 minutes straight*

*on a group call, friends cat misha walks into the room* “Tell misha I would live and die for her, whichever she prefers” “She says thank you” *cat noises*

*joins discord vioce chat at 11:26 pm* “You guys are gae but I love you” “Thank you saeren very cool” “Goodnight” *leaves chat at 11:28pm*

“Jake jake jake jjjake -j-jaaake hey jake” “W H A T” “Can I eat your pens” “I literally have a restraining order against you”

“I’m educatn’t”

“Me calling you to dumb to be a slytherin is payback for you leaving multiple handprint bruises on my legs” “It’s not my fault your skin is weak”

“He’s rolling so that we can walk” *rolling in the grass and collecting leaves on his jacket* “I’m rolling for your sins”

“There are 7 of us so we can each be a deadly sin” “I wanna be Ross” “You mean wrath?” “No that dude from Friends”

“Ok but other than his strict attraction to women, his multiple wives, his hatred of gay people, and the fact that he is dead, what is standing between me and Joseph Smith the All American Hottie from being happy together”

“Consider: Mullet” “No”

“I do my homework while loudly eating a pop tart asmr”

“No no listen, he’s my brother, he’s a bastard of my dynasty…I might just ransom him off”

“These Norwegian bastards indroduced a fucking PLUAGE to my COUNTRY”

“Ooooo meth”

“Half of my life is me resisting the urge to sing the zaboomafoo themesong, the other half is me actually singing the zaboomafoo themesong. So either way my entire life revolves around zaboomafoo.”

“I just don’t think I would hire a gay man-wait no I’m not homophobic”

*chucks half a gallon of milk in a gas station* “-ah- got milk?”

“Gimme your sternum boy”

“Nooooooo he stole my sternum!!!” (Side note these were two separate occasions)

*being force fed milk duds* “No!! This is the worst way to die!!”

“Hey babe come over I have a hammock and a heated blanket”

“Be afraid, be prepared- IN THE WORDS OF SCAR”

“Stress eating stress gummies Stress eating stress gummies Stress eating stress gummies stress eating-”

“I thought to myself ‘Y’know if I die today this is how I want to be remembered- a leather skirt and leg warmers’”

“I think I’m telling you to go to sleep” “You’re gonna have make me” “I can’t tell if this is cry for help or flirting” “Yes”

“This is at best cannibalism and at worst being straight”

“Oh look Percy Jackson’s here now, ooh they replaced every character’s face with Mr. Bean. I hate it”

“You can’t be mean to me! I’m gay AND a woman! That’s a hate crime!” “Yeah well I’m brown and Muslim! Square the fuck up bitch!”

“Babe it’s not very metal to be afraid of your hair dresser” “It’s not very metal to have a hair dresser and yet here we are” “It’s fine you’re into glam metal”

“Hey augie, got any grrrrrrapes?” “I’m doing IXL :(“

“Can I come?” “No” “What if I bring watermelon?” “You can come, leave the watermelon, then leave” “:(“

“What in the jersey shore”

“Rad’nt”

“Ok but consider: Mullet-hawk” “I can and will divorce you”

“Dee-vorce 👏 Just to 👏 re-vorce 👏 👏 “

“Ah yes, that’s why I’m fat…for combat reasons…”

“You fool I consent!”

“My Boston fern is being a bitch but that’s because it’s winter and that’s BITCH season”

“You walk through the rest of the house and it’s like ‘ooo witchy and aesthetic’ then they’ll get to the guest room and it’ll just be a tacky twink Fever dream”

“Who needs a scalp”

“HeHe, sexing”

“Council has decided, your vibes are rancid (and not the band)”

“You’re never to young to hate women”

“Look at me I did the dishes I’m a 1950s housewife with a strangely new jersey accent and affinity for lesbianism”

“Well look who has the table now”

"contrary to popular belief, fuck you"

"There's nothing here that requires whisking, i'm just problematic"

"If you could go anywhere in the world with two people, who would you choose?" “New Orleans!”

"So he proceeded to bite me on the butt...like, really, really hard."

“I don’t cheat, I win. It’s not cheating if it’s consensual.”

“My mouth, my choice”

“Do you like my ombré of a tan"

“Who’s the cutest in the chat right now then?” “It’s Paige!” “No, it’s obviously Augie.” (paige's boyfriend)-said by a straight man

“Francis is just a one and done.”

“Would you ever have a threesome?” “...yes...” *To Francis* “Sure!”

“How do you feel about anal sex?”

“Of the people in this room, who would you most want to make out with?” “Augie” “The answer is yes, but only if it’s 6 feet apart.”

“Square, flat, and overcooked.”

“The virus would be over if everyone would breathe underwater for 5 minutes.”

“I have daddy issues, but not with my father.”

“You’re a ladies man but you have two boyfriends.”

“That means lesbian in sign language” “No, that means fuck boy in American”

“I’m like a parasite, you can’t get rid of me. I’m here forever.”

“You’re like my long term hit man”

“Is it Jake?” “No, why would the evil Russian man be Jake?” “Because he would never hire a gay man and you don’t look like a gay man”

“Jake is homophonic, Augie is racist, and Francis is a woman hater!”

"Grew a korean radish, 1 star"

"I've got more cause i'm a rich boy, and by that i mean my father sometimes buys avocados. And that's on what? Upper middle class"

"Tell your good for nothing boyfriend to stay away from my mom"

"It's not inciting violence it's just ~inspiring it~ "

"Listen bitch just because you have avacados and a roomba doesn't make you better then me"

"i would totally let narthex ruin my life. and that's on what? daddy issues and bisexuality"

"who is titty"

"how is he racist" "he hates the french and russians right?" "don't forget italians" "that's just self loathing"

"This is the last time i wear a thong- it's for educational purposes"

"babe come over i'm a burrito"

"he put bread with milk. luckily he passed away"

"you touched my wiener!" "you offered it!"

"foot'nt"

"i took a shower and realized the floor doesn't bounce"

"i love ass whoooaaaaaa i meant cassie"

"Rosalie you're the deciding vote. Be decisive." "Dude i'm bisexual and a gemini. what're you talking about?"

"Okay so to recap: jake is homophobic, augie is racist, francis is a woman hater, and now paige is a bunny abuser?"

"Just bring a watermelon keychain and it'll be fine" "Whooaaaa i'm gonna need a big key then"

"If you were blind what would you even see"

Post Traumatic Youth, plus D for danny's disorder"

"i think she's past the phase where she likes people just because they're russian"

"francine is a lesbian, but only during quarantine"

"don't be a home wrecker!" "i can't help it!"

"we are not doing coed tents" "i wanted to go purple-ing though"

"if it's not perfect i'm gonna through hands" "with who" "i don't know, the CEO of stupid"

"don't make me feel guilty for bullying you"

"it doesn't look very cash money cool but okay"

"slinky cat" (ferret)

"The pond behind my house didn't freeze all the way through this winter, so i couldn't go ice skating" "okay, so i have an idea. we can go to walmart and get-" "ANTI FREEZE!" "well, yes- wait, no. No, the more i think about that definitely no."

"The amish will win, the amish will prevail" "the amish will conquer us all!"

"He do be kinda mafia doh"

"i'm being sneaky sneak. stairs go creaky creak. and i need. DRUGZ"

"brain on shutdown, power saving mode"

"Somebody go tip her, she's dancing like a stripper" "thatd be nice- oh wait no!"

"fellas, is it gay to lick your homies eyeball?"

"it's not racist if you're only targeting one group of people" "that literally racism" "but what if they're french"

"i'm not racist yet but the option is available, and it's good to have options"

"they don't call me Mr. Steal Yo Boy for nothing!" -a straight man who has a girlfriend

"i think he has a bad habit of not dating girls"

"kinda hot tho 🥵 in a Santa Claus kinda way...hoe hoe hoe"

"i'll be your hot jacuzzi bubble dealer"

"when deceit and doubt fills you up, you cleanse your mind through creative activities, such as making organic soap"

"friendly reminder #4: you're never to old to eat a freezie-pop"

"sorry i'm just nervous" Chinese Teacher: (Waving her hand in front of her face) “Just pretend I’m cabbage.”

"me when my dads name is publicly broadcasted on the radio for his 14 felonies and assorted war crimes"

"<@!523669420435046401> I sentence you to a solid nine by the banhammer. For your crimes against Humanity, God, Satan, and Matt Frank. See you in hell."

"Danny, just because you're playing *Just Cause* doesn't mean you need to Just Cause our friendship!"

"Silly Matt! You fell for the ole’ Heimlich maneuver!”

"i got a bunch of new shirts over quarantine" "you would"

"Ok, there's a 32 year old doctor in new Jersey dying right now" "Yeah, but to be fair everyone in new jersey has a pre-existing condition"

“This is the longest period of time we’ve had without a Nintendo direct” “Maybe they’re gonna make a Nintendo indirect?”

"you’re looking extra white today.” "thanks i've been practicing"

"do you have any batteries" *looks inside shirt* "not yet"

"let's go colonize the middle school!" "yyayayyayayay!!!" " wait I gotta ask my mom first" What happened next is know called the *Juniors burden*

"oh so you're a DOWNSTAIRS milk kinda guy"

"you are literally the human embodiment of crumbs in a bed"

"The Berk-ey Creamery isn’t a place, it’s a people!”

 "He shoved a floating joy-con straight up his flux-capacitor.” "great! now it's paired"

"No, that isnt armor, the real armor are the friends you made along the way"

"This one goes out to all my lady friends out there *proceeds to kill himself in game*

"i'm a coward" "that's what a coward would say!"

"rest is for cowards and fools"

"every time you speak you take years off my life"

"Shark dick hoo ha ha"

"Me and the boys brushing our teeth at 3 AM"

"remember if you kill yourself the fascists win"

"The Beatles aren’t real. Have you ever seen a beatle? No? Exactly." "Babe” "Shut up I’m right."

*reading over these quotes* "god i hate that" "you said that!"

[lovelylogans]

are we ever getting dee’s backstory in the wyliwf verse? or actually are we ever getting more dee logan interactions?

alliance

“all warfare is based on deception. hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” —sun tzu, the art of war

dee usually tries to subscribe to some of the life lessons in the art of war. he has no idea why, today, he has flubbed it this badly.

(or: dee accidentally spills a secret, and those sanders’ might not be as bad as he thought.)

part of the wyliwf verse.

ao3 | read my other fics | coffee?

warnings: deceit, snake mentions, mention of a fight, allusions to an unhappy home life, let me know if i’ve missed anything

pairings: logince, moxiety

words: 4,515

notes: thank you, anon! this references this ask i answered a while ago about dee’s backstory; not super necessary to read, since i cover a lot of it in here, but it does give some general background that might be nice going into the story. takes place after the black parade. happy birthday, deceit!

patton’s not usually home when logan gets back from school.

if paton did see logan right after a school day, it was usually because patton went to virgil’s for a mid-afternoon hot cocoa/coffee, or if logan walked from the bus stop to the inn. they don’t meet at home right after school.

today was different, though. because today, logan was bringing home his partner to do a project for the gsa.

logan had been kicking himself for not getting more involved as soon as he’d set foot at chilton. so, in the aftermath of the “I AM NOT DOING ENOUGH TO GET INTO COLLEGE” frantic list-making session of winter break, logan had joined a slew of clubs and activities; the cross-country team, with the intent of joining the track team in the fall, as long as it didn’t interfere with the newspaper, chilton’s book club, chilton’s quiz bowl team, the science club, photographing for the newspaper, when mel needed him to, backstage crew for the spring play, the debate team, and, of course, chilton’s gay/straight alliance.

that hadn’t been around, when patton went to chilton. patton likes to think that means that things are way better now—well, he knows things are a better now, there’s been so much progress since patton was a teenager—but, well. to patton, chilton’s always going to have that memory, to him. of being excised and bullied because he was trans.

but. anyway. logan’s part of the gsa now. logan’s bringing home a designated partner from the gsa, to help make some posters to put up around the school. so patton has some ulterior motives for being home right now. 

because, well, patton knows that logan’s mostly signed up for everything because it looks good on a college admission form, but. patton can’t help but think about logan’s not-super-hidden concern, the night before he’d started chilton—“what could he possibly be scared of? he’s the one staying at sideshire high. he’s always had other friends. he’ll probably make more friends now that i’m not going to be at school taking up all his time.”

and, well. involvement in things he’s interested in. which means other kids who are interested in the things he’s interested in. which means potential friends. 

with roman as the sole exception, logan’s always been slow to warm to people—he’s very particular about who he lets to be close to him. but once he does warm to them, he’s fiercely, intensely loyal, defensive, a good friend. a fantastic friend.

so maybe patton’s hovering a little to make sure that things go well for logan. sue him. but he can be a cool dad, that’ll help, right? he can offer snacks! and supplies for poster-making! and… and more snacks! 

so patton had been a whirlwind of activity, shoving most of the clutter out of sight so that the house looks slightly tidier, stacking outer layers on his coat rack that seems to wheeze under the pressure—patton practically has to tie things to it with his trans pride scarf, just to make sure that things wont fall down—and shoves dirty dishes in the dishwasher, out of sight, out of mind. he’ll wash them later.

he straightens up the bin of markers that he’d dug out of various desk drawers, and ensures that the glitter and glue are all grouped together, and that they’ve got pencils to sketch out a starting idea, because knowing logan, he’ll want to sketch out the idea first. 

he runs through the list of names that he’s heard logan mention as he straightens everything out—maybe it’ll be kai, logan had mentioned him and his interest in video games. or there had been a set of boyfriends the grade above him, corbin and… and sloane, wasn’t it, maybe it’d be one of them! or maybe someone that logan hasn’t mentioned. 

there’s the sound of a key at the door, and patton glances at his phone. right on time. he’d really expect nothing less, from logan, oh goD he should look like he’s being totally natural act natural patton!!!!!

so he quickly pivots and starts rattling around in the cupboards, and starts scooping coffee grounds into the coffee maker as he hears the door open, two thumps of backpacks hitting the ground, a mutter of “you can take your shoes off here” from logan.

“hey, kiddo!” patton calls, and a mumble of “my dad” from logan, and then the sound of two pairs of socked feet approaching.

“i wasn’t sure if you wanted some coffee too, so i figured i could ask you and your—“

he pivots, and the word “guest” dies on his tongue.

because, standing in yellow socks in the midst of his kitchen, with his strange, sneakily altered version of the chilton uniform, looking supremely uncomfortable, is dee slange.

the same dee slange that has been logan’s de-facto rival at chilton. the same dee slange that told logan he’d never catch up to the rest of his class. the same dee slange that goaded someone into hitting his son. that dee slange.

this is the worst outcome for “logan could be bringing home a potential friend!”

patton swallows, setting aside the scoop of coffee, and glances at logan.

“we were randomly assigned people to get to know them better, since it’s the start of the new semester,” logan says, a brusque explanation.

“right,” patton says. “okay. um. hi.”

“hi,” dee says, voice tight, tilting up his chin.

“do you want some coffee?” patton says stiffly.

a long pause. “sure.”

“right then,” patton says, and turns to the coffee machine.

dee slange. dee slange! god, it probably is a good thing that he’d decided to hover, because honestly if logan and dee had had to work alone patton probably would have come home to the house in shambles. 

but he has to be polite, patton tells himself. so patton wracks his brain for his (probably outdated) etiquette lessons, and, once he gets the coffee machine going, he turns, leaning back against the counter. 

“it is dee, right?” he checks. “i’d hate to be calling you something that you don’t particularly want to be called. is it short for something?”

“it’s dee,” he says. he doesn’t answer the other question. he’s busy glancing around the kitchen.

right, patton figures. time to move to the next small-talk topic.

“your grandmother’s friends with my mom,” patton tells dee. “evelyn, right? i always liked her.”

honestly, a lot of his mom’s friends had been a wild gamble, if he told them he was trans, and evelyn had probably taken it best out of all of them. that had been enough to earn his affection, even if evelyn’s general kindness hadn’t done that already.

dee’s dad, on the other hand… well, he’d been a flip side of that coin, but so had a lot of people, back then.

but dee smiles, ever so slightly, at the mention of his grandmother, so patton figures he hasn’t made any major social missteps. 

yet.

“yes,” dee says, refocusing from where his eyes had been briefly fixed somewhere beyond patton, back toward the entry hall. “she’s doing well. i’ll tell her you said hello.”

another long pause. patton clears his throat, tapping his fingers on the counter, before he says, “how was school?”

“fine,” logan says, with a slight grimace.

“there was that, um. the thing in latin today, right?” patton says. “the recitation thing? tempora cum causis Latium digesta per annum lapsaque sub terras… i can’t remember any more.” 

frankly, it’s a miracle he can’t. logan’s been reciting the first part of ovid’s fasti for the past week. he was pretty sure “scilicet arma magis quam sidera, Romule, noras, curaque finitimos vincere maior erat” would be running around in his head for a month, since logan had been chanting in his room like he was conducting some arcane ritual.    

logan scowls, a dark look flitting across his face even as he finished patton’s line, “ortaque signa canam. yeah, that was today.”

“and?” patton prompts. 

logan scowls. “he thought my pronunciation was over-rehearsed.”

“over-rehearsed?” patton says. “i mean—it would be, wouldn’t it? it’s not like you walk around and latin just casually tumbles out of your mouth.”

“precisely,” logan says.

“the man is an idiot,” dee says, brusque, turning his focus back again—patton didn’t think he’d done that bad of a job, tidying things up in there.

“i—well, now,” patton says, unsure of exactly how to step but he’s a dad it’s practically an instinct to instill manners, “don’t be mean.”

“no, he’s right,” logan says, looking at dee thoughtfully. “he is an idiot. he forgot to teach us the imperative verb tense and only remembered when all of us got it wrong on the imperative-centric quiz.”

dee rolls his eyes, the yellow one glinting. “i nearly forgot about that. my god, did the man get hired just because he plagiarized some old myths from percy jackson during the job interview?”

“those are greek,” logan says, “unless you’re referring to the later series.”

“my point,” dee says, “you cannot deny that charleston is a simpleton, look at the way he handled the moreno/watts situation.”

patton blinks. “what moreno/watts situation?”

logan also looks confused, but really the only way he can tell is because patton is his dad and knows when he’s covering up an emotion. well. most of the time. some of the time. more than most other people, let’s go with that one.

dee sighs, put-upon, before he says, “janey watts and sarah moreno were both taken to our esteemed headmaster’s office yesterday because mr. medina caught them about to claw each other’s eyes out in the alcove near the hidden rear staircase of the senior’s lounge. when attempting to discover what was wrong, mr. charleston’s first guess on what they were fighting about was that they were fighting over the same boy.”

logan allows his confusion to show. “but janey watts is a lesbian.”

“yes,” dee says, “and now you can see one of the many reasons why charleston is a simpleton.”

patton sighs. “well, charleston’s always been… a product of his time?” he says, and tries to elaborate. “you know, he backed up giving me a month of detention once because i refused to respond to my chosen name and pronouns.”

dee’s eyes darken. “bastard,” he spits out, filled with more venom than patton was expecting.

“hey, now,” patton says, even as startled as he is with… that. it’s not like dee and patton are particularly close, to warrant this level of defensiveness. well, patton guesses he’s in the gsa, so it makes sense that he’d be defensive of trans rights. “i could bust out the swear jar.”

“you’ve never had a swear jar,” logan says.

“i could start,” patton says. 

logan turns to dee. “i didn’t know you were friends with janey watts.”

“oh, i’m not,” dee says, and then, matter-of-fact, “she thinks i’m a slimy jerk with no morals and who would sell out his own grandmother if it meant getting further ahead.”

patton feels a little stab of hurt, the way he usually does whenever he hears someone talk bad about themselves.

“then how did you know what charleston said?” logan says, and hey, good point! but logan’s always been more observant than him.

“oh, please,” dee says. “logan, you’re a journalist, you should know that we all have our own sources.”

“in the headmaster’s office?”

dee shrugs. “to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but theopportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”

“sun tzu,” logan says. “art of war. you could do with the seem humble part.”

“but you’re already so filled with conceit,” dee says, and patton’s about to burst in with a hey now, but logan just shrugs.

“i know myself,” logan says.

“so you can win all battles?” dee says. “i didn’t know you read had an interest in ancient chinese literature.”

“mostly just that one,” logan says. “do you have an interest in ancient chinese literature?”

“mostly just that one,” dee parrots. “shall we get started?”

“may as well,” logan says.

“you kids want coffee while you do that?” patton says. “oh, and would you mind if i did my homework, too?”

“for your business degree,” dee surmises, and really, patton probably shouldn’t be surprised that he knows that, but he’s surprised anyway, darn it. “fine. it’s your house.” 

so patton pours everyone some coffee and sets out cream and sugar, since he doesn’t know how dee takes his coffee, before he gathers up his own homework and settles in, listening absentmindedly as the boys sort through various options that’s been offered to them.

dee, it turns out, milks and sweetens his coffee to a frankly absurd degree—patton wouldn’t be surprised if dee would be met with a few mouthfuls of sugar-sludge at the bottom of his mug—and picks his way through snacks, eating them so swiftly and unnoticeably that patton doesn’t realize it until he goes for a pretzel and realizes the bowl is near-empty.

“i don’t suppose you want to do the ‘how i knew i was gay’ one,” dee says briskly. they’ve sorted through most of the list—this is the last suggested poster theme option—and then they’ll narrow down their yeses.

“certainly not,” logan agrees. “there isn’t particularly much to tell, anyway. boys were always just… pretty.”

“one boy,” patton murmurs slyly, grinning down at his homework even as logan half-heartedly stamps on his foot.

“not much for me, either,” dee says. “girls always had cooties, and i always knew i was a boy, so—“

everyone at the table freezes. and then things start to click.

the altered, strange uniform, as if to say look here, look directly here and nowhere else—hadn’t patton practically lived in too-baggy chilton sweaters, to hide his chest and later his binder from anyone who could have possibly seen it?

dee’s continuous glances toward the entry hall—not just at the clutter, but at patton’s trans pride scarf on display.

dee was short, and patton had been too—patton hadn’t even been 5′3″ before he started t on a more consistent basis, after logan was born.

dee for short, and nothing else—an unusual name, but it wasn’t like he could throw any stones with a name like patton, could he?

dee’s face shuttering in too-great anger, at the news that charleston had given patton detention for sticking up for himself—because he’d had experience with that, maybe?

and then:

patton thinks, oh.

as he stares at dee’s yellow-gloved fingers, curling into fists, he thinks: you’re like me.

the lashing out at other people. the isolating himself. the particular taste in clothes. the new name. the upper-class society. the potential clashing with parents.

oh, oh, oh.

if it weren’t for how perfectly, perfectly still dee was, patton could almost believe that he came out on purpose.

“okay,” patton says, when he realizes it’s probably been a too-long pause. “hey, it’s okay. me too, you know? we won’t say anything if you don’t want us to.”

dee dips his head in a nod, tongue darting out to lick his lips. 

“right,” he says hollowly, before he clears his throat and tries for his usual, arrogant tone. “of course.”

“we won’t,” logan agrees, and frowns. “i’m your academic rival, not some asshole that would out you without your consent.”

it’s at that that dee relaxes, fists unclenching. he smooths his hands over the poster.

“right,” he says, and clears his throat. “fine, then.”

patton hesitates, before he says, tentatively, “your grandma was really cool about it, when i came out. back in the day.”

dee’s lip quirk up, and patton knows he’s said the right thing.

“yeah,” dee says. “i mean, i can’t really remember it, it was back when i got adopted—”

“you’re adopted?” patton asks.

dee gives him an almost patronizingly amused look, gesturing to his dark skin, the vitiligo on his cheek. “yes, that’s such a shock, i’m sure, because my parents definitely match my coloring.”

patton flushes. “well, i’ve never met your mom.”

dee mutters something like what a blessing for you, and patton feels a flare of worry that he can’t really expand upon before dee continues, “yes, i’m adopted, from haiti. i was… i don’t know. four, five. i can’t remember it very well. but grandmother’s… yeah. grandmother’s the best.”

it’s the most fond patton’s ever heard him sound, and, from the look on logan’s face, it might be for him, too.

“i might try and get coffee with her soon,” patton says, casual. “and if, you know. if you want advice about, um. this. just let me know. yeah?”

dee’s eyebrow quirks at him, and he gives him a look full of quintessential teenage amusement and, potentially, embarrassment.

patton can relate. he was the same, a lot of the time, whenever people offered advice or help when he first came to sideshire.

well. maybe he was less sassy about it.

“can we focus on the project?” logan says tiredly. 

“what, are you jealous you can’t contribute to the discussion about various nicknames for testosterone?” dee says.

patton grins. “the testoster-zone.”

“the t-party,” dee offers.

“ooh, good one,” patton says. “um—”

“can we please focus on the project?” logan says, more pointedly.

dee rolls his eyes, but turns back to his poster.

patton tries to focus on his homework, but he just can’t help it, and—

“anti-cis-tamines.”

“dad,” logan groans, and patton and dee share an amused glance, and—

well. maybe dee wasn’t the worst potential friend that logan could have brought over.

⁂

this place might as well be the twilight zone.

dee has his bowler hat on, and logan’s tall enough that they’re probably at a decent angle that he can’t tell that dee is looking around everywhere he can.

if only dee had managed to shake him off—but mr. sanders (”please, it’s patton, mr. sanders is my father!”) had insisted that either logan or patton walk dee back to the bus stop and, well, honestly, logan was the lesser of two evils.

not that mr. sanders is evil. he seems removed from that. too removed, if you get dee’s drift. no one could possibly be that deeply nice. there had to be something going on there. a ploy to get people to trust him, or something. the defenseless little puppy defense, or something. playing sweet and kind until it suits him.

even as he’s thinking this, something in his brain refuses to let it click into place. dee shakes it off. he’ll investigate later—whether it’s an opossum defense or a ploy or something—there’s too much to see here.

it’s like a group of tv set designers got together and thought, right, what are all the clichés of a tiny small town, added some overgrown ivy and picturesque worn red brick, and the entire place reeked of domesticity. he means, really, who even has a town center gazebo? dee’s seen flyers advertising for a twenty-four-hour dance-a-thon. for charity. “costumes and periodwear encouraged.” what kind of periodwear did one wear for a twenty-four-hour dance-a-thon?

the buildings have those twinkly lights all around it. the streetlights are wrought iron instead of the stark poles that are near the streets of his neighborhood. there is a community garden. there is a punnily named cat-themed store. 

seriously. what planet is this?

they get to the bus stop.

(also—the bus? what was this, the middle ages?)

“right, then,” dee says. “you’re bringing the posters tomorrow?”

logan nods his head in assent, hands stuck in his pockets. apparently, that’s not a clear enough hint, but his research shows that logan doesn’t respond very much to subtleties.

“you can go,” he adds, bluntly.

logan shakes his head. “i’m just going to go to the diner for dinner, anyway, and not being there means that my dad can get sappy with virgil without my bearing witness. and besides, my dad would kill me for leaving you here alone.” 

dee stares at him. “you do realize the likelihood of someone attacking me here is approximately on the same level as greedo being the one who shot first?”

logan blinks. “you’re a star wars fan?”

dee shrugs a shoulder, before he says, “more when i was a kid. i’ve got three snakes named—”

“rey, finn, and poe?” logan says, with a twist of his mouth.

“luke, leia, and han,” he corrects. “i said when i was a kid, sanders.”

“kid is an unclear term,” logan says. “for instance, i could argue that your viewpoint on the superior space western is childish, since the clearly superior space western franchise is—”

dee scoffs before he can finish his sentence. “of course you’re a trekkie.”

“so you admit it,” logan says, and dee rolls his eyes.

“i was just narrowing down the number of popular space westerns, spock.”

“i prefer data,” logan says. 

another pause, before:

“snakes?” logan asks.

“garters, all three,” dee says. he hesitates, before he says, “luke and han are trans.”

“i wondered,” logan says. “since snakes can often eat each other, but if all three snakes were, ah—“

“afab?” dee provides.

“right, yes.” logan says. “may i see?”

“i don’t have them on me,” dee says, before he says, “yeah, all right” and digs out his phone, swiping for the latest photo of his snakes.

it turns out to be the one of grandmother, amused, looking just enough off-camera that it’s clear it isn’t candid, wearing leia as a necklace, luke and han in her upraised hands. logan smiles at the photo. well, smiles as much as he’s capable of smiling. dee thinks that the whole i prefer data thing might be a cover-up for the fact that logan might actually be a robot.

“the checkered one is leia, the one with the yellow stripe is luke, and the one with the brown stripe is han.”

“nice,” logan says. “and that’s your grandmother?”

“yes,” dee confirms, tucking his phone away. 

“do you spend much time with her?” logan says.

“frequently,” dee says, and lies, “she lives closest to chilton, it just makes the most sense.”

well, the first part of that sentence isn’t a lie. it’s just that that isn’t the whole truth.

but partial truths are what he works best with, and he notes that logan nods, seeming to accept it as a whole truth, before his eyes turn elsewhere.

dee follows his gaze. 

the window’s lit, gleaming softly, a wide window that allows a view.

there’s a boy in there, alone. he’s shirtless, and wearing red leggings typical of a dancer. even at the distance they’re at, dee can see his muscles straining as he moves, graceful and limbs elongated as he reaches and spins, slowly, achingly slowly, everything so precise down the slightest twitch of his finger, and logan is staring, eyes gone soft and awed and sweet, and—

“didn’t realize i was boring you that much,” dee comments, even if he is a little relieved that logan’s attention is off the question of his home life and on his pretty dancer. “that’s the boytoy, isn’t it?”

logan looks at him, eyes sharpening. “roman’s my boyfriend.”

“right, right,” dee says, waving it off. he’s distracted, good. “so that’s still a thing, then?”

“yes,” logan says. “that’s still a ‘thing.’”

he doesn’t use airquotes, but it’s a near thing. it’s basically implied in his tone of voice.

“do you like him a lot?” dee asks.

“i love him,” logan says simply—as if it’s a fact, indisputable, absolute. 

dee nods, turning his attention back to the bus stop. it should be coming soon.

“are you going to tell him?” dee says abruptly and oh, now he’s done it, losing control of his mouth just once today isn’t enough, he really needs to make himself look like a fool, doesn’t he?

logan turns his attention more fully back to dee. “no.”

dee scoffs. “right.”

“i won’t,” logan says. “really. roman would understand, he’s—well, clearly he’s gay too, he understands the importance of coming out on your own terms.”

dee glowers at the ground, scuffing his shoe over the cement, before—

“my dad and i were effectively homeless until i turned six.”

dee pauses, and turns to look at logan.

logan isn’t looking at him. he’s got his hands clasped behind his back, still staring ahead, as if he’s keeping an eye out for the bus.

“my dad worked at the inn—he’s manager, now, but back then he was a housekeeper. he worked his way up. we could only afford to live in the poolhouse because the manager, maria, gave him a major cut on rent. i was bullied about it, when i was a child. my dad doesn’t know that.” a pause, and then, “my grandparents don’t know about the poolhouse, either. they thought we lived in the inn proper and got an apartment much sooner than we actually did. they’re paying for me to go to chilton. it comes with the condition of going to their house for weekly dinners.”

dee stares at him. “why would you tell me that?”

logan shrugs, and turns just his head to look at dee.

“i know you’re trans, you know where i lived and that i can’t afford schooling,” logan says simply. “if either of us feel tempted to let it slip…”

“then we know the other one has something in hand,” dee finishes slowly, not admiringly. “mutually assured destruction.”

it’s a sound strategy, really. logan takes the assumption that dee won’t listen to promises, and uses a shortcut. it’s a dangerous move, a gamble. not one he’d have expected, from logan. this day’s just full of surprises.

“precisely,” logan says. “for whatever reason, i don’t think you hold very strongly to the sense of the honor of giving someone your word.”

that last part is said in the closest tone to sarcastic that he thinks he’s ever heard logan use. 

“you’re right, i don’t,” dee says, and swallows. “homeless?”

“i didn’t really put the pieces together until i was older,” logan says. “it still doesn’t seem like it, to me. we were happy.”

dee wonders what that’s like.

“well,” logan says, peeking down the way. “i think i hear the bus coming. i’ll bring the posters tomorrow.”

“right,” dee says. “so. are you going to suggest we dissolve the academic rivalry, then?”

logan hums, and tilts his head. “you know, you’ve been my only real competition since i showed up at chilton.”

dee does not preen.

“we’re the only ones who’ve ever challenged each other. without this, we’ll get lazy.”

“i’ll achieve nothing, i’ll become my mother,” dee quips, and logan smiles, just a little.

“right,” logan says. “so.”

dee pauses, before he says, “allies?”

logan smiles. “allies.”

as the bus rolls up, logan offers his hand, and dee shakes it, once. logan knows full well that he doesn’t hold to the honor of giving someone their word, but it still feels like they’re making a deal, anyway.

so dee clambers onto the bus, and settles in a window seat.

and if he smiles and turns details over his head the whole drive back, well. it’s not like anyone will know.

[annerbhp]

I loved your last Molly POV outtake! I would love to see her perspective on the moment she tells Ginny that loving Harry also comes with a cost. Did she know that Ginny didn’t fully understand what she meant yet? Love your writing! Thank you so much!

Look what you made me do. :) It doesn’t perfectly answer your prompt, but I hope you like it all the same. This kind of feels like third in what’s becoming the Molly series. The first would be The Kitchen Table and then the one from this week about Molly’s Reaction to Ginny’s Tattoo.

part iii:

The first time Molly stumbles upon one of Ginny’s secrets, she’s almost lost another one of her sons—not one of her body or blood, but close enough that it doesn’t matter because the pain and fear live in her all the same. And to nearly lose this brave, bright young man in a supposed time of peace, after facing so much… They are all still silently reeling with that near miss, dragging up with it still painful memories of other losses. But this time, they do not have to bury anyone, do not have to leave any more seats empty, never to be filled.

Everything is just beginning to settle again when Molly comes downstairs early one morning, peering into the sitting room to see if Harry is still asleep. He’s been having a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep as he’s been weaning off the pain potions.

This morning though, as she looks in on him, he is sound asleep. He lies on his back, his face relaxed in a way she has rarely seen since the curse that nearly claimed his life.

Lying next to him is her only daughter, on her side facing him, their hands entwined in the narrow space between.

Molly considers the scene for a long moment before turning for the stairs and going back upstairs, giving the ghoul a good solid prod as she passes.

Molly didn’t want Ginny to go to Ireland, to pursue a career as dangerous and untested as Quidditch. By mostly, she wasn’t ready to let go of the last of her children. It took her ages to realize her misstep. Ginny is not one to be contained or dictated to, and it is this very part of her that has kept her safe for so long. The same way she keeps things so tightly held to her chest, the way there is far more that she hides than she shares.

And so with great effort, Molly lets things lie, knowing Harry’s near death experience and Ginny’s budding career are complications enough.

Well, she pokes gently now again, just to judge reactions. She trusts them, that doesn’t mean she isn’t curious. But she has also learned the hard lesson of alienating her daughter, and isn’t eager to face that cold distance again.

As the weeks pass, nothing reveals itself, Harry back to his home and Ginny off far away to her dreams. Molly’s just begun to believe she read too much into it when it all finally breaks.

It starts with a book, if such a word can even be used to describe a pile of filth and lies held together with a binding. She reads it, mostly because no one is going to badmouth her daughter without her having something to say about it, but also because Ginny never talks about that year, and she’s curious.

When she finishes, she wishes she never picked it up in the first place. Because even if they are lies, there is a truth lying under all of it that wears the stoic mask of her daughter’s face, and some things begin to click painfully into place.

Ginny smiles and makes self-deprecating jokes that are honed with fine sharp edges that belie their ease. I’m fine, she says, smile fierce and dangerous.

Even when the ministry turns its hungry eyes on her, Ginny just lifts her chin and dares them to try.

This is when it finally all falls apart.

Ginny walks into the garden one evening, only to be followed a moment later by Harry, a grim look of determination on his face. To Molly’s surprise, Harry grabs Ginny’s arm, pulling her around, and for a moment it looks like he may yell, but instead he pulls her in to his body with something like ease and familiarity and kisses her.

Here we go, Molly thinks.

It’s awful watching Ginny tear him apart, shatter his poor heart right there in front of everyone, but what’s worse is the utter hopelessness in Ginny, these feelings she’s hidden so well from all of them.

*     *     *

Molly watches as Ron and Hermione speak furtively to each other in low tones, their topic clearly Harry. Agreement eventually made, Hermione disappears off after Harry, Ron joining the rest of her sons at the table where they currently squabble over the drama they all just watched unfold.

“What happened with Crabbe?” Molly asks, crossing over to stand at the head of the table, Arthur silently just behind.

She watches her children all glance at each other, as always, trying to decide how much to protect each other.

Ron shrugs. “No one actually knows. But fifth year he supposedly fell down a flight of stairs. He was in the infirmary for a week.”

“Wasn’t that right around when Ginny broke her collarbone?” George asks.

Ron nods. “A rogue Bludger, she always said.”

They look at each other, something passing between them.

“He was a bully,” Percy says, looking a little uncomfortable to be speaking that way of the dead, but clearly keen to exonerate his sister. “Even when I was at Hogwarts.”

George nods. “He hit Harry with that nasty late Bludger. The game we got banned. Remember?”

Ron nods.

Bill frowns. “So we’re saying that Ginny did something to Crabbe in revenge? Something that ended up putting him in hospital for a week?”

“He no doubt deserved it,” George says, valiantly trying to defend his sister, but Molly knows it’s probably more than that, to judge from the way Ginny spoke of it. The way she threw it on the ground in front of them all as if she herself were troubled by it still.

“We all make mistakes,” Molly says.

Hermione appears with a pop, walking back into the garden.

Ron pushes to his feet.

Hermione shakes her head. “He wouldn’t talk to me. He’s locked himself in his room.”

“Did he say something?” Ron asks, clearly noting how stricken she looks. “Anything?”

“About Ginny? No.”

“Did you two really not know?” Bill asks.

“He said they’d been together for three years,” George points out. “Kind of a hard thing to miss.”

“But that can’t be true,” Ron says. “I mean Cass. And didn’t Ginny date Michael?”

Hermione shakes her head. “I don’t know. I’ve only suspected for a couple months.”

“A couple months?” Ron says, sounding outraged.“And you didn’t say anything?”

“I wasn’t certain. I only suspected. I mean, they’re never together, and she’s over in Ireland, so I thought maybe…”

“I can’t believe you never told me!” Ron rails.

“Clearly Harry was going to great lengths to keep it a secret. I assumed they had their reasons. And I didn’t…” She falters, eyes filling with tears.

“What?” Ron says, his anger seeming to instantly soften as he touches her back.

“I didn’t want to make him mad at me again.”  

“’Mione,” Ron sighs.

“I mean Cass. If I’d known I would never—”

“We didn’t know,” Ron says.

She nods, still looking miserable. “He was really…upset. I haven’t seen him like that in a long time.”

Ron’s jaw tightens, like maybe he has some idea what that may have looked like, pulling her into a hug.

“Should someone check on Ginny?” Percy asks, glancing up towards her room.

“Go ahead, if you feel like getting hexed,” Bill says.

Molly lifts her wand. “Leave your sister be. We will eat dinner, and let this sort itself out.”

She gets some mulish looks, but no one argues.

Only once all of her sons have gone back to their homes does Molly finally climb the stairs to Ginny’s room, finding her sitting and staring at the wall like any movement would be far too painful.

The puddle on Ginny’s floor is littered with glass, but her face is the shattered, dangerous thing.

Molly tells her to come down, trying not to be alarmed when she acquiesces without a fight,mechanically eating.

Arthur speaks, and Molly reminds her this was a war they all fought.

Ginny sits at her table and bends, and Molly sees that she’s somehow talked herself into believing she doesn’t deserve it, doesn’t deserve anyone’s love. Because the war may not have made her into a monster, but it made her believe it all the same.

*     *    *

Molly has to find the deepest well of patience within herself to sit in that courtroom and not hex every so-called responsible adult in that room. She focuses on her daughter, the intense pride she feels because there she is, under the calm surfaces and dangerous words: her reckless, brave, ruthless, beautiful child.

Even more telling, she thinks, is the way so many people rally to her side. So many young people, showing devotion to each other, refusing to be bullied or to budge no matter the authority of the court, and this is the thing to give Molly faith for a future better than the endless wars she has fought. The losses they have paid.

“Alright, dear?” she asks Ginny after she is released, the inquest and the book behind her, but gaping wounds still ahead.

Molly had stood in the hall and watched Harry and Ginny fight, rail and thunder against each other yet again, but also the way Harry was fighting for her, not against, that he will not be driven off by the things in Ginny that Molly herself has always struggled with. And Ginny, who seemed to shove him away with both hands almost as steadily as she held him close.

“No,” Ginny admits. “I’m not all right at all.”

That small truth tells Molly that she will be though, makes her believe it more than anything else.

*      *     *

Molly sits at her kitchen table with a cup of tea, the house quiet and empty. Not hollow, but simply waiting.

“Ginny never came home last night?” Arthur asks as he comes to breakfast, clearly alarmed at having found her bedroom as empty as it was when Molly first checked.

“It’s okay,” Molly says.

Arthur frowns. “How is that okay?”

Molly points to the family clock. Ginny’s hand isn’t on traveling or gallivanting about or even mortal peril. Instead, it is firmly pointing to one destination.

Home.

Arthur makes noise about Ginny hiding somewhere in the Burrow or the old clock needing a tuning.

Molly just smiles into her tea.  

[chicagocityofclans]

Isaac Baker → Daniel Kaluyaa → Wolf

→ Basic Information

Age: 66

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Straight

Born or Made: Made

Birthday: March 22

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Religion: Agnostic

→ His Personality Isaac was never the biggest or strongest in life. He grew up as the nerd who got pushed around and shoved into lockers. He was smart and cocky but didn’t have the skills to back up all the shit he talked. Until he was turned into a werewolf, and the natural personality that lived inside him came out in an obnoxious amount. Though Isaac has matured with his years as Alpha, he is still an impulsive showoff. He likes being the center of attention and making people laugh and have a good time. He can be confrontational and aggressive when dealing with situations, generally acting first before thinking of all the emotional consequences, especially with his words. Despite the rambunctious and loud behavior, Isaac is very genuinely a good person. He cares about his pack and everyone who he considers his. He is confident and lively, being incredibly welcoming and open to new pack members and other species. And though he can act impulsively and without thought, he has learned to recognize larger situations and has become versatile in the way he handles official pack business.

People often forget just how smart Isaac is, which he uses to his advantage. He is able to size a person or situation and up and manipulate it to his advantage. In the constant fights he faced as a young, incoming alpha he learned to find the weaknesses in the wolf shifter and attack those first, often knocking his opponent out before they could get many blows in. His foresight is not limited to fights, he could see all the advantages in bringing Duke into his pack and leapt at the opportunity.

→ His Personal Facts

Occupation: Full time Alpha

Scars: None

Tattoos: None

Two Likes: Smart Technology and Salt and Vinegar chips

Two Dislikes: Football and Curacao

Two Fears: Flying and Losing control of his body

Two Hobbies: Playing Video Games and Coding

Three Positive Traits: Lively, Versatile, Good Hearted

Three Negative Traits: Confrontational, Show Off, Impulsive

→ His Connections Parent Names:

Sandra Baker (Mother): Sandra was always incredibly supportive with Isaac as a child. She tried her best to make his young, friendless life fun with family movie nights and vacations. She is very disappointed that Isaac dropped out, and wishes he’d come home to get back on the academic track.

Edward Baker (Father): Edward taught Isaac everything he knew about boxing and coding. He always had Isaac’s back and would let him get out and fail every once in a while, unlike his mother. Edward has always asked about the real reason Isaac left school. He knew how much MIT meant to him and how he’d never just give it up.

Sibling Names:

None.

Children Names:

None

Romantic Connections:

Simone Campbell (Ex-Girlfriend): Isaac was a goner for Simone. She stood up to him and often gave him perspective on his life. When Simone started hanging out with a hyena, it raised an alarm in Isaac and he tried to get her to stop seeing her, she dumped him. He still wants her back.

Platonic Connections:

Duke Thornton (Good Friends): Isaac and Duke have had a lot of time to get to know each other in the last decade. He is the closest person to Isaac in the pack, and would gladly have him as a second or third if he had any understanding of dominance levels.

Peter Knox (Friends): Isaac is very glad to have Peter as his second. They both had to fight their way through to their positions and he knows Peter has his back. He hangs out with him and his mate regularly at ANON and he was the one who introduced Isaac to Simone.

Leah Philips (Friend): He and Leah became quick friends when he first moved into Chicago, but she had a rough time transitioning from Ogden to Isaac. They’re almost back to where they used to be, though it has taken work.

Selene Andris (Pack mate): Selene has been a big help with all the new wolves coming to Chicago. He’s grateful she likes playing host and helping others feel more comfortable in the pack.

Ronan Cleirigh (Ally): He and Ronan made a deal to save Duke’s life. He offered him training and a pack while in return Ronan offered his voting power in council meetings. Isaac respects what the Cleirighs, and Ronan in particular, were trying to do for Duke.

Kaylor Cleirigh (Friendly Fear): Kaylor came to him personally after he offered to help Duke to lay down her “concerns”. Isaac wasn’t going to do anything on the list before, but he sure as hell wouldn’t do it after speaking with the scariest Cleirigh.

Judson Cleirigh (Chill): Judson comes in with his friends to drink at ANON. He is easily the most laid back of Duke’s family, though he doesn’t entirely trust him.

Nick Hamelin (Okay): He’s not friends with Nick, per say, but he’s ok with him. He thinks he can fit right into the Prisses at times, but he has more self-awareness than to sink that low.

Micah Toll (Friendly Acquaintance): Micah is alright for a rat. He respects the rules that Isaac put down, and only starts something in retaliation.

Ellis Watts (Council Meeting Buddy): Though he is apparently supposed to hate the jackals for reasons… Isaac immediately clicked with Ellis. He repaired a lot of the riffs between their two packs and they’ve started going to watch sports games together.

Hostile Connections:

Alan Thomas (Hates): Alan Thomas was one of the first people Isaac wiped the floor with and he’s gone out of his way to be the biggest asshole to Isaac. He’s glad he was kicked out as third.

James Shaw (Hates): James Shaw is both crazy and racist. He’ll talk endlessly about his family and how long they’ve been in the city and why his boys should be Alpha. Before Isaac wrote it off as an angry white dude, but there is something changing in James’s eyes and Isaac isn’t sure it is entirely healthy.

Clara Fields (Priss 1): Clara Fields loves nothing more than to hear herself talk. She somehow always speaks up at every single meeting, and Isaac prays for the day she gets magical laryngitis.

Chris Bialar (Priss 2): Chris Bialar has got his nose in the air. There’s always some made up jab that he tries to angle at Isaac. He loves to keep the politics up in the council meeting, and is a main for most of the riffs between alphas.

Percy McCormick (Priss 3): Percy McCormick is barely an alpha. He lets his pack run wild and the rest of the council is left to discipline and rule them. If there is one alpha that Isaac could kick out, it’d be him.

Greer Finley (Dislike): Greer is like Chris’s pet piranha. He thinks she might be more vicious than any of the other big cats in the pack.

Sol Alfaro (Hates): This guy will just not give it up. He’ll never win a fight against Isaac, and is honestly more of a pest than any real threat.

Pets:

None

→ History Isaac was raised in a small town outside of Ann Arbor. His mother worked as a recruiter for the University of Michigan while his dad worked at Pfizer. They had a good life, and he definitely followed in his parents’ academic footsteps, unfortunately that wasn’t the best for a young Isaac. He was constantly bullied by older kids which lead to fights and mostly injuries for him. His mother debated homeschool, while his dad tried to teach him how to fight back. His dad ended up winning and Isaac took boxing lessons. While he was technically very skilled, he was short and had difficulty packing muscle on which still let the bullies win.

By the time he graduated, he was ready to get the hell out of Ann Arbor, much to his mother’s displeasure. He was offered a full ride to MIT for computer software and gladly took it. He did well for the first year, high grades with honors. His parents were over the moon and became more willing to consider MIT being the best move for Isaac. However, his sophomore year changed everything. Isaac was walking home from the lab one night when he felt eyes on him. He assumed it was someone trying to take his bag; but when he turned around, arm ready for a hit, he was met with fur and painfully sharp teeth. 

When he awoke he was in strange sweatpants and in a strange room. A man came in the room a few minutes after Isaac woke up. He explained they were werewolves, and that they needed to boost their numbers for an impending war. Isaac was quickly brought in on how to be a werewolf, including physical and fight training as well as how to control his wolf. But Isaac knew when he was being played and could see the alpha thought he was fodder for the battle. He read the situation and in the middle of the night Isaac ran away. He debated going back to Ann Arbor, but realized that might be the first place his “pack” looked. So he headed straight for Chicago, knowing he could probably get a decent paying IT job with his year at MIT. When he arrived in Chicago he was greeted to a fair deal of hostility. The majority of the pack didn’t want outsiders bringing their trouble into the city, and they specifically didn’t want him, a black loudmouth, interrupting their lives.  But Isaac was a fighter and within 6 months he found himself as 2nd to the Chicago pack. There was a lot of grumbling, but Ogden acknowledged his position and gave credence to the claim. He took Isaac under his wing and refined the wild chaos that was a freshly turned wolf and gave him structure and purpose and place to put his energy. 

Years later after getting settled in Chicago, Ogden died in a car crash. It was truly an accidental and ironic way for a wolf to die; not from old age, or violence but a mundane accident that went terribly wrong. Isaac had to step up to the plate and take over as alpha. They looked to him in their time of mourning, confusion, and fear and Isaac managed to win some of their trust. However not everyone was pleased with a relatively young and often arrogant alpha. He was challenged frequently, especially by Sol, but beat them all through his ability to read weaknesses. Isaac was never afraid to let them tire themselves out before going for the win. The fighting and challenges began to slow, and eventually things became more even keeled. That was until he began switching up ranks. Peter Knox joined his pack and fought his way to the top, a move that could never have happened had Isaac not thrown his support behind him. Then Geri became third, sufficiently pushing the rest of the “Old Guard” out. 

Things had begun to settle down when” the Incident” occured. Animal shifters were unable to change to or from whichever form they were in. People were pissed and looking to the Witch and Warlock councils. While the first two meetings were spent grandstanding by the other alphas and leaders, Isaac was trying to read the faces opposite them, when the true reason for the magic gone bad came out. Deucalion Thornton was cursed to be a wolf shifter and they were trying to change him back. Outrage from both magic users and non magic users alike erupted and calls for banishment and possible death flew around. Nothing was decided and they adjourned for the day. Isaac hung around and stopped the Cleirighs as they exited. He offered Ronan a deal, he’d train Duke, allow him safety within his pack, in exchange for Ronan’s vote in various animal shifter matters. Ronan agreed and they devised a plan. At the next meeting before any other alpha could talk, Isaac stepped up and told them what was happening. It was settled and the rest of the council fell in line. Duke moved into the house, and Isaac nearly had a riot on his hands. 

From that day forward he’d made it his mission to set things right in at least the wolf clan. No more of their racist, sexist or homophobic nonsense would be allowed, and every wolf had the right to a challenge. This came in handy when he gave his support to Peter after he’d risen through the ranks. He has kept the pack steady over the last ten years and despite the upset had no challenges to his position. → The Present Isaac is looking to get back onto the dating scene. He was recently dumped by his girlfriend, and while it stung initially, he is worried for her. She’d begun to befriend a couple of hyenas and he’s worried she’ll be attacked in the wave of changes that are happening across the city. Isaac knows her aspirations and is positive she’ll never achieve them if she’s bitten. Despite his worry, Isaac hasn’t mentioned any of the supernatural to her, and is just trying to get back in her good graces to keep her safe.

Murmurs of discontent are rising in the pack, and Isaac is positive it is due to Sol. He is losing his patience with the old wolf and the next time he challenges Isaac, he won’t let it go. Isaac knows he’s the one pushing the wolves towards  greatness and it’s annoying that no one else seems to see it.

[yourstarringrole]

「Class Fight」 (Percy x Reader Song Fic)

Here’s a little something I thought of one morning. Song by Melanie Martinez. I was listening to the song, on my way to school and reading fanfiction when I got the idea. Hope you like it! Bye! Muah! - Venus

It was the middle of class and the teacher wasn't lookin'

You were in Chemistry when you saw it happen. And that ‘it’ is definitely not a pretty sight. The teacher had her back turned towards the class, scribbling on the board and rambling on and on about some elements and how it would react to other elements. You were twirling your pen about expertly, eyes trained on one person, and one person only. The boy sitting in front of you, nervously chewing on Riptide. The twice saviour of Olympus himself, Perseus Jackson.

Kelly  had a fat ass and trouble was cookin'

You knew another girl was staring at him too. A basic blonde bitch, to be exact, who goes by the name of Kelly. She is a part of the so-called ‘popular’ group of the school. Why she is there is beyond you. She doesn’t look that good, nor is she rich. All you know is that she’s competing for your man.

She  had a boy wrapped around her finger tight

‘Is that girl really for real? She literally just pushed her pencil off of her table and- oh my god. What did I just see? She just blatantly showed her ass off to Percy. What?!’ The pen fell out of your hand, landing on the floor with a resounding “clank”. That got the teacher’s attention.

I fell in love with him, but he wasn't in my life

“Kelly! Sit your pretty ass back down or I am sending you to detention!” Despite the warning, Kelly winked at Percy, sticking her tongue out in the most ridiculous way possible. She dresses and acts like a slut and a bully, and people like that? You tend to stay away from. You wish you could tell Percy that too. 

The teacher gave me notes to go out and give Kelly

“I knew that bitch never listened to any of my lessons. Wait till I- oh hello, Miss (L/N), what can I do for you?” You heard her mutter under her breathe and almost threw your head back and laughed. Even the teacher couldn’t stand her. “Oh nothing really, Mrs Donaldson, I was just passing by. That’s all.” You were about to go when you heard your teacher call you back. “Oh, wait, before you go, can you help me give this to Kelly, please? It would mean a lot.” You were about to head to the library to grab some books to read, but you don’t want to disappoint the teacher. “Okay.”

She  was kissin' Brendon, I got jelly

Kelly was standing right outside the classroom door. Kissing Percy. You froze, eyes widening. You feel jealousy and anger boil course through your veins as you clenched your fist tight. He was supposed to be yours. Yours, and yours only.

I  wanted to be in her shoes for one day

You know deep down just how much you would like to swap places with her now. To feel his soft and delicate lips on yours, to be enveloped into his strong arms as he kills you softly with his kisses and love.

I just waited 'til recess to make her pay

“Get off of me Kelly! What the hell?!” Percy shoves her off, making her land on her ass. You couldn’t stop a wicked smile from spreading on your face as you turned, notes forgotten, and walked away. That bitch will pay for what she did. That’ll teach them not to mess with me or my man.

Mommy,  why do I feel sad? Should I give him away or feel this bad?

“Dad/Mom, I’m praying to you, so sit your petty ass down and listen to me.” You were kneeling in front of your open window, eyes closed and hands together. “I like Perseus Jackson, a lot. Now, before you disapprove of this, I have my reasons of liking him. But there’s this other girl, who is a vain little bitch by the way, who’s whoring her way up to victory. What should I do? I don’t want to lose him to that slut!”

"No, no, no, don't you choke"

“Wow, this is the first time you prayed to me in ages.” A blinding light filled the room, accompanied by the smell of (d/s) [distinct smell of godly parent]. When the light faded, (g/p) was standing there, perfectly trimmed eyebrow raised. “And yet you came to me over some boy?”

Daddy chimed in, "Go for the throat"

“Woah. No offence but...what are you doing here? I mean, it’s not like you could whip up some magic and make that bitch disappear...wait...can you?” You asked, eye shining hopefully. (g/p) sighed, rubbing his/her temple. “Honey, you know I can’t do that...” You huffed and turned back to the open window, tears threatening to spill over. “But...I do have a plan for you, if you’d listen to me...”

For  the throat, for, for the throat

You turned back to (g/p), a wicked gleam in your eyes. A gleam that sent a shiver down your mother/father’s immortal spine. They know that if you want something, you wouldn’t stop until you get it. “I’m listening.”

Daddy chimed in, "Go for the throat"

[inactiive-shit]

Life As A Sanders

LAAS Masterlist

Read On AO3!

Part 5: Lunchtime Battles

((Previous))//((Next))

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Warnings: broken arm, bullying, fight

Pairing: Familial DLAMP

Words: 4,205

Summary: School is alright. It really, really is. Logan likes it and Virgil doesn't, and when you add them together, that makes it alright.Some days are just...worse than others.

Age: 8

Chapter 5, here we are!

“You can’t climb that tree,” said the little boy who was nine years old. Virgil looked up at the tree and nodded in agreement with a boy he usually avoided. There weren’t enough branches on the tree, and they were way too far apart. They’d never make it up, and even if they did, how were they supposed to get back down? It was an impossible task.

“Don’t be widiciwous,” Logan said. Well, snapped. He’d been arguing with Trevor about different things all day now. First it was how to pronounce green (Trevor insisted that you had to draw out the ‘E’ noise because there were two of them. Logan said that wasn’t prati-pracl-practil? Something that started like that.), and then it had been about whether a marker was blue or purple (Logan got mad when Virgil tried to find a corpo-compis-compro- an in-between and suggested blurple. Evidently, that was not a color, either. Figures.), and then it was a bunch of other things too, and Virgil just wanted to go home to Daddy so he could take a nap and make some cookies and play dress up and maybe even play with the make-up Missy let him see sometimes.

Virgil had also been hoping that Logan would just leave Trevor alone once recess started so that he could read his book and Virgil could catch ants and caterpillars and grasshoppers to show Logan and Logan could spew off a bunch of facts about them that Virgil had probably heard a million times before. And it had begun like that, and Virgil relaxed because Trevor wasn’t very nice usually, and Virgil would rather say nothing than talk to Trevor.

Logan would say that didn’t make sense because Virgil said nothing most of the time anyway.

Virgil realized quickly that Logan starting things wasn’t what he should’ve been worried about. It was, in fact, Trevor who had come up to their quiet area on the curb and begun taunting them again. And somehow, Virgil wasn’t sure when, they’d all ended up in a different area of the playground with a bunch of Trevor’s friends. Virgil was holding a grasshopper in his hands, looking nervously at his brother. Logan’s book was clenched tightly under one arm, and Virgil was worried that the spine would break and then Logan would end up crying again, like last time when Virgil had accidentally dropped Logan’s dictionary on the floor and it had cracked the spine.

“You can not climb that tree!” Trevor yelled at Logan. The group of kids was giggling behind their hands.

“I can too!” Logan shouted back, looking about ready to weaponize his book against Trevor.

“Prove it!” Trevor demanded. Logan froze for a second, looking up at the tree.

“L, c’mon. Please. I think I saw a really cool spider over there,” Virgil mumbled, pulling at Logan’s sleeve. A girl standing near him squealed when he said spider, and Virgil did his absolute best to ignore her. The other kids thought it was weird that Virgil liked bugs, and that Logan knew so much about them but wouldn’t touch them. Dad said they should just ignore them and do what makes them happy, and Logan didn’t seem very bothered by it, but Virgil very much was.

Logan shoved his book into Virgil’s arms. It was dark blue - Logan’s favorite shade of blue, which is why he was reading it, though he’d never admit that to anyone but Virgil - and it said Alice In Wonderland across the cover in shiny gold letters. It was a bigger book than Virgil would normally read, but Logan had no such reservations about whether he could pick up the books he read or not.

“I’wl cwimb it!” Logan snapped at Trevor. He shook Virgil’s hand off his sleeve and approached the tree. Virgil watched silently, wishing he make Logan stop it and come look at an inch worm with him. He was going to fall out of the tree and get hurt. Or embarrass himself.

Really, thought Virgil, why not both?

Logan approached the tree with the confidence of an eight-year-old who knew everything (meaning, every eight-year-old with the possible exception of Virgil, though he did have his own moments of hubris.) Logan proceeded to jump up, and his fingers barely scraped the lowest branch. He glared up at it, and tried to just stick to the tree with one hand while reaching with the other. He still couldn’t quite get there.

“V, he’p me,” Logan muttered, still straining. The rest of the kids were giggling even more now, and Virgil really didn’t want to contribute to Logan getting hurt, but Virgil also knew that he couldn’t just not climb the tree after he said he would. He’d be embarrassed in front of all the others, and maybe they would make fun of him for that, too.

So Virgil went to the tree and curled up on all fours with the book cradled between his chest and his knees. He knew that Logan would kill him if the book got damaged at all in this whole ordeal. He let the grasshopper, Mrs. Legs, go. He didn’t want to accidentally squish her. Then, Logan stepped onto Virgil’s back, and Virgil’s spine felt like it would snap under the pressure of Logan’s hard shoes. The weight disappeared and Virgil looked up. Logan had pulled himself onto the first branch, and was now far more easily hoisting himself into the tree.

Perhaps the branches weren’t as far apart as Virgil had thought they were.

“You cheated!” Trevor yelled, and he pushed Virgil over as he stomped up to the tree. “You cheated! You cheated!” he chanted. Virgil sat up from the ground, glaring at anybody who looked like they might join in the chant. Virgil wished Percy was with him. She was a lot better at talking to people and standing up for the people she cared about.

Then again, Percy probably would have egged Logan on.

“I did not!” Logan called from a hundred feet high. “You never-” Logan screamed as he fell out of the tree. Lo hit the ground with a crack, and he was still whimpering and crying. Virgil rushed forward to see Logan, and the rest of the kids scattered.

“L? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Virgil tried to sit Logan up, but he screamed again, and Virgil almost started crying, too. He backed up a little, but put a hand on Logan’s back, trying to remember what Dad did when Virgil got hurt.

Usually, he would kiss the boo-boo, and then he’d get a bandaid. So, Virgil just had to find Logan’s boo-boo, and he could kiss it better. He didn’t have any bandaids, but maybe it wouldn’t need one?

“Lolo? Are-are you hurt?” Virgil mumbled. This time, Logan let Virgil sit him up.

“Muh-my uh-uh-arm hu-uwts, V.” Tears ran down Logan’s face, and Virgil wanted to help him, but he couldn’t quite staring at his arm.

His arm wasn’t supposed to bend like that, was it?

“We-we gotta get a teacher,” Virgil said quietly.

Together, they stumbled to a teacher, and the teacher looked terrified. After that, it was a blur of activity that Virgil and Logan didn’t quite follow. Logan cried the whole time, and then there was a really loud, white car that came up and two grown ups who jumped out and then they were putting Logan in the back of the car, too. Virgil tried to follow, but they were pulling him back, and then Logan and him were both screaming. There was about a minute of pure terror when Virgil and Logan thought that they were going to be separated.

Eventually, they let Virgil get in too. It was stressing Logan out too much, they said, and it would just be easier to let both boys go. As he was pulled in, Virgil vaguely remembered that Dad told him he wasn’t supposed to get in a stranger’s car, but it was too late. Virgil couldn’t just leave Logan in the car by himself, besides. Virgil was Logan’s older brother, and he was supposed to protect him.

When they got to the hospital, Dad was there, and there were tears in his eyes, but he just held Logan’s hand as they rushed him all over the place and a lot of stuff happened. Virgil wasn’t sure what exactly was happening, he just knew that it was bad. Logan was hurt and he was crying a lot still, and Virgil decided right then and there that he hated hospitals.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Dad finally took them home, Logan was sleeping and there was a weird blue cast on his arm and all of his tears had dried up. Dad didn’t say much on the way home, and Virgil didn’t mind. He was really sleepy too, he just had to make sure they got home safe before he could sleep. Nothing else could happen to Logan today.

This was already Virgil’s fault.

Dad carried Logan in, and Virgil followed on his heels. Once Logan was cuddled up on his purple pillow, Virgil looked at his Dad.

“He’s gonna be okay, right?” Dad jumped, and when he faced Virgil, he looked tired. There was a smile on his face, though. Things couldn’t be that bad if Dad was still smiling.

“Yeah, kiddo. He’s gonna be just fine.” Dad hesitated. “His arm was broken, Virgil. So he’s going to have to wear the cast for a while so that it heals right. Do you understand?” Virgil nodded. He thought he understood. It made sense, anyway. “Okay. Virge, you said he fell out of a tree. Do you know why he was climbing it?”

“He said he couldn’t do it, and they were fighting all day, so Logan got mad. He-he-” Virgil was starting to breathe funny, and he thought he might cry again.

“It’s okay, kiddo. It’s alright. Just take deep breaths. I’m not mad, Virge. I just want to know what happened, okay?”

After a couple minutes of Dad calming Virgil down, Virgil finally told him. “Trevor kept starting fights with Logan all day, and then at recess, he said that Logan couldn’t climb the tree. But Logan was really mad, so he did, and I helped him when I knew he would get hurt and I shouldn’t have I’m really sorry I-”

“Woah woah woah.” Dad put a soothing hand on Virgil’s back, and then he picked him up and carried him to the kitchen. Dad set Virgil on the counter, something that drove Logan insane, and started preparing some ice cream. “Virgil, listen to me. What happened is not your fault.”

“But I-”

“No, Virge. You might have thought Logan was going to get hurt, but you didn’t know. And if Logan was angry, do you really think he would have left the tree for anything?” Virgil shook his head. “It’s not your fault, kiddo. I promise. Logan doesn’t blame you, I don’t blame you, and you shouldn’t blame yourself. Logan was going to climb that tree either way.” Then, Dad smiled. “Besides, kiddo, you got Lolo to the teacher and you stayed with him the whole time and kept him calm. I’m really proud of you. You did really good.” Dad handed Virgil a bowl of ice cream in a suspicious shade of blue with cookie dough in it. “It’s alright, Virgil. You did the best you could, and you protected your brother. That’s all I’ve ever asked of you.”

Virgil ate his ice cream a little too quickly, and he got brain freeze part way through. But he knew the quicker he ate, the sooner he go see Logan. Even if Logan was still sleeping. Virgil didn’t really care what Logan was doing, he just wanted his brother.

By nine o’clock, Virgil had crawled into Logan’s bed with his blankets and pillow. He snuggled up to Logan’s not-broken arm, and Logan curled toward him. They stayed in that position all night.

As a matter of fact, Logan did not go to school for the rest of the week (two days) (despite his protests. Logan liked school, for some reason). Virgil refused to move from his spot by Logan’s side, bringing him toys and books and games and whatever else Logan wanted to pass the time. They both got tons of make-up work which Logan rejoiced in completing and which Virgil debated the merits of not doing at all.

Come Monday, though, they were both due back at school. Much to Virgil’s relief, Trevor didn’t say anything to them. For the most part, things were peaceful. They did math and they did some reading, and then, right before lunch, the teacher had everybody line-up so they could sign Logan’s cast with sharpies. Despite the fact that Logan did not want everybody to sign his cast with sharpies.

But the teacher said he had to be nice or something of the sort, and while Logan heartily disagreed, he didn’t get much of a say in the matter. So he stood, mostly without complaint, and let the other kids write weird things on his cast that were probably meant to be funny in whatever nonsensical language it seemed all the other kids spoke. He didn’t quite get it, and he really wasn’t sure if Virgil understood it or not, but he and Virgil had their own language, so Logan didn’t really feel like he was missing out on anything important.

Finally, when it was all said and done, the teacher took their class to the lunch room. Virgil and Logan always sat together, and sometimes Johnny or Maddie or Gina sat with them. Logan liked those days a lot because Maddie knew more about dinosaurs than Logan did and Gina always had really cool snacks she shared with them. Johnny usually made a giant mess of his pudding, and it always made Virgil laugh so hard he cried.

But today it was just Logan and Virgil. Virgil was helping Logan open containers and eat his food, and forgetting to eat his own food in the process. Once everything was set out, Logan pushed Virgil back to his own food and demanded that Virgil eat, too. Logan felt very lucky that Virgil didn’t have to feed him because it was his right arm that was broken. Logan, unlike Virgil, was left-handed, which tended to make life harder. At least this didn’t change that much.

Logan was eating the grapes Dad had cut in half for him, and listening to Virgil mumble about math under his breath. He wasn’t a fan of multiplication, but division made absolutely no sense. They said it was like multiplication, but backward. You can’t do multiplication backward! That’s not how it works.

Normally, Logan would be reading while he ate, half-listening to Virgil’s rants. However, it required all his available appendages to eat.

Actually, that wasn’t quite right. His legs weren’t doing anything important. If he really tried, he could hold his book open with his feet. But then he’d get shoe prints on his book, which was unacceptable, really. Especially after what had happened to Alice in Wonderland last week. So he’d have to take his shoes off. That might work, but would he be able to eat if he was staring at the ground? Probably not, and Dad always said that he shouldn’t hold his food over his books.

While Logan wondered whether going shoeless was worth the cost, Virgil had stopped mumbling about math and was looking over at Trevor, who kept looking at Logan and laughing. Virgil wanted to make Trevor leave them alone, but he wasn’t sure how. Words didn’t work with morons - that was Logan’s favorite word to describe Trevor. Dad was horrified that Logan would call anybody that and that Logan had even known the word. Lo didn’t say it in front of Dad anymore. Virgil also knew he could never fight Trevor. Trevor was tall; a lot taller than Virgil, who was rather small for their age. So was Logan.

Virgil got so lost in his thoughts about Trevor that it took hearing a sniffle to pull him out of it. He looked over at his little brother, and Logan was staring down at his cast with tears in his eyes. Virgil was immediately alarmed.

“Logan? Does your arm hurt?” That’s what Dad had been asking Lo all weekend, and Virgil figured that it was a good place to start. Dad was really good at making things better, and knowing what was wrong.

Except, Logan didn’t say anything. His lips trembled like he was going to start crying, and he showed Virgil his cast. Virgil started reading all the words on it, and then he saw it. The shaky, nasty handwriting that said ‘your stuped.’

Virgil knew exactly who had written that.

“You’re not stupid, L,” Virgil mumbled, pulling Logan into a hug. Logan sat and trembled against Virgil, blue cast that Logan had liked so much resting awkwardly on the table, as far away as Logan could get it.

Logan wished he hadn’t climbed the tree. He wished he hadn’t fallen and that it hadn’t hurt so bad and he wished that Trevor would just leave him alone. Logan wished he was at home with Dad instead of at school.

“It’s okay, Lolo,” Virgil said. He let go of Logan when he started squirming, and he gave Logan his napkin. Logan wiped his face off, and stared at the words branded into his cast.

Then, suddenly, Virgil was getting up and walking down their table. Logan watched after Virgil, shocked. They weren’t allowed to get up during lunchtime, and Virgil never broke the rules. He was too scared of getting yelled at. Not anymore, apparently, because Virgil didn’t hesitate to walk right up to Trevor, and Logan knew exactly what was going to happen next.

“You called my brother stupid and you made him fall out of a tree. You make fun of him because he can’t say some of his letters right,” Logan barely heard Virgil say. Virgil was glowering at Trevor, and Logan had never seen him so mad. “I hate you,” Virgil hissed. Then, he jumped on Trevor.

It took approximately five seconds for the lunch monitors to notice the brawl Virgil had initiated and in those five seconds, things hadn’t gone great for Virgil. Trevor was so much bigger that Virgil hadn’t ever had a chance, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t give it his all. While Logan watched, stunned, a word came into his mind to describe his brother: feral. He’d learned it recently, because Virgil wanted to pet stray cats and Dad always wanted to pet dogs on the street, but they weren’t allowed to pet the feral ones. That meant they were wild, and they could hurt you.

Logan jumped as a couple of teachers pulled them apart. Virgil’s lip was bleeding, but he kept struggling and hissing against the teacher, trying to get back to Trevor, who actually looked scared. They were both pulled into the office, and Logan ran after them. The teachers didn’t even try to stop him. By this point, they knew better than to separate Logan and Virgil.

Logan did his best to make sure Virgil was okay. When they said they’d be calling their parents, Virgil had immediately become so scared that Dad would be mad at him that he couldn’t breathe. Logan didn’t know how to help, but he got as close to Virgil as he could and, when that wasn’t close enough, they had moved to the floor. Logan and Virgil sat on the floor of the lobby, curled up together, and waited for their Dad to arrive.

It turned out, Virgil had nothing to be afraid of. Once all three boys, Dad, and Trevor’s parents were in the office, the principal asked what happened. Trevor immediately tried telling everything in his own twisted way, and Virgil didn’t say a thing. After Trevor’s over-dramatised (Logan learned that word from their teacher, who liked giving him ‘challenge vocabulary’ because Logan was smart) retelling, the principal looked to Virgil.

“What do you have to say, young man?” And Virgil said nothing. He stared at the principal, eyes wide and face pale, and he didn’t say a thing. Logan knew sometimes it was hard for Virgil to remember how to talk, and that sometimes the words Virgil needed weren’t there. So Logan opened his mouth instead.

And promptly got shut down.

“I was asking your brother,” the principal said, silencing Logan. And then Dad got involved.

“I’ll thank you to be a little kinder to my children,” Dad said quietly. Then, he crouched in front of Virgil.

“What happened, kiddo? I’m not mad, but I need to know what happened, okay?” Virgil nodded.

“H-he. . .he wrote on-uhm, he-”

“Oh, for god’s sake!” shouted Trevor’s dad. “The boy can’t even speak. He attacked our son, and our son defended himself. It’s as simple as that. Quit dragging out all this nonsense!”

Dad spun around and stood so quickly Logan almost got whiplash. “Do not speak to or about my children like that.” Logan had never seen Dad look so mad before. Not when Logan and Virgil got in fights, or when they broke something, or when something went bad at the bakery. Logan had absolutely never seen the look on his Dad’s face on his Dad’s face before. “You will let him speak, and he will take as much time as he needs.” Dad turned back to Virgil. His voice was much softer when he said, “What happened, Virgil?”

“The-the teacher muh-made everybody sign-they signed his-cast? And-and he wrote something m-mean,” Virgil whispered. He went quiet again, and Dad directed his eyes toward Logan.

“Can you show me, kiddo?” Logan nodded and lifted his cast, pointing at the offending phrase. Dad leaned down and read what was written there. His eyes looked angry, and Logan had to remind himself that it wasn’t directed at him.

“Logan, is this the same boy who made you fall out of the tree?”  Dad asked. Logan nodded. “Is this the one who was making fun of you earlier this year?” Logan nodded. Dad faced the principal, and looking back, this would be a defining moment for Logan. This is the moment that Logan realized his Dad was not always happy and was, in fact, very very capable of anger. When retelling this story to an older brother and a younger brother he does not yet have, Logan would describe what Dad did as ‘raining down the fires of hell.’ Because, at the end of that meeting, Trevor was no longer in their class, Trevor’s parents had tried to pay for half of Logan’s doctor bill and been denied on account of the fact that Dad did not want anything to do with them. Virgil was suspended for the rest of the week, as was policy for first fights, and so was Trevor. Dad hadn’t objected to the suspension, because they shouldn’t have been fighting, but he also defended that his son had been protecting his brother in the only way immediately available.

At the end of the day, things had turned out okay. Virgil wasn’t in trouble at home, and though Logan wanted to, he wasn’t allowed to stay home with Virgil. He brought Virgil’s make-up work home everyday, and they both got a very stern talking to about fighting once they got home that day.

When Virgil did finally go back to school, he was a bit of a celebrity amongst the other kids, and especially with the ones that Trevor had targeted. Trevor didn’t bother either of them or anyone else for the rest of the school year, and his mom got a new job that summer and they moved away. Logan was glad that he never had to see Trevor again, and he was glad that Virgil didn’t either.

Things did calm down for them, and everything went back to normal, but better. Logan wasn’t getting picked on anymore, and Virgil had drawn on Logan’s cast so that the words Trevor had written were covered up by a whole galaxy. So were a lot of things the other kids wrote, but Logan hadn’t wanted those on his cast to start. It looked a lot cooler now, he thought, even if the purple glitter glue was a little overboard.

When Virgil and Logan looked back on this story in their history, and when they told anyone else what happened, no one quite believed that their Dad, happy pappy Patton of the Sweet Stuff bakery, had torn their principal a new one for the bullying they had tried to put a stop to before. And no one quite believed that Virgil, anxious and quiet Virgil who never really got a handle on his words, could’ve said all that or gotten in a fight. Even to Virgil and Logan, sometimes, it seemed surreal. But it was real, and it was one of the many times in their lives when their family had come through for them.

Logan wouldn’t trade it (or them) for anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist:

@trashcanego

@supersoftsupersleep

[hdgaywriting]

Eighth Year - Drarry Fic

Part One:

           Harry woke up to the smell of bacon and the soft coos of Pigwidgeon. It had been months now that he could wake up relaxed, easing into the routine of the Weasleys. After all he'd been through, the consistency felt nice. He stretched his arms and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before putting on his glasses and blinking the world into a sharp image. Glancing around the room, he noticed that Ron was already awake, given his bed was an empty lump of sheets. This was the first time all summer that Ron had gotten up before Harry, and he suspected it was due to the occasion – their return to Hogwarts.

Harry and his best friends had honestly not been anticipating living through the war, but eventually they stopped being able to dodge the question of what comes next. Harry had immediately been offered a job as an auror following Voldemort's downfall, and Ron thought he was going to land some job at the Ministry. It was Hermione that proposed the trio go back to schooling.

"If you think about it, we've only completed six years," she'd said. The two boys, her boys, were still in a post-war stupor then, not willing to dwell on their days at Hogwarts quite yet.

"Hermione," Ron said, through a mouthful of lunch, "we're 18 now. We're too old for Hogwarts. Besides, what can they teach us that we don't already know?"

"Lots of things, Ronald," Hermione said with a stubborn edge in her voice. "After all the insanity that happened, we deserve a chance to be normal students." She looked at Harry for defense, but he was too stunned with the flood of emotion to say anything, so she continued. "Refinement. New spells. New potions. You're never too old to learn. Besides, after Voldemort's downfall, they're bound to teach students differently. The whole curriculum will be different and I don't want to miss out!"

Harry's breath hitched imperceptibly when Hermione said Voldemort's name. Not because he was scared – he hadn't been scared of saying Voldemort's name in years – but because Hermione said it so boldly. In a way, it was comforting. It served as another reminder that he really was gone.

When he looked up, he caught Hermione's gaze. She had a sparkle in her eye talking about Hogwarts and the idea of going back. He mulled over the thought of an eighth year, and after a bit of a back and forth with Ron, they eventually had decided to enroll at Hogwarts one last time.

He walked into the bright kitchen as he did every morning. Ginny walked over to Harry and pecked him on the cheek. "Morning sweetheart," she sang. Ginny was offended when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had asked her if she'd be returning. She practically yelled that obviously she was, then insisted the conversation end there. That was something that always impressed Harry about his fiery girlfriend – her unabashed way of standing up for herself. It was a skill she grew into over the past few years, and it made Harry's heart skip a beat every time she'd stride over to him and grab him boldly by the shoulders to plant a kiss on his mouth.

Ron was sitting on the counter, leaning his chin onto Hermione's head, who was standing between his legs. His hands carelessly rested at her hip. When Hermione lifted her gaze from the morning's issue of The Daily Prophet, she gave Harry a soft smile.

"Oy, Harry!" Ron exclaimed with a bit of devilish excitement. "We made the paper!"

Harry looked surprise, and grabbed it from Hermione's hands.

"Hey!" she quipped.

"Sorry," Harry muttered as he thumbed through the black and white pages and moving pictures. He came across the article Ron was talking about. Golden Trio Start Final Term at Hogwarts – Again! the paper read. Harry rolled his eyes. He shoved the paper back at Hermione and sat down, not wanting to read what it said. He had hoped that defeating Voldemort would be the end to his fame. He thought he'd be able to settle down with Ginny and live a nice life in peace.

"The Golden Trio," Harry said, "I mean, c'mon." The nickname referred to him, Hermione, and Ron, and was becoming a popular phrase around Britain.

"At least they're finally getting recognition," he heard Ginny lament. And he knew she was right. For so long it had been Harry vs. the world, so some solidarity felt nice.

"It's just cheesy," he said as he chomped on a piece of bacon.

Harry watched different Weasleys float in and out of the kitchen as the morning progressed. He was definitely going to miss it here. The Weasleys were the family he never had but always wanted. The way they absorbed and protected people like him and Hermione was what made them some of his favorite people. All summer he'd gotten to know the eldest Weasley children, too. Bill, and his wife Fleur decided to travel around the world for a while after the Battle of Hogwarts, and in-between each trip they'd spend a couple weeks with their family. Charlie moved back home for a while too, before agreeing (or being bullied into) getting a flat with Percy. But Percy had proved to be so insufferable, that Charlie visited enough to make it seem as if he'd never left. He'd come in, flopping onto the couch and complaining about "our tight-ass prat of a brother, lecturing me about chores and informing me about the inner-workings of the Ministry."

It was hard for Charlie to walk back into life at the Weasleys because he'd been in Romania so long. Charlie was an independent. He refused to be reined in. He wore all black all the time, painted his nails, and sometimes sported a dangly earring. He'd even had a secret tattoo on his back of a dragon breathing fire. It was charmed so that the dragon flew around between his shoulder blades.

But besides the commentary on his style choices, Charlie struggled with Percy's betrayal and Fred's death. They all did, of course, but besides George and Mrs. Weasley, Charlie seemed to have the most grief. He wished he had never gone to Romania, he confessed to Harry one night when he was wine drunk. Harry told him he didn't mean it, but Charlie insisted and tears welled in his eyes. That was the first time Harry had ever thought any boy was pretty. The way the grief bubbled up into his face like a delicate thing Charlie wasn't used to after having spent so long with gritty dragons stood out.

It was with Charlie that Harry opened up to about his nerves returning to Hogwarts. About how sad it made him, in a way. It wasn't the Hogwarts he fell in love with at age 11. This was a post-war Hogwarts, where Dumbledore and Snape and Lupin and Fred would never step foot in again. It's where he faced Voldemort for the last time, and where so many people had died. He wanted so desperately to relive the magic of boating across the lake and McGonagall smiling at him when he'd been sorted Gryffindor. He wanted the stupid late-night adventures with Ron and Hermione. He wanted the Hogwarts that didn't put him in peril.

McGonagall was now the headmaster, and it was she who permitted the Golden Trio to return for a final year. She said it was her duty as an educator to allow them the full extent of a Hogwarts Education, but Harry suspected she'd had a soft spot for them. When Hermione sent her an owl, she'd told McGonagall that the three of them needed accommodations of sorts, since they would not be the typical students. McGonagall's reply came the next day. She was in agreement that matriculation would be different, and that they could expect any resources for maintaining optimal mental health, first pick of class schedule, access to a special dormitory that was being built for eighth year students, and the promise to negotiate any other contingencies. She also offered them enrollment in a new class taught by an incoming professor for those with advanced skill in combative magic and magical defense. She included that what they should NOT expect was leniency in grading, pity, special privileges, or any other pish posh of the sort.

Ron and Harry were immediately thrilled, but Hermione pouted.

"I'm writing back," she had said.

"Why?" Harry questioned as she furiously scribbled with a fresh quill.

"Because I want to be re-instated as Head Girl," Hermione said, "and I want access to the restricted section of the library."

Ron laughed warmly from his chest. "Tell her, love." In the end, Hermione (mostly) got her way. McGonagall said that she could co-Head Girl, but giving her the sole title would be unfair to the incoming student. Additionally, the restricted section of the library would soon be rid of all dangerous dark magic books and then open to all students with approval from the librarian.

It seemed so soon after Harry's discovery of the headline of the news that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came bustling into the room saying that it was time for them to get going to King's Cross. The lot of them set off in just as much of a messy haste as ever.

Walking into King's Cross was surreal. Arthur and Molly were the first to press through the brick wall to get to Platform 9 and three quarters. Following them was Charlie, followed closely by Percy, then Ron and Hermione. Harry stood with Ginny's hand wrapped in his. He absentmindedly rubbed his thumb against her fingers.

"Ready for the Hogwarts Express?" Ginny said, eyes twinkling. Harry raised her hand to his lips and kissed it before saying of course. Ginny rushed through with zero fear. She disappeared in a flash of red hair.

After Harry dipped through he found the platform to be more familiar than he thought it would be. The dozens of families wrapping their kids in their arms made him smile almost as much as the youngins waving with their heads poking out through the windows. In a way he felt too old to be going back to school, but in a different, more prominent way, he felt the excitement and potential of Hogwarts filling him.

The train was smooth as it started speeding down the tracks. Ginny was waving goodbye to her brothers and parents, and Ron and Hermione were talking in quiet voices. Harry didn't want to interrupt, so he decided after a while to go explore the cabins and search for some familiar faces. Now that he thought about it, he realized all summer he'd just assumed he and his best friends were the only eighth years returning to Hogwarts, but he didn't actually know.

Before long he had traipsed up and down several cabins, seeing nobody from his original class. He was about to give up when a long shimmer of blonde, wavy hair caught his attention. He rushed up to the girl and plopped down in front of her.

"Oh, hello, Harry," Luna said in a sweet voice. "How are you?" She spoke softly just as she always had, like nothing changed.

"I'm fine, Luna, and you?" He paused for a moment before continuing. "It is so good to see you. Hermione and Ron are here as well."

She smiled widely. "That's lovely!" she said. "Are you lot staying in the new dormitory? It's a small one near where the bridge used to be. You know, the one Seamus blew up?" her wide eyes bore into him. Harry had a painful jolt when she talked about the destruction from the Battle of Hogwarts, but nodded and smiled through it.

"Oy, is Neville here?" he said.

"No," Luna said nonchalantly. "He's been given a job at a magical plant greenhouse. He really loves it. He brings my dad and me organic dirigible fruit and all sorts of magical plants to snack on. He says the mulch helps his head stay clear." The way Luna talked was as if she was reporting information. Which made sense, Harry thought, consider her dad was a journalist with his own magazine. "Harry," Luna said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "remember to sweep for nargles. They've really been prominent this year." She flipped her pink and blue glasses down from her forehead and gave him another wide smile.

"Sure thing, Luna" Harry said as he stood up. "We'll get lunch sometime." His mind was still with Luna when he ran into the last person he wanted to see.

Draco Malfoy was staring Harry down.

[jungle321jungle]

I Read The Lightning Theif Rewrite Script So You Dont Have To

So @dragonsarecats sent me this.

This being Chris Colombus’ rewrite of Chris Titley’s Lightning Thief movie from 2008.

And wow, if you thought the movie was bad before, you’re in for a surprise.

So if you wanna read all 121 pages yourself feel free, or read on and I’ll highlight everything by way of explaining all the issues with screenshots. And the very few good things at the end.

So, in no real order here is,

My 13 Issues!

1) Grover

My poor poor goat boy... The best way to describe his character is as follows: “The Stereotypical Horny Teenage Boy”. And legit that’s all to him.

2) Percy

So Percy... it’s honestly hard to spell out exactly what’s wrong with him. But things are, everything is. He doesn’t have a character. He’s just kinda the reason things work?

But he does piss off a bully? So that’s something? I guess???

3) Yancy Academy/The Start

I’m not gonna get into the fact that Percy is 17 all that’s wrong with that. But what’s wrong with the start of the story is two main things: The Minotaur and Drew.

So in this Drew is basically a mix of Nancy and Clarisse. As he’s the one Percy sprays with water in the bathroom, but that happens before Percy gets to camp. For reasons.

As for the Minotaur he comes twice, first to replace Mrs. Dodds and then to attack at the camp border. So during the first attack Percy slashes it and it ran off. Then when it’s back Percy kills it and takes off it’s horn- after Bruner established that it can only be killed by taking off a horn??? Said horn is also traded to Zeus for Grover’s life later?? Why is that a good trade???

4) Annabeth and The Love Story

Annabeth is there purely to be a love interest

So this thing leans heavily into the stereotypes of the demigods traits and yet I don’t think Annabeth does a single smart thing

She’s such a girl

That may sound like a weird complaint but like read this

So shortly after this Percy and her kiss and basically it s the most most cliche of cliche

And yeah that’s all there is to her

Well at the end she feels the need to tell Athena and Poseidon that she’s dating Percy and thus the two of them should make up

5) Luke

So the first thing wrong with Luke

He and Percy has two sentences of conversation before he’s giving Percy the winged shoes and shield cuz the bolt is there in the movie

He never met Hermes

Hermes didn’t know he had a son named Luke

I think that says all it does

There’s more about him but I’ll save that for the final battle

Luke has zero one liners

I swear his lines were the best thing about the movie

6) Sally

So after the Minotaur attacks the first time Chiron sends Grover to get sally then head to camp. But like sally has no need to go with?? She’s literally going with to be captured, cuz she can’t get in camp. They are 17, so they can prob drive. She’s not needed for that???

Despite being Percy’s motivation we barely have reason to care about her despite the fact she’s the mom

When Percy gets her back and they’re about to die, Percy kisses Annabeth instead of hugging his mom

She kissed Poseidon

7) Poseidon

So my real problem with him is him and Percy’s relationship

So Percy goes from being super cold to him, to hugging him, to getting a matching tattoo within three pages

8) Ares

So first Annabeth had to convince the dude that the war between the gods woulds be a good thing and to let them go

He’s very particular and stupid about cheeseburgers

So besides the fact that you can’t tell a burger is raw based on lifting the bun, after this the manager comes out tells Ares off for being rude to the waitress. Ares calmly apologizes and then punches the dude

Cops then show up and start shooting

The kids and ares get in a humvee and the cops are chasing them until ares hits a button and goes into stealth mode

So yeah

9) Hades and the Underworld

So the Underworld isn’t the underworld

It’s an AU if Los Angels, complete with burning things buildings and cars everywhere

Like hades mansion is literally crumbling to pieces and the food is rotten

Also apparently there’s no Charon it’s Virgil

Hades is the embodiment of the devil and evil. Complete with a demonic form

He wants to feed the kids TO KRONOS

Persephone is there and she’s stupid. First off she and Grover keep staring at each other “lustfully”

She also plays loyal to Hades and send everyone to die then is like whoops nope sorry bro I hate it here feel free to go home

She and Grover give each other lustful looks

Should she even be there in the summer?

Oh and lustful looks

10) Vegas

Okay so I’m not a fan of pearls as it’s a departure from the book and all but whatever I’m gonna ignore that for the sake of this.

But there’s many issues with the journey. One of which is heading to Vegas

So this person clearly doesn’t know how Nevada works cuz the whole thing is complete desert as they walk to Vegas on foot. Like according to this dude there is nothing in Nevada but Vegas

They walk until Poseidon sends them horses with baskets of fruit.

Which they then decide to ride down the Vegas Strip

So when they get to Lotus Flower Hotel, the name automatically changes to “Lotusland” for unknown reasons

And the reason Percy figures things out is cuz he bumps into a kid from the 70s and goes “Sorry, my bad.” And the kid basically replies as if Percy has said yeet. Like idk about the 70s, but I have a feeling that “my bad” isn’t that crazy of a phrase

Percy snaps Grover and Annabeth out of it by shoving them into a pool

During the fight on the way out Percy hits people with his sword and suddenly they age??? They chase them outside, and after the trio gets away they head back inside and de age again. Cuz somehow that makes sense

11) The Final Battle

The final battle, the final battle *sigh*

So like the movie the final battle takes place in NYC outside the Empire State Building. And Luke shows up to fight Percy

But the issue is how the fight works. So for some context Percy sends Sally and Annabeth up to Olympus ahead of him while he fights Luke so meanwhile Lukes on flying shoes and using the MASTERBOLT to attack Percy

But despite being close to midnight, this is fucking NYC. People can see him blasting craters into the street as he attacks Percy

So Percy fights back with three fire hydrants as if they are placed that close together. And Luke meanwhile is dodging water until he’s struck but like yo dumbass! You have fucking lightning in your hand! Strike the shit out of that water!

So then to the fight moves to the Hudson River because it’s magically right next to the building and Percy after flying with his own winged shoes, sucks Luke down in a whirlpool

Percy then goes to Olympus and somehow makes it at the same time as his mom and Annabeth?

12) The End

It ends back at Percy’s house

Grover is there

Annabeth is being this version of Annabeth

Percy shows off a tattoo that matches Poseidon’s

Gabe is yelling for beer, Sally yells at him to get it himself. He goes to the fridge and there’s Medusa’s head

The screenplay ends with gave turning to stone to the sound of crackling lightning outside

Like wtf kind of ending is that ???

The good things!

1) Annabeth is blonde!

She’s blonde. Yeah that’s all this point is

2) It’s so bad... it’s good

So many times I found myself cackling and crying laughing

I kept interrupting my friends to tell them the bullshit that was going on

Nothing made me laugh more than stealth mode

~~~~

So yeah, there ya go.

A long “review” of this trash screenplay from 2008 that no one asked for.

[moonlit-maiden]

On Nico di Angelo, "Pairing the Spare" and How to Shaft a Complex Character in Less Than 500 Pages

This will be long. Strap in. This is long overdue.

So more longtime followers of mine may already know this but I adore Nico di Angelo from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. They also know I continue to eastly, to this day, about how he was handled at the end of the Heroes of Olympus series. Now, I've never fully delved into the 'why's and I will do so now as it's probably best to actually articulate it at some point instead of continually lamenting it without presenting rationale.

First: WHY do I love his character so much? It all boils down to shared/similar experiences for social ostracization. Growing up, I was quickly pushed out of social circles due to who my parents were; immigrants. Simply existing with the ethnicity and cultural heritage I had labeled me as untouchable. To sum it up succinctly; white but not the "right" kind of white. Keep in mind this was at the end of the Cold War; attitudes towards Slavic peoples were poor as hell. Fuck, they still are 30 years later! Nico is ousted due to his heritage too; being a Hades child. It's not something he chose nor controlled. He himself did nothing wrong to any of the campers yet when word got out they pushed him away. The same happened to me. As soon as the school kids and/or parents realized my parents were Slavic immigrants they shoved me out. It still hurts to this day. As such, I can deeply empathize with Nico.

Why does this matter? Because that blanket social rejections fucks people up. Nico is shown throughout the series to be distrustful, preferring to isolate himself. He has been shown time and time again he is unwanted due to being a Hades child. Eventually you just... stop trying. When you beat a dog enough times it stops coming around. This is the same thing. In addition, Nico has lost his elder sister, Bianca. The one person he felt understood him because she, too, was similar to him. Now I have Opinions on Bianca that would piss off 99% of the fandom but it's irrelevant here. Her death occurs shorts before or after it's revealed Nico is a Child of Hades. He is 10 years old with no one and the whole camp rejects him. It's a cruel thing to do to someone no matter how much you try and justify it. Rick did an incredible job highlighting how racism, ethnocentrism and bullying harms a child. Nico immediately became my favorite for this and I applauded Rick for having the balls to shine a very uncomfortable light on a situation similar to mine. A situation, I'm very sure many first generation or immigrant kids can relate to.

So where did it all go wrong? To be blunt, Blood of Olympus. Now, the final volume of the HHO series is a hot mess in general. Almost ALL characters get shafted on way or another with mischaracterization, simplification or backtracker on character growth. Not to mention the plot feels very slapdash and messy at times. But again, another subject. We see Reyna and Coach Hedge start to really get to know Nico and realize the extent at how bad his abuse has been at the hands of monsters and demigods alike. Neither feels this is right and shows it as best they can while respecting Nico's boundaries. In the previous book, House of Hades, Jason does the same thing. But then we finally get back to Camp Half Blood and shit falls apart for Nico's arc.

It's plainly obvious to anyone who's ready the series in full that Nico is traumatized, even moreso then most of the cast. He has been physically tortured multiple times, psychologically tortured by the camp and emotionally manipulated by several individuals. Keep in mind, by HOO, Nico is roughly 14. Fourteen. Can you even image how that feels?! He's only just now, after Jason, Hazel and Reyna's persistence that they will not hurt him, that they genuinely care for his well being, that they don't care about his heritage (and don't care about his sexuality, from Jason specifically). And then Will appears and Nico magically forgets 4 years of pining for Percy. It's so jarring, like a screeching record! This is when we enter the issue.

In writing, there are many rules. Like all rules, they can be bent of broken under certain circumstances. The rule in question is the 'pair the spare' rule. The rule states that if the pain cast has paired off, do not pair of the "spare" aka the odd man out unless it's been led up to. Rick chose to ignore this rule and pair Nico with Will, citing that as a canon LGBT character, he wanted to send the message to LGBT kids that they were worthy of love. This in itself is not a bad message. What IS bad is execution. First, Will is a background character. He very much has potential, don't get me wrong! But outside of having a few minor scenes in final volume of the PJO series, Will has only ever been mentioned in passing. From what we've seen, he and Nico have never interacted. On top of that, Will who is a healer, completely dismisses Nico's trauma. This is a very big red flag. When someone is traumatized, particularly psychologically, the absolute last thing to do is to dismiss the experience as "teen angst" like Will does. It shows absolute disrespect for Nico as a human being. And he is a healer. He should know better. In addition, Nico himself is not fond of the dismissive personality Will is displaying, the 'I'm going to tell you what to do' persona because he's a doctor so 'doctor knows best'. And in Nico's POV he says as much in his inner monologue! Yet he's "drawn to him". I'm sorry, but I call bullshit. Nico has been shown in 9 1/2 books to be quite smart, paranoid about social intentions due to past experiences and won't take crap from no one, not even his own father, the Lord of the (fucking) Underworld. Yet he'll just grit his teeth and basically follow Will's lead with little complaint? It's so out of character it's jarring and painful.

We briefly see Nico and Will in the first Trials of Apollo book. They're acting like the normal couple with Nico being the "sassy, snarky" one of the pair. Please note it's been 6-8months since the end of BOO, in-universe. In this one scene it completely erases Nico's trauma, very valid feelings of distrust and hurt, his struggle with both his heritage and his sexuality, his years-long unrequited love for Percy, his grief over his sister and his struggle to make connections with his fellow demigods. Love is powerful but its not a cure-all. It doesn't make the years of hurt and abuse magically disappear (trust me. I know.) and it doesn't change someone's personality to well-adjusted.

Pairing Nico with Will at the end of BOO completely destroys his characterization from a writing standpoint. All the real struggle, grief and unpleasant consequences of abusing and bullying people who are "other" in socially-acceptable ways is wiped away in less then 50 pages. It also send a very VERY dangerous message to LGBT youth; find someone you're attracted to and they'll fix you. That's a toxic message to tell to straight kids so why the fuck would you tell it to LGBT kids!? Unlike most LGBT character in literature that I can tell are shoehorned it, Nico was planned to be gay from the start, I have no issue with this. What I do have issue with is throwing his character out the window so he can chase some cute blond ass. Nico deserves better then that as a character. People who suffered socially-acceptable abuse deserve better then that. Immigrants and first-generation kids deserved better then that. LGBT youth deserved better then that.

THAT is why I keep getting so pissed; Rick took a genuinely complex character and fucked him over so he could lazily pair the spare and not be accused of leaving the only canonically gay character single. But there is a reason 'do not pair the spare' is a rule. It's better to leave a character single then slapdashedly pair them up. This goes double for characters who have trauma in their life and trauma is a serious issue that should be respectfully addressed. Love is powerful. Love helps to heal. But the love of family (Hazel) or budding friends (Jason and Reyna) is just as important, valid and send a powerful message. It sends the message 'you are not alone. You are worthy of love. You are a human worthy of regarding of both your experiences and your fears.' Pairing Will with Nico completely and utterly stomps on this message. It sends horrible signals to LGBT youth and scraps his complex character into the token goth gay boy. And Nico di Angelo deserves better then what he was given.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[gold-from-straw]

Everything That Happens - ch7

Ok, so, on the plus side, there's a 'Harry helps save Draco from retaliation' trope in here, but on the DOWN side the time travel stuff is NOT going well for Harry. Please be warned there is reference to non-canon character death in the end of this chapter.

Honestly it's all downhill from here, kids, I'm sorry, please ask and I will provide spoilers if needed...

Read on AO3 from the beginning if you like!

“Harry? Harry, are you in--” Hermione flung open the curtains around Harry’s bed and froze. “What are you doing?”

Harry looked up, his quill between his teeth, his wand behind his ear, and scraps of parchment covering his bed. “Uh… trying to work something out?” he said, spitting out his quill.

She snatched up the parchment, her frown deepening as she read. “‘Evacuation of juniors, Fiendfyre, Shrieking Shack… Fred…’ Harry, are these… events of the battle?”

“Uh, yeah.”

She looked miserable. “This isn’t healthy, Harry. This is what you’ve been completely fixated on? You’ve been writing on that parchment for weeks, and now… you missed breakfast again, and you’re going to be late for class. Why are you doing this?”

Harry bit his lip. “What if… what if I could find a way to save them?” he asked. “Tonks, Lupin, Fred -- all of them.” He looked up at her, imploring, but he seemed to have just made it worse, her eyes filling with tears.

“You can’t save everyone,” she said. “You did so much, Harry, you sacrificed your life to save people. Don’t you think you can rest now?”

“But if I can save someone,” he said, “don’t you think I should?”

She closed her eyes, like the conversation physically hurt, and he felt abashed at once. He wasn’t the only one who’d sacrificed things. She’d sacrificed her own parents for the war, after all - yes, she had them back now, just like Harry had his life back, but she must be exhausted. Harry gathered up all his notes and shoved them in a drawer before standing and hugging her. “Sorry, Hermione,” he said. “I’ll leave it.”

She pulled back and blinked at him in surprise. “You… you will? Uh… OK. OK. Well, come on then, you’ll miss Charms if you don’t hurry.”

“I’ll be right there,” he promised, hunting out his tie and book bag.

She smiled and turned to leave. “Thank you, Harry,” she said, turning just before the door and nodding, and his heart broke with how many times he’d dragged her along - hunting horcruxes; wild goose chases to the Ministry in fifth year that ended in tragedy; even down into the basements of the school in first year. He smiled back at her through his shame as she ran out.

He was still getting his robes untangled from his bag as he walked quickly to class, when he heard Hermione yelling up ahead.

“Stop! Stop it! What do you think you’re doing, stop it!”

His heart pounding, he raced towards her voice, skidding down the corridor. Hermione had her wand out, pointed at a pair of fifth years.

“He’s a Death Eater!” shouted one, gesturing at a heap of robes on the floor. Harry sped up when he saw it moving slowly. “He doesn’t deserve to be here,” the boy yelled again, aiming a kick.

“Impedimenta!” yelled Harry, before the foot had a chance to connect. He skidded to a halt beside the robes on the floor and pulled black cloth away from white hair and a bloody face. “Malfoy. Malfoy, can you hear me?”

Malfoy grunted and nodded, pushing himself into a sitting position. Harry tucked one arm around his shoulders to help him.

Hermione turned back to the boys, her voice furious. “The war is over,” she raged. “Stop trying to bring it back with your petty hypocrisy!”

“He’s Death Eater scum,” spat the first boy, starting towards Malfoy again. His friend held him back. Malfoy didn’t even flinch; he just sat, empty and resigned.

“You’re the scum for taking out your anger on someone who posed no threat to you,” Hermione raged. “Is that what people fought for? What people died for? So you could go around bullying other students?”

“Malfoy helped us,” Harry said, glaring up at the boys. “The three of us were captured and taken to Malfoy Manor… he could have said it was us when he saw us, but he didn’t. He lied to Bellatrix Lestrange and we were able to escape. So leave him alone - and leave the other Slytherins alone, too. Save your curses for someone who’s actually doing harm.”

He carried on glaring until the boys grumbled and backed off, storming down the corridor under their own black clouds.

Hermione bent down in front of Malfoy. “Are you OK?”

“Fine,” he muttered dully, his face still turned away.

“Hmm. Your nose looks broken,” she said. “You should go to the hospital wing.” Harry was always amazed at how much authority Hermione could put into her words when she was so used to Harry and Ron ignoring her sensible instructions.

Malfoy nodded and struggled to his feet, clutching at his ribs as he went. “I’ll take him,” said Harry.

Hermione nodded. “See you in…” She glanced at her watch. “Well, whatever class you do get to,” she sighed, and walked off.

Malfoy turned and started walking as soon as she was out of sight. “That’s not the way to the hospital wing,” Harry smirked, tugging on his robes.

“Why?” said Malfoy, stopping. Harry looked at him; his face was still turned away. “Why stop them? Why… lie like that?”

“I didn’t lie,” said Harry. “I know you recognised me that night. You saved me.”

Malfoy shuddered. “I didn’t… I was a coward. I’ve always been a coward.”

Harry took his arm and tugged at him gently until he walked. After a few steps, he looked up at Harry, his eyes haunted. “It doesn’t make up for what I did. Not even remotely.”

“I nearly killed you,” said Harry. “What can ever make up for that?”

They walked the rest of the way to the hospital wing in silence.

He couldn’t go back to face the Fiendfyre. He just couldn’t. But he couldn’t afford to stop it from happening, not when it had destroyed a Horcrux.

The trouble was, there was too little time between the escape from the Room of Hidden Things, and the massive curse that had killed Fred Weasley. But at least he knew where Fred had been. After three terrifying trips onto the Hogwarts grounds before the Shrieking Shack, and one attempt to get close to Remus in the Great Hall, Harry had decided to tackle Fred, at least until he’d got some new ideas.

The first time, he’d opened his mouth and yelled for them to move back. The blast had knocked him back into his own time, and hadn’t changed a thing. He spent the next half hour fiercely scrubbing tears off his face, the memories of Fred’s death now clear and aching all over again.

The next time, he tried telling them to avoid that corridor. It hadn’t worked. Sifting through new, slightly different memories on his return, all he saw was that they’d been forced into place by the battle itself, not by choice, and the horrified look Percy had given him when he realised Harry had predicted his brother’s death was so unbearable that Harry went straight back to undo it.

Finally, he focused on the moment Pius Thicknesse fell to the floor. The moment Percy Weasley told a joke, Harry grabbed Fred’s arm and braced himself, hurtled through the air, clutching his wand and Fred Weasley.

He woke again, gasping, panicking, shocked at the lack of pain back in his own, safe time. Grasped for the memories… to find that he’d killed Percy Weasley instead.

[belovedfinch]

Re-watch of Veronica Mars & Movie

“I used to be cool” -keith   “when” - veronica

lol veronica putting a bong in logan’s locker

“i suddenly feel like I’m in a scene from the outsiders” - wallace

“be cool soda pop” - veronica 

I love that my favourite book is referenced

“the people you love let you down” - veronica

I forgot paris hilton was on veronica mars 

Duncan and his antidepressants and side effects and hallucinations of lily, I never liked duncan but please never go cold turkey off prescribed meds!

the fashion 😂

when veronica was 12 and logan first saw her he said he thought she was hot - love at first sight ? 😜

dude where’s my car joke

“change had a tendency to walk up and punch me in the face” - veronica

you can tell logan is afraid of his dad straight away 

his mum sits on the couch drinking wine while her son is getting belted cool cool cool cool....

Never underestimate the size of my cahoeneys😂Logan is my fav

“what is so great about living?” - Logan

Mac is awesome, I forgot her name was cindy, I named my cat after my favourite barbie doll whose name was Cindy r.i.p beautiful ❤️

“I guess we remember it differently” - Logan, me to my brother about our childhood

leighton meester, monique coleman from high school musical, Adam Scott!

logan put his gum under a chair in the police office! yuck

“there is also a tribe that worships Donald trumps hair” - veronica

“what, did he loose a puka shell?” - weevil about logan😂

when logan starts crying in the lobby after he mistakes his step-sister as his mum😭

meg with her pretty in pink dress up for the 80s valentines day dance and duncan is ducky❤️

I wish my school had an 80s theme dance, but I would be too indecisive about who to go as tbh.

“whoever said it’s a mans world, didn’t know how easy it is to be a girl” - veronica, you can tell a man wrote that line

horned mascot from riverdale - veronica and calls herself betty when she goes to the other school

kinda forgot how relatable veronica is, loner, pushes people away

that black beanie with the flames

the flashbacks or hallucinations that show lily speak to people/mostly veronica, remind me of allison in pretty little liars

aussie guy - from home and away i think

never really liked duncan

logan punching the fbi agent

love how mac and keith both say “earth to mars”

logan step-sister trina when she asks him for money reminds me of my brother

veronica had a slider and so does wallace in the second season, my sister had a purple one and i wanted it so bad

logan’s smirk at veronica when she found his step-sisters boyfriend

wow aaron’s father being an abuser, then himself, glad the cycle stopped with logan

thats amore playing whilst aaron beats up his daughters abusive boyfriend

I always felt bad for leo as much as I love LoVe. Veronica basically just used him

sean from degrassi is on veronica mars

“i like what i see in him when he’s with you” - aaron echolls

I think i could love her plays as veronica stands logan up on his boat

“the thought of you breeding? ugh” - logan to dick

logan’s allergic to shell fish

“All i care about is you” - logan

“just evaporate or something” - logan

why didn’t aaron get rid of the tapes? did he not think someone would find his secret ?

sucks that veronica spent her savings for college on her mum to go to rehab and her mum didn’t even last

logan on the bridge where his mother committed suicide, about to jump

when keith saves veronica from the fridge and his on fire and his in a gurney and says “who’s your daddy?”

I’m glad she realises her mum as much as she loves her she is better off without her, that’s what alcoholics do, they are liars.

“don’t forget about me veronica” - lily

greenhouse academy has the same cliffhanger as season 1 of veronica mars

logan shows up at 3am beat up and framed for stabbing someone, then he hears on the radio that his father killed his girlfriend and that his father was sleeping with her

it’s was always duncan right? breaking up with logan making any excuse, all because you finally find out your not brother and sister. ugh

like logan said everyone in his life was gone, the one person he opened up to. also left him. Not cool veronica

the bus crash reminds me of degrassi

“you must chill” veronica says to a girl that has just lost her father in a bus crash and is being bullied and blamed just because her dad had mental health issues and the good ol sheriff feeds the press that it might have been a suicide attempt

curly dude washed up on the beach with veronicas name on his hand, is that like twin peaks, or the guy in australia that was found on the beach with something on his hand but they he had no ID and all the tags were off his clothes

PLL writers should take notes on veronica mars on how to tie up loose ends

“what conspiracy have you pulled out of your ass today”- logan

“my day is complete veronica mars has accused me of evil” - logan, as he twists the ends of his imaginary moustache

veronica is very selfish if you think about it, she asks for favours all the time from her friends but she is never there to hear their problems, she thinks the world does actually revolve around her.

lol logan in the line-up

eye roll aaron blaming duncan and then saying he snapped

cameo by that chick off of america’s next top model

aaron got a psychology degree in jail lol

omg able coonz dying thinking his only daughter is alive but she got killed and shoved into an ice machine holder thingy at a stingy motel

lol when veronica lays down onto logan thinking its duncan

“3rd wheel beginners guide” - logan

“nobody likes an eager beaver” logan to cassidy, was rob waiting a whole season to make that joke and thats why the nickname beaver was given to him?

singer maybe billy idol?

I feel like megs death was a crappy ending, like did she just die so that once again duncan and veronica are split up because of circumstance and they are star-crossed true lovers (eye roll)

“whats your poison” - veronica (breakfast club reference)

“sorry we are all out of liquid evil” - veronica to logan

michael cera

when logan pretends to get burned by the bible when interning for woody

gia says logan uses humour and sarcasm to something something, dance episode

we used to be friends along time ago, but i haven’t thought of you lately at all

logan not taking any of his fathers bull shitting when he was on trial on the stand

“So, apparently, if you're handsome and famous enough, you can just lie under oath, and that's cool.” - veronica

when woody finds veronica on the computer he is creepy af

can we just talk about how much logan went through and how mentally that would fuck you up, yet he never resorted to violence

“it was worth getting taped to a poll” - wallace

lol veronicas dad when she graduates

dicks “trust me I’m rich” shirt

keith says “Carol channings still alive isn’t she?” and I’m like no she died 6 days ago

season 3 

don’t like the new intro

“Back ups in charge? what about the bitch he’s been seeing” - V

WHY THE F IS KEITH HELPING CASABLANCAS WHEN CASIDY HIS SON RAPED HIS DAMN DAUGHTER

MAC “hey i know that guy’ (wallace)

there is no one else, i only want you - logan

fracking

victoria from twilight is in a sorority

I love when logan comes over for dinner and he just smirks at keith and veronica’s banter

i forgot logan had a brother

lol the clerk calls condoms “raincoats” so does my great aunty

diana from glee is on here

veronica is pretty selfish, like her dad was in a car accident and she is annoyed and disapproving of him having a relatioship , she can’t just trust logan?!? ugh

but for logan to run away from the burning motel, it’s just what douchebag pukashell wearing logan would do, not the actual logan

holy crap veronica was SOO damn lucky logan was there at that moment she would be baled and raped, like is once not enough for gods sake?

guy from the nanny

when logan calls veronica from the other side of the cafeteria and she ignores it and he is basically crying :(

logan and i broke up , “are you okay?” keith, “it was unexpected” -v wtf bitch you didn’t trust him, you had a fight, how was it unexpected

dude from waynes world

I love the hooker story line, max & wendy aww

I’ve always hated maddison far out she is a piece of work

ep13 “where are your heads?” basketball coach, me “Obviously not in the game”

lol how dick locks logan on the balcony

logan is yoshi in mario cart!! so am i

“how is it you have so many friends? you don’t even like people” v to l

Lafayette from true blood is a child solider

why did logan invite parker to be with him over break when he obviously wasn’t happy or didn’t want her to go, was it just to prove veronica wrong that “that’s just the way he is” like v said is true, to prove that he has changed.

like it just seems logan and veronica are denying their feelings for each other

that writer from once upon a time is in here, he is in everything

mars uses venus razor

oh the logan piz fight…

such a crap ending to an amazing show

movie

I just love the scene where logan is leaning up against the car like jake from 16 candles (i did post a comparison of the two ages ago)

I like how logan went out with the crazy chic, he was so nonchalant about it, because he wanted to pay veronica back for coming back to neptune when he called even though they hadn’t spoken like 10 years.

kind upset that it wasn’t leighton meester that played carrie

comeback always

logan isn’t supposed to remember the epic quote because he was drunk?

I have so much love for logan, I relate to him so much and it was honestly the best day of my life when I met Jason ( i also met percy and michael) he was so kind to me and I gave him a letter I had written and he was just so down to earth.

How else is pumped for the return?!?