#honestly though it’s probably for the best i don’t think i could handle if percy looked as young as walker does in the adam project

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Frankly, I’m obsessed with the fact that these two characters are supposed to be the same age the 12-14-year-old years are WILD

[astaroth1357]

Brothers React to a Demigod MC 

So, I've gotten some interest to do a Brothers follow-up to a previous request of mine (Undateables React to a Cute, Badass MC), however, I've thus far refused to write one. Honestly, this HC actually plays on a trope I personally dislike and had it not been a request I would have never done it to start with. I just can't see any reasonable way a non-magic human can beat a bunch of demons, I just can't, and that hinders my imagination quite a bit. …But someone who’s not so human? That I can get behind. Fair warning, I grew up with the Percy Jackson series so that’s going to paint quite a bit of how I see modern demigods. Ready for things to get super-ultra fanfic-y for a bit?

Intro:

The day to kidnap bring the exchange students to the Devildom has finally come and the demons have all gathered in the Council Room to open their portal to the human world. Really, things started without a hitch - the portal opened with and their future student dropped down out of it and landed on the floor… before they suddenly leapt up, pulled out a weapon, and lunged at them!

… This isn’t your normal human, it is?

Lucifer

Oh Devil, this couldn’t have been any farther than what they wanted… They were looking for a human and they managed to pull out a halfling! A divine halfling no less!! Why wasn’t this in their file?!

Look, Lucifer might not be on good terms with his father, but even he knows he had it better than any children of the pagan gods… The levels of petty vindictiveness that run through that bunch are literally the stuff of legends...

After he and Barbatos were able to restrain the MC before they hurt themselves or anyone else, Diavolo explained everything to them and gave them a pardon for attacking the Demon Prince on sight… After they identified themselves and their parentage, Lucifer knew they were in for some shit…

He and Diavolo had to iron out an apology letter to their godly parent for days just to keep from saying anything that could accidentally cause a second Troy or worse... It was a mess...

But on the bright side, the “human” came pre-prepared for fighting monsters and demons, which honestly took a bit of a load off his shoulders. That’s less responsibility for Mammon - and in his experience, the less responsibility Mammon has, the better things usually turn out.

… Though their ability to actually hold their own in a fight did make things complicated sometimes - like whenever he was their perceived opponent... 

He wasn’t expecting to have to manage a being that was actually capable of meeting him toe-to-toe on the battlefield and it did hinder his intimidation factor to some degree…It was hard to be threatening to someone who’s likely faced worse than you could ever offer.

In the end it probably worked out for the best, as a live exchange student is better for Diavolo than a dead one - but man did it get on his nerves until they made their pact together… Be scared of him, dammit!

Mammon

The first time he tried to threaten the human, they straight up pulled out a weapon and looked like they were ready to whip his ass!! Didn’t they know he wasn’t being serious?? 😫

He really didn’t know why he had to be on babysitting duty, anymore... This huma-er demigod could handle themselves just fine!

When he first ditched them with Levi, he later found out they managed to cleanly toss his brother over their head and make a break for it all by themselves! And Levi’s no pushover either!!

Later, he saw them getting ambushed on their way back from school and they soundly knocked out about five demons before he even caught up to them… and he’s, like, fast and stuff… 

Their strength is kind of unreal at times, but he could tell they were still far from a mindless killing machine. They were more or less a normal person, they had wants and dreams like anybody else, but they just happened to be a long stronger than the average mortals around them. 🤷‍♀️

After he eventually got to know them and a bit about how their life worked, he felt a little bad for them... Who wants to be hunted down just for being born?

After learning about their struggles, Mammon ended up resolving to help keep them safe (even if a part of him knew they didn’t need him that much).

I mean, if the whole world’s against you, then you can use all the help you can get... right?

Leviathan 

Levi found out exactly one thing about them within the first two minutes of meeting them… their reflexes were killer.

After Mammon ditched them on Day One, he tried to drag the human to his room to tell them his genius plan but they broke out of his grip and threw him flat on his back like was just second nature! 

He was stuck on the ground for a full minute, trying to process what just happened, while they ran off into the House all alone…

Did he just get tossed around… by a human?? Was he really that pathetic!?!

Finding out later that they were actually half-god certainly helped out his self-esteem because, man, if he had lost so easily to a human of all things... He might have just never left his room again…

Levi pretty much kept his distance from them until they finally made a pact together and then he discovered that the MC wasn’t so scary after all. If he’s being honest, being in the same house as a demigod was actually kind of cool...! 

Like, it was almost exactly the plot of the show: “Wait, I Thought I Was the Son of a Pagan God So What Am I Doing in a Christian Hell??” but their MC seemed to know a lot more about fighting than the protagonist of that show ever did…

Plus, because he never had to worry about their safety, he had even more excuse to never leave his room. Win-win!

Satan

A demigod, eh…? He had done plenty of research into human world mythologies in his spare time, frankly he thought the old gods had died out - but it seems they were still up and kicking… and making babies for whatever reason? Horny bastards...

Satan's original interest in the MC was purely academic. It’s not everyday that you get to meet someone of such a unique heritage and he fully intended to learn if all the legends about their greatness were true… and well...

He could say that the MC was certainly different than how he pictured humans being. He’d never met very many before, but from what he could gather they were a weak race that really got by on wit and persistence… However, nothing about the MC was weak.

Their aptitude for combat was surprisingly sharp, both in skill and reflexes. He had once blown up at them in anger and not only did they dodge his swipes but they got in a good few hits themselves with a nearby lamp… He never once thought a mortal could give him a black-eye but, somehow, they pulled it off. 🤷‍♀️

Combine their physical skill with what magical gifts were granted to them by their godly-half and they were a force to be reckoned with… Even Solomon seemed to hesitate and think more about his actions around them (which is saying something for a sorcerer of his strength).

It’d be fair to say a part of him grew to respect the MC long before they ever made their pact and that respect only grew afterwards. If he had to be bound to any master, human or otherwise, he’d rather it be one that he could right about consider an equal not only as a friend, but in strength as well.

Asmodeus 

A demigod…? Oooo, he hadn’t come across one of those since he bedded Aeneas all those centuries ago… Such a gorgeous man, got all his looks from his mother~! 🤭

Asmo was probably the most interested in their godly heritage, but it felt like he was treating them like a zoo exhibit for a while… Something pretty and new to look at, but not exactly someone he wanted to know personally...

He openly and readily admitted that watching their little demigod in action got him hot and bothered (or well, more hot and bothered than usual ) but it didn’t take him to see they weren’t interested at the time…

He decided that he just had to have a pact with them after they saved him from Henry 1.0! It was before he noticed the giant snake and he was lurching back to strike, but the human swept in to knock him out of the way. They probably could have made mince meat of the creature themselves if Levi weren’t begging for them to spare his former pet...

Post-pact Asmo treated them with a lot more respect… but also still fanboyed over their fighting skills hardcore. 

Like, their body had to be fit to keep up with all those monsters, right?? What was their training routine? Could he watch?? Oh please say he can watch!! He just can’t get enough of that fighter’s physique…! 😍

Beelzebub 

So… the human isn’t a human but only part human? And the other part is a god? Does that make them any sturdier than normal humans…? Call him curious…

Beel was probably one of the few brothers who was legitimately weary of the MC from the beginning… He can get a certain feel for a person pretty quickly and something about them just felt…frankly, kind of dangerous.

But they also intrigued him a little… Beel’s used to being one of the strongest demons in any room he walks into (not a boast, just a fact) so for him to get that feel from a mortal was pretty impressive. A part of him just wanted to test them… you know?

So. He did. He asked them to help him train his martial arts one day and even with his awareness, he was not expecting the results that he got.

The MC was strong. Very strong. They were not only able to keep up with him and dodge his blows, but they were able to predict his moves and counterattack in kind. They didn’t even need to tell him that they had actually been fighting for their life for years, he could tell. They had a skill you don’t get from practice matches...

After that point, the two would go to each other to train and keep their skills sharp… but also just to spar for fun. Their fighting styles made a pretty good match and they bonded pretty damn quick because of it. 

If anime tells us anything, when you find a good fight buddy, you stick with them. Even if one’s part god and the other is a demon. 🤷‍♀️ 

Belphegor 

A demigod is still human enough to hate, sorry MC. Not that he knew about their godly heritage at first…

Really, he should have been a little more suspicious of how easily they seemed to take to life in the Devildom... Weren’t demons supposed to scare humans? Why did they seem so comfortable down here...?

His confirmation only came when he tried to enact the final part of “Use the MC to Escape the Attic!” plan and take their life to seal the deal… but oh boy, was he outclassed real quick… 

The MC had already socked him in the jaw by the time he got his full demon form out and then they threw him across the room by the tail… the TAIL!! And it hurt like a bitch, too!! Even during the full blown fight that followed, he could tell they were holding back and it pissed him off something fierce...!

Why was the MC so strong?!? Humans weren’t supposed to be strong!!!

His brothers heard all the commotion and the Lilith confrontation ended up happening up in the attic between a somewhat beat-up Belphie and a barely-scratched MC. Had Beel not come to his defense on instinct, it might have turned out worse for him in all honesty… Something about that human just wasn’t right…

He only found out about their god-half after everything settled down and he promised not to try killing them again (not that anyone thought he could...) and that put some things into perspective. So the Lastborn Ruler of Hell isn’t as strong as one mortal demigod…? Ouch. Okay, fine then... Whatever...

He does think it’s too bad he missed them beating the crap out of the rest of his brothers, though (minus Beel)... That would have been fun to see. 😔

So I tried to keep this one God-parent neutral, but I’ve upgraded this to its own series! Check it out if you’re interested! 😊

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes

[peach-the-owl]

I think I something you might going to like. 84 but with a twist. Reader is a sorcerer and a friend of Vox Machina, the last time they seen them was battle Mind Flayer thus sacrificed themselves to froze the gate to other dimensions and stop Mind Flayer. Only see Vox Machina one final look before froze themselves. Not until Mighty Nein broke the frozen sorcerer. Only hear familiar voices, once they open their eyes they realize it's not Vox Machina, but the group who saved them.

Kinda like Avatar The Last Airbender when Aang frozen in time. Hope this is too much for you.

Some friendships transcend lifetimes… I love The Last Airbender it’s such a good show, and I’ve defiantly watched it over a dozen times, but anyways onto the story

I know I’ve called stories long before but like I thing this one takes the cake so far… here’s hoping it’s a good one

Lost Time

Vox Machina/Mighty Nein & Sorcerer!Reader (Platonic)

84- Who are you?

Spells flew left and right as you and the rest of Vox Machina faced off against a rather troublesome Mind Flayer, your ultimate goal was to destroy the gateway this aberration had opened and stop any beasts from coming through from other dimensions. Having silver dragon blood running through your veins meant you specialized in ice magic, being able to freeze just about anything with enough time and effort put in. With the rest of the team keeping the Mind Flayer distracted while you tried to use your magic to freeze and shatter the gateway, but the problem was this gate was enormous. The Mind Flayer had caught on to what was happening and attacks you causing you to lose concentration on your task, thankfully you’d managed to deal enough damage to shatter the base of the gateway causing it to crumble to the ground, falling on the Mind Flayer effectively killing it. For a moment it looked like you’d won but as the dust settled some you see the portal was still open and extremely unstable, energy crackling every which way the cavern starting to collapse around you.

"We can’t stay here the whole place is coming down on top of us." Percy calls for a retreat.

"It didn’t close, we broke it but it didn’t close!" Grog shouts still in a rage. You look over at all of them then over at the portal, you knew what had to be done so with a shaky breath you start towards the broken gateway.

"(Y/n) what are you doing? We need to leave!" Vax calls for you with a panicked tone.

"If I don’t seal this thing, it could mean more trouble then even we could handle." You continue forward against the groups protests getting close enough in range to start using your magic to freeze the opening before anymore energy can release itself. The room grew drastically colder, frost appearing along the walls as you pushed yourself past your limits.

"We can’t just leave you here!" Pike cries.

"You have to, if you don’t you’ll be buried here as well!" You yell, urging them to go without you.

"But-"

"Just go!" You scream at them, by now you could feel the cold of your magic effecting your own body. With looks of sorrow you watch as they all make their way to the exit, Keyleth looks back and calls your name one more time before being dragged off by the others. "It'll be okay." You whisper to yourself, a single tear sliding down your cheek as the gateway lets loose a pulse of energy and you unleash all your magic at once to conceal it, making your vision go white…

Everything felt cold, shadows were moved around in front of you. Were you dead? You thought you might be but then you start hearing faint voices, albeit muffled hit your ears.

"… see that?" It kinda sounded like Vex but you don’t remember her having such a high pitched, bubbly voice.

"It… dangerous." That sounded like Keyleth except much deeper and gravely.

"Wait, I think… in there." Since when did Grog become so soft spoken and educated?

"Maybe… use fire… see what’s inside." You defiantly don’t remember Scanlan sounding so shrill before.

"… not a… perhaps… could be dead." Now when did Vax get such an odd accent?

"… they're alive. We need…" Percy also sounded much calmer and relaxed then you were used to. What was going on, and why did everyone sound so different? A glowing light shines through bringing a warm feeling with it, there’s a cracking sound followed by shattering as you fall to the ground, you figured Pike must’ve used some sorta healing or restoration spell to free you. After a slight pause you gasp in actual air for the first time in you weren’t sure how long, and look up at the people in front of you. Your vision was still a little blurry trying to adjust to your surroundings and for a brief moment you thought you were staring at your friends, but when you rub your eyes to clear them you see before you a group of complete strangers making you jump back in surprise.

"Who are you?" Your voice comes out chattering both from fear and from the cold that still lingered in your body.

"Could ask you the same question." The woman who looked to be a monk shoots back.

"Well I asked first." You rebuttal attempting to stand, your legs were still shaky causing you to trip only to be caught by the firbolg on one arm and the tiefling on the other.

"Hi! I’m Jester!" The tiefling says cheerfully, holding her hand out for you to shake.

"Uhh… pleasure to meet you." You greet slowly accepting the hand shake, you then look to your other side at the firbolg.

"Hi, I’m Caduceus, how are you?" He introduces himself.

"I’m doing quite alright, thank you." You then look to the others in the group.

"Hi I’m Nott, just Nott." The goblin gives an awkward little wave, you wave back.

"Name's Fjord." There was a minor shift in his voice that made him sound more western, but only for a moment. You just nod your head in acknowledgment.

"My name's Caleb Widogast." The red head says rather stiffly, you could easily tell he was a wizard due to the large spell book stripped to his persons.

"Beauregard." The monk woman simply says.

"It’s very nice to meet you all. My name's (y/n)." You finally introduce yourself, now feeling a little more comfortable around them. "You have my thanks for freeing me of my icy prison."

"How did you end up in there anyways?" Jester asks. You explain to them everything you could clearly recall from your adventure before somehow placing yourself into some kind of frozen stasis.

"You know, now that I’ve had a better look…" You trail off slightly, taking in your surroundings once more. "This looks nothing like the cavern I sealed myself in. Where exactly are we?"

"You're in the Happy Fun Ball!" Jester happily states, you give her a confused look.

"That’s only a nickname." Caleb quickly jumps in, giving you a quick explanation of the object you were inside.

"How strange, maybe the last pulse of energy from the gateway sent me here along with most of the ruins." You look over at the broken and thankfully inactive gate that was in shambles, defiantly no way to activate that thing anymore.

"So if I may ask, why go through the trouble of coming here a second time? I mean, you know how dangerous it was the first." You question.

"Well we're looking for someone, that wasn’t you, and hopefully find a way to stop this cult for something called the Angel of Irons." Fjord gave an explanation this time. You let out a large sigh, this was a lot of new information to take in such a short time.

"That’s interesting." You say absentmindedly, still taking in this new situation you were suddenly in. You shake your head a bit and look to the group. "Well, if you need any help I'll happily oblige, it’s the least I could do for freeing me."

"Why that’s very generous of you, honestly we could probably use all the help we can get." Caduceus gives you a kind smile.

"Of course, just tell me everything I need to know about your situation." With that they all started to explain everything that’s been happening, it being a little hard to follow along sometimes with them talking over each other but you get the picture eventually. "So your friend, Yasha right? She’s under this Obann's control and they also have a creature called the Laughing Hand at their disposal. Now your here looking for the wizard Yussa because he’s been missing in here for 3 weeks and time is really strange here too, did I get all that?" You question.

"That’s the basics of it." Nott says with nod.

"Looks like we got our work cut out for us. Especially with the strange time here." You place a finger under your chin in slight thought, you had a lot of questions running through your head but had to put them aside for now, there were more pressing matters to deal with first. Finally having regained enough strength to stand on your own you set off with this new group of adventurers…

Taking down the Permaheart had been no easy feat but with Beau downing it and yours and Caleb’s combined spells it was finally reduced to frozen ashes and you’d finally located Yussa, amongst other things that happened and were ready to leave this place once and for all. Throughout all this, as helpful as you were you could tell this group still didn’t fully trust you, whispering amongst each other and defiantly not telling you everything. Who were you to blame them though, they were as much of strangers to you as you were to them, even if they did save you, so you figured it best to just keep a slight distance when they talked quietly with each other, and if you were being honest you were exhausted. Having been frozen for who knows how long didn’t cancel out the effect of having used a lot of magic, plus the magic you used to help fight off the creatures and creations that lurked in this sphere. You located the exit and the second you all arrived inside of Yussa's tower you fell to your knees panting.

"Whoa, hey are you alright?" Fjord comes over to you and helps support your weight so you could still stand.

"Sorry, I’m just a little tired is all, I suppose after everything I still haven’t fully recovered from my icy sleep." As if to exaggerate your point you let out a yawn and start leaning your full weight into the half-orc.

"Do you think it would be alright if we left (y/n) here for the time being." Caleb asks Yussa who in turn looks over at your exhausted form.

"I juss need some proper rest, I’ll be out of yer hair and rejoin with them once I dooo." You slur through your words slightly.

"Very well." He says with a soft sigh, then turns to his assistant to get a room prepared for you. When your brought in you immediately collapse on the little makeshift bed and pass out, getting some much needed rest. You awaken feeling much more refreshed and walk your way up the tower to where you hoped to find Yussa, when you enter the room you see the mage as well as the Mighty Nein and a very familiar face who stared back at you with as much of a shocked look as your own.

"Allura?" You ask almost nervously, she looked much older then when you’d last seen her. You see her eyes gloss over a little as she holds back tears.

"(Y/n)?" There’s a slight silence that fills the room before the two of you embrace each other. "I was told you sacrificed yourself to save our everyone, we all thought you were dead!" Allura practically cries, breaking away from the formal appearance she’d put on in front of everyone until now.

"I thought I was as good as dead too, but these folks here saved me, pulled me out of my frozen tomb." You say gesturing towards the Nein.

"Wait wait wait, you two know each other?" Nott looks between the two of you confused.

"Of course we do, we're friends." You simply reply.

"You haven’t changed a bit." Allura says looking you over.

"And you…" You pause slightly. "You’ve certainly gotten wiser." Allura just gives you a look that says "yes, I know I’m old". After your little reunion you refocus your attention on the task at hand, collecting information on this Angel of Irons and learning that it was in fact the Chained Oblivion, Tharizdun. You listen intently to everything being said to get a better understanding of what was going on and the more you learned the more serious and dangerous the situation grew.

"I believe it best I return to Tal'Dorei and inform the council, will you be joining me?" Allura looks over to you for confirmation.

"As much as I’d love to go home, I promised these fine people I’d help them. It’s the least I could do for what they’ve done for me." You give your friend a smile, she returns it with a worried look then sighs and nods.

"Alright, just please be careful and don’t disappear again, I don’t know how I’d handle the knowledge of seeing you alive only to learn you’ve really died this time." She places a firm yet gently grip on your shoulders, you place your hands on top of hers and give them a reassuring squeeze.

"I can’t make any big promises here but I’ll do my best. Until then it may be best if you keep my status a secret to everyone, alright? You’ll even be the first person I visit once this is all over." You look her in the eyes and slowly release your grip, once again she nods as she slowly moves her hands back to her side and teleports out of the tower.

"Aww man, I wanted to know who was on this council she mentioned." Nott looks down disappointed.

"Me too." Jester pouts. "Unless you know!" The two of them give you expectant looks making you take a step away from them.

"I can’t say I’d know for sure, a lot is different now then what I remember." You hold up your hands in defence.

After getting everything sorted out, you left Yussa's tower thinking as long as you stay with this group you should be fine. Then they split up, the girls in one direction and the boys in the other which threw you for a loop but you were able to sort yourself out and enjoy a more casual rest of the day getting to better know some of the others. The following days weren’t as you’d expect however especially when you were shopping around a little shop know as the Invulnerable Vagrant, it was no Gilmore's Glorious Goods but it still nice and you had to admit the shopkeeper, Pumat, was a charming firbolg in his own right. What was really unexpected though was the surprise attack by the Inevitable End, dealing with them was tricky when they could phase through the floor but you managed to drive them off and check in on what was happening with Yasha. Your next stop was a visit with a sorta mafia? You were really starting to question the group's moral compass, sure you have done crazy things in the past too but the Nein seemed to find a way to make things even weirder, you decided to stay out of most of it when they told you the only way to get in was to share your blood. Meeting up the next day you made your way back to Pumat's shop, being both shocked a relieved when he decided to join and help the party on this fast approaching mission…

Never in your life had you thought that the steps to a cathedral of Pelor would feel so menacing and filled with unease and yet here you were. The battle was intense, rifts opening and bringing forth creatures of the abyss, Yasha and the Laughing Hand were proving to be tough opponents and everything seemed to be going downhill. With sights set on the mind-controlled barbarian you weighed your options, you couldnt be reckless with your spells seeing as Beau had fallen unconscious so an AoE spell might end up killing her, you settle for using a Ray of Frost spell seeing as your silver dragon blood made it stronger. It works, distracting Yasha away from Beau and giving Caduceus the opportunity to dispel the control over her and spare Beau from deaths grip. With that taken care of you switch your focus to an oddly familiar situation, going to close the rifts and stopping the creatures coming through, however this time it wasn’t a large gateway at least. You were very focused on your task you didn’t notice Obann escape to the deeper chambers of the cathedral until you heard one of the Nein call to you.

"Obann's escaping we need to move!" Caleb calls, you look back and forth between them and the creatures still coming through a few of the remaining rifts, Pumat was still dealing with the the creatures as well and by the looks of things, despite his word of reassurance, he was already having a difficult time.

"You go on ahead, I’ll stay back here and help fend these creatures off!" You call back.

"Are you-"

"Just go!" You shout at them feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. You shake off the feelings, this wasn’t going to end like last time. The Nein disappear after the devil and with Pumat to aid you the two of you worked to close the few rifts and finish off the remaining cultists and creatures. It had been a long and strenuous battle but you’d done it and you were still alive, you rest yourself against one of the supporting pillars to catch your breath. After a long pause that feels like hours had passed, you feel a feathery touch against your shoulder, looking over at Caduceus who uses a quick Cure Wounds on you, Fjord also makes his way over.

"We want to thank you for everything, we may not have managed as well as we had if not for you." Fjord thanks, handing you a healing potion.

"I suppose that makes us even then." You comment with a cheeky smile happily accepting the potion and putting it to use right away.

"You know, I feel we could really use someone like you on the team, if you’re interested that is." Caduceus offers.

"I appreciate the offer, and though in reality it has been a long time since my last adventure, it still feels like it was only a short time ago to me. I really miss home, and am in dire need for a break, but if you do ever require my assistance in the future I will happily lend my aid to you again. For now I just wish to go home and familiarize myself with the changes that've taken place." You decline the offer as politely as you can, he gives you a nod of understanding. With that you get up, bid them farewell and exit the cathedral, making your way towards an area that’s out of the way before getting to work on a Teleportation Circle, as you're setting it up you think back to your time with this crazy group of adventurers, and while it was short they still made you feel welcome in their own strange ways. In some ways they reminded you of your time with Vox Machina, perhaps that’s why you were able to work with them and come to form a trust with them as quickly as you did, who knew. You finish the last symbol for your spell and the portal opens to the familiar view from inside Allura's tower, it was time to go home so with a deep breath you step through the portal.

Bonus (2 for 1 story):

Reunion

"Are you alright? You're looking quite nervous." Allura asks with slight worry as you walk through the halls of Greyskull Keep.

"I haven’t been home in so long and so much has changed, I just don’t know what to expect or how they’ll react." You admit. She places a hand on your shoulder and gives you a reassuring smile.

"Trust me I don’t think they’ll be expecting this either." You walk up to a set of large double doors.

"And from everything you told me…" You trail off a bit.

"There’s more I missed, but I’m sure they’ll be more then happy to fill you in."

"Okay…" You take a breath and reach for the knob only to pause again. "Why don’t you go in first, and I’ll follow your lead." Allura just gives a soft chuckle and nod before opening the door and heading in. You step back and try to catch your breath wondering why you still felt so nervous. You had to wonder if this was even worth it, a lot had happened and changed since you’d been gone and there was a lingering doubt that your friends might not even care anymore.

"Come in and say hello." You hear Allura's voice muffled through the door. Moment of truth, you steel your nerves and make your way through the door. When you enter you have a look around the room seeing all eyes on you, at first their expressions were blank or shocked so you decide to lighten the mood and give a small smile.

"Hello everyone, it’s been awhile." You say in almost a whisper, already feeling the tears well up in your eyes. The next thing you know your tackled into a hug by a sobbing Keyleth.

"You’re not dead! You’re not dead!" Is all you hear her say through her sobbing. You now return the hug having been able to stabilize yourself and comfort the Archdruid.

"I missed you too Kiki. I’ve missed all of you." You release one arm from her seeing as she wasn't going to let go of you just yet, and feel a slight pressure rest on your shoulder once you do. Craning your neck over you see a raven perched itself on you, you raise your hand and give him a little scratch under his beak as he leans into the touch. You look to the others seeing Vex approach.

"My word darling, you haven’t aged a day since we last saw you. What’s your secret?" She tries to add some minor humour to the situation but you could tell she was holding back some tears, being just as overjoyed as Keyleth.

"Just freeze yourself for a good 20 years or so and it’ll shave off those wrinkles in no time." You lightly chuckle, using your free arm now to offer her a hug. She accepts giving a much shorter side hug to you while the others finally came to their senses and start bombarding you with questions. You do the best you can to answer all of them as well as properly greeting everyone again and exchanging welcoming hugs from them, being lifted off the ground when Grog brought you into an almost bone crushing grip. "As much as I missed you too, I’m still fragile." You wheeze at the goliath.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just been so long." He says, trying and failing to hold back his emotions.

"Right, which reminds me, you must have stories to tell me. I’d love to hear what you’ve all done over the years."

"Oh man, where do we begin? There’s so much to tell." Pike ponders aloud.

"How about we start with what happened after my… departure." You suggest, ready for the day to be filled with stories of their adventures and exploits.

[seattlesea]

✨My Opinions on Random Fanon Ships in Percy Jackson✨

Theyna- MY FAVORITE SHIP IN THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE 😭. They had so much chemistry, potential, and naturally amazing and hilarious dialogue. I fell in love right away. They have so much in common and feel so right for each other, doesn’t matter if they��re Hunters. Besides- Reyna got rejected by the brother, so what better thing to do than to steal his sister? My queens deserve each other-

Tratie- I have no idea where this came from or why it’s so well-loved, but I like it. It’s a really cute concept though I wish their friendship was expanded on more in the books

Clarilena- Honestly yes. If Clarisse didn’t have Chris, she definitely should’ve gotten together with Silena. The butch and the femme will always be one of the most iconic relationship tropes ever, plus their chemistry and how close they were was really cute and interesting

Reynabeth- Lowkey. If Annabeth wasn’t dating Percy (and Theyna didn’t exist) Reyna would probably be my first choice for Annabeth. They had more chemistry in that one New Rome tour chapter than Percy and Annabeth had in 12+ books and had so much potential as intelligent badass leaders

Pipabeth- ew. Riordan says they’re BFFs and then degrades Annabeth for Piper’s sake, never shows them doing anything friends do, and they never talk, hang out, etc. and their friendship was never explained or expanded on. Kinda just seemed like Riordan created it for the sole purpose of giving Annabeth a BFF and to make the readers like Piper more by having Annabeth like her too despite them being polar opposites and realistically would’ve argued ten times a day

Thaliabeth- pedophila??? and lowkey honorary incest???

Lukabeth- YUCK same thing as Thaliabeth but even worse and toxic af

Pipeyna- nah sis my queen deserves better than some kid who stole her boyfriend then thought she could talk to her about her love life even though was the one who ruined it and made her feel even more lonely, bitter, and shitty without an apology. Also a not-expanded-on-or-explained friendship that made no sense

Perachel- Amazing. So much chemistry and naturally flowing dialogue that just made sense plus it’s super healthy and realistic. Doesn’t deserve all the hate it gets

Dreyna- Lowkey kinda cute. Reyna showing Drew how to fight, Drew and Reyna doing each other’s hair and makeup, Reyna teaching Drew to be nicer, etc.

Jercy- Meh. Their bromance was kind of bland and the fandom over-exaggerates it. They hated each other more than they liked each other, but the potential was definitely there

Valgrace- GIRL YES. Literally gay Frazel and their friendship was so cute but left in the dark honestly my favorite ship besides Theyna

Valdangelo- Yeah kinda. They have a lot in common and could talk to each other about their similar pasts and trauma, plus they’re actually quite similar

Racheyna- I wouldn’t mind it. The artist and the war goddess’ daughter is a cute concept

Jasico- Not really. I don’t really see them being anything more than friends

Perleo- Sassy best friends and sassy boyfriends

Thalico- girl stop with the pedophilia-

Pipalypso- This exists? Why???

Rachabeth- The concept of Rachel having a crush on Percy and Annabeth during BoTL is a concept the world can’t handle but my queen deserves better than some blondie who went ‘you’re friends with my boyfriend and you have different genitals than him? I’m going to hate on you for two years straight for no reason ❤️’

Pipeynabeth- I like Reynabeth but Pipabeth and Pipeyna I don’t so nah 

Pipalia- Thalia would’ve realistically hated Piper (and so should’ve Annabeth) for her charmspeak ability (Luke controlled by Kronos who?) and they have absolutely nothing in common or any chemistry so no

Leyna- Honestly sort of. Their concept is cute. Reyna could teach Leo to be a stronger fighter and how to be a better leader and Leo could teach Reyna to let loose. Good friends at least

Perzoe- My queen deserves better than some arrogant douche who went ‘is that the guy who broke the heart of the girl who sacrificed herself to save me? no it isn’t ❤️′

Pipazel- Honestly makes no sense. They didn’t share any moments whatsoever in the books and barely make good friends much less good girlfriends

Thalypso- This also exists???

Perlia- My queen deserves better than some arrogant douche who went ‘we were best friends and have a lot in common? no we weren’t ❤️′

Perlypso- Even tho I don’t really like her this girl deserves better than some arrogant douche who went ‘you saved and healed me and I promised to take you off your imprisonment island? no I didn’t ❤️′

Thalianca- Also pedophilia???

Liper- My baby boy deserves better than some girl who went ‘we were best friends for months and knew each other before we knew we were demigods? no we weren’t ❤️’ like girl didn’t even bother thinking about checking on her so-called best friend cause she was too busy drooling all over her boyfriend-

Thaloe- Low-key cute if they weren’t arguing 24/7

Pernico- Not really. Percy doesn’t care that much about Nico and I’m pretty sure Nico is over his neglectful ass

Perluke- GIRL WHAT-

Pipachel- My artistic queen deserves better than to be shipped with Piper like this

Octachel- My artistic queen deserves better than to be shipped with Octavian like this

Lazel- Lowkey tho. They were good friends at least and their backstory was interesting

Jeyna- GIRL YES 😭 They had so much potential and had a lot in common and probably shared so many cute moments and memories in their 4+ years of knowing each other and their backstory was so tragic like why would anyone pick Jiper over Jeyna I don’t understand- Riordan give us a backstory NOW-

[uniasus]

Ice Above The Clouds

It’s day on of Summer of Whump! Today’s prompt is freezing, filled for you with Percy Jackson, Blackjack, and a Nico so ready to tell Percy “I told you so”.

Read here, or on Ao3.

--------------

“Are you sure about this?”

Percy shot Nico a bland look, making a show of lifting his backpack higher. “Am I sure about surprising my girlfriend for the holidays? Yes.”

“No, that I get-“

“Giving Will a surprise, eh?”

“Shut up, Percy! No, I just mean. You have your license. Why not just…drive?”

“And miss out on the chance to bond with my best bud Blackjack?” Percy gasped.

Blackjack, in the stall behind them, threw back his head and neighed. I’m offended. Does he doubt me?

“Blackjack also resents the fact that you’re implying he can’t take me there,” Percy shared.

“What, no! Blackjack, you’re a very strong flier. It’s just, have you seen the weather? It’s gonna be a cold flight.”

Percy pointed to his wool hat, double-wrapped scarf, and poofy jacket. “Also got warmers in my shoes and look! Gloves!” He wiggled his fingers. “I’m sweating right now, but I’ll be great in the air.”

Nico still looked unsure.

“It’s always cold when you fly,” Percy continued. “Winter or not. And I did look at the weather – it’ll be sunny. No storms between here and California.”

“Fine,” Nico huffed. “But if you lose a finger to frost bite-“

“You can tell me ‘I told you so’”. Percy unlatched the stall door. “Ready, Blackjack?”

You bet, boss. I’m eager to stretch my wings. The pegasus stretched out his black wings, then shook his body before trotting outside. California, here we come!

Nico watched him mount up. “Tell Annabeth hi. And IM when you get there.”

“Yes, mom.” Percy rolled his eyes and mounted Blackjack. With a whinny, the pegasus took three running steps before lifting into the air. Percy whooped with joy.

###

Percy wasn’t stupid. He had checked the weather and put on all the layers he thought he’d needed. It’s not like he’d be up in the air long – Blackjack was fast and estimated one long day of flying to get to San Francisco. Percy had had long days before. And honestly, after the events of the Giant War and all that quest encompassed, he preferred the cold to heat anyway.

That said, he might have underestimated how cold the trip would be. They’d left camp at dawn to maximize the light, and on-the-ground temperatures had been 35F. Cold, but not too cold. Especially with the right gear. Things would get warmer as they traveled west.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated the drop in temperature at the heights Blackjack flew. The pegasus had gone slightly higher than normal to start, avoiding a slew of small planes flying over New York state, and stayed there. Faster winds up here, boss. We could get there faster, maybe.

“Let’s do it!” Percy could barely hear his own shout over the wind, but Blackjack’s more sensitive hearing had picked it up. Still, at that height, with the winds sending cold air down his throat, Percy couldn’t talk much. Instead, he listened to Blackjack ramble in his head and responded with leg and arms taps. It was a system they’d worked out before.

Percy had brought along sunglasses, the sun might be rising behind them but it was still bright in the sky, but he was wishing he brought other things too. A pair of stretch gloves, to wear under his current ones. Extra toe warmers to put all over his body, like each shoulder. He wished he had a balaclava to protect his face – the wind they flew into was harsh. He kept his eyes closed for stretches at a time to prevent them from drying out.

He wondered how cold it was, ignoring Blackjack’s declaration of a personal quest to sample the grass from every San Francisco park. Below freezing, that’s for sure. What about the windchill? Had they hit negative numbers?

-35F was when they closed schools for fear of kids getting frostbite while waiting for the bus in Minnesota, he heard. Certainly it couldn’t be that cold. He could move all his fingers. He clutched at Blackjack’s mane tighter, trying to focus on his friend’s chatter. He didn’t want to think about the pull of the wind on his coat and backpack, the increasingly numb parts of his skin where the wind found gaps in his clothes, his scarf stiff with his frozen breath and the ice cube on his nose. The wind was loud, his eyelids heavy. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, the sharp peppermint bit of the icy wind with each inhale keeping him awake. But really, it would be so much better if he could just fall asleep. Sleep through the cold and wake up when Blackjack flew at lower heights into the warmer west…

An impact against his sternum jerked him away. He felt groggy, slow, and uncertain of his limbs.

Boss! Boss!  

“ ’ackjack?”

Are you okay? You fell! Why didn’t you tell me you needed a break?

Percy might have made a noise. He wasn’t sure. His lips felt too numb to move right. Gods, he was cold. He wanted to sleep, to bury himself in a blanket and bake in a bed oven. He tried to grab something, but only succeeded at swinging his dead weight of an arm through air. The warmth against his stomach slipped, someone shouted Boss! but he didn’t care who.

The wind in his ears sounded like a lullaby.

###

Percy woke, shivering and hungry and cocooned in a black hole that he slowly identified as a tight pocket created by Blackjack’s body. The pegasus was curled as tight as he could be around Percy, wing extended to surround Percy. As Percy shifted against Blackjack’s side, the pegasus woke up.

Boss?

“Blackjack?” A shudder ran through Percy’s body and he huddled deeper into his coat. “What happened?”

Blackjack lipped at Percy’s knees, head halfway into the wing-cavern. You fell asleep and fell off. Twice. I caught you.

Percy rubbed his chest. No wonder it hurt, if he slammed into Blackjack’s back at the speed of gravity. Probably not worth nibbling on the emergency ambrosia he always carried though. “I’m getting you a whole box of donuts when we get there. Where are we?”

Not sure. But we haven’t hit the Rockies yet.

Iowa or Nebraska then. Unless the cold had gotten to him really early and they landed in rural Illinois.

“Nico’s gonna tell me ‘told you so’.”

Why didn’t you tell me you were cold? I could have flown lower.

“Didn’t think we’d be up that higher. Or that it would be that cold.” Percy stroked the part of Blackjack’s neck he could reach. “Don’t think I was thinking right for awhile. How long have we been here?”

An hour?

“I don’t have the supplies to stay here. I didn’t pack food. We’ll need to get going again.”

Once you stop shivering.

“I can handle a little cold.”

Blackjack shifted his wing so Percy could feel the full force of his stink eye. It wasn’t the best stink eye Percy had ever seen, but with the removal of the wing came full exposure to the outside air. They were in an empty field, didn’t help pinpoint where they were sadly, and the wind that cut across the ground had Percy instinctively pull back into Blackjack’s warmth.

Blackjack replaced his wing.

“It’s winter, I won’t not be cold,” Percy pouted.

Once you stop shivering under my wing, we’ll go.

Percy sighed, but he knew Blackjack was right. He nestled into Blackjack’s side, bringing his knees up close. Part of the reason for the trip was guy time anyway. “Do you think the grass at Land’s End will tasty salty?”

I hope so!

Smiling, Percy dived into a conversation way too deeply about a food he would never eat. He’d get to surprise Annabeth eventually.

[cabinofimagines]

In the end, cleaning wins.

Percy x gn!reader

Summary: Percy and Y/n are trying their best to be adults. Between work, school, being a demigod, and keeping up the apartment, something or someone was bound to snap.

A/N: Bro I’m always so bad at writing fight scenes since I’m such a peacekeeper lmao. I try to avoid conflict often so rip if this isn’t good.

-Day

_______________________________________

Being an adult is exhausting. 

No seriously, it is. Percy hadn’t slept in over 26 hours at the fault of his new job at the aquarium. It held unusually odd hours, the only upside being a nice pay and working with sea creatures. He loved it, but the position and people he had to work with were obnoxious in many ways.

He stayed up all night trying to cram for a chem exam coming up, but he would’ve slept an hour at least if he’d known the bullshit coming his way. He left home yesterday morning for his bio lecture where he zoned out for 2 out of the 3 hours. Unfortunately, homework was assigned based on the day’s lecture. Amazing. Then, he was called into work directly after because the opening manager flaked out. Also amazing.

The school was across town from the aquarium so he figured he could catch some sleep on the subway, but before he even boarded, a group of dracaena ambushed him. He took off running, hoping that maybe he could lose them instead of having to fight. If he fought in this sluggish state then he’d probably screw up and shish kebab himself.

 He could probably just run to the aquarium from here, take a few back alleys and shake off the slithering psychos. He turned to check if they were still following and to his surprise, they were right on his heels. Pretty fast for creatures with no legs. Or would having the ability to just… glide be faster? Like being on skateboard?

Now really wasn’t the time to be thinking of dracaena with skateboard bodies.

He turned sharply and took the fire escape three steps at a time. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but he was fairly certain that in the prospect of jumping buildings, the person with legs had the upper hand. He could hear the dracaena hissing out things like “get back here, sssson of the sssssea god” or “come here, child”. How the Hades are they still behind him?

He saw the edge of the building approaching and realized that maybe it was a little too far of a jump. But he was already flying over the gap and praying that his ankles don’t snap like twigs when he lands. 

Luckily, he made it. He hit the ledge with his chest, his arms pulling him up. He scrambled to his feet, ready to turn and fight if that jump didn’t shake them. Turns out that it did work, because he’d the pleasure of seeing the failed attempt of the hissing heathers falling one by one into the gap between the buildings. He heard them yelp out curses on the way down, but wasn’t sure if they combusted into dust or not. 

He decided to roof hop for most of the way to work, one because it was a little faster this way and because he had less of a chance to run into bored monsters. Man, he was glad that he didn’t have a manager to answer to this time, they’d probably just be glad he showed up.

---

Percy prided himself on being a pretty chill person both at work and on the regular. However, there wasn’t a day that passed where he wondered if he should just hop in one of the tanks and pretend to be a fish. The sea otters seem pretty stress-free.

He was exhausted and running on energy drinks he’d bought from the gas station a little ways from work. What was supposed to be a 6-hour shift on his one day off turned into him working from 11:30 am to midnight after the evening manager decided to leave early. Percy was never one to complain when others went home before him, in fact, he usually chooses to go last unless he has homework due at 11:59. But when Cooper decided Percy could handle closing the aquarium by himself, he lost it. 

He took the last bus home, thankfully, his trip home was quieter than his trip to work. He sat in the back, head tilted toward the window as he tried to calm the headache that tortured him. He was pretty sure that Y/n would be asleep by now, they had an early morning and he didn’t expect them to wait up for him… but tonight, he really hoped they did.

The promise that Y/n would be there, asleep or not, was comforting enough to him. He wanted nothing more than wordless cuddles and a deep sleep right now. 

----

Walking through the building door he noticed the hall light was off– correction, it was blown. No biggie, Percy had found his way in the dark multiple times, but the stairs seemed to be a different story. He tried so hard to be quiet on the way upstairs, but he managed to trip over the ledge. He swore quietly, fumbling for the railing and hoping his neighbor was dead asleep.

Ronnie often threw fits over the amount of noise the couple made, even if it wasn’t much of a ruckus, Ronnie always claimed that his keen ears could hear everything. He still hadn’t forgiven Percy for the quip he made about maybe turning his hearing aids down, but he will. Hopefully.

Somehow he made it to the apartment door in one piece fumbling for his keys and unlocking the door. He took note of the darkened place and figured that maybe Y/n really did go to bed. It’s alright, Percy was ready to crash and catch a few hours of sleep.

But the lamp was on in their bedroom and the door was cracked open still, so… are you up?

Percy kicked off his shoes and dropped his book bag by the door, trudging over to the bedroom and nudging the door open. Sitting upright in the bed sat Y/n reading a book he’d bought for your birthday. Percy smiled, you looked so cute bundled up in his old uni t-shirt. 

Your eyes shifted to him, crinkling with happiness, “You’re back?” You didn’t move though, clearly comfortable under the heavy duvet. 

He nodded with a small smile, moving over to your side of the bed and placing a quick kiss on your forehead, “I’m gonna take a shower and grab something to eat, you go ahead and get some rest.”

After he turned to leave you heaved a sigh, not sure how to bring this up when he’s as tired as he is. Maybe this could wait until tomorrow? Then he’d be less tired and maybe… no, you already put this off long enough. He’ll be tired regardless of when it’s brought up, might as well get it over with.

So you sat there, not really even reading the words on the page anymore, your thoughts wandering from the universe the author had written about. It really shouldn’t have been this nerve-wracking. It’s a basic thing that needs to be done in every house and you were getting tired of doing it every single time.

Cabinets shutting brought your attention back to the present. Reluctantly, you pushed the duvet back and shuffled towards the kitchen, Percy eating a PB&J sandwich coming into view. He looked like a little kid, leaning against the counter in his black sweatpants and a graphic tee, munching on a small sandwich he made. You grinned and leaned beside him, ignoring the confused glances he gave.

“You miss me that much?” He joked, mouth full of food.

You snorted and looked down, something you tended to do when you got nervous. He seemed in a good mood despite whatever may had happened today, so it’s now or never.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” you mumbled, “And I know you’re tired but I feel like this is only going to get worse if we don’t talk about it now.”

Percy blinked and continued to eat, his silence a cue to continue. He didn’t really want to talk about anything right now, he just wanted to eat his sandwich and go to bed. But it seemed important so he figured he’d survive a little longer.

You studied your sock-clad feet closely, “I know we’re both really busy and it’s hard to find time for certain things like time with each other, time to study, or cleaning. But it’s something we have to find time for, y’know?”

Percy hummed, “I can ask off on Saturday if you want? We can spend the day together, we haven’t had a whole day in a while.”

You gave a small smile because while that is a concern, that’s not what you were talking about. You won’t say no though. You stole a glance at him, “I have missed being with you, I guess.”

“You guess?” Percy said a little louder, poking your stomach teasingly, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

You chuckled, swatting his hand away, “Be quiet! Ronnie will be at our door in a second, you know that.” Just do it, he’s in a good mood! “I was actually talking about the cleaning…”

At that, Percy took a look around. The dishes weren’t overflowing and the laundry wasn’t piling up, it didn’t look like something needed to be addressed. He finished the last of his sandwich, “Okay? What needs to be done?”

“Well between the two of us there is hardly any time to do anything else right? Well, it feels like I’m the only one taking care of the place-”

“But I do take care of the place,” He interrupted, “I pay the bills and I pick up after myself so-”

“But you don’t.” You spoke exasperated, “You don’t always pick up after yourself. Look, you left the bread and the PB&J out!” A fight isn’t what you wanted so you tried to approach it a different way. You took a deep breath, “...I understand you’re busy, I am too. I just want you to make a conscious effort to put things away where they belong.”

He scoffed, a disbelieving smile on his face, “I’m not a kid anymore, Y/n. I know how to clean up after myself, my mom made sure of that.”

“Then why don’t you? You used to be really good about helping me out–”

“I’m exhausted Y/n, what do you want me to do?!” 

“Fucking help me, that’s what!”

It went quiet, staring the other down and wondering who would back down first. It was silly honestly, but you were tired of picking up the slack. The work in the apartment used to be equal but lately its looking a lot like you do 88% and Percy does 12%.

You relented, huffing and shaking your head, “Okay then.” You turned on your heel, going over to the front door and putting your shoes on along with a jacket. You needed to calm down, a little fresh air to maybe come up with a different way of approaching this. 

The convenience store across the road might still be open. You could grab one of those bottled iced coffees for tomorrow morning, maybe a small snack too. Hopefully the small errand would be long enough for you to think of another approach. Maybe one where Percy was less of an ass, or less tired, whichever one really.

Percy followed you around to the door, his crossed arms dropping to his sides when he noticed what you were doing. He furrowed his brows, “Where are you going? It’s past midnight.”

“I’m well aware of the time, Perseus.” You hissed, “I’m going out to grab a few things.”

He shook his head, his black hair still wet from the shower, “You can wait until morning for that, come on!” he spoke lowly as he approached you, “let’s just get some rest...”

You pulled from his reach and twisted the door knob open, walking out without another word. You closed it behind you and padded over to the stairs, hopping down the unlit steps like you normally did. 

Unluckily, your foot narrowly missed the next step and without the light to see where you could potentially catch yourself, you fell. Yep, you hit every step on the way down. If Ronnie hadn’t heard the argument you just had, he had to have heard your swears as your body fumbled down to the 1st floor.

Percy flung the door open, the light from your apartment lighting up the dark stairwell. His footsteps thundered down the stairs and there he sat in front of you, words flying out of his mouth so fast that you didn’t even know what he was saying. The fall caught you so off guard that you weren’t sure what was happening right now.

Ronnie threw his door open, profanities slipping out his mouth at the noise, “And this is why I never rent to young couples!” He shouted, but the threat of his words were tame without his dentures to help him spit it out. He turned his head to the bottom of the stairs where Percy leaned over your confused figure, fumbling over his words and oblivious to Ronnie.

“Well shit...” Ronnie muttered, backing back into his apartment quietly.

You snapped out of your daze, noticing how much your ankle actually hurt. Okay you’ve definitely dealt with worse, but the pain was still annoying. You started to push yourself off the steps and into a standing position, using the railing to steady yourself on your good foot.

Percy’s hands slid up your body, settling on your waist and attempting to help you back up the stairs. He kept his mouth shut on the way into the apartment, knowing that you’re probably even more irritated now.

Once you were sat comfortably on the couch, he rushed off to grab a bag of frozen peas to put on your ankle to stop the swelling. You did appreciate the thought, but you were not dealing with this any longer than you had to.

“Percy, there’s some ambrosia in my dresser, bottom drawer on the left.” 

He blinked and wandered off to the bedroom, shuffling through your stuff before muttering, “It’s not even in here.” He spent a couple of more minutes looking around for the Ziploc bag you had, but clearly wasn’t really looking.

You hauled yourself off the couch, chuckling and shaking your head at his antics. Hobbling into the room you saw that he was looking in the night stand, not the dresser like you told him to. No wonder he couldn’t find it. 

“Kelp head, I said the dresser not the night stand.” You laughed, limping over to the dresser and lcoating the bits of ambrosia. Percy was by your side in an instant, leading you back towards the bed and helping you situate yourself there comfortably. You said nothing as you opened the bag and nibbled on one of the pieces, a warm feeling washing over you.

You could feel the pain in your ankle easing off slowly and hopefully it would only be a little sore by morning. Percy took the bag from your hands and set it aside wordlessly, he muttered something about closing the front door before leaving the room.

You could tell he felt awkward about what just happened and he probably felt a little guilty about the argument you just had, even if it wasn’t all that serious. The two of you have had worse fights about worse things, but this is the first time in a while. It was bound to happen.

He came back in right as you shifted under the blankets, turning the light off and slipping underneath with you. He didn’t snuggle up to you right away, waiting to see if you were still pissed at him, but you didn’t make a move to kick him out the bed.

“I’m sorry for being such a dick, Y/n.” He whispered, “I didn’t know how much it bothered you and I’ll try to clean more often. I swear.” 

Nothing was said, for a moment, Percy thought you’d fallen asleep, but you turned slowly to face him, eyes scanning his face in the dim light from the window. You brought a hand up to his face and traced his jawline gently, “That’s all I wanted you to do, stupid.”

He huffed and inched closer to nuzzle your nose with his, “And all it took was a sprained ankle for me to figure that out.”

You laughed and knocked your forehead against his, “It’s my fault for being so deadset on grabbing coffee for tomorrow morning. I should’ve just gone to bed.”

“Do you want coffee now? I can go grab it–”

“No, I’m not getting up tomorrow. Go to sleep, fish brain.”

[percqbeths]

Sentence prompt? "H-how long have you been standing there?"

i wanted to make this into an extended one shot (talking 5k+ words) with a decent plot and four years of pining and yearning but idk i don't think i can do it lmao so here's this?? (if you want an extended full plot please PLEASE! let me know!!)

(i also changed the prompt sentence ever so slightly, oopsies)

but if there's something between you and me (i'm happy not knowing) – percabeth college au

When Annabeth calls Luke over, she already has the feeling that the conversation is going to end poorly. There’s only so many ways to start a break up discussion, and she’s mentally prepared for an inevitable argument.

“What did you want to talk about?” Luke sits down on Annabeth’s couch, and Annabeth wrings her hands together against her stomach. He raises an eyebrow, “Is everything okay?”

“I– I can’t do this anymore.” She blurts out. It wasn’t how she planned to start the conversation at all. She had planned for at least some pleasantries in the beginning, but now the words are out there so she really can’t take it back.

“What are you talking about?” His brows are furrowed as he stands up despite the fact that he sat down mere minutes ago.

“This. Us. I think we should break up.” She refuses to look him in the eyes as she talks, looking at the floor instead. When she peaks a look at him, his face is scrunched together.

“I don’t get it, what happened?”

“I just… I’m not in a place to be in a relationship right now.” She finally looks at him, and he gives her an incredulous look, “That’s it? That’s your explanation?”

“What else do you want, Luke?” She demands, slightly frustrated by his response. She’s lying through her teeth and she knows it, but she also would rather he not call her out on it.

“You always lie to me, you always only showed me a part of you, and now, even when you’re dumping me, you’re lying.” His eyes are blazing, and she squares her shoulders, “I don’t lie to you, Luke. I just– I can’t be in a relationship right now.”

“Can you at least be honest with me just this fucking once, Annabeth?” He pleads, one of his hands balled into fists at his side, “You– You keep pulling away and I can’t take the lies. I can take the truth, but not you lying to me constantly.”

Annabeth refuses to meet his eyes, focusing her attention on a piece of lint clinging onto his shoulder. It’s a bad time to bring it up, but she kind of wishes she could say it to avoid their current conversation. “I’m just not ready for a relationship right now.”

The words come out of her so easily she almost believes them, but she knows Luke doesn’t. “Bullshit. I can’t believe you’re fucking dumping me and can’t even be honest with me.”

“What do you want me to say?” She meets his eyes once again, and while his are dark and angry, she has tears shining in hers. She blinks once, forcing her vision to refocus, “I don’t know what to say to you right now.”

“The truth, preferably.”

“I don’t know what that is, Luke!” Her voice comes out exasperated, and she’s honestly tired of this back and forth. When she planned to break things off, this isn’t what she had expected to happen.

“Look me in the eye and tell me why you’re breaking up with me.” He responds, squaring his shoulders and locking eyes. She exhales a breath, “I just told you: I can’t do a relationship right now.”

“Why can’t you be in a relationship right now?”

He’s baiting her– She’s well aware of it. He’s known her long enough to know that eventually she’ll snap, but she can’t take that right now. If she says the words aloud, she won’t be able to ever bury them again. And she desperately needs to keep them buried.

“Please stop.” She says it so low she thinks he might not have heard it. Luke shakes his head, taking a small step back, “No, Annabeth. You don’t– You don’t get to drop me like that and not give me an explanation. I at least deserve that.”

“What do you want me to say?” She begs, and the tears that were in her eyes finally fall, “That I can’t be in this relationship, be with you, because I’m in fucking love with someone else? That I stupidly fell in love with my best friend and I tried to get over him with you?”

The words tumble out of her lips in a slight yell, and despite the fact that she has tears in her eyes, she knows she’s giving Luke a glare he doesn’t deserve. All he asked for was honesty, which isn’t a crime by a longshot. She just hates the fact that he’s forcing the words to come out of her. She exhales a breath, and the next words come out lower, “I’m breaking up with you because I’m in love with someone else, and even though he doesn’t love me, I just– I can’t get over him.”

“You should tell him.” Luke’s visibly softened, even though Annabeth’s words should have hurt him. If it was anyone else, she knows they would have walked out. She sniffles, “We just broke up and you’re giving me advice?”

He shrugs once, and for a second a smile flickers on his lips, “A part of me always knew it was always Percy.”

He shocks Annabeth even further by letting out a low laugh, shaking his head, “God, you– You don’t know how you react to him. You light up around him, in a way that you don’t anywhere else. You two would be good together.”

“I can’t tell him.” She shakes her head, “I’d rather keep him the way I currently do then lose him because I decide to stupidly speak up.”

Luke opens his mouth to say something, but stops, his gaze going past Annabeth for a moment before shifting back to her. He stares at her for a moment, “You might have just said it.”

“What?”

He jerks his head, his eyes focused past her, and she turns, locking eyes with Percy. He’s staring at her with an unreadable expression, and Annabeth feels her entire body go cold. Mentally, she’s already yelling, but all she can do is stare at him, eyes wide and her hands trembling. She’s barely aware of the way Luke gives her shoulder a small squeeze, the way he tells her goodbye and good luck before exiting past Percy.

There’s a silence between them, but she could only handle so much. “H– How much of that did you hear?”

Percy doesn’t look at her as he takes hesitant steps into the room, “I knocked on the door for ten minutes maybe, then I figured I’d use the spare key you gave me. I, uh, I heard Luke yelling and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“How much did you hear, Percy?” Her hands ball into fists in her hands and she squeezes her eyes shut for a second, trying to control the way her heart is pounding in her chest.

He meets her eyes, “From when Luke called you out for not being honest.”

“Fuck.” She breathes out, then meets Percy’s eyes, “Listen, I–”

“Shut up for a moment, okay?” He cuts her off, and Annabeth falls silent instantly, and despite the tenseness in the air, he manages a small smile, “First time you actually let me speak.”

“Please don’t make me regret it.” She says quietly, and he shakes his head, taking another step toward her. “You are something else, Annabeth.”

There’s barely a few inches between them at this point, and Annabeth knows he can probably hear her heart pounding. His hand reaches out and holds onto a strand of her hair, curling it around his finger, “I knew I loved you when we met at that stupid party. You were in a black dress and I remember you kept tugging at it because you hated how short it was and you also complained about being cold and I offered you a hoodie from my room. The second you put that on, I think I was a goner.”

He pauses, giving the strand of hair in his fingertips a very slight tug, “And it’s only just occurred to me that you don’t– You don’t fucking remember.”

“Remember what?” Her voice is so low, and she’s half afraid that if she speaks any higher this moment will disappear. He lets the strand of hair fall from his hand.

“We kissed in freshman year. You were wasted on too many shots of tequila and asked me to dance, and when you kissed me. The next morning, you asked me to never talk about it again and I thought– I thought you just thought the kiss was a mistake…” He pauses, locking his eyes, shining with so much intensity that Annabeth hasn’t seen before, with hers, “And now you’re telling me you’re in love with me?”

“I– I don’t remember kissing you.” She says the words with disbelief, half-ignoring the last bit of his speech and focusing on the fact that she fucking forgot she kissed her best friend four years ago, “That entire night is still a blur.”

“I figured as much.” Percy’s studying her face as he says it, his voice half-there but not completely. “I mean, I did my best to forget it too, but how could I?”

“Percy.” She breathes out his name almost like it’s a prayer, “Why did you never say anything?”

“You said it to Luke best, didn’t you? I’d rather have you as a best friend than not at all. I thought– I didn’t think you liked me back.” He takes in a sharp breath, one Annabeth hears and feels against her own skin, “I knew I was stupid, but fucking hell, I can’t believe I was that stupid to not have made a move for four fucking years.”

“Percy, listen, I–” He cuts her off by kissing her, hands grabbing onto her hips and pulling her completely to him. Annabeth melts against him, her hands finding their way to his neck and her lips moving against his as if they’ve kissed thousands of times before, not as though this is something new to her. She’s falling apart in his arms, but she doesn’t even care, because he’s here and he’s kissing her and that’s the only thought she can handle right now. Every other sentence that had lingered on her lips was gone, her only focus being his lips on hers and the way she can feel her heartbeat in her ears.

When they part, she chases after his lips, and he barely manages to take in a breath before she pulls him back against her. She decides right then and there that she could kiss Percy Jackson forever, and when his arms tighten around her, she thinks maybe he wouldn’t mind staying like that, either.

(send me more prompts!)

[annabethy]

40 for percabeth please?? Maybe in battle or something?

#40 passionate kisses

The entire forest was crawling with monsters that had attacked during their intense game of capture the flag. As Annabeth stood behind the barrier, safe out of harm’s way, she watched more and more monsters appear, nervously chewing on her lower lip.

It was like she couldn’t ever get a break. A little over a year after the war with Gaea ended, and it never really ended. It just wasn’t fair to her. It wasn’t fair to anyone.

People in the camp ran all over the place, gathering armor to protect themselves from the creatures outside. She’s pretty sure she saw the all too familiar minotaur and a couple of cyclops, and she was not looking forwards to messing with those. If she even so much as looks at them, it’s like she’s suddenly back in Tartarus, surrounded by the horrors she has no way of escaping.

Annabeth rested her hand on her drakon bone sword that dug into the ground in a moment of weakness, staring out in the distance. The memories started to flood her mind and she didn’t have the strength to push them out, so she let them come.  She honestly isn’t sure how long she stood at the edge of the forest while a bunch of demigods ran around, preparing to fight, but at some point, someone slid their hand over her shoulder, squeezing comfortingly.

“You okay?”

Annabeth picked at the inside of her cheek with her teeth, feeling her heart rate start to slow down as Percy’s thumb rubbed soothing circles along her back. The way he handled her made her think he already knew what was bothering her. He knew her too well.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

She shook her head slowly, trying to press down the bulge in her throat. “I’m okay.”

Percy’s head settled onto her shoulder from behind her, arms snaking around her waist. She could feel the metal of his armor pressing uncomfortably into her back.

“I just hate it,” she continued. Percy hummed behind her in acknowledgement, allowing her space to speak. “Fighting like this. I thought we were done with this shit.”

“Me too,” he said sadly. “But this shouldn’t be too hard. It’s not a prophecy we’re fighting this time.”

“No, but… It’s just not fair. We fight and fight and they just keep coming back. It feels like it’s never going to end.”

Percy kissed her cheek. “I know, but the only thing we can do is take it one day at a time.”

Annabeth would never be able to do that. She was always much too concerned with the future, fretting over it until she fell apart. She couldn’t help it. “We might not always be this lucky,” she said bitterly. “We’ve survived, but demigods aren’t known to live long. What if something happens to you?”

Percy’s laugh is a burst of air against her neck. “Is that what you’re worried about?”

“Don’t laugh at me,” she said miserably.

“I’m not laughing at you,” he defended, wrapping a strand of hair that escaped her ponytail around the base of the hair tie. “But I can take care of myself. I promise I’m always going to come back to you, so you don’t need to worry, okay?”

Still, she can’t help it. She has seen too many people go into battle and not make it out. It didn’t take a lot to kill a human, she now knew. They were fragile, like glass, and if Percy took one hit that was just too much, then—

She doesn’t even want to think about what she would do.

Percy tugged her ponytail when she refused to look at him. Eventually, her eyes found his, albeit against her will, and he looked at her warmly. “I’m right here, and I’m okay.”

“Do you promise?” she asked, pouting slightly.

Percy turned her around to face him, cupping her face and teasing her lower lip with his thumb to stop her pout. “I promise, because you remember what I said to you years ago?”

“What?”

“That I’m never getting away from you ever again. We’re building something permanent, you and I.”

“You mean that?”

“I do.”

Annabeth’s lips twitched upwards, eyes flicking towards the people beginning to gather by the protective barrier before landing on his face. She tried to burn the memory of him into her as though he wasn’t already something she could never forget.

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you too,” he said, pulling her in and slowly settling his lips over hers.

At first, it was gentle, giving them a moment to breathe each other in, to remember that they were with each other and that would never change. It was slow and sweet, them moving together as one.

Everything around them drowned out, and she felt like she had been catapulted back to when they reunited in New Rome, not caring if an asteroid hit because they were together and that was enough.

Slowly though, Annabeth was reminded that even though he says he’ll always be there with her, he has no control over whether or not that actually happens. Demigods never survive long, and it was a miracle they’d made it as far as they had. Within the next five minutes, anything could go terribly wrong and either one of them could end up dead, so they needed to do this now.

There was no waiting until after the battle to be with one another, because there might not be an after.

So she deepened the kiss, not caring who was around to see them. Percy responded with equal enthusiasm, pressing against her hard. Her hands threaded through her hair, lips parting slightly in a gasp as he bit her lower lip.

They were practically intertwined, kissing like they might not ever get to again. Annabeth became dizzy as her lungs burned, but she refused to pull away. She needed it too much, and she always would.

She leaned further into him, embracing the warmth and comfort that followed him around. He was the person she could always lean on, the person to pull her away from the terrors that only came at night.

She really loved him, and she tried her best to show him that by pouring all of herself into this moment.

Someone whistled behind them, forcing them to pull away with an embarrassing pop. When they looked around, everyone had stopped moving to stare at them, and her face wasted no time in flushing red.

Hundreds of eyes blinked back at them, and it was only then that she realized they must’ve been standing there for a while and they just hadn’t realized it, too preoccupied with the task at hand. There were little kids snickering, and then there were the older campers looking at them with approbation, one of which mouthed nice to Annabeth.

Percy’s hand was still tucked comfortably around her because even with the mortification of having just made out in front of a bunch of minors, he wasn’t ready to let go just yet.

Piper cleared her throat from somewhere to their right, thankfully drawing the attention off of them, announcing loudly to the camp, “We should probably go kill some monsters before they completely take over, yeah?”

People began to mutter in agreement, slowly stalking through the barrier, weapons at hand, leaving Percy and Annabeth with one last minute to themselves.

As Annabeth got distracted by the group slowly wandering out, Percy stepped in front of her again, blocking everything from her vision except him. She smiled weakly, her brain still going a thousand miles an hour.

“I love you,” he said softly for just the two of them, grabbing her hand.

“I know.”

“You going to be okay?”

Annabeth took a deep breath. The future was unknown, terrible things hidden behind a thin veil, and she would never be ready to blindly step into it. But sometimes, she had no other choice, and she had to accept that.

“I’ll be okay,” she said, and together, hand in hand, they stepped into the forest, and into the unknown.

[cultofbeatles]

beginners guide to the members of led zeppelin (kind of)

a disclaimer before anyone starts reading: we all know led zeppelin is shady as hell and we hardly ever get anything confirmed or denied around here. so some stuff is up for speculation. everything in this post are things i've read in books, heard in interviews, or got from some other source. when it comes to “facts about led zeppelin” sometimes you gotta take it with a grain of salt. but honestly it’s led zeppelin we’re talking about, anything is possible. also this is all in good fun and giggles. with that being said, let’s get started with introductions to the members themselves.

jimmy page 

james patrick page 

born on January 9, 1944 

he’s a capricorn sun, cancer moon, and scorpio rising so you just know he’s a crazy motherfucker 

was an amazing session guitarist and basically everyone wanted him 

went to art school bc he’s just talented at everything i guess 

if you didn't know already he played the guitar for Joe cocker’s ‘with a little help from my friends’

declined his first offer to join the yardbirds but later decided to join 

was the last member to leave the group

basically was the leader of led zeppelin 

was gifted a telecaster guitar by his friend jeff beck and he adored it 

and he painted a cool dragon design on it 

played on it for the first led zeppelin album 

when he was on tour one of his friends painted over his dragon design and ruined the guitar 

he produced all of led zeppelin’s albums and is responsible for the remastering of those same albums 

paid for led zeppelin’s first album to be produced with his own money

deadass would have whips and handcuffs around with him on tour for the groupies 

but was apparently an amazing lover and cared for the people he slept with

one time he got naked on a food cart thingy, put whip cream over his body, and had john bonham push him into a room with groupies in it 

has such a small and soft voice 

was fascinated in aleister crowley and his work

would collect crowely memorabilia 

even bought crowley’s boleskine house 

had a bookstore at one point so he could get books easier 

struggled with addiction to drugs for most of the seventies 

went on a liquid diet late seventies and refused to eat solid food 

he got really skinny bc of it :( 

miss pamela (one of his girlfriends/lovers) once said that jimmy cried on the phone to her over her playboy photoshoot lmaoo

once flied pamela’s pet raccoon in first class 

allegedly had a relationship with lori maddox who was about 15 years old 

laughed as two of his girlfriends were fighting each other 

was kind of constantly nervous about his and the band’s image

has amazing guitar solos and improvisation but damn sometimes they drag on foreverrrr

deadass scared the shit out of david bowie so much that he had his house exorcised and would avoid jimmy at parties 

we love demons 

zoso

he’ll never tell us what zoso means and I'm mad

had two people die in his home. one was a friend who died from a drug overdose, and the other was john bonham when he died from choking on his vomit.  

has been accused for the deaths of john bonham and robert plant’s son karac bc of that stupid “curse” rumor

deserves critiques for several things but doesn't deserve hate for that 

has been through a lot and come out pretty okay

produced his current girlfriend’s, scarlett sabet, spoken poetry vinyl 

check out scarlett’s work bc it’s amazing

would probably always be down for another led zeppelin reunion 

robert plant

robert anthony plant 

born on august 20, 1948

this is the most attractive man ever. do not argue with me. 

nicknamed percy 

wasnt jimmy’s first pick for a singer 

jerry reid suggested robert to jimmy. and when jimmy asked what he looked like jerry said, “like a greek god.”

jimmy thought something was wrong with robert when he first found him bc he was such a good singer and hadn't been signed yet 

after a practice together jimmy knew he had his singer 

he would call robert “the young guy with the powerful voice.”

he thought about leaving the band early on bc he was so nervous about being in it 

convinced john bonham to join the group bc they were the bestest of buddies 

he’s not credited on the first album bc he was still under another contract 

started song writing for the second album by jimmy’s memory 

it didn't take long for him to gain confidence and start owning the stage 

once when he was performing a dove flew in his hands 

there’s an audio of him singing john bonham happy birthday and it makes me so happy 

he would call himself a greek god 

would party with john bonham a lot 

kind of the hippy of the group 

moans moans moans and even louder moans into the microphone 

would wear women’s shirts and looked amazing in them 

nurses do it better 

not to mention his super tight jeans 

we all know his dick is huge and he’s just showing it off 

has the prettiest, fluffiest blonde hair 

and the sweetest smile 

can you tell that i find him attractive yet?

has a fear of earthquakes 

also supposedly had some sort of a relationship to an underage groupie named sable starr (14)

also has a fear of led zeppelin nowadays 

either fear or amnesia 

it’s likely that he’s the reason we’ll never get another led zeppelin reunion 

though a close friend thinks that if the show went to charity robert would probably do it 

robert loved john bonham too much to play in led zeppelin without him

and i respect that a lot 

no matter how much he’s offered for a show he turns it down every time

in 1975 he got in a severe car crash and ended up being in a wheelchair 

still went on to record zeppelin’s album 

once while recording on crutches and started to fall and jimmy apparently zoomed in to save him. robert never saw him move that fast before

his five year old son (karac) died from a sudden stomach illness while he was in america on tour

absolutely crushed him 

was deeply upset that neither jimmy page or john paul jones reached out to him during that time of his life 

john bonham was there for him though 

robert apparently never forgave them for that 

a car he was working on fell on top of him and crushed some of his ribs as well 

late seventies was not a good time for robert plant 

but he got through it all like a champ

hates stairway to heaven with a passion lmao  

one time he paid a radio station a shit ton of money just to make sure they'd never play stairway to heaven again 

almost didn't sing stairway for the 2007 reunion but ended up agreeing to it after all 

he said he breaks out in hives when he has to play that song 

he and jimmy made their own symbols. robert’s is the feather inside the circle 

in 2007 he won beard of the year 

john bonham

john bonham 

born on may 31, 1948

nickname is bonzo

oh boy, there’s a lot of stories about bonzo 

he was known as the nicest and sweetest guy ever 

unless he was drunk 

he drank a lot :/

denied jimmy’s offer to join the group and continued to deny it until robert convinced him 

once flew the starship (led zeppelin’s plane) even though he didn't have a license to 

hated touring so much 

he always missed his family 

so he drank 

he was so damn crazy when drunk that the other members would book rooms floors above where his was so he wouldn't disturb them

tore about his hotel rooms like no other 

he has a son named jason bonham who he loved a lot 

bought him a nice drum kit when he was younger 

jason is just about led zeppelin’s biggest fan next to jimmy page 

one time bonzo broke a girl’s vibrator when drunk

also punched a girl in the face when drunk once bc she waved at him 

partly responsible for the famous mud shark story where a girl was apparently fucked with a dead shark by him and zeppelin’s tour manager 

liked cars a lot 

really really loved his family. cannot stress it enough

was irked that john paul jones got out of playing shows during the christmas holiday and he didn't 

punched robert in the face once too 

him and john paul jones equals the best rhythm section ever 

jimmy would call it magic how well him and bonzo got along 

bonzo could handle anything jimmy threw at him 

he wasn't really a part of it, but he had to go to jail bc peter grant and two other dudes almost killing a man (long story omfg, but apparently the doctors had to put the dude’s eyeball back into his socket)

was there for robert when karac died 

they were really good friends 

there’s an interview with them together where bonzo is laughing at robert about his little farm 

gave good hugs apparently 

played drums like no other could and knew he was good 

but still sometimes got insecure and got upset when someone he looked up to said his drumming wasn't all that special 

his symbol is the three rings and he picked it out of a book like john paul jones did his 

he died in jimmy page’s house (not the crowley house btw)

he had to drink the equivalent of 40 shots of vodka and choked on his vomit in his sleep 

led zeppelin died on the same day 

nobody can replace john bonham 

his son filled in his role for the 2007 reunion show and did an amazing job of it. the whole show is on youtube, go check it out

john paul jones

 john richard baldwin 

born on january 3, 1946

nickname is jonesy 

was also a session guitarist like jimmy 

they had worked together before 

when he found out jimmy was forming a group he called jimmy and was basically given the spot immediately 

not only was the bassist but also the keyboardist 

and could play the recorder 

insanely talented. put some respect on his name 

he talks in italics i swear to god 

i don't have mainly crazy stories about jonesy bc he wasn't about that life 

deadass he would go on stage, perform, walk off stage and go to a whole separate hotel from the other

he would only tell one person where he was at and told them not to call unless for super urgent emergencies 

pissed peter grant off so much lmao 

wasn't really super close to anyone in the band tbh 

but bonzo was probably his greatest friend in the band 

jimmy and robert kind of leave him out in my opinion 

or they use to 

when he found out that jimmy and robert were making their own symbols instead of picking out of a book like he was he said “of course!”  and laughed 

was pretty much left out of the live aid show 

he had to squeeze himself on the stage and wasn't even able to play bass. he had to play the keyboard 

“and thank you to my friends for finally remembering my phone number” -savage as hell john paul jones 

he was one of the two people who found john bonham dead 

it’s sad to think about

is actually quite funny

he has this kind of dry humor?? idk but it’s amazing 10/10 content 

when john paul jones walks into the room interviewers break into a sweat

managed to look like a completely different person every year throughout the seventies or is it just my eyes?

has an Instagram account now go follow it for cute throwback photos lol

that’s all i really have for generic useless information about led zeppelin members for beginners. i hope it was somewhat entertaining. i'll make some more beginners stuff for led zeppelin. i will make y'all stan them lmao. i'm tagging @babygotblueeyes​ bc i know for a fact you want to get into them <3

[sincerelyreidburke]

As your local fanfic prophet, I offer you words of wisdom: The kiersey theatre boys going the jingle bell rock dance from mean girls. You're welcome

............ God, sometimes I wish I could draw.

Anyway. Percy has sent in a fantastic prompt for me to kick off the 25 Days of Kiersey with. Here’s the deal: I’m going to create a new AO3 work, which will ultimately be 25 chapters, one for each day where I do a holiday Kiersey post/ficlet/whatever. I’ll link you guys to that later today, but for now....... come with me on this journey.

Interestingly, Percy, I’ve actually thought about this before. And you’ll have to forgive me, because I’m cheating slightly and it’s only the first day— what I’m about to describe to you doesn’t actually take place during the holiday season. But nonetheless, it is very much related to the holidays.

Come with me on this journey. (Long post under the cut!)

It’s Reid’s idea. Pretty much every terrible/wonderful thing that happens in the Kiersey Drama Club is Reid’s idea. Reid has actually been trying to get three other guys enlisted under his command to do this for the past several years, but he’s never been able to push his plans through........ until one Quinn Cooper comes along.

So allow me to set the scene for you. Remember that variety show the drama club puts on every spring? Yeah, that one. Going into the spring semester of his senior year, Reid really wants to do something big and fun and obnoxious. He has tried, in vain, to get his three roommates to do this damn Mean Girls dance routine with him, but a.) he’s the only one of them who actually does acting, and b.) Jhiron Hassan would not be caught dead doing a sexy Santa dance, and also c.) you can’t teach the unique lack of shame possessed by one Reid Burke.

So the short and the long of it is that Reid has never actually gotten the chance to live out one of his biggest meme performance fantasies. You should know that, as a general rule, Reid loves Mean Girls. Honestly, he has good taste.

By the way, if you don’t know what I’m referring to by “sexy Santa dance” and “that damn dance routine,” please educate yourself at the following link.

Anyway, going on. I would have this take place at Christmas, but Reid never gets people to organize to his cause at the holidays. He’s always looking for three guys, and he can never get three. I also, for Kiersey-verse plot reasons, can’t have them do this in the winter of Reid’s senior year, because he doesn’t know Quinn well enough for it yet, and you’d be sorely mistaken if you thought I would leave Quinn out of this activity.

Going on for real this time.

In his senior spring musical, Reid observes a unique opportunity: he exists in a cast with exactly three other young, strapping men. (“Mel, isn’t it technically four? What about Spencer?” Spencer can choke.)

At some point as the spring musical season is coming to a close, and sign-ups for the variety show (which takes place during the last month or so of school) are rapidly approaching, Reid corners his castmates with a proposition.

[Dear Evan Hansen dress rehearsal. Backstage, while Ezra is messing with light cues.]

Reid: Gentlemen. Esteemed colleagues. Gather around.

Danny: Reid.

Reid: I have a mission to charge you with.

Danny: I am ready to accept it.

Quinn, who still has slight Freshman Syndrome, trying to fit in with the cool upperclassmen: Me, too!

Reid: Sign-ups for the variety show are approaching.

Cole, slightly concerned: Oh, no.

Reid: Oh, yes, Cole. Fun fact: you have to listen to me, because I’m about to graduate, and every moment you spend with me is precious.

Cole, picking his nail polish: That’s generous, but, uh, go on.

Reid: (Tries to smack Cole’s arm.)

Cole, in a monotone: Ow.

Quinn: Wait, Reid, what’s your idea?

Reid: I think you’re all gonna love it. :D

Quinn:

Danny:

Reid: :D

Cole: Uh....

Cole: Do you plan on, like, telling us—

Reid: Okay, okay! Fuck. I almost lost my train of thought. Anyway. Are you all familiar with the movie Mean Girls?

Quinn: What kind of person isn’t familiar with that movie?

Danny: It’s a premium film.

Reid: I’m impressed, Danny. As resident straight boy, I thought you’d need the most education.

Danny: What, so being straight means you can’t enjoy quality cinema?

Cole, lying through his teeth: I’m straight and I like that movie.

Cole: But what does that have to do with—

(Cole begins to realize where this is going.)

Cole: Oh.

Reid: Well, there’s a scene in it—

Cole: Oh, no.

Reid: — at the Christmas pageant or whatever, where—

(Quinn and Danny also catch on.)

Quinn: Oh, my goodness.

Danny: (Starts laughing.)

Cole: I’m not doing that.

Reid: Fuck off, Coley! How can you stare me in the face and decline participating in my one senior year wish?

Cole: Just for the record? I think you’ve told me, like, at least six separate times that something is your ‘one senior year wish.’ It’s different every time. Remember at the apple festival—

Reid: But listen—

Cole: And at Bluegrass open mic—

Reid: Hold on, though—

Cole: And that one time in your apartment—

Reid: Cole! You’re breaking my heart. Why won’t you do the sexy Santa dance with me?!

Danny: I’ll do it.

Reid: Daniel Cho, have I mentioned lately that you’re a superior man and I love you?

Quinn: I’ll do it, too!

Quinn: (to Reid) As long as you’re Regina.

Reid: Obviously, I’m Regina. You think I haven’t planned this out? You’re Cady, frosh, because you’re ginger and you’re new.

Quinn: I’m honored.😌😌😌

Reid: I’ll be fun! I’ll get us a boombox, and we can find weird slutty male costumes, and my roommate Eli can be Tina Fey and start playing the piano—

Danny, about to fall off his chair laughing: Oh my God, yes.

Quinn: I feel like Maggie may be jealous that this is happening without her.

Reid: Tell Maggie that I’m sorry, but this is reserved for the men in the drama club with the most sex appeal.

Cole: (Gagging noise.)

Quinn: Oh! And I can make us costumes!

Reid, putting a hand to his heart: You’d do that? For me? I knew you were my favorite freshman.

Danny: Okay, is it weird that I’m kind of excited?

Reid: No, it means you have good taste.

Quinn: I’m excited as well.

(Everybody turns and looks at Cole.)

Cole: 

Reid:

Quinn:

Danny:

Cole: I am Jewish.

Reid: Yeah, exactly, so you can be Gretchen, dumbass!

Cole: I hate you, Reid.

Reid, high-fiving Danny: We got him, boys!

And so it begins........ Reid gets to live out his fantasy of having absolutely no shame, Quinn gets to design his own sexy Santa costume, Danny does it for the meme, and Cole......... does it for Reid and only for Reid. It’s important that you all know that Cole wears suspenders and an open Santa jacket, because apparently that’s a thing. Quinn’s costume in some way involves short shorts. Reid would straight-up wear the dress. As we’ve recently discussed, Reid would wear a dress.

People who are not prepared to witness this but have to lay their eyes upon it anyway, an unfinished list: Bri, Jhiron, Claire, Nando........

Actually, that raises a good point. How does Nando handle this without combusting? He probably doesn’t. It’s Cell Block Tango 2.0 even though this takes place before the Cell Block Tango incident.

Quinn sewing a pair of red velvet booty shorts:

Nando: Uh......,,,, baby? Who are those for?

Quinn: Oh, they’re for me!😊😊😊

Nando: 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

Quinn: I’m making costumes for the drama club variety show. It’s in two weeks. Are you coming?

Nando, sweating: Well, like, uh, 😳😳😳😳, obviously I’m coming if that’s what you’re wearing—

To the best of their ability, they copy the choreography from the movie, and they practice in one of the dance studios in the performing arts center. Imagine being a dance major, minding your own business and going to practice after hours, and you unlock the studio and that ginger freshman who starred in the spring musical is yelling choreography at three uncoordinated upperclassmen. And also Christmas music is playing. And one of them is wearing a Santa hat.

Reid pulls some drama club strings and gets them to be the last thing on the program. He swears them all to secrecy, so a limited number of people know what they’re actually performing. He wants the crowd at the variety show to be surprised.

Aaaand that’s the story of how Reid brought the house down at the final Kiersey Drama variety show of his college career. And had Christmas in April.

You may ask yourself, why? I raise you: why not?

[qsdblogging]

10 More TV Shows You Need To See

This is the second installment of my recommendations of shows for you to add to your own lists. I watch a lot of television and I’ve got, what I consider to be at least, a wide variety of shows under my favorites. 

If you haven’t seen the first list, you don’t need to unless you want to see another list of ten shows you may want to check out if you’re looking for anything new to watch.

Warning, though, some of these don’t end the best way and may end up more as a disappointment. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

I. Warehouse 13.

Pete and Myka, U.S Secret Service Agents, are deployed to South Dakota’s Warehouse 13 with a new assignment from an authority above and outside the government. 

Intrigued?

With the Warehouse comes assignments regarding objects that hold some sort of abilities that can cause people to do wild and crazy things. It’s their job to find the artifacts (as they all hold significance to history) and bring them back to the Warehouse for safe keeping.

Things get wild and some serious topics get handled, but the show isn’t alone. It’s connected to another on this list, Eureka. More on that when you get to Eureka.

Some familiar faces are Eddie McClintock who played a part in Bones, one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Joanne Kelly who played a role in The Dresden Files television series, Allison Scagliotti who played roles in Stitchers, The Vampire Diaries, and Drake & Josh, Aaron Ashmore (twin brother to Shawn Ashmore, who has been in the X-Men movies alongside appearing in The Boys, and voicing Conrad in Man of Medan) from Killjoys, Lost Girl, and Smallville, and Jamie Murray from Castelvania, Gotham, The Originals, Once Upon a Time, Defiance, and Dexter.

I highly recommend, especially because the dynamic of the characters is really interesting and covers a lot. 

II. Eureka.

As mentioned above, this is connected to Warehouse 13. But only in the last two seasons of this show are the two connected. 

Eureka is a town full of geniuses and advanced technology that the government funds, and when a new sheriff comes to town, he’s exposed to all the daily occurrences the locals get up to. And maybe a couple instances of time travel that may or may not have to do with the connection.

The town is full of faces you may recognize. Colin Ferguson who has roles in Haven, The Vampire Diaries, and Maytag commercials, Erica Cerra who has roles in The 100, Supernatural, Deadly Class, and the first Percy Jackson film, Felicia Day who has roles in The Magicians, Supernatural, Con Man, The Guild, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Trevor Jackson who has roles in Grown-ish, and a couple Disney productions.

It’s a huge science fiction show and if you’re into that, give it a watch.

III. Alphas.

Now, like the two above is, Alphas is a science fiction packed drama. And it’s rumored to be connected, like be in the same universe, as Warehouse 13 and Eureka. It’s never been confirmed, but there is one character (same name and job) that plays a part in both Alphas and Warehouse 13, which is the stem for the theory. (Plus, some other ideas floating around). 

But Alphas focuses on a team that investigates people with supernatural abilities while they, themselves, have abilities. These powered people are referred to as Alphas, due to their nature.

Unfortunately, this show ends on a cliffhanger in its second season.

Yet, I still recommend giving it a shot because it truly is an interesting show and it’s got some people you may recognize. 

IV. Haven.

If you’re a fan of Stephen King’s “Colorado Kid”, you’ll most likely enjoy this show since it’s loosely based off of it. 

Set in the coastal town of Haven, Maine, FBI Agent Audrey Parker comes to town to find that the residents have dormant curses, or rather troubles, that can be triggered at any given moment. She, along with the Sheriff and the town’s black sheep, must deal with the troubles’ deadly effects. And a few things may be revealed about herself too along the way.

It’s pretty interesting and I enjoyed it quite a lot when I first watched it. I’m not the biggest fan of Stephen King, and the connection seems to barely be there, but I wouldn’t know given my dislike for King. 

I highly recommend giving Haven a shot, however, especially if you’re a crime and fantasy fan. 

V. Lost Girl.

Lost Girl focuses on the gorgeous and charismatic Bo, a supernatural being called a succubus who feeds on the energy of humans, sometimes with fatal results. Refusing to embrace her supernatural clan system and its rigid hierarchy, Bo is a renegade who takes up the fight for the underdog while searching for the truth of her own mysterious origins. (Taken from IMDB). 

Plus, there a lesbian romance or two. 

Now, the show itself is pretty strong holding in its own storyline and lore, but the last season does get a bit rocky feeling. It could’ve been better, and it definitely feels a little rushed, but it wasn’t too bad of an ending. However, it’s not a show that got cancelled before it could wrap things up and it leaves things pretty open-ended.

In my books, that’s a point. I highly recommend this is if you’re a fan of fantasy.

VI. Almost Human.

Unfortunately, this is one of the ones in the list that only has one season (that seems to be out of order and frankly I’m not entirely sure of the order myself, so rely on googling it yourself and hopefully you find the right order) and was cancelled not long after airing. 

BUT, it’s a good watch. It’s set in the distant future, where cops are assigned an android partner to protect and serve. Things get pretty wild and I’m quite sure there are some bombs involved at some point, but there’s a bonus to all the madness of Almost Human.

Minka Kelly and Karl Urban. Two incredibly beautiful human beings.

I highly recommend bingeing this single season show. 

VII. American Gods.

This shows feels very confusing. But it’s still a good watch. 

It centers on a recently released ex-con named Shadow Moon. He runs into a man full of mystery named Wednesday (and you’ll later come to find out who he really is, or you may already know given your knowledge on the book of the same name or just how well you know mythology) who seems to know more than Shadow about his own life and past. 

There are Gods, mischief, and a lot of crazy shit in this show. So far it’s on it’s third season as far as I know (I have to rewatch the first two before I pick it back up).

You should give it a shot, but I won’t blame you if you feel way too confused about the whole thing.

VIII. The Boys.

Now, there’s a lot of controversy regarding this Amazon Original Series, but honestly, I think everyone should at least give it a chance. I know a lot of Tumblr users were put off on trying to due to the advertisements on the site. 

If you don’t know what this series is about, it follows a group of vigilantes set on taking down the corrupt superheroes that are abusing their powers and status.

It covers a lot of ground. Murder, sabotage, terrorism, capitalism, and a lot more. Feminism and sexual harassment occur, but there are warning before each episode for what you may see in the contents.

Some familiar faces include Karl Urban, who’s known for his roles in Thor: Ragnarok, the newer Star Trek movies, Almost Human, Lord of the Rings, and more, Erin Moriarty from Jessica Jones, Laz Alonso from The Mysteries of Laura, Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl and The Covenant, and Jensen Ackles from Supernatural has been confirmed to be joining the cast for its third season.

The Boys is currently on it’s second season, being released on a weekly schedule. So, if you like superheroes and graphic content, this show might be it for you.

IX. Chuck.

Chuck is the result of when a twenty-eight year old computer geek inadvertently downloads critical government secrets into his brain, the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. assign two agents to protect him and exploit the knowledge, turning Chuck Bartowski’s life upside down. (Taken from IMDB).

This is one of the shows I cannot recommend enough to people. It’s the right mixture of action and comedy, plus a little romance. Spies, love, and murder, oh my! What more could you want? 

Plus, Zachery Levi plays Chuck. If you don’t know him by name, you probably would recognize him from some of his roles with the most recent being in Shazam!, Fandral in the second and third Thor films, voicing Eugene Fitzherbert (or Flynn Rider) in Tangled, and Heroes: Reborn. 

If Zachery Levi playing a lovable computer geek turned spy doesn’t interest you, maybe some more familiar faces will. 

Yvonne Strahovski from The Handmaid’s Tale, The Astronaut Wives Club, acting as Daenerys in a Princess Rap Battle on Youtube, and Dexter. Adam Baldwin from Firefly/Serenity, Bones, Angel, The Last Ship, and Independence Day. Brandon Routh who plays Ray Palmer from the DC Shows. Matt Bomer from Doom Patrol, American Horror Story, White Collar, Magic Mike, and True Calling.

X. Deadly Class.

Unfortunately, I have a truly bad streak with new shows. Deadly Class, like others that have been mentioned in these lists of mine, got cancelled and on a cliffhanger no less. However, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the action-packed coming-of-age story set in the 1980s. 

Following a new recruit for a high school training assassins, things get pretty wild when you pair death and teenagers. 

[fromslytherintoanimetobooks]

The Sorting Hat (for Characters of Red, White & Royal Blue)

Alex Claremont-Diaz:  

Gryffindor

Alex is the kind of guy who understands that there are risks that come with his actions but decides to push through anyway.  While his penchant for intelligence gathering may be considered a bit Slytherin, most of his actions are less about ambition or self-preservation and more about doing what he feels is right or simply following his heart (and his emotions).  I can see an argument for him being a Slytherin, but I think he is just a bit too bold with his choices for him to really fit the bill for the snake pit.

Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:  

Slytherdor (or if I really have to choose, Gryffindor)

Henry is more careful about his actions and feels a connection and responsibility to continue traditions despite the fact that his identity conflicts with those traditions.  He is far too bold to be a straight up Slytherin (who probably would have handled the whole situation a bit more quietly and cautiously), but he is ambitious and is concerned with keeping himself above water when the time comes.  This is why I would argue that he is a mix of both Slytherin and Gryffindor, but he is too driven by emotion for my to give the Slytherin part of him much thought (which is why - of the two options - he would be a Gryffindor).

Ellen Claremont:  

Slytherin

Ellen is VERY ambitious, and she puts ambition above most things.  She tries to ensure that she will get through the storm without many dents.  While she isn’t too interested in continuing with traditions (she is a pretty progressive politician) I still think she meets the criteria.  I honestly think that some of her more Slytherin traits may get in the way of her position as Alex and June’s mother, but that isn’t the question here.  She is still a good person who tries to do the right thing (which sometimes competes with her ambitions and sense of self-preservation).  Ultimately, I think she’s a Slytherin through and through.

June Claremont-Diaz:  

Gryffindor

June is a fighter through and through.  She doesn’t like the path she’s on, so she throws herself head first into a new one.  She is extremely bold and driven by heart and emotion (not a bad thing, but notable).  She takes risks without knowing how she’ll make it through.  June was willing to stray from what was expected of her in order to pursue what she believes will make her happy.  Gryffindor.  Through and through.

Nora Holleran:  

Ravenclaw

Nora is eccentric and extremely smart.  The fact that she is a human super computer should give away how she would sort.  Her eccentricities are also characteristics of Ravenclaw House. 

Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:  

Ravenpuff (or if I had to choose, Ravenclaw)

Beatrice is both creative and extremely loyal, a perfect mix of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.  She is willing to spend her time devoted to her passion for music and having fun in her own way, but when push comes to shove all of her passion is turned toward protecting her family and friends.  She’s a bit over the top in her more private personal life (the life she lives for herself, her mistakes and her successful passions) but beyond loyal when it comes to those who are important to her.  I feel that her desire to continue working on her music (despite the queen’s protestations) is what pushes her a bit more toward Ravenclaw, but her Hufflepuff side is extremely notable.

Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:  

Slytherin

Philip isn’t all that prominent a character, but he is far more traditional than a majority of the characters in this book so I have to throw him in with Slytherin House.  He is one of those bad examples for Slytherin that a majority of the House would want to disown for giving them all a bad name.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t fit into any of the other houses...

Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:  

Hufflepuff

Catherine is driven by emotion, which led her to isolate herself from her family after her husband’s death.  However, it is also this driving emotion that leads her to be fiercely loyal and protective of her family.  I can’t sort her into Gryffindor as I doubt any Gryffindor would have let the queen inflict such injustice and pain on her [Catherine] and her family for so long, but her protectiveness and loyalty earns her a place in Hufflepuff.

Leo:  

Hufflepuff

Leo doesn’t play too much of a role, but he is very clearly loyal to his wife.  With what little information I could glean from the book about him, I would give him a seat at the Hufflepuff table.

Oscar Diaz:  

Hufflepuff (although I could also say Slytherpuff)

Oscar is loyal to his friends (as seen with Luna) and family, and he is more than willing to protect them with whatever power he had in his possession.  He is, however, quite ambitious (he’s a politician...), which is why I could also vouch for him as a Slytherpuff.  The book does not focus overly much on his ambitious streak, so that is why I will simply put him down as Hufflepuff.

Raphael Luna:  

Slytherdor (if I had to choose one, it would be Gryffindor)

Luna is quite courageous, but he does try his best to keep himself safe while he is being courageous.  Without a doubt I think that he is more Gryffindor than Slytherin because he makes too many moves that would have placed him and his career in danger, but there is that underlying ambition and a hint of the desire to keep himself safe that gives that Gryffindor red a hint of Slytherin green.  Though if someone were to claim him solely as a Gryffindor, I wouldn’t argue (much).

Percy “Pez” Okonjo:

Ravenclaw

Pez is wicked smart and quite... unique.  I don’t think there is a place that would fit him better than Ravenclaw.  He is creative, smart, and eccentric; he’d fit right in.

Amy Chen:

Slytherdor (and if I had to choose one, she would have to be a Gryffindor)

Amy is kick-ass, but there is just something about that aggression that screams Slytherin in the background of her bold as brass Gryffindor persona.  She is a way too calculating to be a straight up Slytherin and I think there is too much of that Gryffindor attitude to make her a Slytherin.  She made too many personal choices that would push her more red than green.

Cassius “Cash”:

Hufflepuff

Cash was more than willing to follow Alex to London and protect Alex’s secrets throughout the book to be anything but a Hufflepuff.  He is a bit hard to place because there isn’t much in the book about his character, but I feel that he’d be at home in Hufflepuff.

Shaan Srivastava:

Slytherpuff (but if I had to choose, he’d be a Slytherin)

Shaan is hard to place because he doesn’t say all that much that comes from him personally.  He is witness to Alex and Henry’s secret relationship, and he keeps their secret (Hufflepuff loyalty), but even the book says that he would only keep their secret for as long as it didn’t harm him or his career (Slytherin self-preservation).  Truthfully, I think he only kept their secret for so long because it didn’t benefit him or his goals to tell anyone.

Zahra Bankston:

Ravenclaw

Zahra is smart, organized, and Hermione-like.  She doesn’t really make too many moves that would be shows of personal courage (except for when she called Shaan’s personal number for Alex), but there are clear signs of intelligence and organization.  She is driven and focused, so I feel she fits the mold for Ravenclaw.

The Queen:

Slytherin

She gives Slytherin a bad name.  The queen hangs on to old, outdated tradition far too firmly and tries to save her own image by tearing down others.  Unfortunately, her actions do fit with Slytherin House’s traditionalism and self-preservation.  She is also outwardly cold but clearly driven by emotion which is kept reined in by her ability to make calculated moves.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

These are all based on personal opinion, and if you think that one of these characters should be sorted into a different Hogwarts house please respond to the post and let me know where they should have been sorted (and why).  I adore RW&RB and I am always looking for people to gush to about the book, so if you have anything to say about the book, drop me a line.  And if you haven’t read it, it’s worth picking up!

If you have another book, movie, TV show, etc. with characters that you would like me to try and sort, please let me know.

[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.

[annabethfuckingchase]

The Princess and the Half Bloods Part Two

Annabeth sighed. “Look Chiron, they’re good. Just give them a chance, would you?” She didn’t actually know if the Half Bloods were any good because she’d never actually heard them play, but she wasn’t about to tell Chiron that. She’d heard Percy play, and for now that was good enough.

“I’ve never even heard of them. They’re just a high school garage band. And punk music doesn’t really fit the atmosphere of my place. We’re not a dive. Our customers probably aren’t going to be interested in them,” Chiron said, wiping down his counter. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“Free period. I’ll be back in plenty of time. And that’s your problem, Chiron, you need something with an edge that will appeal to a younger demographic. Namely the college kids around here. Have the band play on the weekends. That’s when the college kids are out anyway and you can take advantage of that, you just need something to bring them in. The Half-Bloods can give you that.” She had already gone through the list of the arguments she thought he would bring up and thought of counters for all of them on the ride over.

“The Big House already has a reputation that doesn’t include punk. Nobody is going to expect a rock show here and I don’t have money for advertising. The best I can do is put up a sign on the door saying that they’re going to play. I don’t think that’s going to pull in many people, kid.”

Okay, every argument except that one.

Annabeth laughed it off anyway, lying smoothly. “You’re worried about PR? Please, I’ve got that covered. Just let them come in and audition this afternoon and you’ll see how good they are. Let me handle everything else. You know me Chiron, have I ever steered you wrong when it came to money?”

Chiron thought for a moment, then finally relented. “Yeah, you were a pretty big help with the remodeling on my budget. Fine, kid. Bring them in after school and we’ll see. Now get going. Can’t have you being late to school because you were hanging around in my bar,” he chuckled.

“Thank you! You won’t regret it,” she promised, hugging the much taller man.

She allowed herself a moment of brief celebration when she reached her car. She was already pulling her weight as manager. Percy would be thrilled.

The minute she arrived at school, she went searching for her friends. She found them quickly in front of her locker, apparently waiting for her.

“Hey,” they said in unison as Annabeth approached. Hazel was covered in paint and marker spots, which wasn’t out of the ordinary, but Piper was dressed in her uniform, indicating that there would be a football game tonight. Hazel’s boyfriend, Frank, was a linebacker for the football team as per his father’s wishes, so Hazel was among the few that painted banners and posters that hung all around the halls to build school spirit before the game. They also did face paintings of the team mascot, a pegasus, at the game to raise money for the art program. Piper was a cheerleader, but she was probably one of the least cheerful people Annabeth had ever met. She was only doing it for her college resume, not that she really needed it. Her father honestly could’ve just paid any college to take her, but she wanted to get in on her own merit. Annabeth admired her greatly for that.

“Hey,” Annabeth responded, slightly out of breath. “I have an emergency.”

“What’s up?” Hazel asked worriedly.

“No time to explain everything, class starts in four minutes. Short version: I’m Percy Jackson’s band manager. I got him an audition at The Big House but I need to get the word out about his band so people will actually show up to see them perform,” she said in a rush, barely breathing.

“A public relations problem you say?” Piper smiled mischievously .

“I think we could probably do something about that,” Hazel said. “But I thought you hated Percy?”

“I do. Not the point. I’ll tell you guys about it later. Two minutes to class.” With that, she hurried off to her Engineering and Design class.

Not ten minutes into it, she got a message from Piper in the group chat. Party at my house after the game. Bring the band. No later than 10. Now explain yourself.

Annabeth smiled to herself and began explaining her predicament.

~~~~

When the school finally broke for lunch, she went to her locker to put away her books and wait for Piper. Hazel was going out to lunch with Frank, so Annabeth wouldn’t see her again until after the game. Annabeth had been planning to go to support her friends, but she’d be too busy prepping the band for the party.

Piper walked up and bumped Annabeth’s hip with her own. “You ready to deliver the exciting news?” she asked sarcastically. “I can’t believe you got roped into this. I can’t believe you roped me in.” Piper wasn’t as ecstatic as Percy had been last night about Annabeth accepting the position of band manager. She handed Annabeth a key. “To the house. You can set up before everybody shows up for the party. You know how the speakers work better than I do.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and smiled but didn’t respond as they walked outside to the grassy area behind the school where some students chose to eat their lunches when the weather was warm, including Percy, Jason, and Leo.

She looked around, searching for the boys. She found two of them, Percy and Leo, sitting in the shade of one of the trailers that housed extra classrooms, looking up as though they expected to find something other than clouds in the sky. Jason was nowhere to be found.

“You ready?” a disembodied voice called.

“Yes, just do it already!” Leo yelled back at the sky.

Annabeth looked around, bewildered, until she saw a shadow on top of the trailer. Before she had a chance to yell for him to stop or for the boys to move, Jason took a running start and vaulted off the roof, doing a flip. She heard Piper mutter, “Wow,” under her breath. Annabeth was not as impressed, watching in abject horror as Jason went end over end off the roof, landing squarely on Percy and Leo.

She ran toward the boys to make sure they were all okay. Everybody was staring at them all, thanks to Jason’s stunt. She felt slightly embarrassed to be seen with them, the assumed valedictorian and a cheerleader talking to the burnouts. No doubt there would be rumors following this.

Annabeth shook the thought off. It was wrong to be embarrassed by them just because they were different from her usual crowd. If she was going to manage them, she was obviously going to be seen around them. She made herself focus on the dog pile in front of her.

With a lot of grunting, yelling, punching, and wiggling, the boys finally managed to disentangle themselves. They finally noticed the girls watching them and straightened up. Both Leo and Jason were blatantly checking Piper over, but Percy had eyes only for Annabeth. She would have blushed, but then she remembered Rachel and realized he was probably just still grateful for her help.

“Are you done now, Superman?” Annabeth said to cover any redness that might have snuck into her cheeks.

“Yes,” Jason said sheepishly. Piper smirked at him, and he was the one blushing now.

“Good, try not to mess yourselves up before tonight. I believe we all know each other vaguely, but I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Annabeth, and this is Piper. Percy told me you might be interested in me as a manager,” she said in a no nonsense tone of voice, holding her hand out to shake theirs.

“Oh yeah, Percy mentioned that,” Jason said, shaking her hand and then Piper’s. He held hers just a beat too long before tearing his gaze from her to look back at Annabeth. “I’m Jason, bass and back up singer.”

“Leo. The drummer, obviously,” the short boy said, shaking her hand just a little too enthusiastically. “Percy says you’re going to help us with some gigs. And that you walk on water.”

“I did not,” Percy said indignantly.

“Whatever, you wouldn’t stop talking about her,” Leo snorted.

“That is an exaggeration,” he protested, then quickly changed the topic. “Why tonight, is something happening?

“We have a few things on the to-do list today.” Annabeth looked at Percy, because he was the only one she really knew. “You have an audition tonight at The Big House. Be there by 4:30. At 11, you’ll be doing a couple sets at Piper’s post-game party for publicity so people know you’re good and will actually come watch you at The Big House, assuming you get the gig. You will be there, you will not be late.” Annabeth looked at the other two now. “All of you.”

They were clearly impressed she had managed to book them twice in one day, her first day as manager. They stood in silence, just gaping at her. Percy was the one to recover first. “See, I told you guys. She’ll be a great manager.”

“I’ll say,” Leo muttered. Piper laughed, clearly delighted to see they had underestimated Annabeth.

“I need to talk to Percy real quick, will you be okay for a minute?” she asked Piper.

Piper scoffed. “Of course. Go ahead, I’ll wait.”

Annabeth walked a little ways away, putting them in the sun. She heard a soft gasp from behind her. She turned back around. “Are you okay, Percy?” He stood behind her, not moving, just looking at her. “Do I have something stuck to me?”

“No, no,” he assured her. “Just a pain spasm from Jason. Don’t worry about it. What did you need to talk to me about?”

She was skeptical, but instead of pressing, she asked, “How many original songs do you have?”

Percy thought for a minute. “We have the whole album plus a couple others that were finished after the recording. About twenty in all. That are ready, anyway. We have a few that haven’t been finished yet.”

“That’s perfect. At the audition, play one cover and one original song. The cover will be used to compare to the original to show that you are as good as a band that’s made it big, and the original will show that you’re creative enough and good enough to be able to come up with it and display your own style. At the party you’ll be playing your own songs the whole time, unless you have any songs memorized that you can cover.”

“Got it. I think we might have a few we could reasonably cover,” he agreed. “You really are good at this.”

This time, Annabeth did blush. “Just doing my job.” They both stood there awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. “Well great then. I’ll see you at the bar.” She started to turn back to where their friends were sitting and talking.

“Wait.” She pivoted back. “Thank you again. You’re really helping us out, getting us where we need to go. Thanks, princess.”

She felt her stomach tighten a little, but she put on an annoyed face and glared at him. “Don’t let anybody else hear you call me that.”

“Naturally,” he replied. “That’s just an us thing.” He winked and walked backwards to the other three, smiling widely as he did so.

[sodalitefully]

1-30 hehehe

Anon you’re a ballsy motherfucker and I love you.  BUT you didn’t choose a fic for 24-28, or a word for 29!

What was the first fandom and/or pairing that you wrote fic for? Uh, probably Danny Phantom when I was like twelve 😂

Do you participate in any writing events or challenges throughout the year? If so, what do you like about them? Nope bc this is a small fandom and we don’t do many of those.

Do you write fics from start or finish, or jump around? I usually start at the start and then when I get stuck I’ll just skip that part, keep going, and come back to it later.  If I have an idea and I’m afraid I’ll forget it, I might also skip ahead and write it.

Do you outline before you start writing? If so, how far do you stray from that outline? I love outlining more that actually writing lmao, the longer the fic the more I outline.  I usually stick to it pretty closely, which isn’t aways good for my writing...

What is the perfect environment for you to write in? Quiet and private.  Other than that I haven’t figured out the tricks to getting myself to focus :(

If you’re really concentrating, how many words can you write in a day? Occasionally when I’m really inspired I’ll write like 1000, but more often I just write a paragraph or two.

Which part of writing do you struggle with most? Too many ideas, too little actual writing capacity.  It’s hard to focus on finishing fics bc I get too distracted by my other ideas, and I rarely write sequels bc there’s so much I haven’t gotten to share yet.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, share a song that’s been inspiring you lately. Nope, can’t write with music, I get too distracted.  

Do you prefer to write AUs, canon divergence, or canon-compliant fic? AUs!!!

Do you enjoy writing dialogue, exposition, or plot the most? Probably dialogue? Exposition is great bc I get to explain the AU, but It’s not good for the flow of the fic.  Dialogue can be really satisfying to write when you get in a groove with it.

If you could only write angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your life, which would it be? Fluff!

Is there a trope you haven’t written yet but really want to? Oh god so many.  I have notes on tons of tropes I’d like to write... I’d like to do a college AU (and I meant to do it while I was actually in college but oops).  I posted a soulmate AU once but I’d like to do another.  Oh and I have lots of ideas for crossover AUs and I’m still deciding how to handle those.

Is there a trope you wouldn’t write if it was the last trope on earth? Honestly probably not.  I’m not huge on character death, genderbends, or reader inserts, for example, but I have ideas for fics involving all of those. 

If you were stuck on a desert island with only two characters, which would you pick? No one from gnr that’s for sure, that’d be a disaster.  How about... Percy Jackson and idk Wonder Woman?

A Hollywood producer tells you that they want to film just one of your fics. Which fic would you want it to be? Hmm out of the fics that I’ve posted... maybe Sumthin’ for Nuthin’ actually? I abandoned that poor fic but I still really like the plot.  And there’s plenty of longer, more plot-heavy fics I have outlined that would be cool to see as films.  In general I often imagine concepts visually instead of with words.

What is your most underrated fic? Saving Grace didn’t get a lot of notes and I get why – it’s kinda niche and there’s no actual romance.  But I think it’s well-written and I’m proud of it.

What fic are you most proud of? Maybe the whole cat!slash universe?  I don’t think it’s my best writing per se, but I’m still really attached to the concept and it was a pleasant surprise that other people seemed to like it too.

What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene. I’ve always been partial to the paragraph in Sweetness that ends with “Their coffee has long gone cold (and so has Duff’s spine - snakes give him the heebie-jeebies), but Slash’s enthusiasm is sweeter than the Duff’s half-eaten bowl of melted ice cream, and Duff is eating it up with a spoon.”  Just... the coffee is cold and so is Duff’s spine, Slash is sweet and so is the ice cream, and using “eating it up with a spoon” idiomatically while it’s also thematically relevant to a sentence about dessert... I really like to layer meaning when I can.

Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why? Slash tends to be the center in most of my writing, but actually I think it’s easier to write from Duff’s pov.  Maybe bc when I’m writing sluff I can just channel my crush on Slash through Duff lmao.  Interesting tho bc when it comes to the real people, I find Slash much more relatable than Duff or the others.

What’s your favorite minor character you’ve written? Hah maybe Slash in the funeral home AU, it’s a duzzy ficlet so he’s just a side character but I got a kick out of writing his and Steven’s background antics.

What is the one fic that got away? Well, I really wish I’d finished Sumthin’ for Nuthin’ before I kinda lost interest in Motley Crue, that fic was gonna get more dramatic from there.  Would it be worth it to just post the outline?  Plus there’s a few potential longfic ideas that I’ve put a lot of love into, but I doubt they’ll ever be posted or completed considering the way I can’t seem to focus on one idea long enough to write more than a one-shot :( But hey I guess you never know.

Have you cried while writing a fic? Nope.  I do have some angsty ideas though, hopefully they’ll surface someday.

If you had to remix one of your own fics, which would it be and how would you remix it? Someday I’d like to rewrite the cat!Slash fic from the beginning, make it a real multichap or at least a proper series of vignettes.  Id also be interesting in a darker version of that AU, since there’s definitely potential for that in the concept.  But I’m pretty attached to the fluffy little universe I made, so I’d probably prefer to explore those darker themes in a different (but maybe similar) universe – I have a few ideas.

How did you come up with title for [x fic]? Most of my fics have self-explanatory titles or none at all, the only one I have much to say about is Saving Grace.  Duff needed a miracle to get out of his situation, Slash was his saving grace.  But also, Grace is the name of Duff’s oldest daughter, and Duff’s motive in the story is trying to “save” her.  Despite the double meaning in the title, I avoided referring to the child by name or as Duff’s “daughter”/explaining how they ended up together.  I wanted to maintain some of the mystery of the apocalyptic genre: characters with mysterious origins, found families, aliases, etc.  That’s definitely one of the ways that Mad Max and DOOM influenced this fic.  (Oh, also Serpentine is a dick joke via a wttj reference: “My serpentine.”  That’s it tho, the rest are pretty straightforward.)

Which idea came to you first in [x fic]? Feel free to send a fic for any/all of the next few questions! Generally speaking, my ideas are character driven, I want to portray a character or relationship a certain way and I build a world that allows me to do that.

Which part of [x fic] was the hardest to write?  Always the end.

If you were ever to do a sequel to [x fic], what do you think might happen in it? Whichever fic you have in mind, there’s a very high chance I have ideas.

In [x fic], what is a happy, post-fic headcanon you have about [pairing]? Same as above!

Send me a word. If it’s in your WIPs, include the sentence and a short summary of the fic. – Send me a word anon!

Tell us an idea for a longfic you want to write in the future. Ok, so I have three main longfic ideas, but the easiest one to explain is an AU set in a version of the 1980s where ancient greek deities exist, Axl’s life is parallel to that of Perseus, and Slash is cursed like Medusa.   Lots of drama, lots of influence from greek theater, untrustworthy gods, unrequited feelings, dramatic irony... fuck I hope I write it someday.  

Alright mad respect for anyone who got through all that!  Thanks for the ask, and feel free specify a fic for those last few questions if you wanna

[warriorlid14]

for 'give me a character' Ron- backups if he's taken Ginny, Percy, Draco

Thanks for the ask @hillyminne!! I will do all of them.

Ron

How I feel about this character: Love of my life. My child. I loooove Ron. He’s my fave character I think above all others. Part of it is because we defend him so much and then I love him even more.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Harry, Hermione, Neville, Dean. I think that’s it, but I’m pretty open to a lot of ships.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Harry. And the rest of the Weasleys, but especially Ginny, George, and Percy

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don’t think he’s a prude.I mean, the kid had FIVE older brothers. He made a “uranus” joke to one of his fellow students (which tbh, I don’t like. If he had been older, I’d give him flack for it. Rn I’m just like “buddy, not cool”) He was making out publicly with Lavender. I think part of this whole “he was saving himself for Hermione” is because this whole “everyone is in love with Ron” thing is taking off. And look, don’t get me wrong. I like those stories, too. BUT. It’s not canon. It’s okay that he didn’t kiss anyone until he’s 16. It’s FINE. It is not a testament of his worth or attractiveness or whatever. It just didn’t happen until then, and that’s valid.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That someone acknowledged that he’s valuable, damnit.

Ginny

How I feel about this character: I really like Ginny? I was more apathetic at first, but the fandom’s really made me appreciate her. We stan a kick-ass, strong-minded, but kind girl.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Harry and Luna, actively, though I can ship her with pretty much anyone. I don’t really have any major NOTPs for her besides the obvious adults and family.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Collin Creevey, honestly. I wish we had seen more of that friendship.

My unpopular opinion about this character: The tattoo joke was not that big of a deal. Ron’s insecure about a lot of things, but his masculinity isn’t really one of them? At least not in the sense the joke is hitting. Like, Ron is very concerned that he’s undesirable and the last of his friends and little sister to kiss someone, and maybe masculinity plays a part in it. But in a toxic, straying away from femininity or not being traditionally masculine? Not really. And honestly, if your siblings just stop teasing you, things are bad. Like, obviously don’t hit their insecurities. And yeah. Ginny’s gone too far some other times, but here? Meh. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: More screen time in earlier books

Percy

How I feel about this character: I also reaaally like him. Part of it is because I can relate to him in a way. I mean, part of the reason I wanted to leave my hometown for college is because my family and I have very different belief systems.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Audrey and Oliver

My non-romantic OTP for this character: The rest of the Weasleys

My unpopular opinion about this character: He also deserves an apology from his family

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: So much. That his family acknowledges that they should have treated him better and that they play a part in him walking away.  I also wish we had seen him and Ron have a conversation after everything. I have this headcanon that he used to be closer to Percy when he was younger but then drifted away because he didn’t want to be seen as boring and unlikable (something the twins played a major role in) aaand also because Percy probably inadvertently might’ve made him feel dumb. They’re just very alike in insecurities but handle them very differently. And also the whole locket thing and Percy leaving and just. They need to talk and become the best of brothers after everything is all I’m saying. I NEED THEM BOTH TO REALIZE THEIR SHORTCOMINGS WITH EACH OTHER. (and maybe an arc where Ron slowly forgives himself for leaving and it’s paralleled by how he sees Percy and slowly forgives him too and h0ly shit, that would be so good and have so much symbolism, someone other than me needs to write this.)

Draco

How I feel about this character: Ah, Draco. Here’s the thing. I get his appeal. I don’t hate him. I think that a redemption arc could be interesting if done right. Hey, not gonna lie, I’ve read fics with him and one of the other trio Ron.And you know what? I enjoyed some of them. I do enjoy the redeemed villain trope. BUT. BUT. The fandom has created this character that they just feel is entitled to a redemption arc. And he’s NOT. Draco is a fucking asshole. Draco needs to actively redeem himself through actions, not words. He needs to ask for forgiveness. And he is NOT entitled to that forgiveness. If Draco were to ever date Harry? Ron and Hermione do not have to forgive him. They do not have to accept the relationship. Draco hurt them. He wished for Hermione’s death. He bullied and humiliated Ron in front of the entire school. He almost killed Ron. He stood aside and watched Hermione be tortured. This whole “you’re just as bad as a death eater for being prejudiced against slytherins”? Bullshit. Of course, slytherins aren’t inherently bad. Of course, other houses need to acknowledge this and not treat them like they’re time bombs. BUT DRACO WAS A DEATH EATER, WTF. Plus, there’s the fact that Drarry is the most popular ships annoys the fuck out of me.Why? Ron’s literally right there. It reeks of classism. And Dramione shippers bash on Ron. So here’s a character that I could potentially like, but I hate what the fandom’s made of him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Astoria. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character: idk, Crabbe and Goyle Crap and Gargoyle  (you have no idea how long I’ve waited to make that joke. I’ve never had the chance to work it into any of my fics and it’s killing me. It’s been years) They’re always seen as his dumb lackeys, but they spent seven years together and he’s clearly concerned about them in the fiendfyre scene, so. I wish we’d seen more of that friendship

My unpopular opinion about this character: He’s not unredeemable, but he’s an asshole. I’m never going to be entirely on board with him, but I can’t hate him entirely either

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: idk, I think JKR made it quite clear that he’s a bully. Maybe someone breaking the fourth wall and being “look. He’s a bad guy. No joke. Please stop relating to him”