#like dude i'm here to enjoy the game i'm not waiting forever to get the stone for the mega i want

[luvevee]

Ok I'm gonna bitch: I'm so tired of seeing "this sucks just bring back megas" spammed on everything when it comes to the new gen like holy shit let it go

[more-cardigan-than-woman]

oh my god gym buddies!jason finally had the guts to ask her out on a date!! GO JAY GO!!! need to know how this date goes

Oh, you wanna know how the date went? Hahahaha. Ok.

Warnings, Swearing, fluff, Smut, hand holding, date, throat holding, me not know sweet fa about sports, but I made this reader sporty so I'm trying my best.

"Dude, I am so sweaty." You say to Annie as you skate to a stop at her goal post, " I can't believe I agreed to this date."

"Babes, it'll be fine," she nudges her helmet towards where Jason is sat in the stands, "he hasn't taken his eyes off you since we came out."

"I'm so nervous, I haven't been on a real date in.."

"Forever, I know." She sighs, squaring up as Mckinnley and Jones come at you both, "get out there, we need our defender."

"On it."

You're amazing, Jason thinks, so quick as you weave your way through the other players before slamming one of the other team into the barricade. No wonder you're a slow runner, you're fucking feet belong on the ice.

You move like a freight train in those pads, and he's honestly so impressed by you and the force you seem to have behind every hit. It hits him in an instant, and he whips out his phone, hoping Alfie is around to help him rearrange his date plans.

The game comes to a close as you win the game 1-0 it was really close and the Vipers really brought their all tonight, but with Annie in goal they didn't stand a chance.

Xx

"Good luck," Annie waves, as you pull your jacket on, adjusting your dress, "try not to kill him."

"Thanks, I'll try my best." You wave back as you head outside to meet your date.

He's waiting, his bulking form leaning against a black motorcycle and a spare helmet resting on the back seat. "Hello Sweetheart," Jason smiles, pushing off the bike and moving to meet you in the middle with a kiss, "you were so fucking hot out there."

"Hi Jay, I'm glad you enjoyed the show."

"You ready to go?" He rubs his hands together, "I got big plans for us."

"Can't wait," you grab the helmet, slipping it over your head and tilting the visor up, "well, we going or what?"

"Right," Jason shakes his head, his brain almost combusting at the sight of you in his spare helmet, on the back of his bike, "ready for the best night of your life?"

"Guess we'll see." You wrap your arms around him tight, your bag strapped to your back as you take off from the rink and into the night.

The bike goes fast, humming underneath you as you inhale Jason's cologne, feel his soft leather jacket under your finger tips and the wind rushes over your helmet.

"Where are we?" You ask when he pulls to the side of the road, "dude, this shady as fuck."

"Is not," he shrugs, taking off his helmet and sitting it on the bike, "where's your sense of adventure?"

"In these shoes?" You gesture to your kitten heels you bought for the date, "carrying this?" You jostle your bag, "my sense of adventure is about 2 miles away."

"You're right," he slips the bag from your shoulder, "let me carry that. Have you got any sneakers in here?"

"I mean, yeah. But what happened to take me out and show me off?"

"I think you've done enough showing off tonight. Miss I slam people so hard the ice shakes."

"You impressed Todd?"

"I'm not, not impressed." He says, grabbing your chucks from the bag and throwing them to you, "come on, it's only a ways up here." His head gestures towards the path in the woods, "it's not super far. Cardio lover like you will love it."

"Fine," you roll your eyes, tightening your coat around your dress to keep it from getting snagged in the trees.

"Where is it," Jason says, brushing his hand long the long layer of vines that sit before you, "gotta be- here!" He smiles brightly as a gate swings open behind him and you can see light filtering through the vines.

"Is this a murder dungeon?"

"Come and see," he steps through, holding the vines up so they don't snag in your hair.

You step under his arm, and the sight before you is like a fairy tale. Warm fairy lights hang over a sparkling frozen pond, a huge picnic blanket covered in tiny treats just to the side, all sitting in the cutest garden full of roses and maple trees. "Jason, this is-"

"Good right?" He starts to walk towards the picnic blanket, "do you like it?"

"Jason."

"It's not to much is it?" He turns worry written on his face, "we can go to a restaurant if you want, I just- seeing you on the ice and then I wanted to do something spec-"

"Shut up." You smile, jumping into his arms and kissing him senseless. You feel him carry you back, your backback falling to the ground next to him.

"You like it?" He whispers between your kisses, his hands gripping at your assunder your dress.

"It's beautiful, Jay."

"Like you."

"Corny." You push him gently in the chest, and he uses the momentum to fall to the ground. His arm catching the brunt of your weight.

"Oh no! I've been attacked." He jokes grabbing onto your hips and adjusting you on his lap, "whatever," he grabs your hands pulling them around his neck, "could I do to fight you off?" He winks pulling you so your chests are flush.

"You wouldn't," you squeeze your thighs on his, your nose brushing against his, "but-" You glance over to the tiny tea cakes, "I am starving."

"These -" he reaches over, sticking one half in his mouth, "are so good," you lean forward, taking a bite from it, giggling as he kisses you. Picking up another cake, "open up," he slowly feeds you the cake, then another watching as you moan at how good they are.

"You make the prettiest sounds for me," Jason sighs, holding your face to kiss you deeper, "and you taste like caramel."

"Jason," you moan into his kiss, "can we get on the ice?"

"Last one on the ice has to buy breakfast." He laughs, shoving you off him and reaching over to grab his skates.

"You're on Todd."

You zip around him, laughing as he spins trying to catch you. "Now who's the slow poke?"

"I'm going to get you," he threatens with a laugh, his hands always just beyond you, "you can't keep me away forever."

"Have you ever done a lift before?" You call out as you skate circles around him.

"You've met Grayson. What do you think?" He calls his arms, stretching out for you as you graze by him.

"Think you can catch me?"

"Don't promise to let you go if I do."

You skate back, doing a loop as you line up, "Ready?"

"Go." You take off, picking up speed as you close in on him and then suddenly his hands are around your waist, lifting you up and over his head as he spins you. The lights of the garden twinkle around you, your heart fluttering as he brings you down, your arms wrapping around his neck as you glide across the ice together.

"Fuck, you're stunning," Jason smiles, the joy shining in his eyes, his big hands massaging your waist, "can't believe you agreed to this."

"I can't believe you promised me a mind-blowing orgasm and yet," you start to play with his curls, "I'm back on the ice."

"Guess I better deliver then," he winks, scooping you in his arms and skating you off the pond, awkwardly walking you away from the lights.

"JAY," you giggle, trying to keep your skates away from his arms, "where are we going?"

"Somewhere a bit more private than Bruce's back lawn." He jokes and you have the realisation of where exactly the fuck you are right now. But when he opens the door to the greenhouse, you don't even give a shit. The moons filtering through the glass ceiling, Jason sits you on a wooden table his fingers already working to get both your skates off and when he looks up at you from the ground his eyes have gone completely feral.

"Jason," you say in a calming voice, "what's that look for?"

"I've wanted to to this all night, wrap those strong thighs around my head, sweetheart. Smother me in your strength," he pushes your panties to the side, his head disappearing under the skirt of your dress as he begins to devour you whole. Your legs clenching around his head as he sucks at your clit and he buries his fingers inside you.

He doesn't stop, doesn't slow until you're a panting mess above him, crying out his name, choking him between your legs and begging for him to fuck you.

"Lay back baby," he directs you, lifting your legs over his shoulders as he frees himself from his jeans, "you want this?" He asks, slapping you with his cock, "no nodding, I want your words. I wanna hear it."

"Fuck me Jason."

"Good girl." He plummets into you, grinding down into you as his hand twines with yours, "so fucking gorgeous."

"Hurry up, please." Jason leans over you, his lips molding with yours as his thick cock spreads you, stretching you out second by second until he reaches the end of you, "holy - Jay."

"I know," he pants into your kiss, "I know, I'm gunna move now, sweetheart. You ready?"

"Yes, please move. Please." He withdraws before thrusting back into you. Fucking into you so hard that the pots on the table start to shake.

"Take it for me." He breathes, his voice a low growl, "be a good girl and take it."

Your ankles lock around his neck, your legs shaking as he pounds into you. His mouth littering kisses up your neck as he whispers how well your doing and how perfect you are for him.

"Jay, I-"

"I know baby, I know it's so good." Jason leans his face back, pressing his forehead into yours, his fingers tightening in yours, "I want your cum," taking his free hand he wraps it around your thigh, pressing his fingers into your clit, "I want all of it," he fucks down into you his thick cock grinding down into your g spot, "and you're going to give it to me."

"Jaso-" you pant over and over as your climax floods through you and onto his cock.

"I'm not done baby, I want all your cum."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can." He keeps going his pace slowing as he starts to slam into you, "I know you've got more cum for me," he moves your hands wrapping them both around your throat, "this is gunna make sure I get it." His hand held over yours as you hold your throat.

"Jason, it's so much," you whine your ass inching up the table in an attempt to get away.

"No you fucking don't." He growls, tightening his grip on your throat, his solid arm flexing over your thigh to keep you in place, "you’ve got more for me, sweetheart." He growls his dick still slamming into you, "give it to me."

"I- ah. Jaso- plea-" you lose your words as your second climax threatens to kill you and Jasons cum fills you up.

He slows, still slowly fucking into you as you come down from you. Your breath still stuck in your throat. He gently drops your legs from his shoulders, wrapping them around his waist as he burries his face in your neck.

"Jason," you pant, kissing him softly on the cheek.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Is this Wayne manor?"

"Hmmm..."

"Is Bruce going to kill us?"

"No, but we should probably get going before Alfred comes to find us."

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 9: WE VISIT THE DEMON DUDE RANCH

Magnus looked personally offended at what he'd just read as the new chapter title. "I take it back, I don't want to know what the Triple G stands for anymore."

"Ugh, I'm with you on this one," Alex huffed. "Manly dudes strutting around being all macho with cowboy boots sounds as appealing as going shopping with Karen. Unless some Brokeback Mountain shit goes on, I'm out."

Magnus felt a very debilitating sense of hope as he realized Alex might not think muscular dudes like Hugh Jackman were his type...but wait, what did that say about himself?

"I'm sensing a lot of denim in this upcoming chapter and I am not going to like it," Thalia grumbled.

"Wearing a cowboy hat to cover up horns should be no one's idea of a good time," Jason agreed, though he would totally call in an I told you so to Percy if he guessed it right.

"But, but, cute animals!" Will protested. He enjoyed the south, thank you very much, and missed it quite a lot in the winter especially. It was really charming in the right places.

Nico was huddled up in his seat deep into his jacket. He'd been loathing this oncoming chapter and more of his crappy life on display. Will sighed, but all of the cute farm animals in the world and a merciful dry cold in the dead of winter had nothing on Nico's miserable brown eyes that just wanted to get through this.

We finally stopped in a room full of waterfalls. The floor was one big pit, ringed by a slippery stone walkway. Around us, on all four walls, water tumbled from huge pipes. The water spilled down into the pit, and even when I shined a light, I couldn't see the bottom.

"Now that would have been a badass Poseidon cabin," Jason said.

"I could do my own laundry without getting out of bed," Percy chuckled.

Briares slumped against the wall. He scooped up water in a dozen hands and washed his face. "This pit goes straight to Tartarus," he murmured. "I should jump in and save you trouble."

Percy winced uneasily at that. "I could never have a slumber party in my room though, I just know somebody's bound to fall in."

"Still think it's appropriate," Jason muttered. This area summed up his feelings about Neptune pretty well.

"Don't talk that way," Annabeth told him. "You can come back to camp with us. You can help us prepare. You know more about fighting Titans than anybody."

"You really did just stumble into a game changer of a friend in prison," Jason agreed.

"I will not be putting that in the summary, my mother would kill me!" Percy yelped.

"I have nothing to offer," Briares said. "I have lost everything."

"That's when you should build something," Alex said in one of his most serious tones of voice.

"Tyson would help," Magnus agreed with a gentleness to his voice that didn't surprise anyone.

"What about your brothers?" Tyson asked. "The other two must stand tall as mountains! We can take you to them."

"Oh, so he just needs a growth spurt, explains a lot," Percy chuckled, but it fell flat. Annabeth wasn't here to elbow him to shut up about still making jokes on that.

Briares's expression morphed to something even sadder: his grieving face. "They are no more. They faded."

The waterfalls thundered. Tyson stared into the pit and blinked tears out of his eye.

"What exactly do you mean, they faded?" I asked. "I thought monsters were immortal, like the gods."

Yet Percy looked as somber as anyone else for that question being said out loud. There had already been evidence enough immortal didn't mean one would live forever, Zoe had been more than enough of an experience for them to learn that; having been erased from history even before her death.

"Percy," Grover said weakly, "even immortality has limits. Sometimes...sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal."

Looking at Grover's face, I wondered if he was thinking of Pan. I remembered something Medusa had told us once: how her sisters, the other two gorgons, had passed on and left her alone.

Something of that still nagged at Percy's mind, those two Bargain Mart Ladies that had chased him non-stop no matter how convinced he was they should have died from that bowling ball accident.

Then last year Apollo said something about the old god Helios disappearing and leaving him with the duties of the sun god. I'd never thought about it too much, but now, looking at Briares, I realized how terrible it would be to be so old—thousands and thousands of years old—and totally alone.

"Makes Mr. D a tad more relatable, huh?" Will asked sadly. "Stuck alone at that camp."

"He's not alone," Percy scowled, "he's got us ants there to torture!" He didn't really shout though. It did make a kind of sense put that way, even if he'd still forever wish they weren't Dionysus's punishment.

"I must go," Briares said.

"Kronos's army will invade camp," Tyson said. "We need help."

Briares hung his head. "I cannot, Cyclops."

"You are strong."

"Not anymore." Briares rose.

"Hey," I grabbed one of his arms and pulled him aside, where the roar of the water would hide our words. "Briares, we need you. In case you haven't noticed, Tyson believes in you. He risked his life for you."

I told him about everything—Luke's invasion plan, the Labyrinth entrance at camp, Daedalus's workshop, Kronos's golden coffin.

Briares just shook his head. "I cannot, demigod. I do not have a finger gun to win this game." To prove his point, he made one hundred finger guns.

Percy's heart flinched in his chest like it was trying to flee him. Looking at that given him a shot of pure fear, like looking down a military execution aimed right at him.

But it was just a game. A silly trick he'd done to help Briares escape, but like Magnus had said, it was a lesson the hundred-handed one was turning back on him now to leave.

"Maybe that's why monsters fade," I said. "Maybe it's not about what the mortals believe. Maybe it's because you give up on yourself."

"Wise words for a seaweed brain," Thalia shook her head affectionately. "Is that why you pulled him away, so Annabeth wouldn't punch you for mocking her?"

Percy grinned and mock wiped his brow in relief. "You caught me, please don't tell?"

"Nah, it can be our secret," she smiled.

His pure brown eyes regarded me. His face morphed into an expression I recognized—shame.

Percy knew even Tyson couldn't have stopped this guy and dragged him along, but he still sat there wishing he could. That he'd done something, anything else.

"I never said you have to reenact his faces Percy," Alex told him in exasperation. "Put the shame face away man, you did all you could."

"Yeah, I guess," Percy wanted to believe that anyways.

Then he turned and trudged off down the corridor until he was lost in the shadows.

Tyson sobbed.

"I lied, bring him back and stab him," Alex scowled, hands twitching for his garrote for anyone making Tyson cry.

"Maybe a tad extreme," Magnus put a cautious hand on his shoulder.

"It also disproves Nico's theory I can win any fight, because I sure didn't win that," Percy groaned. He wanted so badly to offer his brother comfort, but even back then he had no clue how.

"It's okay," Grover hesitantly patted his shoulder, which must've taken all his courage.

"I still say that was hitting Medusa, while blind, and flying," Jason grinned.

"Personal courage and battle courage aren't always the same," Thalia muttered.

Tyson sneezed. "It's not okay, goat boy. He was my hero."

"Grover should offer him a jar of peanut butter," Alex said, "nobody could be upset then."

"People allergic to peanut butter," Percy corrected.

"Have you met somebody with a nut allergy? Half of them live life on the edge and eat anyways for that stuff," Alex scoffed at his naivety.

I wanted to make him feel better, but I wasn't sure what to say.

"Never meet your hero's," Nico said casually.

Percy winced, and looked at him again. Percy had looked at him more today than he possibly had their entire time knowing each other.

Nico met those sea green eyes with a sense of relief he'd finally said it out loud for the first time. Not everything, like The Word, he still felt a cold chill run through him every time he realized he'd said that out loud, but it got slowly better every time he realized he did. Like a tight muscle unclenching itself after years of being knotted. As bad as it was for Tyson to learn, Will and Alex had been right. It was still better to know and feel the disappointment than live in ignorance forever.

Finally Annabeth stood and shouldered her backpack. "Come on, guys. This pit is making me nervous. Let's find a better place to camp for the night."

"Reason number 33 she should lead all quests," Percy nodded in agreement. "I would have just stood there until we all fell asleep trying to think of something to say."

"It's okay Percy, nobody accused you of your great strength being rousing speeches," Thalia promised.

We settled in a corridor made of huge marble blocks. It looked like it could've been part of a Greek tomb, with bronze torch holders fastened to the walls.

"Did you cross over to Egypt?" Magnus asked wearily. "Because it sounds like you're sleeping in a pyramid, and I've had enough nightmares of being chased by mummies without you adding to them." The kids in his class used to laugh at him for thinking that 1999 movie was anything remotely scary like it was his fault!

"Pretty sure the Labyrinth is restricted to America," Percy said with a shrug like that was any help at all, and also, no real confidence in that statement.

It had to be an older part of the maze, and Annabeth decided this was a good sign.

"We must be close to Daedalus's workshop," she said. "Get some rest, everybody. We'll keep going in the morning."

"Which means it's probably going to change to the modern equivalent of an art deco building when you wake up," Jason frowned.

"You and Annabeth can compare architecture tips later," Percy groaned.

"How do we know when it's morning?" Grover asked.

"When you all wake up together and happy," Will said, but the awkward laugh that followed was a little to real considering they'd all been living that problem themselves for the past few days under the ocean.

"Just rest," she insisted.

Grover didn't need to be told twice. He pulled a heap of straw out of his pack, ate some of it, made a pillow out of the rest, and was snoring in no time.

"Have I mentioned how awesome that is," Magnus grinned. "We could eradicate homelessness if more people were part goat."

"You heard it here first folks, genetic experimentation to turn all people into greek myths," Alex spoke into an invisible microphone, then tipped it towards Magnus. "Tell us, who would be your first test subject?"

Magnus hesitated for a moment, he really should have thought about that one first and not said anything, but it would be worse for himself if he didn't. And this wasn't just something he'd want to laugh off. So he looked him in the eyes and said, "anybody who denies there's a homeless problem."

Alex grinned and tipped the 'microphone,' back towards himself. "Great answer. Back to you Jason!"

"What did we say about eradicating news broadcasts?" Percy asked in exasperation.

"Only the nonimportant ones that don't check their facts," Alex grinned.

Tyson took longer getting to sleep. He tinkered with some metal scraps from his building kit for a while, but whatever he was making, he wasn't happy with it. He kept disassembling the pieces. "I'm sorry I lost the shield," I told him. "You worked so hard to repair it."

Tyson looked up. His eye was bloodshot from crying. "Do not worry, brother. You saved me. You wouldn't have had to if Briares had helped."

"He was just scared," I said. "I'm sure he'll get over it."

"He is not strong," Tyson said. "He is not important anymore."

"Note to self, start lifting weights," Thalia mock whispered and doodled on her palm, before smacking said invisible piece of paper on Percy's chest.

He brushed it off with an exasperated look at her, but didn't try to fight off a smile.

He heaved a big sad sigh, then closed his eye. The metal pieces fell out of his hand, still unassembled, and Tyson began to snore.

"Now that is a magical ability I bet plenty of people would volunteer to be willing to undergo experiments to do," Jason said.

"Depends on how optional the snoring is," Percy shrugged.

I tried to fall asleep myself, but I couldn't. Something about getting chased by a large dragon lady with poison swords made it real hard to relax.

Will stroked an imaginary beard as if in deep contemplation before snapping his fingers. "Then maybe don't do that again!"

"It wasn't voluntary!" Percy yelped.

"He says, as if he couldn't have turned right back around when he found himself in a prison cell," Jason rolled his eyes.

"To be fair," Thalia said of herself as much as him, "I don't think it's humanly possible to not be curious and look around when you pop up somewhere."

"It is if you don't want to die and or be chased by a large dragon lady with poison swords," Magnus frowned.

"Well look at you and your cushy life," Percy grinned.

I picked up my bedroll and dragged it over to where Annabeth was sitting, keeping watch.

Magnus fought the urge to cover his ears and start humming very loudly. They weren't old enough to have anything resembling a conversation that should warrant that. Yet.

I sat down next to her.

"You should sleep," she said.

"Can't. You doing all right?"

"Sure. First day leading the quest. Just great."

"We'll get there," I said. "We'll find the workshop before Luke does."

She brushed her hair out of her face. She had a smudge of dirt on her chin, and I imagined what she must've looked like when she was little, wandering around the country with Thalia and Luke. Once she'd saved them from the mansion of the evil Cyclops when she was only seven. Even when she looked scared, like now, I knew she had a lot of guts.

Magnus read that with a sense of longing that seemed strange to the others. He wished he could sit around and talk to Thalia and Percy about that time, hear more about her life outside of what Percy had gleaned.

It didn't feel like his business to ask of others though. He wanted to ask her first if she even wanted some weird kid in her life that was part of a family she clearly was on rocky terms with.

"I just wish the quest was logical," she complained.

"It really does sound like the worst scenario for her," Jason agreed with a pained grimace. "Like a real life greek myth, she finally got her wish and it's just mocking her."

"Jason, all Greek tragedy's were real," Percy reminded a tad smugly.

"I'm going to make your death a mystery," he rolled his eyes.

"I mean, we're traveling but we have no idea where we'll end up. How can you walk from New York to California in a day?"

"And without any bathroom breaks," Will agreed in awe. "That's got to be some kind of record."

"Who says I didn't stop and use the little Poseidon's room in that waterfall?" Percy said way to nonchalantly for that to be a joke. "It went straight down to Tartarus after all, and the automatic flushing was nice."

The others groaned while Thalia told Will, "you walked right into that one. Did you really think he wouldn't follow through on that set up?"

"Lesson learned," he promised.

"Space isn't the same in the maze."

"I know, I know. It's just..." She looked at me hesitantly. "Percy, I was kidding myself. All that planning and reading, I don't have a clue where we're going."

"You guys never know what you're doing and it works out," Thalia cheerfully waved off.

Percy gave her a strange, lingering smile as Jason read.

"You're doing great. Besides, we never know what we're doing. It always works out.

"Dammit," she sighed before they both started snickering.

Remember Circe's island?"

She snorted. "You made a cute guinea pig."

"And Waterland, how you got us thrown off that ride?"

"I got us thrown off? That was totally your fault!"

"It was literally her fault with that maximum height nonsense!" Alex argued. Mostly because they suspected he just liked to argue.

"Percy started it with dumping all that water into the ride to escape the spiders," Magnus cheerfully reminded on behalf of his cousin.

They probably would have gone on like that, like they all needed a live reenactment of Percy and Annabeth bickering. Jason had the good sense to clear his throat and silently remind them now wasn't the time.

"See? It'll be fine."

She smiled, which I was glad to see, but the smile faded quickly.

"Percy, what did Hera mean when she said you knew the way to get through the maze?"

"Lies and hypocrisy I assume," Alex scowled anew.

"Did she really show up to sow dissent between you guys?" Magnus sounded more troubled than Jason did about how these gods worked sometimes.

"I mean, that is a thing she would do," Nico said callously while Percy thumped his pen against his temple in frustration. "This time though, I honestly think it might have been meant as a helpful hint." Certainly more than he'd ever gotten, but if this was the kind of help he would have received he was just slightly grateful none of the gods had tried.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Honestly."

"You'd tell me if you did?"

"You have literally never tried to hide anything from her," Magnus said critically. "I can't imagine you starting now."

"Thanks man," Percy grinned. It felt nice sometimes to always be confident someone so like Annabeth saw the best in him too.

"Sure. Maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe if you told me the last line of the prophecy, it would help."

"And maybe if I told you what a binturong was you'd be able to cure cancer," Will snorted.

"What's a binturong?" Percy asked blankly.

"Don't change the subject," Thalia tisked at him, already knowing that was a lost cause trying to get him to pay attention to one thing at a time.

Annabeth shivered. "Not here. Not in the dark."

"What about the choice Janus mentioned? Hera said—"

"Stop," Annabeth snapped.

Percy sat back in his seat with a troubled sigh. She'd never snapped at him to shut it before. Their first fight? Or did that whole Athena hates Poseidon thing count first-

He was distracted from that as Magnus kept going in the slightly awkward pause.

Then she took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry, Percy. I'm just stressed. But I don't...I've got to think about it."

Nico felt the oddest sensation yet for her since he'd been down here. Sympathy.

Not quite pity, she had Percy to talk to about all of her problems if she wanted. He was still wrapping his head around the fact Alex and Will had bothered to talk to him. No, it was the recent knowledge of how overwhelming the thoughts in your head could be and knowing you needed to sit with them and yet having no where to start, no way to sort them out that didn't leave you in a mess.

He hoped she did talk to Percy about what was bothering her before it overwhelmed her. He wouldn't wish his confusing life on anyone.

We sat in silence, listening to strange creaks and groans in the maze, the echo of stones grinding together as tunnels changed, grew, and expanded.

The dark made me think about the visions I'd seen of Nico di Angelo, and suddenly I realized something.

"Nico is down here somewhere," I said. "That's how he disappeared from camp. He found the Labyrinth. Then he found a path that led down even farther—to the Underworld. But now he's back in the maze. He's coming after me."

"I guess I should have been more worried what kind of take me out he was going to do," Percy said glibly. He'd never realized you could assassinate someone or have them out for dinner with just one word.

Nico looked at him terrified, like Percy was going to snap his fingers and crush all his bones. Percy just gave him the least awkward smile yet, he'd thought a joke would help lighten the mood.

Thalia elbowed him, hard, while Jason and Magnus looked on with pure confusion. "What?" Percy protested.

"Percy, not everybody's so casual about, um, whatever you and Nico talked about," Thalia whispered to him.

"What?" He was more confused than anything, but he still felt a blush coming back. "Why? Will and Alex are both weirdly okay with whatever they say?"

"But not everybody is," she hissed quietly right by his ear. "Just, wait for him to say anything first before you do."

He had no clue what she was getting at, but he shrugged and let it go.

Annabeth was quiet for a long time. "Percy, I hope you're wrong. But if you're right..." she stared at the flashlight beam, casting a dim circle on the stone wall. I had a feeling she was thinking about her prophecy. I'd never seen her look more tired.

Percy knew that feeling intricately. Sitting in the back of a truck with abused animals and gnawing over what could be so much it made everything hopeless while you stumbled into the next catastrophe.

Annabeth had never let him down on his quest though, and he was determined he would do the same for her.

"How about I take first watch?" I said. "I'll wake you if anything happens."

Annabeth looked like she wanted to protest, but she just nodded, slumped into her bedroll, and closed her eyes.

There had been so little light in that tunnel, his brain had been going haywire all night over the smallest noise. He'd flicked a spider off her at one point before she had to wake up and realize that. Her tangled blonde curls kept tickling her neck and she'd moved and brushed at them in her sleep, smudging that dirt on her cheek as she muttered.

He probably wasn't that good at guard duty, looking back.

When it was my turn to sleep, I dreamed I was back in the old man's Labyrinth prison.

"What's a level above a 3D experience?" Magnus looked at him tragically. "Percy's over here living a double life being in this place two times at once and it's depressing."

"You're telling me," Percy agreed with a thankful smile all the same. Anybody else giving him that pitying look would have made him uncomfortable, but Magnus seemed genuinely sorry for him.

It looked more like a workshop now. Tables were littered with measuring instruments. A forge burned red hot in the corner. The boy I'd seen in the last dream was stoking the bellows, except he was taller now, almost my age.

"That awkward moment where I'm not sure if I'd take juvie or this?" Alex grumbled. The freedom to be able to work in a prison was not something he'd tolerate though under any circumstances, so it was a moot point.

A weird funnel device was attached to the forge's chimney, trapping the smoke and heat and channeling it through a pipe into the floor, next to a big bronze manhole cover.

It was daytime. The sky above was blue, but the walls of the maze cast deep shadows across the workshop. After being in tunnels so long, I found it weird that part of the Labyrinth could be open to the sky. Somehow that made the maze seem like even a crueler place.

Magnus had thought much the same the first time he heard it. He lived the feeling every day of seeing everything he'd never have again as he pulled his jacket tighter around him.

The old man looked sickly. He was terribly thin, his hands raw and red from working. White hair covered his eyes, and his tunic was smudged with grease. He was bent over a table, working on some kind of long metal patchwork—like a swath of chain mail. He picked up a delicate curl of bronze and fitted it into place.

"Done," he announced. "It's done."

He picked up his project. It was so beautiful, my heart leaped—metal wings constructed from thousands of interlocking bronze feathers. There were two sets. One still lay on the table. Daedalus stretched the frame, and the wings expanded twenty feet. Part of me knew it could never fly. It was too heavy, and there'd be no way to get off the ground. But the craftsmanship was amazing. Metal feathers caught the light and flashed thirty different shades of gold.

Thalia shuddered at those things being strapped to her back, but Alex's breath caught in his throat at the beautiful imagery. He could turn into a golden bird if he wished, and yet the craftsman ship of somebody making the painstaking effort in those lit a unique fire in him to long and try the same.

The boy left the bellows and ran over to see. He grinned, despite the fact that he was grimy and sweaty. "Father, you're a genius!"

The old man smiled. "Tell me something I don't know, Icarus.

"Why do I know that name?" Magnus frowned. It was one of those moments he swore he'd heard through osmosis, something circled and passed around in word of mouth he'd swear he had no attachment to.

"Not sure," Percy agreed, "but a kid named Ick- anything must be happy to at least have some isolation from other kids."

Jason snorted in surprise while Thalia sighed in exasperation at the idiot.

Now hurry. It will take at least an hour to attach them. Come."

"You first," Icarus said.

The old man protested, but Icarus insisted. "You made them, Father. You should get the honor of wearing them first."

The boy attached a leather harness to his father's chest,

This boy adored his father, which left a strange silence in the room as Magnus read over that. Not one of them knew that feeling. Most of them barely had a relationship with their dad if they talked at all.

like climbing gear, with straps that ran from his shoulders to his wrists. Then he began fastening on the wings, using a metal canister that looked like an enormous hot-glue gun.

"And you said I didn't have any hand to scar knowledge," Percy grinned. "Try helping your mom out with some arts and crafts project and see if you come away without one of these," he prodded his ring finger where a slight discoloration of skin was, right below a sizeable deep scar from one of his early sword practices.

Or, it used to be.

"I would never accuse a kid like you of not knowing about hot-glue Percy," Alex grinned. "Your mom probably banned you from using them too early in life."

"A successful win, glad you know me so well," he chuckled, but it sounded choked up as he kept prodding at the flesh in his fingers that still moved like normal...yet he'd swear they were somebody else's hands for a moment. He knew that scar should have been there, Annabeth had told him to put water on it and he'd deliberately ignored her because a scar had sounded like the coolest thing to have in that moment...Were his memories coming back wrong...

Thalia had to nudge him again, hard, to get him to pay attention. He felt like he should have a bruise on his ribs by this point as often as she did that, but his creepy baby hands rubbed at the spot and somehow knew that wouldn't happen no matter how many times she did.

"The wax compound should hold for several hours," Daedalus said nervously as his son worked. "But we must let it set first. And we would do well to avoid flying too high or too low. The sea would wet the wax seals—"

"And the sun's heat would loosen them," the boy finished.

Magnus's mind nagged at him more stubbornly by the moment. A story about a boy who flew to close to the sun? He'd read an article once on where the idea was based on, and something of greek stories had played a part in it.

His stomach started sinking low as he put two and two together. There had yet been a Greek story that didn't end in tragedy.

"Yes, Father. We've been through this a million times!"

"One cannot be too careful."

"I have complete faith in your inventions, Father! No one has ever been as smart as you."

Thalia's stomach pitched unpleasantly. The gods never liked it when something like that was spoken into the air. The Fates themselves may have just sealed this boys fate before Athena could have concocted a plan.

The old man's eyes shone. It was obvious he loved his son more than anything in the world.

Alex studied the book intently for a few moments, annoyed that was an expression he could never replicate in a sculpture if he'd never actually seen it.

"Now I will do your wings, and give mine a chance to set properly. Come!"

It was slow going. The old man's hands fumbled with the straps. He had a hard time keeping the wings in position while he sealed them. His own metal wings seemed to weigh him down, getting in his way while he tried to work.

"I'm guessing this was a prototype experiment, maybe needs a few test runs before it's marketable," Jason muttered uneasily.

"I don't think his, um, investor is giving him much time to test the safety features," Thalia didn't need to remind him. If this wasn't a blatant escape attempt then there was a cake about to jump out of that bronze manhole cover.

"Too slow," the old man muttered. "I am too slow."

"Take your time, Father," the boy said. "The guards aren't due until—"

BOOM!

"That one wasn't me!" Percy said with a shaky attempt at a laugh that fell flat fast. The silence was starting to settle around them as they all expected his dream to end with the nightmarish image of someone's death.

The workshop doors shuddered. Daedalus had barred them from the inside with a wooden brace, but still they shook on their hinges.

"Hurry!" Icarus said.

BOOM! BOOM!

Something heavy was slamming into the doors. The brace held, but a crack appeared in the left door.

Daedalus worked furiously. A drop of hot wax spilled onto Icarus's shoulder. The boy winced but did not cry out.

Will winced horribly with him, wondering how much pain the poor boy had been through all these years to learn how to do that.

When his left wing was sealed into the straps, Daedalus began working on the right.

"We must have more time," Daedalus murmured. "They are too early! We need more time for the seal to hold."

"It'll be fine," Icarus said, as his father finished the right wing. "Help me with the manhole—"

CRASH! The doors splintered and the head of a bronze battering ram emerged through the breach. Axes cleared the debris, and two armed guards entered the room, followed by the king with the golden crown and the spearshaped beard.

"Well, well," the king said with a cruel smile. "Going somewhere?"

"I'm panicking right now and don't have a witty comeback for that," Percy admitted. He wanted to be in that cell, to hold off this horrible king and those guards while they escaped.

"Brave soul to admit that," Alex told him, just as impressed as if he had spouted some one-liner.

Daedalus and his son froze, their metal wings glimmering on their backs.

"I really hope he made a prayer to Zeus," Magnus muttered uneasily. "He sounds like he's really going to need all the help he can get." He found himself signing it, like he wished he hadn't had to say it out loud and jinx it. He missed Hearth.

He wasn't entirely sure why they were hearing about this either. He would have thought Percy would be dreaming of how Daedalus had created the maze and all its horrors. Why was the mans death so worthy of this nightmare?

"We're leaving, Minos," the old man said.

King Minos chuckled. "I was curious to see how far you'd get on this little project before I dashed your hopes. I must say I'm impressed." The king admired their wings. "You look like metal chickens," he decided. "Perhaps we should pluck you and make a soup."

"Maybe he'd like a pair of his own?" Nico said with a nasty smile. "Chicken's cannibalize each other. Daedalus would probably be more than happy to make a parting pair so he could join."

"Two sentences I'm sure have no relation to each other," Percy said with a strange look at him as usual when this king was brought up. The flash of outrage that always passed over Nico felt really personal and always amped Percy's headache up to eleven.

The guards laughed stupidly.

"Metal chickens," one repeated. "Soup."

"Shut up," the king said. Then he turned again to Daedalus. "You let my daughter escape, old man. You drove my wife to madness. You killed my monster and made me the laughingstock of the Mediterranean. You will never escape me!"

"All crimes I'm so sure this ass hole had no part of the fault in whatsoever," Jason scowled.

"That bad luck stuff really does come in threes," Percy chuckled. "Maybe he'll get lucky and a drought will come along so he can blame all his problems on the weather next."

Icarus grabbed the wax gun and sprayed it at the king, who stepped back in surprise. The guards rushed forward, but each got a stream of hot wax in his face.

Alex made a humming noise of pleasure and Magnus swallowed uneasily at the vivid mental image of him doing that to someone who next annoyed him.

"The vent!" Icarus yelled to his father.

"Get them!" King Minos raged.

Together, the old man and his son pried open the manhole cover, and a column of hot air blasted out of the ground. The king watched, incredulous, as the inventor and son shot into the sky on their bronze wings, carried by the updraft.

"Shoot them!" the king yelled, but his guards had brought no bows. One threw his sword in desperation,

"With hot wax in his face?" Thalia sounded incredulously impressed. "I hope that man got a promotion for dedication."

"Or more likely was beheaded first," Nico grumbled.

but Daedalus and Icarus were already out of reach. They wheeled above the maze and the king's palace, then zoomed across the city of Knossos and out past the rocky shores of Crete.

Icarus laughed. "Free, Father! You did it."

The boy spread his wings to their full limit and soared away on the wind.

"Wait!" Daedalus called. "Be careful!"

But Icarus was already out over the open sea, heading north and delighting in their good luck. He soared up and scared an eagle out of its flight path, then plummeted toward the sea like he was born to fly, pulling out of a nosedive at the last second. His sandals skimmed the waves.

Thalia looked a tad green around the edges of that being described in such vivid detail. Jason looked downright envious, it sounded magical and something he had a funny feeling he'd dreamed about doing in another life he might actually remember.

"Stop that!" Daedalus called. But the wind carried his voice away. His son was drunk on his own freedom.

Will was wincing over every other word though. This story was probably still so popular as a cautionary tale to listen to your parents, look both ways before crossing the streets no matter how sure you were. Will heard it as the boy having to much faith in his father's abilities. Either way you looked at it, this boy had not deserved such a miserable life only to die like that.

The old man struggled to catch up, gliding clumsily after his son.

They were miles from Crete, over deep sea, when Icarus looked back and saw his father's worried expression.

Icarus smiled. "Don't worry, Father! You're a genius! I trust your handiwork—"

The first metal feather shook loose from his wings and fluttered away.

There wasn't much shock, or a bunch of falsities this story was going to end happily ever after. Magnus read somberly, there was a sense of gentleness in the way he read that indicated this wasn't the first tragic story he'd heard and knew the right way to control his voice.

Then another.

Icarus wabbled in midair. Suddenly he was shedding bronze feathers, which twirled away from him like a flock of frightened birds.

"I feel the need to give a hats off one more time to whoever it is describing that, glorious, mental image," Alex said in a very restrained voice holding back awe, and laughter. He felt a little bad, this was a real kid that had really died, but also that was just to vivid an image to be expressed in only words. His hands ached for some clay to somehow memorialize that, as he was sure some Greek had once done.

"Icarus!" his father cried. "Glide! Extend the wings. Stay as still as possible!"

But Icarus flapped his arms, desperately trying to reassert control.

The left wing went first—ripping away from the straps.

"Father!" Icarus cried. And then he fell, the wings stripped away until he was just a boy in a climbing harness and a white tunic, his arms extended in a useless attempt to glide.

I woke with a start, feeling like I was falling.

Percy fought off the urge to startle in his seat now as he rubbed at his thudding heart, that bronze battering ram might as well have been pounding against his ribs. Maybe he'd been wrong before. He should be more grateful about the nightmares where his pants try to eat him.

The corridor was dark. In the constant moaning of the Labyrinth, I thought I could hear the anguished cry of Daedalus calling his son's name, as Icarus, his only joy, plummeted toward the sea, three hundred feet below.

Nico sighed as he studied his boots and imagined the rest of that kids passing. He was probably still in the Fields of Asphodel for all eternity, having lived an unremarkable life, but moments like this made him wish there was another option.

He'd been no hero, so there was no way he'd get into Elysium, but he'd also never been given a chance. He'd just had a miserable life, and it shouldn't just be the hero's who deserved to try for better.

There was no morning in the maze, but once everyone woke up and had a fabulous breakfast of granola bars and juice boxes,

"You guys are way to young to be eating old people food for breakfast," Alex sighed. "Where's the soda and cake because nobody can't tell you not to? Where's the vodka?"

"Alex's potential alcoholic sugar rush aside," Will said with his eyes closed like the idea physically pained him, "I for one am glad to see Annabeth is a smart packer!"

we kept traveling. I didn't mention my dream. Something about it had really freaked me out, and I didn't think the others needed to know that.

"Not seeing how it would have helped much," Jason agreed warily, "but I still think you should have. It might not have shined a light on your path problem, or anything, but it's still better to get off your chest, and maybe Annabeth would have opened up too."

"And you share every thought that comes to your mind huh?" Percy asked glumly. "Between the terrified peeps Grover kept making for every step we took and Annabeth muttering to herself about which way to go, I didn't want to break the awesome symphony they had going."

Jason wasn't going to keep arguing the point, he just wished Percy understood Annabeth might have liked for her troops to know they could confide any little thing in her.

The old stone tunnels changed to dirt with cedar beams, like a gold mine or something. Annabeth started getting agitated.

"This isn't right," she said. "It should still be stone."

"Why?" Magnus asked in ever growing concern why she still thought any of this should make sense.

"Dirt is the oldest thing on the planet, isn't that an even better path to lead to the oldest workshop?" Alex agreed.

Nobody was so much ignoring their questions, they just didn't have a good answer.

We came to a cave where stalactites hung low from the ceiling. In the center of the dirt floor was a rectangular pit, like a grave.

"Frankly I'm surprised you haven't come across more people deciding to just start digging their own graves," Will admitted with itchy skin. He probably would have if he'd been stuck in that Labyrinth.

Grover shivered. "It smells like the Underworld in here."

"I never really thought cemeteries would smell like pleasant mangroves, but thanks for the confirmation," Percy muttered.

Then I saw something glinting at the edge of the pit—a foil wrapper. I shined my flashlight into the hole and saw a half-chewed cheeseburger floating in brown carbonated muck.

"Nico, we have got to work on your signature exit strategy," Alex told him. "You get points for originality, but that must take way to long to orchestrate, and the waste!"

"I like to think of it more as a really fancy calling card," Nico grinned. "I've been here and you should all know and fear me."

"Hey," Alex grinned and even gave him a finger gun. "Good one!"

"Nico," I said. "He was summoning the dead again."

Tyson whimpered. "Ghosts were here. I don't like ghosts."

"We've got to find him." I don't know why, but standing at the edge of that pit gave me a sense of urgency. Nico was close, I could feel it.

Nico looked around at him in mild concern. "If you start tracking me like a bloodhound you will regret it."

"I was hoping you had some fries left over," Percy admitted with a sheepish grin. He was just to relieved the kid was okay rather than the surge of urgency he'd had in that place.

I couldn't let him wander around down here, alone except for the dead. I started to run.

Nico seemed genuinely touched. He even gave Percy a brief smile, the friendliest expression Percy had ever seen on him. Percy immediately smiled back, really hoping all this awkward crush business had just blown over finally.

"Percy!" Annabeth called.

I ducked into a tunnel and saw light up ahead. By the time Annabeth, Tyson, and Grover caught up with me, I was staring at daylight streaming through a set of bars above my head. We were under a steel grate made out of metal pipes. I could see trees and blue sky.

"Are you in another prison underground?" Magnus asked in trepidation. "Is the whole labyrinth just going to lead you to every prison on the planet?"

"I, really hope not," Percy said with a blank stare.

Thalia made an awkward noise as she tried not to agree. It was certainly an imprisonment for those poor animals.

"Where are we?" I wondered.

Then a shadow fell across the grate and a cow stared down at me. It looked like a normal cow except with was a weird color—bright red, like a cherry. I didn't know cows came in that color.

"Where did you think strawberry milk came from Percy?" Jason said with way to much confidence, it actually threw Percy off for a moment before they both chuckled.

"Um, they kind of can," Alex agreed, "but not bright red. More of a deep red color."

"No, I mean like, Rachel's hair red, I am not kidding," Percy promised.

"So our options on the dude ranch are cute cow shows where they die their cattle rainbow colors, or fiery cows that are going to kill you," Magnus sighed.

Will fought hard to stifle a laugh he was pretty close on that second one.

"Maybe Bessie's parents are there," Alex chuckled.

The cow mooed, put one hoof tentatively on the bars, then backed away.

"It's a cattle guard," Grover said.

"A what?" I asked.

"They put them at the gates of ranches so cows can't get out. They can't walk on them."

"How do you know that?"

Grover huffed indignantly. "Believe me, if you had hooves, you'd know about cattle guards. They're annoying!"

"Poor Grover," Magnus agreed. "I wonder if he can walk over any grate, like those giant ones you see in store parking lots."

"I get the feeling Grover doesn't frequent grocery stores very much for that to be a problem," Thalia reminded.

I turned to Annabeth. "Didn't Hera say something about a ranch? We need to check it out. Nico might be there."

"She also said to keep going past the ranch," Nico supplied with perfect clarity and a very confused raised eyebrow. "You're really ignoring the one good bit of advice she gave you?"

"Like I'm going to take some goddess's advice that stressed out Annabeth so much," Percy scoffed, "we still need to have a talk!"

"Right," Nico agreed with another surprised smile.

She hesitated. "All right. But how do we get out?"

Tyson solved that problem by hitting the cattle guard with both hands. It popped off and went flying out of sight. We heard a CLANG! and a startled Moo! Tyson blushed.

"Sorry, cow!" he called.

There was just friendly laughter going around the room for a moment, along with Alex and Magnus sharing some odd signs about finishing an animal book of noises nobody else followed.

Then he gave us a boost out of the tunnel.

We were on a ranch, all right. Rolling hills stretched to the horizon, dotted with oak trees and cactuses and boulders. A barbed wire fence ran from the gate in either direction. Cherry-colored cows roamed around, grazing on clumps of grass.

"Red cattle," Annabeth said. "The cattle of the sun."

"I was joking about them being able to breathe fire too!" Magnus groaned.

"No, no, you were right on the money with that one," Will chuckled.

"What?" I asked.

"They're sacred to Apollo."

"Holy cows?"

"Are the Greeks responsible for every old saying?" Magnus laughed in surprise. "Like if I say the phrase till the cows come home, are you going to tell me it's based on a myth?"

"Um," Thalia gave him an awkward smile rather than admit, yeah, probably.

"Exactly. But what are they doing—"

"Wait," Grover said. "Listen."

At first everything seemed quiet...but then I heard it: the distant baying of dogs.

Alex did a weirdly good reenactment of that like they needed a live performance.

Jason laughed hard in surprise, for some reason he just knew he had a misplaced fondness for hunting dogs Mrs. O'Leary hadn't quite struck in him.

The sound got louder. Then the underbrush rustled, and two dogs broke through. Except it wasn't two dogs. It was one dog with two heads. It looked like a greyhound, long and snaky and sleek brown, but its neck V'd into two heads, both of them snapping and snarling and generally not very glad to see us.

"Cool," Jason grinned wider than ever.

"Not in the slightest," Magnus muttered, fighting off the impulse to make the warding off evil gesture at the idea of this thing anywhere near him.

"Bad Janus dog!" Tyson cried.

Magnus had no choice but to laugh too though.

"Do you think one head sniffs out truth and the other lies?" Thalia tagged in.

Jason gave her a startled look, something of the description of this dog and that tied in well-

but Magnus kept reading quickly, his dislike of canines wasn't subtle, and he obviously didn't want to linger on this.

"Arf!" Grover told it, and raised a hand in greeting.

The two-headed dog bared its teeth. I guess it wasn't impressed that Grover could speak animal.

"It's like speaking to a New Yorker," Will offered. "Just because you learn the lingo doesn't mean you're welcome."

"Fair enough," Percy said with a bright-eyed thanks, nobody had ever explained it like that before.

Then its master lumbered out of the woods, and I realized the dog was the least of our problems.

He was a huge guy with stark white hair, a straw cowboy hat, and a braided white beard— kind of like Father Time, if Father Time went redneck and got totally jacked. He was wearing jeans, a DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS T-shirt, and a denim jacket with the sleeves ripped off so you could see his muscles. On his right bicep was a crossed-swords tattoo. He held a wooden club about the size of a nuclear warhead, with six-inch spikes bristling at the business end.

"That is a very manly dude on this demon animal ranch," Magnus groaned, fighting off the urge to chuck the book away from him at the chapter title once again being way to accurate.

"I bet he makes good barbeque though," Alex said like he was still willing to give the place a chance if someone let him pet the animals.

"Heel, Orthus," he told the dog.

"He named his dog twilight?" Alex asked with a very concerning, twitching smile. "Well, given the pet, I'm sure I can guess which team he was on."

"We all have our secret hobbies," Magnus said with an eye roll, he really hoped that wasn't one Alex secretly liked.

The dog growled at us once more, just to make his feelings clear, then circled back to his master's feet.

"Um, good dog?" Will said meekly. "It's always nice to express your feelings."

"Maybe not the kind that make you want to cover your throat," Nico frowned, he'd been on the receiving end of those fangs getting a little to close.

The man looked us up and down, keeping his club ready.

"What've we got here?" he asked. "Cattle rustlers?"

"Just travelers," Annabeth said. "We're on a quest."

The man's eye twitched. "Half-bloods, eh?"

I started to say, "How did you know—"

"Well you don't look like cow rustlers," Thalia snorted.

Annabeth put her hand on my arm. "I'm Annabeth, daughter of Athena. This is Percy, son of Poseidon.

"Why the actual fridge fart did she introduce you with your parents?" Jason demanded. "That tends to cause more problems!"

Percy was to busy repeating a particular part of Jason's question to himself to answer while Thalia shrugged nonchalantly. "Dog might have sniffed it out, most monsters know anyways, no point in lying."

Grover the satyr. Tyson the—"

"Cyclops," the man finished. "Yes, I can see that." He glowered at me. "And I know half-bloods because I am one, sonny. I'm Eurytion, the cowherd for this here ranch. Son of Ares.

"I'm curious if that whole, forever grudging hate thing Ares has against you for beating him is passed on through some kind of psychic link to all his kids, not just the ones at Camp," Alex asked, miming a head explosion to emphasize his point.

"You just want to hear about someone meeting me and beating the tar out of me," Percy frowned in accusation.

"Trying to beat the tar out of you," Alex corrected. "You're not wrong, but that's not entirely why I want to know," Alex agreed.

"Well I couldn't guess," Percy said in exasperation.

You came through the Labyrinth like the other one, I reckon."

"The other one?" I asked. "You mean Nico di Angelo?"

"We get a load of visitors from the Labyrinth," Eurytion said darkly. "Not many ever leave."

Will sat up straight in his seat, no more jokes or tiffs about silly things like being afraid of a two-headed dog as he looked seriously from Nico to the book and back. Nico had last said he'd gotten caught, but no more. He really hadn't been that worried about it since he was right here, but now his Apollo-healer tingle started humming if they had actually hurt him while holding him there for however long until he got out.

"Wow," I said. "I feel welcome."

"They should put a mat out instead of some old cattle guard," Alex agreed.

The cowherd glanced bend him like someone was watching. Then he lowered his voice. "I'm only going to say this once, demigods. Get back in the maze now. Before it's too late."

The short, sharp breath that escaped Nico wasn't his first in this room. He'd almost come to expect it in regards to Percy, the boy he'd actually known nothing about really.

This moment caught him off guard anew. That Percy could have run and come back when the quest was over. That he'd followed his impulsiveness to come find him but still had the chance to turn around.

"We're not leaving," Annabeth insisted. "Not until we see this other demigod. Please."

And they didn't. Neither Percy or Annabeth. With everything else weighing heavier on the line, they actually picked him at that moment.

Eurytion grunted. "Then you leave me no choice, missy. I've got to take you to the boss."

"If this guy's just the grunt, how big is the boss going to be?" Magnus frowned.

"You really want to know that?" Alex asked in surprise.

"No," he sighed, "but we're going to find out anyways."

"Well then you can either cover up your ears and ignore it all or make up a lie for yourself in the meantime," Alex scoffed.

I didn't feel like we were hostages or anything.

"And the amount of exposure you've had to that feeling makes me confident in your verification of that," Jason sighed.

"I always wanted an adventurous life," Percy shrugged.

Eurytion walked alongside us with his club across his shoulder. Orthus the two-headed dog growled a lot and sniffed at Grover's legs and shot into the bushes once in a while to chase animals, but Eurytion kept him more or less under control.

We walked down a dirt path that seemed to go on forever. It must've been close to a hundred degrees, which was a shock after San Francisco. Heat shimmered off the ground. Insects buzzed in the trees. Before we'd gone very far, I was sweating like crazy. Flies swarmed us. Every so often we'd see a pen full of red cows or even stranger animals. Once we passed a corral where the fence was coated in asbestos. Inside, a herd of fire-breathing horses milled around. The hay in their feeding trough was on fire. The ground smoked around their feet, but the horses seemed tame enough. One big stallion looked at me and whinnied, columns of red flame billowing out his nostrils. I wondered if it hurt his sinuses.

"I'm sensing a theme," Alex said with interest.

"If Orthus isn't immune to flames then I don't know how they get the herding done around there," Magnus said curiously, "unless they have a separate fire breathing dog just for that and Orthus is security."

"I just want to know what happens when you milk them," Jason chuckled. "Is that were the lava at camp comes from?"

Percy laughed along with them like he didn't have a care in the world.

"What are they for?" I asked.

Eurytion scowled. "We raise animals for lots of clients. Apollo, Diomedes, and...others."

"Like who?"

"No more questions."

"Are we really surprised?" Thalia scoffed. "If he was going to tell you his entire clientele he'd already be bragging about it."

"He didn't really answer my question," Percy insisted, "you know I'd never let something like that go."

Finally we came out of the woods. Perched on a hill above us was a big ranch house—all white stone and wood and big windows.

"It looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright!" Annabeth said.

"The building looks like a person?" Will squinted suspiciously.

"No, I think the guy is famous for organic architecture or something," Jason grinned. "I'm sure I've come across his name, though I have no clue why."

"The house is, edible?" Percy frowned. "It didn't look made out of candy and gingerbread."

"No, they're like, open, modern, utilize the best space," Jason said, his brow creasing with concentration as he tried to remember why he'd read about this. "Um, I think prairie dogs came up at one point?"

"We seriously need a book on what you've been up to," Thalia said, her selfish reasons aside in this case.

"Well, at least we're sticking with a farm theme," Will nodded like that was all the relief he needed.

I guess she was talking about some architectural thing. To me it just looked like the kind of place where a few demigods could get into serious trouble.

"Percy, that's every building you walk into," Magnus scoffed.

"I could put you in a rubber room and you'd find a way to make it explode," Alex agreed with pride.

No wonder he did so well on this very combustible farm, Nico kept to himself, and Percy didn't even explode anything. He was just in his natural element even out of the water.

We hiked up the hill.

"Don't break the rules," Eurytion warned as we walked up the steps to the front porch.

"He hasn't told us the rules yet!" Will protested like he expected the monsters to play fair.

"I guess he never got numb to the pretty scenery and was distracted," Alex rolled his eyes.

"No fighting. No drawing weapons. And don't make any comments about the boss's appearance."

"Oh," Thalia said in great exhaustion. "Percy's screwed."

Percy didn't bother to deny it, he was already tapping his pen against each knuckle with growing unease. Eurytion hadn't bothered him much, but something of this house was setting his instincts ablaze, and he had a feeling it didn't have anything to do with organic housing.

"Why?" I asked. "What does he look like?"

Before Eurytion could reply, a new voice said, "Welcome to the Triple G Ranch."

"Unless the triple stands for gay I don't think this is going to be any fun," Alex pouted.

"And here I was starting to delude myself the G stood for great," Magnus sighed. "Triple Great Ranch, where nobody almost dies!"

"Focusing on the wrong part of that," Thalia muttered low enough Percy couldn't hear.

The man on the porch had a normal head, which was a relief.

Percy wasn't phased by the smattering of snickers that covered the room. They were lucky they'd only had to hear the weirdness described.

His face was weathered and brown from years in the sun. He had a slick black hair and a black pencil moustache like villains have in old movies.

"What's with the evil mustaches in this book?" Will asked nervously, still watching Nico anxiously. He didn't seem particularly traumatized by this guy showing up again, but was back to fiddling with his ring uneasily. "Why can't someone be described with a friendly mustache like Santa?"

"Because nobody wants Nerus to come back," Percy rolled his eyes.

He smiled at us, but the smile wasn't friendly; more amused, like Oh boy, more people to torture!

"I dislike that you know that smile," Magnus groaned.

"It's the only way I've ever seen Mr. D smile," Percy shrugged.

I didn't ponder that very long, though, because then I noticed his body...or bodies. He had three of them. Now you'd think I would've gotten used to weird anatomy after Janus and Briares, but this guy was three complete people. His neck connected to the middle chest like normal, but he had two more chests, one to either side, connected at the shoulders, with a few inches between. His left arm grew out of his left chest, and the same on the right, so he had two arms, but four armpits, if that makes any sense. The chests all connected into one enormous torso, with two regular but very beefy legs, and he wore the most oversized pair of Levis I'd ever seen. His chests each wore a different color Western shirt—green, yellow, red, like a stoplight. I wondered how he dressed the middle chest, since it had no arms.

"People of different backgrounds don't always like their routines on display Percy," Jason rolled his eyes at him.

"That cannot be comfortable getting through your average doorway," Magnus frowned at this bizarre theme of mismatching body parts Percy had been coming across. "Guess that open floor plan was on purpose."

The cowherd Eurytion nudged me. "Say Hello to Mr. Geryon."

"Oh, triple Geryon, I get it," Alex grinned. Magnus just sighed in defeat and said, "yeah, that tracks."

"I'm done," Thalia raised her hands in exasperation at these boys!

"Hi," I said. "Nice chests—uh, ranch! Nice ranch you have."

"Percy, breaking the rules in one sentence," Will chuckled. "You really are a wonder of your own."

"Thank you," Percy grinned.

Before the three-bodied man could respond, Nico di Angelo came out of the glass doors onto the porch.

Will sighed in relief, he'd already been imagining him trussed up in the basement with fire-breathing feral cats or something.

"Bathroom break," Alex nodded in understanding. "Everybody needs that during a monster chase."

"I got caught by Eurytion who told me I needed to come with him," Nico told them in exasperation. Eurytion had actually offered to just keep on driving, but, well, he'd happily let himself be taken hostage too just like Percy for his own reasons. Huh, he'd never expected to be like Percy in this random way. "I agreed because I'd heard of him and needed to speak about, negotiations," he finished lamely. Nobody pressed him for details, they'd gotten mildly better at suppressing that not to hassle Percy to much, but he could feel their simmering curiosity like milk ready to boil over.

"Geryon, I won't wait for—"

He froze when he saw us. Then he drew his sword.

"See, Nico's breaking the rules too," Percy said with an accusing finger at him like that was the important part of somebody drawing a sword on you.

"It's not a competition Percy," Will sighed, "and Annabeth already started it and won regardless before the quest kicked off."

The blade was just like I'd seen in my dream; short, sharp, and dark as midnight.

Alex gave a very loud, longing sigh and flopped against the side of his couch as he gave Nico a hurt look.

"I don't see why you want to know how I got it so bad," Nico smiled at his theatrics. "You've never tried to find out how Annabeth or Grover got their reed pipes and knife."

"Oh, I will when I meet them," Alex promised. "I'm waiting to ambush Thalia about her shield when I can get a chance that doesn't involve her using it on me."

"If you jump out at me and scream boo, you will get a face full of Aegis," Thalia promised.

"See, bidding my time," Alex said with a very calculating look at Nico, who just chuckled.

Geryon snarled when he saw it. "Put that away, Mr. di Angelo. I ain't gonna have my guests killin' each other."

"But that's—"

"Percy Jackson," Geryon supplied. "Annabeth Chase. And a couple of their monster friends. Yes, I know."

"Monster friends?" Grover said indignantly.

Magnus twiddled his fingers uncomfortably as he wondered how Grover was supposed to be classified.

"That man is wearing three shirts," Tyson said, like he was just realizing this.

"I'd love to meet Tyson just to see what he says about me," Jason chuckled.

"That man is to smart to be this dumb," Percy helpfully supplied.

"I would have told you what he first thought about you, but now you can forget it," Jason huffed.

"No, wait-" Percy began to splutter, but Thalia gave them both sharp smacks to their knees to pay attention.

"They let my sister die!" Nico's voice trembled with rage. "They're here to kill me!"

"One of these things is not like the other," Percy said with a nervous chuckle.

"As opposed to a normal person, who would deny both claims," Alex said, framing his hands around Percy's face as if to capture such ineptitude.

Both Thalia and Percy winced hard, the guilt they felt in Bianca's sacrifice still very raw to be discussed.

"Sorry," Nico whispered again. "I know that was harsh, and not what happened now, and-"

"Nico, I don't blame you," Percy promised at once. If anything he still blamed himself plenty, prophecy be dammed. It was his idea Bianca had run off with. "You were just a kid, haven't you been listening? I really did just want to help!"

Nico gave him an understanding nod, but the dull feeling of pain from still being called a kid by him, the flash of nausea that raced through him when he still remembered what had come out of his mouth the last time he'd talked to Percy about this, and the ensuing pressure he still felt inside every time he heard his sister's name wasn't giving him a very eloquent response.

"Nico, we're not here to kill you." I raised my hands. "What happened to Bianca was—"

"Don't speak her name! You're not worthy to even talk about her!"

"What's the level of worthiness?" Alex was the only one who dared keep talking to him right now in anything resembling a light tone. "Just trying to get a scale on that?"

A flash of anger did burn through him, that this wasn't a joke, but he knew Alex didn't mean it like that. He'd never talked about his sister, he didn't know how.

Silence was his answer, but Alex wasn't deterred. He'd just try another way.

"Wait a minute," Annabeth pointed at Geryon. "How do you know our names?"

"I really stopped questioning that when Medusa did," Magnus shook his head.

The three-bodied man winked. "I make it my business to keep informed, darlin'. Everybody pops into the ranch from time to time. Everyone needs something from ole Geryon. Now, Mr. di Angelo, put that ugly sword away before I have Eurytion take it form you."

"It's not ugly!" Will said with a loud, nervous chuckle, his hands fidgeting around making calming gestures at nobody in here. He kept tickling the hair on the back of Nico's neck, and yet he didn't really have the urge to swat him away.

"Don't worry Will, I don't lose it at every insult," Nico sighed. His need had trumped his grudge for Percy, for the moment. He hoped Bianca had been around watching and smiled at that, he was already trying to live up to her wish without even knowing it.

Eurytion sighed, but he hefted his spiked club.

"I'm getting feelings of discontent," Jason said, sharp eyes clearly wondering if they could play these two against each other.

"What a strange child of Ares," Thalia agreed pleasantly.

At his feet, Orthus growled.

Nico hesitated. He looked thinner and paler than he had in the Irismessages. I wondered if he'd eaten in the last week. His black clothes were dusty from traveling in the Labyrinth, and his dark eyes were full of hate. He was too young to look so angry. I still remembered him as the cheerful little kid who played with Mythomagic cards.

Which hadn't changed much from the moment he'd been flung in here. Percy looked sharply away from him, his mind sucker punching him with guilt and memories he still hadn't tied together on how everything surrounding this kid seemed to have gone wrong.

Nico wanted to deny it. He wanted to summon an army of soldiers and dare anyone to call him weak and sad looking. He didn't want their pity!

But Will sighed, his arm across the back of the couch, his posture open, and exhausted. If Will had been talking to him this whole time out of some kind of pity, he couldn't find it. Alex tweaked his nose and gave him a knowing wink. The idea came across. 'I get it, life sucks.'

Reluctantly, he sheathed his sword. "If you come near me, Percy, I'll summon help. You don't want to meet my helpers, I promise."

"I believe you," I said.

"I really want you to hear what just happened Nico," Thalia chuckled. "This ding-dong has ignored gods, Chiron himself, and his mother every day of his life when she tells him to be safe. You, you he listened to without question."

"You mean putting the fear of death into you wouldn't work?" Percy rolled his eyes at her. He'd listened because he didn't want to try talking to Nico in front of these monsters and they needed to not kill each other until then.

Nico winced with guilt Percy had really believed that of him.

Geryon patted Nico's shoulder. "There, we've all made nice. Now come along, folks. I want to give you a tour of the ranch."

"Is there roasted peanuts involved?" Jason perked up at any mention of a tour.

"Athena set the bar to high," Magnus nodded, "I don't know how this guy is going to compete. I bet he won't even mention a snack bar."

Geryon had a trolley thing—like one of those kiddie trains that take you around zoos. It was painted black and white in a cowhide pattern. The driver's car had a set of longhorns stuck to the hood, and the horn sounded like a cowbell. I figured maybe this was how he tortured people. He embarrassed them to death riding around in the moo-mobile.

"You wouldn't believe how scary that thing can look popping up in the labyrinth," Nico scowled.

Magnus spluttered painfully as he tried to subdue a laugh, shaking his hands and gasping, "sorry! I believe you!" His face was turning red, he was probably signing to stay coherent like Nico actually understood that. "Just imaging that ghost getting freaked out by-" he had to stop and catch his breath.

Nico sighed and chuckled good-naturedly. Will even nodded beside him and said, "well I'm glad, I was worried you were dragged there kicking and screaming. This seems, less, um, bad?"

"I knew who Geryon was and wanted to make a deal," Nico nodded, not enlightening the others Minos had mentioned him as a potential ally. "I can't say I, regret, getting in," he sighed all the same his sister had finally shown up because of this mess. They'd saved a bunch of silly farm animals. There were worse outcomes that could have happened.

Nico sat in the very back, probably so he could keep an eye on us.

"The strategic move," Jason nodded.

"Hey," Percy frowned, "neither of us actually want the other dead!"

"If this wasn't a circular room I'd be staked out in the corner from you nutjobs," Jason smirked.

Eurytion crawled in next to him with his spiked club and pulled his cowboy hat over his eyes like he was going to take a nap. Orthus jumped in the front seat next to Geryon and began barking happily in two-part harmony.

Alex chuckled and very much wondered if he could turn into that dog. Oh the fun he could have.

Annabeth, Tyson, Grover, and I took the middle two cars.

"We have a huge operation!" Geryon boasted as the moo-mobile lurched forward. "Horses and cattle mostly, but all sorts of exotic varieties, too."

"Peacocks?" Magnus asked hopefully.

"Monster peacocks, now we're in business!" Alex agreed. "Oh, x-ray eyes! No, no, they look at you and expose the color of your aura!"

"I immediately regret this," Magnus sighed. For one glorious, childish moment the image of getting in one of those things had made him think of riding that with his mom at the zoo.

We came over a hill, and Annabeth gasped. "Hippalektryons?

"She always says these words with such confidence," Percy grinned. "I want to know where she finds the time to figure out how to say it in the first place while reading about the world."

"I bet she secretly has to practice clapping the syllables for weeks," Magnus offered. "Like dilophosaurus," he said from experience.

"A, dolphin dinosaur?" Percy asked, vaguely recognizing the name.

"It's the dinosaur that could spit poison!" Magnus grinned. "Fun fact, its been proved they actually couldn't do that, let alone had a frill!"

"Oh, how lame," Percy said. He'd loved the t-rex the most, and feared to much saying that out loud in case some god got a wise idea to sick one on his life.

I thought they were extinct!"

"I've only ever heard of them as actual made up animals too," Thalia grinned in surprise. "Like the lock-ness monster back then, used to scare kids into behaving."

"That's adorable," Jason chuckled. Thalia smiled, he probably wouldn't think it was so entertaining if he knew the real monsters that had haunted them as kids.

At the bottom of the hill was a fenced-in pasture with a dozen of the weirdest animals I'd ever seen.

"You have clearly not been at the bottom of the ocean long enough to see a fangtooth fish. They live with dead eyes and you cannot convince me otherwise. Your dads kingdom makes ancient greek monsters look normal," Alex confessed.

Percy's brain flipflopped back and forth between the idea of a fish being scary and Alex knowing a fish he didn't before deciding on moving on.

Each had the front half of a horse and the back half of a rooster. Their rear feet were huge yellow claws. They had feathery tails and red wings. As I watched, two of them got in a fight over a pile of seed. They reared up on their wings at each other until the smaller one galloped away, its rear bird legs putting a little hop in its step.

"That's adorable," Magnus couldn't help but agree with Will's little coo of excitement.

"I wonder if they're strong enough for Tyson to finally get that ride he wants," Percy nodded they weren't the craziest thing.

"Rooster ponies," Tyson said in amazement. "Do they lay eggs?"

"Once a year!" Geryon grinned in the rearview mirror. "Very much in demand for omelettes!"

"That's horrible!" Annabeth said. "They must be an endangered species!"

Geryon waved his hand. "Gold is gold, darling. And you haven't tasted the omelettes."

"Oooh, yeah, I hate him," Alex said in way to calm a voice for someone who was clearly now planning at least one major crime.

Will nibbled on his lip as he tried to offer, "there's clearly some kind of good balance? Ah, he's helping an endangered species stay alive enough to breed at least, that's more than they're getting being extinct? Baby steps?"

"No Will," Alex said in that continued eerie voice. "You don't get to optimistic your way out of this one."

"Right, yeah, I'll get the lighter fluid," Will agreed, and not just because those would be awesome to have around camp.

"That's not right," Grover murmured, but Geryon just kept narrating the tour.

"Now, over here," he said, "we have our fire-breathing horses, which you may have seen on your way in. They're bred for war, naturally."

"What war?" I asked.

"Any war," Jason gave him a strange look. "Sell those to some mortals and they'll just think they have a weirdly awesome murder horse that doesn't get hurt by flamethrowers." He had a funny feeling about this place. He was sure he'd never directly been, but something of this caused an annoying tick in his brain all the same.

"How about we not sit around discussing warfare," Thalia sighed. Considering camp was on the brink of one, it wasn't anyone's favorite subject right now.

Geryon grinned slyly. "Oh, whichever one comes along. And over yonder, of course, are our prize red cows."

Sure enough, hundreds of the cherry-colored cattle were grazing the side of the hill.

"So many," Grover said.

"Yes, well, Apollo is too busy to see them," Geryon explained, "so he subcontracts to us. We breed them vigorously because there's such a demand."

"For what?" I asked.

Geryon raised an eyebrow. "Meat, of course! Armies have to eat."

"Ugh, okay, that's disgusting," Will shivered. That was like eating a piece of his dads car tire. How could someone stomach even the thought of wanting to do that?

"So it's not okay when it's related to your dad?" Alex challenged.

"They're not related to me, that's not what sacred means," Will sighed. "I'm of the opinion you can't stop the world from being evil so you should try to make peace," he defended himself. "I'm also of the opinion this place is lucky it isn't raining plague arrows right now and my dad would not be happy about this so we should absolutely intervene before the whole place is set on fire and all the cute animals suffer. More."

"A compromise I won't ignore," Alex nodded.

"You kill the sacred cows of the sun god for hamburger meat?" Grover said. "That's against ancient laws!"

"And clearly nothing bad has happened to him," Percy muttered, his mind still on Chiron's dire warning about how many people were on this quest.

Jason still looked a little grumpy nobody had dumped an ancient library on his head so he could be studying all of this in depth like a psychopath.

"Oh, don't get so worked up, satyr. They're just animals."

"Anybody who ever says that deserves to be fed to animals," Thalia shook her head in disgust. "You know who never says that! Farmers who actually care and understand the balance and the welfare of what an animal needs in life!"

"How many black market animal traders have you guys shish kabobed?" Alex asked eagerly.

"Quite a few," Thalia said proudly, popping the collar of her silver jacket. "Stories I will proudly share."

Alex actually began rubbing his hands in excitement.

"Just animals!"

"Yes, and if Apollo cared, I'm sure he would tell us."

"If he knew," I muttered.

"The fact that he doesn't know is kind of getting to me right now," Nico admitted.

"Welcome to my world," Jason agreed. He'd lost track of what the gods did and didn't know and he was about to start making a list just to satisfy his peace of mind.

Nico sat forward. "I don't care about any of this, Geryon. We had business to discuss, and this wasn't it!"

"You are now the definition of someone who needs to stop and smell the roses," Magnus told him sympathetically. He'd been living a hard life and needed some fun, like a cute animal ride through a nice farm. Just not this one.

"Hard pass," Nico turned his nose up just because of his stepmother though.

"All in good time, Mr. di Angelo. Look over here; some of my exotic game."

"You were half right last time on the birds," Alex grinned at Magnus. "Going to take another shot?"

"I couldn't guess what was in there in a million years," he reminded.

The next field was ringed in barbed wire. The whole area was crawling with giant scorpions.

Causing the others to burst out laughing hard while Magnus threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Triple G Ranch," I said, suddenly remembering. "Your mark was on the crates at camp. Quintus got his scorpions from you."

"Quintus..." Geryon mused. "Short gray hair, muscular, swordsman?"

"Yeah."

"Never heard of him," Geryon said.

"Uhhu," Jason frowned, "and I'm a child of Neptune."

"We look nothing alike," Percy looked around in confusion. "Thalia could pass that off better."

"Yeah, because that's the weird part of what I said," Jason snorted.

"Could you two stay on one topic for five seconds," Thalia sighed.

"Well it's not like we know any more about Geryon or Quintus from this," Jason sighed. "So he bought some scorpions from a questionable ranch. The guy obviously gets around and wanted to impress the camp with a cool monster, and this is the kind of guy, um, monster who would sell his grandma for a penny. I'm not sold on anything."

"I'm now concerned this is where he got Mrs. O'Leary from though," Alex frowned. "Does he have a puppy mill somewhere in the back I am not going to like?"

"Let's just wait and see how this plays out," Thalia said. She honestly didn't know, though Annabeth had promised this place was being run by Eurytion and it was much better now so she hadn't gone to visit herself when she heard these atrocities. She didn't want Percy thinking to much ahead and remembering that though, let alone any other details, so was more than happy to keep them moving along.

"Now, over here are my prize stables! You must see them."

I didn't need to see them, because as soon as we got within three hundred yards I started to smell them. Near the banks of a green river was a horse corral the size of a football field.

Thalia smacked Percy with a very annoyed eye roll. "That field gets bigger every time this story gets told by the way. Last time I was around Camp, it was the size of Olympus."

Percy rubbed his arm with a confused smile. Hopefully all his friends hadn't died a very manly death on the dude ranch if it was a popular tale.

 Stables lined one side of it. About a hundred horses were milling around in the muck—and when I say muck, I mean horse poop. It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen, like a poop blizzard had come through and dumped four feet of the stuff overnight. The horses were really gross from wading through it, and the stables were just as bad. It reeked like you would not believe—worse than the garbage boats on the East River.

Jason gagged at just the thought and covered up his nose. Alex, Magnus, and Nico had woken up in the worst of smelling places and still couldn't come close to imagining how the stench of that must have been vomit inducing, eye watering, disgusting beyond all words.

"You haven't been involuntarily shoved into a bathroom in this one yet," Thalia was waving her hand in front of her face like the book was letting out such an odor now. "I hope there's one handy around."

For once Percy couldn't even be annoyed at them for making that joke, if anybody needed a massive toilet it was those poor creatures.

Even Nico gagged. "What is that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" He asked, clearly hurt. "You think I go around sniffing corpses for fun?"

"You'd had this look on your face the whole time like I was about to start hacking pieces off of you," Percy said, a touch guilty, a little defensive. "Sorry to see you have a normal reaction to something."

He huffed and muttered but didn't protest further.

"My stables!" Geryon said. "Well, actually they belong to Aegas,

"Your shield owns horses?" Percy asked blankly.

"Aegas means cloaked, protection, and is most commonly associated with the word Zeus," Thalia shrugged.

"Oh, good, so it's not just Apollo who's prized animals are being mistreated. Equal opportunity and all that," Percy sighed.

but we watch over them for a small monthly fee. Aren't they lovely?"

"They're disgusting!" Annabeth said.

"Lots of poop," Tyson observed.

"The only takeaway we need from this place, as always, is delivered best by Tyson," Will sighed.

"How can you keep animals like that?" Grover cried.

"Y'all getting' on my nerves," Geryon said.

"Did he expect cheers and applause for these animals swimming in their own feces?" Magnus scowled. Horses he did like, and even if this was a pack of wolves, this was the definition of an inhumane environment.

"I hope he still does when I throw him in the nearest portapotty," Alex scowled.

"These are flesh-eating horses, see? They like these conditions."

"I'm not going to believe this guy," Magnus huffed. "Who knew a monster with three chests was heartless!"

Percy winced and gave him a strange look, but his vision went blurry and his headache didn't allow him a second of thought to wonder why.

"Plus, you're too cheap to have them cleaned," Eurytion mumbled from under his hat.

"Quiet!" Geryon snapped.

"Ooo, trouble in the dude paradise," Jason said with interest.

Percy let out a painful gasp and began rubbing at his forehead at that bouncing around his skull next, and Thalia placed a calming hand on his shoulder and a stern look at Magnus to finish.

"All right, perhaps the stables are a bit challenging to clean. Perhaps they do make me nauseous when the wind blows the wrong way. But so what? My clients still pay me well."

"Anything for that bottom line huh?" Percy asked with enough disgust to have his own manure heap packed in.

"What clients?" I demanded.

"Oh, you'd be surprised how many people will pay for a flesh-eating horse. They make great garbage disposals. Wonderful way to terrify your enemies. Great at birthday parties! We rent them out all the time."

"I find that very hard to believe, nobody would go near enough to this thing to be eaten by it, the way they smelled," Nico scoffed.

"Do monsters have birthday parties?" Magnus asked in surprise.

Alex doubled over laughing while Will grinned faintly in surprise. "I thought he meant mortal torture fests with kids mysteriously vanishing, but um, yeah Magnus, maybe." 

"Monsters call in a celebration with beer and flesh-eating horses every time they come back?" Jason said ambiguously, with a very raised brow.

"I bet the invite list is really short notice," Percy chuckled along.

"I'll make it my mission to get on more," Thalia smirked, she and Percy high-fiving at the level of gatecrashing that would soon be involved if this was a thing.

"You're a monster," Annabeth decided.

Geryon stopped the moo-mobile and turned to look at her. "What gave it away? Was it the three bodies?"

"I try to overlook minor things like that," Percy scowled. "It was his shitty personality!"

"You have to let these animals go," Grover said. "It's not right!"

"And the clients you keep talking about," Annabeth said. "You work for Kronos, don't you? You're supplying his army with horses, food, whatever they need."

Geryon shrugged, which was very weird since he had three sets of shoulders. It looked like he was doing the wave all by himself.

Percy watched as those around him gave grudging laughs for that visual while their stomachs sank at finding an answer to a question they didn't have. Magnus had never sat around and assumed monsters needed to eat to stay alive like 'normal' animals and people, they just existed and chose to. Alex had sort of been assuming the Titan of Time could just make money appear at will for whatever he needed.

To hear that there was some kind of financial backer to all of this made it much more real, a new level to a threat they already had plenty of fear in without all of that.

"I work for anyone with gold, young lady. I'm a businessman. And I sell them anything I have to offer."

He climbed out of the moo-mobile and strolled toward the stables as if enjoying the fresh air. It would've been a nice view, with the river and the trees and hills and all,

Jason raised a disbelieving brow at the mention of a river in sight. Percy had once nearly flooded his own camp with one after a tiff with Thalia, where was that temper drowning Geryon now at all of this? He found himself impressed Percy seemed to grow up a little more every book, find a little more self control in him.

except for the quagmire of horse muck.

Nico got out of the back car and stormed over to Geryon. The cowherd Eurytion wasn't as sleepy as he looked. He hefted his club and walked after Nico.

"He could have at least left the club in the moo-machine," Will muttered, "you hadn't drawn your sword again."

Nico gave him a surprised smile, the sense of feeling his arm on the back of the couch had faded to a comfortable presence he was still getting used to.

"I came here for business, Geryon," Nico said. "And you haven't answered me."

"Mmm." Geryon examined a cactus. His left arm reached over and scratched his middle-chest. "Yes, you'll get a deal, all right."

"You haven't even told us how you were paying for the Happy Meals?" Alex asked. "How were you going to pay this guy for anything?"

"I was working on that," Nico said, doing well to keep the childish note out of his voice to hide he had no clue. He'd been basically making this up as he went along from Minos's outline.

"My ghost told me you could help. He said you could guide us to the soul we need."

"Wait a second," I said. "I thought I was the soul you wanted."

Nico looked at me like I was crazy. "You? Why would I want you? Bianca's soul is worth a thousand of yours!

Percy startled in surprise, and then smiled of all things. "That is the best reason I've ever heard for someone not wanting my soul!"

"You're, welcome," Nico muttered in surprise. He still kept expecting Thalia to launch a thousand questions at him over what he was doing, somebody to scold him and be disgusted he'd been willing to do this at all.

For now, it was just Percy touching his chest and smiling, and that was enough to not feel rejected again.

Now, can you help me, Geryon, or not?"

"Oh, I imagine I could," the rancher said. "Your ghost friend, by the way, where is he?"

Nico looked uneasy. "He can't form in broad daylight. It's hard for him. But he's around somewhere."

Geryon smiled. "I'm sure. Minos

"Minos?" Five people yelped so loud it seemed to echo to the walls and back again several times. The only person who hadn't was Thalia, and she looked plenty displeased anyways.

"The evil eyed, pointy beard king who locks people up is your tour guide!" Alex's hands were clearly itching for his garotte. "He needs to be killed properly, stat! Then we'll find the dumbass who didn't kill him properly the first time and do them next!"

Percy had Riptide drawn, the cap of his pen dancing innocently on the floor between his shoes as he sat in place but still looked ready to stab something. "I can't believe you ran away from camp to take advice from-"

There was all that anger Nico had long since been expecting, and his hackles instantly raised. "I didn't ask your opinion on this, or need it thrown in my face! Can you not shut it and just get through this!"

Percy opened his mouth in outrage, he was upset Nico was being manipulated! But the tension of the water was already building around them, and only a gentle clearing of Thalia's throat needed to be heard for now to remind him to clench his jaw shut. This had already happened, and if Nico didn't want to hear his opinion on something, then he should probably accept that lest the kid blurt out any more life confessions as he slowly bent to put the cap of his pen back over his sword.

likes to disappear when things get...difficult."

"Minos?" I remembered the man I'd seen in my dreams, with the golden crown, the pointed beard, and the cruel eyes. "You mean that evil king? That's the ghost who's been giving you advice?"

"It's none of your business, Percy!" Nico turned back to Geryon. "And what do you mean about things getting difficult?"

The three-bodied man sighed. "Well, you see, Nico—can I call you Nico?"

"No."

"You see, Nico,

"He needs to die. Like a lot," Alex scowled. He took nothing more personally than assholes who misgendered, misnamed, or bragged about being a douche.

"In more ways than you know," Nico said with a very satisfied smile for Alex, though neither of them spoke to loudly in case Percy took a hint as he scowled and still held his pen in hand like Minos was still creeping around in here.

Luke Castellan is offering very good money for halfbloods. Especially powerful half-bloods. And I'm sure when he learns your little secret, who you really are, he'll pay very, very well indeed."

Will made such a deep throated noise it actually sounded like a growl. Kids shouldn't be sold around like cattle! And Nico was more than just a powerful bargaining chip!

Nico was already feeling bad for his outburst at Percy, and realizing Will was actually upset on his behalf too made him feel even worse. "Sorry, Percy," he offered, not expecting Percy to accept it. "I, um-"

"It's cool," Percy shrugged with not a chip in sight. "I'm glad you like me better than the creep who would actually sell your soul."

"It's a thin margin," he grinned faintly in surprise while Percy immediately smiled back.

Nico drew his sword, but Eurytion knocked it out of his hand. Before I could get up, Orthus pounced on my chest and growled, his faces an inch away from mine.

Thalia's bow appeared in hand on instinct, no one in doubt she would have shot both of those heads without hesitation, and everyone in the room was starting to feel a little short of breath at all three of these guys finding themselves on edge. Their very presence overlapping each other made the molecules feel more volatile all of a sudden.

"I would stay in the car, all of you," Geryon warned. "Or Orthus will tear Mr. Jackson's throat out. Now, Eurytion, if you would be so kind, secure Nico."

The cowherd spit into the grass. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you fool!"

Eurytion looked bored, but he wrapped one huge arm around Nico and lifted him up like a wrestler.

Jason's hand clenched into such a tight fist it looked like his veins were spidery arcs trying to pop out of his arm. Like this maniac had no weapon except a weird gold coin and was willing to deck someone anyways. Magnus kept reading in the tense silence and hoped wanting to finish it wasn't a last-minute life goal as he shoved down his fight or flight instinct.

"Pick up the sword, too," Geryon said with distaste. "There's nothing I hate worse than Stygian Iron."

"So does that make it the absolute perfect weapon to kill him with?" Alex asked with could-not-fool a soul innocence. "Or are we supposed to find a way to kill him with money? I'm open to suggestions." The 'whatever it takes to get this guy dead,' went without saying.

"We can always start a list and just play around to see what works," Jason said in a very eerie kind of way, and Thalia's bow vanished as she looked at him in concern. She didn't disagree Geryon needed to die like any monster, but she did not like that cruel edge he got in his tone for it.

Eurytion picked up the sword, careful not to touch the blade.

"Now," Geryon said cheerfully, "we've had the tour. Let's go back to the lodge, have some lunch, and send an Iris-message to our friends in the Titan army."

"You fiend!" Annabeth cried.

Geryon smiled at her. "Don't worry, my dear. Once I've delivered Mr. di Angelo, you and your party can go. I don't interfere with quests. Besides, I've been paid well to give you safe passage, which does not, I'm afraid, include Mr. di Angelo.

"Paid by who?" Magnus yelped in surprise.

"Paid by whom?" Annabeth said.

"It's the correct grammar that really makes that sentence feel off," Magnus admitted, fighting off a grudging laugh.

"It's the fact that he's not going to answer that makes me not care," Percy scoffed.

"Well I sure do," Will's scowl seemed scarier the longer it lingered, all of the light in the room seemed to be sucking right towards him. "Who's paying for just some kids to get through and not all of them? Sorry Percy, you know I care about you, but I'm not okay with that!"

"Neither am I," Percy promised at once. "You really think I'll sit by and let that happen?" He asked casually, like he was asking Will what he had for lunch.

Will seemed mildly soothed by the reminder all the same, though the light went back to normal in the room with a little popping noise. Nico swallowed more shame and anger he'd needed help to get out of this. He'd survived in that labyrinth for months by himself. Percy had come around once, and he was back to being a useless kid.

"What do you mean?"

"Never you mind, darlin'.

Percy decided whatever bits he hacked Geryon into weren't small enough just for calling Annabeth that.

Let's be off, shall we?"

"Wait!" I said, and Orthus growled. I stayed perfectly still so he wouldn't tear my throat out. "Geryon, you said you're a businessman. Make me a deal."

Percy always knew he was doing something right when everybody looked at him in surprise like that. He smiled and fought off the urge to gag at the stench of dog breath still hot in his face.

Geryon narrowed his eyes. "What sort of deal? Do you have gold?"

"I've got something better. Barter."

"But Mr. Jackson, you've got nothing."

"You could have him clean the stables," Eurytion suggested innocently.

"I'll do it!" I said. "If I fail, you get all of us. Trade us all to Luke for gold."

"Assuming the horses don't eat you," Geryon observed.

"Either way, you get my friends," I said. "But if I succeed, you've got to let all of us go, including Nico."

"No!" Nico screamed. "Don't do me any favors, Percy. I don't want your help!"

"You didn't have to do that," Nico said again, more confused than he even had been to Will before. "I, wouldn't have helped Luke. I would have gotten out on my own, I work fine on my own."

"I would have done it for anybody Nico," Percy gave him a bizarre look for saying that at all. "I don't try to help you just because I feel guilty about your sister. You know that, right?"

"Right, yeah, I'm um, getting that," Nico promised awkwardly. He'd spent so long being mad at Percy and then so long avoiding him and then stuck here for what felt like an infernal lifetime now he probably didn't have a choice at this rate but to get used to him.

Geryon chuckled. "Percy Jackson, those stables haven't been cleaned in a thousand years...

"Hercules did it last time I believe," Will offered in some weird semblance of a peace offering and something nice to say while everybody was being held hostage now. "So it's not undoable."

"Great, let's see how I do a remix on that," Percy frowned anew, never pleased to hear his name again.

though it's true I might be able to sell more stable space if all that poop was cleared away."

"So what have you got to lose?"

The rancher hesitated. "All right, I'll accept your offer, but you have to get it done by sunset. If you fail, your friends get sold, and I get rich."

"Deal."

He nodded. "I'm going to take your friends with me, back to the lodge. We'll wait for you there."

"Err," Magnus really hoped he was just missing something in what he'd just read. Was that whole swearing on the Styx thing required to be said out loud? Because he didn't think this hillbilly dude to be a man of his word.

Percy looked so agitated though he decided not to bring it up, considering nobody had lost an eardrum yet to this latest debacle.

Eurytion gave me a funny look. It might have been sympathy.

"If this comes down to a vote, at least he'll be on your side whether the law agrees or not," Jason said.

"Seriously dude, are you like, in pre lawyer school or something?" Percy burst out in surprised laughter.

"I like to consider myself a good judge of character and taking in the terrain," Jason grinned.

He whistled, and the dog jumped off me and onto Annabeth's lap. She yelped. I knew Tyson and Grover would never try anything as long as Annabeth was hostage.

I got out of the car and locked eyes with her.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said quietly.

"I hope so, too."

"I hope so three," Thalia groaned. Here once again was Percy putting everything on the line in hopes he knew what he was doing. Good thing that always worked out or the world would be doomed.

Geryon got behind the driver's wheel. Eurytion hauled Nico into the backseat.

"Sunset," Geryon reminded me. "No later."

He laughed at me once more, sounded his cowbell horn, and the moo-mobile rumbled off down the trail.

"That is a weirdly menacing sentence," Magnus groaned as he began to hand the book to Alex. "I am sorry for laughing about that earlier Nico, and not just because Annabeth is in it now."

"Circumstances matter," Nico agreed nonchalantly.

[valeriefauxnom]

i just caught up to your post canon dragalia fic in one day and hollyy shit dude. i am on the edge of my seat!!!! its so enjoying and well versed and i cannot wait for the next chapter

Ahhh! I always am ecstatic to hear reviews or even just random thoughts of any kind regarding my work, but hearing people like my work on Scaling enough to binge it is even crazier! I will forever be more and more amazed people have done that as the length increases, like don't they say an average novel is like about 50k words?? That would mean you've just binged 3 novels of my crazy assortment of thoughts on a possible post game scenario for a dead game in 1 day, which is nuts!

With Scaling in particular having such long chapters I worry sometimes that I'm getting a bit too lost in all my thoughts for it and getting too wordy, so it's always nice to see people are still enjoying it after it has grown increasingly complex, even if we are starting to get closer to a more definitive break in the case, were it a proper mystery novel.

You're the first person to send anything on Tumblr about it (or anything in general really), too, so this message is precious in another way! I'm always glad to field questions (though of course would shy away from spoiling my own works) or explain more about why x decision was made because boy I think I should just make 'overthinking' my hallmark at this point!

As a treat for how much this makes my week, here's a little snippet of a dragalia fic in progress that will probably be a long time in the making yet if it ever does see the light of day on AO3 properly, (so I don't get distracted by yet another thing instead of working on Scaling and/or finishing Control). It's a tentative collection solely based around the concept of the siblings finding out just how weird the Halidom is, especially Leonidas and Chelle since he was in charge of it for all that time and she's always poking about for info.

---

But when he looked back up to the expenses log, all the expenses listed were sky-high as well. The food expense, dragon expenses, aid expense, equipment expense, everything was all exceedingly high for such a small nation (as they should be, given what he knew about Euden’s governance). But to still draw a profit if expenses weren’t being understated meant an even more ridiculous income. 

Sure enough, the few categories under income were even more egregious. Tax revenue was relatively moderate, but other revenue sources like ‘precious gems/mining products’, ‘gifts’ and ‘tourism income’ were far, far beyond what was rational in a kingdom engaged in war for its entire history. 

Just as he was about to start demanding explanations for the inflated income, he spotted yet another egregious, incomprehensible bit to the income column. “Pipple?” He said, almost hostile, “What exactly is a pipple, and why is it on the income statement, let alone for such riches it is supposedly bringing in? No, no, I think I understand now.” Not waiting for an answer, Leonidas began to speculate. He’d never heard of anything sounding like ‘pipple’ before, and Leonidas boasted quite the vocabulary as crown prince. He was expected to have a suitably verbose and eloquent bank of words with which to communicate with foreign heads of state and domestic nobility alike. That meant this was likely something of a new invention in language.

A new invention, and something that brings in exorbitant funds…something very well hidden, if Chelle did not report on its trade or presence in a service business when we made joint moves on the Halidom, and it’s that sizable of an industry in New Alberia…Ah. 

Quite devious of you, brother. I never expected for you to become so involved with such a shady industry, but it explains a great deal of their surprising shadow wealth.

There was only one thing this ‘Pipple’ could be: some sort of newfangled illicit drug his brother was putting to market as a supplier, raking in rupies hand over fist as people learned the effects of whatever potent cocktail this Pipple was composed of.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and a new nation in war against a vastly more powerful, established land was desperate indeed.

---

So yeah, thank you again for your message! Not to toot my own horn too much, but if you're eager for maybe a bit more dragalia fic from me as you wait, I've got another fic up on AO3, though it's not connected with Scaling or even canon in general as a bad-end au what if! It's also likely not quite as polished, being written in like 2 days, but hey I'm just too happy about the two artworks my best friend made for it and now am legally obligated to try and show the art off at any given moment!

[witchthewriter]

Hi there darling! I do thank you very much for doing this with me and I hope you enjoy yours when I get finished with it!

Three fandoms: The Hunger Games, The Witcher, and The Lord of the Rings (preferably not a hobbit or Dwarve please)

Important info: Bisexual (male matches for this please!), She/her

Personality info: Entp, Leo sun, Aries Moon, Leo Rising, Gryffindor.

-I can be either two ways when you first meet me. Sarcastic and laid back or a little rocky. Some people at first can see me as a bit of a...well...asshole, but I assure you i'm not that bad. I just come off a little strong sometimes. When you get to know me though, I am someone who is blunt, still very sarcastic, protective, and a little fiery. I also have a non caring personality for the most part...sometimes its a bit of a mask though. Speaking of which, I'm kinda like an onion (gosh I hate using that metaphor.) I have layers and the more you get to know me, the more you'll peel away. I hate being vulnerable and stray away from emotions, so I can be a bit cynical and I am soooo stubborn holy crap, but I am working on that...

Hobbies: Lets see here....I did year around, competitive swimming for ten years, so swimming is a passion of mine and forever will be. I now do Martial Arts and i'm a high belt now. I enjoy just physical activity in general, but I also like music. Music is a love of mine. Plus I like simple things such as a good book, writing (I want to be a journalist), horror movies, and going for walks at night....oh and I adore the beach!

Dislikes: Spiders, I am terrified, petrified even of spiders.

Physical features: I'm 5'3...5'4 on a good day, pale skin with brown freckles everywhere, I have very thick brown hair that goes a little past my shoulders and it has a sort of auburn color to it actually?, i'm very skinny, like a twig, very little to no curves, big brown eyes.

Aesthetics: Grungecore? its hard to explain.....honestly I am my own aesthetic at this point

Thank you so so so much! I really enjoy doing these!

Want one? Here be the rules 🦋🌈 

DUDE IM TERRIFIED OF SPIDERS TOO!!!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒂 𝑴𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒌! Oh my god, okay so he would absolutely LOVE your fire. I see Peeta as an ENFJ, many people think he might be an ENFP, but he has strong morals and is firm in what he believes. So firmly in fact, that his mind had to be medically altered for him to be under Snow's control. So whenever you feel like you're 'too much' for Peeta, know that he can stand his ground whenever he wants to. He just doesn't see the need to with you. He loves your opinions and everything you have to say. (Why are you guys my ultimate ship now???)

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

・Remembers every single detail about your life. Knows your favourite flower, memory, song, animal etc. He always uses that knowledge when giving you gifts

・Your pet names are ‘sweetheart’ and ‘honey’. Whenever he says it, his cheeks always blush a lil

・Loves it when you teach him martial art moves, he thinks it’s s interesting!!! and hot !!!

・He actually loves your sarcasm and chuckles everytime you make a comment

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

True North by Joseph Trapanese

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

・They probably hate me (Peeta) x Deeply, passionately in love … is terrible at showing it (You)

・ Aggressively Supportive

・ Tragic Past x Ray of Light

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒕! He needs a woman/person that will put him in his place. Someone that will stand their ground and not let him walk over them. Because he ALWAYS thinks he knows best, but the world isn't black and white - not everyone is right, and not everyone is wrong. So, I think you have that power to tell Geralt to stand down.

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

・You guys definitely have stare offs, and Geralt is like “It’s my way or the highway” and you’re like “okay bye” and then he’s like “no wait-” 

・You like to call him super soppy and embarrassing nick names like ‘gerry-bear’ or ‘sweetums’. Especially when he’s in an angry mood

・He is so much taller than you. Like nearly a whole foot taller than you. But you make up for it in spirit. He would definitely tease you a little bit, not outright. Like when you have an argument, he'll put your things on higher shelves or branch just so you can't reach

・Getting into an argument and Jaskier tries to crack a joke to break the tension. But you both end up telling Jaskier to shut up at the same time

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

Flying With Mother by John Powell

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

・Tough on the Outside, Soft on the Inside (Geralt) x The Top (You)

・Tol x Smol

・Mature/Responsible x Snarky/Fierce

𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒏! He would not know what to think of you when you guys first met. He would describe you to others as ‘a force to be reckoned with.’ You’re just so impressionable. He finds you so interesting! 

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

・Likes taking you somewhere that you can swim. Maybe a lake, or a river, maybe even a waterfall! That’s probably where you spend a lot of your dates!

・He knows you can take care of yourself, but wants to teach you a few lesson on other weapons. In return, you teach him a few things in martial arts

・You make him laugh all the time, to the point where he snorts. He can’t help it! The things you come out with! 

・Is very proud to call you his significant other, and will boast about it to others. Literally. Especially if he’s been drinking, he’ll strike up a conversation with a stranger and start talking about how amazing you are

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

Wondrous Love by Bear McCreary

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

・Both Wary of Love & Don’t Think This Can Be Real

・Big Scary x Small Intimidating 

・Sun x Moon

[changingplumbob]

Knightstone Household: Chapter 6, Part 3

Adam is being an A+ father, Suzanna really wants a second child, infant Silas evolves into toddler Silas.

Thanks to Adam looking after Silas at night Suzanna is able to get up at her normal weekday time. Before starting her shift she makes sure to tend the garden, then upgrades things to pass the time. She discovers she is a Green Fiend, must be the green appliance upgrades.

Since it's time for Silas to age up Adam makes him a cake, and fits in a workout, before waking him.

Adam: Good morning you

Silas: hi hi pop

Adam: What shall we do today then?

Silas: Fun fun

Adam: Okay my dude, let's start with a book huh

Silas: bok bok time

Adam: Come here son

Silas: *flails*

Adam: Keep trying buddy, I know you practiced with mummy

After some trial and error Silas manages to advance from a scoot to a crawl. Not one to drop the ball, Adam keeps working with him and soon enough Silas pulls himself into standing

Despite the success with Silas, angry moodlets are stacking up for hot headed Adam. He tries to get some writing done but can't focus. Meanwhile Silas enjoys his last nap on the infant mat with the sunlight pouring in. Adam eventually channels his feeling into an angry painting.

Despite his mood, when Suzanna gets home Adam reveals the cake. Silas is excited but Suzanna has to help him blow out the candles, his lungs are still tiny after all. Silas spun the cheerful trait, and blue joins purple as a favourite colour for later on.

The family sit down to eat the cake and a bubbly Silas blows Suzanna a kiss.

Suzanna: Thank you starshine. Adam did you see that?

Adam: See what?

Suzanna: Silas blew me a kiss

Adam: That's my son, dialing up the charm when he's just two

Suzanna: Are you saying he gets the charm from you?

Silas: pop pop kiss mummy

Adam: See. Clearly he has seen my skills

Suzanna: Do you like the cake Silas?

Silas: Me food love

Adam: Is he going to speak like yoda forever?

Suzanna: Give him time, it's only just his birthday

Silas: Birthday

Suzanna: Yes, you're 2 or around 2. It is hard to track properly before you're a child

Adam: Pops is 33, mummy is 32

Silas: 3 too?

Suzanna: He doesn't know single digits yet, let's not jump start him on doubles

Adam: He'll have your smarts, I know it

Suzanna: This is your potty, it's like a small toilet

Adam: Is he meant to be sitting on it though

Suzanna: There are no animation distinctions for toddler gender

Adam: Got it

Silas may only be level 1 but he had a successful first time, look how cute his happy dance is!

Adam: Okay champ, night night time

Silas: Night night time

Adam: Hey you learned the words, that's awesome my dude

Silas: Night night

Adam: Goodnight son, pops and mummy love you very much, have fun flying the galaxy in your dreams

Adam: He's learnt how to say night properly. Why do you look sad?

Suzanna: I'm still not pregnant yet

Adam: Starlight, we had Silas. It'll happen eventually

Suzanna: I just want him to have a sibling

Adam: And he will. Whenever you give birth in 9 months or 9 years he will be one

The next morning I realise I forgot to fix the plants when I loaded the game so Suzanna is stuck with many dirt piles. It's 6am and Silas is up! He's got the early riser trait. No problem in this house as his parents usually get up early for exercise and chores.

It appears that Silas wants to go sing a song to Suzanna. I'm never too sure how talking while a sim is gardening happens, some talk seems to work and some doesn't. It seems like sing a song doesn't so Silas stands patiently, looking adorable, waiting to sing.

Adam: What are you doing out here son?

Silas: song song

Adam: Sorry but the mobile is attached to your crib, I don't think it works on toddler beds

Silas: I song

Adam: Let's have some breakfast

Silas: Mummy?

Adam: Yes mummy will come to

Suzanna: Oh good there's some eggs left

Silas: da la da

Adam: Is he short circuit-ing

Suzanna: He's a toddler not a computer

Silas: da do la

Adam: But if he's already saying proper words why is he switching back to babbling

Suzanna: Are you tone deaf

Adam: What do you mean

Suzanna: He's singing

Silas: da la do da star star

Adam: Oh, you trying to sing twinkle twinkle?

Silas: wink da la star

Suzanna: I think he's singing to his own beat

Silas has the Little Singer Quirk and oh my gosh this is too darn adorable!

Silas: Aliens!

Adam: We are son, that's why we have disguises

Silas: Dis guys

Suzanna: Do you want to try yours on?

What do you know, much like toddlers cannot change outfits in the high chair, Silas needs to be on ground level before he can put on his human disguise

Silas is still learning the concept of human disguises, creating them and changing them can be tricky. His birthmarks don't match up but that's part of the trick. He decides to have a play with the make up set to see if he can make himself look even more like a human.

I give this attempt, 12 out of 10. All key make up is included and artistically placed. Go Silas! Today I can follow Suzanna to work since Adam is also working and Silas will go to daycare rather than relying on AI to not starve him.

Moment of truth and... the invention constructor is indeed fixed for me! No more holograms and dust clouds around my sim. After building another satellite Suzanna calibrates the wormhole generator, and dreams of when she can reach Sixam.

One of her work tasks is to give a colleague an untested serum. Try as I might Faye does not want to test any of the 3 on hand. Not one to shy away from a challenge Suzanna goes and makes a brand new one for her. Unfortunately Faye just does not trust her enough to try it...

Luckily Shelly seems to be willing to try Suzanna's serum. The ghost goo proves effective and Shelly becomes transparent and maybe a bit uncomfortable. Suzanna has smaller tasks for the rest of the work day, and scores a promotion to Mad Scientist!

Back home Adam gets Silas ready for dinner while Suzanna takes another pregnancy test. Despite trying again last night she is still not pregnant. But I know what might cheer her up, hearing Silas sing! Also how great is it that toddlers can't realistically throw the peas everywhere?

Adam: Congratulations on the promotion starlight

Suzanna: Thank you. I made you a satellite at work today, you can use it to stop alien abductions

Adam: Sweet

Suzanna: What did you do today starshine

Silas: Daycare fun, big fun, make pretty

Suzanna: You want to go to sleep in your disguise?

Silas: Dis guys pretty, pops clean pretty

Suzanna: You still look beautiful to me. Now where did we get up to

Silas: Dino rawr rawr

Suzanna: Let's go from here shall we

The sound of Suzanna's voice charms Silas to sleep

Previous Part ... Next Part

[novelmonger]

I've been watching American Born Chinese, which is mostly just a fun, delightfully awkward story based on the graphic novel that's one of only three books I've kept from my Asian Lit class back in the day. I really enjoyed it (though, in the end, it wasn't very much like the book), but there's a whole list of things I kept expecting to be at least a semi-important plot point that would come up later, but never did.

Thanks, Disney, now I'll be disappointed about these things forever:

Jin shoplifts a jacket and gets away with it, even though there's a scene where it looks like he feels guilty about it. This is never brought up again. He only wears it one time (because he thinks it will make him confident, which it doesn't), and there's nothing about him returning it or his parents finding out what he did or anything. There was this one scene where his mom is cleaning his room where I was sure she would find it, but nope.

Jin's family (or maybe just his mom?) is Christian, and yet there's never even a whisper of discussion about how you're supposed to reconcile that with this whole dimension of Chinese gods who live in Heaven. I know better than to expect any sort of realistic portrayal of Christians from Disney, of all places, but still.

The whole show, I kept on waiting for the soccer dudes to turn out to be fake friends. There was all this buildup and tension about Jin wanting to be cool and on the soccer team, and Wei Chen being weird and dorky and pulling him in a different direction. Episode after episode, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. The guy who was clearly just using Jin to get the heat taken off him for making a racist meme. Travis getting back at Jin for punching him in the face. I was expecting at least the hazing situation to reveal that these popular guys don't actually care about Jin at all, and his real friends are actually the dorky, cringey ones because they actually care about him as a person. But nope. Everybody's just cool with him. Jin is super popular. End of story.

WHAT ABOUT THE SOCCER GAME?!?!? I know that's not the point of the story by a long shot and what we really care about is the showdown with the Bull Demon...and I'm the last person who would normally want to see more sportsball being played...but COME ON. At the very least, they could have dropped a line of dialogue afterwards about "Too bad you lost, but at least you stopped the uprising" or something.

And of course they had to end on a cliffhanger. I'll certainly watch a second season, but it feels like they used up all the inspiration from the source material in the first season, so I'm not really sure where they're going to go from here. Hopefully, the second season will tie up its threads more neatly.

[mayorsovereignty]

What are your favorite levels from any of the Sonic games you've played? 🦔

This is fun ahhaha <:D I love most of the games I have/had... but of course nostalgia drives some to seem better that the others, even now uwu

Sonic Adventure 2 - Hero Story, Stage 01: City Escape!

i will totally roll around at the speed of sound... because..... well of course |D this stage started my obsession with sonic, tho, i'd played sonic for many years before. this turned my interest in a game to a subject of devout worship. |D I haven't played in years because i lost the copy of sonic adventure 2 i bought (when my mom's friend literally stole it and moved away =w=) but i used to be able to clear this stage so fast and with as many possible rings- my family thought it was insane how fast i was and i just flipped my sunglasses down and said "nah, man. that's just sonic"

Sonic Adventure 2 - Hero Story, Stage 06: Pumpkin Hill!

I ain't gonna let it get to me, I'm just gonna creep.... I love the music in Pumpkin Hill, always have, and was so delighted after I discovered the internet at age 17 that it was a widely loved song. But the stage is totally aesthetic too. I remember as I kid I had a friend who hated this stage, thought it was hard, and... biggest sin of all... called it, simply, "Halloween". .......But obviously I'm not friends with her anymore LOL When I was a teenager, and my sister was in her child years, we would set up a game with her as Rouge and me as Tikal, turn off the timer, come here, and......OK, so you know how most young girls like to play house?????????? |DDDDDDDD Yeah, that. LOL it's the only way to get a gamer nerd dude like me to play that, so she took full advantage. So many good memories.

Sonic Adventure 2 - Hero Story, Stage 04: Metal Harbor!

WHAT IT'S INStRUmenTA:rerierg so Metal Harbor is another stage that all my family and friends hated. Which is absolute bullhunky, this stage is so fun!!! At age... 10? I would try to impress whoever was in the room by not slowing down and running full-speed into the path of rings and zooming through 'em... some people would grunt like "Nghgngng...... Woah" LOL and I LOVE the rocket at the end, I LOVE ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Sonic Adventure 2 - Hero Story, Stage 11: Pyramid Cave!

Anyway this place just feel so cool??? I don't often enjoy a feel of a level unless it's aesthetic but...... whatever THIS place is cool, even inside of a casket omg I even like that ONE corridor, .....you know. The one with all the groping ghosts =w= omg even so this... is the first time I got shivers 'n chills from a visual as a kid, I used to only experience that from audio, haaaaa why is this stage so fun +W+ .........cause u get to go fastttttt (OK this stage is slower than other Sonics but. |D)

Sonic Adventure 2 - Hero Story, Stage 14: Meteor Herd!

To me the music in this stage in on-par in quality with The Ghost's Pumpkin Soup (Or whatever its called lol) I love Hunnid-P's style of music so much....... running on the clear ground making footsteps? FUN. Flying forever? FUN! Climbing to the top and then jumping off? .....wait, what? Well... it's still fun. |D I used this stage a lot as a kid. I loved it. I still think about it, and it's hecka awesome song, all the time :D

Sonic Adventure 2 - Dark Story, Stage 02: Dry Lagoon!

OK but real as a gay man who was a hetero girl in childhood: I had a huge crush on Rouge, as most of the adult men I knew did. I don't anymore but when I was young, I could FULLY bask in the sprite of the character I played as- As long as I played the game, I could BE Rouge. So much that I'd never stop because I heavily resented myself for what I looked like buttt ANYWEI ahaha I had this stage up to 64 plays on my first day with the game |D I just liked opening up this stage and look around and be Rouge. (....This is very depressing fffffff)

Sonic Adventure 2 - Dark Story, Stage 04: Radical Highway!

This stage.... has no lyrics. |D I love playing this sm!??? When I grind for rings for chao... I come here. Thug life, I know. I also had to play this stage for my siblings when they were kids bc they hated it :"3 I could beat this stage super quickly, too...AND I'd use this stage to grind for my dark-flying chao, Edge (Which you know is creative because that's one of the names the fortune teller suggests.) |D BUT YES good times, my favorite memories entirely are here..... :'(

Sonic Adventure 2 - Dark Story, Stage 05: Egg Quarters!

I have the weirdest vivid memory of destroying a beetle by digging on it. That is not possible. They aren't programmed to be destroyable. ....So anyway, I watched my lil sister play this stage for the first time recently and was flabbergasted at how she kept dying from the beetle robots. I said "You go into shadows to avoid those..." and she tried it and saw it worked and said, ".........Oh"

Sonic Adventure 2 - Dark Story, Stage 07: Weapons Bed!

I just like cranking up my high score! |D This is the only Eggman/Tails stage I enjoy. I would prefer playing models of them that are used in the Chao Garden, the mechs are too hard (and too not fun) to pilot |D But this stage is awesome <3

Sonic Adventure 2 - Dark Story, Stage 08: Security Hall!

DAMMIT I GET TO BE ROUGE, ONLY FOR 5 MINUTES BUT DAMMIT I GET TO BE ROUGE

Sonic Adventure 2 - Dark Story, Stage 12: Mad Space!

ROUG

For other games I'll put them all in a lil list lol

Sonic Adventure - Casinopolis

Sonic Adventure - Inside Red Mountain

Sonic Heroes - Hang Castle

Sonic Heroes - Mystic Mansion

Sonic Unleashed - Windmill Isle (Night)

Sonic Unleashed - Dragon Road (Night)

Sonic Advance 3 - Sunset Hill

Sonic Advance 3 - Toy Kingdom

Sonic Advance 3 - Twinkle Snow

(This might be cheating but) Genie treasure chest multiplayer game from Sonic and the Secret Rings

^^^ Pirate ship game from Sonic and the Secret Rings

Most of Sonic and the Black Knight

Thanks for the ask!!!!!!! <3 Sorry I only included a few games,,,, .......my memory is bad. But I want to play lots of Sonic soon. To remember! <3

[tsuki-sennin]

You and me, babe, livin' for dreams Lifin for love, drinkin' for free Sittin' on top of an old robot, sharin' and carin' it out... The memory's scrubbing you down!

Kamen Rider Geats is filmed in front of a live studio audience~! Seriously, I guess we're going back to that family sitcom vibe Revice had, if only for a bit. But hey, this should be fun, right?

We've got a new set of Riders to become our friends! ...or our enemies, one or the other~! And the triumphant return of homegirl Na-Go about to rock! Witness the Scheme game unfold!

Spoilers, I guess...

-Wan Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanchi

-You did it, Ace! You saaaaaaaved the world!

-Recording!

-Neesan.

-Okay so this obviously indicates that Tsumuri is older than Ace, which lines up with Kokoro Aoshima being three years older than Hideyoshi Kan (...holy fuck, once again I'm a little bit older than a Kamen Rider lead, Jesus it's only gonna get more common from here...), but like... how much older, do you reckon?

-Of course, she definitely was a good bit older than him when he started playing, but I'm wondering if the DGP is a time immemorial sorta deal. How hard did the Qin dynasty fall with the DGP's influence? Were there like a bunch of early Mycenaens playing Fortnite against the Jamato? Did they ever get Linto and Gurongi in on the action? Was the first ever winner of the game like an Australopithecus Africanus?

-Oh wow, I forgot, he made all of the DPG management his family.

-...I can't imagine how lonely he must feel if he thinks Giroli and Tsumuri are acceptable family to him.

-Does this mean Punkjack is his cousin?

-HER FACE UHILJI

-Oh hey, the new cast are in the !

-There's Owl Grandpa, heard a bit of buzz about him.

-Ah, yep, there's Punkjack. Hareruya Win, his name is, which is... very funny, guess they continue with Halloween content well into November like I do.

-Goat Girl! I really hope you're cool too.

-No Na-Go in the intro, huh? Weeeeeeeeeeell, I saw her everywhere in the lead up to this arc, so I guess she's coming to play again soon enough.

-Having a nice family dinner~!

-Looks quite delicious.

-Dad!

-Oh wow, man can cook!

-Y'know Tsumuri-neechan, your loving single father still found the time to cook for his two children. How about we just relax and enjoy this lovely moment?

Tsumuri: I've been done playing house since two weeks ago, when is it gonna end? Ace: Well, if you find someone who can kill God, then I guess I can stop being your little brother- Tsumuri: Shin Megami Tensei VI confirmed! Kill him!

-So, you thought just now to ask about that, huh Ace?

-That we... don't know, hahahahaha :)

-Oh! You just... Win once and you get to play forever and ever.

-...to be fair, that does seem an effective way to get things going.

-Who's the rival of this arc gonna be?

-"Oh shit, Ukiyo Ace."

-Starting today, you are Kamen Rider Buffa Deez Nuts!

-"Wait a fucking second, I hate Geats!"

-"Dude what the fuck, why would you wish for that?"

-Oh shit, Neon! Whaddup girl? Can't wait to see you get that badass new form I saw all over the internet!

-I see John and Ben are doing well!

-...Ah... well, she's definitely still trapped in that house with her mother. That's quite terrible.

-"Do you miss her? :3"

-Keiwaaaaaa, my bestie! I missed you for two weeks!

-Gotta gamble.

-Hmm... this is definitely different. ...perhaps Morio rubbed off on him on an unconscious level.

-Tanuki soba! I hear that Tycoon's core is bundled with a cup of that stuff. That is certainly... a decision.

-Where we droppin', boys?

-It's game time.

-Papa Giroli's mask is super cool.

-Jesus Christ, Ace, what the fuck are you getting the system to give you now?

-Watch, it's gonna be something phenomenally petty like him wishing to meet a

-Desiiiiiiire!

-Oh fuck, he's got eyes on Tsumuri-neesan.

-Poor Azuma is just 110% done with all this.

-Grandpa!

-Oh this guy's gonna be like super evil.

-I'm guessing there's no age limit aside from "over the age of 18", which I guess is fair enough.

-Wow, okay, just stick your brother and the creepy guy coming after you on the same time.

-Jolly Roger!

-"Hey, I don't want this old dude or this random chick, can I trade them in?"

-Oh wow, there're... two three-man teams, I guess he's got a point.

-An Item!

-Oop, there's the Zombie Buckle Azuma loves so much.

-What the fuck are these names... Zelgar? Uzul'Arc?

-Y'know, I think a tutorial stage would be very helpful.

-Or at the very least, some kinda antepiece. Uh, Route Kanal in Half-Life 2 starts by making you pick up the crowbar to get rid of the boards blocking your way, and after that you get jumpscared by a Scanner that you instinctively smack down. And a bit after that, you have to kill Metrocops to progress, which you can usually do pretty easy because all the necessary information was conveyed to you beforehand. That kinda forward thinking would help a lot with keeping players in the game longer.

-Come to think of it, the Jamato give me big Combine vibes.

-Monster!

-I'm the Punkjack!

-Win, I hate you so much you're incredible hjhhlkj

-We transformed!

-These pirate guys

-"Oh, ho! My baaaack!"

-"FUCKING HELP ME YOU SCRUBS"

-I liked you way better when you never talked, Punkjack.

-Ah, so Giroli's not the GM. ...or, at least, not in charge of the game as a whole.

-"I wanna be young again!"

-Quite... interesting uses of literal godlike power, but.

-You are not a normie, Win.

-Okay I take it back, you're really fucking funny.

-Damn.

-Shut yo ass up, Mom. Trying to marry off your kid to a corporate suit. You should be ashamed.

-...I have to wonder, does the Game Master have a vested interest in helping Neon?

-Oh shit, Dad.

-OH SHIT NAOTO

-Neon, your dad is TimeFire!

-Tsumuri-neesan!

-"Well, you guys are fucked."

-Who could you possibly wanna get married to, Goat Gal?

-Oh she just straight up dipped.

-Well, I can't say I found you disappointing, Goat Gal. Hang on, I'm looking this up, what was your name again? Yukie Yaginuma? Letter?

-You certainly were The Letter (Wii U, 2014), not to be confused with the infinitely better Filipino VN The Letter by Yangyang Mobile.

-How about you, Grandpa Tanba? Keilow?

-"Fuck it, it's Ninja Time!"

-Taking a massive shit.

-"Time for you to lose, Fox Boy."

-If you don't fight, you don't survive!

-Na-Go, woooooooo!

-Oh shit!

-Kurama Neon's time to shine!

-BEAT!

-That cheering is ours.

-BEAT AXE!

-Homegirl got herself an axe bass. Just like the kind Marceline had.

-Damn, music and cat motif on the same female Rider? Takahashi must really be trying to make up for Yaiba and Poppy.

-Tactical Blizzard!

-Ah, you can just

-Do that now, damn girl.

-Yeah, that's awesome, I love this power-up. You've more than earned it, sweetie.

-Round 1's over!

-Good job, dipshit.

-"Did that massive shit you take make you feel better?"

-Gotta love homegirl Neon.

-Gotta get that wish!

-"Why do you fight, Fox Man?"

-What on earth happened to Fox Mama?

-The Game Master picks the players.

-Oh shit, Geats got a gold scarf.

-A cipher, huh? Are we perhaps getting Jamato script?

-Oh fuck, a labyrinth.

-Alright, speculation time!

-Neon's dad. What's his name, Kousei? He's obviously gonna be important later. My guess is that he's somehow related to the people in charge of the DGP. He's definitely not the big boss, but the fact that Neon got drafted back in with such an obviously amazing Raise Buckle to start tells me that he's definitely got strings to pull.

-Now, about Fox Mama... I find it very interesting that they got a notable seiyuu to voice her early in the season where she first appeared. Yuka Terasaki, you probably know her as Korrina in the XY seasons of the Pokemon anime, Hephaestus in DanMachi, Kudelia in Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, or... perhaps most notably Luna/Ruka in Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. This is wildly speculative, but I think that perhaps the actress we saw in Ace's flashback was a Shemp for Terasaki, who actually has done live theater in the past, and Toei's just building up for her grand appearance in the late-game of Geats.

-Anyways I think that's all for now. Join us next week, for real this time when we continue gaming! ...in a big dumb maze!

[junipaca]

jotting my thoughts on pokemon rejuv so far since im just finished battling hazuki.

likes:

hell yeah more utilization of double battle scenarios. those are my jam and butter i have so much fun calculating who's gonna target who and what the fuck should i go for. I'd like to thank my cinccino and weavile. fakeout helping hand combos so well with my tanky or fast sweeper pokemon.

the field options and crest system are cool as hell. its gen rlly creative and i had to get used to it and use my brain, it throws a wrench in usual pokemon play and style. it also lifts some underutilized pokemon! its manageable though. and the boss battles were gen rlly cool! rift pokemon my beloved. rlly hard in the beginning but i learned to cheese it eventually (curse + leech seed + whirlpool + toxic with corrosion)

the difficulty i think is spiked p well, its good enough that you aren't out of options, almost never, but you got to use your head around certain teams and foes. EV training is a MUST, luckily there are EV training centers. i hate IV hunting so i used the password for full 31 IVs all the way . you also need some basis of pokemon competitive i'd say.

speaking of passwords those are gen rlly nice to use, saves some time. i got a remote pc with me and that saves like 50% of the handling when preparing for a boss battle.

the aevian forms are so cool. my fav has been probably chandelure and leavanny so far but i just caught a feebas so who knows. i also have a gastrodon who's so silly i love that design

god the characters are so nice. i love the individuality of each character presented to the player, and you kind of got to twist one part to get to the other and know why the first part was twisted. that being said, if you asked who my favs are its adam ren and talon. silly dudes. but i also know i would EAT this up in my younger years a lot more. but even now i still adore them. found family is dear and nice, especially well done for a large cast jesus fuck

also worldbuilding. i don't want to say more but woah. good job.

i adore [REDACTED] very dearly and i have to apologize every time i see them. i wish i got to know them more. hopefully more appearances later??????

iffy stuff:

i want to like venam and melia's relationship a lot more than i do now. i think its just uncertainty with their previous known age gap before the time skip? eh.

I'm. very confused about Risa's whole schtick. i don't want to say more than now because spoilers and all. but i think too much information got laid on with that arc that my brain exploded there. wish it was just a bit clarified or so . (also is she 18 or 21??????? the internet and the game confuse me. this matters because i have to know whether to sock dylan or not)

some of the sidequest lines are misleading. they say "go to [here]" and when i go there nothing happens. its only when i search up the issue online is when i find out that i have to do Something Else first. just wish it was more clarified or such? if that makes sense? its like someone told you to go to the field or smth but didn't say you had to talk to the lady at the building first.

honestly i think the story confusions i have now are going to wait until The End of this game because rn it isn't fully complete. i will wait as long as needed until everything releases before i can make a full assessment. like. this has so much work put into this game. for FREE. NOTHING OF COST. like holy shit i can wait forever and ever. i have 130+ hours into this game. i can't believe this is nothing of cost. so a positive note here in this category.

comments:

honestly ive seen a ton of critique towards this game, so i was sort of jumping around trying to assess how hard it was going to be and whether or not i would be actually interested. i'm delighted to say i am. key note: don't listen to reddit when they say "too edgy". i know my edgyness. i i also quite enjoy some of it. i think its a matter of taste.

if you try out this game do have. a lil handful of pokemon experience in terms of speed, sweeping, and tanks. i think some basic knowledge there would go a long way. then again i played normal mode, there is an easier mode if i remember. either way, get ready to strategize.

also rec me more games im almost caught up w everything pretty please i need something to occupy my brain.

[milkytheholy1]

The great pun war of 2021

Request: Hiya Author-Sama, this is my first time asking for a request with this prompt and hopefully you don't mind.....😅

Can it be about RiseLeo and READER being the most charismatic, chaotic yet flirty frenemies and will only agree with one another with one liners. Then one day READER jokes about them being a couple but Leo gets nervous and just agrees about it and the gang takes things out on a dare to Leo?

Bonus if READER has a feeling about it but acts oblivious but then turns into nervous wreck when Leo does the dare, plus prompt 41.# ...

Prompt 41: "Kiss my ass."

Tmnt masterlist. Ultimate masterlist. AL masterlist

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

"I'm just saying, Jupiter Jim 7 is the most action-packed, goriest movie of them all!" Leo blurted out, nudging you with the point of his elbow as you tracked through the sewer tunnels and back to the lair. You scoffed at his insinuation, "How dare you, number 39 clearly had more gore than 7, I mean, a guy gets zapped in half!"

"Well, what about number 45, Jupiter Jim and the Return of Fly Man! That guy literally poured acid on someone." Leo continued, walking ahead of you. You had stopped walking and stared at the back of his shell, astonished by him, though you wouldn't admit it, "Woah, woah, woah, wait...You just said 7 was the goriest movie, now you're saying 45? Make up your mind dude!"

"What? I never said anything about 7," Leo smirked, enjoying the not so subtle rise of blood rushing to your face. You growled out at him, too angered to notice that he was pulling your leg, "You have got to be kidding me, we've been talking about the 7th movie for over an hour! You were the one who started talking about it!"

"Nope," he replied, popping the 'p'. Leo practically skipped his way into the lair, beaming smile on his face as you shuffled in behind him still going off at him. Raph and Mikey popped their heads out of the projector room to see what the commotion was, they should have assumed it would be you two.

"I just can't believe you sometimes," They heard you mutter, glaring daggers at the young red-eared slider. Leo shrugged his shoulders, not even sweating at the warming spot on the back of his neck, no doubt your laser gaze. "What can I say? I'm just unbelievably good, handsome even." he boasted, fluttering his eyes to no one in particular. You groaned from behind him, finally pushing past him with a jaunt of your shoulder against his, "Kiss my ass, Nardo." you gruffed.

Leo danced around your sulking form, smiling wide, "Love to," he teased with a wink.

"Are mommy and daddy fighting again?" Raph pointed out, walking over to you both, amusement laced in his eyes. You rolled your own at the comment, used to hearing stuff like this from April behind closed doors.

Leo gawked at his brother, a small blush rising under his mask, god he hated his brother's lack of sympathy in times like these. Although your laughter helped ease his nerves, but only just a smidge. "Yep, the married couple is here, loud and proud!" you mused, throwing your arm around Leo's shoulder and dragging him in closer towards you.

"Isn't that right, Leon?" you asked, bouncy eyes turning to him. Leo felt himself shrink under your gaze, head subtly sinking back into his shell. "Uh-huh," he muffled out, suddenly overcome with nerves, god, could this be any more embarrassing.

Oh yes, yes it could.

The universe had decided to hate Leonardo at that moment, choosing that time to perfectly present him with a game that would torment his inner turmoil and bleach his skin forever red.

"Who wants to play truth or dare!" The voice had squeaked out, he wasn't sure who said it but could only guess Mikey, the guy did have a love for these types of games. To say Mikey seemed the most innocent, he sure did like having a lot of dirt on people; and his brothers were no exception.

All three of the Hamato sons had caught onto Leo's fleeting glances, the awkward pauses, the nervous laughs. It was only true to assume that he had a crush on you, and a big one at that. So, in private, under the hush covers of night, they had planned for a way to get you both together, unbeknownst to you, of course. They had talked to April, begging her to tell them the sweet gossip you both share with one another, they had found out a lot that night.

Things like, you hated how Donnie left scraps of paper lying around the lair or how Mikey usually left the kitchen a mess after he'd make a sandwich. But the most important thing to come from this was that you had an equally big fat crush on Leo just as much as he had one on you. After explaining to April their devilish little plan, and with her full support, they had slowly planted the seeds throughout the week. Perhaps they could force a confession out of the two if they only had each other for most of the week.

Sadly that didn't happen, instead, it often led to more idle arguments about who was better at what or who had the better oneliner. So now finally sat in a circle on the floor of the projector room, the ground cold and slightly damp, the brothers were finally able to put their plan in motion.

"Who's going first then?" you had asked, laying back on one hand while your legs were crossed in front of you. Raph had just 'dragged' Donnie from his lab, but what you and Leo didn't know was it was all a part of the plan. Mikey threw his hand in the air, but with a quick glare from Donnie and Raph, he threw it back down again. You raised a brow at the brother's behaviour, finding it slightly hostile and odd, they were up to something.

"Leonard, how about you?" Donnie had asked, but with the hardness of his tone, Leo really had no choice in the matter. He shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly, trying to pull off the confident and cocky role he knew so well. "Yeah, sure, why not?" he spat out, a steady smirk on his lips.

Maybe he could pull this off, calm and confident, he was pretty sure that's what you liked about him the most? He was doing so well he started believing his insides weren't melting and that he truly was cool and calm.

"Truth or dare?" Raph asked, Leo barely mulled the thought, spitting out whatever word formed in his mouth, "Truth," his tone light. Yep, he was doing swimmingly well, if he did say so himself. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could break his 'zen' right now.

"Is it true that you like (Y/N)?"

Scratch that, there was one thing that could break him. His eyes snapped open, unaware that in his relaxed state he had closed them. His mouth went dry, tongue practically falling out of his mouth, his skin became hot and sticky, his mind numb. The only thing Leo could do was stutter out sounds and jumbled words, "Wha-whu-I-uh-"

You were now sat straight, looking at Leo, observing his mannerisms. His face was a tomato, blushed red and overheating. Poor guy. You would have interjected, told them not to push the subject but a part of you wanted to know, did he like you? All the back and forth banter between the two of you, the long pauses and lengthy stares, the close, inbetween moments.

"Leo?" you whispered out, voice hoarse, you didn't even recognise it as your own. He flicked his gaze to you, his body immovable, frozen to the ground. The other brothers in the room had gone silent, with wide eyes they watched on, Mikey being so bold as to chomp down on some popcorn he had hidden away.

You realised you weren't going to get anywhere with just staring at each other, figuring that his brain had shut down from total embarrassment, you needed a new way to convey your feelings, a way that he would understand.

"Hey, you know in Jupiter Jim 24: Love of the lost mermaid, and how Jupiter Jim falls in love with this beautiful mermaid but doesn't have the courage to tell her." you began, moving to a kneeling position in front of him, voice soft. "An-and throughout the movie they keep joking around with each other and ignoring their feelings. But, at the end, he has to leave her and only then did he confess his feelings to her."

Leo was watching you the entire time, taking in the bright smile you had, the wonder in your eyes, your own cheeks becoming a little rosy. You were it for him and he knew it. You looked back down to him when you trailed off at the end, "If you stayed long enough, you'd know she replicated those feelings too." you hushed out. Leo finally felt his brain whirl with thoughts at your confession, his body finally moving to embrace you in a tight hug.

You stared at the wall in front of you, slowly feeling his grip on you tighten. You followed suit, wrapping your arms as far as you could around him, squeezing him with all the emotions you could turn up for him. Pulling back, the smirk took its usual place on his lips again, his cocky confidence returning almost immediately.

"You know, you shouldn't have used that movie for your confession, that movie didn't feel very reel to me. Although, I will say I'm still in a state of shark that you eel the same wave I do."

"Oooh, I sea what you did there," you praised, laughter spouting from you in heaps. "Water you gonna do about it?" he teased, his arms wrapping around your waist and bringing you closer to his plastron. You shrugged your shoulders as best you could in his grip, giving him a sultry look with your eyes, "Anyfin you want," you pushed your lips against his, meeting in the middle as your tongues wrestled it out. Yeah, there was a lot of pent up energy going into this kiss.

"Erm, we're just- we're just gonna wait outside." Raph muttered, a hand flying to cover Mikey's eyes as he dragged him out of the room, Donnie hightailing it behind them.

"God, they're meant for each other with that level of comedy." Donnie groaned, swiping a hand down his face. Mikey tilted his head at his older brother, "What's wrong, D, something fishy going on?"

"Oh, not now 'Anglo!"

[xtodorcki]

hiii hope your having an amazing day :) do you make headcanons? if you do and if you don't mind can i request headcanons for Izuku, Bakugo, and Denki about being in a secret relationship (i really love your stories about characters being in a secret relationship) and them accidentally outing their relationship because something happened (you can choose what happened) thank you so much!! also if you dont do headcanons you can choose one from the three on the imagine ❤️ I'm sorry if this is confusing 😅

“Secret Relationships,” Midoriya, Bakugou and Denki headcanon

YES IM GLAD YOU REQUESTED THIS UGH, I gotta do my sweet baby Bakugou first🥺

Summary: having a secret relationship with one of the guys and it’s get leaked.

Each section would probably be a little short, I apologize in advance🥺

Warnings: none!

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Bakugou:

The relationship between you and Bakugou was always strange but once the students had to move on campus in the dorms, it turned into a whole different story.

The secret meetups late at night in his room, turned into nothing more than a secret relationship. The way your sleep schedule was beyond screwed up from being up late in his room and having to wake up early to go back to your room before anyone noticed.

It had been going on for months so by now you were used to the secrets and sneaking around along with barely having any sleep the next day while in class.

The more the relationship progressed, the more Bakugou would steal quick glances at you and even when you were in the kitchen with the other students, he would purposely slide behind you and touching your back in the process.

One day in particular, the class had decided to have a game night and he wasn’t too thrilled about joining in. He had tried to convince you to come back to his room but you had told him it would make things obvious if only the two of you were absent.

He huffed, at this point he didn’t really care about the class nor their opinions on anything. He was a ball of fire afterall so when he saw you sitting with the class as they gathered up board games, he was over with keeping things a secret, he wanted it to be known that you were his and he wanted you upstairs in his room.

“I don’t wanna play this stupid game night.” Bakugou said in front of everyone but he was directing it towards you and you tried to ignore him.

“That’s fine, you don’t have to be here dude.” Kirishima patted his back, sitting down at the table and he huffed out a breath dramatically, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I’m not talking to any of you idiots.. Y/N.” He said your name sternly, like he was giving you a direct order by the look of his red eyes.

“Why are you so worried about Y/N being here with us?” One of the classmates mentioned and you had cursed under your breath, Bakugou was acting like a child.

“Because I want my girlfriend upstairs with me.” Bakugou angrily said, everyone growing quiet and you had gulped the lump in your throat, well there goes the secret.

Everyone’s eyes had landed on you and your cheeks turned a dark shade of red before you slide the chair back and stood up. You have never felt this embarasssed in your life, he could’ve done this any other time in a completely different way but of course the asshole had to make everything a big deal.

“No way,” Denki mumbled, trying to hold the laugh that was begging to come out.

You dismissed yourself, walking over to where Bakugou was and punched his arm as hard as you could, cursing under your breath and he smirked while wrapping his arm around your shoulders, winking back at the rest of the class.

“God, you’re so fucking embarrassing, Katsuki.” You muttered, following him to the elevator to go up and he tugged you closer.

“Oh shut up, you love it.”

As you two waited for the elevator, you couldn’t help the feel the classes eyes on the both of you. It was even more humiliating as you had to wait for the doors to slide open. You heard a few of them whisper about you two being a thing, some had mentioned how obvious it was and some mentioned had you two were complete opposites.

Bakugou obviously didn’t care, instead he liked to annoy everyone, especially you. So hearing people whisper about had fed onto the asshole ego he had, making his large hand grab your chin and give you a rough kiss on the lips in front of everyone.

The way your face was completely red at this point and all he did was give the classmates a evil grin before dragging you into the elevator and pushing the button for his floor.

“Why can’t you ever be casual?”

“Do you not know me? I’m far from casual.” He nudged you gently, laughing at your tomato red face and moved his thumb to brush across your cheek.

“Yeah, clearly.”

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Denki:

You had a crush on Denki for what seemed like forever. Since the first moment you met him on the first day of school till now. It was pretty obvious how much you liked him. Eventually you became bold enough to ask him to hang out.

Now you two have been dating for only a few weeks, you both had agreed to keep it private to enjoy the privacy and the time alone before the classmates end up finding out.

Of course you knew Denki a little too well at this point, you knew he would end up slipping up the secret sooner or later but it didn’t entirely bother you that it’ll happen.

And you were right, after a training exercise and having to go through some obstacle course that Aizawa had set up, he had sparked a fuse and as his brain suffered a shortage, his mouth had instantly opened and talked about you.

You couldn’t help but be over protective when he did go through that shortage phase, quickly taking care of him and making sure he was comfortable was a habit you picked up.

“So pretty.” He muttered as he reached for you in front of everyone and you froze in your place until he had wrapped his arms around you, clinging onto your body.

Your cheeks flushed, grabbing onto his body and holding him up straight so he didn’t lose his balance. He continued to mutter words like how you’re so pretty and he even slipped up how he was lucky to have you.

“Aww, Denki is in love.” Sero had laughed at his state, making you roll your eyes and become more protective.

“Nothing wrong with that.” You admitted, stroking your fingers through his hair and dragged him over to sit down.

His head had rested on top of yours, his tall frame giving you a tight hug and you had choked on the air you were breathing on from how openly clingy he was acting in front of the entire class including Mr. Aizawa.

“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Midoriya had teased, the smirk on his face made you grow embarrassed.

“No.”

“Yes, we are.” Denki cut you off, his arms still around yours and the goofy smile on his face only got bigger.

“Y/N is mine. Only mine, I don’t want to see- I don’t want to see any of you near... what’s mine.” He managed to stumble out, his face turning blank like he had forgotten what he was talking about.

“Jesus,” You laughed, putting your hand over his mouth, glancing at your classmates.

You stayed quiet, dragging him away from the rest of the class and forced him to drink some water and sit down on a chair to relax until he went back to his normal state.

You will admit that he was cute and the way he openly told everyone what was his, which was you, had made your heart flutter.

“You’re lucky you’re cute, Denki.”

“Am I?”

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Midoriya:

It had taken forever for Izuku to catch onto your hints on liking him and wanting to hang out with him more. Of course he was very oblivious and didn’t catch on for weeks, even months before you got frustrated and had been straight forward with him.

The both of you being completely shy balls made everything a lot more difficult, the hints he threw at you and the hints your threw at him had completely flew over both of your heads, it was quite ridiculous.

You knew Midoriya wasn’t going to make the first move, you knew he was too big of a anxiety nut to even be bold enough to tell you to your face that he likes you in ways that was more than friends. So you did it on your own.

It hadn’t even been a week of you two officially dating until Izuku slipped it up to Todoroki when ranting about how amazing you were and how much he loved watching your quirk in action.

Once he had revealed the secret, he had told Todoroki to keep his mouth shut and not talk about it again but later that day, Izuku slipped up to another one of your classmates, Ashido.

It wasn’t long until he had slipped up to the whole entire class and now everyone knew that you two were a fresh couple. The side comments the students would make to you both and embarrass the both you, making the shyness in you two grow and cause you to stutter to no end.

“I think you two are cute!” Ashido had mentioned, trying to assure you that it wasn’t a big deal that everyone already knew.

“You knew Midoriya can’t keep a secret for long.” She commented, making you laugh and agree to what she said.

You couldn’t blame him though, he was a little too excited to be dating his crush that he couldn’t help but talk about you constantly to all his friends. He couldn’t help but stare at you and want to talk about how pretty you are and the characteristics he liked most about you.

It was in his nature, he was proud and lucky that he just had that urge to tell the whole world about you and it made butterflies explode in your stomach and it also made you want to kiss him desperately but you decided to not do that in front of everyone.

“I’m sorry, I know you didn’t want to tell anyone right away.” He mumbled towards you, the look of guilt washing over his features and you shook your head, embracing him in a tight hug.

“Don’t be sorry! I’m glad you told people.”

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ANNND finished, I’m sorry it’s short. I usually go longer when it’s one character at a time but I hope it’s good🤧

PLSSSS send in more my hero requests!! I’m obsessed

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[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (final chapter, pt. 2, the end.)

part one here

A/N: Thank you guys for all of your wonderful comments and the love sent my way for this fanfic. I've had a great time writing it despite its rocky moments. I really hope this ending does it justice; I've never gotten to write a proper conclusion to anything like this before. It's the first time I've ever completed a multi-chapter work such as this, so I'm happy. 🍾🥂 Here's to finishing what you start, and enjoy. :)

Just shy of a half-hour later, he was finished telling the story. She had sat the both of them down on the couch, one on each end, and he explained in great detail everything leading up to current-day. Tales of the ooze, Mutagen, as he'd told her; the rat named Splinter, a man formerly known as Hamato Yoshi, who had fathered and trained them; and lastly, their mission. Be of service, protect the city; have a good heart. And Donnie most certainly had a good heart. He was not the outlandish figure she'd first saw and recognized him as. He was the guy she had come to know as Bo, Donatello, who was the same person she'd talked to this whole time. At some points of the retelling, he got excited to share some of their adventures. This came after their humble beginnings of struggling in the sewers. Donnie was happy to share after so long of dodging saying anything about his life. 

She nodded along to this talking. "...and that's how we're here," he said finally, putting his hands on his legs. "Since we're here, any questions?" 

She replied with a no, looking over at the TV that had remained on the entire time. Donnie stayed seated as she got up and got the remote, also glancing at the clock on the wall, which read 10:45 PM. She switched the TV off. Looks like it's time to go, he thought. He rose from the couch and fixed the pillow he'd displaced. 

"Donnie, this has been...strange," and for a split second, his face fell, "but not bad! Though, it is getting late." 

 "Oh, no—yeah, no, I understand," he sputtered bashfully, activating the staff which collapsed back into its smaller form. He tucked it away somewhere on him. 

For a moment, he simply stood there as if wanting to say something, but the words never found him. "So it's goodbye?" he asked quietly. The way he said it made it seem like he thought it was forever. But it was on until they figured out how to pick up where they left off after that night. Undoubtedly, things would be different going forward. He didn't know if that would be good or bad. 

"Only until next time," she told him, a small smile present. He visibly relaxed. "You're still my friend, Donatello."

He smiled. "I knew that. Totally."

Showing himself out, he stepped onto the balcony, looking back one last time before he bounded away. He held up his hand and gave a small wave. 

But she hadn't said bye yet, so he stuck around for a moment longer, though it was met with an awkward silence. He was beginning to go over the railing when she ran over to the door, stopping him. "Wait," she said, and he crawled back over the railing with a confused but curious expression. "I actually do have a question. Just one, before you go." 

"Sure," he said, inviting her to go on. She had to look up to see his face being so close. 

Tenderly, she asked, "Why'd you not tell me, after all that time? Would you have ever chosen to do this if it hadn't been for an accident?" 

Donnie couldn't give her an answer on that.

He sighed, slightly shaking his head. "I couldn't, [y/n]. We've been through this." 

"I only wanted you to trust me, Donnie," she responded. And that was, really, how she'd felt. Throughout their entire friendship, it had felt one-sided in that regard. Trusting but not trusted, but she hadn't any idea of what was truly going on, at the time. 

Donnie pondered her question: If there hadn't been some kind of divine intervention, would he have ever had the chance to have something more with her than words on a screen? 

He swallowed as she took a small step closer. 

"I just wanted you to care about me." His volume was barely above a whisper. He clenched his jaw briefly, as if he was concerned over his own words. His golden-brown eyes wandered from your eyes on downward. 

"I did—I do care about you, what makes you say that?" she questioned, puzzled. 

He vaguely gestured at his body, "Wouldn't this be a little hard grasp over text? Isn't it hard to accept even now?"

Though she didn't answer, he had a feeling that he was correct about one of those things—she did have to wrap her head around everything. Tentatively, both watched as her fingers brushed against his own. His hand moved along with hers, seeing and feeling the delicateness. Until they laced together as well as they could, her heart steady while his was beginning to race. His hand even trembled ever so slightly. He would have wanted to stay like that forever, had it not been for the fact that he was uncertain where they now stood. Where he stood in your eyes. What did this mean? 

Putting her other hand on his shoulder, she tried to conjure a smile. But it flickered out as she murmured, leaning into him, "Does this answer your question?" She had to stand on the tips of her toes, while his hand tightened in hers involuntarily, almost too shocked to bend down for what was coming. The one thing he hadn't accounted for in their meeting, not once—and it was happening. 

He seemed like he was going to stammer something, but her lips closed the gap and planted softly on his. 

There is no way.

There is no way this is happening—but I'm seeing it with my own eyes! 

Donnie lost all control the moment her lips pressed against his. His hand squeezed hers, shaking as his heart pounded in his chest. I'm shaking. Why am I shaking? 

His eyes which had been wide were now fluttering closed. For the better half of the kiss, every other thought beside the ones of her was ejected. He couldn't have pulled away, even if he'd wanted. He was hers completely. That was irrevocable.

It was only until she decided it was time to step back did they part, him looking at her entrancing face once more, and her swallowing heavily. That kiss had been something she'd dreamed of before. Never Knowing it would be held on the smooth, moist lips of a humanoid turtle, rather than those or a human man. In fact, she had to convince herself that she wasn't dreaming. Her hand slid down his shoulder and onto his chestplate. It was rough, almost possessing a grain under her fingertips. Her thumb rubbed the back of his hand. He thought he felt a tingle from the trail her fingers left. 

Donnie was on Cloud Nine for a solid minute before coming back to his senses. "That...I…" he struggled to find the words. For a brain that worked so fast, he felt utterly slow, then. 

She cracked a smile, face contorted into one of hope and a hint of embarrassment. "Is it too late to say that I've waited to do that for a while now?" she laughed. 

"N-no," he said, still trying to organize his thoughts. "No, it isn't."

"Okay, good," she replied with a relieved exhale. 

Her hand went from his chest to his arm, feeling the taut muscle as it traveled down. His hand enveloped hers while the other lifted, going to touch her cheek. "Does this mean…?" he trailed off. 

"It means I really, really like you, Donnie. I have since we played that game." 

He gently brushed her cheek with his thumb, "I really like you, too," he mimicked, voice soft. 

Maybe even that was an understatement. 

"I think I…" 

A noise nearby alerted him, and on instinct, he set her behind himself on defense. Don't be an attack now, of all times, he thought, listening closely. He told her to be quiet and to not say anything, using his forearm to gently push her back into the apartment. He pulled out his staff. 

"Sup dude and dudette!" an all too familiar voice beamed, the orange-banded turtle appearing hanging upside down from the balcony above. [Y/N] shrieked, and Donnie nearly bashed his brother in the head, sucking in a sharp breath as he accidentally backpedaled into her. Mikey waved and flashed a grin. "Don't worry, we didn't see anything...except for you two kissing, that was really unexpected!" He flipped down onto the balcony, and Donnie grumbled something, going in for a zap to his brother's plastron. Mikey dodged it, this time. Donnie tried again; unsuccessful. "Oop—saw that one coming," Mikey laughed, jovial. 

Donnie groaned, half-embarrassed and half-annoyed, "Mikey, what are you doing here?" 

Waltzing into her apartment, Mikey crossed his arms with a wink sent the human's way. "Michelangelo, wingman to the big special D right here," he introduced himself brightly, "but you can call me Mikey." 

Donnie slapped his hand to his flushed face, hoping that he was the only one who noticed Mikey's less-than-classy wording. 

"So you're all named after Renaissance painters?" asked [y/n], lifting a brow. 

Exhaling, Donnie stepped between them, "[Y/N], this is Mikey, my brother. The one that—" 

"Got you together!"

"—that got us into this predicament," he'd almost said, but he realized as Mikey said that, he owed their meeting all to him. It had all started with that talk they had had late that day, after patrol, and ended on her balcony, Donnie getting to experience a kiss for the first time. With someone he'd never imagined he would have ever been able to touch, let alone share something like that with. Yes, as much of a hassle everything up until that point had been, it was all thanks to Mikey. 

Donnie grinned, turning to his brother and draping his arm over the back of his shoulders. "Yeah, you did," he agreed. Mikey smiled as he looked down at him with fondness. He wrapped an arm around Donnie's shell in return. 

"You know it, brah. Oh, and I take cash or pi—" 

"Don't push it, younger bro." Donnie rolled his eyes. 

Waiiiiit a minute. 

Mumbling for [y/n] to hold that thought, Donnie, suspicious, crept over toward the balcony. "We"?

Mikey tried to make chatter with her while he did so, mentioning how he liked what she'd done with the place. 

He checked if the coast was clear first before leaning onto the railing on his shell, squinting his eyes. And he was not surprised at all to see Raph and Leo looking down at him from over the edge of the roof. Leo had his recognizable expression of: "You'd better wrap it up." Donnie drooped his shoulders and ducked back inside. Couldn't last forever, he thought. Despite whatever was waiting for him on the roof or at home, he could still smile on the day he'd had. He would be thinking about that kiss for weeks. 

"I guess it's bye for real this time," he told [y/n], sad to go what felt like so soon, but really was content. The night could not have gone better. "I have to, you know, go get flamed by my oldest brother. Probably."

"We'll be in touch, Donnie," she replied. "Um...text me when you get home? Just so I know you got there alright." 

Smiling, Donnie nodded. 

Mikey budded in, "Hey, don't forget about me here." 

Chuckling, Donnie headed for the door, taking Mikey but the upper arm along with him. They stopped one last time to waved to her before making their exit. 

Leo and Raph met the pair at the top. Raph was the first to speak, asking skeptically, "And yer sure this girl is alright?"

"Positive," Donnie answered with confidence. 

After a moment of trying to come up with some kind of remark, Raph let out a huff. "You got the nerve, I'll tell you that." He held out his fist ready for a bump, and when Donnie didn't immediately reciprocate, grumbled "Well? Don't leave me hangin', Don." Realizing what he wanted, Donnie went right in for the fist bump. 

Pulling away, Donnie asked, "So you're not mad?" He gave some space between himself and the incoming Leo. 

Raph scoffed lightly and shrugged. "I may not trust her, but I trust you," he responded, gruff as usual. "Just don't expect me to be all friendly and whatnot—I ain't doin' it." 

"You don't have to do anything, Raph." 

And then Donnie was face-to-face with Leo, who's intensely blue eyes were trained on him for a few seconds too long. Donnie wondered what he was thinking until he sighed, and then spoke. 

"I'm sorry." 

Behind Leo, Mikey was in awe.

"That's a new one," Raph chuffed. He left the circle to watch from the edge of the building. Mikey stuck around, but only far enough to be in ear shot. If something coming from Leo started off with a sincere "I'm sorry", he wouldn't miss it.

"Yes, you heard. I'm sorry," Leo admitted, bringing his eyes up from the ground. "I shouldn't have pressured you, Donnie. I know that you can handle yourself. I was just trying to protect you and our family," he explained, pausing to glance over at the other two brothers, "but…yeah. I'm sorry for pushing you, Don. I was kind of a jerk back there."

Deciding he didn't have any words good enough to say what he wanted to, Donnie simply pulled Leo in for half-hug, rocking him with him. Leo wore his lopsided smile as he gave Donnie's shell a slap. 

"That...was…" 

They stepped away from each other, staring at Mikey quizzically. 

"...beautiful, bros," he finished in a whisper. 

They stayed for a minute just watching the city go by, the clock ticking by later into the night. Donnie finally thought to ask Leo how Splinter was, because he definitely knew what was going down. He was a smart old man—and beside, Donnie had made no effort to pretend that wasn't what he was doing when he'd initially left. If Splinter knew, Splinter knew. He was still mildly afraid of Leo's response. 

"You want the truth?" Leo questioned, his expression briefly changing to one of a cringe. 

"I mean, I'd like to know what I'm in for," Donnie replied in an obvious manner. 

"He was angry, at first. Didn't know you left until he was done with his talk with Mikey. Also surprised that you actually went through with it. But, after that...he seemed like he understood, in a way, I guess. I didn't ask questions. You'll have to confront him about it yourself, because he just sent me and Raph out to get you." 

Donnie kept his eyes on the sidewalk below them, and the occasional person walking it. "And Mikey?" he asked, quizzical. 

"He insisted," Leo groaned. 

"You know I can't pass up an opportunity to see D get his first kiss!" 

"Oh, shut up, you had no idea that was gonna happen. You just wanted to go because me 'n Leo were goin'," Raph argued, flicking his head. "Weren't you supposed to stay in by Splinter's orders?" 

Mikey crossed his arms and turned away, "I don't have to take this abuse." He was, indeed, meant to stay behind. But the boy couldn't help himself. 

Once the banter died down, they were left contemplating whether they wanted to stay out a little longer, or if it was time to turn in. It had already been a long night, but in honesty, Donnie wasn't ready to go quite yet. He still felt as though he had so much to say to [y/n], but he supposed that time had already passed. At least until next time, if or when that was. Raph took a break from his lookout and sat next to Donnie with a grunt. He wasn't good with mush or sensitive things, but he felt compelled to ask "What're you gonna do now?" 

Donnie hummed in question.

"Well, she knows. And by the looks of things—erm—the look of one particular thing, you two are still goin' steady."

Ugh, they saw it. Donnie moaned, a cold flush coming over his face. I can't have anything private in this family.

Raph pushed him on his shoulder. "Ya shouldn't mack on someone by the doorway if ya don't wanna be seen," he jested.

"I don't know what's next, Raph," Donnie confessed. "We didn't exactly...make anything official after that."

Once they were back on the move towards home, they all dropped into the nearest manhole, but Donnie remained where he was, saying he would catch up to them. He was the fastest of the four, after all.

"I hope you're still awake," he mumbled to himself as he reached for his phone. They were close to home, anyway. And it was quiet. He typed:

"I'm almost home, [y/n]. All safe."

A couple of minutes later, she responded.

"Okay, that's good

Your brother is quite the character, by the way"

"He is who he is, lol"

"He seems nice though."

Walking down along the sewers, he took his time. What was a little longer after the night he'd had?

"Donnie, what were you going to say when Michelangelo interrupted us?"

He stopped in his tracks and thought, having nearly forgotten that he was going to actually say it. He didn't just like her—for the first time, he was sure he loved her.

"That I think I love you, [y/n]."

He regretted not saying it when he was with her, but he just couldn't wait.

There was a worrisome pause on her end in which he imagined she was staring at her screen thinking about how strong that came off, that it was uncalled for, that he was going too fast—

"I said I liked you

But that was not quite the truth

I love you, Donnie."

Golden-brown eyes sparkling, he let out a laugh, unable to contain his happiness, and the rest of the brothers smiled to themselves hearing the whoop of joy and excitement echo in the tunnel.

His adventure in love and friendship had started within a screen, but he was bound to it no longer. This was the opening of a new chapter in his life.

Tag list: @kokokatsworld @criminaly-supernatural @dianounais @spaceman-main @sheepdarkhours @raphaelsrightarm

[yemilnisu]

Hey hey hey! I heard requests are open! (Also I can't find any rules for requests in your blog so sorry if I'm breaking any of em!) So could I please request for kenma and kageyama with a childhood friend that they slowly fall in love with? Thanks in advance! (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡ (Have a good trip btw!)

nisu entries:

hey, bub! It’s fine you’re not breaking any but if you still want to read them it’s here! I hope you enjoy this!

I’m currently working on all of you guys’ requests but if you want to send a request, feel free to do so! Anyways, happy holidays!🥰

okay not me casually sneaking in attack on titan because i’m currently rewatching it and the fact that it’s the birthday of humanity’s strongest soldier aka the hottest man on earth aka levi ackerman😌🤚🏻

KENMA AND KAGEYAMA WITH A CHILDHOOD FRIEND THAT THEY SLOWLY FALL IN LOVE WITH

KENMA KOZUME

you and kenma have been friends since grade school

the two of you got partnered up for a project and ever since then the two of you slowly got close

kenma was shocked at first because he never really thought he’d make friends especially with a girl

he thought that the reason he always want to be close to you was because he cherish your friendship that much

like the fact that he’ll teach you how to play the new game he bought once he mastered it

or he’ll always make an extra character that has the same features you have so you guys can play together

and even though he wanted to read the new released manga, he will still wait for you so the two of you can read it together

or when the attack on titan released its fourth season, he waited patiently for you to finish the first three seasons and even rewatched some of them with you before watching the final season because you wanted to watch it with him

he thought all of those things were natural because you guys were friends, not until he noticed how boys from the other class were trying to grab your attention

like they’ll make some stupid excuse just to talk to you and kenma would observe from the side and just look at them like this

he thought what he was feeling was disgust and cringe for those pitiful boys because he knows that they will never get your attention, that they won’t win you using those petty tricks

but he started to doubt his own presumption when he saw you hanging out with the dude that complimented your hair yesterday

like you don’t even laugh that way when you were with him? like is that guy more fun to have around than your childhood best friend? you never looked at kenma the same way you looked at that guy

the way your eyes sparkle and your eyelashes battle with each other as you close your eyes from laughing so much, why does it seems like the world around kenma got slower?

oh shit. do i like my best friend? do i like... y/n?

“y/n... do you like someone?” kenma finally blurted out as the two of you were on your way home. it took him 10 minutes to get over all the thoughts of how terrible this situation might end up, but he can’t help but hope that it might go the other way, the way he wanted it to go.

“hmm, yeah. why’d you asked?” you answered nonchalantly.

“is it the guy from class 3?” he kinda regretted the way that question escaped his mouth. it sounded like he was jealous, not that he wasn’t. he could’ve said it in way he wasn’t guilty of being a tad bit jealous.

“i’m pretty sure i’m not his type, ken,” you chortled. kenma looked at you with so many question running through his mind. “he likes boys,” you answered shortly.

the latter just nodded his head as he thought all the moments you had with the guy. he felt so dumb. how did he not notice it? the way the guy complimented you was a lot more specific than any dude.

“why, ken? don’t tell me you’re jealous,” you joked. when the lad didn’t respond you glance at him. “oh, my gosh. are you, kenma kozume, jealous because i was hanging out with a guy?”

“so what if i am,” he answered bluntly. he didn’t know where he got that sudden bravery but for some weird reason he didn’t regret saying those words when he saw your eyes widen. but was quickly turned into a grin.

“damn, i never thought this day would come. kenma kozume being assertive, i guess that’s a good enough excuse for me to do too, right? you don’t have to be jealous, besides the guy i like have been beside me since grade school,” you announced. you had that meaningful look in your eyes when you and kenma met each other’s glances and he already knew what it meant.

“and do you want him to stay?” let’s just say that the friendship chapter ended right there.

TOBIO KAGEYAMA

you’re oikawa’s little sister so it was natural that you knew kageyama

despite the fact that your older brother hated the setter, you absolutely adored him, in which only added fuel to your brother’s rage towards the poor boy

but when oikawa saw how much you adored kageyama, he didn’t want to ruin your happiness so he’ll try to be nice to kageyama (at least when you’re around)

even though you and kageyama went to a different, the two of you still kept in touch

like hanging out atleast once a week and always texting each other about what the other is doing

as kageyama was on his way to your house he came across oikawa, and oikawa said something about beating the first year before he finally asked what the first year was doing there

kageyama explained that he have been waiting for an hour for y/n in their usual hang out spot

oikawa bursted out laughing, saying that kageyama got stood up and that this is the proof that you really are his sister

kageyama knows that you wouldn’t do that on purpose because he was aware of how much you liked hanging out with him and that would lowkey boost his ego

the first year subquently rolled his eyes and asked if you were at home

in which the latter answered that you left a couple of hours ago saying you were hanging out with your classmate kyo

“i guess you’re not y/n’s favorite anymore,” with that the third year continued his jog with a smug look on his face, purposely leaving his junior with a lot of unanswered questions

kyo? he have never heard that name before, especially from you. we’re you keeping secrets from him? why didn’t you tell him about this guy? even though it was hard for him to open up, he’d tell you all his secret and insecurities then why didn’t you do the same? and did you really replaced him?

kageyama thought that he can’t blame you if you did replace him, due to the fact that the kyo guy goes to the same school you do, means the two of you would see each other often than you would see kageyama

he thought that his time with you in kitagawa daiichi was fun and he would cherish your bond forever but he would like to tell you something first before it ends

the next day karasuno have a practice match against aoba johsai and after the match kageyama saw you walked pass the gym

“y/n!” you heard a familiar voice called out and it was kageyama. he jogged up to you, all sweaty and trying to catch his breath. he stared at the guy beside you and the guy quickly excused himself out of the deathly glare of the setter. “so that was him?” kageyama said, he sounded a bit disappointed.

“huh? what do you mean?” you asked

“nothing. i just wanted to say that i really appreciate our friendship and since it’s about to end anyways i don’t need to worry about it getting ruined by me falling in love with you,” the setter confessed.

you chuckled, “why does it sound like i’m going to die, tobio? you could confess to me and not sound so dramatic you know? seriously, you gotta stop idolizing my brother so much. and who said our friendship is going to end?”

“uh, me..?” he muttered.

“why’d you think that?” you asked softly, you know kageyama even though he have this strong aura, he was still sensitive as a little baby.

“...you didn’t come to our hang out place yesterday,” he silently replied.

“oh, shoot! i’m so sorry, tobio. i forgot that we were supposed to hang out yesterday. i had a group project that needs to be finished as soon as possible. i’m really sorry, it completely slipped out of my mind,” you babbled.

“it’s fine. just let me take you out on a date,” he boldly asked you out. you smirked, you forgot that he could be as sly and courageous when he wished to be.

[shozaii]

Hey! I love your writing! It's so cute. 💖 Can you write a HC about s/o and Todoroki, Bakugou, Shinsou and Kirishima first time? (It's the first time for both of them) I'm already excited to read aaa You can add another character if you feel like to.

(a/n): hello! ahhh thank you🥺❤️ i hope you enjoy them!

ps; i’m assuming it’s their first time dating don’t come for mE KSJSJS

requests are still open!💜

masterlist

•••

first time!

warnings: aged up characters! and slight nsfw!

•••

kirishima❤️

can we,,, talk about this,,🥺

eijirou would be the happiest man on earth when he finds out you have feelings for him.

you had no experience of dating, so what do? you wanted to tell your feelings but then you were freaking out

i have this feeling that he thinks nobody could ever fall for him (WHICH IS FALSE) but you proved him wrong🥰

and yes, he has feelings for you too! cue him being alone in his dorm, dancing to the cutest love songs that reminds him of you jsjdj

so it’s late at night, and he called you out to have a little chat with you

you knew the chat was something else AHA

and so there you two were, outside the dorms, in the cold night. when he saw you, he smiled his usual toothy grin and signalled you to come over.

when he confesses, your heart pounded so hard you could hear it

“i’ve been waiting my whole life to say this! i get it if you really don’t want to-you know... but before i lose my chances, might as well get it out,right?”

and before he could finish, you pulled him into a hug, burying your face into his sweater.

you two are the cutest couple alive. mina takes tons of pictures of you two (sometimes sneakily)

kaminari constantly teases you two, sero feels like a proud dad😳

and when you two train, it’s like you two were made for each other. even your quirks make the perfect combo!

he texts you whenever he’s not able to see you

it’s his first time dating someone so he promises to be the best boyfriend to you! he takes you out on dates, buys you your favorite candy, gifts you tons of kisses

he knows you love his hair down so on most dates, you’d see that a lot!

he’s fine with holding hands in public because he feels this manliness in him surging😤❤️

he always gives you little pecks on your cheeks and you do the same. he just didn’t know how he was going to kiss you on the lips?? he wanted it to be special so he waited.

the time came, when you two were in his room, slow dancing with the lights dimmed out. he was nerVoUs and you were too.

that’s when he went in for it.

his kisses are slow and passionate. he doesn’t want to rush because when he’s with you, time is limitless. imagine the whole world revolving around you were just stars in the night sky. fireworks from a distance.it was momentary bliss, to be honest.

he looks you in the eyes and asks, “you okay with this?”

you blushed. “yeah.”

he holds your cheek, leaning in as your lips fit together perfectly. he even smiles in between kisses because he’s just so happy🥺💕💕💕

you two end up in bed and go ‘???how did we get here???’

then you resorted to laying down on the bed. you laid on top of him, leaving a few more pecks on his forehead before settling in.

you can never go wrong with a boy like eijirou🌸

todoroki❄️

most probably the boy to be shook when he found out he had feelings for someone.

especially the someone being you. his intentions could never go wrong. i mean,,,look at you. a masterpiece from heaven itself.

right in front of him, blessing his sour days.

probably started around the time after the sports festival. he couldn’t help but notice your cheerful self in class. how you smile at your classmates. the little gestures that made them happy.

it made him happy too.

and you loved talking to shoto too! he was really quiet at first; but it was you who knew how to break the ice apart(no pun intended)

he told midoriya about it, sweating.

“well, todoroki. i’m sure your feelings wouldn’t lie to you! follow what’s best for you.”

he smiled. he knew his decision that very moment.

love is a new feeling to him- since his childhood days weren’t the best. and when he felt it, his emotions were all over the place.

you too, were astonished. you knew from the beginning of school days, you had fallen for him. so what were you about to do? leave it behind? find a way to let it out?

shoto also prefers to admit it to you personally. so he did it right after school finishes-while everyone was heading back to the dorms.

“y/n. i need to talk to you for a second.”

“sure! what’s up?”

he’s pretty straightforward, so he’d say it immediately.

“i like you. a lot.”

“ah! i like you too! that’s-“

“no. i like like you. um, feelings.”

you paused. well, it was obvious. you two were alone, he was blushing.

oh my god my crush just said he likes me.

paniK

it was mutual!🥰 a few were shocked to find out that you both were in a relationship. some people described you as polar opposites. others already knew that you had a crush on him, wink wonk

shoto has never really gotten physical affection for a long time, so it takes a while for him to settle in. but that doesn’t stop him from being with you almost 24/7

he learnt that he loved being kissed by you on the forehead. it was such a simple yet deep reassurance that you were there for him.

he loved kissing you on the cheek🥺❤️ he finds your cheeks so squishy and adorable. he also loves ruffling your hair during your cuddle sessions.

he loves loves loves it when he hovers over you while you’re on his bed-looking like the angel you are, and he starts leaving the trail of kisses from the cheek, slowly to the lips. it was a feathery peck. he was afraid that you didn’t want it.

but looking into your eyes, it was a plead for more. he closed in the gap between you two. your hands wrapped around his shoulders, and his hands landed on your waist.

momentary bliss part 2

sometimes you two communicate through each other’s eyes. no one else gets it😌

your quirks are a match made in heaven. it surprises aizawa on a whole new level.

he learned beforehand about a few of your favorite things so he decided to get them for you.

would max out endeavor’s card for you

long walks in the park, mall visits-anything you want, he gives.

somehow you always made him feel so special. and he was so glad his first time was a blessing.

bakugou💥

“i don’t have feelings! now quit it!” he says while literally blushing in front of the bakusquad. yeah i definitely see that happening.

blushes so red but wipes it off as if he’s got a fever. damn bakubake🥺

you didn’t know what he meant, feelings for who?

and that was because you had them for katsuki. like, a whole lot.

he may be an angry pomeranian, but he’s your favorite pomeranian😌❤️

everyone is so confused. how did you- a wonderful human being, so delicate and graceful, had fallen for katsuki??? nobody knew, and nobody judged.

because they knew, it was you who was falling in love🥺 so they were supportive.

remember that one dance the bakusquad and uraraka did when they got through the exam? that was exactly what they did when you told them about you liking him

i mean,,, that boy looks at you from afar during class. he chooses to watch your quirk develop during training. he goes quiet when he sees you.

like cue him screaming at both kaminari and sero. then you come in, and he goes all silent. he doesn’t say a word. just this peaceful look on his face

you know, the soft face bakugou makes when he thinks?? that one. only you had that switch

alright, he’s had enough. he’s gonna square up, walk right up to you, and say, “yeah i like you. what about it?”

easy right?

no. he was a trembling meSS. it was his first proposal thingy!! being nervous is normal,duh.

screams into the night, thinking of the words to tell you. he messes up and the whole world (namely the bakusquad) go crazy on him.

he’s gonna do it. and so the next day was a fresh start for him. walked up to you.

god, were you a glimmering beauty.

“what is it? you seemed a little riled up lately. you okay?” you asked, genuinely concerned with his face.

“ilikeyou,” he mumbles. and you go, “huh? sorry katsu, can you please-“

“y/n i have feelings for you! hear me?”

you were just there, like :0

“i don’t do stuff like this. just get it over with if you don’t feel the same.”

“hey, hey! i r-really like you too! i was just finding a way to let you know... but i guess i didn’t have to.”

“ha, well look who won,” baby boy smirks.

dude he’s so happy his heart was doing somersaults

he didn’t mind if your relationship was a secret or not; you were his anyway. but it was for a little while. he made sure you felt comfortable

the little dance comes along again from the four of them

you two love training together! he makes sure you’re doing it right and he allows you to correct him too. only you🤭💕

i’d like to think that he would stop calling you names like dumbass, or idiot. maybe it would turn to baby or babygirl. babe. hottie. sweet names for his s/o

dates with him are wholesome. carnival, a little cafe, movies. he takes you to the beach during sunset if you’re feeling down

then he gets you these gifts you could forever cherish😭

would definitely hold hands with you. tough guy game🥺👉👈

so far, he loves it when you ruffle his hair. heck, he doesn’t care at all when you do it in front of anyone. he just gives this stupid grin which says, “look at my baby.”

flusters when you hug him out of nowhere,though🤪

when nobody’s looking/during school hours, he gives quick pecks. nothing more, nothing less.

kisses with katsuki are rich in passion and devotion. you know what he means with every one he gives you. the first time he kissed you probably happened during a warm cozy night in with him, in your room. he wouldn’t ask. it was just like a surprise.

“babe.”

his heart beated faster than a race car. you replied, “hm? what is it?”

pecks your lips and pretends like it was nothing. you smirked, holding his chin.

“what? i just..tried? don’t look at me like that.”

“but you didn’t say for how long.”

“clever.” he said as you brought his face near yours.

you had to admit, you weren’t so brave. but seeing this boy blush after his usual screamo days boost you up. so you did it. you sealed it off with a kiss. this time, a longer one.

you breathed in his light caramel scent- now lingering on your clothes as he pulled you in his embrace. his fingers slowly intertwined in yours.

momentary bliss part 3 (god i love these so far)

all in all, i would forever believe his s/o is the only one who can see his soft side. katsuki makes sure to treat you well like never before❤️

shinsou💜

very, very nonchalant about his feelings for you

but he had to control the way he almost tried to swoon around you oh my god

you two have conversations as usual, it’s nice talking to him. he opens up to a whole new version of him that you rarely see.

he had no idea you had a crush on him too sksjdkd

this man is so stoic, he technically holds it all in when talking to you. (which of course, is the cutest thing in the whole world)

hitoshi may have actually been worried about the things people have told him. how they might have talked behind his back. avoided him because of his quirk.

but when it came to you, it all changed. you weren’t running away. you didn’t flinch at his sight. most of all, you were just being you.

like shoto, i don’t think anyone would expect him to fall for you or vice versa. hence, when they found out, it would be a surprise🥰

mans gotta plan this whole thing for weeks because you’re too perfect to lose😤

your classmates had to make you talk to him just because you were so shy hhhh

he texted you one day, wanting to meet you. you were freaking out, but still prepped for what was about to be the best day of your life

the sun was slowly setting. you meet him in a park nearby. he was standing next to the lamp post, looking through his phone.

he looked so good in his dark blue flannel, with his white t-shirt and black jeans. his hair was tucked back with a headband.(he was already handsome, so take this😤💜💜)

“sorry, had to call you out like this.”

“no, it’s fine! what’s up?”

deep breaths..! “um, y/n. i find you really-i just... argh what am i doing..? i really like you and-“

he placed a hand on his neck. “i don’t know how to put it to words. but i absolutely want to be with you. for a really long time. it sounds weird, but you mean so much to me”

your vision was blurry. you didn’t realise that you were letting the feels hit so easily

“hitoshi, i get it all.”

“you...do?”

“because i feel the same as you.”

this cute grin (inherited by aizawa) when he heard those words. “come here,” he said, pulling you into a hug.

and so it began, a beautiful relationship.

you two shared so much with each other. it was like watching puzzle pieces fit in perfectly.

he listens to every problem you have and you do the same. it’s always equality in the house. one never goes down or up. it’s always together🥰

10/10 would train with you to develop your quirk. he wants you to join the journey

pda is fine with him, holding hands should do! might as well surprise you with back hugs🤪 and then he lifts you, spins you around until you beg him to stop.

only you can take care of his sleep schedule.

sometimes he comes to school without any sleep and you blow up

“what did i tell you?”

“i had six cups of coffee. no big deal.”

“how-“

he shows you pictures of his cats😭😭💜 he has so many

he is the cat himself so he likes to nuzzle up when you both cuddle. and it’s a must for you to run your fingers through his soft locks😌

when he’s the big spoon, prepare yourself for some wholesome content.

praises you 24/7, tickle fights, boops your nose, little naps

hitoshi enjoys kisses on the neck too! whether it’s height difference or not,,, he reaches for the neck because this boy KNOWS your sensitive spots.🤭

when he goes in for it, he wants it to be a memory.a priceless, flavorful one he leaves with you which is hard to forget.

fun fact: kiss him on the jawline and you’re already making him weAK

but if it’s a subtle one, he would go for the face. any parts of it-cheek, forehead, bottom of your lips.

one fine day he just has you against the wall and you’re just standing there, a blushing mess.

“close your eyes.”

“w-why..?? are you about to steal kisses from me,toshi?”

“maybe, kitten. but you have to tell me if you trust me.”

you closed your eyes, and he cupped your face with his hands. he brought your face up to his, slowly connecting your lips. the last thing he’d want was to scare you

he felt you smile in between the kiss. you didn’t hesitate, didn’t pull away. in fact, you were more than happy by just returning it. his hand travelled down to your thigh, bringing it up to his waist.

his head was dizzy with euphoria. you were such a good kisser, damn. when he let go, both of you were breathless.

“i do trust you,silly.”

yES IT WAS momentary bliss part four babyyyy

hitoshi defines a godly amount of,,,heat. just,,,he’s hot. and cute. perfect.

(a/n): ayee i did it!!! slight nsfw/nsfw work is reallyyy not my thing so i hope this was a fun read!!! jekskd fun fact scenarios are my fav thing to write🥰

[nightswithkookmin]

JIKOOK: ARE CONGRATULATIONS IN ORDER?

Disclaimer:

Everything expressed in here is my opinion. It is not intended to be malicious or disrespectful to any of the parties mentioned in here. Please do not hate on or send hate anyone mentioned in her expressly or by inference.

In my previous posts, I pointed out how this past year, from August 2019 to June 2020 has been a rollercoaster ride for Jikook. Their relationship has been all over the place with some even concluding they have broken up for good- you wish!

My inbox has been flooded with questions such as: Are they still broken up, are they good, are they married...

Y'all think I'd be here blogging at 1 AM for Tumblr if Jikook were married married?- Ok, I would. Lol

But No, Sis. Jikook aren't married. Not that I know of. But don't be sad though because THEY ARE BACK! Fully back to function. By that I mean Jimin mostly. Jk never left. Lol- I'll explain in a bit. But yes, I'm happy to report that they are Jikooking again!

I refrained from posting about their new moments especially this July moments because even though they've been back together after a long period of on and off again relationship during ON comeback through to festa season, and then May when JM finally asked for space in their relationship(see previous posts for details)

I've being unsure about Jimin. I've been anxious to know what the outcome of his asking for space to think things through would be.

Jikook have a push and pull relationship dynamic. We been known. Mostly when one steps back from their relationship for whatever reason, the other leans in to pull them back in.

Same thing has been happening from January where Jimin would be pulling one minute, the next he would be like meh and JK would be push to pull him back in.

That was the case in this (June-July) Japan comeback interviews. Jk was front center with expressing interest in JM pulling him whereas JM was like meh, I'm down for this baby but let's keep it professional for the group's sakes.

Just look at them here... (Photo of them at 2020 Japan interview where Jk said he was looking at JM)

See what I mean? Now you may not notice at first but look at JM's demeanor and compare it to moments in past interviews whenever JK is talking about him or their relationship.

Jk was on his flirting game which he usually is when he wants to break the ice with Jimin if there's been tension between them or when someone around is making a pass at JM and he wants them to know what's up- he ain't slick. Lol

At times too he takes the initiative to flirt when he is feeling super confident and cocky and hella bold and just wants to. Trust me, when he flirts with Jimin, IT IS NOT FOR FANSERVICE. He means that shit.

Now compare JM's body language in that Japan interview moment this one right here: (photo of JM and Jk at the interview where JK said from now on together)

Jimin usually acts very coy, giddy and whipped even around JK when JK flirts with him but most importantly he seems to egg JK on in such moments. He enjoys being claimed openly by JK just as much as JK loves being claimed by JM publicly- which is why as nervous as that makes him he keeps going back for more.

Now this is gonna sound controversial but I have seen JM tell Suga off at times when Suga has tried to initiate skinship with him. I won't show you the picture but you can watch it for yourself during the On Come back where they wore Purple and black. It happened right at the moment Suga touched JMs back. JM mouthed 'Hajima' to Suga to stop touching him. That's all I'm gonna say y'all. Lmho. Don't want trouble.

My point is, these boys have a filter. If they don't want something done to them they won't hesitate to say it or show it. Much like when JK pushed Tae's hand away during a VLive- and he's pushed JM off sometimes too. He is assertive more so than all the members. If he doesn't want something he won't do it or allowed it.

Suga asked him not to get the tattoos when he first expressed interest in them way back in American Hustle life. But he told them if army loves him they would love everything he does and not try to limit him. Jk does as JK pleases.

So yea, if JK didn't like what Jimin has been doing with him he wouldn't be around him much less reciprocate those feelings and actions and initiating them on his own at times. Their interactions are MUTUAL.

And yes, that was shade.

Jimin understands the guts it takes JK to take such initiatives with him and so he kinds of encourages Jk to go on with it or acts in a way that boosts JK's ego. Like when JK shouted 'arrest me' in the middle of an interview. Jk... SMH.

So it was a bit unsettling to watch JM not even try to flirt back with JK in moments like this like he usually would. Dude wasn't even initiating their shtick during this period first of all nor was he responding to them in a way he usually would.

Not sure the aesthetics he was going for here but it screamed let's keep this professional on camera and get naughty when we get home. Or much like, dude I asked for space and I'm realizing I like you just as much but stop coming on too strong.

Which frankly, is what the members have been asking them to do since October last year when the hashtag to cancel Jikook in S.K trended. So JM wouldn't be wrong to take such a stand....

Given that the crux of their issue has been that Jikook is developing into a brand almost independent of BTS' brand and this in a way is affecting the dynamics of the group, a little discretion wouldn't hurt.

The cheers for Jikook moments are getting louder and louder each year even at events such as awards and not just on stage. Jikook is taking a lifeform of it's own. Its becoming a brand almost as powerful as BTS' brand. They are a power couple or becoming one. Like or not. Their fans are becoming loud and large too. So often, lately, it seems they tend to steal the show and direct attention away from the band. It's crazy.

Tae literally had the floor, delivering his speech at the MMA 2019 but people weren't even paying attention to that at all. They were more interested in Jikook and whatever they were doing and they went nuts the moment JK held Jimin and even wilder when he placed his head on Jimin which is what lead to infamous standoff with RM.

JM had literally bumped his butt against Hobi's crotch region moments before the Jikook moment but the crowd didn't lose it as much. Please go back and listen to the deafening sounds of the crowd for yourself.

As much as we love Jikook, there are some that don't and they can be very loud. I'll leave it there. Please support Jikook. Thank you.

BTS had a whole concert end of October 2019 and the hashtag that trended was 'cancel Jikook.' That took away from the hardwork of the band and reduced it to a few seconds of two boys fanboying over eachother. That's.... sigh.

When you see it this way, the RM separating them at Jingle bell red carpet, on stage or even BigHit trying to regulate their Vlives make sense.

Moving on. So yea I wasn't sure about JM all this past few months especially as I believe he had asked for space in their relationship. You might not think much of it but given as JM had said in the past how if he had a lover he would want to be with them all the time and Jikook do spend a lot of time around each other but suddenly hear them talk about spending time apart and enjoying it and what not....

But I think I can stop worrying now because HE IS BACK! There is a new Jimin in town and he is taking names! Good for him!

And I don't mean his new hairdo this August. I mean the new attitude. This attitude:

In this interview he says he would take JK to an island which smart decision. I would take JK too cos dude can do anything, cant he?! Bless him.

But thats beside the point. What I think is happening here is, Jimin finally took a stand. He made up his mind and he is not getting pushed around anymore. Because this Jimin hasn't showed up in a while now. Now he seems quite defiant most times if you've been paying attention to him, so rebellious, so sure of himself. Good for him. Spending time to himself has done him some good. It's given him room to reflect and sort out his priorities.

He loves his work, his band and he loves JK and it's hard when all of those start rubbing against eachother. But Fuck professionalism. He is in love with JK and that is professionalism too. Add loving JK till the end of time to his profession bishes!! :p

Sorry. I got carried away.

But seriously, he seems like his old self but it's also a new self because he hasn't been that self for a hot minute. This is JK's sweat tastes like holy water Jimin. This is I promised Jk I will go to the moon with him Jimin, this is I wanna go on a trip alone with JK Jimin- but badder. If you are a hardcore JM stand like I am you'd understand what I'm talking about.

HE IS BACK BABY! Our daddy is back!

The point of this post is to say, I believe JM finally figured out what he wants. So now hopefully the up and down should die down because quite frankly it's hard to keep up with those two I swear! We need a smooth sail Jikook. Make it happen!

I love it. I love where this is going and I can't wait to see more of their interactions so cheers to Jikookers and congratulations to Jimin for putting his shit together. We wanted rain. We about to be hit with a tsunami of Jikook moments.

Stay blessed. Stay beautiful. Jikook forever.

Signed,

Goldy