#percy: whatever happens. i'll fight next to you.

[demigods-posts]

something that i would absolutely love for the show to do is to have percy and annabeth have another private moment to themselves. annabeth explaining the feud between poseidon and athena, and how it might mean that she and percy were destined to never be friends. only for percy to reassure her that their parents actions don't define them. that whatever happens in the future, he'll fight next to her. and annabeth assumes its because he needs someone who won't hesitate to make a tough decision, like he stated back at camp when he was picking people for the quest. only for him to correct her and say that it's because he considers her a friend.

[til-f]

PJO Show Thoughts. Episode 7: We find out the truth (not)

Alright. I just don't even know. I thought the pacing was marginally better here. Scenes flowed nicer. And I thought the dialogue wasn't so useless.

Yay!!!! Crusty scene!!!!!!

Literally right off the fucking BAT, the first words in the episode are percy explaining exactly what's going to happen, who crusty is, no shenanigans, no mystery, no fun villain scene, nothing. oh my FUCKING GOD, it's every good scene THEY RUIN IT its CRAZY. ACTUALLY CRAZY.

It's the same shit every episode. Oh, fun monster scene where the monster tries to trick them and the fight builds while we figure out who the monster is???? NOPE!!! it's actually complete bullshit. it's ridiculous. where's rick????

Okay I see the red ball. yay!

I'll live with the plot changes even though it sucks. I'll live with it. it's just bad show writing that i'm annoyed with now.

OH MY GOD WHY IS SALLY SUCH A BITCH !!! lolollollL

I did miss the scene were percy bribes charon to let them pass. why change that. why take out a fun bit like that. instead they're like, take everything charon!!! we're so stupid, just let us into the underworld so I can save my mom !!!!!

The cerberus scene was way more complicated than it needed to be lol. but I think the underworld was cool

Back to 3 pearls.... I think rick is just trying to annoy us now.

I do like the flashbacks. My dumbass is just hoping that it all transitions very beautifully into percy's fallen hero arc but these are just my dumb dreams !!!!!!

So annabeth is gone? okay

The root/regret/ thing was completely unnecessary psychology that was stupid

The tartarus, shoe bit was good

"is this our stop, or?" LOL

Hades is weird and awkward and way to cheerful. this god is supposed to be a scorned, jaded ass, lazy, arrogant, bastard, dripping with grease and jealousy and grudges.

DID YALL SEE WHERE HADES WAS LIKE, FOLDING LAUNDRY??? LMAO WHAT

Hades sucks

I just wanted the line, "I'll find your helm, Uncle. I'll return it." nope!!

I guess hades is offering to protect them? because there's going to be a war with kronos and he wants the master bolt for protection ?????? SLOW YOUR ROLL WRITERS. WE'RE NOT FUCKING THERE YET. EVEN WHEN THE WAR WAS A C T I V E L Y occuring hades didn't give a FUCK. whatever. now i'm anger. plus, nothing about how hades sent the furies.... it didn't seem like hades thought percy stole his helm, which was like,,,,, teh whole ass point. jesus christ

Poseidon is meh

Sally is meh

I guess their convo was fine, i didn't mind it. I liked when poseidon was saying that he'll be there for percy, when he knows who he is. Which is cool, even though who percy should "be" is very different to sally. I can't wrap my brain around what the writers want me to be thinking, you know?

no mention again of how they're past the solstice deadline??? you'd think that would have been a bigger deal but OKAY

ares is the best god by far at this point

overall, I really shouldn't be spending so much of my limited free time writing these long posts about the episodes, when I have been getting well, not a whole lot of pleasure watching them. but these characters are still my babies, and I will continue to support the making of the show even though it's blowing chunks. Rick

See yall next week for episode 8: Where's the Damn Fishing Chair Throne

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

Helpless part 10 (shocking that my internet hasn't given up yet)

"So Solace what exactly are we doing?"

"Down to play twenty questions?" Nico considered the offer and smirked,

"Sure." The two sat down next to each other on a log.

"Two skips each, but they get replaced with other questions."

"What's something that isn't a secret but most people don't know about you?" He was ridiculously bored and thought he could use this game to his advantage.

"I'm not actually blonde."

"Explain. Now."

"I was brunette but when I got claimed any part of my hair that was in the sun turned blonde." He pulled out a piece of his hair that wasn't normally visible, it was a light chesnut brown colour.

"Well that's shocking, you know when I asked that question that was not an answer I was expecting."

"I'm a mysterious person di Angelo, now, do you have any exes?"

"Solace I spend most of my time avoiding people."

"In hindsight that was a pretty dumb question."

"Too late, if you had to kill all the people in one cabin which one would it be?"

"Demeter. That was a bit of a violent question." He tried to play it off but his answer had been so quick and confident Nico started to wonder what had happened. "Have you ever drunk?"

"More than you would expect."

"Neeks! You're fourteen, have you ever wondered why there are age restrictions?" Nico just smirked,

"You asked Sun boy, anyways technically I'm older than that. What's the worst crime you have ever committed?"

"Love how you just assume I've committed crimes, but assult. The only reason it wasn't murder is Annabeth pulling me off."

"The fuck Solace, are you going to explain that?"

"I'd rather not, let's just say I was pretty...pissed that day."

"Well that's terrifying."

"I told you I have secrets di Angelo, who's someone you used to care about but now hate?"

"Skip."

"Is it true you liked Annabeth?"

"Really Solace? No it is not, otherwise Percy would have already murdered me."

"Had to ask, the Aphrodite cabin was trying to figure that out for two years."

"Truly incredible, can you fight with a sword?"

"Not in the slightest."

"I'm teaching you, archery will be useless in close combat. You will die in a matter of seconds ."

"You have so much confidence in me Neeks, but thanks for the offer."

"Wasn't an offer, more so a kidnapping where I teach you by force how to fight."

"Okay then...do you prefer the 1930s or now?"

"Now, better arcades."

"Great reasoning."

"What's your worst fear?"

"Pass, I would never hear the end of it."

"Can't be that bad."

"You would never shut up about it Neeks, I can guess that much." Nico locked eyes with the blonde boy, he considered the question he was about to ask.

"Do you regret coming out to all of camp?" So he did know, Will thought to himself. He didn't answer instantly but he didn't want to pass it either.

"Well, um.."

"You have skips, you don't have to answer Will." That was the first time Nico had used his actual name, Will desperately wanted to kiss him.

"I want to answer it just, thinking. I'm happy they know and I don't have to hide it but...some people aren't the nicest. Cabin four has the most for whatever reason, they seem to get joy out of making me feel like shit. Most people are nice enough, with the rest, well you get used to it." Nico grabbed his hand,

"Who. Has. Been. Giving. You. Shit? Give me a list, I will make sure they'll never do anything again."

"Neeks it's fine, I don't need you threatening them."

"I'll be doing a lot more than threats Solace, give me a list of every single person who has hurt you."

"Nico it's okay."

"Did I ask? You're a ball of sunshine, no one and I mean no one has any reason to hurt you."

"They do, there's so many people I couldn't save, I killed them. I deserve to suffer because of that, they deserve revenge on me for killing their friends." Will had tears forming in his eyes.

"Will it's not your fault they died, and either way you shouldn't have to go through this."

"Nico, are you straight?" He froze for a second, he had still been holding Will's hand but he didn't want to let go. He was warm, his thumb was stroking his hand warming up the usually freezing Ghost king. After Will had told him so much he couldn't lie, he always had a skip but part of him wanted Will to know.

"..n..no...I'm gay. Not that many people know, the seven and Reyna that's it. Please don't tell anyone." Nico shakes a bit and a few tears fell, he didn’t want to cry in front of him but he couldn’t help it. Will wrapped his free arm around Nico and pulled him closer to himself,

"Thank you for telling me, I know it's hard Neeks."

"How did you tell so many people?"

"Didn't like people assuming things, also I just...didn't want to hide I guess. Still though, I've been too scared to tell my mum, barely seen her since I'm here all year but even if I had the chance to I probably wouldn't tell her. As for the actual time well it was a while after Percy was missing, before Jason, Piper and Leo showed up, campfire, just kinda said if at the end."

"Did anyone know before that?"

"I told Annabeth first but Kayla and Austin found out by themselves pretty quickly. Who was your first crush?"

"Do not hold this against me, it was Percy." Will started grinning,

"Same, half the camp has liked him at this point I swear."

"Half of camp is pathetic."

"You're including yourself in that statement you know."

"I am fully aware, honestly I should have given up on him when I saw him talking to Annabeth the first time."

"Didn't they hate each other for a few years?"

"Hate is a strong word, I prefer to use hopelessly in love and oblivious."

"Lovely wording; I gave up when my brain started working and I realised he is straight."

"You think Percy is straight? Have you talked to him before?"

"Percy isn't straight?!"

"With the way he talked about Luke? Not a chance, and that was after he betrayed him. I can only imagine him pining over him at the age of twelve, completely oblivious, then also being hopelessly in love with Annabeth and being a helpless simp once more."

"So you are telling me Percy Jackson liked Luke Castellan, aka. the person who tried to kill him multiple times?"

"When he was twelve definitely, at least in the way he talked about what he was like before when I met him. Don't know if he realised it then, but he is not straight. You haven't seen him and Jason talk, if I didn't know how much he loved Annabeth, going to Taturus with her I would have been sure they're secretly dating."

"The more you know I guess. What's something you can do that no one knows about?"

"I can braid hair, I mean Hazel knows that but still."

"Emo Death boy can braid hair."

"Firstly, I'm not emo."

"Keep thinking that Neeks."

"Secondly, this is why I don't tell people this."

"Honestly the fact you can braid hair is adorable, also it proves that you are no where near as scary as you think."

"I could kill you right now."

"You sure about that di Angelo? Right now you can't do much without melting into a puddle of darkness, you're just a nerd that's pretending to be dark and mysterious."

"Oh shut up Solace."

"Never."

"Have you been on a quest?"

"Nope, I just try to prevent deaths after them."

"How many languages can you speak?"

"Wait give me a second, Itallian, Greek moderen and ancient, Latin, English, French, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, Polish, Finnish, German and Dutch. So that's twelve and a half I'm fluet in and I'm trying to teach myself Russian and Japanese." He said counting them off on his fingers

"Gods Nico, what exactly do you do with your free time?"

"Well first four are pretty obvious but Bianca taught me French and Swedish and the rest I've taught myself, writing's hell with dyslexia but I've survived. It's a pretty useful skill when you randomly show up in different countries."

"I can barely speak English properly half the time!"

"That sounds like a problem on your side Sunshine." He said messing up the blonde boys hair, Will desperately tried to hide his blushing. "Have you ever passed out because you healed too many people?"

"Yeah, happens quite a bit." Nico slapped him, not that hard but hard enough for it to hurt. "Hey what was that for?"

"You can't be overworking yourself like that Solace, you're a doctor for Zeus's sake. What help is it going to be if you pass out while healing someone?"

"It's the most effective way, plus I get more people healed."

"So let me get this straight, you risk your own health while telling people not to?"

"Okay when you put it that way-"

"Yeah it sounds bad! Please do not do that, can't have you dying on me Solace"

"I thought you were plotting to kill me anyways?"

"Exactly, can't have you dying before I kill you myself."

"Sure di Angelo, have you ever killed anyone?"

"Pass." He had become friendly with Will, he didn't need anyone else leaving him.

"Cats or dogs?"

"Do hellhounds count? I have a pet hellhound called Mrs O'Leary."

"Was that a gift from Hades?"

"Nope, from Percy."

"Wait what? I'm just going to accept that at this point."

"Good idea, I wasn't planning to explain."

"Course you weren't," Will checked his watch. "Come on Neeks, it's time for lunch, we got through ten questions each, same time tomorrow?"

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"Nope; head to the infirmary I'll get you some food."

"I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten for a few days, just try to eat a few bites."

"Fine.." Nico muttered before walking off to the infirmary.

***

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e38

The connection between Delilah and Laudna is diminished, not gone.

"She means a lot to you, right?" "...she means everything."

In theory, the final roll for this resurrection ritual should be 1d20 + 5, since Pike has to make the final check and her wisdom is +5. If Laudna's DC is 11, and if all the contributions are successful, that puts the DC at 2.

......oh. Matt is implying that this resurrection ritual will succeed no matter what, but if the check fails, Delilah will come back, not Laudna.

Pike is casting this ritual with dispel evil built into the resurrection! That's what the powdered silver is for :)

Orym's contribution: "Laudna. I know I don't know you any better than the rest of us, but I know your history. You deserve to be more than a footnote in Delilah's story. There are people here who need you. They need your life and your heart. I don't know what Bells Hells will be without your darkness, Laudna. Or your light. Please, we don't want to leave anyone behind. Least of all you. We gotta get that blood flowing through your veins again. Please, come back." Red poppies bloom through Laudna's black hair. Nature check: 11, against a DC of 10.

FCG's contribution: "Laudna, you might not have been perfect, but you loved and you loved, Escargot and Sashimi, and you loved Imogen, and I've always been told that a soul that loves at least touches perfection. You once said to me that the worst thing that ever happened to you has already happened, and now I can say that the worst thing that ever has happened to us has already happened. With you not here, it's really scary, and not the fun kind. Pike said that you might not want to come back, so I'm afraid we can't let you do that." They cast compulsion on her to compel Laudna to come back. Intimidation check: natural 1.

Imogen's contribution: "You know you saved my life, right? If you hadn't come to town when you did, I don't know how long I would've lasted. These last few years have been everything. Through it all, through all the laughter and all the hardships, she was with you. She was choking you. If you come back, I don't know how you're gonna feel, I don't know if you'll feel free or if you'll feel empty. But I want you to know, whatever hole she's leaving, I'll be there to help fill it, alright? I'll be there for you. I'm not gonna tel you to come back, I'm not gonna try to compel you to come back, because that choice, Laudna, is yours now. No one gets to control you anymore, alright? Just know that I love you. And I'm here." She puts Pate on Laudna's chest. Persuasion check: 7.

Pike makes the final caster check.

"A moment passes. In that stillness, you hear Pike exhale. 'Come on, come on.' Vex leans forward. 'Pike, did it—' 'I don't—' She leans forward and places her hand over Laudna's mouth, nose. 'Is she a real shallow breather?' She slaps the side of Laudna's face, and Laudna jolts awake."

Laudna's DC started at 12, went to 9, then went up to 11. Pike rolled a 16.

she's sitting next to Imogen!!!

"I remember hearing you, I remember seeing you— all of you. I remember all of it."

There's no apparent visual/physical change. From a passing detect thoughts, FCG gets "a flip book of all the memories she was reliving and going through. Confusion. Terror. Frustration. Regression. A little lost."

Percy had five dozen riflemen and fifty pale guard surrounding the house, plus himself up on a platform with some "perfected" version of Bad News.

Pike used raise dead, so Laudna has -4 to every ability check, attack roll, and saving throw. The penalty reduces by 1 after each long rest.

Hollow Ones count as undead for the purposes of hunter's bane.

"It feels like a dream, this one's just not a nightmare... are you sure this isn't one of her tricks?" "I promise."

oh the sweet, sweet parallels between Laudna and Percy.... Laudna knowing that these children will never know anything different than a Whitestone that is beautiful, alive, colorful, and Percy fighting tooth and nail to ensure it.

Laudna's form of dread no longer has a mourning veil; it cracks and crumbles away, it falls like the leaves fall from the Sun Tree. Branches start sprouting from her shoulders as she leans against the tree-- almost an entire lifecycle, years' worth of seasons as the branches bloom, wither, then fall.

did Laudna just take the Sun Tree as her patron?? form of dread is a warlock ability so???

"Have you felt it? The tree? It's warm... Lady Vex'halia, Imogen, you should feel it too."

"Miss Trickfoot, may I give you a hug?" FEARNE

Well, she tried. but Pike's passive wisdom is 21 — meaning both passive perception and insight.

Laudna took pact of the chain!

it gives her the ability to cast find familiar, and lets her familiar take additional forms. because he can fly and speak Common, he's using the stat block of either an imp or a sprite, but I'm guessing he's an imp.

FCG and Zerxus have equal and opposite brands of hubris based in the "I can fix him" mentality

Fearne got a gun for Mister. from the man who invented firearms. that's more or less a tiny potato cannon.

Whitestone has been aware of missing residuum shipments for some time, but the care that was taken to keep them enshrouded was extensive. Threads led them eastward, and they believed the involvement came from Wildemount. Percy thinks the Assembly are a "messy" organization to confront, and had hoped that they weren't involved.

As for the solstice— the Apogee Solstice is a once in a (human) lifetime thing that tends to draw out "the best and the worst of Exandrian society." Anyone with an interest in cheating their way into a better position through magic will be trying their damndest to achieve things normally unheard of or impossible.

and on Ruidus— Percy sketches the pattern of the Divine Gate, which has a design to it, "something that looks like a kaleidoscope, a fractal pattern within the lattice that spirals around." It looks very similar to the lattice around Ruidus. "The Divine Gate is one continuous entity, a barrier. It's hard to describe; it's a boundary that exists between these dimensions, but it's not a thin sheet, it's a bit more esoteric. It only exists in the spaces between dimensions, and only exists around Exandria."

They have contacts in Vasselheim who can look into this and try to connect the dots, but again, a lot of things are happening in a lot of places very quickly.

that's a lot. so is Ruidus the "gate" part of the Divine Gate, the lock that's holding the door closed? if it's appearing in the Feywild, does it still have this lattice while it's there? and if it doesn't, then was Imogen seeing the lattice just a result of looking through the lattice around Exandria, not actually a lattice around Ruidus?

Vex gives Laudna a ring of protection!

aw Marisha moved back

MOON DREAM MOON DREAM

and FCG has share dream up

FCG's spells come from the arcane weave?

Imogen finds herself "standing in the same grass field, the same childhood open field that the dreams continue to start in, but there isn't green, there isn't your horse. The red storm is already around you... you can see the faint outline of FCG joining you in this dream... you see, ahead of you, a shadowed shape that just moves away and vanishes into the dust, away from you. You step closer and closer, and you can see, it's a broader shape. Not the thin, familiar feminine warrior body that you faced off with in Bassuras. This is more of a masculine warrior's outline. It's hard to make out the specifics, but you see the walking figure stop and glance over its shoulder for just a moment, and then it's gone. (It had similarities to when Bertrand and the twins walked away.) You keep walking forward, and the wind gets stronger and stronger, the grasses of the field giving way to dirt and broken rock... You've acknowledged in this space that spellcraft has no effect, but the will of your mind influences the journey you take. The storm continues to grow colder and darker, until eventually the vibrant red becomes a deep, dark maroon. As the wind begins to die, the space above you begins to thin. Where the dust dies down, instead, you see a dark voided scape filled with thousands and thousands of stars. You glance up, and the stars begin to blink out, until within a few moments inky blackness sits above you both. The storm subsides and you put your consciousness back down to where you're standing, but there's nothing there. Lightless space beneath you, around you, until you can't even see each other. In that moment, all you have is the physical sense of your hands holding together, you feel yourself being pulled away until your grip finally gives, and you both come to consciousness in the morning."

Fearne talks to the Sun Tree! [Can you open a door?]

"Eyyy Fearne. I mean. People make doors outta trees, we don't do it ourselves. But you figure it out, you know where I am... [How long have you been here?] Oh, a looong time. [Did you ever notice when they put up a new moon?] No, s'long as I've been here, there's always been two. [Are you excited for the solstice?] I guess a little. It's interesting, and makes me feel all tingly."

Sending to Eshteross: "Are you alive still? I had a dream." No response.

Chetney's gift to Imogen is a big movable wind-up horse! it's very pretty.

"Gilmore's Glorious Goods: Whitestone Expansion"!!

The guy working the shop at the moment (Gilmore is in Emon) is apparently very skilled at carving wood. He enchanted a little wooden gryphon to fly. And I mention this because Chetney looks very suspicious of him.

FCG has run off to the temple of the Changebringer. "I'm drawn to [this coin]... it's little and it's metal, but it has a purpose... I'm thinking more about what my purpose is, and I'm wondering if you have any insight, or if she might... I guess I'm just wondering how to talk to her."

FCG speaks toward the Changebringer. "I don't know if you can hear me, and I don't know if you can speak, but I'll be listening, and I'll be waiting, and I guess I'll be hoping for you to... just let me know that you're there. I guess that's the first step. I don't need anything more than that just to know that someone out there knows who I am and that I exist."

We're back in Jrusar!

Another sending to Eshteross: "Eshteross? Tell me you were just sleeping earlier. Are you there? Wake up!" Nothing.

Eshteross' estate is covered in blood and sprung traps.

At the base of the bed, there is a "humanoid body, face down, reaching underneath. A familiar maroon-patterned robe." Chetney goes in and smells "blood, but it feels a little off." Getting close, the body is riddled with wounds — gash marks, fine slashes, the robe is barely held together.

"The smell of blood is strong, but it... it smells off. It's hard to describe. You're very familiar with the blood of humanoid creatures, and there's something off about it. The other thing you smell is the smell of blood you've tasted before. There's the faintest smell, a sage or an oil, that is distinctly Otohan that just barely lingers — barely."

Beneath the bed, where Eshteross was reaching, is an iron lockbox. Chet fails to pick the lock on it.

Yeah. No pulse. This is one of those situations like the Nicodranas vs. Felderwin thing in C2, where if the M9 went to Felderwin instead of Nicodranas they would've been there when the town was attacked, right? They went to Whitestone instead of staying in Bassuras, and Eshteross is dead because of it.

In Eshteross' pocket, Chet finds a bunch of different keys on a ring, presumably for different things in the house.

Inside the box is a cluster of envelopes. Sealed letters, all with names. Evelyn Ress. Lex Emnar. Chief Wilder Neimenoros. Ajit Dyal. Orlana Shishadri. Menaia Trei. Bells Hells.

The letter to Bells Hells—

Travis is reading this way too fast for me to transcribe ;-;

There's something in there about fate and people who bend history to their wills?

In essence, it's a final will and testament. Eshteross knows he was living on borrowed time, and thanked the Hells for their time. He gave them his cookie recipe, the blade in his cane (named Turmoil), and the ownership of the Silver Sun, along with a year's worth its crew's time.

They finally have a sky ship!!!

From the blood on the cane, Orym identifies that odd smell as the same type of poison that affected Will and Derrig, that "locks away" any chance of resurrection.

Hold up. If Eshteross is dead and Imogen saw him walking into the storm the night that he died, the same way she saw Bertrand...... what does that say about the Lumas twins? She saw them weeks after they (supposedly?) died.

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

how about #3, thunderstorm during the hottest day of the year, for perc’ahlia + the quarter elves?

"Mama!" Leona shrieks. "Wolfe put a worm in my hair!"

Vex sighs and gives Wolfe a look, "Wolfe, don't put worms on you sister." The boy grumbles, dropping the other worm he had back onto the pavement. Rain pours down on the twins, the sky dark with storm clouds. Thankfully it's hot as hell, Vex would know, she's been there, so she's not too worried about them getting sick.

Vex sits on the porch stairs, safe from the rain by the overhand. Danny sits at her side, just watching his siblings play. Baby Gwen is upstairs with her father for the next few hours.

A bolt of lightning crack overhead, striking a tree in the woods.

"Alright, heathens!" Vex calls, standing up. "Time to go inside."

"But-" Wolfe tries.

"Nope!" Vex takes Danny's hand as he stands up. "Lightning means we go inside where it's safe. Come on, let's get you dried off."

Both the twins pout, but dutifully follow their mother inside. She stops them on the mat inside the door, "Danny, run up to your father and tell him to bring down some towels."

Danny nods, running off. Vex looks at her kids, now fighting over which one has more space on the mat. Vex sighs softly, "Leo, Wolfe, please keep your voices down a little, Gwen might be trying to sleep."

"Sorry," Wolfe scuffs his foot into the mat.

"I heard you're in need to towels?" Percy rounds the corner, seeing two of his children soaking wet, pouting under the watchful eye of their mother. "Ah, I see." He tosses a towel to Vex, "You get one, I get the other?" Vex grins and nods.

Before the twins can ask what is happening, their parents open the towels and wrap them into tight hugs, tugging them into the towels. Percy hugs Leona, rubbing her roughly with the towel as she laughs her protests, trying to fight him off.

Percy easily pins her arms in place, lifting his daughter up into his arms as the towel absorbs the warm rain water. As he sets her back on her feet, she glares at him playfully, but allows him to squeeze out her long hair and kiss her forehead.

When Vex has done the same to Wolfe, Percy drapes the towels around her shoulders, "Go change clothes or you'll catch your death."

Leona gives him a weird look, "You sound so old."

"You are so old," Wolfe agrees.

Percy glares gently at them, "Alright, children, go change into dry clothes before I sick Trinket on you." Leona and Wolfe laugh as they dart upstairs to their bedrooms. Percy looks to Vex with a fond smile, "I do adore them."

Vex matches his expression, "Top five of our children." They laugh as Percy hugs her, kissing her temple. "I think I need to feed Gwen, was she being fussy?"

"Yes, though that could just be the storm, it woke her up from a nap."

"Hmm," Vex hums. "I'll try anyway, just to be safe. And Vesper wanted help with her lessons."

"I can handle that," Percy assures her. "Parenting is so easy."

Vex smacks his arm as he laughs, "You've cursed us now, Danny's going to break his arm or something. Just watch-"

Before Vex can even finish there's a call of, "Dad!" Coming from upstairs in Leo's urgent voice.

Vex crosses her arms at Percy, "You have to go deal with whatever the hell that's about."

"Fair, fair." He kisses her quickly before running up the stairs.

[moonflower1605]

Chapter - 14

(Ella's POV)

"Nora!" Percy suddenly comes from the woods.

I flinched. "Jeez! Can't anyone g-" I was cut off by him crushing me in a hug.

Let me back up. I know you're wondering why I disappeared. Before you ask: no, I didn't die or get kidnapped. I'll just explain what happened.

(FLASHBACK-2 HOURS AGO)

I felt a hand lace with mine which snaps me back to reality. I focus my gaze on Percy.

"You okay?" He asks worried.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I forced a smile.

“Look, we know it’s Hades-”

That's when I felt a sharp pain go through my head. I winced, but luckily no one notices. I quietly slip away & head to my secret spot.

I know, I know you're thinking, 'Oh, why did you leave? Percy was gonna ask you to come with him on his quest'.

When Percy & Chiron said that Hades stole the bolt, I felt like something didn't quite add up. I had a different lead to follow up on.

I felt a tingling sensation in my head like I was thinking in the right direction & was about to see a vision, when Percy showed up.

(PRESENT TIME)

"Woah! Percy, relax. Did something happen?"

He looked angry & relieved at the same time. "I was looking for you. I...I thought y-you were..." I held his face in my hands.

"Hey, hey. Look at me. I'm fine, okay."

He hugged me again. I could feel his heart racing faster than a sports car.

"Don't ever disappear like that, okay?"

"Holy Zeus! Was the Percy Jackson worried about me?" I ask grinning at him.

"S-shut up! Friends..w-worry about...each other all the time." He says stammering.

"Whatever you say, water boy." I say winking.

"Hey!" He protests. "But, why did you leave?"

"I just had a headache, that's all." I didn't want to lie to him but until I could find more information I couldn't worry him about it.

"Oh..so...I just wanted to ask..." He trails off.

"What is it Perce?"

"Do you..want to come on the quest with me?"

"But you have Grover & Annabeth with you right? So..why do you need me?"

"Well..you're really experienced at fighting & I could use your help to know where we-"

"Okay, I'll come with you."

"Have to go &-wait what? Just like that?"

"Of course. Look, you're going on a quest & my dad apparently hates you. So, the least I can do is come along so he doesn't kill you."

"Thanks, Nora. It means a lot." He smiled.

"Anytime, Perce."

"Well, I'll go pack....but, see you at noon."

"See ya later!"

In the afternoon, we said goodbye to the other campers, took one last look at the camp, then hiked up the hill. I touched the pine tree that was my sister, Thalia.

"I'll be back sis, don't worry." I mumbled.

Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood Argus our camp security. He had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Trust me I've tried it.

"This is Argus," Chiron said to Percy. "He'll drive you to the city, &, er, keep an eye out."

I heard footsteps behind us. Luke came running up the hill, carrying basketball shoes.

"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you guys."

Annie blushed, she had a huge crush on him(Don't tell her I said that). Luke blushed as he saw me. I know, you're thinking: wow, a love triangle. But, I just like him as a brother. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand that.

"Just wanted to say good luck." Luke told me.

"And," He turns to Percy. "I thought..maybe you could use these."

He handed him the sneakers, which looked normal, but I knew they weren't.

Luke said, "Maia!"

White bird’s wings sprouted from the heels, Percy dropped them. The shoes flapped around, till the wings folded & disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said.

"Hey, man," Percy said. "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just...kill some monsters for me, okay?"

They shook hands. Luke patted Grover’s head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to me & Annie, who looked like she might pass out. After Luke was gone, I told her.

"You’re hyperventilating."

"Am not."

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn’t you?"

"Oh..why did I agree to go with you, Nora?"

"Because, you love mee.." I said grinning.

"No, I hate you." She said stomping down the side of the hill. A white SUV waited on the road. Argus went behind her. I followed them.

Argus drove us into the west of Long Island.

"So far so good," Percy said. “Ten miles & not a single monster."

"It’s bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain." Annie said. I giggled. Seaweed brain?

"Remind me-why do you hate me so much?"

"I don’t hate you." she said.

"Could’ve fooled me."

"Oh, she doesn't hate you at all. In fact-"

She clapped her hand over my mouth. "Look... we’re not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals." I licked her hand.

"Eww! Nora!" I smiled innocently.

"Why?" Percy asked

"Once, she caught Poseidon & his girlfriend in her temple. Then Athena & Poseidon competed to be the patron for the city of Athens. Your dad made a stupid saltwater spring. My mom created the olive tree. The people liked her gift better, & named the city after her."

"They must really like olives."

"Oh, forget it."

"Guys.." I started.

"Now, if she’d invented pizza-that I'd understand."

"I said, forget it!"

"Guys!" I shouted.

"What?" They asked in unison.

"Shut up!" I say as Grover laughs. They huffed but remained silent. This was gonna be really fun.

Link to the next chapter is here.

Link to the prev chapter is here.

Comment, like & share.

Take care my lovely readers.❤

Alice signing off.

XOXO.

[pearwaldorf]

10 lines tagging game

Thanks to @ripeteeth for the tag!

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway!

waiting to finally be caught (OFMD, Ed/Stede, nsfw)

As much as they all love the pirates' life (at least as it is on the Revenge), too much time in close quarters means civility becomes strained, no matter how hard they try to remain amiable. It’s been weeks out at sea, and when Stede announces they’re going to dock in Nassau for a bit, a weary cheer goes up from the crew. As they scatter to their various duties, he overhears snatches of conversation about the things they’re going to do when they reach land.

I took no time with the fall (Glass Onion, Blanc/Phillip)

It’s a really fucking boring party. Phillip is here purely for lack of anything better to do, including sitting on his couch and binging Parks and Recreation, which he’s done three times this year already.

don't look in the mirror, look into my eyes (Critical Role/TLoVM, Percy/OMC, Percy/Orthax, nsfw)

Percy sets down the hammer. The piece of metal he's been shaping is finally starting to look like what he wants. The voice in his head, Orthax, it calls itself, rumbles in what Percy thinks might be approval.

both have sharp teeth (IWTV AMC, Grace and Lestat)

Grace keeps an eye out for her brother, but he does not show up to the wake. It is not something she concerns herself with at the moment, given Mamá’s condition and fulfilling her role as dutiful sister and daughter. But when Louis does not show up for breakfast the next morning, it becomes more important.

our bodies fear that this war won't end (can't live without the ache) (Malevolent, Arthur/John, nsfw)

"Why do humans derive such pleasure from getting dirty?" Sometimes John will just blurt out questions, when there’s nothing to do but wait. Arthur finds it charming, although he'd never let John know. (They share so much—too much, sometimes; he clings to what he can keep private.)

take me to the limit, hold me down there (OFMD, Ed/Stede, nsfw)

Edward is gazing out one of the windows in the captain’s quarters when he hears the door unlock. He has the only key, and his heart jumps into his throat. Should he try and hide? Fight back? Certainly he was aware of the possibility of piracy when he booked this voyage, but they're so close to their destination he didn’t think it would actually happen.

until I saw you in my thunderstorm (Oxventure Blades in the Dark, Alice/Peter)

The last thing Alice remembers is standing at the desk. The new girl, Zara? Zillah? stood behind her, putting her arm around Alice's neck and tightened. Alice tried to resist, but she was extremely strong. Spots danced in front of her eyes until black overtook everything.

all the variations you could do with me (OFMD, Ed/Stede, nsfw)

Ed’s been a sailor long enough that he can tell when a squall’s coming, even without the accompanying ache in his knee. There’s something extremely strange about whatever’s gathering right now though: no clouds, just an ominous, low pressure that feels like it’s going to crush anybody still on deck when it arrives.

when the lights come on I'll be ready for this (Shang-Chi, Katy-centric)

Katy does what she can, in the aftermath of the battle. There’s so much else to sort through nobody asks her to go near the bodies, for which she is grateful. She’s not sure it’s her place anyways. The dead should be taken care of by the ones they loved, who loved them.

we've not yet lost all our graces (Good Omens/Hannibal, Aziraphale, Will)

There is a quiet about the morning in Florence right after dawn, one Will relishes greatly on his walks. It’s a good sort, created from the natural cessation of activity required by humanity, as opposed to the kind encountered around the grave.

He gathers and collects it obsessively like it’s become his, proprietary through the repeated action of observing its existence. It’s not that he’s unwilling to share it with others; but he has come to know the other people who do. There is an irrational, strange jealousy of people he doesn’t know partaking in it, like they somehow need his approval to enjoy the ambiance of a city that hasn’t quite woken up.

Please feel free to do this if you are so moved.

[ashilrak]

Percy + Dionysus (and Ariadne?) (lmao lets just keep the training running through Olympus...)

Okay so this one is fun. I don't think Percy would go for Dionysus until he decided to drop the ugly facade since he associates that with the initial reminder of Gabe? Also, as far as Gods go, you might not pair these two together based on initial assumptions.

BUT, God is there is a good fic here; a bit tropey? Sure. But, vibes. Anyway, you have a Percy who is slowly ascending. There's an inevitability here, the idea that the offer was more in name because he was always fated to be a God sorta vibes. Percy doesn't quite recognize what's happening and it's Dionysus who takes him to the side and tells him.

Percy doesn't want to believe him, but Dionysus (dropping the ugly facade, hints of madness swirling in his eyes, temptation sweet on his tongue) grabs his chin and is like "take it from me, boy, you can't fight this." and Percy is suddenly reminded that Dionysus wasn't always a God.

And you have Percy asking something like "what do I do?" and he's on the verge of something but he refuses to face it and Dionysus laughs with a wry grin and is like "you can face it head on, or you can run and hide and wait for it to get you, but there's no winning here." something something

Percy is stubborn, he won't give in right away. But time goes on and it's getting worse, and he asks other people but they don't get it so he goes back to Dionysus who doesn't make it easy for him.

Percy asks how he can face it and Dionysus is like you can force it, a show of power something something, and Percy kinda grits his teeth and resigns himself to waiting for the next prophecy or whatever, but then Dionysus tilts his head to the side and is like, "I can help"

But unlike the fight Percy expects, well, there are other much more fun scenarios in which displays of strength and power can come in handy don't ya know 😌

Afterward, when Percy is ascended and lying their panting or whatever Ariadne shows up and joins in for a round two because turns out, she's had her eye on Percy for a while and who is Dio to deny her?

// Send me any two characters, I'll tell you how I'd get them together

[doubleshotofsomething]

To Hell & Back

Part Four:  “My wings are frayed and what’s left of my halo’s black”

--

Summary: Your exit strategy involves your neighbour... Well, it is your neighbour.

Prompt: "I don't want to live on this planet anymore."

Warnings: swearing. (Typos that will be fixed). That's it??

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Reader

-----

Series Masterlist

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You weren't always this...angry.

You weren't always this spiteful and short tempered, and malicious enough to deliberately poison muffins.

At one point in life, you were everything you'd ever wanted in a friend. Kind and compassionate. Even patience was a virtue you had an abundance of.

Then, one day, some guy from Asgard came with an army of aliens and ripped a hole through your father's finances. Apparently damaging a bunch of buildings, including the one your father worked at, was bad for business and so it closed down.

Just as your mother's job had barely managed to get your family out of the red, her boss gets murdered at some important meeting that blew up – along with some world leaders. In her boss's place, the son took over and ran the company into the ground.

Luckily, your sister had a bakery that made just enough to cover your parents' costs and your summer jobs had saved you enough to get you through college. Then, some other guy came with another alien army, and decided to take half the world with him – or whatever he did

The wrong half of the world, in your opinion. You could have lived without watching your sister's husband run her business into the ground. And life would have been a little easier if you didn't have to stretch yourself thin, to make sure your mother saw the next day.

"Then half the world came back," you continue, eyes focused on the cat. "And some random family showed up in my apartment. I'm pretty sure the husband had a heart attack when he saw me–"

Bucky places another beer in front of you. You hate the taste, but coffee on an empty stomach has never worked well for you.

"–so I moved," you take a final sip of your second beer, before placing it down and reaching for the one he just placed in front of you. "Now, I'm here. Stuck with a nosy neighbour and his cat."

"You can keep her." Bucky sighs, leaning against the wall next to you. Your shoulders brush. "I don't know the first thing about cats."

You frown and look up at him. "Barnes... You are cat. And I already have you, why would I want another one?"

He scoffs, blue eyes meeting yours. "I am not that kind of lady."

"Oh god," you roll your eyes.

"Gotta buy me dinner first, doll–"

"Not a doll."

"Maybe take me dancing," he continues, lips twitching at the sight of your scowl. "If you're lucky, I might invite you in for tea."

You glance at the coffee machine, still boxed, sitting on his counter but don't comment. You know what it means, you know why he bought it, and the thought alone makes you queasy.

So you look back at the cat, curled on your bare lap, and sigh. "Sorry I came in without pants."

You don't say anything else and he chuckles. He found you in nothing but an old shirt and socks that night, so he's not really surprised.

"Sorry I helped you without a shirt." He replies. He would've answered you immediately, the second you said his name, but he had to find pants first.

Silence falls between the both of you, and it takes actual effort for Bucky to look away from you. Tempering down the disappointment that has the audacity to knaw at you, at your stubbornness, you turn back to the screen of his laptop.

He was reviewing CCTV footage of your building's basement garage. Two hours into the viewing and he heard you calling him from the balcony, so he had to pause.

Now, four hours, three beers on your side and a weird trip down memory lane later – you're helping him sift through footage at a faster rate.

"So," you begin, eyes glued to the screen. "I have a question, about that whole serum thing."

"Hmm?" It's the first question you've ever asked about that part of him, that part of his history.

"How does it work when it comes to diseases?"

Blinking, Bucky has to pause the video to look at you. "Diseases?"

You nod. "Like flu, chicken pox, tonsillitis. You know, that stuff."

"I'm confused–"

"Do you not get it or does it run through you like water?"

"What?"

"Or does your immune system just basically butcher it within the hour?" You blink at him, eyes wide with curiosity. "'Cause like, I had this friend with one helluva immune system. He never got sick, so does it work like that?"

He pauses, lips pursing as he considers you. "Do you wanna know if my blood cells can cure AIDS?"

"If that were the case, you'd be in a CDC off-site lab right now–" you put down the beer you've been cradling. "–so, no. I wanna know what kind of illness can knock a super soldier out long enough for me to use it as an excuse."

He blinks. Once. Twice. "Huh?!"

"Saturday is in a few days."

Oh.

"What does that have to do with me?" His face scrunches up into the most confused expression you've ever seen.

"As we both know," you narrow your eyes at him. "Ever since you saved my life, like the asshole you are, my parents have taken a liking to you. And since I poisoned their favourite couple last week, I'm in deep shit this week unless I can find a good reason to not show up."

"I'm not gonna apologise for saving you."

You raise an eyebrow. "Of course not. That would mean admitting it was very selfish of you."

This is not how he expected this conversation to go. Or how he wanted it to go. So, he decides to turn back to the screen and continue watching the footage.

You know you struck a nerve, and it would be easier for you to blame it on the beer, but you can't. You want answers, just as much as he does.

You want to know what gave him the right to knock down your door, or the audacity to have his friend fly you to the hospital. He won't straight up tell you, you tried when you woke up in the ICU and found him there, and it pisses you off that he might not ever tell you.

Bucky frowns at the screen. "The camera's get switched off right after I leave–" he glances at you. "Did you bribe security to switch them off?"

"We have security?"

"The guys at the front desk?"

You frown at him. You know those guys, you bring them baked goodies from work three times a week.

"Hang on," you place the cat on the couch next to you, cross your legs and turn to move closer to him. "Let me get this straight."

Your knees gently press into his thigh and he forced to look at you.

"You're telling me that Laurence with sinuses, down in the lobby, and Percy with the three-legged rabbit. Those guys–" of course you'd know that. "–they're security? For this apartment building? We have security?"

"You can't be serious–"

"We have a biometric system at the door and like cameras, and a patrol car that frequents this neighbourhood–" you're pressing a little to hard on your fingers and he's worried you just might snap one off. "–what the hell do we need security guards for?"

You continue rattling off all the safety measures the building has, which means your fingers have to suffer throughout the list, unless he does something about it.

Which he does. Almost as if instinct, his hands are clasping yours before he can make the decision to reach for them. They're warm and cold against yours, but the right kind of warm and cold that makes you frown at them.

His hands swallow yours, which isn't something that surprises you. It's the way you're not pulling away, the way you're not fighting it, the way you can't blame the alcohol because it almost feels...normal.

You haven't felt normal in such a long time.

"You gonna stop tryna break your fingers?" Bucky starts. "Or do I have to stay like this 'til you knock out?"

You blink. "Does a concussion knock you out long enough to warrant an excuse?"

"You're relentless."

"Says the guy watching CCTV footage because of a cat."

"It's... For a good cause."

"Me missing Saturday dinner is a good cause, Barnes."

He sighs. "Doll–"

"–I'll owe you one."

Bucky is about to argue, his mouth was halfway open before your words registered. That's really what happened.

It's not like he was looking for an opening or anything. A way of asking you, that wouldn't resort in an argument or anything.

It's not like those were the words he's been waiting for, for quite some time now.

Not at all.

Of course not.

But, who is he to argue with the mysterious workings of a universe.

The room you're in is dimly lit, the only light originating from the kitchen and the streetlights. But you can still see that dangerous glint in his eyes.

He grins. "Is that right?"

You swear you heard yourself gulp.

-----

"Okay–" you're fidgety and anxious, and can't seem to stand still as the elevator doors close. "–now, let's go through this again. What's our exit strategy?"

Bucky turns to fully face you. He's been trying to keep you calm ever since the parking lot, but even he can admit that he was far too distracted to be helpful.

It wasn't even his fault he was distracted, it was completely yours. When he invited you to Sarah's party , the party celebrating the expansion of the success revamp of the boat business, he had said to dress comfortably.

Not dress like you were put on this Earth to be the end of him.

He was waiting in the parking lot, the same one that had the camera's switched off right after he left, when you came barrelling towards him.

You had narrowly escaped your sister. She was getting off the elevator just as you were nearing it, so you quickly opted for the staircase beside it. You were a flurry of floral black and white and pink in a summer dress, your hair barely in place – you tried using pins and thought about ribbons, but then forgot about them when you couldn't find your other shoe – as you basically pushed him inside the car.

You used the passenger window to try and fix your hair, as best as you could. And he spent the drive trying to reassure you that you looked fine.

You looked more than fine, but he couldn't seem to muster up the words.

"Doll–"

"Not a doll." Is your automated response.

"You look fine, " sweet as sugar, is what he wants to say. "And, well, there is no exit strategy."

You gape up at the mammoth of a man in front of you. His words, a ballad of heathens in your book, echoes in your head.

"No exit strategy?" You whine, fisting his shirt as you desperately meet his eyes. "Bucky, no. Please. You can't do this."

The elevator doors open before he can respond to you. Sam is waiting on the other side of the doors, champagne glasses in both hands.

Hands still gripping into Bucky's shirt, hair almost presentable, Bucky's face flushing from hearing you say his name, and your expression portraying pure fluster. You and Bucky both turn to find Sam staring at the scene in front of him.

His eyebrows shoot up, golden brown eyes lighting up at the sight. "Okay. This definitely makes up for you being late."

Bucky blinks, seeming to snap out of his stupor. "Wait, wha–"

"No–" Sam cuts in. "–I know how you 40s guys are about kissin' and telling. I won't pry."

"Hang on, Sam–"

"Bathroom's on the next floor," he has the audacity to grin. "Just be quick about it. The speech's in twenty minutes."

With that, he steps away from the elevator, gives a curt nod and – with a Cheshire grin – walks away.

You slowly peel your hands away from Bucky and take a few steps back.

Bucky clears his throat. "So, about the exit strategy..."

---

TAGS :D : @sunflowerxbarnes , @ginger-swag-rapunzel , @arctic-duchess , @sltwins , @thewayilookatbacon , @buckyisperfect , @paryl

[gremlinbehaviour]

Percival's Bed

For @camelove2021 day 7: free day

Gwen, Merlin, and the knights cuddle

Read on ao3

At least once a month, all the knights fell into bed together. Sometimes they were drunk, but not always. Often they just wanted a little more touch, a few more hugs, and a lot more love than their everyday lives provided. On patrols, they could say that they were just cuddling for warmth, if anyone ever asked, which they didn't. In the castle, they tended to just one by one arrive at Percival's room. He had the biggest bed and was always willing to hold anyone who needed a hug. And he gave amazing hugs.

Tonight, he lay in the middle of the bed, with Leon already having claimed a spot next to him. The First Knight had his back pressed up against Percival's side as he lay facing away, curled protectively around Lancelot. They were both already drowsy, kept awake only by Elyan and Gwaine bickering about who got to lay on Percival's other side.

"You got him last time! It was supposed to be my turn!" Gwaine whined petulantly.

"Don't think I don't know how often you're in here," Elyan retorted. "You have enough time with him without hogging the group cuddles too."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Percy asked.

"Alright, who do you want?"

"Elyan. He washes."

"Hey!" Gwaine barked in offense. He was interrupted from whatever defence he would try to mount by the door opening.

"Are you boys fighting again?" Gwen asked as she pushed back her hood. She always borrowed her brother's hoodie when she snuck in to join them. Even her otherwise stellar reputation could not survive being seen entering a room to lie in bed with half a dozen men. Nothing ever happened, but outsiders wouldn't know that. The whole gathering would be considered highly inappropriate.

Percival grinnwd widely and patted the bed beside him. With a bright smile, she instantly accepted the invitation and crawled into the bed to claim the spot beside him.

"Well, that settles that," Elyan muttered, but he didn't really resent his sister taking his place. "Do you think I should go get Merlin too?"

"Yes," Lancelot murmured from the other side of the bed. His voice was a little muffled where his face pressed against Leon's chest, arms wrapped around his head and shoulders holding him there. Lance had always liked really tight hugs that made him feel warm and wanted, and Leon had always done everything he could to make the Knights of the Round Table feel welcomed.

"Okay. I'll be back soon. Leave me a space," he instructed as he left the room. Gwaine did not listen to his instruction and instead took up the rest of the bed by lying sideways across it so that he could lay his head in Gwen's lap. She would always stroke his hair when they cuddled together, which he adored.

Elyan and Merlin returned after not long, and the servant immediately burst into laughter at seeing Gwaine so stretched out. He immediately scrambled over on top of him, flopping down onto his stomach.

"Oof," Gwaine huffed as the wind was knocked out of him. Elyan lifted up his legs to slip underneath them. Merlin turned on his side so they could press their foreheads together.

Lancelot had already drifted off, and Leon wasn't far behind. Elyan told the rest of them stories of his travels and Percival kissed Gwen's forehead, and once they were all asleep, he used his magic to pull the blanket up over all of them to sleep.

[theartofimaginaryfriends]

Chapter 5 - Catalyst

Fic series: The Final Straw (HP/PJO Crossover Fic)

Premise: A fight breaks out during first period.

Masterlist

Taglist: @ilvermornymascot, @lukecastellandeservedbetter

Word Count: 1,540

A/N: Back to our regularly scheduled programming! I was up all night last night working on the chapter because honestly sleep isn’t a thing anymore. I think this is my personal favourite chapter by far and yes it is absolutely because I made a “my father will hear about this” reference. Might bring that one up again, but we’ll see XD Hope you enjoy!

"What do you think it means?" Harry asked at breakfast the next day. "The prophecy. I mean, the bridge? What tether? The one I had to deal with wasn't this hard to decipher." 

"Our prophecies never mean what you think," Nova said. "Whatever the bridge is, it couldn't mean a literal bridge. Maybe it's a person. Someone that acts as a bridge to connect both sides." 

"So, you?" Percy raised an eyebrow. 

"Or, it could mean a God," she gave him a look. "Like Janus."

"I never want to deal with him again." The son of Poseidon complained.  

"You never wanted to deal with a prophecy again. Anything's possible." Annabeth said. Percy glared at her and scowled. Things hadn't been patched up between them since the previous night. "I wonder which of us will be the heroes. I hate to say it, but Percy and Harry are guaranteed to be involved." 

"It could be anyone," Hermione snapped. "Harry couldn't possibly be involved in another prophecy. Not so soon." Annabeth opened her mouth to respond until Nova held up a hand. 

"I'm going to stop both of you now before this gets out of hand." The rule Ilvermorny had about students sitting with others of different years and houses expanded to the wizards and demigods. So far Nova was overwhelmed by all the fighting happening around her and wanted to keep that at bay at her table at the very least. Especially while she was still waking up. "We should just drop talk about the prophecy for the time being. It's not helping anyone, and parts won't be figured out or revealed until the right time."

The table agreed and fell silent. Around them, were groups of students having the same conversation Nova just cut-off, or arguing with each other. It seemed that the various rooming situations either worked out really well or went very wrong. Rachel and Luna, in particular, had gotten along right away. "What's a wrackspurt?" 

Hermione scoffed, and Ron groaned at Rachel's question. Harry and Ginny, on the other hand, tried to suppress giggles. Luna's eyes lit up as she explained what they were to the redhead and barely looked up when Professor Lieberman, the Pukwudgie Head of House, handed over their schedules.  

When the Professor got around to Nova, she handed her a small envelope as well. "The Headmaster asked me to give this to you." 

"Thanks, Professor." 

After scanning the schedule, she headed to combat and duelling in the training grounds. The class had a mixture of students from all four houses, a few of which were the transfer students. She tried to mask her annoyance when she noticed Clarisse and Draco were in the class together. Something was bound to go wrong.  

The students made their way to the two professors teaching the class and listened to the introduction. "Hello, class. For those that don't know, I am Professor Sullivan, the flying and duelling instructor. I will be sharing a class with Professor Beaumont as it is vital we teach you, students, every form of fighting." 

"But demigods can't use magic," An Ilvermorny student called out.  

"And wizards don't have any weapons!" A demigod added.  

"Please leave questions and comments at the end of the lecture," Professor Beaumont commanded. The class quieted down, and the ones that were speaking out looked sheepish. "You both make good points. Although some Demigods can use magic, it is just different from the wizards."  

"Our goal in this class is to teach you how to fight against an opponent you would have never expected." Sullivan continued. "However, for today, we will have the wizards with me, and the demigods with Professor Beaumont. Is that clear?" 

"Yes, Professor," the class chorused.  

"Any questions?" 

Nova raised her hand, trying not to feel stupid. "For those of us that fit into both categories – because I know I'm not the only one – where do we go?" 

"Fan of flying?" Sullivan asked.  

"You know I'm not." Nova sighed.  

"Go with the demigods." The Professor smirked. "If you're not afraid of flying, you'll be with me today. If you are, join Nova." 

The groups split off, and Percy made his way next to Nova. "Flying?" 

"Yes, we can fly on broomsticks," Nova braced herself for the teasing. "No, they aren't the basic straw brooms in media." 

"I'm pretty sure I'm the first person to ask you about that," Percy mused. "And yet, you already sound annoyed." 

"I know you well enough to know that I'm aware I'll never hear the end of it," she rolled her eyes. 

"You two!" Professor Beaumont interrupted their banter. "Have something to share with the rest of the class?" 

"No," they said, sheepishly.   

"Great, then I'm going to assume you were listening to instructions," Cassia said. "I don't care who you partner with, just try not to kill each other." 

"Frank, what were the instructions?" Percy leaned over to his friend.  

"Get into groups of two, and practice combat," he told them. "We have an uneven number, though." 

"We could be a group of three?" Nova suggested. "Take turns fighting each other. Third person watches and dictates who wins each round." 

"Sure, why not," Percy shrugged, grabbing his pen from his back pocket. "You and me first, Nova? I miss training with you." 

"You’re on, Jackson," she removed a bronze hair clip and flipped it to reveal Harpe. Percy got into position facing her, and uncapped Riptide. Nova was a bit nervous facing off against Percy. He was the only one able to match Luke in a fight when they were twelve, and she remembered it well. He was skilled, and Nova planned to give him a real challenge.  

The demigod made the first move, almost losing his balance when Nova dodged him. She moved forward, forcing Percy to back up from where he stood. She managed to stay in control of the fight until Percy deflected her blade, and forced it out of her hands. Grabbing the hilt, Percy shrugged and tossed it back to her. Nova easily caught it, and they continued on.    

They parried for quite a bit, neither of them willing to give up. Weaving through the other teams, they swiftly moved across the grounds and stayed evenly matched with one another. Without realizing it Nova and Percy had moved closer to the castle walls. The roles of offence and defence were switching between them constantly. It was as though they were silently communicating as they continued to train.  

Percy was offence when he realized they were closer to the castle and saw it as an opportunity to overtake Nova. He maneuvered their fight so that her back was against the wall, and rested his blade against her throat. His left arm braced against the wall right above her head. "You know if you don't apply pressure, I could easily get out of this hold."  

"If I drew blood, I'd get in trouble," he replied. "And seeing as you have an advantage, why not use it?" 

"Catching my breath, I suppose." Nova lied, blushing.  

"We could stop the fight here." 

"What would be the fun in that?" 

"Touche-" 

"BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU THROW THAT THING!" Nova's attention moved from Percy to the students up on brooms. Draco was descending from his position and angrily marched up to Clarisse who had gone to collect her spear.  

"Better go deal with this," Nova groaned.  

"Clarisse may not listen to you, I should help." Percy insisted, moving away from the wall to let her go.  

"She won’t listen to anyone but Will," Nova shrugged. "Go train with Frank, I'll be fine." 

The Head Girl made her way to the two, as they began a shouting match. "I should be allowed to throw my spear wherever the hell I want, Pretty Boy." 

"And I should be able to have a friendly competition with my classmates without worrying about being killed!" He argued back.  

"Dude, a bludger has the potential to kill you," Nova intervened. "I get your point, but think realistically. Wizard sports are about as safe as weapons." 

"No one asked you!" Clarisse and Draco chorused.  

"Yeah, I don’t care," she crossed her arms. "Here's what's going to happen. Clarisse, you're going to throw your spear in any direction away from the wizards. Malfoy, your father will not hear about it, so shut up and stop being dramatic."  

Both parties stared at her completely speechless, Clarisse reeling in anger. Draco just looked shocked, not having said that phrase since his fifth year at Hogwarts. Harry tried to suppress his laughter as the crowd watched, but failed. "Seriously, Potter?" 

All the Chosen One could do was nod, too busy laughing to say anything. Everyone stood around awkwardly, not sure what was so funny. "Thank you, Nova, but we'll take it from here." 

Nova stepped back, and let the professors talk to the two of them and sort something out. "Since it's the first day, I won’t give either if you detention. However, I will deduct ten points each from Horned Serpent and Wampus."  

"Professor!" Draco whined.  

"Five more points!" Sullivan snapped. "Now get back to your activities and no more arguing for the rest of the period."

[brownskinsugarplum76]

The New Girl, Part 1

I'm going to hijack something else from you today, @m-faithfull. 😁 I saw you post this pic a little while back, and I was itching to write for it. Here you go, a leonine Robert going in for the kill. 😬 Just felt like making him a little more forward this time around.

Thanks to @starchild0985 for the argument idea a while ago, and thanks to @firethatgrewsolow for the sanity check on the emotional stuff. ❤️❤️❤️

Not smut yet, but there are "adult undertones." 😎

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You round the corner with the food cart and hear them before you see them: the blaring radio and the boisterous, British-accented speech. And then there's a fearsome, metallic crash--a large, glass something, likely hurled into trash can.

You park across from the doorway, look into the room, and take a deep breath. It's your first night on the job, your first time serving a bunch of rock stars and their entourage. You've heard the stories and know that anything is possible in the green room: arguments, fist fights, food fights, hasty sex, even musicians too drunk or high to perform. But it's not just anxiety about the possible mood in the room that gives you pause. You are a huge Led Zeppelin fan, and you are as ashamed about your pink polyester work dress as you are excited to meet the young legends. You've daydreamed about meeting Robert, in particular, but certainly never under these circumstances.

You're glad to have had time to pull your copy of Led Zeppelin IV out of your locker while no one was looking and stash it on the bottom shelf of the cart, hidden behind the long, white tablecloth. An autographed vinyl would be a happy memory of the night, even if everything else went crazy.

Bonzo starts talking, and you realize things are not as jovial as you'd hoped.

"All I'm saying, Perce, is less talk between songs!" Bonzo's voice is colored with exasperation. "We both know damn well that you're just scanning the crowd to skim the finest birds off the top for yourself, innit?"

You're not sure if you should make your way into the room or stay out of the fray for a while. Since no one has noticed you yet, you decide to watch what happens next.

"How do you mean, Bonzo?" Robert's voice has all of the charm you'd expect to hear, but you don't know if his soothing tone will be enough to defuse the situation.

"All I'm doing," Robert continues, "is showing love and gratitude to the audience and setting the scene for you lot to release the sturm und drang, as it were."

"Fucking hell, Robert. Admit it, that's not the release you're most worried about! The crowds are bigger than in Birmingham, but you haven't changed your horny bastard ways one bit, matey…"

"It seems the song does indeed remain the same," Jimmy muses with a chuckle.

"I'm just surprised he ain't have a knee trembler onstage yet. G, Pagey, you're really lucky he didn't hump a pillar when you came to check him out back then. That's the sort of bollocks that I don't miss from this one." He frowns and takes a huge sip of his beer.

It seems this story is new to Jimmy and G, the imposing man you understand to be the manager. Both men exchange glances and shake their heads.

"Fuck it all!" Robert uncrosses his arms and picks up a cigarette package and lighter from the table. "Don't believe me, then." He turns his back on his critics and lights a cigarette.

You get a glimpse of his pout and his elegant fingers, marveling at how cute he looks when he's upset. Somehow this vision has neutralized any red flags raised by Bonzo's stories. You don't know why you can excuse Robert for things that would make you cold to anyone else. You are a little wary, but you know any objections you have left could be swept away with something as light as his sinful whisper in your ear, the brush of his lips against your neck, and the feathery touch of his fingers on your bud.

You are in danger of slipping deep into fantasy and decide to enter the room now to save yourself. Part of you wants to get your work over with, get your autographs, stargaze at the band and leave, but part of you wants to offer whatever comfort you can to the grumpy Robert before your eyes--just about anything he'd ask for.

Everyone else has moved on in a few different conversations. This ends up being a lucky occurrence for Robert, who is still sulking alone and notices you first.

He drops the hand with the cigarette by his side while he familiarizes himself with you. Then he lets loose with a dazzling smile.

G, the rest of the band, and the others in the room focus on you a beat later, while Robert quickly stubs out his cigarette in an ashtray. "And food saves the day. Your timing is impeccable, darlin'. Allow me to be your knight in denim and help you with that cart." He sidles up to you and rests one hand on your shoulder and the other on top of your hand. He winks at you, and you step aside so he can move the cart.

You drink in the sparkly, mostly open button-down that is hanging off of his broad shoulders, thankful that it ends just above the bulge in his jeans that won't be denied, so you can sneak a peek.

He is every bit as flirtatious as you've gleaned from the radio interviews. You get the impression that he doesn't mind the uniform you're wearing, that he's looking way past it in his mind, that he'd still flirt with you if you were wearing a potato sack. It is both a relief and something that leaves your stomach jittery.

"Our wonderful caterer…" he stares for a long time at the general region of your name tag, licks his lips, and relays your name with a wicked grin, "has brought the real food. Orange juice for Jimmy? And sandwiches and crisps for the rest of us. No need to gorge on three-day-old bananas anymore… Although there's one aged almost 25 years that's highly recommended, if you're into that sort of thing…" Robert murmurs the last part for your ears only.

You blush and are stunned by his boldness, but you get your bearings quickly, realizing things will be as out of control as you anticipated. You can't deny that you would love to spend some time alone with Robert, and you're ready to see what other bold moves he has in store.

You steady yourself to throw some of your own boldness his way. "Well, they are good for you--delicious and incredibly filling… And I do like them ripe, personally, so…" You reply just as softly and gaze into his eyes.

Inside of the stare, the two of you are zapped by a mutual, high-voltage flash of interest. Your heart races, and your body throbs.

"Prime example, this is!" Bonzo interjects from the couch. "Percy Plant plucking another flower for himself!"

"Not now, Bonzo," Robert mutters, still looking into your eyes.

You blink rapidly, realizing all eyes are on you. "Sorry… It's my first night here… I-- I've got to set these things out," you stammer to Robert. You want him, but to have things so very obviously play out in front of so many people… A curtain of shame weighs heavy on the lust that has engulfed your body.

Before you can pick up the tray of sandwiches, Robert steps in. "Allow me, love." He notices your conflicting emotions and removes all of the food from the cart for you. You're glad for his help because you feel lightheaded. The last thing you need to do is drop a tray of food on your first night and draw the ire of the rambunctious group.

"What's this, then?" Robert has peeked under the tablecloth and has found your record. "Fancy some autographs from us heathens?" He holds up the album for everyone to see.

"One of my favorites. I must commend your good taste." Jimmy's tip of his glass to you and his friendly words lighten your tension. Your thank-you to him is for his compliment as much as it is for the lifeline to normalcy that he has thrown.

Robert places a hand on your shoulder. "You know what? I'll let the rest of the lads sign first. You look like you could use some help getting this cart back where it belongs, yeah?"

You get the sense that Robert genuinely wants to blot out your embarrassment, but you know that he has other, wolfish desires alongside his altruism. You're okay with that, and you don't question why.

"That would be great." A weak smile grows stronger on your face as you think of how exciting a stolen moment with Robert will be.

"Yes, allow me to drive this for you then?" He begins to push the cart to the door.

"Thirty minutes until showtime, Robert," G calls out, knowing he won't return right away.

Robert doesn't respond to G but does motion for you to join him in the hall. You tell him which way to turn. You're back to bursting with excitement again as you leave the room in the distance.

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The rest of my stories are here, or search for the hashtag #brownskinsugarplumlibrary.