#u know this is old as hell cuz they said slash

[newagesispage]

                                                                AUGUST    2021

THE RIB  PAGE

Fran Drescher is running for National SAG-AFTRA President with Anthony Rapp as secretary treasurer for Unite for Strength!!! Matthew Modine is running under Membership first with Joely Fisher for Secretary Treasurer. Running in local elections are, among others, Yvette Nicole Brown, Shari Belafonte, Rosie O’Donnell, Jeff Garlin, Ezra Knight, Dule Hill, Camryn Manheim, Sara Rue, Mindy Cohn and Ever Carradine. Sept. 2 is the day!** Frances Fisher filed a suit against SAG-AFTRA over the health care plan but a judge rejected it.

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Sha’Carri Richardson’s problem is all our problem. No more drug testing for Mary Jane in this country!

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Chuck Schumer finally unveiled the Cannabis administration opportunity act to end Federal prohibition of marijuana.

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Dolly Parton used the $10 mil + in royalties from the Whitney Houston version of her song to invest in a black neighborhood in Nashville.

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Bob Balaban and Henry Winkler play brothers in The French Dispatch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait for October 22!!!!!!!!!!!!** The next Wes Anderson film will star Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody and Tom Hanks. No other details are out there yet.

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Trees save lives in heat waves.

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TBS will bring us n updated Stupid Pet Tricks with Sarah Silverman.

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So much organized religion is based on forgeries, fakes and plundering. Virtually none of it is based on any sort of truth, spiritual or even historical. Just lies to fulfill an agenda and control the masses. And so far it has worked. –Larry Charles

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Scarlett Johansen has sued Disney cuz her contract guaranteed a theatrical release only.

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An expert on the circus industry recently reached out to me and urged me to not compare Trump and his comeback tour to clowns and the circus, as that is an insult to clowns. –Jim Acosta

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Eric Adams has won the Dem primary for Mayor in NY.

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Have you seen High on the Hog?? It’s awesome!!

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Jeff Flake will be ambassador to Turkey.

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Cornell West resigned from Harvard with a scathing letter accusing the school of “intellectual and spirited bankruptcy of deep depths.”

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Biden gave a hell of a speech in Philly. He needed to go on more about the filibuster but he was passionate about the For the People act and the John Lewis voting rights advancement act.  He roared, “Peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation of our country.”

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Will Celebrity Dating Game continue? I am sure they think romance expert, Michael Bolton is a cute and quirky thing to do but not so much. If it stays, I hope they change the music, at least those final notes. And why are half of the questions, “Who am I?” The show could be cute but they need a little work!!

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Jeff Bezos donated $200 mil to the Smithsonian air and space museum.**Feminists everywhere winced when Gayle King was interviewing the Bezos space team.  Bezos commented about the 18 year old going with them into space and that he was just worried about the prom at 18. Gayle said “And I was just hoping for a date to the prom.”** But we have to love Wally Funk, the oldest woman to go into space.**Bezos thanked the Amazon employees and customers for paying for his trip. Yikes!**  Saw a great sign: Pay fair taxes, end hunger, help people, end poverty, save Earth or fly to space.

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Antonio Banderas and Harrison Ford will star in Indiana Jones 5.

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Zsa Zsa Gabor’s ashes were laid to rest 5 years after her death.

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The Britney conservatorship mess is still going thru the courts, and now topless?

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Pope Francis underwent colon surgery which caused him to comment on the need for good health care for all.

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Questlove brings us Summer of Soul!!!

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Reports show that about 150 people were killed by guns in more than 400 shootings during the 4th.

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Has anybody ever built a show around the Tex Watson tapes?? The LAPD apparently liked to deny them but there was a book.

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Henry Hall is out with his debut album, Neato, along with a tour.

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Do all male law enforcement officers have to be bald now?

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Idaho has begun an eradication campaign that could slash the number of gray wolves living in the state by 90%.

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Hooray for the monthly child tax credit!!

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Release Me 2 from Barbra Streisand is due out August 6.

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The look into the Jan. 6 insurrection has begun. Kinzinger and Cheney are in. **Tucker Carlson attacked Harry Dunn, a Capitol officer on air. The man protected Carlson’s son, a House staffer.** On Jan. 5, the Steve Bannon podcast went like this: All Hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this. It’s gonna be moving. It’s gonna be quick.** Why is mainstream media putting nearly all eggs in the Covid and Olympic baskets and only a few on the insurrection hearing?

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Why do so many that call America , “great” seem to hate it?? How can one love this country and not want majority rule, not want democracy??

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The Emmy noms are out: Lovecraft Country was nominated even though it has been cancelled.  Also hooray for Pose, The Flight attendant and for Conan!! Lead actor is a tough category with Matthew Rhys, Billy Porter and Rege-Jean Page. Aidy Bryant and Jean Smart got lead and supporting noms. I have to route for Ewan McGregor and Anya Taylor-Joy. I am excited for Paul Reiser, Bowen Yang, Evan Peters, Carl Weathers, Renee Elise Golsberry, Dave Chappelle, Helena Bonham Carter and Daniel Levy. There is love for Yvette Nicole Brown, Issa Rae and Maya Rudolph. The Masked Singer got a few noms. The doc category included Tina, Allen V. Farrow and The Bee Gees. Friends: The reunion got 4.

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“Voting is not supposed to be easy. That’s what our men died for.”- Jack Finger

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Giant Pandas are no longer endangered.

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Zalia Avante- Garde is the 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee Champ.** I’m more impressed by the girl who won the Spelling Bee than the billionaire who went to space. –Mike Jollett.

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Why do they have to run erectile dysfunction ads during true crime rape episodes? ** And why do people still say things like, “this just don’t happen here” or “dumped like a piece of trash? “ There have to be other things to say.

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Tom Barrack, chairman of the inaugural committee for Trump was arrested for foreign lobbying shenanigans. America first, right?** Wilbur Ross lied to congress about the census and the Trump administration declined to prosecute.** Stephen Calk, bank exec was found guilty of trying to get a WH position by giving Manafort millions in loans.

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Jake Ellzey won the Texas special election run off for congress, beating out Trump’s girl Susan Wright.

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Every city should have a Peacemobile!!!!!

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The Chinese government has been called out for malicious cyber -attacks.  Four officials have been indicted in California.

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Miracle Workers’ Simon Rich was there when FB was invented and was so creeped out by people using it to stalk women.

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There was a story in Rolling Stone about how Eric Clapton threatened to cancel shows if the venue required proof of vaccines. Valerie Bertinelli tweeted: Once a dick, always a dick.

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Every Fox news host is vaccinated. –Mikel Jollett

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Toyota has dropped out of Olympic ads.  Contenders are starting to drop out due to positive Covid tests.

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Actor Isaiah Stokes has been indicted for murder.

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Lionsgate has bought the rights to Clerks 3.

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Ready or not, here come the Olympics.- Harry Shearer

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The Cleveland Indians will now be the Cleveland Guardians.

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A bust of KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest was taken out of the Tennessee capitol.

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American Housewife was sold into syndication.

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The poorest zip codes include Erie, Pennsylvania, Decatur and the south end of Peoria, il, Canton, Oh, Waterbury, Ct., Bonsecour, Al. and Elpaso, Tx.

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Issa Rae married Louis Diame.

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The court of appeals disqualified Judge John W. Ouderkirk from the Jolie- Pitt divorce because of a business relationship with Pitt’s attorney.

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Joe Manchin owns a coal company.

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The Hollywood walk of fame has welcomed Jimmy Smits, Kathie Lee Gifford and 90 year old Marla Gibbs. Terry Crews is next!

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Generation after generation of women love the bad boy.  Do they never learn? I will never understand, please explain.

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Pelosi rejected 2 of the noms to serve on the special committee looking into Jan. 6. Kevin McCarthy withdrew his 5 noms.

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The gun that killed Billy the Kid is for sale.

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I think you should leave with Tim Robinson on Netflix is hilarious if U get thru the gross. U can’t miss the episode with Clifton Davis and Fred Willard!!

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Joaquin Phoenix is trying to get some bears from a traveling show moved to an accredited sanctuary. The Bearadise Ranch in Florida has been cited for, “violating state wildlife laws.”

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Go employees Go!! Frito Lay is on strike, Coal miners are on strike and Ride Share drivers are on strike. A good portion of this country should be on strike. The top of the corporate ladder needs to learn! Let those that treat us fair rise to the top.

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Who owns Brett Kavanaugh?

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A Bishop seeking to deny Biden communion was caught on Grindr.

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Gabriel Jagger married Anouk Winzenried.** I don’t know why the Rolling Stones bass player doesn’t just change his name to “not pictured.” –Michael Mckean

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Frank Fritz will not be back on American Pickers.

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For the first time, astronomers have seen behind a black hole. Einstein predicted the gravitational pull of black holes is so enormous that they warp the very fabric of space. He was right. Scientists have now spotted light which was being emitted by the far side of the black hole.

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Look for Heels on Starz.

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What is this new screen for Amazon? It sucks.

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Biden has signed an executive order to protect infrastructure from cyber- attacks.

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Arthur was canceled.

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The Kennedy Center has revealed the latest honorees. The 44th class is Justin Diaz, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler and Joni Mitchell and will be held on Dec. 5.

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Get well Bob Odenkirk!!!! The fabulous Odenkirk collapsed on the set of Better call Saul from a minor heart attack.

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Days alert: We have lost Days of Our Lives first director, Joseph Behar.  He will be missed.** Marla Ginns is joining the cast as Paulina’s Mother. ** Is EJ throwing Sami out? Will AJ McLean join the cast? **Rex is back.**Peacock is bringing us a limited series, Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem that will send many couples on romantic vacations and lead to intrigue. Lisa Rinna will star.** Arianna Zucker (Nicole) is set to marry Shawn Christian (former Daniel).  He popped the question on Father’s Day.

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R.I.P. President Jovenel Moise, Philece Sampler, Robert Downey Sr., Richard Donner, flood victims of Belgium and Germany,  Robby Steinhardt, Covid victims, Joseph Behar, Robert Moses, Jackie Mason, Dusty Hill, joey Jordison, Priscilla McMillan, Ron Popeil, Carl Levin, Saginaw Grant and Charles Robinson.

[shadesofmonochrome]

Wtf Rui !! Remmeber what you promised your sister!

NO HARD FEELINGS !!

(Updated as of 7:40pm I went on my laptop and fixed the post so it isn’t slashed anymore T3T ...I’m warning ya. Domestic and Kanojo Spoilers esp with ch272 and me just stating my opinion).

Don’t be an idiot and not go through with the wedding with Natsuo! Just Love and Marry him !! Hina already knew her place after Natsuo promised to be with you and you having his kid on top! Like, if Hina wasn’t in such a vegetative state, she’d slap the hell out of you and tell you it’s ok to be happy !!! Uuggh, I just wanna see Hina wake up so she can be happy with someone else (which we probably won’t see in the manga at this point. Feel she’s gonna do a self love journey or something ).

The first paragraph is just bullet point of shipping; second paragraph is me not promoting antiHina .If you wanna skip it go to third paragraph that has a bold sentence. Might make a future post on domestic na kanojo ships when series is over.

I don’t ship RuixNatsuo but I respect that they’re together . It is what it is ; I won’t bash shipping cuz I do kind of see how and why they ended as a couple just not 100% liking or maybe understanding the shipping yet. My ship ? Yes i do like HinaxNatsuo that’s my ship and I don’t care about “taboos” in the series because 1. It’s fictional ppl so the mangaka can write whatever they want - sometimes sadly (and y’all have read worse manga taboos-and hentai. I know y’all have read at least one and y’all better be of age to read this cuz y’all shouldn’t be like ‘oh they’re promoting bad stuff to society’ and etc. like I said. It’s fucking fiction). 2. They’re not blood related (just they’re parents are married , it’s not like you would know ur crush would be ur family member cuz hey, it’s a small world after all). Not satisfied with this paragraph ? Again I’m on mobile and I want to reread the series again when the series is complete so I don’t miss any details without waiting for new chapter.

I do read posts of antiHina saying she’s a bother . But hello, she’s Rui sister. She’s gonna butt in. If she was like a regular stranger then yes but she isn’t. And Hina is only human . Cuz she’s older, she needs to be an adult . And being the adult she is , she did backed off for Natsuo and her sister sake. Her flaw (which is also a strength that can improve ) as a character is that she holds everything in and will do everything alone (even for the one she loves) because shes older than Natsuo, because she’s Rui older sister and because she’s an adult to her mom and society’s eyes. And y’all can’t just ridicule her for still having feelings for Natsuo. She was in a messed up relationship with her teacher (the messed up part being he was married while they were together and being indecisive because of their age -no lie he started this shit up) and was a bit of an outcast in school. She even tried to make Natsuo hate her even before they became a couple. But Natsuo didn’t back away from Hina even though he would confuse her at times since Rui and him had that moment in Ch. 1 and that kiss in his room awkward. Adding, she had a stalker and Natsuo saved her ! Like , not most ppl would jump in front of u to save u. So; I honestly , give Hina a break by not calling her derogatory names. You don’t have to like her but don’t say she’s a bitch stealing Rui’s man. Natsuo fell for Hina first in a romantic way and later with Rui and Hina hasn’t used any deceptive methods to steal Natsuo. Plus, the girls agreed to “win his affections.”

ANYWAYS !!! Coming back to main the topic at hand . Hopefully if you read last paragraph , as much as it might contradict what I’m writing , I don’t want to see Hina with Natsuo. Especially because of what’s happening rn. Because if Hina wakes up to know Rui broke off the marriage just cuz Rui felt guilty after seeing the rings and overhearing Natsuo and Kobayashi talking , she’ll be upset and knock Rui to her senses (honestly I want Hina to slap Rui). Hina wouldn’t want to be with Natsuo out of guilt. She would want to be with him if it’s from the bottom of his heart. But Hina and I both know , esp with everything that has happened in the series , they won’t be happy together. Natsuo will choose Rui. Even before the accident he was upfront about it and Hina understood. And it’s heartbreaking esp Hina held onto mementos of their moments together ! It’ll take time for her to heal and this is what I hope: I hope for her to wake up, for NatsuoxRui to marry overall and for Hina to move out of the house again and take time away from her family and come back one day with a smile on her face and with someone else. Someone who can make her happier , provide for her like protecting her and to have her open up to them (saying that she doesn’t need to do anything alone and it would be even better if they can give her a hand without asking or waiting for her to do it ). Because there’s an important saying for couples that people should know (esp with ch 272):

You can’t build your happiness upon the happiness of someone else - Married Life (old movie forgot the year ).

[this-book-has-been-loved]

A Gremlin In Glasses Swoops In To Save The Day

For @platonicvldweek​ Day 7: Alternate Reality

A Percy Jackson AU, cowritten by myself and @kabber​

Read it on Ao3 | Read it on FFN

“He’s on his phone again.”

Lance and Hunk sat in the back row of their classroom. Professor Montgomery was droning on an on about torque—whoever that was—and Lance was bored out of his skull.

Hunk, on the other hand, was intently paying attention, taking rigorous notes. “What?” he whispered.

“Marcus,” Lance hissed. “He’s on his phone again.”

The person in question was sitting a few rows in front of them, off to the right. He was a new student, having only transferred to their school about a week prior, but had already made teachers’ pet in nearly every class. Seemingly in opposition to that fact, Marcus was slouched in his seat, tapping away at the smartphone in his lap. Lance wasn’t sure how he was getting away with it. If he had pulled out his phone, the professor would be on him in an instant.

“He’s being so obvious about it!” Lance continued in a hushed tone. “How is no one noticing?”

Hunk shook his head. “It’s fine, man. Just focus. Don’t get too hung up on this.”

Professor Montgomery’s gaze fell on the two of them in the back, hardening in distaste, and Lance only hunched further in his seat.

Professor Montgomery resumed her lecture, and Lance resisted the urge to bang his forehead against his desk.

“I just don’t get it,” he continued. “I mean, who the fuck is torque?”

Hunk glanced at him in mild shock. “Lance, torque is a what, not a who. And we studied that weeks ago, we’re on the next chapter now.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Yes?” Lance’s attention shifted when the professor’s tone of voice changed. Montgomery was looking towards the far left end of the third row, a slightly pained smile on her face.

“Well, technically, centrifugal force isn’t actually a force.” The speaker was someone Lance recognized immediately—the precocious nerd kid who made most teachers’ lives a living hell. They were wearing an oversized green shirt that made them look even tinier than they were; and they were already pretty small to begin with, having skipped a few grades and being younger than everyone else in class. “It’s merely the reaction to the centripetal force on the object in question, resulting in the tendency of an object following a curved path to fly away from the center of curvature.”

Lance bit back a groan.

If it was possible, Professor Montgomery’s smile only tightened. “Yes, thank you, I was getting to that.”

“I hate this class,” Lance muttered, resting his chin on his desk. “I hate this.”

“Just a bit longer till the bell,” Hunk reassured him.

Marcus raised his hand, and Lance’s grip on himself got even more tenuous. “Though not a real force,” he said, ignoring the fact that he hadn’t actually been called on, “the centrifugal force is an inertial force. Newton described it as the pseudo-force directed away from the axis of rotation that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference.”

The know-it-all in the front rolled their eyes. “Well, yeah, everyone knows that. But it’s still just an effect of the inertia of motion, rather than its own force.”

Professor Montgomery opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say a word, the bell rang. The classroom full of students began to pack up, and Lance let out an audible sigh of relief as he grabbed his backpack off the floor. “And we’re out of here!” he said happily. “Weekend, here we come!” He turned back to Hunk, who was still putting away his notebook. “Ready to hit the town, my man?”

Hunk rolled his eyes in exasperated fondness. “Yeah, yeah. Just gotta stop at my locker first.”

“I swear,” Lance muttered, “sometimes I’m pretty sure that guy’s not human.” He was leaning against the wall of lockers, speaking energetically with his hands. Beside him, Hunk had his locker door open, digging through it.

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Hunk agreed absently.

“Like. No one is that perfect!”

“I hear you, man.”

“Fucking Marcus.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Him and his stupid iPhones.”

“Yep.”

“Thinks he’s so much better than everyone else, just cuz he uses Apple products.” Lance pulled out his own phone—a perfectly serviceable Samsung Galaxy Note 7, thank you very much. “Shit. You almost good to go? I don’t wanna be late for the movie.”

“Yeah,” Hunk said, closing his locker door. “Ready.”

“Perfect.” Lance took off down the hallway as Hunk followed “Let’s cut through the gym,” he suggested. “That’ll take us out closer to 2nd street.”

When they got to the gym, they were shocked to see that it wasn’t as empty as they thought it would be, and Lance’s irritation returned full force when he saw it’s occupant. “Oh, it’s Marcus.”

“Hey guys,” Marcus replied, just as chipper as always, a bright smile on his face. “Just got the new iPhone XLV.”

Hunk narrowed his eyes. “Pretty sure that’s not a thing.”

“I get all the newest iPhones before they’re released to the public,” he said with a smile. “This is the newest one! So new you’ve never even heard of it, I’ll bet.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Whatever, dude. Get outta the way, I’ve got places to be.”

Marcus made no indication that he had heard him. “These phones keep getting more incredible every day! There’s so many cool new features that you humans could only dream of!”

“Us humans?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Like, look at this app I downloaded,” he continued, not taking his eyes off the screen. “It’s so useful. Really helped me out when tracking you two down!”

They looked at each other and simultaneously took a step back.

“Wait, tracking us?” Hunk asked.

“Dude, what the hell are you talking about,” he said flatly.

Marcus finally looked up at them, still smiling. “But I don’t need an app for what I’m going to do to you next!”

Right before their eyes, Marcus started to change. His arms and legs thickened to the size of logs, his shoulders widened dramatically as he began to grow taller and taller…

His face shifted, two eyes becoming one giant one in the middle of his forehead. His smile went from friendly and charming to a sneer full of crooked, darkened teeth.

The monster rose to his full height slowly, grinning widely down at them.

“Welp,” Hunk said. “We’re screwed.”

“Shut u—no, you’re right, we’re janked.”

The newly monsterized Marcus threw his head back and laughed, before raising his giant fist, the one not holding an iPhone, above his head, ready to pound them into tiny pancakes. The boys were frozen in place as he brought his fist down on top of them.

Right before they were crushed to smithereens, something small and green launched itself, screaming angrily, right at the cyclop’s massive one-eyed head.

The giant grunted in surprise, trying to get a glimpse of the thing currently riding on his neck. “Wha—Get off of me!”

“Wait a second…” Lance said, narrowing his eyes. “Isn't that the weird nerdy know-it-all kid in our physics class?”

“Oh, yeah, hold on.” He snapped his fingers a few times, his brow furrowing. “Shoot, what was their name…starts with a K, right?”

“Pidge,” the newcomer shouted down at them, hanging on for dear life. “I mean, yes, you’re right. But I prefer to go by Pidge.” They held on tighter as the cyclops tried to dislodge them. “Now get out of here!” They wielded a strange weapon- like a cross between a dagger and brass knuckles, which they were currently trying to slash across the monster’s neck.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Hunk said, already halfway to the door.

“Hunk, wait! We can’t just leave him!”

“What?! Are we looking at the same giant monster thing here?”

“I said,” Pidge growled through gritted teeth. “Get out of here, you stupid morta- Whoooa!”

The monster had finally gotten a hold of Pidge, ripping them away from his neck and halfway across the gym.

“Shiiiiit,” Pidge said as they landed with a loud crash on a pile of gym equipment.

The monster turned his steely gaze on the boys.

“Just for the record,” Hunk said matter-of-factly, “this is your fault.”

They turned and ran towards the door.

“It’s locked!” Lance shouted, pulling desperately at the door handle. Now they really did have no choice but to help. It was either that or cowering in the corner. The latter was starting to seem more appealing.

They didn’t get a chance to decide, because at that moment, Pidge emerged from the pile of old, smelly gym stuff.

“Catch!” they shouted. The two of them turned around just in time to catch two… hockey sticks?

“A hockey stick,” Lance muttered. He sent a glare towards his tiny classmate. “You couldn’t have thrown us something more useful?”

“We’re in the middle of our hockey unit, we don’t exactly have a whole lot of options here!” And with that, they whirled back on the giant, weird blade thing at the ready.

“I don’t know about this, bro,” Hunk muttered.

“Yeah, me neither. Let’s do this shit.” He rushed at the cyclops while yelling, waving his hockey stick wildly in front of him. Hunk followed behind him, also yelling, though it was definitely more out of fear than determination.

They whacked uselessly at the giant’s knees. The monster laughed. “You really think those cheap plastic things will do anything against me?”

“No, but this will!” Pidge pounced on the giant, swinging their arm like a street fighter suckerpunching his opponent. The blade in their hand sliced into the monster, sending the iPhone in his hand flying across the air and against the wall, showering them in a spectacular explosion of glass.

“No! That was my last backup phone!” Marcus roared.

“Oh, just wait three months for the new one to come out,” Pidge scoffed. They drew their blade across the back of the cyclop’s calves as they rushed past him, causing him to fall to his knees.

“You little shit!” He swiped at them, but they were too fast, dancing just out of his reach.

They ran up the monster’s arm as he pounded the ground just next to them. “Fuck you! And your overly-priced phones!”

The cyclops twisted his body trying to get rid of the unwanted pest.

“Looks like you need a new service provider,” they said intensely.

“Wow,” said Hunk. “That was kind of…”

“Really cool?” Lance suggested.

Pidge drew their knife across the cyclop’s throat, deep enough that his head hung off his shoulders for a moment, before exploding into dust, quite literally.

The force was enough to knock Lance and Hunk back several feet.

When the dust cleared, Pidge stood at the center of the room, covered in dust but looking quite satisfied with themself.

“Well,” Hunk started. “That was. That was a thing.”

“That’s certainly one way to put it,” Pidge muttered.

“So,” Lance said. “Pidge? Um, yeah, quick question. What the hell just happened?!”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Pidge replied cooly, wiping their strange dagger against their shirt. “Well. I’ll see you in class.”

“Hold up!” Lance cried, chasing after them and grabbing them by the shoulder. “You can’t just leave. What was that?!”

“Yeah, man,” Hunk agreed. “A giant cyclops or something just attacked us, and you’re trying to brush it off—”

“Wait.” Pidge paused, turning to glance at the two boys. “You…could see all of that?”

“Uh, yeah?” Lance replied, looking at Pidge in confusion. “What kind of a question is that? Of course we could see it!”

They were silent for a moment, looking between Hunk and Lance in shock. They took a step back, eyes falling to stare at the floor, their brow furrowing. “It must have sensed you,” Pidge murmured to themself. They looked up sharply, meeting the startled eyes of their companions. “What exactly were you doing before that thing attacked?”

Surprised at their vehemence, Lance stepped back. “Um. I dunno. We were just gonna cut through the gym to use the far exit.”

“He said something about tracking us?” Hunk offered. “Something on his phone.”

Pidge’s expression changed to one of annoyance. “Of course.” They raised an eyebrow, smirking at Lance. “Lemme guess. Too many selfies?”

“No!” Lance sputtered. “And even if that was it, there’s nothing wrong with selfies! They’re a great way to capture the moment—”

“Yeah, not for demigods,” Pidge interrupted.

Hunk frowned. “Demi what?”

Pidge bit their lip, looking around them anxiously. “We need to get out of here,” they decided. “Don’t wanna be here when the police show up.”

Hunk paled. “Police?!”

“Just follow me!” Pidge called, headed towards a side exit. “I’ll explain once we’ve reached a more secure location.”

‘A more secure location’, as it turned out, meant the alley a few blocks down the road. The three of them crouched behind a dumpster, Pidge periodically checking the street for any intruders.

“Alright, know-it-all,” Lance demanded. “We’re at your ‘secure location’. Now talk.”

Pidge sighed. “Okay. You saw that, right? You saw what Marcus turned into?”

“Y-yeah,” Hunk replied nervously.

“You’re lucky I was there to help.”

“That begs the question,” Lance began. “How exactly did you know to come to the gym just then?”

Pidge crossed their arms. “I’ve been tailing that guy for days,” they confessed. “Just waiting for him to reveal himself. I just didn’t expect him to go after you guys instead of me.”

“It looked like a cyclops…” Hunk added. “But that’s impossible.” He frowned. “Right?”

“Did it look impossible when you were whacking at it with plastic sticks?” Pidge asked.

“Uh…”

“But yes, to normal people, it would seem impossible. So impossible, in fact, they wouldn’t have been able to see it the way it really was. But obviously we’re not.”

“Normal people?”

“Yeah.” Pidge crossed their arms and tilted their head. “Well, I mean, some mortals can see through the Mist. But the odds of running into two at once—”

“Whoa, whoa, back up. Why did you say…normal people? Mortals? As if…as if we’re not?”

Pidge looked at them for a long time. “Yes,” they said after a while. “You’re not. And neither am I.”

Hunk’s eyes widened in horror. “If we’re not human,” he fretted, “then what are we?! Are we aliens?!?!”

“Relax, Hunk, none of us are aliens,” Lance said. “Aliens aren’t real.”

Hunk breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re still human,” Pidge assured him. “Or, half.”

Lanced narrowed his eyes. “…what’s the other half?”

Pidge crossed their arms. “You’re in my history class,” they stated matter-of-factly. “With Mr Harris, right? Do you remember what unit we were studying last month?”

“Um.” Lance blinked. “Maybe?”

“Ancient civilizations,” Pidge answered. “Egyptian, Norse, Roman….” They raised an eyebrow pointedly. “Greek.”

“Greek,” Lance repeated dumbly.

“Greek god, Lance. One of your parents was a Greek god.”

There was a moment of silence. Then Lance abruptly stood up, turning to walk away. “Okay. Good talk. Nice meeting you. I’m going back home, where things make sense.”

“Yeah, where the police are out looking for the kids who just trashed the school gym?”

“But—” Hunk protested, “we didn’t do that! That was Marcus!”

“Remember what I said about normal people not being able to see that kind of stuff?” Pidge asked, raising an eyebrow. “This falls under that category. I can guarantee that when they watch back that security footage, they’re just gonna see the three of us, tearing apart the gym. No Marcus to be seen.”

Lance had frozen a few feet away, mid step. He and Hunk were silent for a moment, processing.

Pidge sighed. “I’ve been here before,” they said softly. “I know how this is. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve had to transfer schools. My brother too.”

“So….” Hunk still looked completely freaked out, as though he didn’t know where to go or who to turn to. “What do we do now?”

“Listen,” Pidge told the two of them gently. “Now that you know, things are gonna start getting more dangerous for you.”

“I’m not a fan of the word ‘dangerous’,” Hunk said.

“I need to get you someplace safe.” They stood up, brushing the dirt off their cargo shorts. “Come on. I know a place we can go.”

“A place?” Lance echoed warily.

“Mm-hmm,” Pidge said, flashing them a sly grin. “You guys ever been to New York?”