#Rex was worried for a minute this wasn’t the plan lmao

[padawansuggest]

Cody: *having mimosas at brunch with The Boys*

Rex: Sorry I got your general husband pregnant, Cody.

Cody: *massively asexual, shrugs* Someone needed to. I’m glad you think relationships are gross.

Fox: Y’all’s batillions are fucking weird, you know that???

Rex: You have no idea.

#star wars #incorrect star wars quotes #clone wars #incorrect clone wars quotes #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #captain rex #obirex #codywan #commander fox #listen Cody is very happy to see pregnant belly he’s def down for this #Rex was worried for a minute this wasn’t the plan lmao #he thought it was just dirty talk lollll #Mpreg

[one-real-imonkey]

New au idea (it's a little au of au.) After the kavado fiasco palpapunk gets Rex transferred to the corasant guard with the excuse that he would to unstable to be on the front lines in an attempt to make Anakin more reliant in him.

Sorry if spelled something wrong.

Yessss.

There is nothing wrong with an AU of an AU, half my Corrie Guard works are different endings post following Hound letting the information out, lmao. And don't worry about the spellings, sometimes I get things so wrong the spell checkers can't work it out.

I'd also like to clarify in advance that some of the opinions Fox has on characters or their actions will be how he perceives them etc and some of his thoughts or opinions on a character may counter what we from an outside perceptive know.

---

The news was crushing. Firstly that Rex'ika had been taken by those Zygerrian slave taking monsters, and then a ruling that his actions on the mission had been reckless so soon after the mess on Umbara and between that and his injuries he was being redeployed.

To Coruscant.

To the Guard.

Part of Fox would almost have preferred he be sent back to Kamino, almost, but not quite.

Rex'ika was coming to the Guard, his vod'ika, the little brother they'd taken into their batch so so many years ago.

He was coming to the Guard.

Fox was terrified, but he wasn't sure if it was because Rex was going to be in danger, or because he was going to learn the truth.

And then Rex would tell Cody and Wolffe and Bly and Ponds and the truth would come out and everything would get out and there would be chaos. The Guard wouldn't just be cowardly paper pushing meat droids, they'd be the weak cowardly paper pushing meat droids who couldn't defend themselves from some rich Senator who'd never held a blaster or thrown a punch.

Like being spat on and insulted wasn't enough already.

Vode an, except when you were in the Guard.

There was more to it, to Rex's joining them, he was certain of it. Rex'ika worked with Skywalker, Skywalker was close with Palpatine, Palpatine was... Fox wasn't sure what but he didn't want him near his brothers. Palpatine was the reason Skywalker hadn't been on Umbara, the reason that Krell had been allowed to play with the clones like toys, the reason so many of Rex's vode were dead... the reason for a lot of things.

Skywalker was the reason Rex was being transferred to them, at least the reason Palpatine was having him transferred. He wasn't certain why, but with how close Skywalker was to Palpatine, how he acted around them sometimes, especially after a meeting with Palpatine, that Jedi wasn't to be trusted. He was dangerous, saw himself above them whether he realised it or not, and he could have them killed if he wanted.

It they'd been sending Rex almost anywhere else, he'd have been glad his brother was getting away from Skywalker.

Getting closer to Palpatine was hardly something he wanted though.

.

.

.

Fox watched the LAAT arrive, and watched his vod’s so clearly unique blue armour appear.

He stayed to the edge of the landing pad until the LAAT had taken off again, and Captain Velt, who lead one of the Lower Level Security Teams and would be, hopefully, looking after Rex and keeping him out of the Senate Building, had introduced himself.

And then he strode over.

Velt knew what he had planned, and had in fact anticipated it, but it wasn’t often one of their vode was brought into the Guard rather than bringing in Shinies, and he knew well enough that Fox was going to be protective of his batch-mate, adopted or not. Velt stepped back as he approached, nodding to Rex and then going to his own squad.

“Rex’ika, with me.”

“What, Fox, where… shouldn’t I...?”

Rex gestured to Velt and his squad.

“No,” Fox grabbed him by the wrist and started pulling, not letting Rex resist, “you come with me, right now.”

He dragged his brother through the halls into the Command barracks, thankful that for all he was clearly annoyed about it, Rex didn’t fight him.

“What was so important, Fox? If you really wanted to catch up you couldn’t wait until I'd settled in?”

He had a meeting in 20 minutes he couldn’t miss, which meant he had no time to address the subtle barb he’d been offered, nor to sugar coat what was happening on Coruscant.

"Vod, you have a lot to learn about the Guard if you're going to survive here."

“Fox, I'm sure General Skywalker will try to get me back to the 501st soon. And I can manage a few weeks handling paperwork.”

“No, no, vod, it’s not paperwork and fun times here. Rex, it’s horrific, and I'm not letting them decommission you because you didn’t know how to protect yourself here.”

“It’ll be a few weeks...”

“Palpatine had you transferred here for a reason, I don’t know what, but I don’t trust Skywalker much better. He’s dangerous, vod.”

“I think I know my General better than you.”

“So you’ve never noticed how he acts after a meeting with the Chancellor, because last time he had one he shoved a shinie into a wall. He's dangerous, maybe not to you when he’s in a good mood, but... but that’s not what you need to know. You're here, you need to survive here. Besides, no-one leaves the Guard except in a body bag,” he left out the or worse, Rex didn’t need that yet, “Rule one...”

“Fox wait...”

“Rule one, you don’t ever, and I mean ever, fight back. Rule two, keep your armour uniform, so if you’re ever accused of anything or slated for reconditioning or decommissioning you can be swapped around. Rule three, no matter how weird or demeaning, you do what you’re ordered. Rule 4, if they call you it or clone or anything like that, don’t argue or try to impress on them your name or anything like that, just do what they say. Don’t react. Now I'm trying to get you put into one of the units that takes patrols rather than on Senate Security, but I can't make promises.”

Rex looked blown away, and a little shattered, but this was reality and he couldn’t afford to be soft on his little brother.

Not if he wanted Rex to live.

His comm buzzed a warning.

“Look, Rex’ika, I have a meeting, but the rec room and commissary are down the hall to the right, I’m sure someone can help you settle in and... I'll answer any questions you have properly tonight.”

He wondered if his voice sounded as defeated to his vod’ika as it did to him.

It didn’t matter, he slammed his buy’ce on his head and headed up to the Senate Building.

He couldn’t keep the Chancellor waiting, not even for his youngest batch mate.

———

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.

Thanks for the ask, I love the idea for this AU though I’m not sure yet how or if I’ll continue from here. If anyone has ideas or wants to take it on or anything like that go nuts (obvs let me know lmao).

Like I said at the top, Anakin is nice to the 501st, but all Fox sees is someone close to Palpatine and someone who is always aggressive to them after spending time with Palpatine. He sees Skywalker as a threat and he has to focus on his siblings first. Similarly the vode don't hate the Guard and wouldn't see them as cowards, but due to Palpatine's manipulations, on both Fox's mind and the vode as a whole, these are Fox's beliefs.

Also Anakin is kinda unstable due to palpatine manipulating things, and similarly that why the Jedi can't see whats happening to the clones on Coruscant, but normally (and if/when they find out) they'd be horrified and do what they can to help.

Inbox always open. (-:

#star wars #my corrie guard au #corrie guard #rex joins the corrie guard au #au of my corrie guard au #coruscant guard #commander fox #captain rex #oc clone velt #star wars fanfiction #ask response #prompt response

[dirtyoatmeall]

Dig (Tsukishima x Reader)

A/N: I will def be writing more for these, as an archaeology major, I hold paleontology major tsukki in a special place in my heart. Also everything about the dig I describe is most likely incorrect lmao. 

Pairing: Paleontology major! Tsukki x Archaeology major! Reader (she/they pronouns used)

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: None :)

`

You met Tsukishima Kei the first day of your first year of college. It was your intro Anthropology course, and you had bumped into him on accident entering the auditorium. You had kept your head down, mumbling an apology before hurriedly finding a seat in the middle of the room. He sat a few seats over in the same row and you tried your best not to glance at him, he was obviously attractive, but all it took was a raised eyebrow when he caught you staring for you to look away blushing, pretending to look through your bag for something. You busied yourself with numbering the pages in your notebook until the professor started class.

It was a relatively small class, so the professor had everyone stand up and introduce themselves with their pronouns, major/minor, and one thing they want to accomplish. When it was your turn you tried your best not to sound confident as you spoke, though it didn’t last long, as the professor immediately asked you to repeat yourself louder. You were bright red by the time you finished introducing yourself. “H-hi, my name is (Y/N), I’m double majoring in bio-archaeology and Classics, my pronouns are she/they and I want to find Alexander the Great.” The professor nodded and the next person stood up to introduce themselves as you sat down, fiddling with your pen.

Tsukishima didn’t really think much of you until he watched you do the icebreaker for class. He thought it was an ambitious goal, and respectable dual majors. Though the thing that really drew his attention to you was the face you made when the person next to you introduced themselves as an archaeology major and that they wanted to find a complete T-Rex skeleton. Your face had twisted rather cutely into a grimace at your classmates words, turning to your notebook and scribbling in the corners. After the professor kindly explained the differences between archaeology and paleontology, it was his turn. He stood up, introduced himself “Tsukishima, he/him pronouns, paleozoology major, museum studies minor. And I’d like to find a job right out of school.” He sat down as the professor nodded and made a joke about finding a job. Soon enough the entire class had introduced themselves and the professor started going over the syllabus.

The first time Tsukishima saw you outside of class it was a Friday night. 3 a.m. to be exact. Thankfully your university had a 24hr library, and most of the students took advantage of it, though it was usually dead at this time of night, or morning. He spied you almost right away, nestled in a corner with multiple stacks of books and cans of energy drinks. You were nodding your head along to a dong and when he walked past he could very clearly hear ABBA blasting in your headphones. He smirked to himself and sat down a table down from you, getting ready to study for the upcoming test on Wednesday. He would get up periodically to get a book or a snack from the vending machine near the door. He noticed that every time he got up, your eyes would flicker to him, and you would pause your work, messing with your phone until he sat down again. He would return the favor, watching your things while you were gone.

About an hour into his study session he looked up to your spot when he heard you groan quietly. You aggressively paused your music and cutely pouted down at your notebook. You skimmed a few pages in the book next to you, comparing it to your notebook and whatever was on the screen of your laptop before rolling your eyes and softly face planting onto the book in front of you. Your eyes briefly fluttered to where he was, and you smiled slightly when the two of you made eye contact. He pretended to get back to the book he was supposed to be reading, but he watched you sigh as your eyes flickered from your notebook to him before you quietly got up and shuffled towards his table. He fully looked at you when you slid into the seat across from him, and he raised an eyebrow when you smiled awkwardly.

“Uh, Hi. I’m (Y/N), we have anth 250 together right?” You asked even though you very well knew he was in that class, but you still waited for confirmation before you continued. “That’s what I thought. Could you maybe help me with this? I’m having a hard time grasping it.” He glanced at what you were pointing at and nodded, he had also had some trouble with it, and had just recently figured it out. He explained it to you, smiling when he saw your eyebrows raise as you let out a soft ’ooohhh’ once you had grasped it. You had moved to get up when he cleared his throat, “Uh, you can sit here if you want, that way if you have any other questions you don’t have to come all the way over here.” Tsukishima didn’t look at you when he said it, but saw you smile and nod out of the corner of his eye. You brought your stuff over to his table and the two of you studied together for a few more hours, occasionally talking about class that led into talking about random things the two of you both liked.

At 5:30 you sighed, closing your laptop and putting away your things. “I should probably head back to my dorm, I have been here for about 12 hours” You chuckled and Tsukishima nodded and began to pack up as well. “I’ll walk you to your dorm.” You paused, looking at him puzzled. “Oh you don’t have to do that, I live all the way in East Village.” He simply waved your concern away “Me too, I have a class at 10 anyway, I should probably stop for the night. You snorted and waited for the blonde to be done before the two of you headed to your dorm building.

The two of you continued to talk about random things on the way back, from music tastes to favorite myths to what tree you would be. You both paused to watch the sunrise at the hill next to your dorm building, watching the colors slowly melt together as the stars disappeared from view. You turned to smile at Tsukishima to find he was already looking at you, an uncharacteristic soft look on his face. You flushed slightly and the two of you continued to your dorm building. You saluted to him before getting off the elevator onto your floor. You glanced at your phone as you got ready for bed, glad you didn’t have any classes until noon.

From that day on you and Tsukishima sat together during your anthropology class and studied together every Friday. You partnered together for the few projects assigned and even hung out outside of class, growing closer as the semester flew by. You were planning on meeting him for lunch after you finished finals, which you just did. You sent him a text and headed to the café the two of you frequent. You ordered a drink and sat at the corner table, scrolling through your phone until Tsukishima arrived. The two of you discussed your finals, and the classes you were taking next semester (you had 2 of them together thankfully) before Tsukishima sighed. “Do you want to get dinner on Saturday?” You smiled nodding, “Yeah! Are there some last minute things you want to go over for a final?” He rolled his eyes and looked at you flatly, which was a normal look for the blonde. “No, like a date.” You stopped, mid-drink as you absorbed his words. When you did you flushed and swallowed, looking away shyly. “Yeah, I’d really like that.” Tsukishima smiled and nodded.

10 years later~

You sighed, wiping your forehead as you straightened up, moving to your phone to change the music blaring from the speakers. It was hot, the hat doing nothing to shield you from the sun as you crouched down again, picking up your trowel. You were about to continue your section of the dig when you heard a noise of surprise from the next section over. “(Y/N)! I think I found something, it looks like bone!”

Your eyes grew wide and you jumped out of the pit into the one a few feet away, joining the college student in looking at what they found. They brushed some more dirt away, revealing a large bone, too large to be human. You groaned, climbing out to grab your phone, disconnecting it from the speaker and dialing a number before stepping away, pout on your face. The college student looked at the other dig lead, confused on why you seemed upset. The dig lead chuckled, waving away their concern. “Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong. (Y/N) just has to call in a paleontologist, and the one on this dig just happens to be an ass.” The college student nodded and climbed out of the pit, not wanting to disturb anything.

Thankfully it wasn’t too long before another car pulled in. You immediately walked over, hands on your hips as you talked to the person getting out. The rest of the crew could see them smirk and flick your forehead, before leaning down to kiss you. The college student made a noise of surprise as the two of you walked over, bumping shoulders and you discussed details of the dig. “Wait, I thought you said she didn’t like them.” The dig lead just shook his head, “I said he was an ass, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like him, in fact, they’re married.”

#My writing #tsukishima kei #haikyuu tsukishima #tsukishima kei x reader #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima kei x you #tsukishima imagine #haikyuu!! #haikyu #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x y/n

[agoddamn]

I enjoy the diversity in montral design here. There's legit more different background character models here than in all of Mandalore! Gives me ME1 vibes

PFFF, the buildings you get a glimpse of look exactly like montrals, stripes and all

Galra motherfucker out here

AHSOKA HAS A SIDECAR

IT HAS A TIGER ON IT

who painted this?? I have to know

I just praised the models but this ground. Lordy, this ground. The ground looks straight out of the PlayStation 2

Oh hey, Boil! Waxer just died dramatically last episode, so I'm sure we'll get some kind of indication that life has changed for him, right?

Right?

Borb

"On his knees!" Oh good, I was worried this would go ten minutes without getting weirdly sexual

So the Jedi can't even sense that this town is empty? Man, fandom roids up the Force like crazy

"We don't have time for the planetary scan! Have R2 disarm the bombs" Does the entire army run on one server? You can't run a planetary scan and also have R2 look for bombs?

I bet the GAR couldn't even run Dwarf Fortress

There's several large animal cages in here. Does that mean...that this whole room smells like shit?

Goddamn, Obi-Wan got FUCKED lmao everyone on the whump train, choo choo! I don't remember seeing bruise textures used much before; maybe once?

I noticed this first in the Mortis eps, but I like how Ahsoka has picked up tech skills from Anakin

I like how Ahsoka still identifies with these Togruta even though they're talked about like an independent offshoot

Oh, this is some ugly-ass armor. Rex, who stuck you with mustard?

Cute how the helmets echo the ears, though

"Remind me why I'm the one playing the slave?" YES, THIS IS ALSO MY QUESTION KDJFKD

Anakin: "Besides, the role of Master comes easily to me."

reactionimage.jpg

New Star Wars swear: "useless skug"

Anyway this whole situation just feels terribly...well, Saturday morning cartoon. "We want to bring up how slavery is bad but we're also gonna have the characters treat it with incongruous light-heartedness because if we were serious about it we'd have to address a LOT of shit we've been purposely avoiding"

Like, Ahsoka's terrible acting would be hysterical in ANY other situation (it's very hard to face-act in CG animation but Anakin's "dude. come on." look is great) where there wasn't undoubtedly rape going on in the next room so why. WHY did you do this, writers. Why did you make these choices of juxtaposing shenanigans with grimdark rapemurder

>Lars Quell

Dohoho

I can't tell if the queen's got a furry pink face or if she's got a human skin-type face with fur on the edges

Did you know that there's like five different feline races in Star Wars because everyone just invents their own cat person as necessary

Obi-Wan: I have a plan. *makes an animal friend*

I don't think this habit is ever explicitly brought up aside from in the novels? Anyway, it's my fav weird Obi-Wan thing. He gives off such a posh vibe but he's an overgrown horse girl

"That's not gone well!"

I don't know whether I want to despairingly or approvingly say "why is this so horny"

"My representative sample of this lot is a skinny male eighty-year-old with administrative training" I mean... what do people buy slaves for here?

Writers, PLEASE, either do the fetish storyline OR the heavy one, not BOTH

#boots watches tcw

[obwjam]

the tiniest jedi: the hidden enemy, part 2

a/n: part two is here!!! i completely lost my focus in the middle of this but i finally was able to crank it out lmao this was originally going to be three parts but it’s gonna be four now or else this chapter would be like 8k words and uhh no thank u sir

>> part one

——————-

Rex had never felt this awkward in his short life. He did trust General Skywalker. He was programmed to follow orders. And despite the shock of seeing someone so small, he believed that the Jedi wouldn’t send someone to the front who wasn’t fully capable of handling themselves.

And yet, doubt nagged at the back of his mind. It didn’t really compute how someone so tiny could fight like Anakin. Or Obi-Wan. Or… any Jedi, really.

But above all, Rex had a duty to lead his men. If this General Nor’al was their commanding officer for the day, then he was going to respect it. Even if the rest of the 501st griped about it, he knew they would ultimately fall in line and do their duty.

He just hoped he wouldn’t have to bring back any bad news.

Briefing his ARC troopers went about as well as he expected it to. They were a little confused at first, wondering why Rex was pinching his fingers in such a way when he described the new general, and there were skeptical faces when he went over the plan.

“So you two will be on standby here and here, laying down cover fire while I get her as close to the tank as possible,” Rex explained. “At my word, we rendezvous here and Hawk will pick us up with the gunship.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” said one trooper. “But the catch is…”

“...she’s about as tall as a kriffing Zilkin,” another finished.

Rex cleared his throat, snapping his men back to attention. “Look, I know it’s a bit of a… strange situation. But General Skywalker is counting on us to make this work, and the information we get from that droid will save countless lives. It’s important that we execute this plan flawlessly.”

As Rex went to meet Obi-Wan and Jayla, he could only wonder how Cody was handling it all. Even though he wouldn’t be part of the stealth mission, he was no doubt aware that this tiny Jedi existed. Well, if Cody can look past the obvious, Rex thought, then I can too.

“Well, that went better than I was expecting.”

Jayla rolled her eyes at Obi-Wan’s comment as she stretched out on a small section of the table in a break room. Cody was leaning against the corner of the wall, helmet off. Obi-Wan insisted he be there while they wait.

“Are you kidding? That might have been the most awkward interaction I’ve ever had in my life,” Jayla sighed. “That’s saying a lot, you know.”

“Aw, cut him some slack,” Cody shrugged. “He was caught off-guard.”

Obi-Wan cracked a smile. “We owe that one to Anakin.”

“As much as I love blaming him, you did the exact same thing when I first met Cody,” Jayla tutted, standing up. “Remember that, Cody? It wasn’t that weird, was it?”

Cody snickered. In his mind, it was that weird, but he wasn’t going to admit it. It was sometime after the Battle of Geonosis, he couldn’t quite remember when. He didn’t participate, but he could feel the pain in the quavers of his brothers’ voices whenever they discussed it in passing.

It was strange that Obi-Wan wanted to meet him outside of the battlefield, and even stranger that their meeting place was the Jedi temple. Did he want to discuss battle strategy? Expectations? Requirements? He wasn’t made for small talk.

He glanced nervously around the halls as he knocked on a door he hoped was the right one. He could hear mumbling.

“Do come in,” a prim voice called out from the other side. Oh great. He’s one of these Jedi.

Cody walked in cautiously, unsure of who and what to expect. Obi-Wan was sitting cross-legged on a pillow with his back to the door. There was a knee-high table in front of him with two cups on either side. Obi-Wan was talking, too softly to make out, and presumably, to himself. Cody raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, sir, if this is a bad time…” he stared, but Obi-Wan held his hand up.

“Not at all. I should have warned you that we might have a guest.”

Cody was about to open his mouth when he caught something in the corner of his eye. Something was moving on the table.

Cody’s hand flew to his blaster and he cocked it up in seconds. “Sir, don’t move. There’s something--”

“Commander!” Obi-Wan huffed as he stood swiftly. Cody’s eager eyes darted from Obi-Wan to the table, where… where a very, very small person was standing being a cup, wielding a lightsaber. Looking like a deer in headlights, Cody lowered his blaster.

“Sir--” Cody started, taking a step forward. He stopped when he saw the tiny figure flinch.

“Jay, it’s alright,” Obi-Wan said softly, taking a knee beside the table. “I asked him here.”

“That’s one of the clones?” the tiny girl asked warily, glancing up at Cody, whose face was bright red.

“This is Commander Cody, my new second-in-command,” Obi-Wan stated. “He’ll be leading the 212th Attack Battalion.”

“Oh.” She put away her lightsaber as Cody put his blaster back in its holster. “I-I’m Jayla Nor’al. I’m Master Yoda’s padawan.” She took a few shaky steps from behind the cup. “I’m sorry for the scare.”

Cody blinked. “It--it’s alright. Sorry about the blaster.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Well, now that that’s all out of the way. Why don’t you take a seat, Commander. I hope you like tea.”

Cody smirked at the memory. “You Jedi sure have a thing for surprises,” he said cheekily. “Just give Rex some time. He’s a good soldier. He’ll get over it quickly.”

“I just hope he trusts me out there,” Jayla mumbled.

“Oh, I have no doubt he will,” Obi-Wan reassured. “The question is, will you trust him?”

Jayla’s eyes fell to the table. She hated the way Obi-Wan seemed to read her mind at the most inopportune times.

She didn’t get a lot of time to dwell on it as the door whooshed open and Rex cantered in. He first noticed Cody before his eyes fell right to Jayla. I should probably stop staring now.

“Captain,” Obi-Wan smiled as Rex removed his helmet. “Thank you for joining us.”

“Of course, sir,” Rex said stiffly. Seeing him with his helmet off, Jayla wasn’t sure what to make of him. If they were all, well, clones… why did this one look so different? Maybe it was the blond hair, or how worn down he looked. Or maybe it was the slight wideness of the eyes and the small pursing of his lips.

“I thought it would be beneficial for us to go over the plan once more in a quieter space,” Obi-Wan started. Rex, who was deliberately staring at the wall ahead of him to avoid looking down, broke his concentration when he could feel the heat of Obi-Wan’s gaze on him. “Captain, do you have a map of the terrain?”

“Yes sir,” Rex said, pulling the holoprojector from his belt. Without thinking, he set it down on the table. His eyes flashed down in concern, but Jayla calmly took a few steps back and found her way to Obi-Wan’s hand again.

“Well, the tac droid will be in this tank here,” Rex pointed. “It’s always the most heavily guarded, but we suspect they’ll be more clankers around it than usual.”

“My battalion and the rest of the attack squad will be over here, pushing through on the main road to the city,” Cody said as the map widened. “They’ll be hundreds of us. The chance of them noticing a few men splitting off is low.”

“General Nor’al, you’ll be with me,” Rex said. “I, uh, I don’t know exactly where you’d like to, uh, ride… but once you finish getting the information we need, meet me at the extraction point here. Hawk will come down with a gunship and we’ll be on our way.”

Jayla cleared her throat as Obi-Wan handed her a comically large piece of tech. “When I get in, I have to disable the tac droid first or else it’s gonna be impossible to do anything. Its weakness is in its neck, so as long as it’s engaged, I’ll be able to scale it without it noticing.” She heaved up the piece of tech, which was about the size of a rotary blaster to her. These were the moments that Obi-Wan tried hard not to smile and Jayla tried hard not to get flustered. “I’m going to plug into the droid at the base of its head. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes for the download. I’ll cut a hole out the back of the tank and meet you for extraction,” she finished, glancing up at Rex. His face was stoic.

“Well, I think we’ve got a good grasp on this,” Obi-Wan said with a smirk. “Must be a nice change of pace for you, Captain. You hardly ever get the chance to follow a plan.”

“Whatever I need to do, General,” Rex replied. He jumped a little when Cody appeared next to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

“If you don’t mind, Generals, we’ll head down to the hangar for our equipment check,” Cody said. Obi-Wan nodded.

“Thank you, sirs,” Rex said, his gaze lingering on Jayla for a few extra seconds. Rex didn’t need the powers of the Force to know they were both thinking the same thing about each other. The signs of apprehension were universal. But for him, at least, the moment he stepped onto the battlefield was the moment his mind went blank and he was only concerned with achieving one goal. If she had the respect of both Kenobi and Skywalker, then what was the source of his unease? Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her, staring at her, worrying about her?

He was glad Cody got him out of there.

“So,” Obi-Wan said when the two clones left. “Where are you going to ride?”

“I was really trying not to think about that,” Jayla groaned. “You know, you didn’t have to bring him in to go over the plan again. I’m the one who came up with it.”

“You can never be too prepared.”

Jayla took a shaky breath. “And do I really have to go on the gunship with everyone? I don’t want anyone to stare.”

“How else are you planning on getting down to the planet’s surface? A free fall?”

“I think I’d rather,” she mumbled. “Well, do I have to--”

“--you can stay with me until we reach the ground,” Obi-Wan assured, his face softening. “It’s alright.”

Jayla released a breath she had been holding and plopped down, leaning against the curl of Obi-Wan’s fingers.

“Rex is one of the finest,” he said in a hushed voice. “He’ll take good care of you out there.”

“I’m not the one who needs taking care of,” she snapped. “I’m fine.”

“I can sense your worry.”

Jayla sighed. There really was no fooling Obi-Wan. “I just… I don’t want to mess up. I don’t want to… I want to make sure everyone gets back alright, you know? This is my mission. I’m responsible.”

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow. He figured the completion of the mission would have been her main focus. Gently, he raised the index finger on his free hand and stroked Jayla’s back. She flinched at his touch, but quickly melted into it. “As a Jedi, you are more than capable. As a leader, there are few who can inspire people like you do.” He paused to let her smile. “There are things in war you can’t control. Casualties are one of them. The men you lead in battle today will not be the same as the ones tomorrow.”

Jayla couldn’t find anything to say.

“You’ve gone over this one plan more times in the last thirty minutes than Anakin has with any plan his whole life.” That one earned a full laugh from her. “And when things inevitably go wrong, you will adapt. You are ready for this.”

Jayla looked up and met Obi-Wan’s clear blue eyes. In them, she only saw admiration. In him, she only felt confidence. She cracked a small smile, sat up and folded her legs criss-cross. She closed her eyes. The Force pulsed excitedly around her.

She was ready.

—-

“How’d’you know her so well, anyway?”

Rex and Cody were just about at the hangar bay, and Rex was eager to know why she seemed to trust being around Cody but shied away from him.

“General Kenobi does a lot of negotiating in addition to his fighting,” Cody laughed. “She’s with him quite a lot on those trips. I imagine it’s deliberate on his part. Gets her used to being around clones and all that.”

“Well, that explains why I’ve never met her before,” Rex snickered. “General Skywalker never negotiates.”

Cody smirked. “But I wouldn’t say I know her well. She… doesn’t take to people very easily. Still has never let me take her anywhere, despite my plentiful offers. I’ve only ever seen her with Kenobi or Skywalker.”

“Must be a Jedi thing,” Rex snorted. Of course she has a thing against clones.

“Well, if the Jedi are all she’s ever known, I can’t say I blame her,” Cody countered. He could easily see Rex’s irritation in the form of his clenched fists. “The galaxy is not built for people her size. Especially a galaxy at war.”

Rex hummed. He had… never really thought of it that way. “Have you seen her in action before?”

“A few times, when negotiations went south. She moves quicker than anyone I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure. And if she gets scared, she doesn’t show it. I don’t think I’d be able to do what she does if everyone towered over me like a kriffing building.”

Rex pursed his lips, trying to visualize for the first time what it might look like if his brothers stood a hundred feet taller than him. He shivered at the thought.

“Rex? You alright, vod?”

Cody had stopped walking. They were at the hangar. Red swallowed.

“I’m… I guess I’m just surprised someone so small could be such a powerful Jedi.”

“Trust me,” Cody said, slipping his helmet on, “you’re not the only one.”

Rex humphed as he followed suit, joining his small group of ARCs near the larger 501st. Close by were Obi-Wan and Anakin, chatting amongst themselves. He almost didn’t notice Jayla on Obi-Wan’s shoulder, legs swinging as she laughed at something Anakin said. Well, she certainly looks happier.

“Just hang on tight, and you’ll have nothing to worry about!” Anakin said as they climbed into the gunship.

“There’s a reason I’m trusting Obi-Wan instead of you here,” Jayla snipped, regaining her balance as Obi-Wan reached his arm up to grab a handle. “He wouldn’t jerk his shoulder really hard to make sure I was secure enough.”

“Are you telling me he’s not preparing you properly? That’s interesting.”

“Tell me why they stuck me on this mission with both of you,” Obi-Wan groaned, pinching the brim of his nose.

Jayla grinned. “Maybe it’s punishment.”

“No crime is worth this.”

Rex sniffed a laugh under his helmet. She’s just like a mini Anakin.

With a ferocious whoosh, the gunship doors sealed shut and the engine fired up. As quickly as the jokes had come before, any semblance of lightheartedness was gone now. Jayla tightened her grip on Obi-Wan’s robe, Obi-Wan cupped his free hand in front of her, and Anakin stood alert, keeping a close eye on their surroundings.

Rex couldn’t keep his eyes off her, either. When the gunship lurched forward as it took to the air, even he could see how white her knuckles were. She kept her eyes trained on a single stationary item in front of her, trying to stay steady and ignore the small glances she was getting from the 15 other clones packed inside. She stayed fairly still through it all, but every jerk of the ship as it picked up speed and entered the atmosphere caused her face to contort into a sick grimace. Rex could only imagine how many of his other daily experiences were like a nightmare to her.

Jayla could feel Rex’s gaze on her. Something about that was comforting as they rumbled toward the surface. Even over the wind, she could hear the sharp pitch of blaster fire. There was a lot of it.

Her stomach keeled when the gunship made its slow descent to the ground. It was time.

“Jayla?” Obi-Wan spoke as soft as he possibly could over the noise. “I’m going to give you over to Rex now. Are you ready?”

Jayla could only nod as Obi-Wan moved his hand in front of her and she stepped on. She wobbled when Obi-Wan took a few steps forward to meet Rex, who was trying not to seem so flustered. Anakin’s hand was resting on his lightsaber.

Obi-Wan made the split-second decision to place her on Rex’s shoulder pauldron. There wasn’t a whole lot to grab onto, so a wide surface would make it easier for her to stay steady. He knew she wasn’t going to like being in Rex’s hand, and he could sense Rex’s unease with that possibility.

With a little bit of hesitation, she leaped off Obi-Wan’s hand and onto the pauldron, taking note of how it felt like walking on a training mat instead of the hard plastoid she assumed it was. Rex turned his head as best he could not only to make sure she was secure, but to get a better look at her. It was hard to see what she looked like from so far away, but she was mere inches from him now. He didn’t really know what he was expecting, but he was still surprised to see she looked… human. Her long hair was pulled into a loop, like a ponytail but the end was tucked back into its elastic. Her ears were slightly pointed, but almost by a negligible amount. With the sleeve of her tunic blowing around in the wind, he could barely see the tiny markings of a tattoo on her wrist. She was definitely fit to fight — her arms were toned and her face looked battle-hardened. Well, save for the way her wide eyes seemed to tremble as she stared at the ground from her new vantage point.

“Are you okay, General?”

General. It took a moment for Jayla to realize Rex was addressing her.

“Hm—yeah— yeah, I’m good,” she said, staggering her legs for better balance. There was absolutely nothing to grab onto. If all else failed, there was always the ammo box pinned to his chest. “Just—try not to make any sudden movements. Or lean forward. Or fall.”

“Can’t make any promises, General,” Rex replied, dead serious. He splayed his fingers and held his palm out flat. “You sure you don’t want to—“

“I’m fine here, Captain,” she grumbled. “Let’s get going.”

She wasn’t sure what to expect when the doors to the gunship opened, but never in a thousand years could she have been prepared for it.

The towering buildings of Christophsis merely faded into the background for her; like mountains too far off in the distance to properly understand their size. The whole planet had a green hue to it, but the air was thick with red and blue blaster bolts whizzing by in either direction. Jayla could barely get a sense of where she was by eyesight alone. When she finally snapped out of her entranced state, she shut her eyes and let the Force tell her what she needed to know. Droids to her left. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Battle droids, destroyers, super battle droids. All arranged in an impossibly precise formation. To her right, the GAR. Hundreds of clones with heavy breath and piercing shouts in organized chaos. Every few seconds, she felt a sharp pain, like the poke of a needle on her back. Someone got shot. Someone got back up. Someone didn’t.

Through it all, Jayla was still able to hear Anakin's upbeat voice. “Good luck out there, General!”

Jayla managed a laugh, watching with a small smile as Anakin and Obi-Wan ignited their sabers and jumped head-on into the oncoming fire. Rex hopped out of the gunship with two other troopers with the same swooping shoulder pauldrons. Jayla immediately fell to one knee and threw her hand down for extra support as Rex charged forward, finding shelter behind what appeared to be a large piece of metal.

He turned to his troopers and pointed across the way, where there was an elevated structure along the main road. “Positions!” The two ARCs nodded and sprinted over. “That’ll be a good place to lay down some cover,” Rex said to himself as he flipped down his HUD.

“There.” He pointed to a row of tanks several hundred yards away. “The tac droid’s in the middle one.”

Jayla nodded, forgetting that Rex couldn’t see her. She quickly began carving out the best path to get them there safely, which unfortunately required a lot of places where they would be fully exposed.

“I hope those guys are a good shot,” she called out. “Or else we’re toast.”

“There are a lot of clankers out there... stay low and hold on tight, sir,” Rex said, giving her a moment to adjust her position. He flinched at the sudden sound of a small whoosh. Her lightsaber.

“Let’s go, Rex.”

#g/t #giant/tiny #ahhhh idk why this took me so long #was originally going to include the whole battle in this #but my penchant for stupid amounts of detail would have made this tooooooooo long for tumblr #i just love this silent unspoken thing her and rex have going #where both their bitch asses will judge each other but not actually talk about it and pretend everything’s okay #obwrites #star wars g/t #more to come soon :)

[a-hundred-jewels]

cruel summer ch 12: i have these lucid dreams

Ao3 Wattpad

Summary: sabrina starr, pegasuses, and oh no! the fourth wall broke! do we have a carpenter in the audience?

Word Count: 9000 ish

Tags: Rachel Elizabeth Dare/Jane Penderwick, Rosalind Penderwick/Tommy Geiger, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jane Penderwick, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Rosalind Penderwick, Skye Penderwick, Chiron (Percy Jackson), Martin Penderwick, Elizabeth "Batty" Penderwick, Elizabeth Penderwick (senior), Iantha Aaronson-Penderwick, Ben Aaronson-Penderwick, Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, Annabeth Chase, Jeffrey Tifton-McGrath, Percy Jackson, Demeter (Percy Jackson), Apollo (Percy Jackson), Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Camp Half-Blood AU, Demigods, demeter!elizabeth penderwick, demeter!rosalind (second generation), demeter!batty (second generation), apollo!alec mcgrath, apollo!jeffrey (second generation), demeter!jane (second generation), demeter!skye (second generation), all of that's in no particular order, main focus is on jane because i love her and she's so so fun to write, tomsalind is there (and stuff will happen - i can't really say what, it will really be eventful though), yes of course there's solangelo, takes place right before Penderwicks In Spring, After Trials of Apollo, more tags to come??, Minor Swearing

Notes and Full Chapter below cut:

Hello everyone and welcome back! I'll admit, this is a little later today than I'd been planning to post (was hoping to get an early start), but hey! If the Puppet History season 4 finale can be late, then so can I!

First off, a massive massive thank you to waterbottle_stickers for being the best beta reader ever. This chapter would be a mess without you. Also, if you haven't already, please check out their enola holmes fic wherever you stray, i follow it's truly wonderful.

If you've been following me on tumblr, then you'll know that, in addition to reblogging an alarming quantity of good omens fanart, I've been making some plans for fics this month. The original plan from back in august was to post every day of the month, but... ahhh.... I just don't work that fast lmao. I'll have to be content with just posting a fair amount this month. Happy october! Anyway, stay tuned.

On this fine day, we've got two lovely QUEER fanfic recommendations that I'm very excited to share. Up first is one from the tumblr blog izzielizzie (which you should all absolutely check out! especially if you're into the one of us is lying fandom!). it centers around the skye/melissa pairing and their senior prom, which Skye is said to have only gone to last minute, and also wearing a lab coat, in a passage of the penderwicks at last. featuring some oblivious lesbians and also jane. once again a massive thanks to izzielizzie, as this fic is one of my favourites!. click here to take a look! (also keep an eye on her blog in general bc her penderwicks fics are awesome!)

The second fanfic is also one I'm very fond of, as it focuses on the siblinghood of skye and jane, which is one of my favourite topics on earth. check out rolling down the ancient high street by hanchewie/ramblemadlyon (tumblr and ao3 respectively) for the sibling antics of aroace skye and bisexual jane when the latter visits the former at her college in california! and, if you like it, ramblemadlyon has two other penderwicks fics from the past couple days that look fantastic as well, and that I look forward to reading.

This chapter is dedicated to my therapist, since I've decided this will be the month of oddly specific dedications. thank you for telling me to stop referring to cruel summer as my "trash baby" and help me recognize the true worth that it holds in my life.

Disclaimer: not my characters, you know the drill. Jeanne Birdsall and Rick Riordan are lucky ducks indeed. chapter title is (obviously) from "lucid dreams" by Juice WRLD.

FROM THE POV OF JANE PENDERWICK

The woods loomed around me, seeming as tall as buildings as they invited me in further. I took another step, the sharp pain of a pinecone digging into my foot barely registered in my mind. I kept walking. A crack sounded throughout the air, and, behind me, a tree splintered round its base and fell down, only inches away from crushing me dead, and completely blocking the path out.

Frightened, I began to run, looking for a way out of the forest. But no matter which way I went, there were only trees in front of me. Where was the path? Where was the grassy hill I had walked down to get in here in the first place. Had I even walked down that hill to begin with? Now that I thought about it, I wasn’t sure I remembered coming here. I wasn’t sure I remembered waking up this morning, or going to bed last night, or anything besides existing in the forest. Who was I? What was I doing here? How could I get out?

Panicking, I stood in the middle of a clearing, looking frantically at the trees around me, trying to find something familiar. Nothing. I was exhausted. How long had I been here? An hour? A day? A lifetime? I collapsed at the base of a tree, sobbing as I tried to remember. Something. Anything.

Then, a voice echoed around me. “Welcome,” it said, and my mind went black.

I bolt upright in bed, a scream halfway out of my throat. I clamp it back, not wanting to wake my cabinmates. Thin light whimpers through the window--enough for me to see my white-knuckle grip on the sheets, but not enough to pass as daylight.

What time is it?

Our cell phones don’t really work here--that was one of the first things Miranda told us when we arrived, and Batty’s been gleefully lording it over us that her Mp3 player will still play music and, like, function, while our smart phones recline sadly in our duffel bags. That being said, I don’t feel quite brave enough to get out of my bed just yet and tiptoe over to the big analog clock that Rio bought at a pawn shop in Colorado. Maybe my phone will at least show the time.

I reach under my bed and fumble for my duffel, hooking my pinky through the zipper loop and yanking it out onto my floor. My phone’s in the front pocket, buried under two pairs of headphones, several gum wrappers, and some strawberry leaves (?????). A piece of gum peels off the screen as I disentangle my phone, and I mentally chide my past self for being so messy.

My phone does not turn on. Big clock it is.

I tiptoe across the cold tile and peer around the tree.

5:45 .

Jesus Pagan Christ.

It’s too early to wake anyone up (as I think this, Batty lets out a snore to rival any crabby Tyrannosaurus Rex), so I wrap a blanket around myself like a criminally attractive burrito, and creep out onto the porch, with my notebook and pen tucked into my shirt.

As long as I live, I will never get tired of summer mornings. There’s something deeply lovely about the soft light of the still-sleepy, pink lemonade sun, the quiet anticipation of the cool air, damp from dew and preparing for the upcoming heat. At home in Cameron, Skye’s woken me up many an early morning to go for a run or do soccer drills or for a grueling “Seven Minute Workout Except You Don’t Follow The Rules And Torture Your Sister by Making It Actually A Forty-Nine Minute Workout.” (But it’s okay, I’m not bitter). But, as delightful as those experiences have all been, I don’t think Skye really gets it. The beauty of the summer morning is not what it can do for your workout schedule, but rather in its gentle softening of an otherwise boiling day. It is to be appreciated in the way that I am now, sitting curled up on this frighteningly creaky porch (I mean, seriously, who built this?) and calling up the Sabrina Starr section of my brain to try and write away the residual panic from my nightmare.

Sabrina sighed as the plane took off. She wasn’t sure if she should have followed the voice in her head telling her to come here. Saying it out loud--even just thinking it--made it sound ridiculous. A dream, a voice in her mind. Barely more than a whim.

Worse than that, Sabrina wasn’t even sure where this whim was taking her. On a napkin in her pocket, she’d scrawled everything she remembered about the dream from the night before. The dark sky, lit only with spiderwebs of lightning, the shadowy figure huddled on a beach and soaked through with rain. The voice crying for help.

And a name. Aeaea.

After she’d woken up, Sabrina had looked up Aeaea, too tired to fully connect why the name felt familiar. Her heart had sunk further after reading the Wikipedia entry, and a breath of hopelessness had left her lips. According to the internet, Aeaea was not a real place. It had been the island prison of Circe. Fiction wasn’t new to Sabrina, and neither was mythology (she recalled an adventure spent with a ghost called Rainbow from a few years back).

Fictional places, though, were another matter. How could she get somewhere if she didn’t know where she was going? Was she trusting her gut with too much this time?

Sabrina folded up the napkin and put it back in her pocket. There was no point in worrying about that now. She’d looked at enough maps to make a guess at where Aeaea might be if it was real. When she got there, she could get more information. Sabrina Starr had survived this long in her career of rescues and whims. She could survive one more adventure. Worst case scenario, she said to herself, I spend a few days running around for nothing and have to brush up on my Greek.

She repeated it to herself like a promise. Worst case scenario, worst case scenario… Eventually, tired out from all her anxieties, and from trying desperately not to worry about what would come next, Sabrina fell asleep.

FROM THE POV OF RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE

“Okay, I give up. Tell me what’s wrong.” Annabeth’s voice startles me away from my plate of eggs, which I had been pushing around with a fork. Anxiety bubbles in my throat, just as it had been since I woke up, and food just doesn’t sound like a good idea.

“I--what?”

Annabeth waves her hand impatiently. “Don’t play dumb. I’ve been talking to you for five minutes and I don’t think you’ve looked up once. Also you’re always hungry in the mornings, so unless you, like, ate an entire cow before I got here, this ,” she gestures to my uneaten eggs, “is unusual behaviour.”

I give her a look. Sometimes, I get the feeling that Annabeth exists as a part of multiple different dimensions at once, like she’s having four other conversations that I can’t hear, and is still ten steps ahead of me in the one I’m actually a part of.

Or maybe I’m just easy to read.

“Nothing’s wrong.” I don’t want to talk about it. “I’m fine.” I’m terrified.

Annabeth sighs. “Is this about the prophecy?”

“No,” I spear another piece of egg, and don’t eat it. “Maybe. Yes.” I feel like going back to my cave and staying there for the rest of my life. Waiting with a book and some paints for the prophecy to get bored and go away. Maybe I’d take Jane with me, or Nico, for some company. That sounds nice.

My plate is pulled away from me as I aim my fork again. “I can’t pay attention when you do that,” Annabeth huffs. I think I wouldn’t invite her to stay in my cave. She’s too on the nose when I want to mope. Then again, she says the same about me.

“Fine,” I turn and face her. “Let’s talk feelings.” Connor Stoll, who had been making his way towards our table, abruptly turns around and walks the other way. I should get Chiron to hire a therapist. Gods know we need it.

Further proving my point, Annabeth’s eyes widen a little, before she remembers it is I who will be spilling. (I make a point to corner her later. It’s a routine we have). “Wow. You broke fast.”

I nod. “I’m tired and you’re annoying.” (False. We both know it. Another routine). “Like you said, I’m nervous about the prophecy.”

Annabeth nods. “And?”

I frown. “What do you mean, and ? There’s no and.”

Annabeth frowns back at me. A mirror, a mime, an annoyance. The nerve to look disappointed in me. “I thought you were spilling, Red.”

I roll my head back and study the roof of the pavilion, which Annabeth designed, and slowly lean my head down to stare at the table. I really don’t want to have this conversation. I go along anyways. “I’m worried about Jane.”

Annabeth leans back, triumphant. “Ah, yes. Your girlfriend.”

Maybe if I try reeeeeeeally hard, I can activate the Oracle of Delphi and freak Annabeth out enough to make her go away. “ Not my girlfriend. You know that.”

“You called Percy my boyfriend for weeks before we actually officially decided.”

I wave my hand dissmissively. “That’s different, you guys were dancing around each other for like three years. You needed a bit of a push. Jane and I kissed once! Over a week ago! And nothing came of it.” We actually haven’t really talked about it. We’re in this sort of in-between zone where we spend a ton of time together, but don’t have a label for it. Honestly, it’s been nice.

Annabeth grins, apparently reading my thoughts. “You’ve been eating lunch with the Demeter cabin, like, every other day. I saw you doing archery together yesterday. Both of you were awful at it, but you stayed there for hours. I’ve never seen you focus on something that long outside of your paintings.”

I stare at the ceiling again. Maybe Annabeth designed it so that a single square foot of rock might fall down onto my head and relieve me from this conversation. “Yes, fine, we spend a lot of time together. But that doesn’t make us a couple, and has nothing to do with what I’m actually worried about!” I can see in her face that Annabeth is more serious now, and is about to fully listen to me, when Percy and Malcolm show up, sliding into the seats across from us, and clanging several plates of pancakes down onto the table in front of them.

“Made them ourselves! Wanna share?” Percy gives Annabeth heart eyes and a kiss on the cheek when she folds a large blue pancake into thirds and bites it like a burrito. I roll my eyes at them because they are a horrifying and disgusting couple and also I kind of want to be them when I grow up. Malcolm ignores them, instead turning to me. “Were you talking about Jane?” he asks, pushing wire rimmed glasses up his nose.

I frown. “Sort of. Why?”

He shrugs, sheepish. “You know. Just, uh, just wondering.”

I narrow my eyes at him, then Percy, who tears himself away from looking at Annabeth to sigh dramatically. “Malcolm wants to ask out Jane’s sister. You know, the blond one.”

I snort. “ Skye? Seriously?”

Malcolm looks vaguely offended. “What’s so weird about that?”

“Sorry, it’s not weird.” I reach over the table to pat him on the shoulder with my fork. “Perfectly normal teenage hormones.” He glares at me and I smile sweetly back. “I just can’t imagine Skye going out with anyone, that’s all.”

Malcolm stares down at his pancake, disappointed. “Oh. You sure?”

I nod, feeling a little more normal with my friends and less doom-related breakfast conversation. My eggs are past the threshold of “warm and appetizing” but I take a bite anyway. “Pretty sure. Jane told me that she’s aroace and, based on past occurrences, there’s a seventy percent chance she’ll punch anyone who asks her out. Anyway, why the interest? I didn’t know you guys talked.”

Malcolm shrugs. “We don’t, really. She just seems cool.”

Percy pipes in, “He’s been practically obsessed with her since she won that soccer game against the Nike kids and made them cry.”

I nod approvingly. “Well, Malcolm, at least we know you have good taste.”

Annabeth pats him on the head, ignoring his complaints that her hand is covered in blue maple syrup. “Better luck next time, brother of mine.”

Piper and Leo join us next, contributing an alarming volume of grapes and a single hardboiled egg to the breakfast display. Leo grabs a pancake and wraps it around some grapes, before taking a big bite. “I hear you’re discussing Malcolm’s romantic failures,” he says around the world’s worst breakfast burrito. Piper gasps in mock offense, then swallows the unpeeled hardboiled egg whole, like a snake. (This is a regular morning routine. She’s trying to work up to being a sword swallower, since her dad did it in a movie once and she thought it looked like fun). “ Malcolm, why didn’t you come to me? I could have given you a verdict within five minutes!”

“I wanted advice on whether I should ask out that Heaphestus boy two weeks ago and you told me to fuck off.”

Piper pouts at him. “That’s on you, you caught me at a bad time.”

Annabeth holds up a pancake with the air of a respected royal and we turn to her. “As delightful as this is, Rachel and I were initially talking about her romantic prospects and also her worries and fears, and I feel that we should get back to that before she slinks off and avoids the rest of the conversation.”

I glare at her. “Why would you bring this away from the very nice conversation we were having about everyone else’s problems? Do you hate me?” Annabeth rolls her eyes. “No, dumbass, I’m just not letting you walk away from a potential breakthrough. Now, where were we? You were saying that you’re worried about Jane but it has nothing whatsoever to do with your relationship, or lack thereof.”

I give a long suffering sigh, and try to communicate telepathically with Piper that she needs to Save Me Now, but she’s looking at me in interest with her chin resting in her hands, her long fingers adorned with rings sent to her from her Mortal girlfriend, Shel, who bought them at a vintage punk store. The traitor. Defeated, I turn back to Annabeth.

“It’s just that, whatever ends up happening with this prophecy, I don’t want it to fuck her up, in the way the quests have sometimes done to us. Like, we’re used to this by now, but it hasn’t been a smooth road. I don’t exactly like going on quests, and at first I was really worried at the prospect of being included in a prophecy, since that’s fairly abnormal, but Jane was only made aware of her heritage a couple months ago! What if this turns out like Silena or Beckendorf or-or Jason, and the prophecy destroys her, and it’s all my fault because I’m the one who pulled her into all this?”

Everyone tenses up at the mention of Jason, but they continue to look at me with a mixture of concern and love that makes something soften inside of me. For the hundredth time, I think of how lucky I am to have these people who love me unconditionally. Even if they really, really need therapy.

“I know that I didn’t plan any of this, but we’re both tied in now, especially since both Chiron and I had the prophetic dream and I actually gave the prophecy that day in the woods, and, well, this isn’t her world yet. She’s only got a little bit of ichor in her, and she grew up knowing nothing of any of this. In a way, I did too, and I have no ichor, but I had clear sight. For me, it was ineffable, but she could technically leave any time, if it weren’t for the prophecy. She can leave, and I feel like it’s up to me to make sure that doesn’t change.”

“Oh, Rachel.” Annabeth reaches her arms out to me and I let myself be pulled into an embrace. “Jane’s going to be okay. We’ll make sure of it.”

Sabrina stood in line at the boat rental hut, her arms crossed and a frown plastered on her face. It had not been a successful afternoon. For hours, she’d been searching the coastal towns near where her plane landed, looking for some trace of Aeaea, or anything else she’d seen in her dream. She was used to working with dregs. It was normal for her to have to squint a little at the evidence, have to shuffle things together around big holes of “Maybe,” like she was working a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing.

But this was something else.

Sabrina had read about places where mythology shaped the culture. Places where the tourist draws were events that had supposedly happened thousands of years ago, or creatures that only existed in grainy photographs and people’s imaginations. Hell, she’d met the Loch Ness monster. Was it insane for her to have assumed she’d be able to find the same kind of thing here? All her training and years of experience had told her that, if you sniff around long enough, you’ll find a conspiracy theorist or a slightly off-the-rails guidebook.

So far, though, Sabrina had found nothing. Absolutely nothing. She hunted around, searching up library catalogs, checking every store on the street. “Aeaea,” “Circe,” even “the Odyssey.”

Nothing.

The line edged along slowly, and Sabrina ran her hands up and down her arms. The air was chilly from its proximity to the cold sea water. There were three people in front of her now. She just had to wait a little longer, then she would have a boat and be able to explore these waters herself.

Something was wrong with this place. Something was wrong with all of these places. And Sabrina was going to figure out what.

Later, Jane and I are taking our time walking to the pegasus stables to watch the riding lesson that Rosalind has reluctantly agreed to let Batty take (provided that Percy, who’s teaching today, doesn’t let her fly high enough that she’ll die if she falls off, and that Batty wears all of the necessary protective gear). Jane looks lovely, wearing a sunshine-y yellow bandana that sets off her dark curls and warm sepia skin. She has on her Camp Half-Blood shirt again, and a short green skirt, and all of it should clash horribly, but it doesn’t.

We’ve decided to cut through the strawberry fields, and I swallow a sun-warmed strawberry while Jane tells me about the dream she had last night. I think back to my conversation with Annabeth this morning when she tells me of the dark woods and the feeling of drowning, the memory warping and the echoing voice. At some point we sit down in a patch of grass, a simple circle amidst strawberry plants with a couple logs where the campers and satyrs take their breaks when they work here. Jane finishes her story and we sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, only broken by the grunts of annoyance Jane makes while trying to get her plant powers to activate again. She’s been doing that a lot.

“Well that sucks,” I say finally. “Have you been having other dreams like it?”

Jane shrugs, the neon orange fabric of her shirt wrinkling on her shoulders. “One or two, I think. Last night’s was the first one I really remembered. ” She smiles out of the corner of her mouth. “I hardly ever remember my dreams. It used to upset me. I thought I was losing potential writing material.”

I laugh. It’s such a Jane thing to think, that I can’t help it. She goes quiet, like she’s reminiscing, and I picture a tiny version of Jane, sitting crossed-legged on her summer quilt, writing. I look at her now, scrunched up nose and big brown eyes. Oh gods, she must have been an adorable child.

“My mother used to say that my imagination was the eighth wonder of the world,” Jane says. She’s looking down the hill at the cabins, plant powers temporarily forgotten, and I remember her telling me about her mother, the first Elizabeth Penderwick, who came here and was a daughter of Demeter and loved opera. The Penderwick siblings’ beloved mother who died so young.

I move closer to Jane on the log. “I can understand why she’d say that.”

Jane smiles again, a little sad this time, a little absent, but full to the brim with love.

“Bet you she’s in Elysium,” I say softly. I explained the Underworld to Jane a couple weeks ago, and she’d gotten this same absent look on her face, that I now know means she’s thinking about her mother. Jane nods, now, then turns to me. “Could we talk about something else?” Her voice is quiet, her eyes a little shiny.

“Course,” I say. “Shall I regale you with tales of dimwittery at this camp in the years past?” I told her last week about the time some Hermes kids tried to order pizza to the camp, accidently causing Chiron to think we were under attack. Jane had nearly fallen off the bench laughing.

She grins now, but shakes her head. “Tell me what it’s like being an Oracle.” I give her a look. She’s asked me before and I never really know what to say. When I give prophecies, it’s like I black out. I’m taken over by another entity who shares my body. (“Like that lady in Suicide Squad ,” Leo had said when I tried to explain it to him once, but I’d refused to be compared to such a gods-fucking-awful movie). So, in a way, I don’t know what it’s like to be the Oracle.

As if reading my thoughts, Jane shakes her head. “Not that part. I’ve seen you all green and smokey, and I know you can’t feel it. I mean the other stuff. How did you know it was you? What did you have to do to become the Oracle? That kind of thing.” I relax a little. Jane’s asked me all sorts of weird questions about Greek mythology and the gods recently. She calls it “research for her book,” but sometimes I think she’s just nosy. It’s cute.

Jane shrugs and looks off into the distance. If you tilt your head a little you can kind of see the stables from here. We have fifteen more minutes to get there, according to my watch. I decide to take it easy. “Delphi is this weird ethereal spirit,” Jane continues, “but there’s also just everyday, Oracle you, who likes paint and denim and bagels.” At that, I laugh. “I actually don’t like bagels that much. I’m just late to breakfast so often that they’re usually the only things available.”

Jane pouts at me and plays with the bracelet tied around my wrist--the one she gave me. “You know what I mean! You know all this weird shit about me because my siblings don’t shut up at lunch, and I know stuff about you, like the denim thing, which I still think is funny by the way. But you’re also the freaking Oracle! Your dormant self lies waiting!” I laugh at her, and she rolls her eyes, but I see the corner of her mouth tilting up. “Rachel, that’s very cool!”

I give in. “Honestly, there’s not much to say, that’s why I don’t talk about it.” I pause. “Well no, it’s that a lot of the stuff beyond the obvious is actually sort of creepy and weird, and not in a good way. There’s stuff I try not to think about, is what I mean.”

The edge of her yellow bandana sticks up as Jane tilts her head at me. “That makes sense. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

I shake my head. “No, it feels okay right now.” I mean it. Now that I’ve gotten into the swing of it, I do want to talk about it. Still, a small sigh escapes me. “I like being the Oracle, because that’s what brought me to a place where I feel like I belong and I have people who love me. It’s nice to know that I’m fulfilling my purpose in life.”

Jane pulls her knees up to her chest. “But?”

“But I also get lonely.” It comes out in a rush. “There are other oracles, but I didn’t know about any of them until the Apollo thing happened, and even then, they’re all supernatural beings--I know, I know, but not in the way I am. It’s not the same. Also, there are all these weird rules. Like I have to stay an unmarried virgin my whole life.”

“That’s fucked,” Jane says softly.

“I know! Chiron won’t even tell me why, just that it’s ‘the rules’” I let out an annoyed huff. “And, like, it’s not even that the idea itself bothers me. That’s pretty much what I was planning to do with my life anyway.”

“Same.”

“But it’s the principle of the thing!” I flick a strand of hair out of my face, offhandedly noticing that the tip of my pinky finger is slightly green. I ignore it. It’s not important. “Just because I don’t want to have sex or get married doesn’t mean it’s a fair rule to impose on me! Besides, why is it always the women in these things whose identities are tied up in who they do or don’t fuck? Last I checked, Grover didn’t have to sign an ‘I shalt not fornicate’ contract when he became Lord of the Wild!”

“Exactly!” Jane raises her hands and shouts up to the sky. “Don’t you fuckers realize we’re more than that?”

“The Hunters of Artemis, too!” I’m a jack-in-the-box, and something’s winding me up. “Thalia and Reyna send me letters all the time, and they seem really happy! Which is great!” I pause to emphasize the greatness of their happiness. My pinky is completely green, now. “But, they also had to make a stupid ‘ode of chastity,’ like I did!”

“Are you kidding me?” Jane’s hair flips as she turns to me. “I thought Artemis was one of the good ones!”

My voice lowers to a husky rumble, and I stare into the distance towards you, the reader. “In a broken system, there are no good ones. Abolish the police.” I clear my throat and my voice turns back to normal. “Sorry, zoned out for a second.” My green pinky has begun to vibrate.

“Happens to the best of us,” Jane’s voice is light and nonchalant. “And yeah, I know. Pretty much all of the gods have skeletons sitting on their shoulders, but it just seems out of character for her. I thought all of Artemis’s groups were supposed to be safe havens, not oppressive structures in their own right.”

I frown. “Yeah you’re right, that is weird. I’d never thought of it much beyond the gods having weird rules, but I wonder if something bigger is at play. The gods might be fucked up in the way that regular people are, and are undoubtedly responsible for all sorts of crap. But then there's more personal things, like the ‘chastity vows’ the Hunters and I had to take, and the fact that Nico was initially outed by Eros, and the weird unexplained eye condition that Piper had during some of her quests that made her eyes a bunch of bright, Eurocentric colors, rather than their natural brown. All sorts of other stuff, too.”

“Wow!” Jane says, sitting up straight on the grass. Her hand moves from where it was resting in her lap to cover her heart. “It’s almost like a bunch of genuinely good and inspiring material, such as including prominent queer people and characters of color in fun children’s fantasy, as well as having an immortal group of warrior women who support each other and are free from the gaze of men, was taken into the hands of a cis white man armed with unchecked misogyny and a fair amount of white Twitter feminism, both of which really showed when he tried to create an inclusive and empowering book series for children! Like yeah, it had its moments, and definitely some good characters, but overall, a lack of meaningful research in certain areas really made it fall flat!” Once again, I stare through the bindings of URLs and internet coding, now joined by Jane as we lock eyes with you, the reader. This time, we hold eye contact for nearly a minute, giving you time to read and process the long tangent spat out by this fanfic’s author, who, if we’re being honest, has gone just a tad off the rails right now. Finally, Jane and I look away from you, and resume our roles as fictional characters, still shaking off that strange cloud that comes with staring into the soul of those who give you life.

“Ugh, what’s going on with me today?” Jane groans at the same time I mutter, “What’s Twitter?” We turn to each other, blinking in the sunlight, then grin. This is normal. We’re fine. Jane looks up at the sky again. “I wonder if the gods are watching us. Maybe we should make them think we suck so they’ll leave you alone.”

I laugh as she sticks her tongue out, grinning wickedly at a nearby cloud. “Better yet, make them think we’re too powerful to be messed with,” I say. Jane sees me watching her and opens her mouth, sucking the cloud in between her teeth. The sky seems bluer in the space where it had been, and Jane’s eyes glitter with mirth as she swallows. “Mmm, tastes like sugar.” I giggle, feeling a small shiver on the top of my head. When I peer up, I see another cloud has floated over to me. I open my own mouth, and take it in, just as Jane did hers. “Sugar, yes. But there’s a touch of blood, too,” I say. Jane nods sagely. “What were we talking about?”

“The inherent misogyny in much of Greek mythology and the world of Camp Half-Blood in general.”

Jane nods again. “Right. A very important topic. It makes it weird when I’m writing sometimes. You know, cause I want to bring in Circe and Zeus and Apollo and all these fascinating characters, but there’s just so much bad stuff tied up with them that comes up when I research.” She looks down at our feet, which are standing in the midst of a strawberry patch. We seem to have been walking, crushing sweet summer strawberries as we go, which is odd because I don’t remember getting up. “You know Rachel, I’m feeling a bit strange.”

I look at her, and see an odd blankness in her warm brown eyes. “Now that you mention it, Jane, so am I.”

“My thoughts and words are my own,” Jane says, “But there’s something up with my body. I can’t really feel it.”

“I agree, I’ve honestly gone a bit numb.” I try to glance down at my fingers, wondering idly if they’ve gotten any more green, but find that my neck won’t bend.

Jane’s eyebrows furrow. “Yet, at the same time, I feel as though I could do anything. Grow another grass blade. Grow a flower. Grow a tree. Bend the world to my will if I wanted to.”

“Or is it the world bending me to its will.” I grin at my own philosophical point, but find that the smile won’t go away. Pretty fucking inconvenient, since the next thing I was going to bring up was part of the whole serious misogyny conversation. I decide to go for it anyway. “And I’m not the only one with weird rules!” Jane nods, as if this is a perfectly normal segway, and the only extraneous thought that floats through my mind as we find ourselves walking down a hill is how unfair it is that she still has control over her neck and I don’t. “Remember when I told you about the Hunters of Artemis?”

“Oh yeah! Your friends Reyna and Thalia, right?”

“Yeah, them! They send me letters sometimes, and seem really happy, which is great.” I pause, meaning to add emphasis, when I’m hit with a great sensation of deja-vu. “Wait a second, we already talked about this, didn’t we?” I try to remember, but something in my mind is rapidly melting. I cannot find it. I cannot find anything.

“Jane?” My voice quivers, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Oh gods, please let this be a dream. For a moment, I try to convince myself that it’s the Oracle of Delphi taking over, just like she did the other day and generally does a couple times a year. But I know that I’m lying. This is not what that feels like. “Jane, where are you?” I can barely move my mouth to say the words. I can feel nothing but the frozen fear of paralysis, of lost control. When I open my eyes, this other thing in my body has brought me to the edge of the forest. “Jane? Jane?” She could be right beside me, unable to speak, and I wouldn’t know because I can’t turn my head, can’t move my eyes, can barely even hear right now.

It’s okay, something says.

“Jane?” It’s not her voice. It’s no one’s voice.

It’s okay. You’re home.

With every cut the wooden oars made through the choppy ocean water, Sabrina knew she was getting closer. She could feel it in her bones, in her brain, a little voice that whispered in her ear. It had been three hours. Her body was worn down, energy levels dipping dangerously low, when she felt something scrape the bottom of her boat.

A rock.

Frantically, she peered through the fog that had begun to surround her boat a mile ago. The island. Had she finally made it?

As if answering her call, a peel of thunder rang out, and Sabrina’s boat began to fill with rain that pounded down from the sky. The storm from her dream. She rowed even faster, then, fear sparking a renewed strength in her tired muscles.

Just as Sabrina was about to reach the shore, a massive wave crashed over her, and her boat capsized. She came back up, sputtering, holding her sopping wet bag above her head. Another wave swept against Sabrina’s face, and she found herself spitting out a mouthful of saltwater. Finally, she washed up on the shore, heaving breaths raking through her lungs.

Sabrina blinked, pushing herself up onto her elbows. It was real. She was here.

She had made it.

FROM THE POV OF ROSALIND PENDERWICK

It’s been a pleasant day so far. Breakfast with my siblings and some of the Demeter cabin (though Jane did seem a bit absent-minded). Miranda, Florien, and Rio convinced me to practice some plant magic with them for a couple hours and I built up to growing a small sunflower. Lunch (again with Jane seeming distracted, though Rachel ate with us this time, which appeared to help). Then, Skye and Jeffrey disappeared with some of the older campers (supposedly for a regular game of soccer, but the unsettling gleam in their eyes had me doubting that was all there was too it), Jane and Rachel went to take a walk in the strawberry fields, and Batty and I were left to prepare for a pegasus riding lesson. If it had been up to Batty, the latter could have easily taken up the entire afternoon, but changing into durable pants and finding a bandana can only take so long.

After a somewhat restless hour, during which I grew three peonies and Batty rhapsodized about the stable of unicorns that another demigod camp apparently has, Batty and I arrive at the stable. We’re ten minutes early, and she’s been talking a mile a minute the whole time, not stopping from before. I swear I now know as much about pegasuses as she does. According to Rachel, the teacher today is Percy, her friend, who’s very responsible “when he puts his mind to it.” I wasn’t sure how to tell her that’s actually not very comforting, but Batty looked so excited and I figured there will be plenty of other people there, so. Why not. She’s been spending so much time there anyway.

Needless to say, I very much regret my decision now.

The stables are modest, made of wood and painted green, and I’ve been there several times by now. There’s a long line of stalls visible when we first walk in, but Batty skips straight to the far end, where a massive pegasus the color of a carrot pokes its head over the door and nuzzles Batty’s hair. She looks up at me with a smile that could melt anyone’s heart, and pats the horse on the nose. “Rosy, this is Queen Lotus Flower. Percy said we have a impenetrable bond.”

I look at the two of them with a questioning gaze. How can they both have the exact same puppy-dog eyes? I swear to god. The gods. All of them. “Batty, sweetheart. That horse is like ten feet tall.”

She nods enthusiastically. “I know, she’s so much taller than any other horse I’ve seen. Percy says she has the biggest wingspan of any horse at camp.”

I nod, slowly, wondering why my sister picked the biggest pegasus to fall in love with. At that moment, Percy pushes the door open. “Hey Batty! Ready for your lesson?” Batty leaves her post by Queen Lotus Flower to wrap her arms around my waist and nod. I look Percy over. He’s a few inches taller than me, with brown skin and curly hair. A beaded camp necklace, orange tshirt, and jeans. Weird arm tattoo aside, he’s one of the most normal-looking people at camp. I’ve only met him a couple times before, but, my nerves over Batty flying around on massive horses aside, I do trust him. Rachel seems to have a good taste in friends. Also, Batty likes him, and she’s still shy around a good number of Skye and Jane’s friends back in Cameron.

For the next few minutes, I watch as Percy instructs Batty on buckling Queen Lotus Flower’s giant saddle and looping the bridle over her nose. Not wavering a bit from the “lesson” aspect of all this, he steps back to let her show what she’s already learned from hanging around the stables so often, only stooping in to guide her when she gets confused. As the minutes tick by, more people show up for the lesson: three other students, and a good sized crowd of people who just like watching the pegasuses. By then, I’m seated on the grass outside the stables, soaking in the blistering sun and watching as Percy (seated atop a wiry black pegasus who Batty pointed out as Blackjack) darts around the large dusty enclosure, making final preparations for the lesson.

Skye and Jeffrey show up then, and sit on either side of me. I want to ask them where Jane and Rachel are, but they’re talking non-stop about a game they just played in the woods with some of the other campers, only switching the subject when Percy and Blackjack return and they begin discussing whether or not it should be scientifically possible for a horse to fly.

Just as Batty and Queen Lotus Flower begin a gentle trot around the enclosure, I feel a tap on my shoulder, and hear the familiar sound of Tommy’s chuckle. “She’s got a weird knack for that,” he says. I nod, grinning.

It’s been good with us. We’ve had breakfast together a few times, even played a game of basketball one afternoon. Our conversations aren’t the same as they used to be, and there’s a sense of newness that feels cold and strange every so often. But it’s good. It feels right. At least for now, this feels like where we’re supposed to be.

As Percy starts demonstrating how to take flight, I look around again. Jane and Rachel still aren’t here. They promised to come. (“For moral support!” Jane had said. “Wouldn’t miss it,” Rachel had added with a smile). I try to push it out of my head. This lesson is a big deal. Batty’s going to be flying.

She leans forward on Queen Lotus Flower’s neck.

They begin to run, moving together like a single being.

Just as they burst into the air, Batty’s euphoric smile lighting up the sky, Katie grabs my shoulders from behind. I shush her so I can lean forward and watch Batty silhouetted against the pegasus’s wide orange wings.

“Rosalind. Rosalind, guys. ” Something about the panic in Katie’s voice makes me turn around. Her usually tied back hair is loose and her clothes rumpled, giving the impression that she was dragged out of bed for this. (Some part of my brain distantly remembers her saying she was going to take a nap). Skye and Jeffrey turn around, too.

“What, what’s happening?” I reach out my hands, trying to calm her as she collapses into a squat, breathing heavily.

“Billie… found me in the cabin… had been looking for you guys… been running all over the camp… lucky I remembered about the riding lesson…”

Jeffrey leans over and puts his hands on her shoulders. She stares down at the dirt while her breathing levels.

“Katie, what are you saying? Why were you and Billie looking for us?”

She looks up, and I see that her forehead is drawn into well-worn creases of worry. “Jane and Rachel have gone into the woods.”

Something was wrong. Sabrina crouched on the wet sand, straining to see through the heavy rain. In her dream there had definitely been someone else on the island. She remembered the hunched figure, the sound of sobs leaking through the rain.

But she’d circled the shore at least twice by now, and there was nobody to be found. “Am I late or something?” she wondered aloud. Somehow, she’d gotten that dream It felt like it had been sent to her. Why did it show a person when there was no one?

Sabrina sighed and began to traipse inland, tucking a knife in her pocket. It wasn’t a big island, and she might as well find some shelter aside from her boat, which was now overturned somewhere on the beach. Circe lived here, didn’t she? There must be some sort of roof, especially if this kind of weather was standard.

Or maybe this was just a random island and there was no Aeaea and Sabrina’s dream had just been the unhinged work of her unconscious mind.

There was a small grassy hill set aside from the sand, which Sabrina crawled up with the determination of a dying warrior. Something was pushing her back. An invisible force, a last crumb of survival instinct, plain old fatigue, she wasn’t sure. But something wanted her out of here, and it pushed back harder and harder as she climbed.

She let out a cry of frustration, clawing at the ground, at the air, at whatever this goddamn thing was, and found a renewed burst of strength that pulled her to the top of the hill. Once there, the force that pushed back ebbed a little, like it was giving up. Sabrina let herself relax, and simply took in the view for a moment.

The hill she lay on top of gave way to a deep valley, sprawling and green. In one corner, there was a cluster of trees that looked healthy and comfortable, despite being on a random Greek island in the middle of the ocean. A modest garden lay next to it, somehow appearing unaffected by the rain, and a narrow river wound around the whole scene.

There was also a house.

Sabrina wasn’t sure what she might have expected from the lair of an infamous Greek enchantress, but it wasn’t this.

She hauled herself up on the hill and started down, rushing through the rain onto a wide wooden porch. There was a large stone vat of something dark and crumbly, with a heavy looking staff of sorts leaning against it. The door to the house was short, and Sabrina heard it scrape on the floor when she pushed it open.

The scene awaiting her was surprisingly cozy when she stepped inside. There was a fire in the hearth and rows upon rows of little viles arranged on a set of shelves beside it. A broom leaned against the wall. Sabrina looked around, noting the way that the rain didn’t make any sound as it thrashed against the roof and window, and the almost drug-like stupor that threatened to take over her brain, whispering that everything was fine, she was safe, nothing bad could happen to her.

Sabrina had encountered hypnosis before, and it only ever made her more jittery.

There was an open hatch in the floor with stairs that lead into darkness. She followed them down, feeling the air grow cooler with every step. Sabrina was quiet, taking tiny steps on her toes, and wincing when one of the stairs creaked. She didn’t know what was down there, and she didn’t want to find out the hard way. But there were no arrows flying up from the space below, no sounds of footsteps or slashes of swords.

Sabrina stepped onto a dirt floor and let herself exhale, shuffling along until her toe hit something hard. Only seasoned reflexes made her reach for the knife in her pocket instead of crying out in fear. She knelt down and squinted in the darkness, trying to see what she’d hit.

A leg.

She frowned, shaking it until she heard a low growl. “Stop that.” She stopped.

“Who are you?” Sabrina leaned closer. If they hadn’t killed her yet she was probably safe.

Instead of answering, they reached out a hand. Sabrina could see a gold ring on the thumb that glinted in a little sliver of light that had crept down from the room above. “Pull me up,” the figure said. “I’ve been paralyzed by the witch.”

Helping the stranger sit turned out to be no simple feat. They were tall and muscular, wearing a cape and a heavy metal chest plate. “The witch?” she questioned, propping them up against one of the cellar’s dirt walls. Her eyes were beginning to adust to the dark, and she could just make out their sharp chin sticking out as their head lolled back.

The figure made a noise. “The witch, the sorceress, the woman. Whatever you want to call her. I figure she sent you down too?” They snorted. “Good luck. I told Zeus not to sent mortals, but does he ever listen? You’re gonna die.”

Sabrina tried to piece together what she could from all this. The witch must be Circe, unless she’d wound up on an entirely different island. And if Circe was going around paralyzing people, then something must be going on. She must be hiding something. As for the person in front of her, Sabrina wasn’t sure who they were. By the way they talked about Zeus, and casually said “mortals,” she’d guess some sort of god? As if that narrowed it down. She’d have to be careful.

“Why did she paralyze you?”

Another weird gutteral noise. “She didn’t like my offer. It’s not the first time this has happened.”

She was growing impatient. Why’d he have to be so vague? “What?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why he always sends me. I don’t think he trusts me. He’d rather me stay her paralysed in the basement of a witch than come back home.”

Sabrina let out an exasperated sigh. This wasn’t working and she needed answers. A whole coast of people with mythology-shaped holes in their memories awaited her. “You’re going to need to be a little more specific. I don’t think we’re on the same page.”

The figure sounded confused. “What do you mean? Don’t you know who I am?”

She leaned forward and inspected them in the darkness. “No. No I don’t.”

They slid their eyes down to her face. “I am the god Apollo. I came here for Circe and she did this to me.”

“What? Why?”

The stairs creaked behind Sabrina and she felt a long nail drag up her back. “I just want to be left alone,” said a voice as deep and powerful as the smell of red wine. “You don’t mind, do you?” Before Sabrina could grab her knife and turn around, before she could even scream, strong arms had surrounded her shoulders and a hand was clamping a damp cloth over her nose and mouth. Shock made her breath in, sharply, and she smelled the sweetness of sleeping drugs.

A heartbeat, a brief struggle, and Sabrina Starr was gone.

#cruel summer fic #cameron writes #the penderwicks #penderwicks #camp half blood #camp half-blood #rachel elizabeth dare #jane penderwick #rosalind penderwick

[comicteaparty]

February 28th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on February 28th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Zenchav by Draco Plato.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Zenchav by Draco Plato~! (http://khyatix.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Draco Plato

hmmmm

flips through chapters quickly

RebelVampire

just say all the scenes cause as the creator its the one time you can get away with it XD

Draco Plato

I'm sure I have a favorite

shiz everything exists on a neutral plan of emotion

RebelVampire

for my favorite scene im gonna pick that time everyone was pursued by spiky chia pets and oziel and ara argued to the point damian snapped his finger at them and told them to focus.

Draco Plato

I was leaning towards that myself too

RebelVampire

damian did what we all wanted to do deep down in that moment

Draco Plato

yeeeeeah

I love the finger snap

I always enjoy drawing the damon and lyall scenes the most

I like chapter 14 but I think it was a bit hurried seeming overall.

I picked up the pace for webcomic time but I think I should have slowed it down a bit there

that was my favorite chapter to draw recently tho cause damon and lyall

Kabocha

I think... My favorite scene is a toss up. I really liked Nadia and Damon's meeting -- Damon's priorities are basically mine: "OOO SPARKLY" http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume1/ZenchavVolume1#p=98 But I also really liked how crushed Damon was when he burnt up Liberty's body. http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=157 Can't do anything else? Well, at least I can make sure nobody asks too many questions right~?

Draco Plato

aaaaaaaaaaaaah

I have so many mixed feelings about damon burning his daughter's body

like was that a GOOD decision? it's so morbid

I always get a laugh out of that

Kabocha

It felt pretty emotional

and yessss

I really like the first volume a lot, to be honest. The art in it has a lot of character which helps the black and white pop

Draco Plato

yeah I agree! Whenever I re-read it I think the early chapters actually have a lot of charm to them

I used to be really bothered by the flaws but that doesn't really bother me now

Kabocha

Yeah They're cute! And... Damon was... very angsty in volume 2's start

Draco Plato

hahah his brief gangster look

RebelVampire

it was nice to see damon grow up from an innocent boy into angst rage machine into hi everyone im stay at home dad who makes jam

Kabocha

it is pretty fun when you get very... uh... ...I don't know the term but when you pull the expressions pretty far and make them somewhat more cartoony

Draco Plato

yeah! I agree. I think I pushed limits a bit more in the earlier chapters. Honestly I think my disdain for drawing shines through too much now

I mean, it all looks great, lmao

Kabocha

"Oh, I like it when you touch me" -- Sayeth Lyall, volume 2, page 12

Draco Plato

Aaaaaaaaaaah, I feel so awkward about those early scenes

where lyall's feelings start shining through

Kabocha

Lyall honestly just needs anyone's affection

RebelVampire

another scene i like is http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=42 where damon and lyall are flirting sort of and rex just shows hes watching and hes very bored. i think it was a great way to bring rex back in while also paying off on all that tension buildup of him coming back.

Draco Plato

he just needs damon's affection

Kabocha

...Damon's hair is also kinda kelpie-ish, so I meaaaaaaaan

Draco Plato

yeah I liked that scene too!! and that's true, I hadn't thought he looked a bit like kelpie there

I'm kinda with what Dark said about wtf is going on with his hair in chapter 5

like yep, that's why it lasted a very short time that look

oh i remember my fave scene now

Kabocha

What did Dark say?

Draco Plato

i need to find it

she wasn't a fan of the chapter 5 damon hair, which I agree with since I'm not a fan of it either

Kabocha

I don't dislike it, he just seems very... ...high stress right now

RebelVampire

i like to think damon's early life is characterized by phases. you got the angst phase, the emo phase, the cute kid phase, the weird flirt with your uncle phase

Kabocha

all business, no play

Draco Plato

there it is, the scene that always haunts me in re reads

oh that's true Rebel, it very much is

Kabocha

cough There's inappropriate jokes that one could make about coming in handy

But I'm not going to make them tonight

Draco Plato

I just...that line in retrospect is so BAD

Kabocha

But it's Lyall~

Draco Plato

i think that's the only time he really had pedo bear vibes

maybe not the only but the biggest

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume2/ZenchavVolume2#p=38 This page, Lyall's like... "This woman's going to kill me, Damon, and everyone in this neighborhood"

Draco Plato

there's also that time

Kabocha

What does Nadia do, anyway? Is she actually a mob boss? I know she's gonna be different in the upcoming video, but... >:D

Draco Plato

Lyall thinking she's a homewrecker there ruining his chance at future happiness as Damon's husbando

Yeah she's the head of her mafia

her backstory is actually the same as the animated version but without the interference

https://youtu.be/gGdGFtwCNBE

that's my song for lyall in chapter five

Kabocha

"I feel like I've known her" -- "Oh, yeah, last time around, she tried to kill you a buncha times, and I heard she's gonna do it again."

Draco Plato

wheeeeezes

Kabocha

"Also, she's your sister. Or will be. Different lives and all."

Draco Plato

It just gets worse

#TrueLove

Kabocha

I wonder what their entanglements were like in previous lives >:D

RebelVampire

you know what other scene i like? this scene http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume2/ZenchavVolume2#p=48 where lyall tells damon he didnt love liberty. partly cause it was cute seeing damon be this angsty adult and get hit with the reality stick in such a way hes still little boy shocked that this is a thing that could happen. and it was also nice cause lyall revealed something in an angry outburst and thus one more truth was added to the truth pile

Draco Plato

i really should have made a chart for Nadia's lives, the main one I know that has her and Damon together before that life is when she was Lili's sister

Oh Oh I like that scene too!!

Kabocha

I would be interested in seeing Lili's sister

and aaaaaaaaaaaaa, yes. Lyall: Truth teller in bad situations

Draco Plato

I can always feel a mini heart attack when Lyall says he didn't love her

cause I know how much that hurts damon

Kabocha

"you made my mother a whore and you didn't even CARE?"

Draco Plato

Lili's sister doesn't have much to her, she married Muir at the same time as Lili but ended up leaving and letting Lili and Muir be alone

Damon was too pure then, lol(edited)

he was really hung up on the sleeping with his mom thing for a long time

Kabocha

I can't blame him, especially if he thought it was gonna damn Liberty to hell

but nope, just ends up with her coming back one day as a cute smol girl

Also... Lyall has no last name. JUST TAKE DAMON'S! nau

Where did the nickname Sha come from by the way?

Draco Plato

actually why didn't he take Liberty's last name

Oh!!! Lol nobody has ever asked before

She wanted to call him a shark but he lacks the bite so she dropped the k

looking back on this nickname it doesn't make much sense lmao

I think it originates from an earlier version that made more sense

RebelVampire

i like to think that lyall not taking a last name was his way of rejecting the permanence of their situation. but also not having a last name sounds helpful when in the mob. "Hey Joe you gonna kill that Lyall fellow we were ordered to kill?" "Which Lyall?" "I don't know man. Let's just pick one."

Draco Plato

truuuuue

altho how common a name is Lyall

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

"but joe theres like 20 other lyalls" "just kill them all"

Draco Plato

LOL

omg XD

Kabocha

It soon became the great Lyall purge of 1930

Draco Plato

Lyall: I don't have a last name because I'm waiting to marry you and take yours

Kabocha

Lyall probably used that pickup line a few times

"I don't have a last name, but why don't I borrow yours for the night~?"

Draco Plato

ffffft

sadly i don't think that's one he'd use since it's rather personal to him

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

also i'm not sure what y favorite scene is theres a lot of them lol

Draco Plato

it's okay, my mind went blank too

and I should know all the scenes

Kabocha

pick a volume, flip through, find your favorite

Draco Plato

i know cali's fave

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

which one

LMAO

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. As shown in the comic, Apus has been going on quite a recruiting spree. How do you think Damian will adjust to his new life situation, especially after what happened? How will Damian deal with Damon joining the Demon Council? What do you think the story is with Firosofi and Euripides? Will they adjust to their life there and will the others adjust to them? Will recruiting Draco go smoothly, or will matters be complicated because of Draco’s situation with B.I.T.E.? What do you think is up with Earth suddenly recruiting so many demons and non-humans all at once? Lastly, do you think Amai will learn to do field work, and how might it change her?

Draco Plato

i'mma delete that one for gore tho

Kabocha

Damian's going to angst a lot when he finds out his dad's on the Demon council. And then be like "MY FATHER BETRAYED US" And worry a lot. And continue to be grumpy until he becomes older Damian.

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i feel like damian will go crazy and become numb to all the weirdness

and then take wizard drugs

become damon

Kabocha

But also they're just gonna ship him off to the future to hang out with his dad, soooo

Draco Plato

i feel like these questions would have been good for me to ponder before writing

OoO spoils Damian's immediate future, lolol

Kabocha

Ooop, Damian, you're gonna sleep with that hot bird-brained nurse~

Draco Plato

why is the Earth recruiting all these people, I just figured apus was understaffed

aaaaaah that spoiler!!!

their romance took a flight

Kabocha

It definitely did... You could say their hearts fluttered like little wings

Draco Plato

Vivi was born from a little egg

not that it's relevant but it's cute

RebelVampire

i like to think Earth just felt like it. was bored and said "you know what would be funny? is if i put all these demons at apus and force the people i 'hired' to get along with them. this sounds like a fun social experiment."

Draco Plato

I mean I feel that's about as hard as she thought about it

but now I feel I should think of a good reason and make it seem like I had something deep behind it

Kabocha

Vivi was born from an egg, eh? :3

I'm kind of curious now

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

plot twist, apus is just earth's ant farm but with people and demons

Draco Plato

yuuuuuus

omg XD

anytime someone mentions an antfarm I remember the one my bro had, where all the ants came dead except one and that one ant worked hard to bury all the other ants(edited)

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

rip ant

burying it's brethren

Draco Plato

antfarms are SAD

just burying all your dead kin

symbolically damon will be the ant

and we'll pretend this was a metaphor

Kabocha

Apus as an ant farm? I guess The Earth hasn't changed. She's just gonna try to burn it next time Damon shows up

Draco Plato

nah tho, Apus is meant to protect the earth

probably

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

maybe

we just dont know

Draco Plato

but she allows the demon council too

and is an aid to rex

so the earth plays both teams

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

news reporter interviews the earth "Miss earth? why did you create apus?" "lol idk i just wanted to"

RebelVampire

ya know consider earth talks to both sides, its more like these are her little play soldiers and she got more from the store so she could have an epic battle.

Kabocha

Cadence got her planet in the end

Draco Plato

baaaasically

her being the earth is totally karma for having made a planet

and not being it's planet seed

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i just imagined like a fight going on and someone jumping at someone

but in realityits just earth throwing one of her play soldiers at another one

Kabocha

She doesn't seem to hate it at least. She's probably like, "heh, I'll show you whose Karma fucked them up"

Draco Plato

muahahaha

I think the rational was that she wanted to see which side would win out

the planet itself is neither good nor evil, a neutral party

if a planet becomes totally good or totally evil it will end

because it must exist within duality

so that makes me think her ultimate goal would be to make it either totally good or totally evil so that it can die

since that would be freedom in a sense for her soul

Yes, beautiful, perfect earth

she don't care which time wins, just so long as someone does

Kabocha

YEP

she finally got it

a shame Samantha couldn't think big tho

Draco Plato

so much of Soul Hymn is still in the air tbh, especially with Sam

Kabocha

unless she's working with Decebal...

Draco Plato

cause I thought it'd be fun to make her more of an important baddie

Kabocha

"Yeah, I'll let you be the planet seed if you help me out*

Draco Plato

fffffft, being a planet seed is the last thing she wants

Kabocha

Sam wasn't really listening, she heard "You get a planet"

Draco Plato

it may be fun if sam is an antagonist to both erik and decebal

since if she regains her powers she'd be quite a formidable foe

RebelVampire

maybe lets bring the topic back to zenchav at this point XD

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

"you get a planet and you get a planet"

Draco Plato

Decebal becomes Oprah

Damian will not be pleased Damon joined the DC

nope

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

but hey he gets to spend time with his daddy

i guess

Draco Plato

I actually don't know if they'll ever meet face to face during that time tho

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

O_O

damon and rex i mean

lmao

Draco Plato

LOL

Damon is so happy about that, yeeeeah

RebelVampire

my question implied damian adjusts at all. which i would argue damian doesnt adjust to anything. just sits in eternal grump land.

hey

damon got new clothes already

id say thats a great dad

Draco Plato

LOL you make an excellent point Rebel

but they're not blue see, they have to be blue, so he's sad

Kabocha

Question: Will we get to see Mr. Philosophy get a sword

Draco Plato

Yes!

Kabocha

YES

Draco Plato

Firo has two swords

RebelVampire

i think Amai will be fine with field work cause firo can do all the heavy lifting metaphorically speaking. or ya know he could sip tea and wave at her from afar

Draco Plato

Firo actually can't kill anyone because it would be too kind a death for them

Kabocha

Then he gets to be mad at Dakin and Amai all the time :3

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

one to put jam on his toast and the other to poke things

Draco Plato

this is true, firo will do way more heavy lifting than Amai

buuuuut Amai will probably have plant powers like Dakin

which wasn't in the story originally so tentatively she'll be a bit more bad ass when she awakens to that

firo doesn't get mad

RebelVampire

by that implication amai doesnt know she has the plant powers?

Draco Plato

if firo gets mad that's gotta be something really really bad

nah Amai thinks she has no powers atm

she's been very sheltered

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

would he get mad if someone cut him off on the freeway

Kabocha

bwahahahaha

Draco Plato

No O_O

Kabocha

WHAT

he is inhuman!

Draco Plato

He got mad once as a kid tho

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

say if it isnt so

Draco Plato

kid cut off his ponytail

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

off with his head

Draco Plato

yus O_O you don't touch Firo's hair

but he probably wouldn't get mad at that now

but there is a time when he will get mad

maybe more than one

Kabocha

He didn't even get mad when his life was threatened, so

I mean

he's a pretty chill dude

RebelVampire

will it be at damon for damon being a little rex puppet murderer?

Kabocha

I almost wrote "Chill dad" and then I was like

"naaaaaaaaaah"

Draco Plato

oh firo having his life threatened was like a tuesday, no biggie

nah he won't get mad at damon

EveryoneLovesDamon

RebelVampire

Firo: I'm not mad at you, Damon. Just disappointed.

Draco Plato

YES!

that'll happen

Damon: But I looooove him father

/shot

RebelVampire

damon goes home and rex tells him the same thing, that hes not mad, just disappointed. only then rex kills some kid or something.

Draco Plato

Rex just makes Damon's wounds heal slower

when he's mad at him

RebelVampire

you know

thats a lot more tame then i realistically expected

good on rex

Kabocha

sorry, I got distracted reading OoO again

Poor Damian

Draco Plato

yeah, damon is the fave

RebelVampire

slightly less of a jackass than he couldve been

Draco Plato

ffffft, that's a good reason to get distracted, lol

Rex to damon's other siblings is pretty swift to kill

so they have to tip toe a lot more

I think Damian is pretty lucky

got to go to school in the future, meet all those kooky people

damian at apus is interesting tho since there's more reasons than just damon at the DC he's sour about

RebelVampire

on the otherhand, he got to go to school and meet all those kooky people and deal with a huge jump in technology and his dad being a wizard. it may perhaps contribute to the grump.

you mean like liberty being dead O_O

Draco Plato

nervous laughter

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

shes fine

its just jam

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. In recent events, Damon has been forced by his father to join the Demon Council. What activities do you think Damon will be doing for the Demon Council? Will Damon manage to fit in there, or will he stick out too much? Will he at least be able to get along with his new sister Theia? As time passes, do you think Damon will come to agree with Rex’s ideals? Or, do you think he’ll stay steadfast in his own beliefs? Do you think Damon will find out Damian is alive and with Apus? How might this change his actions in the future? Also, how might his relationship with Lyall change him? Do you think Rex will keep his promise of not hurting Lyall? Finally, will Damon reconnect with Purusha’s life to escape the darkness?

Kabocha

wait, I'm mis-remembering things... Who is Dakin's dad XD

Draco Plato

Firosofi

Amai is his mom

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

firosofi more like

Draco Plato

sorta

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

firosofty

Draco Plato

it's complicated

wheeps

was so surprised when there was a Firo in Baccano

https://tenor.com/view/firo-playing-baccano-gif-11864371

RebelVampire

#spoilers

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i think rex will make damon think hes gonna make him do really bad stuff, but he just makes him sit down and play chess all day

Draco Plato

Rex: Damon, I want you to be the greatest chess master to ever live. Damon: Father....I hate to break it to you but that's never going to happen, I'm an idiot.

damon can probably play chess

RebelVampire

maybe damon will get super good at chess cause chess is half just about remembering the patterns and knowing the best move for each pattern.

and damon can make little dresses for the chess pieces

Draco Plato

ffffft

Kabocha

Lyall would make very pretty chess pieces

Draco Plato

Lyall is very good at chess

Kabocha

Damon would make them regal clothing, befitting their stations in life

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

rex walks in sees his chess set all mangled with pretty dresses

Draco Plato

damon says plz he's not that much of a loser

weeps

I think Damon's ideals already died long ago

he mostly just wants to not die and not have Lyall die

probably

Kabocha

he'll get better one day

Draco Plato

when he goes insane

What will damon be doing at the DC ponders

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

eat donuts

Draco Plato

a mystery

RebelVampire

hes gonna make up for lost time. go on fishing trips with rex. fight over a stuffed animal with theia, etc. etc.

Draco Plato

Damon can't taste donuts tho

€heshire777

Nggh, I missed it

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

plot twist DC means donut council

Draco Plato

omg XD

€heshire777

Oops

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

yer right on time cheshire

Draco Plato

oh yeah, him and Theia will wrestle all right

RebelVampire

we still have an hour left to go

€heshire777

Too bad I didn't read all of it...

Draco Plato

that's okay~!

it is 400 something pages

€heshire777

I usally do tho

Ah well

Draco Plato

no worries~

Kabocha

Well, that's fine Cheshire! You can chime in about what you did read

or are you just here to talk about how much you didn't?

€heshire777

I'll talk! I confess!

Kabocha

https://giphy.com/gifs/the-simpsons-excellent-mr-burns-8fen5LSZcHQ5O

So, I think it'll be interesting going forward, to see what happens more with Firo and his buddies -- mostly because I read the original draft once upon a time, and Amai is very dear to me. XD I wanna see her do more stuff! Yell at her mom! Ask Pavonis why he's such a stick in the mud

RebelVampire

its also fine to just live read and comment your feelings as you read, @€heshire777 ~!

Draco Plato

awwww, I'll make sure to put her in more knowing that ;3;

Kabocha

So uh, is Pavo's original... backstory... still valid

Draco Plato

yus I think so

Kabocha

wherein he was so in love with Earth and...

cackle

RebelVampire

you cant just ask pavo why he's a stick in the mud. mostly because i expect itll wind up like that time he tried to explain apus to damian and damian was just like "whaaaaat"

Draco Plato

he lived in ancient greece sometime

LOL

Pavonis: You know what, you're clearly not going to get this, go see the nurse

Kabocha

Pavonis has no middle ground either. Either he's with Earth and Apus, or he's a demon, helping Rex commit atrocities.

Draco Plato

pavonis has a really really thin line between good and evil

pavonis would be evil for the earth

he wouldn't second guess it

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Specials/ZenchavSpecials#p=64 I see you, Sotiris (http://khyatix.com/world <- see the dark reddish brown-life)

Draco Plato

loooooool

i really like that special

and it's plot based too

but sotiris looks like a freakin chef there

I keep wanting to do more with Minos, now that they're at the DC I'm hoping I can have him show up

RebelVampire

i do think thats the best of the specials. just cause it was nice to see lyall before he became a bitter old house wife who was jilted by rex.

yes

do that

cause with this special in mind i want to see minos and lyall interact

Kabocha

Yeah! I wanna see what's happened to Minos -- Rex didn't kill him for that but I do wonder what he'd have done to him

RebelVampire

cause for lyall its been eons, for minos probably not that many eons

Draco Plato

yeah!! it actually hasn't been that long for Minos since lyall was pregnant with rex's kids

before then Lyall and Minos used to whore around together

Kabocha

Rex disappears for a few minutes, comes back with Lyall and an extremely scarred Damon

Draco Plato

i mean they never slept with each other but they'd pick up women together

YEP

It's actually probably been a few years since Theia got there

but between rex dropping lyall off and picking damon up that's probably a few days at the DC

if Rex bothered to wait, which I think he did cause he changed his clothes

but in one of my stories that may just be an hour later

Kabocha

Rex goes to get some tea

remembers, "Oh yeah, I should pick up Lyall."

Draco Plato

and change my clothes while I'm at it :>

/shot

that's just damon tho

probably

altho rex is pretty fashionable

Kabocha

Hehehe

So anyway, there's reincarnations, time travel shenanigans, and lots and lots of suffering for Damon.

RebelVampire

the changing clothes is just part of their genes. encoded on their dna.

Kabocha

And we're just getting started

Draco Plato

Lyall can do that

he often makes clothes with his powers

since he can make any organic material so he makes it soft like fabric

RebelVampire

maybe its a rule in the DC. no outfit is allowed to be worn for over 3 hours.

Draco Plato

nah, that's the rule in OoO

7 times damon?!?

if it's a joke nobody will blame the creator for clothing ADD

RebelVampire

i wonder if therell be a love triangle between damon, lyall, and minos.

Kabocha

Oh my

Draco Plato

Oh nooooooo

minos is an asshole so probably not

amongst other reasons

but alternatively will sotiris and theia ever have a thing

Kabocha

https://giphy.com/gifs/jaw-drop-oooooh-6FymBmqKeBrl6

Draco Plato

I honestly don't know atm

RebelVampire

well theyd at least be a sexy pairing

and lyall could make "hey stop touching my daughter maybe" faces

Kabocha

Having read Out of Order, I kind of can't wait to find out about how Damon and Claire meet in this life. I've heard rumors that it is ... bordering on "not good"

Draco Plato

oooooooh, it's fun!

I really like randolph and claire at apus

they were actually with each other longer than they were with damon

not as a couple of course

and Damian is older than both of them, lolol

well maybe not randolph, i dunno, it's a toss up

RebelVampire

one day after many people die, damian will sit there going "wait a second im the older person here"

Kabocha

Randolph and Claire were a duo?

Draco Plato

oh gawd no

but they both worked at Apus together

Claire was raised there from age 13 and Randolph took care of security

Randolph had his own room that he stayed in almost exclusively but people have to visit him cause he's the techno master

uh room being where all his security systems are

claire was a field worker though

so basically claire and damian would visit him and bicker

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. An ominous tone seems to be setting in on the future. What do you think Pavonis meant in saying that Firosofi’s arrival signaled “certain things were set into motion?” Does it have something to do with the declaration of war that Oziel claimed recruiting Damian would be? Is it something else entirely that has more to do with Firosofi, Damon, or someone else? Of the characters we’ve met, who in Apus and who in the Demon Council do you think will clash first? What do you think will happen? Overall, do you think the conflicts between Apus and the Demon Council will ever be solved? As a last bonus, what time periods do you think we’ll see in the comic considering it involves time travel?

Kabocha

Firosofi's going to take over the story soon, and we're gonna see him go face down his destiny... And reclaim his last name...

X

..................No?

RebelVampire

wait wait

this is why lyall didnt have a last name

theyre going on the quest together

Kabocha

Firosofi X and Lyall WHY

Draco Plato

fffffffffft

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

and something Z

Draco Plato

will they ever even meet

who knows

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

o wait zenchav

Draco Plato

muahahah

what time periods would people want to see

Kabocha

There we go. The mysteries of the plot, explained.

Draco Plato

i have some up in the air atm

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

cavemen

Draco Plato

LOL

dies

Kabocha

I'd honestly like to see some mid-2000s Damon. Baggy jeans, Anime hair... Debating who's better: Trunks or Vegeta

Draco Plato

That we will see!!

already in there

Kabocha

(It's totally Trunks, by the way.)

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

damon: ugga ugg lyall: ugga ugga damon: ugh >_>

€heshire777

Steampunk Damon

Draco Plato

I do love trunks but i love vegeta too

steampunk would be pretty awesome

I think I can do that

Kabocha

Damon WOULD go for a Steampunk aesthetic

Draco Plato

he totally would

He's going to have a hell of a motorcycle collection, lol

Kabocha

Next world they go to in OoO will be a steampunk world, totally

Draco Plato

Claire's original clothing aesthetic was supposed to be steampunk too

but it looked too out of place

that'd be good for OoO tho, i'll think about it for that

cause I have it kind of wide open atm for where it's going

oh I know where i can fit steampunk into Zen

muahahah

€heshire777

Goth

RebelVampire

i cant think of a good time period so im just gonna go with ancient egypt. where someone can sneak into a tomb and write a message in the hopes it confuses the heck out of future archaeologists

Draco Plato

goth will be in the animated version!

ancient egypt would be interesting, I hadn't considered that

i remember an older version I had them live in ancient persia for awhile

Kabocha

YES

Ancient Persia would be awesome!

€heshire777

Chinese?

Kabocha

Some of the clothing they have in pseudo-historical Bollywood films... it's so pretty

Draco Plato

Chinese would be good too!! I was just appreciating their clothing the other day

true!!!

Damon will go to india at one point

Kabocha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7K4vGYL9zI Allow me to share this song with you

Draco Plato

!!!! I LOVE THAT SONG

that actor does such a good job in that movie too

RebelVampire

thats good damon gets to go to india. i think it will suit him ;3;

€heshire777

Caveman?

Kabocha

It also fits the overall reincarnation theme, too, I think

Draco Plato

cavemen would be so weird XD

€heshire777

I like weird

RebelVampire

if lyall went with him, cavemen would murder him cause thats 0 tech zone

Draco Plato

oh yeah, that's right Firo is from India too

Lyall says that sounds like where Rex would send him

€heshire777

Ok, and lost you again...

Kabocha

Firosofi's one of the recently introduced characters -- he's more clearly introduced here: http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=63

€heshire777

That's just about where I'm at

Draco Plato

oh yeah~!

he's also Haranasa

€heshire777

If you say so...

Kabocha

Well, Draco would be the one to say so... as the creator

RebelVampire

are we going to get to see oziel more? i need more oziel spunk in my life.

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=80

Draco Plato

coughs I'm honestly not sure what Oziel's future is in the story atm

but I can add him more if you want

I know some other people liked him too

ah both names at once there, lolol

€heshire777

Who was that again? (edited)

RebelVampire

more i just think theres potential between him and damian. cause of the whole ya know, you got my sister murdered

Draco Plato

that fellow is oziel

€heshire777

ah

He's cool

Draco Plato

yeah I agree Rebel, I've been thinking that should be explored more too

I always like Oziel's hair

Kabocha

I like Ara better

Draco Plato

fun fact he was in a wheelchair for a portion of his life

Kabocha

and I wanna know what the fuck Ara did to get his future lives the way he did XD

Draco Plato

LOL

Kabocha

(But this... is not... in Zenchav yet... I'm speaking partly about stuff that I know that is... spoilers...)

OK Draco, Draco

Draco Plato

Ara ara ara, ahahah

Kabocha

if you could pick one character that's not Damon to make super sparkly

who would you choose

Draco Plato

Firo~

€heshire777

Atlantis would be cool

Draco Plato

Firo was originally the main

Atlantis is a great idea

yeah I can use atlantis

Kabocha

atlantis would be cool

€heshire777

I'll just keep suggesting stuff as long as you'll let me

Moon base

Draco Plato

loooooool, would be too sailor moon

Kabocha

DRACO I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE SO MUCH COOL STUFF

Draco Plato

awwwwww ;3;

I really want more firo now

I never get to draw him

but i'll be in the most recent chapter

€heshire777

Norse?

Viking era?

Draco Plato

That's a good idea too, I could do that

I used to love Norse mythology

altho marvel kinda eeeeehed me a bit to it

even tho i like marvel

€heshire777

Yeah. same

Marvel nut

Draco Plato

me too

well....I haven't read all the comics

cause there's ALOT

€heshire777

Oop, cell service

Bye

RebelVampire

i was just about say draco, youre gonna be stuck drawing firo for quite a while now in this upcoming arc.

XD

Draco Plato

laters, Cheshire :3

Not as much as I'd like cause he mostly stands in the BG

which means I'll cut him out of panels a lot for drawing time

buuuut I think the chapter after he really stands out

and tbf shading his hair sucks so much

RebelVampire

this almost sounds creepy. draco and amai talking in the forefront, firo just in the background of the shot smiling at the reader all the time, as if to say i see you.

Draco Plato

that'd be so in character for Firo XD

this is why he can't be the MC

actually I think most of it is Draco talking to his peeps tho

buuuuuut

I dunno maybe I'll add in more firo

cause him just standing there in the BG of chapter 13 was kinda lame too

RebelVampire

maybe he and draco can at least share a warm hug

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i wanna see them hug

:y

Draco Plato

>w> well that will probably happen

draco can leap onto him in a bear hug

Kabocha

Hugs for everyone!

RebelVampire

i cannot picture this bear hug. although i can picture euri and amai being like wtf

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END! Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Draco Plato, as well, for making Zenchav. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Draco Plato’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read the Comic: http://khyatix.com/

Draco Plato’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/khyatix

Draco Plato’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/KhyatiX

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #zenchav #draco plato #dracoplato #khyatix