#I said both show Gabe and book Gabe are abusive

[ofswordsandpens]

Okay compiling my most critical opinions on the pjo show so far (episodes 1 & 2)

The Gods' Conflict, Foreshadowing, & Big Three Kids

The show has seemingly dropped a lot of the foreshadowing and threat regarding the gods impending war over the theft of the lightning bolt. In the book, Percy remarks about how the weather's been inexplicably weird and extreme. When he gets to camp everyone is on pins and needles about something and they don't want to talk about it but its still very present. By the time he's claimed as a son of Poseidon and everyone's like "oh fuck" and then Chiron finally explains to Percy that the gods think he's the lightning thief, everything clicks into place for the reader. It all makes sense why everything seems so wrong... because things are wrong. Meanwhile in the show, that doesn't carry through as much, so the reveal of the conflict between the gods and why that's a big deal falls flat in comparison imo.

They dropped/stalled the foreshadowing of the fates and the cutting of the string. They could very well include this in future episodes, and probably will, but I think the timing of it - Percy seeing this before he even knew he was a demigod - again carries some hefty significance and helped set the foreboding tone of things being wrong even from the beginning.

They did drop Zeus's attack on Percy in the minotaur battle completely, which does disappoint me. In the book, its lightning that blasts the car off the road. In the show, Sally seemingly loses control of the car. That change is pretty significant, because it's again losing the power of RR's foreshadowing in the book. The attack on Percy outside the camp borders was a duel attack from Zeus and Hades.

Finally, I don't like the changes they made to Percy's claiming scene, namely, the reaction from the rest of CHB. Percy being a son of Poseidon is a huge deal. When Percy's claimed, the attitude is very much begrudging reverence paired with genuine fear of what it means and what he represents. In the book, Percy is claimed. People gasp. Everyone kneels. Annabeth says, "This is really not good." In the show, Percy is claimed. People... stand there? Annabeth smiles - she's going to get her quest. The only person who has the most outright negative reaction is Luke. I won't go so far to say this is out of character for Annabeth, but it is focusing on an entirely different aspect of her character in the moment, and what the audience gets from Percy's claiming scene here, the tone, is now different from the book. Basically, the reverence and fear don't really carry across to the show, which I think is important.

The phrase "forbidden child" slaps tho.

2. Gabe's Characterization, Sally's Characterization, & Why the Changes do Make a Difference

I'm going to say this with great care: The show has absolutely depicted an abusive relationship between Sally and Gabe. The show has shown Sally to be a strong woman who would do anything for her child. The show has shown Gabe to be a controlling, toxic man.

What they have depicted in the show does not read like the characters and dynamic in the books.

Book Gabe is a violent, menacing drunk. He is so disgusting and vile that monsters avoid him. This is overwhelmingly apparent from the second Percy gets home in the book, even before he is aware of the physical abuse Sally has been facing. Percy has already been dealing with physical abuse from him, amongst other things (edit to be more specific: this is including verbal, emotional, & financial abuse). I've already spoke to it here, in-depth, so I'll try to keep it short but all of this has not been translated accurately to the screen. (Is this to say that a person must be overtly abusive to be abusive? No. But does this character on-screen feel like Smelly Gabe? No.) These things have shaped Percy (and Sally) in very specific ways. As others have mentioned: Percy cannot stand alcohol. He meets Dionysus and is reminded of his step-father. He gets to Tartarus and the air reminds him of Gabe.... The character on screen, while abusive, does not share this presence at all, and that makes a difference.

Edit: To emphasize once more, I am not saying that the show has not depicted a realistic portrayal of abuse. It has (verbal, emotional, & financial so far). It has also distinctly changed the tone and Gabe's presence from the book, to the extent that it no longer feels like the same character and that does have a rippling effect on the dynamics he shares with both Sally and Percy.

3. The Lack of Annabeth

Annabeth in the show is just like... really not as present as she is in the book so far, and I'm just kinda like, why lol?

Annabeth in the books is already way more involved in Percy's life. She was in the infirmary feeding Percy ambrosia after the attack (ulterior quest motives lol), she's the one who lead Percy around camp and re-explained godly parentage to him - and its a moment where she's very sincere with him, and even trying to help him! Instead these moments are given to Chiron and Luke, which I do get the merit of, but still, these were her moments!

Annabeth in the books had already surmised that the gods were fighting, something was stolen, and the something bad was going to happen, all before Percy had even been claimed. And she shared that with him! Again, the loss of foreshadowing and little bonding moments has me :(

I'm a little worried how they're going to deal with her crush on Luke because its pretty central to her character in the books! It helps Luke to manipulate her and also keeps her from admitting he's done something wrong. Also, it was very sweet and funny reading her get flustered - It drove home the point that she was just a kid with a crush that she didn't know how to handle. But in the show Luke spoke to her and I was expecting there to be some sort of reaction to it and there just... wasn't? (This is not something I'm laying at Leah's feet btw! Only the writers/directors!) We're only two episodes in tho so maybe we'll see it some more moving forward.

4. The Minotaur Battle

Again, I've already spoken about this in depth here but !!

The lack of Zeus's lightning strike, them all coming to a standstill and just chatting instead of running for their lives, Grover being awake and just sort of off to the side watching the fight, Sally being like "Promise Me Grover Swear it"... it all just doesn't ring right to me

I wanted more panic, more terror, more urgency. Higher stakes. I wanted Grover unconscious, I wanted to see Percy drag him into camp, and I wanted to see more of Percy's grief alongside his rage. Like the book did.

The pacing in the show here, and just overall, is weird

5. Other Stuff

Mrs. Dodds fight kind of fell flat too. It was honestly too sudden and Percy killing her in the show seemed even more accidental than in the book lol. Like, accidental impalement vs intentional swing of the sword.

They really had show Grover throw Percy to the wolves and not just gaslight him, but low-key have a part in getting him expelled? Not sure how I feel about it tbh.

More New York. I wish we had gotten the part of Percy taking the bus home with Grover included cause like? Him ditching Grover was funny, but it would have been the perfect opportunity to show Percy traveling through New York and establish it has his home. Shots of him looking at the city, walking the streets, interacting with people near his building.. yeah.

More Montauk too tbh. Like more shots of him and Sally on the beach rather than just the cabin.

Nectar and Ambrosia! Unless I missed it, which I might have, why have we still not gotten an onscreen depiction of it yet lmao.

#I'll add more tags/thoughts to this later lmao but! #pjo adaptation #pjo #percy jackson #pjo show crit #had to expand more on Gabe cause im already getting comments like: /you know there's more abuse than physical right?/ #yes #I never said there wasnt #I never said that was the only form of abuse percy and sally faced #I said both show Gabe and book Gabe are abusive #but its played differently #tone wise #presence wise #and that matters

[autism-alley]

augh i have not even seen the newest pjo episode yet but just from glancing at a few posts on my dash i’m already worried and mostly abt sally :/

was talking w bestie abt this the other day and how movie sally… is actually… gasp.. way more book accurate than show sally, who exists in a version the author himself sold to his audience on being a faithful book adaptation. with the grain of salt that book accurate physical descriptions came second to the show actors’ abilities to capture the characters… movie sally is more accurate on both these fronts. she exudes this warmth, this kindheartedness through her weariness. you get the impression that her life has left a lasting impression on her, but nothing can squash her love for her son. she’s not just a strong woman, she’s a strong woman who wants better for her child than what she has, even when the odds against him are even higher.

someone said the show has this implication that book and movie sally’s quiet rebellion and endurance against gabe was lesser than sally outright defying gabe and that rly hit the nail on the head. abuse survivors are not out here having their girlboss stick-it-to-the-man moment by openly sassing and epically owning™️ their abuser and just walking away like nothing happened. and it’s clear at one point, rick knew this. in the books and movie sally was visibly afraid of gabe, and that only made her resistance that much more meaningful. we understand she’s not in a place to leave him, even if we don’t yet know why.

but show sally just putting her foot down when it comes to the show’s watered-down wet blanket of a man that is supposed to be gabe, we have to ask ourselves why she’s still here. obviously the answer is to protect percy, but there’s no sense that she is putting herself in harm’s way to protect her son. her entire character and storyline is cheapened bc… what? she’s not as good of a mom if her son sees her unable to defend herself? not as likeable?

rubbing my temples rn idk idk idk but just based on what we saw in episodes 1 and 2…. not particularly high hopes for episode 7. but! will update once i have the time 2 watch

#pjo show crit #percy jackson #sally jackson #gabe ugliano #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo tv show #percy jackson tv show #pjo show #pjo show ep 7 #ris raves

[zephyrwynd]

Let's Talk About Gabe Ugliano for a minute.

Percy show is out, I saw it, then had a mental breakdown.

More under the cut

So let's like. Let's talk about Gabe for a minute. Is Gabe Ugliano as bad as he is in the books? No. He isn't. Is Gabe Ugliano more likable in the show than in the movie.

No! No, he isn't! I'm not sure where the Fandom is coming from with "Gabe is actually likable now" - that's just the actor being really good at acting?

Gabe in the books was what I like to call Aggressive Abusive - he openly threatens Percy, is an ass to Sally, all sorts of nasty. I hate him. Makes him getting turned to stone extremely satisfying.

But then in the show version, Gabe is more tame. Sally has back and forth with him. They watch the Knicks together. That's not abusive! That's just jerk behavior! He said please, he's not abusive!

You're right. He's not Aggressive Abusive, he's a new kind of monster - the Charismatic Abuser. While not as overtly abusive as he was in the books, Gabe Ugliano is a new kind of ugly. He's nice to the most minimal degree. So what ARE his abusive traits that we DO see?

He puts all the financial burden on Sally

He answers Sally's phone, meaning Sally doesn't have the right to privacy.

He neglects to care about Percy's education.

He gambles away his money on Fantasy Poker and, I assume, horse racing - adding more financial strain to Sally.

When Sally mentions they're leaving to Montauk, there's this "When did I approve you leaving to Montauk." back and forth, to which he only relents when Sally agrees to give him food.

On the food thing, it's a Demand at first, then he sarcastically throws in a Please to get what he wants.

It's a more nuanced take on abuse than presented in the novels, sanitized for modern Disney audiences and also in line with the show's theme of "when is a monster a monster, when is a hero a hero." Many people think this is to add nuance to Medusa and do an Oops All Redemption Arcs but I think it's different than that.

I think Gabe will end up getting petrified because it's such an important story beat for both Percy and Sally. Sally has more agency than her book counterpart, but she doesn't have more power. She doesn't sucker up to Gabe, but she's still trapped in that relationship because of what that relationship means for Percy (remember, Gabe is protecting them with his human stench).

My dad wasn't overtly abusive to my mom. We never saw if he hit her or not - but I noticed bruises. The abuse was more towards me. My mom had agency in that dynamic but not power. You don't have to act like a complete monster to be abusive. He took us to Disney World, gave us Nintendo consoles, took us to see every Marvel movie in the world. He also neglected me, favored my brother, put unrealistic expectations on me, and I think he's the reason why my mind is so shattered at this point.

You don't have to be a complete monster, certain people just need to see you that way.

An aside about Sally Jackson:

People are saying Sally's character is completely ruined because of Gabe being nicer. Sally isn't defined by Gabe's abuse. She's defined by her resilience despite the abuse. She's defined by her resilience, her kindness to Percy, her defiance in the face of unwavering challenges. Reducing her character in The Lightning Theif to just "a victim of Gabe's abuse" sits so unwell with me. This is Sally "a queen amongst mortals" Jackson. Sally "observe as I fuck up the armies of Kronos with my shotgun" Jackson. Let's not reduce her to JUST a victim of Gabe's shit.

Anyways percy show 9.6/10 - what's with the cuts to black I don't get it

#percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #percy show #zephyr talks movies #zephyr talks percy #sally jackson #gabe ugliano #pjo tv series #pjo

[coffee-with-mint-syrup]

Look, I didn't want to be "that" person

who criticizes something just because "it was different in the books".

But I love PJO just way too much to not feel frustrated at the tendencies of modern adaptations that I think new series is suffering from. And I feel much more frustrated because in others aspects the new show is great.

First of all, what's with this downplayed brutality of PJO world? The moment Sally started her speech about Perseus I smelled trouble. In her story, in her reasoning she named him after Perseus because of this beautiful story where happy ending is just something that happens. While in the books thats a huge deal that Percy is named after THE ONLY HALF-BLOOD HERO that had that happy ending. That fact is supposed to highlight the mortality rates and that for most of these demigods happy ending is pretty much NOT IN PROSPECT. Like, despite that rambling post I'm usually fine with some differences that are made in adaptations, most of them I usually can understand. But why do you need change the message of "I named you that way because I hope you will live happily ever after despite being in constant danger" to "I named you that way because it's a beautiful story about a mother and a son"? Especially when they absolutely could do both?

Secondly, the Gabe issue. You see, Percy Jackson books were great because they were able to discuss with children some pretty heavy themes without downplaying them - like domestic abuse. And that scene with poker players and Gabe getting from Percy money was brilliant because it showed that Gabe was so awful that he took everything he could even from a 12 y.o. There were also heavy implications that he beat Percy. But now Gabe is just your usual jerk who is lazy and doesn't have a good relationship with his stepson and argues with his wife all the time. Look, I know, that is awful too, I know that. But the point of Gabe that he was absolutely the worst. That he's the worst of the worst that's why he smells on this metaphysical level and is able to hide Percy. That he kinda deserved what happened to him in the end. And now I sure that we won't get that end because apparently that stuff is too brutal for kids. If they're afraid that much younger audience would get shocked by it they could at least do that in hints, you know. Old shows were great with things that you didn't understand as a child and then later while rewatching them you finally could get the message.

And what's with this Grover thing? Okay, I understand they probably didn't have the time for establishing why Percy would feel betrayed by his teacher but wanted to save this "low point" for Percy's character. But why? Why? How Percy as a character and we as viewers are supposed to feel that amazing friendship if it started for us with betrayal? That just sucked.

Also, personal flaw - they really could insert "This is a pen" line when Brunner gave Percy the pen. They really could and that would be so awesome. But they didn't.

And the sad part is that now I understand that there was no way they could include this important stuff in the series. Because Disney is too afraid to show domestic abuse. They afraid to show Sally Jackson that put up with heavy abuse just to keep her son safe. They afraid to show that literal children die in PJO world. That that half-blood stuff is no game - as Percy said in the very first minute of the series. For fuck's sake they didn't even mention him having ADHD! They implied that by saying that he was being weird! That was so so so so important that those things that kids with ADHD are struggling make them so special and strong in their own way. And now that message is gone too.

And all of that is because Disney doesn't have any balls left. It's like they sanitize everything they make into that 0+ versions of stories while sometimes the point of the story is in discussing something from a real, sad and unsanitized world.

The stuff I listed is just from the first episode and I don't know if the show will go that way, if this tendency of sanitizing the story will continue or not. I'm just really afraid that all of that means that they decided to leave out all the brutality that made Percy Jackson so iconic. It is like watching this new version of Harry Potter where he doesn't live under the stairs - that maybe doesn't change much story-wise but it's just not the same Harry Potter that way.

I want to like the show, I really do. Walker is so amazing is this role. Other actors are really great. I see the effort, I see how people tried to make this adaptation as close to books as they could. The show looks truly amazing. The fight with minotaur was absolutely stunning. Ending sequence is a masterpiece. I have so many good things I can say about it. But those little things they changed - they weren't little at all. A huge chunk of what made those books so special at least for me is gone (especially in comparison with Harry Potter books). And I can't help feeling sad.

#i'm really sorry for being bitter #i promise you i'm not one of those angry “it wasn't in the book!” fans #i feel alright with changes and sacrifices that were made for the adaptation #it's just the things they chose to change if this makes sense #that is saying something and i don't like the way it goes #maybe it will turn out fine in the end #i really hope so #no intention of hating something here #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #pjo series #percy jackson series #long post #spilled thoughts #sorry for rambling

[death-himself]

just finished episode 3 here are my thoughts

also i wrote this first part at the end of my review, but I'm gonna move it here to the top because it got a bit long and I feel like it's more important to state than my review

overall, i feel like the issues i have with the show are more of a me issue. i feel like I (and a lot of us book fans honestly) were hyping up the show to be one-to-one with the book when it's been said by rick and a lot of people working on the show that it was more of a new rendition rather than an exact book-to-screen adaptation

i know that when i watched the first two episodes with my friends, they didn't see any of those issues because they hadn't read the books at all, or at least not in a long time

one example, the issue everyone has with gabe's characterization is one my friend didn't pick up on, she recognized from the start that gabe was abusive and said something like "I'm scared what he'll do to sally if she doesn't get that car back to him"

those of us who live and breathe the books recognize that he's "not as abusive" or that it's a different kind of abuse in the books, so the characterization threw us all off in a way that it didn't for people who haven't read the books

so going forward, i'm probably going to keep that more in mind with the series and reviewing it. i think from a plot standpoint, it still manages to stay true to the book in the ways that really matter, and even emphasizes a lot of the key themes of the book more clearly, while still being extremely different, and I honestly think that's pretty cool

with that being said, bullet point review under the cut (reminder I wrote this before writing the above section and don't plan on changing it)

to begin with, I'm gonna be honest, I feel like they're changing a lot more than I would prefer with the plot. I'm still enjoying the series a bunch, but the differences are very striking to me

now going in chronological order with the episode, percy's reaction to the oracle was pretty funny

the whole thing of gabe being the one to tell him the prophecy looked stupid, but I feel like there was no way to translate it from the book without it looking stupid. i feel like when he's told the prophecy in the book, the creepy description is what makes it feel serious and the weight of the prophecy makes you forget how it's being told, and I don't really think that translates very well to film

also in the book the words are very clearly not words that gabe would say, but I feel like the way the lines were delivered in the episode was a bit off, like it just sounded like gabe with nothing creepy about it

percy choosing annabeth instead of annabeth pretty much forcing herself into the quest is an interesting choice that I'm not sure if I like or hate yet

it feels like they're turning percy and annabeth more into enemies-to-lovers than it actually is in the books

I love grover so fuckin much, grover's never been one of my favorite characters, but disney series-wise, he's definitely my favorite so far

i don't know why, but the little pool in the center of the poseidon cabin is my favorite thing ever, it just feels right

percy and luke's talk in his cabin is just <3

also the way luke went "it's a gift...from my dad" i just felt the WEIGHT of that, everything that it meant

also looking back on that, i love how both annabeth's hat and luke's shoes show the different ways they react to a gift from their parents. the hat is annabeth's prized possession that she doesn't want to give up, while the first time we see luke's shoes he gives them away and clearly doesn't appreciate them as a gift

i loved it since we saw it in the trailer, but thalia's tree is so fuckin cool, i love that it straight up just looks like a person standing guard

also the way they're pronouncing thalia's name is giving me life, my brother made fun of me for pronouncing it that way as a kid and i started calling her talia but to know 10 year old me was RIGHT, incredible

grover's little song had me dying, and percy using that song later at aunty em's was hilarious

ANNABETH IN THE GAS STATION, she was so adorable, that scene owns my heart now. her just grabbing every flavor of that candy was so damn precious

I'm sad we didn't get to see the bus blown up, they could've made it such a funny scene. have the trio run to the woods like "wow I'm glad we got out of there alive" then they look over at the bus and it just explodes. that could've been peak comedy there

the whole talk between alecto and Annabeth was interesting, it does make sense for them to have some sort of history considering what happened with thalia, so i think that's a good change, makes things more interesting

the way they got to aunty em's kind of annoyed me, i feel like they could have easily shown a passage of time and had them get there in the same way as the books. idk, i really liked how they ended up there in the books because they were just hungry kids that wanted burgers

also alecto being there felt a bit weird to me

when i heard they were taking a more sympathetic approach to medusa, i honestly got really nervous for how that would turn out, but i think they handled it as well as they could have. i feel like they said it in a way where the story could have gone either way; one way where medusa was poseidon's girlfriend, and another way where she was tricked and raped by him

she also goes on to both call him a monster and say that they loved each other, so again, i feel like it could still go either way with those lines, though it probably leans more towards the girlfriend perspective (even though I'm pretty sure that's the less myth-accurate perspective, but when has pjo been myth-accurate)

the way they killed medusa TERRIFIED ME, like annabeth my girl, you realize how badly that could have turned out right, having an invisible medusa

also how did that help percy in the slightest, he was still attacking something he couldn't look at so...how did that help

I'm hoping alecto being petrified isn't permanent, hades had better bring her back, i liked alecto. also isn't she important to some part of the plot in a later book? she's the only fury i remember the name of so she has to be important right?

their argument in the basement was an interesting change, i feel like to me it kind of just felt like conflict for conflict's sake. i don't think they felt super in-character in that section. their friendship dynamic feels a bit off through most of this episode honestly, but i think their dynamic's gonna be perfect going forward now that they've gotten past that conflict

percy saying the "i am impertinent" line perfectly. that whole exchange felt like it was ripped right out of the book, i loved that

i know everyone's been shitting on lin manuel miranda being in the show, but i still love the man, and that end scene was incredible

him in the elevator was so funny, and you just know he loved percy shipping medusa's head to olympus, he thought that shit was hilarious

#percy jackson #percy jackson spoilers #pjo #pjo spoilers #pjo disney+ #pjo disney+ spoilers #percy jackson and the olympians #i have no idea what spoilers tag we're using someone help #really interested to see people's thoughts on medusa specifically #if i remember right rick accidentally wrote her using both conflicting stories at different parts of the series #like in tlt she was poseidon's lover while in another book she was said to have been born a gorgon

[hermesmyplatonicbeloved]

Let's talk about Sally's romantic partners.

I'm genuinely baffled at the writer's choices, and I honestly can't tell if they're going to have Sally end up back with Poseidon, have a Gabe redemption and keep them together, or still bring in Paul.

Let me explain. Long post - and poll at the end. Please read before you vote.

Let's look at Poseidon first.

They made Sally pin over Poseidon big time. She doesn't do that in the book (it's the opposite in the book; Poseidon pining over Sally). In the books Poseidon offered to make Sally immortal and build her a palace in his kingdom. She turned him down, and moved on. She remembers him fondly and loves their son wholeheartedly, but its a closed chapter in her life.

But in the tv show it's completely different? Like she's genuinely missing and pining over him. Sitting in the rain, thinking about him. And while in both cases its clear Poseidon is paying child support, it's so much more obvious in the tv show because that apartment is nice? Percy's boarding school probably cost like 60k+ per year? Their car has expenses too? And renting that nice cabin - even if it is cheaper due to being near the septic tanks its gonna be expensive too. Depending on how the meeting with Poseidon goes and her reunion with Percy - we're lead to believe that Poseidon still has a good chance with her.

Now let's look at Gabe.

In the book he was completely unredeemable. He made Sally his personal slave - making him all meals, bringing him beer, making her clean all his shit and lets not forget the physical abuse too. He deserved to die and get sent to the fields of punishment or tartarus for eternity.

But in the tv show, he isn't nearly as bad? And I know this is controversial, so hear me out. Yes, he does answer Sally's phone which is abusive if its done repeatedly - but Percy was surprised that he did it leading us to think that it's not. Yes, Sally does ask to use the car but this is a normal thing ppl do when they co-own a car? My parents do it all the time, my cousin does it with her shared vehicle with her parents - that's what you do when 2+ ppl have use of the same object. In no point in that convo does it ever seem like Sally isn't allowed to get the car. And lastly - when Sally raises her voice and yells, Gabe submits to her wishes. She gets her way. (this is important so remember it - I come back to this).

Everything Gabe has done in ep1? It's not nearly bad enough to justify murder. And Sally has enough power and autonomy in the relationship that she can pack up and move, or even just kick Gabe out of the apartment - even if she can't afford a divorce. Because as shown before, she gets her way. Gabe doesn't control her. She has options, and because of that Murder in this case would be wrong. (in the books, Sally was literally imprisoned in her own life; she didn't have any power to leave or kick Gabe out and that's what makes her killing Gabe so amazing. She managed to break free of an impossible situation).

So lets say Sally doesn't murder Gabe. What does that mean? She doesn't get college money from his statue. Who knows if Poseidon's child support money is excess - enough to afford college. Maybe she doesn't go. If she never goes to college, then she doesn't meet Paul. She never falls in love with him, and she doesn't get the same happy ever after as the books.

Considering all I've said and your own thoughts (which feel free to share in the comments/tags):

#sally jackson #pjo #percy jackson #rick riordan #pjo tv show #pjo tv series #pjo tv spoilers #pjo tv adaptation #pjo show #percy jackson spoilers #pjo spoilers #percy #queen sally jackson #poseidon #sally x poseidon #sally x paul #sally x gabe #tw domestic abuse #tw abuse #tw mentions of abuse #tw discussions of abuse #gabe ugliano #pjo series #paul blofis

[significant-ace-nnoyance]

I honestly think that having read the books adds so much to my interpretation. like Percy "my mom never even raised her voice" "between me and Gabe, her life wasn't easy" "I know I want exactly an easy kid"Jackson Is down not only unconditional protection and caring, but patience, grace, and forgiveness. OF COURSE he goes straight from "I don't have anything to say to him" to "I know Grover would never betray me" that fast! TBH if I didn't know those lines from the book, the attitude switch up would confuse me so fuckin much because after the whole lying sitch, Grover literally avoided him for days! but he is IMPORTANT to Percy!

Of course, it makes sense in the show, too, if you pay really close atention. Percy knew that someone, supposedly someone on his quest, would hit him where it hurts at an important moment, and when Grover refused to keep lying to cover Mr.D's ass, Percy realized exactly who he needed in his corner.

I think both are true, but one is less elaborated on imo

LITERALLY YOU SAID IT ALL im loving being able to read so many layers into this show because i read the books and i think they are hitting it out of the park in terms of all the audiences they are trying to reach

borrowing seaweed brain podcasts phrase theyre trying to read younger and older, and new fans and old fans, and i feel like they are keeping it pg and understandable to young fans like you still get the unease that percy feels around gabe and the trust he has with grover (thus the heartbreak when grover betrays him until he finds out it was for his own good and he didnt want to) and the whole medusa scene is super readable i feel like for younger audiences while SIMULTANEOUSLY older audiences can read into all those scenes and see the insidious deeper reaching nature of gabe's abuse and the sexual assault implications of medusas story and its super cool!!

plus new fans are getting introduced in a fairly good way i feel like because the show creators are adding a lot of details and the actors are portraying all the emotions PERFECTLY so you get the FEELINg of certain characterizations or scenes even if they dont have time to explicitly tell you, plus old fans get to read the HELL between the lines like personally ive analyzed all of leahs expressions and you can TELL she knows annabeth's story, meanwhile new fans are experiencing annabeth as og book fans did when we first started reading!

anyways this was only slightly related to your point which is SUPER SLAY GODDDD I COULD ANALYZE SALLYS IMPACT ON PERCY'S CHARACTER AND THE COMPLEXITIES AND INTRICACIES OF PERCY JACKSON ALL DAY but thank u for gifting me with this <3

#percy jackson #pjo <3 #percy jackon and the olympians

[bookishjules]

gabe's petrification was always meant to be an inevitability of his capital-c Character. this is a man who will never change. he is selfish, dishonest, abusive, and so many other things. he refuses to grow or change. and so the choice to turn him to stone feels like.. just the kind of fate he would have had otherwise. his soul is petrified so his body will be too. this is true for both the books and the tv show.

when it comes to the books, there's a lot more about the justice of such a choice. actions have consequences. and gabe's repeated actions left sally with no choice but to turn him to stone. the consequences. the show, on the other hand, presses further into the inevitability. he's dumb and greedy and he'll "answer what's ringing," even if what's ringing is a box delivered straight from olympus. he walked right into that were the words ringing in my head.

and such an ending for him makes sense in the show canon, given how they've treated his character and sally's. but i think there's something to be said in how this inevitability comes about.. something about power and agency that the show missed the opportunity to explore

#pjo tv #pjo tv show #pjo tv spoilers #gabe ugliano #sally jackson #pjo

[jimmythejiver]

Reminder that Peggy Carter sucks in both the movies/extended universe and comics, but for two different reasons. It is pointed out many times that movie/show version is based on comic book Nazi double agent Cynthia Glass, so much that they casted Haylee Atwell to look like her, and she's a British government agent. Nuff said.

Comic book Peggy is if you had Scarlett O'Hara but blond working in the French resistence with all the values dissonance that creates. Comic Peggy is a descendent of Virginian plantation slave owners (her being British in movie is an invention to bypass this uncomfortable fact while ignoring the complacency of British Imperialism and it's human rights violations) and in comics her and Sharon live that "genteel, romantic antebellum" inspired upbringing of exploited wealth and it's never explored in any way than as set dressing to these white writers because they think this archetye is 'murica girlboss and thematically contrasts Steve's northerner immigrant background, see. Comic Peggy married Howling Commando Gabe Jones who is black and nothing of her past is addressed about this legacy and then she gets alzheimers and thinks she's still with Steve causing a rift in her marriage and with Steve and Sharon's already weird relationship because before this development by later writers, it was never Stan Lee's intention that Steve dated both Peggy and Sharon who were originally sisters not aunt and niece and then great-aunt and great-niece as time passed from whenever Steve was thawed. Then Peggy dies of old age as the waste of space she was (liberating those poor French notwithstanding) and we still stuck with Sharon the S H.I.E.L.D. cop who shot Steve, but oh it's ok, see she was brainwashed, see. I hate the Carter's and knowing Marvel has no balls to make Bucky, Sam or Jack Moneoe his bf, if I wanted Steve with a woman, I'd rather it be with Bernie Rosenthal who he met sometime after being thawed and almost married before Sharon undied herself or Betty Ross who Peggy replaced in Canon as his war love interest because oops Stan Lee named Hulk's girlfriend that and we can't have both around…

Also another petty note: I didn't hate Haylee Atwell's Peggy initially, but after watching her play a slave owner who loses a fraction of her power marrying a man who inherits her property and has an affair with her once 'favorite slave' she abuses throughout, in the British series called The Long Song, I cannot unsee these two characters played by the same actress as the two sides of the white supremacist girlboss coin.

#this is in response to another post #but i figure i make my own instead of glomming onto his

[thejudgingtrash]

I made an extra post for this one because I had a lot to process I hope you don’t mind 🤡🤡😌

@nicosdevarona I get it and while I’m not a huge fan of the gods and they definitely could’ve done more and better but Poseidon actually DID try! Sally rejected him, remember?

Poseidon wanted to build her a castle near his aka keep them both close in the waters away from danger but Sally didn’t want to because she had her “Independent Woman Part II the remix” moment and said no. Sally then went on to marry Gabe to cover her tracks (who then turned out to be abusive, not her fault ofc). But she could’ve either sent Percy to chb like lots of other parents did or accepted Poseidon’s initial offer. He could’ve forced her (he’s a god I mean and an incredibly shitty one in the actual myths) but he respected her wishes.

Poseidon did visit Percy as a toddler and it might have been a little bit more difficult to show up while Percy’s in a boarding school/kindergarten. Said NYC boarding school also costs money 🤷🏾‍♀️ could be Poseidon giving a check or could be Gabe throwing money at it to keep Percy at a distance, we don’t know. Mayhaps I’m reading too much into it but oh well 🤔 also let’s not forget he had nymphs watching over Percy whenever he was close to the waters.

In addition to that, Poseidon broke the big three pact and if Zeus and Hades had known that Percy existed, they would’ve killed him. They said fuck them kids with they whole chest! While on one hand it’s incredibly shitty to grow up without seeing much of your father, on the other hand if there’s an actual threat to your livelihood I actually get it?? It’s a huge sacrifice on parental level, I see this more the older I get. It’s easy to say he’s a shitty absent father without context 🤷🏾‍♀️😐

Furthermore, Poseidon gave Percy his first and main weapon Anaklusmos. Don’t know how or when he had obtained it from Heracles but who cares. Also it didn’t take Percy years to be claimed by him unlike other demigods who are rotting away in the Hermes cabin aka Poseidon actually took responsibility. Yes, there was a sense of urgency with the lightning bolt but like I said... other godly parents literally did not care what happened to their children. Hence the conflict with Kronos in the first place.

And if we continue with that thought, Poseidon didn’t force a relationship on Percy the first time he met him like some other shitty parents would. Which I highly respect him for. Not only that but Poseidon gave Sally and Percy Medusa’s head after Percy’s huge middle finger move with sending it to Olympus in the first place. Percy’s understandably upset but was too young to see the bigger picture with the reasons why his father stayed away. In the end he gave Sally the means to defend herself from her abuser. He still appreciated her more than a decade (Queen among Women) and even Percy said straight up that his father still loved his mother to Annabeth, no doubt in his voice.

Lastly, Poseidon covered a lot of other things that Percy dumped into him from the ophiotaurus Bessie to that weird killer machine Apollo statue in TOA.

There are lots of shitty gods. Aka all of them. But book!Poseidon isn’t one to Percy in my opinion 🤷🏾‍♀️

And Paul in comparison who’s Riordan how he currently is... that random dude that shows up and his only traits are being a non-shitty guy for once and knocking Sally up... wait he fought in TLO, right? Okay he got that. Just doesn’t impress me much as it’s way too rushed 😣🤨

Plus, Poseidon is a Greek god that still made Sally swoon and therefore hot as fuck. That’s not me just saying that, it’s canon 🤡

Okidokes, that‘s my Poseidon essay 🧍🏾‍♀️🧍🏾‍♀️

#Simi #pjo #Poseidon #percy jackson #Sally Jackson #paul blofis #gabe ugliano #percy jackson and the olympians #the lightening thief

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 27

Apples and the Doctor’s Office

Summary: After the first day of the Apple Blossom Festival and Drake’s birthday, Riley, Liam, and the kids visit a doctor

Word Count: ~4.8k

Warnings: mention of character death, mention of addiction/drug abuse

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s book “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen​​ @gkittylove99​ @lovablegranny​ @iam-the-kind-and-thoughtful​ @mom2000aggie​ @kingliam2019​ @queenrileyrose​ @shanzay44​ @cordonianroyalty​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @hopelessromanticmonie​ @cinnamonspongecake​ @kuladekiwi​ @twinkle-320​ @iaminlovewithtrr​ @charlotteg234​ @amandablink​ @texaskitten30​ @tinkie1973 @louiseingram1208 @queencatherynerhys​ @pens-girl-87​ @missevabean​ @ladyangel70​ @sanchita012​ @cordonianprincess​ @liamandneca @cordonia-gothqueen​ @pink-diamond13​ @queenwalton​​ @yourmajesty09​​

I’m not sure if the tags are working or not, but I hope I got everyone down! If you would like to be added/removed, please let me know :)

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

- Eleanor - 

Mama woke us up extra early the morning after the beach party. While she helped bring my stuff to the car that was waiting outside, I decided to go back onto the bed and take a nap until it was time to actually leave. But when I opened my eyes, I was already in the car, my head on Mama’s leg. 

Mama and Daddyo were sitting next to each other and talking quietly while Gabe was sleeping on the other seat. I looked out the window to find that we were driving by large fields. There were trees surrounding little farms, and I saw animals that looked like sheep or goats, but I couldn’t tell from the distance. 

We eventually reach a large house and Daddyo wakes up Gabe to eat breakfast. When we walk into the kitchen there are already waffles, omelets, and fruits waiting for us. During the meal, Daddyo tells Mama that he’s worried about some investigation but Gabe and me are too focused on eating to pay attention.

After that, Daddyo asks us what we want to do today, and Gabe suggests soccer. I didn’t really want to play, but I still follow the two of them outside. 

While we walk through the large house, there are people working and cleaning like crazy. I ask Daddyo why they’re doing that, and he tells me it’s because the court is going to show up in a few hours.

Daddyo leads us far away from the building and towards a bunch of apple trees. I skip alongside him, humming whatever tune came into my head. Him and Gabe find four sticks and push them into the ground. Another person walks out of the house with a soccer ball, and Daddyo gives it to me to start out the game. 

I kick it, trying to get it back towards him, but the ball goes to Gabe instead, who kicks it into the goal and gets a point. He goes to get the ball and gives it back to me. When I try and kick it towards the goal to get myself a point, I kick it in the wrong direction again and it ends up at Daddyo’s feet, who manages to kick it into the goal to get us a point. 

The three of us play around for a few hours until some servants come out and tell us that the court has started to arrive, and Daddyo told us we needed to go get ready for the Apple Blossom Festival.

Mama helped us get dressed, but Daddyo had to leave to get ready for something. I was upset since I wanted to spend more time with him, but Gabe said that we would probably see him later. 

After everyone is dressed, Mama, Gabe, and me walk back over towards the apple trees with Duchess Olivia and Countess Hana. I ask Mama if Uncle Boris and Aunt Rowan would come, too. She tells me that Aunt Rowan is with Lord Maxwell, and comments that she hasn’t seen Uncle Boris since the horse race. 

We keep walking until we reach a small area where there aren’t that many trees, but a lot of people were gathered. There were photographers and people who I recognized from other events. I see Daddyo walk towards the front of the crowd, with Bastien and some other guards walking behind him. 

He faces the crowd and asks for everyone’s attention. I notice Heather out of the corner of my eye and walk up to her. Uncle Leo gives me a high-five when he sees me and Hunter walks towards my brother.

“Welcome to the annual Apple Blossom Festival!” he calls out. People clap lightly, and I see Lord Maxwell start cheering. “Traditionally, the Queen Mother and other ladies of the court would taste the first apples of the season, so in her memory, I propose we all take a bite.” 

There are some nods, and servants begin passing out apples to the adults. When a servant gives an apple to Uncle Leo and Aunt Katie, Uncle Leo takes both apples to give to Hunter and Heather. The same servant gives Gabe and me apples, and someone shoves a camera into my face.

“Go on, kiddos,” the person behind the camera says to me and Gabe. “Take a bite of the apple.” 

I look at the fruit in my hand, which is probably one of the brightest and reddest apples I’ve ever seen. Gabe takes a bite of his apple, but before he can even start chewing, he starts coughing again. The cameraman angles his camera away and asks Gabe if he’s okay. 

“Yeah, sorry if I coughed on your camera,” Gabe says. 

“That’s fine,” the man says. “Were you choking?” 

“No, my chest just started hurting.” 

“Gotcha. Wanna take another bite?” The cameraman looks over at me, and I take a large bite of my apple. 

It’s sweet and sour at the same time. I hate sour things, and I feel like my cheeks are burning. I force myself to swallow the apple and smile at the cameraman, because spitting it out would probably look gross. “Yummy!” I manage to say.

“Adorable!” the man says, then turns to take a picture of Gabe, who smiles while chewing. 

“That was delicious,” Gabe comments. The cameraman thanks us and walks away. 

“That was sour,” Hunter says, wiping some juice off his chin.

My brother shrugs. “I like sour foods.” 

Gabe finishes his apple and asks for another one. When the rest of the court has also eaten at least one apple, Daddyo asks for everyone’s attention again. 

“As everyone has taken a bite of their apples,” he begins. “I would like to thank our farmers, ones whose families have provided for Cordonia for generations.” He clears his throat, then starts talking again. “There is something else I wish to speak about. I know that recently Cordonia has faced many challenges. There have been natural disasters, economic recessions, international disagreements, and uprisings by anti-monarchist organizations. But Cordonia and her people have always been resilient. We’ve always stood together in unity. 

“Some of you I’ve known since my early childhood,” he continues, “and you’ve held my trust above all others. But this is a very unique issue we are facing, and Cordonia has learned from experience that her allies are not always who they are said to be. 

“My security team has reason to believe that the late Queen Mother did not die of a heart attack, but was actually poisoned, just as my own mother was more than thirty years ago.” People in the crowd gasp and begin whispering with each other. “Investigations are being led, but my team has suggested furthering those investigations by searching the belongings of certain members of the court. Do not fret, your privacy will be respected and if need be, the search may be done while you are present.”

The crowd of photographers and reporters start yelling questions towards Daddyo, and Uncle Leo leads us all back towards Mama and Duchess Olivia. 

“Did you know Regina was poisoned?” Uncle Leo asks. 

“Yes,” Duchess Olivia answers him. “Jacob told me what he discovered this morning. I didn’t know if Liam would tell the people, and I’m surprised that he did.”

“He was worried about it this morning,” Mama adds. All the adults turn to look back at Daddyo, who still has microphones being pushed in front of his face.

“I hope he’s doing okay,” Uncle Leo says.

“I’m sure he is.” Duchess Olivia turns back to Uncle Leo when he speaks, and there’s an angry tone in her voice. 

Jessica walks up to the group, pulling Drake behind her. She greets everyone and pinches Gabe’s cheek. Drake starts talking with Uncle Leo, and Jessica turns to Mama. 

“I wanted to ask if you would join Drake and I for dinner tonight,” she says. “I made a reservation at a restaurant for his birthday. It would be lovely if you all attended.” 

“That’d be nice,” Mama says. “We could all go.”

“No, thank—” Duchess Olivia begins, but Mama gives her a look, and instead says, “Fine.” 

“I’ll go fill in Hana and everyone else,” Mama says, walking away. 

“Hey, do you wanna go pick some apples?” Heather taps my shoulder to ask. 

I search the crowd for Daddyo, but can’t see him anymore. I tell Heather sure, and our brothers follow us towards some trees. 

Hunter and Gabe are the ones who want to climb up, and Heather and me are left near some baskets. Gabe tells us to catch the apples they throw down at us and to count them. 

For a second I think it’s not a good idea, since I don’t think I’ll be able to catch the apples and am a little scared that I would drop them, but Gabe already sends one down and I throw myself at it. 

I catch it, but land face-forward in the grass. Gabe calls to me from the top of the tree, saying that I had to get up. 

Heather and I continue to catch apples until our baskets are full. I had lost count around twelve, but Heather counts my basket, too, and says that the four of us collected about fifty apples altogether. 

Hunter frowns, complaining that we could have done better. Heather looks around for where we have to bring the baskets. And Gabe reaches down to eat another apple. 

I see Aunt Katie call for Hunter and Heather. The two of them walk away from us, and we wave goodbye to them. Gabe and I start walking away to go look for where Mama is, but Hunter and Heather call to us again to say that we’re all going somewhere together. 

Gabe and I are led in a car that has Lord Maxwell, Aunt Rowan, Duke Bertrand, Duchess Savannah, and Bartie. They tell us that everyone is headed to the same place, and that we would be celebrating Drake’s birthday. 

“I wonder what Jessica has planned,” Maxwell wonders aloud. 

“Probably cake?” Gabe asks. 

“Naturally,” Maxwell replies. “But do you think there’s a chance she didn’t get balloons?” 

“We can bring some!” I suggest. “In case Jessica forgot.” 

“I like the way you think, baby blossom,” Maxwell says. 

He crawls over towards the driver and asks him to bring us to a place we could get balloons. Duke Bertrand tries to stop Maxwell, but he refuses to sit down and the driver has already parked in front of a store. 

Me and my brother follow Maxwell into the store, who goes straight to the counter. 

“Do you have balloons?” he asks. There are balloon designs on display right on top of our heads, and I pull Maxwell’s sleeve and point at them. “Hmmm...” he stares at them for a while, then turns back to the person at the counter. “Do you maybe have a balloon that’s shaped like a whiskey bottle?” 

“No, but I got champagne ones,” the old man says. 

“Good enough, we’ll take ten,” Maxwell requests. 

“Ten?” my brother and me ask in union.

“Do you think we should get more?” he turns to us and asks. “What if we get forty and say ‘Happy Fortieth Birthday’? He’s not forty yet but it would be funny.”

“I mean, I don’t know,” Gabe starts. “If Lady Jessica already got balloons, then bringing forty more would seem like a little too much.”

Maxwell sighs. “Fine.” 

“Gabe is now the bossy blossom,” I point at my brother to announce. 

“What? No—” he tries to protest.

“Are you gonna tell me not to call you bossy?” I question, crossing my arms in front of me.

“That would make you extra bossy,” Maxwell states. 

“But—” he tries again.

“Stop being bossy, bossy blossom!” I cry. 

Gabe turns away from me. Maxwell pats him on the head and says, “It’s okay, bossy blossom.” 

Maxwell and I laugh while Gabe stares at the balloons. 

We all hold three balloons, and Maxwell holds an extra one. When we get back into the car, Duchess Savannah and Aunt Rowan laugh, and I can tell that Duke Bertrand is upset, but he doesn’t say anything.

For the rest of the ride we punch the balloons at each other until we have to get out of the car. Aunt Rowan ties some balloons to my wrists because she was worried they would fly away. 

When we enter, there’s a guy in a fancy suit who greets us. 

“This is not the kind of establishment you bring childish balloons into,” Duke Bertrand whispers loudly to Maxwell.

The three of us ignore him and follow the fancy man through the restaurant until we reach a very big table. Everyone else is already seated, including Uncle Leo, Aunt Katie, Hunter, and Heather. 

Except for the ones me, Gabe, and Maxwell hold, there are no balloons in the room. And there aren’t any decorations either. 

“Happy Birthday, Drake!” Maxwell cries, walking over to where Drake was sitting. 

“Tie ‘em to his chair,” Uncle Leo comments, pointing at the balloons. 

While Maxwell works the knot of the balloon tied to my wrist, Drake grabs the string and pulls it close to his face. “You know these are champagne bottles, right?” 

“Imagine that it’s whiskey,” Maxwell tells him. 

I follow Gabe towards a few seats. I got to sit on Mama’s right, while Gabe was on Daddyo’s left, with the both of them in between us. Thankfully Heather was next to me. Gabe feels far from us, and when he tries to say something to me, I couldn’t really hear him. I wave at him to exaggerate the distance.

The adults talk steadily throughout the meal. Mama and Daddyo were sitting close to each other, mostly whispering. Countess Hana was talking with Maxwell and Aunt Rowan. Duke Bertrand laughed with Uncle Leo, and sometimes I saw Daddyo send looks in their direction.

As time went on I got more and more tired, and I wanted to ask Mama when they would finally cut the cake, but then Drake and Jessica stand to thank everyone for coming, and we all head outside.

“No cake?” I whisper at Gabe when we take a seat in Daddyo’s limo. 

He shrugs. Mama and Drake join us in the car, and I wonder where Jessica is. I spend the drive back looking out at the streets we passed. 

“Do you think they’re already done with the search?” Drake asks. 

“Perhaps,” Daddyo answers. “I don’t believe it should have taken the entire day, especially if no one resisted.”

“Do you really think it could have been someone from the court?” asks Mama.

Daddyo shrugs. “I’m not sure. I certainly hope not.” 

When we get out of the car, we see Lord Maxwell and everyone else walking into the big house. They wave at us, and we begin to follow, but someone walks up to Daddyo. 

“Your Majesty,” the man says. “There is something you need to see.” 

The five of us follow the man up the stairs and down dark hallways. I don’t even hear people talking, and the big house suddenly feels spooky. 

The man leads us into Gabe’s room, where there’s Bastien and some other people in similar suits. Bastien stands over Gabe’s open suitcase, and he looks down at something on his bed. 

“What is it?” Mama asks. She rushes forward to lean over the thing that Bastien was looking at, then gasps. 

Drake and Daddyo follow Mama, and their faces frown when they inspect the object.

“I...” Mama tries to speak. “I saw this at the Met. Before the bomb went off.” 

Gabriel and I look at each other, confused. 

“What on Earth was it doing in Gabriel’s belongings?” Daddyo questions Bastien.

“I don’t know. We didn’t even know this was the prince’s room,” Bastien tells everyone. “My team believed it was the room of another Lord or Lady, so we decided to inspect it. We only realized it was His Highness’ room after we had already found the painting.”

What painting are they talking about? I turn to look at Gabriel, but his chin starts to shake. All the adults are still questioning each other, and since they aren’t really paying attention to me, I make my way over to the edge of Gabe’s bed to look at what the problem was.

It was a painting of a bunch of dancers. They were wearing bright-pink pointe shoes, and I figured they were ballerinas. The whole thing looks like it was recently painted, but I tap the painted flower in the painted girl’s hair, and my finger comes away dry.

“What’s the commotion?” Duchess Olivia comes into the room. She towers over me to look at the painting. When she looks back at everyone, she’s just as confused. 

“This painting,” Mama begins to explain, “was in the Met the day of the bombing. The Dance Class. There was ash on it, and... look, they’ve painted over it to make it look new.” Mama points to certain places on the portrait.

“Weren’t the missing paintings around Europe connected to the incident at the Met?” Drake asks.

“They were,” Duchess Olivia speaks up. “And there was some evidence that the perpetrators were from Europe, but nothing came of it.” 

“So that means it is someone at court,” Drake states.

“I’m still concerned as to how the painting got into Gabriel’s room,” Daddyo states.

“Mom, I didn’t do anything,” Gabe goes to our mother. Tears are falling down his face and he’s having a hard time breathing. 

Mama holds his head in her hands. “Baby, I know you didn’t.”

She holds Gabriel while he cries. Duchess Olivia and Bastien continue their conversation. 

“Everyone whose belongings were searched showed no suspicious behavior or resisted in any capacity,” Bastien tells us. 

“Give me the names of whose rooms were checked,” Duchess Olivia demands. “I’ll have Jacob look into it.” 

Gabe starts to cough roughly into Mama’s side. He tries to take in a breath, but a cough, vibrating from his chest, forces its way out. Gabriel’s face goes pink, and Daddyo and Bastien kneel in front of him.

“Your Majesty,” Bastien says. “Perhaps the prince should see a doctor.” 

Daddyo’s focused on making sure Gabe can breathe, and once he’s calm and Mama wipes the tears from his face, Daddyo nods at Bastien. 

“I’ll schedule an appointment for you early in the morning, Your Majesty.” 

“C’mon, you two,” Mama says to us. “Let’s get you both to bed.” 

... 

Mama woke us up extra early again, but this time I wasn’t so tired. Her and Daddyo fussed over Gabe while we ate breakfast in a small dining room. 

They brought me to the doctor’s office with them. I didn’t like that I was back in the hospital, but when we were brought to the waiting room, I was glad that I didn’t see any patients or sick people. 

Once a nurse tells us that the doctor will be here in a few moments, Gabe comments, “I ate two whole apples yesterday but we still ended up at the doctor’s.”

Mama laughs. “Really?”

“That’s a lie,” I add in. “He ate three.” 

“The extra apple didn’t save me,” he states.

The doctor arrives and shakes Mama’s and Daddyo’s hands. She says that she wants to bring Gabriel into another room to run some tests and ask some questions. Mama follows Gabe, and Daddyo and me are left in the waiting room. 

“Is Gabe sick?” I ask him after Mama and Gabe have left. 

“I’m sure your brother is fine. There’s nothing to worry about, angel.” 

His phone rings, and I expect him to walk away and answer it, but he stays in his seat and talks. I spend the next few minutes walking around the waiting room, picking up magazines and staring up at the television. I grab three booklets from the stands and hand two of them to Daddyo, who is still on the phone. 

He leans back in his seat and watches me flip through the magazines while talking. When I’ve gone through all of them and sniffed more than twelve perfume samples, he’s finally done with his call. 

“What are we doing tomorrow?” I ask him. I was hoping that we could go to the movies again so we could all spend time together. Even though we had fun yesterday morning, the moments felt too short.

“The fox hunt is tomorrow. We’ll be visiting an ancient village.” 

“We’re gonna hunt?!” I cry.

He gives a deep laugh. “No, no, we’ll just ride horses to get to a village.” 

“Phew,” I voice, making him laugh again. “Wait, I don’t know how to ride a horse! Do you?” 

“Yes. Perhaps after the baking contest today, I can teach you and your brother.”

I wanted to ask him what the baking contest was for, but the doctor finally comes back to tell us that we can come into the room now. 

Gabe is sitting on the examination table, and Mama stands next to him. I take a seat next to the table and Daddyo stands next to the doctor.

“So I’ve taken a physical exam,” the doctor starts explaining, “and a lung function test. We’ve been able to determine that Gabriel has asthma.”

Mama and Daddyo both frown. 

“How?” Mama asks. “He’s not allergic to anything, doesn’t have allergies...”

“Sometimes,” the doctor starts again, “asthma can be triggered in children by cold air, excessive exercise, or air pollutants.” 

“Air pollutants?” Daddyo questions. 

“Like tobacco smoke.” The doctor pretends to hold up a cigarette to her lips. 

“Oh, God,” Mama whispers, putting her face in her hands. 

“What is it?” Daddyo asks. 

Mama lifts her head again. “Theo smoked. A lot. While I was pregnant and during Gabe’s first year. I think he only fully stopped before Ella was born.” 

Daddyo’s mouth falls slightly agape and his eyebrows furrow.

“Well, that explains it,” the doctor states. “I’ll give you some treatment options so it doesn’t get worse, but if it does, make sure to give us a call.” 

Gabriel jumps off of the examination table. We walk together out of the hospital and back into the car. 

No one says anything while we drive back. Mama and Daddyo both seem tense. I want one of them to start talking, but I’m afraid to speak. 

“I thought that Theo would go outside to smoke,” Mama finally says. “I didn’t even consider...” She trails off and puts her head back in her hands. 

“Didn’t consider that you were putting my son in the care of a drug addict?” Daddyo says quickly. We all turn to him. He looks at Mama like he’s angry. I’ve never seen him or heard him like that. I don’t understand why talking about Daddy made him mad.

“What?” 

“Instead of bringing him to me, where I could have kept him safe, you decide to bring my son into the hands of a stranger?” 

“You’re saying that as if I had a choice.”

“You’ve always had a choice, Riley!” 

“Not then, I didn’t—”

“You always did.” Their voices get louder. I think they’ve forgot that we’re still in the car with them. “If you had refused to depart with him, what was the worst that could have happened?” 

Mama’s voice breaks. “I did refuse!”

“Truly? Look where we are now.”

“Do you really think that I left that day with no intention of coming back? I tried for years to convince Theo!” 

Daddyo doesn’t say anything for a few moments. He looks away from Mama, but not at us, until he finally says, “Riley, we were the ones who had to bring you back, and that was when you were on death’s door.” 

“So you’re assuming that I never even tried to come back?”

“Clearly, Riley, you didn’t!” he screams. “You told me that you traveled to Europe numerous times, but not once did you try to contact me.”

“I wasn’t allowed to!” 

“So you voluntarily let that man determine my son’s health and your life?”

They’re both leaning forward in their seats. Mama looks like she’s ready to cry. I can’t tell how Daddyo’s feeling, but the tone of his voice kinda scares me. 

“You’re blaming me for all this, aren’t you?” Mama asks. “He’s still just a kid, his asthma hasn’t gotten into anything worse—”

“And if it did? If it had gotten worse before we realized it? Tell me, Riley, what would have happened then?” 

Mama pauses for a moment. She looks helpless. I want to hug her, but I was still too frightened to move a muscle. 

Daddyo breathes out and leans forward, looking down at his shoes with his elbows on his legs. 

“My father battled lung cancer for the last few years of his life,” he continues. “How do we know if Gabriel’s condition won’t worsen into something similar?”

“We can talk to the doctor about it,” Mama suggests in a small voice.

Daddyo doesn’t say anything. We all fall into silence again. I turn to look at Gabe, who seems like he’s trying to melt back into the seat. Craning my neck, I try to see what’s out the window, wondering how long it would take us to get back to the big house.

I turn to look at Mama. My mother’s face is slightly pink, and there are tears streaming down her face. I get up out of my seat to hug her, wrapping my arms around her waist, but she doesn’t react. 

Daddyo looks at her, but he doesn’t have the same face on from when he usually talked to Mama. He looked mean and angry.

“What about Boris?” Daddyo speaks up. He turns to Mama again, but she just stares at him. “He was with Theodore when he forced you to leave New York?”

“Yes.”

Daddyo sighs and leans back in his seat. “Did he also forbid you from returning to Cordonia?”

“No,” Mama answers simply. 

“So it was just Theodore?” 

Silence again. Daddyo doesn’t look away from Mama. 

“What did he say about me that... inspired you to leave?”

She doesn’t answer him. 

Someone opens the door to the car. I didn’t even realize we had stopped driving. Mama wipes her tears and gets out of the car, rushing into the big house. As soon as Daddyo steps out, some people surround him and start talking to him. His expression changes quickly, and it’s almost like he was never mad. 

Gabe and me get out of the car, and we follow people back towards the apple trees. My brother stays quiet, and I don’t try to talk to him, either. I knew the both of us were thinking about what had just happened. 

When we reach the crowd of people, Lord Maxwell and Aunt Rowan call us over to them. “Baby blossoms! Come bake some apple pie with us!” 

I ran over to them, hoping that the apple pies would make me feel better. Gabriel still walks slowly. 

“Hey, Gabey,” Aunt Rowan says to him. “Everything okay?” 

He shrugs. “They had a fight...”

“Who?” Lord Maxwell asks, putting down the knife he was using to cut apples. 

“Mama and Daddyo,” I tell them. 

“About what?”

Gabe shrugs again. “The doctor said that I have asthma, and then they started talking about... about Dad.” 

“Aw,” Rowan says. She pulls Gabe into a hug.

“They’re both probably worried,” Maxwell wonders aloud. Him and Rowan give each other a look, but then we go back to making apple pie. 

Lord Maxwell had forgotten to tell the judges that he wanted to be a part of the competition, so our pie was not judged, which meant that we got to eat the entire thing. Countess Hana and Lady Kiara’s pie won, and we cheered them on from the sidelines. 

I didn’t see Daddyo for the rest of the day, and Lord Maxwell told us that he was probably really busy. I wanted to go find him and ask him to teach me how to ride a horse, but I was worried that he was still mad. 

So instead, a little after sunset, Lord Maxwell brought me, Gabe, and Rowan to the stables and taught us about horses for a little bit. I learned how to sit and stay balanced, and was excited for the hunt tomorrow. I just hoped that Mama and Daddyo weren’t still mad at each other.

#the royal romance #choices trr #choices the royal romance #choices trr fanfic #king liam #king liam x mc #trr king liam x mc #trr king liam #liam x mc #trr liam x mc #trr fanfic #trr fandom #trr fanfiction #trh fanfic #trh fandom #trh liam #the royal romance fanfic #choices stories you play #the royal heir fanfic

[ofswordsandpens]

"the Gabe and Sally dynamic in the show is abusive" and "the way they've portrayed Gabe in the show is distinctly different from his book counterpart and fans can criticize that" are two discussions that can coexist

#I understand that this is hard topic to navigate #but me saying that /they've changed Gabe and that's consequently altered the dynamic he has with Sally in way I don't like/ #is NOT me saying I don't think what they've portrayed onscreen is non-abusive #or that I WANT to see him abuse her??? #its just the guy in the show while clearly controlling and abusive (emotionally and financially so far) #...I don't believe he's the guy who's presence was so horrid and disgusting MONSTERS avoided him #I wouldn't call him /Smelly/ #in the book his abuse (all forms) is much more overt #(and just to be painstakingly clear: abuse doesn't have to be overt to be abuse) #but the guy in the show does not have the same presence as the guy in the book #book Gabe is menacing #he growls and he threatens and both Sally and Percy have developed very specific responses to deal with it #I've seen one take saying that people can't recognize the abuse in the show because its not physical (yet?) #but even disregarding the physical abuse entirely #if you compare the book scene and TV show scene of Percy arriving home and he and Sally readying for Montauk #there is a pretty stark difference in tone #and in how both Sally and Percy interact with Gabe #in the book Sally goes out of her way to avoid /provoking/ Gabe and asks Percy to do the same until they can leave for Montauk #and Gabe is just itching for any excuse to keep them home #and imo if Book Sally had said the things that show Sally did to Gabe #Gabe wouldn't have let them gone! #and again im not saying that the show's depiction is nonabusive #or unrealistic #im saying its simply /different/ than the book #and im upset that it doesn't feel like dynamic depicted the book #and no book sally is no simpering wilting flower #but she's also not what they depicted in the show either #pjo adaptation #sally jackson #pjo

[supernatural7543]

loki x reader pt 4

warnings. there is blood and abuse in this as well as suicidal tendencies such as cutting. please read at your own risk. also sorry for the super late update i have been kinda busy. i hope you like it :) Loki’s POV

He heard a small knock, barely audible but still there. He stood and opened the door to see Y/N. something was wrong. “C-can I c-come in?” she asked. Y/N sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Loki nodded and she came in. She went to sit on a chair but loki stopped her and gestured to the bed. Y/N went and sat down and loki crouched in front of her.   “Y/N what's wrong?” she shuddered and loki realized that she was crying. He stood and closed the door before returning to crouching in front of her. “ I looked up my brothers today.” she said quietly. Loki’s face turned from concerned to slightly surprised for a split second. He didn’t even know she had brothers.  “The internet said that they ar- were fugitives and… they… died.” Loki moved to sit next to her. She continued “ so I called an old friend… and he said that they weren’t dead… they were just under the radar. I think they might be looking for me.” Y/N looked at loki and he nearly started to cry after seeing her tear streaked face.  He hugged her and, to his surprise, she hugged him back. She fell asleep holding him and he moved her to her own room.Your POV You woke up in your room and looked around. You didn’t remember how you got to your room but you pieced it together easily. You got dressed and went to get some breakfast. You saw Loki, Tony, Steve, Nat, Clint, Banner, and thor. You had a question and figured tony would be the best one to answer that. “Hey Tony?” you called as you made your way over to the fridge. He looked at you in surprise “are you still getting those phone calls? The ones asking about me?” you asked, turning to him. He sat speechless before answering “Yeah why?” you grabbed a soda from the fridge and looked to him “next time they call give the phone to me.” everyone’s face but Loki's had a mixture of surprise, fear, and concern. “ why do you want to do that?!” tony exclaimed. You sat down across from him and opened your drink. “I just want to talk to them.'' Tony tried to take a step towards you but you whipped out a gun and pointed it at him, not even looking up from the book you had opened. “ just cause I’m talking to you does NOT mean we are best buddies now m’kay? Now sit that ass back down before I blow it off.” you said finally looking up bored. Tony slowly sat down and you put the gun away. “ why do you want to talk to them Y/N?” Tony asked. “I am just curious what they want from me.” you responded “if they call just patch them through to the phone in my room.” with that you walked off. About an hour later you heard a knock at the door you walked over and opened it to see Loki. “May I come in?” he asked politely. You nodded and he walked in. Just then your phone rang and you raced over and picked it up “ please don't hang up!” the voice on the other side said urgently. You put the phone on speaker while Loki closed and locked the door. “Please we need to speak to Y/N!” the voice said again. You knew the voice, it was Sam. Loki took the phone and asked, “ What do you want with her?” you quickly snatched the phone from him and glared at him. “Sir please we just want to talk to her” Sam said “Please don’t hang up” loki piped up “how did you get this number?” you looked at him. Man he was good at asking questions. “Her mom gave it to us, please let us talk to her.” Sam said you could hear dean on the other side asking questions “what are they saying sammy?” you grinned and whispered into loki’s ear he nodded and said “turn on your speaker please.” he looked at you and you nodded. “OK you are on speaker on our side” Sam said. You took the phone and said “ don’t worry samsquach I’m not going anywhere.” you heard a sigh of relief on the other side and then Dean's voice. “ where are you? We called Lily but she said you had been taken by some strangers and that she tried everything she could but they refused to let you go.” you scowled at the mention of the woman who abused you most of your life. liar you thought she didn’t do jack shit. “Who is with you?” you thought for a moment before responding “A god.”  you heard whispers and then sam “WHAT?!?” you sighed “ you heard me. Don’t worry I’m safe” you turned to loki and said “ can you go grab me a soda or something?” he nodded then grinned “As you wish” he winked and left and you laughed. “What the HELL was that?!” dean yelled “ did he just quote princess bride?!” you laughed “yeah. He’s nice” loki came back and gave you a cup of water. “We are out of the soda you like.” he said sadly “thanks '' you said he nodded and then looked at your arm. You had completely forgotten about all the cuts. “ go grab the first aid kit under the sink in the bathroom.” you said. He came back and said“ Take off your shirt.” you went to take off the jacket “NO!” you heard your brothers yell “Y/N DON’T YOU DARE DO THAT!” you sighed “ it's fine he's just helping me with some cuts.” you took off your shirt and Loki started to apply some cleaning alcohol. “ Where did you get cuts?” Sam asked quietly. You were quick to respond “Mostly Lily.”  Loki looked at you in surprise and you could hear Dean getting his gun “ dean NO”  sam said causing you to chuckle slightly. “Listen    Y/N can you tell us where you are?” you looked at Loki but his face was like stone and showed no emotions. You thought for a moment, if they came they would kill loki. You couldn’t let that happen. “ Sam, I don’t think that is such a good Idea.” “why not?” “it's just not safe I-I’ll send a friend to get you or something okay its just… yeah. B-bye sammy.” with that you hung up tears were streaming down your face and you hugged Loki, clutching on to him for dear life. He stood with you and led you down stairs. The avengers saw you, arms folded. You were still wearing a tank top from when loki cleaned your cuts, which were now fully visible, some still bleeding. They saw the cuts, the tears, and the blood. Nat was the first one to you and Tony was the first to loki. They pulled you both away from each other. Nat rushed you off to the infirmary. You pulled off your tank top revealing many more cuts littering your body. Nat started to talk to you but you weren’t listening. “Hey...hey..hey...hey!” you looked up “did he do this to you?” Nat asked “who?” you asked nat looked at you like you were crazy “ who else? Loki! Did he do this to you?” your eyes widened “N-No no h-he didn’t i-it was…” you paused you didn’t know what to tell her, that you did it? That it was lily? Or that it was both? “N-no one. No one did this okay?” you looked at her. Nat could see the fear in your eyes. She could see the pain. She nodded and gave you your tank top “ okay I am going to go get your hoodie I’ll be back in a minute.” with that she left the room. You sat there with your tank top on. You stood and walked over to the window. You looked out at the bustling city you leaned against the window and slid down into a sitting position. You pulled your knees up against your chest and put your head on them. You couldn’t stop the tears from running down your cheeks. You felt a hand on your shoulder and glanced up, Nat handed you the hoodie and you slipped it on “ I'm going to get you some water okay?” she left again. You waited a moment to make sure that she was gone then stood and quickly left. You climbed to the top of the building and sat. you found a perfect spot that went into the building like a small cave. It shielded you from rain and could hide you if you wanted but also gave you a great view of the city. There was even enough room for two people. You closed your eyes. It had started to rain. You breathed in the scent of the rain on concrete. What the hell? Why not.  you thought. You took a deep breath oh the amazing archangel gabriel…......fuck this. Gabe? I-I really need you. I’m hurting and- I need you right now… just get your feathery ass down here! You broke down, now that you were alone you let the tears fall freely. Your sobs were covered up by the noise of the city down below. You didn’t know how long you were sitting there crying when a hand landed on your shoulder and the smell of candy filled your nose. You turned into gabe and held his shirt. “What's wrong sugar?” he asked. You shook your head. He hugged you “it's okay you don’t have to tell me.” you sat there for hours just you crying and gabriel holding you and giving you chocolate. It was nice to have an archangel as a best friend.

[gvbejvmes]

Drabble-a-thon: Six, What If

Title: Behind Bars Rating: R [Gabe’s potty mouth and mentions of violence] Relationships: Vague references to Gabriel/Nancy Trigger Warnings: Mentions of gang-related violence and mentions of prison violence. A super vague reference to child abuse, but it’s blink and you miss it. Brief Summary: What if Gabriel never met Johnny?

Long legs stretched out across his prison issue cot, back propped up against the cold, white painted brick wall. He was dying for a cigarette, but he’d been banned from yard time for three months, like it was his fault that some guy had slammed his hand in a door over and over again until it broke. Sure, other prisoners had overheard Gabe threatening to break his hand, but he wasn’t even there when his hand broke, so punishing him for doing it was bullshit. Even if he “technically” told him to. It’s not like they could prove it, but shit like this was why he hadn’t gotten parole. 

Not that he cared one way or the other these days. To be fair, he’d sort of half-assed his interview anyway. He’d been in prison eighteen years. What the fuck was he going to do on the outside? Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he instead focused on his desire for a cigarette again. If he’d known that particular incident would get him solitary for so long, he probably wouldn’t have pushed the matter. He’d already given up a shit ton in his life; he didn’t plan on giving up smoking, too.

“James.” There was a knock on his door. One of the perks of solitary was privacy. Sure, there was a big ass window so they could see into his cell, and the slot to pass him meals and books, but he was mostly left to himself, which was nice. And he’d bribed one of the guards to bring him sketchbooks, charcoal, and watercolors. So, he wasn’t actually hating solitary. It still caught him off guard when someone knocked on his cell door, which was probably the point of the door, now that he thought about it. “You got a visitor.”

He put down the book he’d been reading and turned to look at the guard in surprise. “I got a what now?” Gabriel asked in confusion, more than surprise, as he sat up properly to look at him. It had been years since he’d gotten a visitor, and he had a very strict guest list. 

There was a time when Dusty kept sending lawyers to try to talk him into appealing to have his case reopened, but that had just led to a whole lot of nothing. There was one lawyer that had seemed promising, (Jake Matthews? Jared Martin? Joshua Murdock? No… Jonathan Michaels! That was it. He was some bigwig now, apparently.), but there had been a lock down on the day he was supposed to visit, and well, the consultation never happened. 

The only people allowed to visit him were family, but they didn’t visit. Well, and Cesar, his old cell mate, but he wasn’t actually allowed to visit until his probation was up. “I don’t get visitors.”

Despite that, he allowed himself to be led out of the cell. One of the perks of being in prison for so long was that, well, he’d been in prison for so long. Inmates knew who he was, and he had a bit of a reputation, which was probably the other reason he kept getting stuck in solitary. He was so rarely not in solitary these days that he might as well consider it his own personal cell.

The only way to get to the maximum security visitors room involved taking the main corridor and walking past the mess hall, the rec room, and the commissary, which was a path Gabe was pretty sure they didn’t want him going down. As they walked and other inmates saw Gabe, they dropped to a knee, like he was prison royalty. He knew what they called him: the Queen of Cell Block B. The bizarre part was that he knew it was out of respect. 

Inmates were the biggest gossips Gabriel knew. There wasn’t a lot to do in prison, and talking? Well, that was both the smartest and dumbest pastime a prisoner could engage in, but without talk Gabe wouldn’t have the reputation he did. There was a sort of magic that came with being a guy who talked, and suddenly the people around him injured themselves so he wouldn’t do it to him. Reputations like that meant two things: 1) you had connections on the outside, 2) you had connections on the inside. Regardless, over the years Gabe’s reputation had grown into the monster it had become and prison transfers didn’t help.

It was no longer just the men from his gang, the Saviors, who knelt when he passed, not standing until he waved a hand in their direction. No, it was anyone who didn’t want to get on his bad side. It was exhilarating, but it also meant the warden didn’t necessarily want Gabe in Gen Pop, which meant that Gabe got a cushy sentence and the fear of all the men around him. Prison life was pretty good for him.

“Can you make them stop?” The guard, Simmons, asked. “It weirds me out seeing murderers bow.” He all but whined, but by the time he’d mentioned it, they were already in the visitors room.

Gabe smirked, and looked in the mirror to double-check how he looked:

Slicked back hair? Check.

Collar popped? Check.

Sleeves on his jumpsuit rolled back to show the numerous tattoos, many of which he’d done himself out of boredom? Check.

Once he was sure he looked decent, he let himself get patted down before entering the room. A part of him hoped it was one of his kids, but he didn’t have that kind of luck. His luck was pure shit. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he swaggered down the row of cubicles before stopping at the number the guard had told him. 

On the other side of the scratched Plexiglas was a young man, no older than eighteen. His brown hair was shaggy and kept falling into his eyes, and his hazel eyes made his stomach sink. Gabe was sure he’d never met this teenager before, but there was just something about him that was so fucking familiar. That was why he sat down, and picked up the phone.

“Have we met before?” Gabriel asked the kid, but when the boy didn’t respond, he rolled his eyes and nodded to the phone. A look of surprise and recognition crossed the young man’s face and he all but scrambled to pick up the phone. Once he did, Gabe repeated his question. “Have we met before?”

There was something about the boy’s face that reminded him of Georgie - the way his brow crinkled and the way he could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “Yes. I mean, no. I mean, sort of. I mean, you were there at my conception.” Gabe must have looked confused because the kid continued. “As soon as I turned eighteen, I petitioned to see my foster care record. My mom gave me up when I was a kid. I guess there was shady stuff going on that she didn’t want me to grow up around. I think she thought I’d get adopted but I just got bounced from house to house.”

Gabe blinked. That was a lot of information to take in all at once. “Kid, kid. That is way too much, way too fast.” He scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “I’m gonna need you to go in some sort of normal order. Can we start at the beginning? I’m Gabriel, and you are?”

The kid blushed. “Sorry, yeah, sorry. That part’s important, right, right.  Bennett Knoxville Scott. Most people call me Knox though.” He looked sheepish. “I, uh, got your name from my birth mother. She’s a little weird, right?”

Gabe barked out a laugh before the full weight of what the kid, Knox, was telling him hit home. He only knew one Scott, and she wrote him a letter once a year just to let him know that their kids were still alive. She never mentioned having a… son? God, this had to be Nancy’s son with her new husband, except…. why the hell would she give him Gabe’s name. “Wait…. why would Nancy give you my name. I haven’t seen her in-”

“Eighteen years?” The boy asked, a wry smile on his lips. “Yeah, I was born about 6 months after you went to jail. I just… I aged out of the system, and I wanted to find out why my folks gave me up. Nancy… she had her reasons, I guess. But you… you had no idea I even existed, did you?”

Gabe shook his head, unable to get words out. He’d been in prison a long time, and he was definitely not the same person he’d been when he went in. Emotions didn’t come naturally to him any more. They were pushed down and set aside. Emotions didn’t do him any good here; they were a liability, but now he could feel something lodging in his throat. This stranger was his fucking kid. 

“No.” He finally managed out. “I had no fucking clue.”

Knox nodded excitedly. “That’s what I thought, and that’s what I told them when I met them.” 

Gabe blinked, and it all suddenly clicked into place. He couldn’t figure out how the boy had gotten in to see him, but now it made sense. He came in with someone who was on his list. A blonde and a brunette squeezed into the cubicle with Knox, and Gabe lost it. The phone clattered to the small table in front of him. One of his hands went over his mouth and the other one went to the Plexiglas. He didn’t need to be told who those girls were. He hadn’t seen them since they were young, but he knew immediately who they were.  

“Dad!” Cordelia’s tinny voice echoed from the dropped phone. “Are you okay?”

Nodding, he picked up the phone again, and started wiping at his face. When had he started crying? That was embarrassing. “I’ve never been better.” He managed out, his gaze shifting between his three kids. “This is the best fucking day I’ve had in a long damn time.”

“James,” Simmons was back and standing behind him. “Times up. I gotta take you back to your cell.”

Gabe looked at his children for a moment. “Lemme just sort this out.” He hung up the phone, and turned to talk to Simmons, his back to his kids so they couldn’t see his face. “Surely three visitors means I get three times the usual allotted time, doesn’t it?” His voice was low, threatening, and his eyes were narrowed, showing just how dangerous he could be when he wanted. 

Simmons swallowed and glanced at the kids before looking back at Gabe. “Twenty more minutes, okay?” He said before scampering off again. 

That done, Gabe turned back to his kids, his face already back to a happy smile. He picked up the phone again. “We got twenty minutes. Let’s chat.”

#drabble #CJ drabbleathon

[aetherbunny]

Here we go. Olympic AU stuff

This is stuff that was developed to potentially make it into the fic, that was cut out of the fic or I needed to develop it in order to write something that DID make it in lol. The fic itself is here, just in case you’re seeing this post first...

Minor characters cut from the story were Gabe’s Olympic roommate Alexander “Sandy” who was a bit of a weirdo and followed Gabe around making it hard for him to spend time with Prince.

Uriel is barely mentioned as the fencer Gabe knows and not by name. She models to better fund her fencing, and Gabe has been in front of the camera a few times himself. they met that way. She was going to be Fish’s original target until Gabe introduced her to Mikey.

The Mikey and Fish bits were unfortunately cut. I could not decide what I wanted Mikey to be like and she was really inconsistent in her characterization. So to keep her well done I had to keep her short.

Lyle (Ligur) is the the member of the Judo team FIsh references. Harry (Hastur) runs the marathon. They’ve been together one way or another for as long as anybody can remember. 

ON to the childhoods, they were developed slightly, because maybe there would have been calls home or mentions of family... going to put this under the cut because it’s so much...

Dorothy “Fish” Fischer, was an only child for a while and then wound up with a younger step-brother. Other than that she had a remarkably average childhood. She realized she was a lesbian pretty early on and so did her parents quite frankly. No real issue when she finally came out.  She’s known Prince since they were in high school. They were low key bad girls, skipping classes, smoking under the bleachers, the occasional fight. Ya know. Her mom had a problem with that, and made her pick an extracurricular to take up some of her time She picked swimming and the rest was history.

Elizabeth Prince is second last in a family of 7 kids. I was actually “challenged” to make up her whole family. My pre- reader called my bluff on something, and I had to. More on all of the Princes later.

Ezra Fell had a nice peaceful childhood! He’s an only child and his parents love him very much! His mom is a seamstress and his dad does woodworking. They participate in a lot of historical re-enacting events and make props and costumes for the local theater! Mr. Fell used to weight lift when he was younger and Ezra thought he’d give it a try. For the time being he still lives with them and will still do historical re-enactments! Adam and Them live near the Fell’s and occasionally show up to the historical things and ask increasingly silly questions about whatever is going on. The organizers have little patience for it but the Fell’s like the kids and keep them out of everyone else’s hair.

Anathema has a gigantic extended family. Some of them are, uh, in a mostly harmless, self contained cult? Agnes did still write that book after all but none of it is actually coming true. Her immediate family knows a lot about the “cult” but doesn’t participate. Her family is also still incredibly rich, due to some excellent investing choices. Her parents are lovely, attractive people who dote on their daughter. Anathema is also the only one of the gang competing for a country they don’t live in (full time)! Adria has dual citizenship in Puerto Rico/US so I can imagine Anathema does too. With that she chooses to compete for Puerto Rico (after qualifying of course).

Newt is very much the same. He lives with his mom, his dad was just never in the picture, but the two of them are perfectly happy. Ms. P is a grade school teacher, and the kids and parents love her. After Newt met Crowley she might as well have had a second son, and she’s perfectly happy with that.

Crowley had a pretty bad childhood. His mom died when he was very young and his dad was a piece of shit and left him to fend for himself most of the time. He became very resourceful even if it involved petty theft. He saved Newt from getting beat up (by getting beat up himself) and then they became nearly inseparable. Crowley just calls Ms. P mom, since she basically was.

If Crowley couldn’t be with the Pulsifer’s for whatever reason he was with “Auntie Tracy” or Shadwell. They broke up the fight that introduced Newt and Crowley.

Auntie Tracy is pretty much exactly her book counterpart. When she was “Busy” Crowley would go across the hall with Shadwell who only pretended to dislike him. Shadwell would never tell him but he actually knew Crowley Sr. and thought he was an asshole and it was no surprise he didn’t care about his kid. So Shadwell “begrudgingly” taught Crowley things he’d need to get by.

Both Crowley’s surrogate families knew about each other, and Mom and Auntie had a sit down about everything and worked it all out.

Crowley moved out of his house as soon as he could and moved into the apartment building with Shadwell and Tracy. The Dowlings also live in the apartment block. They’re ex-pats who moved for Mr. Dowling’s job. They’re not bad parents per-se but they could be a lot better. Their son Warlock has taken a shine to Crowley and hangs out with him sometimes. Crowley knows what it’s like to be a kid uncomfortable in his own home so he lets Warlock in whenever.

Crowley works as a mechanic when not diving, he has a pet ball python named Eden he spoils, and he’s obsessed with astronomy. He loves  kids and happily volunteers for things at the school when they don’t have enough parents. He’s ambivalent about his gender and sexuality.

Gabriel Herald also had an unfortunate childhood. His dad was in the military and had every hope his son would follow in his footsteps. Gabe, and his mom were not so keen. Gabe was a gentle affectionate kid and she knew that did not make her husband happy. Mr. Herald was a short tempered, verbally abusive man and took most of it out on his wife. Mrs. Herald was a kind woman who loved her son and did everything she could to make sure he never got the brunt of his father’s temper. They moved to the UK when Gabe was young and lived off base.

However it happened they met the Fell’s and spent a lot of time there. Ezra was too young to know what was going on and Gabe never said, but the adults were well aware. The Fells gently talked Mrs. Herald into considering divorce or at the very very least therapy for everybody. Luckily she took their advice to heart. They moved back to the states before the Fell’s knew what happened.

She did get her and Gabe some therapy and was eventually able to divorce her husband. Gabe met Michelle, who was in the US with her military family, at a catholic high school. She had a fairly normal childhood with no huge tragedies. She and Gabe actually dated for just a little while before she realized she wasn’t into men. They proceeded to fake date the rest of high school so the faculty wouldn’t catch wise. Her family took a little adjusting when she came out but accepted it in the end. Gabe and Mikey have been close friends ever since.

Gabe got into boxing right about the time of his parents divorce. His therapist suggested some kind of physical activity and teenage Gabriel wanted to be able to protect his mom in the event his dad got physical…

Mrs. Herald eventually remarried a very kind man who loves her (and Gabe) very much. And Gabe couldn’t be happier. None of them are in contact with Mr. Herald any more.

There was going to be a little scene where Gabe calls home to talk to his mom. Because he’s a mamma’s boy if that wasn’t obvious lol.

Now, for the entire Prince family…I was “required” to give them all names…

Martha and David Prince are now retired and have been for a while. David was a postal carrier, Martha worked at a nursing home. They never pushed their kids to do anything, just supported what they enjoyed. They have no idea how ALL their kids wound up so successful and even with all their love and support they’re overwhelmingly serious and introverted. They’re slightly relieved their youngest is happy to be “something boring.”

Arthur has numerous paintings hanging in fine art museums. He lives on a little farm and cares for his animals in between paintings.

Katherine (Kath) is a sought after architect with her own firm. She’s the second most athletic, keeping in good shape and occasionally running marathons.

William (Will) is a heart surgeon, Martha and David live in his detached cottage.

Charles (Chuck only to his family) Is a property lawyer, and relatively laid back compared to his older siblings. He’s more introverted than serious.

Benjamin (Ben/Benny) is quite friendly and outgoing compared to his siblings. He’s a violin virtuoso and has played around the world.

Elizabeth (Lizzy ONLY to Eleanor) is a world champion archer several times over, and has multiple Olympic gold medals. She teaches lessons but her teaching style drives all but the most dedicated away. She’s not cruel or aggressive, she’s just incredibly blunt.

Eleanor (Nora) is the most bubbly and outgoing of the family. She’s in school getting her higher mathematics degree and will likely become an accountant. She and “Lizzy” are especially close. There was going to be an ongoing text conversation between the two.  Nora is also pretty good friends with Fish.

Katherine, William, and Charles are married with kids. Elizabeth and Gabriel get married a few years into their relationship. Ben is in a long term relationship, but neither of them are in a hurry to get married. Arthur and Nora are single. Arthur has no desire to marry and Nora is just too busy with school to devote time to dating.

Also I know this is in the back of some of your minds, the medal breakdown!

Fish and Newt take bronze

Crowley, Gabe and Anathema get silvers

Ezra and Prince take Gold, Ezra nearly breaking a world record for his lift!

and sadly the UK women’s volleyball team does not medal at all.

#good omens tv #good omens au #good omens fanfiction

[onestowatch]

Del Water Gap on Smash Mouth, Quarantine and “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat” [Premiere + Q&A]

Photo: Angela Ricciardi

Some music is just so vivid that when you hear it, you see it. In the same vein, some songs are so personal that when you listen, it’s like peering into someone's innermost thoughts. Each one of Del Water Gap’s songs possess that power. The artist’s newest single, “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” effectively peels back the curtain on a wandering mind’s thoughts.  

“Ode To a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat” explores feelings of apprehension and angst at the possibility of a lover finding love somewhere else. Frontman S. Holden Jaffe’s soft-hearted vocals flounce over folksy guitars with rock-leaning layerings. The song’s undercurrent is akin to Del Water Gap’s previous classic singer-songwriter style displayed on his Don’t Get Dark EP. But Del Water Gap’s 2020 sound is becoming more and more accented by contemporary touches and heightened tempos. 

We caught up with the man behind the project to find out more about “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” his obsession with Smash Mouth, and how his quarantine is going. 

Ones To Watch: So you’re from rural Connecticut, but moved to Brooklyn during your young adult years. How have or haven’t your surroundings aided in creating your sound?

Del Water Gap: At the time I moved to the city, there was still a really vibrant indie scene happening. CMJ was in full swing, and I was out every weekend seeing bands like The Virgins, Public Access TV, The Drums… The Arctic Monkeys, The Antlers, Diet Cig. Bands and bands. Running into Fabrizio Moretti by the NYU library. I was spending a lot of time at St. Dymphna’s and borrowing electric guitars from my friend Dylan. I loved the music I was ingesting and the scene that came with it.

Did you choose music or did music choose you?

Music chose me - but I was an ardent enabler. I remember standing on my living room table and playing harmonica along with the radio as a kid. Everything in C major sounded decent...? I figured out what one-four-five felt like years before I knew the words for it, just staying quiet and listening. My relationship with music has been a bit of an abusive one in recent years, but I know I’m here for life. I’ve fantasized about quitting and doing something simpler hundreds of times, but i know that's not going to happen any time soon. 

What was it that made you decide to grow Del Water Gap from a personal project into a full blown touring band?

I put out an EP in 2012 under the name Del Water Gap because all of my heroes at the time were solo artists using monikers; Bon Iver, Tallest Man on Earth, St. Vincent… and so on. I moved to NYC without any aspirations of being a performer, but the record started performing a bit on local blogs and my best friend at the time basically forced me to play a show. She said “these are songs to fall in love to.” I refused and refused until she offered to play the show with me, and I finally gave in and booked a slot at Sullivan Hall in the village. I think we nearly sold it out.  

Who would you say your music is for?

People who have run out of podcasts. 

You’ve released “My Body,” featuring Claud, and now “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” both of which admittedly sound a little different from your previous work. The newer singles still have a folksy charm but seem more electronic-leaning or even more pop-leaning. What’s leading this explorative venture?

As I was finishing college I started producing some indie pop artists with my friend Mike Adubato. It was really just a way to help make ends meet, but I spent a year looking over Mike’s shoulder as he built out arrangements. I really got a holistic education in pop production that way. As artists, I think that our work is defined both by our strengths and our limitations, and as my limitations broke open, my work changed. I would simply sit down to make a song and reach for different colors. I also started consuming more indie pop records, and I eventually made the realization that I could take influences from those records without sacrificing any part of myself as a writer or protagonist. 

We love how tender “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat” not only sounds, but actually feels. There’s a ton of intimacy there. It feels like we’re reading a diary entry. Can you give us some more insight into the song’s origin?

The song came out of a slow night in the studio with my good friend Gabe Goodman. We had been in a secret boy band that broke up in 2017, and it was our first time really writing together since things ended. I programmed some drums, and Gabe put most of the music together - we were just getting into a flow when a friend invited us to dinner with one of our musical heroes. We looked at each other and said “Should we go? Do we stop now?” “No, no, no we stay,” we decided. So we kept writing and had a spiked seltzer or two. 

I came back to the studio the next day and moved a few things around and wrote most of the words. I was seeing someone at the time who I really liked, and we had both been walking up to the line of asking the other to be with each other and no one else. Finally, we were sitting together one day and it got all quiet and she goes, “I’ve had this stuck in my throat all day…” And that was the start of our togetherness and the inspiration for the song. 

We were creeping on your Twitter. What’s going on with you, bowl cuts, and Smash Mouth? 

I thought you’d never ask - a few months ago, I was having a coffee playdate with my friend Charlie Burg and he was sketching me from the across the table. He’s really a very good artist, so I was feeling a little competitive and decided I would try my hand at sketching as well. So I grabbed a pen and a napkin from the table and drew this ridiculous line drawing of a horse with a bowl cut and a human face. It looks like something a six year old would draw in art class. It also has this disturbing and surrealist quality to it. We were laughing and laughing at my ridiculous creation and I turned to Charlie and said, “Do you think I could sell this online?” So I threw the napkin on my web store and it sold in five minutes and the whole event was so delightful to me that I made “commemorative” t-shirts and a Horse With Bowl Cut fan club account on Instagram. So a lot of bowl cut content makes its way to me these days. 

Not much to say about Smash Mouth other than the 2001 Smash Mouth self-titled LP is one of the greatest records ever made, and I will gladly teach a college level course on it if any university will lend me a classroom space. 

I read that you draw inspiration from what you eat, But when it comes to flavor, how would you describe your musical palette?

I would describe a musical cheese plate; sweet and savory. Trou Du Cru, a truffle Moelleux des Alpes, a hard Beaufort. Some honey and jam on the side, olives and cornichon. With a generous pile of those really expensive fig crackers they have at Whole Foods. 

What’s been one of the defining moments of your artistic career so far?

My dad FaceTimed me the other day from quarantine wearing a Del Water Gap mock turtleneck and listening to my song “Theory of Emotion.” That was pure power. 

What’s next for you?

I’m putting out the best work of my life so far - a few songs now and a few over the summer and into the fall. I’m touring with girl in red. I’m surviving this pandemic and everything that has come with it. I am trying to be a better friend and take better care of my brain and my body. 

We of course hope you’re staying safe during this time. But how are you keeping quarantine interesting? Or are you?

I am very lucky to be safe and comfortable - I’ve run away to a friend’s house by the ocean, so I have some fresh air and light, and I get to say hi to a seal once in a while. I’ve been journaling and cooking and trying to run twenty miles a week. I’ve been coloring a lot and watching Nashville. The excess of free time has not led to an excess of creation, but I’m trying to be gentle on myself. I think the collective anxiety has taken a toll on all of us. We’ll be writing about this for years to come, but we may have to wait a few years before we start. I shot a music video for “Ode” from quarantine, and have been finishing up my record remotely with Mike and Gabe. One of my best friend’s dad is a practicing buddhist, so he’s been sending me some really powerful literature each day, helping me move towards a more organized spiritual practice. All we can do right now is sit in this and keep in touch with the ones we love, so that’s my work. 

Lastly, who are your Ones to Watch?

I love Rosie Tucker’s record Never Not Never Not Never Not. Miss Grit played one of my favorite shows of the year opening for Daisy the Great at Rough Trade in August. Briston Maroney is making really powerful records. and Claud of course! One of my friends has a new project called Honeywhip, which I have been literally playing on repeat.

#Del Water Gap #interview #ode to a conversation stuck in your throat #indie #singer songwriter #folk