#and the sacrifice dies anyways | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tritoch · 2 months

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wild to me to see posts like "wow everything in the tempest is named after shakespeare...emet you melodramatic bitch you sure loved theater". because the prospero-emet thing gets played up so hard in the english script and you can carry it so far!

like prospero is an asshole magician who, after being deposed by his brother as duke of milan, settles himself and his daughter on a remote island, enslaves the local spirits using his magic, and bitterly plots to reclaim his past glories. he rules through violence and deceit, and only survives and is reconciled when his plots reach their fruition and his brother is taken to his remote island and plots ensue and everyone decides he was totally right all along and they were huge dicks to him and they're sooooo sorry and he gets to go back and be duke again wow! and it's okay because he's like "i was only doing mean magic to get my rightful spot back and now i'm giving it up because magic is evil. :)"

the tempest is what emet wants his life to be. prospero is not a villain in the text of the tempest. he is barely treated as antagonistic by the text and framing of the play itself. all his abuses, his neglect and control of his daughter, his enslavement of caliban and ariel (local spirits/monsters/people of the island), his deception and plots against his brother, his abuse of magical powers (not awesome, from the pov of the contemporary audience), all that ultimately gets swept aside in the rightness of his return to milan and the warm feeling of the world being set to rights. prospero can't undo the years he spent on the island but they are ultimately a blip in his life before he returns to the rightful state of affairs. his abuse and enslavement of caliban, easily the worst thing he does in the play, is totally set aside when caliban goes "wow now i see how truly benevolent my master is. i love him and see the ways of christian good and i'm so, so appreciative he chose not to kill or beat me even though he totally could have and would have been in the right. he's so just and intelligent." everyone loves and forgives him and they all agree both his management of the island and his ultimate return are so good and so wise and so right.

emet comparing himself to the tempest (or being compared to it, depending on how you want to read the diegetic status of the place names) is absolute wishcasting. it is an attempt to manifest the happy ending he will never, ever get because his sins cannot and would not be forgiven in the way he wants. he wants to imagine himself as the righteous returned duke whose crimes, including the enslavement, abuse, and exploitation of those he saw as his rightful inferiors, were totally worth it, i promise. and if emet is prospero, the warrior of light is his caliban.

#emet-selch #ffxiv #hades #shadowbringers spoilers #like by the time you get to the end you've already spoken to the amaurotine shades and hythlodaeus in particular #it's incredibly clear that even if emet's plans come to fruition he is *utterly alien to the world he is trying to restore*#and like prospero is restored in the end. but his wife is still dead. miranda grew up isolated and alone.#also to take a somewhat more jaundiced view #the things he did to caliban and to ariel can never be undone. that stain is with him forever.#and i mean even IF you can just yank all those souls right out of zodiark and fix the whole thing #there's still everyone who died before the first sacrifice and after the second. also THE VOID IS THE VOID.#'yeah uh we'll just fix that. when zodiark is up and running properly.'#sure dude i totally believe your expertise on the problem you caused by not knowing enough. you definitely know enough now.#anyways he can't waver for even a moment bc it means acknowledging he has betrayed everything he ever claimed to believe in due to his grie #he is in blood stepped so far etc. if i can be allowed to mix my shakespeares #emet-selch more like emet-sunk cost fallacy

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jinkiesmariz · 5 months

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ok so like i made the KC charm and tried to post it and it killed my phone

anyways i did this in like the span of 6-8 hours and i think it was worth it >:3 the watermark is there b/c i genuinely do wanna make this a charm tho and ill probably make apost for interest checks after i do enough for a group ANYWYAS HERES KC/NANA!!!! she has strings b/c of her puppeteering magicks #amen

#mcd #aphblr #jinks art #minecraft diaries #jinks posts #chibi art #chibi #art #kc mcd #kawaii chan #kawaii chan mcd #mcd kawaiichan #mcd kawaii chan #kawaiichan mcd #nana mcd #mcd nana #anyways everyone say thank you to lucy for being forcedd to stay in call w/ me for several hours while i made this #poor guy died by the end of it but we shall rememebr his sacrifice :3

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rosesradio · 4 months

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i think the biggest characterization error in tsats is, while they did acknowledge nico has deeper struggles & nuances, they ultimately gave him the “lol emo boy who loves his mcdonalds” bit as a personality that was a wildly popular fanonization of him in like. 2012

#he used mcdonalds as a sacrifice one time & it became a core facet of his fanon character ever since #i don’t even think he ate a fry from the box 😭#anyways another addition of me making hot take (or medium take) posts & then going to bed so do with this what you will #nico di angelo #pjo #anti tsats

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jankwritten · 3 months

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Jasico Bingo Challenge: love letter

A sheet of paper, folded into thirds, dotted in places with what must be water and grass stains. The handwriting is legible in some places, and shaky in others. In the margins are small doodles of birds, clouds, trees, and other miscellaneous, abstract shapes, as if the writer’s mind kept wandering.

TO: Nico di Angelo

FROM: Jason Grace

Hey, Nico. If you’re reading this, something probably happened to me. Maybe I hit my head again and lost my memories, or something, and you went through my stuff to try and find things to remind me of who I was. Maybe this fell out while we were hanging out, one day, and you saw it was addressed to you and you picked it up. Maybe I died—

However you found this, I guess, surprise! :)

First thing’s first: I’m sorry for leaving. I know I begged you to stay, and then turned around and left, and I really hope you understand - I didn’t leave because of you. I needed to find Leo, and leaving with Piper was the easiest way to do that. I had to try and get him back.

I wanted you to come with, but you were still healing and things were going really well with you and Will. I hope things still are, in fact. Wherever I am, I’m so proud of you for how far you’ve come, and how much I’m sure you continued to grow even after I left.

I really love you, man. I never got to tell you that, but you’re one of my best, closest friends. You mean so much to me. You showed me a side of the world that I never would’ve seen otherwise, and gave me a space to be myself, and I will never, ever know how I deserved that. How I deserve you.

Is that out of left field? Haha it definitely is. Sorry.

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Nico. I didn’t want to leave. I’m so sorry for leaving you. I’m sorry I had to go and I’m sorry it had to be me, but it couldn’t be her, Nico, it can’t be her, it can’t be. It has to be me.

It has to be.

Here, some of the words are smeared from the water marks. Lines cross through some words that have then been re-written, as if in after-thought the author realized they were too important to delete.

If you really are reading this, after the worst case scenario, I understand if you’re angry. I understand if you never want to think about me again, after what I’ve done. I’ll understand if you storm to your father’s palace and demand I be placed in the worst of the worst punishments for being so stupid.

Gods. Gods, Nico, I’m never going to get to tell you how I really feel. About all of this, about everything I’m going through, I’m never going to be able to tell you and that hurts. It hurts more than knowing I’m going to die, it hurts more than getting stabbed and poisoned. I’m going to die loving you and you won’t even know until it’s too late.

Maybe this is a stupid bad idea. Maybe I should let it die with me. Is it cruel, to tell you how I feel if I’m gone? Does this make me an awful person?

Shit. I think I’m an awful person, Nico. I’m awful and I’m selfish and I can never choose things for myself, it always has to be for the greater good, so this is it. This is as selfish as I can be. This is all I can be for you.

I want to see you on the other side. I want you to punch me for getting myself killed and hate me for being a hero and I want you to know that I didn’t want this but it needed to be me. It has to be me.

I’m still wrapping my head around it, but it has to be me, okay? So if I’m really gone when you’re reading this, okay, you have to let me stay gone. Please. If you get hurt, if you die, and it’s my fault, I could never—

Here, the letter abruptly stops. Then, it continues:

That’s all I wanted to say, anyway. That I love you. I love you in any way I can, and even if I’ve done it silently, and stupidly, from a distance, just know that it was there, the whole time. It’s still there, wherever I am. Dead, or lost, or whatever. I love you, Nico. I’m sorry.

-- Jason Grace :)

#jasicobingochallenge2024 #love letter #tw major character death ment #tw suicidal ideation #i haven't read TOA so I don't really know what Went Down with this shit but I think Jason did journal-type letters to people #he wrote down whatever it was he wished he could say to them before he died #I think there's one to Piper about how much he loves her and wishes things could've been different for them #I think there's one to Leo where Jason pours his guts out about how much he hates him and needs him and wishes he hadn't died #(the irony of that is lost on him)#he writes one to Reyna about how he wishes they had more time to be friends again #He writes one to Hazel begging her to keep an eye on Nico. pleasing for her forgiveness because he knows she'll be so angry #one to Percy and Annabeth in a similar vein.#i thik Jason just had a lot of feelings that he never let himself feel until he decided to die for everyone #and in that moment his dams broke and he realized that he was never going to have the chance to be himself #not really #he was destined for this. he was destined to be the son of jupiter champion of hera sacrifice of olympus.#who knew the boy raised by wolves was really a lamb for the slaughter #ANYWAY. :)#pjo #jason grace #hoo #nico di angelo #jasico

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simplyender · 8 months

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THE COMICS GIVE SPOT ABS?

oh baby.....

98% of spots iterations are absolutely JACKED, probably because he made his debut in the 80s (1984 to be specific, the good year of Footloose!) and they kinda only knew how to draw one body type, lol. maybe, despite being a scientist, he used his free time to work out?

he also dies

again

...and again

...and again!

conclusion: get some body fat or you will not be able to survive the harsh marvel comics winter.

bonus: heres him making deadpool kick himself in the crotch. lmao.

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almea · 2 years

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#RWBY #Yang Xiao Long #ice queendom spoilers #Every day I miss Bumblebee even though it was sacrificed for the greater good #Anyways I'm in pain right now because the second and third gifs look better as one gif #Because they flow very well together #But the quality kind of dies if I make them one gif so sacrifices had to be made

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shima-draws · 3 months

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The fact that this won’t even be the LAST time Sanji gets horribly manipulated by another woman. I’m just 😔

#HE’S A SIMP and girls take advantage of that too often 😭#AND THE FACT THAT he still forgives them anyway!! Even after putting him through hell!!#Listen say what you want about Sanji but there’s no denying that he’s. SUCH a good person #Too good of a person who is endlessly kind and caring and forgiving #Sanji gives and gives and gives and never takes. He’s so stupidly selfless sometimes it makes me want to cry #And people take advantage of that so often :’(#HE’S A GOOD BOY!!! He doesn’t deserve this #Shima speaks #One Piece #Sanji #Black Leg Sanji #He literally became my favorite (besides Luffy) for this exact reason #The fact that he’s so self sacrificing. The fact that he gives himself entirely to other people #And doesn’t expect anything in return #And has so little self worth I just. FUCKING hell dude.#His attempted sacrifice at Thriller Bark was a really big thing too #’They can always find another cook’ that was probably his thought process #BUT SANJI MY LOVE. THEY CAN NEVER FIND ANOTHER SANJI. ANOTHER YOU #If Sanji had taken Zoro’s place he WOULD have died. And that would have fucking torn Luffy APART #SLAMS MY HEAD INTO THE GROUND UGHHH SANJI. I LVOE YOU

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sillypiratelife · 4 months

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When Sanji sacrifices himself he's aware of what he's doing. He knows exactly what is at stake and how much he's given and why his act is bad to others or himself, why it must be done either way. From what I see, it's a reflection of his self-esteem and his desire to put others first, it's guilt and it's self-punishment and he knows, okay?

When Zoro sacrifices himself he's insane, batshit crazy. He doesn't want to die per se, he doesn't hate himself and doesn't do it out of punishment. His dreams are bigger than his life, they are more valuable, so he's never afraid to put his life at risk when it comes to fulfilling what he thinks his duty is. You could say it's his honor or his code of life— Zoro can survive the deadliest wounds, the worst circumstances, 'cause he doesn't seek death, it's just that he won't avoid it either.

I love that contrast and how clear it is during the encounter of Zoro and Mihawk in Baratie.

#they both live to carry other people's dreams that are also their own #Zeff's dream of finding the All Blue and Kuina's dream of becoming the best swordwoman ever #They both fight with the techniques snd experience that were passed down to them by Zeff and Kuina #The difference is that Zeff cutting his leg and giving all the food to Sanji made Sanji feel eternally guilty and unworthy #he thinks he has to sacrifice himself for others so much #Zeff hates seeing how he drags himself down when other hadn't even asked that of him #Meanwhile Kuina's death drove Zoro to go all out never fearing his death #He could die trivially in some accident like Kuina did but the difference is that Kuina died reaching for her sword #Call it whatever you want but Zoro learned from her to don't let desth stop you it can catch you whenever anyway #Fear of death can be the thing that stops you from reaching your dreams so you need to teach yourself how to live plenty #Zoro's opinion on sacrifice is closer to Luffy's #The insanity of those two #It really hurts to see Sanji around them because of that #He's position is closer to Nami's in that sense #She who sacrificed everything for her village and her people #shan blogs about one piece!#one piece anime #roronoa zoro #black leg sanji

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lionydoorin · 1 year

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so how do you think things would go in 6 if amber got away with being ghostface, say ritchie shot liv and amber never revealed herself and he died before he could reveal his partner. does his family know about amber, does she specifically get targeted alongside sam. how does tara react when she learns that amber was the one that attacked her last year

oh. OH this would be a treat.

i'm gonna put this under the cut because i'm pretty sure i'm gonna talk a lot.

amber getting away would play really well into the whole "she's the real mastermind" thing the directors had said in an interview before. the idea that she didn't really love richie but saw him as a means to an end, in this case, the creation of her perfect stab 8 script.

she wasn't stupid. she knew his plan of framing sam carpenter for the murders would probably not work; and, quite frankly, the idea of having the daughter of the original serial killer as an unexpected hero was as enticing as having her as the killer. so, when things got rough, she betrayed him.

when he shot liv, amber sprung into action, throwing her body on top of his as she held his arm up. surprised eyes stared back at her as she smirked, kicking between his legs so he would kneel on the ground in front of her. tara, in all of her bravery, assisted her in holding his arm, while amber did her best to pull the gun from his grip; richie shot her shoulder, right then, hearing her groan in pain as she falls back beside mindy's unconscious body.

he's the one who ties tara and hides her in the closet, expecting amber to follow up with the plan. they didn't talk about her outwardly attacking him, but she was supposed to reveal herself later, so he figured she was just playing her part as a survivor. richie's also the one who tries to trick sidney and gale when they arrive, but, not only does he fail, but he misses the shot that would hit gale before he walks back in.

he also expects amber to make sidney's phone call, one that never comes, and sam stabs him in the back with a knife before he can shoot sidney or gale as they walk in. they fight, him shooting her in the abdomen twice as she falls to the ground.

before he can finish her off, tara hits him with one of her crutches, having been untied by amber while the fight erupted in the entrance. sam gets on top of him, throwing the gun away before she stabs him 22 times and slits his throat just the same.

amber is taken away in an ambulance, her eyes closed, hand over the wound that was bleeding out. she's filled with pride and joy as she's taken to the hospital, knowing she got everything she wanted and more.

true to her word, she sells a stab 8 remake script written by her, anonymously, as soon as gale weathers publishes her book about the 2022 murders. the movie is announced six months later.

scream 6 plays similarly, as well, only with amber filling the place as tara's love interest where chad is in the original movie. i'd like to think they would be back to their constant dancing around each other, tara not confessing out of fear of losing amber. she moves in with them in new york, sharing an apartment with tara, sam and, eventually, quinn.

she didn't know the rest of the kirsch family— they didn't really talk about these stuff, too busy obsessing over their plan for six months to even think about the future he thought they would have. quinn did know about amber, though, having found their texts plotting the woodsboro killings back when the family received richie's personal belongings after his death.

it filled the family with rage, seeing her walk away with it while he was dead. and when quinn accidentally walked into amber almost kissing tara, the girl who she once planned to murder, after the halloween party, she felt furious.

sam was still their primary target, of course – she was the one who ultimately killed richie, and did so in such a brutal, humiliating way. but, after telling her father and brother about who amber was, and what she'd done, it was obvious she had to go down, as well.

but to simply kill her would be one thing; they had to crush her completely, starting by ruining everything she seems to have done her best to build.

it starts by injuring her when they get to the abandoned theatre. amber and tara finally share their first kiss, so lost in their own universe they don't notice the hooded presence behind tara, not until she is stabbed in the back.

the other ghostface is quick to do the same to amber, slicing her shoulder, letting out a chuckle as the raven haired girl screams and immediately turns to throw a punch at them. sam and chad appear to the rescue right when amber is stabbed on her side; chad pushes ghostface away from her, and is still stabbed multiple times while amber and sam hold tara — who's yelling chad's name, sobbing, as she watches her friend get murdered right in front of her.

amber is exposed when they're back inside, the three ghostfaces staring back at them as they reveal themselves. just like in the original one, dialogue starts when quinn takes off her mask, revealing herself as the third killer. "hey roomies, didn't see that one coming, did you?"

"yeah, because you died!" tara exclaims, eyes wide, staring at quinn like she's looking at a ghost. amber places a hand on her hip, pulling her back.

"kinda didn't, though," quinn raises her eyebrows, looking at her father for a brief moment before continuing. "it was a good way to get off the suspect list. stab gale weathers, stab mindy on the train... that sort of thing."

"and just i made sure that i was first on the scene, so i could switch her body up with a fresh one." detective bailey says, squeezing his children's shoulders as to signal them to continue with what they had orchestrated. "a little fake blood, a prosthetic... you'd be amazed in what a grieving father can get away with."

"though, we aren't the only experts at getting away with stuff here!" ethan giggles, walking to nancy loomis' mannequin so he can place her mask in its place. "isn't that right, amber?"

sam and tara immediately turn to look at her.

"what the fuck are you talking about?"

wayne rolls his eyes, pointing the gun at her as she takes a step towards him. "oh, please, your little act would never last. in one way or another, the past would come right. back. at you."

amber looks to her sides, clenching her fists, noticing how sam is immediately taking a few steps away from her, in tara's direction. tara is still stuck in place, frowning, her eyes searching for the truth in amber's expressions.

a sound draws their attention away from the girl.

projected on the curtains, there plays a video where richie kirsch is seen lying against a hotel bed, his hair wet from the shower and an arm positioned behind his head. he seems to be laughing at something, and when he turns the camera to record the something in question, a hooded figure is there, cloak and knife in hands as they turn around to show off their costume.

how do i look, honey?

amber's voice fills the speakers, making both of the carpenter sisters look at her with wide eyes.

you look amazing, baby. and you'll look even better with tara carpenter's blood all over your mask.

amber's eyes are glued to the screen, lips pursed, a scowl ever present as she watches the clip. she doesn't feel fear or guilt, but a secret third thing; this unexplainable shame at getting caught, of having what is definitely her biggest, darkest secret exposed to those that mattered the most.

this is when tara also backs up, feeling sam pull her by the wrist so she can position herself in front of her younger sister. while tara's eyes fill with tears, sam's are of pure rage, looking at amber as if she's the worst thing she has ever seen.

as tara realizes what it all means, all of her breath is pulled away from her throat and she's clawing her chest, her other hand holding on to sam as she lets out a painful sob. it feels like a knife to her chest, carving her up, writing amber and killer on her heart before it rips it in tiny pieces.

"tara, i-"

"stay the fuck back, freeman!" sam growls, gritted teeth and furious eyes all but demanding her to not come closer. she tightens her grip on tara and takes another step back, feeling tara's shaky grip on her faltering.

"a-amber, how- how could- you.. you are.." tara whispers in between sobs, big doe eyes staring back at amber's seemingly empty ones.

"tara, i'm not the same person i was a year ago. i changed. i chose you, i chose to stay with you and-"

"oh please, amber, you never chose anyone but yourself, you can't expect people to fall for the same little tricks you pull over and over again. you're a selfish cunt who manipulates people into getting what you want, only to discard them when they're not useful to you." ethan scoffs, rolling his eyes as he interupts amber's scene.

"this isn't true! tara, please, believe me, i-"

sam clenches her fists, wide eyes staring into amber's as she all but growls once again. "freeman, if you don't shut the fuck up i will cut you into pieces-"

"there she is," quinn taunts, eyebrows raised, slowly walking towards sam and tara with her knife pointed at the oldest carpenter. the tip of her knife traces sam's chest, and she is stuck in the spot, hearing tara's shaky breath behind her as her grip on sam's hand tightens. "there's the fucking killer."

"wh- a kil- look, i don't know what you believe, but i didn't commit those murders in woodsboro, it wasn't me!" sam angrily spits out, face inches way from quinn's as she looks at her straight in the eyes.

"oh we know that, of course you didn't- what, you think this is based on some bullshit conspiracy theory? come on, who do you think that started the rumours about you in the first place?" bailey exclaims, pointing at quinn with his head, his daughter smirking as she waves with her free hand.

"because it's not enough to just kill someone these days. you have to assassinate their character first." ethan approaches them, pulling amber towards him as he places his knife in front of her throat. "so when dad here 'discovers' your horribly mutilated bodies, posed with sam wearing her father's mask and amber wearing hers? they'll say some poor, dumb bastard read on the internet that you were the real ghostfaces and took matter into their own deluded hands."

"exactly! that's why it's the perfect alibi! and all the best lies are based on the truth. you," bailey points at amber, then at sam, "and you, are both killers. just like your father, samantha."

"no i'm not!"

"yes you are, you motherfucker, you killed our brother!"

"you... you're richie's family?" amber says, struggling against ethan's hold as the knife sits on her throat, threatening to sink into it with every movement.

bailey was right. the past did come to get her. and there was little she could do to stop it.

#okay i'm gonna stop here #whether amber really cares about tara or if she's only saying that to try to save her ass is up to the viewer's interpretation #but there are three ways she could end in scream 6:#a) she sacrifices herself to stop the kirsch/baileys. again- not necessarily because she truly loves or care about tara #but also because she knows there's no way she would get out of this alive #b) she helps them kill the family. sam is still furious and still very much wants her to pay for what she did to tara.#amber tries to fight for her life but is ultimately overpowered by sam and dies with the other ghostfaces #or c) she helps them kill the family. sam doesn't kill her.#kirby was there though. and she arrests amber alive. she's sentenced to life in prison and tara never sees her again #anyway. there is no way she would ever be forgiven and sam wouldn't allow such a person near her sister with a reason :)#so it's a lose-lose-lose situation for amber #ma talks scream #ask #krikeymate #scream #sam carpenter #tara carpenter #carpenter sisters #amber freeman #tamber #ma ur writing

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happyk44 · 7 months

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"I'm not leaving you behind! It is my duty," he hissed. "I swore myself-"

"Your swore yourself because you had no choice, Percy." Her eyes were endless dark, devoid of feeling, of life. "You had a price to pay for your mother's life and this was your only offer." Her thin fingers cup his face through the bars. "You didn't choose to be my protector." She gave a weak laugh that made his stomach plummet to the floor. "You're not even my guard yet, not really."

Like a phantom, her touch slid down his cheek. He caught her wrist before her fingertip stopped gracing his skin. He could feel the rounded edge of her fingernail poke against him. Silence held fraught between them.

"Bianca-"

"Percy," she cut in, voice so sharp it cut him to the core. "I want you to survive. You're free. Take advantage of that, and go. Now."

"I can't go back without you," he said, quickly. She didn't fight his hold, but still his grip tightened. As though the harder he held her, the more she would stop protesting her escape. "You are-"

"Dead." Her lips thinned. "I'm dead, Percy. I was dead the moment they got their hands on me and I will be dead before either one of us even makes it beyond these walls, but you-" Her voice cracked, eyes watering.

He shook his head. Blood pounded in his ears. He didn't want to hear what she was going to say, wanted her to stop, wanted it all to stop. Just for a moment.

But it didn't, and neither did she. With a deep breath, she carried on, "You can make it. You can live. But only if you leave without me, so go."

His lungs burned. She inhaled so deeply, spoke so forcefully, and it made him hold the air in his chest until he couldn't take it anymore. If he didn't breathe, maybe she would. But his chest ached. Self-loathing wedged itself like a rock in his throat as he let go. The sound of his own breath was like nail on chalkboard.

"Percy," she whispered. He shook his head and leaned in closer. Although tears hadn't yet fallen, her eyes were still wet. They glistened like the night sky. Her forehead pressed against the bars.

He looked away. The brick wall to his left was growing a fair bit of moss in the corner. "What's our star again?"

She laughed. It was a watery thing that choked him where he stood. Memories of standing the long grass, moonlight shining off the river, while she read her books beside him. Every so often, she'd look up at the night sky and search for the brightest star that month. She'd tell the stories behind the constellations. Or at least the stories from her kingdom. Any time she told a story, a fantastical myth, she'd follow up that her brother knew more - Nico, the quiet prince with a voracious appetite for legends and monsters.

Then, if she could spot the brightest star that month and if she recalled, she'd tell him what it meant for the people born that month. At least, in their hemisphere anyway. The stars were different elsewhere. Sometimes she'd crack open the newspaper, the stark image of her father, and read aloud the horoscopes.

He still remembered the incredulous sound she made when he told her they shared the same birthday. She'd dragged him to the library to refresh her memory on their star. Then argued furiously that he did not share the same traits as her.

It was a silly thing. She didn't believe it. He didn't either. But it was the first time they hadn't played the stiff act of royal princess and her knight-in-training. Not Percy holding his tongue and following strictly one step behind. Not Bianca doing her best to pretend he wasn't her shadow.

Awkward civility and stiffness carried thick between them from the moment Percy had been casted into his role. But that night, with the sound of yelling and laughter still echoing in their ears, they made an agreement. They didn't have to be the best of friends, but they sure could be casual with each other. After all, they were going to be stuck with each other for the rest of their lives.

At least... they were supposed to be.

Slowly each finger detached one by one until all that was left was his palm pressed against her wrist. Then that fell away too. Still he couldn't bare to turn his head and face her.

"Leo," she said. "The lion. Strength, pride, loyalty, confidence."

A stabbed orange toy on new year's day passed through his mind. "Sacrifice."

It was quiet for a beat. Then, "Yes." His heart hammered so fast he could feel it in his throat. "The lion represents sacrifice."

What was he supposed to say? He wanted to run, to turn the lock with the key he stole, take her and run. Run far and fast. But deep inside, he knew she was right. He could get by undetected. No one cared about a child knight, not even yet passed his training. He could blend in and slip out. Even if he got caught, they wouldn't nearly put in as much effort to get him back as they would if she were with him.

She was right.

She was already dead.

He swallowed thickly and met her eyes again. The night sky glistened back at him and he thought of constellations and warm handshakes and kind agreements and silly arguments. Breath caught in his throat. "I'll miss you," he whispered, voice hoarse.

Her lips twitched. "I'll miss you too." She blinked, and one tear slid down her cheek. He tracked the wet trace it left behind until it welled up at the bottom of her chin and dripped to the floor. "Will you do me a favour?"

"You're my princess," he said. "I would do anything for you."

It was a weak smile she gave before she spoke. The sight of it crushed him. "Tell my family I love them." Her breath escaped from her shakily. She pushed back her hair. A classic move to hide the nerves that drove her hands to tremble ever so slightly. "And take care of Nico. Please."

"I will," he promised.

Her smile strengthened ever so slightly. But the tears fell fast now, one right after the other. Her face tilted away at the first streak. He immediately turned his line of sight back to the brick wall. Weakness, sadness, grief - she hated being seen with any of them. He always respected it. Look away until she was done. Don't speak, don't ask her anything, don't help her. Just look away and stay silent unless she calls out.

So, even as his mind's eye was trapped in the wet track of tears on her skin, the hitched sound of her breath holding in a cry, he turned and headed back for the dungeon's door. The doorknob twisted in his hand. The door cracked open.

"Percy."

He held stiff. "Yes?"

"Don't forget the bracelet."

Heat burned at the back of his head. In his pocket, the bracelet felt heavier than the weight of the world. When he had first arrived, she gave it to him. When he refused to take it, insistent that she could deliver it to Nico herself, she shoved it into his pocket herself. Like a ghostly stain, his thigh still tingled with the forceful and firm press of her hand. He was sure it always would.

"I won't."

"Stay safe," she said, a princess in a dungeon ready and waiting to die.

His heart shattered. Still, he kept his head held high. "I will."

Then, without another word, he left the girl he had spent the last three years training to protect. He was meant to die for her. It was the role he had accepted the night he and his friends had stormed the castle and pleaded for help with his dying mother. He didn't argue. He didn't plead. Without hesitation, he swore his life away for hers. Without hesitation, he swore his last breath would be hers.

Yet she was the one embracing the eternal coldness to come. She was the one breathing weakly so he could breathe strong. She was trading away her life for his. She was the lion, giving a mighty roar before the dawn of a new year. She was the sacrifice, held down by chains with a glistening sharp blade raised above her head.

But he wasn't the one lowering it upon her neck. No, he was the cold breath of winter. The first drop of snow. The wilting grass. He was the barren wasteland that drove her out into the open. He was the starving masses desperate to live. He didn't have to drop the blade. He didn't have to use his own hands to spill her blood across the ground. His survival was her end. And that made him her killer anyway.

#bianca di angelo #percy jackson #had this thought that was basically what if percy was bianca's bodyguard and became obsessed with protecting nico after she died #and this this happened #happy talks pjo #my writing #my fanfic #the lion leo constellation thing was spur of the moment so the whole sacrifice concept after was made up as i was going along #but anyway the thing i made up for it in this AU or whatever is that in hades' kingdom the start of the year begins with winter #so in the before times winter would come and the people would struggle but they'd be okay but one day the winter was awful #the food stores were ruined and the winter farms were weakened so people began to go hungry as they rationed the food #but the winter was so bad it also drove out the animals in the forest including a pack of lions which the people killed for meat to survive #so every new year as a tradition a lion is sacrificed as like a promise of survival and prosperity and health and whatever #a real lion is sacrificed publicly by the royal family. other people will sacrifice a placeholder like a lion toy or a painting of a lion #idk what they do with the lion after - maybe the royal family eats it or households do a lottery to get a portion of its meat delivered #could i not have just made up a separate new thing for percy's birthday month? yeah. but that would've required more effort and i'm so tire #fuuuck is it really 10pm? shit i need to eat

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