hang in there, bud thank u as always to soph for helping me through my funk
“JASOOOON!!!”
Jason groans, and manages to roll himself over as the weight on top of him adjusts from his back to his belly.
“Why are you calling me by my first name?” he asks the weight, frowning.
A mini Piper - he’s unsure his second daughter inherited any of his genes - stares back at him and shrugs her little shoulders.
“I dunno. That’s what mommy yells when she wants your attention.”
Jason laughs, big and loud, and reaches up to tickle his daughter for her troubles. Her giggle could cure ailments, he’s sure. It rings out alongside his own laugh and he’s not sure how he managed to bottle happiness like this.
“Jason! Blair! Breakfast is ready!”
Jason grins at the sound of his wife’s yelling voice. It’s so damn domestic that he can’t help it. He jumps off the bed, leaving it a mountain of duvet and pillows, and takes a sprinter’s stance.
“Race you,” he challenges Blair.
She gasps and scrambles off the bed, already yelling that he has an advantage as she takes off through the door ahead of him. Jason laughs again, big bellied and loud, and takes off after her towards the kitchen.
He catches up to her at the threshold of the kitchen and scoops her up, blowing raspberries into her belly.
“Daaaaddyyy! Stooopppp!” She giggles through her protests and slaps his leg when he puts her back down.
Their oldest daughter is sitting at the breakfast table opposite her mom, sipping her orange juice and reading her book like she’s much older than eight. Kylie is his brainchild, Piper has always argued.
Jason kisses the top of her head and she mumbles, “Morning, dad.”
“Morning, Kyles.”
Piper raises her eyebrows over her coffee.
“Morning,” he says, walking over and kissing the top of her head.
“Morning, dear,” she says lightly. It used to be said sardonically but now he hears the familiar affection seem into the term of endearment. “You were dead to the world this morning. Everything alright?”
the real question is where are all the Annabeth as Matilda aus
Annabeth wearing a beautiful red ribbon in her hair (but she ties her braid with it cause curly hair)
she doesn’t fit in with her family who is all being proper and courteous and children are to be seen and not heard, but Annabeth is loud questions and rude interruptions and incessant tapping or drumming or humming– you never have to question if she’s in a room, she’ll make herself known
books are hard at first, and she’s not sure if she likes them but the library in her family’s giant house is the only place she can hide where no one ever finds her
she finds herself falling in love with stories and authors, and no matter how hard it is for her to get through a book, she always finishes them feeling successful
going to school is the first time she feels powerful in her life! finally a place she is seen and heard and encouraged
her questions aren’t answered with scoffs or silence, but rather they spark conversation and for the first time she’s actually getting answers
LITTLE ANNABETH UNLOCKING HER BRAIN POWER
“you were born into a family that doesn’t always appreciate you, but one day things are going to be very different.” K I L L M E
Annabeth had taught herself to compartmentalise from a young age. She was an overly emotional child, often finding herself crying from frustration and in times of anger, unable to express what or why she was feeling what she was. This line of work had forced her to press a pause on those overwhelming emotions to allow her to focus on what needed to be done. It wasn’t that she wasn’t often driven by her emotions, it was just that she had practiced a certain amount of control which ensured that her decisions were methodical and pragmatic too.
She wasn’t sure she had ever felt so much rage in her life when she had read that note which told her - though not explicitly - that Percy had been taken. Anger comes second, her mother’s voice schooled her inside her own head, tell me what came before that.
Fear.
Pure, unadulterated fear. That she would lose him, had lost him. That he was hidden somewhere out of her reach in the hands of some asshole who would hurt him to get what they wanted. She knew from Percy’s stories that he had been in some unpleasant situations before, but never because of her. She feared for his safety, for his life. Mostly, she feared that she would never get to see the shape of his smile again, or feel the way he held her, or enjoy the way he loved her.
So when she stood in front of the man who had tried to take this love away from her, who had used Percy as nothing more than bait, as a source of information, the anger she felt nearly overwhelmed her. But she didn’t let it. She had a job to do and then she would go home, to the love of her life who was safe, now. This man would enjoy no such luxuries.
“Are you going to kill me now, Miss Chase?” the General asked in a slow, derisive tone.
Annabeth allowed herself to smile as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at him. He was tied to the very chair that Percy had been bound to minutes earlier, and already had a split lip which was weeping blood onto his chin.
If I ever go to Boston I’m gonna make sure I have a sign that says “Percy would never leave NY” on me at all times so if I see That Man I can hold the sign up with one hand and give him the finger with the other
I’m still quitting this blog but I think Hermes was a good dad in the ways he could be and even Athena was nice to Annabeth and was protective of her and Poseidon started some shit by publicly claiming Percy and stopped by when he could so like sure they suck if you’re going off every day parenting standards, but when you consider they’ve been having kids for thousands of years and have weird celestial constraints, they’re doing a pretty bang up job
I know you’ve been going through some thangs Wanna get away, baby, let me be your vacation That other trick you’ve been fuckin’ with is a trip You know she be playin’, baby I am just saying I know you know I am down for whatever, yeah You know I’m just here to make you feel better, yeah Take a load off on my private island Come inside and go into hiding I know that you’ve been sacrificing your time And need time to unwind and let go So let go and let’s go and let’s roll and we roll
Imagine /that one kid/ at Camp Jupiter who’s like “I’m gonna be an orthodontist” and all his peers are like “okay nerd” but then they grow up and he’s the only orthodontist in New Rome and he makes BANK. Suddenly all these kids who were like “what a dumb job choice” are cutting this dude checks to get their kids some straight teeth and then he’s the richest mofo at the Cohort reunion saying what’s up to his haters lmao. But they can’t even really be mad?? They’re just like “Respect”.
Jason was the first little one the wolf pack had in centuries, so they all suffered a lot of pulled whiskers and yanked tails during his time with them. Sometimes when he hears a dog growl he’s struck by sensory memories of the feel of wolf fur and being pinned between two giant paws as his hair is cleaned by a wolf tongue
His scar from the stapler is the tip of the iceberg as far as those wolves are concerned. That kid knew how to get himself in trouble and fast. They were constantly pulling him out of trees and diverting him from running right off of a cliff and pulling rocks out of his mouth. You’d think being raised by literally wolves would give the kid at least some self preservation skills, but he has absolutely zero. He has to learn them much later, when he’s part of the Roman legion. Until then, he happily pulls on the wolves ears and lets them carry him out of harms way between their sharp teeth.
The only time he was ever still was during thunder storms. He would curl up against the nearest wolf, usually hugging their tail like most kids hug a stuffed animal, and just stare up in awe as the clouds rumbled and lightning lit up the night sky. Storms quickly became favorites of the wolves because it meant they got a moment of not worrying what that little troublemaker was getting in to.
His love of thunderstorms continues into adolescence and eventually adulthood. When he first arrived at Camp Jupiter though, he really struggled sleeping in the bunks. He was used to sleeping on the floor or curled up next to a wolf. So he’d often end up sneaking out of the barracks and climbing onto a roof to lay and look at the stars. Though he didn’t have the comfort of an enormous animal’s deep breaths soothing him to sleep, he would swear he could hear the rumbling sounds as he lay on his back and listened to the wind and the distant sounds of the river and the quiet murmurings of the patrolling campers switching their shifts. All new sounds to become used to but at least there was noise; it was the silence he found most difficult to adjust to.
For his 14th birthday, Jason’s friends in the Legion pool their money to buy him an MP3 player. Gwen pulls him aside one day and teaches him how to download ambient noises, so he spends his afternoon finding every track of wolf howls he can find. He puts them on a playlist and arranges them in a specific order, and his friends laugh at how Jason he’s being about the whole thing. After a particularly hard day of training and chores, Jason grabs his MP3 player and heads up to the roof of the barracks. He puts in his earbuds and closes his eyes, letting sounds that make him feel like he’s home lull him to sleep. (Some nights he starts howling along and doesn’t even realize)
He becomes very Peter Quill about his MP3 player and holds onto it for years until it’s finally lost during the war with the titans. He tries to be nonchalant about it - people have died after all - but he’s really sad. Not only was it something which had given him comfort for years, but it was a truly meaningful gift from his legion who had slowly become a family to him. And when he was pushed into the preatorship next to the person who was essentially a stranger to him, he felt lost without the little MP3 player. He didn’t have too much time to mourn it though, before Hera decided to uproot his life. The first time he hears the hellhounds howling in the woods of Camp Half Blood, though, he feels one step closer to safe - he has no idea why though, of course.
As an adult, Jason loves to go on hikes. Everyone around him jokes that you shouldn’t be his friend unless you’re ready to live an active lifestyle. But a lot of the time, he loves going to hike by himself. He climbs rocks and avoids tree branches and sometimes, when he reaches a peak and no one is around, he indulges himself by throwing his head back and letting out a howl. (Never mind the beginner hikers down on the trail stopping in their tracks to ask each other “wait there’s not wolves in this park, right?!”)
Later on, Jason even adopts a couple of wild dogs. Taking them on hikes makes him feel alive in a way he can’t put into words. The feeling of being part of a pack again, the feel of taking a break and resting against a furry heap of muscles that he knows would do anything to protect him…. it’s the closest a demigod can get to Elysium on earth, he thinks. That feeling of true safety.
Seriously can you imagine all the dumb ass weapons requests the Hephaestus cabin has to sort through in a summer they’re like “no Byron you can’t have a stuffed animal that’s actually a Greek-fire bomb and also has a satellite radio who the hell do you think you are”
Memory Lane" is an automaton diorama by Mark Ryden. Part of the exhibition “The Gay Nineties West” at Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles CA. May 3, 2014 to June 28, 2014.
Short story… I use to have this beautiful Bonsai tree!
It was my favorite, and I took real good care of it because it was my plant baby and I LOVEDit!!
Well… One day I had to leave for a while on a trip, and I couldn’t bring it with me. So, I left it with my family to take care of it, showed them everything on what to do—Guess what?
When I came home, it was dying because they didn’t take care of it at all! I was so heartbroken…
.
.
Now… Its not the same but I bought a lego Bonsai tree in memory of my deceased one!
Living with memory loss is hard, I can’t reminisce about my childhood, I can hardly experience nostalgia. At least I get to make new, happy memories everyday. That’s the only thing that makes me happy and that’s enough for me.
If you could do one thing every day that makes you happy, what would that be?
There’s a cafe downstairs where I live and I love sitting near the door drinking my latte and reading on my phone.
What is the one memory that stands out above all others?
I don’t think that has happened yet.
What is your favourite comfort food?
Pepperoni and mushroom pizza St. Louis style.
Do you still have a possession(s) from your childhood that you keep for comfort and/or sentimental reasons?
I only have my memories such as the story my Dad would always tell of me when I was a toddler, stumbling around in the middle of the night in my diaper trying to sneak into my parent’s bedroom with my bottle (and basket) of milk.
Do you or your family have heirlooms or special ‘hand-me-downs’?
My Mom lent me a pair of earrings that was my grandmother’s but I haven’t had the chance to wear them yet. So they’re sitting there in a whiskey glass next to my bed, looking pretty.
Been messing with some Beetlejuice expressions! It’s been a really great excuse to stare at his face for hours on end.
If I were to put his influences into percentages, I’d say he’s like 75% Movie, 20% Musical (want to have a dash of emotional vulnerability in there), and 5% cartoon (entirely puns).
Honestly speaking 2020 did not go according to plan at all, I started the year making travel plans and even plotting/planning all the great content I planned to post on here. Cut to a few months into friggin 2020 and the world is struck by a pandemic which brings the world to a standstill leaving little old me to have to cancel my travel plans and I’m left spending the following few weeks chasing…
When visiting your alma mater for the first time in ten years just happens to coincide with a parallel Longmire universe and an “irrational Nighthorse obsession” …
