[ his first thought is yeah, let them try but percy's done temping fate where it concerns their future. ]
so it might not be a cause for alarm
[ she's already drawn that conclusion, percy's just reinforcing it. waiting is the worst part, sitting there on that edge, not knowing if you should scream, or cry, or keep hoping instead. ]
[ she has already drawn that conclusion. and she's tried to convince herself of that possibility. but in the same breath, she can't, because she knows just how often 'things that shouldn't cause alarm' do just that. ]
Yeah
[ she hasn't left the table since she found out, if she's being honest. ]
Isn't New York supposed to be Gods Central? [ right, yeah, that whole Memory Issue. percy knows a thing or two about that. ]
The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park. Broadway, if you're into that. Grand Central Terminal, The Metropolitan. I mean, they're total tourist traps, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth seeing. Definitely hit Joe's Pizza if you're in the area. You don't remember any of this?
I remember some of it. The less-than-important parts, like the off-Broadway theater that had Hadestown for a year, or how Serendipity should have been on East 60th and somehow doesn't exist anymore...
[ That and the stupid memory thing. Lester can't remember what he wants to, even if he wants to... ]
But yeah, I wanted to hit up the Met, and Central Park, and definitely Rockerfeller with this guy. [ beat ] I also don't remember any of these musicals, and the Toys-R-Us ferris wheel and FAO Schwartz are still somehow around, and -
[ the compartments in lester's mind are a Mystery™. why only retain the silly stuff?
but hold on, he's listing places off that he wants to show this guy and percy doesn't know if he's supposed to feel secondhand embarrassment ( as if his mom's dating again ) or if he's expected to be a bro about it. it's weird. because lester's not technically apollo, percy barely associates this face with that god. ]
That's because it isn't our New York. Take away Camp Half Blood and the people you care about and it's just a place. [ he doesn't default to thinking lester doesn't care about anyone ( because he obviously does, in his own way ) but he sounds more hung-up on the sight-seeing. belatedly, realizing that lester's with a friend (?), he backpedals. ] With a lot of the same highlights.
[ Lester lets out a noise of discontentment - sure, Manhattan used to be his playground when he was a god (and when he hadn't crash-landed into a dumpster). But it was a familiar playground, with humanity's enduring spirit reminding him just how little humans had changed over the centuries.
This Manhattan, with its hover-taxis and 50's fashion juxtaposed against modern architecture, feels completely alien. He can get why they'd stick to a Porter City instead. The unfamiliar doesn't remind them just how far away they are from the people and places that really matter. ]
Yeah, well... [ he laughs, ] Quatre really wanted to visit the Big Apple, and I was the friend stupid enough to say I'd take him for his birthday. [ . . . ] Not that I mind, it's just - kid's somehow more familiar with outer space than Earth.
Then he won't know the difference. [ if that's where he wants to go for his birthday and lester's the one that volunteered, then that's how it goes. ] Who knows? You might even try something new and like it, if you can stop looking for the faults. Your friend's not going to care how it stacks up to the New York you remember. I mean, they might care if you're upset, but you know what I mean. It'll be a good time if you let it be.
[ he gets it, he really does. he can't even go to manhattan. it may be the closest thing to home visually, but it isn't his city. sally, paul, and his soon-to-be sister aren't there. neither is the rest of camp. being close to them without having a chance in tartarus of seeing them is worse somehow. at least in de chima, he's surrounded by little fragments of home. ]
Aren't you supposed to be the fun one? [ the fun god, he means. ]
[ Percy has a point. Quatre doesn't know what New York's supposed to feel like. This is his first time - and first times are just as important. ]
Shoot, that's right. He's an empath... so yeah. We'll enjoy this world for what it is.
[ Plus, Quatre can probably feel just how much Lester's trying to make this perfect. (Gods above, the last thing he wants to be is in another one of those empathy embarrassment loops.) Lester draws in a breath, only to laugh when Percy reminds him that he's technically the fun one. ]
That was before I turned all mortal and... [ he groans, because "self-conscious" is on the tip of his tongue. Like he'd admit that to anyone, except maybe Will. He settles for a kind of truth: ] Well. I like the kid too much to drag him into my idea of a fun time.
[ percy is at work and annabeth is very proud of him but she has a day off and it feels weird not to be spending it with him so uh. guess who is getting a text. ]
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[ this may or may not be immediately following immediately after the video she just posted to the network. ]
text »
why?
what's going on?
text » who cares about time
magnus is gone- ported out back home.
i just needed to check
[ that you weren't gone too is something she doesn't add, but assumes the message gets across. ]
text » the time police
i'm never leaving you behind again, remember?
[ as for the magnus ordeal, well, he just saw her post. ]
we're going to figure this out
text » the time police can SUCK IT
I just needed to confirm the Fates didn't try to.
[ she figured he would- but she also couldn't quite make herself wait for him to respond, needing to reach out herself. ]
apparently people get ported back home often enough
sometimes it's a day, sometimes longer.
if they're gone for a month they're not coming back.
[ she doesn't know if she can wait that long, to be honest, but she's going to pass the information along anyway. ]
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so it might not be a cause for alarm
[ she's already drawn that conclusion, percy's just reinforcing it. waiting is the worst part, sitting there on that edge, not knowing if you should scream, or cry, or keep hoping instead. ]
where are you right now?
are you at home?
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[ she has already drawn that conclusion. and she's tried to convince herself of that possibility. but in the same breath, she can't, because she knows just how often 'things that shouldn't cause alarm' do just that. ]
Yeah
[ she hasn't left the table since she found out, if she's being honest. ]
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[ and right about now, he's annoyed with his god given powers. he has to rely on public transport, or the porter, if he wants to get anywhere. ]
voice
Hey, Percy? Hypothetically, if a guy were to take a friend to Manhattan for the weekend, would you happen to have a shortlist of must-see places?
voice
The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park. Broadway, if you're into that. Grand Central Terminal, The Metropolitan. I mean, they're total tourist traps, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth seeing. Definitely hit Joe's Pizza if you're in the area. You don't remember any of this?
voice
[ That and the stupid memory thing. Lester can't remember what he wants to, even if he wants to... ]
But yeah, I wanted to hit up the Met, and Central Park, and definitely Rockerfeller with this guy. [ beat ] I also don't remember any of these musicals, and the Toys-R-Us ferris wheel and FAO Schwartz are still somehow around, and -
[ So much for hypothetical. ]
It really doesn't feel like the New York we knew.
voice
but hold on, he's listing places off that he wants to show this guy and percy doesn't know if he's supposed to feel secondhand embarrassment ( as if his mom's dating again ) or if he's expected to be a bro about it. it's weird. because lester's not technically apollo, percy barely associates this face with that god. ]
That's because it isn't our New York. Take away Camp Half Blood and the people you care about and it's just a place. [ he doesn't default to thinking lester doesn't care about anyone ( because he obviously does, in his own way ) but he sounds more hung-up on the sight-seeing. belatedly, realizing that lester's with a friend (?), he backpedals. ] With a lot of the same highlights.
voice
This Manhattan, with its hover-taxis and 50's fashion juxtaposed against modern architecture, feels completely alien. He can get why they'd stick to a Porter City instead. The unfamiliar doesn't remind them just how far away they are from the people and places that really matter. ]
Yeah, well... [ he laughs, ] Quatre really wanted to visit the Big Apple, and I was the friend stupid enough to say I'd take him for his birthday. [ . . . ] Not that I mind, it's just - kid's somehow more familiar with outer space than Earth.
voice
[ he gets it, he really does. he can't even go to manhattan. it may be the closest thing to home visually, but it isn't his city. sally, paul, and his soon-to-be sister aren't there. neither is the rest of camp. being close to them without having a chance in tartarus of seeing them is worse somehow. at least in de chima, he's surrounded by little fragments of home. ]
Aren't you supposed to be the fun one? [ the fun god, he means. ]
voice
Shoot, that's right. He's an empath... so yeah. We'll enjoy this world for what it is.
[ Plus, Quatre can probably feel just how much Lester's trying to make this perfect. (Gods above, the last thing he wants to be is in another one of those empathy embarrassment loops.) Lester draws in a breath, only to laugh when Percy reminds him that he's technically the fun one. ]
That was before I turned all mortal and... [ he groans, because "self-conscious" is on the tip of his tongue. Like he'd admit that to anyone, except maybe Will. He settles for a kind of truth: ] Well. I like the kid too much to drag him into my idea of a fun time.
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How'd work going today?
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