Imagine This.

Imagine this.

You’re chilling in your room, probably messing around on your guitar when your dad calls you into the living room.

When you get there you see a number of your family members - mostly your annoying half-siblings but a few more distant realizes, all gathered around arguing. Your dad turns to you and says “your sisters’s best friend is stranded and she wants to go pick him up”

You pause because what? You sister doesn’t really do friends, and you’re pretty sure she broke contract with her last so-called bestie. But sure whatever, you’ve never met the dude.

“And?” You prompt because you could working on a new song right now.

“What are your thoughts?” Your dad asks and oh shit- you don’t even remember this guy’s name and now you have to have an opinion on him???

You’re Apollo from epic the musical btw

Okay, you need to make sure you play this game at some point. Maybe not today or anything, because you’ll need about thirty minutes and a serious willingness to understand how it works, but - it’s so worth it. It’s basically an answer to our occasional frustration - why do assholes always come out on top? - and the beautiful thing about it is that not only does it explain how that happens, but also how we can change it.

“In the short run, the game defines the players. But in the long run, it’s us players who define the game.”

Sixth of the Dusk gets roped into a game show where they play Name That Bird and he’s going up against a Rosharan who thinks every bird is a chicken (but always gets shown chickens), meanwhile Sixth’s getting birds like the roseate spoonbill.

six of crows in pjo:

kaz brekker — son of mercury (roman)

powers:

ability to manipulate locks, deadbolts, touch/face identification on devices, etc. can also correctly guess pin numbers, security questions, captchas, etc.

money is drawn to him — loose change, wallets, credit cards, etc. he can also create small amounts of legitimate-looking counterfeit currency from any country from a provided example.

is gifted at persuasion and deception, and can haggle/bargain effectively to achieve his desired outcome.

inej ghafa — daughter of nemesis (roman)

powers:

opponents are also similarly injured when attacking/striking her (ie. arrow ricochets back into its shooter, sword shatters and cuts its wielder, etc.). the severity of the retributive attack is always equal to what inej receives initially

ability to alter someone's luck/fortune — can change good luck to bad and vice-versa, but only if they deserve it

always has perfect balance, whether it be in battle, on a high-wire, upside-down in a handstand, etc.

jesper fahey — son of apollo (greek)

powers:

perfect aim when shooting a firearm, bow, crossbow, slingshot, etc.

can put curses in the form of disease or sickness on his ammunition. whoever is shot will be plagued by the disease until the sun sets

can 'see' into the immediate future for certain minor outcomes (he would describe it as more of a 'divine hunch'), such as in blackjack, three card monty, roulette, rolling a dice, flipping a coin, etc.

nina zenik — daughter of hecate (greek)

powers:

can manipulate the mist to cast glamours/illusions upon people to make them appear different and trick both mortal and non-mortals alike

has the innate ability for magic and can cast any spell she's capable of; the power and effectiveness of the spell depends on her confidence and health

can control and summon certain types of dead, such as spirits, ghosts, or souls of the damned (necrokinesis)

matthias helvar — son of mars (roman)

powers:

higher stamina, speed, and strength than the average demigod. has faster reflexes and can dodge/parry otherwise lethal attacks that would kill/injure anyone else.

able to perfectly wield any weapon he chooses.

can bond and commune with wolves, mars's sacred animal.

wylan van eck — son of hephaestus (greek)

powers:

can create small sparks and explosions with his hands like lit gunpowder or firecrackers/fireworks

can detonate explosives such as grenades, landmines, bombs etc. from a range of 1500-2000 feet by reaching out through a form of telekinesis and triggering them. can similarly disarm any explosive

innate understanding of mechanics and electronics.

Farewell, Professor McGonagall.

Brandon Sanderson said that the purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon, and this is exactly the mindset I use when writing my own novels AND when dissecting my relationship with stories - most recently Gravity Falls, but also stories like Mistborn and Eragon.

The reason why answering what the meaning of life is is so hard is because it's different for every individual: You have to find it, nobody can tell you.

This is why fandoms are so cool; people all have slightly different versions of characters that are important to them. Storytellers put something out there, but us, the listeners, we create what we need from what is given. And that is absolutely beautiful.

So a toast to fandom and all the creativity and self discovery it cultivates.