manygeese

[manygeese]

@lost-trio-week day 7: cozy

this is a wrap on lost trio week! had a blast doing this and seeing all the other works done for it! it was SUCH a pleasure to participate in! this really helped me get through finals week if im gonna be honest bc them finals were NOT finaling

~*~

Jason, Leo and Piper were watching a movie. That is, they were watching a movie until the power shut off.

Jason was laying across his partners, his head in Piper’s lap, falling asleep to the feeling of her braiding and unbraiding the longest parts of his hair and Leo’s warm hands massaging his shoulders. The movie was just white noise at that point, he couldn’t even remember what it was about. Was it one of Leo’s sci-fi films or one of Piper’s crime documentaries?

His eyes were already closed when the TV crackled and sputtered out. He was tempted to keep them shut, but Leo began poking him in the cheek repeatedly. “Jason. Hey, Jason.”

He let out a whine and snuggled further into Piper’s jeans. “What?”

“Did you screw with the power?”

“No.” Jason grabbed the hand that was assaulting his face and wove their fingers together. The hand tried to pull away, but he nipped at its wrist and pulled it towards him. He felt Leo fall against his back with a yelp. Piper snickered behind them.

She struggled to get up under their weight (mostly Jason’s, since Leo was built like a popsicle stick). After a few tries, she collapsed back onto the couch. “Leo, help me get our resident himbo off the couch so I can get a flashlight.”

Leo sat back up, flapping his hand around until Jason had to surrender it. That doesn’t mean he didn’t grumble about it, though. Leo lit his hand on fire, judging by the way the corner of Jason’s still shut eyes turned orange instead of pitch black. “Why can’t I just, y’know, set myself on fire?”

She shook her head with a sigh. “You’re gonna catch Jason’s hoodie on fire, that’s why.” Oh, that explained the heat he felt growing on his bicep!

“Oh, shit,” Leo hissed. The orange went away, and with it the warmth of the flame. “Sorry, hon.”

“S’okay,” Jason cooed. Little butterflies flew around in his stomach. Hon. He loved it when Leo called him that. Or when he called him anything, really.

“Leo? A little help?” Piper grunted, trying to lift Jason by his left shoulder. Warm hands tugged on his right. Together, they moved him a grand total of two inches. He could be stubborn when he wanted to be.

“Don’t make me do this, Jace,” Piper warned, grabbing him by the chin and turning it towards her face. His eyes opened slightly. She was leaning over him, making her hard to see since he didn’t have his glasses on, but he could make out her furrowed brows and narrowed eyes.

He gave her a lovesick smile. “Do what?”

Piper huffed. She then pulled a 180 and began fluttering her eyelashes. “Jason, get the fuck off of me,” she said in a honeyed, heavily charmspeak-infused voice. He promptly got the fuck off of her, rolling onto the floor. “Thank you, babe.”

He let out a goofy chuckle. “You’re welcome.” Ooh, babe. They were spoiling Jason in the pet names department today. He closed his eyes again and listened to the sounds of his partners heading to the kitchen.

“Jason, how do you like your hot chocolate?” Leo called, being unnecessarily loud. Jason didn’t respond, instead opting to clamber back onto the couch and doze off there.

“Jason, sweetheart, darling, honey bunny, stop being a whiny baby and tell me how you want your hot chocolate.” There was the sound of a flame fwooming to life and the crshhh of a whipped cream can. “Or me and Piper will eat all your granola bars.”

Jason scoffed. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Hey, Pipes, I heard granola tastes really good with hot cocoa.”

“We should try it,” Piper laughed.

Jason got up and trudged to the kitchen. He was met with a whipped cream can in his face, rather than declarations of undying love. It left a dollop on his nose.

Leo giggled and smushed a chocolate chip into the center of it. “There. A masterpiece.”

Piper kissed the whipped cream off his nose, which he greatly appreciated. He leaned forward to get another, preferably on his lips, but she shoved a mini marshmallow into the space where his lips were parted. Leo cackled and stumbled forward, finally leaning up and cupping Jason’s face in his hands before kissing him. And sure, his marshmallow was stolen from him, but he couldn’t really complain.

Leo removed his hands from Jason’s face (which Jason whined at, because now he felt cold and also he just could) and started heating up a third mug of cocoa for him.

“How do you want it?” Piper asked, stirring the drink for him.

“Marshmallows. Do we have any blankets?” Jason lamented the fact that he would have to stay upright while he drank, because that meant he could no longer be in the ideal cuddling position.

“I’ll go get you some from the bedroom, hon,” Leo offered. Jason grabbed Piper’s hand me started pulling it in the same direction their boyfriend went, but she held fast.

“Just- let me- oh my god, Jace, let me put your marshmallows in and then we can go,” she laughed, knocking her shoulder against his. As soon as she was done, he practically dragged her to intercept Leo on his way back to the kitchen.

He found Leo with an armful of blankets, just getting out the bedroom door when Jason scooped him up and plopped him back down on the bed. His boyfriend squealed and kicked at him, but Jason was not about to let go. He pulled Leo’s back into his chest and slotted his head into the corner between his neck and shoulders. It was blissfully warm.

Piper grumbled behind them, something about feeling left out, before she tapped him on the shoulder and handed him his mug. He sat up slightly, only to chug the whole thing (not at all a wise decision, don’t try this at home, kids) and pull her over the edge of the bed. She fell horizontally across them, barely managing to keep the other two cups from spilling. “Jason! What the hell?”

“It’s cold. We should cuddle,” he explained simply.

“You’re cold. I should drink hot chocolate,” Leo reasoned, struggling to get out of Jason’s grasp. He wiggled in place for a moment until Jason gave him a firm squeeze around the midriff, prompting him to breathe out a laugh. He reached helplessly for Piper, who set the mugs on the nightstand and pulled on Leo’s arm. There was the sound of playful laughter which Jason had no choice but to join in. He rolled over, pressing Leo and into the bed, forcing an oof out of the man. “Piper! Save me!”

She giggled and wormed her way between Leo and Jason, prying the blond’s hands off of Leo’s waist. “Fear not, fair maiden! I shalt defend thine honor!” She declared, pushing Jason off the bed. He landed with a grunt and a chuckle. She grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled him back up.

“You won’t try to snuggle us to death again, right?” Leo asked warily.

Jason didn’t let go of Piper’s hand, reaching to collect one of Leo’s as well. “Mmm. No promises.”

Later in the evening, they were all cuddling in bed. Leo was in the middle, being hugged from either side by his partners since he was the warmest. Piper leaned slightly over the smaller man, her hair sprawled across the pillows. Jason made no effort to hide the fact that his nose was buried in it, breathing in the smell.

If he ever thought he had been cozy before, Jason was sorely mistaken, because this- this was cozy.

[manygeese]

@lost-trio-week day 6: reunion

is this late? yes. is this cheesy? yes. am i going to apologize? no bc im too tired

~*~

The airport was cold, Jason’s shoulder was cold, and most importantly, Leo was cold. It was 11:00 PM on Christmas Eve, so this unfortunately made sense. Most if not all flights had arrived at their destinations at this point- except for one.

Leo had his drooping eyes fixed on the terminal gates, searching for a familiar cyan skiing jacket and a suitcase covered in stickers (some of which he had put on himself). Piper had been studying at a college in Oklahoma, but she had just finished her finals, so she had hopped on the next plane available. Which was still gonna be arriving in a hot minute, since it was plagued by delays and weather related mishaps. Piper had only texted them “boarding now! see you later if a blizzard doesn’t absolutely fucking yoink me out of this mortal coil” followed by a truly obscene amount of heart emojis two hours ago.

According to Jason, the flight from Oklahoma to California was three hours, so they had a good hour and some change left until their long awaited guest arrived.

“Jason,” Leo drawled into said nerd’s puffy jacket. He waited pensively for his roomate to respond.

Jason sighed fondly. He placed a hand over Leo’s where it was resting on the glass partition. “Yes?”

“‘M tired.”

Jason snorted.

Leo squinted up at him. “You laughin’ at me?”

“No.”

He hummed skeptically. “Sure sounds like you are.”

“I’m not, it’s just silly how you can stay up till the wee hours of the morning of your own volition but the one time you have to stay up until midnight, you’re down for the count?” Jason huffed a laugh. “It’s ridiculous.”

“Well, I have to be asleep for Santa. Otherwise he’ll give me coal. And y’know what they say- he sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good-”

“So be good for goodness sake,” Jason finished matter-of-factly.

“Yeah. Exactly. You get it.” Leo’s words morphed into a yawn.

“Mhm. You wanna sit down, buddy?”

“Good idea.”

There were no unoccupied benches, which was a real shame, but Leo settled for slumping against the wall. Jason followed him down with a chuckle. “You good there, soldier?” He asked when Leo fell bonelessly against his side.

Leo tumbled into Jason’s lap, wiggling in an effort to achieve something resembling comfort. “Blanket. We have one. Right?”

“Yes, we have one, but it’s back at the apartment.”

Leo’s face contorted into a pout. “You want me to die of frostbite, don’t you?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, no,” Jason laughed as he took off his jacket and laid it over Leo. “Is that better?” He laughed again at the smile that spread on Leo’s face and emitted a content hum.

~*~

“Hey. Hey, Leo, wake up.”

“No. Too early for this. Or too late, whatever, it’s too much of something.”

“I just got a text from Piper, though.”

Leo bolted up, making Jason’s jacket fall off of his torso and onto his legs. He snatched Jason’s phone from where it was being waved tantalizingly above him and peered at the text conversation it was opened to. Absentmindedly, he registered the fact that the time was 11:57.

PIPER: TOUCHDOWN!!!! and by that i mean i am once again on solid ground thank GOD

JASON: You’re here?

PIPER: no im in Hawaii

PIPER: yes you dumbass im here

He scrambled to get off of the floor and back to the glass separating them from the terminal, leaning over it in an effort to spot Piper. He was half tempted to call out for her, but he knew the struggle and most certainly did not want to wake up the few remaining people waiting for their own special people. Speaking of special people…

There she was!

He noticed Piper had a freshly bought neck pillow and a pair of wired headphones hanging from her ears as she speed walked down the marble floor. There were only a few other passengers surrounding her, making it easy for Leo to get her attention (waving your arms like a lunatic always did the trick). A big grin grew on her face. She made a beeline towards them.

It was awkward to embrace each other with a slab of glass between them, but he liked to think they made it work. “Piper! Piper, Piper, Piper,” Leo giggled deliriously, leaning into her and forming the hypotenuse of their own happy little triangle.

Jason came up next to them and joined the hug, burying his nose in Piper’s hair. Leo stole a glance at his phone, the clock reading 11:59, counting down from three, two, one…

“Merry Christmas, guys,” he sighed.

[manygeese]

[manygeese]

[manygeese]

That one meme but with pictures I collected of my dogs giving me judgy looks

[manygeese]

could somebody like. mail me some snow. cuz i dont have any right now. or ever

it's the winter season! who wants to go outside, scoop up a handful of snow, and chow down with me!!

[manygeese]

@yeahitsak

[manygeese]

ill spend my twenties investigating the healing properties of salt i dont know about you guys

[manygeese]

toying with the idea but ive got chronic unable to finish a wip-itis

ok I know it’s been a while but we’re back at it again with the Sally and Esperanza au (inspired by @poppitron360)

basically if you missed the first one, Leo and Esperanza move to New York, Esperanza meets Sally and they fall in love 🥰 when Leo and Percy are eight and nine respectively, Gaea swallows them up, they go to CHB, Leo gets claimed instantly, Percy has to wait until 3 years later when he gets the TLT quest and saves his moms from the underworld

ANYWAYS! What would HoO look like in this AU?

The first thing I’d change would be who gets the Hera Swap Treatment™️. And ALSO! Who would be in the Seven in general. I think, instead of Percy (to enforce the familial tragedy lol make him suffer), Reyna would be in the Seven. So in this AU, Leo and Reyna get swapped.

So the Lost Hero trio would be Reyna, who wakes up on this unfamiliar bus with no clue where she is but a gut feeling something is wrong. Annabeth, who is searching undercover for her boyfriend’s brother (AKA her partner in crime). And Piper, who also has no clue what’s going on but is really bummed that the people she thought were her best friends don’t seem to know her anymore.

Really interesting opportunity to discuss Reyna’s connection to Rome, since Bellona doesn’t have a Greek equivalent. Who would she be claimed by? How would she fit in? When they hold campfires, does she feel a distinct sense of camaraderie that she’s longed for for so long?

Also, concept: Reyna, Annabeth, and Piper stop by the Jackson-Valdez household before making their way to California. Percy’s just like “sure, you can crash for tonight. Gods know you’ll need the rest (and my mom’s special blue cookies for good luck)”. But Piper’s just like “what HAPPENED? Why is this apartment so SAD?” Like the happiness has just been sucked out. Esperanza isn’t even there, she’s at the garage, pretending like her son is at home. Sally is looking through baby photos and stress writing and doing a million different things because maybe by the time she actually thinks about her son he’ll be in her arms again.

The Son of Neptune (or Son of Vulcan, in this case) trio would be Leo, Jason, and Hazel I think because I have a distinct image of Hazel and Jason having awkward cousin vibes. Like, “their older siblings play Mario kart together on Christmas so they’re friends only because of proximity” cousins. And Leo’s over here doing horribly crooked cartwheels to lighten the mood.

I have Thoughts about Son of Vulcan in this AU omg. So many Thoughts. Jason and Hazel finally getting each other when they kill Alcyoneus together, while Leo is fighting for his life to free Thanatos and kill all these freaky-deaky monsters. Jason and Hazel freaking the fuck out when Leo chugs gorgon blood like it’s whiskey. Jason and Leo finding Hazel standing on a rock surrounded by cereal babies. Hazel side eying Leo wondering if he’s her old crush from grade school back in the forties. Just. Son of Vulcan trio.

Another thing, I think these two books should happen at the same time because I think it’d be interesting to let both of the swapped heroes integrate more. Like, give me fearless leader Reyna whipping her (tween) troops into shape, but Camp Half-Blood just being like “dam this lady’s super cool but she needs to chill the FUCK out. stop training my eight year old brother in sword fighting he’s gonna kill me the next time I have to wake him up early”. Give me an unconfident Leo learning to be a leader after being in his brother’s shadow.

also I tapped to @puzzled-pegasus about this so here you go

[manygeese]

acceptable names i have been called by people:

bitch (only for friends)

girl (acquaintances and friends)

crazy steve (no i will not elaborate)

Acceptable friendly nicknames/endearments I have been called by strangers or acquaintances:

Honey (by women older than me)

Baby (by older black women)

Darlin' (by an oldish southern guy)

Girl (by women/girls around my age)

Dude

Buddy

Mija (by a guy working at a mexican restaurant)

Babe/Babes (ONLY by women/girls around my age)

Unacceptable pet names I have been called by strangers:

Kitten (once by a customer woman in her 40s-50s at the store where i work. Yes, it was weird as hell)

[manygeese]

@lost-trio-week day 5: parents

Esperanza Valdez just made sense, Jason thought. Her ghostly figure was entirely silver in color, but Jason could see where Leo got his curls. She had pulled hers back with a bandana, but the way her eyebrows knitted together was very familiar. He could almost imagine her glaring at Festus because he ate all the hot sauce again, like a certain son of Hephaestus he knew.

But Jason had a mission- that certain son of Hephaestus’ birthday was coming up, and he was completely stumped on what to get him. Tools? He literally had a magic tool belt, and that came with all the wrenches, hammers, and breath mints a guy could want. Clothes? Piper had that covered, she was going to take him shopping at the mall that weekend. Books? Dyslexia was a bitch, plain and simple.

Yup, Jason had something of a problem. But! Nico had volunteered to help him, since he was in a similar situation with Leo’s birthday gift. So here they were, on an appropriately dark and spooky summer night, filling a pit with Coca Cola and french fries to summon some ghosts- or one particular ghost. It looked like it had worked.

“Good evening, my lady. I crave a boon,” Jason stated, kneeling before the spirit as one would to an Olympian.

Miss Valdez’s face scrunched up in both humor and confusion. “‘My lady?’ ‘Crave a boon?’ I’m flattered, kid, but I’m no goddess.”

“Sorry, my lady. I mean- ma’am.”

“You can get off of the ground, y’know? Your jeans’ll be ruined if you stay there any longer. Grass stains are tough.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.” Jason resisted the urge to salute once he was done dusting himself off.

Miss Valdez snickered. “Before you get into craving boons and the like, why don’t you tell me who you are?”

“Jason Grace, former praetor of the 12th Legion Fulminata, current Pontifex Maximus of Camp Jupiter, hero of Olympus, slayer of the titan Krios, ma’am. Um, and more importantly, a friend of Leo’s.”

The ghost’s eyes seemed to light up at the mention of her son. “Mi hijo,” she crooned, clasping her hands together. “You’re a friend of mi hijo Leo? How is he?”

“Yes, ma’am. He’s doing quite well, ma’am.” He intentionally left out the part about Leo blowing himself up for the good of the world. That was a story for another time.

“How old is he? The clock doesn’t work so well down in the Underworld, it’s still saying BCE. Hard to keep track of time and all. Oh, he must be getting so big.”

Jason chuckled. “He’s fifteen going on sixteen, but nobody’s calling him big.”

Miss Valdez got this wistful look in her eyes. “You have to bring him to see me sometime. I miss him more than anything.”

Nico’s eyes widened and he waved his hands like he was calling a timeout. “I have an idea,” he mouthed, but Jason needed to get his prescription updated, so it looked more like “I have an IKEA.” Or an icee? Yeah, it was probably icee. But Jason knew this to be untrue, since he had just poured his last one into the pit. His brows furrowed, but he smiled politely at the specter before excusing himself. “Um, may I have a moment, ma’am?”

“Of course,” she answered, taking the time to press her ear to the side of a tree like she was trying to open a safe. “God, I haven’t seen real trees in years,” she muttered.

“Do you need more icees?” Jason whispered conspiratorially. “I can run down to the corner store if you need.”

Nico made a face. “What? No, I just have an idea. I was just thinking about what Esperanza said: maybe we could set up a picnic out here and then surprise him with a ghost visit. I know that I like to be ambushed by ghosts when I eat my lunch.” He snorted at his own half-joke.

Jason nodded enthusiastically. “A-and we could ask Miss Valdez about his favorite foods! And make them for him!”

“Hmm? What was that, kid?” Miss Valdez’s head snapped up from where it was trained on a blade of grass swayed in the breeze.

“Um, uh, do you remember what Leo liked to eat as a kid, ma’am?”

“Goodness, you can stop with the ‘ma’am’ thing. But he always loved tres leches cake! I can give you the recipe. And when I had the time, I would make him a grilled cheese for his lunch at school. It would be cold, but he always hugged me extra tight when he got home on those days.” Miss Valdez reached up to tighten her bandana. “Though now that I think about it, he probably just heated it up on his own. Clever boy.”

Jason nearly jumped for joy. He could have hugged her. And he did indeed try, which caused the woman to laugh when he fell through her apparition. “Thank you,” he mumbled into the dirt sheepishly.

“No problem, niño. Really, I should be thanking you! Fresh air is nothing short of a miracle when you’ve been dead as long as I have,” Miss Valdez responded, clearly joking, but something in her eyes said she was sincere. She had big, round ones, that were probably a wonderful shade of brown when she was alive.

Yeah, Jason thought he had hit the jackpot gift wise.

~*~

If you were to look up the definition of “tryhard”, a picture of Tristan McLean would pop up, Leo thought. Then again, he’d also appear if you looked up any of the following terms: bombshell, hot, gorgeous, gay awakening, etc.

He was on a quest with Will and Clarisse (God, that lady scared him- like she was cool and all, but he would be relieved when she left for Arizona at the end of summer). It was a classic “we don’t have phones nor do we trust the post, so you have to go give Camp Jupiter X, Y and Z” quest, but long story short, hellhounds sucked a lot and Leo’s legs were tired.

Chiron and the praetors of Camp Jupiter had been working on a sort of housing system for demigods- a network of safe havens all across the country. Piper’s dad had signed up as soon as possible, now that he knew a little about the demigod world. That had been one hell of a conversation.

So that was how he ended up sitting on the floor of a millionaire’s gigantic living room, tinkering with the skeleton of a Stymphalian bird, with a scary lady snoring on the couch behind him and a lanky blonde dude curled up on an armchair in front. He had taken the opportunity to catch up on some of his favorite shows while he had access to a TV.

“Hey, kid.”

Nothing like a spooky voice to wake a guy up!

Leo startled, making the Stymphalian bird fly up in the air. For one second, he almost thought it was alive again, so he reached for his tool belt.

“Woah, there,” the voice laughed, “hold your horses. It’s just me. Piper’s dad? You didn’t pull a Jason and forget your entire life, right?”

Leo snorted. “You weren’t even there for that part!”

Mr. McLean stepped forward into the dim light of the lamp. Yup, just as Leo suspected: he had a chronic case of looking-good-in-whatever-lighting-he-was-in-itis. Then again, he had already diagnosed his friend’s father with that condition last Christmas, when he spent the holidays with Jason at Camp Jupiter.

Truth be told, Leo was getting a little tired of the man. All throughout dinner Mr. McLean had been all “is there enough salt on it? Do you need more? What do you want to drink? Can I get you anything else? Tell me if you need anything.” At first, he had preened under the attention, but right now, what he needed was some time to get the logistics of his pet project figured out.

“What are you working on?” Mr. McLean asked politely.

“Carrier pigeon,” he answered.

“Nice. What’s it do?”

“Carries things.”

Mr. McLean smiled. “Why do you need it?”

“So, like, you know how we were sent here to deliver some important documents or whatever? Next time, this little guy is gonna do it for us. If I can figure out how to animate said little guy’s skeleton again, that is.”

“How are you gonna animate it?”

As a mechanic, Leo admired the fact that Mr. McLean was so persistent, but as a teen, he wished he would give up already. “I dunno.”

Mr. McLean gave him a soft, slightly awkward smile, like he was still trying to get used to using his facial muscles. “Listen, Leo,” the man sighed, “it’s getting late. You should sleep.”

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead. Oh, wait!” Leo snickered at his own joke.

“What?”

Oh, shit. He forgot that he and Piper had left that part out of the explanation of the demigod world they had given to Mr. McLean. Damn, that line would’ve killed with anyone else. Haha, see what he did there? “Uh, nothing. Ignore it.”

“No, what did you mean by that? ‘Oh, wait?’”

“Uh, I died,” Leo mumbled, hoping that he wouldn’t ask again.

Much to Leo’s chagrin, Mr. McLean asked again. Yay. “Huh?”

Leo decided to take a different route. “I died! I’m a ghost! Boo! All that jazz!”

The man snorted, though he still looked confused. “Alright. But you know what they say about ghosts- they sleep like the dead.”

Despite himself, Leo laughed. “That’s silly.”

“Not as silly as ghosts. They’re too boo-fy!”

Leo giggled. “God, that’s bad. Was-” he managed before succumbing to his laughter once again- “was that supposed to be goofy?”

“I don’t know, you tell me. You’re the one who’s a ghost, after all.”

“I’m not goofy. No, siree,” Leo denied.

“Oh really?” Mr. McLean ruffled his hair and pulled him up so that he was standing. He patted him on the shoulder. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“I can fool anyone, really,” Leo quipped. “I fooled Jason and Piper into being my best friends.”

Mr. McLean guided him towards a hallway that opened at one side of the living room. Leo could see that he was furrowing his dark brows. “What makes you say you fooled them?”

Leo shrugged, scowling inwardly. He just had to ruin it, didn’t he? “I mean, technically it was Hera.”

Mr. McLean shook his head. “I’m serious, Leo.”

Leo laughed awkwardly. “Hi serious, I’m dead?”

Mr. McLean frowned as he opened one of the doors in the corridor. It revealed a blank bedroom, probably for a guest. Desperate to get out of the conversation, Leo moved to go inside, but Mr. McLean stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and a concerned look. “People like you for you. You know that, right? You’ve never had to trick anybody worth anything into liking you. Remember that.” He tapped his temple to emphasize his point.

Leo gave a small, confused, sort of self-conscious smile, but it was still a smile. “Thanks, Mr. McLean.” Leo waddled over to the bed and collapsed on it, suddenly feeling very tired. It was only when he saw the door close completely that he realized he’d been tricked by his best friend’s dad into going to bed at an appropriate time. “Good game, Mr. McLean. Good game indeed.”

~*~

The Underworld kind of sucked, Piper found, especially when you were on a quest with an immortal huntress who was your best friend’s sister and the demigod equivalent of a Spirit Halloween, AKA Thalia Grace and Nico di Angelo. She had no problems with the people by themselves, but she had gotten sick of their arguing long before the murderous mania of a former blonde bombshell descended upon them.

She wasn’t even supposed to be there. She had made plans with Leo and Jason to meet up at a trampoline park, but then a fury showed up out of nowhere and whisked her away to what was effectively Hell, and it was like, this whole thing. Apparently, the lady had gotten her confused with Percy. One hell of a typo.

They had been headed to the fields of punishment because someone had escaped and Hades decided to make it their problem. Classic Gods. Their charge walked straight into them in the form of Beryl Grace.

“Nico, why isn’t she dying?” Thalia barked, shooting another round of arrows at the ghost, which just succeeded in embedding their silver tips in the tree behind it. She released a roar like that of thunder, although it could’ve just been the actual thunder from the lightning she was summoning. A bolt of it came down on Beryl’s head, but it just made her look slightly more insane.

The woman’s red lipstick was a stain on her otherwise pale face, twisting up in a mad smile. It was smudged. Maybe she had been kissing someone, or more likely drinking their blood. Her blue eyes were crazed, darting around like a prey animal.

She had seen that look before.

When Jason had woken up, after the fight with Ma Gasket, he’d shot upwards and whipped his head around. She had looked into his sky blue eyes and seen a deer and a hunter at the same time, ready to fight, not quite ready to die.

And his smile was a sign the apple had indeed fallen far from the tree, but the twitching of Jason’s lips when he hadn’t yet learned to laugh (or hadn’t accepted that he could) was reminiscent of the grin’s neverending movement.

“She’s a ghost, dumbass, she can’t die again,” Nico snapped. He had dropped his sword into the river Lethe, so he just stood there like a fuming GTA NPC.

Piper was the only one to notice that Beryl was backing up towards the forest, aiming to disappear into the fields of Asphodel most likely. “Guys?” She asked, looking around to the other two members of the quest. They were still squabbling. “Guys!”

“I’ve killed a ghost before! At least, I’m pretty sure I could,” Thalia yelled.

“What part of non-corporeal do you not understand?” Nico screamed.

Piper reluctantly began following the spirit just as it bolted into the woods. She swiped a rock up from the dusty forest floor, just to have something on her in case she had to attack. Look, she usually carried Katoptris on her, but she was worried they were going to confiscate it at the trampoline park, okay?

The only sound was the thump of her footfalls, puffs of her breath, and the whooshing sound Beryl made as she passed through trees. The branches were hanging low and, fortunately in most cases except this one, Piper was not a ghost, so she had to bat them out of the way. She was getting pretty damn tired of it. Apparently, ghosts could run fast. “Uh, Beryl- I mean, Miss Grace, can I get your autograph?” She tried.

The ghost’s head snapped back to face her. The gash in her midriff was bleeding somehow, leaking steam and a smell like rain. A piece of car door and shards of glass were lodged in the gap, signs of her death. Her fists clenched and unclenched anxiously at her sides. She stayed rooted in her place. “An autograph?”

“Yup,” Piper confirmed, rocking back and forth from her heels to her toes. “I’m a huge fan of your work.”

Beryl’s pointer and middle fingers twitched and she brought them to her mouth. She looked disappointed by the fact that they were merely flesh (or the ghost equivalent), no cigarette in sight. Her bloodshot eyes met Piper’s as she fumbled with the fabric of her dress. She grunted. “Oh, yeah? What’s your favorite?”

“Me and my dad watch your TV shows together,” Piper lied.

“Mhm,” Beryl hummed placatingly, turning around with her shaking fingers pressed to her mouth. Her glazed eyes disappeared under her dull blonde hair. “Just go get the groceries, Thalia.”

“Thalia? Um, Miss Grace, I’m not Thalia.” Piper followed, stifling a cough when she breathed in some of the fog.

“Nonsense, Thalia. I know you’re just trying to get out of it, you lazy brat,” Beryl spat. “Go get the goddamn groceries.”

“I… I don’t have any money.”

The ghost heaved a deep sigh. “Just get out of the house, Thalia. Mommy needs some alone time.”

Piper tried not to visibly recoil when the woman pushed her away, cold hand going right through her ribcage. “B-but, Miss Grace-”

“Thalia,” the spirit growled, frigid hands landing on both of her wrists, momentarily becoming solid, “I will not say it again, you little bitch.” Her tone was uneven and hostile. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

Piper’s forearms were completely numb where Beryl’s hands had covered them. The woman began to retreat mumbling something to herself that barely reached Piper’s ears:

“The day I get rid of those ungrateful little rats will be the happiest day of my life.”

Oh, yeah. This was the lady who left Piper’s best friend to the wolves at the tender age of two. Of course she was an asshole. Regretting not doing it earlier, Piper gripped the rock in her hand and made a last ditch effort to hurt the woman who had deprived Jason of what family felt like for so long. And if it let her, Nico, and Thalia finish their quest, that was a happy accident.

The stone split open on Beryl’s head, revealing an inky black ore on the inside. Stygian Iron. Huh. Piper guessed Tyche was on her side that day.

Thalia and Nico’s footsteps crunched in the dirt behind her, their yelps of belayed victory echoing around Piper, falling on deaf ears. Her gaze was still focused on Beryl’s unconscious head, hair spilling around her face. Her blue eyes weren’t open, but somehow, they were staring straight into Piper’s soul.

For a split second, Piper’s eyes flitted over to Thalia’s. She was glad she couldn’t completely understand the rage she found there. Now that she thought about it, she had seen that look in Jason’s eyes an unsettling amount of times.

[manygeese]

Need a valgrace fanfic that’s the same as Love Me Anyway by Chappell Roan

[manygeese]

i mean. ur right though

i don't remember writing this. did i just wish excruciating pain on leo valdez and then black out. wtf happened.

[manygeese]

@lost-trio-week day 4: godly parent swap

~*~

Lightning cracked like a whip, splitting the night sky in fractured halves.

That was when Leo knew he was in for an interesting evening.

The deck, once blissfully dry, was suddenly pelted with a relentless rain. Leo’s hair was flattened to his head in an instant. Hazel had abandoned the son of Aphrodite as soon as the ominous clouds had started closing in on the sun, which he couldn’t blame her for. It was every demigod for themselves when it came to storms, whether they be natural, caused by venti, or from a not so secret third option: Piper.

Like the thunder itself, Piper’s frustrated cry rose from the lower decks of the Argo II, telling him all he needed to know about what sinister force was behind the sudden hurricane. With a sigh and an executive decision to leave Coach Hedge by himself for night watch, Leo slid down the stairway banister and found himself in the darkest depths of the hold. When one of them had problems, all of them had problems, so he had decided to go get Jason first.

A warm, familiar glow came from the end of the hallway. The engine room’s double doors were slightly open, letting the light from the forge escape its metal prison, if only from a skinny sliver between wall and door.

Something was afoot- Jason never left the door to the engine room open. Even when he wasn’t in it. Leo theorized that it was because the son of Vulcan liked it stuffy in his work places. He could just never seem to get warm enough.

Creeping up to the gap in the darkness, Leo peered into the engine room like a four year old trying to catch Santa in the act of laying presents under the Christmas tree.

Usually, he would have seen Jason hammering away at one pet project or another, or sticking his torso completely into the activated engine to fix something, which never failed to make Leo yelp and attempt to pull him out. He swore Jason did it on purpose. Piper could also be found there. Right behind the daughter of Zeus’ own cabin or the upper deck, she spent the most time doodling in the engine room or trying to help with repairs.

But that night, Leo found Jason all alone, head in hands, no Piper in sight.

Yup. Something was definitely afoot.

“Jason, do you mind telling me why the door was open?” Leo asked, stepping into the abnormally hot room and shutting the door behind him. He slipped a little charmspeak into his voice, since Jason usually couldn’t resist the stuff.

But Jason’s mouth just warbled and released a truly pathetic whimper along with a puff of steam. No eagerness to explain, like the Roman golden child was prone to show, or even his signature big dumb puppy eyes.

“Jason,” Leo admonished, feeling distinctly like he had come home to a ripped up sofa and a guilty-looking dog.

Jason screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. Flames licked around his hands, which were covering his face.

“Okay, dude,” the charmspeaker scoffed, turning around to leave, “be that way. If you don’t want to talk, I guess I’ll just head over to Piper’s…”

“Wait! Don’t leave!” Came the desperate, but not unexpected response.

Jason had played right into his hands, as usual. “If you want me to stay, you have to tell me why you’re moping and if it has anything to do with Piper’s stress-storming.”

The other boy broke out his signature big dumb puppy eyes. Honestly, Leo would have been more worried if he hadn’t.

“Wuh oh, looks like I’m leaving the room… I wonder if there’s anything a certain blond mechanic could do about it…”

“Okay, okay, you win,” Jason relented, pushing himself back up to his feet and approaching Leo like a wild animal, hands raised in surrender and apprehension.

“Earlier today, me and Piper had deck duty, right?” Jason started, hand reaching back to itch his neck. “And she brought up the prophecy.”

Leo sucked in a breath through his teeth. Discussing the prophecy was huge no no. After the fight with Khione on the way to Epirus, Leo had put it on the List of Banned Topics, 1984 style. It was right up there with the best ice cream flavor (controversial, Piper said it was neapolitan when it was clearly moose tracks) and what they were going to do after the war (better not to jinx it).

“She was talking about one of us dying again. She wanted to make me pinky promise that I would let her do it.”

There was a tense silence. “Did you?”

“No.”

Leo heaved a relieved sigh. “Good.”

“Instead, I tried to make her pinky promise that she’d let me do it.”

“Oh, come on, man.” Leo plugged his ears and tried to forget what he just heard.

The prophecy made him feel helpless. His two best friends were the key players, storm and fire themselves, and he was just Leo. A scrawny, weak demigod whose only use was his pretty voice. Half the time, he was just the damsel in distress, and the other half, he was the mediator. And sure, Annabeth had told him that “peacekeeper is an important job, it’s crucial that you get it right, blah blah blah responsibility, blah blah blah use your empathy,” but it was hard to believe that whoever was essentially just a let’s-all-get-along-and-make-friendship-bracelets hippie was as important as the slayer of Gaea.

The slayer of Gaea who would wind up getting themselves killed.

The fact of the matter was: one of his best friends would die saving the world, and there was nothing Leo could do about it.

“Hey, don’t cry, Leo, it wasn’t like she actually did it or anything,” Jason reasoned, reaching for the other boy’s hand. Leo clutched at it before it could even brush his fingers.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better, dumbass.” Leo squeezed Jason’s hand in his to a rhythm that didn’t really matter, it just felt right. “I made a pinky promise with you and Piper that we’d never talk about the prophecy again, and yet, here we are. They aren’t exactly sworn on the Styx.”

Jason pursed his lips and moved his other hand to pat him on the back. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words died on his tongue.

After a minute of thoughtful silence, Leo couldn’t take it anymore. “You’re coming with me,” he demanded. The charmspeak wasn’t even a secret.

If he was going to be the mediator, he was going to be the best damn mediator in the history of ever. It was the least he could do.

One forceful knock on the door labeled “PIPER ONLY, NO BOYS OR EQUINES ALLOWED” (complete with stick figure drawings of who appeared to be Percy and Blackjack. There had been an Accident, and the less said about it, the better) later, Leo and Jason had marched their way right up to Piper’s desk.

Leo poked her in the shoulder. “Piper.”

“Leo,” she grumbled, rubbing her temples as she sat up, “I’m really not feeling well right now, so if you could be quiet, that’d be-”

“I know that you two have been talking about the prophecy. Without me.”

Piper blanched and directed her gaze to Jason as a peal of thunder rang out in the distance. “I thought we agreed to not tell him about it.”

Jason fiddled with the strap of his goggles. “Well, I thought it was a little unfair for him to not be in the loop.”

“He was never supposed to know!”

“Listen, it’s not like I was going to let you commit suic-”

Leo groaned. “Stop. Talking. Or I swear to the Gods, I will feed you to Gaea myself.”

That shut them up pretty quick.

“Piper, you were willing to pull that shit. Why?” Leo huffed, crossing his arms and hoping he cut an intimidating figure.

“I- I…” she stammered, fidgeting with her sweatshirt sleeves, which were popping with static electricity, “I wanted to keep you safe.”

Leo scoffed. “And how, pray tell, would your death keep me safe?”

Piper fell silent for a second. The quiet fell over the room like a sheet of glass balancing on the tip of a finger- unstable, ready to fall at any moment, sharp, pointed, and shaky.

She broke it first with an involuntary cry. “You love Jason more than me,” she managed. “If (I) died, you’d both be happier than if… if he died.”

Leo’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. His hands went up to his face to cover his gaping mouth because he knew it wasn’t going to shut on its own, and his godly mother had once told him that it wasn’t attractive to look like a dehydrated fish. He wished that hadn’t been the one thing that stuck with him from his brief encounter with Aphrodite. “What?”

“You know it’s true,” Piper insisted, averting her eyes. Crack, said the thunder.

“When- why? What? Huh? Who told you this?”

“Just a hunch.” She shrugged, as if she was just telling him she wasn’t sure what she wanted for dinner.

“Well, your hunch couldn’t be more fucking wrong, you goddamn idiot. I love the hell out of you, in case you haven’t noticed already,” he exclaimed, shaking her by the shoulders. He let out a sigh and pulled her into a hug when she started to frown like a baby about to cry. “Get in here, Jason. Contrary to what’s apparently popular belief, I don’t want either of you to die and I intend on showing you that once and for all.”

There was another type of silence, now. One that could take over a space like the draping of a blanket accompanied by the wish of sweet dreams. A quiet that would reign once a head with drooping eyes met a soft pillow after a long day.

The lack of sound was lifted when Leo spoke in the most delicate of whispers. “What are the chances I can convince Annabeth to lend us her laptop to watch movies on?”

Piper chuckled. “I’d never bet against you, Leo.”

[manygeese]

real

Sigh.

[manygeese]

it’s not letting me answer the ask, but spreading the word anyways

❤️🍉

[manygeese]