#;second in command (hecate)

[loreolympiad]

“Gods, it’s dusty in here. Guess it has been a good while since we’ve been active…”

“So…. How’s everyone been?”

[loreolympiad]

“From the sounds of it, she’s on her menstrual cycle. It’s a bitch but she’ll be fine after a while.”

"She's BLEEDING!? Oh no! Did she get cut somewhere...!?"

[meggannn]

hades 2 conversation dialogue my sister and i found interesting

SPOILERS obviously. my sister has been failing her runs on purpose to get more dialogue out of people. this post discusses dialogue that was not in the developer stream.

on hermes (mel and hecate are speaking about hermes and artemis at the start):

on melinoë, artemis, and the olympians:

on why mel is the only one who can kill chronos:

on hecate & mel's relationship:

on a secret order that mel is apart of:

on mel's job at the crossroads:

tension and secrets in the crossroads!!!!

when you give hypnos nectar:

(i wasn't fast enough to get his reply. hypnos says something like "zzzz... welcome to the.... zzzz"), then mel says:

other things i didnt screengrab:

hypnos: mel can remark to charon that hypnos is still asleep, charon says "arrghhh," and mel says "wait, he's of more use this way...?" possibly implying hypnos's sleep is not what it seems

nemesis: is uhhh kind of really mean!!!! she says something to mel along the lines of "you're upset you lost a family you don't remember? i KNEW my mom, all you did was be born"

moros: you can invite moros to the crossroads and he stands near the fated list far from everyone because nobody wants to talk to doom incarnate (odysseus in particular makes a point to say he'll stay away). iirc he introduces himself as "the bearer of bad news" which i find kind of clever but also a bit sad. if you give him nectar iirc he says nobody has given him a gift/offering before. aphrodite also notes that moros has made mel's acquaintance and calls him good-looking.

hephaestus: he criticizes your weapon's workmanship when you first meet him, then later takes it back and compliments it as very good, and says "just don't go spreading it around" to the olympians.

takeaways:

hermes is "missing" but he's on a mission for the war to find out what chronos is scheming

artemis (and hermes) didn't tell the olympians hecate has been raising a titan-killer (mel) and the olympians don't really believe she can do it but send her boons anyway, presumably figuring why not

only mel can enter the house of hades to challenge chronos, so that's why she needs to make this journey alone

hecate is rather sweet and mentorly with mel, but she gets exhausted and irritated when mel doubts herself. i didn't grab it but there's a bit where mel says if hecate had not held back, she knows she would've lost, and hecate snaps "you know?" asking mel why she puts limits on herself

mel, hecate, selene, and artemis are part of a secret order called the silver sisters that hermes also supports. olympus does not know about it. all these gods (save hermes) also have moon iconography in their designs

pretty sure moros will be romanceable. i think his and mel's interactions are very sweet, and aphrodite notes he's arrived and calls him good-looking, which reminded me of how she commented on thanatos to zag. no idea who might be a female romance option yet (i'm assuming there is one)

hephaestus boons are a lot of fun, per my sister

the big one: HECATE AND NEMESIS KNOW SOMETHING WE DON'T??? hecate maybe knew an attack was coming and didn't do anything?? nyx is also confirmed to basically be not around though we don't know where she is. and hecate is something called a handmaiden??? is she meant to serve nyx? it now seems like the children of nyx are meant to serve hecate, and eris isn't doing that, but nemesis is playing guard duty begrudgingly. so maybe nemesis thinks hecate let the house be captured/destroyed for her own ends, possibly also to get nyx out of the picture, so nyx's children would serve her(?). maye nyx is also a silver sister and hecate is now in command at the crossroads/on earth, second only to selene?

[ahllohehn]

Is there an official list for the camp counsellors for each cabin?

Camp Hermitcraft Official Files #???

Compiled by: Keralis || Validated by: Xisumavoid

««━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

HERMES CABIN Current Head Counselor; Grian ㅤㅤㅤㅤ>Untitled but does most of the work when on-site; Impulse

HADES CABIN Current Camp Counselor; Etho (by default)

HEPHAESTUS CABIN Current Camp Counselor/s; Tango & Mumbo ㅤㅤㅤㅤ>Neither of them actually do their jobs so refer to Etho ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ instead.

DEMETER CABIN Current Camp Counselor; Bdubs

ARES CABIN Current Camp Counsellor; Ren

ATHENA CABIN Current Camp Counsellor; Xisumavoid ㅤㅤㅤㅤ>Second-in-command; Wels

APOLLO CABIN Current Camp Counsellor; Skizz

ARTEMIS CABIN Current Camp Counsellor; Pearl

APHRODITE CABIN Current Camp Counsellor; [REDACTED]

DIONYSUS CABIN Current Camp Counselor; Keralis (by default)

IRIS CABIN Current Camp Counselor; Stress (by default)

HYPNOS CABIN Current Camp Counselor; N/A ㅤㅤㅤㅤ>No Hypnos cabin members as of the moment.

NEMESIS CABIN Current Camp Counselor; [REDACTED]

NIKE CABIN Current Camp Counselor; False

HEBE CABIN Current Camp Counselor; Cleo

TYCHE CABIN Current Camp Counselor; Iskall (by default)

HECATE CABIN Current Camp Counselor; Cub (by default)

ZEUS CABIN Current Camp Counselor; N/A ㅤㅤㅤㅤ>Formerly; TFC

POSEIDON CABIN Current Camp Counselor; N/A ㅤㅤㅤㅤ>No Poseidon cabin members as of the moment.

[There's a scribbled message by the end of the document...]

Oracle Cave: Me! Gem :D

««━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[loreolympiad]

@girlishgiggle - @ Hecate: "My religion is love."

"Then why pray to me exactly? Love is more the remit of Aphrodite or Eros, ya know." And she did not want to tread on that woman's toes either. Powerful and feared as she might be, Hecate wasn't in the mood for one of Aphrodite's moods pointed in her direction.

[areallygayloser]

i saw a reddit post of this wenclair family murderers AU and now i’ve created this scenario in my head that im probably going to draw

Victim, frantic, running through the forest while looking behind them occasionally. Looking up at the blood red moon every so often. Stops in their tracks when they start to hear eerie cello music. They break into a brisk trot, following the music.

As they reach where the music is coming from, Wednesday is sitting on a chair, playing her cello with a knife.

Victim: “Y-You should hide!”

Wednesday doesn’t look up, she continues to play the instrument.

Victim: “Seriously! There are murderers in these woods! I- I- There was o-one chasing me a second ago!”

Wends stops playing, dragging her knife across the cello strings. Causing an ear-splitting note to draw out, feeding the sense of dread in the victims stomach.

Wednesday stands, discarding the knife and cello to the side.

Wednesday: Murderers in these woods?

Wednesday only now looks up, her piercing black eyes plunging daggers of pure terror into the victims soul.

Four pairs of eyes open one by one in the shadow of the forest behind Wednesday. The victim gasps and stumbles back, falling to the ground.

Victim: Behind you!

Wednesday doesn’t break eye-contact, but she lifts her hand. On command, four wolf-like figures step out of the darkness. Each looming over Wednesday.

The Victim stares in horror, their eyes flicking from the 10ft, 9ft, 8ft, and 6ft tall wolves.

Wednesday raises her arm, and points at the Victim, to which all four wolves charge forward and proceed to rip them apart.

*Like 10 minutes later.*

Wednesday: “Okay, who wants ice cream?”

Enid: “Me!”

Hecate: “Me!”

Viper: “Me!”

Apollo: “Me!”

[bvckbiter]

I wanna know your thoughts on Alabaster's loyalty to Kronos since it's very interesting to me

This took me forever to get back to, I'm so sorry anon </3

From a purely canon basis, the only two things we really know about Alabaster's loyalties is that one, by Hecate's words, he fought for Kronos in Hecate's name, so we can generally presume that he was fighting to get his mother recognized (much like Ethan); and two, even after the Battle of Manhattan, he sees himself and the Titans' side as the heroes of the story and the Olympians as the bad guy.

So we don't really have anything on Alabaster's loyalties before Manhattan, much less what he specifically feels about Kronos. Where canon ends, though, that's where the fun begins :3

Personally, I can see the fanon of pre-Manhattan Alabaster going two ways. The first one is usually what I see, that Alabaster was an absolute ride-or-die for the TA. The way he talks about them in the Son of Magic lines up with this, as well as the fact that he railroads the promise of amnesty and a place in CHB; as a powerful demigod, constantly being hunted by monsters, having a monster-free haven to return to is a necessity, so it really speaks to his enduring loyalty to Kronos. In fanworks, usually it's tied up with some flavors of hero worship for Luke (similar to Annabeth's) as well as a bit of a messianic complex—since he's Hecate's strongest, I can absolutely see his life as being a bit of a hero's journey, what with his "Heroes never die" line when referring to himself and Claymore (EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT HEROES AND CLAYMORE MENTALLY POINTS OUT THAT HEROES ALWAYS DIE, THIS LOSER—)

The second one is a more of a me thing and def based on this offhand idea of Alabaster's and Ethan's character/belief arcs being intersecting lines. Ethan in BotL till TLO, though trying to stomach all the horrors and costs that serving Kronos was clearly incurring on himself and the TA *, is pretty straightforwardly loyal and the only thing that tips his scale is Percy pointing out that wholesale destruction goes against the balance that Ethan and Nemesis are fighting for. I think it's interesting if in contrast, Alabaster with his messianic complex is still clinging onto ideals of heroism etc and actually actively entertains thoughts of defecting when he sees how much toll the war is taking on the TA demigods. The only reason he doesn't go through with it is because he wants to feel like a hero and because his mother estimates that allying with Kronos is their best outcome—a more aggrandizing twist on how Nemesis promised Ethan that they will usher change into the world.

Naturally, what switches them around is that final confrontation at Manhattan. As mentioned, Ethan turns coat at the last minute and is killed for it. Alabaster, gripped by sunken-cost fallacy and a "what about my unfulfilled potential" panic, doubles down against Olympus and shoots himself in the foot. So the moment that Ethan realizes that Alabaster is right, Alabaster actually regresses into a mentality even worse than Ethan's initial "ends justify the means" mindset.

Either way, the outcome is the same. Alabaster's loyalties become entirely murky because the only way he can now cope with all the losses of his siblings and comrades is to twist his worldview entirely into Kronos/TA being good and Olympus being bad, because otherwise, he's going to have to face the fact that their blood is on his hands, and he's amounted to nothing.

*(I'd like to make a note here that in my view, Ethan's struggle with this is different from Luke's; where Ethan has always been self-effacing in both his goals (which were always about his mother) and his actions (he's a second-in-command, a disposable lackey), Luke from the start was using the very justified rage he had at the cabins system and the gods to fuel his own need for a hero's legacy.)

[starsfic]

Who wants some quick Forced Back headcanons, I do-

There is Leshycat. Y.C., as I have no name for them yet, is a sweetheart and generally very nice person. However, the Bishops (sans Leshy, of course) are very protective over their little brother and see Y.C. as a bad influence. Which is hilarious, considering that these are the incarnations of Death/War/Famine/Plague being concerned about Chaos being influenced.

Narinder had to bring back his siblings because giving up your crown is generally not something you're supposed to do. He really wasn't happy about it when it happened.

Lamb is DEFINITELY not happy about it when they find out...through running into Y.C. trying to sneak out of the palace before anyone realizes that they're there.

The mortician's family name is Morte, which is very basic.

Hecate has a girlfriend/second in command.

The Lamb used to sleep in a small room in the back of the temple. The room is actually still there and is very well-kept.

There is some debate on whether or not Narinder is the twins' bio father. He is not, he was just very fond of Forenus before he was chained, to the point of experimenting with immortality with her.

Forenus is still alive, actually, preferring to live out in the woods. The twins still visit her.

The Lamb was generally very kind to the followers, except for the whole "making sure they learned how to do things quickly." Narinder was not as good as the whole kindness thing, but it got him stronger devotion, so...

Ratau decided to die after the Lamb passed. Narinder made his death quick and painless.

The Lamb's vialed blood was turned into relics that are scattered across the cult. Narinder has one and wears it under his shirt. Dove, his wife, was gifted one and wore it as part of a headdress.

Most people liked Dove. Shamura did not. Narinder is unsure whether it was the transactional nature of their relationship or if Shamura just doesn't like their siblings in relationships.

Hecate's cult is currently in Anchordeep. In the six years it has been active, it has learned to be very mobile.

[a-french-coconut]

Luke Castellan (Part 2)

Each day, his forces grow a little stronger, demigods joining them from all over the country, even Camp Half-Blood.

It's time.

Already ? It's only been one year.

He's in his office, seated next to a golden coffin that grows more visible every time a demigod pledge themselves to Kronos.

Our army is strong and with Jackson on his father's side, we need another piece in the game.

He stays silent, reaching for a piece on the chessboard on front of him.

Would it really work ?

Will it bring her back ?

Yes, the Golden Fleece is a powerful artefact.

They why didn't Chiron, or even Dionysus, ever told him ?

He would have went on that quest without hesitation, he would have saved her !

I feel your anger rising, good. Remember, Chiron, Dionysus and all the other gods don't care about you. With her dead, they thought they could avoid the Great Prophecy.

He clenches the piece in his hand, his familiar hatred boiling in him again.

They had killed her, valued her as a defective object that needed to put down.

I shall inform our spy at Camp to proceed.

If Silena didn't change her old calendar, she should be horse riding now.

"Silena, do you copy ?" He asks her through the charm bracelet.

"Hi Luke."

As always, the daughter of Aphrodite have this sweet voice, one that could work on many guys but Luke couldn't be more indifferent to it.

Silena Beauregard is not his type of girl but he can't risk having her offended by a rejection.

"Hey Lena, I need you to do me a favor."

"Of course ! Anything you need." Comes back the answer, cheerful and hopeful.

"The poison Lila gave to you last time you two met ? Use it on the target."

"Oh, okay." She sounds disappointed but frankly, she should know better than expect him to like her, daughter of Aphrodite and all that. "Are you sure you want to do this ?"

"Of course I'm sure," he frowns, "why are you asking ?"

"It's going to hurt her Luke, deeply. It's like she'll die again."

"She isn't going to die" he snaps at Silena, voice cold and harsh, "a quest will be issued to save her. Now go do your job and stop questioning my orders !"

He abruptly cuts contact, not caring about how it might affect Silena.

He looks at the piece in his hand.

Kronos wants a new pawn to balance the careful game they are playing.

"Castellan," an empousa barges in, "Torrington is asking for you on deck, he needs you to teach the soldiers a manoeuvre."

"Tell them I'm coming Kelli."

She nods, promptly leaving him alone.

He gets up, puts some light armor before gripping Backbiter and getting out of the office.

On the table, away from the chessboard and its pieces, stands the dark queen, as proud as the girl she represents.

--------------------------------

He dreams of her, of the pine's leaves slowly turning gray, the bark rotting and falling on the ground.

He wonders if she can feel it.

(When he faces her again, on a mountain top surrounded by ruins, he'll know that he made her suffer.)

As expected, Chiron is fired and Tantalus takes over the leadership.

Luke thinks he knows why Kronos chose him. Indeed, they seem to share the same culinary taste.

"How long until the poison kills the tree ?" He asks Alabaster who created it.

"One week, depends on what cure they will administrate it." The son of Hecate shrugs, clearly unconcerned with Thalia's fate. "Don't worry Luke, they should make it time."

"They better," he mumbles under his breath, "if Thalia dies, there is no way for me to convince Annabeth to join us."

"About that," Alabaster fidgets, "Are you sure she'll want to join ? She seems pretty loyal to the Olympians."

"When Thalia joins us, she will too." Luke assures his second in command, "why don't you go find Ethan ? Last time I heard he was still pining over you, looking at you with awe in his single eye."

He snickers slightly when his friend's face turns red, promptly leaving to find the son of Nemesis.

"This is a waste of time," Kelli scoffs from the corner of the room, "why aren't we sending our own forces to get the Fleece ? It would be a lot more productive."

"Because" he glares at the monster who languidly gets closer to him, "they need to ultimately have the Fleece and they are not going to accept it as a gift from us. Hence, they need to find it by their own."

"If you say so, Castellan." Kelli sighs, seating on his armchair, "the girl you keep talking about, Talia or-"

"Thalia" he corrects her, slightly uncomfortable with her proximity.

"That," Kelli narrows her eyes on him, her talons tracing lines on his shoulder and arm," what does she mean to you ?"

"She's a dear friend," he quickly gets out of the chair, earning himself a scowl, "and a powerful ally to have."

"I'm sure she would make quite a feast," Kelli smiles, "Zeus' blood is always so delicious-"

"Don't kid yourself" Luke cuts her off curtly, "you don't stand a chance against Thalia."

"Is that so ?" she hisses, "then maybe I should pay her visit when she's done housing birds and squirrels, to see her worth."

With the speed of a son of Hermes, Luke unsheathes Backbiter and furiously slashes at Kelli but she jumps out of the chair and the only thing damaged is now his furniture.

"Thalia is an essential person in our plan, do you want me to tell our Lord that you wish to harm her ?" He snarls, pulling off his sword from the wood.

"Oh, now" Kelli chuckles nervously, "there's no need for such rash action, I have no intention to go near the daughter of Zeus."

"Good," he says firmly, "now get out, I have work to do."

She hisses at him, hair burning a bright orange but nonetheless hobbles her way out, the sound of her bronze leg hitting the ground echoing in the corridor.

He forces himself to breathe, to squash down his fury against that damned empousa.

His charm bracelet heating up, the signal Silena is trying to contact him, distract him from his insider turmoil.

"Silena," he says rather irritably, "Lila is in charge of receiving your infos, I have enough work to do."

"I thought you would have wanted to hear this but fine, I'll just transmit to Lila and she can tell you." The daughter of Aphrodite says with a snappy voice.

"Wait," he calls to her," what it is ? I'm not busy right now."

A lie since he has to prepare a meeting concerning their sponsors but he is curious about what is so important.

"Clarisse got a quest and she's leaving first thing tomorrow morning to retrieve the Fleece."

"Clarisse ?" He frowns, "why would they send Clarisse when the Fleece is on an island in the Sea of Monsters ? Jackson's obviously a better choice."

"Tantalus isn't very fond of him."

"Tell that idiot that Percy must come." Luke hisses, furious against the new director. "it's the perfect opportunity to trap and kill him."

"It's too late, it would be weird for him to suddenly change opinions." Her voices curls in distaste, "how are we going to keep him Luke, the guy gives the creeps."

"Then avoid him because he is going to stay as long as possible."

"But", her voice wavers, "he might want to hurt the kids."

"Kids" he scoffs, "that are on the opposite side Lena. We are bound to fight them sooner or later."

"We want a better word for all demigods," she stresses her word, "even them, do we not ? I don't see how Tantalus fits into our vision."

"He does for now" he grits out, "anything else ?"

"No, Percy has arrived at camp but he isn't going on the quest. Oh ! Wait, no, I have something to tell you-"

"It'll have to wait," he eyes Chris who just entered and mouthing to him they are here, "I really need to go, please inform your official agent of any new developments and not me."

"Our spy ?" His brothers asks, tilting his head.

"Clarisse has been sent to retrieve the Fleece," Luke eyes carefully his brother's face, "dangerous quest, some might say lethal."

"Clarisse's strong," he mutters quietly, not looking in Luke's eyes, "she'll get through it."

"One day, we are going to fight her, are you sure you'll be able to do so when it happens ?"

"Yes, my loyalty is to Kronos and you."

Chris looks at him with a hardened gaze, grim determination etched on his face.

"I'll do whatever you need me to if it means getting retribution."

"Good," he smiles," I'm please to see your faith in me."

When he passes in front of him, he puts a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Kronos will appreciate that kind of loyalty once we win the war, brother, be sure not to lose it."

As he leaves to greet his guests, he doesn't see Chris carefully taking a picture of his trouser's pocket, with on it a girl with a bright red bandana hugging with one arm a younger Chris.

-------------------------------

"Well, I have to say I didn't expect you here."

He looks rather amused at the trio confronting him.

"Percy, I should have known you couldn't stay far from me for too long, Annabeth," he looks at her, properly seeing her since he left, "you've grown and-"

His voice dies out as he looks with disbelief at the boy in front of him.

Except he's not a boy.

No, he's monster.

A cyclops.

"Really, Annie ?" He says rather hysterical, earning himself a weird look from everyone except Annabeth who's red with shame, "of all monsters, a cyclops ?" He pronounces it with such disgust, such hater towards that kind.

"Don't talk to Tyson that way !" Percy angrily say, struggling against Agrius's grip.

"Why ? Fond of him Jackson ?"

To that, the son of Poseidon stays quiet, the same red Annabeth has colouring his cheeks.

"Well, as fun as this is, I'm afraid it must come to an end." He sighs, "Agrius and Oreius, take them downstairs, I heard the monsters were hungry."

But the cyclops breaks free and sends Oreius tumbling on his brother, giving Percy to opportunity to escape.

"Catch them !" He roars to his soldiers but they have already bolted out of the room.

He can only watch them, seething, disappearing on the horizon on one of the emergency life boat.

He had them...

They were on his boat, unarmed and outnumbered and they escaped.

Shame and rage churn his stomach, make his body vibrate with fury and Alabaster is the one to pay the price.

"Torrington !" he bellows at the son of Hecate, "they were three and you had six demigods and two monsters at your commands !"

"The monsters don't listen to me !" he protests, looking straight into Luke's eyes, "I'm the General of your demigods' army."

"And what have you been doing all those months ?" he hisses, "how come they were completely useless to stop them !"

He sees Alabaster's eyes glower and green ruins appear on his jacket. He reaches for Backbiter but a little girl suddenly puts herself in the way.

"Stop this ! Please !" she begs, looking fearfully at Luke.

"Lou," Alabasters says softly, "get out of the way."

"No, I'm not letting you fight with him !" Lou crosses her arms defiantly, stubbornly not moving.

"Your sister ?" He asks his general who curtly nods, still eyeing him and ready to fight.

But Luke only looks at Lou.

She's small, black-haired and has startling green eyes.

If he has to guess, she must be eleven years old, younger maybe.

And yet, despite her young age, she looks at him warily and ready to protect her brother.

He sheathes his sword to Alabaster's great surprise.

"They'll have to come back once they get the Fleece, we'll catch them then."

He leaves the deck and Torrington's confused face to isolate himself in his cabin.

He spends the next hour twirling a cheap ring on his necklace, thinking of a young blond girl with startling grey eyes and wondering if she would too protect him if he needed it.

-----------------------------

He doesn't remember falling asleep.

And yet he is chained upside down, with an unbearable heat burning his face as he looks at the cauldron below him.

He remembers that place.

It's when they were on the run and Thalia and he got captured by a cyclops.

Annabeth had been the one to save them, stabbing bravely the monster and freeing them.

"Luke ! Stop looking like an idiot and use your powers !" A voice next to him snaps in the air.

She's there, looking wildly alive, face etched into a scowl and gleaming from sweat.

"Thalia..." he whispers with a broken voice.

"Is the heat making you lose your mind ?" She says harshly, a worried frown appearing on her features, "yes it's me, Thalia. The girl who is about to buzz you if you don't find a solution."

It's been so long since he heard her talking and not screaming.

The way her eyes pulse with electricity.

The way her freckles are a constellation adoring her pale skin, contrasting so much with her spiky jet black hair.

The way she's pulsing with life, trashing against the chains restraining her and not cold dead on a forest's floor.

"Thalia, I-"

He wants to tell her everything, like he did before, to tell her about Kronos and his rebellion against the gods.

"Hurry, Luke !" She trashes even wilder, a small edge of fear in her voice.

He knows what happens next.

The cyclops comes back, failing to lure Annabeth in his trap, and as he's ready to cut their bonds, to let them fall into the boiling steaming pit below, the monster screams in pain and Luke seizes his chance.

He gets out of the now loosened chains, managed to free Thalia despite only using one hand, the other firmly gripping the chain, and the both of them jump onto the cyclops's arm.

That's when he sees the cause of the monster's pain.

Annabeth had stabbed him in the toe, his little sister looking terrified but determined to fight the beast.

Quickly, Thalia and he climb down the screaming monster until they're on the ground and help Annabeth kill him.

Then, she punches him in the gut after praising Annie.

"What the fuck Thals !" He groans, doubling over.

"What was that back there, huh ?" She asks angrily, irritated enough for not scolding off for the bad word, "why'd you froze like that ?"

"I didn't freeze, my powers were just useless." He winces when he feels his abdomen, it's definitely going to bruise.

She scowls but doesn't push him further.

"Come on, we have to go, Grover is waiting for us outside." Annabeth urges them, dragging them to the exit.

"It's too late."

Both Annabeth and Thalia look at him with utterly confused faces.

"What do you mean it's too late ? Too late for what ?"

"Forget I said anything," he mumbles hastily, pushing them aside to reach the exit, "it's nonsense."

A hand on his shoulder stops him.

It's not like her punch, no.

It's a prolonged contact, one where her hand barely touches his skin and yet, it is warmer than the boiling cauldron.

"Luke," he hears her say his name with worry, "what's wrong ?"

"Nothing's wrong Thals," he reassures her, not looking in her eyes. "We have to go, the monsters are gaining on us."

But she doesn't let go of him and her hand gets closer to his neck.

He doesn't turn, can't bear to look at her.

"You can tell me anything, you know that right ?" She whispers, her voice centimetres away from his ear.

"And I will," he replies, "I will but not today."

He terribly wants to face her, to tell her everything but he can't waste any more time.

It's stupid of him to think that maybe, in this dream Thalia makes it to Camp alive. It's like jumping off the cliff again when he knows he'll break himself on rocks below.

Yet, he hopes.

--------------------------------

"Welcome back to the States, cousin." He smiles at Percy, holding Backbiter under his throat, "I'm the welcoming party."

"Really wasn't necessary."

"So uncivilised," he shakes his head, "come aboard, all of you."

This time, Grover is with them. Luke doesn't know why he is there, surely something Silena could explain, but he doesn't particularly care. There's only one thing he wants, and it's within his reach.

"Where is it ?"

"Where's what ?" Percy asks innocently, the ghost of a smile floating on his face.

"The Fleece, Jackson." Luke patiently says, "give it to me."

"I can't, it's gone." He says, his smile now very visible and irritably smug.

"It can't be gone Jackson, you are all here," Luke snaps before a horrible idea dawns on him, "no, there's no way, you didn't-"

"Yes," Percy says glowing with satisfaction, "Clarisse is already on the way to Camp with the Fleece. You lost Luke."

"What where you planning to do with the Fleece, anyways ?" Annabeth asks him coldly.

"Well, since none of you are getting out of here alive, I suppose I can tell you," he shrugs, trying to hide his growing panic at the perspective of telling Kronos he failed again, "I was going to use the Fleece to resurrect Kronos but I would have given it back to you after."

"Really ?"

"Of course Jackson, I know why you need the Fleece and I wouldn't have stopped you."

"That's rich," he scoffs, "considering what you did."

To his grand surprise, Jackson hurls a coin at him. One he easily dodge, the drachma falling in the water behind him.

"You betrayed me, betrayed DIONYSUS AT CAMP HALF BLOOD !"

"Old news Jackson, why are you doing this ?"

"Did you poison Thalia's tree ?"

"Of course I did !" He snaps at Jackson, utterly confused, "but you-"

"So Chiron had nothing to do with it ?" Jackson presses on.

"As if that old man could ever hurt his Camp !" Luke rolls his eyes, "why are you doing this ? You already know all of that !"

"I do, but now all the others do too."

"What others-"

His voice dies at he turns and sees the whole Pavillon of Camp Half-Blood looking at them, dead silent, through an Iris Message.

"See Mr D ? Chiron is innocent !" Percy says behind him.

"I suppose so Peter," the god sighs, "well then, goodbye Tantalus."

He waves his hand and the earth opens, swallowing the man whole.

With a furious scream, Luke slashes the Iris Message, making it pop in a cloud of mist.

"Chris !" He barks at his brother, "ready my stallion, I'm going after the Fleece."

His brothers nods and hastily leaves the room.

"As for you all, Oreius and Agrius are in dire need of fresh meat."

"So you're just leaving us here, not even able to kill us yourselves ?" Percy yells at him as they go on deck where a black pegasus awaits Luke.

"I have more urgent matters than you Jackson, believe or not."

"Why don't you fight me, eh ? Scared you'll lose like the first time ?" The son of Poseidon taunts him.

It's an impasse and they both know it.

If Luke declines, he loses credibility and if he accepts, he doubts he'll manage to intercept Clarisse.

"Very well, Jackson. Give him back his sword."

He arms himself with Backbiter and a shield and faces Percy.

"It's not fair Luke," Annabeth protests angrily, "at least give him a shield too !"

"The world's hardly ever is fair Annabeth," he snarls, "I had hoped you would know that by now."

He looks at Percy, scanning for weak spots and when he finds one, he attacks.

"You've gotten better Jackson" he grunts, blocking Riptide with his shield, "but there's not water trick to save you this time."

He kicks him in the leg and sends Riptide flying out of reach.

He hears Annabeth screaming, the cyclops bellowing and Grover bleating as he lower down Backbiter to stab Percy in the stomach.

Water slaps him, sending him tumbling backward and loud screams and confettis ?

Dozens of centaurs are on his ship, trampling his forces or throwing party hats and shooting paintballs.

One hits him on the stomach, splattering his shirt blue and bruising his skin.

Amidst the chaos, he registers Percy mounting Chiron while the others are on other centaurs, his old mentor whistles and they're all gone as fast as they came.

"Chris !" He roars, face red with fury, "the horse, where is it ?"

"It left with them," his brother groans from where he's sprawled on the floor, covered in paint, "saw Percy talk to him."

He feels like he might explode from shame and rage.

It's the second time Percy escapes him, the second time a thirteen years old beat him, an experienced twenty years old demigod.

"All of you, clean this mess ! I have to inform our Lord of this recent development."

He closes his office's door rather harshly, taking a few minutes to calm himself before contacting Kronos.

Master.

Next to him, the coffin glows and he feels him stirring, his presence lingering in the air.

You have failed.

Luke feels his throat drying, yes master.

And yet we are still successful.

I... I don't understand Master. Without the Fleece, you'll take more time to fully awake.

Foolish boy, do you think I cannot wait a few more years ? I have spent eons awaiting for this moment, I do not lack patience.

It was never about you, Luke realises, all you wanted was for the Fleece to reach her tree.

And it has, soon, we'll have another pawn in the game.

----------------------------------

Far away, on a hill overlooking Long Island Sound, a girl opens her eyes under a grand pine tree for the first time in seven years.

[loreolympiad]

"There's a sense of melancholy that comes with the end of a good story..."

"A feeling of 'what now?' when you see all those characters you fell in love with reach their happy ending..."

"But that's the fun part about stories, isn't it?"

"Once you've turned the final page, you can always flip the book over..."

"And start again~"

[wanderingmind867]

Each of the twelve original Titans and who they fought for during the Second Titan War:

Let's start with the obvious ones:

Kronos: Naturally leading his side of the war. I hate Kronos, but this one is obvious.

Hyperion: Serving as a Commander in his brother Kronos's army. We see him during the Battle of Olympus, so this one is pretty obvious.

Iapetus: Fought for Kronos, only to lose his memory and become Bob. I really doubt you can kill a Titan (you can't kill Kronos, at least), so I imagine Iapetus/Bob is still out there after the Heroes of Olympus series. Maybe he's finally regained his memories (I can't remember if he already did that). He deserves that much, at least.

Crius: I believe the Lost Hero says that Crius fought the Roman demigods while Hyperion got to fight the Greek demigods. So Crius almost definitely fought on his brother Kronos's side.

Coeus: According to the Percy Jackson wiki, Coeus fought with Kronos. I don't think we ever saw him in the books though. I guess Coeus is the forgotten Titan, despite being the maternal grandfather of Hecate, Apollo and Artemis through his two daughters, Leto and Asteria.

Oceanus: I believe Oceanus fights on his brother Kronos's side in the Pjo series. I don't know why he's fighting on Kronos's side, seeing as he didn't help Kronos castrate Ouranos like the rest of his brothers did. But maybe it's just because of family loyalty, or something. Idk.

Now let's take some educated guesses on the female Titans. We know all six male first generation titans fought for Kronos, but what about the women of the family?:

Rhea: Seeing as Rhea is the mother of the gods, it makes sense for her to support her kids in this conflict. Besides, would Rhea really supoort Kronos? He was an awful husband, probably an awful brother and definitely an awful parent. So Rhea was probably on the side of her kids.

Theia: Well, Rhea and Theia. Guess Gaea and Ouranos weren't feeling unique when it came to those two, him? But anyway, I think Theia would be fighting with Kronos. Largely because her husband and brother is Hyperion, one of the leading commanders of the Titan army. Also, Theia and Hyperion had three kids: Helios, Selene and Eos. We know Helios and Selene were abandoned and their roles given to Artemis and Apollo. Not sure about Eos, though. But anyways, I think that Helios and Selene's treatment would help make Theia bitter towards her other relatives. She's probably fighting with Kronos to support her husband and get revenge for her kids.

Themis: Being the Titaness of Justice, I don't think it'd be right for Themis to pick a side. Justice is impartial, and all that. So I imagine she was completely neutral. Kind of like the Fates, probably. She just acted as a neutral observer.

Mnemosyne: I'm not really sure about Mnemosyne. She did have children with Zeus in the nine muses. And she doesn't seem to have much to gain from supporting Kronos. So I don't know. My best guess is: she either stayed completely neutral or she sided with Olympic. You can choose which you think is more likely. Personally, I'm leaning towards her being neutral.

Phoebe: I feel like Phoebe is stuck between a rock and hard spot. Her husband Coeus is fighting for Kronos, as is her grandchild Hecate. Yet her other two grandchildren, Apollo and Artemis, are fighting for Olympus. I feel like Phoebe is going to stay neutral, for fear of a tearing a rift within her family.

Tethys: Being that Tethys is married to Oceanus, she probably took a similar stance to his. So she probably fought for Kronos alongside her husband, but I don't really think she did it because she had any deep devotion to Kronos. I think she probably just did it because she wanted to be with her husband. Maybe also because she nursed Helios and Selene when they were young (at least according to wikipedia). So maybe she also wanted revenge for them?

So to recap:

On Kronos's Side: Kronos, Hyperion, Crius, Coeus, Oceanus, Iapetus, Tethys and Theia.

On the side of Olympus: Rhea and maybe Mnemosyne.

On no side: Themis, Phoebe, and maybe Mnemosyne.

[loreolympiad]

"Try it and Hera becomes a single mother."

"Gee, I hope not. Lest my fright inspires me to turn that thing into a purse for your next birthday. Maybe don't let it near me and I'll go easy on the fella. How's that?"

[flower1622]

I was listening to some songs and i had an ideia to write a perachel fanfic with Peter Pan.

Percy and Rachel would find an old book of fairytales in the Hecate's cabin and they would open it in a specific one about a boy that never wanted to grow up. But, there is something written under it, a question "Would you want to live many adventures and stay forever young?". Rachel would answer yes animated because of the heat of the moment. It was not totally serious, just a little part since she always wanted to experience the same thing Percy and the demigods had. So, the book shines a bright light around the camp.

Both are sent to Peter Pan's world with no memories of themselves. They are Peter and Wendy. My story will have some things from Peter Pan's, but i'll try to change many things maybe (or not. I don't know. I usually don't plan my stories, so i don't know how they will go)

Will (Michael) and Jason (John) would be Rachel's brothers. Luke (Felix) would be Percy's right hand or best friend maybe, the second in command. There could be some original lost boys, the ones from Peter Pan's story and other characters from PJO like Leo and Nico (All the characters from PJO would have different names in the story). Will likes Nico when he arrives in neverland. Clarisse could be a friend of Rachel at school. They would be considered the excluded or weird ones. Annabeth and Piper would be.... i can't say here to not get people mad. Sorry.

Almost in the end or in the middle of my story, Percy and Rachel would have that kiss and they would remember about themselves. But, they are still stuck in the story and have to think a way to get out. Hazel, Frank and Reyna weren't affected since they were in Jupiter Camp. They are trying to think about how they can help their friends. Will they be able to find a survivor from Camp Half Blood like a daughter of Hecate maybe? Or will they be able to do this by themselves? 🤔🤔

Obs: Luke is still dead, so the one in the story is a fake one. If or when Percy and his friends are saved, Percy would remember the Luke he met in the story as Peter. The one who never betrayed them. Percy knows that the friendship he had with the fake Luke could be almost the same he would have had with the real Luke.

I gave some spoilers? Yes. But, who cares? Only few people read my stories, so i'm good. This is just a note of my ideias for my next story. I got inspired by the live actions of Peter Pan. I already said that movies and songs inspire me...literally! The characters from PJO could also be deaged inside Peter Pan's story since many of them are adults. If or when they return back, they would come back to normal with their real ages and everything. Chiron could be Captain Hook and Dionysus... Mr.Smee 😅😊. After getting her memories back, Rachel would feel bad since it all happened because of her and Percy would comfort Rachel and show her that she doesn't need to have adventures in her life to be someone special. The fake Luke would be created by the island because it saw that deep down in "Peter's heart", he missed the friendship he could have had with "Felix (Luke)."

Unfortunately, Percy and Annabeth are still dating. So, i don't know if i make the couple break up since both liked Rachel and Piper in the story a little bit. Or Percabeth could still be together and Percy and Rachel stare at each other, knowing that something happened between them in the story. They understand that everything that happened in the story, it stays there. Both didn't know this would be their last time together. Percy and Annabeth come back to their college. Percy and Rachel never forgot what happened to them. Percy and Annabeth get killed months later by monsters. They could have a last moment together smiling at each other or maybe holding hands(I don't know. Not a big fan of the couple. Percabeth's death would have something very significative behind it). Rachel gets sad and moves on with her life as an oracle. Percy becomes a memory of a boy Rachel met once...a boy that wanted to grow up. She kept drawing all her times together with Percy that happened real life and in Peter Pan's story. She would also tell her stories about the boy that wanted to grow up for the new kids of the camp.

[kaithonks]

So I’ve had some Thoughts about Absolute Wonder Woman (Again)

Minor Spoilers Absolute Wonder Woman #5

So, Absolute Wonder Woman's first story finished last week, and, well, I feel like geeking out. I did say I would be coming back to this when the arch finished.

First things first, it's beautiful. Sherman's art and Bellaire's colors are doing wonders. Diana looks strong, and there is always attention being brought to her eyes and her expression. And last week I touched on Witch Hat Atelier's godlike paneling. Wonder Woman is coming in a hot second in that regard. There are a lot of curves and flow to the paneling, and it reminds me of those ancient Greek pots that tell Greek myth through art. There is even a pot in issue 3. The red outline and black backing of the pages where Diana is in hell is also a nice touch that helps build the atmosphere. It also makes a freer contrast when Diana is on the surface with other people. It's a small thing, but it is there. And a lot of this run builds up this new Wonder Woman; it's art. There are a lot of big and grand panels that show the scales of the monster Diana is fighting, and again there is a lot of attention put on Diana's expression and her general presence in issue 2. You not only feel her friendship with Steve, but you also feel her commanding presence when in the command room. And I love it all.

While I could keep picking at the art, we should talk about the story, because both the art and writing of Absolute Wonder Woman have knocked it out of the park. First, Circe being Diana's mother is a good twist to her story while still keeping within the familiar. And I really enjoyed Circe's writing; you could tell that she's not a great person, but as you watch her raise Diana, you can see and feel her love. You devote yourself to her even in the face of Hecate. Hecate tells us that Circe will defy her to protect Diana, but we can see that is the truth. That will happen.

And something I was worried about was the sidelining of the lasso, because the lasso was so important in Pérez's run and to Diana's character. But Thompson clearly recognized the importance of the lasso and gave us "Sacrifice." The themes of love and sacrifice have been very prevalent through this run so far. Form Circe's love to Diana's arm sacrifice, so the lasso being called a sacrifice reinforces all this and has a new angle to it because Diana gives up herself and transforms. But then we come back to love and relationships because, as Steven says, "Your friend reminds you." (of who you are.)

This is Wonder Woman, a character who found strength in love and compassion. She is strong and willing to do what needs to be done to save the day. She builds a relationship to remind the hero who she is. And I am so excited to see what comes next.

Since my last post, I have read 1-4 of Absolute Batman and 1-4 of Absolute Superman. But Wonder Woman is still the standout to me. While all three still feel like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, she had the strongest twists and theming. This is definitely subjective, but I also think her art and paneling are the strongest. Feels very unique and stays in my mind long after I've finished reading. And with the canceling of the Wonder Woman game, I'm praying that this is the boost we need to remind people why Wonder Woman is one of the big three.

[honeyed-blossom]

🪴🪴Herbology Mishaps: Chapter 2🪴🪴

Summary: Tending to Venomous Tentacula is never easy and unsurprisingly, things don’t go as planned. Can the girls put their differences aside to complete their task?

word count: 1.4k

Chapter 1 • Maven’s POV | you are here 🍯

banner belongs to the lovely @cafekitsune !

Maven Godfreid belongs to @theherbologygreenhouse

Valeria’s Perspective:

Her severing spell had landed perfectly and the tentacula head was sliced clean off, now laying lifelessly next to the rest of the plant. The precision of the spell would’ve made even Hecat proud. And Valeria might’ve smiled smugly at her work if it didn’t feel like time stopped for a moment.

The ringing in her ear is sharp and piercing. Her chest feels tight, like it’s been wrapped up with thick coils of shipping rope. She feels her heart thundering behind the constraints, beating harder and quicker with each passing second. Adrenaline rushes through her bloodstream, as if a dam somewhere in her body had collapsed and let the energy run wild. She has the urge to cast every spell she knows, climb a mountain, even fight a troll if it meant she would be fished out of this chaotic feeling.

She attempts to say something; her mouth opens and closes but nothing comes out. Breathe, she tells herself, commanding her lungs to inhale as she realizes she hasn’t been breathing. That she had almost gotten maimed by a plant, of all things. That she had been terrified, an emotion she seldom expressed or liked to think about.

Breathe, Valeria. See? You’re okay. You’re all in one piece, aren’t you?

She hears her mother’s voice trying to soothe her. Odd. Her mother isn’t very kind or caring like the voice in her head. She looks around in a hazy panic to find the greenhouse in disarray - fresh dirt was scattered on the floor and walls, a water hose dances around, and Godfreid is starting to stand up from behind the pots. Oh good, she was okay. She feels guilt creep up on her as she feels the ground beneath her settle. A huge gulp of air finally makes it to her lungs, inflating it harshly. Just as she begins processing the situation, the voice returns.

You could’ve hurt her quite badly, child. Ah, but I suppose it’s only natural when you can’t even control your wand. The voice in her head morphs into something more familiar. Disapproving. Arrogant.

Disappointing, for a spell as simple as Confringo.

Valeria clenches her teeth, breaking away from the unpleasant thoughts. Her day had been bad enough and now she had to hear that nasty woman’s voice.

Suddenly, searing pain shoots up from her right palm, inciting a yelp from her. Valeria drops her wand in a panic and immediately pulls her hand to her face, finding the skin bright red. The blasting spell had quite literally blasted her in the process, leaving behind a nasty burn around where she held her wand.

After a moment of silence, the raven haired girl speaks up, “what is it?” Valeria ignores her, opting instead to drown her palm under the free flowing hose. It soothes the pain for a moment but she needs something more substantial.

“Did you get hurt? Let me see it.” Maven approaches and tries grabbing her hand to inspect, but Valeria snatches it back. “Don’t touch me,” she hisses, half in pain, half in anger, and washes her hand again before rushing back to grab her wand.

“Episkey,” Valeria chants, using her left hand to complete the wand motions. A soft green light illuminates her right hand. The pain subsides to nothing more than an occasional sting but the burn persists. Valeria frowns. She’d have to go to Nurse Blainey to get it fully healed.

“You need to get that treated. The pain might lessen but your hand is still burned,” Maven says from behind her, matter of factly. Valeria rolls her eyes. “I know as much,” she retorts, words dripping in more venom than intended. “I’m not as daft as you think.” She narrows her eyes at the Hufflepuff, blowing softly at her hand at an attempt to cool it down.

Maven scoffs, crossing her arms irritatedly, “Are you sure? Because you just tried to kill me. With a spell considered dangerous enough that even the professors won’t teach it.”

Valeria shrugs nonchalantly, “then you should’ve dodged. Don’t tell me all you have is your strength.” She smirks mockingly. “Maybe you should work on your dexterity. Would help you in Defense Against the Dark Arts.” Somehow, she could tell DADA was especially challenging for the Hufflepuff. They weren’t in the same class but Valeria had often seen the other come in for supplementary lessons when she ran errands for Hecat. Maybe magic wasn’t her strong suit. Maven does seem to prefer doing things the muggle way, by hand. Valeria turns back to the venomous plants, severing the remaining heads needing harvesting.

Suddenly, she feels shirt grabbed harshly from behind her and Maven turns her so the two face each other. “What did you say?” She seethes, pressing her face closer to Valeria’s.

Valeria returns an amused snort. “What, don’t tell me you’d like to hear my insult twice.” Valeria is most definitely being a little cruel. After all, Maven did try to help her and Valeria did almost accidentally explode her.

She ought to apologize and thank the other for trying to help but… her pride won’t allow it. Maven called her ignorant and criticized her snap decision to use the blasting spell. What an annoying know-it-all.

Besides, what was Valeria supposed to do? The tentacula has attacked her, biting at her ankles and her instincts took over. Like clockwork, her body shifted into a dueling stance as it had many times before, with her right foot at the front and her wand extended towards the plant. With a quick snap of her wrist, she drew a Z with her wand and sent the most powerful spell she know, a blast of flames towards the plant.

Confringo.

She had only learned it a week ago with Sebastian and the others. Rather, they taught it to themselves, the boys singing their eyebrows in the process and sending the girls into a hooting fit. Every evening after dinner, she and Sebastian would rush down to the undercroft and practice until Anne and Ominis dragged them back to the dorms. She loved the feeling of casting the spell: the pure rush of magic, of power. Of control.

Control. Her mind wanders back to her wand. Holly, the name she had given her companion, glints against the orange rays of the setting sun. It’s a powerful wand but sometimes, it’s as if it goes out of its way to tease and play pranks at her.

Her eyes dart back up as Maven begins to pull her free hand back, preparing a punch. The poor girl looks almost possessed, her eyes dark with ire. Perhaps I should apologize, she ponders.

“Is violence how you solve all your problems?” Valeria continues instead, seemingly uninterested by what might happen next. “Like you solved your problem with Leander Prewitt? Poor chap. Seems you’ve made him look sillier than usual.”

She flashes a pretty smile and leans right up to Maven, surprising her enough to push her a few steps back. She’s close enough to count other girl’s scattered golden freckles and catch a whiff of freshly cut grass and morning dew. It’s not like the floral perfumes Valeria wears but it isn’t unpleasant. “What-“ Maven starts as she stumbles back, not expecting Valeria to get so close. “You smell nice at least,” Valeria mumbles under her breath.

Valeria cocks her head back, gesturing to the hand on her shirt. “Now let go please,” she continues, staring right at Maven. “Professor Garlick will be back any minute and I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want detention.” She glances behind them. “I’ll finish cleaning up. It’s my mess after all. You focus on what else is remaining.”

Maven’s grip on her doesn’t loosen but she can tell she had given her enough to contemplate her decision. Another detention on her record so soon after her last one would only put her in a deeper predicament. After considerable deliberation, Maven finally lets go of her shirt and starts tending the saplings. Valeria lets out a quiet sigh of relief before repairing what she can.

Valeria sighs tiredly as she cleans up the last of the dirt. She cannot wait for this terrible day to end, to lay flat on her bed and drown in the fluffy covers. To cleanse herself of every wrong thing that’s happened today and simply exist.

[loreolympiad]

"Oh no, it's *very* accurate! In the universe this whole thing is originally from, they exclusively used kids for it!"

"You're right...and I know you're right. I guess I've still got the newlywed jitters, seeing him run off by himself into this...I heard Satan call it a 'murderdome', but is that accurate?"