#I'm sure there are some other ones I could say like the angelo fight or the underworld fight

[greetings-inferiors]

Jojo's bizarre adventure part 3 chapter 69 (chapter 182 overall)

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

Helpless part 10 (shocking that my internet hasn't given up yet)

"So Solace what exactly are we doing?"

"Down to play twenty questions?" Nico considered the offer and smirked,

"Sure." The two sat down next to each other on a log.

"Two skips each, but they get replaced with other questions."

"What's something that isn't a secret but most people don't know about you?" He was ridiculously bored and thought he could use this game to his advantage.

"I'm not actually blonde."

"Explain. Now."

"I was brunette but when I got claimed any part of my hair that was in the sun turned blonde." He pulled out a piece of his hair that wasn't normally visible, it was a light chesnut brown colour.

"Well that's shocking, you know when I asked that question that was not an answer I was expecting."

"I'm a mysterious person di Angelo, now, do you have any exes?"

"Solace I spend most of my time avoiding people."

"In hindsight that was a pretty dumb question."

"Too late, if you had to kill all the people in one cabin which one would it be?"

"Demeter. That was a bit of a violent question." He tried to play it off but his answer had been so quick and confident Nico started to wonder what had happened. "Have you ever drunk?"

"More than you would expect."

"Neeks! You're fourteen, have you ever wondered why there are age restrictions?" Nico just smirked,

"You asked Sun boy, anyways technically I'm older than that. What's the worst crime you have ever committed?"

"Love how you just assume I've committed crimes, but assult. The only reason it wasn't murder is Annabeth pulling me off."

"The fuck Solace, are you going to explain that?"

"I'd rather not, let's just say I was pretty...pissed that day."

"Well that's terrifying."

"I told you I have secrets di Angelo, who's someone you used to care about but now hate?"

"Skip."

"Is it true you liked Annabeth?"

"Really Solace? No it is not, otherwise Percy would have already murdered me."

"Had to ask, the Aphrodite cabin was trying to figure that out for two years."

"Truly incredible, can you fight with a sword?"

"Not in the slightest."

"I'm teaching you, archery will be useless in close combat. You will die in a matter of seconds ."

"You have so much confidence in me Neeks, but thanks for the offer."

"Wasn't an offer, more so a kidnapping where I teach you by force how to fight."

"Okay then...do you prefer the 1930s or now?"

"Now, better arcades."

"Great reasoning."

"What's your worst fear?"

"Pass, I would never hear the end of it."

"Can't be that bad."

"You would never shut up about it Neeks, I can guess that much." Nico locked eyes with the blonde boy, he considered the question he was about to ask.

"Do you regret coming out to all of camp?" So he did know, Will thought to himself. He didn't answer instantly but he didn't want to pass it either.

"Well, um.."

"You have skips, you don't have to answer Will." That was the first time Nico had used his actual name, Will desperately wanted to kiss him.

"I want to answer it just, thinking. I'm happy they know and I don't have to hide it but...some people aren't the nicest. Cabin four has the most for whatever reason, they seem to get joy out of making me feel like shit. Most people are nice enough, with the rest, well you get used to it." Nico grabbed his hand,

"Who. Has. Been. Giving. You. Shit? Give me a list, I will make sure they'll never do anything again."

"Neeks it's fine, I don't need you threatening them."

"I'll be doing a lot more than threats Solace, give me a list of every single person who has hurt you."

"Nico it's okay."

"Did I ask? You're a ball of sunshine, no one and I mean no one has any reason to hurt you."

"They do, there's so many people I couldn't save, I killed them. I deserve to suffer because of that, they deserve revenge on me for killing their friends." Will had tears forming in his eyes.

"Will it's not your fault they died, and either way you shouldn't have to go through this."

"Nico, are you straight?" He froze for a second, he had still been holding Will's hand but he didn't want to let go. He was warm, his thumb was stroking his hand warming up the usually freezing Ghost king. After Will had told him so much he couldn't lie, he always had a skip but part of him wanted Will to know.

"..n..no...I'm gay. Not that many people know, the seven and Reyna that's it. Please don't tell anyone." Nico shakes a bit and a few tears fell, he didn’t want to cry in front of him but he couldn’t help it. Will wrapped his free arm around Nico and pulled him closer to himself,

"Thank you for telling me, I know it's hard Neeks."

"How did you tell so many people?"

"Didn't like people assuming things, also I just...didn't want to hide I guess. Still though, I've been too scared to tell my mum, barely seen her since I'm here all year but even if I had the chance to I probably wouldn't tell her. As for the actual time well it was a while after Percy was missing, before Jason, Piper and Leo showed up, campfire, just kinda said if at the end."

"Did anyone know before that?"

"I told Annabeth first but Kayla and Austin found out by themselves pretty quickly. Who was your first crush?"

"Do not hold this against me, it was Percy." Will started grinning,

"Same, half the camp has liked him at this point I swear."

"Half of camp is pathetic."

"You're including yourself in that statement you know."

"I am fully aware, honestly I should have given up on him when I saw him talking to Annabeth the first time."

"Didn't they hate each other for a few years?"

"Hate is a strong word, I prefer to use hopelessly in love and oblivious."

"Lovely wording; I gave up when my brain started working and I realised he is straight."

"You think Percy is straight? Have you talked to him before?"

"Percy isn't straight?!"

"With the way he talked about Luke? Not a chance, and that was after he betrayed him. I can only imagine him pining over him at the age of twelve, completely oblivious, then also being hopelessly in love with Annabeth and being a helpless simp once more."

"So you are telling me Percy Jackson liked Luke Castellan, aka. the person who tried to kill him multiple times?"

"When he was twelve definitely, at least in the way he talked about what he was like before when I met him. Don't know if he realised it then, but he is not straight. You haven't seen him and Jason talk, if I didn't know how much he loved Annabeth, going to Taturus with her I would have been sure they're secretly dating."

"The more you know I guess. What's something you can do that no one knows about?"

"I can braid hair, I mean Hazel knows that but still."

"Emo Death boy can braid hair."

"Firstly, I'm not emo."

"Keep thinking that Neeks."

"Secondly, this is why I don't tell people this."

"Honestly the fact you can braid hair is adorable, also it proves that you are no where near as scary as you think."

"I could kill you right now."

"You sure about that di Angelo? Right now you can't do much without melting into a puddle of darkness, you're just a nerd that's pretending to be dark and mysterious."

"Oh shut up Solace."

"Never."

"Have you been on a quest?"

"Nope, I just try to prevent deaths after them."

"How many languages can you speak?"

"Wait give me a second, Itallian, Greek moderen and ancient, Latin, English, French, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, Polish, Finnish, German and Dutch. So that's twelve and a half I'm fluet in and I'm trying to teach myself Russian and Japanese." He said counting them off on his fingers

"Gods Nico, what exactly do you do with your free time?"

"Well first four are pretty obvious but Bianca taught me French and Swedish and the rest I've taught myself, writing's hell with dyslexia but I've survived. It's a pretty useful skill when you randomly show up in different countries."

"I can barely speak English properly half the time!"

"That sounds like a problem on your side Sunshine." He said messing up the blonde boys hair, Will desperately tried to hide his blushing. "Have you ever passed out because you healed too many people?"

"Yeah, happens quite a bit." Nico slapped him, not that hard but hard enough for it to hurt. "Hey what was that for?"

"You can't be overworking yourself like that Solace, you're a doctor for Zeus's sake. What help is it going to be if you pass out while healing someone?"

"It's the most effective way, plus I get more people healed."

"So let me get this straight, you risk your own health while telling people not to?"

"Okay when you put it that way-"

"Yeah it sounds bad! Please do not do that, can't have you dying on me Solace"

"I thought you were plotting to kill me anyways?"

"Exactly, can't have you dying before I kill you myself."

"Sure di Angelo, have you ever killed anyone?"

"Pass." He had become friendly with Will, he didn't need anyone else leaving him.

"Cats or dogs?"

"Do hellhounds count? I have a pet hellhound called Mrs O'Leary."

"Was that a gift from Hades?"

"Nope, from Percy."

"Wait what? I'm just going to accept that at this point."

"Good idea, I wasn't planning to explain."

"Course you weren't," Will checked his watch. "Come on Neeks, it's time for lunch, we got through ten questions each, same time tomorrow?"

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"Nope; head to the infirmary I'll get you some food."

"I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten for a few days, just try to eat a few bites."

"Fine.." Nico muttered before walking off to the infirmary.

***

[algumaideia]

Just saw sb say Jasico shippers who are also Solangelo antis are losers who dont care for Nico’s healing journey

anyway an AU in which Nico did leave both Camps after the war, spent a few years afterward traveling the world to see and meet more people, learning about the LGBT+ community, working as an ambassador for his dad, talking to ghosts, ended up having his knowledge horizon widened, and returned to the Camps much later as a completely different human being - at peace and free.

I can damn well save him without putting him in a couple. Solangelo isn’t special. Selflove Nico for the win.

(I very much love Solangelo, but I decided to take this personally bc im also a Jasico die hard, so)

Hello anon!!

Sorry for taking so long to answer you!! My mind has been all over the place. But here it is. Also, I'm sorry bc this is sort of a mess.

I agree with you, there are jasico shippers who also ship solangelo and not liking one ship doesn't mean you want a character to be miserable. And sometimes you want a character to be miserable and that is okay!

I'm not sure if this was a writing request, but I read your ask as this and wrote something.

Also I saw across the spiderverse lately and the idea of punk!Nico got in my head and now it just can't go away.

(the idea is that now Nico only deals with monsters and ghosts who are harming humans or demigods, and not shit related to gods and their missions. Also he sees some gusy from time to time but it is not dating, although I didn't make his romantic situation explicit)

...

Strange. That was the best word to define what Nico felt going back to Camp Half-Blood after so much time. His shoulders tensed and he felt a familiar discomfort on his stomach. His body was preparing for the judgement. It was just bad memories. He didn't care what those people thought about him, they were strangers and children. But in the end it didn't matter how much healing he had done in the past years, his past would always scar him. At least now, it didn't hurt.

Before he changed his mind, Nico entered the camp. It didn't look much different. The cabins are basically the same, kids running with the old ugly camp shirts, a lot of noise and fighting. Some part of him felt like he went back on time.

"Nico di Angelo."

The demigod opened a big smile. He recognized that sweet voice. Turning around he bowed to one of the only gentle beings he met at this place.

"Lady Hestia."

"It's been a long time since we saw each other."

Nico felt guilty. He had always liked Lady Hestia, since the first day they'd met. It wasn't his intention to spend so many years without seeing her.

"I'm sorry. You were almost always in camp and I..."

"It wasn't an accusation, you don't have to worry."

She looked at him with kindness. She always had.

“You look better.”

“I am better.”

Hestia nodded. She seemed satisfied.

“I imagine you want to talk to Dianisius and Chiron. They are at the Big House. See you around, Nico di Angelo.”

Nico bowed.

“I’ll go after you so we can properly talk when I finish at the Big House.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Hestia walked away in the direction of her fire. Her appearance was the same as when Nico met her which comforted him for some reason.

While walking to the Big House, Nico asked himself where would he like to go on this visit? Would he want to meet some kids? Make a sort of tour? Avoid everyone besides Hestia? Would he want to see his old cabin? Enjoy the woods?

“Nico!! You… you changed!”

Nico smiled in amusement at Chiron's surprised face. He guessed his traumatic young self didn’t look like someone who would end up being a punk. He no longer wore only black, had tons of piercings, tattoos and some spikes in his clothes.

“I guess you could say that.”

“What brings you back here? Is there any problem?”

“No, I just wanted to see how things are.”

“Well, feel welcomed. I can give you a tour and show you the new things we got since the last time you came here.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll just see my cabin.”

“Would you like to talk to the kids? I’m sure they can learn something useful with such an experienced demigod as you.”

Nico pondered the question. It was not like he was opposed to helping the kids, but he really didn’t want to have anything to do with what was happening at camp. Sure, there were some changes made by Apollo, however Nico still despised what was going on there. 

“If the kids have any problem with a mission you can call me, I wouldn’t mind helping them.”

It wasn’t what Chiron asked and Nico didn’t care. He shook his head as a way to say good-bye and walked away. 

Nico wasn't sure what he expected with his visit. Maybe have some closure? See how much of his past he had overcome? Throw salt in the almost healed wound? Maybe he just didn’t want to feel like he was running from his past.

Seeing Hestia was good, though. And coming back just made him feel sure he made the right choice to leave the camp. What would have he become in a place like this that also ostracized him? Would he have become comfortable with his sexuality? As much as he was now? Maybe he would still be doing missions for gods. 

Should he go to his cabin? He didn’t have much to do with the kid he once was, lonely, full of self-hatred, in love with some boy, sometimes consumed by trauma. He had a community now, had made friends, moved on, worked on his problems. Maybe he should just really leave all of this behind, talk to Hestia and give his proper goodbye to this haunted place. Yeah, Nico would do that. 

Visiting Camp Half-Blood ended up not being so bad in the end.

[elpida]

Barlowe had done exactly what he set out to do, he'd made Eden feel small and inferior, vulnerable and weak. Her muscles felt so.. pliant, flimsy, he could've flicked her and she'd have fallen and she almost did go down if not for his arms ushering her in closer. "I didn't- I didn't-" she wanted to try and explain, she hadn't drank more than two glasses and even then, half of it went on Barlowe, she was not drunk. Eden pushed her head into the crook of his neck and tried to loop her arms up around his neck to hold but it was more her arms loosely hanging over his shoulders. She wanted to cling into him, to keep close to his warmth and his scent because even like this, even feeling this wrong, she knew Angelo wouldn't let anyone lay a damn hand on her, especially now. Her body instantly angled in towards him, more so when he lifted her legs because she could barely walk, she couldn't walk. "Half.. half a glass." Eden mumbled to try and explain but in the end, she just wanted to hide in the comfort of his safe arms and endlessly apologise because she felt like such a... naive idiot.

The worst part was the confusion, Eden was so confused, the way she was looking at things, like one second she knew where she was and then she'd look for Angelo all over again, her entire world was jumbled. There was talk of doctors.. doctors... Ben. Ben could help, Ben always knew what to do when she was poorly growing up. No wait- she had to say sorry, she had to make sure she said it and once she heard the frustration, the rage behind Angelo's swear, she reached a hand over, one that weakly rested on his leg. "I'm sorry." a slow, deeper breath. She wanted to kick these heels off. "I never.. wanted to argue. I came to say sorry.." her hand moved back to her head. "My head feels so.. so fuzzy." she wasn't stupid, she was doing her damn best to communicate what a doctor would need to know.

Only when the car stopped did she speak again, fighting with the seatbelt so she could push herself out of the car door but the minute she tried to get out she was sliding down the side of the car, she felt so wickedly drunk. "Ben, where's Ben?" she asked suddenly, that voice that she'd mumble in her sleep and it was like the other part of her truly knew what she was asking because she started to cry. As simple as that, then and there she started to cry. She wanted Angelo and she wanted the only other person she'd felt safe around, that she'd felt protected around, only she couldn't have them. "Where's my brother?" Seeing Eden cry was similar to that of seeing an Angel weeping. Tears fell from her eyes like starlight from the sky, painting her cheeks in forgotten dreams. "He knows what to do-" she was panicking, but she couldn't see how the slurring had worsened or how lack lustre all of her movements. This wasn't just the usual attack, this was cruel. This was beyond cruel. A wave of nausea hit her hard and she made a point of turning away from Angelo to be sick, in some way whilst it made her feel vile, maybe it was best she was sick, get it as out of her system as she could. The back of her hand pressed to her mouth along with a flood of apology after apology. They had to get her inside, resting, find out what was in her system and if it'd wear off, if she needed treatment, whatever could help.

Eden did not fight the way he reached for her at all, she had no fight about her, she'd been pliant in his hands before but she'd never been like this.. like any ounce of energy was torn from her muscles. She just wanted it to stop so she let herself be moved, carried, cradled and at some brief point, everything went black.

Had she.. lost time? The next thing she could remember was voices, Angelo and someone else, a doctor maybe? She knew she was on a bed. "Hi.." she spoke with the most doe eyed look up at Angelo, this stare like she'd never seen him before, and yet she didn't know just how much relief that one little word might have offered him.

---

Back at the event, Hale had noticed the suspicious behaviour of Barlowe, how smug he seemed.. and he noted how he'd asked for the whereabouts of Eden O'Connor and Angelo Santino, numerous times. He even listened to the staff and their rumours. Now, he might not be the best guy, far from it but he knew what it meant to be owed a favour and something about Barlowe's behaviour even had Hale suspicious so he slid his phone out and sent a text to Angelo. 'Hey buddy, just a quick heads up... Barlowe has been looking for your girl and from all accounts, repeatedly. Staff are saying some girl smashed a glass and spat champagne and let me tell you, he stinks of the stuff, stained suit too, not a good look. Figured you should know. -Hale Galbraith.'

Angelo's patience was certainly being tested tonight, beginning with Barlowe's insult, followed by Adelaide's vile attempts to belittle Eden. Eden then questioned his decision to bring her to the event, and now he was left with a spoiled individual who had nothing better to do than pry into his affairs. Well, if he lost his patience, this one would be the first to learn about it. Despite his concern about leaving Eden by herself in that nest of vipers, her assurance that she was only going for a drink eased his mind. However, he had to find a way to get Hale off him.

The words that left the younger man's mouth infuriated Angelo. His jaw tightened, and a glare shot from his eyes. Clearly, the waters he had decided to dive into wouldn't yield a positive response. His hand clenched into a fist, poised to strike Hale's jaw if he continued with his assumptions regarding Eden. "You better stop—" Angelo's threat was cut short by Eden stepping out once more, and his hand relaxed at the sight of her. However, his brows furrowed when she let out that question, and he quickly noticed that her movements weren't normal. Something was off, and a glass of champagne wouldn’t have gotten her tipsy enough.

He found himself in an inner conflict, wrestling with his thoughts and emotions, steadfast in his commitment to never offend her. Initially, the thought of being infuriated by her actions and inquiries flitted across his mind, only to dissipate swiftly upon noticing the red marks on her pale skin, an observation that immediately set off alarm bells. "Eden..." he addressed her calmly, though it soon became apparent that she was struggling with her own movements, her evident discomfort palpable. Angelo, well-versed in identifying such symptoms, promptly extended his arms towards her, delicately drawing her closer to him. It was evident that her symptoms were far from ordinary. "Hey, hey, hey," his voice lowered, in an attempt to avoid drawing unwanted attention. "We're leaving, but I’m taking you to my place. Stay with me, and I’ll make sure you feel better," he reassured her, though Angelo recognized the urgent need for action at that moment. Wrapping his arm around her slender torso, he then stooped slightly to lift her legs, cradling them with his arm.

Opting for an alternate route leading directly to the parking lot, he descended the garden stairs toward the exit door with determined strides. Upon reaching his Land Rover, he carefully set her legs down to retrieve the small key and pressed the unlock button, prompting two beeps from the car. Assisting her into the passenger seat, he ensured her comfort before swiftly moving to the driver's seat and departing from the location. With urgency, he navigated through his phone's contacts, dialing his butler. "Lawrence, I need you to summon Dr. Jenkins immediately. Notify security of his arrival privileges and ensure he reaches there in less than five minutes, or he risks cutting his ties with me. Do you understand?" He spoke with speaker in the car activated. Angelo cared for Lawrence ever since he left prison. He was the person that Angelo trusted with keeping his household safe.

From the other end of the line, Lawrence swiftly dialed the doctor's number from another phone. "Is there anything to be concerned about, Mister Angelo?" he inquired, his voice laced with concern. "I'll explain everything. I'm alright. I need Jenkins to be prepared to run blood tests. Set up my bedroom for his arrival. He'll be working there.” Angelo once more instructed, keeping his gaze on the road as the car speed was increasing before ending the call. His eyes left the road momentarily to check on Eden, his mind filled with questions about the one responsible behind this and the drug that she was given. He was furious about how someone managed to touch her, to harm her, he slammed his palm against the wheel and clenched it tightly. “Fuck!” He spat out, rage driven.

[helpimstuckinafandom]

Thank you for answering my ask.....If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Percy Jackson novels? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

Oh god the questions' are getting harder (but thanks for the ask!!!)

**Spoilers ahead for the Percy Jackson series (so anything in PJO, HOO and TOA)**

So top five (in no particular order):

1. Nico di Angelo

2. Piper McLean

3. Jason Grace

All three were explained in my last ask answer since they're in my top 10 of all time.

4. Reyna Ramírez-Arellano

My ace queen! I remember so distinctly disliking her when we first met her in SoN. I thought her being from Circe's island was interesting because it was a cool way of introducing consequences to actions that Percy had never previously thought of (one of many, such as Calypso being left on her island and becoming increasingly bitter, Bob the Titan being memory-wiped, a lot of stuff with Nico, etc). But at the time, I just didn't care about reyna herself until HoH. When she showed up on her pegasus, I remember freaking out with excitment like "yes bitch! Holy shit Reyna's coming!" and being so surprised at my own reaction, because since when did I give a shit about Reyna? But after that I just loved her, and having her pov in BoO was so good??? Like oh my god??? Rereading all the books last summer, I realized I was literally delusional for disliking her (side note, but you are entitled to dislike her, every opinion is valid, but I love her and am allowed to). Like she was great from the very beginning, and then I got to TOA and she was so iconic. I know some people were annoyed when she expressly said that she wasn't into Thalia and they are allowed to be just friends, but I kinda appreciated it in a weird way? Like idk it made sense to me.

5. Will Solace

This was difficult to narrow down, and I feel people rolling their eyes but you gotta understand I thought Will Solace was so cool. Pre-TOA and before I read HOO, I liked him (yeah, for all of the two seconds he showed up, don't judge me). And then he became a more prominent character and I was so hype about it! He is more than just Nico's sunshiny boyfriend, and I'll fight to the grave saying that. He is brave and badass in his own right, he is a deeply caring person and I really have nothing more to say. I've reblogged posts that can explain way better than I can about why he is his own character, and not just some boyfriend thrown at Nico just cause.

Some honorable mentions: Rachel Dare, Apollo/Lester Papadopoulos, Ethan Nakamura (y'all can't say shit about Ethan okay, don't worry about it)

Now the REALLY hard decision of what are my favorite moments. This is just off the top of my head, so I'm sure I'm forgetting some! But (in no particular order):

1. Nico becoming the ghost king in BoL

The way he had me snapping and cheering I should be embarrassed but I am not. That shit gave me chills and I was so proud of him. Honestly, the whole list could be made of Nico moments, but I'm gonna limit myself to just this one cause I gotta be stopped.

2. The dolphin pirates chapter in MoA

That shit was so funny, I can't. And it gave us the iconic "Be-hold! The god's chosen BEVERAGE! tReMbLe before the HOrror of diet coke!" Like come on, that was so fun.

3. Frank and the chinese handcuffs in MoA

It's a downtime moment, but it was really sweet when he came to Annabeth to get help with them. I felt really bad for Frank (even though him and Leo antagonized each other, Leo was very much more of a dick to Frank) and it was just a nice character moment for me. It's sweet that he felt comfortable asking Annabeth because she wouldn't make fun of him for it.

4. Jason apologizing to Leo in Lost Hero

Another downtime moment, but I really like that. Everyone's badass skills in battle and funny moments with monsters are cool, but I really like intimate character moments (romantic or platonic). And the lost trio had a lot of friend character moments, and that's part of why you really feel that those three are best friends. I appricate Jason assuring Leo after the incident with Medea. Honestly, there are a lot of sweet character interactions to pick from for Jason alone, but I'd have to bring out my books and start citing shit lmao

5. Blood of Olympus

Yeah, you read that right - the whole goddamn book. Nothing can compete with the absolute high that book had me on from start to finish. Do you know how shocked I was to find out people hated it? I was so flabbergasted, cause it had everything I wanted. The pov characters were the Lost Trio (which I love so goddamn dearly) and NICO AND REYNAAAAA!!!! When I saw that they had chapters I all but cried, I was so excited. I don't care what anyone says, they deserved povs and they deserved to kick ass. Reyna's backstory was so goddamn interesting and her pov grew my love for her, and her fight with Orion was certified iconic. Nico was doing THE most - I couldn't get enough of his pov, seeing his thoughts was so great. The decimation of Bryce Lawrence? PEAK. Him, Will, Lou Ellen and Cecil sneaking around? Loved it. And I haven't even touched on the peak of Jason's arc, Piper fully coming into her own - like can we just all bask in the glory that was her leading Annabeth with emotion in that one scene? Afagdhdkf - and just Leo's pov in general, because the Lost trio had some of THE best povs in the series, no questions asked. The only thing I didn't give a shit about was Leo going to go get Calypso right at the end, but I was still happy she was getting off that island and that Leo was alive. Like it cannot be overstated how much I love this book, and rereading it last summer did nothing to change that. Is it cheating to list a whole book as a favorite moment? Definitely, but your honour, you have to understand-

((Just wanna give a shout out to another moment that I remembered halfway through typing about Jason's apology: Piper defeating Medea in Burning Maze. The satisfaction I felt in that moment baBY))

Again, thank you so much for the ask! It's pretty fun getting to talk about media that I care this much about, and it's making me wanna reread all the series' again lmaoo

[waynewifey]

Fading away. —

Pairing: Jason Grace x Roman!DaughterofPluto!Reader

Sumary: after moths of over working, a colapse makes you get into a coma and reflect on your feelings.

Warnings: coma, angst, Pluto as a caring dad, fluff at the end.

Words: +-3k.

A/N: This is my first Percy Jackson Franchise fanfiction, so take it easy on me. This is also my biggest and favourite one. I hope you like this! My requests are always open.

(Y/N) (L/N) had a good reason to hate Jason Grace. How could she not? Jason was so annoying, self centred, selfish, stubborn and worse of all? He dated Piper McLean. Piper was great, (Y/N) knew that and they seemed happy together. But, still, he chose Piper, not (Y/N), his girlfriend back at Camp Jupiter, who he totally forgot about. How come Percy remembered Annabeth but Jason wouldn't remember (Y/N)? And when he recovered his memory, he chose Piper. But she also loved him still, and seeing him hurt like a bullet going straight through her heart. She decided to spend a year at Half-Blood Camp to stay with her half-brother Nico Di Angelo when Gaea were defeated. She thought she could manage to see him almost every day, but she couldn't. So she started doing anything to get her mind occupied. Going on meaningless quests, travelling to New York randomly, volunteering for literally any service in the camp and barely sleeping — because sleeping meant dreams.

"It doesn't have to be like that, (Y/N)." Her brother gave her another shot of Nectar. The sunlight that entered Hades' cabin was leaving slowly as they talked, (Y/N) leaned on her bed watching her fingertips become solid again.

"I'll learn how to do it right and I promise I won't push myself too much, but I can't stop practicing." She avoided eye contact with Nico, feeling ashamed of herself. After all, she was supposed to be the one taking care of him, since she was older. She came back from a "quest" for her father, that was staying a weekend on the Underworld. She started using Shadow Travel to get there. The problem? She had no idea how hard it was, and she almost died every time. He sighted.

"I'm not talking about Shadow Travel. You should talk to Jason and sort this out. You're almost killing yourself everyday doing the craziest stuff just to keep your mind off him. He already broke up with Piper, what's stopping you now? I'm your brother and it pains me to see you suffering, I won't just sit and watch while you literally desapear." He got up and walked to the door. The (h/c) girl forced a smile so he believed she was fine. Nico left the cabin.

After hours reflecting and thinking, she heard the trumpets that announced the convocation to a game of Capture the Flag. Since she was feeling better, she changed her clothes and walked outside. The teams were: cabins 1, 4, 5, 9, 12, 14, 18, 21, 23, 27, 28, 29 vs. cabins 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 20, 24, 25, 26. They started the game. (Y/N) had to protect the boundary with a kid from Hipnos' cabin while a group attacked the opponent's flag and another protected their territory and their flag. Everything was going as planned, she hadn't seen anyone yet. Out of the sudden, she saw a blond guy running in their direction with a sword. Oh hell no, Jason Grace wouldn't attack her like that. But he did.

"What the hell?!" She screamed, reacting to the blade flying in her direction. Her teammate was asleep. She defended herself with her own sword and counterattacked. He invested against her leg, trying to make her fall. Her instincts took place, she jumped, attacked again and they started a meaningless battle. Jason looked the same as always. He was almost the same Jason that used to take her on cute dates in New Rome. But he fought like a greek. And that was when it hit her, he changed. The mixture of love and hate made her loose her senses for a bit, giving Jason the lead. He focused on her leg but hesitated to hit it, giving her time to get back on the fight. She knocked him to the floor, her foot on his chest and her blade on his neck, when she heard footsteps approaching quickly. Of course. It was a trap. She turned around and saw a son of Hebe holding her team's flag running, followed by two daughters of Hephaestus. She grabbed a knife from her belt and threw it to his leg, hitting exactly where she wanted. She then grabbed Jason's blade and Shadow Travelled. For a moment everything was fine, while she drowned into darkness, but then she couldn't get out. She saw her father's face mixed in the dark. He raised his hand and touched her face, than she was back at the forest. Realising not even a second had gone through, she attacked the — injured — boy and the two gigantic girls at the same time. She wasn't really expecting to defeat them, just trying to win some time so, hopefully, someone would come help her. The boy dropped the flag and got a small sword. The two girls had hammers... oh. The three of them attacked at the same time and she protected herself with Jason's sword, which flew away. She was out of hopes when a figure appeared beside her and started fighting them.

"What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to help me, we're enemies, remember?" She said, fighting Hebe's son.

"I guess you're welcome then." Jason replied smiling, fighting the hammers-girls. (Y/N) sighted in annoyance. Seconds later, her teammates came running from the enemies' territory with a flag and the three-people group surrendered. Everyone started screaming and celebrating. (Y/N)'s head hurt with the noise and she looked to her brother, feeling numb.

"Hey, can we talk?" Jason said, getting in front of her with a big smile. He was proud of himself for helping her? Of course he was. He was going to take all the credit for her team's win. The anger rose inside of her burning everything. She furrowed her eyebrows and with the last energy that remained in her body, she tried to Shadow Travel for the perhaps hundredth time that day.

She fell into the darkness while feeling her body desapear quickly. Her heart was very accelerated but then it stopped. She saw herself at the barks of Lete's river. I'm dead., she thought. The desperation started taking over. She remembered the face of all her friends. Her siblings, Hazel and Nico. Her mother. Her best friend Reyna. Camp Jupiter. New Rome. The Lar Vitellius. Lares? Lares! Maybe she could go back as a ghost! She would at least see her friends again.

"Didn't expect to see you this soon." A voice said with humor. She turned around, as always enlighten by her father's presence. But his face was sad. Not the everyday-sad-Pluto, but the my-daughter-just-died-sad-Pluto.

"Am I d-... dead?" The anxiety forbid her from crying in front of her father. The one she never knew and once she did, she didn't want to disappoint him.

"Yes and no. You see, my darling, there are things more powerful then death. Right now, your physical being is exhausted from travelling through darkness and light — which I told you not to, but we'll talk about this later, you have a decision to make. You're body is surrendering to Death out of hopelessness. But your soul, on the other hand, still fights for the heart beating in your chest. And your conscious, the controller of both body and soul, has to decide which one of them you'll support right now. As Lord of the Death that's all I can say to you. But as your father, I would like to say that we have a room for you in the castle, if you'd like that. And also, I feel obligated to show you what is happening on Earth." When he finished his words, an image formed in the air, sort of an Iris message, but no one saw them. (Y/N) saw herself laying on the grass, surrounded by some campers, Nico and Jason.

She was watching them from above. Jason put two fingers on her neck, trying to feel her pulse. She — the one in the Underworld — gasped as the blond boy whispered 'nothing'. She glanced at her father, who had a pained expression as he stared at Nico freaking out. Her brother had his hands on her chest and was murmuring something in greek. Then, he opened his eyes, filled with tears of desperation, and glanced at Jason, who didn't look any better. She wanted to scream and go back to up there, but her voice wouldn't come out of her throat.

"Half of her is already gone." Nico struggled to say. Everyone around gasped. "I can't Shadow Travel with her, it- it would k-kill the other half..."

"Let's take her to the Infirmary. Everything's gonna be fine. She'll be okay." Will Solace had appeared in the crowd and kneed down to take (Y/N) in the arms, being helped by the other two. As they walked, (Y/N) held herself in her arms, sobbing. She didn't want to die, not like that. The image faded away and Pluto hugged her. He never did that before. She left out all her emotions through the cry. Her father caressed her back and gently kissed the top of her head.

"Now you see, my child, what those on Earth are going through. You have a family up there. And if you'd ask me, Jason Grace is a good person, even being a son of my brother. You have a choice, so make it wisely." Pluto said, not backing away from the hug. She nodded and he immediately knew what her choice was. "You know I'd love to have you here with me, but I'd love even more to see you happy. Don't be reckless. And listen to your brother. You don't have to worry to come see me, I'll make sure to visit you during your recovery." As he said that, a white door appeared out of nowhere. "Here's your carpool." The girl started to walk to the door, when she heard Pluto say: "(Y/N) I lo-... Good luck." She smiled to him and went through into the door. It felt like eons in the nothingness. She felt so much pain all over her body. Then she gained conscience. She didn't knew how long it had passed. She also couldn't open her eyes or say anything, but she knew she was laying down something comfortable, a bed, perhaps. But she could hear perfectly well.

"... and I'm so sorry you had to die for me to gain the courage to say this. Please come back to us... Come back to me. Nico barely leaves this room and nor do I, Will had to force him to go eat. It's not the same without you, (Y/N/N), it really isn't." Jason's words gave her the urge to cry, but she couldn't. It was like her body had shutdown completely. She felt his warm hands on her cold ones and after that, a door was opened. Footsteps. Only one person. Jason didn't move. Someone sat down next to them.

"Dad- I mean, Hades said she will be okay." It was Nico's voice. He sounded extremely tired.

"Didn't he say that last month?" Grace was annoyed, but he didn't stop holding her hand.

"I know, I wish I could do more... I'm... I'm sorry Jason." The blond sighted.

"I should be the one to be saying that. I know there's nothing else to do. I'm sorry for putting the blame on you. It's just- if we've talked before, nothing of this would have happened. If only I was brave enough..." (Y/N) felt weak and her consciousness was back at nothing again. When she heard something again, it looked like a lot of time had passed by, but she wasn't sure at all. Jason's voice was happy as he told her his plans to the future.

"I realised you would like to work with me training the legion. You're obviously skilled and the payment is quite good. And I've heard they are planning to build a village here as well, but I don't know if you-..." Every time she tried to stay conscious, she felt weaker. 'Rest', her father's voice said inside of her head, so she let herself.

Some time...? A long time...? She didn't knew. But the next time she heard, she was way stronger. She waited until then, so she could stay longer and try to understand her emotions. She heard almost an entire day. Her friends entered and left cabin 13 — she found out that she was there. Some of them talked "to" her, some just sat there in silence. When alone, Nico talked a lot about Will Solace. (Y/N) smiled mentally. Then Jason entered. She could already recognise the sound he made walking. He sat beside her bed and held her hand, as usual.

"Hello, princess. You look better." She reunited all the strength she had storage and sent it all to her right hand. She softly squeezed Jason's hand, for a small portion of second, trying to say 'hi'. She felt exhausted. He gasped.

"She just squeezed my hand!" He screamed, laughing. Nico jumped out of his bed, laughing as well. They both stared at her, waiting for more. "You're there, right? I knew you were! It's been long months, but you're getting better. Don't work too hard. We'll see each other soon, don't worry." He kissed her forehead. After that, it was easy for her to let go and dive into her sleep again.

She was slowly getting better. She noticed her comas were smaller now, and she got stronger every time. She started communicating by squeezing people's hand. One time for 'yes' and two times for 'no'. But it still was exhausting. She met with her father a couple times through dreams, but it never lasted long. She was sick of it. She wanted to jump out of the bed and run through all the camp. She was alone with Jason, as he talked about the last time he went to Camp Jupiter, telling every change. She slowly forced herself to open her eyes. It wasn't for too long, just enough for her to see the big smile he had while talking, her favourite blond hair and how he gesticulated while speaking. By that time, her feelings were completely lined. She declined her childishness and stubbornness to accept the fact that she obviously loved him. Her lips were able to form a small smile. He hadn't noticed her yet. I can do this, she thought.

"J." She whispered for the first time in five months. Her eyes were already closed again. He gasped.

"Did you just say J? That's me! I'm here, i'm right here, love. Can you hear me?" She squeezed his hand one time. Yes. He chortled. "You're so strong. I miss you so much." He started softly crying. She squeezed his hand two times. No. Don't cry, she wanted to say. "Alright, 's fine, 's fine. Gods, you're coming back. I bet Aphrodite is watching us closely." He chuckled but suddenly stopped. "I forgot we haven't talked about that yet, i'm sorry. I don't wanna be intrusive, you know. It's just, by what Nico has told me, well, you still liked me." She squeezed two times. "That's... that's great, love. But don't worry about that just yet. You should take some rest now, my love."

Five days. She had woken up every single one of them, but only listening. No squeezes, no talking, no looking. Just storing strength. She knew she was close to fully waking up. She was already able to keep track of the days. It was a Sunday, the day she received the most visits. It should be morning, because she only heard Nico's snorting. She slowly opened her eyes. The same place. Different clothes. She wondered who had changed them. Perhaps Will did. She systematically moved her arms, pushing herself to sit. Her back was laying at wall. She took a deep breath. It was going fine. She wanted to wake Nico up, but she decided to wait to see if she would be able to actually stay awake. About an hour later, Nico woke up by himself. He yawned and turned to her bed. She looked at him with a big smile. He jumped out of bed.

"Holy shit, (Y/N)! You're up! How- Wait! I need to- Wait! Don't fall asleep, I'll be right back!" She blinked slowly to sign 'ok'. He was back moments running later with a bunch of teenagers in pyjamas. They all froze at the door, staring at her. Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, Percy, Jason and even Piper. Hazel was the first one to wake up from the trance. She ran to her sister and hugged (Y/N).

"Ouch." She managed to say, reacting to the tight hug that made her head hurt.

"Right, sorry! I forgot. Wait, you speak!" Hazel answered and laughed. All of the others joined in, amazed by her friend, and started talking, telling everything she had missed. (Y/N) couldn't speed properly, only a few words like 'hi', 'ow', 'miss' and 'food'. Later that day, Will came to check on her. He said everything looked just fine, but that she should rest.

"Hey." Zeus' son said, once they were alone.

"Hi."

"Gods, it's so good to finally hear you again. I've talked to myself for a long time." They giggled softly. (Y/N) wasn't showing any signs of it, but that day had been extremely tiring. Her entire body hurt but she couldn't give up just yet.

"I... heard." She whispered. "A bit." Her eyes tried to close but she opened them wide, fighting her own nature. Jason noticed that.

"Hey, no need to over do it.” He brushed her cheek with his thumb.

"Sleep... here." She begged, placing her hand beside her. He froze for a moment, embarrassed. And then, with a rubor across his face, he sat on the bed beside her. She laid her head on his chest and quickly fell asleep.

“Go to sleep, love. We have all the time in the world.”

[mka1098]

I’m Gay Panicking But It’s Fine - A Solangelo One-Shot Fanfiction

Thank you to @windbyfire for letting me use your fanart !

Might be a bit of OOC it's my first Solangelo piece; they are just too cute for me not to try and write them. Also, I'm straight (feel free to make fun of me like my friends, I take all the hits) so my attempt at gay panic is just not great. I just tried to think of my friend when they gay panic. Haha, hope you guys like this piece, and here's the link to the podfic/audio version

Audio listen along: https://youtu.be/xRLTIr6ZqwE

I'm Gay Panicking But It's Fine by Mka1098

Nico is a generally petulant, cold-faced, and stoic person. He smiles only during the darkest and latest of nights and barely grunts a word at people. His expressions are perceived as less than friendly and perhaps the only people who weren’t afraid of him and his ghost powers could be counted on one hand. (Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Hazel, and Renya). So it was a total shock to him when the golden-haired Will Solace bounced next to him right as he was leaving his cabin at 2 PM in the afternoon.

“Uh… hi?” He says in the quietest voice. Will smiles brightly at him.

“Hi, Nico.” The blonde says. Nico frowns. He feels as if he’s being smirked at. And oh, it is not a welcomed feeling, not for him. Enough people believe they can mess with him and those said people were sent right to Will’s own wing.

“What do you want?” He asks with a bit of bite in his tone. Will shrugs.

“Just wanted to say hi.” He says evenly. Nico scowls at him.

“That’s it?” His tone is harsh. “You just wanna pop over here and say hi? For no reason?” Nico says snarkily. Surprisingly, Will doesn’t run and scream in terror; he doesn’t start to shake either. Instead, his smile seems to grow infinitesimally bigger and he shoves his hands into his pockets.

“Yep.” He pops the P of the word before turning sharply left and away from Nico. The blonde doesn’t even look back at the confounded boy he had left standing. Instead, he smiles at some of the other campers and heads into cabin 6.

Nico stares back at him dumbly, even as he disappears into the cabin. “What the Hades?” He mutters quizzingly to himself. Nico crosses his arms tightly on his chest. There are some other campers, gossips for sure, who are staring at him. They are murmuring hush whispers while clearly pointing at him. He sends them a murderous glare; the point gets across and they scramble away quickly. Nico sighs. Sure being dark and broody is helpful when one wants to be alone but there are times when he doesn’t want to be alone. Alas, how on this earth is one supposed to make friends when they have the appearance of a walking skeleton. Nico keeps walking towards the mess hall. He needs food; he needs it now. His stomach shouts at him to hurry up. Hm, if only Jason was here then maybe he’d believe him that yes, the Nico Di Angelo does still run on sustenance-- well, something other than happy meals.

Few campers are still in the mess hall when he arrives. They stick to their own tables, their only sibling. Nico has no sibling, not any that are here at least. Sitting down, he summons plain salted noodles, slightly butter and light garlic; diet coke rather than water. He sighs as he smashes a forkful into his mouth. Pasta’s great and all but he eats it because they are simple carbs. Plain pasta isn’t overpowering, it isn’t too earthy or meaty or lettuce. It’s just enough to keep him upright. Nico sighs again as he finishes half the bowl, quickly getting sick of the dish. As he scrapes the rest of the pasta into the fire, he wishes he had a friend next to him.

-

“Welcome back.” Nico groans as the harsh light attacks his eyes. He attempts to get up but is shoved, gently at least, back down. “You just woke up; it’d be awful if you fainted again.” The voice chuckled. Nico’s eyes register just enough to see curly blonde hair next to him. The figure is wearing a white coat and holding a clipboard; it’s Will.

“What happened?” Nico says in a slight snarl.

“Shadow travel,” Will responds dryly. “Did you know you have a limit on distance and time?” He asks with an innocent voice but his eyes are letting on more than he’s saying. “It seems to me that your body uses a lot of energy to travel around that way and it lowers our blood sugar significantly.”

Nico scowls at him and blinks at the feeling of a hollow ache within him. “Yes, I did know that.” He says. Will makes a half-smile, half-smirk.

“Great, then I’m going to need you to manage your shadow traveling a bit better,” Will says. “I will come up with exact rules soon but know it’s going to be more limited now.”

Nico feels fury well up inside of him. “Not over my dead body.” He growls. Wills chuckles at his threat, annoying Nico even more.

“One-” Will puts a finger up. “-if you were a dead body then I did my job wrong. Two, as if you’d go so quickly. And three, doctor’s orders.” He says firmly, leaning in. Nico crosses his arms indignantly.

“And what if I don’t listen?” He snaps.

“You will.” Will sounds so sure of himself. Nico’s eyes darken.

“And how do you know that?”

Will leans in; he leans in very much. Nico gulps subconsciously and for a moment is shell-shocked by the smug look on Will’s face. His eyes are full of bright lights and mirth. His mouth is pink and completely sure. Nico never really talked to Will before… well yesterday when he had randomly said hi when Nico woke up. He had always known the blonde, how could one not and vise versa. He knew Will was smart and capable and a wicked good doctor; Nico just didn’t know how commanding and snarky he was either.

“Oh, I have a feeling.” With that, Will leans back and rips off a piece of paper, and hands it to Nico. The boy stares at it; it has times and measurements. “Your rules,” Will says easily. “Doctor’s orders.” He leaves with a flourish of his coat and Nico is left still on the bed with shouted orders to rest.

Nico is surprised-- pleasantly surprised. Everyone at camp is afraid of him and his ‘scary’ powers. But Will is not. It’s a nice change. A hint of a smile appears on Nico’s face. He actually listens for once (because he is not Percy Jackson)

-

“What is that?” Nico stares at the cards in Will’s hands. He shrugs. Nico scowls at him deeper. “What is that?” He repeats.

“Mythomagic cards.” Will smiles brightly; Nico wants to put on sunglasses. “I was playing with a couple of my patients when I remembered that you used to be a huge fan of the game. That was how you identified Dionysus right?” Will teases. Nico feels his face warm up, something that never happened before. Indignantly, he turns away with a huff. “Huh? Don’t like it? Mm… could’ve sworn you still liked the game; oh well, see you later then.”

Will only takes about 3 steps before Nico caves. “Wait,” Nico calls out quiet but Will hears and spins around as if he had shouted at the top of his lungs. “I- I still like the game, okay?” Nico says, trying to act hardened but it wasn’t working as well as he was hoping it would.

“Perfect!” Will says with a grin on his face. “Come join me.” He puts a hand out between them. Nico stares at it. What? Noticing that Nico didn’t move a muscle, Will quirks an eyebrow up. “Huh? Too much for you to handle?” He teases. “Sorry, just say it.” He brings his hands back to the pocket of his sweatshirt but smiles welcomingly for Nico to follow him. Nico frowns before giving in and following the blonde. He still catches the smirk residing on Will’s face.

“You don’t need to look so smug; I still like the game,” Nico growls. Will tilts his head to the side.

“I hoped so.”

They enter the hospital healing wing and there is a group of kids in clean white robes that seem to light up when their eyes catch on Will. They are young-- ages 9...10...11...12 perhaps. “Dr.Solace!” They chorus before even noticing that Nico stands next to him. Will smiles brightly; he looks almost like an angel of medicine with the sun shining through the window. “You’re back!” The kids continue. Will laughs and leaps onto one of the empty gurneys. Nico walks and stands awkwardly next to it. The kids don’t spare him much of a glance-- he wants to melt into the shadows to escape but finds that the wing is so lit up with light the nearest shadow could barely cover his entire hand.

“I am!” Will says, eyes Twinkling. “And… I brought a friend.” He presents his arms out like a magician showing his newest trick. The kids stare at Nico. Nico stares back awkwardly. Uh… what is he supposed to do now? He waves; a tight forced smile is on his face. The kids look at him intently and then back at Will. They smile, a move Nico did not expect, and nearly giggle out. What on… what? “Guys…” Will says with a head shake. Nico looks at him with a head shake. Is there a blush on his face or has Nico forgotten breakfast again? “-don’t laugh. This is Nico.”

A kid falls over, chortling. “Oh… we know.” He says mischievously. Will sends him a hard look. The kid turns back to Nico and thrusts a stack of cards in his hands. “You’ve ever played?” Nico looks at the cards… amateur set.

“Yeah.” Nico grunts. The kids here are all too young to know his past-- they don’t know what these cards mean to him. “Course I do… I’ve got seven of these.” He continues. The kid’s eyes widen like saucers; the other kids gasp dramatically.

“No way!” The kid lights up like a firework. “That’s so many! I only have that one of everything. But I do have two Apollos!” The kid explains.

“No, you don’t! You don’t have Athena.”

“It didn’t come with!”

“That’s no excuse.”

Nico is confused and stares at the bickering kids, unsure of what to do next. WIll seems to have noticed his discomfort because he leans over slightly. “Tanner, he’s one of Ares’s kids. Lara’s mom is Athena. They like to fight a lot but they’re friends.” He explains. Nico quietly nods, observing as Lara and Tanner begin to shove each other's shoulders. Will allows them to fight for a minute longer before cleaning his throat and stenly glaring at them. Lara sheepishly takes her hands off of Tanner’s shoulders. “That’s enough; do you want to start the game now or what?” Will smiles, holding his cards up. Nico copies the motions, inspecting each player carefully.

“I’m ready to win.” Lara brags. Without meaning to, a rare smirk raises to Nico’s face; it feels equally foreign and nice.

“That’s funny because I’m sure I’m going to win,” Tanner shouts at her. Lara stickers her tongue out at her.

Nico lowly huckles, hiding it behind his stack of cards. Will seems to be the only one who notices it. The blonde looks at him with a smile and eyebrow quirk. Nico scowls. “What?” He snaps.

Will shakes his head. “Nothing. Just nice to see that look on your face.”

Nico stares at him, unsure of what he means. So instead of worrying about it, he resorts to slamming these kids at Mythomagic. No one knows it better than he does.

“Woah! How’d you do that?” Lara shouts at him when Nico unsurprisingly wins. He shrugs.

“Easy move.” He says lazily. Lara glares at him but it’s nothing like her older sister’s stare so he’s not fazed at all. “You’ll learn it in time.” He all but teases. She snarls at him; he slightly grins back.

Will laughs and forces Lara to put her cards back in the pile. “He’s a big fan of the game, don’t take it personally.” He tells her. Tanner looks back at Nico with wide and impressed eyes.

“Really?”

Nico feels awkward-- never once has anyone looked at him in awe. Why was this kid doing these? What did he want from him? “Uh- yeah. I have most of the extra packs. You know, it’s fun.” HE babbles out, wanting to melt into the ground. Tanner leaps up onto his gurney.

“That’s awesome!” He cries. “Can you play with us more?” He asks. His eyes go big and wide and Nico finds it in himself to not shut him down with a harsh no. tanner looks excited, Lara looks interested and Will looks smug. Nico snarls at him.

“What’s got you all happy and sunshiny?” He asks. Will just keeps smiling, still looking like a medicine angel or whatever.

“It’s nice seeing you have fun. I’m so used to you groaning in pain on one of these.” He motions to the gurneys. “You should play with us more. Lots of the kids love the game.” Will asks. His smile seems welcoming. Nico is still unsure if he should or shouldn’t agree. “Besides… how else will those extra card packs come into use?” Will teases.

Nico decides that he’ll agree to play with him more often. “Touche.” He mumbles and Will knows he’s won. The kids are a bit loud for his taste but the game is fun. It’s nice playing with people who love Mythomagic almost as much as he does. And Will… he’s nice… a little too nice but not awful. He’s a nice friend. Maybe…

When Nico leaves the hospital wing to retreat into his own cabin to nap the day away, he leaves with a new ten-year-old fan, a planned gaming session next Tuesday, and Will’s touch lingering on his shoulder. He buries himself in his four blankets and knocks out for twenty hours.

-

He admits… it’s weird having a friend-- at the same time, it’s so nice. Will is friendly and bright; slightly annoying but sometimes it makes him smile in a way that makes him also want to bury himself into the ground. How could a person look so sweet yet not disgusting? It didn’t make sense! The last time a person had smiled like an angel and been cute without being awful was Percy and Nico didn’t need another round of that.

“Hey… Will, can you- do you think you can help me with something?” Nico says, very nervously. The feeling’s very odd for him; he’s more brooding than awkward on a day-to-day basis. The young patients behind Will seem to giggle slightly. The blonde smiles back at him, looking as golden as his father in a tiny way.

“Yeah… with what?” He asks, leaning forward on the gurney.

Nico opens his mouth to respond but is distracted for a second. Who on Gaea’s earth gave Will arms like that? They’re strong, that’s clear but not overly muscled and big. Lean but firm and oh dear Zeus, why can’t Nico stop gaping at them. Why are they so gorgeous? Why are they so distracting? Oh gods. Nico swallows and forces his eyes away from the view. If Will had noticed him staring, he certainly doesn’t show it. His smile is as serene and pleasant as ever. Nico swears his face isn’t bright red but it may be.

“Um- Per- my dad wants me over for dinner and… I don’t know, I wanna make a good impression on my step-mom; she’s not trying to smite me so I think it’d be nice.” Nico admits, fighting the urge to shadow travel away. God, he’s so awkward. Nico blames Will’s newfound arms for the feeling-- technically though, Nico had been awkward since he called out Will’s name while walking slowly into the room.

“Yeah, of course!” Will smiles brightly.

“Really?”

“Definitely. My shift’s wrapping up anyway so I have the time.”

“Oh.” A smile sneaks its way up on Nico’s face. He hates it. “Thanks.” He says meekly. Will shrugs, calling that it’s no problem and that he’ll meet him at his cabin in about ten minutes.

When Nico closes his cabin door, he questions his own sanity.

He further questions it as Will explains which fork is which and which spoon goes where. Oh if he thought his arms were a distraction before then it was the entire center star of a solar system now. With his doctor coat, most of Will’s arm had been covered and only the forearm showed and a sliver of upper arms-- now his entire arm is on display and Nico’s mouth is basically probably drooling. It’s all lean muscle and beautifully tanned skin.

“Nico? Hello~?” Will waves his hand in front of his face and Nico jumps about a foot in the air. Will snickers; Nico does not.

“I hear ya, salad, soup, all that,” Nico growls in an attempt to hide his gaping. Will chuckles and folds his arms over his chest. Huh, wow… biceps-- very nice. Nico feels dizzy.

“Great, then I will be on my way then,” Will says easily, walking towards the door.

Everything in Nico’s mind and body screams at him to not let the boy leave. He steps up and puts a hand on Will’s shoulder and wow, it’s an equally terrible and glorious idea. He jerks back like he’s been burned; Will takes notice and looks at him like he’s gone insane. He probably is a third way there.

“I- I need help picking something nice to wear.” Nico blabbers out, a very unlikely thing for him to do. “Pure emo black probably isn't the best impression.” He continues like an idiot. He secretly asks for the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Then again, he could probably have that arranged if he really wanted it to happen. “I don’t know what to do, you know…?” Cue awkward grin. Cue facepalm. Cue Will’s weirdly cute head tilt.

“Well your father is Hades so I don’t think she’d really mind this-” Will looks him up and down; Nico’s face becomes red. “-ensemble. But I do get where you’re coming from. I’m thinking… nice but still My Chemical Romance?” Will teases him. Nico scowls at him. “I kid-- actually no I don’t.” Will makes a quick turn and thrust open Nico’s closet. It’s a total mess and explosion of black clothing. He’s unsure if he should be embarrassed or not. Either way, he is. “This… not bad...this one is actually better-- okay, I got one.” Will throws his newfound sartorial choice. Nico catches it in his hands and looks quizzingly at them. “Nice non-ripped jeans, striped black and white button-up… just wear black sneakers and comb your hair out of your face a bit,” Will instructs him.

Nico nods. “Not a bad choice.” He laments. WIlls rolls his eyes and scoffs.

“I’m gay-- course I have some style. What’s your excuse?” He says snarkily.

Nico can only blink back at him. Gay, gay, he’s gay. Oh of course he’s gay! His inner monologue is stupid. I’m gay, he’s gay. Oh my gods, we’re both gay. I could date him! I wanna date him? Do I? No! I don’t! Maybe? Yes? No? He has great arms… it wouldn’t be bad. And a pretty cute smile-- plus he’s gay. Wait… why is he staring at me with that look? Nico opens his mouth but no words come out. Wills starts to full-on laugh. He’s laughing, oh my gods, I’m dead. It’s cute… AH, I’M EVEN MORE SCREWED! Wow, his arms… I should watch him do his blood tests one day. Nope...that’s weird. But would it be hot? Probably…AUGH!

“Are you okay?” Will gasps in between his chuckles. Whatever is happening in Nico’s mind is the mental equivalent to a keyboard smash.

“Yep,” Nico says, preparing to shadow travel. He steps backwards into the shadow and begins to melt away.

But much to his shock, Will’s eyes widen and his hands shoots out, grabbing Nico by his hoodie sleeve. Will drags him back into the light and aggressively points a finger in his face. His expression is a mix between worry and lots of anger. He’s never been like this before. Nico is shocked and weirdly intrigued.

“You’re not getting away with that-- not from me at least.” Will scolds him. Nico stares at him blankly. He’s mad… it’s lowkey hot. Uh- should I be breathing right now because I don’t think I am. I mean, he’s a doctor he could fix me. NO! BAD IDEA! I’ve never seen him so mad. Or mad at all. Huh. Huh... I don’t think my brain is functioning. “-as your doctor… it is an order.” Will finish but Nico caught only 10% of what he said. Nico gulps, not out of fear but out of… well he doesn't even know.

“Noted,” Nico says dryly. Will huffs and nods, looking at him with a fierce glare. It’s now he understands why Percy gets that stupid dazed look on his face when Annabeth is yelling at him. He’s really hot right now and I don’t think that's okay. Nico wants to shadow travel again but it would probably be risky. Not that he doesn't want to see angry Will again, it’s more so… he’s already pushed it.

“Good,” Will says haughtily before leaving the cabin.

Nico stares out his window till Will’s curly blonde hair is no longer visible. He then falls into his bed, face-first into a pillow. He blinks into the pillow-- and does so for a very long time. His brain is fried and it is because of Will.

I’m panicking

-

“I need your help.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Please help me now!”

“Okay, okay, what for?”

Nico looks around him and then back at the IM. “I think I’m panicking.” She raises a brow at him and drily says, no duh. He glares at her; Renya isn’t phased in the slightest. “But really-- I feel like my heart is about to explode.”

“Is your heartbeat really going that fast?” Renya questions. Nico throws his arms up in the air.

“Maybe? Probably not?” Nico sighs and drags a hand down his face. “...I saw Will.” He admits.

Renya’s face turns into an interested smile. “Go on.”She says. Nico feels his face heating up and the following urge to jump into an ice bath. Gods, he hated blushing like a ten-year-old girl.

“Everyone was going swimming…” He continues. The smirk on Renya’s face grows. “-and I decided that maybe I should go too, you know, for fun.” He mumbles.

“Nice to hear you’re not hermit-shelling yourself.” Renya teases. Nico glares at her. SHe only shrugs.

“But-” Nico points up a finger. “Will and his sibling decided to go swimming in the lake too. Which I guess makes sense or whatever, everyone in camp is burning up today but I still wasn’t expecting it.”Nico ignores Renya’s snickers.

“You didn’t realize that he: as a part of the camp, was going swimming in the lake?”

“Shut up!”

“You literally called me to freak out over this.”

Nico just nearly swipes at the message. “I discovered his arms a couple weeks ago and I couldn’t look at him the same; now I’ve seen him without a shirt and I can’t look at him, full stop. He’s hot-- like really hot. Literally looks like his dad; what do I do?” Nico walks around in a circle in his cabin, tugging at his hair in a frenzy. “I stared at him for a complete minute. I don’t think I breathed or blinked or moved at all. Just- I stood there.” He continues.

“Nico,” Renya says seriously. “You’re panicking.” She deadpans. He turns to scowl at her. She raises a brow in defiance.

“I know that!” He cries out. His eyes catch to the uncovered window where there is a perfect view of bare-torso Will ran by. He is silently laughing, hair flying back and eyes nearly closed. Nico gulps and his brain pauses for a minute or two. How are the campers around him even functioning!? It’s like watching a piece of art but not in an objectifying way. “I’m gay panicking but it’s fine.” Nico sputters out. The words are a total mess that falls in front of him. Renya cackles like a witch.

“Will walked by?”

“Yes!”

Nico grabs a blanket from his bed and huddles it around his body. He groans loudly and falls to the ground. Renya’s eyes trail down with him, quietly witnessing his breakdown. She doesn’t even make a sound as he mutters deliriously about how Will is affecting him and that his brain is now melted.

“You know, it may just help to tell him you like him. Might stop the panicking.” Renya offers. Nico glares at her from the ground and forces an arm out to wave around madly.

“What part of-” His arms are now a helicopter rotor. “-this makes you think I could confess.”

Renya rolls her eyes. “You’re an emo-depressed boy, not an emo anxious boy.” She says drily.

“I could be both!”

“But you’re not.” Reyna chuckles. “It’s fine to tell him you like him. He’s not as blind as Percy; he’s as gay as you are so that means he knows what he’s doing. You’ve said it before, he’s very clearly smirked while you blushed. Why not tell him? Will’s not the type to lead a person on. He probably is just waiting his time and having fun with it. It’s more torturous for you than him.” Nico makes a sound of pure gay panic for an impressibly long time. Renya allows him to do so. “I gotta go soon.” She looks off the IM for a second and nods. “However, you still need to at least consider it.” She points at him threateningly.

Nico nods meekly from the floor and watches wordlessly as the IM disappears.

If anyone is able to die from gay panicking, Nico’s unwilling trying to accomplish it.

-

Nico wants to die but he can’t seem to turn off his mouth. The words he was spilling weren’t the ones he had practiced with Renya but Will is smiling at them nonetheless. He’s sure the red on his face has taken over and he’s become a tomato head. Nico feels miserable and thanks all deities for making sure no one else is walking onto the scene.

“-so yeah that's kinda what I wanted to say...yeah.” Nico prays for his father’s realm.

Will lets out a laugh and if it wasn’t so horribly sweet and cute, Nico would have shadow traveled away. “That’s very nice and brave of you to say,” Will says. He leans out and presses a kiss to Nico’s cheek. Nico nearly falls over. “And I like you too. But I’ve been waiting for you to make a move since you started staring at my arms like a lifeline.” Nico gasps and points at Will accusingly.

“You noticed?”

“How could I not.”

Nico glares at him harshly. “I don’t like you no more.” He mutters. Wills sighs but with a smile on his face. He opens his arms and closes them around Nico’s form. Nico is shocked by the fact that he is still standing. His inner mind is frozen still. “Oh.” He says dumbly.

Will chuckles, the sound resonates lowly and vibrates from his chest to Nico. “Does this make up for it?”

Nico scowls but doesn’t deny anything. His heart is beating much faster than it should but it’s kinda okay with him. He decides that, yes the hug makes up for the torture Will put him through: freaking arm tease. It’s warm and comforting and he really likes how Will smells.

“Yeah. It does.”

Awe... aren't they just so cute? I wrote this pretty late at night so my own speech patterns ended up slipping in. By the way, the emo-depressed/anxious boy thing is literally a thing I put in from my own personal conversations. I have a very wonderful NB emo anxious depressed boi in my life. I hoped you guys liked this story and found it either funny, cute, or slightly relatable...maybe. - Mka1098

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

Helpless Part 17 sorry for not posting yesterday

“So, di Angelo."

"I'm hopeless aren't I?"

"I mean there's still hope, you just need to not mess up.”

“I’m not good at that.”

“Luckily for you there’s motivation.”

“What?”

“You can’t lie until you and Nico kiss."

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!"

"Calm down, what are you hiding anyways Solace."

"When I heal people I feel all their pain, I almost killed myself, I'm useless, I'm hopelessly in love with someone who is halfway to death, I glow in the dark, I'm only alive on necter and ambrosia, I would kill every single Demeter kid right now if I could, I pass out really often but I can feel it before hand so I hide in my office when it's about to happen so no one knows. Fuck. Shit." Will ran towards the forest with tears in his eyes but Piper ran after him,

"Wait." Piper charmspoke when they were in the middle of the forest, it was dangerous but neither of them cared in that moment.

"Oh fuck you, leave me alone."

"Will-"

"If you tell anybody a word of what I said I swear to Apollo I will rip you apart limb for limb McLean." Piper shivered, Will couldn't lie...

"Breathe. In and out, I'm going to unpack a bit of what you said alright? If it's too much tell and I'll stop." Will just nodded barely breathing as Piper sat down beside him, "You feel everyone's pain when you heal them?"

"It's a trade off, if people knew they wouldn't let me heal everyone."

"Doesn't that mean you're almost constantly in pain?"

"It's worth it."

"What do you feel right now?"

"Broken rib, last time I healed Nico. I mean I feel other things from a week ago but they all would have healed a bit by now so it's not as bad. I've been on painkillers anyways, practically high on them at this point."

"That's-"

"-not heathly, I'm fully aware but I don't give two fucks."

"Alright, you tried to kill yourself? Why? Are you alright?"

"After the Manhattan battle, Michael and Lee... I was on the bridge but I met someone there. We convinced each other to not jump, I realised I couldn't leave Kay and Austin alone. They lost two older brothers in the war, they wouldn't be losing a third. I still sometimes wish I'd done it, but they can't be alone."

"Will, show me your wrists."

"No, fuck off."

"Will-"

"Don't act like you fvcking care, leave me alone."

"Will, I care. I just want to make sure you're okay, don't make me charmspeak you."

"Fine." Will muttered in tears, rolling up the sleeves of his hoodie. His arms were covered in shallow, red, cuts, Piper counted 14 on one arm and 17 on the other. She pulled the crying boy into a hug,

"I'm here for you."

"I feel so useless, I've never been on a quest, I can barely fight, I'm not half as good of a healer as Micheal was. Everyone would be better off without me, the Demeter kids agree."

"Never say that again okay? Almost all of camp would be dead without you."

"I couldn't save them, it's my fault."

"You still saved all those people; you didn't kill anyone Will."

"I didn't help them either, it's my fault they died."

"No it's not, you tried to save them."

"But I didn't."

"You can't save everyone, some people are too close to dying."

"I should have saved them."

"It's impossible to save everyone, some people are too close to death."

"Micheal could have done it."

"People die Will, death is a part of existence. You can't delay every death, it's not your fault."

"It's the only good thing about me, healing people. If I can't do that well enough what's the point of me living?"

"William Andrew Solace listen to me, you can't save everyone. Even then you're worth more than your power, clearly considering I've had twelve people come to me asking how to make you like them. You're cool, funny, loyal, ridiculously smart as in smarter than half the Athena cabin, and you actually genuinely care about everyone."

"It's just, when they die on my watch. I feel like I killed them." A few second's of silence passed,

"When was the last time you cut?" Piper asked with caution not trying to upset Will any more then he already was.

"Two days ago, when I thought Nico might not make it. The thought of him dying, fuck." A tear rolled down his face and he pulled away from the daughter of Aphrodite.

"I'm going to find you a therapist okay? Do you think that'll help?"

"Yes, but I'm too scared to open up to people. Fvcking curse, I really want to punch Lou Ellen right now."

"I'll find someone that can help."

"Thank you."

"Do you want to talk more or is it too much?"

"Too much."

"Alright, just one thing."

"Yeah?"

"Nico's halfway to death?"

"Yes, I want to lock him in the infirmary because I don't know how much longer he'll last with the amount he's eating and drinking."

"Shit."

"Weren't you meant to be giving me advice on how I can get him to like me?" Trying to change the topic, he wasn't exactly meant to be telling people this stuff.

"Oh rightttt that's what I was meant to be doing."

"I'm slightly more hopeful then I was a week ago, at least now I know he's gay."

"Who told you?" Piper asked reaching for her dagger,

"Nico...? We were playing twenty questions and I asked him if he was straight."

"Ohhh okay, so I don't need to kill anyone."

"I don't think so...?"

"Great, so Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. I think... show him you care but don't worry about him too much, honestly just be normal with him, he doesn't get that from most people. The most important thing, give him space but don't let him push you away, he does that a lot."

"Thanks McLean."

"It's my job." Piper said, messing up his hair.

"You said twelve people came to you trying to date me, who exactly were they?"

"Well it's meant to be confidential, but one of them was Leo when he first met you. Don't tell him told you, he will kill me."

"Leo Valdez? That's unexpected."

"The more you know Solace, the more you know. Anyways I should probably go, me and Annabeth are dying Percy's hair red."

"What?!"

"He's the little mermaid so naturally we're kidnapping him and dying his hair red."

"Well I wish you luck and I can't wait to see red-head Percy."

***

[madartiste]

Deadly Fortune, Book 2, Chapters 16-20

Last bit of notes!  Everything under the cut to avoid flooding all the dashboards.  I want to say that while I found some of the translators lines amusing or hard for me to understand, they deserve a heck of a lot of credit!  I wouldn’t have been able to read this AT ALL if not for their super hard work.  It’s a really tough job, and my dumb, monolingual self really appreciates it.

Link to the translation: https://originaldmc.github.io/DivinityStatue/Downloads.html

Link to the previous section of notes: https://madartiste.tumblr.com/post/186847616290/deadly-fortune-book-2-chapter-00-1-15

Stage 16 (Dante vs. Berial)

Berial is salty about losing to a 'man who is not as tall as his calf,' so he comes back to the human world before he's fully recovered.  He's annoyed that Nero isn't there and wonders just what the kid is. He's definitely not a full demon or Berial would know him.  Initially he thinks that Nero is a 'personal class.'  (Not sure what that means, not enough context)  Or is Nero the child of a human and a demon?  He considers that someone like that would be extremely rare.  He wonders how Sparda could fall in love with something as small and weak as a human and have children with one.  Pretty much all demons think the idea is super gross.  

2000 years ago, Berial was still a wee, weak demon, but he heard about Sparda.  Mundus was able to rule in part thanks to his right hand man (er… demon), Sparda.  Berial wanted to be like him someday (oooh, so he's so grumpy because he idolized the guy.), but Sparda turned traitor and killed many of his comrades before sealing away Mundus.  It's incomprehensible to Berial, and he thinks that no other demon would ever have kids with a human.

He's heard about Dante and wonders if Nero is another son of Sparda.  (Good guess, buddy.)  Dante looks a lot like Sparda's 'human mimicry,' though he thinks that Dante might have surpassed his father's strength at this point.

Berial thinks the Savior is stupid and even he feels that Sparda didn't save humans so they could make something so dumb.

He recognizes Dante instantly which thrills Dante.  He's happy someone knows who he is.  Interesting bit: Berial heard that Sparda was cold and quiet, not one to talk too much -- so like Vergil.

Haha!  Dante says he's in a hurry, but Berial wonders why he would waste time sitting on his damn tail if he thought things were urgent.  

Berial waits patiently while Dante grabs Lucifer.  Apparently Berial was just a low-level demon and therefore never met Mundus.  These days, he's a General and a King, so he would be able to -- except that Mundus is sealed away.  He recognizes Lucifer too. Dante asks if they were friends, most Devil Arms are crafted by demons but some are made from demons who recognize the strength of an opponent.  (That's pretty much every weapon Dante picks up in the games.)  It's a bit conflicting, but Berial says that 'the body or the soul' of a demon acknowledges they have lost and, regardless of their will, they become a Devil Arm.

Lucifer was also a king/ruler in hell and a 'noble demon.'  He had the power to manipulate explosions.

Berial gets annoyed that Dante is playing with him during the fight.  I'm… pretty sure most of Dante's dialogue here is innuendo (just like in his game scene after he gets Lucifer back.  Pretty much the same words.).  Berial has no idea what he's on about.

Dante offers to let Berial run, but of course he doesn't.  Aaah, he doesn't want to turn into a Devil Arm for Dante. Berial almost gives in to becoming a Devil Arm anyway, but resists at the last second, feeling sorry that he couldn't avenge Lucifer.

Dante still has to get the Sparda and Yamato back.  He's not sure what happened to Nero, though if he's lost his body, Dante knows he can't save him.  Interestingly, Dante thinks that as long as he can get Yamato back, he's got a chance since it can 'separate the people from the devil.'  Even if Nero is absorbed, Dante might be able to use Yamato to get him free.  (And thus we get the major plot twist of DMC5!)

He wonders if it is fate that he came to Fortuna and met Nero, though he doesn't like the idea.  Dante doesn't want to delve into who Nero's biological parents actually are, though he knows he's got a close blood tie to the kid.  According to Dante, his aging is pretty close to a normal humans.  Dante has no idea what happened to Sparda, if he's dead or alive, and claims that it doesn't matter to him.  There's a nice line about how he might entrust the future to Nero the way Sparda did with Dante and Vergil.

And then Dante decides he's being weird and will worry about it later.

Stage 17 (Dante vs. Agnus)

Agnus was waiting in the Opera House because he wants to defeat Dante 'with his own strength.'  It sounds like his particular devil ability is to absorb 'magic' power from other demons?  With the Hell Gate open he's got a lot to grab from.  Oh right.  Agnus has that health drain ability.  He plans to suck the 'magic' out of Dante to make himself stronger and Dante weaker. Agnus put a ward on the Opera House, but he deliberately breaks it so Dante can get in -- even though he acknowledges Dante could just bust through.  

The scene is pretty close to the game scene with Agnus, though Dante is pretty confused at first.  Ah, Dante figures that Agnus gave him a 'role' in the show, so he plays along.  He thinks it's rather fun.  He even plays around with the spotlight system to be dramatic.  Hm. Agnus is annoyed that Dante butted into his performance.  He refers to himself as an 'archangel.'  

Dante doesn't ask, but Agnus likes to tell him how he made the artificial demons he summons to fight for him.  Dante gets pretty roughed up, and Agnus gloats about how strong he is.  Ah, Dante goes Royal Guard on him.  It works by hardening parts of the body -- maybe with his devil powers?  Agnus gets really wound up by the fact that Dante deflects all his attacks.

Dante thinks that Agnus is too excitable to be a really good scientist.  He knocks him down with a Royal Release. Since Agnus isn't out of the fight completely, Dante finally uses his Devil Trigger.  (Good bye, Agnus.) Agnus is terrified, and Dante stabs him through the chest.  Agnus turns back to human since his energy is used up.  He dies just like in the game.

Dante thinks the whole thing is a tragedy, that Agnus went so far off the deep end with his science.  If he hadn't, Agnus' life might've turned out differently.  In the end, Dante shoots out the spotlight.

There is an interesting line as Dante wonders if Agnus might understand what he was getting at when he says that humans have something demon's lack: 'It's only one word, but it's more precious than anything, so it's cheaper to use language.'  The language is a little weird here, but I think the gist is that if you can't figure it out on your own, you'll never understand.  (I'm assuming the word is 'love' considering Nero's dialogue with Sanctus at the end of the game.)

Stage 18 (Dante vs. the Savior)

The citizens are panicking and don't care who Trish is as long as she's guiding them to safety.  She takes them to the 'Calound Pier' which is a good ways from the city.  Oooh, it's the port warehouse from the game, I think.  Trish swiped a 'magic device' from the Order and uses it to create a protective barrier around the warehouse.  She doesn't naturally have the ability to do such a thing on her own.  After doing that, she runs back to the city to the Hell Gate.

The gate is still working at this point which worries her.  She doesn't think that Dante lost -- but she knows he has a 'sloppy personality.'  (Hah!)  She frets that he might have gotten lost, wasted time playing around, or something like that.  As his partner, she knows he is capable of that kind of thing, but she also knows he can be series when things are bad.  There's another line about how Dante doesn't like to do what people expect him to.

Trish finds Dante at the city square.  She sees him with Yamato and thinks about Vergil.  She never understood him, but then again, she never knew the Vergil that Dante did since he was a mindless puppet when she met him, 'he had no personality or soul.'  Dante swings Yamato around with such precision that Trish wonders if he learned it from watching his brother.  She thinks that Vergil lives on in Dante's heart -- even if Dante doesn't know it.

Dante shows off for her -- pointing at the Hell Gate after he cuts it and not watching it fall.  Trish thinks she understands why Sparda didn't destroy the thing when he was here.  Sparda was a demon and therefore the Underworld was his home.  He might have been kinda homesick and not willing to cut off the last route there.  Trish feels the same way, which is why she studies information about demons and Devil Arms.  Dante probably wouldn't understand the feeling since he was born in the human world.

The Savior sees the Hell Gate go down and heads in their direction.  Dante and Trish talk about trying to keep the fight away from where the citizens are holed up.  Trish suggests taking them out to Mitis Forest since there are still a lot of demons in the area and trying to fight them while protecting everyone will be hard even for Trish.  Also the Savior is huge and they're not sure the port is far enough away to be safe. She's got some plans to protect everyone from the demons in the forest.

Turns out Lady is her plan.  As long as Lady arrives safely, of course.

Dante quips with Sanctus who is possessing one of the Alto Angelos.  (Pretty much like the game.)  He runs along the rubble avoiding the Savior's attacks. (Also like the game)  Dante is very concerned about saving Nero before he takes out the big statue.  His first thought is that Nero might be inside the blue gems on the Savior since they're giving off a lot of magical energy.  He decides to break a few of them first to see what happens.  

He's using Pandora for a lot of this fight and Omens a bunch of the Angelos that are chasing him around.  Then I think he Judgement Cuts the Savior?  

Back to Nero:  He regains consciousness and starts remembering who he is.  There's a line about a 'part' of him or a 'fragment' of himself that he feels nearby helping him remember.  It's Yamato.  He says he can feel Dante nearby with a 'part of me in the hands of Dante.'  He feels lousy because Dante has to come rescue him.  He says he's lost his body but definitely doesn't want to just lay around doing nothing.  Nero wants to save Kyrie with his own strength.  He tries to scream but can't.

Back to Dante:  Outside, there's a fluctuation in the Savior which Dante thinks might be Nero.  He contemplates the gem on the chest and hears the 'cry of the soul' 'of the same bloodline as himself.'  So he stabs the Savior in the chest.  He's a little nervous about the Savior's big beam attack.  Normally he can tank demon attacks, but this one looks particularly strong.  He Devil Triggers with the intention to, I think, fly out of the way?  He sort of armors up instead and lets himself get hit with the attack.  He isn't able to move, though his power keeps him from being hurt.  Once it's over, Dante jumps back over onto where the left Rebellion sticking out of the statue.

Sanctus gloats.  Dante gets Yamato inside the Savior (pretty much as per the game).  I also think he calls Rebellion back to him?  There's a line where he kinda motions at it with his finger and it flies back to his hand.

When Dante yells at him to wake up, Nero tries to yell back but can't.  Dante thinks that their meeting was accidental, but that it would've been very boring otherwise.  He yells Nero's name.

The first part of Nero that is restored is his Devil Bringer, which seems to annoy him somewhat since he hates it, and grabs Yamato.  He mentions that something is tying him down and covering his body. He can think more clearly now that he has hold of Yamato.  He gets himself loose and sits down for a second because his vision is fuzzy.  Nero realizes he's still got to save Kyrie and assumes that the pope would keep her far away from him as insurance.

Dante tells him to go be the hero.  Nero feels pretty confident that with Dante's backup he can go save his gal.

Stage 19 (Nero vs. Sanctus)

Lady POV:  They're still on the boat.  She basically tells Ben that she paid him so he'd better do his best.  He says he would've refused if he knew this was a suicide run.  He does what she tells him though.  Trish is waiting for them on the dock.

Lady asks how things are.  Trish tells her the sea breeze is bad for her hair. (Hah!)   Lady says she'll help Trish cut her hair if she wants to try a shorter haircut, and thinks that she doesn't really understand Trish very well. 

Trish gives her the situation: Citizens hiding in the warehouse, Dante fighting the big bad.  Lady wants to know what the hell the Savior is.  Is it a demon?  Trish says it's the "product of stupid humanity."  Taking a look around, Lady worries about the property damage.  Trish asks for her help taking the citizens out to the forest, but they get surrounded by demons while they're talking.  Time to fight.  Lady thinks that Trish's lightning is pretty convenient and is a bit envious of her and Dante's powers.  Since she can't do stuff like that, she needs money to fund her ridiculous arsenal of weapons -- which is why she's so stingy with her money and charges high fees.

Demons are damaged by silver more than iron.

Back to Dante:  He's saved Nero, so he's mostly done with his part.  Now he's just playing around.  Without Nero powering it, the Savior can't fly and has reduced mobility.  Dante knocks the thing around with Gilgamesh, breaking the bottom of one of its feet.  Nero bitches at him for shaking things around.

Dante says "This is fun" and stabs the Savior in the eye with Rebellion.

Back to Nero:  The inside of the Savior is like a labyrinth full of demons.  Nero wonders if they were being used to power the thing like he was.  He's not sure how much time has passed -- he thinks probably only a few hours -- but it feels like years.  He's lost Red Queen and Blue Rose, and he feels really rusty.  Killing the demons he keeps running into helps him get back into fighting form.  Nero isn't very comfortable fighting with Yamato yet, but he doesn't have a choice.  He wonders why he thinks of the Yamato as part of himself.

Nero instinctively knows where to go and thinks it might be that he senses the power of the Sparda.  He remembers Sanctus talking about meeting Vergil and isn't sure if he believes that was his father or not.  He always thought he was human, but the way the Yamato feels and how it glows along with his Devil Bringer… He makes a comparison of himself being a caterpillar becoming a butterfly -- basically that he's becoming what he was meant to be.  Nero jokes with himself that he's already lost his body once and had to remake it.

He gets to Sanctus and thinks that the guy looks way more like a demon than an angel.  Sanctus pulls Kyrie out, and she is obviously frightened but can't speak.  The pope threatens her, and Nero immediately can tell the sword is the Sparda because he feels a tremor in his hand.  He notes that it's not because of 'fear or excitement.'

Sanctus sticks Kyrie back in the wall, which surprises Nero.  He wonders if Sanctus doesn't want to use her as a shield because he wants to have a fair fight or if he's just overconfident.  They start fighting.

While Sanctus does his trick where he hides in the Savior, Nero realizes he can easily sense the presence of the Sparda.  Oddly, though it said earlier that Red Queen was lost, Nero pulls the sword here.  I think this might be an error, though, since it also mentions that the Yamato is able to hurt Sanctus.

So Nero remembers that Sanctus was once the Supreme General of the Holy Knights, but he notes that the Sparda has used up a lot of its power.  He straight up tells Sanctus that Credo was stronger than he is.  Nero uses some of his training from Credo and stabs Sanctus, saying that this was revenge for Credo.  He asks who should be next, maybe Tonio and Sagan.   We get pretty much the same "Sparda had a heart that could love a human" speech from the game.

Sanctus decides to use Kyrie after all, but it goes down just like in the game.

Back to Dante:  He's chopped up the Savior a bit, but the thing is tough and huge.  He compares its appearance to a statue that was salvaged from the bottom of the sea.  When Nero jumps out holding Kyrie, Dante thinks he looks like a prince rescuing a princess in a fairy tale.

Kyrie isn't too surprised by Dante or anything else, which means she might have had some awareness of what was going on while she was stuck in the Savior.  Dante basically tells Nero that his gal is a keeper and he should be good to her.  

When Sanctus merges with the Savior to control it at the end, he loses his human intelligence and becomes beast-like.  After seeing Nero crush the Savior's head, Dante says that in terms of sheer strength, Nero might outmatch him.  Nero does a shy little victory pose at the end, and Dante thinks he really is just a kid.  He tells Nero that in a few years he might be a bit more fierce, which annoys Nero.

There's a line where Dante considers that even though they're closely related, their personalities are very different -- and he feels that's a good thing.  He doesn't want Nero to be like him.

Dante tells Nero: "However, too serious or not, it is the key to live easily. Too much attachment will only be ruined by boring things, and the only thing that will hurt is his own."  (If someone can figure this out, please let me know.  My guess is: Don't be too attached to things or the only thing that you will hurt is yourself?  Possibly he's saying not to be too series or it could hurt the people around him.  I'm figuring this advice is to not be like Vergil.)

I really wish I could figure out what that is saying, because afterwards, Dante thinks that he can 'see the shadow of his brother Vergil' in Nero.  They share a similar stubborn pursuit of strength.  Dante then knows he has to 'part' with his twin.  

Dante tells Nero to cherish the Yamato along with "your lovely girlfriend."  He thinks that who Nero's father is doesn't really matter, and he doesn't have any definitive proof.  (He sure sounded certain in DMC5…)  The important thing is that Nero's 'soul is qualified to inherit the Yamato.'

Dante heads to the port to meet Trish and bumps into Lady.  He wonders why she's there since she's the client.  She tells him she's their ride home.  Naturally all the fees for the ship are coming out of his pay.  

Back to Nero:  He still doesn't really want Kyrie to see his demon arm, but she's a sweetie and does her speech about him being himself no matter what, like in the game.  He's actually a bit relieved that the demons interrupt their kiss because he's kinda worked up over everything.  

Stage 20 (Aftermath)

One month later: Dante enjoyed the quiet for the first week, but now he's bored.  He's read the same magazine four times already. Trish has been dropping by now and again.  When Lady shows up with the payment, Dante doesn't get excited because he's sure she's stiffed him again.  She ends up taking 70% of the fee for herself to pay for the boat fees, damages, and helping them fight demons at the docks.  Trish is annoyed.  Dante just doesn't care.  When Trish protests, Lady mentions that, oh yeah, the reason things got out of hand was because Trish gave the Sparda to the Order -- so she takes more money out of the stack.  Dante starts to sweat a bit because he's the one who told Lady that, and Trish obviously views it as a betrayal.

There's an odd line where Dante asks Lady about a job he wanted her to do, but she tells him she 'already sent it' and took the fee out of his cut. (Found out later that Dante was talking about the neon DMC sign he sent to Nero.)

So the 'customer with the password' thing is to make sure that only people with demon jobs are bothering Dante.  The password circulates around the shadier areas, so presumably people with demon issues find out about it from other people in the know.

When they run off at the end to do the job, Lady asks to make it a bet:  Whoever kills the most demons gets all the money from the Fortuna job.  Dante thinks that it would be more fun if Nero were there, but he's got a hunch they'll meet again.  

Back to Nero:  He's contemplating that he was abandoned at the orphanage and no one, not even himself, knows who his parents are.  He was given the name Nero by the 'dean' of the orphanage at the time who has since passed away.  He was named after the black blanket he was wrapped up in.  To Nero, this is pretty much like how you'd name a puppy or a kitten, though he doesn't really have strong feelings about his name.  He thinks it sounds like an ancient saint, which suits him.

Nero thought a lot about why he was abandoned and who his parents were when he was little.  He couldn't accept that he didn't have parents.  People speculated that his mother was embarrassed to have a child.  (I'm guessing the implication was that having a kid out of wedlock is frowned on.)  Fortuna is a small city and everyone knows each other.  It's impossible to give birth without people knowing, but there wasn't anyone in Fortuna who had when he was discovered.  There's a mention about 'foreigners' coming to Fortuna at the time, presumably people thought one of his parents might be one.  (I mean, not wrong.)

Nero would fight with people when they bullied him about it as a kid, but now he doesn't care who his biological parents are.  Kyrie, Credo, and their parents were his family.  He feels he can be content as long as he still has Kyrie around and can keep her safe.

They're renting a house as a home/office.  She wants his help carrying some food.  Kyrie has been cooking food for the people who've been displaced by the destruction.  Some of them have been living out of the Opera House even. Nero calls her goddess and carries a big pot of soup for her.

He doesn't like going out since people are more likely to be nice to Kyrie than they are to accept him being around.  Most of the townsfolk believed Kyrie when she told them that Sanctus went nuts and caused all the destruction, but some people think she's lying.  The fanatics slander her and still believe in Sanctus.  They also try to use the fact that Kyrie is dating a 'demon' against her.

Nero doesn't hide his hand anymore.  He knows it doesn't prove he's related to Sparda, but he doesn't care about that anyway.  He doesn't want to be worshipped.  It's just a part of him, and he's not ashamed.  To Nero, the Devil Bringer is why he could rescue Kyrie.  Apparently some people think that because she's with him, Kyrie will get possessed by/turned into a demon too.

Kyrie tells Nero not to wear his coat because the weather is good outside.  He's hesitant because it hides his arm.  He doesn't care what people think about him, but he doesn't want people to speak poorly of her.  She says she doesn't mind and that people will come to understand Nero eventually.

There's a kid named Abel from the orphanage Nero was raised in.  He doesn't know who his parents are either.  Abel tries to open the pot of soup but Nero gently swats his hand and then pinches the kids cheek with his Devil Bringer.  Nero sends the kid to Sister Xista in the Opera House to have her prepare some dishes so people can eat, and whispers to Kyrie that the kid is arrogant.

She laughs at him and says Abel is just like he was as a kid.  Nero says he was way more straightforward, and she points out that Abel isn't afraid of Nero's hand.  Kyrie has been laughing more recently, possibly because she has let go of many of her burdens.  It seems both Kyrie and Nero are actually comforted by the fact that Credo didn't leave a body behind.  It lets them kind of pretend that maybe he's still alive  -- though they both know that it's not true. 

The people decided to use the site of the ruined Order of the Sword building (Maybe HQ?) as a cemetery for those who died.   It's simple construction, but they play to make it nicer once they finish rebuilding.  Things are getting better day by day.  

Nero didn't used to think very highly of 'the city of Kyrie.'  Thanks to the rigid customs, someone like him, an outsider, had a hard time living there, but Kyrie loves the city so he wants to protect it.  

Kars comes by with a big wooden box for Nero who is very confused.  The only name on the label is Dante.  Kars thought it was some relief supplies.  Ah!  It's the neon Devil May Cry sign.  Nero planned to open an office on Fortuna to hunt demons since the knights can't anymore, and apparently Dante foresaw it.  Kyrie wonders why Dante hasn't contacted them since that day.  Nero's a little annoyed that Dante decided to pick the name for his new business, but accepts it since it's a gift.  It's a good name.

End of Book 2

[ernmark]

are you up for writing anymore second citadel ot3 stuff at the moment? maybe some hurt/comfort? I'm very excited about them

TBH, I rather like this one.

There is only one way this ends. They both know it. 

They whirl and twist around each other with blades drawn, but there’s no animosity in it. No brutality. They barely touch each other. 

Damien doesn’t strike to wound, but to kill– and to kill quickly. Painlessly, as much as he is able. If he isn’t destined to survive this fight, then he doesn’t want to leave Lord Arum maimed or dying of infection.

He feels the wind as claws pass within a hair’s breadth of his skin, and he knows Arum has decided the same. He sees resignation in those violet eyes, and the beginnings of grief.

This is goodbye. No matter how this ends, it is goodbye. He would give anything for the chance to say the words aloud, but he can’t. He can’t. Not when Sir Angelo and Rilla are standing at the edge of the clearing. 

He spots an opening between those claws, just over Lord Arum’s heart. One swift strike, and Lord Arum will be dead in seconds. 

He lunges for that delicate spot just between the ribs, but Lord Arum catches on too soon. He whirls around, lashing at Damien with his tail and knocking him aside.

There’s a sound of something cracking. A sharp pain in his leg.

And then he lands, and the cast around his leg snaps in half, and his broken leg takes the whole of his weight. 

His vision blurs red as a scream rips from his throat. His whole world collapses into a single point of white-hot agony, and he curls around it, clutching at his thigh as though there’s some kind of thorn he could pull from his skin, but he can’t. The wound is inside of him. 

Distantly he’s aware of a shape looming over him, and he feels scaly hands on his skin, and he goes still.

This is the end, isn’t it? Lord Arum is going to take the opportunity to end this once and for all. It will be quick– a mercy killing– one swift cut to make the pain stop. He stares into Lord Arum’s eyes, silently pleading with him to get it over with.

 There’s nothing monstrous about the horror in those eyes.

“Get away from Sir Damien, you beast!” He only barely registers the bellow as words and then Lord Arum is thrown aside, barreled down by Sir Angelo.

Rilla takes his place at his side. “Damien, your leg…” She cups his face in her callused hands. “I need to see it. I need to make sure the break hasn’t severed anything. It’s going to hurt, Damien.”

He tries to keep his voice light. “I hardly think it can be any worse than it is.”

He’s wrong. 

Rilla tries to be gentle, but the agony is all-consuming. Tears pour from his eyes. He struggles not to writhe out of her grip, but he throws his head to the side, swallowing back the kind of profanity no knight should utter. In a roiling sea of pain, he finds a single focal point to cling to: across the clearing, Sir Angelo is finishing the duel with Lord Arum. It’s hardly a duel anymore, not when it’s so one-sided. As he watches, Sir Angelo lifts the lizard over his head and hurls him into a tree. Lord Arum lands hard, gasping for air, one arm tucked protectively against his chest. Before he can gather himself to his feet again, he’s thrown back by a punch that could crush stone.

“Stop,” he whimpers.

“I’m sorry,” Rilla says. “I know it hurts, but I’m almost finished.”

“No– Sir Angelo.” He grabs at her sleeve. “He has to stop. Please don’t let him do this.”

Because this– what he’s doing to Lord Arum– is no mercy killing. It is the rage of a man who has seen his best friend in pain and demands revenge. It is as passionate as it is cruel. 

Damien stares pleadingly up at Rilla, and she meets his gaze with a look of confusion– until they hear the sound of cracking bones. In a fluid motion she rises to her feet and strides across the clearing. Neither the knight nor his prey see her approach.

“Knights! Attention!” Her voice is infused with such power that for a moment she truly does sound like the Queen. Instinctively, Sir Angelo straightens and salutes. Even Damien, prone and in agony and staring at the speaker, feels the need to obey. “Who do you serve?” 

“The Queen!” Sir Angelo barks back.

“And who do you serve above her?”

“The citizens of the Second Citadel!”

“And this citizen is telling you to stand down.”  

Sir Angelo steps back, his face a mask of confusion, caught between lingering rage and years of knightly training and the fact that this is very clearly just Rilla, just some herbalist, and not his Queen.

Lord Arum tries to crawl away, but he can’t escape unseen.

“Stay where you are. I’m not finished with you.”

Perhaps he knows better than to disobey, or perhaps he’s just that badly injured, but Lord Arum does as he’s told.

Rilla returns to Damien’s side, but the air of authority hasn’t left her. “Sir Angelo, go into the woods and find me something to make another splint. Straight, as wide around as two of your fingers, and as long as his leg. Bring me three.” 

“Yes, Sir–” He catches himself a syllable too late. “Yes, Rilla.” He only hesitates for a moment before he goes on his search.

“You,” she says, pointing to the remaining combatant. “Come here.”

Lord Arum creeps closer, eyeing her warily. “Are you the Queen?”

“I’m an herbalist,” she says with such finality that it sounds a few ranks above royalty. “Hold him down.The bone needs to be reset, and he’s going to hurt himself even worse if he starts thrashing.”

Lord Arum meets Damien’s eyes with puzzlement, and then with a sudden understanding.

“Your Rilla,” he recalls in a mutter.

“Yes, I’m Rilla,” she says, misunderstanding. “Now hold him down.” 

Carefully he lowers himself over Damien. One of his arms still looks unusable, but he only needs three to pin down Damien’s shoulders and uninjured leg. His grip is gentle, but unyielding, and he has the whole of his tremendous weight behind it. 

“Are you ready, Damien?” Rilla asks.

“Yes, I– gah!” he doesn’t have the chance to finish the sentence before he’s overwhelmed again by blinding pain. His back arches off the ground, but there’s no breaking Lord Arum’s hold. But as abruptly as it begins, the worst of the pain subsides like the flowing of the tide.

“That’s good, Damien,” she says gently. “The hard part is over.” 

Lord Arum shifts his weight slightly, easing it off Damien. “Am I finished here?”

“You have some explaining to do.” She draws a dagger from Damien’s belt, and it glints between them like polished silver. Instinctively, Lord Arum curls protectively over Damien. “Like how long the two of you have had this… thing going on between you?” 

Damien’s blood runs cold, and for a desperate moment he wishes she were setting his bone again.

Lord Arum’s tail thrashes the forest floor. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“I’m not an idiot,” she says, staring him down as if he wasn’t twice her size and in possession of razor claws. 

Damien can already feel panic coming on. This can’t be happening. “Rilla, I– I didn’t– I wouldn’t–”

“I know you didn’t.” She slices into the hem of her skirt, cutting off a long strip of fabric. “That’s why you two keep trying to kill each other, isn’t it? And why you keep looking at each other like you’re the leads in a tragedy?” 

Panic generously takes a half step to the side to make room for mortification. Was he really that obvious?

Lord Arum seems to feel the same way. “Of all the overblown–”

“It ends here,” she says icily. “No more duels, and no more pretending, and no more self-flagellation. I don’t care what you two do or don’t do, but I will not stand by and let you keep killing yourselves trying to murder each other. Whatever it is you two need to figure out, just figure it out already.”

A crashing in the distant underbrush announces Sir Angelo’s return.

“Could–” Damien swallows. “Could we do that… later, perhaps?” This is a conversation he’d rather not have in front of his best rival.

“Later. But we will have this conversation.” She gives Lord Arum a meaningful look, in case he thought he could possibly escape it. He rather suspects he won’t have any similar opportunities.

The infirmary was terrible enough when Damien only had to contend with boredom– now it’s nearly intolerable. Every unoccupied moment is filled with his own frantic thoughts– his heart is a traitor– his engagement to Rilla is surely broken– he failed in the duel– traitor that he is, he’s relieved that he failed, and disgusted by that relief– how will he ever look Sir Angelo in the eyes again?– Lord Arum is hurt, and it’s all his fault–

He isn’t sure how long he’s been caught in the whirlwind of his mind, but the orderlies are gone and the infirmary is quiet. The only sign of time passing is sun low on the horizon and the creak of an opening door.

“Damien?” Rilla peeks inside. “Are you awake?”

Relief and fear and guilt and shame flood his senses with renewed vigor. 

“Oh, my Rilla, my Amaryllis, my forever-flower–” The words tumble out of his mouth so fast that they crash into each other and land in a complete mess. “There are no words for how– for how sorry I am for what I’ve put you through. I’ve acted horribly toward you, and I cannot give voice to my shame.” 

She crosses the room to sit at his bedside. “It’s okay.”

“It isn’t! I’ve endangered you–”

“If I was worried about danger, Damien, I would live inside the city walls.”

“I’ve betrayed you! And for that, Rilla– for that–”

“How, though?” she asks softly.

It’s such an absurd question that it leaves him dumb. “What?”

“How did you betray me?”

“With– with my thoughts. With these feelings. With– with my hesitation in my duty when I knew–”

“You mean because you didn’t kill someone you fell in love with?”

The truth of it stings. “A monster,” he says weakly. “Rilla, I love you– I swear to you, I never intended to let my feelings stray–”

“Do you love me, though?” she asks earnestly.

“Of course I do. But Rilla–”

“Shhh,” she murmurs. “One thing at a time. You love me.”

“Always.”

“And him?”

He averts his eyes. “I… I believe so.”

Rilla twines her fingers with his. “You tried to tell me, before I was kidnapped. Do you remember? When I saw you out in the woods with that giant rat. You were talking about your treacherous heart. And about how you needed to kill him.”

It seems so long ago now– almost weeks ago, though it’s only been a few days.

“You’re allowed to have feelings for him, Damien. You’re allowed to think about him. You don’t need my permission, but you have it.” She tips his chin up to face her. “What you aren’t allowed to do is torment yourself about it anymore. Not for my sake.”

His racing heart begins to slow. “Rilla…”

“If you’re in love with him, then pursue him.”

“No.” He shakes his head, his heart aching. “Rilla, I don’t want to lose you.”

“I didn’t say you had to.” She brings her face close to his. “You have me. No matter who else you do or don’t have, you will always have me.”

His shoulders sag under the weight of her words. His breath falls like it’s squeezed out of him.

She pulls back. “Are you alright, Damien?”

“I’m a– a little dizzy,” he confesses.

She smiles fondly and presses a kiss to his lips, short and chaste, and a second to his forehead. “Then I should let you rest.”

“I– I love you, Rilla.”

She gives his hand one last squeeze. “I love you, too.”

The sky is dark and the moon is high when Damien is pulled out of his dream. It takes him a few moments to get his bearings: he’s in the Citadel, in the infirmary, and he’s alone– or he would be, if not for the sounds of struggle coming from just outside the window.

“Who’s there?” he asks, his voice low. In reply the moon and stars are blotted out by the mass of a body and the fluttering of a cape. The sounds of scraping claws and heavy breathing are joined by a familiar rattle. “Lord Arum.”

“Still awake, honeysuckle?” his visitor rasps between panting. 

It’s almost strange to feel that fondness for him without the guilt that follows after. “A knight of the Citadel never sleeps.”

“That explains the poetry. You work yourself into a delirium.” 

“Is that why I’m seeing you here, then? Because I’m delirious?” 

Lord Arum replies with another rattle, moving closer through the dark. “Your Rilla told me you were doing better, but I would hardly take a human’s word on such things.”

“You might have to,” Damien says. “Because I say so, as well.” 

“You don’t count,” Lord Arum says grudgingly, and he’s too drowsy for that to bother him.

“Did Rilla tell you how to find the infirmary? Or have you been peeking into windows all night looking for me?” 

“She might have.” That’s not all she did; the silver moonlight shows that the wounds from his fight with Angelo are bandaged, and his injured arm is in a sling– a rather awkward sling, considering that the arm isn’t immediately beneath a shoulder. 

His breathing comes easier now, and he looms over Damien’s bed with a nearly supernatural stillness– like a gargoyle, standing watch to frighten demons away. 

They sit in silence for a while, just listening to the sound of their breathing. It’s tranquil, except for Damien’s acute awareness of Lord Arum’s hand beside his hip and the fluttering within his own chest.

With a final resolution, he makes himself speak. “May I?”

It’s impossible to see Lord Arum’s expression in the dark, but his head cocks to one side in what seems like confusion. His grunt of assent is clear, though, and so Damien dares to take that hand in his and raise it to his lips. The texture of scales is strange, but not unwelcome. 

Lord Arum takes a breath– perhaps a gasp, or a sigh.

“Is that… alright?” Damien asks carefully. 

There’s a long moment as Lord Arum considers. “Yes.” After another long moment’s silence, he pulls their joined hands higher, and Damien feels thin lips brush experimentally against his knuckles.

Lord Arum’s rattle almost sounds like the clearing of his throat. “The sun will be rising soon. This is a dangerous place to be spotted, honeysuckle.” 

“Of course.” Damien’s cheeks are still hot. “Climb safely, Lord Arum.”

He starts toward the window, then pauses. “Just Arum, perhaps.” He doesn’t give Damien a chance to respond before he vanishes through the window.

Damien gazes out that window until long after the sun rises. His face is still turned toward it when the orderlies come in for the morning and find him asleep.

For the first time in far too long, rest brings him tranquility.

[madartiste]

Deadly Fortune book 1, Chapters 6-11

These notes are for the rest of Book 1.  Again, I’m putting everything under the cut so I don’t clog up people’s dashboards with my notes.  There’s some really interesting bits in this part.  I will note: There’s a discrepancy in Nero’s age in the book and in what one of the developers said.  The book puts him at 16-17, while one of the devs (and I wish I could find the source right now) said that Nero is the same age as Dante/Vergil were in DMC3 -- which is 19.  (Which incidentally puts Dante at 37-39 in DMC4 if that’s correct)

Link to the translation: https://originaldmc.github.io/DivinityStatue/Downloads.html

Link to the first section of notes: https://madartiste.tumblr.com/post/186802435475/so-i-started-reading-the-only-english-translation

Stage 06 (Agnus' lab)

Nero feels an 'explicable nostalgia' when he first sees Yamato.  Agnus calls him an "arrogant little devil."  He's pretty startled when Nero busts the glass of the Containment Room since he shouldn't have that kind of strength.  He actually refers to Nero's right arm as "sacred."

Interesting: Agnus says that a "righteous" person who gains the power of a demon becomes an angel.  So he realizes they've basically turned themselves into demons, but feels that their intentions make them holy.

When Nero gets pinned to the wall, he's stabbed through the arms as well as the stomach.  Agnus kinda tortures him a bit by messing with the lance that's stuck in his abdomen, mainly because he's annoyed that Nero is passing out while he's trying to monologue at him.

The Bianco Angelos are made from pieces of Nelo Angelo's armor.  It washed up on Fortuna's shore along with Yamato.  Agnus took that as a sign that his work was basically blessed by god.

Oh dang.  Angus actually stabs Nero in the left chest when he mouths off, though Nero couldn't tell if he actually got his heart or not.  Nero's heart stops.

Dante is upstairs in the master bedroom of the castle --trying on a freaking hat he found -- and Devil Triggers briefly when Nero goes down.  The energy he felt, phrased as 'the cry of a soul,' feels like Vergil's, though he knows it isn't.  He decides to keep dealing with the Order before he figures out what happened.

Back to Nero: He remembers a dream he had on the day his arm was injured.  It doesn't seem to have been during the fight, but maybe later?  He saw a man with 'cold eyes' but who also felt 'lonely.'  The guy (gotta assume it's supposed to be Vergil) asks what Nero wants, but Nero punts the question back to him.  Vergil says "I want more power," so Nero replies that he wants that too.

Nero can feel his Devil Trigger even without looking at it.  He refers to it as 'another person' and 'another me.'  He doesn't have good control at first, and feels like he might lose his mind.

Stage 07 (Echidna)

People who fail to undergo the Ascension Ceremony turn into demons but lose their ability to think like people.  Ah, Credo and Kyrie's parents were killed by some escapees who failed the ceremony, but he never told Kyrie or Nero about it.  He acknowledges that if he's going to fulfill Sanctus' vision of an ideal world, there will be sacrifices, and he is conflicted about that.  He consoles himself by thinking that many more people will be saved in the future.  His main goal is to protect his sister.

Agnus storms into a meeting and grabs Credo by his collar, yelling about how Nero is a demon.  Credo didn't actually know about it, and he doesn't actually believe what Agnus is saying -- he thinks Nero just scared the guy by being so aggressive.  Agnus blames him for Nero taking Yamato, which, consequently, screws up all their plans.

LOL, none of the other knights want to chase Dante because they saw him beat the crap out of everyone at the Opera House.

Credo consoles himself (again) that catching and possibly hurting Nero is for the greater good even though he thinks of the kid like a little brother.

Back to Nero: He passed out for a while after chasing off Agnus.  The book makes a point of saying that his clothes are torn up but his body is healed from getting stabbed.  He is convinced he's not human anymore, but he's willing to deal with it for the power.  

Back to Agnus: He respects Credo's strength even if he doesn't like him.  The power gained from the Ascension Ceremony has more to do with the personality of the individual than with the demonic energy put into them.  Sanctus has genuine doubts Credo can beat Nero. Kyrie is already at HQ because that's where the people were evacuated to, so Agnus goes to find her.

Back to Nero: Mitis Forest was an evergreen forest before rather than subtropical.  Nero doesn't shoot Dante when he sees him on the cliffside because he wants to know what the flip is going on.  Dante, of course, doesn't tell him.  There's a funny line from Nero when Dante jumps: "I want to learn from him."

Nero uses his charge shot on Echidna for the first time.  He holds Blue Rose in his right hand for it.  He also uses Yamato on her and is a bit shocked at his own strength.  He still doesn't feel like he can control it.

Stage 08 (Fighting Credo)

Dante POV: The HQ is empty because all the knights are protecting the area where the citizens are hiding out.  Trish meets up with Dante and tells him that Yamato was fixed.  She's surprised, but he isn't.  He correctly guesses that Nero was the one who did it, which also surprises Trish since she didn't know they'd bumped into each other.  It's hard to decipher, but Dante thinks that the connection he felt to Nero has been steadily getting stronger as the kid is delving into his devil abilities.  

He finally tells Trish that Nero might be his relative, and she asks if he's Dante's brother.  Dante considers it but dismisses the possibility because he doesn't think Sparda would come back to Fortuna… and it doesn't seem to feel right.  She asks if he'll go rescue Nero, but he says no.  I'm not clear on some of the wording, but he says that if Nero loses to Credo, Dante will kill 'him' and take back Yamato.  I'm… not sure who 'him' is supposed to be -- but hopefully he means Credo because otherwise that's pretty grim.

Trish asks if Nero is Dante's illegitimate kid, but he just says that the "joke is not funny."  He doesn't seem bothered by the insinuation and doesn't even consider it as a possibility.

Back to Nero:  His description of Credo's movements --which is how he recognizes him since he can't see his face at first -- is hilarious: 'over the top and neurotic walking posture.'  Credo doesn't say anything while Nero questions him about what's going on. It's interesting how freely Nero speaks to him.  He jokes a bit about how Credo shouldn't take anything Agnus says series, that Agnus provoked him first.  

Nero is really upset by Credo's transformation.  He wanted to believe Credo didn't know anything about what was going on, that he, who is like a brother to Nero, isn't the same as someone like Agnus in giving up his human self for power.  

Fighting Credo is hard for him because Credo is the one who taught him how to use a sword.  There's a long passage where he thinks that he was never good at dealing with other people, that he had no parents, that people thought of him as a burden, so there were a lot of things that Nero didn't know how to do (presumably because no one ever taught him), but Credo was the one who showed him.  Whenever Nero was using a sword, he forgot all the bad things in his life, and he wanted to be a Knight like Credo. He mentions that he 'unexpectedly received praise from others' when he became a knight, and that he wants to help other people because he knows what it's like to be abandoned and feeling alone.  Nero knows he'll never be like Credo -- their personalities are too different -- but he thinks that Credo is worthy of everyone's respect and love.

Nero asks Credo why he should fight him, and Credo demands the same thing, saying that Nero "betrayed" them.  Nero tells him that he didn't betray anyone and just wants to know the truth of what's going on.  Credo yells back that the truth doesn't matter to Nero anymore because he's possessed by a demon (ouch).  Incidentally, there's a lot of details in the fight that tell you how to beat these bosses.  Nero catches Credo's spear and throws it back at him.

There's some back and forth conversation.  Nero asks Credo who's really the devil here, him or Credo.  Nero thinks that he doesn't want to kill Credo, but he'd better fight hard because he'll lose otherwise.  He's always had a hard time reading Credo's moves, but suddenly can now.  Specifically it references a 'three combos' that Credo uses when practicing with Nero with wooden swords.

Nero goes Devil Trigger, and there's a funny line from Credo: "Buddy… look at you…!"

Nero is pretty wiped out from the fight, and he puts his sword to Credo's throat -- just like Credo did to him during one of their practices -- which is when Kyrie shows up.

Agnus shows up and outright says that he told Kyrie that Nero was a demon.  Credo actually shoves Nero behind him (I feel like it's meant to be protective) when Agnus pulls the sword on Kyrie.  Agnus is hella rude to Credo and then starts taunting Nero about being so influenced by a woman.  Nero knows he can take Agnus, but if he loses Kyrie, he'd pretty much lose any 'value of existence.'  Ooooh, Agnus actually cuts Kyrie in the book.

So, Nero and Credo both kneel on the ground, and Agnus demands that Nero hand over the Yamato, which he does.  Agnus then tells Credo to bring him the sword.  Oh heck! Credo starts to do as he's told and then basically rams Agnus with his shoulder, getting Kyrie loose.  There's a burst of energy which pushes Nero over and knocks Kyrie out.  Pissed off, Agnus actually puts his boot on Credo's head -- he was knocked over too -- and calls him a traitor.  Unfortunately, Credo is worn out from fighting Nero, so he can't do much other than yell at Agnus about Sanctus using Kyrie.  Agnus kicks Credo repeatedly (ow) and Nero runs over to get to Kyrie, though Agnus is too fast and gets to her first with his insect wings.

Agnus says he should grab the sword but he's not dumb enough to try to fight both Nero and Credo.  They kind of conjoin this scene with the one in Agnus' lab where Nero tries to grab Kyrie but gets her necklace instead.  Before he takes off, Agnus says that if Nero wants Kyrie, he'll have to bring them the Yamato.  Again, everyone seems to all Nero "little devil."

Hah!  There's a funny interlude where Nero asks Credo if he's still alive and Credo says "... probably."

Credo gets to his feet and says he knows why Sanctus is so keen to get his hands on Nero, that Nero is "a Sparda-born person."  Nero is understandably confused, so Credo explains that in order to complete the savior they need the sword Sparda and the "son of the swordsman."  Nero is still confused, though he asks why Credo would think he's a descendant of Sparda.  Credo just chucks him Yamato and says Nero should go find Kyrie while he figures out just what Sanctus is up to.

Stage 09 (Nero fights Dante)

Nero goes into the HQ and finds no one but sees signs of fighting.  Looks like Dante has cleaned house, though Nero ponders why he couldn't find a trace of Dante earlier, but now that he has something else to do, the guy's just waiting for him.  But why?

Dante says Nero is slow.  He asks why Nero is in such a bad mood (Dante… really??) and just pisses Nero off.  Dante asks for Yamato, Nero asks how he knows about all this stuff.  "The sword was originally my brother's thing." (hah)  Nero is surprised that Dante even has a family. (Hah!)

Definitely different: Dante says that Yamato belongs to him now that his brother is dead and says he doesn't care why the sword ended up in Fortuna.  Nero actually seems to feel a little bad?  But, as he puts it, the Order doesn't care about him, and he needs Yamato to fight them.

Dante kinda tries to talk Nero out of fighting, but Nero's not having it.  Nero gets knocked back when he tries to attack Dante, Dante taunts him about not really making much progress in his skills.  Dante calls it a "nostalgic scene," Nero's confused. Again.  (Is Dante talking about their earlier fight… or Vergil?)

Nero uses his charge shot to shoot the pillars next to Dante, which Dante assumes was a miss.  Until the pillar explodes.  Nero uses the distraction to attack, Dante blocks but leaves an opening, Nero is sure he's got the upper hand until Dante catches Red Queen with his other hand.  It cuts him, but Dante is too strong for Nero to just pull the sword back. So Nero rams into him.  Dante just grins at him and asks if Nero wants him to teach him Kung Fu.  Oh man.

Nero has a bit of a crisis because he realizes how much stronger than him Dante is. So Nero says "I want more power!' and goes DT.  Dante just avoids all the attacks.  There's a line comparing Dante to a matador.  Which is the bit when Nero charges at him and gets knocked to the floor.  Nero is annoyed that Dante wasn't fighting him with his full strength before, but Dante sort of compliments him by saying he hasn't had a workout like that in a long time.  The phrasing is something along the lines of "I haven't had to breath this hard."

Nero notes that while he was trying to kill Dante, Dante was definitely not trying to kill him.  In response, Dante simply says that he has more experience, and that he's been doing this for a long time.  Nero is actually willing to give him Yamato, but he is uneasy because he feels like he needs the power.

Dante calls the sword a loan.  He says as "rent for the loan" Nero has to tell him his name -- even though he already knows it.  He calls Nero "little devil" again.

Dante calls Trish's disguise a "masterpiece."  She dressed like that because she thought it was funny since the Order is so prudish.  Ah, it was a spell, and while getting rid of it isn't hard, casting it again takes a while -- which is why she didn't reveal herself earlier.

Trish is uneasy about letting Nero go with the sword since "Vergil's Yamato" could fall into the Order's hands.  She doesn't know the details of the Savior, and it's been a big secret.  (I'm guessing only a handful of people knew about the thing.)  She knows that the Order can use Nero to complete the Savior and points it out to Dante.  He says that if things go wrong, he'll help Nero -- and even go a little further because they're related.

Stage 10 (Nero vs. Sanctus)

Lower level knights aren't allowed in the bottom areas of HQ, so Nero's never been down here.  He goes by a room with numbered cages. (!)  They contain demons that are being experimented on.  He sees something that his half human, half demon, and wonders if this is what happens to people who fail the Ascension Ceremony.  Oh HECK!  He sees Tonio, who's left side is demonic, and Tonio shrinks away from him in the cage when he leans in to look.  Nero is unnerved because the guy was always so grim and sneering and now he's cowering.  Sagan is there too.  Nero is pissed off.  He realizes that these are no longer the people he once knew.

He thinks about the fact that he never liked those guys, and they didn't like him, that they resented how much he got away with because he was close to Credo, and that they both had a crush on Kyrie.  Nero feels like he'd probably be just like them in terms of having a thing for her even if he hadn't been raised like a family member by her parents. (There's a strange phrasing that says "it's too old fashioned to be raised like a family," which may be a reference to Kyrie's parents' general outlook.)  Nero essentially says he didn't want this to happen to Tonio and Sagan even if he didn't like them.

Okay, so Nero has never told Kyrie about his feelings for her (Pretty sure she knows, dude), and he wonders if she'd be disgusted to know someone like him thought of her that way (Nero, plz).

He promises Tonio and Sagan that he'll save Kyrie and get revenge for them.  Nero wants to rescue them, but he can't let them run free the way they are now and doesn't know how to turn them back -- which makes him feel incompetent.  

Agnus POV: The Savior was produced in a manner similar to the Bianco Angelos, by extracting the 'shell' from a demon and using the demon's soul to power it, but the Savior is more complicated.  The Bianco Angelos are mass produced.  The Savior is powered by a 'magic heart furnace' which functions like an actual heart, using the power extracted from 'millions' of demons to power the rest of the Savior.  It's not enough to actually make the thing work, though.

Agnus had given up on finish it when Gloria showed up with the Sparda.  The intention was to use the Sparda to power the Savior, but using the Sparda to its full power requires someone related to Sparda.  Sanctus was definitely aware that Sparda had at least one son, and that Dante sealed up Mundus again.  The Order kept him under watch.  There's a passage that says that some of the Order suggested inviting Dante to Fortuna to "sacrifice as a living god."  Pffft. They decided not to because Dante is too human -- he runs a business in a shitty part of town, listens to rock music, eats pizza, and uses guns.  (I'm wondering, just by context, if that actually means they intended to worship him, not sacrifice, but decided he wasn't worthy of that because he's a bum.).  So they changed their plan to use him to power the Savior.

The plan changed again when they realized Nero was also a descendant of Sparda.  Him repairing the Yamato would be impossible otherwise.  No one is sure how he is related, but it's possible Sparda left someone behind on the island since he used to live there.  Or that's what Agnus thinks.  Also Dante is too much of a badass, and the Order can't handle him.

Back to Nero: Nero thinks the Savior is ugly as hell.  Sanctus gloats.  Apparently the two have never met before.  There's a nice Nero vs. Sanctus illustration.  Sanctus looks pretty freaky, actually.

Sanctus goads Nero to use Yamato.  Nero fights the statue a bit, realizing that he's not doing much damage and that it can heal.  He uses the same trick of a 'missed' charge shot on Sanctus, which shakes the guy up a bit.  Sanctus acts like he's going to drop Kyrie out of the Savior -- causing her to fall and possibly die -- and distracts Nero enough for the statue to grab him.  Sanctus then tells Nero he should thank him since Nero will get to be with Kyrie inside the Savior.

Sanctus ponders that Nero must be around 16-17 (I think one of the game devs says Nero is 19 in an interview, though, so not sure if some of this timing is retconned.) and goes on to say seventeen years ago, the year he became head of the Order, he met a man.  This was after the previous 'pope,' Soleimani, died of disease.  Sanctus was previously a knight and then became Supreme General of the knights. (Does this mean Credo would've become pope if he hadn't died???)  Sanctus and Soleimani were the same age, so it was a question of which of them died first if Sanctus could succeed him as head of the Order.  Sanctus had a grand vision of 'paradise,' basically making everyone grateful to god and devout etc. etc., that Soleimani just couldn't grasp.  (Probably because he was sane.)  Sanctus decided to kill the guy with poison, which he did because as a 'bishop' he regularly dined with the pope.  It took two years for the guy to die, so everyone assumed it was disease.  Aha, Sanctus was the oldest of the 'bishops,' and no one had any problem with him so that's why he became 'pope.' (I'm just gonna use that word since the translator does and it takes too long to type "head of the order of the sword" every time.)

So, the new pope is expected to spend a night up in the Castle in what they thought was Sparda's bedroom to 'inherit the noble soul of Sparda.'  Vergil sneaks into the room to poke around, which understandably spooks Sanctus.  Sanctus asks what he's doing, Vergil says he just wants to 'follow in the footsteps of Sparda' and won't kill him if he's honest.  Not being utterly useless, Sanctus realizes he has no hope of beating this guy.  He asks if Vergil is human, Vergil replies "If I'm not human, what would I be?," but Sanctus has fought demons before, so he asks "Are you a god?"  The guards come, and Vergil decides to yeet out the window, but Sanctus is desperate to find out who he is.

Vergil takes a moment to say he doesn't mind these people worshipping his dad, but they should remember that Vergil will surpass him, and says they should consider who they should admire… their old god, or the son who surpassed him.  And then he jumps out the window.

Sanctus says he's sure that the man he saw that night is Nero's father.  Nero thinks he's nuts.  Credo drops in and gets stabbed just like the game.  Trish and Sanctus exchange some words.  She asks him if he thinks she should "dress more plainly."  

Haha!  When Sanctus is taunting him about how he's won, Dante says "I think this little devil is still a little bit motivated."  Nero chose to smash Sanctus against the statue because he didn't think he could get a good enough grip to crush him with the Devil Bringer.  He also didn't want to throw Sanctus at Dante because he 'didn't want to rely on that guy.'  While he's getting sucked into the Savior, he thinks that he can rely on Dante to win, though.  

Nero asks for help, but Dante says "I don't care about you, just give me the sword back." (Yeesh!  I'm hoping that's a mistranslation.)  

Stage 11 (inside the Savior)

When Nero sees Kyrie inside the Savior, she apologizes to him and blames herself before she disappears.  Nero thinks that if he's in the core of the Savior, that means they aren't trying to kill him.  As long as he's alive, he has some hope of saving Kyrie.  Then he passes out.

End of the first book.

Link to the next section of notes: https://madartiste.tumblr.com/post/186847616290/deadly-fortune-book-2-chapter-00-1-15