#Nico who the more he's welcomed into the camps the more he finds himself being essentially declawed

[aroaceleovaldez]

once again thinking about the worldbuilding in the riordanverse of "names are power" / "belief is power."

The Tri were only able to become immortal through convincing enough people to worship them that it became true. Monsters and immortals only exist through continued belief, and if enough people believe that they're dead or gone then it becomes true, like Pan. Their varied forms exist and manifest as they're believed in and called upon. Names call attention and epithets summon aspects. They're acknowledgement. Belief. Putting a name to a concept creates it as an individual.

And that's so fascinating when you start applying it to demigods. How much of their abilities are based on belief in themselves, in expectations of each other, in their parents' expectations of them? We've seen mortal figures who became immortal in some form or another because they were remembered. Even the lares - ancestral house gods, who persist because they're remembered. They have a legacy.

At what point does a demigod achieve that status? Rumors and whispers about them so persistent that they slowly become true. "I heard that Jason Grace is the son of two gods, does that make him a god?" "I heard Percy Jackson defeated a titan single-handedly. That he can create hurricanes without breaking a sweat. That he can control blood." After awhile, after enough rumors, does it become impossible to tell where they end and the legends begin? Isn't that what being a demigod is; half-legend?

[starlightshadowsworld]

Kinda pissed the whole big 3 pact didn't have consequences.

Not like breaking an oath sworn on the Styx is said to be a worse fate than death.

Not like they swore on the Styx to not have kids and than 3 came along.

Those being Thalia, Jason and Percy.

Because Hazel, Bianca and Nico were all born prior to the pact.

But what if it did have consequences?

They made the pact because their kids were too powerful and we're a threat to mortals.

And this isn't said but I think Zeus in particular was afraid that a son child he sired could be powerful enough to overthrow him.

Like how Uranus overthrew Kronos who was than overthrown by Zeus.

Clearly the fear wasn't enough to stop Zeus.

Enter one Beryl Grace, the mortal star who managed to get the attention of both Zeus and Jupiter.

Giving birth to both Greek and Roman demigods.

Something that to my knowledge hasn't happened anywhere else in the series.

And without letting anyone knowing abd getting the biggest I told you so in history, Zeus has to deal with this.

Hera finds out because of course she does.

And offers Jason to Lupa, the wolf goddesses.

While Thalia runs off when she's old enough, Hades founds out and is very sore after the whole Maria Di Angelo incident sends a monster after her.

She almost does but Zeus saves her by turning her into a tree.

And when she's free she joins the hunt.

And the fates are pissed that Thalia being of the hunt is shielded by Artemis and they cannot intervene.

But there's still one unexpected item in the bagging area: Jason

(I'm well aware of Percy but the fates saw his life and went yeah it's gonna suck enough let's leave this one.)

Jason who has been abandoned by all he loves to the literal wolves.

A child, little more than a baby being trained by the wolf goddess himself.

Perfect.

Jason gets older and stronger, he goes to Camp Jupiter and is made Praetor.

He goes on quest after quest in service for the God's.

But instead of unwavering loyalty and being happy simply to serve the God's, as expected, Jason feels empty.

Because if there's one thing Jason wants, more than thing in the world.

It's to have a family.

He adores the people of Camp Jupiter but their almost colleagues, acquaintances.

United under their existence and mission to serve the God's.

His only true friend, Reyna is distant, she is a companion he is happy to have in his life but their relationship has always been professional.

And she's made herself clear that she doesn't agree with his want for family. That it's kind of ridiculous.

Jason snapped at that, saying it was easy for her to say as she had her sister Hylla.

Though they didn't see much of each other, Hylla still visited camp and both were close.

While he had no one.

It was one of the only times Jason had gotten angry at her.

And while taken aback, Reyna apologised. Though it only reminded Jason how lonely he truly was.

People at Camp spoke to him, sparred with him but it was like he was a star.

Something to be looked at in awe but couldn't be approached because it was out of reach.

Jason refuted that he was better any of them, even putting himself in the lowest cohort just yo be seen as anything but that.

His efforts were futile.

Jason had been claimed his first day of Camp.

And since than he'd been rendered untouchable.

He hated it more than anything.

And than Jason began to dream.

Dreams the fates slowly fed him while whispering in his ears that he did have a family.

His father claimed him, so he knew of him.

His family, his father was waiting for him.

No God's entered Camp Jupiter of course so the only way was to meet him in Olympus itself.

He dreamt of marble floors, of a man on a throne who shared his electric blue eyes.

Hand outstretched and a warm smile, welcoming his son to his side.

A father, the fates whispered your family.

You can have all you ever wanted.

And Jason craved that.

He wanted it more than anything.

And they knew it.

Jason gave in.

He sneaks out of Camp without anyone seeing him, following the path from his dreams all the way to the Empire State building.

The usual guard isn't their and from his dreams Jason knows how to access the 600th floor.

It's exactly as his dreams looked.

And their, their was his father in all his glory atop his throne.

Jason can't help the smile on his face.

He's done it.

Finally

Finally he would have the family he always wanted.

He marches to his father's throne, dropping to a bow and announcing himself as Jason Grace, son of Jupiter and that he's so happy to meet his father, so honoured to meet him.

When he looks up.

The smile he expected is nowhere to be found.

His father is enraged.

As are the rest of the Olympians.

"A son?! You, you dare berate me brother for my own offspring while you've been hiding your own!"

"Son of Jupiter?"

"How did he get here?!"

Tells of outrage and anger echo throughout the room but none are as mad as the God before him.

"You... Insolent child dare to approach me. You dare to come to Olympus, to what? Intimidate me?"

Jason shook his head frantically "No no I only wanted to meet you... I'm your son."

Why... Was this going so horribly...?

Zeus sneered at him "I don't know what you think you are doing here, but if you think for a second you belong in my presence you are sorely mistaken. You are nothing, not to me not anyone else."

And something.

Something in Jason snapped.

His dream, everything he ever wanted burning before him.

He laughed.

It was loud.

Hysterical.

He even had tears in his eyes.

"All this time... All this time they say, your father is the mighty Jupiter. Your father is a King amongst men, the vanquisher of Kronos."

He laughed again.

How wrong they were.

How wrong he was.

"I wanted nothing more to meet my father, this mighty king... And you, you are just a pathetic man with a paper crown."

Silence swept the throne room.

Zeus stood before Jason, enraged didn't even capture just how angry he was.

But Jason found he didn't care.

He was angry.

The being he'd served his whole life was not the great King he'd thought him to be.

His fathered towered over him but Jason didn't back down.

He'd been lied to.

All his life he was to serve his father, his whole life he'd served his father and he didn't even want him.

He didn't love him.

Jason questioned if he ever could feel love.

His life meant nothing.

"You... Insolent!"

Jason didn't hear the rest of the speech.

Not before a bolt of lighting flew at him.

Instinctively Jason threw up his arm, reaching out for the Bolt.

It stopped.

It swerved.

And made a dent in his father's throne.

Jason looked down at his hands in shock.

Before chuckling "is that, all you've got?"

That... That was the infamous Master Bolt?

His father truly was nothing like he'd been famed to be.

If a lowly Demigod like Jason could swat his prized weapon like a fly.

No one had ever made it to Olympus without being detected.

They hadn't even noticed him until Jason announced himself.

They were pathetic.

How... How had he spent his whole life training, serving them.

"Is this why you require demigods?" Jason thought out loud "your weapons are nothing but relics collecting dust. Your feats are nothing but stories. Your power, nothing but a distant memory."

Jason almost pitied them.

Almost.

"So you spawn demigods to do your dirty work, your chores for you because you can't." He snorted.

They were nothing.

They were nothing so they trained their young to do their bidding.

Ignored... Alone...nothing but the fantasy of serving their parents who didn't care for them at all.

Fury.

"How dare you!"

"Oh I dare, all your good for is screwing a mortal and sitting on your backsides! I've lost friends! I've lost so many comrades on your stupid quests!"

A coldness settled in him.

A surety amongst his fury.

"I've lost my childhood, my life for beings who wouldn't care if I lived or died. They'd just bed another mortal and sent the fetus off to battle... And I won't lose any more for you."

Their was defiance in Jason's eyes as he eyed his father.

His father who looked at him with pure rage.

"If you do not silence that demigod Zeus... I will"

Jason didn't bother to see who spoke.

"No, this is my mistake and I will correct it."

"What are you gonna do, smite me? Gonna have to get one of my many... Many siblings to pull your bolt out for you."

Zeus snarled, but Jason was raised by wolves and simply scoffed.

His father blasted him.

Those watching would say it blew the egotistical demigod to smithereens.

Others say he transported himself elsewhere.

Hades himself vertified that the boys soul had not entered his domain.

Jason left, changed.

His yearning for a family had been stamped out.

He was nothing but a tool.

A soilder.

But now, now his sword wasn't pointed to monsters.

But the God's themselves.

They'd stole him.

They'd stole his dream.

They'd stole his childhood.

They'd stole the lives off their own kids to further their goals.

And Jason.

He watched as the crumbled throne of Krios reformed around him.

He sat atop it.

A smile on his face that was all teeth.

Teeth stained with ichor that he licked from his lips.

He was going to destroy them all.

And the fates they smiled upon him.

Their work here was done.

[cocrante]

I Start Over With You

[SOLANGELO FANFIC]

summary: After the great battle against the forces of Gaea, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter had formed a long-lasting alliance. Everything had gone well, and everyone was ready to start anew. This included Nico, who, after confessing his feelings to Percy, was prepared to open a new chapter in his life—perhaps the happiest one the Fates had ever written.

note: the chapters will be updated every Wednesday. If you want to read upcoming chapters of the fanfiction in advance, I invite you to follow me on Patreon. Subscribing is not necessary, these chapters will be added for free on the platform on Mondays and Fridays. Following me there is just a kind and free gesture to support my work c:

Reblogs are highly appreciated c:

[CHAPTER 14]

THE CAMP JUPITER WAS JUST AS HE HAD LEFT IT, with the only difference being the new temples being erected, following the architectural patterns indicated by Annabeth. The Roman camp couldn't look better. It still bustled with nature spirits, lares, and fauns trotting through the camp's streets, occasionally hindering a hero in training. Some demigods strolled through the paths, discussing the upcoming war games. Others stopped and pointed at Nico, wondering why he had returned. With all eyes on him, he headed towards where Reyna was waiting.

The hall was bright, the tiles reflecting the sunlight, and the marble columns giving the building a regal appearance. Sitting there, waiting for his arrival, was Bellona's daughter, his adventure companion and trusted friend. She stood up, walking towards him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Welcome back to camp, Nico" Reyna greeted, leading him outside. "I found a decent place in the city, and you can come to camp whenever you want" she said, heading towards the Roman city that mimicked the style of the Italian Rome, with its warm and round colors, making it almost feel like being on the same European peninsula.

Bellona's daughter told him - during the journey - that things at the camp had improved since the new agreement with the Greeks. She had received messages from Camp Half-Blood that summer, announcing that in the fall they would receive visits, so combat techniques could merge along with culture and lifestyles. "It wasn't easy" the girl explained. "Many are tied to the Mos Maiorum, the senate itself started by saying it was sheer madness" she sighed. "But even they cannot go against the will of our gods" Nico nodded, understanding the difficulty of accepting something different. He had been through it himself, and only the gods knew how long it would take for others to accept him as a camp member.

"But enough about the camp" Reyna said, noticing a certain silence from her friend. "It's been a while since we talked, besides that conversation the other day"

"I've been busy" he briefly recounted the past few weeks at Camp Half-Blood, mentioning something about Apollo's son, avoiding telling her about the Capture the Flag game and especially the kiss on the hill. The girl didn't make a sound, just let him tell, noting a slight and thinly veiled smile every time he mentioned Apollo's son. "He's a good friend" he concluded, letting out an imperceptible sigh.

"Just a good friend?" she dared to ask, as she had seen well beyond the tough exterior that protected him.

The boy took some time before responding. "Well, yes" he confirmed, though not entirely convinced. Reyna simply pursed her lips, not asking him more about that boy. If he wanted to tell her, he would, she thought. "Okay" she said, stopping in front of a building. "First floor. Your school is just a block away, you can't miss it. I've also taken the liberty of getting your books"

Nico was truly speechless; he hadn't imagined she had done him such a big favor. "Thank you, Reyna" he looked at her with deep gratitude.

"Don't mention it! For anything, you know where to find me" she handed him the keys, giving him a final pat before returning to the Roman camp.

Nico twirled the keys between his fingers, anxious and terrified to go in. He opened the door, dragging his suitcases behind him, climbing up to the first floor. There, he entered the comfortable apartment Reyna had found for him. It was a bright and warm room, the walls painted in a matte yellow and divided in half by charming Roman motifs. It seemed completely the opposite of his gloomy cabin.

Having found the bedroom, he unpacked his belongings there, hiding the box he had taken from camp in a drawer. He put away all his clothes, the few that he had, in the wardrobe, and having emptied the suitcase, he flopped onto the bed with a sigh. He didn't stay there for long because as soon as he touched the mattress, someone rang the doorbell, forcing him to go and answer. It was a real joy when he realized it was his sister, who had just knew about his arrival at camp. The two greeted each other warmly; Hazel had been missed more than anyone. Along with her was her boyfriend, the son of Mars, who seemed to have grown a couple of inches during those weeks.

Frank gave him a pat on the shoulder, quite happy to see him again. They had never really talked, but he was still part of Hazel's family, and that was enough for Frank to like him.

The son of Hades invited them both into the still-empty apartment, making them comfortable in the living room. He had a lot to tell his sister about those weeks at Camp Half-Blood, avoiding dwelling too much on Will and what had happened before arriving in New Rome. He also told her about Jason, who seemed to have completely rebuilt his life. "I'm really happy about that" exclaimed Hazel.

"Piper is such a good girl, those two make a beautiful couple" she told him, with Frank nodding in agreement.

"How's Percy?" asked Frank. The son of Hades just shrugged.

"Well, at least he hasn't gotten into any new trouble" he then told them about the absurd climbing wall challenge, of Jason being determined to win and not faint every two seconds.

The three spent the afternoon together, inviting Nico to join them for a bite to eat. The son of Hades agreed willingly, following them outside the building.

There were still many things Nico wanted to tell his sister, all carrying the same name. However, it was difficult to talk about them with Frank around.

They mostly talked about the Roman camp and how it had evolved in such a short time, telling him the same things Reyna had hinted at earlier: some problems that had arisen at the beginning, the decision to build more temples dedicated to minor and almost forgotten deities. "You should have attended the council" sighed Hazel, squeezing Frank's hand. "The Senate didn't want to hear any reason. According to them, we had to continue with our traditions" she briefly recounted what had happened after their return to camp.

"Some demigods thought the same, obviously" explained Frank. "Centuries of tradition thrown out the window" he grimaced.

"But even they had to bow to the will of the gods" Nico guessed. The son of Mars nodded.

"Thanks to the gods, they opened their eyes, our societies cannot survive if we don't collaborate. This was evident even this summer" added the boy, getting a nod of approval from Nico.

Frank began to speak freely, monopolizing the conversation a bit. He cared deeply about New Rome now that he had become praetor, telling them about the boring Roman bureaucracy that Jason had mentioned that morning, the holes to fill, the people to meet, all the supervision needed during the construction of the temples. "We could rely on Annabeth, she's a real architect!" exclaimed the boy.

The conversation gradually dwindled with the setting sun, coloring the green hills and the tips of the tallest buildings. Under that light, the city of New Rome seemed like a replica of the authentic Rome. "See you around" said Frank, bidding farewell with a nod.

"Of course" replied Nico, finally managing to spend five minutes alone with his sister, who had not missed the agitation and urgency to talk only with her. She was really good at reading body language. "Let's talk about what you forgot to tell me tomorrow, okay?" the girl smiled kindly, speaking near Nico's ear, who simply nodded and thanked her.

She walked away, the smile on her face leaving him in the driveway, which was slowly darkening.

The son of Hades returned to his apartment, finally lying down on the bed he had longed for all day. His mind was strangely empty, yet so full of thoughts that he didn't exactly know which ones to grasp.

He ran a hand over his face, forcing himself to get up, put on pajamas, and set the alarm for the next day. It was while turning the red hand that the air seemed to fold on itself, gathering the light like many small tiles, then opening into a window of light. On the other side, there was a brightly lit bedroom, although it was clearly night outside. The walls were covered with band posters, along with some photos and concert tickets now weathered with time. At the center of that window made of light was the boy who had been at the center of his thoughts all day.

"Hey!" Will was radiant as usual, but his smile faded when he noticed that Nico might be getting ready for bed. "Did I disturb you?" he hurried to say, regretful for not being able to call him earlier. Nico shook his head, placing the alarm clock on the nightstand.

"No, it's fine" he replied, unable to hide a certain embarrassment.

"Okay—" he tried to smile, but it was clear that something was wrong. All day, Will had berated himself for giving him that cheek kiss; he shouldn't have done it. Who knows what Nico thought now. "So, school starts tomorrow, huh?" he said the first thing that came to mind, even if it was rather mundane and predictable. Nico sighed, still not believing that he would really be picking up paper and pen again. "Yeah" he replied. "I'm kind of nervous" he hinted at a smile, sitting on the bed.

"It's normal" Will tried to cheer him up. "At least you won't have the fear of being expelled eight times" he joked, tilting his lips sideways. Nico stared at him, realizing that for the entire time, that was the first time he had looked him in the eyes.

"Then I guess they'll be more prepared for hyperactivity and dyslexia issues there" the boy continued. Nico struggled to imagine Will with such problems—at camp, he seemed like such a normal guy that Nico often forgot that, like most demigods, he suffered from hyperactivity and dyslexia. Life in mortal schools was often challenging.

"Do you start tomorrow too?" Nico asked then, breaking his silence.

"Yeah" Will sighed. "If it weren't for my friends, it would be a torture" It wasn't the first time he had said that, even during the days spent together at camp, Will always talked about his school and how heavy the schedules were, thankfully lightened by his two friends he had made during the past year. "Did you already get the list of extracurricular activities?" he asked, just to liven up the conversation. "It arrived yesterday, mom already signed me up for that music course. May she be blessed, I wouldn't know what to do without her" he said, unable to hold back a clear laugh. Nico thought about how it must be to have a mother; the only memory he had of his was of a faded smile, and maybe it wasn't even real. At that thought, he became saddened.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Will asked, concerned to see that dark expression.

Nico simply shook his head, coming out of his thoughts. "Nothing" he lied, trying to look at something other than Will's blue eyes. "Just tired, I guess" he said, trying to convince him with that excuse. Apollo's son tried to believe it, without delving too much into the details. "When does the course start?" he asked the next moment.

"Next week, while auditions for the choir are this Friday" he replied, and at that thought, he immediately became enthusiastic.

"A smile will be enough to get you in" Nico weakly smiled, imagining him auditioning for the school choir.

"Do you think so?" Will laughed.

"I think so" Nico answered so seriously that Will didn't know if he was really joking or being serious. He decided to take it as a joke.

The two continued to talk for a while, avoiding touching on the "hill kiss" topic. It seemed that both were fine with it, yet they couldn't deny to themselves that after that morning, a kind of strange tension had arisen. Will would have liked to explain, give him a reason for what he had done, yet something prevented him, perhaps the current situation. He thought that maybe it would be more appropriate to talk to him about it in person. Yes, he would do that when he returned to camp. However, he had not taken one thing into consideration:—"Remember during the game in the woods?" Nico suddenly reminded him, wanting to get that thought out of his mind that had been buzzing around all day. Will swallowed, hoping he hadn't heard it. "Yes" he replied, torturing his lips.

"You were about to tell me something" Nico continued, hoping he could talk to him about it now. Apollo's son nodded; he didn't want to tell him like this, via a message, but actually, at that moment, there was no one who could interrupt them. Will parted his lips, ready to tell him the truth. "Well, the thing is that..." he stammered, trying to find the right words, and as he struggled, the message was slowly dissolving.

"You'll tell me tomorrow" Nico hurried to say.

"Goodnight, Nico," he said just as quickly, before the window of light disappeared, leaving the son of darkness in the shadows.

"Goodnight, Will"

[CONTENTS]

1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20

[imkazz]

yeahhhh and nico also survived on the streets and in the underworld. 10-14 years old, he spent his time divided between chb, camp jupiter, the underworld, tartarus, argo ii, the labyrinth, and homeless. he was training in the field, probably self taught, warding off monsters all the time, living with people whispering about him and being suspicious of him. he probably didn’t feel comfortable in chb with tainted memories of bianca and camp jupiter obvouisly didn’t trust him or make him feel welcome. tartarus was where he lived for like 2-4 months but thats literal fucking hell. hades literally told his son he shouldve died instead of his sister and blalantly lie to a twelve year old, along with a slightly abusive stepmother who turns her stepson into a flower out of jealousy, so i wouldnt feel safe there either. the argo ii didnt trust him due to his stunt of knowing of both camps existance, and the only reason they saved him was because he had info on the doors of death and didnt want to make hazel sad. jason only started being his friend out of a traumatizing experience, and nobody else on the argo ii bothered to try and get to know him. he stayed in the labyrinth for like 5 months because of minos to find daedalus but that was in it, but even living in the labyrinth was similar to living on the streets.

now. between these locations. where would anyone choose to stay? nico chose homelessness. it worked. he was always on the mvoe for quests, so why not. monsters prowl the streets more so a son of hades has no thalia tree protection. he probably taught himself through quests, monster attacks, and tartarus. he has a fighting style that isnt greek or roman, but self taught and unpredictable for anyone who tries to fight him for the first time, no powers.

also his sword. its pretty cool. can harm all monsters, mortals, demigods, and even gods. so thats also a bonus.

I need a Nico and Reyna vs Jason and Percy fight.

As in, they’re playing Capture the Flag and there’re three children of the Big Three so they don’t know how to make it even until Nico’s like “I’m fine with Reyna.”

Now, people have always known that storm and rain and whirlpool are a thing. But that day, they realize that a child of death with a child of war is something straight out of the Apocalypse.

And also Reyna can do a lot of damage despite her lack of elemental power.

As in, they work together extremely well - like how death and war have conquered so much land before - and proceed to demolish the game.

[ghostking1]

I don’t really know what you’re into but I asked some of my other percico shipper friends and we made a list of some of our favs :)

•|| Five Times Percy Broke His Phone and The One Time It Wasn't His Fault ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29524128

• Percy/Nico

• Rated G

• one-shot

• Words: 5,726

Summary:

As punishment for blowing up the Legions armory Leo is sentenced to work in phone repair for the camps. Normally this wouldn't be too bad, phones these days are pretty bulletproof. Unfortunately, he hasn't thought of the extraordinary circumstances Poseidon’s favored son tends to regularly find himself in. This is one battle the Son of Hephaestus is determined to win. Olympus helped him.

•|| Breaking the Ice ||•

https://www.deviantart.com/leukanthes/art/Breaking-the-Ice-Slash-287857101

• Percy/Nico

• no rating, but I guess G bordering T (?)

• one-shot

• Words: 2,574

[No Summary]

•|| Could Never Imagine ||•

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10703658/1/Could-Never-Imagine

• Nico/Percy

• Rating: T

• 46 chapters

• Words: 103k+

Summary: The war is over Annabeth chose to leave camp to allow her soul to heal, leaving a distraught Percy behind. Soon enough though the girls at camp are coming-on to the twice savior of Olympus. Percy however has no intention of finding a new girlfriend. So how will he get them to leave him be? It's a good thing Nico is around.

•|| Family Dinner ||•

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5439187/1/Family-Dinner

• Nico/Percy

• Rating: T

• one-shot/1 chapter

• Words: 6k+

Summary: The fancy invite card read: Welcome to our new home! Please join Percy Jackson and Nico di Angelo's housewarming dinner. Please do not feel the need to bring anything. Dinner begins at 6:00pm. The address is 38501 Sunshine Lane, Long Island.

•|| Can I Clear My Conscience? ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1250188

• Nico/Percy

• Rating: T

• one shot/1 chapter

• Words: 12,222

Summary:

Death Touch: Nico’s powers have gone out of control and he’s killing living beings with a single touch. The only one who can save him is Percy.

•|| Revival ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19287157/chapters/45872164

• Nico/Percy

• Rating: Explicit

• 4 chapters (complete)

• Words: 28,903

Summary:

After the events of The Titan's Curse Nico finds himself struggling to live on the streets. Exhausted, he recklessly uses his powers to take him somewhere safe. He ends up in an unfamiliar cabin and too weak to do anything else he decides to spend the night.

Percy still feels guilty about Bianca's death. He searched and searched for Nico but was unable to find him. Something is sending him visions of the boy though as if to tell him to go find him. At last Nico ends up in a familiar looking place and Percy seeks him out. What follows is something neither of them expected.

•|| on top of the world ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1184790

• Nico/Percy

• Rating: T

• one-shot/1 chapter

• Words: 16,175

Summary:

In which Gaea wins and Percy breaks another promise to Nico, and surprisingly, Nico doesn't mind.

•|| The world will never take my heart ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1712186/chapters/3646085#workskin

Summary:

where Percy and Annabeth break up, and Percy convinces Nico to move in with him and attend Goode

•|| Sensory Love ||•

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12454985/1/Hitome-Chan-s-Sensory-Love

•Rating: M

•words: 237+

Summary:

Mortal AU where Percy and Nico are best friends, but Nico’s feelings run deeper than that.

•|| Coding and Codeine ||•

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12457018/1/Hitome-Chan-s-Coding-And-Codeine

Summary:

post apocalypse mortal AU where Nico meets Percy in a near dead world, and the two travel the US and fall in love

•|| Seasons Change ||•

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/7838989/1/

Summary:

Mortal AU where in Nico and Percy were friends since they were little, but they had a falling out. Nico never recovered from Percy's rejection and neither did Percy. Through a twist of fate, they get a second chance

•|| The love we miss ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1087406

Summary:

Canon divergent fic where Annabeth is killed during the days following the second war

•|| World Traverls ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1649647

Summary:

a series of amazing fics by awanderingmuse which follow an older Percy and Nico

•|| Kiss a boy in Tokyo town ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/337259

Summary:

Japan becomes the new location for camp half blood after the fall of the United States.Nico comes to visit percy in Japan

while annabeth is still in the US and things transpire

•|| Tribulations ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2061345

Summary:

Percy and Nico are caught in an argument between two goddesses and are put to the test. They must prove the strength of their bond to survive or lose their freedom forever.

•ll When the river meets the sea ll•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1171134

Summary:

Nico di Angelo should be his best friend. He looks over, meeting Nico’s eyes; Nico, who looks patient and a little embarrassed for some reason, and he thinks, why isn’t he?

Or: Wherein Nico has an incurable case of being a martyr, Percy grows to hate The Muppets, and Poseidon surprises the both of them with a bouncing baby demigod.

•|| Fire escapes and friendships ||•

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17810015/chapters/42019895

Summary:

“So it’s safe to assume you’re the reason she’s stalking around like she’s just sucked a bag of lemons.”

“She called me today.”

“And?”

“She just wanted to chew my ear off. You know, for ruining all her hard work and design for your cabin. And then for suggesting to Chiron that she shouldn’t be allowed to help with the refurbishment.”

Or where Percy and Nico burn the injustice that is the Hades cabin and Percy takes the blame.

Christmas parties, confessions and cozy death traps

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27748753/chapters/67921453

Summary:

Ah, Christmas! That magical time of year where goodwill permeates the air, gifts are exchanged, and demigods question if they'll be smote down for singing the less secular Christmas carols! But as Nico will soon find out there are far more nefarious threats than carols this joyous time of year, a threat, in the form of an ugly Christmas sweater.

||• percico authors to support ||•

Likegallows

https://archiveofourown.org/users/likegallows/pseuds/likegallows

Bobinthecomments

https://archiveofourown.org/users/BobInTheComments/pseuds/BobInTheComments

Awanderingmuse

https://archiveofourown.org/users/awanderingmuse/pseuds/awanderingmuse

Midnightinjapan

https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightinJapan

anitstar_e(Kailamahine)

https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaikamahine/pseuds/antistar_e

Let me know if you need more~ :)

First of all, thank you so much for these pics. All of these were disgustingly good, like extremely disgustingly good, and I enjoyed them all immensely. But, I figured you'd want to hear my thoughts on them, and because I wanted to share my thoughts on them, so here they are :D

•|| Five Times Percy Broke His Phone and The One Time It Wasn't His Fault ||• -Amazing, a 10/10, one of my favorites, short enough that my attention span never got me distracted, great writing

•|| Breaking the Ice ||• -Another great one, this one blew me away

•|| Could Never Imagine ||• -I loved this one because it showed all of Nico's insecurities

•|| Family Dinner ||• -sooooo cute

•|| Can I Clear My Conscience? ||• -this one was kind of sad but a great healing fic

•|| Revival ||• -showed the Nico living on the streets that we never saw, very well done

•|| on top of the world ||• -dangerous situation where all hope is lost and they can only lean on one another? sign me up

•|| The world will never take my heart ||• -this was a fun fic to read

•|| Sensory Love ||• -this was pretty good, but it had cheating themes which made it hard for me to absolutely adore

•|| Coding and Codeine ||• -loved this au

•|| Seasons Change ||• -this one was a little harder to swallow, it had mature themes in it and there was cheating involved, and I always have a harder time with that

•|| The love we miss ||• -*chef's kiss*

•|| World Traverls ||• -so cute, i love this au, it’s like that could actually happen in the canon book series

•|| Kiss a boy in Tokyo town ||• -percy jackson + japan? yes please

•|| Tribulations ||• -love, love, love, love, loved it

•ll When the river meets the sea ll• -a work of art

•|| Fire escapes and friendships ||• -I really like the change in pov, this fic was really well done

•|| Christmas parties, confessions and cozy death traps ||• -loved embarrassed Nico and the creepy ending

And all the authors you recommended are great! :D

Thank you so much for all your recommendations, they were really fun to read!

[queenangst]

omg pls elaborate, why don’t u like post pjo nico? I’m curious, I don’t really know how I feel abt him either tbh (u don’t have to respond tho!!! I hope u have a wonderful day!!)

nico is just a different character in pjo than he is in hoo.

i love pjo!nico. the struggle of fantasy (mythomagic, nico's view of the demigod world) vs reality ('mythology,' the reality of being a demigod), the themes of death and coming to terms with death while having a certain amount of power over death. in a world where demigods are the people who don't belong, nico being a kid that doesn't belong even more (hades not having a cabin, the other campers' avoidance or fear of him). grief, forgiveness, friendship. nico pushing people away, especially percy, nico changing from hero worship to understand that even demigods are just human and mortal, and nico accepting other people (accepting percy's friendship) and being accepted himself...

in hoo and beyond i think his story just gets lost, like a lot of other characters do. hoo in general doesn't have the same strength that pjo does - not that every story has to have 'deep' or particularly 'meaningful' themes per se, but pjo grapples with power, mortality. the flaws of gods, humanity. and a lot more. i know we're going really broad, but hoo doesn't deal with any of that. as a consequence nico's character just falls flat for me, because i don't feel that hoo deals with him with the same complexity and interest pjo does.

also, nico being gay. hmm. i have a lot of thoughts about rick and representation (and a good few of them are not great, even if a lot of younger fans sing his praises), and solangelo. now i think nico being gay overall is fine. i think it could add another layer to him when examined through the lens of pjo, and there were plenty of people who thought that way in fandom. but what it felt like to me when written in canon was rick making the decision, and making pjo support the idea retroactively. of course, that is speculation bc i can't 100% confidently say that's true. i don't mean to say that nico shouldn't be gay, but i don't think it was written well.

solangelo also felt like a shoe-in. rick has this thing about pairing characters up for their happy endings. solangelo is a hot mess, it's not compelling, and if we do accept nico's feelings about percy it gets reduced to a joke. nico's character swings from repression and struggling with himself to skipping off with will. i make it no secret i don't like canon solangelo, and the relationship being lgbt doesn't mean it's good. it's flat and boring. also the resolution to nico's 'arc' in hoo doesn't have to be that he ends up in a relationship.

take what i said about the above with a little grain of salt. every person’s opinion is different, some people really love solangelo and that arc of nico’s. i don’t think it’s wrong to like it or that you shouldn’t. but i didn’t, myself. it could have been written a lot better lol

hoo also contradicts like... all of nico's character growth from pjo, and repeats conflicts that were previously resolved instead of expanding or continuing them in interesting ways, or creating new ones that actually make sense.

one of nico's conflicts in hoo was not being accepted and feeling like he doesn't belong anywhere. particularly because of the exclusion of children of pluto by camp jupiter and their fear of him. like i mentioned earlier this was already addressed in the original series. in botl, nico tells percy that he doesn't belong at camp, that people are afraid of him, and ultimately chooses to leave to find his own path. at the end of tlo, nico is welcomed by the other campers. he proves percy's point to the gods, and percy pushes for nico and hades to be accepted by the other gods and demigods.

“It hasn’t been easy, you know. Having only the dead for company. Knowing that I’ll never be accepted by the living. Only the dead respect me, and they only do that out of fear.” “You could be accepted,” I said. “You could have friends at camp.” He stared at me. “Do you really believe that, Percy?”

Nico and Percy, Battle of the Labyrinth, pg. 192

“This camp isn’t for me. There’s a reason they didn’t put a cabin to Hades here, Percy. He’s not welcome, anymore than he is on Olympus. I don’t belong. I have to go.”

Battle of the Labyrinth, pg. 223

"And Hades—" ... "...your children should not be left out. They should have a cabin at camp. Nico has proven that..."

The Last Olympian, pg. 353

Nico sat at the main table with Chiron and Mr. D, and nobody seemed to think this was out of place. Everybody was patting Nico on the back, complimenting him on his fighting. Even the Ares kids seemed to think he was pretty cool.

The Last Olympian, pg. 371

all of that aside, here is a core issue: nico, the doors of death, and his choices. when you really look at it, what happens in hoo is a "fuck you" to nico's character in pjo.

let's recap:

in son of neptune, it's revealed that hazel was brought back by nico. not just that, though... nico was searching for bianca, who he hoped he could bring back. the reason he didn't was because he couldn't - she chose to be reborn to avoid just that.

but nico wouldn't have done that. nico attempting to, and arguably nico bringing back hazel, goes against all of his growth and character in botl.

this isn't the first time nico tried bringing back bianca. his main goal in battle of the labyrinth was to find daedalus to trade his soul for bianca's.

“I was hoping you would give up.” “Give up?” [Nico] sounded heartbroken. “How can you say that? I’m trying to save you!” “You can’t, Nico. Don’t do this. Percy is right.” “No! He let you die! He’s not your friend.”

Nico and Bianca, Battle of the Labyrinth pg. 108

in the labyrinth, percy confronts nico and reveals nico is looking for daedalus to trade his soul for bianca's. but when they find daedalus, when daedalus accepts his own death... nico chooses not to.

“I will take what comes,” he said. “And trust in the justice of the Underworld, such as it is. That is all we can do, isn’t it?” He looked straight at Nico, and Nico’s face darkened. “Yes,” he said. “Will you take my soul for ransom, then?” Daedalus asked. “You could use it to reclaim your sister.” “No,” Nico said. “I will help you release your spirit. But Bianca has passed. She must stay where she is.”

Nico and Daedalus, Battle of the Labyrinth pg. 217

The shimmering form of Bianca di Angelo stood in the clearing, smiling at her brother. She said something to him and touched his face—or tried to. Then her image faded. Nico turned and saw me, but he didn’t look mad. “Saying good-bye,” he said hoarsely.

Nico and Percy, Battle of the Labyrinth pg. 223

also i think it just becomes super clear when you read. i've gone back semi-recently to reread pjo. for this ask i pulled up botl. reading botl... reading pjo... i feel like the difference in quality is so clear when you read about nico.

[solangelover]

A Glowing Future

Submission by @satans-little-helper33

This piece takes place right after Nico’s final chapter at the end of Blood of Olympus.

Main Characters: Will Solace and Nico DiAngelo

Solangelo fluff

Nico’s encounter with Eros had cracked him wide open and left him feeling vulnerable and broken, forced to face his own reality and feelings, exposed in front of Jason; he was forced to share his darkest secret for a god’s amusement. Nico now knew he could trust Jason to keep it to himself, though, and he was beginning to realize that in order to crawl out of his self-constructed prison, his barriers first had to be torn down.

The feelings that had haunted him for so long—the shame, the fear, the denial—caused by the mentality of the 1940s he’d grown up in began to fade away. 

He was no longer that scared little boy who had been enraptured by the presence of a powerful demigod, and now that he had finally confessed his past feelings to Percy, Nico felt that he could finally move forward. 

Hades’s son made his way back down the hill to where Will was waiting for him, wearing scrubs,  jeans, and a crooked smile that made his heart skip a beat.

--------

“Sorry I didn’t come visit you in the infirmary,” Nico said, wearing the hint of a smile.

“It’s alright, I forgive you,” Will Solace said, his mouth set tight but laughter in his eyes, like he was trying to stay mad at Nico and failing.

“You wanted me to stay there--”

“For at least three days. Doctor’s orders.” Will started to lead Nico back toward the infirmary.

“Really, I’m Fine,” Nico began, but then his knees buckled and Will hoisted him back up.

“Uh huh. Right. Let’s get you to a bed.”

--------

Even after Coach Hedge’s nature magic/sports drink concoction, which had sustained Nico for a while, the arduous task of shadow-travelling the Athena Parthenos across the world had caught up with him again.

When Nico opened his eyes again, he was in the infirmary half sitting, half lying on a piece of furniture that was somewhere between a bed and a stretcher. 

“Welcome back to the world of the living,” a familiar voice intoned, “have some ambrosia.”

Will sat on a chair beside the bed; the room of the infirmary he was in was long and lined with similar bed-stretchers, separated by white curtains that shimmered in different colors when they were moved.

Several other beds were occupied with demigods sporting now-relatively-minor injuries left over from the battle with Gaia and the monster army: a daughter of Hecate 2 beds over was glaring at her leg in a cast as if she was insulted by the inconvenience.

Nico turned back to Will, and noticed that beside the bed there was a small table with a baggie of ambrosia squares on it. Nico reached out to pick one up but encountered a familiar problem: his fingers passed right through the baggie and ambrosia, as if he was becoming one with the shadows permanently. His hand appeared fuzzy around the edges, as if he was dissolving.

“Uhh, maybe if I try again--”

Will frowned, then sighed. “This is what happens when you overextend yourself. Here, let me help you.” He picked up a square and held it out to feed Nico.

Nico leaned back. “What are you doing?”

“No arguing. Open up.” Solace said, his tone making it clear that he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Will took none of Nico’s shit. That was one of the things Nico found most endearing and annoying about him; no matter how hard the son of Hades tried to push him away, Will simply refused to let him.

Nico took the ambrosia, and after a few moments they looked back at his hand, which seemed to be coming back into sharper focus.

“You had me worried there, diAngelo,” Will said, smiling, and briefly gripped his hand to check if it was now solid. Day of the Dead skeletons tapped out a jig in Nico’s chest.

“You were worried...about me?” Nico said, still wrapping his mind around the fact that Will had wanted a death demigod to visit him in the infirmary.

“Get some sleep.” he said, closing the ziplock bag.

“I’m not tired.” 

“Well you will be in a second. CLOVIS,” he called out. The calf-like son of Morpheus appeared around the corner and Will told him “we’ve got another stubborn one,” throwing a teasing smile Nico’s way.

Clovis yawned. “I’m all over it,” he said, and--despite Nico’s protests--touched his forehead. The son of Hades drifted off into a deep sleep.

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

Nico awoke feeling more rested than he had in weeks. 

He quickly sat up, suddenly worried, because the last time he’d felt this rested, he’d been asleep for three days.

Nico stopped a passing Apollo healer. 

“How long have I been out??”

The healer scratched his chin, trying to estimate. “About 6 hours?” He walked off.

Will walked into the infirmary, arguing with a Demeter camper; something about herbs and supplies? He turned and spotted Nico.

“Well, good evening, sleepyhead! How was your nap? Feeling better?”

“I think 6 hours is slightly more than a nap.” Nico retorted.

“Well, count yourself lucky that Clovis has learned to control his powers better. A while ago he put a camper out for a week by accident.” Will made his way toward him. “Can you stand?”

“Um, let’s find out.” Nico swung his legs over the bed and got up. Aside from stumbling a little, he was feeling much better. Nico marvelled at the healing powers of sleep.

As if he read his mind, Will said, “Oh yeah, sleep has endless benefits.”

Nico twisted his skull ring. “Hey, I came in here at about noon, which means--”

 The conch horn signalling the dinner feast echoed across the valley. Will grinned. “I think that’s our cue.”

--------

The Half Blood campfire that night still carried with it an aura of elation spurred from disbelief, that they had won the battle against Gaia and made allies with the Romans, and a sort of desperation to feel alive brought about by all of those who had died in the process. Nico felt a pang for Leo, though he had a strange feeling that his death wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed.

Will sat by him at the bonfire, the Apollo cabin on his left and Nico on his right, leaving Nico unsure as to whether Will had sat next to him or his cabin. He chastised himself for hoping that it was the former.

The enchanted flames in the brazier blazed brightly with the energy of the campers, and Nico felt the warmth flare in his heart as he cast a glance at the son of Apollo, the light from the fire reflecting off of his blonde hair. 

--------

Nico lay in his bunk that night after the campfire, staring up at the ceiling of the Hades cabin that was inset with precious stones. He quickly realized that there was no way he was falling asleep any time soon, and he climbed out of bed. The whole room was drenched in liquid shadows, and despite his exhaustion after the journey shadow travelling with the Athena Parthenos, Nico stepped forward and became one with the darkness with ease.

  He melted from the shadow of a tree, finding himself by the lakeside at the edge of Camp Half-Blood. A full moon cast a pale glow on the night. Nico walked down to the sand and sat down; the silence was intoxicating, and Nico closed his eyes and listened to the gentle lapping of small waves against the shore. Suddenly he felt something nearby, heard the brush rustle, and wondered whether the cleaning harpies had come to eat him for being out past curfew. Nico drew his Stygian sword, which seemed to pull at the darkness like a magnet, and got ready to defend himself. What actually emerged from the brush was Will, who abruptly spotted Nico’s sword and laughed quietly. 

“Expecting a fight?”

Nico quickly sheathed his sword. “What are you doing out here?” He noticed for the first time that Will had something in his hands.

He held up two goblets. “Mind if I join you?”

Will was the only one at camp who was not blatantly wary of him; after several years as an outcast, the effect felt foreign.

Will sat down next to the son of Hades and spoke to one of the goblets--“Pomegranate juice”--and handed it to Nico as the cup filled with garnet liquid. 

“Are these--” Nico began.

“Glasses from the dining pavilion? Yeah. I snuck a couple out before dinner ended.” He wore his trademark mischievous smile. “I noticed you asked for pomegranate juice at dinner.” Nico felt his face grow warm as Will turned to his own cup and requested ginger beer. Soon the glass was filled with amber.

“It...reminds me of my mom.” Nico said quietly. “Not Persephone, ironically. When Bianca, my mom, and I...” his voice caught on Bianca’s name “when we lived in New Orleans, I was little, but I remember her giving us pomegranate juice on special occasions. It was a tough thing to find where we lived, so she would only have it on celebrations or...when my dad came to visit. I was just a baby when she was murdered.”

He stared down in silence at his drink.

“It wasn’t your fault, you know. Bianca, your mom, none of it,” Will said gently.

“I know,” Nico muttered, his voice nonetheless doubtful.

Will placed his hand on Nico’s, and he tensed, ready to pull away, but then instead turned his palm up to hold Will’s. 

Nico turned his head to look up at Will, his pale blue eyes shining in the moonlight, almost periwinkle, an indiscernible expression on his face.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Will murmured, his gaze taking Nico in. Will looked into his dark eyes as if he could perceive all of him, good and bad, and was still enraptured by what he saw. 

Will reached out hesitantly, as if to touch Nico’s face, but stopped before, gaging his reaction, and when the son of Hades didn’t pull away, he brushed the ink-black hair out of his face.

Involuntarily, Nico’s eyes closed and his heart began to race. His life had, for years, been spent more with the dead than the living. No one had touched him tenderly for what felt like eons, not since Bianca, and only now did he realize how starved for physical affection he had been. Not just starved, he thought to himself, afraid of it… 

And in that moment he decided that he was not going to be afraid anymore.

  Will’s gaze moved from Nico’s eyes to his lips, and he leaned in carefully as if approaching a wild animal. Nico closed the distance, and as their lips met, his life bloomed before him like a chrysanthemum opening layer by layer. Suddenly Nico could see a future before him that wasn’t ruled by death and solitude. 

Unnoticed by either of them, a dead mouse at the edge of the forest was brought back to life and scampered off into the trees.

 - Alya

@satans-little-helper33

My writing blog: @from-story-to-screen

[heavensgateiowa]

can you give me more thoughts/explanation on how will is the most thematically significant side character? im interested 👀

hi yes of course i can because i just got home from work and my brain is still in buzzing crazy mode. when i blink i see pint glasses

so the thing that makes will so significant is that nico is positioned as the protagonist of blood of olympus. it’s hard to say that heroes of olympus ever really has a single protagonist, certainly not in the way that pjo and toa do. in fact it’s rick juggling nine protagonists (the seven plus nico and reyna) which, idc what anyone says, that shit is mad impressive and as far as im concerned he did a pretty good (if not perfect) job of it. not everyone gets equal screentime or even a good arc, and that’s its own post, but ultimately each book has a de facto protagonist emerge: jason, percy, annabeth, (hazel kinda? i couldnt really say for house of hades) and then nico for blood of olympus.

nico is used to tie up a lot of the main themes of the series. if pjo ends with percy demanding the gods pay their gd child support, nico’s story shows the internal problems within demigod communities. hades isn’t the problem- he’s a pretty caring figure in nico’s life in his own way (i could talk about the chapel of bones scene forever… iconic). but even main characters whom we love ostracise and mistrust him consistently, and it isnt until they’re forced to spend time with him (reyna and jason) that they begin to understand him and befriend him.

nico is an allegory for intersectionality. demigods are a specific group with hereditary problems, and percy’s demands in tlo are allegorical of civil rights demands to a group of oppressors/those in power, as well as being literally the demands of a child to a parent.

so once those demands have been made and accepted, more complicated issues arise: what happens to a demigod who is not welcome in the inner circle, the safe space of camp half blood, because of what kind of demigod he is? right the way through both pjo and hoo nico demonstrates that there isn’t a one size fits all solution to the problems that face demigods. they are not a monolith. nico is a demigod, yes, but he’s also the son of hades, and he’s gay- which, while not being a literal barrier to his acceptance at camp, is tied in with a lot of the other reasons he is rejected or ostracised in his own head, and in the metanarrative, prejudice against nico for being a child of the underworld is equated with prejudice against him for being gay.

i’ve already written about how will doesn’t fit the typical demigod mold (which i cant even find sorry) (starting to think i need a masterpost of my pjo rants) because he isn’t a warrior but a healer. i’ve also written about how the whole point of will is that he never thought of nico in the way that others did. it’s ludicrous to him that nico thinks of himself as some dangerous outsider. nico���s self image has until this point been completely set in stone, and he was ready to abandon everything as a result, but will (unwittingly) rescues him from this simply by pointing out to nico that not everybody thinks of him that way.

will is actually serving as the voice of reason in BoO. there isn’t actually anything wrong with nico, with his being the son of hades, with his being gay, and will is the one who says this, who says that nico’s scary persona and the way he thinks about himself and what he projects into the world is all a fabrication, and he accidentally breaks the cycle that nico has been trapped in for years simply by saying it aloud. the broader implication being that the prejudices which others hold against nico and which nico holds against himself are not based in anything substantial and should be abandoned.

in summary, will cuts through the bullshit of both other people’s opinions of nico and his own opinions of himself. he’s essential to tie off nico’s arc, which is one of the most important of the entire series, and this is why i say he isn’t a minor character, not by a long shot. he represents the light (lol) at the end of the tunnel, the justice finally given in nico’s life and by extension in the lives of those nico represents; the ostracised, the queer, those punished for circumstances beyond their control by powerful forces. will is the simple, human answer to these problems and is therefore an extremely powerful and important character.

[annabethisterrified]

Book Review: THE TOWER OF NERO (The Trials of Apollo #5)

***No spoilers until you go under the cut!***

After months in the human form of Lester Papadopoulos, the former god Apollo is nearing the end of his trials alongside the young Meg McCaffrey. All their adventures and misfortunes have landed them back in the place it started-- New York. Meg and Apollo must defeat the final, most powerful emperor of the Triumvirate, who also happens to be Meg’s manipulative stepfather. Meanwhile, Nico, Will, and Rachel have important roles to play as the final battle looms. Even if they can defeat Nero, a more terrible enemy awaits in the form of Python, Apollo’s nemesis. Still, if they can succeed, Apollo will finally be restored to godhood. But after everything he’s been through, going back to the way things were doesn’t sound so great anymore. Apollo and his friends will have to find a new way to make all the sacrifices and pain they’ve experienced and witnessed worth it. That is, if they can survive their final trial.

As both the culmination of The Trials of Apollo series and the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, The Tower of Nero excels at bringing the complicated, moving themes of the saga into final, meaningful reckonings. Nero proves to be a chilling and impressive enemy who forces Apollo and Meg to put everything they’ve learned through their journey together to the ultimate test. New and old characters combine to see the story to its end, and long-time readers are rewarded with actualized development and a bittersweet farewell. The Tower of Nero is a fitting and robust conclusion that shines with all the heart, humor, and growth that makes this saga a worthy frontrunner in children’s literature.

SPOILER SECTIONS BELOW

Welcome!!!!!!!!! Y’all. Y’ALL. I am REELING. If you’ve been around here a while, you probably know I’ve been online here since 2012 (?????!!!!!) where I subjected by followers to weird takes and frantic excitement about the upcoming installments of Heroes of Olympus, then Trials of Apollo. Since I was ten years old, this story has been such a huge part of my life. Now I’m 22 (?????!!!!). So. How am I feeling? I’m feeling like I need to flip over every piece of furniture in my house. In a good way. Look. I gotta break this down into three parts because I’m the worst!

I. TRIALS & TRIBULATION

The Trials of Apollo, to me, felt like the inevitable conclusion to Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Heroes of Olympus. We went through two series where we intimately followed the lives of young demigods growing up through two brutal wars, dangerous quests, and personal reckonings. Gods certainly made appearances, and some were more helpful than others, but the message was always clear-- the demigods were on their own. Two wars fought, two wars won, and at what cost? For what change?

Bringing a god down to earth (both literally and metaphorically) is really the only way a story like this could be rounded out. Especially when the god in question is Apollo. He’s the son of Zeus, who punishes him by turning him mortal. This family set-up already has enormous implications in reference to the previous chain of mythological events: Zeus killed his father Kronos, Kronos killed his father Ouranos, etc. 

Prophecy is also the scaffolding of this entire saga. Everything is dictated by it-- every quest relies on it, most of the demigods we meet are led by it, and the whole Greek/Roman world seems to build their lives around it. My point is, Apollo was a great character to use as the mouthpiece of this last series. He’s been present throughout the previous two series, and he’s relatively unaffected by the Greek/Roman divide. The enemy, the Triumvirate, is also an exciting antagonist-- they’ve fueled and funded the previous two wars, and their obsession with becoming “gods” is loaded with implications as Apollo races to return to his own status as a god.

Apollo himself is also a completely terrible being. From the first pages through his perspective, there’s certainly little sympathy or commiseration with our narrator. Apollo is many things: spoiled, petulant, selfish, and arrogant. He is not good, and now, he is no longer a god. Still, his voice and struggle remained compelling and engaging throughout the series. 

His bond with Meg McCaffrey is, without a doubt, the emotional heart of the whole series. I think they both see aspects of themselves in each other, and it was a genius move to make her the stepdaughter of the enemy. Nero literally sent Meg to be Apollo’s controller and thought that she would easily bring him down; the fact that both these very troubled people cling to each other in the face of such manipulation and frightening circumstances-- and then repeatedly choose to fight their ways back to each other time and again-- is really what makes this series work so well.

With Meg and Apollo at the forefront, after The Hidden Oracle the series takes on something of a “tour” format. We discover new places and revisit old characters across the country, which was definitely exciting for long-time readers to see familiar faces undergo even more development. (This might just be me, but I don’t think ToA can really stand on its own without the worldbuilding/establishment of the first two series-- that’s not a knock on it, but so much of it picks up where the previous series left off, which might make it a disorienting read for someone new to the world.)

Of course, the obvious midpoint reversal of the series is the death of Jason Grace in The Burning Maze. A flip switches completely-- not just for Apollo, but for the whole cast. This is not an incident that just “happens” and is swept aside. In the final two installments, Jason is threaded throughout the story, showing how grief is never truly over. But his sacrifice saved everyone he loved, and had profound impacts on everyone he knew. As brutal as it was, I appreciated how Jason really changed everything through his choice. 

By the time Apollo and Meg return to New York in The Tower of Nero, they are better, stronger versions of themselves. The things they once wanted-- godhood restored, or a father’s approval-- are no longer appealing. Their development (both individually and as friends) is utterly believable and hard-won. We see characters from The Hidden Oracle return changed, too. Losing Jason has dredged up dark feelings within Nico, Rachel is warding off the influence of Python in her mind, and Will’s healer heart is put to the test in yet another final battle. (Listen, this kid played instrumental roles in The Last Olympian, The Blood of Olympus, AND The Tower of Nero. The fate of the world really is in his capable, glow-in-the-dark hands.)

Together, Apollo and team venture into Manhattan for a very intense, exciting, and profound final reckoning with Nero. (CHAPTER 20, ANYONE????) Both Apollo and Meg, once and for all, come into their own and reclaim their power and independence. The pay-off is immaculate, and it’s jarring to remember the Apollo we once knew-- the easygoing one from The Titan’s Curse, the snobbish one from The Blood of Olympus, and the self-pitying one from The Hidden Oracle. His development throughout ToA is seamless and incredibly moving, and we’re left with a protagonist that we can truly, unequivocally root for and love.

II. HAVE YOU LEARNED?

When Nero is defeated, the real enemy still lurks. Apollo’s age-old nemesis, Python, has long haunted him. Their final reckoning is one-on-one, and after everything Apollo’s learned and been through, he goes into his last battle not necessarily caring whether he lives or dies-- he just knows Python must be defeated, no matter the cost. Don’t get me STARTED on his last conversation with Meg!!!!?????? (”Just come back to me, dummy.” I LOVE THEM) 

So, yeah, I’m already crying at that point. Apollo (slowly regaining his godhood) goes into this completely by himself, assuming all risk and responsibility. He’s forced to sacrifice the Arrow of Dodona, and eventually chooses to sacrifice himself by flinging them both down to Tartarus. But we don’t stop there! Oh, no, we go all the way down to Chaos. The primordial soup of all the pantheons, all of existence. Python crumbles, and Apollo clings to the edge-- he clings to life.

This is it. This is the literal rock-bottom moment of the saga, and I’m completely unsure of how he’s getting out of this one. Who’s going to rescue him? What can he even do at this point? Genuinely, I had no idea where this was going-- and I never would have guessed that it would be the goddess Styx who shows up. She’s played an important, but also very minor, role in ToA. I was baffled at first-- I thought, what does she have to do with any of this? But then it ended up playing out in like the most breathtaking, moving way possible. It’s one of the most defining scenes of the entire 15 books to me. 

She only asks him: “Have you learned?”

This is the goddess of promises and oaths. Since The Lightning Thief, we’ve seen how oaths are tossed around like confetti. Percy’s very existence (not to mention Thalia and Jason’s) is because of a broken promise. An oath to keep with a final breath is one of the revisited elements throughout the Heroes of Olympus series. Apollo makes willy-nilly promises in The Hidden Oracle, which he later regrets. 

Then, at the end of everything, Styx only asks Apollo if he’s learned. All the talk of promises and oaths in this story doesn’t actually have anything to do with “keeping promises”-- certainly, so many promises are broken we can’t keep track. It all boils down to whether we learn from what we experience and use that to become better people moving forward. It’s about making sure we mean what we say and what we do. It’s about commitment and devotion to the people we love and the things we care about. Promises don’t matter. Only action does. 

I can’t understate how thoroughly pleased I was that this was the final reckoning of the saga. It was an unexpected and completely profound moment, and such an important scene to use as the emotional climax of the book.

III. WHERE WE GO FROM HERE

After 15 years and 15 books, The Tower of Nero had to find a way to bring the saga to a close without nailing the coffin shut. More standalone novels are surely on the horizon (I’m looking at you, Nico and Will), but as a whole, this saga did need to come to a satisfying end. 

Let’s pick up after Apollo is restored to godhood. He wakes up to his sister Artemis, and the very first thing he does? After finally returning to his true form, the thing he’s relentlessly yearned for the whole series? He just breaks down sobbing. He’s miserable. There’s no relief or joy in the realization that he’s once again an Olympian. 

I’m always a sucker for the trope of “Character does everything possible to reach Goal only to realize that Goal isn’t actually what they want or need at all”, so of course, I was moved to see Apollo learn that he doesn’t actually care much about whether he’s a god or a human anymore. (In fact, he later remarks that he envies Lu’s new ability to grow old and age alongside Meg and her foster siblings.)

I was doubly-moved that Apollo’s restoration to godhood was not an action on Zeus’s part. From what little context we get (a lot happens “off screen” and even Apollo isn’t sure), it appears that Apollo either reclaimed his own godhood through sheer force of will to return from Chaos and reunite with his friends, and/or Styx aided him. But it seems obvious Zeus wasn’t involved, which has HUGE implications for the power structure of the Olympians moving forward.

A lot of us, myself included, had certain expectations for how Apollo’s inevitable reunion with Zeus and the rest of the Olympians would go. I, for one, was excited to see Apollo either tell off his father, or possibly assume a position as the new Camp Half-Blood director or New Rome’s pontifex maximus. Instead, we got a somewhat quiet, but incredibly tense interaction between all the Olympians. The closest thing to an outburst is actually between Hera and Zeus, as she tells him off for not mourning his son Jason, as Apollo did. (Dare I say....I liked Hera for a moment?) (ALSO, I’m fully on-board with the theory that Zeus did not intervene in Jason’s death as a punishment for Jason publicly calling him “unwise” in The Blood of Olympus.)

The whole scene reads as a powder keg. Already, it’s established that Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus (and possibly even Athena and Hera) have no illusions of Zeus’s grandeur. They do not view him as family, or even as a leader. He’s simply just the one with enough power to punish the rest of them when they get “out of line”. 

Apollo began naming Zeus as his abuser fairly early on in the series. Perhaps witnessing the way Meg thinks and speaks about her stepfather Nero made this clear for him. In either case, he begins to explicitly mirror the very same advice he gives Meg in dealing with her abuser: distance yourself from the abusive person/situation, and accept that tyrants do not change and it is not your responsibility to attempt to make them “see the light”. Thus, Apollo makes no appeal or argument to Zeus– he understands by then that it’d be fruitless. Instead, he’s concentrating his energy on doing everything he can do with what he has; he’s committed to being a protector and friend of demigods, and he sees that other gods are beginning to (if not already) see Zeus’s wrongness. (More on this here.)

Was it what I expected going into the book? Nope. But I have to admit that it was really exciting to see Zeus try to hide the very real fear of realizing that his son Apollo is no longer afraid of him, and is quite possibly more powerful than him, too. Apollo switches gears entirely away from Zeus, and focuses his energy back on the friends he’s made and the children he has. It’s a refreshing reminder that it’s often more productive to concentrate on helping others instead of harming those who harm us. 

That being said, I would have liked a few paragraphs or pages discussing what practical differences there will be for the lives of young demigods in the wake of this change. I understand that might not have worked given the very condensed timeline post-returning-to-godhood (the story ends literally the same day or day after), but I do hope and believe that Apollo’s transformation is going to change the way demigods perceive gods-- and what they will expect of gods in the future. Just look at how Apollo is received by the campers at CHB. They’re ecstatic to see him. They think of him as a hero. Apollo is coming back just to help and spend time with his kids, his friends, and the campers, and he’s going to keep coming back. The other gods are certainly going to feel some pressure to follow suit. 

Speaking of Apollo’s reunions...shall we?

I loved that we got to see all the main-players one last time. Mimicking the “tour format” of the series, we get to watch Apollo catch up with his loved ones, who helped him learn how to be a better person throughout his trials.

It was sad, but reassuring, to watch Nico come to terms with Jason’s death. I like how he outlined the differences between Hazel’s and Jason’s deaths, and why he isn’t interfering out of respect for Jason. Watching Jason appear to Apollo (ambiguously as a ghost or as a figment of Apollo’s dream-imagination) was another moving reminder of the stark differences in the ways that different demigods prioritize and think about what it is to be a hero. Jason’s idea and Percy’s idea, for instance, are super different because of the way they were raised. Percy would put anything on the line for his family and friends; so would Jason, of course, but he also has a much broader view of what’s worth sacrificing your life for...which is admirable in ways, but also painfully sad, since a lot has to change in order for Jason’s death to carry weight. Over the course of the last two books, I think it’s very safe to say Jason’s death did change just about everything for the people who knew and loved him, and even those who didn’t. 

Whew. Okay, back to Camp Half-Blood. Nico and Will are clearly now very comfortable with each other, and it’s refreshing to see how they both watch out for each other and bring out the best in one another. I’m excited for their inevitable solo book, but regardless, it’s good to see Nico getting the help he needs (from his own experiences, from Dionysus, Will, etc), and for Rachel to get some distance from her terrible parents by living out her art student dreams in Paris. 

Then, we drop by the Waystation. I simply cannot get over the fact that Calypso is at BAND CAMP. Anyway, it’s unsurprising to find out that she and Leo are still “complicated”, but I’m glad she’s experiencing the highs and lows of mortal life, and that Leo is working on helping out vulnerable youth (and has two mom figures in his life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Glad we get to see Thalia and Reyna both happy and healthy, too.

Next up, Camp Jupiter and New Rome. LOVE that Hazel and Frank have both reclaimed the curses that haunted them since The Son of Neptune. They really both did just...like...basically die to bring down the Big Bad and then come back better than ever. (Side note: I still obviously have issues with the fact that Hazel is SO YOUNG! There was no reason for her not to be 15/16 like the rest of the Argo 2 crew! Ugh.)

Anyway, then we say goodbye to Percy and Annabeth. Except for the annoying continuity error in terms of the timeline of them learning about Jason, I really really really loved this parting moment with them. I know some readers wanted Percy and Annabeth to stay in New York, but it always felt very natural and meaningful for me that they’d want to relocate to New Rome. That was always the Big Dream for most of Heroes of Olympus, and it makes sense to me that they’d choose to live somewhere designed for demigods to actually live and grow old and raise families. Besides, I’m quite certain they’ll frequently be visiting New York. I digress. 

It was super bittersweet to see these two finally off on their own (and basically living together, as Apollo teasingly implies) going to college! Definitely a huge sigh of relief and satisfaction after following all their exploits since they were twelve. I’m so glad we get to see them (all things considered) happy and excited for their new life together. They certainly stepped back in this series, as they deserved. But they still lose Jason, and that’s something that weighs heavily on them and likely always will. Apollo calls Jason “the best of us”, and I don’t think that use of “us” is lost on Percy, Annabeth, or anyone-- Apollo’s identity and alignment is with them now, which will hopefully lead to positive change.

Then, simultaneously the saddest and happiest (?) reunion-- with Piper. This was obviously really heavy, since the last time Apollo sees her is in the wake of Jason’s death. For me, I’m very proud and excited by the fact that Piper is the only character who basically forges a whole new life (outside of the sphere of the Olympians) for herself. She’s far from other demigods and gods, and is committed to reconnecting with her mortal family and making a beautiful life. She has a new friend, too, which is absolutely awesome. (I mean, we all KNEW, right? But it’s really great to see this confirmed on-page.) When Piper told Apollo that he did right by Jason, I definitely lost it. And I also just really loved the final beat with her-- Apollo’s stammering a goodbye, but Piper’s already turned around to walk back to her new friend and her new life.

The final farewell, of course, went to Meg McCaffrey. She’s reclaimed Aeithales, and is now foster-sibling-extraordinaire by rescuing Nero’s other adopted demigods and giving them a new chance. Meg’s really matured and grown into such a kind and strong leader, but it was super bittersweet to see how much she still values Apollo. Their reunion just about broke me. They share a bond that no one else will ever understand, and they brought each other out of darkness that nearly ended them both. I literally can’t think of a better final dialogue than what they share:

You’ll come back?

Always. The sun always comes back. 

I’m fine!!! 

Anyway, this brings me to the closing lines of the story. Just as Percy opens The Lightning Thief by directly addressing the reader, Apollo closes The Tower of Nero by bidding farewell to us. 

Call on me. I will be there for you. 

On so many levels, this line works really well as the ending. For me, and I imagine for you too if you’re reading this, these 15 books are a pillar of our childhoods. We grew up alongside these characters, and found enormous excitement and identity and magic in these pages. The story may have come to a close, but it lives on within us-- it’s something we can return to time and again for enjoyment and understanding.

More than anything, this story pulled off something I didn’t really know was possible: it makes me feel genuinely and enthusiastically glad to be human, no matter how strange or hard it gets.

____________

My fifth-grade teacher assigned The Lightning Thief as mandatory reading when I was ten years old. I picked it up reluctantly, but from the first lines, I just completely fell into this story. Twelve years since that assignment, I’m now a traditionally-published author myself...writing about what else but mythology, of course. These books saw me from elementary school all the way to post-college life. It’s hard to imagine where I’d be without them-- certainly, I’d never have achieved my lifelong dream of becoming an author, nor would I have found such an incredible online community like the one I’ve found here. I consider myself extremely lucky to have grown up alongside these characters and their incredible story. 

I know we’ve likely got more standalones in this world to come, but this is still the end of the saga. I’m sad to see it come to a close, but I’m so ecstatic with the send-off we got, and I’m excited to let the story settle and become a part of me-- something that will always affect how I see the world, something that reminds me of why I write, and something that’s always there to welcome me home.

[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

[shippy-pjo-shipper]

First off I love your blog😍 Bless you for giving us folk who love rarepairs a place to go srly, you're the best <3 Second, thoughts on platonic Alabaster and Nico, like idk I feel this could have so much potential? Complicated feels for CHB, plus being on their own after the war, protective old bros, good kids with bad rep, Claymore being thevoice of reason who reminds this kids to eat, both notice and care for minor gods, maybe All teaching Hazel to use Mist, tbh this could be so wholesome

Thank you, you're so nice! (You guys telling me you like my blog always makes my day, you're welcome ^^^^)

And, ok, listen, the more I read and write about him, the more I love Alabaster. His potential is crazy and I even think that his potential for platonic relationships may be better than for romantic ones.

Of course Alabaster would get along with Hades/Pluton's kids, of course he would take them under his wings, of course he would unintentionally become their big brother!

In like an universe where Nico would get away from CHB after the second Titan War and come across Alabaster (after the Son of Magic events): at first Alabaster would hate him, but really just at first, because he saw Nico helping Percy and bringing Hades in the fight. But soon he would see how sad and broken Nico truly is and he would propose him to stay with him and Claymore.

Nico would keep claiming he doesn't need help, that Claymore is annoying and that Alabaster is no one he wants to be around of, but strangely, that would never be enough for making him leave, he'll never admit it, but he loves it there.

It's Alabaster, seeing Nico so depressed when he first tells him about Bianca, who gives him the idea of trying to pay her a visit in the Underworld and try to bring her back to life. But when Nico goes down, he doesn't find the sister he was expecting, nevertheless he brings Hazel back with him, and this marks the true birth of a crazy found family.

Hazel loves this new family who helps bring up the best of her, abilities like confidence, and quickly becomes a voice of reason along Claymore. They would all find in each other something they were missing and that the mythological world couldn't give them. But when one year later some goddess comes to take Hazel with her to lead her to Camp Jupiter, it's no exaggeration to say that Alabaster is pissed.

And that is how the son of Hecate who hates Olympians more than anything and his ghostly friend end up on a quest to save Olympus. Not that they really care about anything but Hazel and their stupid little brother who got himself trapped in a jar.

That is one of my favorite found family hc of the whole Riordanverse now!!

[skullrock]

the campers, chapter two - Steve x Reader

gif by @harringtown

chapter two: the trainee 

series summary:Steve gets a job as a camp counselor at Camp Know Where, intending on using the summer to discover himself. When things start to go wrong at camp, the only people that can help him are the Party, Hopper, and his mortal enemy - you. [Enemies to lovers, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort]

chapter summary: Steve gets in the swing of things quickly, much to your dismay.

warnings: swearing!

word count: 2.7k

a/n: you can catch up on the series here! hope you enjoy this chapter!

===

Dustin and Steve are luckily paired into the same cabin, but they have different rooms. Steve’s roommate isn’t in when he goes to drop off his things, but Dustin assures that the man, Nico, is a cool dude.

“Not as cool as you though, Steve,” Dustin says, giving him a firm pat on the back. Steve smiles slightly and nods, appreciating the sentiment. Especially after being blasted by you.

“Are you going to tell me what’s up with you and Y/N?”

“No,” Steve says curtly, shutting and locking his room.

Dustin waits a few moments to see if Steve will fess up, but he doesn’t. Actually, Steve sets his jaw tightly, making Dustin even more curious. “I guess you guys don’t like each other, huh?”

“No,” Steve says again. He runs a hand through his hair. “Well - she doesn’t like me.”

“She knew you as Asshole Steve?”

Steve sighs heavily. “Yeah. She knew me as Asshole Steve.”

Dustin shrugs as they start to make their way to their orientations. “You’ll just have to show her how you changed, that’s all.”

Steve scoffs and shakes his head. “It doesn’t even matter.”

Dustin knows he doesn’t mean that, but he stops prodding for answers.

They continue their walk down from the cabins to the activity center, filled with classrooms, the cafeteria, and research labs. Steve enjoys the area already, happy to see the sun glistening off of the lake and the large hemlocks and oaks. The wind smells like pine and juniper, even in the summer, relaxing Steve’s mind. The woods do scare him now, there’s no denying that. But these aren’t the sinister woods behind his house in Hawkins. These woods are welcoming and cheery, bright and charming. Steve loves the open fields for archery and tag, the courts for basketball and tennis. He decides he’d really like to help out with the intramurals, giving up on the science aspect before even getting the chance to explore it.

Steve’s train of thought is derailed when he hears a sweet voice call out, “Dusty-bun?”

Dustin turns on his heel, a smile spreading widely across his face. He runs to meet her halfway, picking her up and twirling her. The girl laughs happily, and they kiss for a moment before Steve clears his throat. “Is this Suzie?”

“It’s Suzie,” Dustin says, sighly happily. “Suzie, this is Steve.”

She extends her hand and Steve takes it, surprised by how firm her grip is. She’s alright, Steve thinks. She’s got this Mormon vibe going on, but her smile is bright and her personality is welcoming. Steve’s happy to find out that Suzie is an actual person, and while she has no Phoebe Cates in her at all, she’s a perfect match for Dustin.

Steve third wheels as they continue to walk towards the activity center, again being pulled back to his thoughts. His mind falls on what you’d said earlier.

It feels like a rock sits in his gut when he thinks about camp when he was younger. He knows he was an asshole, he can feel it in his bones. He knows he hung out with Tommy H. and some other dickheads, and he has glimpses of memories of tripping, pushing, and pranking. But he really doesn’t remember a lot. He’s not sure if he’s from the concussions or because he willed those thoughts out of his memory - but they aren’t there. Only insignificant ones remain. Like how his bedsheets in his cabin were blue and red plaid; how he would wake up at 7:15 to take a walk before Tommy would wake up; he even remembers the bitter taste of the orange juice hitting his tongue at breakfast. It’s like his mind zeroed in on the insignificant things so that the hurtful memories stay in the back of his mind, sitting like a cobra, waiting to strike.

The trio arrives at the activity center.

“I’ll see you tonight, Steve,” Dustin says. “Don’t worry - you’ll do great.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Steve mumbles, anxiety twisting in his gut. “Nice to meet you, Suzie.”

She smiles brightly and starts off, but Dustin stays behind. “Hotter than Phoebe Cates, right?”

Steve forces a smile and nods, giving him a thumbs up. “You really did it, man.”

Dustin winks and walks away, leaving Steve alone and sweating bullets. He hates being alone - he can’t stand being by himself anymore. Especially now that he knows you’re on the loose here, probably plotting some sick pranks. But he forces himself to move his feet up to the orientation check in.

“Name?” a man with the nametag Josh asks.

“Uh, It’s Steve. Harrington.”

He gets his bundle - a nametag, a hat just like Dustin’s, a few lime green and yellow Camp Know Where shirts (reading LEADER on the back), a drawstring bag, some pens, and a notebook. Steve forces himself to not make a face at the shirt - it’s disgusting and it will certainly ruin his chances with the ladies. He’ll wear it - he’s just not happy about it. And, besides, the first girl he interacted with at camp nearly bit his head off, so maybe he shouldn’t be so worried about his chances. Maybe he should be worried about not fucking up this time.

He takes a seat in one of the large lecture halls, sitting as far away from everyone as possible. Nearly everyone who walks in waves at him and sits close, making Steve clench his fists and bounce his legs. He literally does not remember how to be social - it’s like a second language that he forgot. It pains him that he can’t strike up conversations like he used to, but those around him help.

“Hi, I’m Kara,” a girl his age says, sitting down right next to him. “Who are you?”

Steve blinks. “Oh - I’m Steve.”

She reaches out and shakes his hand, smiling. “You’re new, right?”

“Is it that easy to tell?”

Kara laughs. “Don’t worry, Steve - you’ll get the hang of the flow soon enough.”

Okay, maybe he does have a chance with some ladies.

You come into the room, eyes searching for Steve. You see your buddy Kara talking to him and you curse under your breath. She’s not supposed to be friends with him - she’s probably going to try to bone him in the next week, too, and you don’t want that either. You march up to Josh, the leader of leaders, and pull him down to your level. “You cannot - you will not - pair me with Steve Harrington.”

Josh’s brows furrow and he looks up at Steve, remembering him from earlier. “What, you scared of that dork?”

You groan and roll your eyes. “He was such an asshole to me - we used to go to camp together. He made my summers hell, Josh. I can’t be around him.”

Josh pauses and shrugs. “Okay, no problem, I’ll pair him with someone else.”

You sigh in relief and take a seat at the front, where a panel of veteran counselors sit. You try to be social, but the bile keeps rising from your stomach to your throat. You feel sick. You feel like this summer is going to be an absolute nightmare. And while you’re so far beyond who you used to be - that kid who couldn’t even look people in the eye - you’re scared that his presence will revert you back into that little girl. And it’s the last thing you want.

Josh claps his hands a while later, signalling the start of orientation. Steve shifts in his seat and pulls out his notebook and a pen. He doesn’t know shit about note taking, but he reckons he should try. You grab your notebook too, excited to learn and meet with the new folks.

“Welcome to Camp Know Where!” Josh says.

The room erupts in cheers and Steve can feel his old self creeping back in, the insult of dorks running through his head - as if he isn’t clearly one himself. But he composes himself, clapping lightly along with everyone else.

“Here at Camp Know Where, we want to create a welcoming, safe environment for our kids to explore the world through science, math, engineering, and technology.” Steve writes it down quickly, forming the acronym “SMET”, and giggling to himself.

“It’s our job as counselors to facilitate learning in a fun, positive, and energetic way. Through orientation, you’re going to meet your fellow counselors, learn some things, and find a designation at camp. We work with you! If you think you’d be better at doing science, we’ll help you find your place in the classroom. But if you’d like to work with intramurals, we can place you out in nature. However, we still want to make sure everyone has a good grasp at all activities, so you’ll be cycled through everything we have to offer at Camp Know Where.”

Steve writes down “science - intramurals - whatever - know it all.”

“Today, though, we’ll be doing some icebreakers, and then some brainstorming.”

The room erupts in groans, Steve’s perhaps being the loudest.

“Relax, they’re fun.” Josh beams and holds up a clipboard. “I’m going to split everyone off with a partner now. This will be your partner all through camp. You’ll do something with everyone, but your partner is like your mentor. The newer folks will be paired with someone who’s been here a while to help you get in the swing of things.”

You shift in your seat. Maybe you’ll make a new friend - maybe you’ll get along famously - it was an exciting concept.

Or, it is, until Josh calls out, “Y/N and Steve.”

The shit eating grin on his face is unimaginable. He looks down at you, smiling, eyes shining, as if to say, get over it. If you had a bat, you would have hit him with it. Your stomach sinks, it rolls, it twists. Your palms sweat, your head races, but it stays forward, eyes trained on the podium in front of you.

Steve feels the exact same, except his legs are telling him to get the hell out of there. He knows his protests will fall on deaf ears, and who would accommodate him, anyway? He rests his head in his hands as Josh continues to read off names.

“Alright, get with your partner. We’re going to play two truths and a lie!”

Phenomenal, you think. The worst icebreaker of all time, and it’s with Steve Harrington.

You push yourself up out of your seat and force your legs to move towards him, sitting down next to him but a chair away, keeping a distance. Steve’s okay with it - it actually helps him breathe.

The rest of the room fills with laughs and chatter, but you both stare in silence for a long while. Finally, Steve says, “So -”

“We aren’t friends,” you interrupt. “We aren’t friends now, we weren’t friends then, and in the future, we won’t be friends. Got it?”

Steve swallows hard and nods. Despite the dryness in his throat, he tries to apologize. “Look, I know I wasn’t nice when he were kids -”

You scoff. He continues. “But I swear to God, or whatever, I’ve changed. I’m not like that anymore. I - I don’t even hang out with Tommy. I just hang out with Dustin and this girl called Robin, you don’t know her - she’s pretty cool -”

“Save it,” you say harshly. “We can talk since it’s our job, but I don’t care about your life now, and I know you don’t care about mine.”

No icebreakers are played between you - the only thing played is an intense staring contest, which makes you angry and Steve horrified. Finally, Josh claps again, and then the real orientation begins. Josh hands out papers with scenarios on them, the goal being to brainstorm ways to demonstrate good leadership. Things like, a camper is obviously intoxicated - what do you do? and what’s the best way to improve a camper who isn’t doing well?

“Wait,” Steve says as Josh places the paper down. “Are we sw- switching partners?”

“Nope!” Josh says, popping the ‘p’. “Not yet.”

Steve wants to die.

To your surprise, Steve has some pretty phenomenal ideas for how to be a good leader. He even delves into how he would bond with the campers - he’d play sports with them, facilitate idea generating, become someone they can come to and confide in. He wouldn’t shut down their ideas, but rather help them expand on them. You think that he actually has some really good concepts.

“I just want them to trust me, you know?” he says quietly. “I want them to feel like they have a chance and that they can come to me for anything.”

You furrow your brows. “How’d you get these good ideas?”

“Dustin,” he admits, a bit sheepishly. “And some of his friends, too. They’ve helped me understand how to be better at listening and helping and understanding.”

You nod stiffly, not wanting to become too impressed with him. “Well, you have some solid ideas.”

Steve’s eyes widen and brighten. “You think?”

You shrug. “They’re not bad.”

And just like that, Steve feels like he has a purpose.

The room forms back together to go over their responses, and for the first time in his life, Steve offers his perspective in a public setting without being condescending or rude. The feeling of raising his hand was awkward and unknown, but he kept doing it, in love with the nods of support from the other counselors. Someone said he must have a knack for being a leader, and Steve beamed brighter than he had in months.

You, of course, hated it, but you had no authority to tell him to shut up. To you, it seemed fake and, frankly, out of nowhere. But you couldn’t help to agree with some of his points and ideas. You hated it.

You all break for the day at five. You practically run out of the room, gasping in the fresh air outside quickly. Josh walks past you and slaps your back, turning around to smile at you. “Have fun?”

“I will kill you.”

“Can’t wait!”

You’d lost your appetite after the hours spent with Steve, so you stay outside, sitting on a picnic bench and contemplating. You wonder if Steve is right when he says he’s changed. Past Steve would never say such things, would never even bother to put in an effort. But he was giving more of an effort than most people in that room, and it genuinely shocked you. Maybe Dustin had something to do with it - but that seemed improbable, too. The whole thing was so bizarre that it made your head spin and your knees weak.

You see Dustin heading inside and call out for him, beckoning him over. His brows furrow tightly but he walks over, sitting down across from you. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“What’s Steve’s deal?”

“Look, I hated him too,” Dustin says. “I mean, I really hated him. Like, I wanted to punch him -”

“I get it.”

“Right. But he’s changed. He got sober really fast a few years back and he hasn’t been the same since.” Dustin pauses, choosing his words carefully. “A lot of stuff has happened to him… and I think it’s changed him for the better. He’s been through a lot. He’s just trying to find himself now. That’s why he’s here.”

You sigh heavily. “You think he’s better?”

“I know he’s better.” Dustin smiles. “And that’s why I think you should give him a chance.”

“No way,” you scoff. “He never gave me a chance.”

“Shouldn’t stoop to past Steve’s level.” Dustin’s smile widens. “You’ll hurt your back.”

You roll your eyes. You don’t want this kid to be right, but you know he is.

“Just - give him a chance, please? He really deserves one. He’s my best friend… he deserves a shot.”

You sigh again. “Fine.”

===

taglist (join here!):  @troop-scoop @therealestdookie @jasontoddisfantastical @mybestfriendthedingus @anonymousonion23 @darth-el @unknownherelm @random-thoughts-003 @metuel18 @dark-academics-and-florals @magicstrengthandcourage @mathchampagne @magnitude101999 @yall-wildin-like-siriusly @sunshine-and-riverwater @dark-academics-and-florals @scooprtroopr @heart-eye-harrington @sourapplebaby​ @comedy-witch​

[buoyantsaturn]

Bring On The Monsters (7/8)

chapter title: They Find Out The Truth, Sort Of

word count: 3,203

read on ao3

Bianca had flagged down a cab, then pried the credit card out of Nico’s hand when the driver refused to cart around three kids. He still seemed hesitant to take them all the way to Los Angeles, but Bianca had already shoved the two boys into the backseat. 

For the first half of the drive, Will wouldn’t stop asking questions about the 1930s, practically bouncing in his seat and firing off questions so fast that sometimes Nico and Bianca wouldn’t even have the chance to answer - not that they were all too eager to give anything away, anyway. Ever since arriving at camp, neither of them had had much memory of their time before the Lotus. Somehow, though, despite what Nico thought was pretty obvious discomfort on their part, Will kept asking away. 

Bianca finally shut him up eventually, claiming that if he didn’t stop, she was going to throw him out into the desert, and if he was lucky then they’d swing by and pick him up again on their way back to New York. Nico just hoped that their driver didn’t find anything usual about their conversation - at least not enough to alert the authorities. 

They dozed off for about an hour, Nico finding himself squished between two sleeping demigods as he watched the endless desert road out the windshield. Then, sometime in between blinks, Nico fell asleep as well, and woke to the sound of conversation. 

“What kind of responsible adult would I be if I let three kids wander the streets in the middle of the night?” the driver was telling them, twisted in his seat to look at them as he spoke. “Nah, I’m gonna take you to a police station or something.” 

“No, don’t!” Will shouted, and Bianca reached around Nico to shove at his shoulder. 

“What he means is,” Bianca started, “that’s really not necessary. My dad owns this recording studio, and he’s actually waiting for us, so it’s really fine if you just drop us off right here. Promise.” 

The driver still looked skeptical. “This building right here?” He pointed out the passenger window, glancing between it and the demigods. “Alright, but I’m gonna hang out right here until you all get inside, okay? And if you have any problems, I can drive you over to the nearest police station.” 

“Thank you, that’s very kind,” Bianca said as she pushed open the car door. It was a good thing that Nico was already awake beside her, even if he hadn’t done anything to make that clear, because she simply grabbed his arm and dragged him outside with her. Will followed behind out the same door and hurried to catch up with Bianca before she could open the door to the building. 

“Wait!” Will hissed.

“What?” Bianca asked, turning to face him with a hand on the door. “We can’t let that guy think there’s a problem.” 

“But...what do we do when we’re inside?” Will asked. “Aren’t we going to have to pretend that we’re, you know, dead? They’re not just going to let us in otherwise!” 

“I guess we’ll see what happens,” Bianca replied, and ripped the door open. She led the way in, holding tightly to Nico’s hand as she walked inside, then came to a halt in the lobby. It was practically bursting with people despite the late hour, so much so that they could barely see across the room. 

Will stopped beside them and looked around, just as the two siblings were doing, though he seemed more confused than surprised. “It’s so...empty. I know it’s late and all, but I didn’t think it’d be empty.”

Nico and Bianca traded a look, just as one of the people walked straight through them. 

Right, Nico thought. Ghosts.

Bianca lifted her chin and walked across the room, though some of the shades though many seemed to part for them. They acted like they had some form of respect for Nico and Bianca, though they watched Will with confusion and disdain. Nico figured it was probably a good thing that Will couldn’t see them. 

Bianca stepped up to the counter and cleared her throat. “Um. Hello.” 

The man behind the counter raised an eyebrow, amused. “Can I help you?” 

“Yes,” she answered. “We’ve recently found ourselves, um. Dead.”

“Sure you have,” the man replied with a nod. “The di Angelos, right? And...friend. Your dad’s waiting for you downstairs.” He stood, revealing an expensive black suit, and started toward one corner of the room to a set of elevator doors. “My name is Charon. Right this way, please. Can’t keep the boss waiting.” 

“How did you know who we are?” Nico asked as Charon gestured for them to enter the elevator.

“I’ve been expecting you,” Charon replied, as if that was an answer. “And you’re clearly not dead.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Nico saw Bianca elbowing Will in the side. 

“Hold on tight!” Charon announced as the doors shut in front of them, and suddenly they found themselves knocked off their feet. Nico landed hard on the wood plank seat of a boat, Will and Bianca in single file behind him while Charon stayed on his feet in front of them. He didn’t row the boat at all, just seemed to will it forward toward a black sand beach. 

Nico was distracted, studying the smooth fabric of the hooded robe that Charon’s suit had melted into, and jumped when the man spoke again. He’d turned to glance at Nico over his shoulder, though instead of a man, Nico only saw a skeleton underneath the hood. “Show me your sword, boy.” 

Nico scrambled to unsheath the weapon, holding it out for Charon to take. “This one?” he asked, as if he had another sword to show off.

Charon took it from his hand, and with no hesitation at all, flung the sword into the river. 

“Hey!” Nico exclaimed. “What was that for?” 

Charon turned forward once more, and Nico couldn’t know for sure, but he thought the ferryman replied, “No cursed weapons beyond this point.” 

Nico turned back to Will and whispered, “Did he say cursed?” 

Before Will could respond, the boat shuddered to a stop, and Charon announced, “Here we are. Watch your step. We wouldn’t want anyone taking an accidental dip, now, would we?” 

Nico wasn’t sure, but he thought Charon had looked past him to Will, but it was hard to tell since Charon didn’t exactly have eyes. Nico climbed out of the boat onto a dock, offered a hand to help Will out, then the two boys pulled Bianca out together. 

“Which way do we go?” Bianca asked. 

“The palace won’t be difficult to locate,” Charon answered as he pushed off from the dock, and the boat started back across the river. 

Bianca huffed. “Well, that wasn’t very helpful.”

Will replied, “I don’t think it needed to be.” He was facing away from the other two, and when Nico turned to see what Will was looking at, his jaw dropped. 

The palace was at least a mile away, but massive, made from obsidian and gold. Even from such a distance, it seemed to loom over them - them, and the millions of shades that were filing through the gates of the Underworld. 

“I guess we go that way,” Nico said, and started walking. 

He noticed quickly that, while he and Bianca attempted to avoid any contact with the shades, Will simply walked straight through them. Like he didn’t see them at all. His suspicion was confirmed when they approached the gates after a few minutes and Nico and Bianca froze at the sight of the three headed dog Cerberus. Will, though--

“Will!” Nico exclaimed, lunging forward and grabbing at his backpack to yank him backwards, just as Cerberus’s left head swung down to snap at him. Will landed on his butt on the cracked, dry ground after being pulled off his feet by Nico.

“What was that for?” he demanded as he got back up.

Bianca gestured up toward Cerberus’s heads. “Do you not see the giant dog?”

“Dog?” Will repeated, spinning around with his eyes the size of dinner plates as he searched for the dog. “Where’s the puppy?” 

“Will,” Nico said, drawing his friend’s attention back to him. “Do you not see the ghosts?” 

Will frowned. “Do...you see ghosts?” 

“We don’t have time for this,” Bianca said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m going to try to distract Cerberus. Nico, try to get Will past without letting him get eaten.”

“Cerberus?” Will repeated, his eyes snapping toward the dog, though he still didn’t seem to register the monster. 

“It might be the Mist,” Nico explained. “Just try to focus, Will. Concentrate on seeing through the Mist, and look at Bianca.” 

Will squeezed his eyes shut for a count of three, and when they opened again, they opened wide. “Oh, that’s a big boy.” 

“You can see him?” Nico asked. “Can you see the ghosts?” 

It took a second for Will to tear his eyes away from Cerberus, but when he did, he flinched, then jumped to the side as a shade almost walked through him. “Where did these guys come from?” 

“They were here the whole time,” Nico replied, and grabbed Will’s arm. “C’mon, we should go while Bia has Cerberus distracted.” 

The boys started forward, hesitantly, watching as Bianca reached out toward Cerberus with an open palm. Cerberus placed his middle chin in her hand, and his tail started to wag. “Good boy,” Nico heard her say just before the dog’s right head licked her arm. 

Once they were behind him, Nico called back for his sister. He heard her promise to come back soon, and then she was running to her brother’s side. 

They still had a long walk ahead of them. They wandered through Asphodel, saw Elysium from afar, and walked along a cliffside that didn’t seem to have an end on the other side. 

“What’s down there?” Nico asked, trying to peer over the edge without getting any closer - not that he would have seen anything anyway, not with the thick fog that concealed whatever laid below. 

“Punishment?” Will offered. 

“No, that’s on the other side of the palace,” Bianca replied. “That’s… Whatever that is, it’s worse.” 

Nico moved away from the edge. 

When they reached the palace doors, the pair of skeletal guards outside welcomed them in. If vacant stares and subtle shifting could be considered welcoming. The doors closed behind them with a thundering boom.

They continued straight ahead until they entered a grand throne room, where the floors were a solid black marble and the columns surrounding them were made from skulls of different animals - though, primarily, human. 

Nico wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he met his father, but this certainly wasn’t it. Hades looked like any other person, only deathly pale and wearing a toga so black it seemed to suck the color out of the room around him. He looked...like Nico. He looked like the person that Nico could easily become in another twenty years or so. 

Nico definitely didn’t expect his father to look happy, but that definitely had to be due to the woman perched on the arm of his throne. She was the only splash of color in the room (aside from Will) with a dress that reflected every color of the surface’s summertime, curled auburn hair, and warm skin. She looked like she didn’t belong in such a cold, dark place, and it wasn’t until Nico saw the fond look in his father’s eyes that he realized who she was. 

The trio stopped a short distance from the throne, and Hades finally tore his eyes away from his wife to acknowledge them. “Children,” he greeted, and any kindness in his eyes vanished as he added, “and guest.”

“Be nice,” Persephone chided with a tap to her husband’s shoulder. 

“Persephone?” Will said with confusion in his tone, and he snapped his jaw shut after realizing that he’d spoken out of turn. “Sorry! Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting-- I mean, it’s summer, so I thought-- Ow!” Bianca stomped on Will’s foot, forcing him to shut up.

“It’s alright, dear,” Persephone said kindly, and turned her gaze back to Hades. “I’m just here on a weekend trip to visit my husband while he’s in a mood.”

Hades huffed, not unlike the way Nico and Bianca tended to. “I am not--” Persephone raised an eyebrow, and Hades sighed. “Yes, dear.” Hades turned his attention back to the demigods. “Children,” he said again, this time apparently deciding to ignore Will altogether, “I believe this meeting is far overdue. I am...very happy to see you both again.” 

“Again?” Bianca repeated. “You’ve seen us before?” 

“Of course,” Hades answered. “I helped raise you before your mother...passed.” 

“What happened?” Nico asked. “To… To our mom, to us.”

Will nudged him with his elbow and whispered, “And the bolt.” 

“And Zeus’s bolt,” Nico added. 

Hades took a breath. “I suppose I should start at the beginning. You are familiar with the oath between my brothers and I?” Nico nodded. “I never broke it. Both of my brothers have, and their children have suffered because of it, but I had no desire to put either of you through that pain. The oath was made shortly after you were born, Nico, so Zeus believed that I had broken it. He tried to kill you, both of you, but I was able to protect you just before he struck. Your mother...was not so lucky.” 

Persephone set a comforting hand on Hades’s shoulder, and he covered it with one of his own. Nico found himself surprised by the gesture, having assumed that his step-mother would be upset hearing about her husband’s affair. Maybe seventy years had been enough time for her to get over it.

“I put you in the Lotus to protect you,” Hades continued. “He couldn’t see you there, because that place doesn’t exist in time the same way that the rest of the world does. However, recently, things have been...stirring, and I felt the need to pull you out. The timing wasn’t perfect, I know, but I had also hoped that you two would be able to clear my name after the Master Bolt disappeared.”

“Why couldn’t you just tell Zeus that you’re innocent?” Bianca asked. 

Hades scoffed. “You think anyone listens to me? Of course not! And they certainly wouldn't believe me now that you’ve brought the bolt straight to me.” 

Nico choked on his next breath. “We did what?”

Hades raised an eyebrow, as if surprised that they didn’t already know. “You received a gift on your journey, yes?” 

Bianca slid the straps of her backpack off her shoulders and held it out toward Hades. “Ares gave this to us a few days ago.” 

He nodded to the bag. “Look inside.” 

She set the bag on the ground and knelt beside it as she unzipped the main pouch. Bianca reached inside and brought out a cylinder of blue electricity that absolutely radiated power. Her jaw dropped open at the sight, and she looked back to her father. “So… Ares--?”

“Please, as if he’s smart enough to plot something like that,” Hades replied. “No, it was not my nephew. I have my suspicions as to who could have--” He shook his head. “But it’s not possible. I cannot say, because even I can’t believe that it could be true.” 

Nico shifted his weight uneasily.

Hades waved a hand dismissively. “Please, dear, put that thing away. You will need to take it to Olympus right away, and you can’t let anything happen to it on your journey.” 

Bianca returned the bolt to her bag and stood. “But it took us so long to get here. How are we supposed to get back to Olympus before the solstice?” 

“I believe your friend here will be able to direct you,” Hades said, nodding toward Will. 

“Me?” Will squeaked. 

“The Underworld is connected to everything, all across the world. There is even an entrance a short distance from Olympus,” Hades told them. “The same doors that Orpheus used when he attempted to steal back Eurydice will be your exit. Please, children, feel free to use those doors to visit, whenever you’d like, at least until you both learn to master shadow travel. I would...very much like to see you both again. Under less stressful circumstances.” 

“Shadow travel?” Nico repeated. 

Hades hummed. “It would seem that you’ve already tried it once. Perhaps someday I’ll be able to teach you to focus your energy, so that you won’t collapse immediately afterwards.”

“You mean he really did teleport?” Will exclaimed, and Hades’s gaze hardened again. Will took half a step behind Nico. 

“We’ll walk you out,” Hades said as he rose from his throne, and offered a hand to Persephone to help her to her feet. “Please, follow me.” 

Hades started leading them out of the throne room through a side door, and as they entered a long hallway, Will grabbed Nico’s hand and hissed, “Should we be trusting him?” 

Nico frowned. “He’s my dad. He’s helping us.” 

Will didn’t seem entirely happy, but he nodded. He didn’t let go of Nico’s hand. 

“I understand that you don’t have your own cabin at camp, is that right?” Hades asked, glancing back at them over his shoulder. “You should know that if you ever tire of crowding in with the other campers, I have many empty rooms here. You could each have your own space. And you wouldn’t have to stay forever, even just a - what did you call it, dear? - weekend visit.” He opened another door and led them out of the palace. From there, they had a perfect view of the Fields of Punishment. 

They stepped out into a garden, and the pale, skeletal flora and fauna all seemed to turn toward them. Persephone stepped to the side to tend to her garden and allow her husband a moment to say goodbye. 

“Your exit is on the edge of Punishment,” Hades told them, pointing out across the palace grounds. “On the other side of Sisyphus’s hill, there is a set of stairs. Take those up to the surface.” He turned back to the demigods and set a hand on Bianca’s shoulder. “I really do hope to see you both again.” He pressed a kiss to the top of his daughter’s head, then turned to do the same to his son. 

Hades stepped back and held his hands behind his back, gazing down at them sternly. “But do not, under any circumstances, even think about bringing any more sunny Apollo spawn into my realm, unless they are already dead.” 

Will squeezed Nico’s hand and moved to step behind Nico once more, but bumped into someone as he did so. 

Persephone wound an arm around Will’s shoulders from behind and set her chin on top of his head. “Oh, but dear, the plants love him!” she said to her husband, and Nico watched as Will’s cheeks grew pink. “Can’t we keep him a little while longer?” 

Bianca grinned. “He’s all yours!” 

thanks for reading!

buy me a coffee

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

His Blood Runs Gold II

Percy is a God: Part II

Here’s my masterlist for the next part and my other stuff

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

we’re just kids

we aren’t supposed to be heroes.

It had been three months since his birthday, and last visit to Camp when Percy was summoned by demigods once more. This time, the call of Latin rushing through the waters.

New Rome. It never failed to amaze him. The stone buildings, and cobbled streets. The cafes bursting with energy and the people bustling as if the only care is whether there’s enough whipped cream in their Frappuccino. It is his eternal amusement that New Rome somehow mixed American culture and Italian heritage so well that it offended both Italians and Americans.

Percy walked through the Little Tiber and relished in the fact that the water no longer leeched him of power, but embraced him as if saying welcome, it’s nice to know you.

“Oh well if it isn’t Percy Jackson,” A husky, rolling voice called.

Percy smiled wide and unrestrained as he took in the sight of his friend and former co-praetor.

“Good Morning Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano,”

“A good morning indeed if I get to see you.”

He laughed and embraced her. It was this relationship that had perhaps, changed the most since their initial encounters. Reyna had become a source of steadiness, and common sense during his time of immortality. After fighting side by side in the Giant War Percy had thanked her personally for the Athena Parthenos, for looking after Nico. Most importantly he stood beside her as they had a proper ceremony for Scipio and when all the tears had dried, Percy had manipulated the waves to look like a horse ready to fly and Reyna had laughed and cried, and hugged him so tight he wondered if she’d leave an imprint in the shape of her on his ribcage. But he had hugged her back and they had walked to the stables, donuts in hand, to say hello to the pegasi there.

When he chose to accept godhood, that second time, after the second war, it was Reyna who walked him through the power; who trained him to handle it. Although she didn’t have ichor running through her veins, she knew how to handle power, how to have control. They had spent many long days, and even longer nights practicing that control.

“I was called here by someone,” He said, as they walked towards the camp.

“Mhm,” She frowned, “Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

And with a quick hello to the border sentries, the two strolled into the heart of New Rome. There were many stops, and hellos, and how are you’s on the way to the temple. Percy paused often and happily, as he greeted old friends and learned the names of new ones.

It was Frank, however, who caught them on their last stretch.

“Percy!”

They barreled into each other, laughing as Frank lifted him clean of his feet. The brothers saw each other as often as their schedules would allow. Sometimes it was in the form of fish and friend at Poseidon’s palace. Sometimes it was an Iris message that simply made sure they were both alive.

“How are you?” Frank asked, slinging an arm over his shoulder.

“I’m just the same thank you. Can’t complain when I get to eat as many of mom’s cookies as I want and just change into a fish to swim off the calories.”

Frank laughed, loud and boisterous, it was the only thing that contrasted his usual shy personality.

“Where are you and my favourite Praetor off too?”

“I’m your only Praetor Frank,” Reyna rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips.

“That’s why you’re my favourite!”

She shook her head, laughing.

“I’m here,” I said, “Because someone summoned me.”

“Oh,” Frank frowned, and immediately he changed from goofy brother to son of Mars and Praetor to New Rome.

“Wanna head up to the temple with us?”

“No, no just let me know who it is. I actually have to snatch Reyna. There’s been some arguments between the cohorts and we have to sort it out before someone challenges someone to do something stupid.

Percy smiled, “Go ahead, I’ll let you know who called for me.”

With a final hug from both of them, they hurried into another building and out of sight. He loosed a soft breath, turning to walk the rest of the way.

And when Percy stepped onto the marble floors of the temple, he was suddenly very glad Reyna and Frank had things to do, because leaning against the wall, eyes closed, hands stuffed into pockets was Jason Grace.

 “I didn’t know if you would come,” The son of Jupiter spoke, eyes still closed, leg propped against the wall like caring was too much of an effort.

“I didn’t know who called, and I don’t make a habit of ignoring my summons.” Percy stood stock-straight at the entrance.

Jason didn’t do anything, didn’t say anything for a long while. Once, years ago, Percy would have fidgeted and hopped and paced, unable to stop moving, but now he could stand for hours, waiting, watching, being. It was as if time, once a waterfall racing to reach the bottom, had slowed to droplets that caught themselves on every nook and cranny before falling delicately to the pool below.

“I wanted to ask you,” Jason finally started, “If you would guide me on a quest?”

Percy startled, staring at his former friend in shock, “But I thought you hated me?” He spluttered.

“I don’t hate you Percy. I can’t hate you.” The blonde finally turned to him.

“You completely cut me off after the War? You didn’t even come near me for weeks?”

“Can we not get into this right now? I had- have my reasons, but I need your guidance on this one.”

“Of course, I’ll protect you. That’s literally what I’m the god of.”

“Thank you,” A sigh escaped the demigod. “I leave tomorrow.”

“What is the quest?”

“I have to retrieve the Arrows of Cupid, Eros, whatever.” A strong jaw clenched.

“Why you?”

A sour grin graced his features, “Why not?”

“There is always a reason.” Percy said softly, trying to catch those blue eyes.

Jason’s laugh was bitter, “Apparently ever since mine and Nico’s encounter with the lovely divinity he has taken a liking to my ‘courage and love for my friends.’”

“And what other demigods are supposed to be with you?”

“No-one. Eros wants me to do it alone.”

“But quests have to be in groups of three.”

“I know, I tried explaining that, but he just laughed and said, ‘What is three Jason Grace, but a number?’ and then left.”

“Where are you going first?”

“The Oracle said I need to follow the north star. I don’t know how in Hades’ name I’m supposed to do that but whatever, that’s tomorrow’s problem.”

Percy nodded, “Okay, well I’ll see you then, I guess.”

“Bye,” Jason gave a curt nod.

“Bye Grace.” He hid the hurt unfolding in his eyes and started out the temple.

“Jackson,”

“Yea?” He turned.

“Thank you, for doing this.”

“Anything for you.”

***

Percy met Jason at sunset on the outskirts of Camp Jupiter.

“Let’s get this over with,” Jason scowled, hefting his backpack and walking through the Little Tiber.

“Well hello to you too.” Percy raised a brow.

“Sorry,” The blonde winced, “I didn’t get a good sleep last night.”

“Well I hope the rest of the quest isn’t so dower. I’d hate to have to share my mom’s cookies with someone who looks like they’d rather be anywhere else.”

“You brought cookies?” Blue eyes widened in surprise.

“Yea, I went to visit my mom before I left, and she insisted I bring you some since you used to love them so much.” He shrugged

“Oh, well tell her I said thank you.”

“You can tell her yourself when we get back.”

Jason mumbled something under his breath but before Percy could ask him to repeat it a storm came barreling towards them.

“Hi Tempest, thanks for coming buddy.”

“Are we to be travelling by air?” Percy asked anxiously.

“I figured it’d be easier to follow the star if I was above the clouds.”

Percy knew Zeus wouldn’t zap him with lightning, but he was still wary of taking to the skies. He spent some moments contemplating while Jason got himself situated on the storm made beast.

“You coming?”

Holding back a wave of fear he nodded, and with a flick of his hand shaped a cloud into a pegasus.

“I name you Zarya.” Percy said softly. The winged animal blinked, once, twice and then looked at Percy and bowed its head.

With a soft brush down its strong neck, he mounted.

Jason stared at him.

“What? Is everything okay?”

“You can just do that now? Just create animals out of thin air?”

“I can only manipulate water but yes I can create animals.”

The demigod just stared at him before shaking his head and tapping his horse.

Before Percy could blink, they were gone.

“What am I going to do with him Zarya?”

The Pegasus didn’t respond but Percy could feel it’s noncommittal shrug.

“Not a talker, are you?”

“Hardly anyone to talk to, my Lord.”

“Oh please, none of that ‘my lord’ stuff. My friends rinse me enough. Percy will do just fine.”

He could feel her laugh. “Ready to go then Percy?”

“Lead the way.”

They caught up to the storm and his stallion, in half a breath.

“Trying to get rid of me that easily Grace?”

“If it was that easy, I’d be questioning your godly hood.” He threw a smirk over his shoulder.

“Oo ouch,” Percy put a hand to his chest.

Jason laughed and it may have been the most glorious sound the God had ever heard.

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

Give me your thoughts, darling warriors!

Tags (If you want to be added to the tag list just let me know, all my channels of communication are open):

@thepersonyourparentswishyouwere

@lesbian-peanuts

@thegirlwiththegoldenarm

@nishlicious-01 (So you can stop shouting at me about not getting to read my fanfics)

[lifeofroos]

Part 23. That I got this far already might be crazy,,,,,,

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. In recent chapters, Nico has been trying to make amendments with his father. Now, he and Hades decide to go somewhere together, somewhere were Nico has an interesting revelation. The rest of the story is on AO3 and FanFiction.net! (Also in tags like Nico di angelo, fanfiction, trails of apollo etc. and here).  This might be crazy: Chapter 23: Black Coffee

‘Hey!’ I screamed as soon as I set foot into my fathers’ palace. 

‘Don’t go into the throne room!’ was my the warm welcome I got from my father. Today, I decided to listen to his wisdom. I went to the living room instead. Lo and behold, my father was there. 

‘Hey, dad.’

‘Because the last hey was just a general hey, not specifically meant for anyone in this palace where I am alone right now.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Dad, there are also spirits and skeletons in here. Thanatos might be hanging around as well.’

‘Hm.’ He was sitting on the couch, with some paper. I wondered what he was doing with it. He could be something harmless like making a sudoku, but he could also be writing Persephone a love letter (or at least trying to do so) or counting out how many souls there needed to go to The Fields of Asphodel to hit ten billion residents this year. Alright, some of those things might have been hyperbolic, but he really was doing strange, unforseen stuff sometimes. 

‘What is it that you want?’ he threw the papers to the other side of the couch 

‘I just wanted to see how my father was doing. Like regular teens do.’

He arched his brow. ‘Regular teens don’t randomly go to see what they’re parents are doing.’ Yes, well dad, good job figuring out that we are not a regular family. 

‘Well, I do.’ 

‘Hm.’

‘So, what were you doing?’

‘Nothing.’ He reached towards the papers and stuffed them under the pillows. ‘What were you doing before you came here?’

Hm. ‘I was training before, until I got some free time. Will was working in the infirmary, so I decided to go see you instead.’

‘Oh.’ He looked at his hands. ‘Ah-ha. Uhm, well, this time I actually have an idea about what you can do.’

I raised my eyebrows. ‘Really?’

‘Yes. We, uh… need special new chairs.’ I did not want to find out what he meant by special. ‘And someone needs to get them from Hephaestus’ workshop. Persephone still has to be on the surface for two months and I need them statt…’

‘We could go get them together,’ I quickly piped in. I was not going to be send out alone.

Hades stared at me. ‘...Yes,’ he answered. I could not make out if it was a ‘yes, I meant that the entire time’ or a ‘well, that is possible too.’ 

‘Well, then.’ It was silent for a few seconds. ‘When are we leaving?’

‘Right now.’ 

Less then a second later, before I had even noticed that my dad had teleported us, we were standing in front of Hephaestus’ workshop. Something about the place made me nervous. The doors were humongous, much bigger than any other gate I had ever seen. The doors of death would look like they belonged to a dollhouse compared to this. I heard my dad take a deep breath.

‘You’re not nervous, right?’ I asked. It came out before I knew, but my dad was so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even heard it. 

The gate opened with a creaking sound. The place was even more gigantic from the inside. It was hot and it was cold, it was blinding and it was dark, it was gorgeous and it was horrible. Slowly, and both more than a little nervous, we walked inside. 

When we were about ten metres in,  my fathers’ voice suddenly boomed through the workshop: ‘Hephaestus! Where are you?’ The sound bounced off from the walls, which amplified it even more. I pressed my hands against my ears. My dad shot a look at me. ‘Oh, sorry.’ 

‘It’s okay.’ 

We heard a clicking sound coming from the right. A few seconds later, Hephaestus appeared. I held my breath when I saw him. I’d be used to it in no-time, I tried to tell myself. But he was hideous.

‘Hades.’ He turned his attention to us. I looked at the ground. ‘Who’s the youngling?’

‘My son.’ It felt good when dad said that. He did not say it with a lot of affection, more as a matter of fact, but it felt good. 

Hephaestus nodded, with a boording expression. ‘Your chairs are in the back. You can take a look at them.’

‘Nico…’

‘He’s staying here.’

‘What? No.’

‘Hades, this is my workshop. I don’t want your son barging around.’

My father said an ancient curse that I did not understand. He went in the back without giving us another look. 

Hephaestus turned to me. ‘I’ll follow him soon.’ His voice was suddenly a lot softer. I looked up at him and forced myself to keep looking. ‘But I need to ask you if you are doing alright. You are the Nico di Angelo, right?’ 

‘Yes, I am.’ He reached for a thermoscan and a stack of metal cups that were seemingly just lying around and poured out two black coffees. I put my hand against my metal cup (which was just the right temperature, as if it was a metal cup made by a magical blacksmith), but did not dare to take a sip. 

‘I heard from my children that Dionysus is helping you with a few problems you have.’ 

‘Yes, he is… your children?’

Hephaestus snickered softly. ‘After… after the Titan war, and after my son Leo finished his first quest I… I decided it wasn’t enough to help my children from a distance. I…’ he shrugged and gestured at one of the walls, which was covered from top to bottom with crummy and slightly less crummy projects. ‘I have been collecting stuff my kids made forever, but I realised I needed to be there for them in the flesh as well, no matter how difficult it might be. Last time I was at the camp to visit them, I wanted to have a chat with Dionysus, because he is my best friend and I haden’t seen him for some time. That is when my children said he was busy helping you.’ He scratched the back of his neck.

‘Oh.’ Wow. Someone had really been trying to make amends. 

‘Eh, but what I actually wanted to say… you can trust Dionysus. He will help you. He won’t tell your secrets to anybody else. He helped me too, when I was wrapped up in feelings of guilt and revenge.’ He patted my shoulder. It felt like I was being crushed under a boulder. 

‘Ergh. Yes, I know. Thanks, lord. He is helping me feel better actually.’ 

‘That is... that is good.’ The blacksmith studied his cup, before downing it all at once. ‘You know...’ 

‘Hephaestus!’ My dad called from the other side of the workshop. ‘They are good, I guess, but how do I deactivate them?’ Hephaesus stopped talking and stared at an unknown point for some time. Then, he shook his head. ‘Let’s go see how your dad is doing.’

While we were walking to the back, I absentmindedly took a sip of coffee. I just managed to keep it inside. It tasted like motor oil. I much prefered Dionysus’ drinks. 

‘So. That has been fixed,’ Hades said, when we were back in his palace. I nodded. 

‘Uh-huh.’ 

He turned around, but did not make eye contact. ‘Uh…  I did not plan to take you to Hephaestus’ workshop. I just had to be there, and…’ he shrugged.

I shrugged back. ‘And you did not want to go alone.’

‘I would have gone alone otherwise. Of course.’ He turned back to the chairs. ‘Eh…’ another shrug. So I shrugged again as well. ‘I… you have been coming over more often recently. Is that… because you like it here? With me?’

I stared ahead of me. Suddenly, I noticed that I had never let go of the metal coffee cup. I took another sip and it tasted just as horrible. ‘Well, I have noticed that you want to put in the time and effort to spend time with me as well. And I like some of the time spend together.’ 

Hades stared at the weird furniture. What did he even need these torturous looking chairs for? They obviously weren’t for visitors or for himself, but he did place them in the living room. ‘So… not all the time.’

‘Some moments have been rough. But… that is only to be expected. The more time we spend together, the better it has become. Today was nice. Weirdly enough, I… I liked going to Hephaestus' workshop.’ Which wasn’t completely because of you, but then again, without you I wouldn’t have been there at all.

‘Eh… me too. I mean I liked spending time with you too.’ He shrugged again. ‘I hope… I hope we will have a relationship that can be called healthy when Persephone comes back. Then we can… adjust to that together.’ I did not fully comprehend the implication. ‘Will you work towards that, with me?’ As if I had not been the person clearly working the hardest. However, the spirit was there. 

‘Yes. Of course.’ I got a smirk on my face. Next time we have a father-son appointment we’ll go to home depot.’ 

‘To what?’

‘Let’s call it Hephaestus’ workshop, but way less cool and for mortal dads.’

‘Yes, well, we’ll think about it.’ So that’s a no. Drab. Oh well, it had been more of  a joke anyway. ‘Cool.’ Almost instinctively, I took another sip of coffee. This time, I spat it out. ‘Oh god, this is gross.’

‘Did you get that at Hephaestus’ place?’

‘Yes, but I did not plan to bring it here, or drink even a drop of it for that matter.’

‘I hope so.’ He shifted. ‘Dionysus helped Hephaestus, too, I heard. Eh… perhaps he should also have taught his friend how to properly make drinks.’ 

I snickered. ‘He should’ve. But then he might have put Dionysus out of business. Hephaestus is clearly much more efficient.’ 

‘Hm.’ Hades looked like he would not be incredibly sad about that. 

‘Eh… but I have to go back to training now.’ 

‘Okay. You’ll come again, right?’ I looked at him. He wanted me to come back, he really did. 

‘Yes, of course, dad.’  I put too much effort into mending this relationship to stop now.

He smiled and patted me on the arm. ‘Bye.’

‘Bye,’ I said, while slowly turning around. 

I was smiling when I came into camp. I felt like it was going better. But slowly, I began having doubts. I’d have to talk about those with Dionysus next time.

A/N: When I began this chapter, I did not plan on writing about Hephaestus, it just came to me while writing. Now it seems like the best part of the chapter. 

I toyed with the idea of having them go to IKEA, but that seemed out of style. Perhaps in a future chapter, if I get crazy enough (And honestly, this chapter already seemed out of my usual writing style).

I am not sure whether I should have shown some of the harder father-son sessions. Perhaps I’ll do that later. I wanted to do this, I thought it was more fun for both myself and for the people reading this (Who I appreciate very very much). 

I am thinking of a chapter where Nico talks to Apollo and where he talks to Hephaestus. But first Apollo needs to become an actual god again  I guess. That part will be out in a week or so.

[loving-jack-kelly]

Percy Jackson Died

Percy Jackson died.

He was old enough, he supposed, older than so many of his friends he’d watched die, but not really old. Old enough he was tired, and suddenly finding himself in the lobby he recognized from when he was twelve years old was disconcerting but not particularly surprising.

After all, he was a half-blood, and being a half-blood often got you killed in very nasty ways.

But still.

Percy Jackson died.

Charon remembered him.

“Drown in any bathtubs recently?” he asked dryly, but he waved Percy’s apologies for not having a coin to offer him. “You paid me for passage once and it clearly didn’t stick.”

So Percy Jackson died, and he crossed the River Styx on the ferry, and this time, when he arrived in the Underworld, Cerberus was completely visible.

Last time he came to the Underworld to see Hades, he’d entered the fast-moving line and stepped into the fields of Asphodel. This time, he waited in line to see the judges.

He’d saved the world more than once, they’d better give him something better than eternal stasis.

“Percy Jackson.” Daedalus greeted him warmly, arms full of blueprints and a full toolbelt wrapped around his waist. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Before Percy could respond, he was pushed to the front of the line and was standing in front of three men he had a feeling he should recognize but he didn’t. He didn’t have to speak at all, the three judges talked to each other while flipping through papers Percy couldn’t read, and without actually acknowledging him at all, the one in the middle hit a green button and Percy found himself on the inside of the gated community he’d only seen from the outside.

Percy Jackson died and was sent to Elysium. For a little while, it held his attention. Pretty much anything he wanted, he could have. Blue Coke, straight out of the bottle, better than the blue Coke at Camp Half-Blood. Pizza just like the pizza from his favorite place to go with his mom. Infinite activities, everything he’d ever wanted to do but hadn’t been able to when he was alive. Skydiving, cliff jumping, he got to pilot a plane.

He got to see old friends. Beckendorf and Selena Beauregard, who’d found each other and were happy again. Demigods who’d died in the second Titan war who wanted to hear from him how it had ended, to know what really happened. Heroes who died in the second giant war who wanted to know everything about Camp Jupiter and all of their friends who’d outlived them. Hunters who’d died in battles he hadn’t even known about while he was still alive.

But Percy Jackson was the son of Poseidon, lord of the sea. He didn’t like being contained in one place, and even if Elysium was a paradise for heroes, it wasn’t the same as being alive.

So Percy Jackson died, and Percy Jackson was sent to Elysium, and Percy Jackson chose to be reborn.

Zak Mason was born to a single mom.

He was an ordinary baby, almost. He was born with blue eyes, but they turned brown. He laughed and cried and pooped and spat up. He started preschool with a choppy haircut he gave to himself, and loved sitting on his mom’s lap to listen to Dr. Seuss books and watching anything fast-moving and colorful on TV.

When he was six, Zak’s basketball team won against all of the other first grade teams in their town, and a big picture of his gap-toothed smile holding the trophy he’d helped win with his first three-point shot held the place of honor on the fridge for almost a year.

Sometimes, Zak Mason had nightmares he didn’t understand. Of burning pain covering his entire body, of monsters and shifting Earth and bottomless pits, of faces he didn’t recognize twisted in pain or looking down at him as he fell, of flashing swords and screams and bursts of arrows whistling towards an enemy he couldn’t quite make out. He woke up and forgot the nightmares quickly, but they always left him almost wistful for something he couldn’t quite remember, even with how terrifying they were.

As Zak grew up, he noticed things nobody else seemed to. People who were just...different in ways nobody else seemed to understand. He saw a horse with wings, flying high above the clouds while he was on an airplane. A man he swore only had one eye that winked at him when he passed him on the bus. A woman with a forked tongue poking out of her mouth on a corner who’s smile made him shiver and walk faster.

And when he was eleven, almost twelve, a man with goat legs showed up and took him away from his mom. Just for the summer, but it was still the longest he’d been away from home.

“You’re a half-blood,” the man who called himself a satyr said. “You need to learn how to defend yourself and survive.”

His mom hugged him tearfully, but helped him pack his bags and sent him away, all the way to New York from their quiet little town in Wisconsin.

He expected it to be awkward. He didn’t know anything about what this satyr, whose name was Ash, was talking about. Gods and nymphs and a camp where he would learn to swordfight and find out who his dad was? None of it made any sense at all, and so Zak spent the trip to New York dreading whatever this camp was going to be.

He and Ash walked until he saw a tree, and Zak knew, just like that, that he was home. There were plenty of trees around, but this one was tall and proud and straight, and seeing it sent a jolt of some kind of unidentifiable pride down Zak’s spine.

And Zak and Ash passed the tree on top of its hill, and Zak felt like he was home. They looked over a valley full of cabins, a lake, strawberry fields, a big blue house with a wrap-around porch, a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire, and a thick forest.

Everything that didn’t make sense on the trip here clicked in Zak’s head. This was right, this was where he was supposed to be, that was the Big House, and the climbing wall was beatable if you knew the trick, and that was the armory even though it just looked like a shed.

“How do you know all that?” Ash asked, looking confused.

Zak paused.

“I don’t know,” he said.

But this was home.

He met Chiron, the centaur, and it felt like waking up from one of his nightmares. Especially when Chiron looked at him like he already knew everything about Zak and led him around the camp he already felt like he knew backward and forwards.

He was given a space to sleep in Cabin Eleven but told he’d likely be moving soon, as his dad would claim him.

Somehow, it was instinct to head for the lake during free time and climb into a canoe. He was terrible at it, but somehow it just felt right to be out on the lake with the naiads laughing at him.

What he was good at though, was still basketball. Basketball, and archery, and he picked up how to play guitar pretty quickly, too. He loved it at Camp Half-Blood, he told his mom in every letter. He missed her, sure, but they promised he’d be able to come home for the school year.

On his twelfth birthday, a flaming lyre burned above his head.

“Hail Zak Mason, son of Apollo,” Chiron announced in a booming voice, and Zak was welcomed into Cabin Seven with open arms.

So Percy Jackson died, and Percy Jackson made it to Elysium, and Percy Jackson chose to be reborn.

And Zak Mason was born, and Zak Mason was claimed.

Zak Mason still woke up with nightmares that faded from his mind before he blinked all the way awake. Of the same burning pain, but with a face that made him smiled floating through it. Of monsters he knew by name, and names he heard in stories of heroes in the second Titan war and the second giant war.

Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and designer of Olympus. Grover Underwood, the satyr who finally found the great god Pan. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, and Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, and Frank Zhang, son of Mars, and Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, and Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite.

Names that whispered “home” to him the same way Thalia’s tree did and the lake did and the entire camp did, and he wasn’t sure why.

Chiron watched Zak Mason carefully, always with an expression of almost-but-not-quite recognition. When he insulted another camper or twisted his face in a particular scowl, Chiron shook his head and turned away.

There was one name that didn’t just whisper home, it screamed it.

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, savior of humankind, one of the most powerful demigods of the modern age.

Zak didn’t know him, how could he? He’d died protecting a group of young demigods almost two years before Zak was born.

But somehow, Zak did.

He looked in the window of Cabin Three and saw the always empty bunk bed with a minotaur’s horn hanging above it and a ballpoint pen on the pillow and he knew the stories behind them without having to ask.

He’d dreamed them, he knew it, even if he’d forgotten the dreams. Rain and lightning and a woman who disappeared in a flash of golden light, and a sword that had killed a thousand threats to people Percy Jackson loved.

Zak stared at the pen sitting on the pillow and knew it belonged in his pocket. It didn’t surprise him when he woke up with it on his own pillow the next morning, and it didn’t surprise Chiron when it continued to do so every time Zak tried to return it to the little shrine to the fallen hero called Percy Jackson.

When he practiced with Riptide in the arena, it was like every sword fighting tactic he hadn’t been able to master with any other sword came naturally.

People whispered when they saw him fighting with Riptide. Whispered of Percy Jackson, who had fought the god of war and won when he was twelve years old. Who had defeated monsters Hercules himself couldn’t. Who’d wandered Tartarus with only Annabeth Chase beside him and come out alive. Who’d stopped Kronos and Gaea and was the reason camp was so busy and full of life. Who’d given his life to save people he cared for and who’d been willing to go to the ends of the Earth or further for his friends.

And those stories felt like home in the same way camp did, in the same way all those names did and in the same way his nightmares did.

Because Percy Jackson died, and Percy Jackson made it to Elysium, and Percy Jackson was reborn as Zak Mason, son of Apollo, who would surely prove to be as much of a hero as the first body his spirit had inhabited.

Because a spirit like that of Percy Jackson couldn’t be contained to Elysium, and couldn’t be contained to one life of heroism. Not when there was the choice to be another hero whose name would feel like home in his next life when the River Lethe tried again to wipe away memories that couldn’t be erased completely.

And a spirit like that of Percy Jackson could never be anything less than a Hero of Olympus, even if it started over in a new body with a new name.