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cabinofimagines · 7 months ago

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Cryptozoology Ver. 1.0.1

Happy birthday Danny!! This is a different POV version from Cryptozoology- the story that was not told before! Have you read the first fic? Read this one! If not- a full version with both POVs is out too!!

Pairing: Leo Valdez x gn!reader, this is a solangelo fic at it's heart- Request: That's between me and Danny's chat, as many things. Word count: 4k Warnings: None!

-Asnyox

Will Solace cared for his friends, making sure that they ate enough, slept enough, and were happy. However, to Will’s chagrin, there was only one thing that at the moment would get Leo Valdez to eat, sleep and be happy. It was the exam period and Leo simply was not listening, unless Will would get him a significant other- something that Leo thought would only happen after pigs learned to fly, but Will had other plans...

“Leo, I promise I will get you a lover soon enough!” Will waved his hands, “You just have to trust the genius that I am!” “Sure thing,” Leo scoffed, “And how will you do that?” “I have a plan.” Will assured his friend, “I simply need an appropriate candidate.”

And perhaps he already had one. He didn’t even need to try too hard to stage the first meeting and start Leo’s infatuation. Will passed you on your way out, went straight to Leo’s, and forced him to take a break. While Leo was out he watched the first meeting through the window of Leo’s dorm. The target acted just as Will had suspected, hiding away from Leo, and Will could not wait until Leo’s sleep-deprived brain would start acting its magic. Sure, Will might’ve been unaware of their name, but he had seen them around in the cafe where he worked and he just knew they would be a good fit for Leo.

“Dude!” Leo stormed into his room, “I think I just met Mothman!”

All according to plan.

───────────

The day after your chance encounter with Leo Valdez (where you heroically ran away from him, after hiding behind a tree, and then a second time in the hallway), you ranted to your friend about it, much to his dismay.

“I mean how embarrassing! I named a lizard after him!” You pouted, “What is the chance? I wasn’t even aware he was near until I saw him bolt away!” “I’m sure he’ll not mind that,” Nico said, “If he’s as idiotic as you paint him to be, he might even find it endearing. What’s his name anyways?” “I’m not telling.”

“And why won’t you tell me the name of your crush?” Nico was exasperated. “Because you’ll try something!” You squint your eyes at him, “I know you will.” “So we’re calling him fireboy? Because he is hot?” Nico teased, and you laughed, but Nico was not deterred, “Okay, tell me the name of your lizard then.” “No.”

From the look in your eyes when you talked about Fireboy, Nico knew that he needed to figure out who Fireboy was and how to get you together, if he were to enjoy a calm lunch ever again.

What Nico wasn’t expecting was having to fend off another guy.

He had stared at the blonde barista in the past (for no reason at all) and didn’t like the interest the guy was showing in you. Of course, he could believe that you didn’t have any interest in the barista, but the way that, since entering the café, the barista kept staring at you intensely, rubbed him the wrong way. Clearly this guy had an interest in you that went past you as a customer. Yet, it was busy and Nico was keeping your seats occupied while you stood in line. He glared as the barista handed you more than just your coffee.

“So you’re saying you won this ticket?” “Yes.” “From the barista just now?” “Yes.”

“And you’re sure he wasn’t just hitting on you?”

“With the way he was eyeing you, I don’t think so?” “What is that supposed to mean?” Nico, unwillingly, felt his face warm. You simply shrugged as you smiled at your friend teasingly, and Nico sighed, “Guess I’ll get a ticket and we can go to the movie together.”

So, a few hours later, you were sitting together in the movie theater. You were pretty sure you might have switched up the seats, but did it matter? You both had the tickets for these seats anyways. Nico had gotten the popcorn, and the ads had just started, all was good.

Except, all was not good for Will. While Leo had just told him that the ‘cryptid’ had named a lizard after him, it took Will a moment to realize that his ‘cinema date’ had failed. Someone was sitting in the cryptid’s seat, and Will didn’t like that. He had invited Leo, and the plan had been to get Leo and mothman to sit together. If this black-haired guy had not been sitting in the wrong seat, it would have been a date! Basically! The worst part was that now he had to make sure Leo wouldn’t see Mothman, otherwise the whole ‘cryptid’ mystic would stop and Will’s efforts would be all for nothing.

Fine, Will Solace resigned himself as he quickly pushed past Leo so he would get to sit next to the black-haired boy, fine, Will Solace would have a ‘date’ with this kid. Fine.

Nico, on the other hand, felt triumphant as he noticed the big ass glare on the blonde’s face. Clearly this had been some kind of setup for a date, and he managed to fuck it up. (Y/n) was not even aware that the barista had entered the cinema and sat next to Nico, all for the better. Nico made eye contact with his seat neighbor, and stuck out his tongue, to which he saw the blonde tense up. Take that, barista boy.

Will Solace felt his heartbeat speed up, as he realized a second flaw in his strategy- he might have started crushing on the enemy.

───────────

Will was not giving up, and a few weeks later the perfect opportunity presented itself. He found a very good sale on fresh fruits and filled his arms with them to use them as a matchmaking ploy. The plan was simple- give you the cold fruits, tell you to hand them out to Leo, and bam! You would get talking, get a hamster, get a house- but first…

“Hey, do you like mandarins?” “You’re that barista, aren’t you?” you looked at him suspiciously. Will nodded. “Look, as a promotional bit I need to hand these out,” Will lied, “but if you just take them off my hands, then I will be free to have a lunch break!” Will pushed the fruit in your hands and started backing away. Flabbergasted, you made sure not to spill any as you looked at the blonde. “Why would I need this much fruit?” You looked like you really wanted to hand the fruit back to him, so Will had to act quickly. “Just hand them out if you don’t!” Will turned around and took a small sprint. He quickly rounded a corner and not-so-subtly spied on you. With only a bit of luck, you would instigate a conversation with Leo, who was sitting alone, within the next five minutes. And that would mean-

Oh no. Will glared at the black-haired boy who approached you, the same kid that had prevented you from sitting with Leo. His ‘definitely not a crush’. Why was he putting the fruit in a bag? Goddammit! You walked away with your friend, and Will knew he couldn’t keep taking this (cute) boy's interference. Something had to be done. Will wasn’t sure what yet- but murder was still on the list.

Meanwhile, Nico smiled to himself. He saw the blonde glare, and he felt great having meddled with his plans again. Sure, Nico had to admit that the blonde looked cute when giving away the fruits to you, but there was no way you would fall for someone who was simply giving out fruits, instead Nico subtly walked you into the canteen, spotted your Fireboy (he stopped caring about the name now that he had a face), and nudged you to hand out the fruits there. You might not have put together that Nico knew what your crush looked like (although he did not know his name), but that would all help Nico’s plans. You would never figure out that he was playing Cupid (all in order to get you to shut up about Fireboy during your Mythomagic games, certainly not to rile up the blonde barista who is trying to hit on you).

Nico was a little proud of his plan- and the next step of it. He overheard Fireboy’s friends mention a party happening, and Nico had to find a way to get you to the party, although he would be the last one to go, he had a foolproof plan. Of course, you still weren’t invited but he guessed that it would matter little to you if you found out the real catch at the party.

“There are cats.” Nico deadpanned, and he immediately saw you crack. Sure, you weren’t planning on going out today, but how often does an opportunity like this present itself? “But they’ll be inside!” “With that amount of sound? I don’t think so, but your loss.” Nico picked up his Switch again, continuing his Hades run. “Why do you even want me to go?” You sounded a little suspicious, as you squeezed Nico’s Blahaj.

“So you’ll stop trying to steal my plushies. Just go, nobody cares you’re not supposed to be there!” And that stinky Fireboy would be there, which is why you should go. Of course, Nico didn’t really want to miss out on hanging out with you, but he had to keep his priorities.

“How many cats are there?” You considered your options. “Four.” “Fuck.” and there you went.

A few hours later you knocked on his door, just in time for the both of you to catch the newest episode of the show you were watching together. Yet, you seemed a little fidgety and it only took a little prodding from Nico to figure it out.

His plan had worked perfectly. Take that blonde barista! He would never stand a chance against the power of cats and your weirdness.

Yet, Nico’s plan seemed to work a little too well, for one of Fireboy’s friends had spotted you and put the puzzle pieces together.

───────────

Lucky for Nico, the friend was not Will Solace, unluckily for Nico, Will was a nosy bitch, who worked at a café. Will slid Jason’s favorite drink towards him.

“Hey, Jason, can you do me a favor?” Will intensely stared at Jason, his hand still on the lid.

“I don’t know, can I?” Jason looked from the drink to Will, who nodded as he moved the drink a little closer. “Yes you can.” Will said as Jason picked up the drink and examined it closer. On the side of the drink, Will had scribbled ‘for the best dude I know’ with a very badly drawn sun on it. Jason didn’t like the prospect of the favor being bought out of him, but he wasn’t complaining. He could always feign forgetfulness and not do it.

“I need you to figure out who the cryptid is. Name, address, age-” Will paused, “It sounds like stalking, but you have a class with them, so maybe you can talk to them?”

“Oh, I know the cryptid. We did a project together once.” Jason squinted at Will, “Are you trying to get (Y/n) and Leo together?” “Pfft, what? It’s not that obvious, is it?” Will laughed curtly, before going back to being serious, “Their name is (Y/n)?” “You didn’t know their name?” Jason sighed, “Of course not- either way, Leo’s obsessed with the cryptid simply being a cryptid.”

“Good, all according to plan!” Will smiled, “I need you to approach (Y/n)’s friend and ask whether the cryptid is interested in Leo at all.” Will shrugged, “Not sure if the magic is working from that side.”

“You mean Nico?” Jason asked

“The cute black-haired boy?” Will asked. “No.” Jason said, “I will not ask your crush whether he likes you.”

“He’s not my crush,” Will shook his head, “He just keeps intervening with my plans for Leo and (Y/n)!”

“I suggest you just talk to him yourself, Will.” but as Jason suggested the normal thing to do, Will shook his head again.

“Pretty please?” Will looked at Jason as he lifted his hand, clearly indicating that he would push the drink off the table if Jason did not agree. Jason shook his head as he gave in. Will did make his favorite after all, and perhaps he could befriend Nico on the way. He would probably be a little less weird than his current friends-

“How do you know Nico’s name anyways?” Will asked after a moment.

“He and Frank play Mythomagic together sometimes,” Jason looked at Will, “You sure you don’t want me to find out whether he likes you?”

“No” Will blushed, “Not until Leo and (Y/n) are together! Then I can focus on myself. Who’s Frank anyways?”

“Dating Nico’s half-sister,” Jason explained as Will seemed relieved, “Not that you would care, as you don’t have a crush” Jason laughed, while Will glared at him. ───────────

It took a bit for Jason to find Nico, but he eventually got word from Frank that Nico would be at their usual place for Mythomagic. When Jason got there, Frank hadn’t yet arrived, but Nico was going through his deck. Jason felt relieved that (Y/n) didn’t seem to be anywhere near.

Jason sat down opposite of Nico and cleared his throat. Nico looked up from his deck.

“You’re Jason Grace, right?” Nico asked, “You finally got a deck?”

“Not yet, maybe you can help me though.” Jason looked at Nico, whose poker face was all too good. He could not make out what Nico was thinking, so he simply continued, “I have a friend who’s interested in you and was just wondering if-” “Not the Fireboy, right?” Nico interrupted him. “What?” Jason took a moment, “Who?

“Small, curly hair, petted cats with my friend yesterday,” Nico sounded a bit disappointed in his next sentence, “you know, ‘Fireboy’, as my friend will not give me his name.”

“Oh! No, not the cryptozoologist. Any reason why you’re asking?” “For said friend, mostly. Would be disappointing if Fireboy fell for my charms while my friend swooned for him. Anyways, cryptozoologist?” Nico asked and Jason grinned.

“He thinks your friend is Mothman.” Jason elaborated, and Nico nodded. “He’s not wrong.”

“Sure, anyway, you’re single then? Not interested in the cryptozoologist yourself?” “Pft, I’m not that pathetic.” Nico laughed, “Why are you interested?” “Asking for a friend.” “Toucheé” Nico shrugged, still taking the boy before him in. He had never really spoken with Jason before, but he seemed friendly enough, and if there was something he needed, it was more friends (especially if you were to ever start dating the cryptozoologist, who would entertain him then?). Besides, perhaps he could actually get Jason involved with Frank and his Mythomagic games. They needed more players, desperately.

“Either way, the cryptozoologist is going to the library later today–”

“Why tell me?” “No reason.”

“Well, so are (Y/n) and I, we’re studying together today.” Nico answered shortly, “Look, Jason, great conversation we’re having, but I only engaged in it because I thought you were going to get into Mythomagic.”

“Oh!” Jason hesitated, looking at the cards, “I mean I would love to, I just really do not know where to start.”

“I have an extra deck,” Nico started going through his bag, “I can explain the basics in a duel now, and then you can try it against Frank when he shows up. I think Frank also has a more beginner-friendly deck with him- so you won’t be annihilated too quickly.”

“Uh-” Jason was not prepared for Nico to start talking so fast, or so much.

“Of course, you’ll eventually have to find a deck structure you like,” Nico kept going, “or invest in something more competitive, but just for getting the hang of the game this should be enough.” Nico laid out some cards and grabbed a few figurines, “let’s start with the kind of cards that you can encounter, before going to the phases of your turn.”

“Firstly! On a different topic, would you know if (Y/n) (L/n) is interested in Leo?” “No” Nico glared at Jason, he didn’t know this Leo kid but you only had one crush and that was your little cryptozoologist. Jason, in the short span of their conversation, blown away by the sudden development of Nico’s talkativeness, had forgotten that Nico mentioned he didn’t know Leo’s name (or maybe, he simply figured that Nico was joking. Nico could joke, right?). “Okay,” Jason seemed disappointed, “Alright, let’s get into this game” Nico started enjoying the conversation a lot more after that.

───────────

After a few hours and some intense Mythomagic games (Jason won once with Frank’s beginner deck! Nico seemed proud), Jason encountered Will on his break, drinking tea.

Jason leaned down, next to Will’s ear.

“So the good news is, Nico is single.” Jason told Will, who spit out his drink and then quickly turned his head. “Why did you ask him that? I gave you a simple-” “I can see the way you eye him.” Jason cut Will off, “Also, be quiet, or do you want people to approach you on your break?” Will grumbled a little before continuing. “It’s because he keeps messing up my plans!” Will watched his tone, “I eye him in disdain, not longing.” “Yes, I see the romantic tension is to die for.” Jason feigned drama as he moved on, “The bad news is, I’m not sure whether (Y/n) is interested.”

“That’s a lie.” Will looked Jason in the eye, “Ask (Y/n). For me?” “I’m not a messenger.” “I will get you more staples.” “I will be a messenger.” Jason agreed, “You better get the staples, because I asked them this morning-” Will looked at him in surprise.

“I only asked you to check at lunch?” Will raised an eyebrow, “You knew already and kept me waiting?”

“I didn’t know whether Nico liked you, buddy.” Jason shrugged, “(Y/n) seemed like they’re interested, but Nico gave a definitive ‘no’ when asked. Maybe he doesn’t agree with the pairing, maybe (Y/n) simply got flustered at the thought of someone liking them. Who knows?”

“You’re supposed to find out!” Will exclaimed, “I’m not sure whether this information is worth the staples.”

“Well, perhaps if you would talk to Nico you would ‘find out’ that you have a lot in common!” Jason bit back.

“I don’t think I can, Jason.” Will quickly took another sip from his tea, definitely not out of nervousness.

“He’s going to the library today with (Y/n)- and Leo is too. Who knows what he will be planning?” Jason offered, “He might try to put Leo in a bad light, I don’t know.” Will glared at Jason.

“And what am I supposed to do? Be a distraction?”

“Yes.”

Sadly, Will needed to make sure that Nico didn’t intervene with your study date. He needed to talk to Nico, and he needed to get back to work as his break was over. He only had two hours left- hopefully he would be at the library in time.

───────────

“We should study in the library today.” Nico said, as if he didn’t overhear Fireboy complaining about wanting to do that.

But right as he was about to walk into the library, the blonde barista was in his way.

“Nico di Angelo, we need to talk.” “How do you know my name?”

“I’ve been trying to get Leo to date someone for weeks now!”

“I don’t know this Leo guy, but I was matching (Y/n), and if it wasn’t for your meddling it would have worked!”

“Well if it wasn’t for you, (Y/n) would already be dating someone. Leo, for example.” “I don’t care about your plan, just leave them alone!” Nico scoffed, “You need to understand that (Y/n) only has the hots for that weird cryptozoology guy anyways.” Will glare dropped, and after a moment, he started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Nico was filled with confusion, but Will just kept laughing. Nico realized he kind of liked this laughter from his opposition, especially as Will's face got a little red in the process. Could he make Will blush like that too? Before more thoughts could develop, Nico half-heartedly hit Will on his head, “Answer me.” Will looked at Nico, realizing that Nico’s pout was pretty cute.

“Leo is the cryptozoologist.”

“Oh, oh.”

From here on out they needed a plan, together.

Luckily things were already moving in the right way, because during the time Will and Nico talked, Leo and you had interacted. Not a conversation, of course not, but an interaction nonetheless.

“You’re late.” You stated as Nico sat down in front of you. “So?” Nico shrugged, “Mythomagic took a little longer than planned as we got Jason to join.”

“Grace?” You asked, and Nico huffed. “Clearly, I meant Todd.” He stated “I fucking wish,” You sighed, “Either way, Fireboy just took a picture of me.”

“Seems like me being late is the least of your issues.” Nico opened one of his textbooks, “Maybe you should just talk to Fireboy, or I don’t know, leave a note written in code and see if he figures it out.”

“I won’t, what do you care anyways?” you sighed again, as you looked at Nico. “I care about getting a good grade on the next exam, which I will not get with your fireboy-complaining,” Nico glared at you.

“If you played less Mythomagic and Hades you wouldn’t be complaining about my complaining,” You stated and Nico rolled his eyes. “We’ll see- maybe you’ll run into Leo again soon.” Nico focused on his books, and you figured he didn’t want to continue the conversation. You also figured that Nico finally found out who Fireboy was- but you didn’t know how. Maybe it was an accident, or maybe it was the blonde barista you’d spotted talking to Nico through the windows just now. They would look cute together.

───────────

Nico had invited you for a double date. You found the date alright- but Nico was nowhere near, nor was his apparent date.

You wondered why Nico had stood you up. He was normally really punctual, but somehow he was not in front of the café, and after a bit he messaged you, asking you to just go in and sit somewhere. It was as if you were out of luck- every table was taken, and there were not a lot of free chairs. You figured you could get a coffee to go if nothing else, so you made your order with the blonde barista, who was smiling brightly. He pointed you to the only empty chair in the cafe, where your boyfriend sat.

“Will recommended I visit the cafe today, and get an employee discount on the drink.” “Nico stood me up on a ‘double date’.” You smiled, as you tried to spot the blonde in the cafe, “Did Will just leave?” “He didn’t actually have a shift today,” Leo laughed, “I checked with his coworkers, it’s wild what they do to get us together.”

“When do you think they’ll figure out we’re already dating?” You asked, as you purposefully kept your awkward distance from Leo. “At the marriage ceremony, most likely.” Leo laughed. “Ours or theirs?” You asked, as you joined his laughter.

“Whichever is first…”

From across the street, Nico and Will shared a fist-bump as they noticed the awkward banter between the two of you. “Well, job well done,” Will sighed, “I guess it’s time for our date!” “Our what,” Nico blabbered, as Will simply smiled and grabbed his hand.

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justaz · 2 years ago

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Your percabeth posts and just most of your pjo verse posts fall right into my taste so I assume (desperately hope) you've also read some mind blowing or just heart warming percabeth fics and the point of this whole rant is just me asking (begging) you for some percabeth fic recs, thank you sm and have a great day!

WELL i have this one linked on a recent post but it’s so cute i’ll put it here too. it’s a cute percabeth impulsive marriage fic,, i accept it as canon in my mind

FOREVER HOUSE i accept this as canon too, it’s so cute and i love the way the author writes (idk how to put this into words but) annabeth

i love this one,, it’s so soft and it has my golden trio in it and it takes place at a little motel during their road-trip to camp jupiter

THIS ONE HOLY SHIT i have this fic open on safari and i go back to reread it so much it’s so soft,, post tlo percabeth but pre hoo

i like to scroll through the whole series but these are kind of my favorite on there so far: hair dresser percy, nurse percy, barista percy, body guard percy, and drummer percy

i am a SLUT for time travel fics but this one is just *chefs kiss* it’s based off of the Adam Project on netflix that walker scobell is in (which i also recommend if you haven’t watched it already)

post tlo pre hoo percabeth again, they are so cute and in love. sigh

post botl pre tlo percabeth stranded at a gas station. this has my whole heart. the desperation and longing holy fuck

post botl pre tlo again,, only one bed and god. the angst. the longing. the late night kisses in a dark room when they’re not supposed to. GOD.

OH MY GOD i read this one a while ago and as i was scrolling through my ao3 history i found it again,, this one is absolutely adorable holy shit i’m gonna reread it. soulmates canon divergence <3 (also extra chapter for solangelo if that’s your thing)

this one has a bit of sexual content but it’s not smut or explicit, it’s more focused on annabeth’s trauma/upbringing and her being touch averse. i’m also an absolute whore for touch starved x physically affectionate so i love this fic

there is absolutely no plot here, just pure fluff, i love it

“it’s you, annabeth” i’m going to eat my mattress i love them, post tlo percabeth but a year after (no hoo, just fluff)

this one is kind of a shot in the dark bc i know a lot of people find these fics annoying or whatever but i loooove them,, like i said i’m a slut for time travel fics. this one isn’t really percabeth centric but instead focuses on like everyone and dives into their trauma and is all about healing from it. it’s not finished yet but holy shit it’s amazing so far. it’s a reading the books fic btw LMAO (i’ve been meaning to recommend this one for a while and nows the perfect time so here)

#percy jackson #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #hoo #heros of olympus #annabeth chase #percabeth #fanfic #fanfiction #fic rec #rec list #i’ve never been asked for fics before so i want you to know i dug through my entire ao3 history to find ones that were my faves #i forgot a few of them honestly #i also hope i didn’t just link a bunch of fics you’ve already read LMFAO

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sammycoola · 2 years ago

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Thanks again to an awesome fandomer for giving me this as an inspiration to rant

Today, it's about Will's sexuality

We don't know, okay? But luckily, according to this, we'll find out in the next book.

I have a feeling y'all all rooting for Will to be gay. Personally, Will gives me MAD bi vibes because if he's like his father in pretty much every aspect, why not sexuality?

But this is Mark Oshiro and Richard Russell Riordan Jr. collaborating to make a book. Expect the unexpected! He could be a sexuality that embraces all. Something like being pansexual, I guess. OR, he could be asexual—a sexuality that could explain why we haven't gotten a Solangelo kiss scene even though Boy Alex and Magnus kissed in The Ship of The Dead.

In conclusion, here's our list of possibilities:

1. Everything except straight.

#will solace #william freaking solace #lgbtq #sexuality #fan theory #rick riordan #nico di angelo #solangelo

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tsarinatorment · 2 years ago

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Apollo & his kids: 8,9,10 (you can pick just one I'm not greedy... Unless... 👀)

You really thought I wasn't gonna answer all of these? When you drop Cabin Seven in my lap like this?

8. A post-canon headcanon

While Apollo starts off appearing as Lester whenever he visits the camp, after a couple of visits he realises that his kids respond better whenever they see him as him, the blond haired usually blue eyed perfect body because that's the body that belongs to their dad, not the awkward mortal god they had to help through everything like one of their own. Will is the one that struggles with the Lester appearance the most, but even the others prefer to see him as god-him, as their dad rather than the usually half-dead mortal.

He also religiously dips into at least one kid's dream a week, more if he can find an excuse for it, because he couldn't promise to be there all the time for them but that doesn't mean he can't try, and if it means wracking up a tab of pinochle ass-kickings from Dionysus to visit them in person once a month or more without being tattled on to Zeus, well, his pride can take that.

9. A missing scene that definitely happened

When Apollo visited the camp again at the end of TON, he definitely spent time with Kayla at the archery range, thanking her for her patience while he was a ridiculously frustrating student and shooting arrows with her (not competing against her, but shooting with her, and giving her some more tips and coaching, because Darren is good but he's not a demigod and doesn't have to shoot in battle, and Chiron is also good but he's not the same, either). Also time with Austin, playing music and helping him record another video to post (which he then made everyone in Olympus barring the zap-happy ones watch). And getting to know Yan, Jerry and Gracie a bit more, now that he can!

10. I recognize canon has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it (+ what should have happened)

The epilogue with Solangelo. Brushing off the fact that Will's gonna follow Nico into Tartarus to rescue a Titan. Anything other than being the overprotective dad and going haywire at the mere suggestion that his sunshine-y son (and said sunshine-y son's boyfriend) is going to go into that Pit of nightmares and worse than death and other horrible things is completely unacceptable and also goes against his character development, to boot.

I've written rants about this before, and I'm writing a fix-it fic as well, which you know full well, fsinger :P Hopefully I can get my muses to behave and finish that at some point...

Give me a character and a number and I’ll tell you…

#fearlessinger #pjo apollo #will solace #kayla knowles #austin lake #toa yan #toa jerry #toa gracie #nico di angelo #riordanverse #rrverse #trials of apollo #toa #ask game

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thesungod · 2 years ago

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don’t mind me i’m over here having a mental breakdown over the trials of apollo series being about apollo earning people’s trust again and again.

(disclaimer: you’ve pretty much said everything so this isn’t going to be extremely long but it still deserved a proper rambling)

if we think about it, every ToA book starts with new characters being like “ugh apollo, i wouldn’t call him to check on my bag when i go to the toilet, let alone trust him with our safety and the fate of the entire world” and ends with those same people lovingly telling him they are going to name their firstborn son after him.

… all right, not exactly like THAT but you get me. and this is doubly true for his kiddos!!

not to bring My Fic up again but i think their initial (and as we’ve said, incredible, all things considered) amount of love for their father could be explained by Will’s final rant in Bad Sons. You know, the one that goes like I Loved You Cause You Were My Dad. What Am I Supposed To Do? Not Love My Dad? 😤😤

Which makes sense. What else was there to love amirite.

and sure, even before ToA his kids knew Apollo was overall one of the “nice” gods, and it’s mentioned that he answered prayers and somehow appeared in their lives, but we can’t really claim Cabin 7 knew Apollo before ToA. They knew of him. I don’t know how much they comprehended about their father’s clown behaviour being a facade and not the real him. They are smart peeps, but still 1) kids 2) people who hadn’t really seen anything different from him.

ToA proves them both right and wrong. Right in the way that their father does deserve their love (Do Meet Your Heroes They Don’t Disappoint- Frank Zhang or Will Solace at some point, probably) and he is, in fact one of the nice ones. Wrong in the sense that they find out a whole other dimension of Apollo’s personality. He’s not the air-headed, vaguely affectionate clown they think he is, the dad they can trust to appreciate their views on youtube and good grades, but not to protect them and understand them. He’s protective. He’s competent. He’s brave. He’s incredibly more mature than he seems. He’s an Adult (and it’s ironic that this is probably the first time they see him as That, considering he’s styled as Lester the whole time). The Camp follows his leadership throughout The Tower of Nero, and I’d bet that they’d do it again, if it was needed.

As for That Scene promoting the solangelo book… um, sucks for us. But even if, and it’s an if, tsats ends up somehow retconning ToA, we’ll just do what fandom does best: ignore it <3

Long Story Short: the ToA series is, at the end of the day, simply a really long sequence of people realizing Apollo knows what he’s doing, knows right from wrong, CAN be trusted to protect, comfort, take care of and save people, dressed in an absurdly big trench coat pretending to be a children’s book series.

i would love to know your thoughts about how Will, Austin and Kayla are Apollo’s foils!!

Heyyy I’m so sorry this took me so long but… in my defense… it ended up being very long? I’d been meaning to do a deep dive into Apollo’s relationship with his children for a while, and you gave me the perfect excuse.

Starting from the obvious: Apollo’s children are mini mirrors of him. They clearly inherited a lot of his personality traits, both the good and the less good. Apollo’s ready to acknowledge the latter right off the bat, but it takes him until the very last book to admit that their kindness, their compassion, their willingness to stand up for the weak – for their disgraced father, to whom they remain inexplicably loyal even when he has nothing to offer them in return... they got that from him too. Will, Kayla and Austin reflect back to him his BEST qualities, finally allowing him to recognize and take ownership of them after an entire life of being made to feel like he had to suppress them. I’ve talked about this before so I won’t belabor the point here.

The other way in which Apollo and his children foil each other is perhaps more subtle but I think even more interesting: they have complementary arcs re: their relationship with their father.

Apollo begins the story already having lost all faith in his father. He doesn’t really believe in his father’s mercy, in his father’s compassion, in his father’s love anymore. He’s not surprised by his father’s cruelty, especially not when it’s directed at him. He’s under no illusion about who Zeus is, how he operates, what he’s motivated by. It takes him 4 books to call him abusive outright, but he’s been drawing comparisons between him and Nero since book 1. It’s in fact precisely the similarities between the two, between Nero’s treatment of Meg and Zeus’s treatment of Apollo himself, that first led Apollo to realize Meg is abused too.

When Apollo discovers that he’s bleeding red, he immediately knows what has happened. He understands that he’s been sentenced to death. He tries to convince himself that this is just like his previous punishments, that if he does everything right he will be forgiven and taken back in, and, being the incredible liar that he is, he makes it almost sound believable. But he knows, deep down, that it’s all bullshit.

I turned my face to the sky. ‘If you want to punish me, Father, be my guest, but have the courage to hurt me directly, not my mortal companion. BE A MAN!’

To my surprise, the skies remained silent. Lightning did not vaporize me.

And yet, it takes Apollo 4 books to finally say the word “abuse” in relation to his father. He keeps telling himself surely this is enough. Surely this is enough suffering to satisfy Father. He’ll take pity on me now. He can’t really want me killed. He’ll change his mind.

He clings to that hope, to that fantasy, as a last ditch attempt at denying the truth and, most of all, the inevitable consequences of it.

I suppose I could have raged at him and called him bad names. We were alone. He probably expected it. Given his awkward self-consciousness at the moment, he might even have let me get away with it unpunished.

But it would not have changed him. It would not have made anything different between us.

Apollo admires Percy and Jason for the fearlessness with which they stood up and spoke their mind to Zeus. But at the end of his trials, at the end of his character arc, Apollo chooses to bow his head and remain silent, because unlike Percy, unlike Jason, he knows, and finally accepts, that his father is a lost cause. Zeus won’t change. Zeus doesn’t want to change. He cannot be saved.

Because that’s what this was all about. Apollo refusing to give up on Zeus no matter how much it hurt him, right up until the moment it would have literally killed him, because despite everything, still, Apollo couldn’t bring himself to believe that there is nothing he can do to redeem his father. It may not look like it at first glance, but a big part of Apollo’s journey in TOA is about accepting that this is yet another choice his father has taken from him.

So Apollo doesn’t rage at his father. He doesn’t call him out on his behavior. He finally accepts that there’s no point in it. In every way that matters, now, to him, his father is already dead.

Will, Kayla and Austin, on the other hand, start out with a… quite frankly astounding amount of faith in their father, all things considered. But just like there was a caveat to Apollo's lack of faith in Zeus, there's a caveat to the kids's faith in Apollo too.

There’s no doubt in their hearts that he loves them. Apollo pays attention to them. Not nearly enough, of course, but enough that Will considers a prolonged period of silence on his father’s part not just weird, but outright alarming. Enough that the thing that they all consider irrefutable proof of his identity is him recognizing them and smiling at them.

It’s a tragically low bar, but one that none of the other gods manage to clear. Apollo’s children feel acknowledged. They feel cherished. They believe their father means well, not just with them, but in general.

‘Jason is making that storm,’ Nico said. ‘If you fire the onager, you’ll kill him and Piper, and –’

‘Good!’ Octavian yelled. ‘They’re traitors! All traitors!’

‘Listen to me,’ Will tried again. ‘This is not what Apollo would want. Besides, your robes are –’

Will’s conviction that his father would NEVER agree to the slaughter of innocent demigods, not even if that’s the only way to defeat the gods’ greatest enemy, is so unshakeable he repeats it twice: once in front of the roman army, and once again as he tries to convince Octavian that even just a handful of lives is too high a price.

Damien reluctantly handed it over. I leaned toward the guitar case by Woodrow’s feet. The satyr leaped several inches into the air.

Austin laughed. “Relax, Woodrow. He’s just getting another string.”

There’s no way Austin doesn’t know the story of Marsyas from Will’s mythology books. In fact, his reaction here indicates that he does, because it’s only with that context in mind that Austin would find Woodrow’s reaction funny as opposed to confusing. But it doesn’t seem to quite click in Austin’s brain that the cruel god of the myth is his dad. That guy, he’s not the father Austin knows. The father Austin knows would never hurt a fly. It’s simply laughable to think that anyone would have reason to be scared of him.

The Apollo that Austin, Kayla and Will know is nice. He is safe. He won’t mind being bombarded by questions. He won’t mind if they tease him. He won’t even mind if they yell at him. We see them do all these things within minutes to a day of his arrival at camp, seemingly completely unthinkingly. We see Will confess his insecurities to Apollo the moment Apollo asks. Heck, Will confesses that he made a wrong call with the nectar and almost killed him completely unprompted, as soon as Apollo’s awake. It doesn’t seem to even cross his mind that Apollo might get mad at him for it.

It’s worth noting that the rest of the CHB demigods don’t ever seem overly intimidated by Apollo either, which makes perfect sense considering how he presented himself to the world prior to his fall from grace. He used to act like a total clown. That's how the campers seem to think of him, and, to an extent, it's how his children think of him too. For all the faith they have in his character, they don't really seem to have a lot of faith in his ability to do… much of anything.

‘We don’t know what’s going on at Delphi,’ Will continued. ‘My dad hasn’t answered any prayers, or appeared in any dreams … I mean, all the gods have been silent, but this isn’t like Apollo. Something’s wrong.’

Across the table, Jake Mason grunted. ‘Probably this Roman dirt-wipe who’s leading the attack – Octavian what’s-his-name. If I was Apollo and my descendant was acting that way, I’d go into hiding out of shame.’

‘I agree,’ Will said. ‘I wish I was a better archer… I wouldn’t mind shooting my Roman relative off his high horse. Actually, I wish I could use any of my father’s gifts to stop this war.’ He looked down at his own hands with distaste. ‘Unfortunately, I’m just a healer.’

The phrasing of this bit is a little ambiguous. Was Will agreeing to the suggestion that his father might be hiding out of shame rather than take action against his descendant? We can’t say for sure, but I’m inclined to think so.

Will believes his father cares about him and his siblings. He believes his father doesn’t want any deaths on his or the gods’ account. But he also seems to have absolutely no expectation that his father would intervene to prevent these deaths. He feels that it’s HIS responsibility to stop the war, to stop Octavian. Of course, his father would never wish hurt on any of his descendants. His father would never hurt a fly. He is kind. Silly. A bit of a clown. He visits them in dreams. He answers their prayers. He can't seem to ever be there for them when it would matter most.

This is really the crux of the problem. Apollo’s children trust him. They don’t trust him to be able to protect them.

But they don’t hold this against him. How could they? They know him. They know it’s not because Apollo doesn’t care. It has to be because he can’t. Literally can’t. Gods can’t meddle in mortal affairs. And… is it possible… that maybe… maybe Dad's power and overall competence is a bit overhyped in the stories?

He sure can't seem to be able to put together a decent poem.

Kayla squeezed my hand. Her archer ’s fingers were rough and calloused. “It’s okay, Apollo… Dad. We’ll help you.”

Austin nodded. “Kayla’s right. We’re in this together. If anybody gives you trouble, Kayla will shoot them. Then I’ll curse them so bad they’ll be speaking in rhyming couplets for weeks.”

Kayla and Austin are such kids at the beginning of THO: self centered, blunt to the point of rudeness, shamelessly thrilled to learn everything about this crazy thing that just happened to their dad. It’s heartening to see. But as soon as they realize that Apollo is actually struggling, THEY are the ones who rush to reassure him, earnestly promising that everything will be alright, that they will support and defend him.

Like Apollo, who appointed himself his mother's protector mere days after being born, tasked himself with slaying the monster that had been tormenting her, felt an obligation to cut down whoever would dare badmouth her, his children too feel a responsibility to be his protectors, to defend his honor. Like him, who only ever thinks about his mother in terms of what he can do for her, who has no delusions that she could be his salvation in time of need, his children too are far more preoccupied with helping him than they are with anything that they think they might get from him in return.

It's the last thing Apollo would have wanted for them. He was so relieved to hear them worry about the Olympics and youtube views, and then utterly ashamed to realize that they care about him more. As much as he admires his mother, Apollo did not intentionally model himself after her in this respect.

But just like Leto, Apollo doesn't really have a choice. Or, well. Perhaps that’s not quite true. He might have one, but it's one he is not willing to consider. Not until the end of this story at least, not until he finally, definitively accepts that his father will never change, that his father cannot be saved.

“A father should give more to his children than he takes,” Apollo thinks in despair, looking at his children who are ready to give and give and give to him, even as he's left with nothing to repay them with, but in truth he is only reaping what he sowed. His kids only know of him what he’s let them see.

“That was so beautiful!” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “What was that song?”

I blinked. “It’s called tuning.”

“Yeah, Valentina, control yourself,” Damien chided, though his eyes were red. “It wasn’t that beautiful.”

“No.” Chiara sniffled. “It wasn’t.”

Only Austin seemed unaffected. His eyes shone with what looked like pride, though I didn’t understand why he would feel that way.

Was this the first time Austin actually heard his father play music without intentionally flubbing it? Based on what we saw of Apollo in the books preceding this one, I’d wager yes. But Apollo is taken aback by his son’s reaction. He doesn’t seem to have realized yet how deep an impact his habitual routine of feigning ineptitude actually had on his kids.

He’s not really making any effort to correct their assumptions either. He never protests when his children explain to him stuff that he already knows. He doesn’t offer advice when Kayla and Austin debate the best way to patch Connor’s injuries up, defers to Will’s judgment when doing infirmary work.

Granted, the kids know what they are doing. They technically don’t need his help in these matters. It just doesn’t seem to occur to Apollo that they might appreciate it anyway. It also doesn’t seem like he’s given any consideration to the fact that his trust in their abilities can only be worth so much to them, when they are given no reason to think he knows enough to evaluate them.

It must have felt so good for Asclepius to hear Apollo say “my son taught me this thing”. But that was a long time ago, and Asclepius knew his father in a way that Apollo’s children quite simply aren’t afforded in the present day.

To make matters worse, he is genuinely horrifyingly far from at the top of his game at this point in time, and not handling it well at all. In what has to be one of his most stunning displays of immaturity, he makes a whole spectacle of his poor performance at the archery range.

It’s no surprise then, that nobody listens to Apollo’s pleas to not attack Peaches, not even Kayla. In a combat situation, of course she trusts her own instincts more than her father’s. Neither her nor her brothers take Apollo's completely justified concerns about having a "death race" within the labyrinth seriously. They don’t listen to him when he insists that the game should be at least put on hold until the prophetic trees situation is under control. They don’t even ask him to help them with the infirmary, not until Will is left alone and absolutely needs the spare hands.

As much as he tries to hide it, it’s clear that Will has very little faith in Apollo’s ability to rescue Kayla and Austin. And is it any wonder? How can Apollo save his children now that he’s a mortal, weaker than even the weakest demigod, when even as a powerful immortal he did not possess that power?

Apollo couldn't save Lee, or Michael, or the rest of Will's unnamed siblings who died in the battle of Manhattan. He gave them gifts – weapons, to help them in the fight. He was not, he could not be there for them when the weapons ran out.

Now, the only thing that’s changed is that Apollo doesn’t even have enough power left to protect himself.

As soon as they were gone, Will gave me an apologetic smile. “They’re in shock. We all are. It’ll take some time to get used to…whatever this is.”

“You do not seem shocked,” I said.

Will laughed under his breath. “I’m terrified. But one thing you learn as head counselor: you have to keep it together for everyone else. Let’s get you on your feet.”

Of course Will is terrified. He easily admits this to Apollo, but then immediately changes topic, relieving him of the burden of having to reply. He knows Apollo has no reassurances to offer him at the moment. And he loves him. He doesn’t want to make this any harder for him than it already is.

Will’s used to having to manage his own terror alone anyway. Keep it together for everyone else. He can be the rock for his father too. So he smiles, he stays calm, he gives all the support he can while pretending that he himself requires none. He commits to this course of action so thoroughly that Nico feels compelled to intercede, to try to communicate Will’s needs to Apollo in some way:

Nico rested his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Apollo, we were worried. Will was especially.” [...]

“I’ll be fine.” I pulled on my jeans. “I have to save Meg.”

“Let us help you,” Nico said. “Tell us where she is and I can shadow-travel—”

Nico's attempt is still pretty indirect. He’s trying to be considerate of Will’s feelings, respectful of Will’s choices. But the meaning of his words is obvious: Please, don’t do this to him. Will's not gonna be able to survive losing you too.

Perhaps the most interesting facet of Will’s coping strategy of repressing, repressing, repressing is the following:

“Gee, thanks….”

I got the feeling that he almost said Dad but managed to stop himself. [...]

“Guys,” Will interrupted, “why don’t you run to the Big House and tell Chiron that our…our patient is conscious.

Kayla and Austin alternate between using Dad and Apollo with no discernable pattern, seemingly at random, which makes sense considering how young they are. It's likely that they've known their father – properly known him at least – for little more than a year at this point in time. They are familiar with him, but not so familiar that thinking of him as Dad is second nature to them.

But Will has known Apollo longer, and to him it is. He so clearly struggles to not call Apollo Dad. He catches himself right before saying it twice in their first scene together, despite the fact that Apollo looks nothing like himself, and nothing like someone who could plausibly be Will’s dad either. But Will recognizes him, even though he wishes he didn't, and the word is automatically on the tip of his tongue. It slips out of him anyway, seemingly without him noticing, at dinner that night, while he and his siblings argue against Apollo that the planned activities for the next day are a perfectly acceptable level of dangerous:

“It’s different now,” Austin told me. “Since Daedalus died…I don’t know. It’s hard to describe. Doesn’t feel so evil. Not quite as deadly.”

“Oh, that’s hugely reassuring. So of course you decided to do three-legged races through it.”

Will coughed. “The other thing, Dad…Nobody wants to disappoint Harley.”

It doesn’t happen again, though. Will makes sure of it.

Maybe he thinks that as long as he does not say the word, there’s still a chance that this will turn out to be just a really weird nightmare.

Maybe he fears that if he does say it, he’ll be tempted to lean on Apollo for support, and feels that he can’t afford to do that when Apollo is barely holding himself upright, and seemingly eager to throw what little health and safety he still has away like it’s worth nothing.

Maybe he’s afraid of getting any more attached than he already is, now that Apollo could quite literally die on him at any moment.

Maybe, even if he doesn’t want to acknowledge it, doesn’t want it to be true, a part of him is actually angry with his dad for putting him through all this, willingly or not.

(And speaking of foiling, and of Apollo and his kids being mirrors of each other, I think it’s worth mentioning that Apollo, for his part, does the same thing in reverse. He refuses to call Will, Kayla and Austin “my children”, feeling undeserving of the title of father, until the moment Kayla and Austin are stolen from him. He only allows himself to acknowledge the connection when it will hurt him the most, but at the same time, also, when he is finally in a position to do something for them, as opposed to them offering to do things for him.)

And then.

Apollo doesn't die. And not only does he not die, he brings back with him Kayla and Austin and Meg and all of the missing campers safe and sound.

Suddenly, everybody’s looking to him for guidance, taking directions from him, deferring to his leadership.

“I think there’s a way,” I said. “But I’ll need your help.”

Austin balled his fists. “Anything you need. We’re ready to fight.” [...]

“Hey!” called Nico di Angelo. He and Will scrambled over the dunes, still dripping from their swim in the canoe lake.

“What’s the plan?” Will seemed calm, but I knew him well enough by now to tell that inside he was as charged as a bare electrical wire. [...]

“What’s the plan?” they ask him. And also “How do you know it will work? What if you fail?” They don’t feel the need to stop questioning him, but they trust his answers. They trust that as absurd as his idea to take down the colossus might sound, it’s their best shot. They win. They all live.

Of course, Apollo only gives us a terse summary of the aftermath of the battle. To tell us about how happy, how proud of him his children are, would completely ruin this nice self deprecation thing that he has going.

The next time we see Will, Kayla and Austin interact with their father, it’s 4 books and almost 6 months later, after Apollo has finally resolved that he must make the effort to respect other people’s choice to believe in him, even though he thinks himself unworthy:

‘Dad!’ Will shot to his feet. He ran down the steps and tackled me in a hug.

“Dad!” is the first word that we hear Will say. And it’s not a slip up this time. It’s all Dad, Dad, Dad the whole book. Will doesn’t call him “Apollo” once.

This change in Will’s attitude is, in all likelihood, not just due to the events of THO. He, and Kayla and Austin too, must have heard accounts of what Apollo has done in between then and now, not only from Meg (who is at this point simultaneously Apollo’s biggest critic and his biggest hype machine. A powerful combination), but from Camp Jupiter and the Waystation too. And I’d bet that those accounts were nowhere near as dismissive of Apollo’s actions as Apollo’s own narration is.

We see everything filtered through Apollo’s still very biased perspective, and we know how much he doubts and berates himself. We know that he’s more acutely aware of his mortality now than he’s ever been, and that he’s readying himself to make the final sacrifice.

But Will is not scared anymore. Not like before. There’s no trace in him of the barely concealed terror that gripped him all through THO. He’s still just as eager to offer Apollo support, but now he seeks out his father’s support in turn.

It only takes one word from Apollo for Will to immediately confide to him his worries about Nico, his hope that it will be good for Nico to have something else to focus on, if they can help Apollo accomplish this task. Helping Apollo is almost more an excuse to help Nico in Will’s mind at this point. He tells this to Apollo before he even tells his boyfriend. He looks to Apollo for support. Quite literally.

Nico seemed to realize, at the same time I did, that Will hadn’t shared all the lines of the prophecy with him.

‘William Andrew Solace,’ Nico said, ‘do you have something to confess?’

‘I was going to mention it.’ Will looked at me pleadingly, as if he couldn’t make himself say the lines.

‘The son of Hades, cavern-runners’ friend,’ I recited.

This becomes a bit of a running gag, even: Will begging Apollo with his eyes to say the awkward thing in his place. It’s a stark contrast to his behavior at the beginning of THO, when he felt compelled to give Apollo an out whenever any sort of awkwardness manifested itself.

At one point this happens:

‘So what do we do about the rest of them?’ Will asked. ‘Dad, you sure you can’t …’ He gestured at our bovine audience. ‘I mean, you’ve got a god-level bow and two quivers of arrows at basically point-blank range.’

It’s the first time we see Will make an explicit, direct request of Apollo. A small one, sure, but I think the casualness of it, coupled with everything else, is indicative of how fast and comfortably Will’s settling into the habit of relying – actually relying on his dad.

He trusts his father’s judgment to the point that he doesn’t hesitate even for a second to give Apollo nectar when Apollo asks, despite the fact that his father is still technically mortal at the time, and drinking nectar should still technically kill him, as Will no doubt remembers, because the discovery caused him a fair amount of grief at the beginning of THO.

In practice, their situation hasn’t changed that much overall since the first book. They are still facing impossible odds. Apollo isn’t any less prone to concussions, he’s not any less vulnerable or fallible than he was when they last parted ways.

Yet, Will’s expectations of his father have changed on a fundamental level. Apollo doesn’t seem helpless to him anymore. Far from it. And his praise means more to Will, now, than Will can manage to express in words.

Nico smirked. ‘Friends, meet my glow-in-the-dark boyfriend.’

‘Could you not make a big deal about it?’ Will asked.

I was speechless. How could anyone not make a big deal about this? As far as demigod powers went, glowing in the dark was perhaps not as showy as skeleton-summoning or tomato-vine mastery, but it was still impressive. And, like Will’s skill at healing, it was gentle, useful and exactly what we needed in a pinch.

‘I’m so proud,’ I said.

Will’s face turned the colour of sunlight shining through a glass of cranberry juice. ‘Dad, I’m just glowing . I’m not graduating at the top of my class.’

‘I’ll be proud when you do that, too,’ I assured him.

We’re never told why Will was embarrassed of his glowing talent, to the point that he apparently hardly ever showed it off, and even on this occasion had to be coaxed into doing it by Nico. If I had to guess, I’d say probably because it’s yet another ability of his that completely lacks offensive power. But Apollo thinks it’s amazing, and he leaves Will no room to argue otherwise, and the next time we see Will, he’s glowing brighter than he ever has, bright enough to be mistaken by Nero’s soldiers for a god, and loudly declaring himself his father’s son in front of everybody.

It’s easier to see all this in Will, who has the most page time out of all of Apollo’s children, but Kayla and Austin’s perception of their dad too has shifted in a similar way. A single compliment from Apollo makes Kayla blush right down to the roots of her hair. “You're taller,” is the first thing she and Austin tell him upon greeting him. “You hold yourself straighter.” This may or may not be factually true, but regardless I would wager that their comments are reflective of more than just a physical reality. He looks taller to them. He’s grown in their esteem.

Kayla had been listening quietly, but now she leaned in. ‘Yeah, Meg was telling us about this prophecy you got. The Tower of Nero and all that. If there’s a battle, we want in.’

Austin wagged a breakfast sausage at me. ‘Word.’

There’s a big difference between this dialogue and when they promised Apollo that they’d protect him, back at the beginning of THO. The way they phrase this, it’s like they expect some pushback on the idea of them joining the fight. They expect that their father will want to protect them. That he may not even need them. And they respect his initial decision to leave them at camp, where he hopes they‘ll be safe.

But they make a point to let him know that they want to be there for him, with him, anyway. They know that, one way or another, their time together is coming to an end.

It’s pretty obvious that this is something that weighs heavily on the minds of Will, Kayla and Austin all through book 5. Not so much the possibility that Apollo will die, but the possibility that he won’t. That he will become a god again, and they will have to go back to seeing him only in dreams, if they’re lucky maybe in person once a year, never for longer than it takes to exchange a gesture of affection, a couple hollow platitudes. That they’ll never get to be this close with him again.

They don’t ask him to stay. The big requests still feel too big for them to voice. But everything they actually say and do is telling enough.

"I was hoping you'd come back," Will says, giving him the new clothes he's bought for him just in case. And he adds, "I wanted you to feel at home."

‘Hey, if we don’t get out of this –’

‘None of that talk,’ I chided.

‘Yeah, but I wanted to tell you, I’m glad we had some time together. Like … time time.’

His words warmed me even more than Paul Blofis’s lasagne.

I knew what he meant. While I’d been Lester Papadopoulos, I hadn’t spent much time with Austin, or any of the people I’d stayed with, really, but it had been more than we’d ever spent together when I was a god. Austin and I had got to know each other – not just as god and mortal, or father and son, but as two people working side by side, helping each other get through our often messed-up lives. That had been a precious gift.

Austin makes a point to underscore that it’s not the mere fact of having gotten to share some time with his dad that he’s grateful for. It’s not like he never saw or talked to Apollo before. He and his siblings are lucky, for a demigodly definition of the word. Apollo always gave them the time of the day. But this is different. Austin doesn’t quite know how to describe, put into words, what exactly the difference is.

But Apollo does. “Austin and I got to know each other as people,” he says. He calls it a precious gift, as if it’s something out of his hands. Because it is. It will continue to be, until Apollo decides to wrestle it out of the hands of his father. He still doesn’t know that he can.

‘Breakfast …?’ I said in a daze.

‘Yes,’ Dionysus said. ‘It’s the meal with pancakes. I do love pancakes.’

He disappeared in a grape-scented cloud of glitter.

‘Such a show-off,’ I muttered.

Will laughed. ‘You really have changed.’

‘I wish people would stop pointing that out.’

‘It’s a good thing.’

Notice what is it that prompts Will to remark on Apollo’s change. It’s not Apollo being desperate to get Kayla and Austin and Meg back, to the point of risking his own life to go find them. It’s not Apollo being kind to Harley and winning the child’s loyalty along with a ukulele. It’s not Apollo expressing sorrow and regret about Jason’s death.

There’s a moment, later in the book, in which Rachel actually does give Apollo the “it’s so great that you actually care about people now” speech, but to Apollo’s children this doesn’t seem to register as an actual change in their father at all. They never show surprise to see him care.

Instead, what Will chooses to highlight as a novelty is Apollo rolling his eyes at Dionysus’ antics. He’s used to his father being kind. He’s not used to his father being serious. And he likes this new serious version of his dad – not humorless, but also very much not a clown all the time. It feels more real, somehow. Will doesn’t have anywhere near enough context to fully understand it, but the thing that he's really reacting to is the lack of a mask.

Apollo does understand though. He understands what his children are trying to communicate to him, even though they are careful to phrase their desires exclusively as expressions of gratitude. He may find it hard to believe, still, but he ain’t stupid. It’s painfully obvious that his kids want more of this. More of HIM. And he wants nothing more than to be able to give it to them. But much like his children don’t dare ask, he doesn’t dare make a promise that he’s afraid he won’t be able to keep.

I think you can see, at this point, what I meant when I said that Apollo and his children have complementary arcs re: their relationship with their father.

Apollo needs to give up on a father who refuses to accept him as his own person, keeps him from his own possessions, from his own loved ones. He needs to give up on a father who hates him enough to orchestrate his death. He must, for his own sake, and, most importantly, that of his children.

Will, Kayla and Austin need to realize that they are entitled to ask more, that they should demand more of a father who loves them, completely unconditionally, enough to be willing to die for them. A father who, they are starting to discover, may be fully capable and willing to murder for them, too.

The series ends before any of them have time to really act on the revelations they have had, the lessons they have learned. It’s an open ending, but the way forward is clear.

Apollo tries to tell himself that it will be enough to keep his distance. But even as he tries to convince himself of this, he’s admitting that there’s really only one way to stop tyrants like Nero. Tyrants like Zeus. Who can’t be reasoned with, because they don’t care to be reasonable. Who can’t be cut off either, because they feel entitled to everything and have the power to trample all over other people’s boundaries. Visiting his children in secret, helping demigods behind his father’s back… that strategy wasn’t working for Apollo before, and it’s not gonna start working now. There’s only one way this story can end, and deep down Apollo has already acknowledged it.

Apollo’s children, on the other hand, and I want to say especially Will, because he��s the one who has the most reasons and the most need to, should finally allow themselves to embrace their anger and actually get mad at their dad. Because now they have seen, they have proof, that he can be a much better parent to them than he’s been all their life. Because they know him too well, now, to be able to make excuses for him. He is simply too good to be so awful a father. So how dare he?

The one time he was there with them, even as a mortal, even without his power, he saved them. So why could he not do it all the times before? Why could he not do it for all their other siblings?

Apollo let go of his anger, and, with it, he let go of the last of the hope he still held for his father too.

Will should be angry with his father because, now, he actually has hope for him.

No, it’s not Will’s responsibility to reform Apollo. But it matters to Apollo what his children have to say. What his children want. They know him well enough, now, to know that he’s both capable and willing to change for them.

But Fsinger, you’ll be asking me now, what about the infamous solangelo book teaser scene in the TON epilogue? Doesn’t that go against everything you’ve been so correctly and exhaustively arguing up until now?

To that I have to say

1) I was hoping you wouldn’t bring that up

2) I really, really want to be wrong, but that scene really reads like a hasty, completely graceless reset of the status quo so that Will and Nico’s adventure, and probably many more after it too, can be written still following the same old formula that has already proven to sell. Suddenly, jarringly, Apollo's back to being resigned to watching in impotence as his kids march to their death, and Will’s back to making excuses for his dad. Everything can continue on as usual. Move along, spectators, there’s nothing to see here. If you thought this story was leading up to a specific place, no you didn’t.

#trials of apollo

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solangelover · 3 years ago

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Could you do Solangelo cuddling (Fluff), but one of them has really weird mid-night thoughts?

A/N: This has been done forever ago, idk why I didn’t post it, my bad (^_^; )

Read on AO3 or FF.Net

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

“That’s why we’re going to sleep, Ghosty.”

Nico hummed noncommittally as he flopped down onto his bed. It was late, nearly midnight, and he was more than ready to be dead to the world. They had had a busy day of classes, training (for Nico), working (for Will), and dealing with the general chaos that came with living at Camp Half-Blood.

Will’s siblings let the head counselor sneak off to the Hades cabin for the night. While they all teased their older brother about having a “fun night,” they all really just wanted him to get a good night’s sleep, and cuddling with his boyfriend almost always did the trick.

After doing the minimal to get ready for bed, the boys hit the lights and shuffled beneath the covers. Immediately, their hands found each other, and they tangled their limbs together. It was easy, a comfortable routine they developed over the course of their relationship. They were hardly cuddly in public, so their private time together had to make up for that. And it was really just that—cuddling and sleeping together—and nothing more.

“Good night, Neeks.”

“Good night, Sunshine.”

Will shifted onto his back, giving Nico the space to move even closer so that his head rested on the blonde’s chest.

It was nice and cozy. Perfect for sleeping.

And yet.

Will laid there for a solid fifteen minutes, not thinking anything in particular as he stared off into the darkness. He tried not to shift restlessly so as not to disturb his boyfriend, but that just made him stiff and less than comfortable.

He tried to focus on Nico’s breathing for the next fifteen minutes. The boy’s breaths had evened out, but Will had a feeling that he wasn’t quite asleep yet either.

Why couldn’t he sleep? Was something bothering him? Normally, he’d have his to do list for the next day on his mind. When that kept him up, he simply got up, wrote it down, then climbed back in bed and was out like a light. But that’s not what was happening now. He squared away his to do list earlier, on a small note that sat on his desk in the infirmary.

What was on the list? Maybe if Will recounted it to himself, he’d fall asleep out of boredom.

Cut bandages. Well, that was a daily task, but sometimes it was nice just to check it off at the end of the day.

Check inventory. A weekly task, but sometimes Will would compulsively check it, just in case, or when there was nothing else to do.

Practice nutrition plans. Since the son of Apollo hoped to be a real doctor someday, he’d been exploring different medical fields to see how he liked them. He was currently exploring the nutritionist route, which could help as a family physician or pediatrician anyway. He would ask the Demeter kids about different vegetables, herbs, grains, all that stuff, and practice writing up specific diets for hypothetical needs. It was kind of interesting so far, but not Will’s favorite.

I wonder what kind of plan a child of Hypnos might need. If you consider the narcolepsy, possible lack of sunlight, there’s bound to be some nutritional deficiency going on, he thought to himself. Hmm, deficiency. De-fi-shi-en-see. That’s how you spell it, right? D-E-F-I—she-en-see—C-I-E—defishy—um where was I? Okay, wait, D-E—honestly, who spelled this word this way? It’s confusing. Why is C-I-E pronounced “she”? What—

“Will,” a stern voice pulled Will from his musings. He turned his head down to see his boyfriend squinting up at him in the dark, his eyes having adjusted long ago. “You’re thinking too loud. You’re practically yelling.”

“Wha—that doesn’t even make sense,” Will responded, his voice sounding loud in the quiet of the cabin.

“It does. It’s loud. You’re loud.” Nico shifted so he was more even with Will and could look him in the eyes properly. “What are you thinking about that’s making your head wrinkle?” He poked Will directly in the forehead to punctuate his point.

Will swatted his hand away. Nico kept looking at him and he sighed. Whatever. “Why are words words?” He looked back up at the ceiling, confusion clear on his face.

Not hearing an immediate response, he turned to see his boyfriend staring at him, his expression a mix of perplexity, incredulity, and amusement. The son of Hades simply raised an eyebrow, apparently not planning on giving Will the answer he so desperately needed.

So, he continued. “You know, like, words. Why are they what they are? Why is the word ‘word’ a word? Why is it spelled like it is? And why does it mean word? Actually, how do you even define ‘word’?” He tapped his chin in thought, once again staring at the ceiling. He saw Nico glance up at the ceiling out of the corner of his eye, probably mocking Will. But the son of Apollo was too preoccupied to comment.

“A word is a word,” Nico replied, like it was that easy.

“You can’t use the word being defined in the definition,” he rolled his eyes, like Nico should’ve obviously thought about this before and know that that’s not an acceptable answer.

Will took a breath to begin another senseless rant about language when his boyfriend cut him off. “Words are words, letters are letters, languages are way they are because people decided that’s how they wanted to communicate. Nothing more to it. Please sleep.” His deadpan words were probably meant to be patronizing or flippant in some way, but Will actually felt like that answered his wonderings quite well.

“Huh,” Will said, mostly to himself. He paused as the words processed in his brain. “That makes sense.”

“Oh my gods,” is all Nico said before he rolled over, his back to Will. “Go to sleep, idiota.”

Will beamed, throwing his arms around the dark-haired boy to hug him from behind. “I’m so lucky my boyfriend is a genius.”

“You’re dumb, now sleep.”

“Okayyy,” Will drew out. But now that his mind was satisfied, he remembered that he had an exhausting day and that he really really wanted to sleep.

He settled in further before whispering a “good night” to the air, the boy next to him already breathing deeply.

#solangelo #will solace #nico di angelo #Will's brain is my brain #I was trying to spell deficiency and just wrote out my thought process so it's just accurate #solangelo fanfic #solangelo fanfiction #fic #my writing #my fic #my answer #thanks for the prompt!#ask #pjo #hoo #toa #pjo fanfiction #anon

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gatesofember · 4 years ago

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can you expand on the canon and fanon ableism in solangelo? I sort of picked up on the infantilisation of nico (hes dealing with ptsd and i guess chronic fatigue, hes not a baby) but i always thought that was handled better in canon than in fanon? But then i havent read ToN i admit

Sure! I don’t know that I’m the best person to ask this because while I am disabled, I’m still unlearning a lot of ableism myself. But I’ll try my best to explain! Maybe some people could recommend some good posts about this if they know any?

Infantilizing—like you mentioned, this is one of the biggest problems with ableism in the fandom. There isn’t much of this in canon, but in fanon Nico’s often characterized as helpless and he’s not taken seriously. Will often plays the role of caretaker rather than boyfriend to an infantilized Nico, which creates an inherent and unhealthy power imbalance.

Will being portrayed as a savior—a common and dangerous trope in romance is that one character is saved by the love of another. It’s especially damaging when the character being saved has mental health problems or physical disabilities. I think most people realize nowadays that this isn’t okay, but you’ll still occasionally see things that portray Will as a savior. Nico entering a relationship because he’s healing and accepting himself is great! But Nico being saved by a relationship? Bad.

Victim blaming—honestly most characters who interact with Nico in canon engage in some level of victim blaming, but by far the worst one was Will (aside from like. Hades and Minos.) In BoO, Will went on an entire rant telling Nico that he was responsible for his own problems and that he manufactured his own abandonment by pushing people away, when really, Nico was the victim of bullying, rejection, abuse, and serious mental health problems—and he already blamed himself for all that so Will’s rant only would have made him feel more invalidated. Later books definitely pulled back on the victim blaming, but it was such a prevalent part of the foundation of their relationship that it’s been ingrained in the ship. It shows a severe and dangerous misunderstanding of mental health on the part of both Riordan and the fandom.

Will being Nico’s healthcare provider—What makes Will being portrayed as a savior even worse is the fact that Will is a healer. Doctors shouldn’t date their patients. Much like the caretaker issue I mentioned above, it creates a power imbalance which is usually satisfied because the doctor is paid for doing their job, but things get messy when any kind of personal relationship is involved. Will should not be in charge of Nico’s medical care. Of course he can act as Nico’s healer in emergencies, but Nico’s primary medical care provider should be someone else. If Will acts as Nico’s medical care provider out of necessity (eg, because he’s the only healer at camp halfblood), then they need to set up clear boundaries and rules. Will being Nico’s doctor should never be spun as a good thing.

Will abusing his authority as a medical care provider—most notably the “doctor’s orders” and “doctor’s note” scenes. Will was extremely overbearing in BoO, from forbidding Nico from using his powers to ordering him to stay in the infirmary, and that kind of pushiness isn’t okay. He was abusing his power, doubting Nico’s judgement and capabilities, and denying Nico’s right to make his own decisions (again, infantilizing). Disabled people’s agency is often denied and autonomy is so important. Nico should have been allowed to make the choice to stay in the infirmary on his own (or not to stay, or to follow through with his plan to leave chb; he should have had the freedom to make those choices, too), and frankly, it would have been a much more powerful ending to Nico’s pov if he had. He should have chosen to go to the infirmary because he decided he wanted to get better, not because he wanted to be around Will (see previous point about Will being portrayed as a savior) (although it would have been fine if Nico thought of Will as an added bonus). I said in the previous post that Will writing a doctor’s note to allow Nico to sit at the Apollo table doesn’t bother me, but that’s because I imagine that situation being like, Nico was denied accommodations so Will and Nico hatched a plan together to use what little leverage they have to get adults to listen to Nico’s needs and take him seriously, but both of them fully understood that Will should not act as Nico’s doctor again unless there were serious medical reasons. Other people interpret that scene as Will abusing his power as the head medic to sit next to his boyfriend. And I’m not saying that my interpretation of that scene is necessarily the correct one, just that I don’t interpret it as Will being ableist.

Nico faking his disability to get things—I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone bring this point up, but it’s something that really bothers me. The ableism regarding the “doctor’s note” for me isn’t the scene itself, but when the fandom portrays Will and Nico constantly using the doctor’s note excuse to get what they want, often having Nico fake some sort of symptom. Besides the abuse of power I mentioned before, promoting the idea that disabled people fake disabilities to get certain privileges is not okay. This is the sort of thinking that leads to stereotyping disabled people as lazy and it’s so prevalent that it makes a lot of disabled people wonder if they’re really disabled or if they’re making it all up (which ties in with the victim blaming point again).

Sometimes I agree that canon Solanagelo is less ableist than fanon, but sometimes fans do a better job than Riordan. It really just depends. I definitely think that both Riordan and the fandom have gotten better though! Will’s character and his relationship with Nico was very different in ToN than it was in previous books (different for the better but also to the point of inconsistency, but that’s a different critique). There were a lot of things in ToN that made it clear that Riordan was listening to the responses of disabled people. Some fans seem to be listening, too. There’s still rampant ableism in the fandom, but people are getting better at responding to criticism and realizing that a lot of tropes that used to be popular just aren’t ok.

Thank you for your ask! I’m glad you reached out to learn more. Again, if anyone knows good posts to read or blogs to visit for further information, please reply with them!

#anon #tw ableism #ableism tw

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cabinofimagines · 4 years ago

Text

Solangelos ABCs

It’s ya bois, I guess this is part of the SFU too (solangelo fanfic universe)

Pairing: Poly!Solangelo x reader, Will Solace x reader x Nico di Angelo Request: No Warnings: None Word count: 1.8k

- Asnyox

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

You three can’t always be together, so when you are it’s always a good time. Often y’all sneak out of camp to go on some sort of date, but sometimes just hanging at the campfire with everyone else is just as good. Being together with the three of you immediately makes a day good.

Beauty - What do they admire in their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Your smile throws always make their hearts skip a beat. Nico often can’t phantom how such a smile can be directed at him, while Will will do anything to make you smile. Their collective braincell stops working if you laugh while in their vicinity.

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Nico is the most accustomed to panic attacks and feeling down, while Will has the most knowledge on how to deal with both situations. Together they make a great team in giving you comfort, while respecting your feelings and boundaries. They are very attuned to your feelings and often prepare stuff in advance if it is obvious that you’re feeling down.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Nico and Will never talk about the future. They both are very aware of the passing of time and dangers of demigod life. Will has already seen so many die in the war - and Nico has felt it. If you bring up anything about the future, they will smile, but it really will feel like a dream to them. Surviving today is what is on their minds, living tomorrow is what they long for.

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Nico is doesn’t know a lot about relationships, so he will let you and Will take the lead. He just goes along with whatever you two come up with now, and he loves to be included in it. Will often initiates stuff, but you are then the one to carry the rest of it out.

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

These boys will never really fight you, perhaps being very protective of you but they won’t let it spiral. A fight comes with regrets, and they don’t want to let you carry those regrets. Before the fight is over you all have made up again, because when someone walks out you can never be too sure if they come back.

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Nico is hyperaware of everything that happens to him, so he notices but doesn’t know how to react. Will takes your efforts more for granted, as he himself often does a lot for other people without getting thanks too. If you’ve been particularly active, they might thank you with a quick peck or a small gift.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Secrets relationship wise are not there. In your relationship, communication is the key, especially because there are three people involved. So secrets aren’t kept long. Nico won’t easily open up to you two about his story, because he first needs to figure that out himself, so give him time. Will won’t try to bother you two with his own problems too much, but he will often rant about whatever is bothering him anyway.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

They like you for who you are, and you like them for who they are. Will won’t change a lot, just a big ol’ grin is more often on his face. Nico will become more open to social interaction, but not a lot. They won’t change, but you will heal them partly of their pasts.

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Uh, well, yes. It’s not as much jealousy as it is missing you whenever you’re not close. They then group together and wait for you to be done, so they can hog you again. They know you won’t leave them or something - they just really like being with you and you talking to someone else kind off means you’re not with them.

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Nico is gentle, he often asks if he may kiss you. Will is more spontaneous and just goes for it. Every kiss means something lovely, and if you do all kiss it’s often in the order that Nico kisses you, and then Will kisses Nico and then you.

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

I was going to write a prompt here, but I think I already have a whole fic. Shortly - They just ask you on a date, bluntly. Because than it’s either win or lose.

Memory - What’s their favourite memory together?

Probably doing something silly outside with the three of you. Outside is outside of camp, and something silly is going to the Mac at an ungodly hour. The ambience of not being where you should be, while unapologetically being the three of you has left it’s mark.

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

Will jokingly started calling you stuff like ‘Your grace’, ‘My thane’ and ‘Your eminence’ and now can’t stop. Alternatively, he actually calls both you and Nico ‘Sunshine’ after you calling him that. He just loved that it’s a nickname that, jokingly, fits all of you. Nico is not much of a nickname guy, but he throws in a ‘love’ or ‘armor’ every now and then.

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

Yearning, longing and just too precious. They try not the be too obvious all the time, but they can’t stop their hearts from wanting to be close to you, and to be close together. They often have lingering touches, just wanting to take you in a bit longer for now.

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Not a lot of PDA here no. Nico doesn’t like it, beside hand holding, and you all just agreed. You often get stares and try to ignore those, but it isn’t easy all the time. You have been educating the whole of camp on what a poly relationship is, but I wouldn’t count that as bragging about it. They just want people to leave you three alone for now.

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

The way they sense if when there is something off with someone in your relationship would be a good plus in this. Nico has always been more aware of other peoples feelings than he liked to admit, so one look and he knows. Will is less sensitive for this, because he deals with a lot of emotional distress in the infirmary but he still picks up rather quickly when you start showing even the slightest of signs.

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

They don’t do your normal romance, but they more do the 00s coming of age movie romance. It’s out there, sweet, and you all want more of it on a daily basis.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Nico and Will are very supportive of everything you do, Will sometimes a bit too supportive. Nico is often more on the realistic side of things - but he will still help you in any way he can. Whatever you’re trying to accomplish, they will follow to your goals.

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice up your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

There isn’t much need for an extra routine because you all have the camps schedule. Next to that, Will has infirmary duty and you sometimes too. You all are quiet content with the little routine you have, especially because demigod life is not easy in any way. They wouldn’t actively spice up the relationship, but they would try ‘new’ things, although not excessively dangerous ones. You know, like killing a cyclops while going to the movies.

Understanding - How well do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

I already mentioned with the quirk one, you all really understand each others. You don’t need to know what they have been through to help them heal. The three of you fit together like pieces of a weird puzzle, and although someday you may know exactly what happened, right now it does not matter.

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Your relationship is basically Nico’s life line. Will deems it just as important, but he could recover if something were to happen, Nico not so much. Losing any of you would ruin him and I am not sure whether he would ever be able to recover from it. He already lost so much, and he would die before losing you.

Wild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

These boys are suckers for touches. You get I’ve-never-been-loved Nico di Angelo and I’ve-too-much-love Will in a package deal. They often cancel each other out, but with you in the middle. They love it when you touch them even in the slightest ways.

XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Cuddles are more liked than kisses, because kisses can’t be shared with three as much as cuddles can. They aren’t affectionate in public, but in private they sure are buddy. I also got affection headcanons over here for those who want more.

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

They’ll seek each other out and talk about you. They’ll huddle close and just seek comfort in one another and when you do come back they’ll tell you what new conclusions they came to. Alternatively, if you miss the another person in the relationship, you two come together and talk about the missing person.

Zeal - are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Nico would risk the world for this relationship, Will not so much. Will cares a lot about it, but he wouldn’t doom the world over it. This relationship is mostly Nico’s world, and he would dub the world doomed if something were to happen to it.

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