#Why can't Annabeth keep things from dead people?

[artemx746]

Honestly hate how Annabeth doesn't get to keep majority of her items (ie. Daedalus' laptop)

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

He's dead

"Hello, is this Sally Jackson?"

"Yeah, one of Percy's friends I'm guessing? I'll put him on the phone for you."

"Thank you."

"Hey...?"

"Hi.. it's Leo."

"WHERE THE FVCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!?"

"Language Percy! I don't want Estelle picking that up."

"Sorry mom."

"I forgot you didn't know I was back, I need to tell you something."

"Is everything okay? Is there another prophecy? I swear to the gods if there's anoth-"

"Are Annabeth and Grover with you?"

"No, Leo what's happening? You sound scared." Percy heard sobbing through the phone, "Take a deep breath, what's going on?"

"J-Jason... he- he.. fvcking sh!t- Jason's dead."

"No. No he can't be- but how? Why?!" Percy let out a scream of pain, breaking down into tears. "W- when..?"

"Two weeks ago, I told Piper I would tell you but I haven't been able to do it until now."

"Is she with you?"

"No, I'm alone."

"Where are you?"

"On some street in the middle of somewhere with no money, where I've been for two weeks."

"Are you in New York?"

"Yeah, somewhere in Manhattan."

"Describe it, you're coming over."

"Why...?"

"Just come, I don't think you should be alone right now." As he gave directions everything sunk in, Jason was dead. He would never fvcking see him again, never be able to laugh with him again, everything would never be the same again. He'd lost his bro, the one who'd always do dumb sh!t with him, the one he could talk to about anything but they'd always still be chill. He was gone.

Percy open the door with bloodshot eyes, tears still rolling down his face. Leo was a wreck, he looked as if he hadn't slept in a week, or eaten for that fact. He hugged him, they both half collapsed on each other, holding so tightly it was as if the other was about to disappear.

"Percy, is everything alright? Who's here? I heard crying what happ-" As the hug broke Sally caught sight of the small boy,

"Mom meet Leo, son of Hephaestus."

"Hello, you can stay here as long as you need I know demigod lives are hard. Go take a shower, I'll get you something to eat, if you want we can talk about what happened."

"Thank-k you." Leo whispered, unable to keep his voice from breaking.

"Percy, what's going on?"

"You remember how I told you about camp Jupiter... and..Jason?"

"Of course I do."

"He- he died.. I don't know what happened, I don't know why he even got involved but he's gone." Percy broke down, his mother's arms wrapped around him. "I don't know how I'm going to tell Annie."

"One step at a time, I know things are hard."

"HE WAS BARELY SIXTEEN!"

"I'm so sorry, you can't bring him back."

"But I could."

"Perc-"

"The gods ask for so much but they can't bring back a single person who died fighting for them!?"

"You know they're cruel,"

"I can't do this anymore."

"Leo, you feeling okay? Physically."

"I'm fine."

"Do you want to talk about Jason? I know he was your best friend, he was one of mine."

"He- he was my boyfriend, surprise." He didn't give him any time to answer before continuing but he could see the sympathy is his eyes. "Percy you've lost so many people, how do you keep going on? How do you carry on every day knowing you'll never see them again?"

"It's not easy, especially at the beginning. Somedays it's hard to go through wit somedays your fine, somedays you wish you could join them. They say time heals, that's not exactly true, but people help you heal, if people want to help, let them, even if you don't think it will. I know you want to run away, I know everything seems pointless but right now the worst thing is to be alone."

"I've lost my mum, I've lost Jason, who's next? I have no family that wants me, and my whole life's being controlled by the gods who don't give a shit about us."

"I probably shouldn't be saying this but... do you want a smoke? That's what I've been doing for the past few days, I know it's unhealthy but it... helps."

"Yeah, thanks Perce."

"Can I... show you something?"

"Yeah, you alright?" A tear fell from his eye,

"Ever since Jason- I just couldn't take it anymore... I... I need... some h-help, please." Leo rolled up his sleeves, his arms covered in burns; his breath was unsteady almost scared. "S-sorry." Percy pulled him into a hug,

"You don't have to apologise, I know it seems pointless to go on, I have scars to." Percy turned his forearm revealing pale scars all over his arms.

"But-t you're... you're... THE Percy Jackson, you've been on so many quests and you're so strong an-"

"That's what people thought, I still haven't forgiven myself for Bianca's death, or Beckendorf's or Luke's. But at some point you have to keep going on, you can't spend the rest of eternity grieving. Instead live for them, live to show their sacrifice made a difference because at the end of the day... you can't bring them back."

"How do you find the courage to try."

"You don't just wake up one day and suddenly be okay, it takes time, maybe your life won't be the exact same, but you have to keep living. I can't pretend I've gotten over Jason's death, I've been high a lot in these past few weeks... but I know at some point I'll have to move on."

"Thank you for everything Percy."

______________________

I wrote this a while ago and I thought I would post it because I'm taking forever to post the next Helpless part xx

[mmavverickk]

I “love” the betrayal fics where the entire camp suddenly believes that this new guy has actually accomplished all of Percy’s achievements and Percy lied to all of them, like camp didn’t literally witness half of those accomplishments and like Percy actually outright says “I did X.” Percy says almost nothing about what he does, Camp hears about most of his achievements from others

oh, we've all seen those fics. new guy shows up, he's actually Percy's half-brother. Annabeth suddenly only has eyes for him, everyone suddenly hates Percy because new guy does too, Poseidon may or may not disown Percy, and then Percy runs away and joins Chaos.

it's been copied and pasted thousands of times in hundreds of ways.

not a single one of those fics has Percy's departure from Camp happen realistically. it's not even impossible to grow resentment between Percy and the campers, which is what these writers seem to want. but the way they go about it? a cookie cutter asshole pied piper OC who steals the spotlight and turns Camp into a hostile mob of angry demigods? Unrealistic. 0/10 trope, literally 50% of why i will not read fanfictions with OCs.

have some realistic ways of turning Camp against Percy or vice versa:

- Percy could be captured. The area he was taken from is drenched in blood. no one could survive that, Percy's gotta be dead, so Camp doesn't look for him. after [x amount of time] of captivity and probably torture, Percy gives up hoping for a rescue. he discovers darker uses for his powers, frees himself, and doesn't go back to camp, because they abandoned him. opens the road for angst and emotion and tearful reunions etc.

- Camp is attacked. maybe it was a lazy beach day. no one is ready, only a few campers have their weapons. they're outnumbered and maybe surrounded and definitely out of options. Percy won't let anyone die. two ways to go about this one:

A) percy destroys the attackers single-handedly, using every tool in his arsenal, every fucked up thing he can think of to make sure his people survive. he controls poison and blood and drowns monsters and, i don't know, freezes them into ice cubes or boils their skin or stops their hearts. Camp is terrified of him now. he leaves. or B) the armed campers fight back, but percy isn't fighting. he's busy keeping the injured from dying. how? he's controlling their blood. he won't let it deviate from its normal path. Camp is terrified of him now. he leaves.

- [x god] sends Percy on a quest. but, surprise! it's not a quest! it's a trick, to lead Percy to his death! Percy survives, but can't go back or he'll be revealing he's still alive before he figures out why [x god] tried to have him killed and if there's anyone else behind it. fun conspiracy vibes.

- percy adopts a new pet, except this time it's a drakon. "Percy," Chiron says very patiently and not-at-all exasperated, "you can't keep a drakon as a pet. it will eat your friends and we don't have the space." Percy flips authority the bird and strikes out with his new pet to find somewhere they can settle. kinda cracky but written right it could be funny.

- Percy pisses Zeus off. not surprising. Zeus wants to kill Percy. not surprising. for his own good, Chiron sends Percy on a roadtrip/changes his name and sends him to mexico along with multiple witness protection agents/quest to keep Percy out of sight for a while to allow the king of olympus time to cool down, because we like when percy is alive and also the war poseidon would wage at his death would kill us all.

are all of them 100% realistic? no, but neither is Percy leaving Camp. Hera had to literally kidnap him and erase his memory to keep him away. the point is that they're different and plausible, and not the same exact trope repeated over and over again until i can tell you the plot of hundreds of betrayal works in one sentence.

[my-pjo-stuff]

The most braindead take I ever must have seen in the PJO fandom is people giving Luke shit for "abandoning" Chris in the labyrinth.

Because Luke didn't abandon SHIT. Chris was out on a mission to get Ariadne's string in the Labyrinth! That mission went south when Minos drove the guy insane. We have every reason to believe that Chris went in there willingly. Because it was a MISSION. A mission Luke most definitely never went on himself, since he was sort of preoccupied with, yk- LEADING AND ORGANIZING THE ARMY AND PREPPING TO BECOME KRONOS' VESSLE. (For those getting mad at Luke for not going with Chris- bffr he has better stuff to do. He's not only the leader of the TA and also will be Kronos' vessle. You really thinking Kronos would allow his body to possibly get lost in some random labyrinth when someone else could do the job just as well? And that's ignoring Luke'd duties as a leader and top dog of the TA he also can't just abandon)

Luke would have abandoned Chris if he was on the mission too and just ditched him once he went insane, or if Chris sent out a distress signal and Luke decided to never go rescue him. Neither applies here. Everyone in the TA and CHB knew that a war was brewing! Chris was most CERTAINLY aware of the risks- for all the TA knows Chris was either still navigating the labyrinth while he was in CHB or dead. They never "abandoned" ANYONE.

Because by that logic that would mean that Chiron would also have abandoned all the campers who went on missions or quests and died from it 'cause something went wrong, BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO CHRIS. No one ever thought about or could have foreseen Chris going crazy. That was NEVER the plan! A mission went south and ended badly, that's just what happens sometimes in this world! And everyone knows it! Would CHB have abandoned Percy and Annabeth had their quest into the labyrinth gone wrong? Well if we go by the logic of some fans they would have. 'Cause nothing else happened to Chris. And now if people come here and say "yeah, well- Chris was still a child and shouldn't have been sent off into the labyrinth in the first place" First off, NO SHIT SHERLOCK! It's not like the fact that it's wrong for demigods to be used as child soldiers is a major reason for Luke to revolt in the first place! Not like IT'S CANONICALLY ADDRESSED THAT DEMIGOD LIVES ARE DANGEROUS AND ARE USED AS CANON FODDER BY GODS.

Luke frankly said doesn't have any other fucking choice! ALL demigods are young as fuck BECAUSE they die so young- there are no older people around to do it! The TA reasons that they have to change this now and have danger in their lives now so they can build a better future where that won't be a thing anymore! (If you try to go, "well he could have sent a monster-" bffr we all know that A) those guys are NOT smart enough to navigate the labyrinth on average and B) the few that are are not only very rare but generally also high ranking) Second off, please keep that energy up with everyone else! You're gonna judge Chiron and the gods too for sending even YOUNGER kids to do even more DANGEROUS stuff? Where are you talking about CHB making Luke go on his Ladon quest (all alone for all we know) at 17? Chris was 15 in BotL as far as I know, only 2 years younger? Where is the hate on the gods for forcing the Master Bolt quest onto Percy at the age of 12? That was equally (if not more) dangerous as the labyrinth!

Like, listen: If you dislike Luke, be my guest! As much as I love him I can easily see why people might not have the best of opinions on him. He did lots of fucked stuff- but for the love of GOD be reasonable if you want to give us reason why you dislike him! Which, by the way, isn't neccesary! You can just- dislike characters because you dislike them. No moral reasoning needed. All I ask of people is that they are fair and reasonable when they give moral reasons for not liking someone. Because the claim that "Luke abandoned Chris in the labyrinth" is just straight up garbage if you even think about it a little bit.

[yonemurishiroku]

Hiya yone! Recently my brain has been infested with bugs that want me to make a Circe Nico AU (Nico is Circe?? Kinda.) You are the glorious fanfic writer who can conjure up anything from anything, so please do your magic.

I'll try my best, however I only know like. 2 stories about Circe at best? So please don't put too much trust in me lol 😅😅

The first one is when Odysseus visits her during his return voyage to Ithaca. I forgot most of it (typical me) except that she turns his crew into animals, which Odysseus managed to convince her to undo and if I'm not mistaken, they live together for a while?? Let's just go with it.

As for this story, I think it would fit best with Jasico? Mainly bc they have that sort of enemies-to-lovers air (Jason distrusted Nico at first). Jason is best fit to be a returning hero, too. Though the Cupid debacle is like heaven and earth with mere convincing on Odysseus' part, I reckon we can work around it with enough maneuver. Why does Nico accept to turn them back? - Maybe he's feeling generous, maybe he's a petulant lonely witch who wants people to stay but never knows how to voice it, and ppl often run at the first sight of him, so he just turns them into animals to keep them by her side.

In the end, Odysseus leaves Circe. This aligns well with the fact that Jason just dropped dead shortly after he and Nico became friends. Which is a funny (and depressing thought) if you put thoughts into it. Which I can't atm lmoa.

Anw. think of it as a piece of quiet Jason has given Nico in the expanse of his loneliness. That, though he was swept away by the natural order of things at the end, Jason did try his best to alleviate Nico's pain. So I reckon there should be a little bit of affection - if not love - in there.

The second story is, well, Circe and Scylla. And the male lover whose name I forget.

This is a classic case of jealousy - so who fits it better than Percy, the canon epitome of every jealous trope in the history of fiction?

sorry that was my pettiness talking. Anywayyyyy, I suppose I don't need to talk about this... I mean it's pretty clear who is who and how the story transpires: Circe is in love with that-something-sea-god, who is in love with Scylla, so Circe turns her into a monster. The only difference between Circe and Nico in this is that he doesn't do anything to Annabeth (even refuses to hate her still. gosh).

But that wouldn't be Percico, is it? So I say just say fuck it and make Percy a sea monster or something Idk. A witch living secluded in an island with his beloved sea monster? I'm in.

Another choice would be to make Annabeth the bad one but I'm in no position to make that propose.

If you still want to keep the story, and if you're any of an unhinged person like me, just make Nico the villain. Well, Circe is the villain in this story, yeah? Embrace it - Nico as the powerful witch, whose loneliness-induced jealousy wreaks havoc on even a sea god. What's left is not love - because love is the last thing Yone needs in fanfics srsly - but an impression of terror, of how disastrous Nico's love can be.

The concepts mix well in this case btw. I remember a painting of Circe pouring a plate filled with poison into the sea. Just imagine it - a blinding blackness spreading rapidly across the lapping water with just a touch of Nico's dainty finger. The shadows overlap with the roaring waves - the black undercurrents raging all the same - and darkness swallows all those whom he call enemies. If Percy's the sea and Nico's the lightless bottom, dark, mysterious, and full of threats.

That's everything I have atm, I guess. Sorry for not being able to help much :(((

[dark-elf-writes]

Iron Bull dragged Annabeth away. He's the biggest and he remembers a similar incident a few years back on Seheron he doesn't talk about. She's screaming, and begging and it can't be. Can't be the end. She can't have lost him like this. Haven falls and her screams echo louder then ever.

(when he comes back, she drops to her knees praying to the gods. Later she grabs him and kisses him and begs him to marry her.

He's hers and she will make people know it. She can't lose him. Never again)

In the end it’s decided that Dorian and Bull will go with Percy and Annabeth to the final trebuchet. Thalia, Grover and Thalia try to argue, try o go with them, but there’s too many wounded, too many dying, and the evacuation group need as many heavy hitters can be spared. Between Nico and Thalia they have ground and air coverage (and fuck those lighting bolts and massive cracks in the ground are next level magic that makes Bull itch) and their little healer friend already looks almost dead on his feet as he runs from one cot to another, stabilizing those that need carried and tying the final bandages on those that can walk. They need to stay back. Need to help the evacuation. None of them like it.

(Percy doesn’t try to convince Annabeth to stay back. No one is brave enough to suggest it when they see that dragon bone sword of hers and the cold look in gray eyes.)

Still Percy smiles and twirls that odd sword of his. “You’re acting like this is my first siege. I got this.”

He’s scared. They’re all scared, really, but for kids they hide it better than anyone Bull has ever seen. Better than some soldiers. Better than the whimpering veteran (ex Templar it looks like. Glorified guardsmen, not meant for assaults like this) Will is shoving a potion into before herding him off to join the others.

Bull can respect it. He also hates it.

The tamassarins would love to get their hands on these kids, bas or not. Warriors born and bred. Unflinching in the face of death.

Why does the idea make him want to roar?

So only the four of them head for the trebuchet and resolve to make the Templar bastards fucking choke on Haven if they want it so bad.

Annabeth takes a hard hit from the lumbering behemoth of red lyrium that was apparently once a human. It’s only the Vint’s quick barrier that keeps her bones from clapping in impact. She still hits the snow with a shriek as Percy takes the final blow. Bull waves the kid off before he can run to her, already moving to lift her.

There’s no time, and He’s the closest to the trebuchet. It needs to be aimed, and strong as the kid is Bull will be able to move faster carrying Annabeth if they need to make a break for it.

And they do need to make a break for it. Percy gets the damn thing aimed at the mountain just in time for the dragon to come back.

A wall of blighted fire separates Bull, Dorian, Annabeth from Percy. A hulking darkspawn walks through the flames like they’re nothing, focused only on the glowing green light of the kid’s hand.

Bull can do the math. The Vint can too by the way he sucks in a breath and curses when he sees the splinters that were once his staff.

Percy does the math in his own it seems, looking at the darkspawn, at the fire and the dragon, at the horizon cold and empty showing the others were still running. Then he looks at Bull and nods. His sword is missing. He looks so damn small compared to the bastard stalking ever closer. He does not waver.

Bull wants to roar. Wants to rip that fucking darkspawn to shreds. Wants to haul the kid out with his bare hands.

But it’s three lives to one, and Annabeth has done the math too.

“No!” The girl screams, twisting with more force than Bull anticipated for her size and with her injuries. “No! Percy!”

“Bull,” The Vint gasps, drawing in the dregs of his magic without a focus and hefting the girl’s sword. He will run back in, Bull realizes. Will give his life to get the kids out. Against his will, Bull feels a flash of respect.

But he knows how this goes.

He adjusts his grip on Annabeth in one hand, snags the back of the Vint’s robes in the other, and runs.

The girl screams the whole way, beating on his arm until he will be covered in bruises and calling him every name under the sun until her voice breaks and shatters. The Vint is kind enough to cast barriers over him so she can’t do too much damage. Bull wishes he wasn’t. Wishes he could feel the full force of her blows. Wishes she had that damned sword in her hands so she could run him through with it.

They make it to the last stragglers on the path and keep running. Annabeth rights the whole time. Fights until the flare is set off and the avalanche comes down.

He will never forget the scream she let out until the day he died. Will never forget how she finally wrenched free of him and collapsed into the snow whispering prayers through her sobs. Will never forget the haunted looks on the other kids’ faces as one by one they joined her.

(He doesn’t let their little healer tend to the scratches and bruises covering his arm. The kid doesn’t push all that hard anyway instead resting glowing hands over Annabeth while she prays.)

Bull finds his boys and sags to the ground by them. Only Krem is brave enough to press a hand to his shoulder.

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: My partners in Christ now we're officially in the beginning of the end -Danny Words: 2,403 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Pompeii' -by Bastille

VII: I Can't Dance, I Can't Jive, I'm Not Having the Time of My Life

September

It takes a whole minute to get Ara out of her shocked state after they inform her the labyrinth has come back alive.

"That's impossible," she says weakly. "Pasiphaë's dead, so is Daedalus..."

"We've found two active entrances so far," Rachel says pitifully. "They don't feel like the others, though. I went in with a few campers, and just a few steps in I realize it's sort of... dormant."

"What do we do?" Ara turns to Chiron anxiously. "Do we seal the entrances?"

"That would only force the labyrinth to make new ones. Better to just keep an eye on the one we've found," Chiron places a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Piper and Jason step into the room holding their travel bags. Today they catch a flight to California to start their school year, after a whole month of searching Leo across the country.

"Came to say goodbye," Piper hugs her tightly. "Give us a call if you catch any new about Leo, yeah?"

"You got it," Ara moves over to hug Jason. "You guys look after each other."

"That's a given," Piper glows teal as she laces her fingers with Jason's. 

"Look after camp," Jason tells her, offering a somewhat encouraging smile. "I'll keep working at home, you don't have to worry about me neglecting my duties."

That pulls a genuine laugh from Ara. "When it comes to you, Ken, that's never one of my worries." The boy glows dark blue as he smiles back. Ara's smile freezes, but she quickly turns away, forcing herself to forget what she just noticed.

October

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you? Hecate's pets are—"

"Birdy, if I find out you left the party, I'll melt Almighty. I'm so not kidding right now."

Ara rolls her eyes, pushing the door open. "Good luck with the farting rat, she's a biter."

Percy, Grover, and Annabeth shout at her from the car, trying to embarrass her, but unfortunately for them, she loves them too much to feel shame. Ara waves and blows kisses as she goes, and then Percy starts the car and drives away.

"Happy thought, happy thoughts..." she hums as she walks towards the house.

"Ara!" One of the girls from the cheer squad greets her by the door. "Cool costume!"

"Thanks, I always wanted to be Spider-Man."

"Spider-Gwen? That's the girl one, right?"

Ara sighs. "I already had this conversation with my brother. I don't want to be Gwen, I want to be Peter. I'm not blonde."

"But you're a girl."

"Why does that matter, it's Halloween," Ara huffs, walking past her. "Are you a cat in real life?"

"Good point," the girl laughs. Ara likes her because she never takes anything to heart. "Come in!"

First mortal party ever and she's excited, honest. Except that she keeps looking at things and thinking 'Oh, Nico would love this!' or 'Lily would hate this'—'Jason and Hazel would be so confused about this'— 'Piper would be having so much fun judging these people', and of course: 'I wish Leo were here'.

Trying to belong in a world where she used to be constantly ostracized is at best questionable, but Ara used to be overlooked in camp as well, and things got better there! Camp Half-Blood can't offer what she craves, ancient Greek culture was made for old men in robes, and girls like her were background characters most of the time. The outer world is exactly what she needs, the parties, the cheering uniforms, the mortals... 

"You okay?"

Ara gives a start, thinking she's getting in the way. "Sorry..." 

The person stops her placing a hand on her arm. "That's not what I meant," the boy laughs good-naturedly. "You need air or something?"

"Sorry, no. I'm fine," Ara blinks. "I'm looking for my friends."

"What's your name?" He asks, eyeing her with amusement. 

"Ara."

"I'm Bill," he shakes her hand. "From Goode's?"

The girl nods. "You too?"

"Nah, my cousin goes there, he brought me," he smiles, his soul light orange. "Kinda glad he did."

"Yeah, well, this is my first party ever, I'm not sure I'm glad to be here." Come to think of it, she could be working on the Beacon, Harley's expecting an update next week and she's got nothing.

"Ah, really? Well, we can look for your friends, maybe you'll feel better once you find them," Bill offers politely.

He's acting quite harmless so far. Yes, he's attracted to her, but he's not being annoying... yet. She won't do anything, of course, she's not an asshole and she loves Leo so badly that she's going insane, but Percy asked her to try, so she'll try to have a good time and keep her mind busy with something other than demigod crap.

December

"Are we celebrating your birthday earlier?" Ara stops dead in her tracks when she finds the Pavilion adorned with all kinds of flowers.

Lily looks up. "What the..."

"What's this about?" Nico walks up to them.

"I don't know, I didn't do this," Ara replies just as confused.

"There you are!" Juniper seizes Nico and pulls him forward. "Here!" She hands him a crown of holly.

Nico pales. "Shit."

The girls walk over to the table where he's seated. "What's going on, Nico? Your birthday isn't until next month." Lily frowns.

"I messed up. Kill me. Please, Ara, I know you've been wanting to do it."

"Okay," Ara agrees. "I wanna know why I'll be killing you before time, though."

Nico talks in a hurried, shaky whisper. "I asked the nymphs to set up a picnic for me and Will so I... you know, so I could..."

Ara's mouth falls open in shock. "You're asking him out?"

Lily squeals briefly. "I'm so proud of you, Neeks!"

"You don't get it," Nico presses with dread. "This is the picnic!"

Silence. Then Ara and Lily pale too. "Oh."

"I can call it off," Ara says promptly. "Let me get Juniper..."

"Too late," Lily looks at the sea of campers entering the pavilion. "But we can lie, Nico. Ara can say it's a solstice celebration..."

Nico's face shifts once he spots Will, determination, and anger both blending on his face. "No."

"What?"

"I've had enough," Nico looks at them, his dark irate eyes looking certain. "I'm not a kid anymore, I don't need any of you to clean up my messes. I can do it."

Ara raises a brow. "But uh... are you sure you want this to be how you...?"

"Eros said I would have to face him sooner or later," Nico makes a face. "Let's go with sooner."

Lily squeezes his shoulder. "Whatever happens, we're here for you." He nods. Lily goes to her table and Ara circles the one where Nico is and sits next to him. "Are you sure?" She insists anxiously.

"I've gone through a lot, this is nothing," he says in a dry voice.

"No, Nico," she holds his hand, absorbing some of his stress. "It is a big deal, it's who you are, if this is not how you wish to do it—"

"Today is a special day!" Juniper speaks to the crowd. "Nico di Angelo has a very important announcement."

Ara wishes to protect Nico, she wants to hide him away and call it off as a bad joke, to apologize for the inconvenience, but then Nico drops her hand and stands up, shaky and scowling, but sure of his decision. He clears his throat, but it takes him a few seconds to get something out. 

"I... I know I haven't been around enough, and I know everyone talks about me because of it. You don't like me much, and that's fine. I don't care. I'm done with it. I'm sick of hiding myself for your comfort," he looks around defiantly. "I'm gay. I like Will Solace, and I want to go out with him. There. Now you have something else to talk about."

A few seconds of stunned silence pass by before Will's voice comes from Apollo's table. "Gods, Nico, you didn't have to throw a party!" He says, so flushed he looks sunburned. "I would have said yes if you'd just asked me!"

Nico's soul is just like Will's, two little morning lights looking at each other like they're made of the purest sunshine. Ara doesn't realize she's crying until the teardrops pour out so heavily that they blur her vision. Kayla and Austin whoop and cheer, and soon after almost everyone in camp does too, because they never turn their backs on making a fuss out of anything. 

Ara laughs, then covers her mouth to not sob like an idiot, and it's only when people start chanting 'LAKE! LAKE!'  that she realizes they're talking to her, waiting for her permission. "Alright! Sorry, Ghost King, you know the rules."

He turns to her, eyes are bright and slightly out of focus but—dare she say it—happy. "You and Lily."

The girl nods, understanding what he means. "Who else, if not us?"

Will gets lifted by his siblings while Nico is carried out by his two friends, keeping him at a short distance from Will so they can hold hands. Once at the lake, Ara counts to three, and then both boys are tossed into the water. They all go crazy, Ara hugs Lily, and Lily cries on her shoulder. Life feels so right for just one moment.

She misses Leo all the same.

January

Ara can deal with a defective Oracle. She can deal with their travel and communications devices malfunctioning and the Beacon coming to a still point, she can even accept having the labyrinth back, but she draws the line at missing campers.

"What do you mean Cecil's gone?" She scowls at Malcolm. "He would've never left his cabin unannounced—"

"He didn't leave!" Malcolm insists impatiently. "His stuff is in the cabins, no weapons or food was stolen, something else is going on!"

Ara takes a deep breath, staring down at the ping pong table feeling like she's about to break. "Alright. No one leaves camp, then." Several counselors protest and she silences them at once.

"What about Cecil?" Malcolm demands.

Ara hates being the bad guy, but she has a whole camp to keep safe. "We don't know what we're facing. I'll ask for a meeting with the gods and—"

"Ara, we need a quest—"

"Malcolm, do you think I don't know it?" She looks at him with frustration. "I'm not gonna send search parties out there to fight gods' know what without a prophecy! I have to protect those that remain—"

"Don't talk as if he's dead!"

"Malcolm!" She exclaims, losing her patience. "You're freaking out."

Malcolm pauses, breathing heavily, and then replies in a desperate voice. "He's my friend."

"He's not dead," Nico says at last. "I would've felt it. If he got taken, he's still out there."

She understands how Malcolm's feeling, but it's not enough to make her cave. She's their caretaker, and she can't be rash. Granted, she's not looking after a big amount of campers at the moment, but each life is precious.

"I'll ask the nymphs and satyrs to search the forest, Chiron and I will go too. Mr. D hasn't returned since the war with Gaea, and I think it's time we accept he won't come back," she looks up resentfully. "We're on our own, so please, be patient with me."

The meeting ends and she sits down, rubbing her forehead. Lily and Nico sit on each side of her. "This is bad," Nico says gravely. "But you did the right thing."

"I haven't told anyone yet, but..." she squeezes her hands, pressing her thumbs over the knuckles. "Zeus cut me off. We've been ditched."

Lily sits up rigidly. "What?"

"Zeus closed Olympus again, something's going on," Ara confesses. "They ignore my offerings, and Almighty isn't working in compass mode. Harley's project was coming along and suddenly it stopped functioning with no explanation."

Nico stares at her. "When was the last time you heard from the gods?"

"Last solstice," she makes a face. "Apollo was nowhere to be seen, and they kicked me out as soon as I said I had nothing to report. A day after that... I hadn't even noticed I had a connection to Olympus until it was gone. No more dreams, no regressions, no nothing. They blocked every entrance."

"So what do we do? We have no oracle either—"

"I don't know," she says full of concern. "I'll search, but if it's just Chiron and I..."

"We can help you—"

"You'll stay right here where I can protect you. You have to make sure the rest obeys my orders. Understood?" She asks sternly.

Her friend tries to argue. "But—"

"Lily, I can't lose more people," she begs. "Please."

The girl glares at her. "General, if we're alone in this, the wise thing to do would be to work as a team."

"A team doesn't need to go everywhere together," Ara retorts. 

"Where you go I go," Lily presses, sounding slightly desperate. "You promised."

Ara holds her gaze as she speaks. "Nico?"

"I'll make sure she stays in camp," he states without skipping a beat.

"No!"

"Malcolm needs you," Ara reminds her. "He's restless, and rightfully so, but he's a counselor. I need your brother safe, and I need him steady. Can you do that?"

Lily makes a face. "Yes, I can. But only because he needs me as a sister."

"Thank you," Ara says, satisfied, but not pleased.

When Ara spots the suspicious-looking vagabond trying to sneak into her building, she considers climbing up the fire escape ladders, but then she notices how badly beaten he is and the little girl beside him, the way her eyes jump from one place to another like she's ready to kill or run.

Demigods.

Ara draws out Almighty and calls out to them. "Hey!"

The boy slips on the steps and falls on his butt, he immediately starts whining while the little girl looks at him with annoyance, but Ara doesn't pay attention to him as she walks closer with the sword firmly in hand.

"Don't get up," she says, her breath coming out in puffs of white air. "Who are you?"

"You're the daughter of Olympus," the girl says with a glossy look in her eyes. "You're real..."

Ara glances at the boy, she shouldn't trust these strangers, they could be here to kill her and Percy. Considering how things are going, it wouldn't surprise her... but they look dirty and tired, and the boy's nose is broken—she could fix him in a second, and if they are demigods, she should take care of them. 

"Who are you?" She insists.

The boy stands up holding his ribcage. "My muse! It's so good to see you—"

She lifts the sword to his throat. "I asked for your name and you haven't answered. So unless you want me to cut off your head..."

The boy's eyes fill with unshed tears and he speaks in a miserable voice. "I'm Apollo!"

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[egglantine23]

All right reading Percy Jackson now got through the first series now on to heroes of Olympus but I wanted to share a little bit of an idea that I thought would be cute so I know at the end of the series when Percy's all like pay your child support Poseidon does say that Percy is his only kid. However at a cute little OC idea. And it will keep this whole Poseidon thinks that Percy's is only kid. I have named her Molly she's a selkie from Ireland. Grandma is also a selfie and her Grandpa is a lighthouse keeper along with her mom. She lives with her grandma grandpa and Mom, the reason why Poseidon didn't bring her up is because at like 2 months old she technically dies and her grandma goes to the Irish sea god(can't spell his name don't want to look it up) and begs him to turn her into a selkie like her. He does and molly gets another chance at life. I kind of want the Celtic gods to be very different to the Norse and Greek gods and how we see them act especially since we know in Canon that a lot of the Celtic gods have faded. Sort of like they cling to each other quite a bit maybe they're a lot nicer to their children and actually raise them because they've lost a lot of people in their life that they thought would last forever. AKA family is very important. Maybe for one reason or another a Celtic god needs something done because they're super busy and helps the foreign demigods get to Camp Half-Blood safely in return along with some gold. But I would find funny is that maybe Percy Grover and annabeth wash up on the shores of Ireland right next to her family's lighthouse and Percy wakes up to this 10-year-old little girl with big black eyes and dark black hair wearing a white sealskin coat and bright yellow rain boots. And just freaking out when she smiles and he sees shark teeth. Now little Molly wouldn't get the same powers that her big brother has, she's a selkie and get some more minor version of a shapeshifting power like she's not good at it and really can only turn her teeth the shark teeth. She's kind of a quiet kid and she doesn't actually speak but she is also a seal so she's kind of like a little wild animal. Like when they brought her back to Camp Half-Blood one of the Hermes kids around her age decided to prank her and she played dead and it freaked them out. Her favorite food is eels for some reason and she doesn't like using silverware she'll use it but she prefers just to eat things with her mouth and hands. She's kind of a creepy child but after a while you just start to love her. She's a lot like deep sea creatures I have a feeling that Percy is more of the water itself and not be what actually is inside the ocean while she would be more like what's inside the ocean especially in the midnight zone. All right now I'm going to put it into a list of fun little head cannons about her.

So walk up to Percy at random occasions holding a muscle or a clam just eating it Percy does not know where she gets them

Percy doesn't know that she is a selkie or that she can turn into a seal for the first few months he knows her

She shows affection by biting people not too hard and never with the shark teeth just a little nibble

If she ever gets scared or back into a corner like when she first stopped her first monster she immediately goes to bite them with the shark teeth

She has tried on multiple occasions to eat Chiron

Because of this Dionysus finds her entertaining

She doesn't really make a lot of friends with the other half bloods at camp but those water ladies love her

She doesn't like capture the flag at all she finds it too loud too crazy and too scary she much prefer to sit on the sidelines and watch

To allow her to live on land and last more than a day she changes her coat into a necklace when she opens the little locket on the necklace it turns into the coat she can't speak if the coat is a necklace but even with her coat she doesn't talk much

She tends to daydream a lot so she ends up staring at a lot of people it's very creepy

One time she got Percy to give her a ride on his shoulders when they were going to dinner and she grabbed a bird out of the air

The first time she met her dad was when Percy brought her down to Poseidon's Castle or whatever to meet Tyson and there stepmom, she thought Triton was a eel and tried to eat him

Before Percy knew that she was a selkie he would visit the random seal that was sunbathing by the camp and just complain about things because the seal was a great listener and didn't speak for some reason

And she's a seal she's like a double goofball like going on her back getting random people to carry her not a lot of people know she can turn into a seal and she takes full advantage of that

[stanning-reyna]

I hope I was your favorite crime.

an annabeth chase one-shot

And I watched as you fled the scene Doe-eyed as you buried me

She was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She'd heard that expression plenty of times before, thrown around to describe how one felt inside. But right now this was no metaphor.

She was holding up Atlas' burden- the sky itself. Luke had been here. He'd been crying out in agony. Annabeth had only seem him in that much distress once before, the last time he saw his mom. She couldn't let him go through that without trying to help, so she went to his side. Whatever happened after that was nothing but a distant blur, blocked out by the pain shooting through her body. The curse must have not liked two people bearing its force, so it kicked Luke out. That was the only explanation for why he wasn't here right now.

She began to adjust to the pain, allowing her vision to clear up enough to see him standing across the clearing from her. Relief flooded through her almost as quickly as the pain had. Luke was here; he saw her and would be over to help her any second now.

He never came.

I crossed my heart as you crossed the line And I defended you to all my friends

"Kronos is manipulating him, Percy. Can't you see that? He was scared on Mount Othrys. He's scared just like we are."

The boy only stared at her. His green eyes effectively cloaked whatever he may be thinking, but Annabeth had known him long enough to make a guess. He thought she was dead wrong, that she needed to grow up and let Luke go. That's what most of Camp thought too, but it was worse knowing her best friend agreed.

She'd like to say it brought out her anger, that she valiantly defended the point she knew so well to be true (after all, she was never wrong). In reality, others' disapproval of Luke made her feel embarrassed. Pathetic. Stupid. All the things she'd tried so hard to avoid since she was a child. She couldn't let anyone know that, of course. A child of Athena should be nothing but intelligent and sure of themself.

And now, every time a siren sounds I wonder if you're around 'Cause you know that I'd do it all again

She hated herself for it. All of it. She should have stopped him from killing himself. She should have killed him sooner. She should have taken Kronos into her own hands. She should have let the prophecy run its course. Somehow, she had managed to do too little and too much all at the same time and landed everyone around her screwed over.

The worst part was that she knew she'd miss Luke, so much so that she'd try to will him back to life. But when he was alive she needed him away from her so desperately, and yet she couldn't let go of him.

Months passed. Percy disappeared, but he was found and they went across the Atlantic on a quest and they went through horrible things, but they survived.

Months passed. And she thought of Luke any moment her mind wasn't preoccupied. Long ago had she accepted that the natural state of her mind would be worrying about Luke, what he'd do, what she'd have to do back. Now he was gone and she still worried, but this worry was worse because there'd be resolution to it. She'd spend eternity worrying about what could have happened and never know the answer, so her brain would just keep working away at the question.

She wished she could go back and do it all over again. See if she could find the solution the way a child of Athena should be able to do. Save him, not just from death but from everything that had happened with Kronos. Or even just to see his face again, alive and breathing.

He would never leave her mind alone, no matter how much time passed. She was sure of that.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Wow I’m imagining a crossover of Percy Jackson x WandaVision where Percy “accidentally” discovers that he gained the Chaos Magic and he created a new reality where everyone that died in the two wars are alive, like Silena, Beckendorf, Zoe and etc. But after a while he notices that his new power was way too powerful and dangerous than he thought.

😍 Genius idea!

My (short) take on this (because I needed to write something for fun before I spiral down further), if I may:

Genetics is not my strongest, especially not with how Rick tried to explain why demigods can date with their cousins, but- what if being a demigod is similar to being a mutant? What if other than getting the godly parent's power through ✨not DNS✨, they have their own powers?

For some, it is not as over the top. For some, it relates to their godly power, so they don't even notice it.

Nico can raise skeletons, talk with ghosts, travel through the shadows, so when he touches living things and he absorbs their life-force, it is not a big stretch to assume he got this from Hades too.

Silena's power to influence people might come from Aphrodite, but when it comes with the ability to catch glimpses of what they think in that specific moment, it feels like a different set of powers all together.

Reading books quickly, absorbing information might comes easy for the children of Athena, but not as easy as it is for Annabeth: just touching something, she knows. Its history, who used it and for what purpose. The worst part is - it does not limited to objects.

But Percy? Well. He was always a bit different from even other demigods, wasn't he? He just has to have magic. It's a pretty, flashy thing, looking like he is manipulating the waves of the ocean, but it is so much more.

He finds this out after Kronos's death. Luke's death. He looks around - dead bodies everywhere. Demigods from the side of gods, demigods from the Titan's side... All dead. Too young to vote, too young to drink, too young to drive and to have sex, yet not too young to die for beings who don't even give a fuck if they live or die.

He loses it.

When he regains consciousness, he is in the infirmary. It is Lee, who takes care of him.

He is visited by Charles and Silena, always the parents of CHB, but he is even more exhilarated when his boyfriend, Luke is the one sitting next to his bed when he wakes up again.

Even when Luke is scolding him for overusing his powers in a silly little game of tag, being next to him is relaxing and it feels like home.

When Lee lets him leave, and not even Michael wants to keep him under supervision, the camp is full of life.

Participating in the games, training with his friends and learning never felt more exciting than now. Spending time with his friends gives him life. Even if Nico is behaving a bit suspicious...

When the hunters of Artemis arrive, Bianca is the first one to run and tackle her baby brother, who is suspiciously close to tears for not seeing his sister for just a few weeks, but then Thalia and Zoë greets them as well and the others start to mingle with the demigods, not caring about the teary reunion of the Underworld siblings.

The game with the huntresses is competitive, but so much fun!

(He and Luke, the power couple of Camp Half-Blood lead the camp to win, of course.)

It is a month after he was let out, and almost a month and a half after waking up in the Apollo cabin, when he starts noticing some discrepancies.

Sometimes, when he looks at Luke, sleepily cuddling with each other in Percy's bed, he sees golden eyes, and blood. Too much blood.

When he hugs Silena for being awesome, her face is radiant with her smile, but her eyes... They are screaming silently, begging for mercy.

Each time he visits Lee and Michael, trying to learn some first aid, Will avoids him, eyes filed with tears and anguish. He wonders what happened with the boy, but probably some family drama he can't help with.

Nico... Nico is always so temperamental, but Percy loves his cousin. He tries to spend time with him, to involve him in games, and other fun things, but the boy is angry, always telling him weird things.

Percy is unsure why would Nico think that Luke is dead, when he is obviously alive and well in his loving embrace, and he is even more confused about why would Nico want everybody to be gone, but... His cousin is the son of Hades. Maybe he is just more comfortable with death.

But in the end, he dismisses everything, and smiles: Camp Half-Blood is such a beautiful, magical, perfect place to live.

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

Helpless part 56, you should know I'll be there for you

He would be fine, everything was fine, they would all be fine. Percy stared down at his wrist, he wanted the pain to go away but he knew that wasn't a solution, he took a deep breath as he headed for the Athena cabin.

"Hey, Annabeth... can we talk?" The door cracked open and the daughter of Athena slipped out,

"You alright? What happened." She knew something was going on, he could tell from her tone, from the way she held herself.

"I'll... tell you at my cabin." They sat down on his bed after a short and silent trip, her hand fit perfectly into his own as he held it.

"I- I really want to cut right now." She pulled him into a hug and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.

"Hey, you're okay, everything is going to be okay." She whispered into his ear, "What happened?"

"I couldn't fvcking help Nico, he's nearly dead because he tried to drink himself to death." Tears streamed down his face, shock spread over the daughter of Athena's face, a million questions racing through her mind. Why? What? How? Wasn't him being in the infirmary supposed to help him? She held back her own tears, taking a deep breath, she understood why he would do it, she should have helped him. He was like a younger brother to her and she'd failed to keep him safe, the one thing she should have been able to do. She should have been there when he needed her, she should have talked with him, talked him out of it, just been there.

"That's not your fault, he's going to be okay."

"It's my fault he got hurt, I couldn't protect him."

"Sometimes people get hurt, no matter how much we try to stop it, you did the best you could."

"It wasn't enough and now he might fvcking die."

"You can't change what happens, you tried, that's all that matters okay? All we can do is hope he'll be okay."

"What if that's not enough?"

"There isn't much else we can do." She let the tears run down her face, grabbing hold of Percy's hand like someone was about to take him from her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest.

"Thank you for being here Wise girl."

"Same for you Seaweed brain."

***

[lastoneout]

Episode Five:

Ough the fates!!!! Knit those socks ladies :D

Aw the hug <3

He's not dead now but he is def GONNA be dead from all the fucking mercury and bacteria and shit in that river that he was just breathing in.

tractor pls pls tractor pls

YEAH IT ALL FEELS DIFFERENT THAT'S THE MICROPLASTICS IN YOUR LUNGS

I can't tell if it's a good or bad thing that this keeps making me want to listen to the musical...

god I want Ares' gender

GOD I MISS GOING TO SHITTY DINERS

ofc Twitter is his favorite website

Oh my god stop making Gabe funny dkljf;ldkjf

Kronos mention

Ares is.....familiar to me. Not like I know the actor I just know people like him. In my family.

I could watch Ares and Annabeth argue forever.

It's okay Annabeth, Grover is like the antidote to people like Ares. He's immune.

They don't let you watch movies at Camp Half-Blood??? They don\t have like a group netflix account or something???

OKAY GIVE ME TIMOTHY OMUNDSON STOP HIDING HIM FFS WHERE'S MY BEAUTIFUL BOY YOU MOTHER FUCKERS

"Look at that" Annabeth this scene was lit like it's the fucking stone age I can't see anything.

Grover stop flirting with Ares

Oh my god Grover STOP

She's really gonna keep saying "look at that" like I can actually see what's going on huh.

Can we get a lighting technician on set pls????

Maybe there will be lights inside the scary ghost ride.

Oh come on y'all can't dunk on the Poker Face needle drop if you're gonna play "What is Love" lkafjdlkfjdlskjf

Hey a room with actual lights!!

WHERE IS MY BOY. WHAT THE FUCK.

Grover stop doing therapy at Ares.

Grover what are you doing.

GROVER.

Hey so maybe like...don't sit in the chair then Percy.....

Wasn't Annabeth like, there for the whole "picking you bcs you'd sacrifice me" thing?? Why is she so shocked??

MY BOY!!!!!!

THERE HE IS!!!!!

OH MY GOD HE LOOKS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!

YESSSSSS!!!!!!!

I LOVE HIMMMM

KDLSFJDLKJFKDL

GOD I WANT HIS GENDER

(also fuck yeah character development Annabeth?)

That did seem a little easy, but still.

Ares really said "kids go in the trunk"

Episode Six:

I do really like these dreams, even more so knowing what's actually going on.

Oo the rainbow phone thing is very cool.

Grover really missed the part where Ares said he doesn't even like his own kids, huh?

"Not to change the subject, but I'm gonna" I have to start saying that.

GROVER NOT THE PEOPLE!!

Bro you CANNOT diss Poker Face at the Lotus Hotel if you're just gonna do the same thing dkfsdlkfjdslkjf just say you don't like Lady Gaga you're allowed to be wrong

AND we know what the Lotus Hotel is RIGHT AWAY once again. Where's the suspense?????? The slowly dawning horror was the best part!!! (side note I know the musical glossed over this too but they had like a fraction of a fraction of the time okay)

Ngl this hotel/casino really does look boring...

I miss Nathan Fillion Hermes ngl...

Hermes stop psychologically torturing the teenagers.

NOT THE VR

Grover now is not the time to have a self-worth crisis.

I hope Hermes has good insurance.

Can someone pls light these nighttime scenes??? I feel like I'm playing a fucking horror game.

This underwater CGI is like so close to being good....so close....

SHE SAID IT "WHAT BELONGS TO THE SEA CAN ALWAYS RETURN" LETS GOOOOO

God I'm gonna have the musical stuck in my head forever good thing it fucks!!

Okay I'm finally sitting down to properly watch the PJO series so here's an episode-by-episode live blog I guess. (Fair warning, I haven't read the books since I was a teenager, I am a smidge of an apologist for the films, and my favorite adaptation so far has been the musical.)

Episode One:

All of the actors are doing a really good job, I especially like Sally.

The costume design for both the monsters and the humans is pretty killer. I want Percy's sweater.

I also love the little seaside cabin and want to live there!!!

This is such a mild gripe BUT as someone with dyslexia I wish there was a better way to visually depict it without like, doing the swapping letters thing cuz that's just not what it's actually like at all.

Gabe maybe feels a little too funny. Like I'm supposed to hate him and think it's justified that he deserves to be turned into stone at the end, this version of him is really.....toned down, and his banter with Percy and Sally was fun to watch. I should hate him, but really he just came across as unpleasant. Less abusive asshole and more "old married couple who share interests but can't communicate without shouting" you know?

Loved Grover's little "I'm 24 actually" lmao that was great.

Not a fan of Percy immediately recognizing the Minotaur within a millisecond of it appearing before the audience even got a good look at it. Like, I just sat there thinking "how can he even see it?" rather than feeling scared of a big monster barreling at them.

The action is uh....fine? Feels a little lackluster. Or kinda....divorced from the rest of the show weirdly?? Idk it makes me feel like I'm watching a movie of a movie if that makes sense?? But we'll see where they go with it. (I know banter during a fight isn't realistic and people make fun of Marvel for it, but like...it helps to have at least a little talking. We don't wanna be Man of Steel.)

I feel like there's been a few "slightly out of sync ADR" moments but they weren't too distracting.

Pacing into Sally saying goodbye felt a little long, kinda took the shock of her dying out of the scene, but the actress REALLY sold all the emotional beats so I'll forgive it.

I LOVE the credits sequence!!! Reminds me of the designs on that one box set of the books in a really cool way.

Episode Two:

Oh yes the ugly ass neon orange shirts are here bless!

FUCK YES THAT'S DIONYSUS BAYBEEE!! My ONLY note is that he def could have turned up the energy a little, but that's probably just bcs I love how loud and unpleasant he is in the musical and I also know how unhinged this actor can be.

Chiron is such a delight <3

I like the cabins too, way better than how I imagined them as a kid reading the books lol

Oh, I can see why the new fans fell for Luke so hard.

Grover assuming a human being squished would be like an old banana is very funny. Felt very book-humor in a good way.

Clarisse!!

Oh damn actual disabled half-bloods, very cool!

Minor but I can't actually tell what Percy did wrong with the bow? Weird editing I guess.

Aside from that I actually love a good "fuck up" montage, I honestly wish it were a little longer.

Probably doesn't matter but I don't get having them burn the food after they've started eating? I thought that was a before you sit down type thing.

Percy burning the blue candy to try to talk to his mom was sweet tho T_T

"real friends" hahahaha.....yeah.......about Luke.......

yay! hazing!

Oh I love Annabeth already >:D

Thalia.....is pronounced differently than I thought....?

(I'm sorry I'm too much of a fan of 'Tree on the Hill' for this exposition dump. That shit hits harder when coming from Grover.)

Percy giving Annabeth the "actually I suck and my self esteem is riding on this so like pls don't ask me to do anything hard T_T" talk is just, so good lmao

ofc he doesn't know what's going on Annabeth you didn't tell him anything

Okay the action is a lot better when it's between the actual characters and doesn't involve a 3D monster, though I still had trouble following all the hits Percy was taking.

Oooh I can see why people did so much art of Percy being claimed that was a good shot.

FUCK YEAH TELL HIM YOU'RE SALLY JACKSON'S SON

(I hope they kept the Oracle in the attic...)

Okay I have to go do some things and then I'll be back for more!

[barbarianprncess]

the anatomy of a hurricane

read on ao3 // part i

or

part ii: depression

Clarisse has been to three funerals in her life.

The first time she learned about the concept of death was when she was six years old. Her aunt had passed away in a car crash. They weren’t close. In fact, she hadn’t even met her. Apparently, Clarisse was born two years into an eight-year-sisterly feud, and by that time, her mother wasn’t even sure what the argument was about—she just refused to back down. Clarisse remembers that day well, when her mother sat her down in the living room and told her to listen up.

“You know your Aunt Angela? The one Mama doesn’t speak to?”

She nodded.

“Well, she’s dead.”

She stared blankly.

“Do you know what ‘dead’ means?” Clarisse shook her head. “It means somethin’ happened, and it made them not alive any more. Their heart stopped beatin’, their brain stopped thinkin’, their chest stopped breathin’.”

“Where do they go?” Clarisse asked.

“Their bodies? You bury ‘em, in nice boxes so bugs can't eat ‘em. Or you burn ‘em to ashes and keep ‘em somewhere safe.”

This was good information, but not what Clarisse was asking. “Okay, but where do they go?”

“I just told you.”

“No Mama, where does it go? All of their them. It has to go somewhere, if they’re not here. Their stuff, all of their thing, where does it go?”

Her mother didn’t answer, just told her not to cry and to pick out something nice for the wake.

Clarisse wonders where Annabeth’s gone. She knows she’s not dead, but she's certainly not here, and she doesn’t understand where all of her could’ve went. It hasn't been a week, but Clarisse can already feel the spaces she used to fill with all of her. She’s not even dead, and Clarisse is haunted by her ghost. The ghost of her energy, and her pride, and her books, and her laughter, and her sketching, and her logic, and her smiles. She’s everywhere and Not Here all at the same time, and Clarisse can’t stand it.

And, she isn’t the only one.

After the incident, she stayed at Percy’s bedside until the medicine ran out and he woke up. He nodded at her but didn’t ask why she was there, or why she was holding his hand, which she appreciated. She called for Will to disconnect him from the I.V. and pretended not to notice the tremor in his hands when he approached Percy’s arm. Will tried to explain what he was doing as he was doing it, but Percy didn’t seem to hear him. He stared blankly at the opposite wall, unflinching when Will removed the needle in his arm. When he was done, he shuffled almost zombie-like through camp.

She doesn’t know where Annabeth went, but she’s certainly Not Here because if she was, Percy’s eyes would be bright rather than bloodshot. He would be smiling, not clenching his jaw. If he noticed the whispers or the staring he didn’t show it. He just kept walking until he got to the edge of the woods and climbed one of the rock clusters facing the trees. And he sat like that, staring at the forest with his back to everyone else, for the rest of the day.

It was too quiet.

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the sky was clear. Normally, kids would be swimming in the canoe lake, playing volleyball, laughing and talking on the beach. But today, people were hesitant to cough. Those who cared for Annabeth—which was most people—were dealing with their own grief. The one or two who didn’t were too afraid of Percy to make much noise.

Dinnertime rolls around while Clarisse is sharpening Maimer. Chris comes to get her with a sad smile and open arms, and she hates him just a little bit. Hates him for being good to her when she’s the one who made everything quiet.

She sits at her cabin table but doesn’t eat anything. And when it's time for the campfire, she finds herself searching the faces for Percy, wondering if he decided to come when someone answers her unspoken question.

“He’s not here.” Grover Underwood’s hooves are currently attempting to sit in the space next to her. After he settles, he nods in greeting, “Clarisse.” “Goat.”

“He’s on that boulder; I passed him on the way in. Has he been there all day?”

She nods, and it doesn’t seem to surprise him.

“He eat anything?”

“Have you?” She deadpans.

Grover exhales. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

They don’t talk for a while, leaving only Austin’s half-hearted strumming to fill the silence.

“Thank you.” When Clarisse furrows her brow, he elaborates. “Juniper told me you’ve been looking out for Percy.”

“Oh. Yeah, well. Anna—”, She almost says ‘Annabeth made me promise,’ but then she remembers Annabeth wasn’t supposed to know she was going to die, so she cuts herself off. “...She saved me.”

Grover nods like that's all the explanation necessary.

Neither of them speak again for the rest of the campfire, and sitting next to Grover in heavy silence, she finds herself wondering about where people go again. She doesn’t know where Annabeth is, but Clarisse wishes she’d come back. Because it’s only been a day and she doesn’t think she can handle her being Not Here much longer.

And that was before the first nightmare.

It's not like he woke her up. Clarisse was staring at the ceiling, counting backwards from 100, waiting for sleep, when she noticed the lightbulb was shaking.

Then she hears the screaming.

“ANNABETH!!!” Percy’s cry is raw and guttural and heart broken.

Without thinking, she throws off her covers and, despite the ground quaking beneath her, she manages to stumble out the door, where she runs headfirst into a half dressed and panting Beckendorf.

“Percy. He’s having a nightmare.”

“Yeah no shit, Beck. What do we—”

“ANNABETH!!!”

Will is running towards them but he falls every time the earth beneath him quakes. Which is every other second. When he finally makes his way over to them, Beckendorf has to grab his shoulders to keep him upright.

“Do you have the—”

Percy screams again, and they all flinch.

“Yeah, hurry.”

The three of them are hauling ass to the Poseidon cabin when Beckendorf freezes.

“Mother of Zeus.” He’s staring slack-jawed at the ocean where what can only be described as monster waves are crashing at the shore, each one bigger than the last.

Clarisse has to tear her eyes away in order to shove them both in the direction of Percy's cabin.

“This better work, Solace.”

After what feels like forever, they finally get to him. Beckendorf kicks the door open and Clarisse practically throws Will at Percy’s bedside. Percy is thrashing violently around in his bed, tears streaming down his face, alternating between whimpering and crying out Annabeth's name.

Will is staring at him, frozen in his spot. Clarisse punches him. That seems to snap out of it and immediately looks to her and Beckendorf. 

“Hold him down.”

Clarisse grabs his arms and pins them down at his sides; Beckendorf goes for the legs. Unfortunately, that only seems to escalate his panic, and he bellows, “NOOO!”

“Will…” Clarisse urges.

“I’m sorry—the earthquake—”

Another scream.  

“Will!”

“I keep missing!”

Another tremor.

“Dammit, Will!”

As soon as Will punctures his skin, Percy’s eyes fly open.

“ANNABETH!”

Beckendorf pushes Clarisse out of the way and looks into Percy’s eyes with a cool she wishes she had right now. “Hey, hey, Percy. You’re alright. You're at camp, you’re safe, but you gotta breathe, okay? Can you do that, man? Can you breathe?”

Percy looks like a caged wild animal, and he’s hyperventilating. “Annabeth? Where’s Anna—?”

“She’s not here right now, okay? You’ve gotta focus on breathing right now. Just breathe, okay? In and out, real slow. Yeah, that’s it, you got it, man, just keep breathing.”

Percy keeps his gaze locked on Beckendorf and attempts to match his breathing—until the sedative hits and his eyes flutter closed. Not even a full minute goes by before he’s muttering Annabeth’s name again. She and Beckendorf look accusingly at Will, and he raises his palms.

“I can’t stop the dreams, I can only limit his response to them.”  

Beckendorf wipes the sweat off his brow and winces when Percy mutters something about genius and promises. “There’s nothing you can do?”

Will opens his mouth and closes it three times before he answers. “I can do some research in the morning, but for now he’s gonna have to tough it out.”

“His best friend is dead; I don’t think ‘toughing it out’ is an option.”

Will shrinks into himself a little, and Clarisse would feel bad for the guy if she had the emotional capacity to feel anything but guilt.

With his head still ducked, Will mutters something about sleep and tiptoes out of the cabin, leaving Clarisse and Beckendorf standing over Percy’s bed.

Percy is tossing and turning and crying in his sleep, and the masochist in Clarisse refuses to let her look away. This is her fault. Every writhe and sob and second that he’s dreaming is her fault. She’s so busy hating herself that she doesn’t notice when Beckendorf urges chairs behind them. She doesn’t have the energy to ask what he’s doing, so she just raises an eyebrow.

“What? It’s not like either of us were planning on going anywhere.”

He’s right, and it hits her that this is her life now. It was pretty weird before this, but at least she could just stab at whatever it was and it’d go away. Unfortunately, you can't stab feelings. So now, she’s taking up an all-night vigil, at the bed of someone who, until last year, she referred to as ‘Prissy Jackson’, with her Aphrodite girl best friend's boyfriend. That's weirder than any monster Tartarus could throw at her.

She and Beckendorph lull into watchful silence filled only with Percy’s muffled whimpers and Beckendorf’s occasional shifting.

“This is worse than I thought.” Beckendorf’s lips had pulled into a tight grimace and his eyes didn’t leave Percy’s form as he spoke. “I knew it’d be bad. I thought about what he’d do if anything happened to her, but this? It’s worse than I expected.”

He doesn’t have to specify who. Clarisse can’t really think about all the implications of that sentence, so she focuses on one. “You thought about it before? Jesus, Beck. Why?”

“Because depending on whose fault it was, like directly, Percy might join Kronos. And then we’d be fucked. Like, royally.”

“I wouldn’t blame him.”

“Me neither. But, this? This is worse than him only blaming the gods.”

“What’s worse than that?”

Beckendorf takes a deep breath and leans back in his chair. “Him blaming himself.”

And that’s it. That's why her remorse is making it hard to breathe. That’s the icing on the fucking cake. Because she did this. Every sob, every tremor, every second of this waking nightmare, is her fault. And he thinks it’s his own.

“He wasn’t even there. How could he blame himself?” Clarisse knows the answer, but she’s way past self-preservation at this point. Hearing what she knows to be true will be the twisting of the knife she deserves.

“Exactly. He wasn’t there. He told me last year that he survived lava being thrown at him—something about being harder to burn because he’s a son of Poseidon. He’ll think he could’ve protected her somehow if he was there. And, knowing Percy, there’s no way we can convince him otherwise.”

She could. She could wake him up, grab him by the shoulders right now, and tell him it’s not his fault. That he didn’t do anything wrong, that Annabeth is alive and well, bored in a safe house in New Jersey.

But she doesn’t. Instead she tells Beckendorf she can take the first shift watching him and that he should take one of the bunks.

“You're right.” He stretches as he stands up. “We’re gonna need some rest for tomorrow.”

She furrows her brow. “What's tomorrow?”

He collapses on a bed across the room and spits out the answer to a question she wishes she hadn’t asked.

“Annabeth’s funeral.”

Clarisse has been to three funerals in her life.

Annabeth’s is by far the worst.

Campers gather in the Big House led by the Athena cabin. Malcolm is carrying Annabeth’s shroud, and Clarisse almost does a double take. It’s beautiful, the grey shimmers, changing color with every shift of the fabric.

She can’t wait to watch it burn.

The sky is cloudy and dark, which she finds weird, considering how bright it was yesterday. Then she remembers who was scheduled to arrive early this morning.

“Hey.” Speaking of the devil, Thalia Grace appears next to her. Her hair is choppy as always, but she’s without her signature punk makeup and accessories. Her eyes are red and her hair is wild. Basically, she looks like hell, and Clarisse is hit with another soul-crushing wave of guilt.

The year Thalia got de-tree-ified, before she and Annabeth headed off to boarding school, Clarisse and Thalia sort of became friends. Thalia was a bit stand-offish to Percy in the beginning, so whenever he and Annabeth were together, Clarisse would spar with her.

(Needless to say, they ended up sparring a lot.)

“Hey.” Her throat is hoarse from disuse, so the word comes out as a mangled croak.

She doesn’t say anything else and neither does Clarisse. They’re standing at the back, watching campers settle in. Beckendorf had ushered a sniffling Silena in one of the back rows, with one arm on her lap and another around a seemingly inconsolable Tyson. Conner hasn’t stopped shifting in his chair since he sat down, and Katie is gripping Travis’s hand. Will is whispering to Michael in hushed tones, and Malcolm’s knuckles have turned white as he grips Annabeth's shroud. Grover and Juniper stand in the far left, both looking ragged. Even Drew Tanaka looks worse for wear in the third row, but Clarisse can barely acknowledge it. She’s too busy watching the front row. Percy had arrived at the Big House before everyone else, skipping breakfast in favor of staring at the picture of Annabeth that they put up, gripping his thighs like the image was causing him physical pain.

Chiron clops on stage with his head hung. It was as if every bit of shame was weighing him down, and when he clears his throat, he seems to regret what he’s about to say, before he says it.

“Campers. You are gathered here for a day that I’ve prayed many times I wouldn’t see so soon.” Thalia mutters something under her breath, but she can barely hear over the roaring in her ears. Chiron looks as if he wants to say something more, but glances at Percy in the first row and thinks better of it.

“Annabeth’s best friend, Percy, will now say a few words.”

Shoulders hunched and without a word, Percy shuffles up to Malcolm and gingerly relieves him of Annabeth’s shroud. Like a man possessed, without so much as a glance up, he makes his way to the hearth. Then hesitates. He turns to place her shroud in the fire, and as soon as the fabric slips from his fingers, his hands begin to shake. A few campers instinctively grab their chairs in preparation for another earthquake, but it doesn’t come. Instead, Percy looks away from the fire, staring straight ahead when he starts to speak.

“I’m supposed to talk about Annabeth. I’m supposed to tell you all about what kind of person she was, but you all knew her. Gods, she’d been here since she was seven, because her parents failed her.”

From the way he spits out the word ‘parents,’ she half expects Athena to shimmer down here to scold him in person.

“You all knew her, so really, I don’t have to tell you how smart she was, or how kind she was. I don’t have to tell you how brave, or good, or beautiful she was. She was all of those things and more; I don’t have to tell you. Instead, I’ll tell you some things you might not know. Some things I never got the chance to say to her.” He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before he continues.

“When she was five, Annabeth decided that she wanted to be an architect so she could build something permanent. She never changed her mind. When she was seven, her first monster-killing weapon of choice was a hammer. She fought off a hellhound with it all by herself. When she was twelve, she visited the Underworld. She tamed and befriended Cerberus in under three minutes, and they both cried when she had to say goodbye. When she was thirteen years old, Annabeth held the sky for 36 hours. At fifteen, Annabeth looked a ten-foot-tall Sphinx in the eye, and told it that its questions were beneath her. She was right.”

He looks up at the sky, swallowing obvious tears for long enough for Clarisse to notice, process, and get angry about the fact that both her and Chiron are crying too. They aren’t allowed to cry. They don’t deserve to grieve. They’re the ones that killed her.

“Annabeth Chase was the best thing that ever happened to me. She was the daughter of my father’s rival, and she was stubborn, and prideful, and a complete know-it-all, and my favorite person in the world. She taught me the constellations, and she was the first real friend I ever made. She was the first girl I ever danced with, and my first kiss, and she was—is my best friend. She’ll always be my best friend.”

Unable to choke them back anymore, he lets his tears fall freely. He’s allowed. He thinks his best friend is dead. Clarisse knows she’s not, so why are her eyes burning?

“I love her. I loved her before I knew what the word meant. I loved her every day that I knew her, and I never told her.” He looks up at her picture, as if desperate for her to hear him. “I can't believe I never told you. I’m sorry, I never told you, and I didn’t save you, and I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Annabeth.”

He breaks then, tears morph into full-body sobs, hunched shoulders into full-on kneeling. Clarisse is paralyzed in her spot until she notices the bulletin board’s shaking and realizes what’s about to happen. She surges forward as fast as she can with the weight of her blame on her back and grabs his shoulders. She’s pulling him up, and squeezing his arms, whispering in his ear; she’s not entirely sure what she’s saying, but it seems to work, because the ground transfers its trembling back to Percy. He’s shaking in her arms, and she half carries him to the best place she can think of—the ocean. 

They collapse on the sand, Clarisse gripping his shoulders in a way she hopes is comforting. She can’t bring herself to speak, knowing the only words she can say to fix this are words she’s not allowed to say. 

She doesn’t try to look back at the Big House. In fact she doesn’t try to lift her head at all until she hears shuffling. Thalia’s combat boots are crunching as she attempts to shuffle through the sand and she plops down next to Percy, disregarding her all black get-up being marred by the dunes. She doesn’t meet either of their eyes, and it’s a long time before she speaks. When she finally does, it’s only two words. “She knew.” 

Percy, who hasn’t moved a muscle since they sat down, looked over at her, wiped his face, and asked, “What?”

“She knew you loved her.” 

Percy sniffs and keeps his eyes on the ocean. “How d’you know?”

“Annabeth's always been self-sufficient. I don’t blame her, after what happened with her dad, she kind of had to be. She didn't want anyone else to look after her. We did, obviously. She was a kid, we had to, but she didn't really see it that way, y’know? She’d beg us to let her take watches or go hunting alone." 

Percy lets out a watery, barely there chuckle. “Yeah, that sounds like her.”

“She always tried to do everything herself. She hated being helped. But, when she saw you on Mt. Tam, she just ran to you. And she hugged you—like really hugged you. I've never seen her do that before, not with me or Grover or....” She trails off and glances warily at the ocean. “Not with anyone else.”

She laughs something hollow as she says, “It’s kinda stupid when you think about it. Like, we were about to die, but she saw you, and she relaxed, and she ran to you, and she let you hold her. I mean, I knew her as a seven-year-old who was running from the stuff kids older than her have nightmares about, and she never hugged me like that. Like she wanted you to hold her. We all took care of her, but she let you. She never let us do that.”

Percy’s trembling again and if her self-hate wasn’t as all encompassing, she’d probably be worried about the fact that being right beside the shore means she’s directly in the kill zone.

“So, you're wrong. She knew. She knew, and she loved you too. She never would’ve let you in if she didn’t.”

“She took care of me too. She…” He swallows hard, like there’s glass in his throat. His face morphs to a quiet rage and the look in his eyes could break stone. “She deserved better.”

“Yeah. She deserved a lot better.”

If she doesn’t leave now, she’s going to start screaming incoherently and another emotional breakdown is kinda the last thing anyone needs right now. So, she looks over Percy’s ducked head and makes eye contact with Thalia, silently asking if she can handle this. Thalia nods, and as Clarisse rises, she registers Percy fingers squeezing her calf and another tiny little piece of her dies on the spot.

She walks for a long time, and she can’t hear anything but the roaring in her ears, so it’s a surprise when she ends up at Zeus’s fist. Well, what remains of Zeus’s fist. She kicks her way through the rubble until she finds herself collapsing on the closest weight bearing boulder she can find. She’s physically exhausted. Clarisse has never felt so much, so intensely, for so long, and her body has an emotional hangover. She’s literally too tired to feel anything else.

“Thought I’d find you here.” She doesn’t have to look up to know Chris’s voice. He sits down next to her on the too-small boulder, and she knows how uncomfortable he must be, and she knows how weird he is about posture so hunching over must be slowly killing him on the inside.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“I know.” He doesn’t move.

“You don’t have to stay here with me.”

“I know I don’t have to stay here. But, I do know about death. I know exactly how much what you’re going through sucks, and I know there's nothing that I could say to make it better. I know how you feel and I won’t let you feel it alone. So, we’ll just sit here in silence, and feel shitty, and watch the grass grow.”

And they do just that.

Thalia had stayed the night, spending her time attempting to convince Percy to go to sleep.

“M’already dreaming.’  He kept repeating. ‘I’ve had this dream before, I’m gonna wake up an-and she’s gonna be here. She’ll be right here when I wake up.”

It was six hours before he gave in.

Her, Thalia, and Will were watching him twitch in the med bay. Will had upped the dosage this time, hoping to suppress the nightmares, but by the way he was shivering, it didn’t work. Will seemed too nervous to move, so it wasn’t surprising when he exhaled as if relieved to be called to tend to a young kid who got a splinter. Clarisse didn’t blame him. Her and Thalia were radiating anger. 

Violent, visceral anger.

“I’ll kill Luke for this. With my own fucking hands, that bastard.” Thalia said to no one in particular. Her hands were in fists, but they way they trembled gave her away.  

“You’ll have to get in line.”

She furrows her brow, glances back at Percy, and seems to understand. “Ah, did he say the same thing?”

Clarisse grimaces remembering the earthquake damage, and how she’d never heard anyone speak with so much conviction as Percy did on the same hospital bed three days ago.

“I’m going to kill him.”  He’d said, gravely serious, with stormy eyes, and a voice so low and steady, that the threat was even worse than if he had yelled. “I swear to all the gods—I’m going to tear him apart with my bare hands. Then, I’m going to bring his remains to Olympus and their precious throne room. And I’m going to tear that apart, too.”

“Yeah.” Clarisse answers, feigning indifference. “Yeah, something like that.”

“I should probably go. I need to hunt something and if I stay here any longer, that somethings gonna be the horse.” Clarisse snorts and moves Maimer out of the way so she doesn’t trip.

“Try to keep the earthquakes to a minimum, yeah? I’ve got some shit to do before we destroy Kronos.”

“I’ll do my best.” Thalia claps her on the shoulder, and as she leaves Clarisse wonders if she’s up to the task. And as she watches Percy shiver, she flashes back to four months ago.

(“Annabeth, Silena, and Clarisse had just gotten back from a scouting mission in the city that ended in Annabeth getting a minor slash in her thigh. She was fine, but was ordered to stay overnight in the infirmary. Naturally, Silena insisted on having a sleepover to keep her company. They were switching between teary eyed laughter, and teary eyed confessions, when Annabeth interrupted the deafening silence of 3:28 in the morning.

“I miss him.”

“Which one?” Silena asks, all wide eyes and open heart.

“Both…I guess, I—”, She takes a deep breath and shakes her head. “No. I didn’t know Luke. Everyday, it becomes more apparent that I didn’t know Luke. I don’t miss him, I miss how he made me feel. Like, everything would be okay, y’know? But, I never really knew him. I don’t know him. I know Percy. I miss Percy.” She shifts so Clarisse can see her eyes, all shiny and broken. “What if he never comes back?”

Silena reaches out and takes Annabeth’s hand in both of her own, “He’ll come back,‘Beth. I promise.”)

Clarisse didn’t understand what they meant at the time, because they knew where he was. He was at his apartment in the city, and he was obviously going to come back to camp.

 She understands now. And she hates herself for it.

The plants in the Big House are dying.

Over the past four days Clarisse has found that the only way to not totally snap is to focus on anything other than the people around her. Because the people around her are grieving, and it's palpable and suffocating and herfaultherfaultherfault—

Anyways. Plants.

They’re dying. She’d seen it early this morning, but didn’t think that much about it. She was just relieved to have something to occupy her brain until their head counselor meeting. Katie, of course, is the second one to notice. She’d stood in the middle of Michael Yew’s status report, startling Travis who’d been playing with the hem of her shirt, and immediately began fussing over the browning leaves, wondering aloud how this could’ve happened.

“Isn’t your cabin the one supposed to be keeping them alive?” Michael snapped.

“No, I have my hands full at the strawberry fields. I just figured Silena was watering them for me.”

The Aphrodite girl, whose eyes shone with fresh tears and said in a quiet voice, “That wasn’t me.”

They followed her gaze to the two empty chairs on the far end of the table. The chairs that were supposed to be filled by Percy and Annabeth.

This happened often, throughout the week following the funeral. As soon as any conversation or activity edged close enough to normalcy, the absence of Annabeth would rear its ugly head.

The strangest part about it is, Annabeth wasn’t at camp 24/7 like she used to be. When she was small, and camp was the only place she knew, her presence at camp was heavy and a deficiency of it would’ve been obvious.

But, the year Percy arrived was the year Annabeth ventured out into the real world. Gave her dad a second chance, went to boarding school in New York, and of course, questing anytime the opportunity arose. And, as the rules barring exit from camp faded, so did Annabeth’s steady residence. It’s as if the camp was a living breathing thing, and Annabeth didn’t have to physically be there to be there. The bones of this place were held upright with the knowledge that she’ll be home soon.

“I still think we should call Sally.” Malcolm says, navigating their eyes from empty chairs to himself. “Not just for Percy. Annabeth adored her, she used to iris message the apartment just to talk to her. Sally deserves to know, and maybe she can…”  He gestures back to the empty chairs. “Fix that.”

“The barrier won’t let her in camp. And, Chiron certainly won’t let Percy out if it.” Grover replies, hooves tapping the floor, almost shaking the table.

“Yes, he will.” Clarisse interrupts, with so much conviction in her voice she may as well be charmspeaking. “I’ll take Percy to go see her and bring him back a few days afterwards.”

The group is looking at her like she dropped from the ceiling, so she elaborates, “I’ve got shit to do in the city anyway. Will practically gave me a step-by-step tutorial on how to put Percy to sleep, all I’ve gotta do is show Sally. Then, I do some scouting for a couple days, and swing back around to grab Percy on the way back to camp.”

Connor is bobbing his head, but his eyes are wild and refuse to make direct contact. Silena attempts a smile but it looks more like a grimace because she’s still crying. Michael sneezes. She takes it as a general census in her favor.

They adjourned, and for a moment Clarisse steps outside. She surveys camp with her arms crossed and her eyes squinting almost painfully.

Then she sees him. Her stomach drops. And suddenly she’s done.

She marches around the porch violently, until she finds Chiron looking like the weak old man he is, sitting in his wheelchair looking utterly and completely useless. His mouth opens and closes like a fish when he sees the look in her eyes and reads exactly what kind of conversations they’re going to have. She’s not yet within four feet when he begins his attempts to placate her.

“Clarisse—”

“I can’t keep doing this. It’s not fair, not to me, not to them. We have to tell them.” She’s shaking her head as she grasps the handlebars of his wheelchair, pushing him as roughly as she can without him falling out.

“You know we—”,

“Yes, yes we can because they need to know. They deserve to know.” She begins with desperation in her voice that her father would disprove of.

“It’s not a matter of—”,

“Michael’s broken six bows this week. Katie’s stopped planting sunflowers. Travis hasn’t played a single prank.”  

“Clarisse—”, He tries to interrupt but now that she’s begun, she can’t stop.

“Grover’s eaten half the tin cans in New York. Malcolm doesn’t do his crossword puzzles anymore. Will barely leaves the infirmary, Beckendorf leaves the workshop even less, and that’s just to check up on Silena. Silena hasn’t stopped crying, and neither has Connor, have you ever seen Connor cry before? Ever? Because before this I’ve never seen him cry before—”,

“Clarisse!”

“Look at him!” She throws him around the final bend in the porch, angling him directly at the Poseidon table where Percy is eating lunch. Eating lunch is a stretch, really he’s sitting hunched over a plate of egg whites Grover no doubt forced him to put on his plate. You can see the bags under his eyes from a mile away, and even without them, there's an exhausted, almost empty quality to his normally bright eyes. Even his mess of hair is mopped down, shaggy, covering his forehead. As if he doesn’t have the will to push it off his face.

Chiron has the decency to look sufficiently crushed, and it’s the genuine hopelessness in his voice that listens when he says, “Please. Let’s discuss this inside.”

She pushes him through the doors and stands facing him, waiting for whatever excuse he has lying in wait on his tongue. He surprises her when he says, “I’ve tried.”

“Tried how?”

“I’ve messaged both Athena and Hermes everyday, but it’s as if they’re more convinced in the pan than they were before. I can’t disobey, or they could kill you or anyone who gets in the way.”

She slumps defeated in a chair next to him. The quiet is deafening. They've buried Annabeth alive and now she’s screaming in their heads. They listen to the silence for a long time before Chiron says, “Sunflowers were her favorite.”

“Oh.”

“I think,” He begins carefully, “That’s why Katie stopped growing them.”

He looks as if he’s expecting her to snap at him, so maybe it’s out of some sort of primal spite that she simply answers, “Yeah. Probably.”

“I miss the sunflowers as well. Very much.” He says, his voice quivering, and they both know he’s not talking about sunflowers, but she lets him get away with it. Just this once.

“I’m taking him to go see his mom.” She says, more of a statement than a question, because giving them permission to leave is the bare minimum he can do.

“I’ll make arrangements with Dionysious.” His eyes are contemplative and it’s a while before he says, “Percy’s not doing well.”

“No.” She exhales. “No, he’s not.”

“That was—” Beat. “Expected.”

She nods. And she’s still nodding her entire way back to her cabin, where she throws herself on her bunk, the portrait of epic defeat.

It’s hours before she can drag herself out of bed. She goes straight for the boulders Percy stations himself at every evening. That’s what he does, he wakes up at an ungodly hour of the morning and goes deep into the lake. He doesn’t come out until it's time for lunch where he picks at the food Grover makes for him. After a half-hour of pretending to eat, he goes deep into the woods, for hours hunting god-knows what. (Sometimes they hear faint screams of monsters. They all pretend they don’t.) Then, when it’s time for dinner, he sits on that same rock cluster with a bottle of water, until it’s time for lights out.

He grunts in greeting when she sits down next to him.

���Chirons talking to Dionysious. We’re going to go see your mom for a couple days.”

That gets his attention. His spine snaps straight up and he focuses his wild-animal eyes on her face. “Really?”

“Yeah. We've gotta bring your sleep kit and shit but—”,

“Yeah, yeah whatever, but you can definitely get me to my Mom’s place?” She nods, and then he’s nodding, head bopping worse than Connor’s did earlier and he’s muttering ‘good, good that could work.’, when she has to grab his arm to snap him out of it.

“What? What could work?”

“It’s a long story. Nico’s actually the one who came up with the plan, and he was all frantic in his last message, when he gave me the instructions—”,

“What instructions, Percy? What plan?”

He meets her eyes then. And, for a second, the cold in them thaws, and the emptiness fills, and there’s a promise in them, buried deep. She doesn’t know how, but suddenly she understands two things deep in her core: whatever it is he’s planning on doing, he’s doing it for Annabeth, and Clarisse is going to help him.

“I’m going to bathe in the River Styx.”

part iii

[demi-chaos]

since the author of this fic has comments turned off, im turning to tumblr to sing my praises.

(if they somehow see this and want me to take it down i gladly will)

Falling For You by 1967HogwartsGoddess on AO3 is a fic that humbled me.

i should start by saying that i was ignorant. I saw the name of the fic and it's summary along with a couple of tags and i jumped right it. "it shouldn't take me too long to read" i assumed.

i was wrong

this beast of a fanfic was 69 chapter, clocking in at ~270k words total. i didn't check the word count, and while i wish i did, i dont regret not having done so. It took me 6 hours to read, i stayed up until 9am to read it all, and i clung to every word.

i loved so much about it right from the start. for one, it felt like the author had taken the original books' style and mastered it. i loved the fact that they bothered to switch povs in the same way the hoO books do, it felt very natural and ended up making the world feel more real than if they had just stuck to percy's perspective only. i also love the little quips here or there, the references, the scene building, the attitude reminded me so much of why i loved pjo in the first place. im impressed, shocked, amazed and in awe of them.

this fic is heavy. really heavy. like smash your character into a cliffside and watch them struggle to survive type of heavy and i absolutely love it. i couldn't get enough. like percy, everytime i thought something was over, that it was getting better, i was smacked in the face with yet another event. i loved every second of it. everything. every little torture scene, every battle, every step back and step forward he took, i treasured. i especially loved how hopeless it got. there were many moments when i thought "yea this is how the story ends. bye percy" but i was a fool. he kept on trucking, struggling, and surviving. and ahhh! i loved it.

also? can i just say? part that i thought would have been the ending that just turned out to be mid-fic when percy came back from tartarus and found out that annabeth was dead? every scene from threatening the hell hound to keep the button pressed to him punching his dad to cursing out hades was amazing. my heart didn't beat once as i just thought "oh shit oh fuck oh shit oh fuck" and???

HAVING HIM GO BACK THERE??? AGAIN??? RIGHT AFTER HE'D BARELY LEFT? A GENIUS! i almost screamed when hades told him to go down again. that entire moment felt heart stopping honestly! and then the torture, the struggle, the constant failure time after time. the hallucinations. it was just so !!!!!!!!!!! and when he thought he got out but it was just another fucked up layer of torture? oh goodness

the emotional fuckery in this fic is delicious. i felt bad for everyone in the most delectable way. obviously for percy and annabeth, but also for every single party involved. i felt bad for the campers who couldn't save annabeth from dying, for those who love percy who had to witness him go mad and almost turn on them in the final battle. i felt soooo baaaad i loved it so much.

oh shit i didn't even mention the curse! one of the best long term callbacks ive read in a long time!! having it be in part nico's fault was the cherry on top.

i can't even begin to think about how long this took to plan, write, edit and edit again. for such a long fic, i didn't come across a single grammatical error, continuity error or spelling mistake. while yes, coming across these kinds of things isnt world ending, but the fact that this fic had none? blew my mind away. ive written 2k word chapters that are so riddled with mistakes i had to delete the whole thing and try again, so having it be so clean was fantastic. i was impressed! my socks were blown off and my head exploded.

real quick, the reason im posting it here not on the fic where i wish it were, its because of shitty people doing shitty things. i hope the person who fucked with the author's works and privacy goes to hell. that shit sucks and no one deserves it

overall, this is one amazing fic that i am really happy to have read. i love reading these types of fanfics where it feels like another chapter or alternate version to the original, and im always blown away by it.

author, thank you so much for your probably hundreds or thousands of hours of work on this. im really happy to have witnessed such a thing <3

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Kingdom Collisions XIV

Masterlist for other parts, more jercy, crackships and bad ideas

writing fic=more description=(hopefully) improve writing

no prewritten chapters=sporadic updates=as surprised as you about what happens

Tell me your thoughts, I'm insecure about this chapter. Also sorry for the long ass wait I haven’t felt in the writing mood but hopefully I'm back.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

Crown Prince Jason’s dream starts as all his dreams do. Him sitting on a cloud looking over a burning meadow. He feels himself wince as if his body already knows its going to be hurt and then he is pulled under, under, under and suddenly the dream is a memory. One he had forgotten about, one he wishes he'll live through for the rest of his life.

"Prince," A soft, warm voice calls. "Are you in here?"

There is a moment of quiet, the crackling of the fire and the turn of the page the only interruptions.

"I'm here." The reply is gentle, and sweet, and full of the brightest days.

Jason blinks, looks through long blonde lashes. "Hello my Ardor"

Leo sinks into the couch, grabbing his hand with the need to be close and comfortable and together. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I had some things to research before tomorrow meeting with FreedomtoFeed."

The Captain of the Guards raises an eyebrow and gives a pointed look to the raunchy cover of the novel he has clasped in his hands. "That looks very appropriate for a feeding-the-people initiative."

He blushes crimson and shuts the book with a huff of embarrassment. "I finished the research."

Leo pulls them together until their foreheads bump gently, "I'm only teasing. But you should go to sleep."

"Will you join me?"

The fingers dancing at the nape of his neck still, and smoldering brown eyes catch his. "Of course."

They release twin breathes and move impossible closer, until lips brush against skin and oxygen is sparse.

"You are so beautiful," The Prince whispers, kissing his jaw. His cheek. Nose. Throat.

"Please kiss me." Leo is shaking with anticipation, arousal.

And who is Jason to refuse such a precious request? He brushes his lips gently across his Ardor's and groans at the softness he finds. Pillows, and peaches, and sweetness that only intensifies when it deepens. Their tongues dance, explore each other languidly. Like time is nothing but a suggestion. His fingers brush silken warm cheeks and dance across Leo's skin until they're resting on his thighs.

Jason is breathless when he breaks away, "You are—" His words are cut off as the Guard pulls their faces together.

"No talking now my Prince. Tonight we only feel."

Jason feels himself frown, as the memory becomes hazy, disjointed. This wasn't how it happened.

‘Together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.” Leo gasps, his head falling on the Prince's shoulder. "Jase, I can't—" He's cut off by a cry.

And suddenly all his beautiful brown skin is turning to ash under Jason's hands. He tries to grab on to anything, any part of Leo, but the more he holds the more ash comes away.

"Ardor?" He cries. This isn't how it happens. This isn't the way it goes. He can't go like this. They can't leave each other. He just got him back.

He can't, he can't, he can't, he c—

Prince Jason Grace wakes up with a scream, blunt finger nails tearing into his chest as he attempts to rid himself of the nightmare. And when his eyes adjust to the world he only knows darkness and despair. The love of his life is still dead and he is still far away from his dear kingdom. Actually he has no idea where he is at all. That thought is the final pick in the ice and suddenly his body is wracking with sobs. His life is a complete fucking mess. And he doesn't want to do this anymore. Every event piles onto his chest like boulders until he can't breathe, until he is hyperventilating.

Far from home; Leo is dead; kidnapped; tortured; his husband is—

Wait where is his husband? The thought shocks him out of his panic so fast he's reeling as he sits up. The cold floor underneath his fingers ground him to the present and he pushes off the concrete onto shaky legs. He feels so weird, like his body is not his own, like he's been forcibly removed from it and shoved into a whole new one and now he has to learn how to be human all over again. He feels like he's died. Slowly he stumbles around until he hits a wall and then plastering his right hand to it he walks. Or more like drags himself along, nails scraping against the brick and a bare shoulder scratching against the roughness.

His eyes are useless for anything further than his feet and he sees no evidence of light. But the room, or what he's beginning to suspect is a hallway, continues so he to keeps going. Someone will fill in all the blanks in his memory but first he has to find his husband. There is a deep chasm in his chest and he has the ugly feeling it will only start filling when he sees those green eyes and floppy curls. It almost disgusts him how much he needs to see the Prince of Mare. It's like his body, his heart, has forgotten about Leo entirely. He feels sick to his stomach at the thought so he banishes everything but the need to get out of here. Suddenly he hits a wall, hard enough that he knows there’ll be a bruise tomorrow. With a silent prayer to gods he didn't care to believe in, he turns his body and keeps walking. Right hand still on the wall.

There is nothing and no-one. He feels likes he's in the inside of a black hole. There is not even the faint sounds of outside. It is just his dragging feet and his cracking nails and the ringing in his ear from the sheer lack of sound.

He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will—

There's a scraping sound. Someone gives a sharp inhale. A pinprick stings his neck. He is never getting out of here.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

Prince Jason clutches his rolling stomach, and without warning throws up the little contents that may have been in there. Before he even opens his eyes he knows whatever he will see cannot be good. Even behind his eyelids it is unnaturally bright and he can hear hushed whispers coming from somewhere. They sound angry. He will get the brunt of it.

"Well well well," A rapsy voice echoes around him.

He forces his eyes open and blinks back the harsh neon lighting to see Annabeth Chase, his previous kidnapper, and Grover Underwood.

"It's such a pity you don't remember me." She pouts unhappily, but there is nothing but viciousness in her grey eyes.

He wonders what he should remember.

"How do you feel Jason?"

"Like I died. Like I want to get out of here. Like I need to see my husband." He spits at the man leaning against the wall so casually.

"All in due time. But while we have you here I think we could use you."

"Why should I help either of you?" He curls his lip, anger making his vision blur, "You," He points a disgusted finger at the blonde girl, "Kidnapped me and Percy and then proceeded to torture us." She giggles and he wants to bury that sound six feet underground. "And you," He looks to Grover, the advisor to Mare and Percy's friend. He looks every bit the enemy. "I don't trust you one bit. Not if you can have her in your presence so calmly."

"I'm not looking for your trust Prince," The man, the being, scoffs. "I just need your cooperation. Otherwise Annabeth here has permission to get as creative as possible."

Grover tilts his head to her, a silent conversation passing between them, and then he leaves without so much as a glance to him.

"I'll never tell you anything." He growls at her.

She grins, pretty white teeth gleaming in the horrible light. "Let me tell you a story Prince Jason Grace, about the day you lost your sister."

"My who?"

She gives a secret smile and begins.

Twenty seven years ago a girl with blonde hair and grey eyes was born to The King and Queen of Mare. She was a sweet little girl with pigtails and a sharp mind and she kept her parents on their toes every second. One day this little girl's mom came to tell her that she would soon be getting a little sibling to play with and care for. The little girl was undeniably excited, or as excited as you can be when you're three years old and get told you're getting a small person just like you. Needless to say a little boy with blonde hair the exact same shade as hers, and blue eyes as bright as the summer skies was born. While she had eyes the exact shade of her mother’s he had their father’s eyes. And it was dangerous, but nobody knew that then. The little girl loved him immediately and with all her heart. They spent every moment together. Growing up and learning and loving each other as if it was the only natural thing to do. But when the little girl turned eighteen she received some horrible news. Her mother had died. Her brave beautiful mother who gave her kisses and taught her chess and spent hours reading to them. Understandably the family was devasted and they took it very hard. The girl— not so little anymore, grief will do that to a person— was angry and broken and unwilling to listen to the world that had so unfairly taken from her. So she rebelled against their father and lost their mother. And in her quest to feel something she engaged in nefarious, sinful, delightful activities. It was there that she met the love of her life. The Crown Princess of Hekima. Reyna. They got married within a year and have been together ever since. But the girl found out something about her mother's death and she was so furious as she rightfully should be that she renounced her title and vowed to bring down the very thing that killed her beloved mother.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

“You are terrible at telling stories.”

Annabeth smiles like a lion ready to pounce. "Figured out who the little girl is?"

"You." He heaves, chest constricting as he takes her in.

"And her little brother?"

"How come I don't remember you?"

"When we kidnapped you we put a serum in that would make you forget certain aspects of your life." She shrugs as if she's discussing the weather.

"And you feel no remorse for hurting your brother?" He spits at her feet.

Her grey eyes flash like steel and she gets into his face. "I have no family."

"Why tell me at all? Why not just let me be ignorant?"

That makes her smile- no, bare her teeth. "Because unlike me Jason Grace you would do anything for the people you love, for the people you think you owe. No matter the cost."

"I'm not telling you anything." His voice is hard. Like the concrete he is pressed into. Like thunder.

"Nah uh," She grins at him, "I'm your sister remember. You wouldn't deny your sister the information she wants."

"Try me."

It must be a sibling thing because a challenge enters both their eyes and it shines bright enough to dull the horrid neon lighting in the room.

"How do we kill Crown Prince Perseus Jackson?"

He blinks at her. Blinks again. And then he starts laughing. Knee slapping, stomach aching, wheezing kind of laughter. He can't breathe. He can't even see because his eyes are so filled with tears.

"I'm serious." She grinds out.

"How the fuck should I know? We don't discuss ways to kill each other," He rolls his eyes, muttering "Even if we do think about it."

"You must know. You have to know. It is woven into your DNA. You meet each other in every lifetime and die. You have seen it for centuries."

His fading laughter vanishes completely as he whips his head up to look at her. "What?"

"You and Perseus. You guys are immortal deities who appear whenever the world needs to be remade.” Her voice is impatient as if he should know this. As if she’s explaining it to an incompetent child. “You as the healer and him as the destroyer. But people and beings alike have been killing you for centuries because your presence means they will cease to exist. You have watched each other die multiple times. You have revived each other multiple times too."

"So you're saying we're soulmates?" He can hardly believe what he's hearing. It sounds like the biggest load of bullshit he's ever heard.

"No. You're more than that. You aren't just two halves that fit to make a whole. You aren't even two wholes that fit to make a pair. You are each other. You do not exist without him. He does not exist without you. You are not bound by souls or hearts or whatever us humans believe is the epitome of love. You are bound by life."

"I don't believe you." He rolls his eyes. This is garbage. This is nonsense. This is not real.

"I don't really have time to argue with you about it. Just tell me what I need to know and you will be spared."

"Why should I?" He's not even considering it. He would never betray his husband like that. Would never put the Prince in such volatile danger.

"Because if you don't," She gives another of her terrifying grins, "The kingdom you know and love will crumble to nothing."

"You're lying."

"It's already started Jason." She cackles, "The more time you spend with Perseus the more he will bleed into you and you into him. There are already cracks in the castle. Do you really want to risk it?"

His heart is pounding but she is wrong. Isn't she? "I don't believe you." He says again.

"Oh Jase," She gives him a pitying look and he wants to rip her eyes out and toss them in a lake to watch the fish. "The Castle of Caelum is falling to the ground. Your Prince's blood spilled on mom's roses and they crumbled to dust. There are splinters in the stone. They will become chasms. Either you help us or you risk your precious kingdom turning to debris right before you."

"And what's in it for me?"

"You'll be spared from the slaughter of the monarchs."

"And my husband?"

"He will die. This is non negotiable. One of you must, to stop you from fulfilling your fates. We have someone with him right now."

Wrong answer. But he bows his head and pretends to mull it over. Inside his thoughts are whirring like a new machine and plan after plan formulates in his mind.

"Okay Annabeth Chase, my sister," He smiles soft and sweet. She returns it in triumph. "I will join your rebellion. I will tell you how to kill my husband."

And as she picks him up from the floor and removes the invisible ties keeping him pinned to the concrete he allows himself a secret smile of his own. It hints at the malice, the destruction, to come. They made the biggest mistake of their lives when they took him away from the Prince. They will pay.

I'm coming for you Percy.

So Crown Prince Jason Grace loops his arm through his sister's and makes friends with his enemy.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

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

I don’t really know how I feel about this part. Feels a bit all over the place but at least we’re getting some clarification which is cool. Also are Annabeth and the rebels the good guys or bad guys for wanting to save the world from Jase and Perc? *raises eyebrow curiously*

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

@nishlicious-01​​

@queen-of-demons-and-hell​​

@leydiangelo​​

@sparkythunderstorm​​

@makos-bi-awakening​​

@aalikun​​

[ask-will-and-nico]

If it's not too much to ask and you're still doing fics, can you write one about Nico and either Jason or Will (or all three if you want/can't decide?) meeting Psyche, please? I read your Valentine's Day fic and it's currently one of my favorite solangelo fanfics/posts on this website and your writing is just 10/10. Have a lovely day/evening

I kind of made some headcanons for this, but the only thing that you really need to know is that I imagine Psyche visits Nico much more often than a god should, but she does it because she feels bad for Nico and keeps him company, like Hestia. Jason knows about the visits, but Will doesn’t really

“Jason,” Will called. His voice betrayed him and he soundedmuch more skeptical then he probably should have. “Is there a reason you’refollowing me?” It wasn’t completely unusual for the son of Jupiter to be foundin Will’s presence. Despite speculation, Will and Jason were actually prettygood friends. When they’re both at camp in the summer, Jason fills Will in onall the things going on in the mortal world that Will misses out on during thewinter, and in turn, Will gives Jason all the juicy gossip from camp over thedead season. It always seems to be more dramatic when there’s only a handful ofcampers around to cause trouble.

“Nico has company,” Jason stated, like it was the mostcasual thing in the world. Will’s brow quirked in question, and he slowed hispace to be even with Jason. Who would Nico have over in his cabin? He normallydidn’t like to have other people in his cabin because of how messy it was. Nicohad been on the run for so long with nothing that he liked to keep nearly allof his belongings where he could see them and know they were still there. Whichincluded leaving his clothes all over the floor.

“Nico has company?” Will reiterated. Jason nodded and Willfrowned. “What kind of company? In his cabin?” Will asked. Jason nodded again,but didn’t give any further information as to who was suddenly close enough toNico be in his cabin. Maybe Percy or Annabeth were in town, or Hazel hadstopped over. Will had walked in to find her sleeping in Nico’s spare bed onceand had nearly jumped out of his skin.

By time they reached the door to Nico’s cabin, Jason still hadn’telaborate, but he also hadn’t tried to stop Will from going in or leave Will tohis own devices, so Nico’s company couldn’t be that bad, right? “Just keep anopen mind,” Jason warned him. “And remember that Nico loves you.” The last partwas a bit worrying. Why would Will need to be reminded of his relationship withNico? They had been together long enough for Will to know. Will took a deepbreath and pushed the door open.

The first thing Will noticed was that Nico’s cabin wasclean. There weren’t any clothes scattered on the floor in heaps, and theblankets had been folded and set nicely on the bed. Nico’s desk had been straightened,and the most frightening thing probably had to be the complete lack of foodsitting around anywhere. The second thing Will noticed was the woman sitting onNico’s bed, next to Nico, who was laughing.

Will was transfixed by her blonde hair and brown eyes. Shelooked so completely at ease in Nico’s room, laughing at something Nico hadsaid and lounging back on her hands. Something tugged at Will’s gut and Willresisted the urge to march up to her and ask her exactly what she was doing inWill’s boyfriend’s cabin. Jealousy was an ugly thing.

“Remember what I told you,” Jason whispered. Will wanted totell Jason to shut up. He trusted Nico, and Nico trusted him, and Will,rationally, had no reason to be worried about the woman who had been alone withNico in his cabin.

Will cleared his throat in a loud manner to catch theattention of Nico and the woman, and was pleasantly surprised when they bothturned to look at him, both wearing a matching look of surprise on their face. “Oh,Will,” Nico smiled. Will smiled back at him and saw no worry in Nico’s eyes.

“I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to go get some latelunch. Who’s your friend here?” Will asked, tilting his head toward the woman.

“Oh,” Nico turned to look at her. “Will, this is the goddessPsyche.”

To all the anons who messaged me yesterday about my writing, this one is for you. I love you.