#also they're doing it again where Annabeth knows more than she should

[thelastspeecher]

one of the things I mentioned to the roommate when we first started watching the PJO show was that I hoped they kept in the bit in the book where Annabeth is unable to read the sign at Aunty Em's

like, Percy sees it and is like "uh what does that say" and Annabeth says "I don't know" and Percy thinks to himself that Annabeth is so smart and likes to read so much he sometimes forgets that she's dyslexic too

it's such a good little character moment and a powerful one for any dyslexic child reading it. it's one of my favorite parts from the book; I remember it so distinctly.

and of COURSE

OF COURSE

they get to Aunty Em's on the show and Annabeth reads the sign right fucking away

[pinkblahaj]

rick riordan's female characters pt 1: annabeth

this year i reread pjo and hoo for the first time since finishing the series five years ago, and i now understand the (somewhat?) common opinion that the way he wrote female characters was definitely flawed in some ways. although, i don't completely agree with all the criticisms, and i still love the majority of his characters. because i have so many thoughts on annabeth, i'll make this post just about her and discuss other characters later.

i'm certainly not one of those avid annabeth haters, but i do think there are valid reasons to not like her- I think there are valid reasons to not like any character. for me, there are moments where she is a bit too arrogant or mean. but i don't think she should have been written with an entirely different personality either- it makes sense why she is the way she is, and all the characters are flawed in their own ways, which is what makes them relatable. i just don't relate to annabeth like i do to the characters i like more.

i see how some ppl dislike the dynamic between percy and annabeth, but i feel like a lot of those issues are just a product of their time. the judo-flipping scene in mark of athena has been made to be way bigger of a deal than it is. it was not annabeth "abusing" percy- it's more akin to play wrestling. but... i do agree that moments like this would be clearly unacceptable if annabeth were a boy (which, i know, those "if the roles were reversed" type discussions sometimes are used to weaponize the suffering of men in order to diminsh women's issues, and i am not trying to do that here). it unfortunately does make sense when you think about the whole anti-femininity trend that used to be so common, and existed in rick's books as well (ex: aphrodite's children). annabeth is supposed to be tough and scary, not soft and weak. but we should also keep in mind that every relationship's boundaries our different- annabeth might joke about percy being dumb, but it's obvious that doesn't bother him and he likes the nickname "seaweed brain".

annabeth's treatment of rachel in botl seems to be a dividing topic, and i can see both sides. i honestly was quite bothered by it when i reread botl, and i find it strange that some ppl will hate on percy on this book while not criticizing annabeth. but honestly that's probably because i'm a sensitive person. some ppl find it funny, which is probably how it was supposed to come across. it was probably just as obvious to rachel as it was to us readers that annabeth was only being mean out of her fear of losing percy... and rachel did indeed like percy. but i do wish that we would've seen someone call her out or see her apologize, and while her abandonment issues are an explanation for her behavior, they are not an excuse. but again, it's safe to assume that rachel was not that affected by it, and being a teenager who is rude to someone bc they like the same guy as you is not the worst thing a person can do. (i do think it's interesting how this situation is brought up more frequently than leo bullying frank, which actually did hurt frank.)

contrary to what i've seen other ppl say, i actually really liked annabeth in heroes of olympus. i thought her povs were great, and i loved to see her interact with the new characters, especially piper. i also found her more likable (ik some think she was too perfect, but i loved seeing her as a competent leader). the scene with frank and the finger trap was so cute and because i love and relate to frank, i will forever appreciate her for that. however she was def underutilized- outsmarting arachne by attacking her pride made sense because of arachne's backstory, but that strategy became overused (the way she defeated nyx was kind of ridiculous). and of course, who doesn't love the percabeth scenes- sure they were obsessed with each other, but that makes sense. they just met the rest of the seven, ofc they're not going to care about their new friends to the extend that they do for each other (side note: i don't disagree that seven felt like "co-workers", but i don't see a problem with it either).

leah was a perfect choice for the tv show adaptation. i honestly could not care less that she's not blonde and white. yes, the acting could be a bit better, but they're young and i've seen worse acting from older actors. what i do have an issue with is how annabeth was written in the show. i feel like the writers read that she's the brains of the group and she's serious and forgot that she's also a twelve year old girl. annabeth is a great character because she is strong, smart and skilled, but still flawed, realistic and relatable. i wish the show delved into other parts of her character, such as her love for architecture, the scene with the spiders, and her relationship with luke- this last one especially is such an important part they missed out on, because it's a huge source of her vulnerability in the books. i'm completely fine with them cutting out her crush on him, but the fact that she looks up to him and sees him as family is so central to why she can't accept that he's betrayed her. her believing that there is still good left in luke is also key to how they defeat kronos with luke's help. show luke says that annabeth is like his little sister, but without us actually seeing this relationship, it's going to be hard to understand in later seasons why annabeth defends him.

overall, annabeth is a great character and deserving of her popularity, but i don't think that if you dislike her you hate complex female characters. while she's not my favorite, i see her as a testament to both rick's ability to write good female characters and some of his shortcomings in this area.

[aroaceleovaldez]

Speaking of their depiction of Will's anxiety- the Stymphalian birds were specifically chosen for him, because in the myths they can only be taken down by archery. But they're saying here that Will had a traumatic experience at the hands of monsters who have historically been defeated by archers. And then he didn't dedicate himself to archery at all? For the 5+ years he's been at camp? Reverse superhero origin story where instead of vowing to fight crime as the result of a loved one's death they just never leave the house ever again

Yeah! Or music/sound (which his satyr is specifically noted to be skilled at - Woodrow teaches the music class at CHB in The Hidden Oracle), which Will also doesn't do anything with besides his sonic whistle or healing hymns (which apparently are actually just his mom's songs and not hymns) at all until that gets retconned in TSATS. Like, we know he has a sonic whistle and healing hymns, but it's kind of a specific thing that he's not as musically or archery inclined as his siblings. So why half-retcon half of that, make these birds that can specifically only be defeated by sound and archery a major part of his backstory, and then... we never get any payoff for it? He faces them again, but it doesn't go any better than it did the first time? There's no building of his character there.

Also, Stymphalian birds are actually sacred to Artemis. Yknow. Apollo's twin.

I get that TSATS was trying to cameo a lot of monsters we've seen before, but making Stymphalian birds specifically part of Will's backstory feels kind of weird and doesn't make a ton of sense? Because when we see them in SoM it's implied they were specifically sent to CHB, so why would they try to maim the random kid? Especially a son of the sibling of the goddess they're sacred to?

The only explanation I would accept is that the Stymphalian birds that attacked Will in New York were actually the ones from CHB in Sea of Monsters after they flew away, and Will just got really unlucky. But timeline-wise that actually doesn't work, cause SoM and TTC are the same year, and Nico and Will are the same age, so Will should be 10 or 11 in SoM/TTC (depending on if you accept Nico is 13 or 14 in HoO). And TSATS tells us Will arrived to CHB at age eight, which would mean he's been at CHB longer than Percy has and so the birds couldn't be the same ones from SoM. (Yes I'm still mad about the absolutely broken timeline there.) Also if they're dissuaded by noise, there's no way they're going to land in the middle of New York City of all places.

There's just other monsters they could have picked that would have made more sense. Or even mortal animals! We know from previous books that there's a thing about mortal animals sometimes having vendettas against the children of gods associated with their species for curse reasons or etc! Apollo actually has a lot of those! And it can become enough of a problem even to young demigods that it can require them to come to camp early before monsters can begin tracking them (ex.: Annabeth with spiders - monsters seemed to only become a problem after she tried coming back home the first time). Why not have it be Will being attacked consistently by normal mortal crows, because he's a son of Apollo? Or snakes - in the first book Percy even mentions fighting off two snakes when he was a baby because they were sent to kill him. I mean, Will's from Texas! We can absolutely scrounge up some snakes for him to fight. And it would fit more with acknowledging how he's from Texas specifically, just like how much the book tries to emphasize that Nico is from Venice.

It feels like one of many dropped plot points that make me say I wish TSATS had been worked on longer so that these types of things could have been ironed out and maybe turned into something consistent.

[physalian]

Can I complain about modern fantasy book titles and covers for a second?

I don’t like these books anyway. Why doesn’t matter, they have their audience and I’m not part of it. But eight whole books, and I read seven of them (not Assassin’s Blade) a few years ago now, and I could not tell you in what order they should be read if someone handed me a blind pile, or even what cover belongs to each book because they’re so painfully generic (and missing numbers on their spines).

Nor could I tell by the titles which are also painfully generic. Yeah they read like fantasy titles but there’s nothing distinct about them, they’re just fantasy buzzwords and they’re so vague that even Tower of Dawn leaves me vaguely recalling that kingdom with the giant birds, I think? Heir of Fire might be the romantic side quest that lasts an entire book, but that’s based more on my memory of the order of events than the title or cover would suggest.

Blank of X and Y she used for ACOTAR (which I did not read and know nothing about so I skipped them) is just so boring to me if the Mad Lib is nothing special. “Heir of Fire” could be a Game of Thrones fanfic for how unique and evocative the title is. A Court of Thorns and Roses literally stole the cadence of A Song of Ice and Fire but guess what?? Those aren't just nonsense words. Ice and Fire and how they're related are hugely thematic and relavent elements in those books. "Thorns and Roses" just ripped off a Poison song.

I assume these were the original covers since they’re not so manicured and actually have character. The titles are the same but the colors are so much bolder and the imagery isn’t a greyscale girl for 7 out of 8 titles. They’re distinct and memorable and while they’re still not evocative of the actual story, if I was a bigger fan of the books I’d probably have stronger associations. They do try. I have fuzzy memories coming back of EOS having the cool pirate with the map hands, KOA being the climactic battle book, QOS... might be the boring side quest with the dragons. This does not look like assembly line popcorn fantasy. This looks like it has heart, and an air of mystery. They draw you in and have you asking questions, they have you wanting to know more.

These books are, in my opinion, superior in many ways to anything SJM has written, but the covers? The exact same problem on steroids. And I only read four of them, there’s six total apparently. King’s Cage is the best title of the bunch. I know immediately from the title “that’s the one where the protagonist spent the whole book as a political prisoner in, you know, the king’s cage”.

But the covers, though they all share the same aesthetic and would look pretty on the book shelf, are absolutely devoid of any and all context within the book, save King's Cage. They’re all feminine crowns and tiaras, too. They could have at least given a man’s crown or at least something with harsher angles and thicker lines to evoke, idk, maybe the titular character the third book is about? It helps that the series (at one point) was only four books so it was less titles and ambiguous covers to juggle, but now there’s six so I guess that’s out the window.

Pretty, but purely window dressing. The best thing they have going for them is how distinctly minimalist they are that sets them apart from other fantasy.

I have incredibly mixed feelings about these books but the colors. Very much carrying on the PJO tradition of titles that actually fit the books and art to go along with it. There’s so much drama and movement to each one and they are, once again, scenes from each book, so many little details to look at. Festus was a huge part of TLH, then Percy's back in action, front and center in SON, then... uh, MOA... then Percy and Annabeth looking scared shitless in HOH and then... uh, BOO. Exists.

They all draw you in and I very much remember the cover drop for House of Hades and losing my mind over it. Much more face-focused than the reserved originals, much bolder, but still, mostly, Percy Jackson.

I looked this up on google images and couldn’t even read the titles there tiny at the bottom. The exact same color scheme for every single book. This is for the box set, I know that, so the spines all make one image when you line them up, but the spine doesn’t have to be the same image as the front cover.

That said, the cover images are still distinct and still hold true to the originals—showing actual elements from the books, like Blackjack and Polyphemus and the Labyrinth. Updated but a bit too sleek for my tastes (maybe that’s just nostalgia talking). The titles though, love the titles. At least they kept the series number on the covers (unlike TOG or RQ).

Now this. This here. These have everything. Bold, distinct colors on the spines, beautiful unique and very fantastical art, art that actually pertains to the book it’s about with an air of mystery every single time. You want to ask why there’s a kid floating in Long Island Sound, who that giant eye belongs to, who has that pegasus so frightened, what’s in the golden coffin, and… well the last one is just noire and I like it.

The titles, though. The. Titles. “Sea of Monsters” cannot in any way match up with the plot of the rest of the series. These covers are perfection.

Now I did not read these books, just saw the movies. These covers are dated, but there still wonderfully, charmingly whimsical, for an entire series about wizards and witches. The colors are distinct, the font choices reflect the vibes of each book, the art depicts the stories within the pages—Harry joining the Quidditch team, Fawkes coming to the rescue, Buckbeak, the mermaid egg thing and the other competitors in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the (I think?) prophecy room/Ministry of Magic, the Remembrall (I think??), and, you know, the last one is cool too. The style of the drawings are rather unique to Harry Potter. Harry also visibly ages across each one.

The titles themselves, like PJO (while predating PJO so setting the trend I’m aware) cannot be separated from their books. Order of the Phoenix? That’s the book about the Order of the Phoenix. Deathly Hallows is about, shocker, the Deathly Hallows.

Putting Twilight here at the bottom. I like these despite them being minimalist because, unlike every other cover on this list, they’re minimalist fantasy. Barely urban fantasy. The red and white motifs are evocative of the romance genre and vampire fiction and at least the covers of Twilight and Breaking Dawn do reference scenes in their books, with Edward catching the apple in the cafeteria and them playing chess on their honeymoon.

They also speak to a more adult, mature audience with the sleeker look. These are romance novels with vampires, *not* fantasy novels with romance. You see any of those covers among other adult romance in a bookstore and they’re going to catch your eye. The titles… eh. Not so much. Nothing to do with the story they just sounded pretty and evocative but this is romance, not fantasy, they’re supposed to be sensual and evocative and “Bella Swan and The Broody Vampire Boy” would not at all fit that vibe.

—

It’s not like these modern fantasy novels are devoid of creative terminology. I don’t like SJM at all but her books did have some really creative and wonderful moments in isolation. It’s like the publishers were afraid to be authentic and sincerely fantastical, so they went with something safe and clean and uninspired both in title and in art.

“Throne of Glass” means nothing to me and could be applicable to like, four of the books in that series. If I squint I can see it as a metaphor for the fragile state of the ruling house but there is quite literally glass everywhere so maybe it’s just one cool element—that should have then been on the cover—but like, the whole book is about the Assassin’s trial, right? So call it The Assassin’s Trial or Tournament of Assassins. You know. The plot of the book, not just one random ass element in the background.

Be authentically fantastical, or don't write fantasy.

[puzzled-pegasus]

Thoughts I have about CHB as an afab girl

If a demigod gets their period at camp how does that work? Does the same gift shop that has the orange shirts also have sanitary products?? From what I remember it should have everything that is necessarily hygiene related.

then again a few demigods might just stop having their period bc of training like if they train too hard, that wouldn't last forever probably but yeah

Do they have bras at camp?? I guess that's probably a thing kids would usually do when it's not the summer huh but like what about annabeth where did she get bras. Did like another camper give her the first one? That would be so sweet tbh and if they have them at the gift shop, she would prob at least need help choosing one

Why are all the camp shirts the same gd color I hate orange sm at least have some pink ones lmao

The aphrodite kids have definitely complained about that before. Why orange. Why did Rick choose orange. Ew.

If you are sharing a cabin esp if you have sisters how the hell are you keeping track of your shirts if they're all the same damn color

This is more of a statement than a question but i think itd be cute if like the first time one of the girls has a period on the Argo II boat they send one of the boys to go get stuff and he brings back like 15 boxes of things bc he panicked

Logically they could probably just send 1 girl along with but I think that the first thing is funnier

Hair ties

How the hell do you keep track of your hair ties

On quests the girls are probably using everything they can find to tie up their hair

stealing Leo's zipties and shit

Except for Annabeth who has been doing this long enough to know how many to bring and then some but she will share only sparingly

The girls were also probably taking only one or two bras for the entire trip

The demigods can't afford to care abt cramps and that must suck

[doevademe]

So here is an idea with a slightly dark Percico, during the time where Percy has amnesia, rather than deny knowing him, Nico in a moment of weakness says that they are dating that he missed him so much. Percy goes along with it, seeing no reason not to trust Nico and something about him being his boyfriend just feeling right. Eventually they reunite with Annebeth who is pissed at Nico for lying but can’t convince Percy that he is, making Nico into even more of an outcast, only for Percy to reveal that has already gotten his memories back long ago and now that Nico has lost most of his friends Percy has him all to him. Now they can be messed up possessive people together

Nico couldn't take it anymore.

The glares, the disappointment, everybody looked at him like he was a monster, and not even for the reasons they usually did.

If it was about being a son of Hades, Nico would at least feel outraged, like he didn't deserve what was happening to him, but this time it was different, this time he deserved the scorn of those around him.

"What's wrong, babe?" Percy asked, concerned. Nico bit his lip.

It had been a moment of weakness. Percy had just said he was important to his nonexistent past, and Nico had just said 'Well, as your boyfriend I sure hope so!' He had planned to dismiss it as a joke soon after, but Percy had just nodded like it made all the sense in the world and kissed him as an apology.

Nico hadn't been able to come clean after that.

"Percy, we need to talk," Nico said softly.

"Is Annabeth giving you trouble again?" he put his arm around him protectively. Nico saw a dark shadow fall over his eyes. "She really needs to stop that. Like I'd ever go for her when I have you."

Yes, things had only gotten worse once Annabeth had landed on New Rome. Nico had been sweating bullets. Surely seeing the actual love of his life would return Percy's memories. Then Percy would hate him for lying and taking advantage... again.

Yet what happened was even worse. Percy had rejected Annabeth, saying that he knew they were friends, but that he had rejected her to be with Nico. Percy weaved a story from the half-truths Nico told him and his own imagination, but the way he had talked made it sound as if Nico himself had been feeding him all those stories.

Annabeth had tried to claw his eyes out, and had only been stopped by Percy. The daughter of Athena had demanded him to break whatever spell he had put on Percy, but her boyfriend had refused to believe her.

"She has calmed down a lot," Nico lied. After Percy had remained 'loyal' to him, Annabeth had tried to prove their relationship with pictures and witnesses, and everyone had believed her, even his sister... everyone except for Percy. "It's about um... us."

Nico was now not only the untrustworthy son of Hades, he was also a homewrecker, an oportunist who had bewitched an amnesiac man into forgetting his girlfriend out of sefishness.

Everyone had turned their back on him, except for Percy, who kept kissing him and complimenting him like nothing was wrong.

"Did I do something wrong?" Percy's voice had a tint of worry as he looked around. "Was I too clingy? Or too clueless?"

Yes, Percy had been, but that was not the problem. If anything, Nico felt guilty over how much he enjoyed Percy's affections.

"No, it's not—"

"Is there someone else, then?" Percy's gaze turned possessive, even darker. At that moment, he was reminded of Poseidon being the god of storms and earthquakes. "Don't think I don't notice."

"N-notice what?" Nico couldn't help but stutter. When angry, Percy was almost a force of nature himself.

"Jason Grace and Leo Valdez, they look at you sometimes," Percy said dangerously. "Everyone should know that you are mine."

Nico blinked. No. There was no way that Percy was that oblivious.

"They look at me with nothing but disgust!" he finally exclaimed. "And they're right to do so!"

Percy's face softened as he turned to hug Nico properly, combing his fingers through his hair.

"Nico, there's nothing wrong with you... with us," he said. Nico wanted to scream in frustration. "If they can't accept us, we're better off without them."

"It's not about acceptance!" Nico sobbed. "Annabeth was telling the truth. You are her boyfriend, not mine!"

"Nico, you don't—"

"I lied Percy!" Nico screamed into his shirt. "That kiss you gave me on Camp Jupiter was our first. You've never seen me as anything but a friend or a traitor. I took advantage of you!"

He just wanted it to stop. To at least mend the relationship with his sister, even if everyone else, including Percy, hated him.

The son of Poseidon just hugged him tighter.

"Oh, Nico," he said, sounding disappointed. Nico braced himself. "I already knew."

Nico's eyes widened, he tried to pull away, but Percy just held on tighter.

"What?"

"My memories came back during my quest with Hazel and Frank," Percy explained. He caressed the top of his head. "I have known you lied since before Annabeth came back."

"But then why—?"

"Honestly, it was pretty hilarious to see her all mad," Percy laughed. "I almost cracked then and there, but I needed to keep at it, until everyone took her side, at least."

Nico shivered. It had all been Percy's ellaborate plan. To alienate Nico from everyone who could be on his side. To make him even more of an outcast. All to get back at Nico for lying about their relationship.

He didn't know the son of Poseidon could be that machiavellian.

"I guess I deserved it," Nico whispered. "I'm really sorry, Percy."

"Sorry for what?" Percy asked. He seemed honestly confused. "You know what I remembered when I got my memories back? How devoted you are, how many times you have saved me, how much you're willing to do for me. How utterly perfect you are."

Nico wasn't understanding. What was Percy getting at?

"You even lied to have me for yourself." Percy's voice was filled with amazement. Nico felt the hug tighten once again until it was almost painful. "But I also remembered all the people who could take you away, just as I realized how precious you were to me."

"Percy!" He struggled to get out, but Percy didn't let him.

"People like Connor Stoll and Will Solace, always looking at what's not theirs," he continued, almost snarling. "I knew if I wanted to keep you, I needed to make sure they wouldn't look at you twice."

Nico's heart was hammering in his chest. The worst part is, he wasn't sure if it was from fear or excitement.

"You did all this... so I'll stay?"

"I remember Nico, you have a knack for just leaving," there was a reproach in Percy's voice. "But that's in the past. Because now you know how much I love you."

Yeah, and now there was nowhere else that would take Nico in.

"It hurts, being hated by everyone," he admitted quietly. Percy's hug became slack.

"I know, and I'm sorry." Percy at least sounded sincere. "I know I made it worse but... I couldn't lose you."

And it was like something switched inside Nico's brain. Like everything made sense now. He had always been an outcast anyway.

But now he had Percy.

"You'd never lose me, Percy," he said, giving him a kiss. "Because I'm as yours as you are mine."

And Percy smiled like Nico had just told him the moon really was made of blue candy.

"I'm glad we both think the same way."

Nico nodded and kissed Percy again.

The whole world could hate him for all he cared. Percy was his, and it was more than worth it.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I'm going to Hozier's concert next week and I've been waiting SO LONG to post this one omg -Danny Words: 2,038 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Who We Are' -by Hozier

XV: Are We the Baddies?

"Where are they?" Coach Hedge comes up running. "Who do I kill?"

"No killing!" Annabeth shouts. "Just help me defend the ship!"

"But they interrupted a Chuck Norris movie!"

Piper runs up the steps. "Got a message through to Jason. Kind of fuzzy, but he's already on his way. He should be—oh! There!"

"Frank!" Hazel exclaims in relief.

Leo is not a fan of eagles as a way of transportation, judging by the amount of curse words that are leaving his mouth as they fly past them. 

"Never seen Jason fly before," Percy points out. "He looks like a blond Superman."

"More like Captain America," Ara also looks up. "If Captain America could, you know, control the wind—"

"Wait, doesn't that other Captain America have wings, Sam—"

"This isn't the time!" Piper snaps them out of their conversation. "Look, they're in trouble!"

Ara spots the flying chariot behind them. "Coach!"

"I'll get 'em!"

Ara sees him reach for the ballista. "NO—"

It was lucky they were close to the fort, otherwise, everyone would've plummeted to their deaths. Not that crashing against hard rock was any better, but at least there the bodies would be easier to find.

"Coach!" Piper scolds him.

"What? That was just a warning shot!"

"Percy!" Ara shouts tensely as they get closer to the wall. "This ship doesn't come with water brakes—"

"Don't worry," he says, holding onto her shoulder. "I got it."

Annabeth approaches them. "They're too many, we can't fight them all—once we're there, Percy, you're going to have to hold off the attackers. The rest of the group should help him guard the ship, but you," she looks at Ara. "I need you with me."

Ara nods. "Now, Percy!"

The boy pulls on the currents so the ship slows down, Ara hears an unpleasant screeching, but if any damage was done to the ship, she'll fix it later.

"The fort is crawling with Romans," Percy warns them. "You'll have to fight your way through, find our friends—assuming they're okay—find this map, and get everybody back alive. All on your own?"

"Just an average day," Annabeth kisses him before leaving. "Whatever you do, don't let them take this ship!" 

Ara shouts as she runs away. "If you let them damage Festus or the ship, you'll wish you'd stayed at Phorcys's exhibit!"

The girls race through dodging frightened tourists and angry demigods. Frank is fighting as an elephant—an odd choice, but certainly better than any other—Leo is throwing balls of fire at eagles, and Jason is taking as many demigods as he can without hurting them much. 

Ara presses twice on her compass and it turns into a bow. She reaches over her back, where a quiver has appeared. Ara doesn't know if her stash of arrows is unlimited, she's never counted them and she doesn't use this version of Almighty that often.

"Okay, now what?" She asks over the chaos.

Annabeth stops and shouts. "Jason! Get the other on board!"

"What about you two?" He yells back.

"Don't wait for us!"

Ara shoots an arrow that lands on a guy's foot. "Nice shot!" Jason pushes the injured boy out of his way and runs towards Leo.

"I was aiming at his hand..." she makes a face.

"Get the people out of our way," Annabeth urges her. "Let's start with those doors!"

Ara raises her voice. "We're pest control! Step away from the corridor, ma'am—please, seize your children!"

Annabeth reaches the room, but when Ara tries to follow her in, the door slams shut in her face. "Annabeth!" She slams both fists against the wood. "Annabeth!"

"She's okay," a voice speaks behind her. "Just needs a moment, you know, for introspection."

Ara turns around, eyes narrowing. "You have to be kidding me."

Janus smiles. "Hello again, Arae Jackson."

Time suddenly stays still, and the noises around her get quieter.

"So you took the greater path," Leftie says. "It won't be this easy all the time, you know?"

Ara thinks of all the things she's gone through since the last time they spoke. "Easy?"

Right chuckles. "Last time was about power, this time is about commitment."

The girl presses her back against the door. "Can we push back my episode in the wheel of fortune for like, I dunno, twenty more years?"

Leftie snorts. "No. You must choose today."

"The cause," Right lifts his hand, holding a gold disk.

"Or your friends," Leftie raises his hand, holding a picture of the crew who built the Argo II. Ara has her arm around Lily, and both girls look happy.

Right smirks. "Last time worked just fine, didn't it?"

"But will it be the same this time?" Left wonders.

"What are y—" The door opens and Ara falls back. She scrambles to her feet and picks up her bow and arrows. "Annabeth!"

Her friend's standing in the middle of the room with a haunted expression. 

"Di immortales, what happened?" Ara asks with concern.

"Later," her friend replies hoarsely, moving out of the room. "How long has it been since I got stuck?"

"Not much... I think," Ara's unsure whether Janus stopped time to talk to her, or if things just got quieter in her head. "Where to now?"

Annabeth scans their surroundings. "There!"

They run to a mortar, Ara keeps shooting arrows at the eagles trying to seize them. She chose the bow because that's her worst skill, therefore the chances of hurting someone in a deathly way are lower.

Annabeth stares at the mortar like she's seeing something in it that no one else can, which is probably true. "In the mortar—Of course..."

"Hurry up! I'm running out of arrows!" Ara warns her.

Annabeth works fast to retrieve the map, and as she pulls it out, Ara realizes it looks exactly like the item Janus was holding in his right hand. "What's—"

"No time, let's..." Annabeth stumbles to a stop. Ara groans, locking eyes with Reyna.

"Rushing off?"

It takes a lot to intimidate Ara. She grew up with Thalia, Clarisse, and Percy, after all. But if Reyna was impressive without her battle gear, now she's downright terrifying. Her automatons are also there on each side of her, ready to attack them.

"Reyna," Annabeth starts, "what happened at Camp Jupiter was Gaea's fault. Eidolons, possessing spirits—"

"Save your explanations. You'll need them for the trial."

"You know we don't have time for this," Ara presses. "Let us go!"

"If you let Gaea drive our camps apart," Annabeth continues, "the giants have already won. They'll destroy the Romans, the Greeks, the gods, the whole mortal world."

"Don't you think I know that?" Reyna snaps. "What choice have you left me? Octavian smells blood. He's whipped the legion into a frenzy, and I can't stop it. Surrender to me. I'll bring you back to New Rome for trial. It won't be fair. You'll be painfully executed. But it may be enough to stop further violence. Octavian won't be satisfied, of course, but I think I can convince the others to stand down."

"It wasn't us!"

"It doesn't matter! Someone must pay for what happened. Let it be you. It's the better option."

 Annabeth and Ara share a look. 

"Better than what?" The older girl asks.

"Use that wisdom of yours. If you escape today, we won't follow. I told you—not even a madman would cross the sea to the ancient lands. If Octavian can't have vengeance on your ship, he'll turn his attention to Camp Half-Blood. The legion will march on your territory. We will raze it and salt the earth."

Janus shows up again, behind Reyna. Ara's insides twist in dread. It's time to choose.

"Take me," she blurts out. "I'm the Greek General, you don't need anyone else."

Annabeth looks at her with wide eyes. "No!"

"Shut up," Ara grabs Lily's dagger from her belt and hands it to her. "Give this to Lily if you see her again."

The girl steps forward but Annabeth yanks her back. "We're going," she says stubbornly. "I'm following the Mark of Athena to Rome, and Ara comes with me."

"Let go!" Ara tries to slip off her grasp, but Annabeth holds onto her tighter.

"You have no idea what awaits you," Reyna's eyes are wild with fury. "Ara is not part of the prophecy, if she wants to yield—"

"I do know!" Annabeth exclaims. "This grudge between our camps... I can fix it. Ara has a prophecy to fulfill as well and I promise you, if you kill her before it's time, we will suffer the consequences."

"Our grudge is thousands of years old," Reyna makes a face. "How can one person fix it?"

"Annabeth!" Ara insists with a shaky voice, but she knows her friend is right. 

If she stays, she'd be abandoning the people who looked after her when no one else would. If she leaves, she'd be giving up not just the quest but Leo too. How can she possibly choose one over the other?

"The quest has to succeed," Annabeth insists. "You can try to stop us, in which case we'll have to fight to the death. Or you can let us go, and we'll try to save both our camps. If you must march on Camp Half-Blood, at least try to delay. Slow Octavian down. Ara stays."

"One daughter of a war goddess to another, I respect your boldness," Reyna's expression darkens. "But if you leave now, you doom your camp to destruction."

"Don't underestimate Camp Half-Blood."

"You've never seen the legion at war."

Annabeth lets go of her without warning. "Your choice," the girl stares at her with piercing grey eyes, so similar to Lily's.

"W-What?"

"You're the General," Reyna agrees. "Both of us respond to you. Octavian won't listen to reason, but I can try to slow him down... or you can put a stop to it today."

"And put the whole world at risk by doing so," Annabeth counts. "Ara, think of Leo and Percy—you think any of us would forgive the Romans if they kill you?"

Ara stares at the older, smarter girls in front of her, and her heart crawls up her throat. All she can think of is Mike and Lily... But now there's also Leo to consider, she wants to protect both so badly...

Don't be rash.

Letting herself die in a ceremony of fake justice is an insult to both camps. She's supposed to be an ally to all demigods, but she's being forced to turn her back on them to succeed. It doesn't make sense!

Reyna's eyes stare at her, rageful and urgent. They remind her of Nico's eyes, who is also counting on her, and she can't fail him again. This isn't a fair solution, it's more like a shot in the dark, but all she can do is hold the gun steady when she pulls the trigger.

"Reyna..." she says shakily. "I have offered you nothing but friendship since we first met. Remember that when you go to massacre my home."

Reyna understands what's about to happen, and her expression stiffens. "You've left me behind to clean up your mess. You are no ally to me." She gestures so her dogs back up. "When we meet again, we will be enemies on the field of battle."

Janus vanishes then, a wide smile on both their faces. You have made your choice.

Ara and Annabeth are free to go. Reyna joins her army in the middle of the small storm Jason and Percy created, and no one seems to notice she'd been missing. 

Annabeth drags Ara through the crowd. She isn't fighting it, sticking to her new plan. She presses twice on her compass and turns it into a shield so it protects them from the incoming spears and arrows.

Ara screams orders, slipping charmspeak in each of them so they let them through. Piper is on the gangplank waiting for them, the ship is moving and they need to jump to reach it. Annabeth goes in first, and together Piper and her pull Ara in.

"Go!" Annabeth shouts. "Go, go, go!"

The ship moves violently as they gain speed, Percy lifts them on a tide that pushes them several yards away from Fort Sumter. Ara glances at the fort, then back at the people on the ship. 

Annabeth is glaring at her, but there is sympathy in her eyes. "You did the right thing, Ara. I promise."

She's decided to sacrifice her home, just like Helen did. She could've gone back with Reyna to ease the Romans's spirits, but that's not how the story goes. Ara's composure—what is left of it—collapses. She drops Almighty with a heavy thud and falls to her knees.

All I've done is set the curse in motion.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

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

[haberdashing]

thinking about the connections between Annabelle Cane (of The Magnus Archives) and Annabeth Chase (of Percy Jackson)

there's the name similarities, of course. first name starts with "anna" and continues with another word that could be a name in its own right, one syllable long and starting with "be". last name starts with "c" and ends in "e" with an "a" in the middle, one syllable, a word as much as a name, seemingly meaningful out-of-universe but in-universe it's just the name her dad happened to have, nothing more than that.

but there's more than just the names. like, what about that dad, again?

annab---* has a... complicated relationship with her family. they're not outright abusive or hateful or anything like that, no. in a weird way, that might make things more straightforward, easier to justify. but they're not like that, really! they just... have an image in their head of what a family should look like, and annab---* isn't sure she quite fits that mold, really. so there's two options: do her best to stay under the radar and fit in, or run away and find a better life, a better family, somewhere else.

and at a young age, annab---* decides to run away.

at that point, she's younger than you'd expect to be a successful runaway, really. just a little girl. but she's smart, and determined, and knows what she wants. or she thinks she does, anyway.

and so she sets off on a journey of her own... until it's not just her own, anyway... until something big, something terrible, something traumatizing happens along the way.

and it's all connected to her powers, in a way.

see, annab---* has some things in common with our story's protagonist, too. like him, she was connected from a young age to a higher power.

("higher power" here meaning... unnaturally strong, basically. not higher morally. they're jerks, really. but there's no denying that teaming up with them can give you abilities other humans could only dream of.)

and it's easy to overlook how meaningful that is, because the protagonist has that connection to a higher power from before the story starts, and some others in the story have it because that's why they're in the story, so it'd be easy enough to dismiss.

but that's just because the narrative is also connected to these higher powers, in a way. the vast majority of the people in this universe have no connection to those higher powers--in fact, they don't even know those higher powers exist as more than just old stories or weird rumors.

(in fact, for a while, the story suggests that you, the audience, might even be living in its universe... though the bit near the end rather ruins that whole angle, because it's just too big to be easily covered up or forgotten.)

annab---*'s connection to the powers and runaway journey and traumatic backstory all happen before the story start, and they come out in bits and drabs along the way, so it's hard to fully grasp what she's been through, what her story represents, early on.

and the protagonist is... the protagonist, for whatever reason. he didn't ask for it, mind you, in fact rather the opposite. but it was his destiny. he was chosen to be a part of this story, for it to play out like it does here. his part to play, not annab---*'s.

but the protagonist is well aware that he isn't perfect, and might well admit that annab---* has some traits that are better than his.

she's cleverer than him, for one. he's straightforward, honest, says what he thinks, and that can be valuable! but it can also be valuable to think before you speak, to weigh your words, to play a part, to say whatever you need to say to get past this latest obstacle. and that's where annab---* excels.

at first she seems like a foil, perhaps, or an example of what the protagonist could be. but it's more complicated than that. she's more complicated than that.

her role near the end proves that, doesn't it?

because there's a battle brewing, one too big to ignore, tempting though that might seem at times. and while it's not easy to pick the good guys in the battle, there are at least some very clear bad guys on the other side. and those bad guys need to be fought, of course, to prevent them from getting their way and turning the world awry for all eternity. they need to be fought and killed and-

well, that's probably not a healthy way of looking at it, honestly. time to tone it back a bit. even righteous anger is still anger, and needs to be tempered. something our protagonist needed to learn, there.

it's all a cycle, too. we learn that, near the end. there's no way to banish the bad guys for good--not as a whole, anyway, not as the greater thing of evil they represent. evil always works its way back into the world. and yet the battle against it still matters, in its own way, doesn't it?

but annab---* helps the protagonist see what his options truly are. helps guide his hand during the battle, for better or for worse. helps him realize that there is a choice to be made here, or perhaps more than one--not just which side to help, but how to go about it, how to handle the aftermath, how to ensure that the battle doesn't unfold the same way again (even if the greater evil behind it can never be fully vanquished, and the conflict against that evil can never truly end).

as for whether our protagonist chose wisely, in the end... well, that's subjective, isn't it?

[jankwritten]

the title of "This Was A Home Once" compels me, what is it about???

OUGH THAT ONE IS SO FUN!!!!!!

Okay so in 2022 I had this really big cryptid/supernatural creatures phase and started a bunch of stories involving it, and This Was a Home Once was one of those.

Nico, just graduated from high school, is still living in his small home town with his father. He feels like he's aimless and drifting, as most people in his situation do, and so the only thing he can think to do is bury himself in what he knows: the supernatural.

He runs a blog wherein he documents all kinds of cryptids and shit that he sees or thinks he has evidence of, and he's made friends with a bunch of people online through it - two of them are Annabeth and Frank, not that he really knows that.

So one evening, he's hanging around outside the local haunted Walgreens waiting for one of his online friends to show up so they can go hunting for snallygaster scales in the woods. Who he assumes is his friend shows up - a guy named Jason, who's a little quieter than Nico was expecting, and more confused, but that's alright.

They trek out into the woods together. It's quiet, quieter than it should be, but Nico just assumes that means that what they're hunting for is out there, they just have to be extra cautious.

They're in the heart of the woods when Jason asks what it is they're looking for again, and Nico realizes that Jason is not the person he was supposed to meet, and freaks out.

(the title "This Was a Home Once" was, I think, in reference to how Nico no longer really felt at home in his hometown but didn't really know how to move on or where to go, which is what sparked the whole plot into motion)

That's as far as I got in actually writing it, but there was a TON more that I was super excited to plan out:

Percy, Piper, Leo, and Hazel were all supposed to be big parts of the plot - I was aiming for a small-town situation wherein the POV kind of hops around to Percy and Piper, who would've seen some of Nico's actions out of context and whatnot since they all went to school together etc. etc. Percy and Nico are basically the only pure humans in the whole story, and while Nico believes in the paranormal and everything, Percy doesn't.

Percy, however, is also friends with Annabeth (but he knows her IRL whereas Nico only knows her online, so they don't realize they both know her) and so sometimes he hears her rants about stuff that he just nods and smiles along to. The vibes for him in this story were going to be akin to Steve Harrington from Stranger Things - he's kind of just dragged along for the ride by accident, and becomes an integral part of the group only because he keeps showing up whenever shit is going down.

Piper's side was what I was REALLY interested in, though, because she's got a lot of secrets. The main plot relevant one was the stray dog she'd rescued from the edge of the woods, a stray dog that she kept hidden in her shed from her parents and whatnot, nursed it back to health and made sure it got food and water - which turns out to be Leo the Hellhound.

Obviously in this story I was taking MANY liberties with myth lore and stuff like that, so in this case, a hellhound was a hunter released onto earth to hunt down escaped Spirits or otherwise undead creatures. Kind of like the whole werewolves despising vampires thing, except for hellhounds it's their job, their innate purpose and whatnot, to hunt down things that belong in the underworld. Leo had come to town the same night Jason did because, surprise surprise, Jason is a vampire.

There was going to be a whole Thing about Jason's colony under Thalia seeking shelter in Nico's little town from Jupiter, their original sire who was a little power hungry. Thalia didn't agree w him or his methods and split her little troupe off from the Main Colony, but then ofc the sudden presence of superntural creatures in the town brought More Shit To Town and that was going to be like, the Big Plot, was a showdown between Jupiter and all of the rag-tag supernatural creatures and humans and whoever else showed up to protect their new Haven.

OKAY I could continue to go on and on because i love this story so much (I should start working on it again omfg) but I'll leave that there HEHEHE

[softmoonlightmelody]

idk why people don't like perachabeth. i mean, it's percabeth, perachel, AND rachabeth, and everything is perfect.

annabeth's got the demigod side down, and rachel has the mortal side. they compliment each other insanely well, they're foils which is a) perfect for love triangles, and b) perfect for a couple. annabeth learns about mortal stuff from rachel, rachel learns about demigod stuff from annabeth. plus, their careers compliment each other - architecture is math + art, and rachel has art. i also like to think of rachel as a musician (she's a rich kid, so) and music is so much like math.

percy and rachel are a great couple because they're really sweet. like percy is in complete support (and awe) of rachel's art and her environmental and anti-her dad thing (which percy - as a sea guy and totally angry at sea pollution can get behind), plus rachel's understanding of percy's inner struggles and problems - percy is the ultimate trophy husband, admit it. i can imagine them being really cute and doing environmental (especially sea-related) stuff together, while grover is third-wheeling (again) because it's too far for juniper to travel.

and percabeth!!! everyone loves percabeth in the original pjo, so i don't really have to explain it.

the three of them work well because of these interconnected dynamics. they're not herongraystairs, where each person's otp is the other two together, or like frazeleo, who are a great team in fighting and literally they do everything in symbiosis. they support each other. they don't do anything or go everywhere together. they SUPPORT each other, know each other, and interact with everything in mind.

like imagine this: annabeth is designing new athens, the greek counterpart of new rome. rachel is designing street art in the alleys and visible in the streets. percy is adding public parks and pretty water features with grover. they're working together but they are not working on the same thing. they are a team, not like frazeleo, but in a way where they're collaborating. idk how to express it but i LOVE perachabeth more than should be possible.

also rachel is amazing <3

[nancyyfest]

Tomorrow, today and yesterday

U can read it in my Ao3, you can also check out some other percabeth fics there

A part of her still couldn't believe it, but she was no longer afraid that he didn't love her. After all, they had kissed, and it had been a better scenario than any she had been able to imagine, more romantic, in the style that only the two of them could know about each other. And he accepted the apology she offered him after that rude greeting, so he must still love her according to her excellent analyses of his natural behavior.

The seven had spent some time in the largest room of the ship, still introducing themselves, getting to know each other, who still didn't know what was in store for them, what relationships they would create with each other, or whether they would be a family or allied enemies. Annabeth did not know. None of them did, but there they were, telling enough of their beginnings without showing weakness. Annabeth didn't know anyone's goals, the pains of those around them; she only knew Percy, and that had been months ago; maybe she no longer knew what he wanted to do with his life, maybe New Rome had changed him because people changed and Annabeth wished to understand that, but she couldn't, because for years he had been her only fixed point, the only planet she knew would orbit around her until the stars wore out. Still, she no longer knew if that was there, if that music that played in her head every time they saw each other would play again.

"Jason almost died in there, it was terrifying," said Piper, clutching Jason's hand. Annabeth noticed that both her hands were empty. 

"I can imagine, we had that kind of inconvenience too," Hazel spoke. It sounded like a joke, but she didn't laugh.

Percy smiled at Annabeth every time Hazel or Frank mentioned an opportunity where he almost died as if he was ashamed of his bravery or felt it was a stupid act. Annabeth couldn't help but think that he had become more intelligent, more cautious. The conversation continued.

Coach Hedge said that he had finished monitoring the area, that it was past their bedtime, and that after the commotion that day, everyone would need rest. Annabeth signaled Percy to wait for the rest to leave, then she spoke.

"Hey, coach."

"Yes, Annabeth?" It was funny, a daughter of Athena asking permission from a satyr, she thought. And then she took it back to herself; her best friend was a satyr, and he was the most admirable and kind person in the world. She couldn't afford so much prejudice after Grover's hard work. She wondered how he would be and what he would be doing.

"I need to discuss a few things with Percy." Percy looked at her without really knowing the intentions of the conversation. "Messages his relatives wanted to give him and... all that. You know, he was missing for a while."

"Fifteen minutes, I'll go check that they're in their rooms later, okay?"

"Okay!" She waited for him to come out before sitting on the couch next to Percy, who sputtered.

"What's this all about?"

Hearing him address her directly, with no one around, was like smelling lavender smoke. It gave her the peace she had lacked for many months. She looked at the clock before she saw him. 20:13.

She smiled. "I wanted some time alone, that's all."

"Well, we've got fifteen minutes, and you didn't talk much a while ago, so... How are you?"

How she was doing didn't matter, the months of despair didn't matter, and the days of mourning weren't relevant now. She sat on him and kissed him. It had only been a few hours since they kissed, but for her, it would never be enough; it wasn't before, and it wouldn't be now.

His lips were all she needed, that and his hands on her hips, even though she knew they had little time and wanted to talk to him. She repeated to herself that she should stop but begged her mind to let her enjoy a few more minutes.

It was a surprise when he interrupted her. "I think this is not the information and greetings that everyone sent me. I think this is not the information and greetings everyone sent me." Annabeth smiled.

"Just the nymphs, I hope I did a good job of messaging," she joked, and Percy's teeth flashed. "But you're right, this wasn't what I wanted with these fifteen minutes. I just want to know how we're doing."

"Plural? I just asked you that."

"No! Not like that, I mean us, relationship. Our relationship," she said, as she pointed at them both.

"We?" Annabeth felt frustrated like she was acting as if nothing had happened, and enough things had happened to write a new constitution.

"Stop repeating what I'm saying. And yes, we... we were eight months apart, I thought you were dead, and I know you remembered me, but still..."

Percy's eyes watered. "Stop. Are you breaking up with me?"

"Oh no, I think I expressed myself wrong. It's just that a lot has happened, Perce, I knew you were alive, but I thought you were dead, I don't know if that makes much sense. I looked for you everywhere I could and they were within my reach, but it was eight months and I don't know if that changes your perspective on us or if you're with me out of commitment and because it's the last conscious decision you made."

"You've known me since you were eleven, do you really think I would do something like that? Because no. I was looking for you too, while I was trying to survive, sure, but looking for you and giving my all so I wouldn't forget you. It doesn't change my perspective on anything, it was a difficult time and that's it. That's how I see it, but what you see is important to me too."

Annabeth sighed in relief; she just needed those words. "We'll be able to deal with this then. It's just that I was alone for so long... We were."

"I, uh, did you date anyone else?" he asked, as he put his arm around her and wouldn't let Annabeth answer. "Because if so it's okay, you thought I was dead, but you know, I'd like to, uh, know, even if I didn't want details." She was surprised at how quickly he spoke.

"No! Oh, gods, no, Percy!" she even laughed; it was hilarious because she spent all her sleepless nights just thinking about him. "I didn't date anyone else, I couldn't have done that." She didn't say it, but when they looked at each other, she could only soak in the love they both exuded. On her side, there was no doubt that, if they weren't so young, she would want them to get married and spend the rest of her life with him, which was a corny sentiment, but she wouldn't deny it for anything, she just longed to keep feeling loved in that youthful way for the rest of her life.

But he felt almost absolute adoration for her face, her mind, and the comfort of knowing that she had sought him out and that she had come out of it mentally, of knowing they were now together. He adored her and would speak to her in song and poem, killing the gods for her if necessary. 

Banners and lighted candles for the deepest blow suffered by heroes. It would hurt them to know that the situation would bring them to that extreme and that they should start to build altars to death because they would have no way of knowing that neither the sea nor the stars would be able to evoke the calm they used to provide them, not for a while.

"Fuck, it's eight thirty. We have to go to the rooms," Annabeth warned as she stood up from being comfortably on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Or not. That's my proposal."

"That's not a proposal, Percy. He asked us to honor the minutes he gave us."

Percy rattled the bones in his neck before standing up and answering. "I'm of the opinion that we deserve a few more minutes of just us. You know, for the effort."

"Okay. Let's go."

The Argo II was big, it had everything a ship needed, but they quickly reached their assigned rooms and entered hers. It was fun, like shared mischief between two children holding hands. The room was dark, but that wasn't a problem. She felt her hand against his, and that was all it took, that touch and rubbing that held their souls in a way that was as delicate as it was beautiful, with the only desire to follow the path without knowing where it led, after all, they had been doing that for years.

Percy held her waist, tossed her onto the bed, and then launched himself. "So, how are mom and Paul?"

"They are excellent! I spent Christmas with them. Your mom didn't want me to be alone, you know." He smiled and took a breath.

"I'm glad they took care of you then, and I hope I still have my stocking full of presents for being a good boy" it was homey to think of a Christmas with him and his family and maybe an upcoming New Year at camp.

"Although they were also very concerned, and did everything in their power to find you. In fact, you are missing under the law at the moment, I couldn't withdraw the complaint in time."

Annabeth watched him cautiously. It wasn't the first time the police had heard Percy Jackson's name, but he was still a minor, and they were on duty to look for him. However, before she could think anything else, Percy cried, and Annabeth didn't have to ask why; she knew.

"I've caused her so much trouble" she couldn't see him, but she felt the tears on his shirt. "I've caused her so much stress that I have no doubt if there's a next time I could kill her."

"Dont. Don't repeat that to yourself. And your mom is fine, she's coping well because she's smart, and because she trusts you. We all did and we weren't wrong. You're fine and healthy on your own, no Achilles curse or divine protection, just you and your smart brain." Percy watched her as best, his breathing still too labored to speak clearly. "What you did with Gorgon's blood is the smartest move I've ever heard of, helping Hera cross the river is the noble thing to do, and holding on to Hazel and Frank is loyal. You are every good quality in a person, and I can't let you doubt that when you are the person who has saved my life the most."

"You saved my life, too."

Annabeth laughed. "And I'm smart too, I don't think that's a coincidence."

"I love you."

She kissed him, soft, slow. "I know."

They both remained silent, savoring it. Although there were still many things to talk about, they could wait because they prayed in the hope that there would still be eternal time for them, just them and infinity.

[angloie]

Beach trips and I'm Falling in Love • 2.5/2

When Annabeth meets a strange boy on vacation, she doesn't expect for their relationship to grow much. He's... terribly sarcastic. Cocky. A not-so great match for her witty self. But after learning he visits the same beach every year she does, their strange friendship blooms into something more.

Their realtionship isn't the only thing that blooms over the yearsー that meaning a certain raven-haired boy.

genre ; childhood friends to lovers, fluff, strangers(?) to lovers, exchanging letters au, percabeth mortal au.

warnings ; swearing, suggestive(?) themes.

prev.

That night, Annabeth can't fall asleep.

(Percy can't either, because he can't stop thinking about Annabeth and how he thinks he saw her back there.)

What is Rachel to him?

Annabeth thinks. Her mind is something like a broken recordー stuck playing the question on repeat. 

Not that she could judge, however, if Percy enjoyed her company more than hers, then that would be... Fine. Just fine. Rachel was probably more close to him after all these years unlike the blonde; who has been away for six years.

When Annabeth turns on her side to look at the shell seated stop her bedside table, she grimaces.

"You better make sure to return it!"

"I'll be waiting!"

Why does that make her frown?

The morning comes slow, slower than Annabeth would like, when the birds start chirping and evening comes to dawn after her sleep-deprived thoughts. 

She knows that Percy's curled up inside his bed, (though certainly not the cabin he used to occupyー there's no one next door) snoring like he always does. She knows that Percy doesn't know that she's here, and Annabeth also knows that he'll be asleep until promptly one in the afternoon.

Annabeth thinks she'll meet him around sooner or later.

The lull of waves crashing across the shore gives her chills. Mornings, she now realizes, are the best part of the day.

The rose gold sun comes down in tiny slivers along the sand.

Percy is loyal. He's a great friend, much more than Annabeth deserves, witty and sarcastic.

Percy is not hers. He never was in the first place, really; him with his cocky smile and his big heart. That heart of his can only hold so much, can't it?

She starts to wonder if she's in there.

The shell in her pocket suddenly feels heavy when Annabeth reaches for it, the chipped and cracked coat somehow still intact. She'll give it to him when the time comes of course. Just not now. Annabeth couldn't even muster up the courage if she wanted to. 

So, sandaled feet dug into the sand, she scans her surroundings.

At first glance the beach is beach is deserted, aside from a few lingering beach-goers that occupy the waves on their surfboards and the sand with their umbrellas.

It's quite tranquil on her ownー  under the morning sun and all. She's been to beaches near her house back home,e but nothing can really beat this view.

Her eyes dart towards the ocean, where the surfers ride on the waves, laughing and cackling whenever one of their friends falls face-first into the cold waters. She laughs a bit, too, the scene reminds her of how she always used to fall when she was learning to surf.

Speaking of the surfers... They all look like they're having a blast. You know, Annabeth might start to think that the raven-haired guy looks like Percy, that he has the same smirk as him, but that's just illogical.

Right?

It's only until that they lock eyes is when Annabeth freezes.

Same sea green. Same sparkle.

Same Percy.

And it's only until he freezes, eyes widening and stopping to stare, is when she thinks Oh shit.

Then he's starting to come over, and her legs start moving on their own. 

Away from him.

This can't be happening. It can't be. Not when she's not ready, when she's too nervous to even muster a word, not when Annabeth can't even look at him without her heart racing like never before. 

She starts to walk faster. Not so fast that it looks suspicious, but fast as to escape his gaze and go back to her cabin.

Annabeth can hear him saying he needs to ‘do something' to his friends. Annabeth can also hear his surboard digging into the sand, as well as his footsteps getting closer and closer. So close, that she thinks it'll only be a few steps longer until he reaches her.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, Her thoughts get even more rapid, Can't the universe just wait for a second?

Annabeth completely shuts down when someone grabs her wrist.

"Annabeth?"

It takes so much to not year away, to not run, to not speak. It takes so much to turn her head and look at him, more, though, when his tone is the most heart melting thing she's heard in a long time. (good timing, really, and just when she's been trying to get all the feelings she holds for him.)

"Percy." She breathes out, eyes widening when she finally gets a good look of him.

He's... Grown. 

His shoulders are broader. His hair, once unruly and messy, is exactly like in the previous pictures he's sent: Perfectly perfect and endearing. Annabeth notices that he towers over her figure quite a bitー what happened to the scrawny little Percy? Back then, she could easily look over him; but now? It's quite the opposite.

There’s an air around him, too, one that makes Annabeth gulp and her thoughts race.

Holy fuck.

Before she can let out a single word, she's engulfed into a bone crushing hug.

Thats pretty much when it all hits her.

Sure, he's wet and damp and smelling like saltwater and sweat, but she can't really pay any mind to that. Percy's warm. His touch is soft, gentle, just as Annabeth remembers. 

Why was she avoiding him in the first place?

Just when she thinks that it's fineー that she will not tear up over something like thisー her body betrays her and she starts to sink further, further into the hug.

Is she tearing up right now?

"I missed you," Percy mumbles against her head in a way that makes her heart pound dangerously against her rib cage. “So much.”

So just like that, Annabeth nearly falls for him all over again.

"You dumbass!" She pushes him off, hands fumbling through her pockets. "I m-missed you more." Hands come to wipe at her fresh tears. 

“H-here!” Annabeth sniffs as she hands him the one thing her mind has been lingering on non-stop: the shell.

He, blurry eyed and open mouthed, looks taken aback. For a second she thinks that he might be angry. That is, until he smiles.

“You kept it?” Percy asks. It's almost like he can't really believe it, like he didn't really expect her to keep it. 

"Of course I did, seaweed brain,” She gives a lopsided toothy smile. It doesn't really match her flushed face, but who's paying attention to that? 

When he looks at it fondly in his hands, Percy smiles to himself. “Its been too long, wisegirl." He looks her up and down. “You’ve changed."

She raises a eyebrow. "Like in a bad way?"

“N-no!” He's quick to correct himself. His looks the other way, trying to discreetly hide his blush. "No. Like i-in a... uhm- fuck." Percy covers his face.

"You've changed too.” Annabeth grins. “In a good way."

They smile each other for a second before someone from the shore line calls out Percy's name. He whips around, scowl growing on his face.

"I'll be back soon!" Percy rolls his eyes. He then turns to her.

"We should catch up," he says frantically, thoughts running on overdrive, "Have you been downtown yet? I'm staying at a new cabin a while away from hereー I'll take you there soon. Oh! And have you been to our spot? We can visit there later if you want.”

Annabeth cringes when the words fall from his lips. Our spot. She chews on her bottom lip. She can't really blame him for taking someone up there. Not even if she wanted to.

The rest of the day, and the next day after that, is bittersweet.

"I-Id be happy to.”

The sweetness is seeing Sally again. It's eating her famous blue cookies with Percy wearing bright smiles and her sporting the new sweater Sally crocheted. It's surfing for hours on end, it's playing with their dogs and meeting Mrs. O'Leary.

The sweetness is being with Percy once again; even if she does cringe when they go to their spot again.

The bitter, on the other hand, is meeting her.

Rachel.

Don't get her wrong. Annabeth was never much of a possessive or jealous person; and she still is not. She's level-headed, logical, and observative. Rachel is... Fine. She's crafty, Annabeth can tell by her paint-stained clothing and wry smile. She's pretty cool too. Rachel doesn't seem to have much of a problem getting along with her, so why does she feel so off about her?

"I'm Rachel," Annabeth remembers her smile quite clearly: It didn't quite reach her eyes. Or maybe Annabeth was just over-analyzing things? "It's nice to meet you, Annabeth!"

"Likewise." Annabeth gave a small smile. “Percy’s told me a lot about you."

“Oh, has he?” She giggled, "Well, I hope it's all good things." Rachel gave a teasing look towards Percy. 

Now thinking about it, Annabeth might have been a teeny-bit judgy. 

Percy, munching on a blue cookie, looks at her from his spot in his room. He narrows his eyes at her.

"I couldn't help but notice," He starts, as if reading her mind. "That you were a little on edge about Rachel.”

"Was I now?” She lazily questions, head hanging off his bed. 

“I think so." Percy hums.

"I was not," Annabeth scoffs. “I was just... Cautious."

"What's there to be cautious about?” He asks, spinning three times on the chair near his desk. He pauses to let the dizziness swirl his vision before coming back to look at her. the dog beside him, Mrs. O'Leary wags her tail lazily.

She sighs. "Nothing, I guess? It's just... Y'know what? Nevermind.”

"Spit it out.”

"No!”

"Yes!”

“No!”

“I’ll make you a container of blue cookies for the next three days?"

"...Fine!" Annabeth breathes after a beat.

She stretchesh her arms high above above her head. “What... W-what is she to you?”

Percy freezes, and she instantly goes into a panicky state. “Actually- Ignore that. Thats a stupid question so you don't need to answer, I just really-”

“Aww, is my little Annie jealous?" He unironicaly coos, “Don’t worry about it. Rachel's great."

Annabeth notices that Percy says her name in a intimate way. She notices how heat instantly flushes her face. She also notices that how he never answers her question in a way she'll understand.

Now that she's left hanging, Annabeth really can't stop more questions from flowing in her mind. 

Annabeth thinks that she's really been underreacting about Percy and his air of coolness. or maybe likeability?

Her arms flop down, and Mrs. O'Leary woofs.

Popularity?

Whatever it is, anyone can tell that Percy's much more than the dorky lame kid that used to be.

The group of girls that giggle and twirl their hair as they stare at him from their spot under an umbrella can surely see that, too.

It's not even those girls (who for the fact are pretty, much prettier than Annabeth) that can see that. Her neighbours talk about the 'handsome and nice young man that helped me carry my groceries'. (Guilty as chargedー the one and only Percy) or the 'Attractive boy who surfs early in the morning'.

The grannies at downtown's farmers market even gossip behind his back and treat him like some sort of Greek god with a perfectly structured jawline with a fit build and coy smile.

Oh, and did she mention he's as hot as the fucking sun?

(Which he, Annabeth thinks, owns up to.)

(She's really whipped for him.)

But he's respected her boundaries so far, so she'll keep her M rated thoughts to herself. But it's so fucking hard to not stare when he, clad in nothing but loose swimming shorts, shows up to her room at the crack of dawn.

"Looks like you're the talk of the town," Annabeth says teasingly as they settle into the sand. The umbrella provides the cool shade desperately need, to which Annabeth relishes in. “Is seaweed brain..." She feigns a fake gasp. “Actually likeable now?”

Percy threatens to shove a handful of sand down her throat, and she shuts up.

"Whatever," He mutters under his breath, eyes looking away from hers. For some reason he's avoiding looking at her. Annabeth thinks he's just embarrassed, but the way Percy steals glances at her when she's not looking, says otherwise.

"So where's Rachel?” She absent-mindedly asks. Not that she genuinely cares, or whatever, but theres really nothing else that occupies her mind. 

“Around,” He replies. "She told me she's going shopping in the next town for some swimsuits. Or something.”

"Ah."

A seagull screeches from above.

“Wanna see who gets in the water first?"

Annabeth already jolts upwards into a sprint towards the shoreline. "Hey! No fair!”

So the next while is spent with nothing but firendly smiles and secretive glances from Percy, surfing and swimming and having the most fun they've had together in a while. Annabeth grabs his ankle from under the waves, and she thinks that that might be the loudest scream she's ever heard.

Percy, mind stuck with thoughts on revenge, tried to come up with a scare of his own, until his lame scare comes out as throwing a peice of seaweed on her forehead.

 “Lameass!" She laughs, popping her head above the water.

“Smartass!” He yells back, eye twitching and tone sarcastic.

It isn't until the sun sets and the crabs crawl back into their caves is when they both flop back into the sand. Tired. Exhausted. Muscles sore and skin sunburnt.

For a solid thirty minutes it's just comftorable silence as the waves set the soundtrack. Along with the occasisonal him of the ocean, or even the cries of the cicadas back where the beach grass is.

For a solid thirty minutes, Annabeth thinks that she couldn't be more happier.

For a solid thirty minutes, all is calm, all is well, and nothing could be more perfect.

She closes her eyes for a minute thinking that she can spare one nap. Thinking that Percy will just wake me up, so it's fine if I snooze off, right? 

Annabeth dozes off with thoughts of him.

When she wakes up, Pery isn't beside her.

Nor is he on the beach.

For a hot minute Annabeth freaks out, squinting through the darkness to search for his figure. The lantern her doesn't really provide much light, let alone three feet away from her.

But then she sees that his surfboard isn't wedged into the ground, and his things are still there.

So where is he?

Oh. Annabeth thinks lamely to herself when she spots the figure swaying with the waves atop his surfboard. There he is.

It's illogical, really, for her to go after him.

If you don't go, that Rachel girl's got him forever, her head prods, you'll lose him forever.

It's even more illogical when Annabeth grabs her surfboard with a determined look; sandy hair and all.

The waves are calm tonight. No huge crashing of the chilled water, no raging seas or bitterly cold air. The clouds enclose the pale moon, only tiny beams managing to escape. She thinks it casts a blue hue to everything.

Using her arm to paddle her way over, Annabeth catches a glimpse at the stars.

Gods, the stars.

They're brightー brighter than the city that isー and bigger, too. They shine in a way that leaves Annabeth breathless.

Percy hums when she closes in next to him. His limbs dangle off of the surfboard and into the cool waters, occasionally shifting to keep steady. She hums back in reply.

A small wave laps across the shore.

 “That's Perseus.” Annabeth says lazily. She lays down, too, hair splayed across the board. "The constellation, I mean.”

“Perseus, huh?" Percy follows where she points: diagonal from the pair. “Like my name?"

"Like the Greek hero Perseus.” She murmurs quietly.

“You've told me about him." He recalls, "He slayed Medusa and saved Andromeda, right?"

"Mhm," Annabeth nods. "He also had a happy ending. That is, for most Greek heroes.”

She smiles to herself, and Percy can't really think of anything more beautiful than her.

Believe it or not, Percy is good at hiding things. 

Like when he hides the secret stash of snacks under his bed from his mom, (for three years straight and running) or when he hid Mrs. O'Leary when she was just a pup in his closet.

He likes to think that he's good at hiding his feelings too.

Feelings about Annabeth, of course.

Not that he really has anything for herー it's just that whenever he sees her he gets a fluttery feeling in his stomach, his voice gets all awkward, his mind instantly goes to how fucking gorgeous she looks, and how she practically radiates coolness and calm.

Okay. So what if he's head over heels for her?

Percy thinks it started a while ago.

He thinks it started when Rachel first called him seaweed brain.

“-Seaweed brain,” it falls from her lips on a warm spring day, when they're sitting in his room while it rains. 

Percy freezes to look at her. "What?"

“I said It raining cats and dogs out there,” Rachel repeats, “Seaweed brain."

When she catches the slightly shocked look on his face, she frowns. “Something wrong?”

"No,” He murmurs, looking down. "Actually- kinda. that nickname just threw me off a bit, I guess.” Percy give a lopsided smile.

Annabeth only calls me that, he thinks. It feels weird when you say it.

“Oh." She deadpans. “Should I not call you that then? I saw that Annabeth girl call you that, like, a ton of times in one of her letters.” Her eyebrows raise, and Percy reels.

“You were reading my letters?" He frowns. “...Whatever. The nickname- its kind of a personal thing. You know, between me and, uh... her. It'd be cool if you didn't say it.”

“Oh. Okay.” Rachel huffs.

Somehow, Percy never labeled it as love.

Percy didn't label it as love when Annabeth became the ‘nothing!' that came out of his mouth when Sally asked why he was smiling so much. Not when he couldn't stop staring at her in her swecause fuck, she looks so good. Not when Percy was confused on why his love for her became something more.

But that night, that one single night, when Annabeth came to join him under the stars, is when he thought otherwise.

With sunkissed sunburnt skin, 

lips cracked and dry,

moonlight against her face,

The last day of Annabeth's vacation comes on a sunny humid day with the clouds nowhere to be seen. 

He did label it love.

There isn't an air of despair, however, Annabeth'll be back next year for a solid week in winter. College would be a pain, so she'll have one last vacation with her family before she starts her career.

For some reason Percy isn't sad when the news comes to him on her college. New Rome, a prestigious school in the middle of both their cities. All he gives is a coy grin; she can't wrap her mind around hit quite yet.

 "You got plans tonight?” Percy asks suddenly, his voice echoing through Annabeth's room. 

“No.” She tilts her head. “Why? Got something planned?"

“Yeah, actually.” He grins. “We're going to a party of a friend of mine.”

“What?" Annabeth nearly falls off her bed, eyes widened and mouth agape. A party? Tonight? 

“Yup! You better get ready, 'cuz we're leaving in...” Percy checks the clock on her bed side table. "Two hours. See ya!" Is all he says before he hopes out of her window. 

Annabeth nearly screams, but remembers that he's been climbing and jumping out of her window for years now. she lets out a ragged sigh of relief.

"Fuck you!” She yells out to his figure, already dashing away. He turns around, sly smirk on his face.

“Only if you watch!" 

And then he's gone, leaving Annabeth with a red hot face and a flustered mess.

Fuck.

.

.

The next two hours is- um, well...

Chaotic.

Just plain chaotic.

Her who closet is thrown into her bed in a contemplation what to wear. Light or dark? Whats the occasion? How much people are attending? What's the setting?

You're overthinking things again, Annabeth's mind jolts. Just throw something on!

Along with chaotic, she would also describe the scene as a fever dream. 

She opts to wear a black bodycon dress with stringy ties and a loose and light jacket. Annabeth can't really deceive the rest of her look- her mind is all gushy and mushy.

So here she is, standing in front of the booming house, (Percy didn't even bother to drive here there, the jerk) hands fidgeting like she can't stop.

(She can't.)

Annabeth takes a deep breath. She won't be here for a while, so whats she so afraid about? Sure, there's somone puking in a bush that she wants no part in, and there might be concerning sounds coming from inside the huge building, but who's paying attention to that?

Before she can back out, a voice calls out her name.

"Wisegirl!" Percy beams, “Hey!”

“Seaweed brain.” Annabeth crosses her arms as a her bottom lip juts out. "We're were you?"

“Lets not focus on that." He nervously laughs. “But c'mon inside. I want you to meet a few people.”

"Hm?”

The house is just as bad as she thought.

Red Solo cups everywhere, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes especially strong near the kitchen and couches. Bodies bump into her here and there like some sort of mosh pit. They don't even apologize, instead murmuring something with a tipsy tone.

"Grover!" Percy calls a guy over. "Don't you remember Annabeth?”

"Annabeth?" Grover, what she can assume is his friend, looks over to them. His eyes light up when he meets her gaze.

"It's been a while!" Annabeth smiles. Grover! It's been a minute since she's seen him, back when they were all kids. She fondly remembers beach trips with him back then, eating popsicles on her cabin stairs and all.

“It certainly has,” He sighs happily.

Percy then introduces her to many others: Hazel, a bright girl with a even brighter smile, Frank, a towering guy with a friendly touch, Jasonー a blonde guy with a oddly stapler shaped scar on his lip, Piper, a bubbly girl with a flirtatious smile. 

She'd go on about more of them, but at that point Annabeth would be rambling.

"Have you seen Percy around?" Annabeth asks to Grover when she loses him in the bustling crowd.

He nods his head no, and someone tugs on her arm.

“C'monnnn," A girl she met earlier drunkenly tugs harder, “We’re playing truth or dare downstairs!"

She wants do pull away, say no, but then Annabeth spots him in the crowd with people slung around him.

By the looks of it, they're flirting with him, words forming and lips ruling into flirtatious smiles. They touch him in ways that make her cringe. 

Annabeth hates herself for frowning and continuing to stare. The worst part, thinks, is that he's not trying to pull away. Nor is he denying their actions. In fact, he's indulging in it. 

Shit. She shouldn't be thinking this way. Percy's popular and nice. He's bound to attract a few people, and he's not hers.

Annabeth was never the jealous type, but for now she can let the horriblefeeling in her stomach slide just this once. 

She accepts the girl's prodding with a feignged smile.

[thewidowsghost]

The Daughter of the Sea - Chapter 9

(Y/n)'s POV

It doesn't take me long to pack. I decide to leave the Minotaur horn in the cabin, which leaves me only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me.

The camp store loans me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. The coins are as big as Girl Scout cookies and have images of various Greek Gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron had told us, but Olympins never used less than pure gold. Chiron said the coins might come in for non-mortal transactions - whatever that might mean. He gives Annabeth, Percy, and me canteens of nectar and Ziploc bags full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It is god food, Chiron reminds us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it is lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally, Fun.

Annabeth is bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she tells me had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. She is also bringing a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she gets bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I'm sure the knife is going to get us busted the first time we go through a metal detector.

Grover is wearing his fake feet and his pants to pass as a human. He wears a green rasta-style cap, because when it rains his curly hair flattened and you can just see the tips of his horns. Grover's bright orange backpack is full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket is a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knows two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto Number 12 and Hilary Duff's 'So Yesterday,' both of which sound pretty bad on reed pipes.

We wave good-bye to the other campers, take one last look at eh strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hike up the Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, the Daughter of Zeus.

Chiron is waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stands the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy is the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he's wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I can only see the extra eyes on his hands, face, and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron tells me. "He'll drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

I hear footsteps behind us.

Luke comes running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes. "Hey!" he pants. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushes, the way she always does when Luke is around.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke tells us. "And I thought . . . um, maybe you could use these."

He hands Percy a pair of sneakers, which look pretty normal.

Then, Luke says, "Maia!"

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels. The shoes flap around on the ground until the wings fold up and disappear.

"Awesome!" Grover exclaims.

Luke smiles. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days...." His expression turns sad.

Annabeth stomps down the other side of the hill, after arguing with Percy, where a white SUV waits on the shoulder of the road. Argus follows, jingling his car kees.

Percy picks up the flying shoes and then looks up at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"

Chiron shakes his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air...that would not be wise for you."

I nod, getting an idea, "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"

His eyes light up. "Me?"

Pretty soon, we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy is ready for launch.

"Maia!" Grover shouts. He gets off the ground, okay, but then falls over sideways so his backpack drags through the grass. The winged shoes keep bucking up and down like tiny broncos.

"Practice," Chiron calls after him. "You just need practice."

"Aaaaa!" Grover goes flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawnmower, heading towards the can.

But before I can follow, Chiron catches my arm. "I should have trained you two better, Percy, (Y/n)," he says. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason - they all got more training."

"That's okay. I just -" I stop myself.

"What am I thinking?" Chiron cries. "I can't let the two of you get away without these." He pulls two pens out of his coat pocket and hands one to me and one to Percy.

Looking down at it, I see a teal-colored gel pen. Maybe cost thirty cents.

"Gee," Percy says. "Thanks."

"Percy, those are gifts from your father. I've been keeping them for years, not knowing you two were the ones I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You two are the ones."

Instinctively I take off the cap, and the pen grows longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I am holding a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a teal and silver leather-wrapped grip. This is the first weapon that feels balanced in my hand.

"That sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron tells Percy. "Its name is Anaklusmos."

"Riptide," Percy translates.

"I have never seen anyone use that sword that I'm aware of," Chiron says, turning to me. "Yours is named Τυφώνας."

"Hurricane," I translate, surprised that the Ancient Greek came so easily to me.

"Use them only for emergencies," Chiron says, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but neither sword would hurt them in any case."

I look down at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? How could it not?"

"Those swords are celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blades will pass through morals like an illusion. They simply are not important for the blade to kill. And I should warn you two: as demigods, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."

"Good to know," Percy says.

"Now recap the pens," Chiron says.

Percy and I touch the pen cap to the sword tips and instantly Riptide and Hurricane shrink to ballpoint pens again. I tuck it in my pocket, a little nervous because it's pretty easy to lose a pen.

"You can't," Chiron says.

"Can't what?" I ask, slightly confused.

"Lose the pens," he says. "They're enchanted. They'll always reappear in your pockets. Try it."

Warily, I throw the pen as far as I can down the hill and watch it disappear in the grass.

"It may take a few moments," Chiron tells us. "Now check your pocket."

Sure enough, the pen is there.

"Okay, that is extremely cool," I admit.

"But what if a mortal sees one of us pulling out a sword?" Percy asks.

Chiron smiles. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."

"Mist?" I ask.

"Yes. Read The Iliad. It's full of references to the stuff. Whatever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans. You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go fit things into their version of reality.

I put Hurricane back into my pocket.

For the first time, the quest feels real. I'm leaving Half-Blood Hill. I'm heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone - Chiron said cell phones were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be no worse than sending up a flare. I have no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead.

"Chiron . . ." Percy says. "When you say the gods are immortal . . . I mean, there was a time before them, right?"

"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."

"So what was it like...before the gods?"

Chiron purses his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. Of course, eventually, the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."

"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So...even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?" I ask, feeling rather uncertain.

Chiron gives me a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, (Y/n). The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. They still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."

"Our destiny...assuming we know what that is," I say grimly.

"Relax," Chiron tells me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, the two of you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."

"Relax," I say. "I'm very relaxed."

When Percy and I get to the bottom of the hill, I look back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron is now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur."

Argus drives us out of the countryside and into western Long Island, It feels weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to me, Percy on the other side of Grover, as if we were normal carpoolers. After two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seems like a fantasy. I find myself staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parent's car, every billboard and shopping mall.

"So far so good," Percy tells Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

She gives Percy an irritated loo. "It's bad luck to talk that way."

"Remind me again - why do you hate us so much?" Percy asks.

"I don't hate you two."

"Could've fooled me."

Annabeth folds her cap of invisibility. "Look...we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Why?" Percy asks.

Annabeth sighs. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."

"They must really like olives," Percy comments, and I stifle a snort of laughter.

"Oh, forget it," Annabeth grumbles.

"Now, if she invented pizza - that I could understand," I add, in a slightly teasing tone.

"I said, forget it!" Annabeth says, hitting me lightly on the arm.

In the front seat, Argus smiles. He doesn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winks at me.

Traffic slows down in Queens. By the time we get into Manhattan, it is sunset and starting to rain.

Argus drops us at the greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox is a soggy flyer with mine and Percy's picture on it: Have you seen these children?

Percy rips it down before Annabeth and Grover can notice.

Argus unloads our bags, makes sure we get our bus tickets, then drives away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulls out of the parking lot.

I think about how close I am to the apartment. On a normal day, Mom would be home from the candy store by now. Smelly Gabe is probably up there right now, playing poker, not even missing her.

Grover shoulders his backpack. He gazes down the street in the direction I am looking. "You want to know why she married him, (Y/n)?"

I stare at him. "Were you reading my mind?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Just your emotions," Grover shrugs. "You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

I nod.

"Your mom married Gabe for you and Percy," Grover tells me. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. This guy has this aura . . . Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him o you, and you haven't been near him in a week."

"Thanks," Percy grimaces from Grover's other side. "Where's the nearest shower?"

"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better."

I soften, looking down a the ground. I'll see her again, I think. She isn't gone.

You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, the Oracle whispers in my mind. You will fail to save what matters most in the end.

The rain keeps coming down.

We get restless waiting for the bus and decide to play some Hacky Sack with one of Groer's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable at it. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. Percy wasn't too bad either, but I found that I wasn't that great at it.

The game ends when I toss the apple towards Grover and it gets too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappears - core, stem, and all.

Grover blushes. He tries to apologize, but Annabeth, Percy, and I are too busy cracking up.

Finally, the bus comes.

I am relieved when we finally get on board and find seats together in the back of the bus, Me and Annabeth in one row, and Percy and Grover across from us. The four of us stow our backpacks.

I glance over at Annabeth beside me, who keeps slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.

As the last passengers get on, Annabeth claps her hand onto my knee. "Look!"

An old lady had just boarded the bus. She is wearing a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadows her face and she is carrying a big paisley purse. When she tilts her head up, her black eyes glitter.

I see Percy slump down in his seat.

Behind her comes two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise, they look exactly like Mrs. Dodds - same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dress. Triple demon grandmothers.

They sit in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle cross their legs over the walkway, making an X. It is casual enough, but it sends a clear message: Nobody leaves.

The bus pulls out of the station, and we head through the slick streets of Manhattan.

"She didn't stay dead long," Percy says, his voice quavering a little. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth murmurs. "You're obviously not."

"All three of them," Grover whimpers. "Di immortales!"

"It's okay," Annabeth says, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."

"They don't open," Grover moans.

"A back exit?" she suggests.

There isn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we are on Ninth Avenue heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

"They won't attack us with witnesses around," I say. "Will they?"

"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminds me. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?" Percy asks.

She thinks about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof . . . ?"

We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus goes dark except for the running lights down teh aisle. It is eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.

"I need to use the rest-room."

"So do I."

"So do I."

All three demons start coming down the aisle.

"I've got it," Annabeth says. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?" he says with disbelief.

"You're the one they want. You killed one of them. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."

"But you guys -"

"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth says as she glances over at me. "You're a son of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you," Percy says, looking desperately at me.

"Go," I say, frowning and Annabeth hands him the cap.

The old ladies are not old ladies anymore. Their faces are still the same - I guessed they couldn't get any uglier - but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws; their handbags had turned into fiery whips.

The Furies surround me, Grover, and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"

The other people on the bus are screaming, cowering in their seats. They see something, all right.

"He's not here!" Annabeth yells. "He's gone!"

The Furies raise their whips.

Annabeth draws her bronze knife. Grover grabs a tin can from his snack bag and prepares to throw it.

Word Count: 3222 words

[notfeelingthyaster]

Imagine (based on the incomplete fanfic Son of the Underworld) (Son of Hades! Percy AU) (5/5) or (5/10)

Hey so, this is the last part of PJO - I follow into HOO, so before you read this, check on the masterpost - and read the warnings before proceeding :)) Good reading!

Annabeth comes to him, at the end of his fifteenth birthday party, and shows her Daedalus laptop. There's a document open in it, and it's labeled Achilles' Curse.

Percy doesn't read it - he hates reading, in any way or form or language - but she does, out loud.

"I'll think about it"

They have a year. Most of them, even those who aren't year-rounders, are going back to camp, to draw battle plans and stock on the armory.

He feels kinda selfish - for a whole five seconds before he remembers he'll probably die next summer, so he just shrugs it off - Percy deserves this year.

They all leave to go back to camp. Nico seems conflicted over something - but Perseus doesn't question it, there's enough bad blood between them.

Paola is really cool - and Sally really loves her. It's kind of bizarre at first, to see his Mom dating his teacher - and of a subject he hates - but Paola is calm and well-tempered and she laughs at his stupid ass jokes.

He visits Persephone afterward - and it really feels like he has three moms to fulfill his lack of a father - well, he is absolutely grateful for the women in his life.

Percy isn't truly in good terms with his father. The man doesn't really seem to care much for him as a person - he is much more of a trophy son.

Perseus loathes being a trophy son, but at least he has someone to help with his powers - not something a lot of half-bloods can claim.

So he goes back to school with Rachel, and they pretend everything is normal. He tells her about his quests - all three of them. He thinks she understands him better now.

He opens up to her. Tells her about Annabeth - the adrenaline-fueled kiss - and Rachel stops talking with him for a week.

She apologizes when she comes back. She needed to figure some things up - firstly, the redhead tells him she is probably asexual - and maybe aromantic too, but she is not certain because the internet wasn't really clear about that.

Then Rachel confesses that she is not jealous of him in a romantic way - she is envious of his friendship with Annabeth. Percy is her first genuine friend that really appreciates her.

This is the first grudge Perseus lets go for real before it even takes place - Rachel didn't leave him because of teenage drama, she ignored him out of confusion. Everyone is allowed space - he knows this better than anyone.

They don't kiss anymore. Not because Rachel doesn't like it - no, she is all for it - but because Percy is starting to think kisses should mean something - he is saving them.

They kiss once - when Rachel father calls for the first time this year - not to ask about her, but to tell Rachel he found this amazing all-girls school. To Percy, kisses mean comfort.

They cuddle a lot, though. These past few years of fear have made Percy very touch-starved.

It's sophomore year - and Percy is in five AP classes: Macroeconomics&Microeconomics, Statistics, Calculus AB, Physics 1, and Comparative Government and Politics.

He is planning on taking both AP Computer Science classes, Psychology, Physics 2, and Calculus BC next year; leaving only Electricity&Magnetism, Mechanics, Chemistry, and World History for his senior year.

If he lives, he is working on a tight schedule here. He doesn't know what he wants yet - and if he is in constant danger, it's already pretty lucky he can do high school - but probably something with Math.

Rachel says fourteen AP courses are ambitious - that he'll burn out. But math comes to him easily enough - it's in his blood.

She is also overworking: She is taking AP Environmental Studies, Art History, Drawing, 2-D Art and Design, and English Literature and Composition.

They complete each other. Rachel is planning on taking as many Art, History, and English courses as she can - he is taking as many Physics, Math, and Science as he can handle.

(She is also going to take on Japanese studies for some reason - probably for her GPA, but Perseus just teases her that she is getting too invested in anime)

Perseus doesn't care about languages anymore - the only languages that matter to him are C++ and JavaScript now.

They study together, they take naps together, they climb to the roof together, they flee school to visit Sally together - he is the Pinky to her Brain, the Scooby to her Shaggy, the Lois Lane to her Superman, the Robin to her Batman.

They look like troublemakers - They are honor roll students, but she is always with ripped pants dirty with paint, and he is always full of flowers everywhere, even in his muddy converses - a cliche to kill all cliches.

They're both nerds - he is the classic one, all polo shirts now, the first chair for every number-related class - and she is the artsy one - there's a brush behind her ear and her hair is so messy that half the time it covers her face.

Paola gifts him a pair of cheap frames without lenses once - saying it adds to the aesthetic - he totally uses them.

Persephone just makes him flower-crowns, and giggles when he matches them with his polo shirts.

When winter comes, he goes back to his hoodies and sweaters and gloves - to find out he doesn't miss them a lot.

Rachel introduces him to polaroids - and they look eerily pretty in the winter, her hair looking like blood spilling over the snow - and he loves it.

If he survives - he can feel Rachel slapping him - when he survives, his college credits will be remarkable. The idea of doing SATs makes him want to cry - reading always does - but he'll get somewhere good - he knows it. Perhaps Stanford. Or NYU. Or the dream of his life, MIT.

He is living his life to the fullest - he starts reading comic books, he gets really (really) into Tony Stark once Iron Man 1 comes out (even if he has to kill at least three monsters just to go to the movies), he plants trees and Rachel starts teaching him how to play her ukulele - but half his mind is still on the upcoming war.

Christmas vacation comes - and he goes to visit Camp Half-Blood, before heading back to his mom. It's quite memorable, if only by the fact that Nico Di Angelo freaking betrays him.

He tells Percy to come to the Winter Solstice with him. Most of the campers are not going - the war effort is in an all-time high - but Percy has never gone before. Hades will be there - it'll be great!

Perseus should absolutely be less surprised with the outcome - seeing that Nico is inviting him in Cabin 1, post-dinner, and they don't even stop to talk to Chiron about it.

But Percy goes. Because Percy wants to make amends.

There's no time to really talk to anyone. They travel in Blackjack for the Empire State Building - and it's fine.

They go up to Olympus, Nico shows him everything in the god's land, the temples are a work of art, if not kind of old, and the meeting is kind of okay, even if the gods are squabbling children.

Then the gods leave, and Perseus thinks they're leaving too.

"My father needs a word with you"

Perseus feels the betrayal claw on him. There are no shadows in the white hall, there's no way for him to escape. Nico looks apologetic - Percy wants to clock him in the face.

"He promised to tell me more about my mother" Nico pleads "He will tell me more about where I've come from. Please, Percy."

Nico is cute. He is, for a soon-to-be fourteen-year-old. But his pretty face and exquisite white eyes don't make him any less of a freaking liar. All his handsome male straight friends betray him - it's a worrying pattern now.

He muses for a second that they also all have a crush on Annabeth - gods, the blonde attract the worst types.

It's double-crossing - Percy ends up in an all-white cell that burns his retinas without any weapons because Zeus wants praise in the middle of this freaking war - doesn't matter if a hundred demigods die, if he only has the glory.

Nico ends up with barely any information - Zeus didn't promise anything. The god of the skies is a lying-ass motherfucker - literally.

And Zeus justifies it - He says Perseus is a criminal because he awakened Typhon. So Hephaestus issues a quest so he can save a hundred demigods, he destroys a powerful titan weapon of doom, and he is the villain? Sure, Jan.

Perseus writes this grudge in his heart - that's where trust will take you. To a cell. Betrayed by a "friend". Again.

He flinches when Nico comes into his cell, pins him to the wall and promptly begins to try and strangle him. He wants to melt in the boy's shadow - to go and never give him a chance to explain - but he looks so guilty Percy waits for his repentance.

The son of Zeus saves him, but Perseus is still pissed off. The god of thunder has threatened to kill him off at least two times now, what is to say he wouldn't have killed off Percy for the sake of glory?

He half hopes Zeus had killed him off. The war is close, too close - Nico wouldn't be the Prophecy's child. There would be no child. Olympus would fall - and Percy would have seen it all from his very comfortable couch in Elysium.

He wants Kronos gone - but he kind of wants Olympus to fall with the Titan.

Nico flies him down to the Earth - the elevator is monitored. Zeus has left, like many others - not to bother with the war effort against his main enemy, but to go to the human world mess with people.

Some gods are doing something - He has heard from Annabeth that Artemis is leading the widest hunt ever, with her brother by her side; Hermes (with Hephaestus help) is delivering Celestial Bronze, other metals, old schematics and a whole lot of fuel to Camp Half-Blood every few weeks; Poseidon is fighting his own war, in the ocean; Dionysus is at Camp - and this time, he is really helpful with the battle formations; Demeter is on the Underworld - Chiron seems to think his father is preparing for war, but Percy sorely doubts it.

Percy is taking some people with him to Sally's Christmas dinner. Just Annabeth, Clarisse, Rachel, Connor, Travis, and Charles - people who don't have a present family to celebrate it with.

Grover is coordinating the dryads up in San Francisco with his second cousin, Gleeson Hedge - they are the first to fall if anything goes wrong in Mt. Othrys.

"I think you should stay." He tells Nico.

"You don't trust me anymore." It's not actually a question.

Percy doesn't trust the boy. Not at all - it's the third time he does something shady to achieve his ends based on emotional turmoil. But he is a good person - it's just his father's cursed temper and his grief.

"It's not that. You're needed for the war effort."

Both of them know it's a lie. Percy doesn't care - he deserves to be bitter a little longer.

Percy goes back home. Christmas is amazing - even if Rachel asks him where Nico is because he is talking about making amends with the boy for a while now.

He goes visit Persephone - but she is occupied, so he wanders through the Underworld after Bianca di Angelo - someone he, for some reason, never been able to reach. It's a pointless endeavor by now.

He finds her. Or else, he finds a shadow of her - she is blocked from his view. Bianca doesn't talk to him - they weren't close - but she guides him to a girl.

Her name is Hazel Levesque.

She seems lost - like most ghosts - but something in Percy calls for her. It's the color of her skin and the sparkle in her golden eyes - Hazel remembers him of himself.

He promises to visit more - even though he doesn't think she'll remember it - and leaves to go back to the surface - he will finish the sophomore year.

And Percy does. After a very distressing break, he is doing his best. His grades drop a little in English because he can barely focus - half his mind is on the war and Nico's betrayal and Hazel Levesque's golden eyes.

Miraculously, his GPA doesn't fall - he still is taking a ridiculous amount of AP classes, and barely has time to breathe - dark circles grow under his eyes, and he looks like a mess - but now he is a Junior.

That's why, as soon as the year ends, Rachel takes him on a road trip with Connor. They go all the way to Boston, then Portland, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Syracuse, Baltimore, and Filadelfia, before going back to NY.

They are stopped five times by the police - because Percy is black, and it's Rachel driving the Camaro, because she has a learner's permit and Connor is, somehow, an approved license holder.

They are on a pier, enjoying the view of the beach. They did the last week alone because Connor wanted to go check on one of his cousins - at least, that's what he said, with an over-exaggerated wink that both Percy and Rachel ignored for the sake of their sanity.

She tells him about Clarion Ladies Academy - but that her father is at least mildly happy with her GPA this year, even if he disapproves of her Art focused AP classes. Percy thinks Mr. Dare would love him, with his APs on Economics and Politics, if only he was rich. And white.

This time, when Charles Beckendorf arrives in a Pegasus to tell him it's time, Rachel doesn't kiss him - she justs hugs him and makes him promise to call her.

Perseus doesn't go to the Andromeda Ship - he is needed in Camp. He is useless on the water - but they do need him to improve battle strategy.

Charles Beckendorf is dead. Thalia is the one to tell them - she was in her father's palace helping with a monster under her Lady's orders - he went on the mission alone.

Percy talks briefly with Beckendorf's ghost - is his worst developed power, and he can barely hold the "seance" for more than a few minutes. He does it with only Nico di Angelo for witness - the others are the way to close to the situation.

There's a spy passing information to Luke.

They look at him. Doesn't matter how much he does, he is always the first suspect - he is a son of Hades. He was friends with a lot of people on the other side. He was gone for a year and a half, who knows where.

Perseus wants to say that he has helped to save their asses four times now - that without him in the Labyrinth, they would all be dead right now - and that Charles was basically his older brother.

Then he points out he wasn't even here - he had no idea of any plans of anything - and he told him about the spy, so he is not the freaking spy, go point fingers at each other instead of him.

When they start yelling, he stops them - this is not the time, he was just angry at their accusations. They have to burn Charles shroud. Silena is inconsolable - Percy is not very far from it, but he is not a public crier. The last time he cried in public, Luke was dead on a cliff.

Percy speeds up the line for Elysium to Beckendorf - his brother deserves it.

They read the prophecy together - Perseus already read it last summer, he doesn't even care anymore. They look at him anxiously - no one has forgotten that he abhors most of the gods.

Clarisse and Michael Yew fight, but Lee Fletcher - with a mechanical arm built by Beckendorf himself, still re-learning how to shoot arrows and forever incapable of playing the guitar again (but the keyboard is not ruled out yet) - stops them: They can share the chariot. The war is more important - is not the time for petty fights.

Chiron shows them Typhon - and Perseus has a sliver of hope that they can destroy Kronos and be free of the gods at the same time - It's a horrible hope, because he loves Persephone and some of them are even okay sometimes, but he really wants Zeus to go to Tartarus for at least a century, so Perseus doesn't meet him again in this life.

But he also wants the gods to win, because there's a lot of dead people - innocents, people who have nothing to do with this war.

He dreams of Rachel. Rachel is painting Luke - and Percy wakes up crying, for the boy the gods took away.

Annabeth takes him aside and reminds him of Achilles' Curse. He is off to May Castellan's house - the last place Luke has been - for it's his best and only chance, its what Annie thinks. And she is scarcely wrong.

Perseus hates the gods. They wrecked a family - and for what? May Castellan - forever waiting for a son that will never come back, haunted by visions of his future, plates of burned cookies everywhere.

Perseus doesn't pity her - he rages against the gods, who brought madness upon this woman and then left her to it. Where was Apollo, the god of health? Dionysus, who is supposed to control mental health? Artemis, whose job is to protect women?

Hestia is kind - but she is still a goddess. She could've prevented this - but she hides in her hearth and abstains - and that's enabling. Hestia enables the other gods to do as they please, even when she is the oldest. She says they ignore her - oh well, she ignores them right back! He has no time for the laments of another all-powerful being.

So he goes to his mother and asks for her blessing. Then, just to be sure, he asks Persephone's too.

He thinks about his anchor - where does he want it to be in his body. He doesn't want somewhere in his back - where he can't see it - or in his gut - where anyone can stick a sword. He settles for the bottom of his back - where he can at least touch it and it's well protected by armor - and dives.

Perseus hates water - and he has an uncanny fear of drowning. He feels pain - everywhere, horrible pain.

His vision now doesn't have Annabeth's face - the blonde is his link to the demigod world, Persephone is his link to the Underworld and his mom is his link to childhood - but the person who grounds him is Rachel.

He is stronger. He feel his powers at his fingertips - Perseus feels the Underworld as a whole, and it's overwhelming.

Green flames explode from his hands. Flowers made of shadows curve around his ankles - he has been training since he was 12, but now his body can sustain all of his power. This is all his.

He goes meet with his father - Perseus manipulates him. He tells Hades he'll be the hero, but the god himself can be praised for more than being his father. That he should join the battle against Typhon - That's his chance of proving himself. Also, there's less paperwork for him if there are fewer dead people.

His father is amused with his blatant bribing, but he thinks about it, Percy can tell. In a way or another, he excuses himself and goes back to the surface where he is needed.

Persephone stalls him. She asks him to stay, just for this night. He can go back in the morning - he sleeps, and dreams of Rachel again, drawing in the sand. In greek.

He is scared for her - she is having demigod dreams, but she is mortal. Something is wrong.

Typhon is getting worse - and Kronos draws closer to NYC. It's time - he calls for Blackjack and leaves - Mrs. O'Leary, who has become more or less of a mother to his own hellhound, follows. Persephone promises to convince Hades.

They have about sixty campers able to fight heading for the Empire State Building, and five healers. The ones too young to lift a sword or string a bow stayed back at Camp with Argus - fifteen children between 5 and 9 years old.

Percy knows he looks different - he looks just like his father. He has gained a godly aura - he has no scars anymore, no imperfections. Perseus looms over all of them - he went from 5'7'' to 6'2'' - it's a weird view, from up there. It's still strange when they look at him with a mix of fear and admiration.

Perseus Jackson is officially their leader. He hates Olympus - but he will give his life to defend every single one of his demigods.

The vision Hestia shows him just makes him want to tear this throne room with his bare hands - Luke was a kid. He was a kid - and the gods corrupted him. Thalia was a kid - and the gods took her life, twice. Annabeth is still a kid - they all are - and she is here planning battle strategies.

Annabeth missed an extra year of formal education - while Percy is a Junior, Annabeth barely qualifies for a Freshman - because the gods took this from her too.

Percy rages. The ground of Olympus trembles beneath him - he wants to kill something.

Then Hermes appears - like this whole war is not his fault in the first place, the literal bastard - just to relay a message from Athena that gives them a plan that Annabeth was already putting into works and tells Percy to stay away from Annabeth.

Like she cares. Like Athena has ever, ever, done anything for Annabeth.

Perseus can't punch Athena, so he punches the messager (also, because he freaking guilt trips both of them about Luke). He has nothing to lose - he is going to die by the end of the day anyway, and they need him too much.

He has punched a god before - Ares, in a desert in the middle of Los Angeles - but this time, it's satisfactory. He feels good after it.

Hermes seems strangely resigned - He feels guilty about Luke too, but Perseus doesn't think it's enough. It'll never be enough, not while the gods leave their children to rot in a cabin of rejects and May Castellan bakes cookies for a son that will never come back.

Hermes leaves, ashamed. It's only fair, Perseus thinks. They all should be ashamed.

They see the city asleep - the prophecy is in the works.

Perseus executes their strategy - every cabin is covering a tunnel, with the exception of Dionysus, because Pollux is with the Demeter kids, and the Hecate kids stay behind to use spells to overlook the city. Lincoln Tunnel is getting covered by Ares - who, this time around, is actively participating.

The undetermined who didn't desert are with Hermes - and the minor god's children are divided by specialty - most Hypnos and Morpheus children follow him directly, but the two sons of Iris go with the Apollo Cabin.

Annabeth executes Plan 23, automatons, mounting on Mrs. O'Leary (who has strict orders to take Annabeth anywhere she wants without stopping to play around) - she doesn't need his help with this, and Percy has a tunnel to defend.

That left the rivers uncovered - until Thalia appears, with magical sand money, and made the rivers cooperate.

The hunters join the Aphrodite kids - who are half a dozen children between 11 and 19 - the oldest being Silena Beauregard, who uses a crossbow that looks exactly like her immortal half-brother's one.

His bridge is completely covered on skeletons - but no monster comes, even if he hears explosions. He leaves an English Lieutenant from the Battle of Yorktown in command of the bridge - with Tyene, the oldest daughter of Morpheus, to be in alert and don't let Clovis sleep through the battle. Because he did it before - and while it is funny, it can't happen right now.

Perseus mounts Blackjack - and go see where the noise is coming from. It's the Williamsburg Bridge - where are most of Apollo's Cabin.

They fight - and Percy almost cries when he sees Luke, who is not Luke anymore. Luke, who is a puppet controlled by Kronos.

Perseus kills the Minotaur and the weight of his stone spikes collapse the bridge - and Michael Yew dies. This time around, the bridge falls silently into shadows, and he doesn't bother about searching for the corpse - he saw the boy falling, and his screams will haunt all of them, forever.

This time around, Annabeth is not there to protect him - Ethan also doesn't try to kill him. The Son of Nemesis doesn't leave Kronos side for a second - but there's regret in his eyes.

After the bloodlust is gone, Perseus collapses - Will has to bride carry him back. Overuse of his powers - he summoned skeletons and produced shadows, melted enemy swords (with the bonus of incapacitating them without killing), and sprouted stone spikes everywhere - there's even a vine or ten that he used to hold his friends from falling.

Perseus doesn't sleep quickly enough to not hear the yell of anguish that comes from Lee Fletcher - the pain of losing a brother and not being able to fight beside him.

But he does sleep - and he dreams. He dreams of Hades killing Maria Di Angelo, not Hera, like Zeus told Nico. He dreams of Zeus cursing the Oracle - and he seethes, because he also sees what happened to May Castellan.

He keeps getting angrier and angrier at the gods - it's building inside of him. But his friends are still here, still fragile. He can't let them suffer more.

Perseus wakes up, checks on everyone - most everyone is either injured and/or exhausted, but he checks on every camper. He knows all of their names, their ages, their cabins. - and promises to sit up to talk with Thalia and Nico - war makes him prone to peace - and promptly goes back to sleep.

He dreams of Rachel. He wants to scream for her not to come: but she'll anyway.

Perseus dreams of a boy. He is his age - maybe a little younger. His hair is blonde and his skin is whiter - but Percy glances at his eyes, and there are waves in them.

There's a girl by his side - she is familiar to Percy, somehow. They're climbing a mountain.

The dream ends and Percy can't make heads or tails of it. He asks Thalia if she has a brother, but she says that she doesn't, looking wistful.

Prometheus is tempting - but he knows there's no Luke anymore, there's only Kronos. And the gods are horrible, vile and immature - but they never killed any of Percy's friends. Some of them died for the gods - but never by their hands, so for now, Perseus would toe the line.

He does want to punch Hermes again. He takes the Pythos - if everything goes wrong, he will not hesitate in going down for the sake of his friends - but there have been six deaths, and it's enough.

"Was it worth it?" He asks Ethan.

"Alabaster is alive" And it's all the answer Percy needs.

He dreams of Ethan and Alabaster. Alabaster is alive, yes, but he is missing half a leg - courtesy of Clarisse herself. Luke - Kronos - is indifferent, and Ethan curses the daughter of Ares - "The sword that took from us will take from you"

He contains Hyperion with his shadows. Then he helps Grover (who was half asleep, because of Morpheus) to make the Titan into a tree. It's a pomegranate tree - then he sets hellish fire to it and sacrifices it to Hades and Persephone.

A pig is in the sky - this time around, Annabeth and her frightening army of automatons kill it with Nico's help.

Perseus laughs - because Annabeth has about two hundred automatons under her command, Martin Luther King and Alexander Hamilton leading the charge with a giant bull being ridden by the Mad Hatter behind them.

It's weird to see historic figures Percy admires - like Jane Bolin, Sylvia Mendez, or Abraham Lincoln - fighting alongside people he downright despises - Thomas Jefferson and the goatfucker, herpes-ridden, Colombus. His Comparative Government teacher would have a field day.

Annabeth and Nico's pair up is amazing - They fight alongside like they have been doing it all life.

Nico is a force of nature, flying and commanding the winds to do his bidding - His eyes shine in the midst of the stormy clouds. His specialty is weather manipulation - he hasn't had much success with direct energy or electric discharges.

Annabeth has her mother's tenacity for war - and her clever mind for strategies. It's clear in her eyes - she is racking the weaker points of the Clazmonian Sow in her mind and destroying it. The automatons hold the pig in place - and she makes bacon of it.

Hercules couldn't do it. Nico and Annabeth can, because they have the power and the mind.

Perseus is still fighting off monsters - but they're too widespread, so they retreat to the doors of the Empire State Building.

Percy does a mental tally: of sixty-two campers, six are confirmed dead, twenty are injured and nine are out of commission on exhaustion. There should be 27 orange shirts here - but there's only twenty.

Percy wonders if the seven missing are injured, or dead, or under a pile of rubble somewhere with no one to help them. Is there someone being slowly eaten by monsters? Is there someone alone and injured and abandoned? He doesn't know.

He prays that those seven deserted them - at least that means they probably are alive and well.

Perseus looks at Phoebe's grief-stricken face, and he knows it's not probable - she had almost three dozen hunters with her, and now there's barely fifteen still fighting, Thalia nowhere to be seen.

They prepare for their last standing - Percy keeps conjuring skeletons, but they're no match for the sheer strength of the hyperborean giants. Nico is shoulder to shoulder with the Stoll brothers against a group of telkhines - Clarisse is bringing down a whole giant by herself.

After the Party Ponies save them - Chiron leads the charge against his own father, and Perseus is so proud of his mentor he can't even put in words how much - he goes to sleep. Fighting gets him tired quickly, and they'll come back.

He dreams of Dionysus. Perseus is not fond of any god who is not Persephone, but Dionysus is mostly okay sometimes. He seems to care about his children.

Perseus couldn't care less about the Western Civilization - but he'll care for Pollux. It's one of his demigods, after all, and Underworld people are possessive of theirs (i.e. Hades and Persephone).

He dreams of Thalia, in her father's palace, begging Poseidon to leave the underwater war and help with the invasion - His wife is none too happy with the presence of his immortal bastard daughter.

He wakes up to Rachel's helicopter falling - how is Rachel even awake, is a mistery.

The improbable pair Nico and Annabeth strike again: The girl knows how to fly helicopters, and the boy can fly himself. They save the redhead and the pilot - everything is fine.

"You're not the hero"

"Why did you risk yourself to tell me something I already know?"

Rachel doesn't explain - she can't. But she has a vision that says that he is not the hero. The hero of what? Perseus has no idea. But there's no way any of his cousins is dying for this stupid prophecy.

Suddenly, there's a drakon there. Rachel has another prophecy - Perseus fears she will walk the path that led May Castellan to destruction - that only a child of Ares will be able to kill it.

Bad news: All children of Ares are otherwise out of battle.

Clarisse is resting after a nasty concussion - and her brothers and Apollo's children are fighting yet again because Lee Fletcher is in no condition to stop them and Michael Yew is dead. Ares' side refuses to fight without the chariot - which Cabin 7 has hidden somewhere.

The best they can do is fend the drakon off until a miracle occurs. And it does: Clarisse, in full armor, manages to lead her brothers into battle.

Clarisse is dead. Something shatters inside of Perseus - and he leaves the drakon for the Ares' children to solve - he can't kill it anyway - and starts to vaporize the army behind it.

He is so caught up in bloodlust, that he almost misses Clarisse slaying a dragon. Clarisse, who has no armor. Clarisse, who is alive.

Ethan's curse rang true - Clarisse's weapon took something from her.

Silena is a traitor. She is also dead - which makes her a martyr, and probably going to reunite with her boyfriend in Elysium.

He remembers how easy is to fall for Luke's charm - he was - is - still in love with the guy. Percy thought the son of Hermes could do no wrong - and he wonders how much of his rage against the gods sprout from his influence.

Something evil inside of Perseus's mind tells him she deserved it. It tells Perseus that better her than Clarisse - but he shuts it down, and concentrates on his shining red friends.

He hates Ares. But he might just have an okay side if he can produce such a magnificent daughter.

Silena is the Patroclus to Clarisse's Achilles, and the Drakon is Hector - and the daughter of Ares is sure to parade its dead body.

It's the first time they feel like they are winning. It doesn't last - but as he hugs Clarisse tightly, he thinks he might cry of relief.

Clarisse looks tough - but she is a wonderful human being. She loves Silena with her whole heart - even more than she loves Chris, her best friend. Silena might've been in love with Charles - but she and Clarisse? They are soulmates.

The damned Pythos is following Perseus - and he is done with it. He knows where hope will survive best. Rachel wants him to give it to Hestia - but he owns the fire goddess nothing.

She has never interfered, not once, to help the dozens of demigods with no family that is abandoned in Cabin 11, and he won't forgive her for it.

He sacrifices hope to Persephone because that's what spring is. Spring is the hope of a new life. Maybe, Perseus thinks, it'll convince his father to come.

They go down to make their final stand against the forces of Kronos. There's not a lot of them - but they're not getting through those doors.

Well, his father doesn't come. But Poseidon does, with his whole army, Tyson and Thalia behind him, and the scales seem to turn.

And then Kronos cuts the barrier. Perseus can see his Mom (why is his Mom here with a handgun?!) and Poseidon fighting against the monsters under the eyes of extremely confused mortals.

Some are trying to break the barrier - but it's futile. Kronos has corraled them like sheep for the slaughter.

It's just him, Grover, Annabeth and Nico, fighting against Kronos vanguard - which is big, but not as strong as they are.

Kronos passes him without resistance - Ethan follows, but there's anger in his eyes - not for Percy, but for the monster he is leashed to. Alabaster is not there.

As soon as Kronos powers stop working on them, the four follow the titan - and some things never change, no matter the universe.

This time, it's Nico who falls because of Hera - it's her curse over all of her husband's bastards.

Ethan takes one look at Perseus, and they don't even need to fight. They have been friends for longer than they have been enemies - and they both loathe the gods, but Kronos is as much of an all-powerful controller being as any of the Olympians.

They battle against Kronos - Perseus has only his ax against his scyther - a true Underworld fight.

Ethan dies. And Perseus bloodlust consumes him - it clouds his eyes and he can only keep fighting.

"If... if we've had cabins... and they had thrones"

It's true, and more than ever, Perseus wishes Kronos wasn't such a bastard. He wouldn't bother killing the gods - but the titan is a way worse option.

"LUKE, PLEASE" It's Annabeth. He doesn't have her faith - she didn't saw his transformation. But he tries anyway because he loves Luke just as much as he hates Kronos.

"Luke, remember our summer" But his words are caught up in his throat when the titan throws him against the wall.

But the amalgamation of his friend and an all-powerful being looks confused, so props for his genius best friend.

Kronos shows them a rainbow message of Typhon - and that's where Perseus it's pretty sure he starts liking his father.

Because the Lord of the Dead opens up the earth and gets out in a black chariot guided by skeletal horses like a king. By his right side, is Persephone, in armor battle as a queen should be. By his left, is Demeter, who looks every single bit like the matron she is supposed to be.

Behind him, a hundred thousand dead roars. Charon is mounting Cerberus - and literal hell is unleashed upon the Father of Monsters.

The gods strike down Typhon, sending him back to be locked away - this time, in the depths of Tartarus instead of Mount Etna.

Kronos gets mad. Utterly, undoubtedly mad. He talks about burning Luke's body. Then he hurts Annabeth and breaks two promises in one fell swoop.

"Luke.... remember family" It's what Annabeth utters, but Perseus, already certain of their own demise, is crying now.

"That summer Luke, you promised to never hurt her again. You remember it? YOU PROMISED LUKE!!"

Annabeth's promise was already broken - he had hurt her, all those years ago, in Mt. Othrys. But the promise he made to Percy - that he would never hurt her again - is new and broken, in the river Styx no less.

Luke regains his own body, for a minute, and Perseus runs to him like a man in a desert with no water.

"Please, please tell me there's a way to undo this, Luke, please, please"

"There isn't one, Percy" And it's the first time he hears Luke call him Percy, Percy and not Perseus, in his own voice, in two years. Percy cries.

"We... we don't have much time, hellebore. Give me Annabeth's dagger. Before he... before he takes back"

Luke calls him hellebore and it makes him start crying all over again. He gives him the dagger - and Luke kills himself, taking Kronos out with him.

Luke doesn't need to ask if Percy has ever loved him - Percy kept loving Luke, one-sided as it was, even when Kronos was there.

He still crying over Luke's body when the gods arrive. Luke is dead. Ethan is dead. Silena is dead. Michael Yew is dead. Charles is dead.

He lost three of his best friends in two days. Ethan is dead. Luke is dead. Luke is dead.

Perseus can't stop crying. They take Luke's body away - but he can't stop. Annabeth explains what happened to the gods - most of it, anyway. Apollo says he is in shock - his father says he is a hero.

Perseus doesn't feel like a hero. Was this all worth it? Was it worth it the pain and the death and the suffering?

Persephone touches him - and he has no tears to cry anymore. She can't hug him here, but she'll do so later.

He stares at the walls, listening to his friends being awarded - compensated by their siblings and friends' deaths - with a blank stare. Perseus wants his mom.

They call for him. He raised his head but doesn't bother getting up. He just saved their asses - for the fifth time in a roll. He deserves to grieve.

They offer him immortality. A place between the gods.

He laughs. Zeus looks murderous, but he can't stop laughing.

"My apologies, but I have to refuse," he says. But in his mind, he is thinking about how could they even think he might want to sit between them and be an all-powerful being, be another god ignoring his children and messing with mortal lives while thousands die for him.

"Promise me, on the river Styx, that you'll give me the wish that I want."

They promise him, that if it's within their capabilities, they shall grant him his wish.

"I wish for every child at the age of twelve to be claimed. I wish for cabins in Camp Half-Blood, for every single minor god, and my own father. I wish for Calypso to be free, and to the demigods from the opposite side of this war to be given amnesty. It's not their fault. It's not any of our faults."

"You dare to-" Zeus begins, but Percy is really tired of Zeus.

"We fought your war, we won your battles. We, the unclaimed and rejected stowaways of Cabin 11. We, the children of minor and Underworld gods. We deserve respect. Just like my father deserves a throne, just like the minor gods deserve justice."

"Don't you fear us?" Athena asks, something weird shining in her eyes.

"I thought I would be dead today. At least if I die now, I'm dying for something I believe in."

It stays unsaid that he doesn't believe in them. The other demigods look at him worried - but he is not afraid of the gods.

They grant his wish. Some of them aren't happy with it, but they have to do it. He meets Calypso at the front gates of Olympus - and her smile can brighten the pits of Tartarus. He sees Alabaster talking with Lou Ellen - they are both crying.

He thinks it's the end - it's not. Thalia tells him Rachel left for Camp in her Pegasus - and his father has lift the curse, the Prophecy is gone, but he fears for his best friend.

Perseus is too tired for shadow travel - he does it anyway. He flickers, but anyway, he is too late.

It works. Rachel - his best friend - is the new Oracle. Someone jokes they can't be together anymore and Rachel lifts an eyebrow.

"We never were. Didn't you see the last few hours?" Well, he did out himself. Mostly - they might say it's just friendship, and he will hate the way they twist it. Luke wasn't a villain, and Perseus isn't a pure hero with a heart of gold.

Perseus is healing from lost love - and Annabeth is too. His crush on her was only a crush, he thinks - She is his best friend first and foremost. They cry together at the bonfire that burns away the shrouds of 43 demigods - from both sides - and 16 hunters of Artemis. Their souls all rest in Elysium now.

Alabaster comes back to Camp and helps his siblings to build the new Cabin for Hecate, full of spelled blocks and magic chimneys. Clovis and Tyene have their hands full with their own cabins - it doesn't help they keep getting sidetracked with naps.

Somehow, Nico, Thalia, and his bond over helping construct Cabin 13 - They are both way too invested in the goth vibe, mostly because Cabin 1 looks like a temple, and Cabin 3 looks like a beach cabin. And both of them are so over it.

Perseus doesn't want a goth cabin - he is fighting against the aesthetic for years - but sometimes, there are no arguments. His Cabin is made of black marble, and there are skulls everywhere, with torches shining with green fire. Outside, at least. Inside, it looks like Persephone's garden, with input from the queen herself. It's ready just shy of the end of summer vacation.

Rachel tells the next Great Prophecy. Perseus isn't such a positive person to think it won't affect him - he hopes at least it'll wait until he is done with High School.

That night, he dreams of the blonde boy again - it's his first night without nightmares since the battle. He has a scar in his lip, and his green eyes pierce Percy's soul. Perseus wonders if they'll ever meet, wonders if this boy is one of the Seven of the Prophecy.

But alas, Perseus lets it go. The summer is over - he is sixteen, somehow. He is alive and going to go back to his mortal life and his junior year, and grief. Not everything is fine - but eventually, it will be.

It's not the end. Not yet.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Are we ready for the last ten chapters of this book? Let's GOOO -Danny Words: 2,751 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

L: Wish I Lacked Critical Thinking Skills, Y'all Seem So Happy

"Okay, guys, this isn't funny anymore..."

The seven teenagers look up when Jason enters the Mess Hall. He looks like he's wearing kid's clothing, which causes the entire crew to spit out their breakfast and laugh hysterically.

"Hey, Jason, easy with the growth spurts!" Leo says with a huge smirk on his face.

Since their quarrel four days ago, Leo has been shrinking everything out of pure pettiness. The showerheads can't be rearranged to fit people over 6 feet tall—unless you ask Leo nicely—the doorframes got smaller, and they can't do anything to stop him.

They all love Jason. They also think he's too much of a goody-two-shoes, making him the perfect target for Leo's practical jokes, and they're best friends. It's all harmless fun, really.

"Percy, dude, you gotta be tired of it too," Jason tries to reason, pulling the four-sizes-too-small shirt to cover his abdomen. "You're almost as tall as me."

Percy manages to look condescending when he replies. "Sure thing, Gulliver."

Jason frowns. "Bro, we look the—this is stupid! Here, try this on."

He takes off his shirt and the boys promptly object to it. Leo and Frank cover their girlfriends's eyes. "Man, keep it PG!" Leo complains. 

"I know what you're doing!" Jason scoffs, walking to the exit. "Knock it off or I'll hang you upside down on the topmast!"

"Good luck with that," the boy leans back on his seat, casually lighting up the tips of his fingers. "You could get burned."

Jason leaves in a terrible mood and returns with a shirt that's still tighter than it should be, but no one laughs this time, not wanting to push his buttons.

"Piper," Ara says. "You said you knew where to go next?"

"Yeah," Piper seizes her dagger and stares at it frowning. "I just realized this was Helen's. Is this yours, then, or...?"

Ara's face shows nothing but aversion. "Keep it. You were saying?"

"Right. Uh. It showed me palace ruins, full of spirits."

"Good or bad?"

"Definitely bad."

Everyone groans. "And what do you think it means?" Ara asks.

"Probably that we must go there," Frank stabs his fruit salad.

"Yeah, probably," Piper agrees. "Thing is—I don't recognize the place."

"Well, I might have a way to find it," Hazel offers. "If there are so many spirits in that place, I could ask around."

"But Nico said you don't have death-related powers?" Ara raises a brow.

"Yeah, but I can still commune with some spirits. I was dead once, remember?"

The others seem slightly tense when she says that, but Ara grins. "Alright. Annabeth?"

"I'm thinking," replies the girl, still pondering.

"And I love that about you," Ara presses. "About what?"

"I'm trying to recall what kind of place would hold so many spirits in the ancient lands, but I need more information for an educated guess. If Hazel can get it, that'd be helpful."

"Hazel, we're counting on you," Ara gets up. "Enjoy breakfast—I'll be upstairs if you need me."

Jason sits down to eat. Leo's eyes widen slightly, and he quickly follows her out. As they leave the room, Ara hears something hitting the table and Jason self-censors his swearing when his knees slam against the underside. The rest laugh again as Leo picks up his pace and pushes her forward.

"I think it's time you stop torturing Jason," she chuckles, climbing up the stairs to the upper deck.

"Not yet, I enjoy the fear in his eyes when he steps into the same room I'm in," Leo responds with his crooked grin.

"He's your best friend."

"Our friendship ended thanks to his hate speech, Frank is my best friend now."

"And Frank never made rude comments about you," Ara says sarcastically.

"I choose Nico, then."

"The same Nico that let you believe I was cheating?"

"Sunshine, we have a small crew and everyone is hella mean, I'm willing to appoint Bufford as my ride or die if you push it."

"What about me?" Ara complains. "Why am I so far down the list? I should be right after Jason!"

Leo rolls his eyes. "That's different, mi amor. I don't make out with my besties."

"You sure? The tension between you and Jason certainly leaves room for speculation..."

The boy elbows her playfully. "I'm not your best friend either," he argues. "Don't try to guilt-trip me! You have Lily and Nico—"

"Nico's not my best friend," Ara walks up to the control board and scans each monitor, her fingers moving over the Archimedes sphere with expertise.

"You keep saying that, but he's the only guy you talk to in codes. That's a very best-friend thing to do."

"We both like doing that but it doesn't mean—"

"Doll, admit it," Leo crouches beside her and pulls out his toolbox.

"My best friend will always be Michael."

"He was your crush, he doesn't count!"

"He counts! I didn't like him that way from the get-go!"

"But when you did who knew about it right off the bat? Nico and Lily."

"Jason knew about my crush on you since the start, does that make him my bestie?"

"Stop twisting my words," he gets up with a screwdriver in hand. "My point still stands, you and I can't be best friends."

"Percy and Annabeth are best friends."

"That's because they don't have other friends. It's like saying your mom is your best friend. Cute, but sad."

"Leónidas, I swear—"

"Ara!" Hazel comes up running. "I did it!" 

Ara forgets about Leo's teasing. "What?"

"I only managed to catch a few words, they were pretty frightened. I don't know if they'll be of any help, though..." Hazel catches her breath. "The suitors."

"Why Ithaca?" Piper questions while Ara shows them a map.

"That's where Odysseus's palace used to be," Annabeth explains.

"No, I know that. What I mean is, why would they gather there?"

"That's where they died," Ara responds.

Hazel and Piper both stare at her. "What?"

"Odysseus went cuckoo when he found that those men were stalking Penny—and after ten years at sea, I'd be done with men too. I've been at sea for two months and I'm ready to go full Achilles on some of them," Ara looks at Annabeth with a straight face. "That was a joke."

"But these can't be just the suitors, right?" Hazel asks confused. "There's no way Odysseus killed so many men."

"You know what I'm thinking?" Ara talks with excitement.

"No, but I can't wait to hear it," Annabeth grins.

"The suitors were power-hungry. They weren't there for Penelope, though she was a nice addition."

"They wanted to be kings," Piper raises a brow. "So you're saying..."

Ara stares at the spot on the map representing Ithaca. "Gaea probably tricked them into believing they're competing to see who'll rule after the war."

"That makes a lot of sense," Annabeth looks at her like she's grown overnight, which she did, though it's a little late to get this reaction. "But Gaea wouldn't bring them back just for that."

"Well, they aren't back exactly," Hazel reminds them. "Perhaps the prize is to get a functioning body?"

"A prize for what?" Piper questions. "What are they accomplishing by staying in Ithaca?"

All the girls share a look and Ara sighs, staring at the map with a scowl. "We should take a look."

"IROS! Is that you, you old beggar?"

Ara pushes Jason forward, he's disguised as an old man. "That's me! Iros!" He exclaims.

Ara slips into the crowd with Piper and Annabeth, dressed up as servers for the feast.

"Guess I'm late to the party. I hope you saved me some food?"

"Ungrateful old panhandler," one ghost sneers. "Should I kill him, Antinous?" 

"I'm in a good mood today. Come, Iros, join me at my table."

"I didn't expect to see you here, Iros. But I suppose even a beggar can sue for retribution. Drink. Eat."

The food is definitely not eatable for a normal human. Ara worries, it's been years since she fought ghouls, so they make her nervous. Jason doesn't seem to care about them, he's only glaring at the food. He is in many ways similar to her, but at the core, they're opposites. 

He's a cold-headed leader who thinks of every choice before taking a stance. Ara doesn't care for consequences as long as she gets closer to her goals. She's hot-headed, and an emotional fighter. It's always better to be like Jason in moments like this one.

Nonetheless, Jason surprises her by grabbing a piece of meat, biting into it, and then gulping down the suspicious liquid inside his goblet in just the same way she would've done. He miraculously survives the ordeal but turns green with dislike.

"Yum! Now tell me about this... what did you call it? Retribution? Where do I sign up?"

"Tell me, Iros, what do you have to offer? We don't need you to run messages for us like in the old days. Certainly you aren't a fighter. As I recall, Odysseus crushed your jaw and tossed you into the pigsty."

"You made me fight Odysseus. You bet money on it. Even when Odysseus took off his shirt and you saw how muscular he was... you still made me fight him. You didn't care if I lived or died!" Jason complains.

"Of course I didn't care. I still don't! But you're here, so Gaia must have had a reason to allow you back into the mortal world. Tell me, why are you worthy of a share in our spoils?"

"What spoils?"

"The entire world, my friend. The first time we met here, we were only after Odysseus's land, his money and his wife."

"Especially his wife! That Penelope was a hot little honey cake!" Shouts a random ghost.

"Eurymachus, you whining coward. You never stood a chance with Penelope. I remember you blubbering and pleading for your life with Odysseus, blaming everything on me!"

"Lot of good it did me. Odysseus shot me in the heart, just because I wanted to marry his wife!"

"At any rate... We have gathered now for a much bigger prize. Once Gaia destroys the gods, we will divide up the remnants of the mortal world!"

Annabeth and Ara share a look, that's obviously never going to happen. But why did Gaea bring all these men here? 

"What about the rest of these... guests? I count at least two hundred. Half of them are new to me."

"All of them are suitors for Gaia's favour. All have claims and grievances against the gods or their pet heroes. That scoundrel over there is Hippias, former tyrant of Athens. He got deposed and sided with the Persians to attack his own countrymen. No morals whatsoever. He'd do anything for power."

"Thank you!"

"That rogue with the turkey leg in his mouth—that's Hasdrubal of Carthage. He has a grudge to settle with Rome. And Michael Varus—"

Jason makes a weird noise with his throat. "Who?"

Ara notices the guy wearing a Camp Jupiter T-shirt. He's far away, yet she can see the tattoo on his forearm... A son of Janus. 

"He's a Roman demigod. Lost his legion's eagle in... Alaska, was it? Doesn't matter. Gaia lets him hang around. He insists he has some insight into defeating Camp Jupiter. But you, Iros, you still haven't answered my question. Why should you be welcome among us?"

This guy lost the eagle that Frank, Hazel, and Percy retrieved last June. Ara gets the sudden urge to hide Jason and rush out of the scene, but Annabeth notices their uneasiness and approaches. "More wine, my lord? Oops!"

"Gahh!" The ghoulish man squirms when Annabeth drops liquid on his clothes. "Foolish girl! Who let you back from Tartarus?"

"A Titan, my lord—May I bring you some moist towelettes? Your arrow is dripping." 

"Begone!"

Jason stabs the table suddenly, catching their attention. "Why should you welcome me? Because I'm still running messages, you stupid wretches! I've just come from the House of Hades to see what you're up to!"

"You expect me to believe Gaia sent you—a beggar—to check up on us?" Antinous scowls.

"I was among the last to leave Epirus before the Doors of Death were closed! I saw the chamber where Clytius stood guard under a domed ceiling tiled with tombstones. I walked the jewel-and-bone floors of the Necromanteion!" Jason replies dramatically.

Ara's eyes are on Michael, trying to figure out if he's a good omen sent by his father, a taunt of the fates, or simple misfortune. Maybe a mix of all.

"So, Antinous... Maybe you should explain to me why you're worthy of Gaia's favour," Jason keeps talking. "All I see is a crowd of lazy, dawdling dead folk enjoying themselves and not helping the war effort. What should I tell the Earth Mother?"

"If you come from Gaia, you must know we are here under orders. Porphyrion decreed it." Antinous takes the knife Jason placed on the table and cuts his palm to show how it reforms. "You do know Porphyrion..?"

"The giant king—green skin, forty feet tall, white eyes, hair braided with weapons. Of course I know him. He's a lot more impressive than you."

"Now, now, friend!" Eurymachus hugs Jason sideways. "I'm sure we didn't mean to question your credentials! It's just, well, if you've spoken with Porphyrion in Athens, you know why we're here. I assure you, we're doing exactly as he ordered!"

"The Acropolis," Jason's tone changes slightly. "The most ancient temples to the gods, in the middle of Athens. That's where Gaia will wake."

"Of course! And, to get there, those meddlesome demigods will have to travel by sea, eh? They know it's too dangerous to fly over land."

"Which means they'll have to pass this island," Jason continues.

"At that point, they'll have to make a choice, eh? The most direct route, would be due east from here, across the Straits of Corinth. But if they try to go that way—"

"Enough," Antinous stops him. "You have a loose tongue, Eurymachus."

"I wasn't going to tell him everything! Just about the Cyclopes armies massed on either shore. And the raging storm spirits in the air. And those vicious sea monsters Keto sent to infest the waters. And of course if the ship got as far as Delphi—"

"Idiot!" Antinous grabs him and starts to disintegrate him.

"No! Please! I-I only meant—"

Gaea put them there to be another pesky obstacle. Gods, and they believe Gaea cares about them! Must be good to be so full of yourself that you think you're necessary to the plans of a primordial being. Annabeth and Ara consider they have gotten all they could, so it's time to flee. Ara clears her throat and seizes Jason's plate.

"Sounds like everything is under control. For your sake, Antinous, I hope so. These demigods are resourceful. They closed the Doors of Death. We wouldn't want them sneaking past you, perhaps getting help from Delphi."

"No risk of that. Delphi is no longer in Apollo's control."

Ara's hand trembles and almost drops the place, but Annabeth quickly holds it. If Apollo isn't in charge of prophecies anymore, who is?

"I-I see. And if the demigods sail the long way around the Peloponnese?"

"You worry too much. That journey is never safe for demigods, and it's much too far. Besides, Victory runs rampant in Olympia. As long as that's the case, there is no way the demigods can win this war."

Jason doesn't understand that, but he nods anyway. "Very well. I will report as much to King Porphyrion. Thank you for the, er, meal."

"Wait." Varus stares at Jason intently. "You must stay."

"What's the problem, legionnaire?" Antinous frowns. "If Iros wants to leave, let him. He smells bad!"

The boy grips his sword. "I lost my cohort twice in Alaska—once in life, once in death to a Graecus named Percy Jackson. Still I have come here to answer Gaia's call. Do you know why?"

"Stubbornness?" Jason offers.

"This is a place of longing," Varus responds. "All of us are drawn here, sustained not only by Gaia's power but also by our strongest desires. Eurymachus's greed. Antinous's cruelty. Hasdrubal's hatred, Hippias's bitterness. My ambition... I would've been a good son of Olympus too," the boy glances at Ara, which sends a shiver down her spine. "And you, Iros. What has drawn you here? What does a beggar most desire? Perhaps a home?"

"I should be going," Jason says. "Messages to carry."

"My father is Janus, the god of two faces," the boy draws out his sword. "I am used to seeing through masks and deceptions. Do you know, Iros, why we are so sure the demigods will not pass our island undetected?"

Ara doesn't pull Almight out of her pocket, there are too many ghouls and ghosts surrounding Jason. "Look, are you in charge here or not?" Jason looks at Antinous. "Maybe you should muzzle your Roman."

"Ah, but this might be entertaining. Go on, Varus."

"Our desires reveal us. They show us for who we really are. Someone has come for you, Jason Grace." The crowd opens and a young woman steps into the scene. One that can only be Jason's mother.

"My dearest... You have come home." 

Next Chapter –>

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[jankwritten]

i just saw somebody do this and it made me want to do it as well. For me, these headcanons are largely subject to the AU that I'm writing or the version of canon that I'm working with (PJO versus HoO versus ToA etc. etc.) so some of these may contradict!!!! and that's okay baby we love them anyway. the idea is from @/s3okj (I'm not entirely sure if they're okay with being tagged). Also this got really long so I'm putting the actual HC under the cut SORRY

(some of) my lgbt pjo/hoo headcanons

Percy: bisexual almost always, though he also fluctuates between being aromantic/asexual or some blend therein. I also tend to hc that he forms really close, non-romantic bonds with people that are often misconstrued as romantic (Grover, Piper, Nico, etc. etc.) but that he is polyam which makes it fun when he's trying to explain who is his boyfriend/girlfriend versus his nonromantic partner.

He uses he/him pronouns more often than not, but sometimes he winds up with he/they pronouns (or even he/they/she pronouns) in AUs where he leaves camp for some time to himself and meets some mortals. I think that if asked, he would describe himself as genderqueer/genderfluid. I do usually headcanon him as AMAB.

Annabeth: I almost always hc her as biromantic asexual. That is in part because I hc the Athena cabin in general to have a predilection for asexuality ngl. I HC that she doesn't necessarily identify as polyam, but that she is okay with being in a polya relationship, she just only tends to keep maybe one or two romantic partners herself in that case.

This one is actually very new in that I've not used it in any writing yet, but now I hc that she is a trans girl and uses she/her pronouns.

Grover: TBH I don't write him as much as I should, considering. I would say he's...biromantic but heterosexual? I think? That's kind of where I'm leaning, I think that he labels himself that way but that he's only really ever had a crush on one boy, and then he met Juniper and it was game over for him.

Again, I've never really written him, so I haven't had time to develop any "non-canon" HC for his gender. In my head he's a cis male who uses he/him pronouns.

Thalia: I love hc Thalia as aroace but with a tendency to form QPRs with people because of her feelings of being abandoned by her mom. I think that she cares really really deeply for people, but that she's never really experienced what people always describe as "love".

Thalia in my mind is very "just call me whatever you want to call me", but she DOES like when people pull out the non-she pronouns. I hc her as a cis female.

Nico: My boy! Nico to me is homosexual but biromantic. sometimes he's biromantic asexual (can you see a trend with these so far hm it's almost like I ~project~) but more often than not he's allo. I think he just loves so much sometimes that he doesn't really know what to do with himself (he's polyam in my HC as well which I think he'd be scared of), not to mention the fact that he wasn't really raised in a way that let him explore identities etc. I think that he doesn't realize he's biromantic because he didn't realise that the way he experiences romantic attraction could be different from the way he experiences sexuality (I also HC that either Will or Percy is the one who taught him the language to differentiate). OH AND HE'S ALMOST ALWAYS DEMISEXUAL!!! I nearly forgot about that one.

He is the one who flip flops most consistently between being trans and cis, it really genuinely just comes down to the story I'm telling at the time. He goes by he/him no matter what, he finds they/them pronouns uncomfortable (for himself) but is more than happy to help his friends experiment with pronouns.

Will: now THIS BOY. is truly the most unpredictable he could be really just any thing in any given story (except straight, normally he's not straight). I think that he really enjoys the blanket term "queer" and feels very comfortable with that as his label. He's almost never aro/ace, but he'd be comfortable in a relationship with an ace person. I do hc him as polyam sometimes.

He is almost always a trans man in my writing, even if it's not explicitly or implicitly stated. He uses he/they pronouns, though the "they" days are pretty rare and he will tell people if that's his preferred pronoun that day. He also has an ATROCIOUS sense of fashion (that's not a gender/sexuality hc I just think it's funny to dunk on him).

Piper: Another very recent addition to my average HC, but I do see her as biromantic. I think that she'd identify as asexual, but that she's like "Eh" about it, like she's fine either way, she just uses the label kind of as a way to say "I probably won't ever initiate this kind of thing". I also HC that she doesn't realize that she's ace until after her relationship with Jason. I do also think she has a preference for women, but is okay dating men too.

I get very she/they lesbian vibes from Piper. She identifies as nonbinary and LOVES playing with fashion as a means to express herself. I think that she and Percy are fucking killer at coming up with GNC outfits for one another.

Jason: oh, another one of my BOYS okay. So Jason is another one of those ones that kind of fluctuates a lot depending on the story I'm telling. I think I'd say that like Nico, he's homosexual but biromantic, but with WAY more of a penchant towards aro/ace vibes. He's almost always demisexual, and I think he struggles a lot with his attraction to women - I think that he'd feel like a horrible person for a while after he figures out that he's romantically but not sexually attracted to women, because he gets it in his head that that means he's misogynistic/inherently abusive somehow. I tend to HC that he's always known that he was attracted to men but he's always ASSUMED that he was attracted to women as well, and that's where his views of himself get challenged the most, in his relationship with Piper. I also hc him as polyam, but very selectively so - he would only be okay with dating a select few people. He wouldn't mind if his partner had other partners, though.

For a long time Jason was just a cis he/him male in my head, but recently I've been persuaded to the HC that he's trans. I think that it's another thing he's just always known about himself though, like ever since he was a little kid he's always known that he's a boy. Most of the time when I write him he's still cis, but in more of my recent stuff (and hockey AU) he's trans.

Frank: Again, I don't really write Frank as much as I should, considering. I think that he's never really put much thought to his identity, but that he wouldn't necessarily call himself straight either. He's not necessarily asexual, but he's not entirely not, either, and it's kind of the same for his romantic attraction - he's not necessarily into people, but at the same time, he does on occasion "catch feelings" for people (like Leo or Hazel). I think that he's very comfortable existing in his definitively grey-area. I think when someone asks what he is, he says, "I dunno," shrugs, and moves on.

I get cis male he/him vibes, but again, I haven't written much of his character, so that could change. I do think the idea of him identifying as agender could be interesting, like maybe sometimes when he shifts animal forms he's not a male animal and he feels the same way when he's in his human form. That could be interesting.

Leo: here's a fucking doozy. Leo is the most homophobic bisexual guy you will ever meet /hj he's like. So unaware of his attraction to men that he circles around to being weird and an asshole about it, like he's trying so hard to not see that part of himself that he shits on attraction to males in general, all while drooling over his best friend's biceps on the reg. So I DO think that he's bisexual (sometimes he's even just flat out gay) but it would take a pretty drastic thing to happen for him to realize it.

This dude made attack helicopter jokes until Jason or Nico dropped it on him that he's trans one day fr fr. Leo is such that eighth grade bully kind of vibe in my head when it comes to sexuality and gender, he's the kid who's soooo repressed and in the closet that he lashes out at any hint of the LGBT just so people will never attempt to associate it with him. I do think that once he gets his head out of his ass about it, he would identify with he/him pronouns (and privately use it/its pronouns with Festus, though I feel like that's more of him being a downer on himself and removing his own humanness on the days when he's feeling particularly Disconnected from people, ala the Tism. This is not to say that I view it/its pronouns as dehumanizing, I just think that that's how Leo would use them against himself, does that make sense?). So yeah, Leo's an asshole cis male he/him "I don't use pronouns" typa guy /j.

Hazel: I think that she's pretty solidly straight and allo in my mind, but she's also the kind of person who is VERY close to her female friends, to the point that it's sometimes misconstrued as attraction. I think that she's just a very physically affectionate, friendly kind of person and that that reads, in some situations, like she's coming on to people. I do think that's she's very well read on LGBT stuff, and that she kind of was even before Nico came out to her, like I feel as if during her time at Camp Jupiter no matter how limited it was, she discovered some myths with LGBT topics and it FASCINATED her.

She would experiment with pronouns all the time, but I think that she's, at the end of the day, a cis she/her female. I do like to think she's comfortable with any pronouns though, and will sometimes introduce herself with he/him pronouns around kids he suspects might be trans.

Reyna: Reyna is yet ANOTHER character I don't do enough with. I think that she's very firmly aro/ace but that she's constantly at war with herself over the aro part of it, because she experience very very deep platonic bonds with people, like Jason. She's convinced that that is romantic love, even though if anyone asked if she wanted to marry Jason/kiss Jason etc. etc. she'd immediately say no. I think she would eventually settle on idenifying as an asexual lesbian and then just never date anybody ever.

For some reason, I do see Reyna as trans. I think that maybe she didn't realize until on Circe's island or something (i can't remember enough of her canonical past rn to really piece together a proper headcanon) but that she is a trans female who uses she/they pronouns.

Rachel: I guess I kind of have no HC for Rachels sexuality? I'd say ace, because of the whole oracle thing, but I also believe that that was just a copout for Riordan to not have to pursue a love triangle with her anymore so fuck that at the same time. I just think that Rachel is Rachel and she's doing whatever the hell she wants to in that funky cave of hers.

I can see her being genderfluid for some reason, maybe the whole artsy side we see during the canonical books. I just like genderfluid characters alright, sue me.