#and i do have a chb shirt somewhere......

[boygirlctommy]

WAIT I JUST REALIZED the next con im going to, im gonna be there for TWO days oh my god what do i WEAR for the second day

[fryingpan1234567]

aaaaaanyways. pride month at Camp Half Blood?

if you remember that one post from a while ago (general hc’s about chb), I did say I would do a fully pride post eventually

so without further ado, I present to all my lovely gay demigods:

PRIDE MONTH AT CHB🗣️🗣️

SO we’ve already discussed the decorations of some of the cabins, like Percy putting rainbow hippocampi scales all over the walls, the Demeter and Persephone cabins growing colorful flowers all over their roofs, the Hecate cabin and its Sentient Gay Door

I like to think the Iris cabin is just fully blasting rainbows all the time it looks like a Minecraft beacon

they play capture the flag every June with a pride flag that has the CHB logo on it

limited edition CHB pride merch😭

Mr. D defending trans campers by driving bigots slightly insane long enough to slap themselves and then go back to normal

Y’ALL KNOW ABOUT THE PRONOUN CORRECTION AIR HORNS? THAT’S THE ENTIRE APOLLO CABIN + LEO AND PERCY

Some ignorant prick about a transmasc camper: “Oh yeah she—“

Percy: *AIR HORN* “IT’S HE, BITCH”

Ignorant prick: “Okay Jesus I’m sorry”

A different ignorant prick: *makes some dumb joke about “always being able to tell” and receives at least seven different air horns from all the Apollo campers in the vicinity*

Leo’s been following this one really irritating chick around all day because she can’t figure out one of his sibling’s genders and blasting her in the face every time she fucks up their pronouns😭😭😭

anyways yeah I like to imagine there’s a demigod pride festival somewhere, maybe in New York

or no there’s demigods everywhere I bet they have parade floats all the time in lots of cities and the Mist conceals the “fireworks” which are actually just godly light shows

Apollo rocks up to camp in a rainbow crop top and a pink drink from Starbucks just to sing Born This Way in the middle of the day and then dip again

Aphrodite blessing random queer couples with finding perfect date setups “conveniently” in their paths

all the gods physically restraining Hera when she tries to go fuck with Jason while he’s on a date w Leo

Percy and Annabeth in matching shirts that say ✨BEST BI✨ with the Best Buy price tag logo in the middle

Nico got glitterbombed on June 1st the second he stepped out of his cabin by the entire Apollo cabin (and Jason) and is still finding sparkles in his hair a week later

Aphrodite kids are walking dictionaries of all the rainbow terms, somehow, and they also all know which days in June are for which awareness or pride or whatever flag

campers who transitioned over the school year and coming back to camp a different gender and their godly parent re-claims them as their true self

Percy “I can’t believe I used to think I was straight” Jackson educating some of the younger campers on bisexuality and how, no, you don’t always know right away

Annabeth “I had a crush on Thalia and Luke at the same time and it was horrible” Chase always reassuring the nervous kids that there’s nothing wrong with being queer (and that she’ll fight any homophobic family members they may have)

actually they kind of all do that

Some little kid: “Well……. I don’t wanna tell my stepdad, he might kick me out”

Percy, remembering that his dad kept Medusa’s head after it got sent to Olympus: “Give me your address, I have an idea”

Piper will verbally eviscerate anybody she catches being even remotely homophobic. I mean she will swipe phones out of her siblings’ hands to tell off some ignorant grandmother

Jason does NOT get into physical altercations outside of sparring and literal war, but the closest he ever got was after hearing someone call Nico a slur (Percy and Leo had to physically drag him away from the other guy)

William Solace has white cowboy boots. I Will Start Sobbing On The Spot

Percy and Jason wore matching skirts for the pride festival and it was great— these 6-foot-plus brick shithouses of heroes who have single-handedly won wars aggressively waving tiny pride flags at each other and dancing to IT GIRL on the quad

Cecil and Lou Ellen made these magic rainbow smoke bombs, crawled up on the roof of the Hermes cabin, and slingshotted them into the masses Just Because™️

(Will’s hair was blue and pink for weeks)

RAINBOW WAR PAINT FOR CAPTURE THE FLAG.

Clarisse fucking kicked someone into the lake because they made fun of one of her siblings’ dyed hair

Connor thought it would be funny to leave a mini pan flag on top of Mr. D’s Diet Coke stash, mostly as a harmless joke, but the next day he noticed Mr. D had tucked it into his horrible Hawaiian shirt pocket like a handkerchief😭

watching Love, Simon in the amphitheater for movie night and half the campers had to excuse themselves early for sobbing too hard

Malcolm and Annabeth reread Red White and Royal Blue every summer. They say they’re Henry and June, Connor is Alex, and Percy is Nora

(this is confirmed when the two of them start a foot fight in the dining pavilion with a Chipotle burrito)

Leo IMing Jo and Emmie to wish them a happy pride (and tell Georgina and Waystation I said hello)

Piper and Leo getting into a HEATED debate about whether Velma Dinkley is a lesbian or not

���YOU CANNOT LOOK AT HER OVERSIZED-SWEATER-OVER-MY-PROM-DRESS ASS AND TELL ME YOU THINK SHE’S TOTALLY STRAIGHT—“

”WHAT SHE AND SHAGGY HAD WAS REAL, BEAUTY QUEEN! HOT DOG WATER AIN’T GOT NOTHIN ON NORVILLE ROGERS—“

”LEO! HER NAME IS MARCIE! AND THEY ARE EACH OTHER’S W A L L P A P E R S .”

Jason, sitting in the middle of them, now deaf in both ears: Lupa give me strength

GUYS PLEASE SEND ME SPECIFIC SHIPS OR CHARACTERS TO WRITE PRIDE HC’S FOR I WOULD LOVE TO🙏🙏🙏🙏

[modawg]

random headcannons abt if the seven could infact have phones

simply what i think their phones would look like/be used for if they could have them as demigods

percy: bro would have a flip phone this is just fact i think he’d also have an iphone but he uses that more like you would an ipad he normally leaves it home unless he knows he’s going somewhere where he’s gonna wanna take pics or notes or smth

id say he and sally had matching flip phones for a while since their cheap sally prob got herself one pre gabe then scavenged her money together to get percy one before he went to his first boarding school and that’s what he’s grown up using

for one of his teen birthdays 14-16 sally got him a newer phone but he’s gotten so used to his trusty flip that he only uses the newer one for games and shit

his wall paper is probably a picture of a dinner with sally paul estelle annabeth and grover it’s very cute

annabeth: she didn’t have a phone for a long while and only ended up getting one from her dad when she started hanging out with them again he got it for her as a way to probably buy her affection he probably got it in like red or something thinking it was her fav color (maybe it was when she was like 5 but be fr) it’s prob like an iphone 8 or smth it was new at the time but old asf now

her phones decked out in camp crafts home made stickers etc etc and she changes her wall paper pretty often depending on her fav pictures she has abt 100000 .5 pics of percy it’s like her fav thing

she mostly just uses it to take pictures set reminders/timer and to look things up + keep in contact with sally and paul

she’s broken it like 6 times at this point but the hephaestus cabin keeps fixing it for her

piper: new new new girlies got the newest phone only bc her dad bought it for her she probably had a phase where she continuously shattered/broke her phone to get her dads attention and was forced to have a flip phone for a while but now that everything’s cooled down her phones the most pristine out of all the seven

her phone is fully decked out with a polaroid of her trio in the case stickers bangles the works it’s probably the best looking phone you could have and she loves it but she only started doing that post chb when she first came to camp her phone was default everything bc she kept getting it replaced

leo: leo either built his own version of a phone or somehow got one like 6 years ago and keeps adding stuff to it/changing things on it to keep it alive bc that thing is holding on for dear LIFE

the most JACKED phone out of everyone like you wouldn’t know he’s a son of hephaestus bc that bitch is wrecked it’s got a cracked screen is disgusting but works probably the smoothest out of everyone’s

he mostly uses it as an extension of his work to take pics of what he’s working on write notes and maybe use the calculator if he was a mortal the police would’ve been at his door like every other day bc of the shit he looks up

jason: he had a cj mandated pager lets be fr he didn’t get a phone until piper took him and hazel to get them ones and when he did get one it was a flip phone it’s sturdy low-key and gets the job done he also just gives me the vibe that he’s feel guilty if you spent more then 50$ on him

his phone also has some stickers including a little bangle of superman that piper made him get it also has a peice of tape on there with his name on it like you would the inside of a kids shirt incase he looses it

frank: he’s got a pretty new phone it was a gift from his gma but it’s locked up in a big fat otter case and he kinda hates using it so it’s default everything until hazel gets her own phone and he starts using it more

i feel like phones aren’t things many ppl have in camp jupiter so he kept that shit under his pillow so he didn’t draw more attention to himself

once he lets himself use it more his wallpapers probably a picture of hazel and percy making goofy faces and he probably has at least one sticker or bangle that matches hazels

hazel: hazel def has an ipod touch she probably traded in a chunk of gold for some cash and bought the cheapest thing but piper got her to at least get something with a screen

her phone case is probably just a white phone case with a bunch of pictures of horses on there and her wallpaper for like a year was just the first selfie she took with jason and piper post buying the phone

once she learns how to change her wall paper she changes it every other week to different random pics she takes

she has a really bad habit of butt dialling people

nico: bro doesn’t have a phone he just seems like the type to not give af abt that and only gets one when will forces him to but it’s forever the most default shit ever he maybe changes the wallpaper to a pic of will but that’s abt it prior to getting his own he was the kid who’d show up and immediately ask if you had games on ur phone for him to play

SPOILER: he does get jason’s flip phone when he dies and uses that for a while but he refuses to change anything about the phone and only uses it for emergencies

when he’s really sad he listens to jason’s voicemail on repeat “hello! you’ve reached jason grace im not available rn but i’ll call you back when i can thanks!..uh piper is it still recording-“

[mydarlingdearestdead]

I think the trailer was only showed to those who actually attended New York comic con (LIKE DUDE IM A TEENAGER AND IRISH HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO COME??)

Agreed

Ooh do, I love the mad hatter. Great guy if you can excuse some amount of tea and crumpets

The dedication is astounding, I agree

Yes. Also cat costumes

I haven't gone out in a couple of years either. Staying in is probably the best course of action. I might do something but probably not on Halloween night itself (We have like a four day long celebration lmao, its peak is on the 31st with fireworks and stuff)

I think it counts. I'll do the same but chb shirt

(I haven't found it!)

Fair

How dare they deprive you. I'm sure you'll get your frights from somewhere else in any case

:)

I'm sorry I just sent you like eight messages. I was very excited and then very confused

ANYWAY

good morning

trying to make this quick because my recent ones have been really long

I'm just going to do Halloween quick fire questions for fun

Best thing about Halloween?

Best costume you've ever done?

Best costume you've ever seen done?

Most sterotypical costume?

Do you usually do anything for Halloween?

Are you dressing up this year, if so, what as?

(I might have lost my enby badge... I'll keep you posted)

Do you have any Halloween traditions?

Does your area have any traditions/do anything special?

Okay I think I'm out now

Have a wonderful day

are we still getting a trailer or was it just the photos? I checked insta but yk i lack time awareness

hi :)

lollies bffr

wasn’t a Halloween costume (I’m not big on the holiday) but I did the mad hatter once. I’ll see if I can find photos for u

suddenly I can’t think of a single one. I’m gonna say mummy wrapped in actual toilet paper bc of the dedication

ghostface.

not really. Once in a blue moon I’ll go out with friends but this year I think I’m gonna stay in and watch stranger things

I’m literally gonna throw on my Hellfire shirt. Does that count? Who cares

(please do)

nope

we used to have a haunted house that was amazing (it wasn’t, really. Where I live anything is amazing) but the bastards left town last year so. Yk

sleep well

[mooncleaver]

☆ attractive things they do ☆

꒰ pairings: percy jackson, jason grace, leo valdez, piper mclean, annabeth chase; gn! reader ꒱

꒰ warnings: rambling, suggestive ꒱

masterlist 

ʚ PERCY JACKSON ɞ

pulls and plays with your belt/ waistband when you kiss. he will do this in the most unsuspecting moments, and you're still not used to it even after countless times. you'd be mindlessly walking somewhere, and he'd pull you by your waistband to kiss you. im actually blushing bye. he'd play around with it too, dragging his fingers around it and tugging it lightly. he laughs out loud. and im talking about both throaty, deep rumble, echoing laugh and also ugly cackling. but you know what? he still looks freakin fine doing either. it just catches you off guard sometimes because the way he throws his head back, or the way he clutches at a surface when he's wheezing, the veins popping.. wears sweatpants LOW low around the house.. and top that off with his chb necklace dangling around, do i even need to elaborate? speaking of skin, the way his shirt rides up when he stretches, you’re peeking at his toned abdomen like 👀 sir? 

ʚ JASON GRACE ɞ

rolling up his sleeves. this man just has to have some BEEFY arms. like everyone who does hand to hand combat or specializes in weaponry probably does and you'd never miss the chance to ogle at them. it could be if he had to have his arms involved in doing something and he doesn't want to have his clothes dirty. you know how someone would come from behind and explain something you don't understand? he does that. on purpose? or absent-mindedly? we will never know. if you're looking over battle plans or documents and stuck on a certain thing he'd lean onto you from behind, his face so close to yours that if you turn your head you'd be inches away from kissing face planting on him. just speaking beside your ears giving you shivers. 

ʚ LEO VALDEZ ɞ

when he goes on talking about the things he’s passionate about. i just know despite his joke-y exterior this man has brains for days. its so captivating to hear him saying all that terminology, just completely dominating his area of specialty. watch him work with that archimedes sphere, his brain capacity is unlimited. we love a smart man. leo can COOK. he does best at traditional because it's a close way for him to connect to his heritage and also brings him a lot of comfort and nostalgia, but if you ask this man to cook you something he WILL do it. him running around the kitchen, smoke completely obscuring that area and the sounds of knives and glass chinks amongst him donning a 'kiss the cook' apron. you best believe a kiss isn't the only thing he'll get after dinner.

ʚ PIPER MCLEAN ɞ

stares straight into your eyes when you're speaking. if you’ve seen that one jhene aiko interview that had the ‌interviewer stuttering, that's exactly what piper does. and it's not like she has some hidden intentions or anything (well, maybe sometimes) but she just genuinely wants to put all her attention to what you're talking about. when you tell her about your day she'd set her crystalline eyes straight at yours and tilt her head a bit, a sweet smile swelling on her face as she listens to your rambles and anecdotes. you either get caught off guard for a second or just keep going bc you know she likes to pull that shit up sometimes. she's comfortable in her own skin. she's not afraid to alter her looks. in tlh ik it looked like she cut her hair with kiddy scissors, but i honestly think that was so attractive. i love choppy hair. now she doesn't rlly do it to avert attention off herself, but because she likes how it looks and doesn't care about what other people think. she experiments with clothing styles, makeup looks and aesthetics and she makes the most unusual pairs looks good. (still not over that hello kitty top in mark of athena) 

ʚ ANNABETH CHASE ɞ  

when she puts her hair up in ponytail. or when she touches her hair in any way idc she's hot. sometimes when she's in her room and looking through books or documents or literally just sitting, you'd stop in your tracks and look up from where you're seated, and she's bunching her golden locks up exposing her delicate neck. in other ways, she could be frustrated after not figuring something out, and she'd run her hair through her hair. like when people with long hair rake their hands through to part it or get it out of their faces, it's 10x more attractive when she has a small frown on her face. annabeth likes to smirk at you. is it the 'i told you so' smirk, or the 'you look good' smirk or the suggestive smirk we don't fucking know but its attractive as hell. i do think annabeth is the kind of person who doesn’t hesitate to stand up for herself. if she knows something she will say it, if someone belittles her she will defend herself and put that person back on their asses. may come off as a bit abrasive but she has good intentions. it’s very enjoyable to watch the way the opposing person crumble, or you’re just rlly impressed by her knowledge.

🌿🍈🗯️→  GUYS IM SORRY THESE WERE A BIT EXCESSIVE.. i just keep writing and my head starts coming up with new things and im like damn i wouldn't mind if this character did that to me 😗

but anyways yayy im kinda back from writing hiatus! i am working on a one shot rn, but i may be a bit inactive on tumblr just because  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

so i tried to write for other characters bc i love women, and im really sorry if there are any inaccuracies!! just going with my personal opinion but pls be gentle this is my first time writing for them hehe..

[tsarisfanfiction]

Order-Bound

Fandom: Trials of Apollo Rating: Gen Genre: Family/Angst Characters: Apollo, Will Solace

Apollo didn’t want to endanger any more demigods, so the obvious thing to do was to sneak out while his Master was asleep.

Day twenty-nine of TOApril organised by @ferodactyl, “A Futile Hope”.   This is a dabble in an AU idea I tossed around in the toa discord today, where Apollo fell directly into CHB, rather than Manhattan, and subsequently has a very different demigod master.  I have far too many other things to write to make a full story out of this AU at the moment, but who knows, maybe one day I’ll play in this sandbox properly.

There’s now a discord server for all my fics, including this one!  If you wanna chat with me or with other readers about stuff I write (or just be social in general), hop on over and say hi!

Apollo felt it before he heard it, a tug with no physical tether but a tug nonetheless, yanking him backwards.  It wasn’t the first time he’d felt the sensation, but he’d hoped he’d put enough distance between himself and Camp Half-Blood that it wouldn’t happen again.

How had Will realised he’d gone so soon? ��He’d snuck out at midnight (yes, with a wistful look up at the moon and the sister he couldn’t contact), when his children were all fast asleep.  Children of the sun didn’t stir at night, they just didn’t.  And yet, here Apollo was, being reeled in on the end of a very long, invisible fishing line as his son’s voice went ultrasonic from somewhere back the way he’d come.

“APOLLO, COME BACK HERE NOW!”

He fought it, because he really, really did not want to go back.  Going back meant dragging other demigods into his quest, dragging his children out onto a dangerous quest, and there was a reason Apollo had snuck out without letting on any intentions to anyone.  Not even Chiron had known, let alone his children.

The Order could not be denied, however, and he was forced to stumble backwards, falling over more than once as he tried to scrabble away from the echoes of his son’s command.

He ended up a dishevelled mess at Will’s feet.  His hair no doubt looked like he’d been dragged through several hedges backwards – not totally inaccurate, although an entire woodland would be more precise – there were several rips in his t-shirt, and several scratches (bleeding red, and no, Apollo was still very much not okay with that), criss-crossing his arms.

Will did not look happy.  There was no anger on his face, or even in his stance.  The same resigned determination from earlier was present, when he’d forced Apollo not to immediately run into the forest to find Austin and Kayla but rather help with the medical triage first and plan accordingly before they went in, but primarily he looked tired and upset.

“Why, Dad?” he asked, shoulders slumping as he held out a hand to help Apollo to his feet.  Apollo didn’t want to accept it, but he didn’t want to upset his son any more, either, and hesitated with indecision.  “We’re supposed to be handling this together.” He’d clearly rolled out of bed in a hurry; his feet were bare, his tank top was oversized and rumpled, and old and worn boxers clearly nearing the end of their lifespan peaked out from beneath the too-long hem.  He was in no state to be wandering frantically through the woods outside of the camp’s border, and Apollo fought the urge to cry.

This was exactly what he didn’t want.

“Why are you awake?” he replied, dodging the question and hoping Will wouldn’t Order him to answer. When he’d claimed his services – against Apollo’s will, but of course his children knew the stories – he’d promised he wouldn’t abuse it, and while he clearly was unafraid of using it from time to time (now being a blatantly obvious example), Apollo liked to think he knew Will well enough to know he wasn’t the sort to renegade on that reassurance entirely.

Will’s fingers, warm but shaking slightly, wrapped around his wrist when he didn’t accept the hand fast enough and pulled him to his feet.  Eyes that looked more grey than blue in the light of Artemis’ chariot looked him up and down, and Apollo wondered if he was assessing him.

If he was still a god, he’d be able to tell if Will was using his vitakinesis.

If he was still a god, he wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.

“You left,” the teenager said, and oh, Olympus, did he have to sound quite so heartbroken about it? Apollo left the demigods behind to protect them, he didn’t need to start feeling like a villain for upsetting them.  “Someone had to catch you.”

Someone being his son-slash-demigod master, and that still didn’t add up because Will was not supposed to be awake this far into Artemis’ shift.  He was obviously tired, powered by adrenaline that was starting to fade away and causing his eyelids to droop again, but he was refusing to give into it. Still, if Will wasn’t pushing him for more of an explanation, then Apollo realised he couldn’t push Will for one, either.

“Let’s go back to Camp,” Will continued.  “We’ll work out what to do in the morning.”  Apollo tried to surreptitiously reclaim his wrist but his son held on tighter.  “And, Dad, I’m sorry, but you can’t leave my side until I say so.”

The Order settled over Apollo like a constricting blanket, suffocating him as Will turned and took a step back towards Camp, tugging him along in his wake.

“You can’t do that!” he complained.  “Will Solace, undo that order!”

Moonlight-greyed eyes met his.  “I’m sorry,” Will apologised, and the worst thing was that Apollo could tell he meant it.  He was genuinely sorry for using the power he had over him to imprison him until further notice, and how was Apollo supposed to stay angry in the face of such sincerity from his son?  “Dad, I want you to be safe, but I can’t protect you if you run off.”

That hurt.  It wasn’t Will’s job to protect him, he was Will’s father.  He was a god.  It should be the other way around; Apollo should be protecting Will and his other children.  The fact that he was reduced to this, the fact that Will had run out of the protective barrier of the camp with no shoes and no weapons to find him because he felt the responsibility to keep him safe, stung.

Things weren’t supposed to be like this.  Apollo was supposed to be the protector – even now, it should have been him, and he tried to make it him – but with six words the day he woke up, mortal, in Camp Half-Blood, more mortal than he’d ever been before, Will had flipped the dynamic on its head and apparently nothing Apollo could do could revert it to the way it should be.

I, Will Solace, claim your service.

He’d hated it at the time, hated the target his son had painted on his own back by tying their lives together for the foreseeable future, and he hated it now, as he reluctantly trudged back past Peleus and the golden fleece, back into Camp Half-Blood where harpies screeched angrily and what appeared to be the entire occupancy of the camp were far from pleased where they were poking out of their various cabins.

“You found him, then,” Nico commented, materialising at Will’s other side.  Apollo half wondered if he’d shadow-travelled, or if he was just used to sneaking around in the dark.

“Did you have to wake the whole camp up with that screech?” Sherman yelled from the doorway of Cabin Five. “Apollo kids are supposed to be dead to the world right now!”

The use of the word dead had Apollo flinching.

“Sorry,” Will apologised, sounding genuinely contrite as he led Apollo straight back into Cabin Seven. “It was an emergency.”  It was impressive, was what it was, and even though it meant Apollo’s attempt to keep the demigods out of his dangerous quest had spectacularly failed, he was still proud of what Will could and would do, if needed.

Sherman grumbled, but the door closed behind them, leaving Nico outside and shutting out the rest of the camp.

“Dad!”  Kayla and Austin looked even worse than Will, but they still stumbled from their bunks to greet him.  “Where did you go?”

Apollo winced, and Will intervened.  “In the morning,” he yawned.  “Dad’s back for now.  Apollo, you don’t have to stick by me anymore” – Apollo relaxed as the Order released him – “but you can’t leave the cabin until I say so.”

“Will,” he complained.  His son trudged back to his own bunk.

“We’ll talk in the morning, Dad,” Will insisted.  “I know you have to go on that quest, I do, even if I hate it, but-” he yawned again “-you’re not going alone and we’ll work that out when I’m awake enough to think.”

Apollo watched him all but face-plant the bunk and fall asleep instantly.  Austin and Kayla, bleary-eyed, followed suit – his children really shouldn’t be stirring in the middle of the night – and left him standing in the middle of the cabin, cursing whatever it was that had woken Will, and by extension the rest of the camp.

He pushed at the door and it swung open, but the Order held firm and he couldn’t take a step out.  The harpies were shrieking unhappily, aggressively divebombing any camper that had dared leave their cabin – he saw Nico duck away from one and sprint the rest of the way to Cabin Thirteen – and Apollo begrudgingly pulled the door closed again, not wanting to disturb his sleeping children any more than they already had been.

Olympus, why had it ended up like this?  Come morning, there’d be a meeting about his quest and Will definitely wouldn’t let him go without him, which meant he’d be dragging his son and almost certainly Nico into the mess.

Apollo poked at a window, but the moment he tried to wriggle out through it the Order made itself known again.  Even half asleep, Will had managed not to leave any loopholes, and it was with no small amount of frustration that Apollo eventually slumped back to his own designated cot, defeated.

There had to be some way out of this.  Some way to leave alone, without a demigod entourage, without putting anyone else in danger.

Apollo ignored the little logical voice in the back of his head that said Will wasn’t going to let him out of his sight again.

There had to be a way out.

He didn’t find it.

[pcvensies]

I love your blog and writing! I’ve recently gotten back into PJO and was wondering if you would write a fic where Percy was jealous. If you don’t mind writing PercyxReader.

Secret handshake

In which Percy gets jealous of his partner’s friendship with Jason

word count: 1600

trigger warnings: none

DISCLAIMER: this happens in some kind of au where jason d-words but is brought back because baby. pls bare with me. also, gender neutral!

also hUH logan is my percy. in my mind he is ,, idk man. i just love him sm. ur welcome for the gif ✌🏼😚

Jason was his friend. You were his partner. And you were all friends, it was all cool. Yet there he was, annoyedly sat on the floor, watching you both train with a frown drawn on his face.

Jason was a great fighter, as so were you, and you had this stupid ability to sincronize all your movements without even trying, which made you two an amazing team. Always effective, always on everyone’s mouth. And that fact alone could ruin Percy’s day, that you and Jason were so good together, and you and him were not.

“C’mon, Jay, you can do so much better”, you spoke, and Jason chuckled, turning around fast enough to hit you with his shoulder.

“Like that, you mean?”.

Your laugh made Percy’s heart flutter, as you got up and shook your head, punching the blonde boy on his arm. You looked so /good/ with your camp shirt covered in dirt, sticky hair somehow framing your face in a beautiful way, drawing shapes on your pinkish cheeks.

Jason smiled gently, shaking your hand, and the blue eyed boy groaned: when had Y/n and Jason made a secret handshake? And why didn’t they have one?

Percy was too busy being annoyed to notice your hand on his head, fingers running carefully through his dark locks, and when he finally did, he looked up at you.

“...not listening again, are you?”, there wasn’t any trace of annoyance on your voice, and still, the demigod felt guilty under your eyes, sighing softly and moving his hand to rest it on your calf, running his thumb over your skin.

Before he could speak, Jason wrapped his arm around your shoulder, breathing heavily and smiling down at Percy, which for some reason annoyed him even more. Jay being so oblivious of his feelings annoyed him.

“You should pay more attention to Y/n, Percy, or they might get tired of speaking to the air”.

He was joking, he didn’t mean it. It was Jason, for Zeus’ sake. But the dark haired boy couldn’t help the dirty look he sent the blonde as he got up, so fast it startled you, as your hand fell to your side.

“I was listening, thank you very much. And it’s all good, you tire them enough with all the training, Grace”.

Jason gave Percy a strange look, cautiously analysing his expression searching for a sign on what was up with him, but the dark haired boy simply sighed.

“I’m just gonna leave you two alone, so you can continue training. It’s not like I’m needed here anyways”.

Sometimes Percy had these kinds of moments, where even if he was pretty confident of himself most of the time, he’d doubt. Not you, of course, he would never doubt you. But himself, and his ways of handling your relationship.

You were left there, next to the blonde boy, as Percy walked away, fists closed and tense shoulders, muttering nonsense to himself under his breath.

The rest of the day was boring, and you’d swear it was cold for a sunny August day. You always felt cold when Percy wasn’t around, like if you were standing on the shade, and wherever you walked, it followed you.

He felt the same, somehow. When you were not around, he felt colder too. Like if everything around him was dark, like if the sun had stopped shining. You always brought warmth to him, sometimes without even touching him, and so he did to you.

Dinner was simply weird, your siblings trying to find out what was wrong, asking questions and trying to cheer you up with jokes and old stories. One of the older ones even threatened to fight whoever had made you feel like that, but it only caused the table to erupt in laughter as he was known for being a softie.

From where you were sitting, you could see Jason dining alone at the Cabin 1 table. It wasn’t even his table, this wasn’t even his camp, but it wasn’t weird to have him around CHB after he came back from the dead, to be around you, Perce, Annabeth and the rest.

You thanked your siblings for everything, excusing yourself and walking to his table, sitting next to him with a small smile.

“You look lonely as hell, Jay, it’s ruining the whole camp’s mood”.

He gave you a smile, chuckling softly and shaking his head.

“I’m still thinking about this morning. I don’t know what we did to annoy Percy so much, honestly”, he complained, as he took a sip of his ambrosia glass, “Have you spoken to him?”.

Perce and Jay had a close friendship, and you could feel how genuinely worried the blonde boy was. You shook your head at his question, and looked around, trying to find your boyfriend.

However, you didn’t, as he wasn’t there. Percy groaned once again, eyes locked to his cabin’s ceiling as his crossed arms rested on his chest.

He knew he was being childish, and still, he couldn’t stop it, the feeling that caused his chest to tighten and his face to get hot whenever he thought about you and Jason laughing together.

It wasn’t lack of trust, though, it was more like fear of you finding someone better. Someone who wouldn’t wake you up in the middle of the night, knocking at your cabin’s door because they can’t sleep. Someone who would listen to you all the time, someone who would always have their full attention on you, someone who would...

“...gods’ sake, Jackson, open the door!”, your voice made him jump, strong knocking finally making it through his ears, and he cursed himself for being distracted again. He couldn’t help it, really, and you understood, but he still felt bad whenever it happened.

The door finally opened, your shorter frame standing in front of him, arms crossed over your chest. You wanted to get mad, to fight him for leaving you and Jay like he did in the morning, for avoiding you two all day. But something on the way he looked down at you made you realise you couldn’t tell him anything he wasn’t aware of already.

He moved to the side, allowing you to walk in, in hopes that you wouldn’t yell at him or argue. Not because he didn’t think he deserved it, but because he was too tired for any of it.

You sighed deeply, sitting on his bed, watching him close the door slowly, as he raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Y/n I’m—”.

“No”, you cut him, and he tensed again, waiting for it.

You felt it, the exact moment his body went defence mode, and you patted the bed next to you, raising your arm his way. Percy looked at the bed, then at your hand, and he held it gently as he sat, both his hands wrapped around yours, playing with your fingers as he looked down.

“I’m not mad at you, Perce… just worried, you’ve been acting weird since Jason got here. We’re both worried about you, we—”.

“Why is it always ‘we’ with you two, huh?”, he spat out, unable to stop himself. He paused his fiddling with your fingers when he realised, and he finally looked up at you (gif!), “I’m sorry– I am so sorry. I don’t mean that you can’t be friends, I would never stop you from being friends with anyone, Y/n, it’s just… Fuck, I don’t even know”.

You looked at him with gentle eyes, your free hand resting on his knee as you nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“You two make such a great team, and you’re always so happy when he comes around… You even have a secret handshake. It’s stupid but I don’t feel like… like we have that”.

Percy had never been the best at being vocal about his feelings, and you knew he was doing an effort to put it all in words for you.

“Percy, babe… Jason needs it”, you spoke, your eyes on his, “He needs somewhere to go where he can forget about anything that isn’t laughing and enjoying a day under the sun, and I try to make that place here... And we are a good team because he’s not my boyfriend!”, you chuckled softly.

“What?”.

“I mean, I would lose it if something were to happen to him during a fight, but Jay and I are just friends! We protect each other like friends do. When you and I are out there, I’m terrified, and I know you are too. Always trying to take the most for ourselves so the other can stand back… It’s a whole different story, Percy. It’s what love does in the battlefield”.

Percy felt so dumb, both for lashing out at you this morning for trying to help Jason feel better, and for not realising the truth behind the cause of his jealousy. He groaned, leaning in to rest his forehead against yours, and you chuckled, letting go of his hands to cup his cheeks.

You run your thumbs over his skin slowly, his finally calm breathing hitting your face softly, and he pressed a small peck to your lips.

“I’m an idiot”, he said, and you nodded slowly, kissing him first this time.

“Just sometimes. But you have nothing and no one to worry about, alright? We can make a secret handshake too, if that’d make you feel better”.

He laughed a little, rolling his eyes and plopping back on the bed, pulling you with him so your head was resting on his chest. He run his fingers through your hair slowly, and pressed a small kiss to your head.

“I already feel much better… but I do have some ideas for that handshake”.

[thebigqueer]

Solangelo - "Promise?" - One-Shot

Summary: Will and Nico are in Tartarus, and Will's hurt.

TW: slightly graphic description (just cuts); SPOILERS: Tower of Nero

Word Count: 1595

Read on AO3

Heat pulses in the air, boils over Will’s skin, strips him of his stamina. The world is tilting around him, and he can’t find a place to keep himself steady. His knees fall to the ground. He’s helpless, tired, done. He just wants to lie down and never get up again.

Distantly, a desperate voice calls his name, but he can barely comprehend what it’s saying. He’s drifting from consciousness, drifting from reality. Exhaustion pulls at his eyes and he has to fight to keep himself awake. It’s possibly the hardest battle he’s had to deal with, even after going against a countless number of monsters.

The voice is louder now, calling to him, but he’s falling into unconsciousness. The ground rocks his body back and forth, but he doesn’t have the energy to stand up.

And soon he gives himself up to the darkness. He’s done.

~

Ever since Will’s collapse, anxiety and guilt has been eating at Nico’s heart like a parasite. He knows that Will will be alright - Bob and Damasen told him so - but even then, he can’t help the churning in his stomach, the nervousness in his blood. Every time he looks at Will lying in the bed, with his curls plastered to his forehead and gashes all over his body, with his eyes scrunched in pain, a spiked rope pulls at Nico’s heart and makes him lose his breath.

Lucky for both of them, Nico was able to fight off the dracanae just in time for Will to pass out. He tried to call the blond’s name, to keep him awake for just a few more moments, but he was falling too far. Just as the last dracanae fell, so did Will, and for a few very long moments, Nico almost believed he’d lost his boyfriend forever.

Then Bob leaned down and picked him up, checked up on his breathing, and assured Nico that he was alive - just barely.

So together, with Will dangling over the shoulder of the Titan, they ventured further through the boiling depths of Tartarus, down to the small house of Damasen. All the while, Nico’s heart thudded in his chest. He and Will had barely eaten anything, and while Nico didn’t even have the appetite, he knew that if he didn’t get something soon he’d be pretty much useless.

Now, as Will and Nico reside in Damsen’s house and Bob helps the other giant to make food for the boys, the son of Hades finally takes the time to destress. He knows that this relief from the depths of Tartarus will only be short-lived, but he’s grateful to have it anyway.

He just needs the time. He needs. He needs. What does he need? He needs space. He needs to think.

Being back in Tartarus hasn’t been easy on him. But Nico supposes he was expecting that anyway.

There’s a constant buzz underneath his skin, simmering over his muscles, and he just wants to run, run, run from here. Why is he here? Why did he do this? Oh, yes. It was Bob. He needs to save Bob. Bob. Bob. Bob.

Nico’s mind feels on edge, curling in over itself. He doesn’t want to be here. He doesn’t want to be here.

Taking a deep breath, he steps over to Will’s limp body, taking his pale hand into his own. Heat emanates from his body, and not the comfortable kind - it’s feverish, red, painful. Gazing up at Will’s face, Nico’s breath hitches. Sweat gleams over him in the firelight and a greenish tint has come over his skin. His curls no longer look soft and golden - they look pale and bleached, like he’s been dyeing it over and over. His body has thinned out so much that Nico is almost convinced even a puff of air will blow him away.

Will whimpers in his sleep, begging for mercy from all the new nightmares, all the new fears. He looks so pitiful. Tears prick Nico’s eyes.

The son of Hades runs his hands over the gashes on Will’s body, starting from the bandages on his shoulder and forearm. The blond flinches and hisses, so Nico lets go, afraid of causing him more harm than he needs to. Instead he turns to the slashes against his torso, running his fingers over the ripped fabric of his orange CHB T-shirt. Blood soaks through them, green tinging the edges of the wounds. Nico grimaces.

Nico sighs and rests his head against Will’s shoulder. The heat of his skin spreads into the son of Hades, down to his very core, and his heartbeat quickens even more. He sighs. “I’m sorry, my love,” Nico whispers softly, pulling his fingers into the dampened curls on Will’s head. “I hate seeing you like this. You don’t deserve any of this pain.”

Will doesn’t answer. But as Nico speaks, the crease between his eyebrows lessens its strain, just for a little bit, and a trickle of relief drops into Nico’s body. At least he’s still semi-conscious.

Nico stands and releases his hold on Will. He starts wandering around the little cottage, soaking up the terrifying familiarity of the place. The glow of the fire, the scorching heat, the scent of smoke and meat. His eyes land over Damasen and Bob, and suddenly he remembers why he’s here.

“Bob,” he says, but his voice is scratchy and dry. “Oh, gods, Bob.”

The Titan looks up, fixing his silver eyes on the son of Hades. Seeing him, a wave of emotions flows in Nico’s stomach, catches up to his chest, rises up his throat. He rushes over.

“Bob, listen,” he chokes out. “You have to come back with us. I… I’m sure that you’re the one who’s been calling to me. I’m here to take you out of here. You… you don’t deserve life in Tartarus.” Then Nico fixes his stare to Damsen, who’s watching Nico with pitiful eyes. “You either. You both deserve the outside world. You both deserve to see the sun, breathe fresh air, to… to live.” He staggers forward, forcing urgency into his voice. “You need to. You helped us, and now it’s our turn to help you. Will you come?”

Damasen and Bob turn to each other, carrying a conversation between their eyes. Bob’s mouth curls into a frown.

“Nico,” he says, almost as if tasting how familiar the name is in his mouth. “Tartarus is hard to get out of. Bob isn’t sure… The last two demigods tried and failed. It is not worth bringing Bob up.”

Dread trickles down Nico’s throat. He blinks. “What? But… weren’t you the one sending me the voices?” Confusion pricks his head, threading itself into his thoughts. “Who else could it have been?”

Before either Damasen or Bob can reply, though, a soft moan echoes from somewhere behind. With a start, Nico realizes it’s Will. He jumps and rushes over, anxiety pulling his hard into a chokehold.

“Will!” he exclaims, placing his hand over the blond’s bicep. “Hey, are you awake? Can you hear me?”

Will groans. “Pain,” he mutters. “Help.”

Nico presses his hands to Will’s curls in a hurried attempt to try something to soothe him. “Is there anything you want?” he asks. “Like, something you need?”

“I want… up.”

It takes a moment for Nico to realize he means to sit up. He entangles his right hand with one of Will’s own feverish ones and uses his other arm to guide him into a sitting position. With a lot of struggle and hissing from the blond, the boys manage to get him into a more comfortable position.

As soon as Will’s sitting up, he groans and holds a hand to his head. “Ow.”

Nico bends on his knees and balances his fingers over Will’s jaw, tilting his face just a little. “How are you feeling?”

Will only offers a hum of disagreement, which Nico takes to mean he doesn’t feel good. “Nico, it… hurts.”

“Your cuts?”

“Mhm.”

“Yeah, I know. But we put salve on them the moment you got here. It’s much less now than it was then, trust me.”

A look of doubt flashes across Will’s eyebrows but he says nothing more. He only pulls into Nico’s body, looking for some kind of refuge from the cruelty around him. Nico wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders, and for a second Will’s found himself in bliss again, safe from the world around him. He rests his aching head against the son of Hades’ shoulder and sighs. Nico’s own skin feels feverishly warm, but at this point, Will doesn’t care. He just needs to know that he isn’t alone.

“Nico?” he whispers.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry you had to go through any of this in the first place.”

Nico’s body flinches at his words. Then gentle fingers slide down Will’s back. “It’s okay. At least this time we’re together, right?”

“Nico?”

“Mhm?”

“Don’t let me go here. I promised you we’ll ride or die together, and that’s what I intend. Just… don’t leave me, okay? And I won’t leave you. Promise?”

“Promise.”

“One more promise.”

“What?”

Will raises his head, his glazed eyes trying to catch a hold of Nico’s. “We’re only riding. We’re not dying. Promise me that.”

Guilt flashes against Nico’s face. “Will, I-”

“Even if you can’t promise, at least lie. Make it sound like the truth.” Hot tears scorch Will’s eyes. “Please,” he urges.

Nico nods and pulls Will to him again. “We’re not dying. We’ll make it out of here, my love. I promise you that.”

[aknosde]

Okay so I'm thinking up some things for the Reyna swap and there are some major plot things that would obviously need to be dealt with and I just,,, don’t know how

theoretically we could stay with Piper thinking they were dating. Ik people ship them, but personally I like Reyna and Thalia, and I kinda just want to focus on the friendships

core dynamic of the lost trio stays, Leo and Piper are chaotic and Reyna reigns(haha) them in 

unlike Jason, CHB literally has no idea of what to do with Reyna because Bellona is strictly a roman goddess. Would they put her in Athena? Ares? One of the big three cabins because she vibes like that? Would she stay in the big house? (I’m leaning towards the last one because there’s nothing like being alienated)

I think it would be really cool if that matching ring she and Hylla have could turn into a weapon. 

There’s that whole thing with the hunters of Artemis and I’m thinking that Reynas one (1) memory would be Jason. Listen, I know she has her sister, which is obviously important, but it really seems like Jason was her closest friend even with out the possibility of romantic feelings. They grew up together to a certain extent. They were really close. And this gives a really interesting dynamic to her and Thalia’s friendship

Jason taking Reyna’s place and trying to keep CJ together is just So Interesting because he never really wanted leadership in the first place. Reyna did. And Reyna is his best friend, so he is doing it for her. He’s sad and confused and is just trying to do his best for his best friend even if he doesn’t want to even be here. 

I love the idea of romantic tension between Jason and Percy as well as (a memory-less) Percy being attracted to Jason but also super wary because (unbeknownst to him) Jason looks A LOT like Luke

Jason knowing about Hylla and sending Frank, Hazel, and Percy there to tell her that her sister is missing

One thing I think about a lot is how demigods who come to camp without extra clothes get clothes, and what I’ve settled on is that they get one new, free, camp branded shirt, as well as pants if they don’t have any (oof) and the rest comes from a donation system. When campers outgrow clothes or wear them out or get tired of them then the clothes go into the system. The CJ system is bigger and better because they have people from the city donating fresh clothes, but where I’m going with this is that Percy and Reyna have each other’s sweatshirts. 

They both wear their hoodies oversized. There was a bag outside Reyna’s quarters that had some clothes she was getting rid of, and Jason is looking through them because he is Sad and there’s a sweatshirt, and it’s big enough for Percy, and gods Percy and Reyna kinda look alike. And Jason’s poor bi heart can’t take owning his best friends sweatshirt so he just thrusts it at Percy. Reyna gets Percy’s hoodie because he was doing laundry when he disappeared and before they knew that he was Gone some camper was just like “why’d he leave this out? Donation I guess?” And Reyna picks it out. 

Listen, I think Percy looks somewhere in between Reyna and Hazel, so I’d really like if Leo or Piper saw him for the first time and with the physical comparison and sheer power that exudes from him, they’re like “Oh, this makes sense.”

Honestly I have no issues with Piper finding Percy unimpressive, but I think not having met Jason would definitely make her feelings towards the thought of him a bit warmer, and thus enable them to become friends quicker

As being that type of Figure™ in their respective camps, and hearing mostly heroic stories about each other, I think that when they first meet Percy and Reyna would come to an instant understanding and be reliable for each other, but their public friendship is different from their private one

The thing when Percy and Jason made that giant storm could still happen, just instead of doing lightning Reyna is lending him her strength. This is the first time we see her powers and everyone’s blown away. 

One thing (that’s not really swap exclusive) I’m thinking of is Percy being a bit stiffer. He’s coming to CJ without memories but he’s very used to being alienated and his prime desire is to fit in and be normal, which results with him being pretty quiet and put together with an excess of witty humor. When he sees Annabeth he absolutely turns on the goofiness because he wants to be the same for her. Unfortunately it’s the same mask he’s been using on her for the past two years, and Reyna can see right through it. That mask is what breaks with Akhlys. 

This is absolutely a catalyst in his and Reyna’s friendship. Frank and Hazel were concerned when he was acting so goofy but now Annabeth’s like “why is he acting so different???” and Reyna’s just like “He was like this the entire time.” And Reyna gets it because she’s doing something similar. 

[lucaonthropy]

Tower of Nero content? In this economy? Yeah, surprising, I know. But I reread ToN and I can't get Cassius out of my mind at all. He's an abused eight year old kid running away from his father in the middle of a battle in panic. What happened to him? Does he make it out alive? He was last described wearing street clothes, not Nero's uniform, so I guess he did plan to get out.

So, uh, my mind kinda made a very very self-indulgent headcanon that somehow, somewhere, Cassius met Alabaster because even if I don't hyperfixate on him anymore he's still a very cool person.

At first they almost kill each other because both of them clearly have extreme fight-or-flight response. Alabaster is solid in the middle -- ready to fight, but would bail if needed. Cassius on the other hand almost immediately tries to strangle him in panic.

Somehow Alabaster manages to calm him down and tries to pry some info about Cassius from him, but the kid clams up. Alabaster doesn't press, but he gathers from the look of permanent terror on Cassius' face and how he acts around him that this kid's life wasn't easy.

Alabaster offers him a temporary place to sleep when Cassius says he has no home anymore. Cass tenses up, declines, and Alabaster, not one to sugarcoat things, asks if Cassius would rather sleep on the street.

"I … can't help you."

Alabaster frowns, because what the entire heck is this feral child talking about? He asks, and Cassius almost clams up again but manages to stutters that he can't cut people's limbs anymore. Alabaster blinks because no, really, what the entire-living fuck?

"Of course not," he says, because what else can he say to that? Cassius looks like he's seven, maybe eight year old. Even Alabaster wasn't that morbid when he was eight.

Anyway after a long and slow back and forth, Alabaster is able to assure Cassius that he won't ask him to cut off anyone's limbs, even though Cassius doesn't look much assured. At least he follows Alabaster back to Claymore's house that he has been using as a new base since the incident with Lamia.

When he points a spare room for Cassius to rest in, he calls on Claymore's mistform, asking what he needs to do with this scared eight year old that talks about cutting off people's hands and feet like it's an everyday occurence -- though not a happy one, obviously.

Claymore reminds him that he is a boy himself, even though he's a boy that's been through a war and an exile. He can't keep Cassius save and sound by himself. He needs to look for other people who can.

Alabaster is in denial for a good few days, almost a week, but Claymore is right. He tries his best to take care of Cassius, but even he, the oldest brother of at least a dozen chaotic demigod sibling with magical ability, is stumped. Cassius won't open up, jumpy as a kicked stray kitten, and as dangerous with weapons as Ethan was with his sword.

And the monsters are starting to overwhelm him, with two strong demigods, alone with no guardian. Alabaster's mist barrier holds strong, but still. It isn't ideal.

Finally, he very, very grudgingly admits that Cassius will be better off at the Camp Half-Blood with better barrier. No, he doesn't trust them at all, but he knows they won't cast out an innocent kid like Cassius. Even if he isn't going to get claimed, but Alabaster doesn't think of that. His problems aren't Cassius'. For now, a claim from the gods doesn't matter, Cassius needs a save place.

So they start their own journey to the Camp Half-Blood. There are lots of obstacle along the way, but they manage, even bond over some of them.

But, when Cass sees people with orange shirts and simple armor walking around the camp, he recognizes them from the battle at the Nero tower and shocking Alabaster when he panics and cries, saying over and over that he doesn't want to be killed.

Alabaster figures out that Cassius has seen the CHB people from somewhere and doesn't have a good meeting with them. He can understand, but now where will they both go, after this far?

He knows there's a place far away that is rumoured to protect and house demigods, mortals, and immortals alike. He hears it before in the midst of Kronos' army, whispers and hisses. Maybe he can bring Cassius there.

And so, begins their quest to a place called the Waystation.

(Also, I have this endearing image of Alabaster telling Cassius about his personal mission to break Lamia's curse and free demigods from the threat of monster attacks and Cassius just listens and stares at his new big brother, amazed. This, obviously, happens after Cassius doesn't see Alabaster as someone who would toy with him like Nero had done.)

[notfeelingthyaster]

Imagine (inspired by the incomplete fanfic Son of Underworld) (2/5) (Son of Hades! Percy AU)

Check the other parts in the masterpost - read the warnings before proceeding. Good reading!!

After the worse summer, Percy goes home.

Luke's proposal keeps swimming in his head - the blonde is not wrong, but Percy has been scammed before - he remembers once that a "friend" convinced him to be a lookout for him to do something shady at the Dean's Office and then put the blame on him.

And he was blamed - Percy is black, and black kids are never the innocent ones - but now he knows better.

Being a child of the Underworld gods is not that different from being black. 

Percy is comfortable with his skin though - his mother is incredible, and most people at Camp are mixed up. Charles is African-American. Selena's father is Muslim, and the Stoll's mother is Jewish (half the reason they are year-rounders). Clarisse's mom is from Nicaragua. Michael Yew has a Brazilian grandma with Japanese heritage.

He isn't friends with most of them - Charles is like a big brother to him and Michael Yew taught him how to shoot an arrow, but Clarisse is at most a good spar partner and nor the Stolls nor Silena care for his company very much.

Percy tells himself that he doesn't care.

He packs his bags - a blue and red backpack and a few surf shirts from the amusement park where he destroyed a pool and made the ground swallow mechanic spiders, both the Minotaurs horns, now fashioned into very cool knives, his Warhammer and his ax slung across his back. The only sweater he has, the one he came here with, the blue one, is warming him up to the chill of autumn.

Chiron asks him if he doesn't want to stay. He touches the willow standing in the furthest shore of the river, the one that marks the barrier of Camp Half-Blood. It used to be Thalia Grace, daughter of Poseidon.

Chiron looks to him with pity. He doesn't need to know that Percy is planning to murder Gabe Ugliano.

Percy goes to do that. He travels, by car. He has enough money - he has money appearing in his pockets all the time now, his father must be truly guilty.

Then he opens the door of his old apartment - but Gabe is not there, in the living room. There's just his mom, on the couch.

His mom

Alive

Percy cries, and they hug, and then they trade stories. She tells him she was asleep in Olympus, and Zeus gave her back when the bolt got to his hands.

He is less angry. But the heavy weight of indignation seats in his stomach. 

There's no time for it now: Percy is going back to Yancy Academy - his grades were not bad - and Gabe is now a very charming statue for someone very rich (later, he will discover it was Persephone who bought it).

He tells her everything, safe in her arms, no shirt, no gloves. His mom can touch him everywhere - not even a cell in his body would attack her.

He is so touch starved he keeps sleeping in her bed for a week, and, at night, he cries. Percy has horrible nightmares - he is just twelve and he has killed.

He tells her about his meeting with his father in hushed whispers at an evening where the sky is blue and pink - just how he likes it.

Sally almost goes to the Underworld herself smack sense in her ex-lover, but she knows Persephone would do so for her.

Percy tells her about Luke - not about the Rebellion, lest any gods hear him, but about Luke and Alabaster and Ethan and those kids, alone in a Cabin of rejects.

She says she is going back to college - and that she'll do her best to go see him every weekend at Yancy.

He tells her about his powers. Sally doesn't like the risks but say he should start practicing for his own safety.

They cuddle and Percy clings to his anchor like a lifeline. Percy wants to go to the Underworld again sometime - more to play with Cerberus than to do anything else.

He takes the bus reluctantly - he offers to stay and go to public school, but he knows his chance lays at Yancy.

Percy study Math. He is in seventh grade now - the real Math is here, the financials and calculus and they keep putting him in "Gifted and Advanced" classes for it.

His English still sucks. Biology, for all that should be easy for him, its way too boring - he prefers dead bodies, thank you very much.

He excels at Math and Health&PE (which summer camp took care), passes with acceptable grades in World History, Geography and Social Studies (he nails a project about demographics with some really helpful ghosts), does badly in Science and fails tragically at English and Literature.

They call him a genius - and a genius has areas they specialize in. His grades in math are enough to push him to the eighth grade.

At weekends, when his mother can't come to see him, he locks his dorm and practices his shadow traveling and his powers over the earth and metal manipulation.

His shadow traveling is a mess - once he ends up in Ukraine, and panics trying to come back, just to end up in Wyoming. Again.

Thrice, he manages to reach the underworld. It's winter - Persephone is somewhere down there, but he doesn't want to see his father. He plays with Cerberus when he has some energy - the first two times he just cuddles up with the dog and sleeps a little.

The last time he goes to the Underworld, it's the last day before summer break - he still has not made any contact with his dad, he still doesn't know if he wants to join Luke, he still doesn't know if he wants to go back to CHB.

He goes back to his Mom's house with a hellhound puppy and makes kitten eyes until she lets it stays - if he trains and feeds him and whatnot.

He has dreams about Grover in a bride's dress. It freaks the hell out of him because there's a cyclops in it.

Percy is crossing the street with groceries when he sees a cyclops. He doesn't give the creature a chance to see him - he goes to his room and start packing - it's too dangerous for him, and he can't lose his Mom again.

He cuddles his Mom and the puppy - which he named Blackjack - and calls Chiron.

Chiron is sending Annabeth - apparently, something happened to the borders of the camp.

Percy decides to help, for Annabeth, for Grover, for the small kids at Cabin 9 and 11, and the newbies (there's one, Will Solace, who isn't even eleven yet and he has been there for a year).

He packs his colorful sweaters (rebelling, but in the opposite direction of his father’s aesthetic), put his puppy in a leash (it's bigger than a mastiff now, but all dogs are puppies) and wait for his best friend.

She meets him with an expression of someone who is announcing a funeral - Grover is lost in his searches for Pan.

Percy thinks the little tremor that shook his building it's a good enough hold in his powers, nothing is broken and no one is dead, so it's fine.

He hugs Annabeth and feels warm inside. Health classes covered changes in his body, but he didn't expect to be that quick. Annabeth is taller than him by at least five inches and much prettier.

He picks up his Warhammer and his ax (how does the mist occlude that? do everyone think he is doing cosplay?), throws a duffel bag in his shoulder, his loyal puppy beside him.

"Are you getting into the dark vibe, Corpse Breath?"

"Shut up Annie"

The camp is being attacked - they get a weird taxi thing, pay extra and are given three random locations in the mainland.

Percy doesn't forget the names. There's Agramonte, in Cuba; Okeechobee, in Florida; and Pic La Selle in Haiti.

CHB is being attacked when they get there - by bronze bulls no less. Percy goes to battle with a weapon in each hand, like a war god.

Clarisse does way more damage than him, bashing bull metal skulls left and right like a master. But he kills one of five and does damage to other two.

She claps him in the back - he is glad he has a sweater on, even if it is a horrible shade of brilliant orange.

Charles and him take the weapons to the Forge to correct any damage. Charles hugs him and then starts gushing about Silena.

Charles and Annabeth takes him to see the new Camp Director.

It's Tantalus.

Percy laughs so hard he almost falls down, and Dionysus looks bored - but Percy isn't dumb, he sees mirth in his eyes.

He wants so badly to do a smart comment. He wants to see if his powers can rip a ghost that his father reinstated. He wants to taunt Tantalus.

"What are you laughing about, metic?"

"Nothing, you remind me of someone."

But Percy fends off other questions, and sits at the Cabin 11 table obediently. He wants to startle that man so badly he won't ever sneer at Percy anymore.

He knows just the people for the job. They aren't in any way close, but they all up for mischief. His opportunity comes with the chariot race announced - Percy corners the Stoll Brothers.

"Let me race with you" He starts, and they look surprised by any emotion coming from him in their direction (Percy smiles were reserved for Annie and Grover and Luke and Alabaster and Ethan).

"I want to startle Tantalus and you want victory - I can give you any chariot, if you let me swarm the whole road with skeletons"

The Stolls look at one another, and mentally say something, before doing a random coin toss.

"I'm racing with you" Says Connor.

They mark a time to see the chariot in the next day. They take the whole Cabin 11 with them to prevent attention - Percy is not letting this game go.

Percy gets a chariot directly from the underworld, black obsidian (not Stygian iron, way too rare) and silver, with blue gems that glisten under the sun, a Helm with wings marking its front.

There are four horses pushing it - skeletal horses, incapable of feeling pain or thirst.

It's the first time Percy feels like he belongs - this is a competition, and he is going to win.

Connor and Travis have an array of contraptions and grenades and smoke bombs.

They arrive at the start line at last, for maximum impact. No one is expecting this - they're waiting for Hermes' old chariot, a rickety thing that should be scrap years ago, with any Pegasi they managed to gather in the stables.

They forgot something: Percy exists. It's normal, and Percy it's okay with it in this instance.

The Stymphalian Birds appear - and are countered by his skeletons hitting their spears and swords on their shields. None of them hit him, and the Cabin 11 arrives at first followed by a disgruntled Clarisse after she fought at least 20 skeletons.

Tantalus tries. He really tries to accuse Percy of cheating, but it's pointed out - with approval of Dionysus to boot - that the Demeter kids used their vines to place third and Pollux and Castor did the same to get the fifth spot - just behind the giant contraption that was the Hephaestus chariot.

Clarisse is not happy with the second spot and the silver laurels, but she claps him in the back anyway - Ares is the god of war, not bad sportsmanship.

The Hermes Cabin is in euphoria - Apollo, who placed last, after Aphrodite since they unleashed a dozen doves with a sleeping potion in their faces, it's doing all of the Cabin 11 chores for a month - and they are having a feast of the gods.

Just that night, Percy sacrifices a big pomegranate for Hades and one for Persephone - forgiveness, can you imagine?

He sacrifices to Hermes, as always, for taking the small kids. He sees the joy in their faces - and while Percy is a person reserved to his friends and now he is mostly stoic Perseus, son of Hades, forge gremlin, he always hugs the kids that have nightmares.

It's not what he wanted - it's weird to be touched. It's weirder to have someone want to be next to him. Percy is a cactus, he is prickly. He never smiles. He misses his mom - she would know what to do.

But the little kids trust him. Lou Ellen is unclaimed since the ending of last summer - Percy doesn't know if she has someone to return to.

Those kids at Cabin 11 deserve more then a couple of teens taking care of them. Those kids deserve better, they all deserve better.

There are seven-year-old children there. They barely know how to read. Percy teaches - Annabeth teaches history and myths and Greek, but is he who takes on math to the younger ones, the ones who barely know how to multiply.

He considers staying year-round. They all had Chiron - but it isn't enough. It isn't a family. It isn't. Percy is not their family either - he doesn't overestimate himself - but at least he cares. Not because of their godly blood, but because they are children.

He still hates touch. He is never without his sweaters and gloves. He never smiles at anyone that isn't Annie or Grover or Luke or Alabaster or Ethan.

These days, he only has Annie.

He misses Luke, and he wants to scoop all of these children and take them with him to Kronos, away from the gods. But for what? Another master to fight for?

Was Luke the one who poisoned Thalia? Would he do the same to Percy if Percy denied him?

A mission is issued to go after Golden Fleece - it's in the same place Grover is, it's what Annie and Percy agree on.

Percy is a calculating boy. He deals in numbers, in measures. He is completely oblivious when it comes to feelings and anything that's more subjective than an equation.

But she thinks he likes them. Her and Grover, and those little kids that follow him around sometimes.

She likes the way her yellow hair contrasts with his dark skin, the way his curls flop in his forehead. She likes the specks of green in his eyes. He is her best friend. It's not the love she has for Luke, but it's something akin to admiration.

Percy and Connor are chosen to go on the mission - and Tantalus tries and bullshits some reason for them to go alone, but Percy shakes his head.

"The oracle said, three people"

He is bullshitting them. Tantalus makes him take Clarisse, and Annabeth stays behind.

"I doubt you can get in the sea of monsters without crossing water, eromenoi"

Perseus laughs and laughs, and his eyes are dark as the night without moon. He shoves his hands in the pockets of his soft blue hoodie, and motions for Connor and Clarisse to follow.

Before he leaves, he kisses her cheek softly. It's going to be okay. He will bring Grover back.

He shadow travels the three on them for the closest location the Grey Sisters gave him. It’s difficult, even with a hellhound. He aims for Okeechobee and lands in Miami.

Percy needs to sleep for at least a day, so they use the time to reach their destiny by car. Connor is a very adept child of Hermes, and soon they’re on the road in a red old pickup.

“So Corpse Breath is the hammer, and you’re the polishing stone? Fitting” snorts Clarisse, and just like that, they are bonding.

Percy expects them to trade shitty childhood stories and stupid hobbies or badmouth their deadbeat godly parents, but that was another trip, with very different people.

Clarisse La Rue is sixteen. Her favorite weapon is a javelin or a spear, but she will always prefer hand to hand combat. She loves Led Zeppelin and thinks Silena’s white hijab is the cutest thing in the world. She speaks Spanish - a relief because Percy barely speaks English.

Connor Stoll is fifteen. He prefers gas bombs to grenades - and he does a mean Molotov. He did graffiti until he was twelve. He thinks the Gardner Sisters from the Demeter Cabin are both cute - but Pollux got hot during the winter.

That’s how Percy discovers bisexuality - in a stolen car with a giant hellhound, a girl who has arms larger than his thighs and drives like a grandma and a boy who is two seconds away from spontaneous combustion.

He thinks that explains Luke and Annabeth - but he doesn’t voice it. 

Percy doesn’t smile to them for a long time - he knows not even muscular spasms are free of charge.

He stays stoic until they stop to sleep - and Connor has wings in the back of his underwear and its the most ridiculous thing ever.

They reach the city and wander. They do encounter someone - Hecate herself.

She says to Percy it is her last favor - and he knows she already left for Kronos. Luke’s drachma burns in his pocket. She opens a wall of stone - a passageway the Huntresses use sometimes.

“My son waits for you” his quest mates pretend not to hear it - and he pretends nothing is happening. At least Alabaster is okay.

They walk across the cave for what it feels like a day. He is almost sure Hecate has plans to kill them when they find the exit: In an island spa.

A girl comes and analyze them. She looks at them with a kind smile - but Percy knows smiles have prices.

They go meet with the owner: C.C. He doesn't recognize her, but Connor takes one look at those weird guinea pigs and tap Percy's hand twice.

It's a code: Danger.

They are patient. Clarisse is looking at the flimsy girls with their togas and golden braids - she is not going with them.

C.C. Apparently accepts that Clarisse is "more male than a female" like gender is something defined by dresses and makeup.

As soon as the girls are out of the room, Percy taps Clarisse's hand, and she runs her spear through C.C.'s belly. The woman bleeds ichor - but disappears in a cloud of golden sand.

They go through her things for money while Connor explains that he learned about her from Charles. Charles's first mission almost ended up with him as a guinea pig. At least now they know they are in the right place.

Percy takes all her money and their weapons back. He straps as many knives he can throw in his pants and belt: One can never have enough weapons.

They find some hoods and sneak out to the boats on the beach. Connor steals again. Percy hates water: But the Sea of Monsters is beyond Poseidon's direct control, and Percy is going to hole himself up until they get to the next island.

He vomits. He is so seasick, it's not even funny. He hates boats. He hates large bodies of water. Anything bigger than a pool, and he is out.

Clarisse thinks it's funny. She laughs at him - and weirdly, he smiles back a little. The daughter of Ares plays with Blackjack, and they bond.

They are not friends - but they would kill for each other. They find it weird they had no godly intervention from Olympus - but then, Percy remembers he is just a son of Hades, and the Olympians hate him.

He burns food to Hecate. He doesn't burn food to Hermes, who appears in everyone else's quests, but avoid his own son's.

None of them has enough hubris to try and listen to the sirens. Clarisse's fatal flaw is bloodlust and Connor's is arrogance - the idea he can do anything, steal anything, and he'll never be punished.

They don't hear anything. Their next stop is the Isle of Polyphemus.

This time around, Connor is Nobody, Clarisse sneaks under a sheep to save Grover, and Percy gets the Fleece. They try to escape through a passageway that Percy's powers say lead to Haiti, but the cyclops colapses it with a boulder.

Percy hates cyclops.

They shadowtravel. Percy isn't any better at it, and with Grover tagging along, it's pretty obvious what happens, even if he is wearing the Golden Fleece like a giant blanket of strenght.

They end up in Wyoming. Percy sleeps for a week: he is starting to flick, like a ghost, and the magical sheep skin can only help so much. In this week, apparently, they meet the Party Ponies.

Chiron takes Percy in his back to CHB with the Fleece, but his friends stay behind because the centaurs won't let them mount, and they can't keep up on feet.

Clarisse, Connor and Grover meet Luke, Ethan and Alabaster in their way to an airport. It goes badly, but no one dies. They tell him Ethan only has one eye now, and that Luke looks tired and mad.

Percy thinks joining Kronos might be a bad idea. But then, he goes back to Camp, save the tree, and things don't change. The kids are still kids, alone and sad.

Will Solace was claimed. He says he misses Cabin 11, and some of his brothers don't want him to talk to Percy anymore.

It hurts. They try and keep contact for the following week, but peer pressure pushes Will away. Percy doesn't blame him.

The tree spits Thalia, daughter of Poseidon. She has black hair with green accents, green eyes, uses heavy makeup, and looks like a "Hades spawn" should look.

Percy likes her. He has no need for being the leader, and he has Annie and Grover (and Luke, and Alabaster, and Ethan, he thinks). Annie and Luke love her, so she must be amazing. He tries.

Thalia doesn't like him. She hates Hades, the one who killed her. She doesn't trust him or the fact that he never touches anyone.

Perseus tells himself he doesn't care. And suddenly, Thalia goes from "could be a good friend" to "better stay away".

The Camp celebrates Thalia. He is the hero, he brought the Fleece back, he is also a child of the Big Three. But they hate him, just like the kids in school hate him for his skin colour.

Annie has no time for him. Grover goes back to his search. He doesn't think he is going to join Kronos, but the drachma is still in his pocket.

He goes back to his mother, and then, to Yancy.

This summer, he was the hero. But no matter what, he was still the son of Hades.

[poisonpercy]

ok this has been on my mind for a while. do you think each camper gets just one chb t shirt, or do they get like a supply. like several. and if it’s just one why do they wear it literally all the time. (in the books is anyone ever described as NOT wearing one while at camp?) and do they wash it??,,,, because when would they be able to wash it. realistically. but if they get multiple, is it like a rule they have to wear it??? or at least the counselors??? do they open up their drawers and have just stacks of the same shirt.

I would think they would get multiple chb shirts but I think it would be hilarious if they only got one maybe like every summer and had to keep patching it together when they get holes or whatever. It would be weird if they had to wear it everyday especially for the yearlong campers. And washing them? I’ve always kind of wondered about that. Like does each cabin have something or is there like a communal laundromat somewhere. Or maybe their draws are magical and have an endless supply of chb shirts. Idk but those are some interesting questions you have

[bklily]

Olympiantober, Day 5: Crossover

I wanted to sneak ML somewhere in here cuz I won't be making too much mlb art this month and I finally managed to! Marinette would definitely be a daughter of Athena but I couldn't decide for Adrien... I'm leaning towards Apollo but maybe Hermes or Ares can also fit.... Then again having Aphrodite or one of the female goddesses as his mom would fit into having a jerk dad like Gabriel 👀 I dunno you guys tell me~

also yes I am doing a whole shaban of CHB t-shirts because you know damn well the Aphrodite kids would create diversity

[sodamnbored]

Percy Jackson Convention Ideas:

Just off the top of my head, please add anything I’ve missed.

Staff wearing CHB and SPQR shirts; as in, ask your camp counsellors for assistance.

Dealers hall obviously with all the merch.

Have an arcade somewhere with games and fun stuff. Call it the Lotus Arcade.

Have a chill out room, make it kind of like a lounge where you can go just to hang out for a bit where it’s quiet and comfortable (I’ve seen other conventions do this, it’s a nice place to take a break). Call it the Underworld and have a Cerberus statue or something sitting by the door.

If there are any staff in the Underworld break room, they could be dressed as Furies.

Terminus statues at the exits and re-entry points. Bonus points if there’s guys sitting in a plinth made up like Terminus to talk to people coming and going. If he gives you the go ahead a normal security person will give you the hand stamp/check your stamp. He needs helpers of course. Just don’t mention why.

The information/help desk booth could be run by Athena. Because she knows things. So Ask Athena instead of Information. Maybe it should be an Oracle?

So many games and competitions.

Pimp My Chariot. You need the bases pre-made maybe for safety, but then let people arts and crafts the hell out of them with supplies. Most awesome one wins.

Chariot Races. If you can assemble safe working dinky little chariots, people can race in teams of two. One “charioteer”, give them a helmet and maybe a weapon, to ride in it. And one “Pegasus”, give them cute little fake wings, who hold like a bar or handles or something and have to drag their teammate to victory. Sort of like a wheelbarrow race but cooler and nerdier.

Sparring with foam swords and shields. Obviously.

Maybe a sort of interactive panel where you get taught some moves with weapons?

DIY weapons. Make, customise, and take home. Spears, swords, shields, shoes with wings, anything.

If there’s a bar, the barman should be dressed as Dionysus. Could be strictly a juice bar, but if there’s alcohol for the grownups, bonus points if he gives you a dirty look if he has to serve it to you. He’s the best at ID’ing underage smartasses too. “If I can’t drink it, neither can you. Have a Coke.”

Monster hunts. Probably some variation of tag or cops and robbers. You have people dressed as Cyclopes or other monsters running around and you need to go out and tag them with your weapon. Either it’s staff as the monsters, and game players win when the monsters are all gone and if a monster swipes you or something then you’re out instead. Or it’s two teams of game players, really like cops and robbers. When you get “killed” you have to go to base (Underworld for monsters, Camp for heroes), which will be designated spaces in the game play area. So if you get hit, you have to run back to base, maybe touch the wall, or do a penalty, like five star jumps or something or wait for a minute, then you’re “reformed” or “healed” and can go play again. Your team wins if they get rid of all of the other team, or at the end of a set time limit whichever team has the most players on the field.

Same sort of idea but with Camp Half-Blood vs Camp Jupiter. Whichever people fancy.

War games and or Capture the Flag. You definitely need Capture the Flag.

Climbing wall. We probably don’t have the budget or necessary paperwork for real lava though. Sorry.

Piñatas of Giants and Titans.

Maybe a little station to be assigned a Godly parent. Just for fun. Either take a quiz, maybe Buzzfeed would sponsor the convention, or just a random generator or spin wheel. You could get a bandana or something with that God’s symbol on it.

If anyone needs to bring in a dog, the ticket agent needs to ask “he’s not a Chimera, is he?” Before they let them in.

Quizzes with prizes.

Whatever panels we can come up with.

If you could raise the money and manage it, Rick could maybe be convinced to be a special guest. Do signings or panels.

If it’s out by then, the cast of the new TV show could also be invited. If you had the budget anyway. And if their parents let them; they’re gonna be like twelve after all.

Activities based on the Gods. Build stuff out of Lego or something for Hephaestus. Write haikus for Apollo, or something music based perhaps. I don’t know Hook A Duck or Hippocampi for Posideon? Games of Chinese whispers for Hermes.

Perhaps some sort of scavenger hunt like quest? There could be things hidden around the convention hall you have to find and whoever gets them all first or the most by the end of the day wins? Could be like GISHWHES if anyone knows it. Some things you just take pictures of. Like if there’s find a certain type of monster, say find Medusa, then there could be a picture or cardboard cutout on a wall or something, innocuous until you see the scavenger hunt list, so take a picture of it to prove you found it. If there’s a cosplayer dressed as it, that counts too. Some things you do collect, like a Drachma maybe. And there’s somebody wandering around the hall with a bucket of them and will give you one if you ask, or just the bucket sitting quietly somewhere and you can just take one if you find it. Some could be things you need to do, so you could take a video of you doing it. Like annoy Dionysus, so go take a video of you making him serve you alcohol or something. Panic Terminus over border control or something.

That’s all I can think of for now off the top of my head.

[chaoticatlaw]

Camp Half-Blood w/ regular summer camp antics

- morning assemblies with announcements. The head counselors make announcements about activities and stuff. The 7 year-olds announce they’ve lost their hair tye somewhere in between their cabin and the pavilion.

- “I feel sick.” “Have you had enough water?”

- activities by general age groups rather than cabins per se. (i.e. 6/7-9, 8-10, 11-13, 14-17). so apollo counselors would be teaching classes to some completely uncoordinated 7 year-olds

- and on that vein: apollo counselors having to routinely go to the infirmary because a 9 year-old daughter of Hermes didn’t listen to the directions for the third time this week and shot the counselor in the foot.

- icebreakers at the start of each summer for the new campers in the cabin. “Let’s go around and say our names, where we’re from, years at camp, and—let’s spice it up a bit—if you could eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

- making friendship bracelets

- trading t-shirts

- “My ankle hurts. I don’t think I can climb.” “Oh? That’s a shame. You probably shouldn’t play in capture the flag tonight, then.” “...Actually, it’s not that bad.”

- using disposable cameras even though regular cameras are allowed just for the camp aesthetic

- 5(?) words: tie-dye CHB t-shirts

- “I have a headache.” “For Hades’ sake, Harley, have you had any water today!?”

feel free to add-on if you think of others they don’t already do

[solangelover]

Appreciation

Nico di Angelo Birthday Event: January 28 – “Happy Birthday Nico!”

A/N: What’s that? I’m late? Good thing time is an illusion.

Read on AO3 or FF.Net or Wattpad

 Was Will being weird? Looking back, Nico thought he probably was, but at the time, he didn’t notice.

Will grabbed Nico to help at the infirmary all day so he wasn’t lonely, or so he said. He dropped the date a few too many times for it to be normal, claiming that he was trying to keep Nico’s sense of time in check, but it didn’t matter – Nico never knew the date except the ones that marked the beginning and end of summer.

“Will, it’s sunny outside. Why can’t I go train?”

“Nico, it’s still winter.”

“Will, we live in a camp protected by a magical border. It’s chilly at best.”

“Did you just say ‘chilly’? It sounded cute.”

“Don’t distract me, Sunshine.”

As much as Nico loved working with Will in the infirmary, it wasn’t his place. He didn’t like being cooped up for long, especially when there wasn’t much to do. Usually, Will was very understanding of that, but apparently not today.

“But Nico,” he whined. “Then I’ll be all aloooone.”

Nico rolled his eyes, what could he say to that? “Fiiiine,” he relented. He never put up much of a fight with the son of Apollo these days. “Can’t we do something fun then? Before I start cutting up bandages with my sword.”

Will glared at Nico, who was confused by the slight pink in the other boy’s cheeks. “Stop that, Death Boy. I’m sure your Stygian Iron blade is filthy with all the monsters you’ve killed. Do you ever clean it?”

The son of Hades cocked his head to the side, which Will found adorable. “No? It’ll just get covered with more monster dust.” He hopped up onto one of the infirmary beds and swung his legs. “So, do you have anything fun to do?” he asked again.

With a sigh, Will looked around. “Well, I think there might be some Uno cards somewhere.” He turned back to Nico, who looked confused once again. “Have you played before?”

“No,” Nico shook his head.

Will smiled and went to get the cards. Nico picked it up quickly and their games lasted for a while. They ended up playing until it was almost dinner time.

Nico stood up and stretched, cracking his back. His eyes were closed, so he didn’t see the way Will blushed as Nico’s shirt exposed a strip of pale skin. After rolling out his neck, Nico opened his eyes to find Will looking everywhere but at Nico. He quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t really question it. “I’m going to go back to my cabin before dinner. You made me miss my afternoon nap.” Nico half-heartedly glared in Will’s direction before pushing past him towards the door.

To his surprise, Will frantically grabbed onto his wrist as he went by. “No!” he exclaimed, surprising them both.

Nico turned in confusion to the healer. “Um, why not?” He glanced down at the point where Will held onto him, very aware of where their skin touched.

Will realized what he was doing and quickly dropped Nico’s hand. “Well, uh, I mean, you can’t sleep now,” he managed to get out. “It’s, like, too late for a nap. You’re going to miss dinner!” It seemed like a pretty good excuse, if you asked Will. He wasn’t a very good liar, but he could definitely find a medical justification when needed.

Apparently, Nico didn’t care. “I ate a big lunch,” he shrugged, and turned to continue out the door.

Will was too jumbled up to reply. “But—” and Nico was out the door. Unsure of what to do, Will ran out after Nico.

Nico quickly walked over to Cabin 13 in case Will decided to stop him for some random health reason. He just wanted to relax for a bit, what was so wrong with that? As he approached his cabin, however, he noticed something covering the front of it. Or, rather, a multitude of somethings. Colorful pieces of square paper appeared to be stuck all over Nico’s cabin.

A prank. Nico’s cabin was pranked. And Will didn’t want him to go there. That meant…

Nico whirled around, annoyed and on the edge of anger, as Will caught up to him. “You knew, didn’t you?” Will looked caught, his eyes darting between Nico and the cabin. It only ticked Nico off even more.

“I—” Will started, but Nico didn’t want to hear his lame excuse. He scoffed and turned back towards his cabin. The offending papers only hurt his eyes.

“Nico, wait—” But Nico was already storming up to his cabin, intending to rip off the papers and drop them into a void of darkness to scare off whoever did this. When Nico was close enough, he reached out, only to stop short as he noticed writing. Every paper had words scrawled out in different handwriting. He would’ve gotten even more upset that it was a group prank, maybe even the whole camp, except when he grabbed the first note, there weren’t insults written on it like he expected.

You’re a great swordsman.

“What…” Nico muttered to himself, entirely confused by the message. His head snapped up to look at the other notes in front of him.

Thanks for fighting for CHB.

Next.

Your powers are pretty cool.

Another.

I love the dark look.

Another.

You saved camp.

You have a pretty face.

Don’t die.

You belong.

One after another, Nico read the notes plastered on his door and front wall. Each one had words of encouragement or appreciation. Some were dumb, others made him blush, but all were entirely positive.

Happy Birthday.

That was on most of them.

Nico had no idea what was happening. Happy birthday? Where did these come from? Why were they put here? Were they meant for him? Who did this? He didn’t know what to feel. His anger had melted away, but he still felt a little irritated at not having any explanation as to why these were here. He felt his heart stuttering in his chest, both from the compliments and the paranoia that this was all some big joke, that someone, or several someones, was mocking him.

Someone cleared their throat quietly behind him. Nico spun around to see Will standing at the bottom of the cabin steps. He had a small smile playing at his lips.

Nico only gaped at him, speechless, so Will spoke, looking at the ground. “It’s… uh, they’re words of affirmation. For… your birthday.” Will turned his face up to beam at Nico. “Happy birthday, Nico.”

Nico just stared at Will and processed his words. He turned back to the notes, back to Will, then back to the notes.

“Oh…” he breathed, and he felt tears prick the backs of his eyes. His birthday… what? “How did you…”

Will climbed the steps and stood next to Nico. “I have your medical records. Chiron isn’t 100% sure they’re right, but it’s what we have.” He looked over at Nico, who looked like he wasn’t even breathing.

“I… I can’t even remember when my birthday is.” Tears pooled in his eyes.

“Oh, Nico.” Will’s heart broke and he pulled Nico into a tight hug. Nico blinked and tears rolled down his cheeks. He was still shocked, unable to return the embrace.

After a few seconds, Will leaned back and held Nico’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, Nico. But, look, all these notes are from our friends.” He gestured out at the multi-colored sticky notes, pleasantly surprised at how many there were. “Even some from people you probably don’t know. Everyone here sees you and appreciates you for so many reasons.”

Nico sucked in a breath as he realized, “Wait, you… you planned this?”

At that, Will sheepishly rubbed his neck. “Well, kinda, yeah. You didn’t seem to know that it was your birthday, so I told everyone to put nice notes on your cabin while I kept you busy all day.” Will chuckled, “Some people are a liiiiittle scared of you and didn’t want to run into you as they defaced your cabin.”

Nico laughed and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He couldn’t believe it. Will did all this for him, for his birthday, something Nico himself had never thought twice about. He felt so… happy. And cared for. Like he mattered. He leaned back in and hugged Will.

“Thank you,” he whispered into his chest.

“Happy birthday, Death Boy.”