#and percy ghosting her feels messed up

[ladyblueberrymuffin]

Still thinking about how we're just not expected to care that Rachel basically gave her whole life away. She can't go to the same school as her best friend, she has to go to a finishing school her parents chose for her to 'fix her' into the perfect daughter they want. And then she has to give up any chance to find love in order to be the Oracle, which is a responsibility placed on her against her will that she takes in stride because she knows it's important, she knows she will be saving lives and she respects the previous Oracles that came before her. Then, Percy drifts apart from her.

People talk about Percy giving up immortality, how it's a sign of his maturity and the love he has for his friends and Earth and Annabeth. What Rachel did might have been an ever greater feat, because she had to give up what turned Percy away from immortality—a normal life. A chance to live the life she wanted.

She gave up so much, and we're supposed to not care. She gave up so much for these stupid powers and then the Triumvirate corrupts them so they don't even work. Apollo just abandons her and she is just there to endure this deafeaning silence. She gave up everything and she's left with less than how she started. The light goes out of her. She destroys her art, and she couldn't care less, because she can't even remember what it feels like to like art. They won. They've finally broken her. Congratulations, Mr. Dare.

Rachel should've been the secondary protagonist of Trials of Apollo, instead she gets thrown a bone at the end of the series, which is too little too late.

Why can't Percy and Rachel hang out? Why can't she quit Clarion Academy? Why is she not allowed to be upset over all of this?

[huiyi07]

Nico di Angelo moments I don’t think we talk about enough

- during the son of Neptune, Hazel stood up for Percy and vouched for him to join the legion; Nico then beams at her, “Good job, sis! That took guts.”

- Nico’s active gay panic during like the entire first half of Son of Neptune where he keeps actively deflecting Percy’s questions and stressing about it to Hazel

- also during SoN (clearly an underrated book for Nico) there’s this one moment where there’s all these ghosts in the room and they’re all arguing and he LITERALLY just puts a finger to his mouth and they all go silent like

- Mark of Athena, at the very end when Nico was rescued he looks Percy in the eye and tells him, “Percy, they pulled me into the pit. The things I saw…” and his voice broke, and I think that the rawness in that moment despite the really messed up relationship they had but Nico was so traumatized that he still displayed his full emotion towards Percy

- house of Hades Nico constantly just being a punching bag.. I mean he literally got thrown around so much in that damn book for no reason 😭😭

-at the end of HoH also, during the final battle, Nico cheers at some point and screams, “let’s turn this tide!” And I just think. That’s very special

-BoO Nico had tons of great moments but let’s just keep reminding ourselves of the “we had one home, now we have two,” moment

- something something the hidden oracle during the final battle with that massive giant thing and the fact that if you step back and look at it, you kinda realize that Nico was the strongest pillar the camp had at that point and that it was when he was taken out of commission that the battle turned dire

- tower of Nero, also during the final battle 😭Apollo wasn’t able to reach Nero, so he screamed, “Nico!” AND nico LITERALLY jumps 10 feet in the air and brings his sword down like some kind of shonen protagonist and tries to CLEAVE NERO IN HALF 😭 only to get tossed away like a puppy

- tsats Nico was kinda ooc but one thing that did feel so in character and funny was that he was revealed to be so smart and perceptive about romance to the point he was literally predicting Will’s confession to him

[greenconverses]

I’m big time upset about annabeth’s characterization in these new books. She looked for Percy for a year or something, did everything she did in HOO, she’s so amazing that she caught up on all of her school work (in fact she’s back on track to go to an ivy if she wants after everything that happened to her), she has all this extra time for Percy (having a boyfriend is time consuming enough without his quests), and then she’s so good at socializing with mortals and so popular…. Just to go to New Rome University (wtf is new rome university) and live in new rome. It makes me sad for her because I feel like RR won’t let her be bad at anything or awkward anymore and she just has to be this hyper competent angel gf all the time…

Oh also the way Percy is contrasted against annabeth in this new series makes me nauseous. I feel in some ways she only exists as this hyper-competent angel gf so that percy has something to "aspire to"… as though he hasn't proven himself a million times and deserves to constantly measure himself up against annabeth. It really just robs them both of their depth and motivation and mutual respect for each other that was so painstakingly built up in the original books.

I was telling @perseannabeth last night that while Annabeth had a lot of pagetime in Wrath, she felt like an utter non-presence other than the last couple of action scenes. And yes, it's because he keeps writing Percy as the only one with all the problems and Annabeth is the perfectest, smartest angel who is always right and can do no wrong, unlike stupid idiot Percy. Ha. Ha.

I do think a lot of the character issues in these books come from him avoiding or only introducing easily resolvable conflict with the main trio. Part of what makes Percy and Annabeth, well, Percy and Annabeth is that they have conflict. Conflict doesn't mean they have to be mean to each other or something terrible has to happen to them, but having them at odds with each other over something (anything) allows for interesting character development and growth.

Grover and Annabeth each get moments of "aw I kinda fucked up" in Wrath that are resolved with basically no effort because Percy shrugs it off or blames himself for their actions. I couldn't even begin to tell you how Annabeth's hubris played a part in the third act ghost fight, but apparently it did, so that's a thing he can brush off because teamwork is all that matters in the end, kids!

And the thing is, Rick is actually setting up a really good conflict with Percy constantly bottling up his rage and messy feelings, but he's too much of a coward to pull the trigger on it. Grover destroying the house and releasing the animals was the perfect spot to actually pursue that conflict and give everyone something to do other than mini quests. Percy could've yelled at Grover and Annabeth for failing to do what they had promised him, and then everyone could deal with the consequences (both of the initial mistake and the fallout of his anger) and make amends in a meaningful way. Instead, Percy has to grit his teeth and fucking apologize to Grover instead. (I'm gonna do a separate post about this because boy howdy do I have THOUGHTS on that.)

By making Annabeth the perfectest, smartest girlfriend ever for dumb dumb Percy, RR is basically removing the conflict that makes them interesting together. There's also the matter of conflict being one of Annabeth's main drivers. Conflict happens to Percy ("I didn't want to be a half-blood."); Annabeth looks for it. And now she's just along for the ride... as long as it doesn't mess up her studying schedule! Her job is school now. Don't get your hopes up.

Also, super controversial opinion ahead, but I think the show casting has contributed to how he's writing Annabeth now. He's deliberately avoided describing her in these books. It's all very vague impressions of her, to the point of Percy describing her having a "human face, human hair" when she turns back after the animal transfiguration in Wrath. No blonde hair. No gray eyes. It's weird.

(Note: I'm not saying the TV cast is wrong or weird, I'm saying it's fucking insane that this man is trying to retcon 15 books worth of character descriptions so his dumbass "actually we never SAID annabeth was white, you just perceived her as it!!!!" defense holds some water.)

[pod-together]

Pod-Together Day 1 Reveals 2024

Light up This Old Soul (Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars: Dark Disciple - Christie Golden) written by EustaciaVye, performed by AsterRoc Summary: As Obi-Wan heals, he learns more about the Nightsisters' approach to the Force, while Asajj learns more about her heritage.

Both a Blessing and a Curse [text, audio] (Star Wars: Rebels) written by wanderingjedihistorian, performed by flowerparrish Summary: His memory was both a blessing and a curse. Alexsandr Kallus had known this for many years. The date he’d first seen the name The Ghost cross his desk was forever burned into Kallus’ memory. And that date was getting closer.

View from a Pavilion (镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018), 绅探 | Detective L (TV), 叛逆者 | The Rebel (TV 2021)) written by Martha, performed by SEF_podfic Summary: During the dark days of the occupied French Concession, Luo Fei helps an injured young captain of the Republican Military Intelligence. [text and podfic]

dream symphony (The Magnus Archives (Podcast)) written by Lua, performed by gracicah Summary: Simon Fairchild loves the sky, and, through his surprisingly long life, he feels loved back by it. It isn’t all that surprising that he has a good time as an avatar of his patron. After all, he is a man in love.

A Case of Identity Fraud (Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics)) written by DayenuRose, performed by Nymphie_Wolf Summary: After spending years of putting in the hard work and re-building his life and his relationship with his family, Jason Todd is not amused when he falls over a decade into the past. The Red Hood is in the middle of his vengence on his family, Tim's life is falling apart at the seems, and his family is in shambles. Jason misses his home, his family, and the ability to have a decent meal. After two months of (mostly) observing from the sidelines, Jason can't stand by anymore. If no one else will step in and help Tim, then he will. Can Jason help past!Tim without messing up the future for everyone?

Tenderly (Original Work) written by Hagar, performed by wilfriede0815 (with additional voices by stargateinmybasement, ChaosKiro, Juulna, Tipsy_Kitty, horchata, and flowerparrish) Summary: My name is Amalie Madsen. I’m a schoolteacher teaching sixth grade. Since I became a teacher, I’ve been told many times that my sense of wonder may fade with time but, in fact, just last year I ran into the greatest wonder I have encountered to date. Or, should I say, wonders.

Truth Comes Out Of His Well (Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types) written by TsarinaTorment, performed by stereden Summary: Lee Fletcher had a secret. Luke knew it, and anything Luke knew, Kronos knew. This had consequences, which started with Lee not meeting his end at the business end of a giant's club after all.

Letters to Jiejie [text & podfic] (陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)) written by FlutterFyre, performed by pezzax Summary: Jiang Cheng doesn't know what has gotten into Wei Wuxian and to be honest, he doesn't care. He just wants things to go back to normal. Stuck at the Cloud Recesses guest lectures, he vents to his elder sister as he alsways has, hoping against hope that she will have a solution that might bring some semblance of sense back to his foster brother.

Like a Hozier Song [text, audio] (Daredevil (TV), Daredevil (Comics), The Punisher (TV 2017), Punisher (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe) written by BurdenedWithPointlessPurpose, performed by 42donotpanic Summary: Matt never expected for Frank Castle to end up on his couch for months on end. He’d never expected to make a home with him, but nothing is as he’d planned. Life isn’t neat like that and his friend gets that more than anyone else ever has. It’s the reason he’s a little sweet on his friend… like the Hozier songs the guy likes to sing.

Phantom Friends (Danny Phantom, Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics)) written by Litra, performed by itallcomesbacktoandreil Summary: Five times someone in the bat family died and met Danny, and the one time no death was needed.

Room 505 (The Hotel (Podcast)) written by zombified_queer, performed by MistbornHero Summary: The Lobby Boy gets to flex his creative muscles. The Hotel Herself observes with a pang of surprise.

[zukotheartist]

Pjo show + books spoilers

losing my goddamn mind over Grover's tension alleviating joke "Are you sure you can't just send them an email?" leading to Percy saying "Where's the glory in that?" because Luke and Camp Half-Blood (which aims to do well but is based on and uplifts a messed up system) have gotten a bit through to him because at the end of the day he's just a kid who wants to feel appreciated and how that's also got to do with his dad showing him that he cares and Percy wanting to make him proud so while Annabeth's learning to forget pride, glory and hubris (her fatal flaw), Percy's need to feel appreciated + his loyalty (his fatal flaw) are starting to make him crave the glory (kleos) Luke was talking about but in Sea of Monsters Poseidon will ghost him again and Percy will go back to square one of not caring for the gods or their quest but then the prophecy and- oof

[allisluv]

DATING MODERN!ANNIE CRESTA HEADCANONS

pairing: annie cresta x fem!reader

modern!annie who makes seashell necklaces and sells them around school. she would make you matching ones with your initials carved into a little silver heart charm or something <3

modern!annie who is a huge believer in love at first sight.

modern!annie who googles if your star signs are compatible and gets so upset if it says no. she’ll be determined to prove the internet wrong for once.

modern!annie who loves being the little spoon and feeling you wrap your arms around her.

modern!annie who will throw flour in your hair as you two bake together. it ends in you both lying in a heap on the floor.

modern!annie who’s love language is physical touch. she kisses the slopes of your shoulders and links your fingers together as you walk.

modern!annie who’s favourite movie is the notebook. she gets you to watch it with her at least once a week and she’ll be a sobbing mess by the credit scene.

modern!annie who is huge on communication. i think she finds it hard to articulate what she’s trying to say, so you need to be patient with her.

modern!annie who lives on the beachfront and brings you home pretty seashells every morning.

modern!annie who offers to tutor you just so she can spend more time with you.

modern!annie who crochets cute little cardigans and woolly hats for you during the winter months.

modern!annie who begs you to dress up as sunshine and midnight rain for the eras tour.

modern!annie who is a sucker for reality tv. you have a routine where every saturday night, you order take out, make popcorn, cuddle up on the sofa and watch something interesting.

modern!annie who is always posting on her insta. she has a highlight just jam packed of pictures of you.

modern!annie who has a pinterest mood board full of date ideas and wlw pictures inspo <3

modern!annie who hates horror movies and hides her head in your stomach as you giggle at her.

modernn!annie who adores the percy jackson series. she’s read all the books and loves the series / movies

modern!annie who can’t sleep without you next to her. if you’re away, she’ll spray your perfume onto her pillow so it feels like you’re there <3

modern!annie who watches ghost hunting and then gets scared shitless 😭

modern!annie who is captain of the swim team. she’ll smile and ask for a good luck kiss before competing!!

[cherrywrites626]

Staying and Leaving Chapter 4 Sneak Peek

Piper heaved a sigh as she stepped out into the chilly late-afternoon air, glancing up at the endless expanse of cloud-covered sky overhead that finally promised to bring about the first real snowfall of the season.

It had been weeks since the news broke involving Leo’s late-night departure.  Weeks since the elders decided to put the whole town on a temporary lockdown of sorts, limiting access to the areas outside their walls to those of only the utmost necessity and importance.  In that time, things had gotten progressively more volatile and disheartening where a certain person and his wellbeing was concerned.

Jason had stumbled into the Mess Hall that very first evening looking far too much like a ghost of his former self for her not to sit up and take notice, the typically alabaster skin of his face somehow that much more pale and drawn even as his eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot—causing that deep blue hue of his irises to all but glow in the soft orange rays of lantern light cast about the room as he made his way over to join them in what appeared to be a total daze.  

“Jason, buddy.  You don't look so good,” Percy said as he slid over to make adequate room on the nearest bench, having been the one who'd shown up to their then crowded table with a familiar coat clutched in his arms that proved he’d really done his best to drag her boyfriend along for the ride only to have the endeavor end in ultimate failure.  

Which really wasn’t all that surprising, seeing as how anyone standing around in visible need of assistance often pulled Jason off course from where he’d been intending to go innumerable times a day.  

Usually for a quick hand in fixing something broken or helping one of the women wrangle their unruly child with lightning-fast reflexes, though once it had been to carry loads of fresh produce down into the store rooms before offering to go and pick more despite it not being his assigned chore literally ever and one of the few moments they both had off that week that was supposed to be set aside for their own personal use.  

Typically only Piper was willing enough to tag along and wait it out for him to finish playing the commendable town savior.  If not merely to stand on the sidelines with a smile as he was given endless praise for his ample charm and unquestionable selflessness, then to ensure he didn’t accidentally end up neglecting his own needs while in the process of tending to others’.  

That had been almost an hour-and-a-half prior, and while no one was inherently worried about the exceptionally lengthy period spent waiting around while most of the townsfolk came and went on their merry way and nightfall creeped in to the point of near pitch-black visibility, it had caused her to feel the first inkling that something wasn’t right.

The sinking drop in her gut at seeing him waltz through the door in a state of noticeable shock only amplified when her boyfriend then bypassed the offer as if entirely on autopilot, plopping down next to her instead with a kind of numbed muteness she’d never before witnessed in all their fifteen years of knowing one another.

Reaching out, it was all she could do not to gasp when her hands met the feeling of ice-cold skin, Jason’s own shaking minutely even as she wrapped hers around them to will some of the life back into those frigid fingers.

“What happened,” she asked, placing a careful touch on the side of his frosty cheek and guiding his gaze to meet hers if only in action alone.

There was no way they registered what was going on even directly in front of them, unfocused as they were and seemingly far-off from reality.  If not for the fact she’d seen a similar haunted expression worn by others in the past, she might have missed the underlying meaning entirely.

It was the same one parents wore when they found out their child had gone missing and the outcome was dire.  The one wives sported when told their husbands were never going to come home to them again, and that there was nothing anyone could have done to stop tragedy from striking.  

It was of crippling loss and powerlessness and anguish all mixed together, burning that person alive from the inside out as the full weight of the situation pressed down on their shoulders and threatened to break them permanently.  

That there was only one single explanation she could think up that might have caused it had her stomach roiling with its own anxious energy, but she swallowed it back down to figure out the whole of the story first and foremost.

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

Check out the latest chapter update here and don't forget to catch this one likely dropping sooner than you think.

[e-dash-lace]

My Very Own Locked Tomb Playlist

A bunch of songs that I listened to while I was doing a Summer 2024 re-read of The Locked Tomb (mostly Harrow and Nona) in no particular order. I took notes because this fandom makes you crazy and Spotify is so stupid that instead of having a notes feature, it has an algorithm that makes you a new playlist four times a day that's called something like "gut-wrenching wailing girl dinner slay brat summer afternoon." Anyway, notes under the cut (spoilers for the entire series sorry)

Psychic Wound - King Woman

The song that Ianthe puts on the radio when she needs to focus to give Harrow her lobotomy. (In all honesty though I think that most songs off of the I Saw the TV Glow playlist go kind of crazy over Harrow the Ninth. Something something horror of being a queer teenager.)

Intergalactic - The Beastie Boys

When Gideon the Ninth the animated feature length film opens, the opening credits play to this song. This song also plays during Camila's fight with Ianthe Naberius on New Rho

Go Away Little Girl - Percy Faith & His Orchestra

This song really screams Jod to me. It plays during John 8:1. Like really close your eyes and imagine it. Like there's no sound it's just like a jumbled up bunch of slow motion scenes.

My Smile is Extinct - Kane Strang

Honestly I just needed to put this song on the playlist because it's the kind of depression song that's like just goofy enough to make you laugh even when you're sad. RIP Harrow Nonagesimus. She would have loved My Smile is Extinct by Kane Strang.

Army of Me - Bjork

Another sword fight song. This song plays during Gideon and Harrow's first fight on the Ninth House. I think that my brainworms just also really wanted to bring some of that girls fighting in steampunk muted colors vibe from Sucker Punch into this playlist.

Growing Pains - Ethel Cain

The queen brainworm living in my mind demands that all playlists I make have 1 Ethel Cain song. I can't really tell you how this fits, but when I tried to remove it, I thought "no. she stays" This song is Harrow the Ninth coded but maybe like Harrow Coffee Shop AU

Jesus Is the One (I Got Depression) - Zack Fox

First House National Anthem I fear. If I had money, I would pay it to comission a Harrow the Ninth animatic to this song.

Sunday - The Cranberries

Not really sure why this is on the playlist. I think it might have been an accident, but also it just sounds kind of appropriate so it stays :)

August Underground - Ethel Cain

Spotify gave me a really really good daylist ONCE that was just like atmospheric music (mostly from videogames). It was so stellar that I saved it! I listened to that playlist while I was reading like the last 25% of Nona. This song plays throughout all of NtN Chapter 28 or at the very least an extended scenes of Sex Pal and Camilla turning into Paul.

Ghosts in the Static - Ben Babitt

Atmospheric music to listen to while Nona drives through the River. A lot of the songs on the KRZ soundtrack fit that vibe. If you want music to drive on the River to, you should listen to the Kentucky Route Zero soundtrack.

Dumbest Girl Alive - 100 Gecs

I think that Gideon Nav would be a really big 100 gecs fan

Thick Skull (Re: Julien Baker) - Paramore & Julien Baker

I think that Jod would be a really big fan of Paramore. I think this song is about Jod, but it's the song that plays during the flashback scene when Gideon kicks Wake out of the airlock and she falls into the Ninth House

Bad Lil Vibe - Coco & Clair Clair

HEAR ME OUT. In my mind, Jod has gifted Ianthe a cassette player and for some reason, the only cassette that's in it is like some collectible 10th anniversary cassette tape of the album Sexy by Coco & Clair Clair. (that doesn't exist yet but it will). I feel like Coco and Clair Clair are good music for the Coronabeth and Ianthe dynamic duo, but I think that this song is for Ianthe. I think it has that evil hot mess (not like Sharpay Evans evil hot mess, more like Shego with smeared lipstick and a broken heart at the club) vibe that the Saint of Awe brings to the table.

4AEM - Grimes

Grimes TO ME ok IMO strikes me as someone who in 2015 would have been fancast as ianthe because she's blond, skinny, and like swinging around a long sword in her music videos like someone who just kind of thinks that swords are cool conceptually and will go well with the special effects but couldn't actually use one to defend themselves if it came down to it and that's really ianthe tridentarius-core TO ME. I imagine that deep down Ianthe hoped that becoming a lyctor meant she would get to be like an international pop star but more. Not to digress but this song is an Ianthe Tridentarius fight song.

Combat Baby - Metric

Actually lol okay hear me out. So actually Ianthe was also gifted a cd player by jod and this is the song that she cries to (ALONE) when she thinks about Harrow. I think Ianthe wishes she had a y2k style but she was just born in the wrong decade sorry

Pluto - Bjork

This is the song that is playing after Harrow wakes up and Gideon is inside her brain helping her fight Cytherea. I think snippets or like altered instrumental versions of this song also play in each trial that Harrow and Gideon work through. Like some version of this song is definitely playing the first time Harrow siphons Gideon to get those keys

Femininomenon - Chapell Roan

First of all, what is any playlist made in 2024 without a Chapell Roan song on it. Second, when I first wrote this note I imagined this as the song that plays immediately after mercy kills Jod and then like there's a full 3 minute music video where like Mercy is on lead vocals, she's like arguing with Augustine a bit then they're like dancing and then the song really abruptly cuts off right before the end when Jod sucks himself back together. Alternatively, this song plays every single time Nona sees a woman.

Dream Girl Evil - Florence and the Machine

Alectopause Hive International Anthem In the parallel universe where Nona the Ninth was released as a webcomic or like an AO3 fic, Taz Muir has linked this song in the Notes and there are 1000 animatics of the Nona epilogue with this song.

Springbreakers - Charli XCX

Alectopause hive international anthem 2 electric boogaloo (Remember how I said "gut-wrench9ing wailing girl dinner slay brat summer afternoon"? I meant that) I would also accept this song as the Nona epilogue animatic song

Bit of A Monster - Vylet Pony

I can't explain this one. I don't know why it's here it just has to be. If you made it this far, leave ur theories in the tags idk.

Mysteries of the Cleft - death's dynamic shroud

I think like if you asked me to I could make a whole playlist of songs about being in the River, so this is either like a planetkiller harrow song or like the song that plays when Jod takes Ianthe and Harrow through the River the first time.

Kizaki Lake - Satoko Shibata

One thing about me, if there's an opportunity to put a Japanese song on the playlist, a Japanese song is going on the playlist and right now the other queen brainworm in my mind is the brainworm that's been addicted to this album since it was released in February and I think everyone should listen to it. The instrumental for this song plays throughout the entirety of Day One in Nona and IF I WAS IN CHARGE Satoko Shibata would be tapped to do the score for the film because she's just that good. Go listen to Your Favorite Things!

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

Helpless part 15, every single warning should be listed on this one

Warning/taking abt sh

Warning/taking about rape

Warning/underage drinking/smoking

Warning/talks about suicide

I think that's all but I'm not sure

Annaneth was standing behind the door, "Oh, hey. What are you doing here?"

"I was bored and also Kayla's looking for you."

"Why?"

"She forced Will to take the day off but he said you still have half a day in the infirmary so she's plotting to kidnap you."

"Course she is, um...Annabeth."

"Yeah?"

"Do you...know how to do eyeliner?" Nico asked fiddling with his fingers.

"Yup."

"Can you teach me?"

"Sure, let me guess Piper gave it to you?"

"How did you...?"

"I have my ways." Annabeth grinned before walking inside, "Why does it smell like smoke in here?" Nico ignored the question and handed her the eyeliner, "The first one easy enough, just getting the second one to match is annoying."

"Alright." Nico half whispered before being half pushed on the bed. Annabeth knelt down in front of him and started drawing a line.

"Nico stop moving so much, I'm on the verge of messing up."

"Shit sorry."

"I mean you'll be the victim."

"I guess so." The son of Hades laughed,

"I'll show you how to do it yourself in the mirror, anything else you want me to show you?"

"Honestly half the things in the box I have no clue how to use."

"Lucky for you I have nothing to do today."

"Thanks Annabeth." The two got up, walking towards the mirror but Annabeth tripped over something. "Are you alright?!" he asked kneeling down beside her,

"Yeah I'm fine, just what's this?" She asked not waiting for a response before lifting up the floorboard, the box had been left open and unlocked. "Nico what's this about?" The daughter of Athena sifted though the box seeing everything Nico had desperately tried to hide, oh shit, he thought to himself. "Nico why do you have alcohol and cigarettes hidden under your floorboards?" Tears fell from his eyes, his breathing was short.

"Please don't tell anyone." He curled up. Annabeth grabbed his shaking hand,

"I won't." She pulled him forward into a hug, stroking his hair.

"It... helps- me cope." Annabeth tightened the hug letting the small boy cry into her shoulder.

"It's not healthy but I won't judge, it's better than what I did. But how much?"

"Not that often, I'm... better than I was a couple years ago."

"When did this...?"

"I was maybe twelve, it was the only thing that made me feel okay. Then... something happened and... well I-I wasn't so keen on not being drunk or high while I was alone." She ran her fingers through his hair.

"Do you want to tell me or not?"

"What did you do to cope?" Nico asked desperately trying to change the topic, she rolled up her sleeve.

"After Percy went missing and when we all thought he died, I... almost jumped once."

"Do you want to tell me?"

"He'd been missing for so long, practically no hope in finding him. I was depressed and half dead, thought I would finish it off."

"What made you stop?"

"Someone else was there, for the same reason I was. We talked each other out of it, I'm so happy we could save each other."

"Who?"

"I'll let them tell you that story if they want to."

"It was around a year ago, after the battle of Manhattan. Got drunk and high, I was walking around trying to not feel anything. I could barely walk, got stabbed with a needle, woke up an hour later. Well I think you can put two and two together. Anyways can you please teach me to do makeup now? It scares me."

"Ghost king scared of doing makeup, sure let's go. But I'll be making sure you're okay and not getting addicted."

***

________

This and the last chapter we're meant to be one lmao

[ladynicte]

Persephone eventually warms up to Nico, because honestly, Nico is down at the underworld every other day, and spending what little time she actually gets to spend with her husband at their home, being bitter about this kid, is just not worth it.

So she tells herself to go easy on it, at least just a little bit more, and then, eventually they find themselves forced to spend more and more time together, and the kid doesn't really like her, and she doesn't like him either, but they discover there's some things they can agree on.

Some to do with Hades, and the way he runs the place, some to do with the servants, and the shades, the ghosts too.

At some point she even finds herself laughing and nodding along, as Nico complains over some job Demeter had him do during his time on the fields, tending to Persephone's own mother's precious harvest.

She can relate, she realizes it is nice having somebody else around to chitchat about that. Most don't even remember what the surface was like at all anymore.

But, of course, she doesn't preen on him at all.

She's Queen of The Underworld, she's the master of the house, she cannot be seen going so easy on anybody. In the underworld the rulers have a very important reputation to uphold.

Afterwards, the whole mess with the sword happens, because she is Persephone, and she's not about to just sit back while there's outside forces threatening her family like that.

She's smart, she knows she doesn't really have that many options in the underworld if she doesn't want the Hades himself to find out immediately.

So she calls for Nico, that boy Percy Jackson, and that other girl, child of Zeus.

She's sure it be fine, deep down in their realm, hidden away by the darkness, nobody has to know she's getting help from this specific set of demigods.

When she sees Thalia she's reminded of quite a few things relating to Zeus, his wife, and the children that get caught in their crossfire.

Persephone, she has always been fond of the heros, they are brave and passionate, and fun. They are not afraid to chase after what they want. She knows about that.

She's met quite a few heroes, who reached the end of their tragic life stories already, hearing their tales, Hera tended to get involved in their lives more often than not.

More so the ones related to Zeus in any way. Persephone knows the feeling.

When that whole mess is dealt with, she expects maybe more than just some smugness from the kid, at least, it's not like she's ever been very kind to him, but no, it never comes.

Persephone realizes she's now officially been both of the roles she met in her own youth, the bastard child, and the insupportable step-mother.

She was never all that fond of Hera, but she never thought she would ever relate to her, and yet, listening to those heroes's stories.

She realizes maybe she's really been a little bit like Nico's personal Hera.

Not to the same extent of course, but well, aren't there enough bitter godly queens fighting their husbands, and hating their offsprings already.

Neither do the demigods nor the gods need another one.

But still, she's Persephone and she is to be revered, so she doesn't just start being nice for no reason to Nico, but if she does curse him a little, with some actually not so bad things, like sudden flowers that blossom and wither away, just as fast, wherever he steps, or if she grants him some bigger control over the cold he can produce.

If she slips him some secrets about her mother's harvest, and how to best handle it, that she herself had to learn the hard way on her youth.

Who's gonna tell her anything for it.

If it makes her husband happy, to see her more at ease and comfortable in their home, even when Nico drops by, that just means the house as a general is doing better now.

So no, Persephone does not care at all for the child her husband had with that other woman, and godly intervention is completely prohibited.

But, if she knows something is gonna happen, maybe she just so very happens to leave one of her precious pomegranates right where Nico can find them, and if one of her loyal servants just so very happens to be nearby, and lets it slip just how useful those little seeds can be, it's not like anybody really has to find out, right.

[elisedonut]

TRICK OR TREAT!!! 👀🥺🎃

Thank you for playing! you get about 2k of a fic that i honestly don't think I'll ever finish

this is a little amnesia memories inspired au that i started a long time ago i keep messing with it and changing things but i just really doubt ill ever actually fully finish it

it was back when i was like oh maybe i could write something long and have like a chapter per character

and then quickly realized no no I can not

so it just kept getting shorter and then when i participated in that one event where i was assigned characters alot changed to before i decided to write something else kldfjsdkl

originally it was going to be like

Mc: Percy

Orion(spirit that causes mc to lose her memories): Cedric

Heart/Shin: Marcus

Diamond/Toma: Oliver

Spade/Ikki: Tom

Clover/Kent: Stan

and Joker/Ikyo: Fred or maybe also Cedric i was undecided

but I ended up replacing Tom with Lavender because the aforementioned fest that had assigned characters and was considering moving heart to Dennis before i gave up and just made a perciverus soulmate au dkfjsldkf

He was falling. Or perhaps it was more like floating?

The last thing he could even remember was… 

What was it again? He just had the thought in the back of his mind a moment ago he’s sure of it.

Percy watches the colours of the space around him swirl and mix, as if all the stars around him would hold the answer. Reaching out towards them as if he could grab them. 

What was he doing? 

He was at home before, wasn’t he?

A letter. 

Running out the door into the night to apparate.

Oliver was dead. Right? 

He was there when they had to lower him into the ground.

But– If that were true, then why– 

“Ollie?” Percy asks, cautiously. 

“Hm? Is that who I look like to you?” Not-Oliver asks back, tilting his head in a way that reminds Percy of when they– well when Percy and the real Oliver were still in school.

When Percy just continues to stare though Not-Oliver continues. “Guess so– Well I'm glad you’re awake. Do you feel any pain? Pressure in your head? Limbs feel numb?” 

He’s speaking so fast.

Percy tries to think about it for a moment. 

Tries to focus on different parts of his body. 

Tries reaching his fingers out towards the mysterious figure in front of him. When he finds that his fingers go right through him, Percy frowns. 

It was almost like he was more asleep than awake. 

Everything, just slightly off. Blurry in a way that made it difficult to even think.

Opening and closing his fists a few times Percy responds, “I- I don’t think I feel much of anything to be honest.” 

Likely that look on Not-Oliver’s face means that’s not a good thing. Even if it feels a bit freeing in Percy’s opinion. 

Almost peaceful.

“Ok so–” Not-Oliver starts again, “Look, I'm a spirit and I may have accidentally ran into you and I may accidentally be stuck,” The spirit?–apparently, continues. He doesn't look like any ghost Percy had ever seen. When Percy doesn’t respond, Not-Oliver continues again, “So I may or may not have accidently knocked your soul off course, out of your body. But, don’t panic. I do have a plan.”

Don’t panic, he says. Percy’s soul is apparently out of his body all together and he’s telling him not to panic. Taking in a deep breath and watching as Not-Oliver flinches Percy tries to calm himself down enough to listen. Motioning at Not-Oliver to continue again.

The sooner this was over with the better.

“You’re taking this a lot better than I was expecting you to, to be honest.” Not-Oliver says confused before shaking his head quickly and continuing, “Alright. So, here's the plan. I found a few worlds where you have a tether. so you just have to find the one that’s actually yours.”

“Pardon?” Percy asks, trying to wrap his head around what that could mean. 

“Exactly as I said, You just have to pick the one that feels right and I’ll plop you back into that body and then everything will be fine.” Not-Oliver says quickly before adding softly, “Hopefully.”

Before Percy can ask for clarification on what he meant by hopefully the stars around them change in the air, twisting around themselves.

For the first time since he woke up in this odd place, Percy feels like his feet are actually on the ground again. It continued like that for a few more seconds until four doors materialised in front of him. Each adjourned with a different symbol in the middle. 

A weathered and cracked red door with a heart symbol, messily painted on.

A polished and metallic looking blue door with the metal spade symbol neatly welded on.

A clear slightly green tinted door with a paper clover stuck between the plastic.

And Lastly, a bright yellow door with a diamond cut meticulously out of the wood.

All of the doors had a red string connecting to him. Percy’s not sure if that’s what Not-Oliver meant by a tether but if so that was quite more literal then he’d assumed. As he pulls on one of the strings he expects it to feel some tension but they each stay slack, regardless of how much he pulls.

As Percy inspects the doors he thinks about which he should choose. Percy’s still not a hundred percent sure this isn’t a dream. Maybe a potion fueled hallucination. Maybe George decided to put something in his wine for old times sake. 

Looking back at the Oliver doppelganger for a moment he seems to just be waiting patiently for him to come to a decision. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Or what he’s even supposed to be looking for. 

Is there even a right answer here? They all feel the same in a way. 

Do they even lead anywhere, or do they just open to an empty frame?

Should he even play along?

Walking behind the doors he sees that they look the same on the back as they do on the front. 

“Does it really matter which one I pick?” Percy asks.

“Well- they all lead to different worlds, so–” Not-Oliver says from over his shoulder. 

“So then there's definitely a wrong answer here…” Percy mutters as he walks up to the Red Door. “If I open the door, does that count as a choice or do I have to walk through it?”

Not-Oliver hums to himself for a moment before nodding,“You should be able to open them. As long as you don’t touch the actual portal then it shouldn’t do any harm.” 

Percy reached for the Red Door again. Not-Oliver didn’t sound very certain, but nothing was going to happen if he just sat there. Even if it isn’t real, he always had been too curious for his own good. So he may as well try. The door comes open with a loud creak from the hinges. 

Left with the sight of swirling foggy lights and stars,h e’s disappointed. It only takes a moment for it to clear though.

The angle is awkward so he can’t see much of the room. But he can see himself laid out on the bed. From the look of him he must have been here for a while. Bandages up and down his arms and legs. A side table with dying flowers and miscellaneous get well cards. 

Is this all he’s going to see in these? An unconscious body?

He’s here, wherever here actually is, so maybe the real him is just passed out somewhere, like that. If so though this isn’t going to be very helpful to him. 

Still, he doesn’t close the door. He still waits. Maybe someone will come in that could give him a clue. Or maybe something will happen to show it’s not the world he expects. 

It doesn’t take too long of a wait for the door to open. Percy can’t see who came in from the angle but he could hear the way the heavy door dragged as it opened and shut. The sound of footsteps and a chair being slid across the floor.

Then he gets his first glimpse of them when they pull Percy’s limp hand into their own. The red string on their hand was connected to his own.Their hands were large and rough, completely enveloping Percy’s own. The difference in their skin makes Percy even more confused. When the door opened he’d assumed it was some family member but that’s certainly not a Weasley's hand.

“They all think I did it, you know?” The man whispered to him. That voice was familiar… “Wake up soon, Percy. I don’t know what I’ll do without you. Even if I don’t deserve it.”

When the mystery man leaned down to kiss Percy gently on the lips he knew exactly who it was. Dark eye’s, back hair, broad shoulders, all too familiar.

“Oh? That your boyfriend?” Not-Oliver says with a grin. 

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” Percy says quietly. 

Haven’t since you decided to play hero.

He watches Flint talk to him a little while longer before deciding to move on. He’s careful to only touch the doorknob as he moves to shut the door again. 

It’s not like he would mind dating Flint really. He’s intense, sure, and his family would hate him. Still that wasn’t his world in the first place. The Flint from his world would never like him in general. They weren't even friends, much less lovers.  So it doesn’t even matter if his heart’s racing a little bit at the thought of it.

Shaking off the weird feeling he didn’t want to think about, he moves to the next door. The Blue Door was cold to the touch as he opened it. He was half way expecting to see this other him passed out again, but instead it seems to be some sort of restaurant? Not one he recognizes at all though.

The other Percy was seated at a table, all alone. The room looked familiar though at least. Maybe this was a good sign. Even if he can’t remember his flat’s dining room being so cluttered. Strange though, Percy had expected to see another version of him passed out in some way again. 

What would happen to this other him if he does choose this world? Does this other consciousness just vanish?

Percy glances at the closed Red Door. Is there still a consciousness there too? He hadn’t considered it but now though, he’s not so sure. By the time he glances back at the blue door someone had joined him at the table.

“How’s the new textbook going, Professor.” She said, as she leaned over the table a bit to look at something that Percy couldn’t quite see.

He could see his reaction though, watching himself move and speak felt strangely surreal.

He rolled his eyes lightheartedly as he responded,“Don’t call me that. I-”

“-Don’t even plan on taking the position, Yeah yeah i know.” The girl said before putting her arms around his shoulders, “Still think you should, though, you’d be far better than Binns.”

“Anyone would be better than Binns, Lavender.” The other him said.

(Add talking moment here about how Lavender seems nice but he's surprised to see her here.

Green Door - ???? Stan Knight bus moment???

Yellow Door - Oliver and Percy talking and walking somewhere fake out where Percy thinks this might be right but then Oliver says something sketchy or maybe there's clearly no magic or something idk

Open ended, the choice being made left ambiguous.

Looking over the doors again, Percy knows he’s made his decision. He knows none of them are actually his world. None of them match any of the things he remembered. Too many inconsistencies to match. But after the conversation with Not-Oliver he knows these are his only options. Opening his door of choice he’s stopped by Not-Oliver’s voice once more.

“Are you sure?” Not-Oliver asks, “I don’t think I’ll be able to pull you back out if you change your mind.”

“I won’t,” Percy says. Feeling more sure of it the closer he gets to its frame. When he sets his hand on the portal's surface all the other doors vanish, locking his choice in, and everything goes dark.

When he wakes again he’s exactly where he feels he needs to be. Or at least, as close as he can get to it. He’s still truly hoping all that had been a dream…

[algumaideia]

Part 1

Part 3

@pjo-hoo-toa-freakazoid thank you so much for the help!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I know tsats was supposed to be about Nico, but I'm making this about Octavian and everyone else is collateral damage.

Also the nightmare part was supposed to be in italics to be more clear it was a dream, but for reasons it ended up not being italized.

Enjoy the confusion Octavian felt.

...

"Mother, did you request us?"

"Shouldn't the demigods have nightmares?"

...

Octavian saw himself. Not as he was now. He saw him alive, without the burns and injuries, with his body and teddy bears. His face expressed disdain.

Octavian saw himself, planning the attack about to happen. The centurions around the map, him making last minute adjustments, the Greeks making a mess.

He was furious. He wanted to kill every single one of those Greeks, and to think one of them was a son of Apollo. What a waste.

“Can you believe how stupid you were?” 

The face of disdain had become scorn.

“No wonder Apollo stopped talking to you, abandoned you. Who would want to keep a deal with a buffoon?”

“You are seeing what is happening!! It was not my fault!! The stupid Greek-”

“If they are stupid, what does that make you? Afterall, they were able to fool you.”

“Apollo promised-”

“What does it matter what he said? You’re on Tartarus while all the Greeks are well and alive and even going to Camp Jupiter.”

Octavian could feel himself trembling with anger while imagining all the atrocities Perceus was doing at his home. If he had no respect before, now that New Rome lost the war, the little piece of shit would be going nuts.

“It is not my fault.”

“Then, whose fault is it? Didn’t the god of prophecy make you a promise?”

Octavian didn’t sleep. He couldn’t sleep. He was a ghost. But somehow he had a nightmare. It wasn’t a memory which made him unsure if he was in the past or the present. It was a nightmare. 

Maybe it was Tartarus. Maybe that was why he had a bad dream. Tartarus.

A hero on Tartarus. Something was wrong. Instead of hearing his own self mocking what happened, he heard Reyna. She would find this very funny. He remembered feeling humiliated and looking at her for aid to only find a smirk.

When Octavian paid attention to what was happening again he saw himself going in the direction of a river. He walked as far from it as he could. He would not be tricked by it. He refused to become one more ghost to be forever suffering on it. Stupid tricks. Stupid burns. Stupid broken bones. 

Would he be bleeding if he had a body? His injuries would be way better if he had a body. A body could heal. He could only be permanently in pain.

“Where are we going? Why are you following me?”

Amphithemis. Octavian had the same conversions with him over and over again. Some words changed, but the essence did not. It should be tiring. It was nice talking to someone. It was nice to be dragged out of his thoughts a little.

“You said we were leading me to a safe place to rest since the Giant was not in his cave.”

“He was not?! That is so weird he was always there! But don't you worry, we can find another safe place to rest. I feel light."

Light. Apollo.

His dream-self was wrong. Apollo didn’t abandon him. Amphithemis was the proof of it. Apollo would take care of all mistakes and he would finally leave Tartarus and be treated as the hero he was. 

…

“I’m worried about him. I thought he was getting better, but after the talk he had with Percy and Annabeth…”

“It seems more likely that he was just bottling everything up and that was the last straw.”

Hazel nodded. Reyna was the few people who truly understood Nico and after everything that happened it was nice having her to talk about him because she honestly didn’t know what to do.

“Do you think we should give him space?”

“I don’t think being alone is the best for him right now.”

“But if we invited him to come, how would we help him?”

Reyna looked at Hazel and they just stared at each other without an answer. 

…

“Maybe he will not help, he made his sentiments for his legacy very clear.”

“Then we need to find another person to help Nico.”

“Which demigod? And don’t you think the other gods would get mad at you? They need to perform good parenting from time to time and Nyx is too much for all of us.”

“Do you think they would mind if the demigod was already dead?”

…

It was weird to stand there looking at Michael Kahale. Last time Will saw the guy he probably was with a concussion and let his friend die. And now…

…

Everything on the field was dead. You would walk and walk and only see dead plants. Nico couldn’t care less. There was no place for guilt over this on him at the moment. There was no space for anything. He felt empty. He filled himself with void. 

Bob. 

Not only him, everything.

[annabethy]

aurora // a 'tis the damn season au

Percy and Annabeth had something real. They fell in love somewhere between bookstore kittens and vintage novels with pages tinted yellow with time, and they were happy. It’s rare, finding the type of love they did. It’s even more rare making it last. Read on AO3. (Chapter 2/8)

Percy thinks that as much as he enjoys working in a bookstore, it can get pretty boring. 

The boredom winds up mainly because Annabeth seems to be absent today. She typically hangs around while he works, curled up on a beanbag by the window with a new novel in her hands. It’s a cute sight, and he recalls when he used to do the same thing when he was younger, minus the reading. When it was just him and his mom, she couldn’t always afford to stay home on days he was sick and couldn’t go to school, so he grew used to the corner beanbag and the feeling of sunlight filtering on his skin. He’s gotten used to Annabeth sitting in that same spot too, and though he’s reassured her before that she doesn’t always need to accompany him after school, she does it anyway. 

He keeps eyeing the front door, and the shop is so slow that he decides to sit on the counter stool, still staring miserably at the window. 

It’s the day after Christmas, so it makes sense that she’s probably busy, but also, she’d spent the entire previous day with him and he swears she told him that she would hang around for a bit. 

He tilts his head.

Maybe she got caught in the snow. From what he can see through the foggy windows, it’s snowing heavily. There’s at least six inches of snow stacked up along the sidewalk, more where it’s been plowed to the edges of the roads, so it’s possible. Still more likely that she ghosted him, though.

He spots movement in the corner of his eye, and when he turns his head, the cat is peering at him from behind the corner of the counter. She almost appears unthreatening, which she is for the most part to everyone except him, so he lets her slowly patter closer to him. When she makes her way onto the counter and transfers onto his lap, he’s slightly convinced this is a bookstore cat imposter, but he runs her tail through his hand anyway, scratching behind Maisie’s ears.

“You’re being nice,” he murmurs, so no one in the store thinks he’s lost it. “Must mean Annabeth is nearby. You’re never nice to me.”

His words are accompanied with a small nip at his fingers, but he doesn’t think she meant it to hurt, so he lets it slide. Like him, the cat stretches out to watch the door. It’s sweet, knowing the cat is waiting for Annabeth, and also slightly eerie knowing that the cat must also have some sense of time to know she should arrive soon. 

“Maybe she’s not coming,” Percy says to the cat. “She’s probably realized you have a double life and are secretly a wanted war criminal.” He hums. “You’ve scared her away. Hope you’re happy.”

Being alone in the bookstore is troubling his sanity, it seems. He’s speaking to a cat.

“It’s just you and me, babe.” He sighs and looks away from the door to gaze at the cat. He’s met with wide eyes back at him, blinking slowly. “And I don’t even like you.”

Of course that’s when the bells above the door chime as it’s pushed open.

“Finally befriending the cat?”

“I was telling her about how I planned to hunt her,” he replies without looking up. “She’s shaking in fear.”

“I’m sure,” she laughs, suddenly in front of him on the other side of the counter. He looks up at her then, and she looks like such a mess that he snickers right in her face. She frowns. “Shut up.”

“What happened?” Percy chokes, letting his right hand leave the cat’s back to smooth down her hair. Her curls are still dotted in thick snowflakes, though they’re rapidly melting, and her cheeks are rosy to the point he’s sure it hurts. “Did you just come back from war?”

“Have you stepped foot outside? I almost got blown away walking down the street.” She comes to the other side of the counter to steal the cat from his arms. She ignores him for a moment, shoving her face into the blonde cat before lifting up to look at him again. She does look overwhelmed, but it’s also adorable how flushed she is. “You should just be glad I came at all.”

“You may as well not have come at all,” he says, glancing at the clock mounted above the door. “I’m only on shift for another thirty minutes.”

“Perfect. We can talk after that.”

“Talk?” His brows furrow. “What about?”

“Your denial of love for Maisie,” she says. “It’s getting old. We both know you love her.”

There’s something…off.

Her voice is smooth in a way he knows she’s purposely making it. She doesn’t sound upset, but it’s not the way she normally speaks, and it makes him think maybe there’s a reason she had been late.

He wants to question it, but she doesn’t give him the chance to dwell on it before she continues on.

“Anyway, I’ll hang around the back if that’s alright,” she says. The cat jumps onto the counter from his lap to stare at Annabeth, even giving her what looked like a chastising meow. Annabeth has always been much fonder of the cat than he is, but he still adores the way she softly brushes Maisie’s back before bending to kiss between the kitten’s eyes.

“You could say hello to me first, you know,” Percy says blankly, watching her kiss Maisie again. 

“Well, I would, but I much prefer Maisie’s company.”

Despite that, she leans over the counter for a kiss. Who is he to deny her?

The rest of his shift is boring, and it seems to drag on for eternity knowing that Annabeth is somewhere behind him while he is forced to stay at the front. He does consider going to steal the cat who followed her to the back so that she returns to his side, but even that seems cruel. She’d probably take the cat back and put them in a loop of thievery.

By the time he’s able to leave, he’s practically bouncing in anticipation. He’s quick to take his name tag off and move to the back room in search of his girlfriend. All things considered, this bookstore would make an excellent location for hide and seek because he doesn’t immediately see her. The room is crowded, shelves of boxes filled with books he’d been too lazy to put out quite yet, and she could be hiding behind any one of them, but that would also be a little odd of her to do. 

He stares at the empty room, and then at the small staircase up to the roof where the door is propped open with a new copy of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. 

“I don’t mind if you want to sit on the roof, but is destroying my books really necessary?” he calls out, pushing the door open and finding Annabeth sitting against the cement railing.

“How else were you meant to know I was out here?”

“Like you don’t sit up here every other day,” he says. It’s a semi-true statement. They used to come up here a lot in the summer and just lay with their hands intertwined, looking up at the clouds and finding shapes in the nonsensical patterns. As it got colder, they stopped going as often. As far as he knows, Annabeth mainly finds her way up here when she needs a quiet place to run through her thoughts. 

Annabeth laughs as he steps out further onto the roof. It’s covered in a layer of snow, and he nearly fell over with the first step he took. She’s wrapped in her coat, and also a blanket that she’d stolen from the back, sitting on the ground in an area where she brushed away the snow. Beneath the blanket, he spots a small black nose and a singular eye peering back at him.

“You kidnapped the cat?” he asks, amused.

“She followed me,” Annabeth says. “It’s not my fault she can’t handle the cold.” 

Percy laughs, and Annabeth lets go of the cat anyway.

“Let Maisie back inside, will you?”

He holds the door open as Annabeth releases the cat from her arms, letting the cat pass through before removing the book and letting the door click shut.

She glances at him, amused. “Did you just lock us out?”

“That door doesn’t lock,” he says, coming closer to her. 

“That’s a pretty big threat. What if someone broke in and stole all your books?”

“Well, aside from my mother, you’re the only person that knows the door doesn’t lock. I’m looking right at my number one suspect.”

“An unlocked door to a bookshop is practically an invitation,” she defends. “Am I at least allowed to take them if I promise to return them?”

He hovers above her, giving her a lopsided grin. She smiles back before resuming looking out in the distance. As she’s looking at the quickly darkening sky, covered in low hanging dark clouds, shadows looming over the opposite buildings, he never stops looking at her. She pointedly tries to look anywhere else. 

“Are you okay?”

Annabeth shrugs, but her lips quirk up. “Aren’t you sick of the snow?”

“It gets annoying.” He nudges her knee gently with his foot. “Easier to handle when you’re not sitting in it.”

She doesn’t respond to that. Instead, she continues looking out over the building, tightening the blanket around herself. He stays standing above her for a few moments before deciding to settle down next to her. She opens up to him immediately, letting him into the warmth of the blanket and tucking her head against the right side of his chest.

Together, they look out in the distance. There’s not too much visible with the fog the clouds offer and the haze the falling snow creates, but he doesn’t say anything for a few minutes until he notices her shallow breathing like she’s trying not to cry and concern takes over.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m great,” she says, her head still heavy against him.

Percy adjusts the blanket around her shoulders softly. “Then why are we sitting out here?”

“I don’t know why you’re sitting out here,” she says. “I’m sitting here because I wanted to be alone for a bit.”

“Did something happen?”

“Something always happens in that house,” she says bitterly.

And his heart aches. 

He’s held her in his arms at night listening to her sob enough times to know what surviving in that house is doing to her. He knows that her dad treats her as though nothing is never enough, and he knows that Annabeth always continues to try anyway. It never ends well, and he desperately wants her to not have to put up with it, but Annabeth is the most beautiful person he knows, in love with the idea of miracles and families finding their way back to each other like in novels written by people with the same dreams. Some part of her remains with the childlike hope that she’ll earn her father’s approval. 

She never does.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He can see the thoughts running through her mind, a glimmer of something real, something hopeful. Despite herself, she smiles, like she’s imagining they’re somewhere else, and asks,  “Why don’t we leave?”

Percy laughs, confused. “What?”

“California.”

And he’s always dreamed of a life with her, but he’s never imagined that his fantasies would lead him away from his home. 

“Can you imagine it?” she breathes. “It wouldn’t get this cold, so we wouldn’t have to constantly run around in the snow. It’s so pretty there, and, oh, the beaches. You would love it there.”

“I’m sure it’s wonderful there,” he agrees hesitantly. “I like it here too.”

She nudges his arms. “Oh, come on. Be adventurous. We could take a road trip there when we move, and we could stop at different monuments. I know you always wanted to see the Grand Canyon. You could go to school with me too.”

Percy smiles softly, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “What’s going on? You’ve never mentioned wanting to leave before.”

She’s silent, biting her lower lip until it begins to bleed. There’s an uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach because her theoretical words don’t seem too theoretical. Her words are real, and he knows something’s not right.

“My dad and I got in a fight,” she says. “Once I graduate, he wants me out. I have nothing left for me here, but I was thinking…we could leave. Both of us.”

Percy furrows his brows. “But…your dad won’t actually kick you out, will he?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “I don’t want to stick around to find out.”

Percy grabs her hand, squeezing comfortingly. “Even if that were to happen, my mom loves you. She would never leave you without a place to stay. Don’t worry too much about it.”

That’s a life he can imagine. He can see them a year from now, living together, Annabeth spending her days writing while he works, creating their own home, even if it means living with the cat that he doesn’t like (except maybe he likes the cat just a little bit). He wants that life.

“You’re not listening to me.” Annabeth laughs incredulously, pressing the base of her palms against her eyes. “I want to leave.”

“Why?” He tries really hard to be gentle to not scare her. “This is our home.”

“This is your home.” She sits up now, turning in her position on the ground to face him. “I grew up here, but this isn’t my home. My dad doesn’t even want me, and he’s not going to stick around once I’m eighteen. There’s no point in me staying here.”

A stab of hurt runs through him. “I’m here.”

Annabeth takes a deep breath, and there’s a shift between them. The few feet that rest between them seems to span a mile.

“That internship I mentioned,” she says. “The one in California. I just heard back from them, and they’re offering me a position there. I wasn’t going to take it, but then with everything going on with my dad…I can’t be here anymore.”

Percy laughs because he’s not sure what else to do. He waits a moment for her to say something, to start laughing and tell him it’s all a joke, but she doesn’t. She only stares expectantly. 

“You’re serious?”

“I am.” She reaches out to rest her hand on his knee, pleading. “Come with me.”

“California, Annabeth. That’s the opposite side of the country.”

“We could figure it out,” she says. “We have time. We could plan to get an apartment, and we’d bring Maisie with us.”

Percy’s an impulsive person. He’s always been bad with blurting things out before he has time to think about the implications of what he’s really saying. It’s for that reason that he almost says yes. He almost agrees to move across the country without thinking of the consequences. He almost drops everything to chase down a daydream because this is his girlfriend and he loves her. It’s a type of love he thought he’d never find, and he’s not willing to let that go quite yet.

Then, he remembers his mother and how she spent her life supporting him on her own, never having the means to provide for him yet somehow doing it anyway. His mom found love again, had another baby less than a year ago, and she needs help now, and he’s actually old enough to provide that help, and he can’t leave. Not after everything his mother has done for him.

“Let’s not do this right now,” he says. “It’s December. You can try talking to your dad, or we can start looking for somewhere to live. Maybe in a few months, things will be different.”

Annabeth smiles sadly. “It won’t be different.”

No, no, please, no.

“I’m going to LA, Percy.”

“Annabeth, please.”

And then Annabeth’s crying because somehow, they both know how this ends. “Come with me. Please don’t make me go alone.”

He knows that’s her way of saying she’s going regardless of if he follows. 

Percy sees the end as it begins. He thinks he knows how these next few months are going to go. She’ll accompany him to work, reading words because it’s easier to drown out her own worries. They’ll pretend that she’s not going to leave if he decides not to follow, except she will leave and he won’t follow. There will come a point that she stops joining him at work and he stops picking her up outside her class. She’ll say goodbye to her friends and he’ll be left in the bookshop watching time move on as snow falls down, wondering if she’ll show up to say goodbye to him too. He’ll never find out because he’ll stop working nights. If she shows up, he won’t want to know because he will have watched her walk away to the opposite side of the country knowing that he can’t follow. 

As he looks in her eyes, he knows that’s how it will go.

Still, he tries. 

“I have my family here,” he says. “I grew up here, and my mom needs me. I have people here.”

There’s a flash of something unfamiliar in her eyes. It’s not anger, but something softer, like she knew it was going to end like this too, like she wasn’t ready for this moment to come. The only problem is that time is not fond of slowing down. Not for him, and not for anyone. 

He tries to silently plead for her not to go, to remind her that her father’s opinion should mean nothing, but Annabeth has always wanted to write words that mean something, and it’s hard to do that somewhere she feels she hardly means anything herself, and so even he knows there’s no avoiding what comes next. 

“Stay,” he begs.

“I don’t have anyone else, Percy.”

“You have me.”

Annabeth’s crying now, and she can’t look him in the eyes. All she can do is look in the distance from where they sit on the roof, where the sky remains gray, a color he used to find so comforting when looking into her eyes in the darkness of the night. The color seems awful and sad now, forcing him to be estranged from her.

“I can’t do it,” she says, wiping her nose. “I can’t stay here. I love you, and I’m not going to make you come with me, but I can’t—”

Those are thoughts that have been passing through her mind for months. Where Percy is spontaneous, Annabeth is not. She thinks things through, weighing them, and for her to reach the point that she feels suffocated here…he hadn’t known. He wishes he had. Maybe then things would be different.

“I can’t leave here,” Percy whispers.

Annabeth locks eyes with him. He takes it in, suddenly terrified of where they’re going to go. 

Correction: where she’s going to go, and where he knows he can’t follow.

“And I can’t stay.”

[ewingstan]

Mary from Twig

First Impression: "Oh, so the first major villain-of-the-week characters is a little girl? I guess that's appropriate given the main cast, but I wouldn't think they'd face off against something that thematically mirrors them like that for a few arcs. Cool idea, a shame that she's probably gonna be killed by the end of this." So yeah, I was not expecting Mary to be a reoccurring character. And once it became clear that she was joining the Lambs, I thought for sure she wouldn't stay for more than a few arcs before finding out how Sy manipulated her against Percy and turning against everyone. That was partially driven by me thinking she'd become a love interest for Sy and then we'd get to milk the drama of that relationship falling apart for a while. Was pleasantly surprised when that didn't happen, especially because it lead 1) to us seeing how Sy tries to contend with his nature as an incredibly manipulative person and trying to limit how much he hurts people close to him, and 2) led to the much more interesting "I'm fond of you but also I'd push you off a cliff if everyone else in the friendgroup didn't love you so much" relationship she has with Sy.

Impression Now: More interested in her for her relationship with other characters than I am in her as an individual personality. I kind of wish more had been done with her self-perception as a puppet/her desire to fulfill a perfect servitor role for whoever she's closest to. Don't get me wrong, it led to some interesting (in a fucked-up way) stuff with Lillian. But I kinda wish we got more from her interludes addressing how self-conscious she was of it, whether she tries to push against it or leans into it, how other people close to her react to it, etc. And I really wish I got more of a sense of how it meshed with her becoming a Noble. Besides the obvious change in power dynamics between her and Lillian, it feels like even accepting the change would have required some pretty intense changes in her self-conception, changes we never get to see. And yeah, it would probably weaken Twig as a whole to have a more extended ending exploring how all the Lambs felt about becoming Nobles. But still.

Favorite Moment: I really love the mock-fight she holds with Sy in front of the soldiers at Hackthorn. The skill of making it look like Sy is holding his own while also constantly signalling to him privately how many times she could have ended him....it feels like a pretty good encapsulation of their whole relationship. More than any other Lamb, I think Sy was thinking of Mary when he was setting up the looney toons-esque "you'll chase me from town to town and I'll stay just out of reach while casually checking in and giving you things to take credit for" plan in Corinth. With her more than anyone else, the idea of "lets play at fighting to the death while wearing the points we could have scored against each other as personal badges of honor" seems like an actually feasible way to spend a lifetime.

Idea for a Story: Like I said, I'd love more exploration of Lady Margaret, especially focusing on how she and Lillian handled it going forwards. Aside from that, I would probably want to see someone actually try to map out how her ill-fated mission with Duncan went.

Unpopular Opinion: I don't know if Twig has enough of a fandom for there to be enough big fandom opinions on Mary for me to disagree with.... her offscreen relationship with Gordon doesn't interest me? Was anyone invested in that?

Favorite Relationship: Her and Lillian. Its the most unhealthy mess I've ever seen. I love it. A super unsure-of-herself doctor and her best friend/patient/kissing buddy who acts incredibly confident and self-assured while having no idea who she is or what she wants. Stellar stuff. Could have been so much more.

Favorite Headcanon: I like the idea of her eventually meeting and hanging out with the rouge Ghost who Dog and Catcher partnered up with in Tynewear. Feel like they'd have a lot to talk about. Actually scratch what I said above, this is the story idea I'd be most interested in.

[harryissuchalittleshit]

The Weasley couples as Midnights songs?

Bill & Fleur

Snow on the Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey) - because it’s weird but fucking beautiful. They are a couple happy to embrace the unexpected in both their relationship and themselves

Victoire & SJ

Mastermind - because once they decided that they were together, they had been working on how to make their relationship work, and nothing became accidental after that

Dominique & Lorcan

Paris - because despite it all, all of the mess and accidents and craziness that they get put through, they come out stronger and suddenly their somewhere else and so in love that they might stop breathing

Louis & Anamika

Lavender Haze - because everything is opposite with them and they weren’t supposed to work, but they’re damned if they do give a damn what people think of them and that was never an option

Percy & Audrey

Sweet Nothing - because that’s all they want after everything they went through, to just be together and live in this safe space together. Audrey has Percy running home to their sweet nothing.

Molly & Artie

Midnight Rain - because for a very long time they had it messed up, Molly hurt Artie and then Artie turned around and hurt Molly. But in the end they find each other in their own picture-perfect, shiny happy family.

Lucy & Devon

Bigger Than The Whole Sky - they are so used to this hurt being placed on them while being insanely in love with one another. One tragedy after the next, but despite all the goodbye goodbye goodbyes, they just grow stronger together.

George & Angelina

Hits Different - they are and will always be a ‘love at first sight’ couple, from the moment they were eleven they knew. So when they finally get together, well…it hits different because it’s them.

Freddie & LeeAnne

Glitch - they were supposed to only be just friends, but all the sudden they were attached together with a stitch and they never do manage to unravel

Roxanne & Sean/Sasha

Antihero - because after all of the pain Roxanne put herself through, in making herself the antihero of her own story, they love her despite midnights being her afternoons and all of her ghosts and vices haunting her on the daily.

Ron & Hermione

Maroon - it’s right there! But also, the story of a friendship becoming more is so satisfying and beautiful and this song honestly hits so many of my headcanons for them. They’ll be dancing together with no shoes and blushing so scarlet that it’s maroon, matching all of Ron’s sweaters

Rose & Scorpius

Snow on the Beach (feat. More Lana Del Rey) - because it’s not supposed to work, but it does and it’s fucking beautiful. They spent the beginning of their relationship flying like a dream and feeling impossible but happy.

Hugo & Lyla

Karma - because they spent so much time talking shit that was irrelevant but now they couldn’t be happier. Sometimes what goes around comes back around

Ginny & Harry

Question…? - a good girl and a sad boy, they come together and fall apart with a lot of questions between them, but it works out in the long run. Was it too much? Do you wish you could still touch her? We all know their answers.

James & Marci

Labyrinth- oh no they’re falling in love… after their exes wrecked them and left them with the kids, they weren’t supposed to find someone else so quickly, but it happens as they try to navigate the maze of single parenthood and new job responsibilities

Al & Maggie

You’re On Your Own, Kid - two lonely kids become more, only for one of them to leave the other on their own. Eventually they’ll realize that their not on their own and that they need to raise their kid together.

Lily & Ryan

Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve - because when you aim at the devil, you should have the one person that stood beside you the whole year by your side. She should’ve never danced with the devil and he shouldn’t have allowed his memories to become weapons, but at their lowest they found each other…again

I will do the other albums, just drop an album name in my inbox and I’ll get started!

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Wait! You didn't think that's all Santa Nevi had in her bag, did you? For the light of my life, @littleredandbigbad ❤️

The first time the dreams appear, Percy's "home" for the holidays. He was thankful that even if he wasn't Paul's son, his stepfather's parents prepared him his own room in their house. He wasn't quite comfortable with sleeping in a new place, and maybe that restlessness was the reason for the first dream. But the ones after that? There was no explanation for them.

It wasn't like he was new to these kinds of dreams. Like, he was a healthy teenage boy who appreciated the female form. But there was a distinct difference between those dreams and these dreams.

The beginning of the dream was innocent enough. He was in his room in one of the boarding schools he went to, getting ready to go to sleep when cold hands approached him from behind. He shuddered; it felt like somebody threw a bucket of ice cold water over his body. He tried to step away, but his dream self was rooted in one place. He tried to push away those hands, but there was nothing to grab on. Nothing was there. Nobody was there.

Yet, the hands boldly brushed over his naked sides, ghost fingers trailed along his abdomen. No matter how he tried to turn around, to look at who was behind him, they always kept being behind him.

"St-" he said, his voice breaking in the middle of the word, and his mouth, instead of saying what his mind wanted, let out a broken moan.

Deep voice chuckled in his ears. Shudder ran through his body as the calloused, but gentle fingers traveled up, pinching one of his nipples.

Percy jolted awake, his body bathing in cold sweat, yet harder than any time before.

-*-

The next day he was a sleep deprived mess. The bags under his eyes were packed full for a three-week-long vacation in Alaska, and one look at him made Sally decide he should go home for the rest of the day. His monster proof, but not dropping-it-a-hundred-time-in-a-few-minutes proof cell phone, the blue coke bottle he tried to drink from, and Paul's mother's delicate Christmas ornaments he barely caught thanked him when he finally arrived home and fell into his bed, deciding it would be the best not to touch any other fragile things that day.

He must have dozed off without realizing, because when he noticed something was off was when he looked around, and it wasn't his room anymore. It was Montauk, the place he used to go with his mother when he was younger, before Estelle, before Paul. He was on the beach, but nobody else was as far as he could see. Maybe the sound of the rumbling sea silenced it, maybe the phantom gave no sound as they got closer to him, but he only noticed that he wasn't alone anymore when the now familiar hands laid on his shoulders, gently massaging them. Invisible hands trailed down his spine, pouring ice, yet sparkling fire through his veins as they moved. One catched his jaw, a thumb swiped over his lips, tickling, the other pulling him close to invisible, hard chest.

"Who-" Percy parted his lips, but before he could finish his question, the thumb slipped into his mouth, laying on his tongue like phantom weights.

"Ssssh, relax," the deep voice shushed. The familiarity in that voice felt calming, and he couldn't help but sink into the embrace.

"That's right, good boy," the ghost-like figure whispered. It was mostly an unconscious reaction to the praise when Percy sucked on the finger in his mouth, grazing it lightly with his teeth, but the answering growl made it worth it. It was almost like sucking on an ice cube, slightly salty and strange, unfamiliar, but in his dreams, he was more than fine with it.

It was only when he woke up to his family's arrival that he realized he could still feel the light weight of a finger in his mouth.

-*-

He tried not to fall asleep, he really did. As a demigod, he was quite used to prophetic dreams, and him dropping in places he had no reason to be, but these dreams were different. They were too real, yet not real enough. Percy had to admit, he was a bit worried about them.

But even the worrying, the games on his cellphone, or the new Marvel movie he pirated could deter him from falling asleep. After all, the nap he took before wasn't quite relaxing.

At first, he didn't even realize he was sleeping. The scene was the same; him on his bed, watching something. The blurry figures and the mumbling audio were the biggest clues that something wasn't right, since, instead of Shuri being her lovely self, nothing was decipherable. He was almost relieved when those hands arrived, telling him he really was in a dream, sliding up from his calves towards his tights. Instinctively, he closed his legs, but the phantom wasn't deterred; those hands seemed to be everywhere. He could feel the weight of their body pressed against his, but all he could see were some shadows. They bothered him for some reason, something in the back of his head pinged something, but as he moved his lips to ask the phantom, the same finger as before slid inside his mouth, as if it was waiting for the right time, and all of his other thoughts flew out of his mind. He parted his teeth without a thought, the familiar pressure on his tongue and the salty taste were welcomed friends. He let one finger, then two, three slipping into his mouth, exploring the back of his throat, as he sucked on them, memorizing the feeling of his mouth full, how calloused fingertips felt against his tongue, the saltiness of skin.

His visitor moved on top of him, a cold, yet lovely weight on his body, making him both relax and fill his body with thrumming energy. A curious hand sneaked under his PJ pants, teasingly caressing his happy trail, never wondering lower.

At Percy's disappointed whine, the voice let out a deep chuckle, and said, "You will think of me when you wake up, achingly hard, won't you? When you jerk off, will you think of my hands? My voice whispering dirty things in your ears? My body pressing you into the mattress, stuffing you full? Hm? You won't ever think of anybody else when you masturbate, will you? No, you are a good boy. Good boy for me."

When Percy woke up the same as before, there was only one thing he could do: come as he imagined the phantom touches all over his body.

"I'm so fucked," he mumbled as he was laying on his bed like a starfish, panting after his orgasm.

-*-

After that, it became a habit. Every time he fell asleep, those phantom hands and shadowy body found him, sometimes only teasing him, edging him just to leave him in the last moment, sometimes bringing him over the edge. Each time things were a bit clearer, a bit less undistinguishable. A dark, curly hair here, a black nailed finger there; something not quite recognizable, yet a big clue on his mysterious visitor.

When familiar weight pressed into his back, he didn't even tense anymore, he just melted into the hug, like the ice cream left under the Sun. Percy realized for the first time that he could speak, nothing prevented him anymore - but he was speechless. His heart pounded in his ears and his stomach fluttered in a way he has never felt before all the time he thought about his ghost-like visitor. The fall and rise of a hard chest against his head, the quick heartbeat that showed his dream stalker was just as affected as he was… everything felt real.

Closing his eyes, he let himself be swept away with the flow.

"You are so beautiful, so trusting… I wonder how you would behave if I visited you outside of your dreams. Would you recognize me? Would you allow me to use you like I wanted? Would you just overlook me, and think somebody else knows your body like a fine-tuned instrument? Who do you think when you play with yourself, Percy?" The previously amused and gentle voice turned dark, obsessed, the feather-light caresses turned almost painful pressures. Percy should have been afraid; yet the shudder that ran through his body was because of pleasure.

"You," he moaned, back arching into the phantom. "Only you!"

The answering deep chuckle was full of darkness, full of promises Percy hoped they were intended to keep. "That's right. You are mine. You are only mine."

The firm hands that most likely left handprints over his arms sneaked around, cupping over his ribs, one of them sliding even lower to grip at his hip bone. Their grip was firm; it was clearly possessive. His phantom was stating their claim.

"I'm yours," Percy repeated. Turning his head back, he seeked out those sinful phantom lips. It was kind of awkward that he couldn't see their face, but as they realized what he wanted, they claimed his lips like nobody before.

It was toe-curling, stomach-fluttering, heart-quenching, earth-shaking, mind-blowing, just plainly amazing. Well. Nothing was "plain" about it, but whatever.

He felt those possessive hands wandering all over his body. Breaking the kiss, he opened his eyes to look at them, even if he knew there would be only a misty outline, only to be surprised. The wrists were bony and sharp, the fingers pale and thin, decorated by a skull ring that made Percy's brain haywire. Black nails scratched the thin naked line between his shirt and pants, then disappeared under the waistband, sliding over the hair until they found their destination.

"Hn," he moaned, feeling like he's been lavished. Finally, after weeks of torture, he could finally feel that strong hand around his cock without any barriers. Only skin on skin.

"You wanted this, didn't you? Little whore - my little whore." The alluring voice in his ear, the soft puffs of air, the cold, hard body pressed against him, one hand gripping him in one place while the other one wrapped around his cock and tugging on his skin - everything was so overwhelmingly good!

And just as those lovely fingers brought him to completion, the penny dropped.

It was so obvious, so easy… why he trusted in the phantom visitor, why he felt comforted even when they were being creepy and obsessed, why he let them do whatever they wanted, instead of going to a god for help-

Because it was Nico. His Nico, the one he was just as obsessed with as Nico was with him.

He melted back into the enveloping coldness, and without overthinking, he declared, "We need to talk… Nico."