#and whats wrong with annabeth looking like hazel anyway?

[daisy-mooon]

"Show Annabeth looks like Hazel :/" Not to be a hater but are you fucking blind.

[somewhereincairparavel]

Alright. I came across someone saying that Rick "put Jason in a pedestal" and "overhyped" him by emphasizing how good looking he is and that Jason shouldn't have been so attractive looking. (Tbf tho that person made it sound like they seemed more mad bc their least favourite character was considered good looking lol) but I'll yap about the significance here anyways. Beware of a very long yapping session below.

I do understand their frustration though, because jason getting told that he looks good all the time makes it seem very shallow and unfair to the others.

And let me tell you, Jason is SUPPOSED to be gorgeous looking in everyone's eyes. He is supposed to be conventionally handsome, Rick didn't intend for his looks to be "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder " or something like Percy's (like how Piper didn't find him as impressive) Percy's is supposed to be more authentic. Percy's character isnt centred in people idolizing him, everyone can acknowledge that he's handsome looking, but it isn't in a "perfect" type of way, he's a carefree spirit and that reflects on his looks. While Jason is hardwired as this ethereal looking hero in people's eyes that not even ONE can deny that he looks good, bc ppl in Rome had set him as the "standard". Jason said this before in the lost hero, that him being a son of Jupiter, makes him feel like the support he gets is only because his dad is a very regal and intimidating figure.

That's kind of the whole point, he's supposed to look like this perfect man who can do no wrong. His "Golden noble boy" arc is literally the whole concept of his character. Why else do you think rick wrote Aphrodite approving of Jason's looks saying that he needed no improvement (which she rarely does) ?

Because Jason is supposed to be put like a statue to admire and idolize, that's ALSO why rick made sure to add that Jason looks like a Roman sculpture, bc that's like a metaphor for his inner conflicts. The guy was put like an artifact for people to ogle at in camp Jupiter ever since he was a kid of 4. That's part of the tragedy.

Annabeth said it perfectly “Annabeth tried to hide it, but she still didn’t completely trust the guy. He acted too perfect - always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect. In the back of her mind, she had a nagging thought. What if this is a trick and he betrayed us?” Mark of Athena, page 6.

His mother, whom he's supposed to look like, is also a literal world wide tv actress. So you can't expect anything less either.

Also, Jason is supposed to mirror Percy. And let's be real. Rick put Percy in a VERY high pedestal looks wise, aswell, Not just Jason. And that's okay.

Rick made Hazel mistake Percy for a literal god because he was just that good looking (tbf, in a way, when I was younger, I found this to be a little bit of an exaggeration, bro was covered in mud and seaweed and was compared to a god, it was rlly funny to a 10 year old me 😭 yeah but don't mind this though, this was just a younger me jealous that I couldn't be as pretty as Percy was in mud lol) If Percy can be "hyped" up so "unrealistically" in that particular situation then so can Jason. They are both literal half gods, so unrealistic praise is very normal) and rick also made sure to emphasize that almost all the teen characters had a crush on Percy. So apparently that isn't called putting a character in a pedestal but Jason's is? They are BOTH put in pedestals, because they're both heroes.

Jason and Percy are supposed to be equals, so both of them being in the top two when it comes to looks makes SENSE. Because people are supposed to argue about who is better looking, since they're written as foils.

You cannot expect rick to make Percy look like a god and Jason look like a rat 😭 then there's no point of having them as parallels if one has the upper hand in something. Rick did a good job by conveying that they are BOTH attractive, but in different ways. That's why the Percy/Jason looks debate always have mixed answers.

Jason getting complimented by Aphrodite, the GODDESS of beauty, for his looks and her saying that he didn't have anything to "fix" in his face BC it already looks gorgeous = Percy getting compared to a gorgeous Roman god by hazel. They are both equal comparisons in slightly different tones.

[whimsicallywiddershins]

The entire fandom agrees that Percy Jackson has some scary eldritch qualities that humans notice. But I think that all the demigods do, even if most of the effects are more subtle. Powerful demigods are super noticeable, but even the weakest are scary to normal people. But I like to imagine some of my favorites:

Annabeth looks at people like she's dissecting a blueprint, and nothing about them is hidden. She turns her head at odd angles, like an owl. She notices small things and goes completely still, staring, like a bird of prey who just saw a mouse. People feel unsettled by her gaze, like every weakness and vulnerability are no longer hidden.

Hazel's hair, skin and eyes seem to shine metallic when the light catches just right. Sometimes her motions are rigid and awkward, like she hadn't used her limbs for a long time, like she isn't used to having a body. Her shadow is a deeper black than it should be, is bigger than it should be, and doesn't always move with the light.

Nico's skin is sometimes almost translucent, like he is more ghost than human. You can almost see the muscle and bones beneath it. His eyes catch and hold people, so dark and deep it feels like they are falling an incredibly long distance into dark water and earth. His shadow is also too dark. Sometimes, people swear they can hear faint screaming from his shadow, like thousands of tormented souls are trapped inside.

Jason has fangs, more wolf than human. His mouth opens wider than it should, and he looks at people like he is thinking of the best way to hunt and catch and rip and tear. His eyes are too blue and he always smells like ozone. People want to bow to him as he walks by. People want to run, but instinctively know that he will chase them, and they wait, frozen, for him to pass.

Thalia, like Jason, is a hunter. Her eyes are too blue, too vivid, and she stares people down like she is already picturing them riddled with arrows. She tracks small sounds with terrifying intensity. Brushing up against her will deliver a horrible static shock, and power lines and lights flicker and buzz when she walks by.

Will's hair is too bright. His skin glows, especially at night. At first, it seems to be a sweet thing, his good nature shining though. But sometimes when people touch him, they burn. Just standing near him is too much, like standing in the direct sun on a hot summer day.

Piper's face seems to change, every time someone turns to look at her. Subtle, but someone's subconscious is screaming that this girl is different, something is wrong. Her voice trills, like a bird, when she in happy. People can't help but to follow her and when she is gone, they feel bereft. She is too beautiful, and it hurts to look, but people can't help themselves and look anyways.

Leo is always hot to the touch. His fingers and limbs feel rough and metallic, his hair curls like wire. His eyes glitter like polished coins and when he walks by, cars and computers and machines start up and move on their own, just for a moment. He runs across a busy street and the cars stop for him with no regard for what the driver is doing.

Frank doesn't move like a human. He glides, slinks, pads softly and so quietly most people don't notice him. He had an aura of command. Frank seems so normal and average, but angry or upset people look at him and know that they can't take him. Sometimes, when he is angry, people get upset and fights start in his wake.

[xixovart]

my annabeth chase headcanons because i ♡ my blonde gf

i call her annie as if i know her?? anyway

(doing this while listening to my annabeth playlist i love life)

picture me this. you sit behind annabeth during college lectures. she has her laptop open and airpods in at ALL times. you’d assume she’s taking digital notes and listening to music? WRONG. you look at her screen, it’s sims 4 (occasionally bloxburg). every build is absolutely stunning. what’s she listening to? true crime podcasts (there’s one or two about percy). you see her open her grades one day? straight A’s.

 annie braiding EVERYONE’S hair when she needs a distraction. im talking leo walking around the argo with two tiny cute braids sticking out of the side of his head like antlers. im talking hazel showing up to capture the flag with the most beautiful goddess braids youve ever seen. im talking percy having an adorable little hairdo (long haired percy pls consider) and outright refusing to take it off 

when dealing with monsters or bad guys, she’s really good at hiding her thoughts and emotions, but in everyday life? oh my goodness. you say one incorrect fact about the library of alexandria and this girl stares at you like she’s going to rip your eyeballs out.

she plays jenga with leo. it's a madhouse whenever they do. architect vs engineer stop.

really likes painting her nails but the nail polish lasts approximately twenty minutes. she never lets it dry properly because shes ALWAYS doing something and it gets smudged, or she bites her nails absentmindedly. silena would always have to resist the urge to give annabeth a manicure whenever she saw her nails.

you’re lying if you think annie wouldn’t meet up with alex and magnus for falafel at LEAST once a month

when she was younger (7 or 8 years old), she very easily blended into the background. which was a result  from her stepmom’s and father’s neglect. she usually went unnoticed and you probably wouldn't notice she was in the room until she talked.

 girl’s day once a month with reyna, piper, rachel, and hazel. nico occasionally gets invited.

annabeth in first grade hitting a kid upside the head with a textbook for calling her a dumb blonde.

ANNABTEH IN FURST GRADE GETTING UP EARKY IN THE MORNING TO WATCH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IM DONE (im projecting)

i mean thalia and luke probably pretended annabeth was their daughter at least ONCE in a desperate attempt to not get in trouble with the cops

really really flexible?? for some reason? idk

some might have you believe that annabeth is the mom friend of the argo. youre wrong. jason’s the mom, annabeth is the cool older sister who teaches you how to pick a lock or sneak out. i mean c'mon she had thalia as a role model. annabeth is the aunt that you gossip with. annabeth is the sister that helps you with your homework, but also lets you cheat if it’s unnecessary/difficult.

this is prolly canon cause she’s an architect BUT in my architecture class today i learned that you have to use inclined (like this) handwriting in all caps and it’s kinda messy so NO annabeth does NOT have fancy loopy handwriting (also she’s dyslexic?? loopy handwriting and dyslexia do not go very well together guys)

left handed annabeth <33

[mediumgayitalian]

fic rec friday 10

hi!! welcome to fic rec friday. every week, i pick five fics i have bookmarked and rec them with a little review. check them out!

something borrowed by @rosyredlipstick

In the Solace Wedding Planning agenda, on the fifth page into their summer schedule, there are carefully scrawled out notes reading this: Bride and Groom - Hazel Levesque & Frank Zhang Best Man & Maid of Honor - Percy Jackson & Piper McLean Wedding Court - Annabeth Chase & Jason Grace Mellie & Gleeson Hedge Reyna Ramírez-Arellano & Leo Valdez Ring-bearer - Chuck Hedge Flower-boy - Nico di Angelo - Will plans wedding and now, apparently, Nico stars in one. Except...sometimes there's a bit more confusion on that last part. AKA the AU where Will plans weddings and thinks Hazel and Frank are going to have to cutest, gap-toothed ten year throwing flowers down the aisle, all while wondering why this 'Neeks' guy is always hanging around, and what business he has looking that good.

yes i am back on my rosyredlipstick (dude she's GOOD okay). however this one is my favourite i think. this is the kinda story you could use to explain to people what dramatic irony is bc LORD i wanted to SHAKE THEM 😭😭 will falling like deeply in love with nico and being intensely stressed about everything the whole time is so real and on brand. i love him and i love the fond exasperation that just bleeds from this fic its GREAT

2. Rental Love by @rosyredlipstick

*Read Terms & Conditions - Male/22/Long Island N.Y.C. Tired of showing up stag at holiday events? Want your family to stop thinking there’s something wrong with you? Just want some arm candy for a work event? Look no further. Your solution is here! I will attend holiday events with you as your paid date. Accepting all genders as applicants. Email solace.w@fastmail.com if interested. Interview & application will be set up there. - Nico di Angelo has been telling Hazel Levesque about his boyfriend for weeks. The bad part? Nico doesn’t have a boyfriend, the holidays are coming up, and not all of Jason’s ideas are horrible. They’re all a bit surprised about the last one.

THE LEVEL OF STUPID THAT THEY ARE...😭😭 kills me fr. like this whole fic is just a manifestation of truly one of the best tropes of all time…..like what if we took a hallmark movie and made it gay as all hell. iconique indeed

3. A Match in the Making by @coconutcranberries-blog

“You’re a morning person,” Nico muttered, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palms. He ran a hand through his black hair, which stuck up in disarray, the same way it did every morning. He was a mess, and Will Solace looked annoyingly put together, and Nico didn’t even care, really, he didn’t.

friendship is the core of romance!! it is!! every time!!! and it's such a core in this fic....which is fucking??? ten years old??? im just realising?? jesus christ??? anyways. "Nico had the sudden, warm feeling that Will Solace had never bought his act." i YELLED

4. Perception by scorchedtrees

In which everyone thinks Nico and Will are together.

i love this trope i love it SO BAD. both ways. when your love is so obvious that no one misses it.....love to see it truly. and will can have one second of beingn smooth and not a dweeby loser. as a treat

5. the world is brighter than the sun now that you're here by @finalizer

It was hard, Nico eventually concluded, to maintain one’s air of spooky otherworldly detachment with a blinding ray of sunshine trailing one step behind him every minute of every day.

grouchy nico my beloved truly. honestly hes such a bitch i love him like "Seriously, give the guy a perm and a few cats and he’d be that weird aunt that everybody avoided around the holiday season." why does he ALWAYS have something vile to say 😭😭 hes a mood fr

thank you for joining me this saturday friday!! happy reading!!

[kozumesphone]

› 𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍 𖤓

╰ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 ✩ . . .

⊹ ࣪ ˖ a/n ☆ hi ceri!! thank you sm 💓 this is officially the first ask of this event, congrats heh <3 anyway, I hope these hcs don’t disappoint!!

▸ leo, annabeth and you are the power trio on the argo II—the three brains behind the entire quest

▸ leo thinks with his heart, and annie with her mind; you manage to strike a balance between the two and make empathetic, and logical decisions in crucial moments

▸ you also spend quite a bit of time with percy and grover, since I hc you guys to be childhood bestfriends, for some reason

▸ you also love love love spending time with nico and hazel! hazel treats you like her elder sister, while nico looks after you like his younger sister

▸ no matter how bad the situation is—on a scale of apollo to lester—you always manage to walk out of it unscathed (which is pretty surprising, owing to the number of sarcastic comments you’ve made at the wrong people)

▸ you’ve occasionally had library dates with all the girls! <3

▸ you’ve never regretted a single moment with your found family, especially since they’re always there for you, no matter what! if they ever find you going through something alone, you bet at least two of them are coming over to your room to eat your favourite ice cream with you binge watch your favourite show’s newest seasons

kozumesphone © 2024 | don’t repost my works onto other platforms, or edit and post them even on tumblr, without asking me first • don’t steal my works, steal my heart instead • reblogs and comments are more than appreciated !

[anxious-introvert22]

PJO Halloween Trade

I participated in the @pjo-halloween-trade and wrote a fic for @sketchtheinfinity ! I hope you enjoy it!

“So what was this about the skeletons?” Piper asked Hazel during their three-way call with Annabeth. Hazel’s eyes widened as she began her story.

“It was so strange! I was in town with Frank the other day and I saw that one of the stores had all these skeletons outside! At first, I thought I’d accidentally summoned them, but Frank said it was for Halloween. Isn’t it a little early though?” Annabeth chuckled ruefully.

“You would think,” She replied, “But I bet stores will start putting out Christmas stuff in a few weeks.” Hazel furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief.

“But why so early?”

“Capitalism.” Annabeth and Piper answered in unison. Hazel nodded, slightly confused, and continued.

“Honestly it shouldn’t be a surprise, but it’s sure changed a lot since the last time I was alive.” This peaked Annabeth’s interest, judging from her raised eyebrow.

“What was Halloween like in the thirties and forties?”

“Oh, the community would have big parties and the older boys would pull all sorts of crazy stunts!”

“Did people trick-or-treat back then,” Piper asked.

“Well,” Hazel said, “A little bit, but I never did. My mother wouldn’t let me. I can’t imagine what the other kids would’ve tried to do to the “witch’s”daughter.” There were many things Hazel had opened up to them about growing in the South during the thirties that were hard to hear, and that was up there. 

“Gods that’s awful,” Piper replied, “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Hazel gave a half-hearted smile and shrugged.

“Yeah, I’m glad things have changed. So tell me more about modern Halloween!” 

“Oh, I’m not the best person to ask,” Annabeth admitted with a slight grimace, “I never really had what you’d call the ‘normal’ Halloween experience,” She said with air quotes. 

“What, Camp doesn’t do stuff for Halloween?” Given the vibe of Camp Half Blood and its inhibitors, Piper was sure they would’ve gone all out for Halloween.

“Well, we do,” Annabeth said, “Cabin 5 liked to scare people in the woods by jumping out on them in costumes before too many people got sent to the infirmary. And the campers in Cabin 11 would always steal a bunch of candy and scary movies, but I never really went trick-or-treating.” 

“Hmm, that makes sense,” Piper responded, “Plus you’re a pretty powerful demigod.” Annabeth rolled her eyes with mirth.

“That, and my dad was always too busy.” Piper laughed sarcastically.

“Isn’t this sad, we’ve all had bad experiences with Halloween.” Annabeth and Hazel looked at her in confusion. 

“What do you mean,” Hazel asked, “What’s gone wrong for you?” Piper sighed before answering.

“Well, when I was younger it was fine, but then I realized how many people would appropriate Native Americans by ‘dressing up’ as them with feathers and facepaint and it just makes me so mad! It’s a culture, not a costume! Anyways, it’s kind of been ruined for me ever since.” Hazel frowned in sympathy.

“That must be really frustrating.” “Yeah,” Annabeth said, “It’s just a caricature.” There was silence for a minute before Hazel broke it.

“What if we had our own Halloween,” She suggested, “I know I’m not familiar with modern Halloween practices and it’d been hard to get together-”

“That’s a great idea,” Piper exclaimed, “We can have a Halloween movie marathon and eat candy and… I don’t know, what do you think, Annabeth?” 

“I’d loved that,” Annabeth replied with a smile, “the Demeter campers would grow pumpkins for Jack-o-Lanterns, would you two be interested in carving pumpkins?” Piper grinned.

“I like your style.”

“I have to go soon, but let’s figure the details out later,” Hazel said.

“Okay, but who’s going to remember?”

“Don’t worry,” Annabeth said, “I jotted some stuff.”

“Again, I like your style,” Piper said.

[manygeese]

ok I know it’s been a while but we’re back at it again with the Sally and Esperanza au (inspired by @poppitron360)

basically if you missed the first one, Leo and Esperanza move to New York, Esperanza meets Sally and they fall in love 🥰 when Leo and Percy are eight and nine respectively, Gaea swallows them up, they go to CHB, Leo gets claimed instantly, Percy has to wait until 3 years later when he gets the TLT quest and saves his moms from the underworld

ANYWAYS! What would HoO look like in this AU?

The first thing I’d change would be who gets the Hera Swap Treatment™️. And ALSO! Who would be in the Seven in general. I think, instead of Percy (to enforce the familial tragedy lol make him suffer), Reyna would be in the Seven. So in this AU, Leo and Reyna get swapped.

So the Lost Hero trio would be Reyna, who wakes up on this unfamiliar bus with no clue where she is but a gut feeling something is wrong. Annabeth, who is searching undercover for her boyfriend’s brother (AKA her partner in crime). And Piper, who also has no clue what’s going on but is really bummed that the people she thought were her best friends don’t seem to know her anymore.

Really interesting opportunity to discuss Reyna’s connection to Rome, since Bellona doesn’t have a Greek equivalent. Who would she be claimed by? How would she fit in? When they hold campfires, does she feel a distinct sense of camaraderie that she’s longed for for so long?

Also, concept: Reyna, Annabeth, and Piper stop by the Jackson-Valdez household before making their way to California. Percy’s just like “sure, you can crash for tonight. Gods know you’ll need the rest (and my mom’s special blue cookies for good luck)”. But Piper’s just like “what HAPPENED? Why is this apartment so SAD?” Like the happiness has just been sucked out. Esperanza isn’t even there, she’s at the garage, pretending like her son is at home. Sally is looking through baby photos and stress writing and doing a million different things because maybe by the time she actually thinks about her son he’ll be in her arms again.

The Son of Neptune (or Son of Vulcan, in this case) trio would be Leo, Jason, and Hazel I think because I have a distinct image of Hazel and Jason having awkward cousin vibes. Like, “their older siblings play Mario kart together on Christmas so they’re friends only because of proximity” cousins. And Leo’s over here doing horribly crooked cartwheels to lighten the mood.

I have Thoughts about Son of Vulcan in this AU omg. So many Thoughts. Jason and Hazel finally getting each other when they kill Alcyoneus together, while Leo is fighting for his life to free Thanatos and kill all these freaky-deaky monsters. Jason and Hazel freaking the fuck out when Leo chugs gorgon blood like it’s whiskey. Jason and Leo finding Hazel standing on a rock surrounded by cereal babies. Hazel side eying Leo wondering if he’s her old crush from grade school back in the forties. Just. Son of Vulcan trio.

Another thing, I think these two books should happen at the same time because I think it’d be interesting to let both of the swapped heroes integrate more. Like, give me fearless leader Reyna whipping her (tween) troops into shape, but Camp Half-Blood just being like “dam this lady’s super cool but she needs to chill the FUCK out. stop training my eight year old brother in sword fighting he’s gonna kill me the next time I have to wake him up early”. Give me an unconfident Leo learning to be a leader after being in his brother’s shadow.

also I yapped to @puzzled-pegasus about this so here you go

[witchhazelevesque]

Okay I just finished a TLC reread so I gotta expand on that Valzhang Cinder AU

I forgot. About the fire. I forgot about the fire. Are you kidding me I forgot about the fire. The parallels of Cinder and Leo being set on/ put in fire as babies (3 years old is still a baby for all intents and purposes) by their aunts or ‘aunts’?

Also, it was played really straight in Cinder and it would with this AU too but the fact that this set up has Frank trade Leo’s life as a bargaining chip with the Evil Moon Queen could be so funny. Like as a joke leaning into that enemies side of their relationship development from canon. All the meme lines about wanting someone dead apply, I don’t even know any right now I’m not hip with it or whatever the kids are saying.

Also I mentioned in the notes of that post that Piper and Annabeth would probably be in the role of the Lunar princess and her guard and that means childhood friendship for Leo, Piper and Annabeth which is so sweet. Also, Piper fits that role what with her father being manipulated left and right and Going Through It, being the most beautiful girl, having the power to influence but seeing the dangers of it and hating it all the same but using it to save her loved ones. She’d have a more subtle, softer way of being a hero and that goes with the way Aphrodite’s strengths can be different from the more traditional idea of heroism.

Also Annabeth as the morally duplicitous, two faced guard would be so interesting. Especially since Jacin (lol I just realized Jacin v. Jason) was chosen as a guard because of his weak mind. I don’t know if that would mean that Annabeth’s mind is strong in ways that aren’t recognized or valued by Lunars or if she faked it to protect Piper. I don’t think that would be possible though. But ‘weak minded’ in this universe doesn’t mean unintelligent or not willful or anything so that would be an interesting thing to explore with Annabeth and her hubris.

I said Hazel would be good in the role of Cress and it’s. It’s really funny what with the whole technological genius/ prodigy hacker by age eight thing and Hazel not growing up with any technology. But her feeling of guilt and culpability for what her ‘mother figure’ coerced her into doing does fit really well in this role. And the fact that in this set up, Leo will be the one to take out/cause the death of that mother figure like he did in canon. Anyway, Hazel’s motivation being in part to make amends for helping the villain. Being held apart from the world. Morally ambiguous distant father who ‘cursed’ her at birth (gave her up for infanticide). Cress got to knock her dad out cold and leave him on the dusty ass floor so you know what that means ayyyyyyy!

Also Drew as Thorne. Not much deeper reasoning than I think she’d make a great charming rogue. Also has hidden depths that are often ignored. Also Leo and Drew best friendship. Also Frank taking one look at her mugshot when she and Leo break out of prison together and seeing how hot she is and instantly hating her. Jealous Frank 💯💯💯 Also also she would start a prison riot because the soap isn’t up to her standards I LOVE HER

This is getting long so I’ll have to make another post to talk about Jeyna (platonic or romantic, either works) Scarlett and Wolf and other dynamics, there so much more to sayyyyyy

Also also also Frank keeping Leo’s cyborg foot even when Leo’s an intergalactic fugitive, what is wrong with him 😂😂😂

[via-rant]

"Hey, Leo? Can we talk?" Percy asked walking into the engine room. Leo turned to look at him with a big smile.

"Percy. Uh... yeah we can talk." He said looking awkward.

"Are you okay?" Leo gulped, his smile strained.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You've been avoiding everyone and Annabeths been worried she just doesn't know how to ask it."

"Yeah, I don't want to get in the middle of any of you. Piper and Jason need to figure things out, Frank hates me might as well stay out of his and Hazels way, and you and Annabeth obviously need some time." He wanted to argue about Frank hating him but realized he wasn't wrong.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Percy stared in horror for a second. He said it as if he... he thought he didn't matter. The realization of this was heartbreaking. But he needed to keep himself together for him.

"I mean, you need someone to talk to."

"That's what Festus is for. And Buford. People don't understand me that well." It's not like this'll last long anyway.

"I bet I could." I have to try.

"Yeah right." I can't get close, I can't get close, I can't get close.

"Come on, hit me. It doesn't have to be big just one thing. Anything." Anything? Anything.

It was quiet for a few seconds. Something blew up in the distance.

-----

Idk

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Favorite Riordanverse Ships

Here's my previous ship tier ranking, but I have come to the conclusion that I need to REORGANIZE

and this time, we'll be working backwards😉

(if i've incorrectly credited the wrong person for the fanart, kindly let me know! I think I got most of them (four for sure I know I do!) but for the others, please let me know!)

Let's begin!

5 - Piper X Shel (Shelper)

art by @piqersgf

SAPPHIC GIRLS

I'm happy Piper's happy <3 also i need to know more about Shel. I NEED MORE!

4 - Hazel X Frank (Frazel)

art by @nisaeiam

theeeemss <3 hail the praetors

3 - Percy X Annabeth (Percabeth)

art by @arishatistic

hot take🔥😎🔥i just angered half the PJO fandom

I love them. I really do. I shipped them like crazy ever since I read the lighting thief in sixth grade. They've been through so much <3

But that's the thing. The fandom has kinda wrung them out for me. They've had their run. They've had their time.

It's time for these two to just get what they want - an opportunity to relax, and live normal lives <3

FOR GODS' SAKE LEAVE THEM BE LET THEM RETIRE ALREADY THEY'VE DONE ENOUGH FOR THIS WORLD

also, BI PERCABETH

2 - Magnus X Alex (FierroChase)

art by @annydraws

Magnus is pan I take no criticism. When I first read MCatGoA, I was like "why do I keep getting pan vibes from Magnus?" so yeah. PAN MAGNUS

AND ALEX!!!! BELOVED!!!! MY THIRD FAVORITE CHARACTER!!!! KEEP SLAYING KEEP SLAYING

1 - Apollo x Commodus (Copollo)

art by @newobsessioneveryweek

art by @literallyjusttoa

(I previously had art by @/callmesamuelxxx but I saw on their blog they wanted permission for repost so I went "Oops!" and switched real quick :3 Mistakes happen!)

anyway.

if you even LOOK at my tumblr presence, you should have seen this coming hehehe

it's a tragedy. it's toxic. it's about the narratives. they can make each other SO MUCH WORSE. commodus can't let the betrayal go. apollo couldn't bare to let anybody else kill him. commodus is fueled by his bitter vengeance. apollo knows where to strike to make it hurt. commodus still loves apollo (even if it's twisted by hate). apollo still loves commodus (even if it's twisted by guilt).

the last thing commodus hears is apollo's scream - a scream that stems from heartbreak, shoving proof of apollo's love for him in his face.

they are so fascinating I need more

so yeah. my ship list has RADICALLY changed I know haha but I have no regrets 😎

Copollo is the best, most well-written relationship in the entire Riordanverse. I take zero (0) criticism. an entire love story in just two flashbacks, and three interactions. the EMOTION. the FEELINGS. it's ALL THERE AND IT'S SO WELL-CRAFTED.

PEOPLE SLEEP ON TOA, AND THEY SLEEP ON THIS SHIP

Your Friendly Local Copollo Shipper, signing off :)

[cabinofimagines]

Totally NOT improvised birthday

A/N: Happy birthday Ash hope this saves you from the saddies -Danny

Words: 1,319

Usually, the Argo II monthly meetings are a casual thing, no one ever has plans in advance as to what they'll do once they're there. So it's pretty damn weird when you show up with a whole cake, a massive bag of snacks, and decorations.

"Cake!" Percy approaches to help you with the stuff. "Nice."

"What's all that for?" Frank asks with curiosity.

"My birthday," you replie casually.

Leo chokes on his drink while Annabeth stiffens in place, everyone else lets out different types of replies in various levels of panic and feigned exclamations of "Right, Frank! It's their birthday, don't tell us you forgot!" Everyone except Jason, Nico, and Will, of course, they all had marked the day in advance.

"Happy birthday!" Jason approaches with a sweet smile and gives you a crushing bear hug and a birthday bag.

"Thank you, man!" You smile happily, dropping the snack bag and the decorations on the table.

"We need tape!" Percy quickly gets up and walks to the door. "I'll get it!"

Annabeth grabs her cap and puts it on, instantly disappearing. Piper pretends to take a phone call and leaves while Leo rummages inside his tool belt. Hazel stretches a hand behind her chair and pulls literal treasure from the ground while Frank fidgets beside her trying to come up with something.

Nico and Will approach you, giving everyone else time to recover. Nico goes first, handing out his carefully wrapped present. He encourages you to open it—mostly to give everyone else a chance to find something—and inside you find a bag of rock-shaped chocolates of different colors and sizes and a whole new limited-edition deck of Mythomagic.

"Rocks!" You smile. "Thanks!"

Will goes next and hands you an envelope. "I thought it'd be nice to stretch out the celebration for another day."

"What?" You tilt your head in confusion and take a peak inside the envelope. "Ohhh!" You pull out three tickets to the newest Broadway show you once mentioned you were interested in watching. "Will!"

"Don't even," he brushes it aside. "Sponsored by dad, he says hi and happy birthday, by the way."

"Tell him I say hi back and thanks a lot!" You look at the tickets again. "There are three tickets here..."

Will blushes and clears his throat. "Yeah, I uhm—I don't know if it's okay with you, like, you can say no if you want to, but I thought we could go together?" He signals at you and Nico. "Like... us."

Nico gives Will a look but his boyfriend pretends not to see it, smiling at you bashfully.

"Oh," you feel fuzzy inside but quickly brush it off before getting the wrong idea. "That's really sweet that you want to escort me, thank you."

"Don't say it like that," Will laughs, though it comes out a bit too loud. "It's more like... a hangout. Right, Nico?"

"What he said," the boy says plainly, a light pinkish blush on his face.

You open your mouth to reply but someone storms into the rec room, screaming and stomping his hooves down the stairs. "I HEARD SOMEONE'S A YEAR OLDER TODAY!"

Hedge shows up at the foot of the stairs and happily makes his way to you, roughly patting your back and rambling about how small you were before and how proud he is that he's seen you grow (he literally never saw you as a child).

His present is a pocket knife and a survival guide that looks suspiciously hand-made by the satyr, but you can appreciate the effort, and it's a really cool gift anyway, so you smile and thank him for his presents.

Jason is next, and his gift makes your jaw drop to the floor as you open it, it's the official plushie of that one blorbo you've been yapping about for the past six months. "Where did you even get that? It's not supposed to be out for another two months!"

"I know a guy," he winks at you grinning. Then he pulls out a birthday card. "This is from Bobby, he couldn't make it but sends you his best wishes."

"This is awesome, Jason," you squeeze the plushie in your arms and hold the card carefully. Nico and Will look a bit pouty for a moment, but you overlook that.

"Sorry for that! It was my girlfriend, I had to pick up," Piper reenters the room, holding a large stick in her hand. "Here's your present, Y/N."

"A stick!" You beam, taking it from her very carefully. "My favorite!"

"It's not just any stick," Piper smiles, adopting a dramatic tone. "That is a friendship stick, Granpa says we give those to our closest friends to represent we are branches from the same tree."

"Why didn't I get a stick last year?" Leo frowns.

"Not now, dude," Piper mutters.

"That's so sweet and original," Will says with a knowing smirk. "I really like how that stick looks made exactly from the same wood the tree outside the Big House."

"All wood looks the same, Will," Piper states curtly.

"I disagree."

"Tape!" Percy returns holding the small roll. He also has a plushie shark under his arm with a blue ribbon around the chubby head. "Happy birthday, Y/N!"

When he hands the plushie, you can feel the slightly damp texture and you pause. "Is this wet?"

"It's part of the charm, don't question it," Percy replies without facing you, picking up the decorations and hanging them around the room.

"My plushie was better," Jason mutters, also picking up a few decorations.

"HA-HA, this is not a competition, superman!" Percy says tensely, then mutters. "If it were Nico would find the way to cheat..."

"For the last time, it was a fair tactic—"

"Happy birthday, Y/N, here's a crystal to make sure the stick and the damp plushie aren't haunted," Hazel gives you a nice lavender rock that you happily put next to your chocolate rocks.

"My present didn't arrive on time," Frank blurts out anxiously. "Amazon misplaced it. You know they hate me there."

"No worries, Frank, I get it," you smile innocently.

"Well, anyway, you got the lame presents out of the way, here's mine," Leo hands you something that looks very much like an explosive. "Why don't you open it like, over there, away from us?"

You stare at him a moment, but Leo would never actually murder you, no matter how much he threatens to do it, so you shrug and walk over to the table where you previously left the cake. "Sure."

Everyone gives Leo nervous glances while he keeps a smile on his face, which isn't really calming since he has a very unnerving grin. You press on the switch, and from the bomb erupts a massive amount of colorful confetti that spreads all over the table and the floor.

"Ohhh fun!" You exclaim.

"Oh, thank gods," Leo mumbles, his shoulders falling with relief. Then he raises his voice. "See? Now it's a real party!"

Piper puts some music on and everyone gathers to get cake, and play board games, Annabeth comes back after two full hours claiming she was upstairs in the bathroom.

"It's lady stuff, Valdez, stay out of my business," Annabeth snaps after the boy tries to question her. "Anyway, happy birthday, Y/N."

She gives you a properly wrapped present—in the newspaper, because eco-friendly—and inside you find one of the books you've been dying to buy for the past year, hardcover and collector's edition.

"Wow, guys, I wasn't expecting all of you to have presents for me," you smile big, looking at all the cool stuff your friends gave you. "This is the best birthday ever!"

Everyone shares slightly guilty looks but say nothing, giving you a second round of hugs. Jason makes sure everyone writes down the date before leaving so this doesn't happen again.

[the-ghost-king]

Okay so, a few years ago now me and @thebigqueer got into a back and forth and were somehow talking about a solangelo beauty and the beast au and I drafted it up but I never actually truly wrote it (not shocking if you know me, the wip folder is very full and very incomplete). Anyhow, I seen @solangeloweek was running a fairytale retelling day for the 28th so I figured I could upload this as a sort of bullet point/list/draft format the way so many people used to in fandom 10 or so years ago and we'll call it an intentional throwback.

Anyway, if this is your sort of thing then enjoy :)

Il bello e la bestia

Chapter 1:

Opens to Will being put to bed during the ball at the palace… Probably 5 or so

“We’ll see you in the morning my love”

When Will wakes up in the morning his nurse comes to get him, upon touching her she dies; Will begins screaming and crying, he doesn’t know what’s wrong

The doctor looks her over and concludes it's a new plague

Will holds onto his mother

Scene break

Hades meets Hestia in the early light of morning

“It is done?”

“Yes of course, I’ve never let you down have I?”

“No of course not, don’t tell Maria she would be most distraught.”

Scene break

‘News of the Queens death arrives within two days’ and fear begins to spread

The servants are all sent home but a few to try to keep them safe

All of the royal children but one are dead, there’s no news of the king but there’s rumors he’s on his deathbed

Plague gets into city, Hades does his best to secure his family's safety

Chapter 2:

Beginning of chapter is similar to The Secret Garden’s opening when Mary is the last survivor

Similar situation yet nobody rescues him

Apollo had realized Will was the source since he had immunity to whatever was going on

His last words to Will were “It’s not your fault do not blame yourself I should have done better, I love you my son and nobody would hold anything which has occurred against you”

Which confuses Will at first until he realizes

His father takes a rasping breath and Will is crying

He’s not all alone in the palace, but I need to figure out a curse of some sort for the surviving children (Austin and Kayla are babies so they live possibly without effects; Cecil, Lou Ellen, and Clarisse are children of the staff at the palace they need some sort of curse on them.. Perhaps Silena and Beckendorf reside at the palace still too? I think we can do better than making the houses other occupants cleaning supplies and pianos... also maybe Hazel is at the palace for some nice found family moments with her and Nico later on?)

Scene break

We’re in a moderate sized home and Hades is packing things into suitcases

Maria is gasping for air on her deathbed, the sun is rising (symbolism for her being a star)

Bianca too is coughing and choking and gasping on the bed they’ve added to the room

Nico is asleep on Hades shoulder

Hades wants to stop and take a moment and kiss Maria goodbye

She tells him no and to leave because he can’t get sick too

“For Nico,” she says, “Go, I love you both.”

And Hades leaves to her whispering soft words to Bianca

Hestia leaves somewhere else, she's going to find a way to erase the kingdom’s memory of the royals in an attempt to provide Will a more normal future since she thinks the punishment was too harsh.. Everyone was supposed to get sick but they weren’t all supposed to die

Chapter 3:

Possibly focus on Will and Nico growing up in a quick monologue type way?

Opening scene from Movie, Belle song kind of sequence

Octivian as Gaston ( so Nico has a chance at the end to still say ‘some deaths shouldn't be prevented)

Nico is known for being odd but so many people try to earn his hand in marriage for his looks

Hades was changed by Maria, he thinks marriage should be for love

He likes Percy but is shrugged off in favor of Annabeth

Reyna lives with him? They were friends as kids and Hades took her in after some time for currently undecided plot reasons

As they got older she basically became Nico’s personal Bodyguard after a childhood incident Nico liked making sure she had stable income and a good safe place to work (I kind of want it dark so maybe Minos got caught up in crime or something?)

Octivian trying to flirt or sabotage Nico somehow?

Nico doing some cool smart thing for plot

Chapter ends with Nico either realizing his fathers been gone to long or a hurried message saying he needs help

Chapter 4:

Nico takes Reyna and they go get Jason and take him with them

The woods scene ™ (Can't have wolves without Jason am I right? Lol)

Reyna, Jason and Nico accidentally get seperated

Reyna and Jason end up basically together somewhere

But Nico gets separated

They don’t know how far Nico got, so when they don’t find his body Reyna goes ahead to the city where Hades is supposed to be to try to see if Nico will be there and such

Jason stays behind to search the woods for remains or evidence

Chapter ends with Nico showing up in the castle, “Hello?”

Chapter 5:

Nico gets trapped in the castle

He trespassed and Clarisse and Cecil locked him up and someone in the palace of some importance tells them to let Nico go

He has to be kept in that situation because they don’t want people to know about Will/the palace and they don’t know what Nico’s seen

Hades had gotten trapped in the castle for some reason, maybe they figured out that he placed the curse or something, maybe just trespassing- Nico agrees to trade his life in jail for his father’s and events resume as typical

Scene ends with Nico being given a bedroom and taken out of a cell to be placed on “house arrest” and he tries to settle in to his new life

Chapter 6:

Scene opens with Jason walking back into town to try and convince people to form a search party for Nico

Technically this would be the “Gaston scene” but instead this is Jason trying to convince everyone why they should care about Nico… Kind of like the whole jar situation

Eventually a small party agrees to go help look (Jason, Reyna, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Octavian - so the 7 minus Hazel, plus Reyna and Octavian)

Scene break

Nico is trying to settle into his new palace life, and he’s befriending the people who live there

Will is some sort of secret, sort of like Elsa (another Disney movie throw in, why not) but slightly sus things have been noticed by Nico during conversations

Nico doesn’t care he’s going to try and run away and go back home (He’s got a plan in his head and materials hidden somewhere)

Nico does manage to get out of the palace, and he makes his way even out of the gates to start heading home on his horse

The Wolves ™

Nico is seriously injured during the event

Chapter 7:

Scene opens to the events at the village, as they lay out a map trying to determine where Nico might have ended up (They don’t even know the royal family or palace exist)

Either Reyna stumbles in claiming she couldn’t find Hades, or they might stumble in together with one of them very ill/weak

Scene break

Friends from the palace try to convince Will to help save Nico’s life

Will is scared about possibly making it worse and killing Nico because of his plague powers and how he hasn’t used his healing powers in years

“But you always cure Kayla’s colds!” “Yes but those are small!”

There’s a little bit of a spat, but Will agrees reluctantly

He goes into the room alone and tells them to seal the doors in case he messes up they only lose one life

The palace friends sit and wait

Chapter 8:

The scene opens to the search party beginning to look for Nico (they’re all headed in the wrong direction)

It will take them a month or more to even get close to Nico’s location

Queue making the pacing work in such a way you feel like it's a mundane day in the life sort of deal but just fast enough you're reminded Nico's life was hanging in the balance at the end of last chapter

Also some silly nonsense infighting because Octavian is there and boo Octavian

Scene Break with a slight timeskip

Will had healed Nico successfully, and instead of leaving to trust his care to his siblings and friends he takes Nico’s care onto himself

Three days in the infirmary style fic lets go! (except it’s like a week)

Flirting, pining, jokes, r u gay without actually asking that type questions

Will realizes Nico’s intelligence (or whatever the correct word for the term is) at some point and shows him the library with all the books

Nico gasps in wonder and awe

Scene break

Palace friends are all discussing the relationship and how close the two have grown

Throughout this Will has some weird behaviors but Nico ignores them as oddities and nothing else (psssst, Nico, it's trauma!)

It takes about a month for Nico to fully heal, but it's not specified or anything anywhere

Chapter 9:

Octavian is in a search group with Jason, Reyna, and Hades

Eventually they realize this is a ploy either for him to impress or hurt Nico (idk his and Nico’s relationship dynamic yet)

So Octavian attacks them and leaves them for the wolves

Scene ends with Hestia appearing (although it's not obviously her)

Scene break

Will and Nico falling in love in the palace

Nico has finally earned lots of Will’s trust and Will shows him the smaller magical library they have

He shows him the book that Will show the reader whatever they want to see… It's from Hestia when she worked at the palace (and now it's like Lou Ellen's room or something)

Nico does the little like apartment scene from the movie, but instead it's a small house in the middle of a large nature field along a river and he goes inside his childhood home with drawings and stuff all over the walls but like no people

They find the mask and Nico realizes they left because of a plague, Will feels guilty and hesitates as to whether or not he should tell Nico it was his fault.

He decided not to at the time, the scene ends with Will’s guilt as they return to the palace

Chapter 10:

Reyna, and Jason awake in Hestia's traveling home thingy idk

They realize Hades is in kahoots with a witch

They hesitate but decide not to disclose the information to the people of the city because they're good of heart

The scene ends with Reyna and Jason trying to return to the town to tell of Octavian crimes

But they have no evidence (not having any injuries was suspicious and they agreed not to talk about the witch)

Eventually they disclose the truth about the witch and Hades, and they are found and all 4 locked up to be executed for trying to falsely accuse him of a crime and socializing with a witch

Scene break with the death penalty way if heavy on the readers mind

In the magic room when looking over the books, Will shows Nico the magic looking mirror

They think it doesn't work, Will argues it just needs to be wanted up it hasn't been so many years since it's been used

He convinces Nico to come to dinner with him

Will plans to tell Nico about the plague issue, and encourages him to bring the mirror

Chapter 11:

Percy and Annabeth’s search group returns to town to hear of Reyna and Jason's issue

They begin to formulate a plan to try and rescue them to avoid the death penalty but they have to be fast and work before the soldiers know they're back

Scene break

During the dinner Nico checks the mirror again, and he’s made aware of his father and friends situation just before Will was going to tell him about plague incident

Will decides he can't keep Nico here his whole life and that he deserves more and happiness, he tells Nico to go after his family and that his sentence is served

He wraps Nico in his cloak and hands him the mirror and his own personal horse to go to his town

Scene break

Soldier walks in to Jason, Hades and Reyna’s cell “Time to go”

Chapter 12:

Scene opens to blood, Octavian kills Selena and Beckendorf for information and traps Clarisse somehow

He was interrogating them on their return from a different nearby village for food

He knows of the relationship between Nico and Will and he wants to use it against

Octavian has returned to the village, and knowing that Nico is in love with the “beast” he rallys a crowd painting Will to be vicious with witchcraft

Clarisse manages to escape somehow and goes to warn the palace about the incoming threat; they prep for battle

Scene break

Nico is sneaking around the town as he sees the preparations for the witch hunt being prepared

He knows they're going to try and kill his family first so he decides to go get Percy to ask him to help save them

Percy let's him in on the plan and there's like a who Notre Dame musical kind of thing where they save their lives

Once the villagers realize that witch and the rest of them aren't going to die tonight the leave anyhow to go and kill Will

Nico had left already before them by just a few seconds to rush to the palace and warn Will

Chapter 13:

scene opens to Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Leo helping to calm and heal Reyna Jason and Hades and try to wake Hestia

Percy looks into the distant forest where everyone has left to “now we pray” or something similar.

Scene break

Villagers arrive to storm the palace, with no mention of if Nico had got there in time or not

Octavian abandons X and X turns on Octavian to help the palace instead (I can't think of who would make a good le fou out of the characters so…. Character X for now... Unamed Roman IVXII or something lol)

Things are burning

Kayla and Clarisse are in charge of strategy

Austin is trying to be as loud and annoying as possible (music; villagers hold ears in pain etc)

Palace friends are using various tactics, Lou Ellen discovers her magic, Hazel too

Octavian is looking for Will and his siblings

Some home alone type shots of situations and planning that results in cool fight scenes courtesy of Cecil (Connor and Travis also? Hmm)

Scene break

Nico rushing up a staircase on the far side of the house which is without traps

He rushes to find Will

Chapter 14:

Opens to Hestia, Reyna, Jason, and Hades riding down the dirt forest road

Hestia is in the lead rushing

Percy and Annabeth and friends are behind on horseback too

Scene break

Nico opens Will’s room in a rush, trying to warn Will Octavian was missing from the fight

Octavian is standing in the open room in a position to kill Will in one blow

Nico freezes and meets Will's eyes

Scene break

A whole tower of the palace has gone up in flame, palace friends are struggling to hold ground in the fight

Chapter 15:

Octavian talking to Nico and Will disclosing his evil plan

Nico is watching Will’s eyes and had seen a shift in his face when he walled in

Now Will’s eyes are directing him towards an area with a weapon

Nico in one movement picks it up and fights Octavian giving Will freedom

Scene break

Percy and friends rush into battle below

Hestia doesn't stay to fight and rushes up the stairs

No killing or maiming villagers (capture the flag reference yadda yadda)

Scene break

Nico decides to spare Octavian life

Ocitivian uses this to shoot Will in the back

Ocitivian dies of Will’s plague

Hestia bursts through the door and saves Will’s life as Nico is crying over him

Chapter 16:

Will wakes up and he’s worried Nico will hate him because of the plague

Nico is sitting curled up in a chair next to Will’s bedside asleep, he wakes up when Will moves “shhh”

“No, no I need to explain, I’m so sorry” “Will, Will, I- Will, listen. I already thought about it and was briefed on the situation I don’t care.”

Will cries, they’re laughing and happy, snow is falling outside the window

Scene break

There’s a feast and all of the people in Nico’s friends are there and all Will’s friends and they eat

And there’s no talk of funeral preparations because it’s agreed they can be put on hold another day so the living can be celebrated a day longer

Scene break

After the funerals, Nico and Will walking down a hallway late (like 4am idk) after everyone else has retired the day of the services, they’re talking about how lovely they were

Nico begins to talk about how he’s sad he’ll have to leave soon

Will proposes, “Nico just stay, stay and marry me.” “Wait what?” “Please?” “Okay” “Wait really?” “Yes of course” “Oh I surely thought you’d tell me no and I’d have to impress you to earn your hand!” “Will~” “hmm?” “You already did” Nico kisses his cheek, queue fireworks or whatever

Chapter 17 (Epilogue):

Nico and Will ballroom dancing after their wedding, they’re surrounded by friends and basked in white light of the mid afternoon

They’re happy and joking with one another

Scene pans over to Hades and Hestia

Hestia: “Will you ever tell him?”

Hades, looking at her in a sad and fond manner: “I don’t know, but let them have at least this”

Hestia, knowingly: “You mean let yourself have this, because you know how upset Nico will be when he finds out the real reason for everything?”

Hades: “Shut up”

(Persephone asks him to dance? Palace staff???)

Talk about the festivities and try to make it an all is well type ending while still leaving the Hades situation open ended and on the darker side

Happy couple solangelo kisses for real and then actual fireworks yay

Fin!

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

Helpless parts 1-10, it's it strange how nothing's changed

Nico was finally allowed to leave the infirmary, he'd been stuck there for three days because of Solace since apparently he 'was about to turn into a puddle of darkness'. He was mainly alone for the most part which was fine with him, but the Apollo kid wouldn't leave him alone half the time, Nico knew it was his job and everything but with the amount of people in the infirmary after the war you would think he has something more important to do. Nico was on his way to cabin 13 when he was intercepted by Annabeth and Percy,

"Hey Nico, it's camp fire time. You can't avoid social situations forever, you might actually enjoy it. Come with us." Percy said brightly almost like there wasn't a war three days ago, Nico was about to decline but for whatever reason decided to go. A decision he was sure he would regret in a hours time but still he replied,

"Sure why not."

***

Nico sat down next to Annabeth, gods what is wrong with me? Nico thought to himself as more people arrived; he was very quickly starting to regret his decision but he thought he'd try to stay. Annabeth gave him a smile and leaned over.

"Nico I promise you'll love it," she said quietly hugging him. Nico normally hated being touched but now it was strangely fine; the only reason Nico stayed was for Annabeth and he did end up kind of enjoying it. Everyone was singing loudly and they all seemed happy, forgetting momentarily about all that happened just a few days ago. Then he heard Will Solace sing, his voice sounded angelic which was surprising for someone so stubborn and annoying but hey people surprise you sometimes he thought to himself. The night passed and Nico was actually happy he had come; as he returned to his cabin with Hazel, but as hard as he tried he couldn't get his mind off of Will Solace.

---

"Morning Haze," Nico said the just as he woke up.

"Here we have a true miracle occurrence the Nico di Angelo is awake before 11am is this the real di Angelo or is it really a fake." Hazel said in a teasing voice, it was nice to be back with her.

"Very funny Hazel," Nico said petting her on the head. "Anyway how much longer do I have with you until you go to back to New Rome?"

"I'm leaving today at 10pm, after campfire." She responded hugging Nico. "I'm gonna go get breakfast, cya later bro." Walking out the door, right after that there's a knock on the door. Nico opens it reluctantly and saw Solace outside the door,

"Great you haven't left yet. Can you come back to the infirmary tonight at 5 and do that every Friday for the rest of the month? I was asking Reyna and Annabeth and they said you'd shadow traveled a lot recently which isn't good for you, also-"

"-No underworldly stuff, just because I'm out of the infirmary doesn't mean I'm okay and I have a bunch of deficiencies. Solace I know, you don't have to worry, I'm not too big a fan of passing out myself. Yeah I'll come down at five, I don't see any use coming till the end of the month but you're too stubborn and I do not have the energy to argue with you today." Nico finishes his sentence,

"Okay great, that was surprisingly easy. Bye Nico I'll see you this afternoon." He says smiling as he closes the door behind him, Nico realised that he was smiling and cursed under his breathe in Italian. There is no way he liked that annoying doctor but the only thing he could think about were his bright blue eyes and how they look like the ocean. How his hair was perfectly golden and he was almost glowing in the sunlight, fuck, no, he couldn't do this again. He couldn't like anyone again, that would mean he has to tell people, what if they abandoned him? These are the times he sadly requires advice from Jason Grace.

***

Nico knocked on the door of his cabin hoping he hadn't left yet, he get lucky.

"Hey Grace, can I talk to you?" Nico asked stepping inside, Jason was (aside from Percy and Annabeth) the only one who knew.

"Yeah sure," Jason said calmly, Nico was thankful he still wanted to talk to him considering last time they tried to have this conversation Nico swore he would never talk to him again.

"Well, um.. I feel like I should tell the rest of the seven and Reyna. Percy and Annabeth already know-" Nico starts but is interrupted by Jason pulling him into a hug.

"Oh sorry, I forgot you don't like being touched I'm just proud of you." Jason say's quickly.

"It's fine, I'm trying to get used to human contact. Just I also wanted to tell you, I like this guy...and he's so stubborn and annoying but at the same time I want him to be mine. It's....Will Solace and I just...yeah." Nico finishes, slightly blushing after and rushing the part about Will Solace.

"Nico I'm so proud of you for wanting to tell them, and if any of them react badly I will personally strike them with lightning while simultaneously getting Percy to drown them. But they won't , these people love and care about you Nico they won't hurt you. As for Will Solace, well I know he's friends with Leo but not much else, I don't really see him much but he's a cool guy. Good luck mate." Jason says keeping his voice stable and calm as always,

"Thank you Jason, I guess I should go and talk to the other five now." Nico says hugging Jason, it was kind of shocking but Jason didn't show his surprise.

“Good luck Nico, I promise it’ll go well.”

“Wait, um, could you please come with me? I was going to ask Annabeth but-“

“Yeah of course I’ll come with you.”And with that the ghost king and Superman were off.

***

“Guys umm… can I talk to you?” Nico said walking up to Reyna, Leo, Hazel, Frank and Piper, finding them sitting under a tree.

“Sure di Angelo, what’s up?” Leo said hiding his shock that Nico di Angelo was willingly talking to someone who wasn’t Hazel, much more with Jason standing beside him. He looked like he was barely breathing so Jason placed a hand on his shoulder, whispering something in his ear. Nico (much to Leo’s surprise) smiled and continued, “Well….shit.., Jason I can't.” Nico says shaking.

"Breathe di Angelo."

"I fucking can't, what if they-"

"-I promise they won't react badly."

"That's what I thought about- doesn't matter."

"I know it's hard, especially after living in the 1930s for most of your childhood. Nico, are you sure you want to tell everyone, you're shaking."

"I SAW PEOPLE GET KILLED FOR IT, what....what if they hate me?"

"You don't have to tell them if you don't want to."

"I want to I'm just, scared."

"They care about you di Angelo, I swear on the River of Styx they won't hate you." Nico took a deap breath and continued.

"I'm..I'm gay.." he tenses up, waiting for someone to call him a fag and yell that he was going to burn and potentially try to kill him. After no such reaction he continued,"Also I may or may not have fallen for that insufferable doctor, Solace. Percy and Annabeth already know,” Nico turns around and hugs Jason,

“Good job Nico; damn three hugs in one day. You’re progressing,” Nico was tempted to yell ‘shut up Grace’ but decided against it. He broke the hug with Jason after he was able to keep his breathing under control, suddenly he was suffocated by a hug from Piper and Hazel

“Can’t. Breathe.” Nico muttered quietly and the girls let go,

“Thank you for telling us,” Piper said “I’ll look into Will for you.” She grinned walking off giving the siblings some privacy,

“I proud of you for telling us.” Hazel said hiding a grin,

“You don't hate me? You already knew didn’t you?” Nico asks,

“Well I had some suspicions.” Hazel said smiling,

“How? I didn’t talk to anyone?” Nico says failing to suppress his laughter,

“Younger sister magic. Also Nico why would I hate you?"

"Bianca..."

"Nico, you're my brother, I couldn't hate you. I can't imagine what you've gone through but I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you Hazel, I love you."

"Love you to bro." Hazel smiled and kissed Nico on the cheek, by then Jason was talking to Leo.

“Nico, I’m proud of you. Hope Solace likes you back, maybe impress him with Jules-Albert. If anyone hurts you because of it then I will send the Roman Legions on them. ” Reyna said, messing up his long black hair that went a couple of inches past his shoulders before leaving not giving Nico time to reply. Nico smiled, pathetic, I haven't smiled this much since I was ten year old he thought to himself.

"Di Angelo! I'm warning you about Will, his sense of humor is worse than mine and Percy's combined and do not and I mean do not ask him to sing unless you are prepared to listen to him for three hours. Also um.. good job on telling us," Leo said patting Nico on the back.

"Thanks for the advice Valdez, but I'm not sure it is possible for someone to have a worse sense of humor than you." Nico said bluntly yet still smirking,

"Good luck on Solace, Nico. Proud of you for telling us, if anyone ever gives you shit I'll turn into a poisonous snake and kill them. Everyone will think it was an accident." Frank says so seriously that Nico almost shakes, Nico has to look up to meet his eye. Frank was a foot taller than him,

"Thanks Frank, but let's try to avoid murder for now." Nico smiled, this was going much better than he expected.

"Thanks for coming with me Grace." Nico said,

"No problem Nico, I'll catch you later yeah?

***

It was almost five and Nico had embarrassingly spent the whole day thinking about Will Solace, he was stubborn and got on his nerve but he was cute in a way. Nico headed to the infirmary where Will Solace stood there waiting for him,

"Hey Nico." Wil called out brightly,

"Hello Solace." Nico said coldly, this Apollo kid could not know anything. Will did the routine of lecturing him about how he needs to eat more, his severe vitiam D deficiencies, iron deficiencies and about twenty more that could never remember.

"Okay so, I'm giving you some vitamins. Take this one with breakfast and the blue one before you sleep, also I looked through the tests you did. You have PTSD and depression, I would recommend therapy but then you would send an army of skeletons after me, pass out and potentially die and I really don't want you to die. I think we have reached a level of kind of friendship and would not like you to die right now, take one of these a day first thing in the morning with water before you eat anything." Will said walking around the room picking up three different containers and placing them on a table in front of Nico.

"Solace I'm fine. I'm not taking them." Nico spoke bluntly,

"Yes you are, doctors orders. I will be telling your sister to make sure you take them and after she leaves I'll make sure you do." Will respond firmly,

"Solace you aren't my father, I don't need you checking in on me. I won’t take them, I am fine." Nico said avoiding eye contact as the blonde boy towered over him.

"Nico di Angelo, it is my job to make sure you are healthy. I do not care whether you like it or not, you need to take the medication. I don't care if I have to shove it down your throat, I can't have you dying on me di Angelo so take the fucking pills. Please for the love of Apollo or I guess Hades just take it, I don't care how much you say you're okay, you are not. Do you know how many times I have considered putting you in the infirmary on an IV because you looked like you wouldn't last another day? Have you even eaten today Nico? It may seem shocking to you but I actually care about you, I don't want you to drop dead." Will finishes, his usual gentle voice lost replaced with a shaking yet harsh one."Shit, Nico I'm really sorry I just, I'm really concerned about you. Please just take the pills, doctors orders." Will replies in his usual gentleness.

"Okay I'll take them, I swear I'm trying to eat more it's just I forget I need to. Spending years with ghosts and then trapped in that jar I always forget I'm meant to eat." Nico whispered, he was actually trying to eat, but it just makes him feel sick.

"It's at dinner I'll sit with you and Hazel at the Hades table." said Will.

"I thought you weren't allowed to do that?" Nico wondered.

"For medical purposes, I am." Will added simply, Nico didn't argue after that. Seeing Will speaking in that harsh voice, it made him seem more real. He didn't want to admit it but after that he wanted him even more.

***

They walked to the Hades table,

"Oh hey, Will Solace right? I thought you were an Apollo kids, why are you sitting at Hades?" Hazel asked,

"Medical reasons; you're Hazel I presuming?" Will responded, after that they started talking. They got on quite well. With Will there Nico felt more pressured to eat, even then he barley finished half a plate. "It's getting better, just try to eat a bit more each day. I'll see you at campfire, yeah Nico?" Will said before walking away.

"So that's loverboy?" Hazel grinned as Nico tried to hide his blushing,

"Shut up Hazel, there's no chance he likes me." Nico responded softly, looking down. "Especially after today, I'll see you at campfire Haze." He finished before leaving.

***

"Gods Will, just tell him." Annabeth sighed,

"There's no chance he likes me back. I quite literally yelled at him today because he wasn't taking his medication."

"Will, please if Nico di Angelo was going to get scared by yelling he would not have survived Tartarus."

"I know but what if he's straight?" What if he was homophobic.....he was from the 30s...Nico probably didn't know he was bi since he was never at camp constantly. Will didn't say anything to Annabeth but the thought was in the back of his mind. Annabeth thought quickly, she didn't want to out Nico but also he didn't want Will to think he had no chance, he'd been pining over Nico for so long it was kind of hopeless.

"You won't know until you talk to him Will."

"I swear he hates me, he won't even say we're friends."

"Will, Nico does not hate you. If he did he would have made that very clear."

"But-"

"I promise he doesn't hate you Will, trust me."

"Okay Annabeth I trust you, but I still think there is no chance Nico di Angelo, the living embodiment of darkness will ever fall for the son of Appollo." With that Will walked off to the infirmary, just as Percy and Jason came running in.

"Hey Wise Girl." Percy said while kissing her,

"Hi Seaweed brain." Annabeth replied as she messed up his hair,

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I did want to tell you two something." Jason said, "Nico came out to the rest of the group today as well as Reyna. "

"Wait really? Gods I'm so proud of him." Annabeth said, she felt a strange amount of protectiveness over the son of Hades. He'd gone through so much and she was so proud of him for telling everyone.

"I'm guessing I'm still not his type? Wait there's no one I need to drown right? Because I gladly will drown anyone if required,"

"Thankfully no, but I did also offere to strike anyone with lighting if required." Jason responded as he and Percy high fived. Piper walked towards them after leaving a group of Aphrodite kids, she had a look in her eyes which Annabeth could only assume meant she was planning something.

"Guys so you know how Nico likes Will-"

"Wait what?" Annabeth said shocked.

"Nico said you and Percy already knew?" Piper said extremely confused,

"So his type is blondes? " Percy asked,

"Well um..anyways what's the chance that they get together? I need to hear your predictions, Aphrodite kid tradition except they don't know this time so I thought I would ask you guys."

"80%" Percy and Jason said in unison before Annabeth just smiled and said,

"100" and walking off.

"Anyways bye you two, I should probably go and help plan that date for Clarisse and Chris. I told Clarisse we would have it planned by campfire." She said kissing Jason and walking back to where her siblings were.

"Bro I bet I can beat you in a sword fight right now." Jason said,

"Not a chance, your on. No prep time allowed."

"Let's go then."

Percy and Jason both ran off to the forest likely going to do something extremely stupid and probably electrocute a few people but honestly no one cares as their fights were some of the most exciting things to watch.

***

Will was headed back to the infirmary until he saw a very stuck Leo laying under what looked like 3 tonnes of metal, Will could barely lift it but managed to life it up enough for Leo to get out. Thankfully he was extremely scrawny so that didn't require much lifting,

"Leo I just have one question, why were you laying under sheets of metal? Also infirmary, now. I very much doubt that you don't have a single broken bone after having something tripple your weight laying on top of you." Will asked mildly concerned yet laughing.

"Well I was carrying metal sheets to the forest on Festus so I could make a guard around everyone else when Jason and Percy fight because while it is fun to watch people also do not like getting drenched apparently. Who would have thought? But turns out duct tape was not the answer this time and a few of them fell on me." Leo explained as they walked to the infirmary.

"Duct tape has let you down, I hope you can recover from this sense of betrayal Leo."

"I don't know man I just didn't think I would ever be betrayed so deeply." They both burst out into laughter as they reach the infirmary. They walk into a room

"I'm going to take a guess and say your leg isn't broken considering you walked here but still is there any pain?" Will asked him,

"Just a bit in my arms but like that's it mate, I think I'm fine."

Will feels the bones on Leo's arm's checking for any broken bones.

"Well your definition of fine is quite different to mine considering you've broken your left wrist, and your right arm is fractured in two places." Leo cracked a smile, like he didn't feel any pain.

Will hands him some ambrosia,

"Leo, you know how you managed to make an immortal girl to like you? Specifically one that hated you?"

"If you want romantic advice you have come to the wrong person, I'll try to help but like I have no clue how I got Calypso. I think she liked me more when I stopped talking to her and I don't think that normally has the same effect on most people. "

"You're the only person I know who has managed to make someone go from hating you to loving you so I'm gonna take my chances."

"Sure mate I'll try," Leo laughed as he pulled something out of his pocket and started mindlessly fiddling.

"Well, I need to make Nico di Angelo stop hating me."

"You're gay? Was I meant to know this information pre-hand because you are acting like you have told me this before." Leo asked, looking slightly confused.

"I'm bi, it was probably before you came to camp when I came out, but basically the whole camp knows." Will said, for better or worse he thought but didn't tell Leo that.

"Yeah probably, now I'm giving you a heads up before you continue. If Nico hated you, you would be dead by now so you already have that section cleared." Leo said grinning.

"Well how exactly do I change from kind of not hating to hopelessly in love with me?"

"Mate I'm barley passed the I will kill you on the spot stage, but I guess show him you care. Jason said that's what he did and I think it worked out pretty well for him."

“Thanks mate, if you want you can leave the infirmary but no life risking events or anything that requires your hands for 24 hours.”

“I’ll try but no promises mate," Leo said laughing as he walked out."I'll catch you at campfire, yeah?"

"I'll see you there Valdez." Will nodded as Leo walked out the door likely getting himself severely injured, Will knew that he would probably get himself hurt again, Leo was like a magnetic for injuries.

***

The Ghost King finally stands up and splashes his face with some cold water as he started to clean up, no one needed to know. He would be fine, it'll go away soon enough. Every single time he had eaten since being in that jar he had thrown up, his eating had never been very stable but ever since the jar it had gotten a lot worse. When he was on the Argo II he had mostly gotten away with not eating but now with Will Solace watching over him like a hawk he would actually have to eat, Nico hoped he wouldn't realise but he probably would soon enough. Still there was no reason for him to find out any earlier than that, maybe if he got lucky it would fix itself and no one would know but Nico had learnt to not test his luck as it could always get worse. He had left the table as soon as he could and hoped that Hazel wouldn't come back to the cabin too soon.

***

"Good match Jace," Percy sighed, struggling to catch his breath after their fight. They did this a lot to fill in boring parts of the day, or to put on a show. It was also a great way to get your mind off of the last few years when you are nearly killing your friends for fun, the healers had given them many lectures about electrocuting and drowning each other many times but hey they weren't dead yet so they must be doing something right.

"Back at you bro." Jason said putting his shirt back on, "Percy I just realised. We don't have a ship name for Will and Nico, wait Will is bi right? I think I overheard someone talking about it before we went to New Rome."

"Yeah, Annabeth told me that he came out to the whole camp a few days before you, Leo and Pipes came. Now ship names....Wilco?

"Bro that's a terrible ship name, come on we can do better mate."

They both thought for a solid 10 minutes until Jason faceplamed and said,

"Bro, Solangelo, it's so simple yet so perfect."

"Did it really just take us that long to think of that?"

"We've lost our touch bro."

The two boys were laughing as they walked back out of the forest to join the rest of the camp for campfire.

***

Nico had regrettably made the decision to show up at campfire, later making the even worse one to sit with Percy Jackson. He didn't realise how bad of an idea this was until he heard Percy sing, it sounded kind of like a dying bird. Sadly Nico had a lot of experience with dying animals and thought that it almost sounded worse. The hour was going by, then Will started to sing again. Nico didn't know the song, he just watched Will. The light from the hearth made his blonde hair almost glow, his blue eyes were so bright they reminded him of the ocean. His voice was spinning though the cold wind, Nico couldn't control himself, he stared at the Apollo boy until he finished singing. He was there laughing with the rest of his cabin, Nico looked away before Will found out he was looking.

***

"Bye sis, I'll miss you." Nico said pulling Hazel into a hug,

"I'll miss you to, you'll visit New Rome yeah? Frank, Reyna and I'll miss you."

"Course Haze," Nico said kissing his sister on the forehead and pulling her into a hug. A single tear fell from her eyes as she got on the bus, heading back to New Rome.

"Bye di Angelo, it was nice getting to know you. I hope you visit soon, and good luck with the healer." Reyna said pulling him into a hug, Nico had blushed at the last part.

"Send an Iris message when you get there yeah? I'll miss you Reyna." The Ghost king said holding back tears, over their journey he and Reyna had become close. Nico walked over to where Frank was standing, "Good luck on your new role as Preator Frank. Take care of Hazel while you're at New Rome, if I hear one word that you're hurting her in any way I will make you wish you were dead." He said looking up at the boy,

"Don't worry Nico, I'll take care of her. I'll see you next time yeah." He said before getting on the bus, the sky was dark, covered in stars.

***

Nico woke up shaking, his screams muffled in his pillow. Nightmares, Nico stuck in the Jar, Tartrus, Bianca dying, Hazel hurt, the battle of Manhattan, the last time he talked to Bianca. Everything was so realistic, he couldn't control the tears. Nico checked the clock, 12:07 shit he thought to himself as he took the small pill the blonde boy had given him. He could barely swallow it, he hadn't stopped shaking. The nightmares hadn't been as bad with Hazel there but alone they were so vivid and realistic, he couldn't get the images out of his head. He opened up his bedside table and pulled out a pocket knife, another thing on the list that no one could know. He wanted to die, he was cursed, everything good in his life was overrun by fear and sadness. By the end of the night his is arms were covered in shallow cuts, they would heal soon enough and he knew they wouldn't scar, no one has to know. Nico barely slept the rest of the night, the less sleep he got the less time for nightmares.

---

Nico woke up to a loud knock on the door, he had slept in his jeans and camp shirt so he just put on his jacket and ran his fingers through his hair before opening the door. Standing there, with far to much energy for someone to have in the morning: Will Solace.

"What in the Hades are you doing here Solace?" Nico asked rubbing his eyes before spotting the sun towards the east, well it wasn't past 12, truly a miracle. "And what time is it?"

"It's 9:30 and I am here to make sure you take your meds, it's protocol to make sure it's been taken."

Nico rolled his eyes as he grabbed the container that was next to his bed as well as a glass of water that he had left there, as he swallowed he said.

"Happy now Solace?"

"I told you it's protocol, normally we get someone else from the cabin to check but Hazel went to New Rome."

"Aren't you head? Doesn't that mean you made the protocol?" Will put his finger to his lip before responding with,

"Bye Nico, I'll wait for you at the Hades table for breakfast. Oh and watch out for Piper, she is insistent on taking you shopping and Chiron already agreed to letting her take you." He said as he walked out the door. Nico sighed, well there was no chance he was getting out of something if Piper wanted him to do it. He needed a new jacket anyways.

***

Will had annoyingly made sure Nico got food, he picked up a single slice of toast and was forcing himself to eat.

"Neeks don't forget to take the other one as well."

"Don't call me Neeks." He said grumbling as he put the pill in his mouth and swallowed.

"It's a cute nickname."

"Would you like an army of skeletons chasing you? Is that cute enough?"

"No underworldly stuff Neeks, or else-"

"You're kidnapping me and locking me in the infirmary again."

"Exactly." Will smiled resisting the urge to ruffle the Ghost Kings long hair. Then Piper ran up to them,

"Nico I'm taking you shopping today. You can't stop me, I've already asked Chiron and he agrees you need more social interaction." Nico gave her dagger eyes, the Apollo kid had already left to go to the infirmary seemly please with Nico's eating. "Also you need a haircut-"

"Not a chance McLean, I do not trust those people."

"Nico it'll be fine, unless you would rather me cut it."

"No chance."

"One or the other, come on di Angelo. Son of Hades scared of a haircut?"

"Oh fuck you McLean."

"You aren't denying it...."Piper grinned as Nico thought about his options, he knew he wasn't getting away, Piper would probably charmspeak him into getting it cut anyways so there's no point resisting.

"I hate you so much McLean, either way I trust you more." Nico sighed, Piper's face lit up.

"You're the best Nico, trust me I know what I'm doing. Oh you're still not getting out of shopping by the way, you need to own something that isn't black."

"I don't think I do,"

"You act like you're allergic to colour I swear, hey you might even enjoy it."

"Impossible."

"We can go to McDonalds? I remember Percy saying something about you loving that place."

Nico considered the offer, it had been two year's since he had gone to McDonalds. He was almost certain Piper had charmspoke him considering after that offer he agreed.

"Great, I'll meet you at thirteen in an hour." Piper said before walking off to celebrate her success with Jason. Then he reaslied what he agreed to, Piper would probably find out about his eating thing. Fuck. At that point though there was no going back, 'well let's hope that Piper McLean can keep a secret.' he thought before walking to the Hades cabin and throwing up everything he had eaten. He still thought it was a miracle no one had found out, he always made sure to be in his cabin before it happened. People worry about him enough already, he didn't need them worrying even more, he would be fine, it would fix itself.

***

Nico heard a knock and went to open the door, Piper looked back at him with a smile.

"Hey McLean, please do not make me regret this."

"Trust me you won't Nico, and you do realise that people have first names right?" Piper smiled as she walked inside; Nico rolled his eyes at the comment and closed the door. As they walked inside the bathroom the Aphrodite girl pulled out some scissors, a comb and a spray bottle filled with water. "Okay so since your hair is straight so it'll be easier to cut while it's wet, I'll cut it to around your shoulders and add some layers, any objections?"

"You forced me into this, I'm hoping you know what you're doing."

"You have so much confidence in me, why are you so against getting your hair cut anyway? I'm genuinely curious."

"Reason."

"Great explanation." Piper muttered as she started brushing Nico's hair, it was soft and wasn't that thick but not thin either.

"Last time I got it cut was like two years ago, I asked for it to but cut around my shoulders and this bitch cut it shorter than Jason's saying it 'Wasn't right' so now I refuse to have it shorter than my collar to spite her."

"I'm surprised you didn't kill her, I probably would have." Piper laughed as she continued brushing,

"Well social anxiety is a real bitch." Nico smiled as he said it. The daughter of Aphrodite started to spray his hair with water and cutting carefully half an inch above his shoulder and adding layers into it. Nico stood perfectly still the whole time, neither talked until Piper had finished.

"So di Angelo, thoughts?" Piper asked,

"You're surprising good at this McLean." Nico smiled, a often a rare occurrence for the child of. Hades yet it had become more common in the last few days.

"Don't be so shocked Nico, my mother is Aphrodite, Goddess of beauty." Piper said as she handed him some hair ties, "You'll need these, I have no clue how you've survived so long with your hair out but you don't have to suffer any longer. Also Will would love it." Piper winked, Nico rolled his eyes.

"Oh leave me be McLean, but thanks for the hair ties." he said as he put them around his wrist. The two cleaned up, Piper started collecting her things and glaced at her watch.

"I'll go get ready, meet you back here in twenty minutes." She said running out of the door, giving Nico just enough time to overthink. Piper had actually done a good job at cutting it, he ran his fingers through it, pulling some part from the sides in front of his face. It was shorter than he was used to but it probably looked more decent, the longer hair had started getting on his nerve either way and he mentally noted to thank Piper for cutting it. He wondered what the Apollo boy would think; he took one of the hair ties off his wrist and tied his hair back, trying to stop thinking about it, before getting ready to be dragged out by Piper. He wore the first pair of black jeans he saw with a black T-shirt and his aviator jacket, he suspected the colour may be making less of an appearance in his closest after Piper was done.

***

The two stepped into a mall in New York that Nico could not bother to remember the name of, Piper grabbed his hand dragging him through the mall. Nico constantly reminded himself that human contact would not kill him and that it was probably a good thing Piper was dragging him along considering he had no idea where he was going.

"I still don't understand why I couldn't just shadow travel us here."

"Will threatend to kill me and Chiron if we let you shadow travel."

"Of course it was Solace, I would expect nothing less from him." The son of Hades said, rolling his eyes. The two demigods walked through the stores both trying on different clothes and Piper this time failing to convince Nico to get anything that wasn't black. All while Piper teased him about a certain son of Apollo,

"Be realistic Piper, he's probably straight anyways."

"No he's not actually, he's bi. Leo was going to tell you but he couldn't find you, apparently the rest of Camp knows." Nico's face lit up for a second before looking back down.

"There's still no chance. He is literally the embodiment of sunshine, I am the child of Hades, God of the fucking Underworld. There is no sunlight there."

"Nico he clearly cares about you."

"It's his job."

"But he checks in on you so much more than anyone else."

"Because he doesn't trust me to stay alive."

"If he didn't trust you to be alive he would have kept you in the infirmary."

"There's still no chance he likes me."

"You're the only one who thinks that Nico, he gave you a nickname for Aphrodite's sake. He doesn't do that with anyone else who is 'just a patient'"

"He did that to get on my nerve."

"Gods you're so dense, wanna go to McDonald's now?"

"Oh, sure." Nico said trying to hide the shake in his voice.

"Oh and di Angelo, Will threatened to kill me if I didn't make you eat a full meal so yeah."

"Of course he did."

***

They finished ordering, Piper had only gotten some fries and a drink because apparently the vegetarian options 'were so bad they tasted like grass'. Nico just nodded, not pointing out the fact that not ten minutes ago she was threatening him to eat a full meal today because Will would kill her if he didn't and here she was barely eating herself.

"Number 57!" Nico walked up and grabbed the tray, he breathed in deeply. He'll be okay, if he acted calm then he could play it off. He would just walk off for a bit, Piper didn't have to know. The two started to eat, it still tasted as good as Nico remember but he could barely get anything down his throat. He already felt sick but he knew he could withstand at least another five minutes without throwing up, he tried to keep conversation to a minimum putting all his energy into seeming fine. After another few minutes passed, then Nico muttered,

"Bathroom." Before walking away, he tried to keep his pace normal but already knew he was walking away too fast and Piper would know something was up. He quickly walked inside and was extremely thankful the bathroom was empty, he went into the stall furthest away from the door. He threw up everything he had eaten like countless other times, at that point he was just hoping no one would walk in. He cleaned himself up a bit and headed back towards Piper,

"Okay tell me. What happened?"

"What?"

"I know something happened, you're biting your nails and you looked sick before. Also you practically ran and you look nervous."

"Nothing happened."

"Nico don't lie, I know something happened. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Piper desperately wanted to know what had happened to the Hades boy but she knew when to stop pushing, she didn't want to charmspeak it out of him, that's purely invasive. He'll tell when he's ready.

"Come on, I want to do something I'll regret in a week."

"Which is...?"

"I'm getting my ears pierced."

"Oh my Gods, yes. That is an amazing idea; if they say you look too young to do it without parents concent, I'll charmspeak them."

"Thanks McLean, didn't particularly like the plan of asking the God of the Underworld to come to a mall in New York." Nico was relieved Piper had either forgotten to continue interrogating him or was leaving the topic for now, he had been meaning to do this at some point either way and this seemed like a good occasion.

***

Piper had to do some charmspeaking, but finally Nico had gotten them done. He decided to get doubles since he was going to regret it anyway might as well go all out, he hadn't even flinched when it happened. After that they went to a few more stores and Piper finally convinced him to get something that wasn't black, instead a very dark blue.

"I would ask if you are actually allergic to bright colours except I've seen you in a bright red shirt so that clearly isn't the case."

"I just like black, is there a problem?"

"It makes you look like the Grim Reaper."

"I was hoping for that."

"You're hopeless di Angelo."

"Finally you're giving up, took you long enough."

"Nope, simply stating facts. If I can bring a metal dragon to life I can make you look less like a ghost without the use of charmspeaking." Turns out however that she could not, maybe some tasks really were impossible.

"I'll shadow travel us back, it's not that far."

"Nico, I would get killed by your loverboy if you did that. We'll just take the-"

"That is probably more dangerous if we're being perfectly honest, also shut up."

"Never. By the way not that many people died, it was-" but the daughter of Aphrodite didn't have time to finish. A wooden club hit her over the head, Nico cursed under his breath and pulled out the only weapon he had, a small pocket knife, he knew he couldn't do much against a fully grown cyclopes. He didn't know where it had come from but that wasn't important, the monster had probably found them because of his blood, children of the big three were the easiest to be tracked by monsters. He had skeletons but there is no way he could stab it with the celestial bronze blade, Piper had passed out and was bleeding on the floor. Meanwhile Nico was struggling to not get hit by the 15 foot cyclopes, he didn't know what everyone else had seen but they didn't pay much attention. He raised a few skeletons to try and keep it in place, he felt himself getting weaker. He knew he shouldn't be doing these things but he was fine for those years he was alone, he would survive now. Piper had lost a lot of blood, he didn't know how well this would go, he had some squares of ambrosia but couldn't get it to her without dying. There was nothing else he could do, he grabbed her wrist and shadow traveled back to camp, but still got hit with the club before he was gone. His head hurt and he tasted blood in his mouth, he collapsed as he showed up somewhere in front of cabin 13.

---

"Nico, God's you scared us."

"What? Am I in the infirimry? Is Piper okay?" He said barely able to speak, coughing after each word.

"Piper woke up in an hour, you've been out for three days Death boy."

"Don't call me that, wait WHAT? I've been out for three days?"

"Try to breathe, I'll get you some water and then I'll explain." The blonde boy walked of and Nico tried to comprehend what had just happened, he'd passed out for three days. Shit, what had happened with the cyclops. Solace had returned with a glass of water and handed it to Nico after he had sat up, "Jason's been worried sick about you, I finally forced him outside today to get some food. You had a concussion and you were practically dead, I forced as much necter down your throat as I could without killing you."

"I didn't kill the cyclops, what happened after?" Nico coughed as he spoke, Will ruffled his hair.

"Neeks it was handled, but right now that isn't important. Three days rest in the infirmary, no underworldy things for 11 weeks 6 for this time, 5 for last time. I'll go and get you some food it'll probably help. Also I'll get Jason, he's hasn't slept for the past three days and would kill me if I didn't tell him instantly." Nico wanted to protest but he physically couldn't, he just nodded as the golden boy walked off. He wondered how longs Jason had been waiting and instantly felt guilty, he also desperately wanted to see Piper to make sure she was okay but right now he could barely breath. Jason ran into the room wrapping his arms around Nico,

"I was so fucking scared di Angelo, I thought you were dead."

"S-sorry.." Nico muttered,

"What are you apologising for?"

"Will told me you haven't slept for three days."

"Well yeah, I was worried about you, not exactly your fault you got attacked. Nico you don't know how bad it looked, you we're laying on the floor covered in blood with Piper on top of you. When we first took you to the infirmary sometimes you would go through solid objects like you were turning into a shadow, you had a broken arm and were barely breathing. Fucking hell Nico I'm so happy you're alive."

"Is Piper okay?"

"Yeah she's fine, just gave her a bit of ambrosia and she woke up. She's been beating herself up over not noticing the cylopese before though."

"That's what she's worried-" Nico started coughing violently before he managed to drink some water, before wincing at the pain in his ribs.

"Nico! Are you okay?" A mixture of fear and panic washed over Jason's face,

"Fine. Go back to dinner, you look like you haven't eaten in far to long."

"Irony," Jason smirked before walking out the door.

***

The Apollo boy walked in carrying two plates of food, placing one on an empty table and handing the other one to Nico.

"Neeks you okay?"

"Hurts...to...breathe." The blonde boy quickly walked up to Nico lifting his shirt and touching his torso feeling his ribs, the son of Hades flinched at the contact.

"Sorry," Will said, yet still keeping his hands on the small boy.

"Still getting used to human contact." Nico mumbled, the Apollo boys hand was warm on his skin.

"Shit, Neeks. It's broken, I should have checked but I completely forgot with the whole passing through solid objects and hoping you would wake up. I'm really sorry." He pushed on the bones a bit, it hurt but Nico showed no reaction. Then he started softly singing a hymn, Nico felt warmth rushing over his body. He exhaled softly as the blonde boy that he just realised had been faintly glowing faded, he lifted his hands off leaving Nico's skin warm. "That should have fixed it," Will said as his bright blue eyes locked with Nico's. "You okay Neeks?"

"Yeah, fine." Nico muttered realising he had just frozen, he quickly grabbed his shirt and pulling it down before starting to process the fact that Will Solace can heal when he sings and glows.

"You seem surprised," Will noted, he was as well, his healing had been less reliable after the Gods disappeared for months.

"YOU HEAL PEOPLE SINGING? FUCKING SINGING OF ALL THINGS?!?" Nico said in pure shock,

"Apollo's the God of music, healing and the Sun..?"

"But just imagine if you get stabbed and someone just starts singing."

"It makes more sense on paper okay!" Will says raising his hands in surrender, "Nico you should probably eat something, you've been on an IV for three days." Nico glanced over realising the needle was in his arm.

"I'm not hungry." Nico muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Wil to hear.

"Neeks you haven't eaten in three days, just try to eat something. It'll make you feel better, you'll need it." Nico knew that he wouldn't be able to keep anything down, but maybe if he acted right he could play it off as a one time thing, he just felt bad this time thing. Will started eating an apple,

"What happened to an apple a day keeps the doctor away?" Nico smirked, before forcing himself to take a bite of a sandwich and instantly regretted it. Will just smiled and rolled his eyes at the comment; Nico kept forcing himself to eat, no matter how sick he felt. He was hoping that Will would leave soon but doubted he would be that lucky, the Apollo kid seemed insistent on keeping him company. Will looked over to the small boy realising how sick he looked,

"Neeks you alright?" Nico just shook his head, Will quickly handed him the closest bin and held back Nico's hair as he threw up the sandwhich he had just forced himself to eat.

"Cazzo." He muttered under his breath, normally he could force himself to last a bit longer but after the last three days he couldn't handle it. Will gave him a glass of water before sitting down on the bed next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. After a few minutes he ran his fingers through Nico's hair, taking out every tangel.

"Di Angelo, you should probably get some rest, it should help you feel better. Tomorrow morning see if you can eat anything, we'll keep you on the IV for now." Nico just nodded already half asleep leaning against the blonde boy. Will lifted up the sleeping boy with ease, laying him on the bed. He was too light, he weighed 90 pounds at the very most which was dangerously underweight. Will made a mental note to talk to him more about that; he looked at the small boy laying there. He seemed so peaceful, he had gone through so much, this was the first time Will had seen him relaxed, even in his sleep. Last time he'd been in the infirmary he had slept for most of it but he always seemed ready to attack or run, Will couldn't help but smile at him. He flicked off the lights and checked his watch, 8:42, that meant he would have some time to talk to Annabeth before campfire.

***

"How's he doing?"

"He woke up today, turns out he had a broken rib and I didn't fucking realise."

"Will, he almost died. You were panicking, you helped him in the end, don't beat yourself up."

"It's a fucking broken rib not a paper cut."

"I know and normally I would be scolding you over it but this is a different situation, anyway any progress?"

"Well I mean he didn't threaten to kill me when I touched him and he talked to me so that's something I think...?"

"See he doesn't hate you!" She says punching him in the shoulder lightly,

"He's so fucking hot, how the Hades is someone allowed to be that hot?"

"Damn Solace, you're more obsessed than I thought."

"No shit. Also how do I get past the 'I won't kill you but I don't like you very much' stage?

"Try to talk to him, make him play 20 questions with you? Then he can interrogate you while you interrogate him, but also have few skips. He's gone through a lot, you don't want to force him to answer if he doesn't feel comfortable."

"Thanks for the advice Anni-Annabeth." He catches himself before using the nickname, he knows it's the one Luke always used.

"No problem Will, I wish you the best of luck in not getting killed."

"Hopefully I won't need it." he sighed with a smile before walking off to join his siblings. Annabeth smiled to herself, this would be entertaining. It was honestly painful to watch them pining over each other like this much while being so clueless about the other, it took all of her willpower to not lock them in a room together until they kissed.

---

"Morning Death boy." Will smiled as Nico got up,

"So creative, how long did it take for you to think of that?"

"Would you prefer Neeks? Or Doom and Gloom?"

"You are a child, Sunshine."

"Wow Nico di Angelo has discovered nicknames; anyways how do you feel?" It still surprised Nico how quickly Will could go from joking around to very much serious,

"I'm fine."

"Do you think you can eat anything?" Nico shook his head, as Will checked his pulse and breathing before taking out the IV needle. "Neeks I'm gonna take a blood sample, we need to see if the underworldly things have any other effects." Nico nodded but Will noticed the uncomfort on his face, he decided not to point it out but made a mental note. Nico didn't flinch at the needle but he looked like he was re-living something, Will didn't ask but wished he knew. "You feel alright to get up?"

"Yeah,"

"Great we're going outside, you need sunlight."Nico muttered something under his breath not loud enough for Will to hear.

"Aren't I on infirmary arrest?"

"Technically no, but it's either stay in the infirmary or have a healer with you at all times right now."

"Amazing," Nico grumbled following Will outside towards the edge of the forest.

***

"So Solace what exactly are we doing?"

"Down to play twenty questions?" Nico considered the offer and smirked,

"Sure." The two sat down next to each other on a log.

"Two skips each, but they get replaced with other questions."

"What's something that isn't a secret but most people don't know about you?" He was ridiculously bored and thought he could use this game to his advantage.

"I'm not actually blonde."

"Explain. Now."

"I was brunette but when I got claimed any part of my hair that was in the sun turned blonde." He pulled out a piece of his hair that wasn't normally visible, it was a light chesnut brown colour.

"Well that's shocking, you know when I asked that question that was not an answer I was expecting."

"I'm a mysterious person di Angelo, now, do you have any exes?"

"Solace I spend most of my time avoiding people."

"In hindsight that was a pretty dumb question."

"Too late, if you had to kill all the people in one cabin which one would it be?"

"Demeter. That was a bit of a violent question." He tried to play it off but his answer had been so quick and confident Nico started to wonder what had happened. "Have you ever drunk?"

"More than you would expect."

"Neeks! You're fourteen, have you ever wondered why there are age restrictions?" Nico just smirked,

"You asked Sun boy, anyways technically I'm older than that. What's the worst crime you have ever committed?"

"Love how you just assume I've committed crimes, but assult. The only reason it wasn't murder is Annabeth pulling me off."

"The fuck Solace, are you going to explain that?"

"I'd rather not, let's just say I was pretty...pissed that day."

"Well that's terrifying."

"I told you I have secrets di Angelo, who's someone you used to care about but now hate?"

"Skip."

"Is it true you liked Annabeth?"

"Really Solace? No it is not, otherwise Percy would have already murdered me."

"Had to ask, the Aphrodite cabin was trying to figure that out for two years."

"Truly incredible, can you fight with a sword?"

"Not in the slightest."

"I'm teaching you, archery will be useless in close combat. You will die in a matter of seconds ."

"You have so much confidence in me Neeks, but thanks for the offer."

"Wasn't an offer, more so a kidnapping where I teach you by force how to fight."

"Okay then...do you prefer the 1930s or now?"

"Now, better arcades."

"Great reasoning."

"What's your worst fear?"

"Pass, I would never hear the end of it."

"Can't be that bad."

"You would never shut up about it Neeks, I can guess that much." Nico locked eyes with the blonde boy, he considered the question he was about to ask.

"Do you regret coming out to all of camp?" So he did know, Will thought to himself. He didn't answer instantly but he didn't want to pass it either.

"Well, um.."

"You have skips, you don't have to answer Will." That was the first time Nico had used his actual name, Will desperately wanted to kiss him.

"I want to answer it just, thinking. I'm happy they know and I don't have to hide it but...some people aren't the nicest. Cabin four has the most for whatever reason, they seem to get joy out of making me feel like shit. Most people are nice enough, with the rest, well you get used to it." Nico grabbed his hand,

"Who. Has. Been. Giving. You. Shit? Give me a list, I will make sure they'll never do anything again."

"Neeks it's fine, I don't need you threatening them."

"I'll be doing a lot more than threats Solace, give me a list of every single person who has hurt you."

"Nico it's okay."

"Did I ask? You're a ball of sunshine, no one and I mean no one has any reason to hurt you."

"They do, there's so many people I couldn't save, I killed them. I deserve to suffer because of that, they deserve revenge on me for killing their friends." Will had tears forming in his eyes.

"Will it's not your fault they died, and either way you shouldn't have to go through this."

"Nico, are you straight?" He froze for a second, he had still been holding Will's hand but he didn't want to let go. He was warm, his thumb was stroking his hand warming up the usually freezing Ghost king. After Will had told him so much he couldn't lie, he always had a skip but part of him wanted Will to know.

"..n..no...I'm gay. Not that many people know, the seven and Reyna that's it. Please don't tell anyone." Nico shakes a bit and a few tears fell, he didn’t want to cry in front of him but he couldn’t help it. Will wrapped his free arm around Nico and pulled him closer to himself,

"Thank you for telling me, I know it's hard Neeks."

"How did you tell so many people?"

"Didn't like people assuming things, also I just...didn't want to hide I guess. Still though, I've been too scared to tell my mum, barely seen her since I'm here all year but even if I had the chance to I probably wouldn't tell her. As for the actual time well it was a while after Percy was missing, before Jason, Piper and Leo showed up, campfire, just kinda said if at the end."

"Did anyone know before that?"

"I told Annabeth first but Kayla and Austin found out by themselves pretty quickly. Who was your first crush?"

"Do not hold this against me, it was Percy." Will started grinning,

"Same, half the camp has liked him at this point I swear."

"Half of camp is pathetic."

"You're including yourself in that statement you know."

"I am fully aware, honestly I should have given up on him when I saw him talking to Annabeth the first time."

"Didn't they hate each other for a few years?"

"Hate is a strong word, I prefer to use hopelessly in love and oblivious."

"Lovely wording; I gave up when my brain started working and I realised he is straight."

"You think Percy is straight? Have you talked to him before?"

"Percy isn't straight?!"

"With the way he talked about Luke? Not a chance, and that was after he betrayed him. I can only imagine him pining over him at the age of twelve, completely oblivious, then also being hopelessly in love with Annabeth and being a helpless simp once more."

"So you are telling me Percy Jackson liked Luke Castellan, aka. the person who tried to kill him multiple times?"

"When he was twelve definitely, at least in the way he talked about what he was like before when I met him. Don't know if he realised it then, but he is not straight. You haven't seen him and Jason talk, if I didn't know how much he loved Annabeth, going to Taturus with her I would have been sure they're secretly dating."

"The more you know I guess. What's something you can do that no one knows about?"

"I can braid hair, I mean Hazel knows that but still."

"Emo Death boy can braid hair."

"Firstly, I'm not emo."

"Keep thinking that Neeks."

"Secondly, this is why I don't tell people this."

"Honestly the fact you can braid hair is adorable, also it proves that you are no where near as scary as you think."

"I could kill you right now."

"You sure about that di Angelo? Right now you can't do much without melting into a puddle of darkness, you're just a nerd that's pretending to be dark and mysterious."

"Oh shut up Solace."

"Never."

"Have you been on a quest?"

"Nope, I just try to prevent deaths after them."

"How many languages can you speak?"

"Wait give me a second, Itallian, Greek moderen and ancient, Latin, English, French, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, Polish, Finnish, German and Dutch. So that's twelve and a half I'm fluet in and I'm trying to teach myself Russian and Japanese." He said counting them off on his fingers

"Gods Nico, what exactly do you do with your free time?"

"Well first four are pretty obvious but Bianca taught me French and Swedish and the rest I've taught myself, writing's hell with dyslexia but I've survived. It's a pretty useful skill when you randomly show up in different countries."

"I can barely speak English properly half the time!"

"That sounds like a problem on your side Sunshine." He said messing up the blonde boys hair, Will desperately tried to hide his blushing. "Have you ever passed out because you healed too many people?"

"Yeah, happens quite a bit." Nico slapped him, not that hard but hard enough for it to hurt. "Hey what was that for?"

"You can't be overworking yourself like that Solace, you're a doctor for Zeus's sake. What help is it going to be if you pass out while healing someone?"

"It's the most effective way, plus I get more people healed."

"So let me get this straight, you risk your own health while telling people not to?"

"Okay when you put it that way-"

"Yeah it sounds bad! Please do not do that, can't have you dying on me Solace"

"I thought you were plotting to kill me anyways?"

"Exactly, can't have you dying before I kill you myself."

"Sure di Angelo, have you ever killed anyone?"

"Pass." He had become friendly with Will, he didn't need anyone else leaving him.

"Cats or dogs?"

"Do hellhounds count? I have a pet hellhound called Mrs O'Leary."

"Was that a gift from Hades?"

"Nope, from Percy."

"Wait what? I'm just going to accept that at this point."

"Good idea, I wasn't planning to explain."

"Course you weren't," Will checked his watch. "Come on Neeks, it's time for lunch, we got through ten questions each, same time tomorrow?"

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"Nope; head to the infirmary I'll get you some food."

"I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten for a few days, just try to eat a few bites."

"Fine.." Nico muttered before walking off to the infirmary.

***

----------

I really hope this helps peeps :)

[dontspillthefrijoles43]

Drabble: New year’s superstitious traditions— Breisa and Leo

“Have any of you guys seen Leo?” Breisa asked, looking around the living room.

The New Year's Eve countdown was about to happen.

“He rambled on about being successful for the new year, so he was gonna try a few things to ensure a good new year.” Piper shrugged.

“Things?” Breisa raised an eyebrow.

“Something superstitions— his mom used to do.” Frank answered, then saw Breisa look confused. “Kind of like making loud noises to ward off spirits.”

“Wearing fancy clothes, so you don’t bring bad luck.” Annabeth replied.

“Kissing countdown counts.” Percy came up behind Annabeth.

“Or opening all the windows to let go of the New year.” Hazel piped up.

“Writing a letter to yourself.” Jason also added.

“And throwing out fine China.” Nico continued.

Everyone looked at Nico weirdly.

“Smashing dishes—what it's an Italian thing.” Nico said defensively, holding onto Will.

Then they shrugged and waved it off.

“Anyways, things like that.” Frank looked back at Breisa.

“He said he wanted to try his own superstitions. Something about a table and grapes— finding water or a broom. And all that. He disappeared somewhere.”

Breisa looked at them, “And y’all didn’t think to ask where he went?”

“He usually comes back after doing some crazy stuff. Like every other Holiday.” Piper shrugged. “It’s best to let him do his own thing…unless he's gonna hurt himself by accident or burn something down. Or he wants you there.”

“These traditions or superstitions— they mean a lot to him.” Jason remarked. “So you just gotta leave him be.”

Breisa made a face, and said “I’m gonna go look for him.”

And walked out the living room as Piper called out “The count is about to start, five minutes— alright suit yourself!”

She looked for him around the patio, porch, rooms, fire escape, hallway, bathroom, and finally she came into the kitchen; Where she saw familiar flame styled vans peaking out from under the table.

Breisa snickered to herself. “Any reason why you’re hiding under the table?”

Instead of a normal Leo smart ass remark she heard a weird cough and strain in his voice— like it was hard for him to breathe.

So something was wrong.

She dove under the table as quickly as she could without banging her head. And saw—

Leo was trying to stuff a grape in his mouth that was filled up with them.

Breisa realized what she was seeing and scolded him. “PENDEJO! SPIT IT OUT YOU'RE GONNA CHOKE!!!”

“HAFT TO DOTH FHIS!!” Leo burbled, then gagged and choked a bit. The grapes tumbled out of his mouth.

Breisa clapped a hand across his back, trying to get his stupid ass to breath. “What were you thinking?!! Why were you trying to suffocate yourself with grapes?!

Leo wheezed, “Trying to get…good…luck.”

She grumbled and crawled out from under the table. Then came back and had a bottle of water. She held it out for him to drink.

Leo grabbed the bottle and chugged it down. Paused and sighed in relief as it eased his throat.

“Are you ok?” Breisa asked.

Leo nodded. “Not choking anymore so I’m good.”

She was relieved he was ok, but then she inhaled deeply and glared at him. “¡¿Qué carajo estás pensando?!

He shrugged and stretched the back of his head nervously. “Just trying to be ready for the new year— you kind of stop me.”

“You were choking?” She looked at him in disbelief.

“I mean I was just trying to get good luck.” Leo wipes the drool of the corner of his mouth.

“What are you talking about?”

He sighs, “My mom, she um, used to do this thing. Like every new year when I was a kid, we’d go under the table. Eat grapes. She also have like a broom next to us and a suitcase ... .we'd even wear colored clothes for it. All of it was to grab some kind of good luck. So you could bring in the new year with a fresh start.”

Breisa started piecing it together, “You mean nochevieja?”

“Yeah something like that.” Leo snapped his fingers and then smiled softly. “It was these weird superstitions. And it was goofy from what I can remember. But it worked for us. It was how we knew this new year was gonna be good for us…I just wanted to try to continue those traditions for her.”

He realized how much he was over sharing and looked at her. She stared back at him with glossy eyes and hand over her heart.

He coughed awkwardly, trying to hide his embarrassment. “So anyways, I tried fitting like twenty grapes in my mouth. Guess you have to have a wider jaw for that? And none of these things gave me good luck.”

Leo emphasizes on the items under the table— an empty suitcase, plastic bowl filled with water, and a broom.

Breisa looked at the objects then back at him. Back at the stuff and then back at him, making sure he was serious. He was.

She couldn’t help the snort that came out of her mouth. And the giggles that followed. She put a hand over her mouth to spare him.

Leo flushed and his ears turned downward. “Alright I get it. It was stupid to try.”

Breisa shook her head and apologized, “Wait I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. You—“

She chuckled again.

“You’re still laughing.” Leo deadpanned.

Breisa breathed to try to calm herself. “M’Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. You’re just so cute.”

Leo faced burned even more. “I’m what now?”

“What you did was cute.” She smiled. “You tried to do the traditions…but you did it wrong.”

He looked at her confused. “But this is what my mom did… she with the— and the grapes. But the suitcase? What?”

Breisa hummed and explained, “You’re supposed to only eat 12 grapes. At a time. They mean 12 wishes. Or the 12 months of the year. Not stuff your face with them.”

She pointed out the suitcase, “You dragged that around the block. It’s supposed to ensure that you get to travel more in the new year. See new places and get experience.”

She tapped at the water, “You throw this out the window to wash out the old. And welcome the new things that are coming.”

Then Breisa held up the broom, “You used this to sweep out the bad luck and bring in wealth.”

Leo looked at her as his brain started ticking. Like he did when he was trying to fix something mechanical or make something work with math.

“Yeah that makes sense.” He finally said. “I feel so stupid. I can’t believe I did this wrong. Now I won’t get any good luck.”

Breisa patted his shoulder, “Leo. You don’t have to do all of them. You just pick one that means a lot to you or that your family follows. And it will come true. Some superstitions, you just have to do it when the countdown starts or you have to prepare for it.”

“Oooh.” He says. “Well that makes me feel better…and dumber.”

Breisa huffed, “Ay ya! you can’t blame yourself. Those memories you have, they’re all fuzzy. You were only a kid when she did all those traditions, it’s not like you could remember how to do it.”

Leo nodded. But he gave her a look, “You laughed at me though.”

“Because it was funny.” Breisa simply put. “But the sentiment was sweet.”

“A MINUTE AND A HALF!” Piper shouted from the living room.

“You know if you want we can still do the grape thing. If you really wanna?” Breisa nudged them

Leo grinned at her, “I’d liked that.”

She hummed and got out from under the table. She scooped up the grapes with the broom and dust pan. Threw them away. Then grabbed a fresh handful of grapes from the fridge.

“Twenty seconds!” It was Jason.

Breisa quickly dived under the table again and handed him his grapes. “Remember one at a time. Think of a wish or like good luck for the months of your choice.”

“12!”

Breisa popped each one in her mouth.

“11!”

Leo copied her, chewing slowly.

“10!”

Breisa could only think of a few things.

“9!”

Leo wanted luck but not for himself.

“8!”

She wanted her friends to be happy.

“7!”

He wanted things to turn up for everyone.

“6!”

A bigger paycheck would make things easier for her.

“5!”

More inventions would be great.

“4!”

Better opportunities.

“3!”

New adventures.

“2!”

Fresh start to grow. Be better for someone.

It was like time slowed down as the last number came down. At that very second, Breisa and Leo both thought

Having them to love me back.

“1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

There were fireworks going off outside and their friends cheered with loud noises. It was the new year.

Breisa gulped the last grape and turned to him, “Happy New year, Chispo .”

Leo gave her a soft smile, “Happy New year, Brujita.”

Then stared at each other way too long. Eyes wandering over each other's lips longingly. Before looking away awkwardly.

Leo cleared his throat, “You know you never said why we have to be under the table to eat grapes. How does that bring good luck?”

“Oh, that.” Breisa bit her lip nervously. “It’s a way to get better luck in relationships. Some people use it for friendships, but most use it for…um well...”

“Well?” Leo urged her to continue.

“Romantic relationships.” She shrugged. “So if you want to find someone to be with you. Or you’ve been striking out, this is supposed to give you better luck.”

He hummed and said, “Well I guess it worked.”

“What do you mean it worked?” Breisa felt her heart sped up

Leo gave her that grin. Not his usual troublemaker with his gums showing. But that soft smile where his dimples pop out, his cute little gap in his teeth is on display, and his eyes crinkle with happiness. The one that made butterflies go off in her stomach.

“It worked because I have you here… with me.” His fingers brushed around hers.

When he said that, Breisa’s heart fluttered. And she could not lean over and kiss him with all her heart's content.

Nobody question when they walked hand in hand into the living room, Breisa’s lips all smudged and Leo covered in purple lipstick stains— both wearing dopey love stick smiles on their faces.

(A/N: Happy new year 🥳 hope you had a good Christmas and you celebrate new years the way wanted to! This is quick and unedited so sorry if it’s bad, I’ll fix it tomorrow.)

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

how the hoo characters would react upon being asked about taylor swift

PERCY: She's pretty good. Yeah, I listened to the new version of Speak Now and it kinda went harder than I thought it would. I'm not, like, a "worship the ground she walks on" kinda guy, but I guess I like enough of her songs to consider myself a Swiftie. Guilty pleasure, I guess.

ANNABETH: Oh, gosh. People always ask me this. Uh, long story short— oh, right, that's one of her songs. That's kinda funny— I liked her music a lot when I was younger. Like, "Better than Revenge" was my thing when I was fifteen. And, yeah, I've listened to most of her albums. I liked Midnights and folklore and evermore. But I was never in love with her as a person. I just relate to some of her songs. Oh, gods, I couldn't count how many times I've cried to "Would've, Could've, Should've." But I heard someone call her the "greatest songwriter of our generation," and that's just... That's a bit bizarre for me. I think she's good as an artist, though. So... I guess I like her music, but I'm definitely not a Swiftie.

PIPER: Uhhh, I don't know. Like, her music is terrible or anything, but it's not really my taste. But as a person? I don't know, the whole Matty Healy thing just rubbed me the wrong way, and... I mean, she's a rich white lady doing rich white lady things. My dad asked me if I wanted her at my birthday party once. I said no, but I also said no to the Regrettes, and I'm literally in love with Lydia Knight. I'm happy for her with the tour and all, but not really my scene, no. But Jason likes her so I try to be supportive.

JASON: Oh, my gods. She's like... I don't know if she's my favorite artist, but she's up there. I mean, like, she's just so classy and her music is just so good. The way she uses synths is like... it's like magic. And her lyrics— I mean, you can't get much more relatable than that. My favorite album is probably... Lover? Or maybe Red. Then again, maybe it's 1989. It's so hard to pick. I guess I'm kind of a hopeless romantic at the end of the day.

LEO: Taylor Swift? Well, like, she's hot.

THALIA: Not really my style. But if she did a punk-pop or metal album, I'd be down for that. Like, I heard a metal cover of "Look What You Made Me Do" once, and it went so hard. She's really got a good voice for punk, too. Saw a video of her doing a vocal growl on that one song— uh, what's it called? "We are Never Getting Back Together" or something like that? Anyway, that sounded really good. But I don't really like her environmental impact. You could ask Rachel about that. I bet she'd have a lot to say.

RACHEL: Taylor— Listen. Don't get me started on Taylor Swift. Her music is mediocre at best, and her carbon footprint? Holy Hades! I saw somewhere that that one study that said 8,000 tonnes was wrong and it's actually more like 1,000 tonnes, but that was taken from half of a year during a global pandemic. She wasn't even touring or anything. The woman's a multimillionaire. With that kind of money, you would think that she'd be more environmentally conscious, but no. Not at all. And I guess it's cool or whatever that she pays her people well, but, like, that's the bare minimum. Taylor Swift. I didn't like her before all that about her environmental impact and stuff came out, and I definitely don't like how she dates racist guys, and I hate the way people worship her and follow her like lemmings, y'know?

HAZEL: Who?

FRANK: Oh, she's good, I suppose. Never got super invested in her or her music or anything. I don't really know anything about her except that people love her, and her singles are fine, I guess. I liked that one song "cardigan."

NICO: Uh, I feel like people shouldn't really ask me about music. My music taste kinda sucks. But sure, Taylor Swift makes some good music. Annabeth played me a few songs once. I really liked "Haunted," I think it's called.

REYNA: I don't follow her life and I haven't listened to any of her albums or anything. I mostly listen to Latin music, to be honest. But she's a woman and she's extremely successful, so I suppose I'm happy for her.

[Coach Hedge immediately starts singing "Shake It Off" when asked and did not provide any further comment.]

OCTAVIAN: I can't believe some people call that trash "music." It's so low-brow and vapid. Only eleven year old girls actually like that kind of thing. Me, I listen to real music— the classics, like Mozart. My favorite song by him is definitely "Canon in D."