#annabeth is hilariously amused by it all

[aroaceleovaldez]

one of my favorite Percy headcanons is that even after he no longer has the Curse of Achilles, the small of his back is still his Achilles' Heel. It won't kill him but it's still his weakest point.

Like, he hates if anybody even brushes against there unless it's Annabeth because it's too sensitive and it basically physically hurts him. He has to be the little spoon Always because it makes him feel like his back is protected. If anyone hits him in the small of his back even without a lot of force, like a friendly slap on the back, he will crumple like wet paper. His friends poke him in the small of his back just cause every time he will immediately stumble and start complaining at them and they find it funny. If someone actually smacks him in the back with any amount of real force he will be on the ground immediately and stay there. If he gets actually scratched there he will be bedridden for days. The curse may be gone but he will always carry it with him.

[amesliu]

my prediction is annabeth is gonna be amused at calypso and percy interacting after all this time. like, that’s awkward for percy and fucking funny for annabeth

it's hilarious (until it's not)

[superanimepirate]

PJO Reaction Episode 5

Emerges from nearly 2 feat of snow I live!!! The US is not having a good time right now. Khione have mercy…

I have warm peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and some hot cocoa and I'm ready to see Ares and the Tunnel of Love. Remember, there is some minor spoilers for the TV series based off Book info

Oh right, starting off with the aftermath of ST Louis. Oh…this is where we have the Fates. That's terrifying

Percy, sweetie, dry yourself off lol

Baby Percabeth hug!!!

Yeah…being a wanted criminal kinda impedes public transportation

Oh, theorizing who stole the bolt. They're right, even if Hades had it, a demigod was needed to steal it

Baby Percy's confidence in Poseidon is adorable, but it'll be shattered I'm sure

I'm not sure how I feel about Annabeth seeing the string being cut instead of Percy, but it makes sense. She is connected to the Hero of the Prophecy who's going to die.

Hello Ares!

Ok, this scene is hilarious, with them hiding behind the concrete barrier and I'm liking this version of Ares.

Oh Percy, Ares is just the tip of the iceberg for your insane family. Wait till you meet your brothers

Oh I can't wait to see Tyson next season!!!!!

Anyway

Ares as a Twitter Troll makes perfect sense.

Oh good, we finally get Bitch Ass Gabe

Sassy Annabeth! I like how Ares is kind of explaining everything but with his spin on it. Especially the family drama and war stuff

Oh! Ares is separating the party. Poor Grover, I'd be terrified. To be fair, Grover is the least likely to punch him so that's probably good. Note: Least likely, not won't. He can be riled up when it comes to nature, pollution, and Pan

Oh this park is already creepy as hell.

Honestly, Hephaestus would build a bomb ass terrifying amusement park that would make adrenaline junkies drool. Me included, I love amusement parks and roller coasters

…Grover is a fan of Ares? I mean, nature is brutal. Is he actually a fan, or just buttering him up? I love this conversation actually.

Back to the creepy amusement park and the creepy tunnel of love

They don't recognize "What is love???" What is this younger generation coming too, they don't even know the classic memes

I kind of like Percy knowing some of the stories though, especially how Sally tells them.

Oh the ride is getting fun!

C'mon Percy, use your water powers! It would be very embarrassing to drown here. Ok good, he did it!

Annabeth's hair is never going to dry is it?

Yay a puzzle! I'm sure the throne is trapped nine ways from sunday

Of course Grover is trying to solve it and Ares is shutting it down…

Athena conversation? Ok, Grover is definitely trying to butter Ares up. This is beautiful. Oh….Grover what have you done.

Oh. if they make it so the throne is like a Chinese finger trap that would be a cute call back to the Mark of Athena. I don't think this trap is as simple as one gets trapped and one survives. Maybe if he just promises to be nice it'll let him go?

I love the scene tho, its so cute and serious.

Oh I love the animation for the trapped seat. Percy chanting "I'm ok" and turning to gold is heartbreaking.

C'mon Annabeth! If anyone can figure it out, its you!

Oh. Hello. Hephaestus? Hermes? Who is this? Oh ok, Hephaestus, I like his appearance, I didn't know he was cast already. What is his plan though?

C'mon Annabeth! Break that generational trauma! Character Growth!

Yay! Percy Lives!

Oh. I hate this part, the "kindness" transport. Oh. He's sending them to the Lotus Casino? Asshole. And there is the backpack…

Persassy strikes again!

"Thank you for the emotional abuse and the cheeseburgers" Grover never change. I'm stealing that. Somehow

Ooh, Grover knows Ares is lying. I wonder who he thinks stole the bolt? Athena?Damn you cliffhangers!

I think this was my favorite episode so far. I love all of the changes they made, and all of the conversations. The pacing is better than the previous ones, and so were the emotional beats and special effects

I'm so excited to see where we go from here!

[words-writ-in-starlight]

I just read your ww/pjo cover and it is amazing. But wait, if you never read the heroes of Olympus series does that mean that your Percy never got hit with the Nerf Bat to make other characters relevant, and so he's now Diana's 'Invincible Punching Bag' forever? Oh. Annabeth would laugh at that forever.

It goes something like this.

“So,” Percy says, looking at the series of utterly demolished sword dummies and the way that Diana hasn’t even broken a sweat.  “You wanna fight?”

“I wouldn’t want to hurt you,” Diana says.  Diana has been at the Camp for all of two days.  She can be forgiven for not knowing this particular bit of gossip.

Percy grins and gives Riptide an idle spin in his hand.  “You won’t.”

Well.  Either he’s right and Diana gets a new sparring partner, or he’s wrong and everyone learns important lessons about hubris.  She nods and they move aside, toward the sparring ring, and the handful of campers trading idle blows scatter like startled squirrels.  Diana expects them to leave, but instead they range out around the ring with eager expressions.  Fair, she supposes–she’s an unknown quantity, and Percy is one of their better fighters from the sound of it, so they must be curious.

Percy gives her a small salute with Riptide and Diana salutes him in return.

He barely waits for her to lower her blade before he rushes her.

Diana has been training for battle since Percy’s grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather wasn’t even a twinkle in someone’s eye, but he’s fast and fights with total abandon that makes her cringe at Antiope’s remembered voice even as it makes her grin.  She plays defense, drawing him out, and he meets her eyes briefly over their locked blades, huffs out a laugh.  He knows what she’s doing.  Percy plays along, shows off some of the flashier moves that she knows were taught for discipline rather than for combat.

Riptide is a touch shorter than Diana’s preferred sword, but then she stands at six feet, and while Percy is tall, he’s not as tall as she is.  The celestial bronze clashes against her blade as she steps in to catch a blow, and he catches her hilt, giving a twist to see if he can knock her sword to the ground.

Diana reverses the lock and strikes without thinking, a blow with her pommel that risks a broken rib if not worse.

Percy is jolted a few steps back, touches his ribs absently, and doesn’t even miss a beat as he takes another swing.  It’s as powerful as the first, and the small crowd of campers roar encouragement, cheering for the home team.  

Diana narrows her eyes.

She fights more aggressively now, until finally she gets in a blow with her blade, and the edge skates off Percy’s arm like she’s using a butter knife.

“The Curse of Achilles,” she says, the two of them parting for a moment to prowl around the edges of the ring as the campers heckle them, and Percy shrugs blithely.  “I have not seen someone take that on in many years.”

“Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?  You gonna fight me for real now?”

Diana is not a perfect woman.  She knows this well enough.  Possibly her fatal flaw is that she never could resist a challenge.

She grins again and, this time, it’s Diana who lunges forward, faster than any human could hope to follow.  Percy’s eyes widen, but he gets Riptide up in time to catch her sword.  She misses the Godkiller, sometimes, if only for how magnificently well-balanced it was–she’s never been able to find another sword that fit so well in her hand.  Nonetheless, she can see that her blows are beginning to drive Percy back, one step at a time, and when their blades lock again, she gives him a hard twist that sends him stumbling, and she uses her knee braced at the small of his back to flip him to the ground.

Riptide clatters from his hand, and Diana’s knee is firm at the base of Percy’s spine, holding him facedown in the dirt.  The crowd, as modern Americans like to say, goes wild.

“You fight well,” she observes.  “But recklessly.  And you do not guard your back well at all.”  She stands and offers him her hand, and Percy rolls up to his feet without a scratch on him.  He does, however, rub at the place where her knee had been, a little rueful, and Diana watches the movement with interest.

“You’re incredible,” he says, admiring.  “I’ve fought gods and you’re–real good.”

“You have?”

“Yeah, I stabbed Ares in the foot one time when I was twelve.  I think he took it kind of personally.”

He says it almost offhandedly and Diana smiles, wide and fierce.

“He probably deserved it,” she says.

“Well, I shouldn’t say so in case I get struck by lightning, but yeah.  You sound like you’ve met.”

“I have also stabbed Ares.  I found that lightning was more successful.”

Percy looks delighted, still rubbing at the small of his back like he’s expecting a bruise to rise.  “Oh my gods.  You’re teaching combat, right?  Can I watch the first time you teach his cabin?”

“Sure,” Diana says.  She nods at his hand and Percy lowers it with a guilty start.  “And I will teach you how to guard your back, Achilles.”

[perceabeth]

scrunchie

this is for @siminiiedoodles who is my all time fave and a true G and i love her very very very much and not to impose my views on u but i think u would love her a lot as well!! also please check out her art she invented annabeth's scrunchie it's the cutest thing in the universe anyway this is not very good in that i have not re-read it and it was just meant to be a quick lil drabble but i hope u read it and/or like it love u bye

2.9k words. Percabeth.

Annabeth was nine when Silena Beauregard dyed her hair for the first time.

“I think you really suit blonde hair, you know.” She hummed as she ran her fingers through Annabeth’s scalp. The water was cold enough that it sent a shiver down her spine. Annabeth tilted her head up.

“Are you going to straighten it when you’re done?” She asked. Silena raised her eyebrow at her and pressed her lips into an amused smile. She was twelve years old– to Annabeth, she’d acquired a lifetime of wisdom over her in the three years between them.

“Do you want me to straighten it when I’m done?” Silena asked and Annabeth shrugged her shoulders.

“Your hair’s straight.”

“My hair isn’t blonde.” Silena told her. “So I can think of two things about us that don’t match up.”

Annabeth considered it. “You’re right. How long will I stay blonde?”

“As long as you want.” Silena promised. “I can dye it back to its natural colour if you get bored.”

“Okay, good.” Annabeth nodded her head, leaving just enough space for the faucet to spout water down the back of her t-shirt. She squirmed and Silena laughed.

“Stop moving so much.” Silena whined. “How do you want me to do it up?”

“I like my braids.” Annabeth said. She loved her hair, really, she did– but it was a lot easier to deal with when she didn’t have to spend her time combing and moussing. She was a busy girl.

“You know what? I liked your braid too.” Silena helped her out of the sink and sat her down on the edge of the bed as she got to work on her hair.

“I want to see what it looks like.” Annabeth whined and Silena smacked her on the shoulder.

“Be patient.” She said. “I’m going to do your braids and then you can see.”

It was easy to talk to Silena. Not that Annabeth particularly had much going on in her life, but she liked to imagine that if she did, Silena would be the girl she went to. Mostly Camp was kind of boring. All the older kids would practice and spar and play Capture the Flag and Annabeth, still too young to be there, was not invited. She told Silena as much.

“It’s only another two years.” Silena said, pulling a little too harshly on her hair. Annabeth yelped but Silena barely paid her any attention. “Chiron said he’d let you start training when you turned eleven, right?”

“At this rate I’m never going to turn eleven.” Annabeth grumbled.

“You know what I can’t wait to watch you do? Archery.”

“Why?”

“I just know you’re going to be terrible at it.”

“You’re supposed to be my friend.”

“Well.” Silena said. “I’m not charging you for this am I?”

“Only because you know I don’t have any money!”

Silena found that hilarious. She let go of Annabeth’s hair and burst out laughing. Maybe it was the warm glow of a lazy Sunday afternoon that made everything so much funnier. Maybe it was basking in Silena’s friendship. Either way, Annabeth found herself joining in. First a giggle, then something a little bit louder. It wasn’t even a particularly clever joke– but the two of them laughed until their bellies hurt and they had tears streaming down their faces, and Annabeth couldn’t remember a time she’d been happier.

“Stop distracting me.” Silena struggled back up to her knees and went back to work on her hair. “I’m trying to make you pretty.”

“Do you think I’m ugly without your help?”

“You’re the most beautiful girl in the world.” Silena leaned her entire weight on her back, sending them both toppling off the bed and onto the floor. Annabeth struggled under her weight.

“Get off me!” She moaned. “Ugh. I can’t wait for someone half decent to come into camp. I swear I’m never speaking to you again when I make a better friend.”

“You couldn’t find a better friend if you tried.” Silena said, sitting up straighter. She studied Annabeth for a moment and cocked her head to the side. “You know what you’re missing?”

Without waiting for a response, she crawled over to her chest of drawers, yanking out a box of scrunchies. She sorted through the millions of them until she finally found one she liked, holding it up with a certain gusto and a brilliant smile. Annabeth waited patiently as she tied her braids up in a high ponytail for her.

“Okay.” Silena said. “I think you can look at yourself now.”

Annabeth pulled herself off the floor and padded up to Silena’s mirror. For a moment, she couldn’t recognise the girl looking back at her. Her hair was dyed a golden blonde that looked slightly darker at the roots, pulled into long, pretty braids. Silena had even weaved in two beads in one of them to give her a little colour. In all her long nine years of life, Annabeth had never considered dying her hair, but looking at her reflection now, she felt a lot more at home in her body. Silena was right. Blonde hair did suit her.

She reached her hand up to play with the blue scrunchie that stuck out at the top of her head, just to see if her reflection would follow; just to see if that really was her.

“I love it.” The girl in the mirror mouthed. “Silena, I… I love it.”

“I thought you would.” She could hear the smugness in her friend’s voice. “Keep the scrunchie. I think it looks cute on you.”

=

“Why do you keep playing with that thing?”

Percy’s voice cut through her thoughts so suddenly that Annabeth jumped. Her boyfriend held his hands up in surrender, sliding into the seat beside her and giving her a quick kiss. She frowned at him.

“Playing with what?”

“That hair tie.” Percy nodded to the worn out blue scrunchie in her hand.

She hadn’t even realised she was fiddling with it. Over the last five years, the scrunchie had been through hell. She’d replaced the elastic more times than she could count and what had once been a deep, rich colour had now turned into a blue so pale it looked nearly white. But Silena was gone now– the image of her melting face still etched into the forefront of Annabeth’s mind– and it felt like betrayal to lose the stupid thing.

“Oh.” She dropped it sheepishly onto the table “It’s a scrunchie, actually.”

“Is it the same one you wore on our first quest together?”

“What?” Annabeth frowned. “Percy, how could you possibly remember what I wore on our first quest together? You can’t even remember what you ate for lunch this afternoon.”

“I don’t know.” Percy shrugged. “I remember seeing you have it on and thinking it was cute. Is that a crime?”

“At twelve?” Annabeth laughed, shoving him lightly. “You thought I was cute. God, Jackson. You’re such a sap.”

“What can I say?” Percy shrugged, taking her hand in his and pressing his lips to her knuckles. “I’m romantic.”

“I am pretty cute, aren’t I?” Annabeth loved the way he beamed at her. Percy threw his arm over her shoulders and plastered a sloppy, wet kiss to her cheek.

“Yeah. You are.” He knocked his head lightly against hers. “Now. Don’t dodge the question. What are you worrying about?”

“I’m not worrying about anything.” Annabeth lied.

After eight long months of what felt like having to live without her lungs, she had been given her first breath of life and she was terrified of ruining it again. She picked up the scrunchie, absently stretching it between her fingers and then slipping it onto her wrist. Percy was here, she told her racing pulse. He was right here, his t-shirt brushing against her bare skin and his real laugh echoing in her ear. Telling him about her talk with her mother wouldn’t make him magically vanish, she knew– but the words still failed her.

“Yes, you are.” Percy nodded to her fingers. “You’re wearing that thing out.”

I’m afraid the world is ending again, Annabeth wanted to say. I’m afraid that the world is ending and I don’t even really care so long as you’re by my side. I’m scared, I’m exhausted, I’m lonely, I’m desperate. 

Whatever she’d have decided to say in response was cut short by Leo padding sheepishly into the kitchen. He didn’t dare look at them, but Annabeth could feel Percy’s entire body radiating rage. She slipped her hand into his, but it did little to calm him down. As far as he was concerned, Leo had attacked a place he lived in. A place he’d fallen in love with. A place without her.

It wasn’t Leo’s fault. She couldn’t explain it to Percy, but she knew it wasn’t. Annabeth had worked with him for hours on end over weeks to build this ship, and in that time, she liked to think she’d learned him quite intimately over that time. There was no way at all that the Leo she knew would ever try to blow up a city.

Still, it was hard to get a read on Percy. He’d always been territorial about his friends; his family and his home. Home. The word sent an involuntary shudder down her spine. Percy was so excited to show her New Rome, just as he was furious about anybody trying to hurt it. Was this the new him, Annabeth wondered. Was this his new home? When they finished their quest, would he want to come back to Camp Half-Blood with her or had his vision of the future changed? 

“You’re doing it again.” Percy drew her out of her thoughts. His jaw was set, but his gaze on her was tender. “Playing with that stupid thing.”

“It’s a scrunchie.” Annabeth repeated lamely, at a total loss for words.

“Well.” There was no way to tell if Percy knew what she was thinking or was simply in tune with her. A familiar, small smile grew on his lips and a warmth spread through her chest. Camp Jupiter, New Rome, Athena’s quest– all of it fell away when she met his gaze. This was her Percy– her best friend, her most annoying sidekick, her favourite leader. Gently, Percy pulled the scrunchie off her wrist, stood up and, without a word, gathered her hair and tied it into a ponytail at the top of her head. “It stresses me out to watch you play with it.”

Annabeth relaxed into her chair for the first time since she’d discovered Percy’s bed empty eight months ago. Her boyfriend leaned over her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and her eyes fluttered closed. She took a deep breath, letting herself exist in the moment– with Percy’s fingers in her hair and his heartbeat steady by her ear, it was the happiest she’d ever been.

“Besides,” Percy whispered. “I think it looks really cute on you.”

=

The easiest thing Annabeth ever had to decide to do was marrying her best friend. Of course, that meant the world made it next to impossible to actually do it.

“Today?” Sally cried on the other end of the phone. “You’re getting married today?”

“Well…” Annabeth trailed off, looking helplessly at Percy.

“Yeah, Ma.” He called into his phone. “Do you think you and Paul could meet us at the courthouse?”

“What are you wearing?” Sally demanded. “You kids are horrible. Why didn’t you give me any warning? Paul! Have you got a suit? Percy and Annabeth are getting married!”

“I’m wearing a pair of shorts.” Percy looked down at his clothes and then at Annabeth. “Annabeth’s in a dress.”

“What colour?” Sally asked and Annabeth let out a laugh.

“Black.”

“You aren’t wearing black to your wedding.” Sally said. “And my only son is not getting married in shorts.”

“It’s not a big deal, Sally. We’ve been trying to go over the details for months. Between the venue and the guestlist and the catering– it’s so much easier to just elope.”

“And cheaper.” Percy added.

Annabeth looked out of the window as they zipped through the city. She could point at least six hotels they’d considered being married in– but one was too expensive and the other had banned Clarisse for life after an incident six years ago and according to Piper, the third one had a bad aura. Wedding planning was the most painful experience of her life, and personally, she felt like it was all a little much, really, because she was tired of waiting to marry Percy.

It had been kind of an impromptu idea– she was watching him dice onions this morning and she’d suggested it, a little bit as a joke. Hey. What if we got married today? Percy had put the knife down suddenly, looked up at her with a wide grin and in retrospect, she should have known he’d go along with just about any of her plans.

“I’m bringing you both a change of clothes.” Sally’s voice crackled through the speakers. “And we’re going to go to a nice dinner tonight. This isn’t a shotgun wedding. We’re going to respect it.”

“Oh my gods, Mom.” Percy laughed. “Fine. Just– be there, okay? If I have to wait a minute longer to be married, I think I might actually kill someone.”

And that was how Annabeth found herself in the smelly, stuffy toilets in the courtroom, paranoid of accidentally touching something while her soon to be mother-in-law fussed over her dress. Sally had been nice enough to pick up a short, white dress for her– for the photos, she’d said. Wear it so I have something to show my friends. 

“There we go.” Sally said from behind her. “The dress is something new. And here you go.”

She reached up, pulling off the pair of delicate pearl drops that hung in her ears and handed them to her. Annabeth stared at them, so pure and pretty in her palms.

“Sally, I can’t–”

“It's something borrowed.” Sally insisted, closing Annabeth’s fingers around them. “I’ll give them to you if you’d like them, but please don’t fight me on this. It’s tradition. You have to have all four.”

Wordlessly, Annabeth put her earrings on. She caught her reflection. Whether Sally had planned it or not– the earrings matched perfectly with her dress. Annabeth hadn’t really spent much time wondering what she’d look like as a bride, but sure enough– a beautiful bride was looking back at her from the mirror.

“My shoes.” Annabeth looked down at her worn out Filas. She might have been able to pass it off as an outfit with just the dress, but the pearls made them look even more out of place with the rest of her. “They’re old.”

“They’re hideous.” Sally told her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “But they’ll do. Have you got anything blue? I might have a barrette in here somewhere.”

She started to rifle through her handbag, but Annabeth’s eyes caught on something in her reflection. For so many years, she’d worn it every day– in her hair or around her wrist– until it had felt like a part of her. She wouldn’t even have realised she had it on– but by some stroke of luck, her eyes caught on it. 

“I’ve got it.” She said, holding her hand up for Sally to see. “Something blue.”

Sally frowned. “Sweetheart, that is a white scrunchie.”

“No.” Annabeth shook her head. It was so worn, the stitches were starting to come out. Maybe she’d dye it back to blue when she had the time. “It’s blue. It’s my something blue.”

Sally looked pained, like she really did want to put up a fight, but Annabeth blinked up at her with large doe eyes and she softened.

“You’re going to make my life very difficult, aren’t you?”

“Don’t I already?” Annabeth grinned and Sally rolled her eyes. She took Annabeth’s hand gently in both of hers and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

“And not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for it.” She said. “I’m so proud of the woman you are. You’re my girl, you understand that? You’re my baby girl and I’m– I’m so excited for you.”

Annabeth felt her eyes well with tears. Unable to look at her any longer, she tore her gaze away from Sally, sniffling softly.

“Thanks.” She managed. Sally looped her arm around her waist and Annabeth let her lead them back to where Percy and Paul were standing, marriage licence in hand. For some reason, her feet suddenly stopped taking her forward. Next to her, Sally frowned. “Are you nervous, baby?”

Annabeth paused, only to catch her breath. This was it, she thought. After all the ups and downs and the lefts and the rights– they’d made it. She was here, with Percy, with Sally and Paul– her family was here. They were here. She plucked at the scrunchie on her wrist. She shook her head.

A small smile crept up on her lips. Heart hammering in her chest, a wave of peace washed over her. She tied her braids into a ponytail with her scrunchie and beamed at Percy. She was going to step into the happiest phase of her life. How could she be nervous?

“Not at all.” She said. “Not even a little.”

[eternally--mortal]

Things I’ve always craved more of in the PJO fandom (translate to — things I’ve always wanted to write but have never managed because I have too many non-writing projects):

Percy getting caught in mortal nets while swimming around, either because he’s distracted or fighting a monster or rescuing sea life. They just pull up this human being in a net and everybody’s like ‘what the hell’. Or you could put a fun twist on it and make someone in the crew an ancient civilization researcher who’s convinced he’s a merman and . . . isn’t that far off.

Post-mist reveals where the mortals can see everything and somehow get their hands on artifacts that split open the Duat (therefore showing what demigods really look like based on their heritage) and having reveals at the most in opportune, but still mundane, times. Like, my favorite idea so far is that the mortals want to use it to have some fun at Prom so they station it at the entrance to the dance hall and when Percy and Annabeth walk in they’re all like ‘aw shit’ because Percy’s an Atlantean prince and Annabeth is in a mix of elements that show her Grecian godly heritage and her Norwegian royal bloodline. Which is . . . Inconvenient for two demigods that have just been trying to keep a low profile.

Royalty stories that are just. Not AU’s. Because Percy is already a prince but he totally doesn’t think of himself that way. He just, like, forgets. Like I love the hilarious mix of a mythological figure showing up and being like ‘your highness’ and him being like “who now?” Or mortals post-mist reveal pretending to be / to know the famous son of Poseidon and boosting the royal rhetoric while Percy’s just there like ‘ha, yeah, my family is nothing like that’ and being unsure whether to hate that they’re pretending to be him (and therefore putting themselves and everyone else in danger) or whether he should be tiredly amused.

Atlantean princes having fancy upper-arm bands instead of crowns (you don’t understand how badly I want this. I really do).

Crazy mortals with doctorates in history and archaeology who are convinced that Atlantis exists and have done a shit ton of research and found, like, artifacts that only work under an Atlantean’s touch, or plants that cause a response only in Atlanteans (like, are toxic or cause an allergic response like frequent sneezing or smell differently, etc.) and are using them to try and track down Atlanteans. (There’s a museum exhibit with really old graffiti that does Not say what they think it does, etc.)

Percy being picked on / targeted as Poseidon’s youngest humanoid child who chose to live on the surface instead of spending eternity at his father’s side (*cough* little mermaid *cough* *cough*)

Annabeth dabbling in Rune magic (her Norse heritage) and Egyptian magic (see Crown of Ptolemy). Having to carry a notebook of spells around with her. Looking some up on her phone and accidentally blowing it up when she speaks the spell out loud straight off the screen instead of writing it down first. (Demigod Egyptian magic vs. House of Life is like humans in the Owl House having to use written spells instead of just speaking them. Which is something that I recently realized and I Love it.)

Realistic mortal-friend stories that aren’t written like all of the horrible unrealistic TV high school drama shows society already subjects us to. I just want people to act like people and be compellingly appealing. Demigods and mortals are equally relatable. I find it funny that so many of us write shallow mortal characters when all of us are, you know, mortal. (*gasp*! I know, I know. I’m sorry)

Swim team Percy where he’s literally only doing it to get a scholarship because he feels guilty about the stress he caused his family while he was missing. Him and Annabeth going to legitimate colleges and him having to keep up the act because it’s paying for his schooling.

Just, basically as many stories as possible where the mist dissolves for various reasons and Percy and Annabeth have mortal friends who figure out who they are because All The Pantheons Know About Them and word gets around. But like before they figure it out there are lots of discussions debating how dangerous monsters are and demigods (if they even know what demigods are). Maybe one of the mortals has like a government agent uncle who’s always spying on them.

So many time travel stories. Of like Magnus accidentally knocking someone into a magical Norse well or something. Percy and Estelle could get sent back to that limbo period where younger him was on Calypso’s island and Annabeth sees him and goes “oh my gods he was on Calypso’s island and time was frozen there and he grew up with her and had a baby.”

Annabeth being sent back to BotL because I want them to see how much of a badass she is and I want her to use magic (and for Kronos to berate Luke because ‘I thought the girl wasn’t a threat). Also for Percy to sweep in to take her home and for miniature Annabeth to have a breakdown because he’s alive. (All of the monsters getting overwhelmed by his scent when he shows up and all the satyrs thinking he’s a god except Grover who recognizes that scent.)

Post-mist reveal where a group of mortals running an aquarium have also started a secret smuggling business for trafficking merpeople and Percy and Annabeth’s mortal friends accidentally stumble onto it and call Annabeth because some of them have suspicions about Percy’s heritage and figured he would care. (Yes I’ve been reading Not So Shore again. What of it?) Fun times sneaking them out in wheelchairs and wheely carts with water tanks on them. Percy and Annabeth singing lullaby’s in Greek to calm down the kids while the mortals are just, like, there trying to help. The kids all over Percy and not caring that Annabeth is a daughter of Athena. One of them asking if she’s a princess, too. (Lil baby guppies. Just the best)

A spin on Disney’s Lost City of Atlantis but instead of abducting the Atlantean princ(ess) from the kingdom to export, they try to use Percy as a living tracker to grant them access to Altantis.

(Can you tell that I’m obsessed with the fact that Percy’s Atlantean? I am. I totally am. Let me milk it.)

I want a scene where Nico turns a battle field pitch black and Jason illuminates it periodically with lightening and monsters are screaming because Nico and Percy are tag-team killing them with skeletons and water. (He can sense where they are because of blood-bending.)

Percy as a mortal getting dragged into the war because he just keeps running into Annabeth and accidentally assisting with quests. (I have a whole thing with this one. I romanticized it a lot like five years ago. It’s just stuck with me)

A version where the events of the books stay the same but Percy realizes at the end that his dad actually Is Neptune because Poseidon didn’t want to break his promise not to have a kid with a mortal woman (thus him always wearing Neptune’s lucky fishing hat).

Versions where Paul is Neptune, Poseidon, or another water deity from a different Pantheon. Or he’s accidentally hosting a god.

More of Annabeth touching Percy’s Achilles spot to ground him and pull him back.

Oh, and Reincarnation stories. Of like every kind. I remember being a sucker for those.

(I’m sure there are more. I weep inside and then just . . . Don’t write them. Like a monster.)

[annabethy]

december 2nd: christmas pastries. "of guerilla and garbage bags" —ash

Percy isn’t one to normally stare at people, but there’s something about the scene unfolding in front of him that makes him struggle to look away. He stares at his girlfriend with adoration, and a little bit of judgement, and it takes everything in him to not laugh in her face.

“Are you okay?” Percy asks hesitantly, but his eyes are sparkling when Annabeth looks up at him.

“Don’t even say anything.”

Percy leans over the kitchen counter slightly to look into the bowl before he retracts himself with the slightest choke of a laugh. “You look like you’re struggling there.”

Annabeth glares at him, and Percy gives a genuine laugh this time. He comes around the counter so he can properly stand next to her, and his fingers tip the metal bowl over slightly to give him a better view of the contents before he lets go and turns to face her and tilts his head sympathetically.

“Is it that bad?”

Percy just chuckles, his thumb reaching up to wipe away the flour that ended up in her eyebrow. “I mean…it’s not great.” Annabeth whines.

“What were you trying to make?”

“Sugar cookies.”

“Oh. Did you forget the sugar?”

Annabeth bumps his shoulder lightly, and Percy almost feels bad for teasing her. It’s not like she didn’t bring this on herself, though, because she definitely did—he’d offered to make them instead—so he doesn’t give in quite yet.

“First you can’t ice skate, and now you don’t know how to cook?” Percy touches his nose to hers. “This is getting embarrassing for you, Annabeth.”

Annabeth scrunches her nose, and it’s so cute Percy can’t help but kiss the tip of it.

“Can I help you?”

“No. I can make them myself.”

“I’ve been sitting there watching you for an hour,” he says. “Are you sure you can make them yourself?”

“Not really, but I refuse to let the dough win.”

“If you can call that dough.”

“You’re awfully close to my fist for you to be talking that way,” Annabeth whispers, but she smiles anyway.

Still, Percy takes a playful step back to move out of arm’s reach. He looks Annabeth up and down, and he doesn’t try to hide his taunting smile this time. There’s flour and bits of dough all over the apartment floor, and he also spots an egg by the foot of the fridge. Her clothes aren’t any better, her dark jeans with a few frosty handprints pressed to it. The biggest handprint is his own fault. He’s incriminated by the flour that looks an awful lot like the shape of his hand that’s left on her butt.

“Can I try some?” Percy asks, glancing at the bowl.

“You’re just going to insult it.”

Percy gives her a humored look but doesn’t dispute that statement as he dips his finger in to scoop some of the dough up and brings it to his lips. He tries to keep his face neutral, but he immediately asks, “Did you put salt in this?”

Annabeth rolls her eyes and shifts to lean a palm against the counter. “You’re hilarious. I’m not that bad of a cook.”

Percy blinks at her in amusement. “Okay.”

“You’re sleeping on the couch.”

Percy laughs. “I didn’t say anything!”

“You thought it.”

“Why don’t you try it?” Percy asks. He tries to pinch off a piece of the dough, which is still very much sticky and nearing a more liquid consistency.

Annabeth bites her bottom lip in a smile as Percy nears her. “I think I’m alright.”

“But it tastes so good,” Percy blatantly lies. His feet are placed in front of her, and their faces are only inches away. He can feel her breath hitting his lips, and he thinks she smells like peppermint. He makes a mental note to ask her if she’s the reason the bowl of candy is already gone. “What? You don’t believe me.”

“I believe you so much, which is why I am willing to take your word for it.”

“I really think you should try it.”

Annabeth only gets the hint when it’s too late. She tries to duck out of his arms, but he manages to trap her first and spin her around so that her back is pressed into his chest.

“Let that hand get any closer to my face,” Annabeth threatens. Her hands rest against his arm that’s placed across the front of her shoulders. “See what happens.”

Percy wiggles his fingers in front of her face teasingly, and that’s his first mistake. Before he manages to wipe the dough against her face, she shoves his own hand towards his own face, and he barely has time to gasp indignantly before she twists out of his arms and moves a couple feet away from him.

“You were going to do it to me!” Annabeth says accusingly, her voice dripping with amusement and a bit of satisfaction, when she sees him picking up the bag of flour. “You wouldn’t throw flour at me, would you?”

Percy laughs in her face, and she takes a step back at the same time that he takes a step forward.

“Don’t you trust me?” Percy mocks.

“Put down the flour, and then we’ll talk.”

Percy sighs. “I guess we won’t be talking, then.” Which, yeah, he can definitely see this ending in them doing anything but talking.

His hand jerks towards her, and a cloud of white comes from the bag, just barely missing her body as she sprints to the opposite side of the counter.

Annabeth sticks her tongue out. “You missed me.”

Percy tries again, this time taking a handful of the flour and tossing it her way. Her hair loses the touch of blonde, replaced by the white, and Percy begins cackling at her face. His laughter only lasts a few seconds, though, when she ducks down to pick up the egg he’d seen on the floor earlier and wags it in his face menacingly.

Annabeth smiles widely and feigns throwing the egg at him, and he nearly slams his face into the counter as he ducks to avoid the impact.

“Let’s think this though, Annabeth,” Percy says, eyes peeking at her over the counter. “Flour is harmless. An egg will give me a concussion.”

“I feel no mercy.”

She walks toward him slowly, moving around the counter, and Percy waits approximately two seconds before he tries to dash away from her. She chases him around their apartment, and all Percy can think is that he really hopes the egg doesn’t end up splattering all over their tv. He tries to escape from her at first—he really does—but then she’s laughing so gleefully as she corners him against the Christmas tree, and he knows it was never going to end any other way than letting her crack an egg on his head. He’s not even upset when it happens, because he can’t possibly be upset when she’s giggling inches away from his face like she is right now.

Percy pulls her into his arms, and she presses her face into his neck, where she’s still smiling widely. He breathes her in, and it burns a little as he inhales flour, but then Annabeth lifts her face so that she’s only inches away again, and Percy forgets anything but her.

“You’re in so much trouble,” Percy whispers, for just the two of them.

“You started it,” she chastises. “I just happened to finish it.”

“Now there’s bits of egg in our Christmas tree.”

“That sounds like a problem for you to figure out,” Annabeth says. “You can clean it. We have plenty of garbage bags.”

“I’ll clean it if you promise to help. I can’t guarantee it won’t end in another food fight, though.”

Her lips press to his in response, but it’s not a proper kiss. She just smiles against him.

Percy’s the one to pull her in for a proper kiss. It lasts a few seconds, and Percy kind of forgets how to breathe when they both start laughing and their teeth clash.

“I think you’re right,” Annabeth mumbles as Percy’s hand goes to thread through her hair. “Maybe I did put salt in the cookies.”

Percy rolls his eyes fondly, but he thinks this may somehow be his favorite batch of cookies yet.

[chasingpj]

HONEYYYYY I JUST READ THE MOST DISGUSTING (IN AN ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE WAY) PERCABETH COLLEGE AU ONE-SHOT and now I'm JEALOUS and in desperate need for just some short headcanons of going to new rome with Percy 😭 pretty pls?

LMFAO OH NO SJFJDJD BYE CAUSE THIS IS SO ME. but don't worry, I got you, babe, <333

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬

paring: percy jackson x gn reader

warning: drinking, partying

category: headcanons, college au

a/n: i was gonna answer this when i got it last night but i went a little overboard 😭 i hope you like it!

first off, the road trip you guys took to get there was so chaotic

a part of you isn't sure how you, Percy, and Grover made it to California alive

the number of times where you've swerved off a lane while singing your favorite songs with Percy was too many

this usually made him paranoid, and it's the reason why he insisted on driving most of the way (you definitely didn't mind that)

you guys stopped at every state sign you came across and took a cute group picture

you and Percy had mapped out all the tourist stuff and the good places to eat in each state, so you guys stopped a lot

there were lots of sleepy nights at hotel rooms where you guys crashed the moment you guys got comfortable in each other's arms

the road trip was so memorable, and it set the tone for the next four years of your lives 🥺

those polaroids you took with Percy and Grover would be on the walls of your apartment for so long

for the first few months in new rome, you and Percy were just in a honeymoon bubble

you guys went out every weekend to restaurants and spent mornings studying in the cafes and libraries

living with Percy was just how you imagined it, and even better, you didn't even mind that he is a little messy 😭

you guys found out in your first year that morning classes were not the best choice because Percy was way too good at convincing you to skip your lectures to cuddle with him

it's the reason why most of your classes are in the afternoon because the two of you love to sleep in and get breakfast together before starting your days

but yeah, the first few months was a lot of exploring places and the things to do and establishing newfound independence and routine together <3

Percy, I know, is an introvert, but he's popular regardless because, you know, being a hero and all

I'd like to think that Percy is elected, to his dismay, as the official greek representative now that there will be more greeks attending New Rome and stuff

you find it hilarious cause 1) he wears a toga and 2) he knows all the tea of the council and will spill everything to you like teenage girls in a locker room 3) he complains about it all the time 😭

because he has a title and is popular, he gets invited to parties a lot, and every other weekend, you guys will stop by

one of your favorite memories is Percy accidentally drinking the jungle juice, thinking it's regular juice, and getting plastered 😭

I'd like to think Percy is indifferent about drinking like personally, he's not interested, but he wouldn't judge you for it

but yeah, Percy gets plastered, and you had to get him back home

his arm was wrapped around your shoulders, and the entire time he's just slurring things like, "you're so beautiful. why are you so beautiful?" "I love you. do you love me?" "you're like the best thing that's ever happened to me."

there's no way Percy isn't an affectionate drunk! he'd ask for a lot of kisses, will get offended if you deny one kiss

even if you've given him 10 kisses right before your rejection

the entire time you couldn't stop laughing cause you'd never seen him like this

it was a sticky summer night, and he's heavy, so your face was a little shiny from sweat

he proceeded to call you "his little glazed donut" 😭😭and tell you how cute you looked

you were laughing too hard to even be offended

the following day you had to nurse him through his hangover, but the best part was showing him the videos of him and hearing his groans of embarrassment

he got his chance to make fun of you though

you have a very faint memory of Pollux teaching you how to shotgun a beer

and then you swore you blacked out

Percy literally had to carry you on his back to get home

you were like a big giggly baby; he had to change your clothes and wipe off your makeup for you

Percy was so amused as your hands were a little too grabby that night

it took a while for you to settle down, but when you did, you cuddled into his side and told him "i love you" for the 100th time before you were out like a light

Annabeth and Grover are literally at your place all the time

you and Percy have woken up to them making breakfast in the kitchen or sitting on your couch and eating all the snacks in the house

they barge into your apartment so often that Percy lowkey regrets giving them the spare keys LMFAO

it's not just Annabeth and Grover either

Percy's place is where all your friends and his friends go to hang out, so you and Percy have had a lot of practice being the hosts of small get-togethers

you, Annabeth, and Piper would have sleepovers sometimes and kick Percy out, LMFAO

he had to sleep in Grover's dorm on those nights because you three demanded that there were no s/o's allowed 😤

every December, you guys throw a secret Santa party for you and your friends

you have the cutest picture of you, Percy, and your friends all squished up on your couch on new years eve, and all of you guys wore silly hats and glasses

Leo was laid across everyone's lap with big glasses, pointing a finger gun at the camera. The Stoll brothers were standing behind the couch. Connor puts two fingers behind Annabeth's head, giving her bunny ears, while Travis does the same to Piper, who's still on her right. On Annabeth's left are Rachel and Nico. Nico's face is all scrunched as Rachel pinches his cheeks; the boy has a look on his face as if he's trying to hide his smile. Hazel and Frank are sitting on the floor side by side, smiling into the camera. you and Percy are huddled in the corner, you on his lap as you guys squish your cheeks together with happy smiles while Grover is standing behind you guys, halfway biting into a can of soda

it's your favorite picture of all time, and it's always in a frame on display

sometimes Percy gets homesick, so, often for the holidays and the summers, you two head out to new york to see his family for a little

sometimes Estelle heads back with you guys to Cali to spend a couple weeks with her big brother

that's always fun because everyone adores Estelle, and you guys are always going out and making sure she has fun

it's always so cute when they part, Percy promising and comforting a whining Estelle that she can come back next summer or in the spring

for graduation, you guys make matching caps 🥺

graduation was really sentimental for you guys because it was another chapter in your lives that was coming to end

you and Percy have been through so much together, and everything from stressing about finals together to the crazy nights of adventure was so much fun

it felt like for the first time, it sunk in how long you've been together and how sure it was that you'd be in each other's futures :(((

and the two of you were so looking forward to the rest of your lives together, especially since Percy proposed to you at your graduation party <333

[jankwritten]

On an unrelated note

This is so amusing to me. I can’t exactly remember the way it played out in the book, but the idea that Will healed Annabeth but it took all his energy and then Travis was like “come on we gotta go rob a store” and Will was just like “damn okay”

But also I feel like I remember Will putting up a fight and actually WANTING to go just to make sure the Stolls didn’t steal anything they didn’t need? Either way, that quote from the Wiki is hilarious to me.

[helpimobsessedwithpercyjackson]

The demigod squad on Halloween:

Percy goes as Triton from the Little Mermaid to piss off his brother, he dresses Estelle up as Ariel

He and Poseidon think it’s hilarious, Poseidon makes them take a picture together

Leo goes as Handy Manny, he doesn’t even need to go shopping he already has the clothes he needs. He even figures out how to make it look like his tools are talking

Almost no one understands his reference but he’s proud of it

Piper’s Wonder Woman, her dad gets her one of the props from the actual movie, everyone wonders how she got the costume to look so realistic

She looks like a badass

Jason, after much insistence from Percy and Piper, goes as Superman

Leo makes him take off his glasses for his “Clark Kent transformation” and he spends the rest of the night stumbling around

Hazel dresses up as Rapunzel, it’s her favorite Disney Princess movie after Percy made her sit through a Disney marathon as part of his “Hazel and Nico’s Education on What Truly Matters in Modern Life” program

She spends a lot of time with the flowers in her hair, it looks amazing. Piper and Annabeth help her make the costume

Frank doesn’t really care about Halloween but he dresses up as Flynn Rider to make Hazel happy

He puts way more effort into the costume than he cares to admit

Annabeth refuses to go as Triton’s wife from the Little Mermaid, much to Percy’s dismay (“literally the only thing we know about her is her name is Athena and she dies seaweed brain I’m not doing it”)

Instead she goes as Hypatia, the first female philosopher, because we love a feminist icon

Will wants to do a couples costume with Nico, who said he didn’t care and would just put on whatever Will told him to

Will uses the incredible opportunity he’s been handed and goes as a cowboy, making Nico dress up as a cow (Nico is not amused. Everyone else is)

Reyna puts on her praetor cloak and claims she’s going as a Roman Praetor

Percy wails that she’s missed the point completely but she refuses to change

She drives because Percy’s too excited to, and he sits in the back bouncing Estelle up and down

Piper gets the most candy, which Leo decides is in invitation to steal some from her. Jason only likes almond joys and everyone throws theirs at him. Percy happily collects everyone’s blue lollipops and jolly ranchers, although Annabeth wouldn’t give hers up until he trades his reese’s. Hazel shares her twizzlers with Frank and eats his chocolate. He eats everyone’s pretzels from that one house that refuses to pass out candy (“why even open the door then” “Percy shut up and say thank you”). Will lets everyone take whatever they want out of his bag, he’s not a huge fan of candy. Nico tries everything, he’d never had most of the candy since it didn’t exist when he grew up. Reyna takes everything Nico tries and doesn’t like (except the almond joys of course). She’s also a big fan of kitkats and he pretends he doesn’t like them and gives all of them to her.

They spend the rest of the night around the campfire in a sugary daze (except Frank and Will, who make sure everyone eats actual food and gets enough water)

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Chaotic Dumb Ways the Seven Use Their Powers

Percy never drinks anything out of a bottle or can. He simply draws the liquid out and chucks it back in one go. He also steals other people's drinks like this. He never walks on solid ground. He just uses disks of earth and walks everywhere. No stairs. No elevators. Just steps on the earth as the disks get higher. Like hoverboards but for sand. He doesn't use a surfboard either. Nah he just stands on the water and let's the waves take him everywhere. It's very convenient for getting around but he's banned from every surfing competition in the country.

Annabeth doesn't buy clothes. She just sows all her stuff. Doesn't even matter if it doesn't fit or the colours are completely clashing. She doesn't have time to style herself anyway. She spends insane amount of times on those war video games strategising and devising plans and nobody can drag her away for hours. Also she doesn't concentrate in class (or online schooling) she just builds structures out of her stationery and takes pictures for her architecture Instagram account

Leo doesn't use lights. Ever. If it gets too dark to see he'll just light his head on fire and let the glow illuminate the space. He also doesn't use a stove or oven or anything with heat when he's cooking. Just heats it up with his hands. It takes him a year to figure out how to control the temperature exactly. He likes to go into the city and pretend to be a fire street magician. People are always asking him to light their cigarettes and are fascinated when he just flicks his thumb and a little flame appears on the tip. Or he scrunches his nose and it's there dancing on the end. He also does a great impression of Mushu from Mulan (1998)

Jason likes to shuffle in his socks across the carpets in a room and then gleefully go up to people and touch them softly. It has resulted in many singed arm hairs and buzzing bodies. And his favourite prank revenge tactic is making a little cloud over a person's head and letting it rain as it follows them around all day. People hate it when he does this but he (and Leo) find it hilarious. Some have resorted to dumping buckets on their heads to show them how it feels.

Piper uses her cornucopia to sneak food in class. And her teachers never know where it's coming from because her bag is always empty. She's managed to make the cornucopia a little pendant that hangs at her neck. Her and her friends try to see how ridiculous they can get with the food requests before someone catches them. She also uses her charmspeak to see just what she can convince people to do. It never gets violent but it's always hilarious. To this day people still congratulate her for convincing the Stoll brothers to give Chiron a truck full of hay.

Frank turns into any cute animal just to get cooed over and cuddled. But also he gets free food cause everyone is willing to give a cute little puppy a piece of chicken and some peanut butter. He's not above using his cuteness in negotiations. He spends a lot of time as dog causing havoc with Reyna's pups. He is not (okay a little) ashamed to admit he's recreated scenes from Tom and Jerry. Everyone thinks it's hilarious. He was also beast boy one year for Halloween

Hazel uses the mist to avoid people. She is not up for talking to those Roman ghosts again so she simply ✨disappears✨. Also she finds it endlessly amusing to suddenly drop down on one knee, pick up a gem from the ground and propose. She's engaged to 56 people now.

[aroaceleovaldez]

i need to know everything about your pjo voltron au

okay so basic plot premise: Thalia, Luke, Jason, Percy, Maria di Angelo, and Bianca all work at the Garrison and get sent on 3 separate missions (Thalia & Luke, Jason & ??? or maybe he's just by himself, then Percy & Maria & Bianca) which are all "lost" and they're declared dead by the Garrison.

Of course they were actually all abducted by aliens. Maria probably dies pretty early on in that whole situation. Thalia gets separated from Luke and ends up escaping and becoming a rebel. Luke, Jason, and Percy & Bianca all separately (except for Percy & Bianca) end up gladiators. Luke becomes The Champion and basically ends up a Kuron/Sendak-type character situation. Is he being mind-controlled? Unclear. He has a giant alien scythe-sword though. Bianca probably dies buying Percy time in the arena. At some point Percy and Jason find each other and decide to try and stick together.

Hazel is a human raised by her galra dad in space with the Blade of Marmora. She knows she has a half-brother through her dad out there somewhere but not anything else about him. She ends up running into Jason and Percy on a mission and helps them escape cause they're humans too.

Back on Earth, Piper, Leo, and Annabeth are all Garrison students. Or Annabeth is possibly in a Keith-type situation where she used to be a student but got Kinda Pissed Off about all her loved ones disappearing into space and ended up getting kicked out. Nico is in a Pidge-type situation where he snuck in as a student under a false name to figure out what happened to his family's mission. Percy and Jason crash on earth, the gang finds them, they find the Blue Lion, and Percy pilots it to the Altean castleship where they meet Reyna and Frank. Reyna is the Altean Princess, because her sister Hylla was queen. Frank is the son of a high-ranking general or something and he and Reyna are a duo.

Rest going under a cut cause this got long -

Lion adventures happen - Annabeth pilots the Green Lion, Jason pilots the Black Lion. Nico finds the Red Lion and meets Hazel when he does and brings her back to the castle. Hazel pilots the Yellow Lion. Nico very quickly realizes he's half-Galra and Hazel's brother and joins the Blade of Marmora. Percy swaps from Blue to the Red Lion. Piper starts piloting the Blue Lion. Leo, Frank, Reyna, and Nico end up the home-base support team. Percy probably keeps the blue paladin armor and Piper gets the spare pink armor for color association reasons and also cause that's usually the format for every iteration of Voltron anyways. It works out nicely. Everybody has extra lion compatibilities too/every Lion has a back-up basically cause I'm still mad vld canon dropped the lion lore/sentience plotlines and we never got cool dynamic lion swapping instead of just the usual single switch. We're having fun here.

Then everything else I don't have much for other than Annabeth and Nico basically swap Keith and Pidge roles once they join Voltron so Nico goes and has his galra identity crisis adventures and Annabeth reunites with Thalia at some point, who is basically in a Matt-type role. And Luke functions as the Sendak-level antagonist who Annabeth probably gets to fight with a swap back to Keith's role in a whole Keith & Kuron emotional situation. Kronos and Gaea are probably analogous to Zarkon and Haggar/Honerva here but not necessarily in that order, and obviously it's more of an either "Emperor and his advisor mom" or "Empress and her prince son" but in either one somebody's doing magic and people are probably getting possessed. Hades, Persephone, Iaepatus/Bob, and Damasen are all with the BoM. The Titans/Giants are probably all Empire generals. Who's Lotor? Octavian? Calypso? I don't know. Who are all the gods? I dunno. We'll workshop it.

[takaraphoenix]

I just saw someone refer to Percy (15) referred as Nico’s (11) parent and I wanna scream because based on previous fandom experiences these last few years, people are going to start calling Nicercy “practically incest” which will be dumb since it’s literally /Greek Mythology/??? but like No a 15yo is NOT the parent of an 11yo please.

Okay, the level of ridiculousness of claiming a teen to be the parent of another teen - and also the selective memory of Percy and Nico’s canon age made to fit their agenda considering that as of Heroes of Olympus, Nico was stated to be 14 and Percy was 16, like, that’s the factual ages; Percy was 14 when he vaguely guessed that Nico was around 10 years old, which, ya know, 12 is somewhere close to/around 10 - aside, this is all shades of hilarious.

I mean, hands down, those give me a hollering laugh though.

Like, hell yeah, Nico/Percy is incest. Nico/Will is incest. Percy/Annabeth is incest. Every fucking ship in this canon is actual, literal, proper “we share a family tree” incest.

If you come into PJO and don’t wanna ship incest, you gotta ship Percy/Rachel and you are also allowed to ship Grover/Juniper and Sally/Paul, but that’s... literally it.

So people who come into an actual incest fandom with their fictional lil “they look at each other as family so YOU are not allowed to ship it because it’s InCeSt uwu” really genuinely just make me laugh so very, very hard. I love it. The audacity and dumbassery of that is honestly brilliant.

Though this “parent” take is new. So far it’s been “Nico is like a little brother to Percy”. That’s the only one I’ve heard so far, at which I chuckle and shake my head in tired fandom old amusement.

I truly, genuinely hate what New Fandom Mentality has done to this fandom, like this Purity Cult thinking wasn’t always there, it’s a fairly recent development - it’s only really started taking root in this fandom with about the second book of Trials of Apollo and so has this blind hate for Nico/Percy. So, basically, what I’m saying is that I suspect ToA’s canon gays to having lured in new fans, fans with a purity cult background, who bring their toxic mentality into our fandom space and pretend they own it just because they dutifully ship the canon ships. (And, since this is tumblr, I would like to tag on that no, I do not accuse every shipper of The Canon Gays to be this level of shitheaded anti, but... it’s a Venn diagram, basically.)

And like, I been dealing with people who acted entitled about dutifully shipping the canon ships back in the olden days when it was just the Perc/abeth shippers.

Why do those newbies think that they can change a fandom that’s been there since they were still in kindergarten? Fandom olds don’t scare easily; we’ve bene there, done that, moved on.

[dorkzrul]

(Chapter 1)

Chapter 2

The next morning she found Luke had texted her and immediately jumped up, thinking he wanted to make amends for yesterday night. However this was all the text said:

Luke Castellan: You wanted to talk? Let’s meet at my place at 5.

No apology, not even an acknowledgement of the fact that yesterday had been their anniversary. Last night’s thoughts came back to her. She decided that she would go over, they would talk about yesterday and she would ask him why he was being so weird. Communication was important for any good couple. They would work through this.

At exactly 4:45, she left the house and reached Luke’s apartment by 5. She rang the bell and waited. Luke didn’t come to open the door. She rang the bell again. This time, she heard someone walking towards the door and fiddling with the lock. Luke pulled open the door and held up a finger. He was on a call. “K, I have to go, Annabeth’s here.” She heard a female voice saying something on the other side of the phone. “Maybe later, I have to go.”, said Luke and he put the phone down. “Who was that?”, she asked, more out of curiosity than anything else. “Noone.” “Um...okay” “Just someone from work”, Luke responded with a sigh. “So, how’ve you been”, he asked, instantly brightening. “You wanted to talk. What’s wrong?” The tone of his voice made her want to hit herself on the head. How could she ever think that he was cheating on her? He loved her!

“Oh um I actually wanted to talk about yesterday” “Sure, what about it?” Wait. had he really forgotten? “Yesterday was our anniversary Luke! How could you have forgotten? I waited for you for almost an hour yesterday!” He looked surprised and smiled sheepishly, “So sorry Annabeth! I thought it was next week. I really did. I had plans to surprise you with flowers and even bought tickets to see that movie you’ve been wanting to see. Ugh, I really messed up didn’t I?”, he shook his head, looking mad at himself. She softened. So he hadn’t forgotten. Well he did mix up the dates but that was a valid mistake. He did seem to have plans to make it special. She could forgive him. And since he’d bought movie tickets, they could go out together next week. “It's fine, it can happen. Lets go to see the movie next week and you can make up for forgetting our anniversary”, she added playfully. Luke looked relieved, “Great! Thank you!”, he tightly hugged her. She laughed. Things were good between them again!

Then suddenly she got a call from the architectural firm she worked in. “Hello?” “Annabeth, so sorry to bother you on a Saturday evening but do you think you’ll be able to send in the report right now? The date got changed to tomorrow and I still need to edit it and send it to boss” “Oh, of course. The report is complete. I'll send it to you as soon as I get home.” “So sorry Luke, I need to go”, she apologized. “It's fine, baby. Call me when you get home. Can’t wait to go out next Friday!”, he kissed her goodbye. She put on her shoes and walked out, closing the door behind her.

That night, as she lay in bed, she realised she’d forgotten to tell Luke about Percy. It’s fine though. It wasn’t really that important. Though she still felt she should’ve told him. She would have wanted to know if Luke was going for coffee with a random girl. She’d tell him tomorrow. Also, she still can’t believe that she’d actually considered that he was cheating. Luke would never do something like that, not just because it was wrong and he loved her too much but also because it would make him like his father. Luke’s dad had cheated on his mother and then just left them without a word. Luke’s mother hadn’t been right in the head since he left, leaving Luke to fend for himself. Luke loved his mother dearly and always took care of her, however she never got better. At least until she met his stepdad. She seemed brighter, happier, better mentally and physically. Until she died in a car crash a few years back. This was on the anniversary of his father leaving. Luke was devastated after that and his stepfather just took all the money that she’d left him and ran. Luke had had a tough past and he blamed his father for it all. However, he looked just like his father and every time he looked in the mirror it was his father's face he saw staring back at him. Luke swore that he would never be like his father and cheating would ruin that.

She fell asleep then, confident that everything was once again great between her and Luke.

The next morning she woke up and jumped out of bed, weirdly excited at the prospect of meeting up with Percy, considering he was just a stranger. You dont meet strangers for coffee, there's something else going on here, a part of her announced. Was there, she wondered, were they friends? She shrugged, it was unimportant. It was Monday, she suddenly realised. She was going to be late to work! She quickly got dressed and headed to work, grabbing a coffee on her way. The day passed, she felt herself get more and more jittery as it got nearer to 4. At exactly 3, she left the office and arrived home with just enough time to get dressed and leave.

She got there right on time and saw Percy already there. He saw her and waved, grinning. “Hey!”, he happily greeted her. “Hi”, she replied, slightly hesitating. He waved over a waitress. “What would you like today”, asked the waitress, clearly flirting with him. “Oh, um I’d like a hot chocolate and a chocolate muffin please”, he asked politely, almost as if he didn’t notice the waitress twirling her hair and blinking rapidly. “Um, do you have something in your eye”, she asked, annoyed. The waitress, Kelly (it was on her nametag), glared at her. “Who asked for your opinion”, she asked rudely. “You’re the waitress aren’t you? Shouldn’t you be asking for my order?” “Fine, whatever. What do you want?” “I’d like a cappuccino please” “Whatever, sure”, she rolled her eyes and walked away, swaying her hips and turning around her shoulder to wink at Percy, who had been watching this whole exchange with an amused expression on his face.

“What?”, she asked when she saw him looking at her. “Nothing, just the way you reacted” “She was just being annoying. I mean she only asked for your order, what about me. I was right there. Like hello, are you blind?!” He laughed at that. She glared at him, before cracking a small smile herself. “So, Annabeth, did you sort things out with your boyfriend yesterday?” “I did actually. It went pretty well” “Did he apologize for standing you up” “He did actually. He thought our anniversary was next week” Percy snickered a little at that. She glared at him, “Hey! It could’ve been you! Are you telling me you’ve never forgotten an important date between you and your girlfriend?” “Okay firstly, I might have forgotten a couple important dates but that’s different.”, he protested, “Secondly, I don't have a girlfriend”. Oh, Annabeth thought to herself, a guy as good looking as you without a girlfriend? Damn! But she kept that thought to herself, once again reminding herself about Luke. “How is it any different?”, she asked referring to his previous statement. “Well, it just is”, he mumbled, the tips of his ears reddening. She sensed there was an embarrassing story in this somewhere and tried to convince him to tell her.

“Fine, fine”, he conceded, grumbling under his breath. “I once forgot my own birthday and when my friend called me asking about my gifts, I thought it was his birthday, panicked and immediately went to his house to give it to him and apologise, only to find he wasn’t at his house. When I got back home, all my friends and family were there and threw me a surprise party. Imagine how much of an idiot I looked like when I entered the house with a gift from my friend and sad because I’d forgotten his birthday, only to be surprised by everyone and realise that it was my own birthday I’d forgotten”. She was doubled over by the end of the story, laughing harder than she had in a long time. “Whew”, she added, wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye. “That is hilarious! Did you really forget your birthday?”, she asked in disbelief. He nodded, embarrassed.

“What about you? Any embarrassing birthday stories”, he asked, grinning, his face still red. She immediately stiffened. Her birthday was a topic she liked to avoid. Percy noticed this and immediately, the expression on his face turned to one of concern, “What’s wrong? Was it something I said? I’m sorry”, he quickly added. “No, nothing you said” She debated for a moment, should she tell him? She’d only known him for a couple of days but he looked trustworthy enough. She decided to tell him. “It’s just, birthdays are kind of a hard topic for me. On the night of my seventh birthday, my mother just left, without a word. My father was heartbroken. He immersed himself into his work until he met Helen, my stepmother. On my 11th birthday, he introduced us to each other and she instantly hated me, I don't know why. I had never done anything to her.They got married soon after and had twins. My brothers, Bobby and Matthew. As I grew older, I looked exactly like my mother and looking at me reminded my father of his lost love. Thus, he shunned me and ignored me entirely. He got his own family with Helen, Bobby and Matthew and I was always the outsider, just another reminder of his failed marriage”, tears were falling down my cheeks by now, “My stepmom hated me as I was the child of her husband’s previous marriage. My stepbrothers learned to hate me. I had no one left who I could rely on… until Luke”

She kept her head down, tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt Percy’s arm around her and moved closer to him, almost burying her head in his warm chest. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be crying. I’m making this whole meeting really awkward.”, she noticed a couple of wet marks on his shirt, “And I also ruined your shirt!” She pulled away, quickly wiping away her tears. “No, no, it’s okay. I'm glad that you trusted me enough to tell me this and I’m so sorry. If it makes you feel better, my father also left when I was little and until a couple years back, I also had a terrible stepfather. He was really bad. He used to hit my mom and I. I still have scars on my back from his knife, and they’re still better than those my mom has.” That did make her feel better, but then she felt horrible for feeling better at someone else’s bad experiences. “Oh, I’m sorry that must’ve been terrible. You said until a couple years back? What happened” “Oh um, he died in a car accident and my mom just remarried another guy. He’s much better. He really loves her and she loves him.” She could hear the pain in his voice. He really loves his mother, she thought. “What about you? Do you like him?” He looked surprised at the question. “Well, I suppose he makes her happy so he can’t be all that bad” “You really love her a lot huh?”, she asked, softly. “I do”, he smiled at this, “She’s the most wonderful person ever. She deserves so much better than what has happened to her. She really loved my father and he left her, leaving her to fend for herself with a baby. Then came Gabe, my first stepfather. He used up all our money and left us injured and almost broke. She worked 3 jobs to support us and we finally got back on our feet. Then, she met Paul, and he’s been around for a year and it’s been great” The two shared soft smiles. “It was really great meeting you today Percy. And thank you” “You’re-you're welcome”, he replied, looking a little shocked. “You too. I hope we can do this again sometime”, he said smiling. “Sure”, she responded.

He walked her to her apartment and then left with a quick hug, momentarily stunning her. That night she fell asleep with a smile on her face, feeling better than she had in ages.

Thanks so much for reading this and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to update asap, which was today. Also, anyone got the Bad Blood reference? Lol. K thanks again for reading and don't forget to comment/review. It helps me write better and update faster!!! *awkwardly hugs readers* <3<3<3

Tagging: @rhian-not-ryan

[privpro]

Beard Love

Written for & inspired by @joleanart​‘s art post here

If there was one thing that Jason could say about college, it was that it was a fucking ride. Growing up the son of the world’s most prominent (and arguably most arrogant) businessmen and getting sent off to a prestigious boarding school practically the minute he could talk, Jason thought he had it all down. He was self-reliant, studious, charming, a natural leader and so, so unprepared for public school.

Lupa Capitolina Military Institution and Jupiter Preparatory Academy were both excellent for breeding youths of character discipline and strength. Most of Jason’s former classmates were now off attending law, business and medical school or prepping to take over their parent’s companies. Jason, meanwhile, had opted to attend NYU and was studying the Classics – partially out of rebellion to his father and stepmother and partially because it actually interested him. His friend Frank recommended the school after applying there himself for International Studies. Aside from occasional run-ins with Frank in the history building, however, Jason found himself almost completely alone.

Enter, Greek life.

Greek life had simultaneously become the most wonderful and most terrifying thing Jason had ever experienced. Practically the moment his last midterm was over, Jason’s roommate, one randomly assigned Perseus Jackson, literally dragged him across campus to one of the frat houses. Jason doesn’t remember half of what happened that night, but he’s pretty sure it changed his life. He woke up the next morning with a standing invitation to pledge to Chi Eta Beta and possibly a girlfriend. As it turned out CHB and Piper made the rest of his freshman year a lot more enjoyable than, well, pretty much his entire school experience up to that point.

Fast forward two years and Jason found himself with a room in CHB’s row house, a fantastic group of both wild and studious friends and, somehow, a beard.

And okay, a week prior all of the brothers were sporting facial hair in honor of no-shave-november (and because it was hilarious to watch some of the younger pledges try to grow facial hair), but by now the only other person who’d kept their beard was Beckendorf, who’d had a beard almost the entire time Jason had known him. No one had brought it up until now, when Percy – still Jason’s roommate finally broached the subject.

“So is the beard gonna be a permanent thing now?”

He asked, his own face baby smooth since Annabeth Chase informed him it was no longer November, during their 9am lecture on December 1st. Said face was currently pulled into Percy’s signature lop-sided smirk as he plopped down on the couch beside Jason and stole some of Leo’s popcorn, despite the fact that he’d only gotten up in the first place to get more snacks.

“Hey!”

The Hispanic protested, leaning over to try and snatch the snacks back and nearly rolling off the loveseat in the process.

“Here,” Piper said, nimbly snatching the unopened Doritos Percy had fetched from his other side and tossing them at Leo’s head. All of this gave Jason time to pretend to finish reading his page and internally freak out.

The thing was, Jason might be keeping the beard because it was easier to take care of than shaving his face daily – like Charlies claimed. Or, he might be keeping it because two weeks ago at their “fratsgiving” Percy got wasted and spent an hour rambling about how hot beards were. While the other male was distracted, Jason sent a silent plea for help in Piper’s direction. When she caught the glance, his girlfriend (ex-girlfriend? “On a break for Jason’s emotional and sexual discovery” friend?), she just smiled encouragingly and shrugged. Thanks Pipes.

With nothing particularly elegant or solid enough to really satisfy Percy’s curiosity, Jason followed his ex’s example and simply shrugged when the native New Yorker turned his attention back to him. He carefully kept his eyes glued to the book in front of him rather than looking at Percy’s reaction when he deflected.

“Why?”

Percy returned the shrug but then leaned back into the couch and wrapped an arm around Jason’s shoulder. His smirk then went from mischievously friendly to deviously enticing.

“Well, you see,” he started, his voice pitched lower like when he fake flirts with Piper. “If you get anymore handsome, then I’m gonna have to fuck you.”

Once again, Jason was saved from immediately answering by an outburst from Leo and he used the time to decide how he wanted to reply. On the one hand, it was completely possible that Percy was just messing around and had only platonic (or, as Leo liked to call it “bromance”) feelings towards him. On the other hand…well, they might have told everyone they were taking a break because Piper needed to spend more time studying this semester, but the actual reason was because Jason had confessed his confusing feelings for his roommate and she’d encouraged him to try and figure things out for himself without any pressure – and shared that her own preferences had nothing to do with gender and were also open to multiple partners.

Currently, Piper was texting and therefore no help at all, but Jason found that maybe he didn’t need it. There was really only one way to figure out if Percy meant it or not. So, before either Percy or Leo could get too worked up defending his “handsomeness” v. “masculine dignity” (yeah, he wasn’t going to touch that with a ten-foot pole), he gave his own reply as nonchalantly as possible.

“I guess I’ll have to swear off shaving forever, then.”

The living room quieted significantly after that, with only the sound of the Hallmark channel filling the air. Next to Jason, Percy seemed to have stopped breathing, let alone moving, but the blonde very deliberately forced himself to actually finish reading his page before he looked up.

When he did, Piper was still texting, Leo was frozen half off the loveseat with his mouth open, and Percy was sporting one of the deepest blushes Jason had ever seen. It was Leo who spoke first.

“Wha – what is happening?”

His tone was level, but his voice cracked slightly out of either shock or disbelief. Thankfully, Piper chose that moment to finally look up from her phone.

“What’s happening,” She said plainly, standing up from the couch and then pulling Leo up as well, “Is that I’m going to study with Annabeth and you’re going to tell the Stolls that they owe me fifty bucks.”

“Fifty bucks? Oh! Right, the bet!”

Leo puzzled and then practically shot up with excitement. This, it seemed was also enough to finally pull Percy out of his stupor, though Piper and Leo were halfway to the door before he could fully form his sentence of outrage.

“Hey, wait! You’ve been betting on if we’d get together? What kind of friends are you??”

“Not if,” Piper corrected with a grin, shoving Leo out of the door. “How.”

And with that, she too exited the house, leaving Jason and Percy alone inside.

Percy fish-mouthed at the closed door and then all but collapsed back onto the couch next to Jason.

“I can’t decide if I’m more upset that they set up a betting pool, that apparently everyone else saw our feelings before we did, or that the winning bet was only worth $50.”

He groused, rubbing a hand over his face before thumping his head back against the couch and closing his eyes. Jason, no longer feeling insecure, just smiled and turned so that he could lean over and kiss the boy. At the first press of their lips, Percy jolted like he’d completely forgotten the reason their friends were making bets in the first place. He very quickly got over the shock of it however, and started reciprocating.

Jason found that while it wasn’t better or worse than kissing Piper, making out with Percy was certainly different. For one, Percy treated the kiss like he was some kind of underwater explorer, trying to discover and coax out as much as possible and only coming up for air when absolutely necessary. For another thing, Piper never tasted like an unholy mix of leftover pie and Doritos, nor did she ever spend quite as much of her time appreciating his beard. The biggest difference, of course, came in the way that Percy levered him onto his back across the couch so the brunette lay atop him and then started grinding their hips together with practically liquid rolls of his hips.

It was so much sensation that neither of them noticed when the front door opened again until Hazel’s voice filled the air.

“Oh wait, Frank! Nico just texted. He said that Percy and Jason are –.”

There was a pause, one that both boys were now very well aware of given that they’d pretty much frozen themselves.

“Uh yeah, doing that.”

Jason cracked an eye open and felt rather embarrassed as Frank let out a sigh and then pointed behind him back at the door. Percy, for his part, had taken to burying his face into Jason’s chest as if that could hide him.

“Yeah…we’re just gonna go be…literally anywhere else. Uh, have fun?”

He sounded about as awkward as Jason felt, even though he was clearly well-meaning. Percy turned his head towards them just in time to see Hazel wink and shoot them a double thumbs-up before following her boyfriend out. Jason stifled a laugh as Percy weakly returned the gesture, his face going tomato red once more. In the silence that followed, the pair heard her ask “How much money do you think Nico won from the betting pool?” Percy groaned and buried his face in Jason’s neck.

“What did we do to deserve such terrible friends? Using our emotional turmoil to yield a profit. I feel so betrayed.”

Jason laughed and stroked his hand through Percy’s hair because, well, because he could.

“Yield a profit?”

He asked, amusement in his voice. Percy nodded against his skin.

“I may have just finished my econ essay at 4:00 this morning.” The blonde smiled at that and thought suddenly how glad he was that despite the big change between them, all of the little things had stayed the same. They were still Percy and Jason, and out of the things that had changed well…

“Hey,” he waited for Percy to look at him. “You wanna keep complaining about our friends, or do you wanna make good on that promise you made earlier?”

At that, Percy shot up so quickly that he nearly smacked his head on Jason’s jaw and he did elbow him in the stomach. Momentary pain aside, Jason found himself grinning the whole way up the stairs.

[thelonelyrdr-blog]

Thoughts on the Heroes of Olympus series (Part 3)

(The ending is somewhat spoiled in this one, so if that bugs you, read with caution.)                      Apparently, yesterday was Percy Jackson's birthday. So he's a Leo. Makes sense, I thought, and set to integrating this piece of trivia with my mental image of Percy, but then I realized that I already knew it from the following exchange in The Blood of Olympus: "Like the zodiac sign?" Percy asked. "I'm a Leo." "No, stupid," Leo said, "I'm a Leo. You're a Percy." The bad puns in this series are so real, guys. Anyway, given that it was Percy's birthday, it would've been neat if I could've posted this review yesterday, but alas, I just didn't have the energy after work. But hey, my lateness won't stop me from tagging this post with #happybirthdaypercy in a shameless attempt to increase my readership. Happy Birthday, Percy! I know you won't mind my using your birthday as a marketing tool.   The Blood of Olympus  Reyna and Nico are by far my favorite parts of this book, both separately and as a pair, but especially as a pair. Both are characters with deeply traumatic pasts who feel a respect and kinship for one another that eventually evolve into familial affection. Hazel may be Nico’s sister in name, but Reyna seems closer to filling Bianca’s role as big sister to Nico: whereas, historically, Nico has had to protect and guide Hazel, Reyna is someone who will not only do the same for him, but who will also worry for him. She has the magical ability to literally empathize with his need, as a boy who has lost a mother and an older sister, to feel cared for and considered, and is therefore uniquely qualified to respond to it. Nico’s bonds with both Reyna and Hazel, though, are beautiful.  As for Reyna herself, as much as I love all of the female characters in both this series and the original, in my estimation, she's the best, simply by virtue of being the most complex. Riordan's skill with developing characters through their internal struggles shines in Reyna's chapters. Let's not kid ourselves like the other characters do: she killed her father, even if it was in self-defense and even if he'd degenerated into a mania, giving her what is certainly the darkest backstory of any character in this series and probably of any character in any middle-grade series ever. I'm surprised that the publisher didn't insist on cutting the murder, though Riordan does gloss over its moral ambiguity somewhat. Nico's pretty terrifying in that one scene, too, and in his case, Reyna and Coach Hedge fully acknowledge the immorality of his actions. You all know the scene I'm referring to, or will if and when you read this book. Can I get some Dark!PercyxDark!Nico fanfics in addition to the Dark!Percy ones I already tried to commission in my previous blog post? (Oh, and if you're wondering about my thoughts on Reyna's sexuality, as I know many have imagined her as gay or bisexual, I personally ship her with herself regardless of her sexual preferences. To be clear, I have nothing against either interpretation of her character, but I got a little disenchanted with every character being or wanting to be in a serious romantic relationship as the series progressed. There are single teenagers, you know. I was one of them.) Before I conclude my discussion of Nico and Reyna, though, I have to mention the scene where Nico finally confesses to Percy that he once had a crush on him. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one cheering for him and wishing that I could be that cool while simultaneously laughing at Percy’s confusion and Annabeth’s amusement. And oh man, that high five between Annabeth and Nico. Perfect.  But it's time that I commented on Leo’s happy ending, in which he fulfills his role in the prophecy by dying (but not really) and keeping his oath to Calypso to free her from Ogygia.  Their whole relationship is comprised of moments of subtle tenderness, but the line in the last chapter that struck me most was:  “Leo Valdez,” she said. Nothing else - just his name, as if it were something magical.  I fangirled when I read that line, and the entire last chapter, for two reasons. The first is that, no matter how I try to deny the tendency in myself, I’m a hopeless romantic (yes, I’m a hopeless romantic who doesn’t read straight romance and who wants to see more single characters in middle-grade and YA novels. Everyone has their contradictions) who was invested in this couple from the start. However, the second reason pertains to Leo’s character. He’s the “seventh” wheel of the group, who’s spent the whole series doubting his own merits and developing crushes on girls who either take no interest in him or take no interest in him and seem interested in one of his friends instead. To be fair, one of these girls is a villain anyway, but her rejection still validates Leo’s insecurities. Even Calypso herself has a history with another of the Seven (Percy) and initially reacts to Leo's arrival on Ogygia as though it were a cruel joke of the gods'. The fact that the other characters largely disregard Leo - even I've ignored him until now, ironically, despite how hilarious I found his dialogue and narration - is what makes Riordan’s positioning him as the hero of the series so emotionally and narratively satisfying. He forms a plan to defeat Gaea without even consulting the others (might it be said that his inherited tendency to work independently and in isolation, which he and dad Hephaestus both perceive as a flaw, is what enables him to save the world?); he breaks Calypso's curse without leaning on the gods or on Percy's bargain with them. He goes from being the most overlooked of the Seven to someone whose very name inspires awe (and you can't tell me that Calypso's awe results solely from romantic feeling - I'm sure that, when she utters that line, she's also thinking of how Leo is the first and only person to manage to free her, to even remember her after leaving Ogygia). His is an underdog story done right. Overall As I hope you've gathered from my individual comments on each book, there's a lot to appreciate in this series: it's by turns light and funny and dark and morally ambiguous; it's smart and subtly overturns stereotypes and prejudices; and, perhaps most importantly, it's full of likable, relatable characters who feel distinct and real. It's self-aware too: as in the original series, Riordan raises the question - here, most notably in Arachne's version of her myth - of whether the gods are truly good or merely better than the alternatives of Gaea and the Titans; whether theirs is the side the demi-gods would willingly choose or merely the one they happen to be on because of their parentage. It's not often in children's adventure stories that the heroes consider that the villains may have a valid moral point, and beyond that, one that invalidates theirs. Even the last two Harry Potter books don't go as far with humanizing and demonizing Voldemort and Dumbledore, respectively. Unfortunately, the narrative does not adequately answer this question or many of the others that it raises. Take, as another example, Percy's "fatal flaw," loyalty, which I noted in Part 1 of my review never seems to result in negative consequences for either the Seven or the quest, despite being talked up by both gods and monsters throughout the series. Were the repeated warnings about it supposed to be foreshadowing Percy's decision to fall into Tartatus with Annabeth? If so, that makes no sense, as at least one demi-god was needed on each side of the Doors of Death, anyway, and Percy and Annabeth were obviously more successful as a team than either would've been alone. Or, as is more likely, was Percy's "fatal flaw" part of a larger plot thread that was dropped due to time and space constraints? But if that's the case, then why couldn't the first two books in the series have been condensed into one, or the series extended to include six or seven books? Surprisingly, considering how tightly plotted the original series was, the plot in this series fizzles to near nonexistence by the end of The Blood of Olympus, the tension building inconsistently as the climax approaches. Compared to the final battle in The Last Olympian, which engrossed me even more than the Battle of Hogwarts did (fellow Harry Potter fans, you don't have to call me a traitor; I assure you, I already feel like one), the stakes in the battle against Gaea and her army seemed the equivalent height of those in a fight involving elementary school children wielding sticks. Riordan's failure to deliver in this respect was especially glaring considering that he'd promised readers not one major battle in The Blood of Olympus, but two. Instead we get a one-on-one fight between Reyna and Orion that feels more internally than externally resonant and forestalls Major Battle #1, the Roman attack on the Greeks, before it even begins; a fight with the earthborn during which no one but Jason is really needed, as he's shown to be tremendously overpowered; and a fight between Leo and Gaea, which should've been Major Battle #2 but which is over within a page or two. The characters reiterate throughout the series how powerful Gaea is and how much more substantial of a threat she is than the Titans, but even the lowest monster in Tartarus was scarier and took longer to defeat. Hell, the Minotaur in The Lightning Thief would've been a worthier opponent for our heroes. The only explanation I can think of for the disappointing finish to this series is, again, that Riordan must have run out of time or space to give readers a proper final battle (though he hinted at two, I would've settled for one). Or possibly steam.   Still, although the series as a whole has a rushed and sloppy quality to it, I would still highly recommend it, both for the reasons listed above and for its resemblance to fanfiction. Yes, sadly, only in fanfiction would I expect to read a continuation of Percy Jackson's story with as many minority as white demi-god protagonists, whose cultures, used respectfully by Riordan, inform rather than define their identities; a gay character who is revealed to be in love with the protagonist of the first series; and an emphasis on female empowerment and the glorification of the feminine. There’s even a character -  arguably the most physically attractive of the Seven, might I add - who discovers that he needs glasses! I was shocked, albeit pleasantly so, to find a published series containing all of these elements, and I'm not even gay or a minority. If you pick up these books for the representation alone, you won't regret it.     But that won’t be necessary: there are a multitude of other fun reasons.