#compared to how her taking Percy’s is framed

[katia-dreamer]

I can’t believe tlovm is ending this week.

:(

[percyluvr]

percy jackson x child of aphrodite!reader summary: you see a trend on tiktok & convince your boyfriend to do it with you wc: 489

You and Percy had been cuddled up on his bed for over 2 hours. You were both sitting up against the frame of his bed, your head leaning against his shoulder and his head leaning on top of yours. 

Percy's lean but strong arms wrapped around your torso were slowly distracting you from your meaningless Tiktok scrolling, that was, until you scrolled upon a video of a girl tying a pink ribbon to her boyfriend's arm and having him break it by flexing.

Though Percy was slowly drifting off to sleep, when he saw you stop on the video and giggle he was fully awake again. Whenever you got that look on your face he knew you were up to something. 

You turned your head to look at him only to find his gorgeous sea-green eyes staring at you in curiosity. Wou smiled and showed him the video.

"Babe can we pleaseee do this?" You asked him, pouting your lips. 

While Percy was never one to say no to your wishes, you didn't expect him to agree to quickly to this, but you probably should've because he was not only extremely in love with you, but also very adamant about proving to your friends and TikTok followers that he was the best boyfriend of all time. 

"Sugar, you know all you have to do is ask and I'd be willing to do it, no matter what it is," he says, giving you a sweet kiss on the top of your head. 

Being a child of Aphrodite, as well as an avid enjoyer of the color pink, you usually kept a pink ribbon in your pocket, just in case. You fished the ribbon out and, luckily, the ribbon was just long enough to go around his sculpted bicep. 

"Okay, let me take a picture first because you just look too cute," you said, flashing him a quick grin and taking a point-five picture of him that would be sure to go on your monthly instagram photo dump. 

After you took the picture, you switched to TikTok and started recording, and when he flexed his arm to break the ribbon, you swear you could've passed out right then and there, but somehow you managed not to. After rewatching the video, you debated even posting it because you didn't want anyone else to see the beauty that was your boyfriend breaking a ribbon with his sheer muscle, but decided that everyone's eyes deserved to be blessed.

"Damn baby, my muscles look good there, definitely post that," he winked. 

No matter how many times he flirted or winked at you, you could never get used to it. You may be a child of Aphrodite, but you thought there was no way in hell you would ever be able to compare to Percy's beauty, to which he would always disagree because you were his baby and no one could possibly be prettier than you.

a/n: pretend like demigods can use phones just for me pretty pls

[writetimewrongmuse]

Anything For You, Miss Granger.

Day 1 of #Kinktober: Power Imbalance

He’d spent another night sleeping at the office.

Her office.

She hadn’t asked him to — but he had, anyway — in the hopes she would notice how committed he was to her (cause, that is).

His back groaned as he rolled off her hideous sofa, and he only managed a half-hearted ironing charm on his clothes. He knew for a fact she hardly remembered what she had for breakfast most days. She wouldn’t notice that he hadn’t changed his clothes from the day before. In fact, he was certain she wouldn’t notice if one day he sat across from her entirely disrobed — not that he thought about that — only sometimes, occasionally, every other night before he fell asleep.

Regardless, he did a full cleansing routine in her private lavatory, and rearranged her agenda so not a moment went unaccounted for (Merlin forbid she take a moment to breathe, or look at him).

Truly, he hadn’t expected anything else when he’d applied to work under the Hermione Granger at the Ministry of Magic. In fact, it was the reason he had owled in his resume using a pseudonym — his own would have gotten him a steadfast ‘no’ — despite his extensive educational pursuits and double mastery in Runic Translations & Potions.

Hermione Granger had hired a young, bright man named Dray Noir only to find her new assistant was none other than Draco Malfoy.

She had not been pleased, to say the least. Had Percy not been around, Draco was quite sure he would have to go to St. Mungo’s for an urgent obstruction removal. But she had conceded, and he had managed to retain a job that paid him a pittance compared to what he would be paid working anywhere outside of the Ministry.

With her.

Draco had wondered when she’d ask him, why? But for the brightest witch of her age, she was rather — a dumb bint.

She had not asked.

Neither did she see.

It drove Draco positively insane.

Yes, he’d bullied her for six years, but for the past six months, had he not made his true intentions clear every single day?

How many cups of coffee, fresh croissants from the Manor and fresh flowers (for a rather dull and tawdry office) was a man to buy before a witch realised the wizard (working for a pittance, must he reiterate) wanted her?

Six months worth and counting, supposedly.

She walked in, as usual, two minutes after he had placed all three for her on her desk. They went, unsurprisingly, ignored.

“Malfoy, where are the translations for the house-elf blood oath?”

“On your desk.”

“Where on my desk?”

Right next to the snowdrops. “Right beside the flower vase.”

“Oh, excellent. And, oh, these are all translated.” He’d only spent the whole night doing them. “Did they come translated?”

“No.” She nodded, grabbing her Styrofoam coffee cup and taking a long sip that made her chest heave (only slightly, but since he did use his eyes, he noticed) as her fingers traced over his fine penmanship.

“Excellent, this will make negotiations much easier.” She looked up at him. “Do you need something from me, Malfoy?”

Ah, his cue to leave, and sit outside — for someone who had taken this job for the sole reason of being able to look at her, it was positively criminal how little he actually got to.

“No, Miss Granger.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, peering up at him from between thick, chestnut lashes that curved devilishly to frame her large, gold-flecked eyes.

He stilled beneath the weight of her full attention. He felt thirteen again, running away from a girl who had both punched him so she would not see what else she had given him—the black eye had been far more preferable, in hindsight.

That at least had dissipated with liberal use of bruise paste — liberally doing anything with his erection had landed him here, right now — which was nowhere.

“Do you require something more?”

“Maybe.” She said, her eyes drifting to the clock above her fireplace. “I didn’t sleep very well last night. Would you massage my shoulders for me?”

Draco blinked, certain he'd misheard. "Sorry?"

She leaned back in her chair, tilting her head to expose the graceful curve of her neck. "My shoulders are terribly tense. A massage would be lovely, thank you, Mr Malfoy."

He hesitated. This was uncharted territory. But he certainly did not need to be asked twice.

He stepped forward cautiously, his eyes never wavering from her fingers as she pulled her hair over one shoulder, her curls cascading down her chest. "Go ahead."

He placed his hands gently on her, the warmth of her skin radiating through the thin fabric of her satin blouse divesting him of all rationale

What was he supposed to be doing, again?

A massage, right. That was easy — if only he could remember how to move his hands.

“Mr Malfoy.”

“Yes, Miss Granger.” Draco said, his fingers beginning to knead softly. His heart pounded erratically, each beat echoing in his ears. This close, the subtle fragrance of cinnamon and sugar enveloped him, clouding his thoughts even further.

"You're quite good at this," she murmured, her voice coming out in a sultry caress that made him think it would be worth it, if she adopted the flobberworm that he was. She did have a soft spot for pitiful creatures — and Draco was nothing if not that.

"I aim to please." He said tightly, leaning away from her as blood rushed down his body.

“Do you now?”

“Have I been lacking?” He swallowed.

She turned slightly, allowing him a better view of her profile. "Not at all. In fact, you've been quite... attentive."

"I'm glad to hear that."

She leaned back into his touch, her head resting lightly against his chest. "But I can't help but wonder why someone with your credentials would settle for being my assistant."

"I... appreciate the opportunity to work closely with you,” he said cautiously, his finger treading carefully around the cowl neckline of her blouse.

She tilted her head up, her curls brushing against his chin.

“With me?”

His pulse quickened. "Of course."

“I was under the impression it was working under me that had been your intention.” Her lip curled up to one corner as Draco blinked down at her. “Or was I mistaken?”

Draco’s thumb stilled where it was pressed at the knot at the base of her neck, eliciting a silent shiver from the witch.

“I think it’s time to teach you your last lesson, Mr Malfoy.”

“Huh?”

She enunciated her sentence once more, slowly — as if he were dumb — which was, in all honesty, to be determined.

Draco took a step back as she pushed out of her chair and whirled around to face him.

“See, when we’re working in a high-pace setting, such as at an office, or at the Ministry, the only way to get what you want is to man up and ask for it. Do you understand that, Mr Malfoy?”

He had somehow wound up right back on the couch he’d slept on the night before, and he wasn’t certain when that had quite occurred. She was mesmerising where she stood above him, her form backlit by the soft glow of enchanted lamps.

Draco's breath hitched. His gaze flickered between Hermione's face and her stance—commanding, confident, and impossibly alluring.

"I—" his voice faltering under the weight of her words.

Was she…?

"Go on, Mr. Malfoy," she encouraged, only slightly teasing. "Ask for what it is you truly want."

His mouth felt impossibly dry, and he was certain his arousal was as obvious as Hagrid standing amidst a crowd of first years.

Her gaze was unwavering, expectant.

"And if I can’t?" The words slipped from his lips before he could stop them.

She tilted her head slightly. "Then you won’t get it. Simple as that."

Draco let out a breath, attempting to gather what little composure he had left. "What is it that you think I want, Miss Granger?"

Her lips curled into a smile — dangerously sweet.

"I suppose this is an impasse, Mr Malfoy.” She began to turn away from him, her tresses dancing vindictively with her movement.

Draco's pulse thundered in his ears.

"I want you."

The air between them stilled, tension snapping into something sharp and electric.

For a moment, neither of them moved, neither of them spoke. Then, with a slow smile, Hermione leaned forward to place her hands on the headrest of the sofa, caging him in.

"See, that wasn’t so hard," she purred, her mouth hovering an inch above his.

"So what happens now?" he asked, his gaze trailing down to catch her tongue retract, leaving her lips moist and plump. Ripe for the taking.

Hermione straightened before he could follow through with the unsaid request — like he had been about to, being the perfect assistant he was.

"You’re fired," she said softly, her fingers ghosting over the sleeve of his shirt, the touch so light it was almost maddening.

Draco blinked, her words echoing in his mind. What the absolute fuck?

"You can’t…" he began, his voice faltering.

“I absolutely can,” she grinned viciously. “Go see Higgins in Mysteries. He’s expecting you to start after lunch.”

“You can pick me up tonight at nine.” She continued on, as if she had not just shattered him only to put him back together. Something told him it would not be the first time. “Know that if you come by broom, I will send you home to play with it all by yourself. Understood?”

“Yes, Miss Granger” Draco nodded.

“Good boy.” Her mouth quirked into a satisfied smile as she moved away from him then, donning her blazer as she headed towards her office door.

She halted turning her head so that her large vixen eyes rooted him to the spot once more.

“This is going to be very fun, Mr Malfoy.”

[helpallthenamesaretaken]

EPISODE 8 😭😭 THE FEELS

the first line being 'look, you didn't ask to be a half blood' 😭😭 this is the shows equivalent to the good kid reprise

The wooden sword 😂

they have my respect for showing a luke and percy practicing sword fight scene SERIOUSLY the rest of the riordanverse percy still hears advice from luke while swordfighting and that is a plot point that is so special to me okay

the transition from luke to percy as he asks for single combat it's SO CINEMATIC I LOVE IT

The threatening aura of ares after being grumpy and comedic is chefs kiss about dayum time

I wish they kept the scene where percy says something along the lines of "we didn't mention any dreams" when ares yells that gods don't dream but ofc tv!percy knows all

cue one of the most epic sword fight scenes of the century

IM THE SON OF POSEIDON NOW FACE THE TIDE INSIDE OF MEEEEEEEE

NO SERIOUSLY SOMEBODY MAKE AN EDIT

THE SIZE OF PERCY COMPARED TO THE WAVE, THE WAVE ENVELOPING BOTH OF THEM

The camera shots are too good I swear

Ok that was short

I kinda missed the police cars and the sirens in the background and the reporters and all that chaos

sallys in the breeze she's in the trees

Alecto redemption arc wasnt on my bingo card but I actually like it guys

THE NECKLACE

percy staring at annabeth as she makes it harder each day to believe no one cares about him will never get old ❤️

“Wheres the glory in that” lazy ppl dont need glory

Rip lance reddick❤️

the next time hes going to roast zeus’s family percy is going to be older and more intimidating ZEUS IS GOING TO LISTEN and thats something so amazing

the way that percy fell to the ground with his arms on his head by instinct as zeus raised his lightning bolt

POSEIDON YASSSSS

”perseus” wait a sec is this the first reveal of percys real name?

THEIR ACTING AS ALWAYS 10/10

”can i ask you a question?’ DID YOU EVER HAVE SOMEONE KISS YOU IN A CROWDED ROOM AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS WAS MAKING FUN OF YOU

Dude was like no hon i aint gon tell bout what i dream about your mother kaboom peace out

huggggg (btw guys im in this show im the camper in the background clapping for the hug) i love that laugh from percy like ‘yep this is how we roll now not bad’

I love that theyre using that position to just ominously talk about clarisse not even letting go, just hugging it out talking about the traitor

Luke and annabeth in the same frame!!! We got a hand on annabeths shoulder AND NOTHING ELSE

THE CINEMATOGRAPHY OF THE NEXT SCENE IS UNPARALLELED

THE WAY THE FIREWORKS GET DARKER AND DARKER AS LUKE IS CAUGHT

Backbiter glowed up fr now he can make interdimensional portals

also percy knows everything as usual.

the girls are fightinggggg

”im sorry” *luke taking advantage to slash percy in the arm* you will always live in my heart

The heartbreak in lukes eyes

the hearbreak in annabeths eyes

also that shot of leah against the bright lights of the fireworks makes her look so pretty

ok we’re just going to gloss over the sadness of the betrayal

Can i just say i love chirons casting SO MUCH im so excited to see him party next season

“I am percy jackson” slay

ANNABETHS PIGTAILS ARE SO CUTE

OFC SHES GOING TO DISNEY WORLD

the way shes just worrying about what it might do to kill her 🥺

annabeth: *Exists*

percy: ❤️🥺😁🥰

THE LIL FLOWER

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

bro literally gave us the percy and sally reunion of our dreams

”your survival is the key to my rise” get lost grim reaper

petition to call kronos grandpa every dream

ILL BE BACK NEXT SUMMER YOULL SEE ME AGAIN ILL BE BACK NEXT SUMMER ILL SURVIVE TILL THEN

Percy arming himself with the umbrella

I BETTER GET SEASON 2

Woooooooooooo gabe dieeeeee

[sankta-starkova]

THE OUTSIDERS

010 | take a zebra to vegas

previous chapter | next chapter | masterlist

summary: the one where daisy returns to camp from college and is blinded by her love for him, even as the world ends

wordcount: 2.1k

The camp was getting bad. She had never seen this level of fighting before.

Every day, someone else was clashing. There were cabins turning against one another and all because of Clarisse and her gang.

They were spreading these rumours throughout camp that the war was going to get worse between the Gods and that at some point, the campers were going to have to fight with them.

This had cause tension and Daisy and Luke knew that they had to get some sort of help.

They went into the Big House. Chiron was out dealing with a fight and they needed to see what Mr D could do about it or if he was even back from his war council with the other Olympians.

They split out. Luke went into Chirons office and Daisy searched upstairs - although she steered clear of the attic.

"Luke?" Someone asked and he turned around, confused as he saw a rainbow beam on the wall.

"Annabeth? Percy?" He questioned, looking at the kids through the iris connection, "Are you okay?"

He turned around and the kids watched as he searched around for someone else.

"Hey, Daisy, come in here!" He called out before turning back to the message.

Annabeth and Percy looked at one another, "We're okay, Where's Chiron?"

Daisy ran into the room, slightly out of breath. She gasped when she saw the two on the screen. She had been so nervous about the trio and it was good to know they were there.

"You're okay? We've been worried sick," She said, stepping into frame so she was shoulder to shoulder with Luke..

"We need to talk to Chiron," Percy repeated.

"Chiron is holding the Fort down. The campers think we're going to war so the cabins are taking sides," he explained.

It had been a difficult couple of days. Everyone had been arguing and fighting. Some cabins had stopped talking to one another, couples had broken up.

That's when she heard a yell outside. "I should go sort that, I'll be right back kiddos,"

Luke watched as she ran out of the big house and he could hear her commanding some of the kids around, a smile on his face.

"We think we know who stole the bolt," Percy stated with upmost certainty

Luke tensed up. He was nervous and it was obvious.

"How do you know?" He asked, a shocked look on his face.

"We ran into Ares and Grover got him talking and realised Ares knew who the thief was and is covering for them," Annabeth explained, "So who would Ares cover for other than-"

"His favourite daughter, Clarisse," Luke stated, shaking his head. He relaxed as he realised who they thought it was, "She is the lightning thief,"

"Chiron has to arrest her. Find out what she knows. There's more to this than just the bolt. Don't ask me how. You just have to trust me," Percy continued, an ominous tone to his voice.

"We trust you, keep yourselves safe out there," Luke said, smiling at them.

"Sorry, I'm back. They weren't trying to hang that kid," she said, running back into the room.

Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her into his side, he seemed really relaxed all of a sudden.

"So, you met Ares? What was that like?" Luke asked, the conversation sounding more civil.

Percy shrugged, "Compared to the Chimera on Monday and Medusa on Sunday, could've been a lot worse,"

"Medusa was Saturday," Annabeth said, giving him a look, "No monsters on Sunday. Monday you died in a river,"

Daisy's eyes went wide, they seemed to have just said that he died in a river. They glossed over it and she just stared at them in shock.

"Right. So Medusa on Saturday," the two preteens shared a look as they nodded at one another.

Her and Luke turned to one another. As they listened to Percy and Annabeth, it was like watching their past selves bicker.

"What is this?" Daisy asked, looking at the duo with an amused smile..

"What?" Annabeth questioned. She didn't know why the teenagers were looking at her like that.

"When did you turn into an old married couple?" She replied.

Luke chuckled to himself, "When did you turn into us?" He asked.

They had smiles on their faces but through the iris message, they could see the kids were not entertained and seemed almost embarrassed.

"Not to change the subject but, we could use your advise on something. We're heading to Las Vegas to talk to yo-" Percy started to say and it cut out

"You think they're okay?" She asked, turning to him.

He knew how much she cared about them. It was that caring instinct in him that he loved.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "They're fine baby, we have to make sure the campers here don't kill themselves first,"

"Did i miss anything? Did they have any news?" She asked.

He was silent for a second before he put a smile on his face, "They didn't say much, just that they're doing good," he explained.

She grabbed his hand, "There's a big fight happening out there, the Ares cabin are getting mad," she explained.

He nodded. This was the last thing he wanted, they didn't need the entire camp to be fighting against one another.

They walked outside of the big house and that's when she saw the first semblance of a fight.

"What's going on Travis?" She yelled out after him as she saw him running towards the amphitheatre.

He turned around, stopping in the middle of the path and looking at the couple, "Clarisse just challenged Lily to a fight,"

Lily was one of her best friends and she had just been elected as the Head of the Aphrodite cabin.

To have the Ares Cabin and Aphrodite cabin at war with one another would cause the biggest rift within the camp.

She looked at Luke, both of them sharing a worried expression on their faces before they chased after his younger brother Travis to the amphitheatre.

When they got there, they saw the true extent to the problem. Clarisse was in full battle gear, the remaining half of her father's spear tucked into her belt.

She was with some of the other Ares kids and in front of her was Silena and Lily, both of them weaponless.

She saw Clarisse pull her sword out, ready to strike. Daisy didn't even hesitate before she ran in between the two of them.

She felt the sword brush against her cheek but there was no pain, she must have missed.

"Get out of my way!" She yelled out and Daisy held her hand out, pushing her back.

Luke rushed over as soon as he saw Clarisse swing. He had to hide the anger bubbling up in his chest, "Lets all calm down,"

"There's a war that's going to happen out there," Clarisse spat out, taking a few steps back.

"We don't know who stole the bolt, we can't choose sides," Luke said.

Luke had been told about who the kids thought was the lightning theif but he couldn't tell anyone, not yet.

"You're naive both of you. it matters," she spat out, being cheered on by the other Ares kids, "You need to pick your side because when this happens, we will fight,"

"Percy can find a way to stop this," Daisy said, her hand resting on the sheath where her dagger lie.

It was a matching one. Luke had given it to her two years ago before their quest. It was a paired one to his and it had all kind of features - like glowing when the other person got near and dimming completley if they died.

She didn't think she would need the weapon right now but she didnr know where this fight would go.

Clarisse scoffed at the idea, "Percy? I doubt he's even alive," she stated.

"Can't we all just stop this, its not fair on anyone," Silena said as she took a step forward to stand next to Daisy.

Before the couple had gotten there, Silena thought that her best friend was going to try to fight her.

"If there is a war between our parents, they will be expecting us to fight alongside them," Clarisse replied, her voice softening as soon as she saw Silena.

"Our mother does not believe in war," Lily interjected. Everyone seemed to have forgotten she was there.

There was a crowd gathering around them as all the campers wondered if this was the official declaration of who's side they were on.

Everyone was on edge with the idea of war and as Daisy looked around, she could see how scared everyone was. Nobody wanted to fight.

"Come on guys, no need to keep arguing. The younger campers don't need all the heads of cabins arguing right now," Daisy said.

She looked around. They were all looking to their leaders for some sort of guidance.

"You want me to give you another nick on that pretty face of yours?" She questioned.

Daisy reached a hand up and that's when she realised that the blade had cut her. It was a tiny cut and she didn't know how she hadn't felt it.

Luke looked at her, a a hand going to her jaw so that he could get a good look at the cut on the other side of her face. He was furious now.

"You better watch your mouth Clarisse," Luke said, a hand going down to his sword.

The camp was silent as they realised that two of the strongest sword fighters may be duelling.

She went to lunge at Luke but Chris grabbed onto her, pulling her back before she could attack him. She let out a guttural yell as he held her back, struggling in his grasp.

Daisy reached down and grabbed Lukes hand. He was tense. She could feel him calm down at her touch and he looked at her, shaking his head.

He couldn't deal with this fighting. This was not the plan, the campers should not be having to fight against one another.

"Break it up children," a voice said and they all recognised it quickly.

They turned to see Chiron walking towards them and everyone knew that they were in trouble.

The groups of younger campers started to disperse and Clarisse just gave Luke one final glare before rushing away with her cronies.

"What happened here?" Chiron asked.

"She's trying to get campers to pick sides, you know the drill," Daisy said, trying to make it lighthearted.

Her boyfriend scoffed, "This time she hit you. Chiron, do you mind if we discuss this later, I should get her a bit of salve for that wound?"

Chiron nodded. He had a suspicious look in his eyes as he watched the couple walk away.

"We forgot to tell him that Percy and Annabeth sent him an iris message," she said.

He led her towards the Hermes cabin and walked over to his bunk. The room was empty, everyone else doing activities and training.

Luke shook his head, "Worry about that later baby, you just sit there for a second," He said, gesturing for her to sit down.

She looked at his bunk, smiling to herself for a second. She traced her finger across the picture board at the head of his bed.

They were mostly pictures of her, one of her by the lake in a bikini, one of them before the quest (she could tell by the lack of his scar) of them laughing.

Her favourite one was the one that her and Annabeth both had a copy of. It was the two of them, her head leaning on Lukes shoulder. Annabeth was standing in front of them, looking up at them with a smile.

She felt the bed dip and looked to her side to see Luke. He had a ambrosia salve on his lap.

"I'm fine honey," she said and he shook his head.

"Let me help you," he said and she nodded.

He leaned up, swiping the salve across her cheek and she could feel it getting better already.

Luke leaned up and he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Feel better?"

She hummed in response. She lay her head against his shoulder, "I don't want to go to war," she muttered.

He could feel her fear, her fear about what power the Gods hold. The whole point of this plan was that she would never feel that fear again. That she would be on control.

"We'll be fine," he mumbled, leaning his head down against hers.

Taglist:

@b3bybunny @inejghafawifesblog

[phykios]

Review: "We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium"; "I Plunge to my Death"; "A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers"

Hey y'all! I'm back. It took a while to write this review, and not just because I had a busy holiday season. The more I tried to consider episodes 3 and 4, the more I realized that a lot of my critiques of them were things I had already touched on in the last two–poor exposition, bad lighting, rushed plot, etc–and so it felt a little redundant to say the same thing all over again. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how annoying you find me), episode 5 was such a cut above over the rest of the season, I finally have new things to say! With that in mind, the format of this review will be a little different, as I will compare the episodes side by side, rather than consider each one individually. 

For a brief, brief recap, the three episodes follow fairly similar plot beats: the trio travels a little, meets a mythological being that tries to mess with their heads, then they all try to sacrifice themselves for the good of the quest before figuring out an alternate way to win. This isn’t a criticism, by the way–the book chapters have similar formats, and repetitive framing is a great way of demonstrating character growth. And of course, there’s no better way to spruce up a travel montage with a little lore dump. 

What makes for effective exposition? It’s a delicate balancing act between making sure that the information you need to get across gets to the viewer, but not letting them know that you’ve done it. “Show, don’t tell” is the most common expository technique, and for good reason–information is better retained and more effective when it’s not delivered to you like someone reading off cue cards. And it’s most effective when it’s withheld until just the right moment. PJO TV is not… great at this. It’s mostly little things, one-off little lines, like Luke saying “I’m the best swordsman” or “Annabeth is the smartest,” but there are some more egregious examples, mostly with Chiron explaining the world to Percy. This, I get, and it’s not like Riordan did it that much more elegantly in the books. But I’m more annoyed about Luke info-dumping than anybody else.  

I was re-reading The Lightning Thief for several reasons, and one of the things about Luke is that he keeps things very close to the chest. It’s partly to conceal his villainy, but it also makes sense from a psychological standpoint, hiding his emotions not only to keep everyone from finding out the truth about him, but also to recruit kids for the upcoming war. Luke only opens up about what happened to him and Thalia once: at the very end of the book, just before he tries to kill Percy. It’s a powerful moment–the specter of Thalia haunts Percy throughout the book, the ideal of a hero he’s afraid he’ll never be able to measure up to, and we find out that she’s been haunting Luke as well, but for very different reasons. (She haunts the TV show as well, which I like very much–I just hope it pays off!) We are shown hints of his darker side earlier, but withholding the heel turn until now, and pairing it with the first time we see him actually talk about himself, is part of what makes this scene so good and so heinous at the same time. The first time we get glimpses of Luke’s true self, his motivations and what drives him, is the same moment where he crosses the line. And in the meantime, TV!Luke just lets it all hang out. 

Consider: 

Before camp, I was on the road. Me and a forbidden kid I met along the way. Her name was Thalia… A long time ago, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades agreed their children were becoming too powerful, so they made a pact not to father any more. And it held for a long time, until Zeus broke that pact. Until Thalia. A forbidden kid attracts trouble. Monsters everywhere, it's just a constant battle to stay alive. One day, we, uh, find this little girl hiding in an alley. Annabeth. We were worried about taking her in, exposing her to all that danger. Then we saw her fight. Thalia didn't make it. But Annabeth and me... we did. And we've been family ever since… Annabeth is the strongest warrior in camp. The only way left to prove herself is to go on a quest. [S1E2, “I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom”]

Why is he saying all this? Is it for Percy’s benefit, or the audience’s? What does this reveal about Luke’s character? What about this monologue reveals what Luke actually thinks about the pact, or Thalia’s death, or even Annabeth? We’re told he sees her like family, but what does he do to show us? 

For contrast, here’s Ares’ lore dump a few episodes later:

You're new to the family, young one, so let me fill you in on how we work. See, years before I was born, my grandpa Kronos ate my aunts and uncles. Yeah. Then my dad made him puke them back up, then chopped him into a million pieces and chucked 'em into a bottomless pit, so that kinda set the tone right outta the gate. Olympians fight. We betray. We backstab. We will push anyone down a flight of stairs to get ahead. And that's why I love my family so much. My dad knows he's not getting this bolt back with quests or goose chases. He knows there's a war coming. And in reality, I think he's okay with that. I think he feels it's just time for a war, so we're gonna have a war. Isn't that great? [S1E5, “A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers”]

What does this reveal about Ares’ character? That he loves violence, and that the threat of war is exciting. That he doesn’t exactly hold his family in high regard. That this is something that is central to who the gods are. All of this is supported by Adam Copeland’s performance, which is flippant, funny, and immature. The details work in concert to show us who Ares is and what he wants, all without ever having him say it out loud. 

For all of its clumsiness, though, I actually really like Grover’s little monologue about the nature of questing as we follow the kids into New York City in episode 3. It has a very Fellowship of the Ring vibe (which I’m pretty sure is deliberate) which fits on a meta-level too, with Percy Jackson in conversation with epic stories of the past.

But you know what wasn’t in conversation with the past? The shortest Medusa battle ever recorded. 

I’m being a little hyperbolic for comedy’s sake, but genuinely I hated the Medusa fight. Not the Medusa backstory–sidestepping the sexual assault in a middle-grade book was the correct choice, and it’s not like a post-#MeToo Medusa is a shocking or novel idea–but not only should the fight have been at least twice as long, it was missing a full fourth of the mythological ingredients. The mythical Perseus has four gifts: the sword, the mirror shield, the helm of invisibility, and the winged sandals. The book reinterprets the shield as a glass ball. And the show doesn’t use it at all. Is this a nitpicky critique? Maybe. But some of Percy Jackson’s strongest moments are the reinterpretation of mythological scenes, and for those to work, you should incorporate the key details. 

Also, again, cannot stress this enough, it was way too short. At least the Echidna fight scene had some blocking involved. And acting. 

Speaking of acting, I will say that it’s very consistently well done. I think the kids are more than holding their own against the adults, and they walk the line between playing maturity and still being young very well, which is a very difficult thing to do. In fact, rarely is the acting ever a problem. Because, once again, it’s the writing that makes it fall short. 

Let’s do another comparison: Percy sending off Medusa’s head and Percy and Annabeth with Hephaestus’ chair. One is from the books, and one is new. Both are given the appropriate amount of weight in the episode’s runtime. Both are well-acted, well-blocked, well-scored. But the new scene feels out of place to me. Part of the problem is that, being a scene lifted from the books, Percy sending off Medusa’s head feels earned and supported by the material of the last few episodes. He’s pissed at his dad for ignoring him, and pissed that the gods are forcing him to do all this nonsense for reasons he only barely understands. Of course he’s going to foist a magical WMD on them. 

But the chair scene doesn’t have that prior support. Consider: 

Eat or be eaten. Power and glory and nothing else matters. Ares is that way, Zeus is that way, my mother is that way. He isn't that way. He's better than that. Maybe I was that way once. But I don't wanna be that way anymore. I won't be like all of you. I just won't. [S1E5, “A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers”]

In a vacuum, this would be a great scene. Walker’s fear is palpable and real, and Leah delivers a heartfelt performance in anguish at her friend’s supposed fate. That’s all well and good, except that these characters have known each other for… what, three days? A week? And for all her talk of glory, Annabeth dispensed with that idea pretty much right out the gate, as she killed a Fury rather than hand Percy over to Alecto. She tries to sacrifice herself for the quest all the time. What power and glory is she seeking? 

This is an excellent scene that unfortunately doesn’t belong in this season. This scene, as my dear @frenchswissborder pointed out, does not belong after the Thrill Ride of Love (before the Zoo Truck scene as well!) but instead feels like it should be in the Battle of the Labyrinth’s Mt. St Helen confession scene. Putting it there at least would build on three years of friendship, rather than a handful of days of not annoying each other. 

I don’t mind new scenes. I want new scenes. If I wanted a one-to-one adaptation, I’d just read the books again. But the new scenes have to matter. They have to bring something new to the table. Let me put it this way: when The Lightning Thief musical said, “Fuck it, Cerberus is a DJ,” it was both leaning into its own medium as musical theater and riffing on the idea of the underworld being under a recording studio. When PJO TV says, “Fuck it, exposition time,” it feels like they’re reading off Mythomagic card stats. 

What makes an adaptation great, in my opinion, is how well it speaks to the subtext of the original work. The musical is excellent at this, in particular how it uses the conventions of musical theater to highlight the parallels between Percy and Luke by giving them variations on the same “I Want” song. Where PJO TV shines is how it speaks to the subtext of abusive adults. Abuse of children is sadly not always so obvious, and I like how the Mist lets Alecto, Echidna, and Ares act pretty much with impunity. They are predators, and they are able to move without fear of detection. This even applies to Medusa, too, having her pretend to offer Percy a way out, when she really is only interested in herself and her needs. 

But, as the show tends to do, this only causes the story to kneecap itself by neutering Gabe as an abusive figure. I understand why it is this way, as book Sally, for all her kind and loving nature, wasn’t exactly written with a backbone. Part of this, I assume, is just that The Lightning Thief was published in 2005, and that a) the conversation around intimate partner abuse simply was not in the mainstream, and b) Riordan just got better at female characters over time. So the trade-off is that by making Sally a more formidable, dynamic character in the show, they had to dial down Gabe’s uglier, abusive nature–which is going to be really awkward in a few episodes when Sally kills him just for the crime of being annoying. 

Stray thoughts: 

Just taking a moment here to say that I think the set design has been really gorgeous so far. Shout out in particular to the attic in the Big House!

I’m only just noticing this now, but the trunk of Thalia’s pine tree looks like there’s a human in there–bent knee, arms outstretched, head bowed–and I think that’s awesome. 

The idea of monsters sensing a demigod’s weakness and responding to that is so good, and I’m taking it. 

Earlier versions of this review had a long and annoying rant about Medusa’s origins, so allow me to tl;dr: there is no original Medusa myth. Ovid’s Medusa myth in Metamorphoses comes about 800 years after Hesiod’s Theogony, which comes after Homer’s Iliad. It’s not a question of Ovid against Hesiod against Homer, it’s a question of these authors plus thousands of pieces of pottery depicting hundreds of variations on the Medusa myth, and we cannot definitively say which one is the source of the myth. That said, I don’t dislike a #MeToo Medusa, I just mostly hate the discourse around it.

It’s nice to see some architecture nerd Annabeth, but between the way the show glosses over it, and the lack of crippling arachnophobia, her character is being reduced too much to “prideful” for my tastes. It’s not that Annabeth isn’t prideful, obviously, it’s just that she has more dimension to her than the show is currently presenting. 

Annabeth and Grover throwing water on Percy like a beached whale is very funny, but it did make me realize that they haven’t introduced nectar/ambrosia in the show. Maybe they’re saving it for the finale? 

Ares calling them all cousins makes me extremely happy. This was something that Riordan did in the early books, but he kind of petered off, presumably so as not to imply weird pseudo-incestuous things once Percabeth started, but I always loved it.

I’m saving the Percy and Annabeth relationship breakdown until after the season, but it is coming! (But I am sad that “seaweed brain” came out of nowhere :( we just rolled right over it!)

The lighting is really bad, especially in the dark, and I am learning to live with it, but I am not happy about it. 

Aryan is the breakout actor of the trio, in my opinion. Playing awkward is so, so easy to overdo, but he brings a sincerity and a quickwittedness to Grover that I absolutely adore–he’s a sweet kid, and he’s clearly scared, but he knows when to summon his courage and do the brave thing for him and his friends. 

Also here are some screencaps that I like. They don’t have anything to do with the review, I just think they’re neat :3 (IDs/thots in the alt)

[manta-is-yelling]

Percy Jackson 2023-24 Live Action

Season One Spoilers under the cut

We finished the Percy Jackson series.

Its very good.

I have a couple of minor objections. And some praises.

1. It did not explain why the step-dad was there in the first place. And if they did, I didn't hear it. It's because he *reeks* of human smell-beer- pizza, unwashed ass. His mother is using him to hide Percy.

2. They didn't explain the press coverage and how that was dealt with either. When Percy fights Ares, that is seen as a kid fighting a kidnapper. The record is set straight then that the problem was never Percy.

3. Lin Manuel Miranda has too much screen time. This is not a scholarly opinion but it is correct. And like. As a dad, he is atleast TRYING compared to some. Damn. Luke what the fuck.

I GUESS it's important for Luke's development. B u t. The delivery cameo, the long ass casino scene. Boo hiss. (I'm not that mad)

4. Bring back Hephaestos. I wanna see his cool park up and working.

5. Lance Reddick passed on last March. How will they handle Zeus in future seasons? Will they use the "gods can take many forms" idea?

6. I need season 2 to open up with Grover running through Key West in the rain in the middle of the night.

7. I enjoyed Annabeth's hair. They handled her braids well and it looks like they had a stylist to twist the roots of her braids so the new growth wasn't obvious, bc in the time frame of the season knotless braids wouldnt grow out as much as they will over filming, and they'll give away what order things were filmed in. I was looking. Closely. I need to see more dedication like that to black characters.

8. Medusa is SO well designed. I thought she was stunning and charismatic.

9. Percy himself had that perfect, natural mischievous grin to his face as described in the books. I think he was very well casted. I liked that he was still obviously a kid, but doing his best to be brave.

10. I think his mom is really pretty.

11. I am looking forward to Tyson.

12. Season 2 pls I am begging gib gib gib gib

[the-pinstriped-hood]

Strange First Impressions

This is part of the Band!HoW AoA AU

Band AU Darrell - @bluecoolr-main

Band AU Ava - @slaasherslut

Band AU Percy (Bunny) and Licorice - me!

All other characters are HoW Cannon.

The Fallen Angels finally decided to go on tour again, this time with Bunny, their shy new Bassist/co-lyricist and her emotional support dog, Licorice. The tour bus hadn't officially gotten on the road as according to their manager they were going to be sharing a Bus with Darrell Todd and his band. Darrell was an old friend of the Angels who were more than happy to see him again. Bunny immediately made herself scarce in her bunk not wanting to embarrass herself in front of her bandmates. An upside to being so small compared to everyone else was the fact that slipping away out of uncomfortable situations was a breeze! Or, so Bunny thought. Lester had caught her shimmying herself into the top bunk.

"Darlin'? Whatcha doin up there?"

"Hiding."

Lester was kind, gentle, Ava's boyfriend and the bands Drummer.

He treated Bunny like a friend instead of a stranger. He knew this would happen, the black haired girl wasn't very excitable about strangers. She had never met Darrell before.

Lester chuckled. "You'll like 'im, promise. Besides we are gonna be tourin' for a few weeks. There ain't no conceivable way ta avoid 'im…"

Bunny laid her head down on the mattress as she had successfully gotten up to the top bunk. "I know…I'm just not in the mood to greet people, okay? Can you hand me Licorice? I'm gonna lay down for a nap…"

Les understood, handing the fluffy Pomeranian up to his owner and the curtain being shut.

A few minutes later the sound of bootsteps were heard and commotion from the band was made.

"It's about time you got here! What, your old truck crap out on you again?" Lester inquired of the blonde.

"Traffic actually. Heard you bunch got a new member?"

"She's nappin' right now." Lester smiled and lowered his voice. "Poor thing is shy as the Dickens so, if she don't approach you immediately, don't take it to heart." Darrell was gently patted on the back and let go to find his Bunk and set his gear down..

The tour bus took off with it's passengers and the Band minus Bunny sat around catching up with Darrell and how he had been for a few hours. "You trying to copy me?" Bo joked with him about being a fellow slut and Darrell blushed. "You know what they say, imitation is the sincerest form a' flattery. I can't help myself some days."

A groggy moan was heard and Bunny stood in the doorway. She rubbed her eyes with a fist and yawned.

Darrell could barely see under the hood of the jacket the girl was wearing, definitely something mysterious about her.

"Have a nice nap, sweetpea?" Lester asked as the girl looked up. Darrell this time could get a better look at her. Half lidded Blue eyes, the most adorable cheeks and long rave hair framed her face. The girl nodded mutely and opened the mini fridge for a Mtn Dew, cracking it open.

"Bun, this is Darrell." Ava introduced her. Bunny was given a smile, he was certainly very charming. Green Tshirt stretched taut against his pecs, blue jeans and cowboy boots. "y'know I didn't know the Sinclair's had a baby sister. And one that obviously looks up to one twin more than the other..." Darrell joked. Vincent shrugged with a smirk, passing by the girl and pulling back her hood, patting her head. "Yeah yeah..go call your girlfriend Vin..." Bo rolled his eyes, chewing on the lolipops stash that Bunny had brought with her.

As Darrell went for a handshake, Bunny picked up Licorice and oddly looked for any signs of growling or barking from the fluff ball and there was nothing but panting.

The southerner chuckled, playing along and shaking the dogs paw. "Nice ta meet you too.."

"Would…you like to hold him? He…seems to think you're an okay person…." She trailed off and Darrell agreed. "What's his name?"

"L…Licorice….his name is Licorice, Lord of the damned."

Darrell held the pom close, gently scratching him behind the ears. "Dogs are good judges a' character. Yeah that's right bud, I ain't so bad…" Bunny sat down next to Ava who patted her knee in silent praise of trying to talk to people.

This was possibly a friendship?

Bunny has no way of knowing. She could only go up from here.

Tags: @rottent33th @slaasherslut @bluecoolr-main @probably-a-plant-thing @damien-mlm @kalid-raven @slasherscrybaby @angxlslasher @texaschainsawslvt

[bccksmarts]

VERSE NOTES ➝ Sherlock

Just more verse notes as I've been rewatching the show and I might be a tad obsessed ♡

These notes are 100% up for change, especially if people feel like including their muses!! This is just how I see things going or could go if HP muses were to be involved in some way, shape or form ♡

This verse, even though it's clearly a crossover, can also be taken as a Muggle AU! Basically the world where magic doesn't / never existed.

And a little reminder that Hermione, in this verse, is not a Granger. She's a Holmes.

• The Malfoys, primarily Lucius Malfoy, are members of the Government.

•  Like Mycroft, Lucius Malfoy is a Government Official. He sits on the seats as most of the important Government members do, such as Mycroft Holmes. •  Lucius is one of the more snobby and shady members of the Government, who has strong distaste for the Holmes'—specifically Sherlock Holmes and especially Mycroft Holmes, and by extension, Sherlock's only child & daughter, Hermione. • Lucius has a strong dislike for Hermione due to her besting his son, Draco, in most ( if not every ) lesson they have together, always walking out of exams with perfect marks. He goes home and does nothing but complain about her.   ⤷ Molly tells Hermione it's just a school boy with a crush on her, which    at a young age, makes the little Holmes cringe and gag. •  Narcissa is the high class ❛do things behind the scenes❜ wife and mother. She goes out for tea and events with women of similar standing, making sure her son is well taught, tailored, prim and proper, whilst trying to keep her husband in line.

• The Weasleys

•  So similarly to how it would be at Hogwarts, all the Weasleys, ( Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, Percy, Bill & Charlie ) all attend the same school that Hermione attends. A mix class school, all the children in different year groups, but basically exactly as it was at Hogwarts. How Molly Weasley manages, we'll never know. •  Arthur Weasley is also a Government official, sat on the same row of tables as Lucius Malfoy and Mycroft Holmes, but digs more into the things that people of the Government deem as "little" / unimportant.

• The Potters are NOT infamous.

•  Harry is still born to James Potter and Lily Potter ( neé Evans ), but unlike the movies and books, James and Lily are still alive and thriving, raising their son Harry without a worry of murder in the world, just a normal family, really. •  That being said, Harry still grows up with the same, kind attitude as he usually does, but having a lot less trauma following behind him, still becoming best friends with Ronald Weasley and Hermione Holmes. •  James Potter is a member of the Government, but on a lower tier compared to Mycroft, Lucius and Arthur. He also coaches the "Gryffindor" football team on the afternoons when he isn't working, teaching Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and other kids / teens how to play.   ⤷ Football is where Harry & Draco kick off their rivalry, and where    Hermione goes to stick up for her friends, calling Draco a "spoilt little    brat" for his father buying his position and her a "filthy little trollop". •  Harry's got two non-blood related uncles, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, and a God-son, Teddy Lupin, who are all alive and well. Sirius has still been to jail for being framed for some sort of murder, and Remus has scars from a dog ( or wolf ) attack.

• The Teachers at school are the exactly same, just less magical

•  I don't think I need to make note, but I will. Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, and lots of other professors are now just plain teachers. Albus Dumbledore is still the headmaster, but dies in their sixth year of old age, having Minerva McGonagall take over as Headmistress.   ⤷ The subjects that they will teach is totally open for people's muses of    them to interpret! •  This also means that if people make their muses teachers, like Hermione for example, they'd just be plain teachers, following on from their old mentors above them.

[qu-film-history-to-1968]

The Bride of Frankenstein, an origin for Hollywood’s “the bigger the better” mentality and the Fourth-Wall prologue

By Jack Muscatello

After watching both James Whale productions from the 1930’s, the concept of Frankenstein as a vehicle for early Hollywood franchises makes even more sense than it did with “just” the 1931 original. In Frankenstein, exaggerated scenes twisted from their original – and more tame – counterparts in the novel make up the majority of the film, creating a world for the Monster on screen that feels more assertive, antagonizing and theatrical. To the credit of Whale and the crew, this approach worked, providing Universal exactly what it wanted so that a franchise could be deemed necessary, rather than simple possible. After five years of production hell, a far more bloated and dangerous set experience and further censorship concerns, The Bride of Frankenstein further solidified the “monster-verse” as a fitting escapist alternative from the then-modern hellscape of Great Depression America.

Marking what is similar between Whale’s two films is a question of content. Whale’s approach of “the bigger the better”, now a common staple for Hollywood sequels, makes its way across the film’s storyline – a second monster, an arguably more deranged doctor in the form of Dr. Pretorius and a mini-sequel to the famed “It’s Alive” line from the original. For what it’s worth, Bride takes the form of the original’s already heightened visual style and dials it up further, for what Whale himself coined as “hoot” (Andy W. Smith) before he agreed to return to direct. The sets follow the same visual cues, the stylistic choices for the Bride resemble an even greater human presentation when placed to the more charming version of Karloff’s Monster (due to Karloff being provided lines for the Monster, removing the make-up work around his cheekbones, making him appear more human). The above additions make for a decidedly “same” sequel, creating the now timeless trend of sequels amplifying the best qualities of the original film.

However, a stark difference in Whale’s approach can be found in Bride’s opening scene, which recounts the events of the first film in a highly “meta” fashion. Featuring portrayals of Mary Shelley herself, alongside her real-life husband Percy and Lord Byron, the film introduces Frankenstein from the perspective of its very own writer, covering the story of Henry and the Monster in the haphazard fashion of a fireside fairy tale. She then proceeds to introduce an alternate continuation of the pair’s story, introducing the room to the sequel’s own tale of how the Monster’s Bride came to be. This opening recontextualizes the first film’s darker undertones in a more parodic nature, akin to the work of Mel Brooks’ own adaptation of Shelley’s work that is surprisingly modern for 1935. As film scholar Andy W. Smith puts it in a piece about Universal’s monster films, the prologue “attempts to instill literary authenticity to the sequel, partly in the hope that it will prevent the censorship that almost ruined the first Frankenstein… as the cultural angsts of the Great Depression found expression in the sublimated monsters of Universal Studios” (Smith, 22). What Smith implies here is an interesting take on the meaning behind the resurrected monsters in Whale’s works; framing their rise from death as a symbol for the ashes left behind of the financially burdened American society. Or, as an oddly positive omen for a new age, born out of those same ashes. The prologue, through this meta approach, introduces a break in the fourth wall in the story, creating a very different sense of place when compared to the first film.

[emma-o-yt]

Walt is actually 14 so he and Sadie are good.

There isn't really evidence that Percabeth are unreliable. The children these books are for wouldn't be able to tell that we're not meant to take this literally, so even if they were meant to be biased, it's still weird to imply without any pushback.

A lot of people compare Annabeth's lines about Luke to her lines about Nico but they're distinctly different. She only says she thinks that Nico has a crush on her but also mentions how enigmatic he is. A little while later, Venus arrives and says she promised to make Annabeth's love life interesting. Annabeth frames Luke's crush along with Percy and Rachel and Percy going missing just after they got together. Those are things that actually happened.

The Nico line is a red herring that leads into the next book where it's revealed/retconned that it wasn't Annabeth he had a crush on. The Luke line is meant to confirm his weird narrative position as romantic rival and it's never proven wrong.

Rick Riordan's problematic age gaps

Apparently reddit hates criticism because this got removed from there after a few minutes, maybe I can get it back up...anyways.

The age of consent in Texas is 17, Texas is where Rick lived (according to wikipedia) up until 2013. And yet...here we are.

Where do I even begin with this bullf*ckery? How about the most egregious of all?

Luke and Annabeth

We have two lines confirming their mutual feelings, one from The Demigod Diaries:

"Overtime, Annabeth developed a crush on Luke. As Annabeth got older, Luke developed feelings for her, too."

Mark of Athena (from her conversation with Venus):

"First there was Luke Castellan, her first crush, who had seen her only as a little sister; then he’d turned evil and decided he liked her—right before he died."

Now let me remind you, Annabeth and Luke have a seven year age difference, they knew each other at 7 and 14. By the time he died, Annabeth was just 16, while he was 23. And it's implied he begun returning her feelings a little before he asked her to run away, perhaps when she was 14. He's paralleled with Percy as Annabeth is his string in the river styx. He asks Annabeth explicitly if she loved him romantically (and she denies because Percy is there).

It's disgustingly inappropriate but at the very least they don't end up together...as for when they do...

Sadie Kane and Anubis

When it comes to immortal romance, I usually go for coded age. Anubis is thousands of years old but is mentally and physically 16, which is fine and dandy except for the fact that Sadie is 12. What do you want me to say except Rick is disgusting for promoting this.

Speaking of extreme age gaps:

Calypso and Leo

When you have a philosophy that every character must end up in a relationship, you run out of sensical options to pair up. Now, I'm a Caleo hater mainly because of how it retconned PJO and also because they are very toxic.

Now hold on, doesn't Caleo fall into coded age? Calypso is 15/16 and Leo is 15, so it's A okay! I suppose, if it wasn't for Calypso's past loves.

Odysseus, he had a wife and a son who was 20 years old in his final year on Ogygia, he is well into adult age. She also mentions the privateer Francis Drake and his wife Elizabeth, he was 45 when he married her.

If your defence is that she's actually thousands of years old, then that must also apply to Caleo. You cannot have it both ways.

Hazel and Frank

It's not that bad but it's necessary to mention for the point I will be making.

The timeline is messed up but I think they're 13 and 16 and meet at 12-15. I mean, come on.

Misogyny and Racism

What do these have in common? Well in 3/4 or 4/4, the younger one is female. In 2/4 or 3/4, the younger one is a person of colour.

Remember Nico? His crush on Percy as revealed in HoH? Well in MoA, there's a cheeky little red herring that happens a bit before Annabeth's talk with Venus (where it is revealed that Luke liked Annnabeth back). She wonders if Nico had a crush on her, but denounces him as too young. Now, Nico's age is inconsistent, I am unsure of his gap with Annabeth but I do know his gap with Percy. It's 3 years 5 months in PJO and 2 years 5 months in HoO (the series we are currently in).

So in RR's messed up mind, a white boy having a relationship with someone 2 to less than 4 years his senior is inappropriate. But a black tween girl dating someone 3 years her senior is just fine, a 12 year old biracial black girl dating a 16 year old is daijoubu, a 15 year old mestizo Latino boy dating an elderly woman is relationship goals, or the reverse a 15 year old girl dating middle aged men is a tragic romance and a 12 year old girl having mutual feelings with a 19 year old man is a "love story for the ages"!

The tv adaptation is so infuriating for this, they made Annabeth black, a lot of the changes they made came off as micro aggressions but especially her relationship with Luke. It's reduced to Luke simping for Annabeth behind her back and it's even worse because you can visibly see how large their age gap is. Heck, Charlie Bushnell and Leah Jeffries have a smaller age gap than book Luke and Annabeth.

Adultification is a huge real life issue. Children of colour and especially female children of colour are seen as less innocent than their white counterparts. Rick, who is dedicated to inclusivity should've known better than to include these illegal relationships. Stans will try and make excuses but it's there, deal with it.

As a black teenage girl who has been a fan of Rick's work for 12 years, I am disappointed.

[doevademe]

You think you can drabble, Hades inviting himself to dinner just to annoy Percy (as per usual) but ... could you make up some kind of twist happen? Something that even milenium years old Hades didn t see coming. As a time frame let s say it s just a little before the guys get engaged.

Percy knew something was wrong as soon as he opened the door.

For one, Nico hadn't greeted him like usual, and the apartment was suspiciously spotless. Not that they were pigs or anything, but their apartment always looked slightly lived in, with some dust over old decorations and the usual piece of clothing out of place in on the carpet.

The last time their place had been so clean was when—

Oh. Oh, no.

"Very kind of you to finally join us, nephew," Hades said as he swirled a glass of wine around. "I was just telling Nico about how punctual Zethes is."

Percy winced as Nico groaned from the kitchen.

"Zethes is dead, father," he said in a tired voice. "Has been for around 2500 years."

"That has never stopped a child of mine," Hades said. "Your brother Mateo dated Epimenides in 1906."

"He would have been lynched if he dated a living man," Nico said. He finally turned to Percy. "Hey, Percy, guess who showed up for dinner?"

There was an apology in his eyes, Percy just smiled sheepishly and shrugged. It wasn't Nico's fault. When your father was the overprotective god of the Underworld, you couldn't exactly tell him you were busy.

"It's fine, Ni," he said, enjoying Hades frown at the nickname. "Lord Hades! I see you had our home cleaned... again."

"I wouldn't have to do so if you cleaned around here every once in a while," he said in his usual bored tone. "You can't expect my son to do everything around here."

"Percy does clean, father, so do I," Nico sighed as he moved the pan with the cream sauce he was making. "We like things a little lived in."

"There was underwear under the couch," he commented, in a flat tone. Percy felt himself blush. "People sit there, you know?"

"Father!"

"Disinfecting it is more a necessity than a courtesy at that point."

Percy observed Nico debate with himself before opening one of the drawers and pulling out a spice jar. He left it by the plates.

"Food's almost done!" He called. "Father, ease up on Percy. You're starting to sound like Demeter."

"I have never been disrespectful to her," Hades said. "Your boytoy, on the other hand, has compared me to a minor god, entered the Underworld numerous times without permission, and accused me of stealing my brother's symbol of power."

Percy didn't know what offended him more, the fact that Hades was petty enough to hold all the things he ever did against him, or that even after all these years, he was still not referred as Nico's boyfriend.

Nico sighed and peppered the spice on the final plate. Percy knew his cue and approached immediately, helping Nico set the table and place the plates. Tonight, they were having creamy shrimp pasta, served in an old-timey bronze plate for Hades and ceramic ones for them.

"Um, does this count as an offering or...?" Percy asked, trying for a joke. Hades rolled his eyes.

"It does not," he said. "But my son made it, so I'm sure it will taste fine."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Nico said as he sat. "Well, eat up, it's best while it's fresh."

Nico observed carefully as Percy and Hades took their first bites before following along, though his gaze never left his father.

"You know dad, things are getting pretty serious with Percy," he commented nonchalantly. Percy's eyes widened. "We moved in together almost a year ago, and we're thinking about marriage."

Percy almost choked on his pasta and had to take a sip of water. He turned to look at Hades, but the god just blinked slowly, almost sleepy.

"Why bring this up?" he said, yawning.

"Because I'm stubborn like that," he said simply. "I won't date Zethes, or Aurus, or whatever guy you try to find. So give up and... dance the Macarena."

"What?" Percy and Hades asked at the same time.

"I said you look exhausted, father," Nico said innocently. "Persephone is going down tomorrow, right? You should rest up to be ready for her."

Hades grumbled but nodded. He stumbled like he was drunk, so Nico helped him up and led him to the drakest corner of the living room. Hades tussled his son's hair and put on the Helm of Darkness, disappearing into the shadow.

"Nico?" Percy asked. His boyfriend just gave him a sheepish smile.

"I hate whe he gets like that," he said. "A few months ago a gathered some poppy seeds from Hypnos's cave. A soporific so strong it can even knock out gods."

"So all that stuff you said..."

"Half venting, half saying stuff I'd never say so father will have trouble telling dream apart from reality," Nico said. He picked up the half eaten bronze plate and threw its contents in the trash. "Sorry if the marriage thing freaked you out."

"N-no, it's okay," he said hurriedly. "Well, let's get back to eat, shall we?"

Nico raised an eyebrow, but nodded all the same.

Percy inwardly sighed in relief.

Nico still didn't suspect a thing, and the ring was still safe in his mother's jewelry box.

[stanning-reyna]

Summary: There’s a lot to take in after the Battle of Manhattan. Good thing the Poseidon cabin is quiet and empty

TW: blood, infected wound

The door of the Athena cabin was swinging open and close in an endless cycle. The mingling of Annabeth’s siblings, friends checking in on them, stray campers looking for someone, and medics making house calls was endless.

Annabeth couldn’t take it, not after all she’d seen. She wanted to curl up in a ball and sob as the images of Luke’s dead body ran through her mind; the blood, the knife still in his hand, the empty look in his eyes.

Maybe Zeus had heard her prayers (and answered for once- shocking) because she ran out the cabin door and straight into Percy. He looked as tired as she felt, yet he still pulled a smile across his face as their eyes met.

“Who thought the aftermath would be crazier than the battle itself, huh?” he said in an attempt at a joke.

Annabeth just stared at him.

“Yeah… bad timing,” he murmured.

“It was a valid attempt," she said, shrugging.

“Thank you.”

They stood next to each other in the midst of rushing bodies, their's the only still ones in sight. She could feel the utter exhaustion radiating off the both of them. The past few days had been... draining, to say the least.

Percy nudged her side and she looked over at him.

“You look like you need some peace and quiet. The Poseidon cabin is empty if you need a place to crash," he offered feebly.

Annabeth considered.

"I mean, not to stay the night, just to be alone," Percy rambled on, his fidgeting hands moving behind his back. "Not alone as in the two of us together, alone. Like just you. If you need space."

She raised her eyebrows at him as he finally came to a stop, red creeping into his cheeks ever so slightly. She thought he was incredibly cute slightly flustered like this. But she also thought she would start sobbing if she didn't get to an empty room soon, so she accepted his offer.

Soon they were at the door of the cabin. The inside was refreshingly cool compared to the warm summer day. Pale light shone in through the blinds, reflecting off the shallow water of the fountain against the far wall. It was an oasis.

Annabeth sat down on the nearest bunk, which was soft underneath her. Maybe she could curl up on it and pretend that the thick walls around her would block out any memories from up on Mount Olympus. It was worth a shot.

"This is perfect, thanks," she said to Percy.

"No problem," he replied, leaning on the door frame. "Oh, and if you want to shower there are extra towels under the sink."

He hesitated for a moment, looking at her, but then left the cabin, closing the door behind him. Annabeth knew he was going to the beach, the one place he could seem to find peace after the longest days. And oh boy, had this been a long day.

She went into the bathroom, slightly worried to see just how grimy she knew she'd be. The mirror proved a shower was in order.

The towels under the sink were softer than anything Annabeth had ever encountered at Camp, and she realized Percy must have brought them from home. Sally always seemed to have hand towels in the exact same shade of teal in her bathroom, which couldn't be a coincidence.

Soon Annabeth climbed into the shower, letting the hot water fall over her whole body. Closing her eyes, she imagined it was boiling the memory of Luke's eyes, dead to the world, out of her.

She didn't stay in there long, just long enough for the impurities to be cooked out of her, and then found herself tucked underneath a quilt. It was smooth, a relief in the summer heat, and smelled like someone's couch. Another thing Percy had likely brought from home.

She focused on that smell with all her remaining might, letting it bring back vague memories of the Jackson's living room. Annabeth could barely hear the commotion of campers outside (these walls must be magic, she thought) and before she knew it, she had sunk into a sleep. One surprisingly free of images of dead blond boys with thick, red blood sticking to the sides of their body.

. . .

"Hey," a voice called softly.

Annabeth's instincts made her eyes shoot open and search her surroundings. She didn't have to look far. Percy was leaning over the side of the bed, looking down at her. He looked better than he did earlier; less exhausted and beaten and more like the boy she knew.

"How's your shoulder?" he asked. "I snagged more gauze in case we need to rewrap it."

She hadn't even thought about her shoulder since the battle. It wasn't that long ago, and the wound surely hadn't healed in the short amount of time. She had just been too numb to feel much anything, even a poisoned stab wound.

Shifting in bed, still wrapped up in the comfy quilt that smelled like the Jackson's, Annabeth tested her shoulder. She rolled straight onto it and immediately rolled back, grimacing at the sharp pain. She could it just fine now that adrenalin had worn off.

Percy's hand was on her shoulder in a second, holding her still from moving any more.

"I'll be fine," she grumbled, pushing him away.

Percy scoffed. "You might want to tell that to the puss oozing out the bandage. It didn't seem to get the memo."

Annabeth tried twisting her head to see the wound, but it sent more pain shooting through her body. She resigned to laying still in bed. It wasn't that bad an option.

Percy ran to the bathroom and returned with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and the gauze he had mentioned.

"If you think you're putting that stuff on my skin, think again. I'll gut you before you get the chance." Annabeth knew full well how much hydrogen peroxide stung in something as simple as a papercut; no way in hell was Percy putting it on an entire stab wound.

He disagreed. And seeing as Annabeth couldn't move without grimacing, Percy quickly won that battle.

"You'll thank me for this in a year when we didn't have to amputate your arm. For now, just try to hold still, ok? I'll go as fast as I can," he assured. Annabeth nodded.

Percy cut the old gauze off, dropping it into a waste basket. She could tell from her angle that it was soaked in puss like he had said. That wasn't a good sign. She had thought that Will had treated it enough back at the hotel, but maybe continuing to fight on it had proved to be a bad idea.

"Ready?" he asked, looking at her with those deep green eyes.

"Just get it over with."

The first second wasn't that bad. But then the stinging came, and it didn't go away. Annabeth could feel herself clenching her jaw so tightly she may lose a tooth. Her uninjured arm grabbed at Percy, finding purchase on his bicep and digging in there. It was a good thing he was invulnerable now or she would have drawn blood.

"Hold on, you're doing great."

She was not doing great. The pain was too much, and it made her think of how much pain Luke must have been in when he stabbed himself. The images of his dead eyes flooded into her mind once again and she was no doubt crying now, it was all just too much.

Percy grabbed her hand that was digging into his bicep and squeezed it in his. Annabeth managed to look at him and saw he was done with the hydrogen peroxide. The stinging was still there in her shoulder though, as well as in her head in the form of memories.

Percy's other hand cupped her cheek, wiping away her tears.

"You're okay, Beth. I'm so sorry about that," he whispered sweetly.

She couldn't bring herself to say anything. She wanted to curl up again and leave the world behind.

Percy rewrapped her shoulder and then that's exactly what she got to do, this time with her best friend laying in the bunk next to her.

[hayleysayshay]

why is anyone comparing percy to syldor?? like it so obvious they are not the same in any shape or form wtf

So I didn’t make it clear but it’s in referral to Vex and Percy and how he didn’t turn back to Vex when she wanted to talk to him, and him saying he needs to be told in regards to bringing Laudna/Delilah back. That Matt is playing him more like Syldor.

Syldor constantly belittled and talked over Vex and didn’t care for her opinion at all. Which I mean, Percy didn’t want to hear Vex out any further which is rude but he wasn’t belittling her opinion or entire existence. Everything he does is framed around his family which includes Vex.

Percy was an areshole but Vex was commenting from the start that he was acting stressed even before Delilah, asking why he seemed nervous in the hallway when all they wanted was a resurrection. She knows he’s stressed out, she knows what is normal behaviour for him. I think we’re acting like Vex was really upset over him walking out when I didn’t get that at all. He was an arsehole but I don’t think it was personal . He just wants to be told what happens with Deililah (I.e. he won’t give his blessing, he’s going to be mad if she’s brought back? Why wouldn’t he be?)

I think Vex knows how to handle Percy. I don’t think she’s going to take this personally, and if the only evidence we’re going off is words spoken in the episode, she confirms she knows it’s his trauma. I think Vex is fine. She knows.

[bipercabeth]

28, gimmie your hand

sequel to this photographer percy au 

When Percy took pictures of Annabeth before they started dating, she could never tell if he was looking at her through the lens of artist or lover. Now, she’s beginning to think it’s the same thing. There’s a delicacy to his gaze, as though his smile is meant both for Annabeth and the light shining on her. His taking a picture so often looks like gratitude, like the fear of forgetting his luck in a moment so blissful. And he immortalizes her on film, takes his care to capture and develop her image. It is no small thing, being a muse. 

She envies it, sometimes. Percy gets to show Annabeth and the world exactly how he sees her, while she is left with her words, which can only ever fall short. He captures time and frames her suspended in the golden glow of sunlight, he makes her laugh moments before the flash, and he does not believe in bad photos. He photographs her bedhead, her soft stomach, her bent posture, and her chewed fingernails. He photographs her genuine laugh, her pouted lips, her pensive expression, her golden curls. Annabeth has never liked the sharp upturn of her nose, but Percy photographs her profile with such care that she can’t help but soften to it.

They’re at the beach for what feels like the last warm day of September. The Atlantic ocean is too vast to be swayed by the local weather, so they stay on the sand until they need to cool off. Percy’s camera is buried in their beach bag as they soak up the day—not every moment needs to be captured. Sometimes happiness demands to be fleeting. Nostalgia wouldn’t be as powerful if Annabeth could remember exactly how many freckles the sun kissed into Percy’s cheeks today. The longing comes from the fear of forgetting.

Sunset brings a gentle chill and sends Annabeth into Percy’s side. He pulls her bare legs into his lap and rubs his hands up and down them. It only works for a few seconds, but she’ll take any excuse to keep his hands on her. (She thinks he will too.)

One of the best parts about being in a relationship, she thinks, is not needing an excuse. There is an agreement between them that says you can touch me. I am trusting you to handle me at my best and my worst. I think that’s love. Please touch me.

Annabeth shifts her weight and straddles her boyfriend in a way that’s a bit indecent for a public beach, but the closest people are specs on the horizon and Percy is leaning back on his palms, his face to the orange sky and throat exposed. His skin looks golden, dripping in sunlight like honey, and Annabeth watches his Adam’s apple bob as she tastes. Even his smile is sweet. Annabeth is not an artist, but sometimes loving him makes her rethink that.

“Baby,” he whispers, and Annabeth opens her eyes to him chewing his lip. “You know the last thing I ever want to do is stop making out with my beautiful girlfriend on the beach, but...” He juts his chin to the sun, then to her general face. “I‘ll kick myself if I don’t get this.”

Annabeth pretends to roll her eyes as he lays back on the beach blanket with his camera in hand, but the way he looks at her is too profound for her to do much else. She’s always loved the way he looks at the world, though it wasn’t until recently that she discovered she likes the way he looks at her more. All that wonder, all that love, plus a surety that is so rare on him. There is the boyish boldness that makes her want to strangle and kiss him, plus the sly cockiness that has her leaning toward the former, but that gleam in his eyes cannot compare to this glimmer. His fingers slide along her chin, angling her kindly from  the harsh angle he captures her at.

She chuckles, gestures to his hand. “We wouldn’t get anywhere without this. Piper says I can’t pose for any camera you’re not behind.”

Percy pokes her in the side quickly, snapping a photo when she laughs. “That’s because Piper is a terrible photographer.”

“I’m sure she’d love to hear that.”

“I’m just saying, it’s more than landscapes and lighting. If you’re taking pictures of people, you should try to capture something real. Something human.”

“Her Instagram feed is very focused on humanity.”

She said it to rile him up—passionate Percy is one of her favorite versions of the boy she loves. She’s snuck more than a few photos of her own during a long-winded rant about camera lenses and color editing.

But this passion is quieter than what Annabeth is used to. Honest. Soft. Percy rests the camera on his chest and trails his fingers from Annabeth’s wrist to her elbow, his eyes following the slow migration.

“I don’t always know why you’re looking at me the way you do. I think that’s why I picked up a camera in the first place—my mom looked at me like I was the best thing that ever happened to her, and I was scared that one day she’d come to her senses. I wanted to remember that face before it disappeared.” He doesn’t look at her. Can’t, maybe. “It’s been over a decade, and that look is still there. I guess now I take pictures to try and understand it. Because I don’t— I want—“

Annabeth takes hold of his wrist. It’s then that he looks at her, propped up on an elbow. He breathes.

“You look at me like I’m a good thing.” And he’s opening his mouth like there are more words he wants to say, but they won’t come.

Annabeth kisses him, sweet and soft and a bit desperate. The lens of the camera presses into her chest, and she slides it out of Percy’s grip as she presses a kiss to his nose, his forehead. 

“Lay down for me,” she says. And, at his hesitation. “C’mon, Jackson. It’s hardly the first time I’ve had you on your back.” 

That earns a laugh, which earns the first picture. The camera may be out of Annabeth’s league, but she’s seen Percy use this thing enough to know that the big black button is all she really needs for what she’s trying to do. 

She says, “I love you,” says, “You’re everything to me,” and, “You are so beautiful,” for the sake of his smile. She says, “Gimme your hand,” and kisses his knuckles. She sits a little lower in his lap and photographs the way his eyes darken, and his hands, still itching for the camera, busy themselves with her thighs. The sun is disappearing quickly, but Percy is glowing with the last of the New York summer. His skin is still damp from the kiss of the Atlantic, and Annabeth thinks that he was born to look like this. Love and light, gentle and summer-warm by the seaside. Percy Jackson summed up in a time, a place, a feeling. 

And Annabeth isn’t great with words, but he needs to hear them. 

“The sun is gonna set,” she leans in, throwing her shadow over his face, and sets the camera down, “and it’s gonna rise, again and again and again, and I am never gonna stop looking at you like this. Even if you never take my picture again.” She plants her hand over his shoulder to lean down. “You’re gonna spend your entire life by my side waiting for it to go away, and one day you’re going to forget to worry. Just like you help me forget to worry.” 

And then he smiles a bit sideways, a dimple pressing into his cheek. “You proposing to me, Chase?” 

She rolls her eyes, but smiles back. “As if you won’t know when I propose.” 

Percy’s hands skim up her back, where the last of the light stretches over the horizon of her skin. “Not if I beat you to it.” 

He pulls her down for a long kiss. When Annabeth comes up, it’s nearly dark out. 

“I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to photograph your own wedding.” 

“Yeah, well.” And he’s arching up for one last kiss before they have to leave, a comma on the page of this long day turned night. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” 

[chasingpj]

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞

"You’re really sweet, water boy.”

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 5,379

warnings: angsty, mentions of breaking down, one curse word

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story click here

a/n: hi hi! I hope you guys like this chapter. If you have any feedback let me know. i've read this chapter over like 1,000 times while editing so i can't even give my own opinion on this chapter lol. i hope someone likes it at least cause i'm a little iffy about this one.

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality!”

The singing voices of the Apollo cabin harmonize as Atticus stands in the middle of their cabin, eyes closed with his arms swaying side to side in the air. You sit against the window frame at the end of the room, your lips curl in a soft smile as Harvey prances around his feet, enjoying the spotlight as much as Atticus is. You were glad that Atticus was still up for karaoke night despite his mood. Although you didn’t plan on coming yourself, you had hoped that he would as he needed it as an outlet to let loose. A part of you wasn’t surprised when Atticus was begging you to come with him, insisting that your plan of staying in and sleeping early was too lame for a Friday night at camp. You didn't want to make him upset so you decided to suck it up and go with him. Besides, you did need to get out.

The past few days, you’ve had your nose in books, drowning out your thoughts with everything from studying demonology to enjoying fantasy novels. You’ve been keeping an eye on Lou Ellen as well, noticing that she too was avoiding her feelings by drowning herself with books back to back. And now, as a result of your similar coping mechanism, you two have an exclusive book club where you spend hours reading and mercilessly criticizing Twilight. Meanwhile, Atticus has been up and around, constantly surrounding himself with people to distract him. He seemingly was doing fine on the surface, but it was a facade. Sorrow was radiating off of him like never before. Even if you didn’t have the ability to sense his emotions, his song choice for tonight was a dead giveaway. Bohemian Rhapsody is his comfort song.

“I’m just a poor boy. I need no sympathy!” Atticus sings passionately into the microphone. Cheers break throughout the cabin, and you giggle, joining in, cupping your mouth as you whoop for him. You look over at Lou Ellen, talking and laughing with a few girls across the room. You smile, content that for right now, the two of them are occupied and happy. You, however, couldn’t get into the mood. Sure, the chaos of the Apollo Cabin easily entertained you, but you were having trouble shaking off the heavy feeling in your chest. You frown, your hand coming down to pet the top of Ambrose’s head, the other nuzzling his snout against your leg to comfort you. You look down at him, smiling softly as a silent thank you, and you sigh, hoping to lighten the feeling in your chest, but to no avail, it remained.

A nudge on your shoulder draws in your attention, and you turn to face the boys standing to your left. You meet Lee Fletcher’s bright blue orbs, a smile plastered on his flushed face.

“You’re next!” He shouts over the music, pointing his index finger at you in the same hand he held a red solo cup in. You scrunch your face, moving a little closer to him and the group so they’ll be able to hear you.

“I’m not really in the performance mood tonight,” you say, and the immediate protests from the boys around him made you smile. They insisted that you had to sing tonight and that they were going to make sure you went after your brother. On any other night, you would have agreed, gladly taking the mic. You weren’t a stranger to singing karaoke, and you had to admit you did enjoy it just as much as Atticus did. Last week, you sang an interesting rendition of Wannabe by the Spice Girls with Lou Ellen, Silena, Katie, and Sage. You were Scary Spice, of course; you wouldn’t have been anyone else. But tonight, you were unable to see yourself singing. Now that the boys returned to whatever they were talking about, you were planning your escape. You tune back into the song, realizing that Atticus was almost finished.

“Nothing really matters; anyone can see. Nothing really matters. Nothing really matters, to mee.”

You take a deep breath for a moment, accepting your fate. It’s only one song, you tell yourself; it’ll be quick. You cringe, expecting to be pushed up to the front by the others any second now. Suddenly, chanting fills the cabin,

“Encore, encore!"

Atticus smiles, bowing like a Broadway actor as the crowd cheers. You sigh, relieved, and you hoped whatever he picked would be able to conceal your exit. There was no way Atticus was going to pass up the microphone, and over the chanting, he announced his next song choice: Dancing Queen.

He’s so depressed.

You didn’t want to miss your opportunity, slowly scooting yourself away from Lee Fletcher and the others. As the instrumental of Dancing Queen fills the cabin, a chunk of people get up from the bunk beds and the floor to dance and sing along. You take your chance now that everyone is distracted, and you walk into the crowd, carefully weaving through bodies.

The cool summer night air was refreshing on your skin compared to the stuffiness of the crowded cabin. The collective singing of Dancing Queen becomes faint as you make it across the camp. You didn't realize how loud the song was while you were in there, and you could just imagine what the other cabins were doing. You couldn’t help but smile at the idea of an annoyed Ares' cabin, all of them with pillows covering their ears in an attempt to drown out the music and screaming.

By the time you reached the beginning of the woods, the disco instrumental was long gone, and you took in the stillness of the night. There was barely a breeze tonight; the only sounds were the faint chattering of campers hanging around the hearth and taking walks. You stare into the forest, uncertain if you should venture by yourself. You hear a soft whine come from Ambrose, signaling you that it was a bad idea. It was a couple of hours away from curfew, and you can already hear the faint roars of monsters. That wasn’t enough to turn you away, though. Your desire to be somewhere silent was more prominent than your fear of the monsters.

You walk in without another thought, your pace slow and slack, and Ambrose unwillingly follows close behind you, checking around to make sure you are safe. As you walk farther in the forest, the thoughts you had sent to the back of your mind were returning with a vengeance.

The departure of your siblings felt surreal. When you had woken up to their empty beds the next day, you had chosen to believe they had left for breakfast earlier than usual and that everything that happened was a dream. Yet, as the days went by, the absence of your siblings became more apparent. A part of you refused to grieve. You had wanted to declare your brothers as monsters and convince yourself that you didn’t care. You had hoped that deciding to hate them would allow you to move on, but even that came with a desolate aftertaste.

You had blacked out in your thoughts, allowing your feet to take you where they wished, and you find yourself at a familiar boulder. You look to your left at the picnic table, staring longingly at it. It was quiet for a moment before the sight of your brother and sisters sitting on the top of the picnic table, their feet resting on the bench, appeared. They sat quietly, Atticus frowning as he looked out in the forest.

“Focus on your breathing. You won’t shift if you’re impatient.” Your gaze snaps in the direction of the voice. You saw yourself slouched in defeat as Alabaster’s hands gripped your shoulders. His green eyes peered into yours.

You were the only one that hadn’t become ethereal after trying for the past 30 minutes. Atticus had transformed on his second try, Lou Ellen on her third, and the others followed close after. But you had lost count, growing more tired and discouraged after every failed attempt. Alabaster noticed you were on the verge of tears, your lip trembling, and he easily saw that you were crawling into a bad headspace.

“I can’t do it,” you sniffled, feeling embarrassed as your siblings waited for you. You were aware they weren’t judging you and had instead been encouraging you the entire time, but you still felt ashamed. The voices in your mind taunted you, making you forget any positive feedback you received that day. You were the weakest link of the group. You were never going to be powerful as your brothers, and so you’ll never be recognized by your mother, it said.

“You can, Y/n. You’re getting too in your head,” Al reassured you, his hands falling to his side, taking a step back. You were confident that he had given up on you, and you didn’t blame him. You looked down at the ground and fiddled with your fingers. It was silent for a moment before you heard him sigh.

“Try again,” he said softly.

You groaned and rolled your eyes at yourself. You were drained from trying so long, and you were ready to accept your defeat and stomp away. You looked at Alabaster again as he patiently waited for you.

You swallowed hard, and you closed your eyes as you heard the encouraging words of your siblings. Their words failed to cancel out the negative thoughts in your own head, though. You were already bothered by the little voice that said you would never transform. You dwelled on being the last one and what made you feel worse was that it was nighttime - when your magic is at its strongest - yet you still hadn’t transformed. Maybe you weren’t as powerful as your brothers gave you credit for. Disappointment swirled in your stomach, clouding your brain, and your fist clenched as you tried to shake off the thoughts in your head. You were well aware that your mindset was holding you back. You inhaled deeply, somehow finding the will to set aside your negative thoughts.

You decided you won’t allow yourself to be the only person who couldn’t transform. You weren’t going to let your insecurity of being the “weakest link” get to you, at least not on that night. You huffed out and felt a tug in your core before your fingertips and toes began to vibrate. You gasped, and your eyebrows furrowed tightly, the vibrating sensation gradually becoming more intense to the point where it almost hurt.

You heard an excited cheer come from one of your sister's lips as the feeling crept up your arms and legs. It finally met your core, and it was as if a ball of warm, electric energy sat right in the pit of your stomach. You opened your eyes, immediately seeing the bright smile on Alabaster’s face. A relieved laugh came from your lips as a few tears ran down your face from your previously pent-up anger.

“I told you.”

You snap back to reality, looking around you to see that you were still alone. No one was at the picnic table other than Ambrose, who was laid down at the foot of it, watching you cautiously. You swore you heard the sound of Al’s voice as if he was right in front of you, but that wasn’t possible. As much as you wished for it to be, you knew your siblings were long gone.

Though you were incredibly grateful for Atticus and Lou Ellen deciding to stay, the dynamic that your siblings had as a whole was something that you wouldn’t be able to get back. Now it was the three of you, left to figure things out on your own. It’s not as if you three were incapable of figuring things out, but you’ll miss your brother's guidance.

You think perhaps if your mother didn’t give them the okay to leave, they would have never left. You couldn’t help but be mad at her, and lately, you’ve been a little petty towards your mom. Tonight, you had decided to go to dinner and dedicate your burned offering to Hestia instead. You’ve been praying to her every night as well, hoping that maybe she’d be able to bring your siblings back to you.

You hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary to inform you if your mother was aware of your silence or if she cared. You also found yourself wondering what she thought of you for not leaving. How could she not visit you? Were you really not worth, maybe, five minutes of her time? Did you have to prove yourself worthy? If so, how? You were yearning to know, but even for that, you were unable to find the answer.

Your jaw clenches, feeling your sorrow shifting to rage in your core. Take a deep breath, Ernest would say, and you do, filling your lungs to their capacity, and you hold it. Think of your surroundings. Meditate on the question: If I erupt, will I hurt someone? If the answer is yes, take a step back, breath in for 10 seconds, out for another 10 until you’re calm. If the answer is no… well, fuck it. Everyone needs to be angry sometimes.

Your head tilts slightly, taking in the clear night sky for a moment. From your peripheral vision, you can see your green aura wildly swirling and flickering around you. You close your eyes, and your chest expands, ready to release the air you’ve been holding. There was no rustling of the trees or grass, no monster screams, no sounds of the surrounding camper. The forest was still until it wasn’t as you let out a deafening scream.

After hearing the news of your siblings running away from camp at the counselor's meeting a few days ago, Percy had made a mental note to check up on you. In the time between his activities, he had checked the strawberry fields, the arts and craft center, even the arena in an attempt to find you. For a moment, he had thought you had left with them, but when he saw that Atticus was still at camp, he knew you had to be somewhere. It wasn’t until he passed by the Hermes dinner table the other day did he decide to ask your brother where you were. By then, you had not shown up for your meals for two days straight. Atticus told him that you weren’t doing too good, deciding to isolate yourself in the company of Lou Ellen. He had offered to let Percy come with him to drop off your dinner, but he had decided not to go.

He figured that you needed time for yourself, and he didn’t want to intrude. He was also worried if it would have been weird to check up on you. Surely, you were friends? You considered him as a friend, right? He hoped so since he had considered you one. He thought maybe he was overthinking it but then he began to worry that you would blame him. He had to do some mental gymnastics to come up with a reason why you would be mad at him, but he was able to come up with something. He would understand if you were mad at him since he is, well, suspected to be the child of the prophecy. So obviously, none of this would have happened if he wasn’t born? Right? He had told Annabeth about it, and from the way she blankly stared at him, he knew that the reason wasn’t solid, but still, he was nervous.

He was surprised to see you walk out of the Apollo Cabin. After hearing that you were hiding away, he didn’t expect you to attend one of the most lively events tonight. From afar, you seemed upset, but you also glinted with determination as you walked with purpose. He was seated with Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia by the campfire, listening to Annabeth ramble about the architecture of the Palace of Versailles to Thalia and Grover. It was her newest hyper fixation, and Percy had been listening though he got a little lost at some point. He didn’t want to lose his chance to approach you, not sure when the next opportunity would be so he quickly finished up the s’more he was eating before getting up from the bench.

“Um, I’ll be back,” he says. The only person who had heard him was Grover, who nodded to acknowledge him while Annabeth didn’t miss a beat in her ranting.

He checked in the usual places you would hang out in, but you were nowhere to be found. He found himself walking along the gravel road in front of the forest. He slows down, turning toward the trees and he hums,

“Did she go in there by herself?” He mutters softly, becoming concerned. It was kind of an unspoken rule that campers shouldn’t venture out on their own.

He looks over when he hears chattering, the wood nymphs slowly making their way out of the forest. They seemed to be gossiping about something as they huddle in a circle right outside of the trees. Percy found it strange that they were away from their homes, especially at this time, and he noticed they all looked a little stunned.

“Hey,” he smiles as he walks over to them. He halts hesitantly, the girls becoming quiet as they turn to him. “Have you guys seen, y/n?”

They exchange looks with each other, Juniper shifting on her feet as she stands in front of him. “Yeah…” she trails off, facing the dark trees. “Just keep walking. You’ll hear her.”

Percy furrows his eyebrows, unsure what they meant by that, but he takes their advice anyway. It didn’t take him long to find out what they meant, hearing your yelling before he saw you illuminating in the dark. He had imagined that you would be upset, but he definitely did not expect you to be yelling at the sky, rapidly throwing blasts of energy at a boulder.

Seeing you like this was odd. It was so different from the calm and collected demeanor that you gave off. He had considered you as the quieter twin. Compared to your brother, you weren’t as out there. He hadn’t seen you have many interactions with Atticus, but he could tell that you took on the big sister role. You just seemed more mature.

“How could you- how could you offer something like that?! I’ve never seen you once an- the first message I get from you is to join his stupid army! You took them from us!” You ignore the burning in your throat and the trembling of your arms. You felt lightheaded, and you didn’t know if it was due to how hard you were yelling or the amount of energy you were burning out. “I HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING!” You shout weakly, looking up at the sky, hoping that your mother was listening to you. You wanted her to know how you felt betrayed, angry, and heartbroken.

Despite your anger, you still held back on what you said. You were wary not to push too far, preferring to not meet your mother's wrath the first time she visited you. You wanted an explanation; you wanted to hear the orders and the promises she made from herself. But you doubted she would appear.

Hot tears roll down your cheeks, your breath ragged, and you wail, blasting the last long beam you were able to muster at the boulder. You stumble from your own force, a sob leaving your lips, and your forearm wipes your tears.

“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” you strain in a whisper.

You gasp as you hear a twig snap behind you. You freeze in your spot, your heart beating hard in your chest. You were confident that you had summoned your mother. You took a deep breath, ready to face her, but to your surprise, you were met with Percy.

Percy's body tenses the moment you snap your gaze to him, swallowing hard as your glowing eyes bore right into his. He was hoping that his speculations of you being mad at him were wrong. The burning smell from your beams filled the air, and he definitely did not want to be charred up like that boulder. To his relief, he watches your clouded expression soften. He shifts, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Are you okay?” He asks, immediately cringing at himself afterward. Of course, she isn’t okay, why would you ask her that?

You sniffle, and you nod, “Yeah, I’m just doing my nightly prayers.” Though you tried to lighten up the mood, your voice was sad and hoarse.

Percy frowns, and he steps over a log in his way. He walks over to you as you plop down to sit on the grass with your legs crossed. Ambrose comes to your side, resting his head on your thigh, and you pet him softly.

“I heard what happened,” Percy’s tone is soft as he hesitantly invites himself to sit beside you. He wasn’t sure you wanted to be comforted right now, but you didn’t tell him to go away, so he took that as a good sign. He hums, looking down at his hands, “Travis reported it during the counselor meeting the day after,” he mentions. “Atticus told me you weren’t doing too well. I can’t do much, but if you want to talk about it, I’m listening.”

You didn’t want to dump everything on Percy, but the genuine concern in his tone made you feel comfortable enough to consider laying all your thoughts out on the table.

You haven't had the chance to discuss your feelings yet. There was a silent understanding between you, Atticus, and Lou Ellen that none of you were ready to bring it up and would rather go along your days pretending it didn’t happen. But as you continued to avoid it, it began to fester like an infected wound.

You were so lost in your thoughts, you didn’t realize for how long you were quiet. In your silence, Percy waited patiently, not wanting you to feel pressured. Every once in a while, he would look over, noticing the flickering of your aura slowing down until it’s absorbed into your body, leaving you both with the soft white light coming from Ambrose’s body. If you decided not to talk about it, he told himself he wouldn’t pry, but he would be worried about you for keeping everything in.

You didn’t know how much Travis had said at the counselors meeting. Your mind was rushing with thoughts, asking yourself where you should start while also deciding if you should be completely honest with him. It wasn’t until now that you were faced with all the conflicting feelings you’ve had in the past few days. They came at you all at once, and a sniffle cuts through your silence. You sigh shakily, resting your head on Percy’s shoulder.

Percy looks down at you, able to make out some of your features in the dark. Your eyelids were a little puffy from crying, and you look exhausted. He frowns as a small sob leaves your lips, shifting to wrap his arm around your shoulders. He debated if he should say anything to you. He didn't find that this was a situation where an “it’s okay” was appropriate. Kronos was rising, war was on its way, and Luke was recruiting campers, 5 of those campers being your siblings. None of that was okay. He felt a pang in his chest, grasping on to the fact that you’d be fighting against them when it was time for battle.

“I’m sorry,” your voice quivers. You hated feeling as if you were losing control of your emotions. You didn’t want Percy seeing you like this, and you began to feel embarrassed.

“Don’t be sorry,” he shakes his head, and he opens his mouth to say something else but is too stunned when you pull away abruptly. Your gaze is fixed in the opposite direction as you try to catch your breath, hiccuping and gasping softly for a bit. “Y/n?”

“I almost left, and I feel guilty because a part of me regrets not leaving,” you blurted out the confession that was eating you up the most. It was what you were afraid to admit out loud, especially to Atticus and Lou Ellen. You didn’t want to admit that you, the one who found the courage to voice your opinion to your brothers, the one that declared she was staying at the camp, had begun to regret her decision. As much as you wished to not regret it, the what-if questions that filled your mind were hard to avoid. Were you actually missing out on the opportunity to be taught by your mother? Was it true what James said? Was deciding to stay a death wish?

You refused to look at Percy. You were wondering if he thought he was talking to a potential traitor to the camp. You were wondering if he would think of you differently now that you have confessed to having the slightest thought of joining Kronos.

Percy was lost for words, his face flashed with surprise, and he was glad you weren’t looking at him. He didn’t want you to think that he was judging you because he wasn’t; he was just taken aback. The tension between you started to thicken the longer he stayed quiet. His eyes scan the ground, frantically searching for something to say.

“Why did you stay?” He asks hesitantly.

Your teeth chew on the inside of your lip, and you now regret saying anything. You didn’t know if the shift in the air around the two of you was in your head, but either way, it bothered you.

“Because…” you trail off. The list of reasons why you stayed was long, and you didn’t want to go through all of them. You were determined to keep this conversation short, afraid that if you keep dwelling on this situation for too long, you will find more reasons to be angry.

“Because I’m not going to die for a cause I don’t believe in,” you declare. “I understand their side. I understand why they decided to leave. Alabaster was always saying that he wished things were different for us here at camp. I mean, so do I. They also had the approval of our mother, and they were promised to be taken care of if Kr- the Titan Lord wins. I can’t blame them for not giving that up because even I was hesitant to give it up,” you confess.

You sniffle softly, peeling the skin around your fingers before continuing, “But… for the change they're looking for, I don’t think this is the way to do it. Like really? Allying with him? Yeah, the gods are big jerks, but I don’t understand how he would be any different of a leader.” You sigh, “I considered leaving just to be with them, but I couldn’t go through with it. I wouldn’t feel right. I tried to convince them to stay, but they were set on leaving.”

Percy was quiet for a moment, and you found the courage to look up at him. His vision is fixed on the forest ahead before he meets your gaze. “I don’t think you should blame yourself for regretting not going. I think if I were in your position, I would have thought about the same things. They mean a lot to you. They’re your family.”

You nod, relieved that he understood where you were coming from. “Atticus was my last straw. If he had decided to leave, I would have left despite everything.”

“Understandable. He’s your twin,” Percy shrugs. You sigh shakily, your chest feeling a little lighter after being able to voice your thoughts. You felt more satisfied with yourself now. Your challenged morals felt solidified, and you decided with confidence that your choice was right for you.

“I give you a lot of props, Y/n. You were in a tough situation, and it must have been hard to stand your ground, especially since most of them decided to leave.”

“Yeah…” you say softly, and you realize that maybe you should have been kinder to yourself for having that feeling of regret.

“I think it’s really awesome what you did. Doing something like that takes a lot of guts,” Percy says, and you can hear the smile in his voice.

“Thanks…” you say shyly.

A soft smile plays on his lips, and he can tell you were starting to feel better. He was glad that he could help because he understood what you were feeling. He didn’t exactly go through the same thing, but he knew how it felt to second guess your choices and how it was easy to spiral when you dwelled on it for too long.

“You’re really sweet, waterboy. Thanks a lot," you say playfully as you return the smile. Your heart flutters as Percy’s face brightens before sheepishly looking away from you for a second.

He didn’t get compliments like that often. Well, he has, from his mom, but he didn’t count that. It wasn’t the same as getting the compliment from a girl, a girl as pretty as you are.

“I-it was nothing,” he moves his hand in a dismissive wave, and you giggle. “Well… I don’t know if you were done with your ‘prayer,’ but I think you should go back to the party in the Apollo Cabin. I’ll come with you. It sounded like a lot of fun in there."

"Ugh, but they’re going to make me sing,” you slouch, and Percy laughs at the slight pout on your face.

“I’ll sing with you,” he says, and you furrow your eyebrows, surprised at his offer. You’ve only seen him at karaoke a few times, and he always stayed on the sidelines.

“You can sing?” You ask, amused. Percy definitely didn’t seem like the musical type.

“Nope, I’m pretty much tone-deaf, but I’ll embarrass myself for you since you had a rough day," he nudges you softly before standing up. You look up at him as he pats down his pants, and you lean back on your hands.

“I’m gonna pick a ballad so you can embarrass yourself even more," you smirk at him, and he stops patting his clothes, squinting at you.

“Don’t make me take it all back,” he jokes. He reaches his hand out to you, and you grab it, letting him help you up from the ground.

“You know, I’d kill to hear you sing a Britney Spears song," you mention as you pat your own clothes down and begin to walk out of the forest, Ambrose acting as your guide by trotting ahead of you.

Percy is quiet for a moment, and you glance over, positive that he's starting to regret his offer to sing with you.

"Please don’t do that to me.”

You laugh at him; the thought of Percy singing a Britney Spears song was way too funny to you. Percy gave you a cautious look, not sure if you were serious or not. “Fine, fine! I shouldn’t take advantage of your kindness,” you admit as your laugh ceases. Percy nods, playfully agreeing with you. “You listen to My Chemical Romance?” You ask, and he scoffs,

“Of course, I listen to My Chemical Romance.”

“Let’s sing Teenagers then,” you suggest. “It’s a crowd favorite. Everyone sings along, so no one has to suffer through your singing. What do you think?” you tease, and you take in his bright smile as he nods his head,

“Sounds good to me.”

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