#him and Clarisse take up so much of my brain

[demigodsanswer]

People are talking about Chris’s betrayal, but what about the betrayal he must of felt after being sent into the labyrinth alone (maybe with a Mary?) and left to die? That no one from the Kronos side came to save him (that we know), that camp took him back and healed him? That (according the TSOM) he was unclaimed when he left, and maybe got claimed after he came back? What about that??

[priyajoyyy]

Sleepy

(idk how to name fics that aren’t based off a song)

Clarisse la rue x Aphrodite!fem!reader

Reader sneaks into clarisses bed after a nightmare, forgetting that she was wearing short shorts and a tiny bra top, but people definitely remember when she walks back to the Aphrodite cabin wearing clarisses large shirt and what looks like nothing underneath…

Warnings:

Established relationship, implied new relationship, implied friendship to lovers, boys (gross ew) sexualising reader a bit, bad writing sorry, half of these are not warnings

lol sorry 😔 , fluff, poor dialogue because I’m still trying to work out how to properly write dialogue lol.

You couldn’t really remember what happened.

One minute you were gasping out in your cabin, hearing one of your sister grumble at you to be quiet, sitting up with wet cheeks and blurry eyes.

And the next minute you had grabbed your teddy bear and started making your way towards the ares cabin.

And of course you didn’t take notice of what you chose to wear to bed that day, you were half asleep and terrified from the nightmare you’d just had, the dark forest surrounding you not helping at all.

“Claire…” you whispered to the girl, shaking her a little, “can I sleep with you”

You knew you hadn’t woken anybody up in the ares cabin, seeing as they would be a lot more verbal about their annoyance being woken up than most of your own siblings would be.

However you also hadn’t been successful in waking your girlfriend up either, shaking her a little more before giving up.

You figured she wouldn’t mind you just getting to bed, you had slept in her cabin a handful of times before, and you knew she had a long day of practice planned for the next day in preparation for an upcoming quest, so she could deal with not being woken.

You had normally snuck out of the ares cabin before anyone could notice you the previous times you had stayed, though you hardly thought it mattered right now, no one would dare snitch on Clarisse so as long as Chiron didn’t see you you would be fine.

You crawled into the bed and snuck under clarisses arm, her grip tightening around you snuggly, and it didn’t take long to fall asleep in that state.

By the time you woke up. You could hear giggling surrounding you.

You didn’t take much notice, your sisters were often scheming in the early hours of the morning and you had always been a light sleeper, so it wasn’t really their fault it woke you.

It wasn’t till you heard a snapping noise and through your eyelids saw the faint light of a flash going off that you became more aware, your brain waking up and remembering what had happened the night before.

Obviously Clarisse hadn’t woken yet. Like it was proven last night, unlike you, she was a very deep sleeper, and you could still feel her arm around you and you begun to slowly get up in confusion.

“Shit, quick” you heard one of the kids stood by the bed infront of you say before taking another picture, the light momentarily blinding you.

The two ran off quickly, hiding the camera somewhere as you became aware that most of clarisses other siblings were watching you both also, laughing or trying not to.

It wasn’t exactly a normal sight to see Clarisse cuddled up in bed, arms wrapped around her girlfriend and teddy bear laying next to them.

Quickly, turning red, you jumped to get up, still not clocking what you were wearing.

Clarisses elder brother, emmet, certainly had however, staring at your boobs as you sat up quickly in bed and laughing along with his brother, and smacking their arm to get him to pay attention.

“Hey y/n, you don’t have to leave just yet” Ben, the other said as you searched around the bed for your phone. (Ik that technically their phones didn’t work in all ways but in my head I imagine them still having them at camp for photos and stuff)

“Yeah, we don’t need Clarisse to have a good time” emmett laughed as they approached you, his eyes resting on your ass as you bent over slightly, searching the bed.

“You could stay around tonight as well if you want…My bunks always free” he said, both of them laughing as though it was the funniest things he’d ever heard.

“Leave her alone” one of the girls said from her bed, adding, “Clarisse will kill you if she finds out anyway”

You turned around to face the two and stumbled back into the bed a little when you noticed them both closer to your body.

“Finds out what?” Clarisse asked in a groggy voice, looking up at her girlfriend’s back from her spot in bed in confusion, not knowing why you were there.

“Nothing clarry it’s fine” you said softly, turning your head round to her and smiling at her nervously, not wanting to cause any issues so early in the morning.

Clarisses younger sister kitty however had no problems causing an argument between the girl and their gross brothers, opting to kill two birds with one stone by telling on them to Clarisse.

“Oh nothing” kitty stated sarcastically, causing Clarisse to turn to her and glare.

“Kitty” she warned, demanding her to explain what’s going on to her in one word.

“They were just being rude to y/n is all” she stated with a smirk, jumping off of her bunk that she had been sat on and walking towards the bathroom as if she didn’t say anything, wanting to tell the girls in there about what was about to happen.

You didn’t know if you were glad she was somewhat standing up for you or annoyed that she was trying to start a fight this early in the morning, something bound to ruin clarisses, and in turn, everyone else’s, mood for the rest of the day.

And as you watched kitty return from the other room with 3 others following her, trying to act inconspicuous, you decided you wanted to kill her. Very

“No it’s fine Clarisse I promise” you attempted to reassure your girlfriend.

“Yeah clarisse, it’s fine” Benjamin added in a mocking voice, sitting on his bed as if he had no cares in the world.

Clarisse started to stand from her bed at that, grabbing your hips from behind, pulling you along with her, “Come here baby”

She guided you across the room, not really giving you a chance to turn until you had both reached your destination.

She bent down to search through the bottom drawer of the cabinet she had lead you to, rummaging through the shirts and tops.

You were weirded out by her sudden dismissal of her brothers, especially given their taunts, but you were glad nonetheless.

You turned back to look at them and caught them both still watching you, Ben still sat on the bed while emmet lent on a cabinet near it, smirking at you.

Eventually Clarisse pulled out an orange camp half blood tshirt, handing it up to you, grabbing your attention again before closing the drawer.

You looked at her in confusion, why was she handing you her, far too big for you, tshirt? Clarisse not yet acknowledging you as she walked back over to the two boys, watching you both from bens bed.

“You two are gonna apologise to my girlfriend right now and the only punishment you’re gonna get is laundry duty for two weeks…” Clarisse told the two in a scarily calm voice, “or, if not, we can go to training and I can beat your asses for thinking it’s ok to disrespect my girlfriend like that”

The two boys looked less amused now, Ben scowling and emmet rolling his eyes like a child about to throw a tantrum.

“And…you can beg 3 weeks of laundry duty” Clarisse added with a smirk, staring them down until they backed down.

“Ok whatever” Ben muttered, giving up first, “sorry y/n”

“I-it’s ok” you replied from the cabinet, clutching onto clarisses shirt.

“No y/n, it’s not ok” Clarisse said sternly, turning to her other half-brother with an expectant look in her eye, “emmet?”

After a slight pause with no response Clarisse stepped forwards raising her eyebrows at her brother, both of you watching his scowl deepen before giving in.

“Sorry” he stated, rolling his eyes.

“Nah that’s not good enough…” Clarisse told him with a grin, “try again”

“Clarisse it’s fine really” you told her, watching her just shake her head in response.

“Fine, I’m sorry y/n…good enough?” He said in annoyance.

“Perfect” Clarisse said stepping back and walking towards you, not turning around to tell them, “might wanna get those clothes to the laundry room…the hampers are looking pretty full”

“You didn’t need to do that” you told her with a pout, still holding onto the shirt she had handed you.

“You ok baby?” She asked.

“Yeah I’m fine, I said that” you reassured, gesturing to her shirt, assuming it was for her to wear, “do you want your shirt back?”

“Baby have you seen what you’re wearing?” Clarisse laughed, “I mean I don’t mind at all but I can’t imagine you’re gonna have fun running back to your cabin in a bra top, tiny shorts and no shoes”

With that she handed you some slippers off of the floor by her bed.

At that you finally realised why she wanted you to wear the top, looking down at your body, as your cheeks began to turn red you shyly looked back up at Clarisse and smiled at her with a giggle.

“Thank you” you told her, throwing the shirt over yourself and slipping the shoes on your feet.

“Now I hate to kick you out baby but I think if you stay any longer Chiron will see you” Clarisse told you, her hands reaching your waist.

“Yeah you’re probably right” you stated, not making any moves to walk away yet.

Clarisse leaned down to kiss you, her grip on your waist tightening slightly as she did.

You both continued to kiss for a moment before you heard laughs behind Clarisse, opening your eyes to see kitty and 3 other girls sat on a bed watching you.

Clarisse glares at the girls and you laugh at her. “Ok I should go then”

“I’ll see you later” Clarisse told you, knowing she’d come find you at lunch if she didn’t see you before then.

“Ok” you replied simply, picking up your teddy from the bed and walking towards the door of the cabin.

You noticed the stares on you as you rushed back to your own cabin, the children already up watching you depart from the Ares cabin wearing barely any clothes holding a teddy bear.

You were as quick as you could be, hoping not to get caught by Chiron and get back before he started making his rounds of the camp.

You heard a whistle from your right, an older boy watching you rush past him, you scowling in reply and raising a middle finger to him and you walked past.

You were just glad Clarisse wasn’t with you to start a fight with him for it.

Haven’t proof read this yet lol 😭

Taglist:

@slaggylemon @yourmom-25s-blog @l0veshellarcelia

[laenordeservedbetter]

Why?

Pairing: Clarisse La Rue x Fem!Reader (Daughter of Athena)

Synopsis: Percy sees something he never expected to see.

Warnings: Fluff, kissing, confused Percy, Clarisse slander (Percy), fear of spiders. lmk if I missed any.

This one-shot is based on this tweet.

A/N: Hello, lovely people. I'm back. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I last wrote on here. My writing skills got rusty, but I hope you enjoy reading anyway.

not my gif. || masterlist

Percy was walking with Luke as the latter continued showing him the camp facilities that they didn’t get to go over in the original tour when he sees a strange sight that makes him stop walking. He squints his eyes, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him. When his visions do not change, his eyebrows raise, almost going to the top of his head by how surprised he was.

Luke stops talking when he notices that Percy’s attention was elsewhere. He tries to follow Percy’s line of sight and chuckles when he does. “Oh, yeah. That.” Luke smiles, amused. “That happens pretty much every once in a while.”

“Should we help her?” Percy asks, mortified, as he refers to you. He felt uneasy, seeing you with Clarisse. She is the camp bully, isn’t she? People shouldn’t be leaving you alone with her. Something about the predicament he saw the two of you in seemed off. It shouldn’t be happening, that’s for sure. He steps forward, wanting to free you from the torture when Luke places a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from doing so.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Luke shakes his head, making sure Percy wasn’t going to make any more steps before he retracts his hand.

“Why are Clarisse and Y/n sitting with their backs to each other?” Percy looks up at Luke, knowing the older camper wasn’t going to let him interfere. The least Luke could do was answer his questions.

“They had a fight.” Luke explains simply, still with an amused smirk.

“Then why are they holding hands?”

“They get sad when they fight.” The raven-haired boy shrugs.

Percy doesn’t say anything, keeping up with his staring. It didn’t occur to him how creepy or weird it was, seeing how baffled he still is upon seeing you and Clarisse in the same room, and holding hands. It’s giving him the heebie-jeebies. What business did Clarisse have holding hands with one of the kindest people in camp? He didn’t like that idea, but there was nothing he could do about it. His only hope was that Clarisse doesn’t infect you with her bad attitude.

Meanwhile, inside the Athena cabin, you squeezed Clarisse’s hand three times, but you didn’t say a word. You were still pretty upset from the incident earlier.

Clarisse tried to look at you from her peripheral vision and even though you couldn’t see it, you knew that her face was ridden with guilt. She sighs, “Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tossed that spider to you when we were in the woods, even if I was freaked out.”

You had been walking in the woods together, hand in hand, when a spider fell on Clarisse’s shoulder. Her natural instinct was to kill it, but she didn’t have any weapons with her and she was starting to panic, so she did the first thing her brain told her to do. She flung the spider over to you despite knowing full well that you were afraid of them.

You take a deep breath, staying silent for a few seconds before saying, “I forgive you and I’m sorry for yelling and cursing you.” Your head hung low in shame. That wasn’t your proudest moment either. The things you said would have made even Chiron blush.

Clarisse gives out a huge sigh of relief, momentarily letting go of your hand so she can stand up. She walks over so she can finally be face to face with you. “It’s okay, I forgive you. You were freaking out too.” She wraps her arms around you, meeting your gaze with a smile.

“I thought my soul left my body at that point.” You pouted, bits of distress still not wearing off.

She cups your face, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on your lips. “Do you feel better now?” She asks with a soft smile.

You can’t stop the smile from spreading to your face, too. You wrap your arms around her waist and hug her from your position on the chair, holding her tighter for maximum comfort. Clarisse laughs at how you didn’t want to let go, even after two minutes have passed.

“I love you so much. You know that, right?” Clarisse states, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“I know.” You murmur happily against her, wanting nothing more than to stay in this moment forever.

Outside the cabin, about ten feet away, Percy Jackson could be seen with his jaw dropped and eyes wider than before. “They’re dating?!” He exclaims, looking at Luke in a panic. It seems that he didn’t connect the dots until you and Clarisse kissed. And even then, it seemed like it wasn’t true. He wasn’t concerned anymore, just confused.

Luke’s brows furrowed. “Couldn’t you already tell by the way they were holding hands earlier?”

Percy stares at Luke, his mouth agape, then back to you and Clarisse, then back to Luke again, feeling like he was about to combust because of this new information. “What? No. Why would I even—”

Luke pulls Percy along, cutting his rambling short. “You have much to learn, Percy. So much.” He walks ahead, heading back to the Hermes cabin. “Come on. I’ll fill you in when we get back to the cabin.”

[lixzey]

i. how long could we be a sad song, til we were too far gone to bring back to life?

luke castellan x apollo!reader

warnings: just read at your own risk, editing this was hard as fuck so bear with me. this has a lot of swearing, ANGST, and a new character! This is part one of chapter two, by the way!

thank you so much to my girls, @lilmaymayy and @jennapancake 🥺🫶🏻 for without them, i would be lost ‼️

hope you guys love it! (i put my blood, sweat, and tears into this-) love you guys!!!

ps: look out for clues!!

10.5k words

The smell of your mother’s freshly baked brownies invades your nostrils—a scent you haven’t smelled in a long time—which makes you feel nostalgic for a bit, as if your mother was in the room. Heated sounds of arguing coming from outside closed doors snap you fully awake, eyes fluttering open in response. You try to sit up, but your body fails you—tired and worn out. Your eyes scanned around the room, you were in the infirmary, no doubt about that. Bottles of nectar and cubes of ambrosia—the source of the comforting smell—sitting on a nearby table with your guitar sitting in a chair beside it.

“Let me the fuck in, Chris!” You hear Luke’s voice from outside, annoyance evident in his tone. “She’s my best friend! Move away from the goddamn door!”

Clarisse scoffs loudly. “Best friend? Best friend? You ditched her to go make out with that blonde smartass!”

You wanted to stand up and eavesdrop on their conversation, but your body wasn’t letting you. Clarisse was obviously talking about Lacy, and how Luke bailed on you last minute. Chris probably told her that, and besides, it’s not like she doesn’t know that I have feelings for that dumb little shit. You wondered what would happen if you grabbed another few cubes of ambrosia, maybe Lee or whoever tended to you while you were out cold didn’t shove a cube down your throat yet. You hesitated, you were a healer—cabin seven’s finest, for crying out loud!—you should know better than to give in to whatever your brain tells you to do.

“Do not call Lacy that,” Luke growls at Clarisse. “I asked Y/n if it was okay, and she said it was! I wouldn't have gone if she wasn’t okay-”

“If it wasn’t for your dumbassery she wouldn’t be in here in the first place, you stupid dumb fuck!” Clarisse growled back, matching Luke’s intensity like an echo.

“I asked her and she said it was fucking fine! Get that in your damn thick skull!”

“Ha! Look who’s talking!” Clarisse snapped, despite being younger, she was a firecracker in her own right. “Acting all high and mighty, when this is all your fault! Did you even know that she went down to the docks, after you acted all white knight just to spend time with that know-it-all little shit? Huh? With an ungodly amount of food meant for the both of you!”

“Stop. Calling. Lacy. Fucking. Names!”

What on earth is happening out there? You shake your head, taking a deep breath, forcing yourself to sit with everything you got. You wince at the throbbing pain in your head, leaning against the wall, trying to get your shit together before grabbing a cube of ambrosia and shoving it down your throat despite that nagging voice inside your head telling you no, like a broken record.

“Y/n is unconscious, for crying out loud!” Clarisse yells, anger spewing like lava from the rock climbing wall down by the amphitheater. “And all you can fucking think of is Lacy!?”

“That’s why I’m literally here, Clarisse!” Luke snaps, rubbing his arm. “I’m here to see my best friend!”

“That girl inside,” Clarisse jerks her head towards the door behind her, anger fuming out of her like cigar smoke. “Is the kindest and most loving person out here at camp—literal sunshine trapped in a human’s body! She has always been at your side, and you repay her by ditching her to make out with a girl whom, might I just add, you’ve just talked to within the goddamn DAY and proceeded to ignore your said best friend.”

“I’m here now-”

Clarisse cuts him off. “Leave.” She pointed down the hallway, to the door out of the Big House. “Before I lose my shit and chop your head off and use it as a fucking bowling ball with your limbs as the damned pins.”

“Luke,” You weakly call out, loud enough to interrupt what could’ve been Clarisse acting out on her intrusive thoughts, your voice hoarse and dry as if you’ve been stuck in a desert without anything to drink.

“Y/n,” Luke breathes out, the sound of your voice calming him down as he pushes past the two. As soon as the door opens, you see him smiling at you—that mischievous smile you’ve learned to love the past three years. He then steps forward, ignoring the glares Clarisse and Chris were giving him. But before he can even get close, you fall back into your bed—steaming, as if you were burning like a forest fire. Luke immediately rushes to your side, sitting on the bed, holding your hand in his. Worry and fear was visible in his features, the scar on the right side of his face resembling tears running down his cheek as fear slowly crept into his mind. “Fuck, you’re burning, melody.”

“What?” Chris asks, frozen in place—worry replacing glare he once had. “I thought Lee already gave her ambrosia!”

“He did!” Clarisse says, seemingly forgetting her anger towards the older Hermes boy as she rushes to your side. “Gave her two cubes!”

“Call Lee, Michael, or Dawn! Now!” Luke barks at the two, looking around the room for anything to help cool you down, even though Luke knew that a fever like this wasn’t easily fixable by a cool rag or something. “Now!”

Clarisse immediately scrambles to get your siblings, looking like she had seen a ghost, dark curls following her every move.

Chris then stares Luke down, seemingly getting over his initial worry for you as his glare intensifies by the second. “Get out.” he spits out harshly. “Get the fuck out before I forget that you’re my brother.”

Luke looks at his brother, matching his intense glare. “I don’t give a damn, Rodriguez,” he hisses, refusing to leave your side like a clinging child.

“Get. The. Fuck. Out.” Chris enunciates each word with venom, his eyes flashing with hate and anger.

“She called me! She wants me! She needs me!” Luke let go of your hand, standing up to face his brother as he tried to argue, but Chris wasn’t having it.

“Go fuck Lacy for all we care,” Chris pushes him by the chest—despite being a full two inches smaller than his older brother. “Since you chose her over your best friend.”

Before Luke could even react, your siblings—Lee and Dawn—came rushing into the room, just in time to prevent gods knows what. Luke moved to the side, giving your brother and sister room to work, while still glaring at his brother. How dare he? The counselor of cabin eleven thought, forcing himself to calm back down for your sake. He felt miserable, that he had caused this. He wanted nothing more than to see you be happy, healthy, and well, you.

Luke averted his gaze away from his brother, chocolate brown eyes helplessly staring at your unconscious form. You looked so worn out, almost as if someone had drained every bit of your life force.

“Get your punk ass out of here right now,” Clarisse hissed, yanking Luke’s arm, trying to drag him out.

“Let go of me, you little shit,” Luke growled, like a lion defending its territory. “I’m not leaving her-”

“Get out!” Lee snapped, looking over his shoulder with a murderous look in his eyes. “Before I give you all hives, boils, anything available in the book!”

“But-”

“Get out!”

And with that, Chris and Clarisse dragged Luke out of the Infirmary.

“Let me go!” Luke struggled in their hold, every cell of his body wanting—needing—to get back to his girl, his melody. “S-She needs me!”

“Calm the fuck down, for Christ’s sake!” Chris sighs, letting go of his hold on his older brother. “Even if we both let you go, Lee and Dawn aren’t going to let you inside, you stupid dumb fuck!”

“Damn you, damn all of you!” Luke angrily yells at Chris and Clarisse, and probably at everyone else.

“Shut the hell up, Castellan!” Clarisse yelled, annoyed at his stupid behavior. “Stop acting like you’re the victim here, you whiny bitch!”

Luke ran a hand through his curls in complete frustration, muttering incoherent words as he tried hard not to pull all his hair out of his scalp.

“Get a grip, dumbass!“ Clarisse threatened, on the verge of acting on her intrusive thoughts. “Before I smack some sense into your sorry ass!”

Surprisingly, Luke didn’t fight or argue back. It wasn’t that he couldn’t fight back, but this girl in front of him was ruthless. More than anyone else at camp. And if she threatens someone, there’s a ninety nine percent that she will do whatever she says.

Luke sighed, quickly fixing his composure, glaring at Chris and Clarisse for a minute at most, before turning his heel and leaving the Big House, not even bothered to take a look back.

“Melody, I love you,” Luke whispers in your ear. “Please be mine, I promise to never hurt you again.”

“Luke,” You sigh, looking him straight in his eyes—deep brown that holds your heart. “I love you too.”

The sun slowly crept through the curtains, waking you up, tearing you away from your dreams. Your eyes flutter open, squinting as they adjust to the light as if it was the first time in a long while.

“Mornin’ sleepy head,” A voice echoes through the room’s four corners, snapping you fully awake. Your eyes dart towards the voice’s direction, meeting a familiar set of chocolate brown eyes you’ve stared into more times you could ever count paired with that signature smile of his that made his scar just below his right eye, practically fade. “About time you woke up.”

“Luke?” You mumble, thinking that you were still dreaming.

“Gotta be quiet now, melody,” Luke moves closer to you, giving you a better view of him—looking as handsome as ever. “No one knows I’m here.” He points to a New York Yankees cap dangling from his belt loop. “I sneaked in.”

“What? You snuck in?” You ask, brows knitted in confusion. “Why’d you sneak in? It’s not like you’re not allowed to be in here.”

Luke scratches the nape of his neck, avoiding your gaze. “About that….”

You raise a brow at him, arms folded in front of your chest. “Luke, what’s going on? Don’t lie to me, I know when you’re lying.”

“Of course you do,” Luke chuckles, shaking his head. He then takes a deep breath, looking you straight in the eyes. “Chris and Clarisse won’t let me see you, while you’re here, unconscious.”

You crack a small smile, the light you always had, returning to your eyes. “What? Why? I mean, they’re literally three, four years younger than both of us and they bested you?”

Luke smiles at you sheepishly. “Yeah, well, Clarisse isn’t someone I’d like to cross.”

“You and me both,” You chuckle, sitting up straight. “So, how long was I out? Two, three hours?”

Luke’s smile falters, hesitation in his eyes. “You’ve been here for a week, melody.”

“W…what? A w…what!?” You stutter in disbelief. “One whole week!?”

“Apparently, your insides burned because of too much ambrosia intake.” Luke explains with a look of worry in his eyes. “You got everyone worried, melody.”

“How much did they give me?”

“Lee swears he gave you only two, but another cube was missing from the table, so they couldn’t be sure if it was only two.”

“Oh.”

Luke raises a brow at you, a knowing smirk on his lips. “You don’t happen to know anything, huh, melody?”

You stare at him in disbelief. How is it that he knows when I’m lying but not that I’m head over heels for him? “I may or may not have grabbed another cube, a week ago.”

Luke shakes his head with a chuckle. “And I thought I was the one, what was that you always say? Who doesn’t follow orders?”

You roll your eyes at him, your lips curling up into a smile. “Shut up, Castellan.”

“You love me, L/n.” Luke grins, mischief twinkling in his beautiful brown eyes. Of course, I fucking do. You’re just too damn stupid to notice.

“Dream on,” You chuckle, forcing a fake smile, hoping that he won’t see through it. “So, how come Clar and Chris won’t let you in?”

Luke hesitates again, avoiding your eyes—a telltale sign that he was guilty. “They, uh, were, uh mad at me. For, you know? Ditching you.”

Oh. That’s why they were arguing a week ago, apparently. You understood why Clarisse and Chris wouldn’t let Luke in, they were only concerned for you. But it wasn’t a valid reason to keep him out, when it’s him that you’ve always wanted to be right beside you.

You force out another smile—maybe you were a pro, at this point—taking his hand in yours. “I don’t mind, charming,” you say, gripping his hand tighter. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Luke looks at you. “You sure? I mean, I don’t want to put our friendship on the line because of my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” You choked out, shock evident in your eyes, but you pushed it down like you always do. “I mean, how? When? I remember the two of you just talking…”

“Just two days ago,” Luke answers with a confident smile. “I’m in love with her, melody, I really am. After that failed quest my stupid father gave me, I think I finally got something right—her.”

You didn’t know how to feel. You felt numb, as if your heart couldn’t break anymore than it already has. Here he was, happy to tell you that he’s finally done something right in his life. Not knowing how it’s breaking you, piece by piece, tear by tear, beating you down until you can’t anymore. But, you can’t do a thing. You don’t have any right to get hurt, angry, and broken-hearted. After all, you were only his best friend, nothing more.

You gave him a smile with every strength you could muster. “Good for you, Luke. I’m-” you took a shaky breath, hoping you could blame it on the drowsiness if he asked. “Proud of you, finally getting the love you deserve.” If happy is her, then I’m happy for you—at least, I’ll try to be.

Luke leans forward, wrapping you a tight hug. “Thanks, melody,” He whispers in your ear. “You’re the best.”

You pat him on the back, wishing you could just hit him hard enough to knock some sense into him, make him realize that you were here—right in fucking front of him. “Anytime, charming.”

Luke pulls away, giving you a kiss on the cheek before ruffling your already messy hair. “You rest well, okay?”

“Says the one without burnt insides,”

“We all have rough days and it’s okay not to feel a hundred percent all the time.” Luke assures you with a soft smile. “You’re gonna pick yourself up, and get back out there. Be easy on yourself, alright?”

You raise a brow at him, laughing softly. “When did you become so wise?”

“Turns out, hanging out at cabin six makes you wise.” Luke laughs, rising to his feet. “I’ve got to go, alright, melody? I don’t want Clarisse to kick my ass, again, if she catches me here. Anyway, we have a game of capture the flag next friday. Chiron’s pushed it back long enough, if you ask me.”

“Already?” You ask, pushing strands of your hair away from your face. “What day is it?”

“You’ve been out cold for a week, melody,” Luke chuckles, shaking his head, his curls looking as messy as ever. “It’s Thursday today, Chiron announced last night.”

“Damn,” you mutter under your breath. “I missed a lot, huh?” Like you making Lacy officially your girlfriend.

“Don't you worry your pretty little head, you can jump back into it as soon as you feel okay.” Luke assures you with a smile, walking towards the door, Annabeth’s New York Yankees cap ready in his hands. “Now, get some rest.”

You nodded, playfully rolling your eyes, as if you weren’t already dying of heartache and a headache from all the information you’ve just ingested. “Yes, I will. Don’t worry too much about me.”

“When you’re better, meet me at our spot.” Luke gave you a lopsided grin. “We’ll spar, but don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.”

“Alright,” You fake a smile so normally, reaching for the bottled water on the bedside table. “I’m sure gonna beat up your sorry ass.”

“As if,” Luke scoffs, a teasing smirk playing on his lips. “You can’t beat me.”

You stuck your tongue out at him. “I sure can, dummy.”

Luke snorts, adjusting the Yankees cap to his size. “We’ll see.” He then places the cap on top of his head, his body disappearing right in front of your eyes. “Rest.”

You chuckle, smiling—genuinely—at him. “I will, thanks for the visit, charming.”

“For the love of dad, Lee,” You groan, glaring at your younger brother, lips pouting like a little kid. “It’s been twenty four hours! I’m better now!”

“Let me check first!” Lee counters, ripping open a tongue depressor. “Please, just let me check—to make sure that you’re actually healed.”

“I told you, I’m oka-”

“I’m going to bound you to that bed if you don’t shut up and let me do the freaking examination.” Lee cuts you off, effectively shutting you up. He sounded just like you, it was scary, to say the least.

“Damn, he sounds like you, sunshine.” Chris laughs from the doorway behind Lee. “You better now?”

“She would know by now if she’d just let me fu-”

“Just do the damn exam.” You grumble, sinking into the bed, your arms folded over your chest like a little girl arguing with an adult as you glared at your younger brother. “Don’t fucking swear.”

“But you do,” Lee retorts, pushing the depressor into your mouth, flat against your tongue, checking for burns cleverly caused by his sister who should have known better. “So, why shouldn’t I?”

“I’m gonna bite off your fingers, try me.” You say out through the depressor pressing over your tongue, your gag reflex activating causing you to grimace at the feeling. “I der ya.”

You hear Chris snort, earning him a glare from you. “What?” He laughs at your annoyance. “You sound like a toddler.”

You glare at him, raising your middle finger at him. “Yuck you.”

Lee, who was checking your throat, bursts out laughing. “You’re better, alright.”

You yank the depressor out of your mouth, the taste of wood still lingering on your taste buds. “I’m better, fine, good, all fixed. Can I go now or do I have to stay and be tortured by your annoying ass presence?”

Lee nods, a teasing grin plastered on his face. “Go, just don’t tire yourself. No stress for this day, at least, for gods’ sake.”

You roll your eyes at him, sitting up and reaching below for your shoes. “I know what to do, dummy.” You quickly put on your shoes, tucking the laces inside so that they don’t cause another accident before standing up. “I’ve been a healer much longer than you, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, right,” Lee mutters, throwing the wooden paraphernalia into a nearby bin. “Says the girl who burned her insides.”

“Shut up,” You hiss at your brother, resisting the urge to just smack him upside the head like the doofus he is. Brothers, geez. You can’t stand them but you can’t imagine life without them. You then grabbed a hair tie from your pocket, strands of your hair falling as you pulled your hair up into a messy ponytail. “I’m going to go find Luke.”

“Him?” Chris scoffs, rolling his eyes. “He’s literally the reason why you got sick, sunshine.”

“Nonsense,” You dismissively wave Chris off. “It was my fault, I forgot to drink water.”

“Yeah, right,” Chris rolls his eyes at you, not believing any of your bullshit, as Clarisse would call it. “You forgot to drink water on a hot summer, because my stupid ass older brother broke your heart?”

“Don’t you have someplace to be?” You grumble, picking up your guitar before making your way to the door. “Luke is still my best friend, I’m not just going to ignore him.”

Chris scowls playfully at you, placing his hands on his hips. “Then what am I? A tree?”

You chuckle, moving towards him and pinching his cheek, making him wince. “You, my friend, are like a little brother to me.”

Chris pulls your hand away from his cheek, still wincing from how hard you pinched him. “Little? I’m literally taller than you, sunshine.”

“Semantics,” You rolled your eyes, smiling at him. “Tall or short, big or small, or whatever the hell you want, you’re still like a brother to me.”

“Then,” Chris chuckles. “You are the best big sister anyone could have. Right, Lee?”

Lee nods his head vigorously. “The best, one hundred percent. Cabin seven is lucky to have you, sis!”

Your cheeks blaze pink, as you smile from ear to ear. “Gee, thanks guys,” You bow playfully. “Glad I’m appreciated around here.”

“Unlike some people.” Chris mutters loud enough for you to hear.

“He does,” You insist, your dad’s stubbornness shining through you like beams of light. “Luke appreciates me, I know it. He wouldn’t have visited me yesterday while I was out if he didn’t.”

Chris raised a brow. “Oh, did he now? I think I’m gonna have a word with this dear brother of mine.”

“Chris,” you say in a warning tone. “Be nice.”

“Fine, fine,” Chris sighs. “Don’t say we didn’t warn you, sunshine.”

“I am this close to cursing you with the sweating sickness.”

“Go,” Lee laughs, pushing you out the door. “Your prince charming awaits.”

The late summer afternoon sun was still hot against your skin as you excitedly made your way to find Luke, practically skipping as you threaded through the North Woods, to the place you and Luke call your escape from being the pillars of camp.

Only the two of you know about it. You and Luke swore on the River Styx to never tell anyone of the little hidden paradise the both of you had grown to call your own. It was the place you could be happy, the place you could have Luke all to your own.

“Not so fast!” Someone snarled, yanking on your hair, grabbing your bow and arrows. “Give me the fucking flag!”

“Luke!” You screamed, struggling against the pull at your hair. “A little help!”

Luke whipped his head around, anger immediately coursing through his veins. The sight of you struggling at the hands of an older Ares boy ignited a flame inside of him. Nobody hurts her.

Luke charged at him, making you yelp at the tug of your hair. The son of Ares was using you as a shield against Luke—and Luke wasn’t liking any bit of it.

“Let her go!” Luke roared, trying his best to attack and not hurt you. “You big dumbasss!”

“Just give me the fucking flag!” The son of Ares growled, pulling your hair harder, causing a sharp pain in your scalp—you were sure if he let go of you, all of your hair would fall out. “And I’ll spare both of you!”

“Never.” Luke growled, quickly planning an attack. Being the child of Hermes had its perks, as Luke was quick to move. Luke charged like an angered bull, taking the older boy by surprise, knocking you off of his grasp. The son of Hermes slammed the hilt of his sword against the son of Ares’ chest armor, causing it to dent and making him stumble. “Now, get the fuck out before I chop you into pieces.”

The son of Ares immediately scrambled away. “We’re not over, Castellan! We’ll get that flag one way or another!”

“Yeah? Try me.”

Luke turned his attention to you, almost tripping on a rock as he ran towards you. “You alright, melody?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” You grunt, adjusting the strap of your armor. Seeing Luke’s worried look, you sighed. “Hair pulling isn’t gonna give me a concussion, don’t worry.”

“If that fucker comes back, I’m gonna-” You pinch him on the arm, making him yelp. “Ouch, woman! That hurts!”

You rolled your eyes. “Quit being a baby.”

“Violence is never the answer! I’m not the enemy, so don’t attack me!” Luke grumbled, rubbing his arm where you had attacked him.

“Let’s just go and hide.”

“Do we have to hide?” Luke asks, gripping his sword, ready for defense. “I mean, we can fight—I can fight.”

“I am not going to fight when I can just hide.”

“Then what’s the point of capture the flag if you aren’t even fighting to keep the flag safe from the opposing team?” Luke folded his arms over his armored chest. “It’s a war game for a reason, melody.”

You roll your eyes at him, shaking your head in annoyance. He was really persistent, but you wouldn’t have him in any other way. “One, we have the flag. We’re supposed to keep it safe, so we should be hiding it. Two, I am not in the mood to heal you if you get hurt—which will probably happen, because I know you.”

“Come on,” Luke whined, tugging at the blue flag in your hands. “We can win this, I know it!”

“We can win this,” You nodded. “If you quit being a pain in the ass.”

Luke scowled. “I am not a pain, thank you very much.”

You snort, raising your hand up to wipe off the dirt on Luke’s face. “Yes, you fucking are.”

Before Luke could retort, you hear yelling just meters away from where you and Luke were standing.

“They’re over there!”

You immediately realize who it was—it was the boy who Luke had bested just minutes ago.

“Great,” You groaned, simultaneously, Luke pumped his fist up in the air.

“Idiot.“ You muttered before grabbing Luke’s wrist, dragging him away.

Despite his protests, you keep your grip on him. You weren’t gonna let him pick a fight just because he wanted to.

“There!” You hear the yells of the opposing team getting loud and closer. “I’m going to fucking rip his head off!”

You spot a cave just a few meters away. It would be a good hiding spot, just until the furious Ares kids leave the two of you alone.

“Let me at ‘em!” Luke tried pulling his hand away from your grasp. “I can handle them!”

“No!” You snap at him, dragging him towards the direction of the cave’s entrance, almost tripping as you dragged the stubborn Hermes boy despite his annoyed protests.

The two of you stumble into the darkened grotto just in the nick of time, practically shoving Luke inside. You leaned against the stone wall, trying to catch your breath, hoping those sons of Ares won’t get the idea to look inside. You immediately pulled your necklace out of your shirt. The sun shaped locket your father gave you started to glow, illuminating your face in the darkness.

“You should’ve let me fight them,” Luke grumbled, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath like you did. “I would’ve beat their asses!”

“If I did they would’ve got the flag from me, dummy!” You retorted, letting go of the chain of your necklace, letting it dangle over the camp's logo on your shirt. “Quit being reckless!”

Luke scowled, slumping onto the ground. You could see beads of sweat all over his forehead down to his neck. “I’m not reckless.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Am not.”

“You are.”

“Nuh uh!”

“Uh huh!”

Luke rolled his eyes, a small smile creeping its way to his lips. “I mean, I guess I am a little bit reckless.”

You raised a brow at him. “Only a little bit?”

“Okay fine,” Luke sighed, shaking his head with a laugh. “I’m reckless, are you happy now?”

“Delighted.” You grin at him, wiping sweat off of your forehead with the back of your hand. The two of you then sat in silence for what felt like hours—it was only a few minutes—the sounds of yours and Luke’s breathing accompanying the dim light of your locket.

“So, where exactly are we?” Luke asks, breaking the momentary silence. “Never seen this cave before.”

“I actually don’t know,” You answer, looking around the poorly lit enclosure. “Pretty sure we’re barely past Zeus’ fist, so we don’t have to worry about being too far out.”

“Zeus’ fist?” Luke snorts. “What? Mister king of the gods had a tantrum and punched camp?”

“It’s a clump of rocks that look like a fist,” You laugh, rolling your eyes at Luke’s humor. “Although, some call it Zeus’ shit, since it looks like a clump of Pegasus shit.”

Luke burst out laughing, throwing his head back like a little kid. “Nice name, fits mister grumpy pants. Thalia would’ve loved that!” he says in between fits of laughter.

“She would,” you smiled, knowing how much Luke missed Thalia—his first best friend. You didn’t know much about Thalia, but knowing from the stories Luke has told you before, he was right. “Thalia would’ve loved it.”

“Yeah, she would’ve,” Luke sighed, smiling softly. “Hey, melody?”

“Mhm?”

“Do you think anyone else knows about this cave?”

“I don’t think so,” you shrug, looking around. “This place looks so…dark, you know? And besides, the Ares kids haven’t found us yet. So, it’s safe to say that no one else knows about this place.”

“Our own place.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“This could be our own place,” Luke explained with a grin, his eyes shining with a familiar excitement you’ve seen before in his chocolate eyes. “Somewhere only we know.”

“It’s dark here,” You say, your nose wrinkling in disgust. You never really liked the dark. As a child, it had been your worst nightmare. Your mother would always set up a nightlight just so you wouldn’t get terrified of the possible creatures that lurked in the dead of the night. When you got to camp, your father had given you your locket to help you cope with the darkness and being alone since your mother couldn’t really help you with your fears anymore. “I don’t really like the dark.”

“We could add some torches outside, plus some inside, maybe those streamer light things too—we just gotta figure out how to add this without power, but I think I can ask that Beckendorf kid for a favor. A few crates we can stack up for a bed when we need it—I can grab an extra sleeping bag from the camp store. And some throw pillows here and there and it’ll feel like home.”

“You can’t possibly think that this dark cave could feel like a home,” You argued, folding your arms over your chest. Realizing that you’ve covered the only source of light in the dark, you quickly tugged on your chain, pulling it from below your arms.

“I lived in a cave once.” Luke says casually, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s not that bad, honestly. You just got to use your artistic eye—you do have that, don’tcha?”

“I’m not going to get my way, am I?”

“Nope!”

You rolled your eyes at him, smiling despite losing another decision to the boy right in front of you. ��Fine,” you groan playfully. “You better make this place as bright as my cabin.”

“Not that bright, but of course, my sweet darlin’ melody!”

You smile, taking it all in. You’ve never had something as intimate as this, and it felt good, somehow. A place you can call your own, now who wouldn’t want that? “Our own place,”

“Our own place.” Luke repeated, contentment in his voice. “Swear on the River Styx?”

“What for?”

“If this is gonna be our little escape from camp duties, we should at least keep it a secret from everyone else.”

You raised a brow at him. “Even from Annabeth?”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Yes, even from Annabeth.”

“Pretty sure she’s gonna find out either way, but yeah sure, we can swear on it.”

“I, Luke Castellan, swear on the River Styx to never tell anyone of this place.”

“I, Y/n L/n, swear on the River Styx to never tell anyone of this place.”

The sound of the conch rang out from the distance, signifying the end of the game, and since the flag was still in your hands, your team had won.

“Did we win?”

“We did!” You squeal, grinning from ear to ear like a child on Christmas eve. “We won! We actually won!”

“Come on, let’s rub our victory in their faces,” Luke grinned, his eyes shining with that familiar mischief you’ve come to adore, dramatically offering his hand out for you to take. “Shall we, my lady?”

“We shall,” You giggle, grabbing his hand as the two of you make your way out of the dimly lit space.

From that day on, you and Luke have decorated the place to look as cozy as possible. The both of you would spend as much time as possible together, usually sparring outside the cave or just catching up on the sleep you’ve missed from waking up early in the mornings. Sometimes, you’d bring your art supplies and paint little murals all over the walls. Luke even carved yours and his initials on one side of the walls and painted them gold—in Luke’s words, because, our friendship is worth more than gold. This little cave was your escape from reality. Where Luke is yours, and you are his—even just in your imagination.

You sigh happily as you spot your little hidden paradise, blazing greek fire on torches set up just at the entrance. You practically skipped towards the cave, a huge grin plastered on your face.

“Luke? Are you here, charming?” you call out, your voice sounding a little giddy as you make your way inside, following the dim light inside—which Luke probably lit beforehand. “I’m here! I’m ready to beat your ass!”

As you approach closer to the light, you hear faint moaning? What in the name of Hades is he moaning for? You thought, brows knitting in confusion as you moved cautiously forward, pulling the strap of your guitar over your head. He better not be jerking off again. I swear to the gods above I’m going to hit him with my guitar.

You’ve only caught him in the act once, and it was enough for you and Luke to resort to calling before coming in—which you did, and debating whether to do it again because you did not want to see how males relieve themselves again ever in this lifetime.

You sigh heavily as you make your way inside of yours and Luke’s secret hide out, desperate for a little sleep before getting back into your duties as one of the head counselors. Your fourth archery class was in two hours, and you were already debating whether you should leave it for Dawn to handle because you were absolutely aching to get a well deserved rest, practically begging Hypnos to put you into a peaceful nap right there and then.

As you walk past the buckets of paint you left from the last mural you made, you hear muffled sounds coming from inside. Immediately, you thought of Luke being injured or in pain—his recklessness usually got him into unsavory circumstances, and it was honestly so stupid of him most of the time. But you’ve never heard him like this before, and it made you worry. Maybe he got stabbed—which was highly unlikely, knowing how good he is with a sword—and was scared to tell you, knowing you’d bound him to a bed in the infirmary this time. Whatever it is, you were ready to hit him on the head for it. Perhaps even curse him with the sweating sickness for, well, being a pain in the ass (you love him for it, so you most likely won’t).

Sighing, you finally make your way towards him, hands in your pockets searching for something that could help—band aids, ambrosia, anything—ease whatever pain Luke was feeling. Hopefully, it isn’t that bad and fixable with the few cubes of ambrosia in a pouch inside your pocket.

“Jesus, Luke!” you shriek, immediately closing your eyes shut, pulling your hands out of your pockets and covering your eyes for added, well, coverage from what you just saw.

“Shit, shit, shit,” you hear Luke say as he quickly—as you assumed—pulled his boxers and pants up, before the sound of his footsteps echo in your ear. “You saw that…?”

“What do you think, dumbass?” you hiss, eyes still closed shut as you attempted to cross one arm over the other against your chest.

“Maybe next time, call first?”

“You think?”

“You can open your eyes now, Mel,” Luke says with a chuckle. “You gave me blue balls, but I’m decent now.”

“Nuh uh,” you shake your head. “I don’t trust you.”

“You wound me, miss Y/n L/n, daughter of the god of truth-”

“Your dad is a liar. You said so-”

“You think I’d ever lie to you, melody?” Luke snorts. “Just open your eyes, drama queen.”

“It’s not my fault I’m scarred for life!” You grumble, reluctantly opening your eyes, relieved that Luke was decent looking at least even though his belt was undone and the zipper was half way up—which you just chose to ignore. “Gods of Olympus, I think I need to get therapy!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Luke rolls his eyes sarcastically. “It’s not my fault you just waltzed in without announcing yourself.”

You scoffed, glaring at him. “Well, I’m sorry for thinking that you were injured or something, dumbass!”

“Come here,” Luke opens his arms out for a hug, giving you an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, mel-”

“Ew, wash your hands first!”

Luke burst out laughing. “Really?”

“I am not hugging you until your hands are a hundred percent disinfected, Castellan.”

“Fine,” Luke laughs, turning his back to get the shoe box sitting on the ground, placing the cover back on top. “Let me just bring this back to eleven, and then you can supervise me in disinfecting my hands.”

“What even is that?” you ask, peering over Luke’s shoulder.

“Oh, trust me. You don’t want to know.”

Realizing what he meant, you visibly cringed. “Oh, dear gods,” you say, your nose wrinkling in disgust. “You are disgusting, you know that?”

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” Luke smirks. “It hurts, if not relieved properly.”

“Stop, stop,” you shake your head, covering your ears. “I do not need a lesson on the male reproductive system.”

“It is what it is, melody.”

“Shut up,”

“Next time, call first, alright?” Luke chuckles, placing the box under his arm. “Yell if you have to.”

“Noted. And next time, give me a fucking heads up an hour before you want to do…that.”

“You do know that your brothers probably jerk off too, you know?”

“I swear to my dad I’m going to kill you of you don’t stop, Luke-”

Luke smirks, slinging his other arm over your shoulders. “You love me,”

I do, you think as the two of you make your way out. “But that does not mean you can annoy me to death.”

“Ah, but that’s my purpose, my friend.”

“You are absolutely, a hundred percent, annoying, Luke.”

“I think you mean, absolutely, a hundred percent, charming?”

“Nope,” you chuckle as Luke scoffs playfully. “You’re definitely an annoying little shit.”

“Yeah, well, I’m your annoying little shit.”

“The one and only.”

“Luke?” you call out his name again, this time a little louder. What is he doing? He better not be doing what I think he is, or I am definitely going to kill him.

“Luke-” A gasp escapes your lips at the scene playing right in front of your eyes. Suddenly, you felt like a statue, stuck staring despite the voices in your head begging you so desperately not to.

Luke was half naked, leaning against the wall, his jeans unbuckled and hanging loosely around his waist. And there was Lacy, straddling him, hands roaming absolutely everywhere. Her manicured hand trailing up and down his bare, scarred chest while the other was threading through his chocolate curls as he kissed her like it was the end of the fucking world. Luke's hands slowly crept down, one hand snaking around her waist, pulling her closer and the other trailing up under her shirt and up to her breasts, emitting a sound you never wanted to ever hear. The sounds of their moans kept ringing in your ears, haunting you with every second you stood frozen. Gods, at this point, you wanted to pop your eardrums just to be free of this involuntary torture.

But that wasn't even the worst part. It was the fact that, a few inches up, you could see a pair of initials drawn messily with red lipstick right over yours and Luke’s.

L + L

He was putting her over you, literally and physically.

You knew this was going to happen from the very moment Luke told you about his relationship, but you didn’t expect it to be so soon. Angry tears started to prick the corners of your eyes, threatening to spill at any second. You tried your best to push them back, but it felt like an overflowing dam. Your grip on your guitar loosens as your tears slowly cloud your vision. The wooden instrument slips from your hold, shattering into tiny unfixable pieces from the impact, just like your heart. At the sound of the instrument breaking, Luke’s head whips around, spotting you. His face immediately drains of color, knowing his faults.

“Shit-” Luke pushes Lacy off of him, causing her to yelp as he quickly makes his way towards you. But you turn to run off before he could even catch up. “Y/n, wait!” he calls after you as you run out of yours and Luke’s once secret place.

You kept on going, running and ignoring Luke’s pleas for you to stop and talk to him. You felt very betrayed, very heartbroken, and very angry. How could Luke do this to me? You kept on asking yourself as tears kept clouding your vision like an endless fog while you ran through the woods without any direction. You wanted to stop and face Luke, to scream at him for being so clueless about your feelings and for hurting you. But you couldn’t, you just can’t. The image of him entangled with that girl was burned into your mind, refusing to let you get away from its grasp as the memory replayed again and again like a broken record. Oh, how you wanted to gouge your own eyes out and drown them in bleach until the image of them faded completely out of your mind, unfortunately, you are a prisoner of your own thoughts.

And even if you could muster up the courage, you didn’t have the right to do so. You were just his friend, nothing more. You were just this person he could count on whenever he needed something. He doesn’t care about your feelings if or not you get hurt by his choices, because you didn’t mean much to him the way Lacy meant to him. You wanted so badly for your heart and mind to just realize that crucial fact, but like your father, you were just as stubborn. Gods, fucking gods, how cruel are they to damn you like this? What the hell did you do to invoke the ire of the gods and get this kind of suffering?

“Y/n, will you stop for a second!?” Luke managed to catch up on you, grabbing you by the arm and pulling you towards him like a force of a thousand magnets.

Your hands immediately found your eyes, wiping off every tear as much as you could, trying your absolute hardest to look normal. As if you weren’t hanging onto the balance of anger and hurt.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Luke’s voice was suddenly gentle and soft, his hands moving upward to cup your cheeks, slightly titling your face up so you could meet his eyes. “Are you okay, melody? What’s wrong? You know you can tell me anything.”

“Yeah, I’m-I’m good,” You sniffle, shifting your gaze away from him. How stupid is he to not see through you? “Just had a really shitty day.”

Luke sighs as he wraps his arms around you, his lips pressing against your forehead, burning into your skin. “I’m so sorry about-”

“It’s okay,” you cut him off with a shaky breath, pushing yourself away from his hold. You wanted so badly to bury yourself in his chest, like you always did whenever Luke hugged you, to breathe in his scent, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Knowing that Lacy had already claimed her territory. “I-I have to go,” You choked back a sob, wiping away the fresh tears falling from your eyes as you turned your back on him. “Lots…lots of stuff to do.”

“Y/n, wait-” Luke tries to stop you, his hand on your arm—holding onto you like a vice he didn’t want to let go—but you pulled your arm away and just walked away without taking another look back, because you didn’t want to look as desperate as you felt.

You feel your chest tighten as you hear Luke calling your name again and again, his voice slowly fading as the distance between you and him grows farther away. But, you continued to tread on, walking without a sense of direction through the woods. Despite that, there was this lingering feeling in your heart that hoped so badly that Luke would still follow you.

Should I look back? Should I stop? Should I…

No, Luke isn’t behind you anymore. He doesn’t care about you. He doesn’t give a damn about you. You are nothing to him. He loves Lacy, not you. And he will never love you.

Haven’t I given enough? I mean, I gave Luke my best me’s-

You aren’t her.

You aren’t Lacy.

What does she fucking have that I don’t?

You will never be her.

You snap out of your thoughts as you fall onto your hands and knees, gasping for air as the tears you were trying your absolute hardest to push back now flowed down your cheeks like an endless stream. You couldn’t keep it in anymore, it was just too much for you to handle all at once. It was suffocating, as if Lord Eros had shot an arrow straight through your throat, purposely missing your heart, and with a taunting voice he’s telling you “You don’t deserve love!”

“Holy Hephaestus- Beckendorf, get your ass down here for a sec!” You hear someone say, causing you to immediately wipe away tears, dirt smearing all over either side of your face. You see a figure approaching you from your peripheral view, which then you realized where you were. Fire crackled in the distance, the smell of burning metals lingering in the air. “Gods of Olympus- Y/n?” The figure knelt in front of you, large calloused hands supporting your weight as your body trembled from the forcing back whatever you felt. Looking up, though still a bit blurry, you recognized the person holding onto you. Marco Leon, head of cabin nine and son of Hephaestus—a familiar face you’ve come across multiple times a day in the infirmary.

“Are you alright, Y/n?” Marco asked, lifting your palms away from the ground, placing them onto his shoulders as he helped you stand up, searching you for any cuts or bruises. “What happened?”

What happened? Nothing. I just saw the love of my life practically having sex with his new girlfriend. “N-nothing,” You wheezed out, stumbling forward a bit as your chest heaved from trying to stop the tears and catch your breath. “I’m fine…”

“You’re obviously not fine, Y/n.” Marco shook his head, his face contorting into a look of concern. He slid his arm around your waist, careful not to make you feel uncomfortable but enough to keep you steady on your feet. “Come on, let’s get you seated for a sec.”

Marco led you towards the workshop, where surprisingly only one of his siblings—Charles Beckendorf—was waiting, confusion evident in his features as you approached.

“Holy- What did you do, Marco?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong! She tripped!” Marco defended, helping you onto one of the work benches around. “Quick, get the first aid kit!”

“No,” You say, shaking your head, your voice hoarse and dry as you undo your ponytail. “I mean, no thanks. I-I can do it myself.”

“Are you sure?” Marco grabbed the first aid kit from his brother, opening it. “You’ve got a pretty nasty scrape, there.”

You smile weakly, pushing back a few strands of your hair away from your face, cringing slightly at the feeling of dirt dried up on your skin. “It’s fine, don’t worry.”

“Alright,” Marco smiled, giving you an alcohol pad and gauze along with the tiniest roll of paper tape, which you gladly accepted with a small nod.

Ripping open the alcohol pad, you pressed it against your skinned knee, wiping any debris and bacteria away, a whimper escaping your lips at the burning sensation of the disinfecting wipe. You then repeated the process on your other knee, before placing the used pad on your lap and opening one of the gauze packs.

“Here, let me help with this, at least.” Marco offered, grabbing the roll of tape, tearing off a piece. “Put the gauze over the scrape, and I’ll secure it down.”

“Thanks,” You squeaked, eyes widening at how horrendous that sounded. Gods, why can’t I do anything right? “I’m so sorry for being a bother-”

“You’re not bothering anyone, trust me,” Marco chuckled, meeting your eyes with a kind smile. “You’ve been taking care of everyone at this camp, it’s just right to return the favor.”

Marco pulled another piece of tape, only for it to reach the end of the roll. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath, reaching for the medical kit and rummaging for another roll of paper tape, letting out a huff at the unsuccessful search. “Guess we’ll just have to make do with this little thing.”

He tore off the paper-clip sized piece off of the roll, placing it on the bottom side, so that the whole gauze wouldn’t fall off. It didn’t really make a difference, since your other knee was still bare—though, sanitized, at least.

You muttered a quick thank you, before taking a deep breath, composing what’s left of…whatever the hell you had left. “Gods, this is so embarrassing, you know?”

Marco raised a brow, closing the incomplete box of first aid necessities and passing it to his brother, who ran with it to god knows where, leaving you alone with the senior counselor of cabin nine. “What is?”

“Head healer, being a dumbass, getting herself injured and can’t even properly heal said injuries—and the worst part, the injury was only a scrape, a fucking scrape.”

“Stop that,” Marco sat right next to you, shoulders brushing against one another. “You have got to stop discrediting yourself, Y/n. You are an amazing healer, sister, friend, and person. From what I’ve seen you do over the years, I’m confident to say that you are the most selfless person here at camp.”

“You’re just saying that because-”

Marco placed his hand on your shoulder, your eyes suddenly meeting his—chocolate brown, just like Luke’s. I can’t even talk to another without thinking of him, gods, what is wrong with me? “You take care of everyone, honestly, but who takes care of you?”

“I-I…” Words refuse to come out of your mouth, leaving you like one of your blank canvas. Marco was right, and it pains you to admit it. You’ve always been the caretaker, but never the one cared for. Sure, your siblings and friends care for you, but at the end of the day, it’s still you who looks after everyone—especially him. If Luke Castellan ever needed tending to or help with practically anything, you’re there by his side, just like how Icarus was drawn to the sun. You often forget to take care of yourself, even the simplest of tasks like eating or drinking, slips out of your mind whenever Luke or someone needs your help. It’s almost an endless cycle, fixing everyone’s problem until it’s you who’s stuck with something you can’t muster up the courage to ever get a solution.

When was the last time you even had time for yourself? Gods, you felt pathetic. At this point you think it’s all you’ll ever be, as terrible as it is, a pathological people pleaser.

“Come on,” Marco pulls you out of your self loathing. “Let’s get you back to your cabin, you need rest.”

“I’m okay,” You mumble, biting the inside of your cheek. Here you go again, acting like you’re fine when you’re not. Taking a deep breath, you meet Marco’s eyes with a smile. “I’ve got to get back to work, you know? I fear my absence this past week has affected a lot.”

Marco shook his head, chuckling at how stubborn you probably looked right now. “Still, I'll walk you back.”

“I’m okay, Marco, I swear-”

“Please,” His voice was firm, but there was this gentleness in his tone that made your heart flutter a bit. What in Apollo’s name is wrong with me? Ugh!

“Okay, fine.”

Marco quickly rose to his feet, a grin etched onto his handsome- No, I mean, attractive- fuck it face like he’d just won a million dollars in the lottery. “My lady?” he bowed in front of you, offering his hand out the way Luke always did whenever he was trying to make you laugh after he’d upset you or something. You took his hand, choosing to ignore what your mind—heart— wants, giving the boy in front of you a small, forced smile as he helped you onto your feet. “Shall we?”

You nod, letting go of his hand before it all feels weird and awkward. Gods forbid anyone sees you holding hands with Marco, not that it’s bad or that you’re ashamed, but there is one person you have in mind you would prefer not to see you frolicking like a teenager in love.

Well, you were, in fact, a teenager in love, but not with Marco Leon.

The two of you headed back to the cabins in complete silence. It was honestly deafening, to say the least, you just couldn’t bring yourself to utter a single word. With everything that’s happened today, you wanted nothing more than to run away and hide, to weep like a fucking disney princess in hopes of getting a fairy godmother to appear out of the blue to help solve all of your problems, even if the magic fades after midnight. Oh, what you would give to get that wretched, cursed, image of the boy who owns your heart and soul with that…that girl out of your mind for all eternity. If it was possible to rearrange and delete memories from your mind, you would’ve clicked the easiest option out.

As the cabins came into your view, you let out a soft sigh of relief. He’s not here yet, thank gods. You weren’t ready to face him, or her after what you’ve just seen in the place that was once exclusive to and your best friend. The thought alone of them kissing made your stomach churn so badly that you wanted to throw up. Oh no, did they….continue after Luke got back? You visibly cringed at the thought, gods of Olympus, why was your own mind punishing you like this? You look up at the sky, the sun is setting in the horizon, the serenity of the pink and orange hue in the clouds calming you down.

“Are you free tomorrow?” Marco asked as the two of you approached the vicinity of the cabins, your hands brushing against each other ever so slightly.

“I don’t think so,” You hum, your hair blowing against the evening summer breeze. “I’ve got to get back to my duties. Archery lessons, music, and arts and crafts, I think? Why?”

“Maybe you’d like these new…uh, arrows? Yeah, arrows, that’s right! Me and Beckendorf made them for you guys. Test them out before, you know, using them.”

“Yeah?” You ask, brows furrowed in confusion. “I didn’t know we had new arrows coming in.”

“Lee approved them, because you were unavailable? You were, you know? Sick?” Marco fumbled over his words, like your younger brother, Will, whenever he gets caught stealing Lee’s flannels.

“Oh, well then, I think I could squeeze you into my schedule tomorrow.” You smiled, though, a bit unsure if you could take a few minutes off of your hectic schedule—the same routine of events you always do.

“I’ll pick you up- no, I mean-”

Before you could utter a response, you heard screaming. “Connor Stoll, get your ass back here!”

What has he done this time? You thought, because you were the one who had to patch the younger Stoll brother whenever he got maimed by the one he was terrorizing. Usually, it was Luke who’d ask what his menace of a brother did, and the two of you would laugh about it after the said menace was out of earshot.

You see Connor Stoll running in your direction, with that shit eating grin he always has every time he’s successfully pulled off a prank. Behind him was an angry Katie Gardner, with a trowel in her hands as she chased after the speeding little shit- Connor. “Get back here, you little shit!”

“Never!” Connor yelled over his shoulder, zooming in your direction without looking where he was going, colliding into you, causing you to stumble backwards- You have got to be kidding me, falling into Marco Leon’s arms like you were in a goddamn romantic comedy movie.

“Hi,” Marco chuckled, his arm wrapped around your waist, holding you steady like you were a canvas and he was the easel. “You okay?”

“Uh, yeah, I-I’m okay…”

“Stoll’s a menace,” Marco laughed, helping you back onto your feet in one swift motion, his arm still placed firmly against your waist, his face just a few inches away from yours.

“When isn’t he?” You let out a shaky laugh, realizing that were probably campers gawking at you and Marco flirting like two leads in a movie. “You…uh, you can let go of me now.”

Embarrassment crept onto his handsome features like a plague, scratching the back of his head like he’d been caught stealing from the Big House or something. “Oh, yeah,” he chuckled awkwardly as he helped you back to your feet. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” You pat him on the shoulder like an absolute idiot, who the fuck pats a person? At least, no one else saw that, because if someone brings this up sooner or later, you were going to kill Connor Stoll. Though, it seems that everyone has gone to get dinner, and won't be back until after the campfire—which, you should be there for, as senior counselor and head of the Apollo cabin. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow? I mean, if I get the time and all.”

“Yeah, of course. Take your time! I’ll be right here- I mean, not here here, but at my cabin, or at the forge. Not here, where we’re currently standing.”

“See you tomorrow, Marco,” you chuckle, playfully rolling your eyes at him, starting to walk away from the oddly awkward Hephaestus counselor. “I’ll try to make time, I promise.”

“Wait, you’re not going to eat dinner?” Marco asks, walking three steps behind as you headed to your cabin, which was only next to his own.

“Eh,” you shrug, running a hand through your hair, which wasn’t as smooth as you wanted it to be. “I think we have a few snacks in the cabin.”

Marco raised a brow, a teasing smile on his lips. “You gonna survive on snacks alone?”

“I think so, though, it wouldn’t be as healthy as I’d prefer.”

“Tell you what,” Marco gently grabs your arm, prompting you to stop in your tracks, now just a few meters away from your cabin. “I’ll go grab you something healthy to eat from the pavilion so that you won’t have to make do with that unhealthy junk. How does that sound?”

“You’d do that for me?” You ask, shocked as to why he would offer such a thing. You weren’t a princess, so it doesn’t make sense that he’d bring you food like some sort of servant, which he absolutely wasn’t. Gods, you felt bad even just thinking about it. Though, a meal sounded nice, since you’ve haven’t gotten anything to eat yet since you’d left the infirmary.

“Of course! It’s no trouble, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Marco assured, letting go of your arm. “What about the campfire, though?”

“My siblings will come looking for me, I suppose.” Foolish of you to think that you could ever get a little time for yourself. Guess you’d never learn your lesson then, dutiful daughter of Apollo. A soft sigh escapes your lips, still reeling high from the events that had come to pass. Dad, I just want the day to end, I want to curl up in my bed and cry myself to sleep. Come on, let me just do this once? I promise I’ll be your perfect, responsible, but broken hearted daughter again!

Marco seemed to notice the change in your tone, his eyes locked with yours, as if he was looking for answers in your gaze. You didn’t even understand why he was doing all of this. Yeah, you’ve interacted with him every time he comes to you with a broken thumb from accidentally hitting himself with a hammer or well, any injury that comes with being a son of the blacksmith god. He took a step closer, so close to removing the distance that separates the two of you.

“You deserve rest, after everything you do for all of us here at camp.” Marco tucked strands of your hair behind your ear. “You’re not a robot, you’re human. They can’t make you do anything you don’t want to.”

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, you took three steps back, fighting the urge to break down again. You didn’t need that, you needed to get over your own feelings—figure them out before you lose your own mind trying to fix this mess of a puzzle called you. “Of..of course. I got to go, I-I need some time alone. Thanks, for everything.”

And with that, you turned your back and ran towards your cabin, without looking back.

Luke Castellan, you fucking asshole.

I wish you were here.

[lovelyflowers-world]

Lemon Girl

So I thought about this when listening to Lemon boy by cavetown I think it's pretty good I don't know though

Percy Jackson x Reader

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

There once was a bitter sweet man and they called him lemon boy 

It was never easy being the daughter of Nyx people never seemed to want to be near me because my mother was one of the most feared goddesses she was even feared by Zeus himself.

 So I kept to myself in the garden I planted away from everyone in my own bitterness. Until he came around he was like a dam weed he just wouldn't go away no matter how much I pushed him to go away. 

"I'm Percy. Percy Jackson son of Poseidon"

"(Y/N) daughter of Nyx please go away you're stepping on my carrots" 

He was growing in my garden and I pulled him out by his hair like a weed and like weeds do he only came and grew back again 

It seemed no matter how long or hard I pushed and pushed he was always there waving to me or by my side trying to speak to me 

"What are those?" 

"They're snapdragons" 

"And what are those" 

"Fly traps" 

So I figured this time I might as well let him be 

After awhile I got used to him being around so much it seemed like he just became a part of my routine like clockwork he was there every day after his practices so I thought 'might as well put him to work' 

"Wait so how do I do this?" 

I rolled my eyes "If they've fully blossomed cut them and take out the thorns and put them in the bucket sound simple?"

"okay got it!" 

He never seemed to complain always happy to be there 

Lemon boy and me started to get along together I helped him plant his seeds and we mowed the lawn in bad weather

"So you're just going to dig a small holes about four inches deep and plant your seeds and if we take care of it good enough you'll have a watermelon patch" I looked over to him and smiled 

He smiled back and nodded and got to work. He never seemed to care about all the dirt and bugs he'd had to encounter 

But soon his bittersweet started to rub off on me 

I looked over and saw Clarisse picking on Percy I ran over 

"HEY!" They looked over to me Clarisse was scared as shit "Why don't you go shove your spear up your ass or something Clarisse!" I grabbed Percy and pushed him away as we walked off 

"Thanks" I looked to him and rolled my eyes 

"Yeah well I wasn't doing it for you I was doing it because she almost pushed you into my lilies" I blushed and ran off 

"GET TO WORK SEAWEED BRAIN!" 

I found out that my friends are more of the savory type and they weren't too keen on compromising with a nice lemon pie

"why are you hanging out with her?!" 

I looked over and saw Percy talking to Annabeth they looked to me and I looked away 

"She's nice I actually really like hanging out with her" 

"She's bad news Percy her mom is the goddess of night of darkness!" 

I sighed and walked further away I knew this day would come he'd leave soon enough 

"Hey I picked the oranges you asked for" 

I looked over and he was smiling at me...maybe he wasn't going to leave 

But what if I run out of fertilizer?

"Idiot! Be careful!" 

I grabbed onto Percy's hand pressing a towel against it he cut himself on a knife cutting off a piece of orange for himself 

"Aw does the big bad bitter (Y/n) care about me?" 

I rolled my eyes and applied more pressure than necessary on his wound and walked away 

"As if I'd care about you seaweed brain" 

What if the clouds run out of rain?

"You're going on a quest?" 

"Yeah it shouldn't take long we're just going to track down a demigod who needs help" 

I looked at him I was concerned what if Percy didn't come back I'd be all alone again I'd loose the only friend I've had in my fifteen years of being here 

"Hey don't worry I'll be okay I have Annabeth and Grover to help me" 

He smiled and I nodded he hugged me I was so surprised 

"take care of my watermelon patch" 

I rolled my eyes and pat his back and sighed 

"You better come back or else I'll rip your your watermelon patch and plant a lemon tree" 

He laughed oh gods please let him come back home safely 

What if Lemon boy won't grow no longer?

It's been a month and Percy hasn't come back I've been more worried than I ever have been as I continued to cut the roses I heard footsteps 

"(Y/N) here Chiron asked me to deliver this to you" 

I turned around and saw a child of Hermes hand me a letter sealed with a brown envelope I smiled up at them they looked stunned 

"Thank you" 

I got up and walked away 

"Did she just tell you thank you?!" 

"Oh my gods" 

"Percy definitely changed her" 

I rolled my eyes and walked into my cabin and looked at the letter reading the name 

"Percy" 

What if beaches dry of sugar cane?

Run. 

That was the only thing on my mind as I ran in the rain my clothing soaked to the max I could care less about that I had only one thing on my mind 

"PERCY!" 

I ran toward the med cabin 

The whales start to beach themselves

People were trying to push me back keeping me from going inside 

"STOP! STOP I HAVE TO SEE HIM!" 

I pushed them all back and ran into Chiron we just stood silent in front of each other it was like I was communicating with him 'please I have to see him' 

He moved aside 

Tortoise shells tear away from their spines

I walked up to his bed slowly Grover and Annabeth by his sides looked to me 

"We're sorry (Y/n) we tried to stop him but he was trying to protect the new demigod and..and he got hurt" 

It happens all the time, it happens all the time

I don't even know who was talking to me I was too busy staring at Percy his body battered and bruised a large gash on his stomach that was bandaged 

They up to me patting me on the shoulder and walked away to leave me alone with him I walked up to his side and fell to my knees hugging his waist crying into it 

"Percy..Percy you stupid idiot you said you'd be safe"

Lemon Boy and I, we're gonna live forever

I woke up to the sound of Percy taking a deep breath I moved away from him and he looked at me confused 

"(Y/N)?" 

I wasted no time in hugging him I was crying even harder than last night 

"Percy! Percy you idiot I told you to be safe! What the hell!?" 

He chuckled and hugged me back tightly he moved me back a bit to look me in the eyes 

"I thought you didn't care about me?" 

I smiled and shook my head 

Like Snufkin and Little My, we'll get around wherever

Me and Percy were walking through camp flowers in hand handing them out to people my roses grew beautifully this season all thanks to Percy 

"Imagine that Percy Jackson and (Y/n) (L/n)?" 

"She seems a lot less bitter with him around" 

"I like it" 

I smiled and walked closer to Percy bumping my shoulder with his 

"where to next seaweed brain?" 

Lemon Boy and I, we're gonna live forever

Me and Percy were running around past curfew laughing hand in hand  

"Percy where are we going?!" 

"You'll see" 

He looked back at me for a moment before looking forward again running faster I laughed louder 

"Percy hold on!" 

Like Snufkin and Little My, we'll get around wherever

We stopped at my garden under my lemon tree there was a nice picnic set out 

"Percy? is this-" 

"For us? Yes yes it is" 

He dragged me to the blanket and sat me down handing me a plate 

"Lemon pie?" 

"I know it's your favorite" 

I blushed and looked away embarrassed I looked up to sky the stars and moon looked beautiful 

"They're not as beautiful as you" 

I probably looked like a cherry now jeez this boy is going to kill me 

It's actually pretty easy being nice to a bitter boy like him

Me and Percy were working in the garden when a few other people came around 

"Hey can we help you (Y/n)?" 

"Yeah I want to help too!" 

"Can you teach me how to care for my plants they're starting to die" 

I was getting overwhelmed by all the talk happening that's when Percy stepped in 

"Hey back off my girlfriend will you one at a time" 

'Girlfriend!?' 

Cause we're the bitterest boys in town

Me and Percy were sitting by the lake watching the sunset He leaned his head on my shoulder 

"So about what happened earlier- I didn't mean to call you my girlfriend- I mean not that I would mind for you to be my girlfriend I would love that- but of course you have a choic-" 

Cause we're the bitterest boys in town

I kissed him and once I pulled away I looked at him and smiled 

"I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend Percy" 

I leaned my head on his shoulder as I looked back to the sunset I heard him sigh in relief 

"cool" 

He leaned his head on top of mine 

Yeah I definitely got used to him and I don't regret it 

And I got myself a citrus friend

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Go check out my fanfiction Riptide on wattpad link in my page <3

[winterrrnight]

meet me in the hallway prompt 8???? With Zach???

oh vee darling I am so sorry how late I am to this! I hope you really really enjoy this :( and again, super sorry on me being so damn late, and thank you so so much for being so patient!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻☹️☹️

just the start

PAIRING: zach maclaren x gn!reader

SUMMARY: you tell your boyfriend of mere one and a half weeks that he is cute.

WARNINGS: fluff, usage of nicknames (very less though), mentions of cheating (not by zach or the reader)

EDITH SPEAKS: and we are done with the celly requests!! I absolutely failed this time in keeping up with them and I am so sorry about that :( I will definitely make sure this doesn’t repeat <3 I hope you all enjoy reading 💞 please reblog and share your thoughts 🌛

PROMPT REQUESTED: "you're so cute." "what did you say?" "I said you look like a boot."

300 followers celebration (now closed) || navigation

You’re sitting in the library of your university, completely relaxed as you read a book you just picked. You had a long study session and that definitely caused a little bit of a headache; constant staring at your laptop screen along with having to use your brain to complete a tough assignment, you were finally done, now giving your mind some much needed relaxation.

Your almost empty iced coffee sits in front of you, the diluted remains left in it as you still slurp onto the now flavorless liquid. It’s peaceful, almost no one in the library except you, the window next to you open as the sun enters inside and the breeze gently blows.

You’re having a great time; wonderful time actually, until it all comes to an end when you hear your boyfriend call you out, way too loudly in the library.

“Zach!” You shush as he approaches you, a big smile on his face. “Keep it down, the librarian isn’t the nicest,”

Zach only rolls his eyes and sits down in the chair next to you, wrapping his arm around you and pulling you in closer. You guys are at the mere start of your relationship, only one and a half weeks, but you have got to say, you really like it.

“So now I’m not allowed to miss my girl hm?” He teases, pressing a kiss to your cheek. You ignore the rising heat in your cheeks and keep your focus on your book, even though your body is now even more relaxed as you slump against him.

As it is just the mere start, the smallest kisses, touches, and compliments make you go absolutely crazy on the inside. But you know he is the one of the best you have ever experienced it with.

“How was practice?” You ask softly, eyes not training up from the inked pages.

“It was good… scored over five goals today,” he grins. You giggle softly as you look up at him, gently pinching his cheek.

“That’s great Zach,” you smile, before training down back to your book. He rests his head on top of yours, the only sound being your light breathing and the occasional flipping of the pages.

“Oh my god, do you want to know what happened today?” He says almost suddenly. “I’ve got some real gossip,” his eyes are wide, and as you look up, you can see the excitement in them.

“Yeah why not,” you smile. You look back at your book, and continue to listen to him whilst you also read.

“Okay so you remember Brandon right?”

“The captain of your team?”

“Yeah that’s the one. And do you remember his girlfriend?”

“Clarisse?”

“Yup yup yup, so…” he takes a deep breath, “Clarisse literally cheated on him at the party two days ago. Like full on made out with this dude from her Latin class or somethin’ like that, and she keeps on denying it, she is all like, “well I was really drunk and didn’t know what I was doing!”, and Brandon’s like, “can you shut up please? You very well know what you did,” and then Clarisse is like, “no I will not shut up!” She has such a bitchy attitude and for what? And today, at the practice, she kept on following him like a lost puppy, always apologizing, being all “i’m sorry Brandon baby, please forgive me,” and I was just so embarrassed like, that’s not even my girl but I feel for him so bad…”

As he talks, you can’t help but look at him with a soft smile on your face as you watch him talk so efficiently about the fresh gossip. He has his arguments set, and he’s defending Brandon like anything, but that’s not where your focus is at.

You look at his light blue eyes, which seem an ethereal shade of blue as the sunlight falls on them, you see his eyebrows slightly furrowed, you see the small creases on his forehead, you see the way he is using his hands to gesture to make his point, you see his soft lips which you have such a desire to have on yours keep on talking, and you can’t help but sigh at the beautiful boy in front of you.

“... so then he literally screamed at her to leave him alone, and she ran away crying.” He finishes, and turns to look at you. He’s taken aback by the expression on your face, a soft smile accompanying your soft eyes, as you can’t help but admire him.

“What are you looking at?” He mutters as his eyes lock with yours. He nervously moves his hand over his face. “Do I, do I have something on my face?”

You laugh softly as you shake your head. “No, you don’t have anything on your face… you’re so cute,”

His eyes slightly widen at your words, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. In your very short time of dating, this is the first time you’ve called him cute.

“What did you say?” He whispers.

Your own cheeks warm up more, and you realize you called him ‘cute’. It is just a small compliment, but having just been together a mere one and a half weeks, it is definitely one heck of a compliment.

“I…” you mutter, as you look back at your book, “I said you look like a boot.”

He bursts out laughing, softly shaking his head at you as he can’t keep his giggles in. “I know what you said baby,” he smiles. “Thank you for that. I think you are adorable,” he leans in to press another kiss on your cheek. Your cheeks flare up even more at his movements as you dare not look up from your book, trying to show him that this does not even affect you one bit, when in reality, you are going crazy, and he knows it.

Just one and a half weeks, and he knows you better than anyone else.

What could be better than that?

↶ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷ ˊˎ-

TAGLIST: @runningfrom2am @saccharinesammie @maybankslover @totalswag @madelynie @chenslucy @ietss @elle-mp3 @viawritesstuff @wallsdreams @lunalitva @sadfury @newsies-pape-girl @jamesbuckybarneswify @xxxlaura @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @callsignwidow @assmaaaaa @starkowswife @drewstarkeyswifehoe @jjchaer @f4ll-for-you @wearemadeofstardust0 @drewsmusee @rafegirly @addriaenne @leighbronk @rafesdrew @bejeweledreverie @raf3sgff @aerangi @drewstarkey1bae @moneymaybank

[punkeropercyjackson]

My audhd brain won't stop telling me to do a full breakdown of the parallels between Percy and Hobie so i will.Alright,let's do this one last time!

Troubled but good kids

Afro-dominican New Yorker/Jamaican-English(NY and England are where punk first started)

Anarchists,proffessional instigators,always helping out around communities(it's implied Percy participated in Rachel's protests and charities with her)and looking out for the little guy

So they're actual punks instead of just EdgyTM douchebags because they wanna do the right thing no matter what

No masking game autistics

Trans femmes who come across as masc only to normies

Chillaxed and super kind and love cute shit and people but also have major street credit,a huge edge and strong as fuck backbones and the reason they're so kind is that their childhood was beyond brutal so as they grew up they decided to be the positive older figure in younger people's lives they didn't take to have to the point they turned into Team Dad's

The EXACT same sense of humor

Blue-coded

Alt music lovers

Expressions are always either super intimidating or meme worthy goofy

Pet supernatural dog(Spidermutt and Mrs O'Leary)

Widely regarded as the coolest ever in-universe and correctly so but they're huge dorks when you get down to it but that only makes them even cooler-They were this cool the whole time

6'something with guitarist hands and described as so attractive it's shocking

Go by a nickname instead of their full name and have a common black surname

Oldest and most experienced heroes in their main casts

Hobie's dad is a deadbeat who left him as a baby to do supernatural shit

'I'm not a role model' 'I hate the a.m,i hate the p.m,i hate labels' 'I don't believe in consistency' / 'Was i a troubled kid?Yeah,you could say that' 'I AM impertenent' 'The sea does not like to be restrained'

'Calling yourself a hero makes you self-mythologizing'Hello???????????

Gwen is the Hazel to Hobie's Percy.She's a younger trans girl with a ghost motif who's a pastel ray of sunshine and runs her mouth as much as they do and has a dead mom,an abusive corrupted figure dad and their own impressive experiences in heroism before meeting them

Nico is another teen Ghostkid who Percy gifted a Ramones shirt and gave shelter to multiple times when he was homeless because Hades/Pluto is as much of a fucking cunt as George Stacy is.Nico is also a Miles kinnie because he's an optimistic softboy who's nerdy,a fast food lover and a lot stronger than he gives himself credit for and Percy is the big brother mentor to him the fandom thinks Hobie is to Miles(Nah fr Hobie and Miles are ambigious but Percy's canonically a grown ass man and Nico's Miles' age,P*rcicos pack it up and get over that your ship only works for transfem Percy proof)

Karl=Jason(the cooler St*ve R*gers,the actual voice of reason on the team but just as unhinged as the rest of them,very nice guy vibes and Hobie's righthand),Riri=Annabeth(Black girl genius who takes no shit but is still written as a person instead of a stereotype)and Mattea=Clarisse(red-coded,rowdy tomboy and war paint)

Mayday and Margo are basically just Estelle and Rachel,Jessica makes a pretty convincing Sally and Miguel reminds me of Poseidon but especially when he's interacting with Hobie

Sarcastic troublemaker smiles i've always found endearing(Rip to Annabeth but i'm different)(Also for Hobie i mean this platonically)

Immaculate rizz that's mostly unintentional but reaches critical levels when on purpose

Cocky asf and self-loathing at the same time

That one scene of Hobie leaving Gwen a Watch with the 'In case it don't work out' note with a lil doodle of him on it after getting her dad's ass/Percy sending the Olympians Medusa's head in a box after slaying her with a note saying 'Best wishes' to spite them

Goofy ahh who are nonetheless taken seriously cause Watch Out

They even both have terrible singing voices

And technically not the same thing but Hobie's also pink-coded so they're cotton candy colors and with Percy's white streak they can be the trans flag too!!

[a-french-coconut]

Drew Tanaka (Part 2)

On August 18th, the Empire State Building turns blue and the Titan Army accepts its defeat. Victories cries can be heard throughout all Manhattan because they won and Drew savors the sight of Lacy, Mitchell, Heloise and Thomas hugging each other, basking in the fact that they all survived. They celebrate with the other demigods they encounter as all the survivors, some carrying their dead, head back to the Plaza Hotel, the hastily designed headquarters. When they arrive, the hall is full of injured demigods and packed in a corner lay the shrouds. The mix of golden, silver, grey and all the other would have been a beautiful sight if it wasn’t for the friends and siblings laying behind them. 

The world goes silent when Drew glimpses a pink shroud in the mass. She freezes, air stop circulating and her heart skips a few beats.

It’s a mistake. It’s a mistake. None of her siblings died, she made of sure of it. 

Lacy, Thomas, Heloise and Mitchell are all here with her and Silena is with Cla—

She is proven right when she hears whispers of the girl warrior dragging a drakon behind her. Her cries of rage and grief echo in city

the stubborn daughter of war loves Silena as much as she does.

There is only one reason for Clarisse’s grief

Drew runs to the shrouds and lift off the pink veil. A deafening scream tear her throat as Silena’s acid-burnt eyes meet hers. 

The room is spinning (they all survived). 

Her throat hurts, her head hurts, everything hurts. 

Someone is taking her away from her sister and telling to “shut the fuck up Tanaka, you’re going to make someone deaf.”. She looks up to find Clarisse holding her and looking at her with the most sympathy the daughter of war can muster for someone who isn’t Will Solace or Silena. How can she stand while Drew feels like she’ll throw up if she even tries ? 

“How ?” 

Silena never liked when Drew used charmspeak on someone for her own benefits (what does it matter now ? she’ll never reprimand her again). 

Drew has to refrain herself from cursing Clarisse when she finds out Silena is dead because of the stupid pride of the girl. Her sister led the Ares campers knowing full well she could not kill the drakon. 

Why, Why would her sister kill herself ? 

“She felt guilty for Beckendorf’s death.” 

Clarisse answers the question Drew had not realized she had verbalized, eyes still glazed in pink. Why the Hades would her sister feel responsible for—

The realization comes with a pang of pain right in her heart, as if someone just stabbed her (maybe someone did). 

“Charlie is— oh Drew I… it’s all my fault but he told me he—"

(Hey there was someone before Beckendorf remember ? The tall boy with a scar on his face ? The one Silena used to gush about until—, until… wait no what am I saying ? Silena only loved Charles) 

Her brain feels like Athena is going to come out from it. Memories of Silena and Luke Castellan laughing and whispering behind the cabins flash brightly and darkens just as fast. Why did she only remember now ? 

Her eyes wander to Silena and the answer is painfully clear : because the one who charmspoke her into forgetting is dead and so is her magic. 

There’s a traitor. 

someone told him they were coming.

There’s a traitor, there’s a fucking traitor who wants them all dead, they killed Beckendorf, they probably killed Lee and Castor and they will kill everyone else if Drew doesn’t find who it is. 

There’s a scorching inferno in her heart. She never suspected she could hate someone she doesn’t know with such passion. 

Silena is the sister Drew loves and adores. 

Silena is the traitor. 

The only thing she hears is her heart pounding. 

Everything is too much, too much thinking, too much feelings, too much people around, telling her intelligible nonsense about “a hero’s death… Silena did the right thing at the end…”.

Drew wants to scream at them to shut up because the last thing she wants is to think about Silena Beauregard. 

She has never been the kind to cry in front of people and she’s not going to begin now, certainly not for a murderer sister. She’ll deal with this later, alone in her cabin’s bathroom. She’ll just have to wait until her siblings are taken to dinner (by who darling?) and join them later (you’re the oldest now honey), babbling some excuse about fixing her makeup. 

I’m the oldest.

I’m the new head counsellor. 

Drew wonders how much shock she can take before crumbling. She reached her limits apparently because tears are threatening to spill. She gets up, pushes away Clarisse, Will who has come to see if she was alright, and her crying siblings. As soon as she gets out of the Hotel, she lets her tears fall. 

            The ride back to Camp is even worse than going to Manhattan. Everyone has a vacant seat next to them, everyone is tired from the three constant days of battle and tensions are high. She can see Kayla shooting daggers with her eyes at the Ares Cabin, not one meeting her glare, the daughter of Apollo holds a bow tightly clutched in her arms while Will snores loudly on her elbow. Travis and Connor are seated together, murmuring and sometimes glancing at her. She refuses to meet their eyes despite knowing that those two are very well experienced in discovering that your older sibling is a cold-hearted child killer. 

Thinking of Silena transforms her heart in a turmoil of emotions. When she came back in the hotel after her little breakdown Drew went straight to her sister’s body and lifted off the shroud entirely, revealing in a macabre beauty the ravages done on her sister. Her face has been the most altered by the acid but some has trickled down her arms and torso, creating a pattern on the skin. Drew found what she wanted on her sister’s left wrist. 

A single charm bracelet, a little silver gleaming scythe.  

The object burns through her jacket’s pocket. She is well aware that she should not have taken it but she could not, for a reason she cannot explain, bring herself to let it on Silena, fated to burn alongside her sister. 

As the oldest and closest sister to Silena, Drew should have been the one to deliver one final speech about her but she has given the honor to Clarisse instead. She doesn’t trust herself not to break down in front of everyone and besides, what does she have to say about Silena ?

She braided my hair ? Talked with me about Sasha ? Killed Sasha ? Conspired with Luke to invade Camp and then felt guilty when she blew up her boyfriend ?

She smiles bitterly and she knows she made the right choice. 

When she leads her siblings to the Aphrodite Cabin, Drew has no other choice then talk with them about Silena and how it will be Clarisse who will deliver the speech. As expected, Lacy breaks down in tears at the mere mention of their sister, Mitchell frowns but otherwise stays silent but Heloise and Thomas protest. 

“Why aren’t you doing it ?” 

Because I know you don’t share my opinion about Silena, none of camp does. 

She heard the whispers on the way back. 

“A hero” 

“Sacrificed herself, so noble” 

“I hope she goes to Elysium.” 

“She was just manipulated by Castellan, poor girl having her heart twisted like that” 

She hasn’t heard anyone calling her a traitor or even just a little resentment and Drew is smart enough to know that her opinion won’t be appreciated or valued. 

Instead of telling the truth to her brothers and sisters, Drew just shrugs and tell them she always felt Silena liked Clarisse more than her. 

A first wall builds around her heart, hiding her truth from the others. 

Despite her hatred towards the traitor, Drew still loves Silena and allows herself to cry in public when they burn her body. Clarisse painted her sister as a noble hero dying for the right cause, realizing she had been manipulated by Luke and giving her life to right her wrongs. In her eyes and therefore the campers’ eyes, Silena Beauregard is hero. 

In Drew’s eyes, Silena Beauregard is a girl with kind rotting blues eyes and a scythe charm on her arms, standing on Lee’s, Castor’s, Michael’s bodies (and so many more) looking at her with a bright bloodied smile, a brush in one hand and a dagger in the other. 

In Drew’s eyes, Silena Beauregard is a girl with blood on her hands, an apathetic smile and the most beautiful laugh she has ever heard. 

In Drew’s eyes, Silena Beauregard is the person she loved and hates the most. 

She doesn’t stay at the campfire for long, warns Heloise she’s going back to the cabin and that she’s in charge to bring the rest before curfew. The minute she hits her bed, Drew falls asleep. 

She’s in the strawberry’s fields. The fruit’s sweet scent fills the air, birds are chirping somewhere over her head, the sky is a bright blue, the sun heating her skin in a way that makes her sleepy. 

It’s peaceful. 

“Drew, sweetheart!” 

Of course. Even in her dreams Silena will haunt her. 

She turns around expecting to see a horrible corpse but her sister is alive, her blue eyes alight, her smile wide. She’s just her Silena, not the traitor she became. 

“Oh darling, they’re always been the same !” 

Her sister laughs, a terrible shrilling noise and advances towards her. 

Drew can’t move. 

“Sooo, how did it went with Sasha ? You guys had fun ?” 

Silena smiles as if she wasn’t the one who told Luke the camp’s weaknesses and killed the boy in doing so. Her now bloody hands leave red patches on the grass. 

“I never intended for him to die Drew.” 

 Tears fall from Silena’s face and Drew believes her. 

It’s too confusing to hate and grief someone at the same time. Especially with the passion Drew feels when she thinks of Silena. 

Leave me alone please. 

Silena stills right in front of her. Her pink shroud rests on her shoulders as a cape and her face slowly gets eaten away by the acid falling from the sky. She leans towards her and murmurs in her ear. 

“Never.”

Drew opens her eyes and stumbles as quickly and quietly as she can to the bathroom. Once she is in there, she slides down on the cold floor. She can hear the birds chirping in the real world this time, meaning it must be around five in the morning. 

The tears sliding down her face bring her a weird comfort. They’re the physical representation of her grief and it feels nice to grief Silena here when she doesn’t allow herself to do it outside. Already enough people mourn Silena. 

She knows her refusal to do the speech gave away a little of her true feelings towards her sister. She felt the judgmental glares from the others all day long and it had been infuriating. 

Why isn’t she allowed to deem Silena a traitor but all the others can make Luke the villain ? Her sacrificial ending is enough but his isn’t ? 

Why could they not let her feel the way she wants to ? How dare they assume they knew better emotions than the daughter of Love herself ? 

Drew lets out a small maniac giggle. She can’t wait to see their reactions when the next time someone dare paint Silena all in white, she’ll make it black. 

From the other side of the door, one of her siblings stirs up from their bed. They are going to want to use the bathroom and they will not see the mess she is. Drew gets up, sits in front of the mirror and while she applies her makeup carefully, she swears she will not let anyone get as close to heart as Silena did.

A second wall shelters her heart from the world.

part 3 posted !

[botlabyrinth]

OKAY PERCY JACKSON EPISODE 6 THOUGHTS (long post)

i was definitely a bit weary of the big changes: the fact that the summer solstice deadline passed and that percy gets 4 pearls. but after thinking about it for a while i think im actually okay with it!! first of all, its making the show interesting for book readers bc they caught me off guard and now we don’t 100% know how it’s going to play out lol

but also, i like that the deadline passing raises the stakes a bit more. the fact that percy still wants to go get the bolt from the underworld, just shows how committed he’s become to the actual goal of the quest and starting to embrace his demigod side. and it’s going to make his trip to olympus at the end so much riskier & dangerous considering a whole war is literally about to start. so im okay with this

and then the 4 pearls: i still don’t think they’re going to be able to take sally with them out of the underworld. something is definitely going to happen to 1 of the pearls, it’s going to get lost in the chaos of them making it to hades’ palace or SOMETHING because a big part of the prophecy is “fail to save what matters most in the end”. they have to leave sally behind and i think it’s going to be so much more heartbreaking that percy HAD 4 pearls and HAD the chance to save his mom but they lost 1 along the way so then they’ll have to make the tough decision and TRULY fail to save what matters most… bc in the book it’s not even really an option since he only gets 3 pearls

obviously i could be wrong about that lol but i don’t think there’s any way they don’t leave sally behind because she’s not there on the beach when they’re about to fight ares, which is where they are directly after the underworld (unless they’ve switched the order around but idk how that would work)

other than that I LOVED EVERYTHING with the trio, the bestieism continues and i love it. you can really see the shift in percy and annabeth’s dynamic after the last episode it’s so cute. the little grover and percy moments were so sweet too, their convos felt RIGHT out of the books to me. also MORE SEAWEED BRAIN AND WISE GIRL!!!

LOVE the dream sequence bc it felt so book accurate, we do get a lot of percy witnessing other people’s convos through his dreams and this is the first time we’ve seen it in the show, it was great

luke immediately jumping at the chance to blame clarisse for stealing the bolt in the iris message lol im laughing

more luke/annabeth sibling set up AND hermes and may and luke backstory set up??? i was NOT expecting that so early on but im deeply obsessed

the whole hermes situation was also great… i can’t believe it but i liked LMM’s performance?? i think he sold it really well. again im so excited to be getting these convos about hermes and luke so early on because it is such a key part to the end of the series.

the conversation with percy and the nereid and the way percy reacts to thinking the quest failed??? the way he refuses to give up?? the nereid saying they all see so much of poseidon in him??? i’m unwell

crying at annabeth pick pocketing hermes, the literal god of thieves, that’s my girl fr

the entire cab driving sequence was just so funny. peak comedy, and brought some lightheartedness to the episode that i think was very needed. the new yorker in percy really came out in that scene lmao

there was just SO MANY hilarious moments of dialogue and jokes between the trio i feel like this episode captured the essence of their dynamic from the books so well

overall LOVED it, wish it was longer, and i’m curious to see how they finish it off in the next 2 episodes. i’m trying my best to hold back the criticism for any changes until we’ve seen the whole season, because i think most complaints people have from this ep will probably just be fixed or addressed in the next 2 lol

[finchesslingshott]

AH YES THE LONG-AWAITED GREAT GATSBY CAST ALBUM NOTES FROM FINCH READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

roarin’ on - 10/10

this song has literally been on loop since it first came out

has zero right to be this much of a banger

lives in my head rent free

oh nick carraway the man you are

“tonight lets misbehaaaaaave” scratches my brain in just the right way

WHERES THE PARTY AND CAN YOU TAKE ME THERE ANDDD WHEN THE PARTYS OVER CAN YOU FIND ANOTHER PARTY SOMEWHEREEEE

harmonies my beloved

“turns out: manhattan is expensive!” nick carraway laugh line era is so good

“with his arms spread to the SKYYYYYYYYY” oh i love tenors so much

nick’s speaking voice is so silly i love it he’s just a little guy

the ensembles little “oh oh oh oh”s make me so happy

ORCHESTRA MARRY ME

NICKS TENOR RANGE GOOD GRAVY IT NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME

absolute rose - 7.5/10

the ukulele goes crazy

jordan’s dialogue is so silly what a woman

DAISYS LITTLE GIGGLE IM GONNA DIE

ew tom i visibly frowned

ORCHESTRA I LOVE YOU

tom no one likes you shut your face

oh daisy’s voice what a woman

new money - 8.7/10

OK GET IT THIS BEAT IS SO GOOD WHAT THE HECK

samantha pauly i love you

AAA CHROMATIC SCALE MY EYES ACTUALLY WIDENED

its almost like 80s core as well as having that 20s swing and i love it

WOLFSHEIM!!!! HEY POOKS (my favorite minor character he doesnt get talked about enough)

“who’s the teahcer?” “thats nick carraway”

the rumors section oh my goodness i literally cant ensemble i literally love you

“do you believe thay about mr gatsby?” “WHAAT?”

oh jordan your speaking voice dear

JORDANNNN

for her - 9.5/10

ITS OUR BOY LADS OH MY GOSH

oh orchestra oh lyrics oh jeremy

“daisyyyy” IM CRYING

the smooth switches between falsetto and full chest voice just adds to the emotion

ORCHESTRAAAAAA

OH ITS THE PART FROM TIKTOK

ok enunciation and emotion get it jeremy

LITERALLY IN ACTUAL TEARS OH MY WORD JEREMY

oh strings you and your tremolo are killing me over here

“now she has TOOOOO KNOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW ITS ALLLL FOR HERRRRRRRRRRRRRR”

valley of ashes - 7.5/10

this beat is so cool oh my gosh 

who is this singing??? i cant tell??? 

OHHHH ITS THAT GUY HEY WILSON

talking to the billboard of the doctors eyes is actually a detail i had headcanoned when i originally read the book and this is actually making me so happy

oh wilson and his wife (whos name i forgot)

“youve got the eyes of God / if God needed glasses”

that was actually so cool what

way too short

second-hand suit - 8.7/10

im loving the ukulele content in this musical 100/10

this role is so clarisse la rue from the lightning thief and i love it

the mood and beat change when she starts talking about tom is insane

the drum beat is so cool what

i cant remember her name for the life of me what is wrong with me

I LOVE THIS OMW NEW DREAM ROLE

for better or worse - 9.5/10

oh no oboe (?) solo i know im gonna start crying 

“and to learn that my soldier has returned / its both a blessing and a curse / is it for better or for worse?”

literally just texted my voice teacher demanding (/j) to work on this song 

“and not to thinkkk about the PAAAAAAST”

oh my gosh wow hold on crying what the flip

somehow “once upon a december” coded

OH OH OH OH NO OH NO

i think my soul just left my body

the met - 8.5/10

AWESOME BASS LINE I’M ALREADY SOLD

MYRTLE THATS HER NAME DEAR GOODNESS I THOUGHT IT WAS LIKE MIRIAM OR MARY OR SMTH 

woah mr mckees voice makes him more creepy than he alr was in the book

“i need a dose of culture / and i need a cigarette”

“in the bedroom lighting i’m an eight” is literally insane

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON IN THIS SONG

myrtle’s sister ranking different people is literally so crazy calling gatsby a 5 when he’s literally JEREMY FLIPPING JORDAN

katherine’s myrtle’s sister’s name right???? i’m not crazy???

oh nick carraway you and your internal monologue

myrtle and tom’s fight is literally crazy “dAisY dAIsY dAisY” (SMACK)

nick straight up calling tom an asshole is so crazy i love him for it tbh

OH FUNKY BASS LINE MARRY ME

“yes… please connect me with mr. j. gatsby.” BUHM

this was one of my fav scenes in the book and they portrayed it beautifully i’m literally in love

only tea - 9/10

i love a good jeremy jordan meltdown song

“i am not okay.” me too jeremy its ok pookie

“old sport” HE SAID IT HE SAID THE THING I’M GONNA START CRYING

ok the beat yes oh my gosh the goofy little trumpet slides and ukulele my beloved

“i’m gonna walk into the ocean” jay gatsby stop making me kin you

ok ensemble vocals get it

the voice crack on “cASUal” im in love

his voice cracks in general what a man

poor nick man 

i think jeremy’s playing jay to be bipolar and i’m here for it /hj

green light - 10/10

hoooooo boy ok here we go

this is one of the ones i still havent listened to even though it was released early

the falsetto jeremy you’re killing me here

calling her “daisy faye” instead of “daisy buchanan” is so symbolic of him like seeing her as his instead of legally tom’s

oh eva noblezada what a woman you are

the mood/orchestral change when daisy started singing i’m dead

OH THEYRE SINGING TOGETHER IM GONNA DIE

oh theyre definitely kissing why else would they have this random orchestral break thats somehow so similar to “something to believe in” from newsies

the emotion in their voices urhgjgdjdjdjfjfdjdksoaoeokgkf

the harmoniesss

ooh bet theyre kissing again

THE FINAL NOTE OH MY GOSH

the next “something to believe in” i fear

shady - 7.5/10

UH OH IM EXCITED

MORE WOLFSHEIM CONTENT???

his voice is so cool

he’s so tevye coded i cant even explain how or why but he is

AAAAAAAAA DOUBLE BASS I COULD CRY

this instrumental is killing me goodness gravy

“everybodys a little bit shady / the world keeps spinning if you grease the wheel” goes hard

ensemble vocals go harddddd

better hold tight - 8.7/10

more standup bass i could die

“i think i see the stars aligning / or my standards are my declining”

NICK AND HIS VIBRATO I’M SCREAMING

“what you did might be taboo / but i like that look on you” 

i need my next (if any) boyfriend to be a tenor so he can sing this with me

SCREAMING I LOVE THEM

past catching up to me - 9.5/10

oh jerjor your precious little voice can you marry me yet

“she kissed me and swore she’d never stray / then the world got in the way”

this is the new tenor song along with santa fe and great expectations

GET IT DRUMS WOO GO ORCHESTRA

THE KEY CHANGE. OH MY GOSH.

HAD NO RIGHT HITTING ME WITH A C5 (?) JEREMY POOKIE WHAT

ENSEMBLE VOCALS JUST ADD TO IT ALDKGKFKSKSKRKFKDSA

la dee dah with you - 8.5/10

ok just from the orchestral stuff its alr a banger

this is the big tap number right????

whos singing??? this isnt jordan??? is this just an nyc girl from annie type situation?

i’m confused but its a banger so i dont care

oh im so sure the choreo is so impossibly good

YES THE TAPS LETS FLIPPING GO AKDKFLFLSLERLGLDLSKA

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

yep this is it this is what i wanna do with my life

the ensemble hootin and hollerin just adds to it

TOO SHORT.

go - 8.7/10

YAY ANOTHER MENTAL BREAKDOWN SONG!

somehow violet beaudelaire x quigley quagmire core if you know what i mean

“if we wait until we’re ready we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives” core

them <333333333

ew tom spoke i hate him

“i love you lets go / before i change my mind”

these harmonies ugh

ORCHESTRA ILY

too short again

made to last - 9/10

is this tom?? i cant tell?????

OH IT IS LETS GO

OH MY GOSH ITS THE GATSBY TOM FIGHT LETS FLIPPING GO

i really wanna see how this is staged…

OK SMOOTH KEY CHANGE

the conflicting vocal parts in the argument im gonna actually die

tom desperately trying to win me over with his vocal parts

oh its so “nonstop” coded im gonna actually die

for better or worse (reprise) - 7.5/10

its my pookies oml

oh samantha pauly your voice

they better kiss

TOO SHORT

one-way road - 9/10

MYRTLE??? OH MY GOSH???

“WATCH THE ROAD ASSHOLE”

“wait what if i become her?”

the callbacks to second hand suit make me happy

yeah no this is my role i’ve claimed it now

i swear the amount of mental breakdown songs in this music i live for it

YES MYRTLE POP OFF

God sees everything - 8.7/10

lets go george pop off king

TOO SHORT WHAT THE FLIP

for her (reprise) - 8/10

YES CELLO YEA STRINGS AAAAAAAAAAAA

can someone love me like jay gatsby loves daisy buchanan

new money (reprise) - 8.3/10

ugh this beat kills me every time i cant even

DSGLAFJKLDSKLD ENSEMBLE I LOVE YOU

my fav reprise by far oh my GOSH

dying dead

TOO SHORT WTFFFF

beautiful little fool - 9/10

prepared to cry alr oh gosh

the whispery quality of her voice rn i’m gonna die eva pls

“It’s a girl the nurse said / and i broke, and i broke”

the piano instrumental killing me jeeeeeeez

“the best thing a girl can be in this world is a beautiful little fool” line taken STRAIGHT from the book and it KILLS me every single time i read it sdjadljksdljafdshlsdfjakdshdfask

oh eva noblezada your VOICE

OHHH THE CALLBACK TO ABSOLUTE ROSE I’M DEAD

ORCHESTRA MARRY ME HODSJGKSLAFKDGLJFADKSGLFAKDHGSLJFADHGS

texting my voice teacher rn

finale: roaring on - 9.5/10

YAY NICK HEY POOKS YOU EAT UP THAT MONOLOGUE KING

this is partially taken from the book uihsialfdjsghkfljdg i’m gonna cry

“I can still see gatsby / standing in silhouette” ok homo /pos

YES TENOR NOTE MY BELOVED

“with infinite hope / that made him fool enough to try / that light across the water was always out of reach / so why do we (x3) keep reaching”

OOOO BEAT CHANGE KILLING ME

YAY ROARING ON ODGJSHOAPLSFJDKGSHDLJFADHSGJJLFAD

DIRECT QUOTES FROM THE BOOK HOLY CRAPPPPPPP

WHERES THE PARTY AND CAN YOU TAKE ME THERRREEEEE-

genuinely in tears oh my GOSH

IN CONCLUSION

SURPRISINGLY cohesive to the book which made me so happy - the direct quotes had me SCREAMINGGGGG

phenomenal cast literally would die to breathe the same air as any of them

dream role is myrtle she sounds like a soprano belter sorry i don’t make the rules

JEREMY. FREAKING. JORDAN.

ORCHESTRA. ENSEMBLE. I LOVE YOU.

[tsarisfanfiction]

A Single Drachma

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Rated: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Friendship Characters: Michael, Clarisse, Chris Alone. Injured. Hunted. Michael doesn't know where he is, but he knows he's running out of time, and he's only got one shot at calling for help. He's got to make it count. I'm a bit late posting it here because rl, but this was a fic written for @pod-together and my podficcer partner for the event was once again the amazing @stereden, who I also worked with for this event last year and once again had an absolute blast with! I pushed the boat out rather further this year in terms of length (there is actually a lot more to this story planned, but it became unrealistic to podfic... that being said I am still hoping to finish writing it at some point, for all that this does currently work as a stand-alone). We both had a lot more free time this year, and we definitely made sure we used it! I've lost count of how many times I've listened to Stereden's various takes on the podfic but it's been so much fun to work with her on this again this year! I was in a massive Michael&Clarisse mood when the event first started, and Stereden is a fantastic enabler who was more than willing to let them be the focus of the plot for our project, so here we are, and I hope you all enjoyed reading and listening to this as much as I did creating it! You can find the podfic to listen to here (go, listen to it! It’s amazing!)

After so long in darkness, the light of the sun was blinding.  Michael’s tolerance for bright lights had always been higher than most, just like his siblings, but as he staggered out onto the street, limping heavily and doing his utmost to ignore the various signals of this fucking hurts different parts of his body were sending to his brain in discordant harmony, his eyes narrowed into a blurry squint.  He stumbled, biting back a curse as his leg protested loudly at the bulk of his weight being forced onto it, and raised a dirty, shaking hand to shade his watering eyes from the worst of the glare.

Where was he?

With a wince he couldn’t hold back, he limped a few steps forwards, impatiently waiting for his eyes to adjust to the brightness, until he almost collided with a wall.  Knocking his shoulder - the less-bad one, the one that was only bruised and not taunting him with fears of dislocation - against it, he awkwardly shuffled until he was leaning heavily against the painted brickwork, shifting his weight until it was off of his right leg.

It still had the audacity to fucking hurt, and Michael could feel his left leg trembling from the strain, less injured but no less exhausted than the rest of his body, but there was nothing he could do about it except lean harder on his shoulder, shoving as much of his weight as possible onto the building.

He needed to keep moving; he knew that.  His arm stung, his newest injury still bleeding sluggishly.  Michael could hear the slow yet steady drip, drip, drip of the liquid onto the ground.  He’d run out of useable fabric to tear into makeshift bandages a while back - his clothes were in tatters, and stained with so many things he didn’t want to think about that using them to wrap an open wound was probably begging for a dose of tetanus, as though he needed any more problems on top of everything he had already.

Leaning against the building was the most relief he’d had in days, though, and Michael was at loathe to give it up.  He glanced towards the sun again, still blindingly bright and near-impossible to look at.  Hi, Dad, he thought, his mental tone somewhere between bitterness and despair.  Apollo hadn’t contacted him for a long time, not since the night before they left for Manhattan, and Michael missed his father’s dream visits.  He didn’t understand why they’d stopped - he’d feared, for a while, that Apollo had fallen to Typhon , that despite the lack of Kronos stomping around suggesting that they’d won the war his father had been lost for good.

Deep down, he still feared that - despite the freak saying things to the contrary - because if it wasn’t true, if Apollo hadn’t been destroyed, then that meant his father had been ignoring all of his pleas for help.

Apollo had been answering him reliably since he was a small kid, before he’d even realised the guy he dreamed about frequently was real and his father.  There was no good reason for him to have stopped.

And yet he had.

Where the fuck are you, Dad? he thought at the sun.  And where the fuck am I?

He lowered his hand, squinting against the bright light of the sun as it inflicted a fresh assault on his eyeballs, and took stock of his surroundings.

It was some sort of side street.  Not enclosed enough to be an alley but no major thoroughfare - Michael could see a busier street, if he squinted against the shadows and too-bright sun hard enough, running perpendicular to the end of the street he was in.  People passed through with purpose, none of them batting an eyelid at a messy, injured demigod leaning against the painted bricks and no doubt leaving some crimson stains behind.  Was that the Mist at work, or was he somewhere where no-one even noticed bleeding teens?

Michael didn’t really care.  Both options were far better than where he’d been, where he was running from.

He needed to keep moving, no matter how much his body protested, but first he needed a plan.  Running blindly wouldn’t help; he hadn’t shaken his pursuers despite his best efforts so far, and he wasn’t naive enough to hope he’d shaken them now, either.  But now that he was out, he had a chance.

His hand tightened its grip around his precious prize, the one small shard of hope that had crossed his path amongst the pain and fear.  Firm edges pressed into his palm in a way that would be almost painful, if his body’s resting pain threshold wasn’t currently up around ten out of ten, a reassurance that he hadn’t lost it, hadn’t dropped it as he ran.

Michael had no weapons.  He had no way to fight off his pursuers, no way to make them stop following him for good.  Hand-to-hand had been out of the question even before the injuries started stacking up; he’d never done well enough in that during training to treat it as anything other than a last, desperate, resort.  Here, where defeat meant getting dragged back to the freak, it was even lower on his list of non-existent options than normal.

But what he did have was one, single golden drachma.  A stroke of luck amongst everything else, because drachma meant communication, and communication meant help.  He could call Chiron, ask the old centaur to send someone his way, and warn him about the freak while he was at it.

Once he knew where he was.

He only had one drachma, one chance to make a call.  He had to make it count.

It didn’t take Michael long to come up with a plan, if it could even be called that.  Step one, find out where he was.  Step two, find a rainbow and make the call.

Don’t get caught in the process.

He’d lingered too long.  He knew he had.  With a groan he forced his body upright again, biting back a scream as his right leg buckled and almost collapsed, and shoved himself away from the wall.  The movement pushed him into a run, one leg in front of the other with no pause to think, for all that they both threatened to crumple beneath him as he staggered forwards, each step sending a bolt of pain up his right leg.

Michael stumbled his way towards the busier street.  He didn’t know if it was a major enough street to have helpful signs like “welcome to”, but it was the best shot he had at finding where he was.

Several times, he almost fell, barely catching himself on the building walls, but he made it to the larger street without picking up any more injuries.

It didn’t have a “welcome to” sign, or any other defining characteristics that might have at least given Michael a clue.   Cars drove past him without a second look, not that Michael intended on getting in one, anyway.  It would be infinitely easier than walking, but the freak had a lot of influence.  Michael couldn’t trust anyone not to be part of his many, many circles.  Until he made contact with Chiron, he couldn’t risk talking to anyone.

The street ran east and west, as straight as an arrow, and Michael barely even had to think before he was turning east, glancing up at the sun as he did so and sending yet another silent and rushed prayer his father’s way.

Apollo had guided him to safety before.  Why couldn’t he do it again?

Passing mortals paid him no more attention on the major street than they had on the side street.  Michael still didn't know if that was due to the Mist concealing the various injuries and blood dripping from hastily wrapped (and in some cases unwrapped) wounds, or if they really just didn't care in this place. Not that the why actually mattered; at least no-one was stopping him.

It was only going to be a matter of time before they found him again, and Michael needed to have figured out where he was and called Chiron by then. If they caught up to him here, he didn’t stand a chance.

The thought spurred his protesting body on, legs screaming and lungs hauling in as much air as they could stand. There had to be some sign, somewhere, to tell him where he was. A café name, roadsigns, billboards. Something.

He reached an intersection just as the lights turned green for the cars. A glance behind him didn’t show any obvious pursuit but Michael couldn’t risk it. He dashed forwards, dodging honking vehicles, and felt his leg buckle halfway across, but he snarled and pushed on, refusing to let it surrender to the break just yet.

Not until he was safe.

It was probably more luck than skill that got him across without being knocked down by a irate driver, but Michael didn't pause when his feet met the sidewalk once more, leaving the cacophony of chaos behind him as he kept running.  His lungs were starting to burn; no demigod endurance could keep going forever, and Michael had been fleeing for days, weeks, he didn’t even know.  He’d long since lost track of time.

There were more than a few near-misses with crashing into mortals on the street, his legs not quite up for intense manoeuvrability and reliant mostly on other people getting out of his way, and more side streets crossed - more than one involving a game of chicken with cars and the accompanying soundtrack of blaring horns and swearing drivers - but Michael didn’t let himself stop.  Couldn’t stop.

Where was he?

His eyes scanned the streets as he ran, desperately searching for any sign, a familiar name to latch onto, but his dyslexia kept jumbling anything that might be helpful and he didn’t dare stop long enough to decipher it.  He couldn’t hear any pursuit yet, but he knew with a certainty deep inside his bones that they’d come.  If he hadn’t lost them in there, he wouldn’t lose them here.

Another intersection - complete with more cars and horns, and Michael almost collapsing in the middle of the asphalt as his leg buckled alarmingly - and the buildings sharply receded on the other side of the street, leaving a large lawned area with a broad paved path leading directly up to an impressive building.  People milled about, sitting on the edge of the cacti-infested planter that ran up the middle of the path, signifying it as a public place, and Michael made a snap decision.

It was the first thing he’d seen that seemed like it could tell him where he was, and further down the street he could see a fountain.

He clutched the drachma tighter, certain it had to be leaving jagged red marks in his skin, and ploughed across the street, his run disintegrating into more of a rapid limp as he dragged himself towards the building.  There were words emblazoned above what was clearly the entrance, and flapping banners covering the outside of the second floor windows, more images than words.

When he drew to a stop outside, chest tight with pain and almost all his weight on his left leg, which trembled frantically as it desperately tried to bear it, he blinked at the large words, willing them to arrange themselves in a way that made sense.

AZRINOA STATE MEUSUM

No, that wasn’t right.

Arizona State Museum.

Arizona.

Michael had never been to Arizona before in his life, but the state name triggered an immediate memory of crackling spears and loud, abrasive words.

Clarisse.

He’d had a lot of time to think, while the freak had him.  Time to get angry at the daughter of Ares, time to shout and curse her existence, to blame her for the battle going wrong, for the hellhounds tearing Nathan apart, for the shockwave that had sent half his siblings cascading off the shaking bridge-

But then time to go hollow, time to remember that the Ares cabin was never going to be stationed with the Apollo cabin, that the deaths wouldn’t have been prevented.

Time to realise that it wasn’t Clarisse’s fault.  That in the grand scheme of things, their argument had been petty and inconsequential.

Gods, but the Fates had a sense of humour, dropping him in Arizona, of all places.

Michael didn’t know which city held the state museum, if it was Phoenix or Tucson or somewhere else entirely, but… Clarisse would know.

Clarisse, for all that they’d never got on, had always been a strong leader.  She might hate him, might have told him she hoped he died (and he almost had and that still stung, a little), but she was prepared for trouble and Michael had never seen her without at least two visible weapons on her.

Hades, he’d been on the receiving end of them a few times, when their arguments got too heated.  Lee, and Emily before him, had always told him off whenever he landed in the infirmary again after a fight with her.

The drachma felt heavy in his hand.

Michael turned away from the museum and pushed his body to start moving again, a walk that turned into a jog until he dragged it into a full run again, leg screaming in agony but something almost like hope starting to bloom in his chest.

He just had to reach the fountain.  The Arizonian sun blazed down above him; there had to be a rainbow shimmering in the droplets somewhere, and then he could call for help.

The back of his neck prickled as his staggered run took him out of the museum grounds and back onto the street, and the blooming hope stuttered before it had much of a chance to grow.  He threw a glance down the street, back the way he’d come, even as he pressed forwards towards the fountain, glistening in the sunlight.  No sign of pursuit, but that didn’t mean anything.  Michael hadn’t survived this long by not listening to his instincts, and the sudden tenseness at the top of his spine told him he had to run.

So he ran.

Jagged agony shot up his broken leg as he pushed it further, stumbling but refusing to fall even when tears of pain started leaking from the corners of his eyes and his breathing took on a whine of desperation that rang in his ears.

He almost crashed into the edge of the fountain, hands reaching forwards to brace himself against it and absorbing the impact.  The drachma in his hand dug in deeply enough Michael wouldn’t have been surprised if it had drawn blood, but he’d take that a thousand times over dropping it now, so close to being able to use it.

Exposed and with no cover, if he lost it and the cry for help it afforded him now, it would be over for him.

Dashing away the tears of pain with the back of his hand, and wincing as the salt stung open scratches, he glared at the fountain, desperately searching for the glimmer of colour that had to be there, somewhere.  The sun and the falling droplets of water were present, he just had to find -

There.

It was halfway around the fountain from where he’d stopped, and he clawed his way around the edge, leaning heavily on the white stone rim and letting his right leg abandon his weight.  His left leg, and the arm he was bracing himself with, both trembled angrily, but Michael wouldn’t fall here.  Not now.

The rainbow shimmered in front of him and he forced his fingers to unfurl from their death grip around the drachma, streaked red with angry lines where the coin had imprinted almost every detail onto his palm.

“Oh, Goddess, accept my offering,” he mumbled.  His voice rasped in his ears after however many days it had been since he’d last had a reason to talk out loud, hoarse in his throat - maybe he should’ve taken a drink from the fountain first, but there wasn’t time for that - but hopefully the words came out clearly enough for Iris to understand.  He tossed the drachma into the rainbow with a shaking hand.

“Clarisse La Rue.”

Fuck.

He hadn’t planned on calling Clarisse.

Even if he was in her home state, Chiron would know where things like the state museum was, and crucially, the centaur had never told him to die .

But the drachma was gone, the only one he had, and he’d said the name now.  He dashed more tears - pain, frustration - away and stared at the rainbow, waiting for the call to go through and knowing he wasn’t at all prepared to talk to Clarisse, but that he had to.

Nothing happened.

The rainbow shimmered, glistening in a way that didn’t quite seem natural, and Michael stared at it in horror.

“C’mon,” he muttered, glancing back the way he’d come.  Still no signs of pursuit, but his instincts were screaming at him.  “C’mon, connect, why aren’t you fucking connecting?”

The rainbow pulsed lightly, as though it was still waiting for something, and realisation crashed over Michael.

“Fuck.”  He hadn’t said where Clarisse was - where was Clarisse?  He didn’t know, didn’t know if she was even still alive, let alone if she was at camp or if she’d left camp now, or...  “Fuck.  I don’t-  Where the fuck is Clarisse?  Iris- fuck- Lady Iris, please.”  His hand clenched into a fist as he leaned forwards and rested almost the entirety of his weight on the rim of the fountain.  Breathing was supposed to be easier than that but the air kept getting caught in his throat and distantly he realised he was panicking, sensing his hope slipping away from one slip of the tongue.  “Clarisse La Rue at… fuck, I don’t know.  Camp Half-Blood?”

His right leg buckled and he clamped his mouth shut against the cry of pain as broken bone fragments slipped against each other.  More tears welled in the corners of his eyes and he turned his head, wiping them away frantically in the dirty remains of the fabric on his shoulder.

When he looked back up, Clarisse La Rue was staring at him out of the centre of the rainbow, eyes wide in shock.

She looked older than when he’d last seen her, hair semi-neatly chopped around her cheeks and small scars he didn’t remember peppering across her face.  She was bigger, too, always broad-shouldered but now easily twice his width, and Michael was pretty sure she was even taller.

“Clarisse,” he rasped, too relieved to even care how frantic he sounded.  “Help. ”

“Michael?” she asked.  “You’re dead.”

The bark of laughter that erupted from his mouth wasn’t humorous in the slightest.  Fuck, camp thought him dead?  It made sense, explained why no-one had ever come looking, but-

Fuck.

“Not fucking quite,” he replied hoarsely.  The back of his neck tingled again and he glanced back the way he’d come.  Still no sign, but that didn’t make him feel any safer.  “Not yet.”

Her brown eyes sharpened, narrowing from wide-eyed shock to the assessing daughter of Ares Michael had seen so many times before.  “What happened to you?” she demanded.  “And why are you calling me?”

“Fuck if I know.”  He looked around again, and caught sight of movement in the distance.  Movement that didn’t seem natural for mortals going about their day.  “Fuck.  I’m in Arizona, don’t know where the fuck except the state museum’s just down this road and if I don’t find somewhere safe to hide - or at least some fucking weapons to fight back with - now I’m fucking dead for real.”

“I know where you are,” Clarisse said.  Michael saw her glance away from the IM for a moment, then nod firmly, a familiar stubbornness settling into her expression.  “There’s a big building behind the fountain.”  He looked up and nodded.  “That’s the state university.  Get around the back of it then follow the boulevard east through the campus.  Once you’re out of the campus, keep following the street east for six blocks, then go left, then get to the park on the right.  There’s an unused building in the far corner; mortals think it’s locked but it’s not.  It’s one of my safehouses.  You’ll find weapons there.”

Through the college campus and then another six blocks.  Michael’s leg throbbed in protest but he set his jaw and nodded.  He could do that.

He had to do that.

“Thanks,” he rasped, glancing back again.  The shapes were clearer, bulky individuals that clearly hadn’t figured out exactly where he was yet but were searching.  “Fuck.  Gotta go.”

He slashed an arm through the rainbow, cutting off Clarisse’s “Mi-”, and pushed himself away from the fountain.

Time to run.

Michael knew that his leg shouldn’t be able to keep moving, let alone running.  A mortal could never have managed it, and he was pretty certain most demigods couldn’t, either.  Being the son of Apollo had its perks, but that didn’t stop it sending vicious stabs of pain up through his body with every step, reminding him loudly and furiously that son of Apollo or not, he wasn’t doing it any favours and sooner or later it was going to run out of endurance.

Oblivious college students didn’t even seem to blink as he ran past them, adrenaline flooding his body and pushing him further, further, faster.  Fear of being caught and the hope of safety ahead of him worked in tandem to urge him on, slamming away the pain with extreme prejudice and forcing his legs, both the broken one and the merely exhausted one, to keep going, one foot in front of the other and jarring with every step.  The campus stretched out before him, seeming impossibly long, and in the back of his mind a small voice despaired that he’d never make it.

He told the voice to shut the fuck up and kept going.

The sun beat down as he ran, sweat joining with blood to leave a trail behind that he was painfully aware of but could do nothing about.  All he could do was hope that he had enough of a headstart to outrun them to Clarisse’s safehouse.  And that Clarisse would think to tell Chiron, because fuck, he’d forgotten to tell her to.

The first sounds of active pursuit reached his ears as he passed a set of tennis courts near the end of the campus, lungs burning, chest heaving, legs screaming, and he glanced over his shoulder to see students being pushed out of the way by larger, armed and dangerous, figures.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

His body had nothing left to give but Michael wasn’t going to let it surrender.  Not now, not when he finally had a chance to get away.  He ignored the voice in his head that said that a safehouse wasn’t much good if they saw him go into it, and that he didn’t stand a chance in combat even if he did get his hands on weapons, because it didn’t matter how true it was, it was still all he had.

He accelerated again, finding speed he didn’t know he was capable of even with two intact legs and not on the cusp of exhaustion, and bolted across the last few yards of the campus, hurtling across the street without stopping and forcing cars to swerve to avoid hitting him, and kept going.

One block.

Behind him, more car horns sounded and drivers started shouting.  Something sounded like it hit something hard.

Two blocks.

Something went crunch and the shouting abruptly stopped.

Three blocks.

Michael’s lungs were on fire.  He couldn’t even feel his legs any more, which definitely wasn’t a good thing.

Four blocks.

Fresh shouting started up, low and guttural and undoubtedly aimed at him.

Five blocks.

His lungs transitioned from on fire to non-operational, each breath a constricting choke as he ploughed on.

Six blocks.

Michael skidded around the corner, crossing the intersection to more irate cars and almost toppled over at the change of direction.  He caught himself on a wall and all but bounced off of it, lurching down the sidewalk and knowing it was too much to ask that his pursuers hadn’t seen him make the turn but part of him begging whichever gods might be listening that they’d missed it anyway.

The park on the right, Clarisse had said, and Michael almost stumbled over his own feet as he caught sight of greenery after a moment of desperate running.

A javelin sailed past him, missing only because his leg buckled and listed him to one side for a heartbeat, and Michael’s stomach leapt up into his throat.  Not now, not now he was so close.

He threw himself into the greenery the moment it opened up, using the shrubbery for what little cover it could give him, but it was barely moments before he heard the leaves get brushed aside behind him.  Guttural cursing in a language Michael didn’t know but had got used to hearing was far too close as he frantically scanned the far side of the park for the building Clarisse had mentioned.

Where was it where was it where was it where the fuck was it-

There!

On the far side of the park, sheltered by trees on multiple sides, was a building that looked old and rundown.  Chains and padlocks wrapped around the door, but as Michael focused on it, they shimmered and fell away.

He hadn’t known Clarisse could manipulate the Mist that well, but he wasn’t going to complain.

He didn’t have time to complain.

There was still half the park to cross and he wasn’t going to make it unless he found another burst of speed from Hades-knew-where.  He choked on more air, willing his legs to go faster, but he still couldn’t feel them, not even the pain from the break, and he definitely wasn’t speeding up.

If anything, he was slowing down.

Fuck no.  He wasn’t going to get caught, not here.  Not now .  He leaned forwards, desperate for just a little more speed, and felt something snag his feet.

He landed on his front hard enough to see stars, every part of his body compressing in a way that made him feel sick, or perhaps that was the knowledge that he’d never get up and away in time.  It didn’t stop him trying, pushing himself upright on arms that were shaking almost too much to bear his weight, one shoulder screaming as it reminded him it probably wasn’t in its fucking socket, determined to fucking crawl if he had to.

Electricity crackled.

“Back off!” a female voice roared , footsteps running towards him from where he’d been trying to get to.  Michael’s first thought was that he must have hit his head when he fell, because that was Clarisse’s voice.

He dragged his head up just in time to see a figure jump over him, barely an instant before there was the clash of weapons behind him.

Rolling over was marginally easier than trying to stand up.  It brought with it a reprise of pain from his broken leg that jolted back into awareness so quickly he barely choked down a cry, but more importantly gave him a front row seat to Clarisse La Rue in nothing but jeans and a t-shirt wielding a familiar electric spear with a vengeance against the freak’s employees as they found themselves on the back foot, clearly not expecting to face anything more than a desperate, injured demigod they’d already run into the ground.

A skilled daughter of Ares with a weapon gifted to her by the god of war himself was not a desperate, injured and run into the ground demigod.

Michael had seen the Germani fight before, when the freak wanted entertainment.  They were skilled and powerful, far more so than most demigods - but Clarisse was not most demigods, and had surprise on her side.

He pulled himself backwards with trembling hands, away from the fight, until his back hit something solid.  A panicked glance upwards revealed that it was the trunk of a tree - not a rogue Germani trying to get around Clarisse - and Michael reached up with his less-bad arm for a low-hanging branch to haul himself to his feet with, much to the protest of his entire body.

If one of the Germani did get around Clarisse, he refused to be vulnerable on the ground.  He could still run to the safehouse if he had to, leg be damned .

For the moment, he let the trunk of the tree take most of his weight, keeping his right leg off the ground and gripping the trunk with white knuckles to stay upright while he watched Clarisse fight.

She’d always been an impressive fighter, but the demigod in front of him here was a whole different class to the one he remembered from before Manhattan.  The IM hadn’t deceived him - she was slightly taller and muscular since he’d last seen her - but there was a confidence to her that felt different, almost more natural.

Or maybe he was just so relieved to be saved that his mind had entered delirium.  That was certainly possible.

Whatever it was, Clarisse clearly needed no help in finishing up the fight, her spear whirling around and dispatching the startled Germani in a typically child-of-Ares display of aggression, until the last one disintegrated into dust.

Michael was not ready for Clarisse to turn and face him, towering over him the way she always had done and racking him over with narrowed brown eyes.  There were some bleeding scratches on her front, and a rather more considerably bleeding gash on one arm, but she didn’t seem to notice them as she stepped towards him.  Instinctively, Michael straightened, his weight automatically transferring back to both his legs, and provoking another blinding protest from the right one.

“Clarisse,” he croaked.

“What happened to you?” she demanded, voice sharp and unyielding.  “You died in Manhattan.”

“The fuck I did,” he protested.  “Some fucking emperor-god-wannabe fished me out the river and dragged me off.”  At least, that was what he’d gathered after the fact.  He didn’t remember anything between the bridge collapsing and waking up in the freak’s floating villa, which had taken far too fucking long to escape from.

He didn’t expect Clarisse to believe him, though.  It sounded fantastical, he knew it did, wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t lived it himself.  But it was the truth.

To his surprise, Clarisse’s gaze sharpened.  “Emperor-god?” she demanded, and there was something in her tone that made Michael’s default defensive snap back falter briefly, because it sounded like she did, somehow, believe him.

Still, “that’s what I fucking said,” he retorted after a few seconds, the familiarity of arguing an unlooked-for comfort washing over him even though he didn’t want to argue, still needed Clarisse’s help badly.  “Freak said he was one of the Roman bastards despite the fact they’ve been dead for fucking millennia.  Called himself Caligula.”

The soft shit that slipped out of Clarisse’s mouth seemed like a reflex, and Michael blinked as she set the butt of her spear on the ground.  “Let’s move,” she said, glancing around.  “We can talk once we’re somewhere more secure.”

That, Michael agreed with, and he took a step away from the trunk.

His body did not agree.

Enough, said his leg, at the same time adrenaline drained away, leaving his head lighter than air.

He crumpled.

“Shit!”  Large, warm hands caught his shoulders in a grip of iron.  “Michael!”

Michael snarled weakly and tried to get his leg under him again.  “I’m fine,” he insisted, knowing it was a lie.  He wasn’t fine, but he hadn’t hit his limit yet - he refused.  He dragged his head up to meet Clarisse’s searching gaze.

She snorted.  “Pull the other one, Yew.”

To his surprise, she sank down in front of him, and by the time his brain realised what was going on he was slumped over her shoulders, pinned in place by an arm around his leg and hand clamped around his wrist.

“The fuck, La Rue?” he yelped as she grabbed her spear with the hand not holding him in place and straightened up.  “I can fucking walk!”

“This is faster,” she said.  “Instead of slowing us down, keep an eye out for more of Caligula’s people.”

Michael tried to be offended, but as she broke into an even jog, he had to at least privately concede the point.  The movement jostled his broken leg, thankfully not the one she was using to hold him in place, and he fought back whimpers, but after so long running under his own steam, it was a relief not to have to, anymore.

Even though it meant a fireman carry from Clarisse.

It was easier to let his head hang than try to hold it up, and his matted hair made a curtain that was difficult to see through, but Michael had no desire to be ambushed by more Germani - more of Caligula’s people, and he was starting to wonder how much Clarisse knew about the freak, how she knew anything about him in the first place.  He squinted past his hair, watching the park behind them as Clarisse jogged forwards, and then the street as she passed the safehouse without pausing.

“Where’re we going?” he asked, watching the building get smaller for a moment before flicking his attention back to the street.

“My apartment,” Clarisse said shortly.  “It’s more secure than that.”

Clarisse’s apartment?   “Your mom’s place?”

She snorted.  “No.  My apartment.  You just ran through my college campus.”

It hadn’t occurred to Michael that Clarisse would be in college, now.  Fuck, they were the same age; if she was in college, then if it wasn’t for the freak, he probably would be, too - if he’d ever decided what the Hades he wanted to do.

“Huh,” was the only noise he could summon in response, followed by another muffled whine as his broken leg jarred again.  Fuck, he missed the pain numbing properties of adrenaline.  Clarisse’s grip on his wrist shifted, and he realised that she’d heard it.  She didn’t mention it, though, just kept up with the jog as though he didn’t weigh a thing.

In his current state, he probably didn’t as far as she was concerned.

Wherever Clarisse lived, it felt a long way away.  Maybe it was because she wasn’t running in a flat-out sprint, but the journey seemed to take forever.  More than once, Michael found his eyes starting to slide shut, exhaustion fighting for dominance, and forced them open again, unwilling to risk missing a threat.

Nothing attacked them.  Michael could feel the tension in Clarisse’s shoulders rising the longer they went without being attacked, but she drew to a halt outside an apartment building unchallenged.

“Still awake?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he muttered.

“Good.”  She turned around, looking back the way they’d come for herself and giving Michael a clearer view of the building, complete with the flight of stairs they were no doubt about to go up.  Seemingly satisfied that he hadn’t missed anything, she then turned back and continued towards what was clearly her apartment door.

Michael’s leg did not approve of the stairs.  Clarisse went slower than he expected, the rise and fall of her body minimal, but still his leg complained and more than one hiss forced its way past gritted teeth on the ascent.  Her grip on his wrist tightened, but she still said nothing.  Michael appreciated it.

Eventually, they came to a stop outside a plain door, indistinguishable from the rest of the apartment doors.  Michael wasn’t sure how Clarisse was planning on opening it with her spear in one hand while the other kept hold of him, but he wasn’t expecting for her to call, “it’s him.”

The door was yanked open so fast, Michael half-expected it to fly off the hinges.

“Michael?”

He forced his head to raise, his hair falling mostly out of his face so that he could see over Clarisse’s shoulder.

“Chris,” he rasped, not liking the way the son of Hermes was looking at him in horror.  “Take it you two are still together, then?”

“Yeah,” Clarisse confirmed as she walked past her boyfriend, who shut the door behind them.  At the click of the catch falling into place, Michael let his head sag again.  “Down you go.”

Michael didn’t manage to brace himself before spilling out of Clarisse’s grip, but he didn’t have to as he was gently laid on a throw-covered couch, his limbs limp and boneless as he sank into the fabric.

It felt heavenly.

“Gods,” Chris breathed, kneeling on the floor next to him, dark eyes surveying him from head to toe.  Michael heard the quiet click of a catch opening and his eyes flitted to look at the floor, where Chris had a large plastic box cracked open on the rug.  “Eat.”  A small square of ambrosia was held up in front of him.  Michael forced a shaking hand to take it from him and slipped it into his mouth, instantly feeling the relief that came from eating the godly food.

Hades, how long had it been since he’d last had ambrosia?  The freak certainly hadn’t ever given him any.

He let his arm fall heavily back onto the couch as he savoured the taste.

“Let me treat your wounds,” Chris insisted.  He was already pulling on gloves, and Michael eyed him in surprise.  The son of Hermes huffed.  “I know I’m not an Apollo kid, but my dad is still a patron of medicine, even if he’s not strictly a god of it.  I might not be able to instantly heal you but I can make sure you don’t die of sepsis.”

It wasn’t like Michael could do much more for his own wounds than he had already; he healed fast but not instantly.

“Fine,” he agreed, and Chris broke into a relieved look.  Clarisse shifted her weight.

“I’ll make sure the perimeter is secure,” she said, grabbing a small vial of nectar and taking a sip from it.

“Could you grab Michael something clean to wear before you go?” Chris asked her.  Michael felt him gently take hold of one of his arms, then hissed as he gently dabbed at the exposed cut with antiseptic.  “These clothes are filthy.”

“Fuck you,” Michael muttered, well aware that he was right.  They weren’t clothes he was attached to - the freak had got rid of his clothes after Manhattan and replaced them with some sort of sailor’s outfit, which Michael had had no hesitation about tearing up for makeshift bandages.

He was still furious about the loss of his camp necklace, though.

Clarisse headed further into the apartment without another word as Chris wiped down the skin around the gash before peeling away one of Michael’s makeshift bandaging attempts and getting to work treating the wound underneath it.

“You know I’m right,” Chris replied.  “Those rags need cutting off, anyway.”

Michael bristled.  “I can-”

“I know a broken leg when I see one,” Chris overrode him.  “I don’t even want to think about how much damage you’ve done to it running around - or how the Hades you managed to run around on that - but it won’t thank you for moving it again.”

Clarisse returned before Michael could come up with a retort, dropping a bundle of fabric over the back of the couch.  “I’m securing the perimeter now,” she said.

“Be careful,” Chris replied, and Michael watched as she stalked out the front door, shutting it with a loud click behind her.  “Okay, let’s get these rags out of the way.”

Chris’ hands were gentle as they tended to each cut, scrape, gash or worse.  It wasn’t the same as one of his siblings, but it was enough to make Michael feel halfway human again, if completely helpless.

“I’d run you a bath now but I think you’d fall asleep in it,” the son of Hermes told him as he probed gently at the probably-dislocated shoulder.  As much as Michael hated to admit it, the older demigod was once again right; he was well aware of the exhaustion doggedly gnawing away at him now that the adrenaline had faded away.  “I’ll do that later.”  He frowned at Michael’s shoulder.  “This, on the other hand, I’ve got to deal with now.”

One good thing about the encroaching exhaustion was that Michael’s muscles couldn’t tense up too much, even if they wanted to.  He grit his teeth as Chris carefully manipulated his arm into extending, before slowly starting to rotate it.  The earlier ambrosia was not enough to completely muffle the sensation of the joint grinding back into its socket; some whimpers slipped out past his clenched jaw.  Like Clarisse earlier, Chris had the tact to not mention it.

Even worse than the dislocated shoulder, predictably, was the broken leg.  That was by far the worst part of the treatment as Chris gently poked and prodded at it before resetting the bone.  The ambrosia was no more effective as a painkiller for his leg than it had been for his shoulder, and Michael couldn’t help a short, high-pitched shout as it shifted back into position - thankfully also passing unacknowledged by the son of Hermes.

“No walking on it,” Chris said firmly as he fitted a splint to keep it in place.  Michael grumbled a string of curses under his breath as it was secured.  “It - and the rest of you - needs rest.”  It was obvious that he wanted to ask about what had happened to Michael, much in the same way Clarisse had, but to Michael’s relief, he wasn’t actually broaching the subject.

Then again, Chris knew a lot about traumatic experiences.

Once all his wounds were treated properly, Michael pulled on the spare clothes Clarisse had dug out for him, begrudgingly accepting Chris’ help.  Unsurprisingly, they were all far too big for him - Clarisse was easily twice his size, now, and Chris might have been rather lither than his girlfriend, but he was far taller than Michael.  The only advantage was that it meant they were easy to pull on over the various bandages and even leg splint, which didn’t negate Michael feeling like he was swimming in fabric.

“I’ll get you something that fits better soon,” Chris apologised as Michael flaked back down again, finding the couch far more comfortable than it had any right to be.

“Whatever,” he muttered.

The apartment door opened and Clarisse strode back in, bolting it behind her and propping her spear up beside it.  “Secure,” she reported, heading for them.  “Done with the first aid?”

“Done,” Chris confirmed.  “He won’t be walking on that leg any time soon, but otherwise it’s mostly exhaustion.”

Clarisse sat down on the rug; with Michael laying down on the couch, their heads were at similar heights.  “So what happened after Caligula grabbed you?” she demanded.  Chris’ sharp intake of breath at the name told Michael that they definitely knew something about the freak.  “That was nearly two years ago.”

Michael grimaced.

“Couldn’t get out,” he admitted, glossing over the gloating, the leering Germani and the self-important big-eared pandos, to say nothing of the fucking horse and the freak himself.  They’d found his attempts amusing.  The freak had even dared him to get out, promising him that he couldn’t.

The freak had said a lot of things, and Michael still couldn’t shake the shivers at the promise that he would be the new sun god.  It was delusional - it had to be, Apollo was the sun god and wouldn’t be usurped by some fucking wannabe - but the freak had always sounded deadly serious when he’d said it, like he fully believed he would .  He’d said Michael would help him, too.

Michael’s attempts to escape had always got more frantic whenever he heard that gloat.

He didn’t say any of that, didn’t think he could if he tried.  Neither Clarisse or Chris pressed him for details.

“Had a fucking boat villa.  Never let the thing near land.”  He’d managed to get on one of the boarding boats, once.  Mortal security guards had spotted him and dragged him back, citing some nonsense about the boss’ son not being allowed to leave.  “Took for fucking ever to get off.”

Eventually, one day, the guards had been distracted by something.  Michael still didn’t know what, but it had been enough for him to finally slip past them, onto land for the first time in eighteen fucking months, and run for it.

It almost hadn’t been enough, he’d almost been caught, but a door he’d run through had ended up in tunnels and more tunnels and more and more and more fucking tunnels with monsters with claws and teeth and other appendages they shouldn’t be allowed to fucking have that wanted a piece of demigod flesh and-

“Michael, breathe.”

A hand rested on the couch, not touching him but enough to catch his attention.  His eyes snapped to it, then followed the arm up to a shoulder and up again until he was looking at Chris’ face.  The older demigod’s brow was furrowed in concern, and Michael realised he was breathing too fast, air not actually reaching his lungs.

Fuck.

Michael closed his eyes, only to be assaulted by memories of being tracked, hunted, and snapped them open again, focusing instead on Chris’ face as he tried to wrench his breathing under control.

“Don’t push yourself,” Chris told him gently as air started to reach his lungs again.  “It’s okay if you can’t talk about it.”  Michael glanced at Clarisse, still sat on the rug behind her boyfriend but frowning, face all twisted up.

“No,” he said, hating how thin his voice sounded.  “I- fuck.”  If it was anyone else, he’d take the invitation to stop talking, because they wouldn’t understand, wouldn’t get it.  But these two…

“Fucking Labyrinth.”

Chris’ face paled, and Clarisse moved, putting her hand on the son of Hermes’ shoulder.  Her knuckles were white.

“It got me away,” Michael admitted, because it had; without its twists and turns and traps absolutely everywhere the freak’s men would have caught up to him within a day.

He didn’t know how many days he’d been running through the fucking thing before it finally spat him out in Arizona.

“But- fuck .”  He’d never been in the fucking thing before, but he’d seen what it had done to Chris, how pale and shaken Annabeth had been when she re-emerged alone after her quest.  Had seen the monsters spill out of it into camp, had seen Lee’s head smashed open-

The fucking thing was supposed to be destroyed.  Why was it back?

He could’ve done without experiencing the inside of the fucking living nightmare for himself.

“You made it,” Chris told him, voice shaky but assuring.  “You made it out, Michael.”

“You’re safe,” Clarisse added, tone firm and leaving no room for debate.  Michael looked at her, remembering too many arguments and disagreements and threats from the daughter of Ares but seeing only pure sincerity and stubbornness there now.  “Those shitheads won’t get you, and you’re never going in there again.”

Michael swallowed around a lump in his throat.  “Yeah,” he agreed, voice shaking just as much as Chris’.  “Yeah.”

He was out.  He was safe.

The knowledge settled over him, heavy and warm as it finally sank in, and with it came a looming darkness his battered, aching and exhausted body finally stopped fighting and instead welcomed with open arms.

potentially tbc...

[alloutofgoddesses]

Percy Jackson TV Thoughts

Episode 5

(There will be book spoilers you have been warned)

I KNEW THE FATES WOULD BE HERE OMG

Him climbing over the railing lol

OUT THE GATE OKAY

Just a reminder Grover can read emotions. I wonder what the fuck he just read lol

Percy for four episodes: Fuck my dad he’s a piece of shit Percy immediately after being saved by his dad: My dads gonna help us uwu

Oh Percy. I don’t blame you you’re new to this thing

Oh nooo Percy your dad dies love you in his strange immortal way

Bike you say

Not the teasing ☠️ Percy that’s your future wife

Well not exactly… it is a warning but it doesn’t mean you’re going to die Annabeth

Hell yeah Percy keep up that spirit

HE’S HEREEEEEEE

Their little heads popping up over the barrier

Oh my gods he’s amazing

RIP Twitter we’ll always love you

That’s absolutely what Ares would be doing in the modern age too

GABE! THERE HE IS

…you’re not Percy. Your mother however-

Annabeth what happened to your healthy fear of the gods

Kronos mention

Flight of stairs AGAIN… what kind of theme are we setting up here

Sassy power couple

That’s such a Percy face Walker Scobell you will always be famous

You got this Grover!

Oh fuck that

PERCY WANTING TO SHOW ANNABETH MOVIES? OH IT’S SO OVER

Percy it is funny

Annabeth now is not the time to nerd out over mechanical engineering

As always they’re so perfect

SOLSTICE TIME

Wait what?

Ooooh Grover is playing the long game I see

None of y’all can ever say Oercy is stupid again I swear to god(s)

It lit up? Oh boy oh boy

MEME WARNING OH MY

Vibes though Hephaestus

Omg the Hera animation

~baby don’t hurt me~

Annabeth recognizing Sally wanted Percy to be different… don’t touch me

HE SAVED HER! AGAIN!!

Can’t wait to see screen grabs of the mosaics

“I hate my own kids” AAAAHHHHH

Is Grover on to Ares?

ATHENA TALKS TO AN OWL I CANNOT

Grover has to be on to Ares

Every single person in this trio is so smart

SEAWEED BRAIN

I am. Inconsolable.

I’m about to start doing zoomies around my dorm like my cat

I could rip apart a car with my bare hands rn

SHE WANTS TO SAVE HIS MOM I’M JSHDJSKSKA

“You think you had to ask” “Just making sure” how will I EVER survive more seasons of this

“It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m-“ THE WAY HE’S REASSURING HER OH THEY’RE TAKING IT

SHE’S TRYING TI FIGURE OUT THE GEARS IM GINNA EXPLODE

HEPHAESTUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE FLUTE OMG

As a cane user I love how prominent Hephaestus’ cane is displayed it makes me feel warm inside

HE’S HER FRIEND! SHE’S DISREPECTING GODS TO SAVE HIM!

Oh Hephaestus you’re my second favorite Olympian (Hestia 4evr)

ANNABETH!!!!!

“He isn’t that way. He’s better than that…” THE SOULMATISM

YEAH BABEY

The tears in her eyes I CAN’T

He’s gonna talk to Athena I love Hephaestus so much

Ares I see that disappointed look

Okay got Hermes hanging out in the Lotus Casino… don’t ask me how but that does feel right like it makes sense

Who needs to summon Hermes he’s right here (My cat is named Hermes and he’s sitting right next me)

Oh yeah Percy get in that God’s face and threaten him it certainly won’t have any repercussions

“The emotional abuse” GROVER UNDERWOOD

There’s creatures in there

Wait. Are they setting up Clarisse as a red herring? THE WRITERS MINDS

Teaser

IRIS MESSAGE

Wait there’s so many adults in the Lotus… what are they all doing in there

I have heard the rumours that ep. 6 will be a musical (simply because LMM is there and it’s the mostly likely one to do that) and while I don’t think they would it would be funny

[the-irrelevant-trumpeter]

OKAY PERCY JACKSON SERIES THOUGHTS REAL QUICK not in any particular order just what my brain is spewing

(spoilers obviously)

okay so like. it was so good. screaming crying throwing up like!!!!

walker leah and aryan are all excellent and i'm so excited to see them throughout the rest of the show

special shoutout to leah because in these first two eps she's had a lot less screentime than the other two and yet she has completely stolen the show for me

forgot that jason mantzoukas is in this and got jumpscared lmao

the car and then minotaur scenes would have been really good if i had been able to see them

i feel like i was expecting luke's scar to be bigger. this isn't a complaint or anything, just an observation.

"NO I AM SALLY JACKSON'S SON" slayed so hard like i screameddd

percy praying to his mum <3333 there's one thing percy jackson will do and that is think of his mum as a goddess

also HIM BURNING THE JELLYBEANS 😭😭😭

also also him telling his mum that he really feels like he's made friends when you know he's talking about luke is TRAGIC oh no the final episode is going to be sooo good and so heartbreaking. oof.

i really REALLY liked virginia kull as sally, but a lot of the dialogue in her scenes felt a bit clunky to me. idk i know they need exposition and all that, but some of it felt a bit weird. especially their conversation right before she was killed

okay i know a few people in the tag have already talked about this, but sally and gabe felt a little off to me. i know the posts i've seen have said that they downplayed how completely and utterly awful gabe is, and while i do think it was downplayed a little bit, he was still bad enough that i didn't feel like that was a major issue. the part that didn't feel quite right to me was the way sally argued back at him. i feel like what she says to him is kind of what the audience should WANT her to say (because gabe's a dick), but the point is that she doesn't say that, because sally jackson loves percy so damn much that she willingly endures that until she is able to get out of that situation. i swear i'm not going to be like "tHiS iSnT hOw iT iS iN tHe bOoK" much, because it's an adaptation and it's going to have to make some changes and that's fine! but in the book, percy states that he's "never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or gabe" and keeps on emphasising how she constantly withstands gabe and doesn't move against him because of her love for percy, and i just feel like that's an important aspect of her character. also i feel like sally arguing back at gabe is going to make her finally killing him less impactful. and i think it probably also plays a part in gabe's assholery being downplayed. because the argument they have there feels much more like "oh we're so dysfunctional ha ha" instead of "this is an abusive household". you know what i mean? idk i get that it was meant to be a #girlboss moment, and a part of me was like "YEAH GET HIS ASS", but i do feel like that moment didn't serve sally's character as well, changed the dynamic of sally and gabe's relationship, and negatively affected the impact the story will have when percy gives her the means to get rid of gabe and she takes it. this is a very long dot point i'm sorry.

mr d pretending to be percy's dad was SO FUNNY

clarisse is too pretty (/pos), like i was barely paying attention in her scenes because i was literally there like "women <3" thank you dior goodjohn

"you fell in love with god... like jesus?" is a top tier line

i'm so sorry but i'm a "tah-lia" pronunciation truther and it will remain this way in my head

the cut to percy flossing in the woods killed me. like straight up killed me dead.

BLACKJACK BEING THE FIRST MAGICAL THING PERCY SEES!!! THEY'RE GOING TO BE BESTIES!!!

these are all of the thoughts i have atm, and despite my more negative thoughts here, my feelings are almost completely positive (my excitement is less coherent than my criticisms, so i didn't write about them as much). i'm really excited to see the rest of the episodes!

[flower1622]

What the future can hold?

Chapter 44

With Jack and Samantha:

Both were bleeding on the ground from the monster's attack. Jack was trying to stop the thing from killing them by using Clarisse's sword that she gave him in case something happened. The sword was on the beast's mouth with Jack holding it. The monster ends up throwing the weapon to the side. Jack puts his sister behind him and he stands in front of Samantha to protect her. When the monster opened his mouth to attack the kids, a stone hits him in the head. Jack and the monster turn their heads to see Percy Jackson standing holding his arm that was also bleeding.

- Why don't you take someone of your size, motherfucker?! - Percy screams at the monster. It runs to Percy to attack him. Percy falls on the ground and tries to stop the monster from devouring him by holding the monster's mouth while he feels pain all over his body, especially in his arms. Jack takes the opportunity to get the sword from the ground and he goes to where Percy and the monster were fighting, trying to be quiet as possible. Then he stabs the monster pretty hard with the sword and continues stabbing until the monster finally disappears. Jack throws the weapon to the ground and goes to check his sister. He helps her stand up and caresses her bleeding cheek. Samantha only hides her face in his chest and he hugs her. Percy notices the sword on the ground and notices why Clarisse didn't fight with the monster with her sword. She gave it to protect the children, even if she didn't have anything to fight with. The worst of all is that the monster broke his. So, he would have to ask Leo or Hephaestus if they could fix it. Percy takes a look at the siblings and saw how traumatized the little girl looked and how her brother was trying to comfort her. Jack looks at Percy with a completely serious face.

- Clarisse? - Jack asks and Percy only shakes his head. Jack continues glaring at Percy. He closes his hands into fists. Right at that moment, Percy knew that Jack would never forgive him. Even Percy feels guilty after what happened to Clarisse. He finally meets the real Clarisse and now...he lost her. Mary lost a daughter. The camp lost a leader. Jack and Samantha lost their sister. 

'And I lost a great friend (and maybe future lover)' - Percy thinks and gets confused with the last part. He never thought about Clarisse like that. It was like another part of him said that. Just remembering Clarisse's last moments made Percy feel so much anger and also close his hands into fists. Both Jack and Percy looking at each other with hatred in their eyes because of the person they lost.

Weeks after Clarisse's fall:

- I heard what happened. Are you thinking about her? - Chiron says behind Percy, who was looking at the sea while he stands on a rock.

- Yes, Chiron. But I know she must be in a better place now. Even if we lose many things in this world, we'll always hold them in our hearts and memories. They will never totally disappear. The people we meet. The Childhood. The moments. Everything - Percy says.

- You really matured, didn't you? - Chiron asks.

- I guess. One day, I would have to - Percy says.

- Right - Chiron says.

- So, what do you plan to do now? - Chiron asks.

- I plan to visit my mother and spend some time with my family before my classes start again - Percy says.

- Good choice - Chiron says.

- You know that you will always be welcomed here, right? - Chiron asks.

- I know...and I'm sorry for visiting only the Jupiter camp but not our camp - Percy says.

- Don't apologize. You can do whatever you want to do. You are your own person, Percy Jackson. Who decides for yourself is you. You decide what you want to do in your life now. Just because some people suggested something, it doesn't mean that you have to accept everything. You don't have a Seaweed Brain, okay? So, start to think for yourself for a change. See what you like and go after it. You are not obligated to anything - Chiron says.

Chiron walks away.

Thanks...I guess - Percy says.

[skywalking-through-life]

WIP TITLE GAME

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I was tagged by both @ashilrak and @60sec400, which is honestly fantastic, because I love this idea! My wip folder is deeply hilarious and probably incomprehensible to anyone other than me, so enjoy! I have titles, but also describe scenarios, and use lines I've written that I like as fic placeholders. There is no order to this, it's just how it appears in the folder! Italics indicate what I'm currently actively working on! Feel free to ask questions, lmao!

Post-HoO Truth or Dare beach party

'Percy Jackson's Six Steps to Seducing Your Girlfriend'

Post-HoO summer Chariot race

Titan War Memorial service + bonfire - explore grief ritual?

'[conduct] not unbecoming men who [strive] with gods'

Percabeth wedding

'still half-perfect' - working title for dark as shit wip, feat. percabeth fuck or die

'The Firefighter of the Month Club'

Poseidon and Ms. Lafayette parent- teacher conference

Percy graduates high school!!!!!!!!!!

'a name adds context, not truth'

Percabeth strip poker, Annabeth cheats

'kindness justifies itself'

Percy&Poseidon&Paul, wedding day shaving/ritual

Annabeth&Rachel&Piper&Hazel&Sally&Clarisse&etc, wedding day bath/getting ready ritual

Percabeth first time, in Percy's dorm

'like two birds on a power line'

'I drown in you' - kinky percabeth hotel sequel to 'to burn and to boil'

Percy teaches Estelle how to swim

Demigods talk to Estelle about death

Percy talks to Estelle about differences between mortals and demigods

Percy/Annabeth/Apollo negotiations? Just sex friends or more - have to decide

Percy/Annabeth/Aphrodite negotiations? Just sex friends or more - have to decide

Fed kidnapping fic - dark, long, big angst, outline currently: 20k

Jackson-Blofis Family winter cabin trip multichap

Whale pregnancy wip lololol

Percy&Calypso missing moment conversation in TOA; follow up, Percy's missing moment conversation with Chiron - 2 shot?

College Percy, Annabeth, Frank, and Piper 'rent' a sailboat for the day and go exploring, there are shenanigans, Hazel has to send the Roman navy after them

"Oh, bite me.  Why should I have to choose between being a lover or a fighter?"

"I'm not sure of much, but I know my body can take a pretty good beating and then just get up and keep on going. There's always been something comforting about knowing that. It keeps me moving."

"If actual hell couldn't separate us, then what makes you think that you can?"

"Face it, dude. You have the eyes of a lovable aquatic mammal."

"I've seen what you like as a corpse, "Annabeth. Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you when you look like a queen?"

"You are alive. Let me celebrate that, won't you?"

"You are only a man, but one who could have been a god. I'm sure that weighs."

"Wisdom's daughter, afraid of new knowledge?"

"And so he acted, out of that place of peace and clarity and resolve within him that one might call a conscience."

"One of the best things about Percy Jackson was that he rarely said something he didn't mean. It was also one of the worst things about him."

"A soul like his is more alive than most."

Lolololololol. I hope you enjoyed this? I'm going to tag as many people as I can, but I don't know if I have enough, given the number of wips I have! Tagging everyone who pops into my brain: @tater-tots-last-of-the-romanovs @timemachinechaos @timelesslords @finalgirlmoment @judoflipped @imaginmatrix @mrthology @celestialepiphany @phykios @darkmagyk @no2ticonderoga @ashilrak @moonlacess @moonfrost41 @templarhalo @soleil-in-retrograde @campercabeth @percabeth4life @sappho-of-space @perseannabeth @ananbeth @annabethy @punkflame @zambomarti @hellomomo @duender-writes @melancholic-pigeon @captain-jackson @posallys @faemischief

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.8 smooth like butter

warnings : sword fighting, blood, monster attack, cussing

word count : 4.1k

0.8 My Armor for Capture the Flag is, as BTS Would Say, Smooth like Butter

In just a few days I was able to make a routine for myself. I thanked the gods (which was weird the first few times I said it) for all of the movie training stuff I had to do because it prepared me for all the training the kids at Camp Half-Blood did. 

I was super good at archery, but only because I'd had two years of practice, so when Luke mentioned I might be Apollo's child, I had to tell him I was awful when I first started. Like, my arrow would hit many feet away from the target awful. Since I was pretty good with a regular bow and crossbow, Will Solace took that time to teach me first aid after a few minutes of hitting bullseyes. 

Clarisse taught me hand-to-hand combat, which I loved. While I'd had many good teachers, she was the child of the god of war; she was one of the best. She corrected a few mistakes I made and showed me the best ways to take someone down. I could hold my own for a while, but soon had to face the facts; I might've been 5'10", but I only weighed 115 pounds. Clarisse had to go pretty easy when we fought because otherwise, she would snap me like a twig. I'd win a few, but I was always pretty sure she had let me win them. 

Malcolm taught me Ancient Greek for about two and a half hours a day. Normally Annabeth would be the one teaching new campers, but since she made her hatred for me obvious, Malcolm had volunteered. I was glad about that, though, because even if he did hate me, he kept it to himself. Plus, he was good at helping me understand a few of the phrases that didn't quite make sense. He was quite shocked that I was a quick learner, even if our brains were hardwired for Ancient Greek instead of English. 

However, the moment I really excelled in was sword fighting. I'd even excelled at it when I was first starting a few years ago. I was one of my favorite things to do, even before knowing I was a demigod. Luke, who was the instructor, made a joke about letting me use two swords, like I did in a few of my movies, but it actually became a reality when I'd agreed to it. 

The swords I'd been given weren't very balanced, but I'd learned to deal with it. To be honest, even when I was first learning, those swords hadn't been balanced, either, so fighting with them was pretty much just business as usual. 

Since I already knew the basics, Luke told me to go ahead and show him what I knew. Our fight had ended up lasting almost ten minutes (Travis and Connor timed it) and only ended when I managed to disarm him. He seemed less shocked and more impressed than anything and made me his assistant teacher on the spot. 

Other than that, whenever we all had the same break times, Silena, Katie, Nessa, Clarisse, and I would go out to the beach and gossip. Not that we were a group of the biggest gossip girls to ever grace the Earth, but damn we could talk some shit. 

Katie would braid my hair every morning, while Silena would either pain my nails or help her. Clarisse always had a morning workout, so she wasn't able to attend the early morning gossip sessions we had. Nessa, however, would just do her regular conditioning as we all talked. 

Because Danny was a control freak, he had started waking me up at five in the morning every single day in order to get ready for the day ahead. I learned to deal with it after a few months and now it was something I did without him needing to wake me up. There were very few days I woke up with it not being 5 on the dot. This, however, helped out a lot when it came to spending time with my new friends. Silena and Nessa always had to get up early so they could do their hair and makeup and everything and Katie always had to get up early in order to tend to the strawberries. Our schedules almost always aligned, so we got to know each other super quickly. 

Even though the four of us looked tiny, the people who knew us really well knew we could easily take down most of our opponents. Whenever I thought about it, I couldn't for the life of me understand why anyone ever thought of Aphrodite or Demeter's children as weak.

I'd mentioned this one early morning as Katie finished up the second dutch braid for my hair and Silena was clipping off the acrylics she'd put on last week in order for her to put on new ones. Nessa was nearby, complaining about the push-ups her trainer made her do. They'd all rolled their eyes and scoffed simultaneously. 

"You know, I blame the Athena cabin," Katie finally grumbled. "Normally, a child of Athena's fatal flaw is hubris, so they think they're better than everyone. Not all of them; most are awesome. Like Malcolm and Whitney, for example, they're awesome and not total buzzkills. But then there's Annabeth." 

We all scoffed that time, then laughed at the sync. 

"Chiron and Luke spoil the crap out of her, always have," Silena chimed in. "And she's always whining about how awful her father and stepmother were to her. Apparently, they were so bad she had to run away at seven, and trust, plenty of us come from bad homes, way worse than hers, but the way Annabeth talks, you'd think her parents paying more attention to their newborn twins than to her was the same as beating her with a belt. And honestly, you can hardly blame them for being upset by monsters attacking their home, not that it happened often." 

"Remember when her father asked her to come back like... 2 years ago?" Nessa asked, finishing the last of her workout and coming to sit beside us. 

Silena nodded with another eye roll as she began applying new nails on top of my own. "Okay, so her father's a history professor and doesn't have a lot of time as it is, but he sent her a letter a while ago with his college ring in it asking her to come back."

"She was all dramatic about it," Katie continued, taking the talking stick. "Complained and whined and only gave in when Chiron and Luke pressed her to give him a chance. She stayed for maybe a month. Called twice saying she wanted to be picked up. The first time it was only because she wasn't getting enough attention and when Chiron told her she could only leave if she got attacked she called back a few days later saying she had, by a hellhound. She demanded she be picked up immediately and complained for days after the fact. By the way, I hope you like gold and white, because that's what I brought."

"I don't care. Have at it," I assured her. "She just didn't like me before I'd even said a word. And I'm not very patient, but I was with her and she still didn't like me. Said something about me being too obsessed with myself and then said we'd get along great because of it."

"Oh, yeah," Katie said, finishing my hair and moving to sit in front of me beside Silena. "I heard about that. Apparently, she went to Chiron and said some stuff about you, but he didn't believe it and it's like the only time he ever said no to her. She was all pressed about it and wouldn't leave her cabin for dinner."

"I was wondering why I couldn't feel her negativity while I was eating." I paused for a moment. "Not that I wanted it, but like... it was kind of weird." 

We laughed as Silena finished my right hand and moved to start my left. 

"Anyways, enough about the annoying child. Word around camp is you are a pretty good shot and incredible with a sword. Not to mention you keep Clarisse on her toes. What's your secret, Barbie?" Katie said, still calling me the name she had jokingly called me when we were talking about my awful choice of careers. 

"She's a fuckin' boss bitch, that's her secret," Nessa said, laughing to herself. "Trust me, I'd know."

"Oh, shut up, Ness. Most of the time I do really... I don't know, physical roles. So, I like playing superheroes and characters that generally have a lot of stunts. I don't know if you know, but I've never had a stunt double. Because of that, I have to get a lot of skills your average person doesn't really need. Archery and sword fighting, for example. I only know how to do those things because I had to learn how to for a role." 

Katie and Silena nodded. Nessa gave them a pointed look. "Oh, look. My point still stands."

I rolled my eyes, then finally realized Silena had just finished my nails. "Ooh, I love them. Thanks, Sil."

"No prob," she replied and we carried on with our conversation until we all had to leave to do our scheduled training. 

I actually didn't need to head to the arena for sword fighting for another half hour, so I went and sat by the fire and posted a few tweets so people wouldn't think I was dead. Twitter users are... dramatic, to say the least. And then I didn't have anything to do. My thoughts wandered back to my mother and where she was now. 

"You miss her dearly, don't you?" a voice said, coming from the other side of the fire. Or rather, the dead center of the fire. I tilted my head. I ran through the list of immortals in my head and went with the most likely candidate. 

"Lady Hestia," I gave a respectful and modest curtsy, the proper one I had to learn while on the set of Game of Thrones. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Astraea Jackson," she replied, giving me the same curtsy I'd given her. We smiled at each other and she stood and walked out of the flames to sit beside me. "You know, everyone is so busy now, they don't stop at the hearth to have a chat with me anymore. Most of the time they don't even see me." 

My smile turned to a frown. "I'll stop and speak to you. Every day, at this time, as long as you or I aren't busy," I told her. 

She clapped like she was the eight-year-old girl by which she looked. "Your personality is the perfect mix between your mother and your father, you know. Now your looks." She laughed a little as she studied my face. "They come straight from your father. But you act like the both of them." 

I ignored the part where she mentioned my father because I was more focused on my mother, but I'm like at least 50% sure I would've been able to figure out who he was if I just asked. 

"Did you... did you know her?" I asked instead, caring more about getting more memories that had to do with my mom. 

"A little. She came to me quite often for advice. It wasn't easy for her to raise a demigod child, I hope you know. Especially one as special as you." 

I nodded sadly. "I know I wasn't the easiest. I just wish I could—"

"Allie!" Luke interrupted, jogging towards me. "Our class is about to start. Do you mind helping me get everything ready?" 

I nodded and smiled apologetically towards Hestia. "I'll come back tomorrow," I promised. She smiled happily and stepped back into the flames.

***

The rest of the day went by fairly uneventfully. It was the night everyone was excited about. It was Friday, which meant it was Capture the Flag night. It was all anyone could talk about all day. 

After dinner (which by the way hadn't been very nice, considering Annabeth kept her glare on me as I ate. I suspected it was because Luke still insisted I sit on his lap, but it also could've been because she just hated me. Or both) everyone was bustling around, getting their armor on and arming themselves with their preferred weapon. 

I'd chosen to go with two swords only, not wanting the extra weight of a bow and arrow while I was fighting. Luke told me I looked badass when he first saw me, blue plumed helmet and all. 

Although we were on separate teams, Katie, Nessa, and Silena all made sure my hair and nails hadn't suffered throughout the day and made sure I would go to them once the game was over so they could check again. 

Chiron stomped a hoof against the ground and told us to get to our teams. 

"I promise not to make you look bad for your first game here," Silena joked, seeing how outnumbered my team was. While Hermes and Apollo were definitely the biggest cabins and they combined with Athena would be a pretty good team, the Ares cabin had gotten everyone else. I was honestly worried, considering there's no one at camp I'd call a bad fighter. A lazy one, yes. A bad one, no. 

Chiron stomped his hoof on the ground again to gain our attention. Katie gave me a quick wink and hurried off to join her team.

"Heroes!" Chiron began. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

Luke grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to the team. We were going over last-minute battle strategies and once we were done with that, Luke and I started our own conversation. We'd been talking about something random when Annabeth forced herself in between us, effectively cutting us off. 

"Blue team," she yelled, sticking her knife in the air, almost cutting my left braid off. "Forward!"

My job was to keep watch over the creek until Luke came and got me. Then, we'd tag-team our way to the flag and back. At least, that was Luke's plan. Annabeth's kept me at the creek while Luke went to get the flag, but he told me he'd rather have an extra person watch his back. 

We saluted each other before turning and making our way to our assigned areas. The creek was calm and still and it soothed me, preparing me for the game. As soon as the conch horn went off, my veins pumped with adrenaline. I kept one of my swords sheathed and used the other to lean against, at the ready, should I need it. 

A growling coming from the woods distracted me and I almost didn't catch someone running right towards me. Just as they were about to slice my arm off, I parried the attack. I noticed the blue plume on top of their helmet.

"Dude!" I managed to yell as they went into attack mode again. "We're on the same team!"

"I know," he yelled back, barely managing to keep my attacks contained. "Special orders, you'll understand later."

"What?" In my moment of confusion, he managed to cut my arm. At first, I didn't think it was very deep considering it wasn't very long, but then blood ran down my arm and I knew it was worse than it looked. I noticed he didn't draw first blood, though. I'd sliced his wrist, not as deep, but it made me feel better that he wasn't the first to get the jump on their opponent. 

He pushed me back and I hit the creek. Which was pretty good for me, considering as soon as my foot touched the water, the pain in my arm went away and I felt instantly rejuvenated, like I'd just chugged a few coffees. 

His eyes widened as I knocked his sword out of his hand and immediately after knocked him out with the flat end of my sword. 

Luke ran by seconds later and his eyes widened. "What the hell happened?" he whispered, looking at the dude and then to me. He didn't notice my arm. That was good. 

"I'll explain later," I whispered back. "C'mon, we need to get going." 

He nodded and we took off through the woods. I could've sworn I heard the growling again, but between the clashing of swords, occasional cussing, and footsteps, I couldn't be sure. 

We knocked out anyone who we came across, which, thankfully, was only two people. I couldn't see who they were, but I didn't really worry about it too much. 

Finally, we came into the clearing where the flag was. It was being guarded by two Ares kids. Luke and I nodded to each other and we made our way in separate directions to the side. We locked eyes and nodded again.

The two Ares dudes didn't even know what hit them. Literally. Luke and I worked well as a team, so they were down quickly and effectively. Another person from the red team saw us and ran over to try and stop us. As Luke went for the flag, I took down the dude.

He was a hard opponent, but I managed to gain the upper hand and disarm him, taking him down soon after. 

Luke was just standing there staring at me. "I'm both frightened and aroused," he said with a smirk when I looked over to him. 

"Don't take my movie's line!" I yelled, grabbing his wrist and dragging him back towards our side, rolling my eyes all the way. "It only came out, like, two months ago." 

"I know, some of us were allowed to go out and watch it," he replied nonchalantly. 

As soon as the flag was spotted, which didn't take long, all of the red's were after us, while our side kept them at bay. We ran out of the forest and passed Annabeth, who was looking angrily at the boy who'd attacked me earlier. I didn't look back to see how mad she was now, but I knew she would be even worse once everything calmed down. I left what she thought was my spot. I could feel her glare on my back as Luke and I finally got back to our side. Cheers and groans rang through the night as our side surrounded me and Luke. 

Luke and I cheered with the rest of them while the flag turned from red to silver with a caduceus. That is, until Annabeth broke through the crowd, seething. 

"Where were you, Jackson?!" she all but yelled. 

I shrugged happily and laughed a little. "Doesn't matter! We won!" I yelled back, still beaming as I did so. 

"Doesn't mat—" she sputtered angrily. "Doesn't matter?! What if we didn't win, huh?! It would've been because you weren't there!"

"Annabeth! That's enough," Luke commanded. "She wasn't there because I told her to go with me. Malcolm and I reworked the plan a little because there's no way I would've gotten the flag there and back without help. I know you, Annabeth. You wanted her to get pummeled by anyone who came across her. We knew you'd be around in case someone were to get that far. It's not a big deal! You never used to act like this, what happened?" 

"Not a big deal?!" she exploded. "Never used to—?! It's not exactly 'back then' is it?! T— She's gone and just when I think everything will be fine, she—" Annabeth pointed her dagger at me as she spit her words out venomously— "comes along and you start following her around like a lost puppy!"

"Your past is not my problem," I said, calmly. Danny always said I was more terrifying when I was mad and calm than when I was mad and yelling. "Stop trying to blame all of your problems on me. Just because—" I paused when I heard a growl coming from the woods. No one else seemed to hear it. 

"Because what, huh?!" She raged. I shushed her, but that only made her angrier. "No! Because what? Tell me!" 

"Shut up!" I finally snapped. 

She stepped back and shut her mouth, knowing I meant business. I drew both swords as I slowly walked towards the woods.

Luke stepped closer to me. "Allie? What are you—" 

Then they heard it. The campers were dead silent. The growl cut through the silence like butter.

"Stand ready," Chiron called out in Greek. "My bow!"

Luke seemed to catch sight of something because in the silence he yelled out, "Allie, run!" while making his way towards me.

Before anyone else could react, a giant, and I mean giant, black dog— a hellhound— jumped out of the forest and jumped over campers, its eyes set on me. I had both of my swords drawn, ready for attack, but it was smart. Just as I was about to swing, it lunged right for my upper arms, cutting off all chances I had at killing it. Once it knew I was down, it shifted and began clawing my chest open. It was like my armor was made of butter or something, because after one swipe it did nothing for me. With the last remaining strength I had, I swung my arms up and stuck my swords through its neck. At the same time, a dozen of Chiron's arrows impaled themselves into its back.

It disappeared into a cloud of smoke and Luke ran to my side, along with Silena, Katie, Clarisse, Malcolm, and Will. Danny and Nessa followed shortly after, having been towards the back of the group. Danny almost tackled Malcolm out of the way in order to get beside me. 

"Allie!" Luke got my attention. "Holy shit! Can you hear me?" 

Will had to push him back slightly so he could see the extent of my injuries. I knew they were bad, I didn't need a doctor to tell me that. I could feel the blood spreading to my back, just like my head wound had. 

"Di immortales, Chiron," I heard Nessa exclaim. "How did a hellhound get into Camp?"

"Someone obviously summoned it," Clarisse snapped with a stony voice. "Specifically to go after Allie, by the looks of it. It didn't even glance at the rest of us."

"Is she okay, Will?" Silena's tone was frantic as Chiron made his way over. I barely registered the fact that my head was in the water, but I felt perfectly dry. She along with Katie and Nessa all looked close to tears. 

I met Will's eyes and he looked at me grimly. Somehow, I knew what he was going to say. 

"Luke, get her other side. Help me get her into the water more." 

Luke looked confused at the order, but did it anyway. That was the moment Luke saw the cut on my arm and he understood. 

"Where did all of that blood on your arm come from? It looks fine?" he asked. 

"Got cut a while ago. When I stepped into the river it healed it, mostly, but you found me before it finished. I'm assuming it's not there anymore?" I replied, suddenly feeling my energy return. 

"It's not, you're right, but that doesn't make sense, unless... oh shit." 

Will and I nodded stiffly while everyone else looked on in confusion. 

In moments I was stepping out of the creek, perfectly fine, while everyone watched me. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what was about to happen. Unless luck was on my side and it wouldn't... nope. 

There were gasps from all around and I kept my expression calm and my eyes closed. When I forced them open, everyone was kneeling, even Annabeth, though she looked very peeved about it. I tilted my head up slightly to see it. I was claimed, that was for sure. The golden trident surrounded by a green-blue light, the same color as my eyes, was enough to tell me, and everyone else, that. 

My life was about to get a million times more complicated.

"It is determined," Chiron announced, while I looked into his eyes defiantly. He stared back at me sympathetically. "Poseidon; Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Astraea Jackson, Daughter of the Sea God."

*    *    *

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