#i Changed my mind about zoë dying first i want her to suffer eternally <3 love her

[sapphicmcmean]

so anyway back to au talk

in my Silly little au thalia goes on the athena parthenos quest at 16 (legacy of athena<3 and also plot relevant to have it while annabeth is way younger) and she's joined by the hunters (as in, finding the area of the quest but they dont join her down to arachne, they wait until she gets out in case something happens) and her and zoë still have that hatred for each other

somehow they convince her to let them help her (something propechy probably, have not worked out the details) and so thalia and zoë have to work together

they bicker. they argue. and they begrudgingly agree with each other to put their past aside to finish this quest as fast as possible so they never have to see each other again

but as they spend more time together, they actually start to like each other. like, LIKE like each other. surprisingly fast, which makes both wonder if they had only felt hatred for each other before this

so thalia goes on the quest to arachne, succeeds, nearly dies because of the hole to tartarus but the hunters save her (the whole still exists, sort of patched up but campers know to avoid it [becomes more plot relevant later <3]) and so she's alive

now, she has the choice to join the hunters or just go back to camp hb. she chooses to go back to camp– not even pretty girls can change her mind about not wanting to live like a hunter and having to watch her family die

she says goodbye to them all, lingering on zoë longer than the others. artemis can lowkey tell whats happening between them, but since neither are making a move, she doesnt do anything. her hunters cant simply stop feeling, so she doesnt care: as long as they dont act on those feelings

whenever the hunters need help, now, zoë immediately suggests thalia. even when thalia is a full grown adult, with her own life and everything, she still helps them out

of course, she still likes zoë. zoë still likes her. but neither of them can pursue a relationship: thalia now feels weird anout dating someone whos bodily 12 while being 20+ herself (even tho zoë is way older than her), and zoë could never leave artemis' side

so, thalia stays single. she's not the type to get into relationships much, anyway. she calls herself the "fun aunt of chb", which most of the kids would say is accurate. zoë and the hunters pop in more often, though only stay for short times

and, angst: zoë has to watch thalia grow older and die. and she lives with questions: should she have left the hunters for thalia? pursued her instead of doing nothing? should she have tried to convince thalia to join the hunters? was being immortal worth it, if she had to watch any non-hunter friends die? what would her life be if she left?; all she knows now is how to be a hunter.